 A so-called summit of music festival minds has gotten together and will be bringing a new event to the U.S. this summer. The people behind Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits have teamed up with British officials behind the Reading, Leeds and Glastonbury Festivals to head up a new festival called Vineland Music Festival. The event will take place August 8-10 in Vineland, New Jersey, but no acts have been announced yet. Pop artist Kylie Minogue has apparently put her health problems behind her, and will head out on tour beginning in May 2008 in support of her tenth and latest album, X. The album has been released in the UK, but will not be available in the States until early 2008. Mr. Prolific, otherwise known as Ryan Adams, has announced West Coast tour dates along with his band The Cardinals, in support of their new EP, Follow The Lights. Earlier in 2007, Adams and his band released Easy Tiger, which Time Magazine called a “career breakthrough.” This guy just doesn’t slow down. Here are the upcoming tour dates (more…) Filed under: Rock and Pop and Alternative and Hip Hop and Concerts and News and Blues and Lollapalooza Comments: None |
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The White Stripes cannot have been amused when eBay decided to use Patti Page’s “Conquest” for a recent commercial involving a group of potential bidders racing down a dog track for an item. The band’s newest single is, yep, a cover of Page’s “Conquest,” which makes them look like opportunists — hey, look at us, we’re covering that wacky song from the eBay commercial! — but I think it is in fact eBay’s ad agency doing the, um, opportuning. I’m willing to wager that someone in the creative department was listening to Icky Thump, heard the White Stripes’ version of the song and thought, “We totally have to get this.” Regardless, the Whites came up with an obvious but amusing video for the song, featuring Jack as a matador who just can’t bring himself to finish the job. He even trained with matadors to make it look authentic. Ah, the life of a rock star. “What are you doing today?” “Working with a matador.” Don’t let Us Weekly fool you: stars are not just like us.
Filed under: Rock and Alternative and Songs and Artists and Videos and External Music and Seen Your Video Comments: 1 Comment |
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“Bomp is doing everything we can think of to salvage what’s useful from the music industry’s pending bankruptcy. We are trying to preserve the best of alternative music culture from the creeping mediocrity that always seeks to envelop it. We believe each generation is given a chance to make its mark; not every generation is born in revolutionary times, but it seems such times are rapidly coming upon us. We’re here to help.” - Greg Shaw  Greg and Suzy Shaw, circa 1968. He passed away in 2004 but she’s proudly Bomp!ing away still Pssst! MySpace music also hosts books about your favorite rawwwk as well as some labels. Now we couldn’t give a flying fudge (yeah, I’m G-rated today) about amping one major-label project or another, but damn–I mean dang–there’s a couple indie labels out there to whom I’ll give endless PR until they go under. Bomp! Records is one such label, and its MySpace catalogs the history of the label and its rock-loving founders Suzy and the late Greg Shaw since they began publishing fanzines in the 1960s. Their unending devotion to garage rock and psychedelia and the ensuing Nuggets, punk, power-pop, and punk-pop that followed was downright endless, and their label/distributing company keeps track of an amazing treasure trove of lost pop gems from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s that you just can’t find anywhere else. Caution: Once you start dipping into that catalogue, there’s no way out. Best to just admit the inevitable and get a high-limit credit card to begin with, and save all the denial and other issues that go along with it. Unless you really think you can resist the call of vintage English freakbeat. What, you say you don’t know what that is? You will soon enough. The Shaws have hooked many a more resistant rocker into their fold starting with the freakbeat… |
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Blender has put together a list of the top 10 most overpraised albums. Let me just say how much I more than wholly agree with the first two entries. |
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The ’90s were flooded with a ton of UK-based bands who made precious little impact on the U.S. charts…mostly because the few of them who scored Stateside release for their debut albums rarely got a chance to build an audience by getting to put a second album on our shores. But if it was bad for the British bands who were just getting started, you can imagine how rough it was for the artists who’d already been around for awhile and still couldn’t get an album released over here. Such was the case for Mega City Four, the pop/punk/grunge band who got rolling in the late ’80s and went on a three-year streak of releasing an album a year - Tranzophobia (’89), Who Cares Wins (’90), and Terribly Sorry Bob (’91) - yet with none of them finding American distribution. Finally, in 1992, high-profile indie label Caroline Records cut the band a break and delivered Sebastopol Rd. onto our nation. Were we grateful? Not so much. Those who actually heard the album were thrilled; unfortunately, their numbers were few, and that was the last America heard from Mega City Four. (The Brits, meanwhile, were gifted with two further studio albums, a live record, and a collection of the band’s Peel Sessions.) One of the highlights of Sebastopol Rd. was a unique love song, one sung to - of all people - Mrs. Mel Brooks, a.k.a. Mrs. Robinson herself, Anne Bancroft. We’ve all had an unrequited and ultimately pointless crush on a movie star at some point in our lives, but MC4 frontman / songwriter Wiz put pen to paper and, in three and a half minutes of bouncy pop bliss, captures the feelings that might happen if you never had that inevitable realization, “I am never, ever going to actually meet this person.” To put it into prose form… I get some second looks, but they can’t hold a candle to you. Alas, Wiz isn’t waiting any longer: he passed away from a blood clot on the brain on December 6, 2006. But if there’s any justice in the afterlife, he and Ms. Bancroft have already had a good laugh over how she inspired one of the finest moments of his songwriting career. Filed under: Rock and Pop and Alternative and Songs and Artists and Downloads and Ruby Tuesday Comments: None |
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It’s so sad that you can’t mention Kirsty MacColl without mentioning how she left us too soon, but it’s the truth, no matter how much it hurts. She was cute, sweet, and tough enough to kick your ass, with a wit to her lyrics and a never-ending supply of hooks to attach to them; watch this performance, where she’s introduced by a very young Mr. O’Brien, and smile as you grieve… …and then go buy this album, so you can have your very own copy of the song. Filed under: Rock and Pop and Alternative and Artists and Videos and Less Talk, More Music Comments: 3 Comments |
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Kevin DuBrow, lead singer of metal band uiet Riot, was found dead in Las Vegas of undetermined causes. The singer was 52 years old. “I can’t even find the words to say,” Quiet Riot bandmate Frankie Banali said on his Web site. “Please respect my privacy as I mourn the passing and honor the memory of my dearest friend, Kevin DuBrow.” |
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I am surely dating myself by saying this, but I miss the days when bands like Minipop ruled modern rock radio. Shimmering, hypnotic dream-pop guitars supporting a female lead that didn’t have the strongest voice but had an alluring voice and something to say…ah, good times. I know very little about Minipop other than this fabulous, “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight”-style video, but the record is on its way to me, and I can’t wait to hear it.
Filed under: Rock and Pop and Alternative and Rock Babes and Songs and Artists and Videos and External Music and Seen Your Video Comments: None |
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Since everyone else is away today for the holidays around here, I’ve been posting some wacky stuff for anyone who might be stopping by after their turkey dinners. This is the last video thing I stumbled across. The first part is below. It’s an ongoing series by a YouTube member named “iamaphoney.” The series is called “Paul is Dead - The Rotten Apple” and each short “episode” takes a look into the whole Paul is Dead myth. These videos are entertaining, not becuase of all the stuff the Beatle fans already know about this tale, but just the way the clips are put together. Many of them can be downright disturbing at times - in a good way. So do check them all out. Once you watch a couple, you’ll be hooked, I promise.
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Here’s to people who go so far as to play Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” backwards and find messages in every line of the song. God bless ‘em.
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More Beatles goodness as someone takes the time to spin “Revolution 9″ backwards and offer visual “interpretations” of all the “hidden” crap. Happy Thanksgiving.
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I always loved this version of “Revolution” with the live vocals sung over the studio track. John always seemed even more impassioned on this performance to me. Dig it.
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Kids, if you dig DJs, MySpace is a great place to explore. The coolest thing I did when signing up for MySpace was enlist Fatboy Slim, the Bassbin Twins, and Adam Freeland to be my friends. Awwww, cute, you’re thinking. I won’t cover up the lie, anymore: I’m a big Big Beat devotee. On MySpace, as in life, if ye network with the folks you like, you’ll generally like what comes back to you. This week’s MySpace find is DJ Silence, someone who noted I chose those monolithic mixmasters as friends and got in touch.  The Albuquerque, NM-based Silence makes some awesome mixes, as evidenced by his freely downloadable stuff. Go ahead and sample that buffet. If you’re into the breakbeat-electro scene, he’ll fill some of your hours with some mighty fine grooves. Myself, I’m totally diggin’ the Grunge Breaks mix. |
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In its 50 years of existence, Los Angeles venue The Troubadour has helped launch the careers of artists such as The Eagles, Jackson Browne and Elton John. Two other artists that first performed there in 1969 are Carole King and James Taylor, who will be celebrating the 50-year anniversary of the club with three shows there, November 28-30. The two performances each night will benefit various charities including National Resources Defense and MusiCares. Not surprisingly in a year that they toured for the first time in decades, The Police were big winners at the fourth annual Billboard Touring Awards last week. The band took home the awards for Top Tour and Top Draw. Other winners included Kenny Chesney, Justin Timberlake, Prince and Larry the Cable Guy. Velvet Revolver’s four-day tour in Japan, which was scheduled for November 26-30, was cancelled because of visa issues stemming from previous arrests of some of the band’s members. The band is appealing but will likely not have a ruling for several months. Carrie Underwood will join Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts and others on the 2008 Stagecoach country music festival. The event is being held May 3-4 at California’s Empire Polo Field. Indie rock band The A.K.A.s are releasing their new album in March 2008, but will be hitting the road in advance of that along with Hawthorne Heights, Escape The Fate, Amber Pacific and The Secret Handshake beginning this Friday in Detroit. Here are the complete confirmed (more…) |
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Originally, I’d planned to post the Boys’ 1991 appearance on “The Tonight Show,” when, in mid-performance, Chris Lowe (a.k.a. the one who doesn’t sing) got pissed off about not getting enough camera time and left the stage. Yikes. Tantrum much? Anyway, the performance in question got yanked from YouTube before I could get it onto ESDMusic, so instead I’ve opted to spotlight the guys in a more recent…and more unlikely…appearance. I’m always impressed with Regis Philbin as a talk show host; whether he really knows what he’s talking about or not, he always has that offhanded casual manner when he’s introducing someone that convinces you that he might actually be a fan of the person he’s getting ready to bring to the stage. Somehow, I suspect the amount of PSB in his CD collection is lacking…though perhaps not as much as it’s lacking from Kelly Ripa’s, since she seems to have no idea that they’ve done anything since “West End Girls”…but neither host’s knowledge (of lack thereof) of the duo affect this lovely piano-driven version of one of the guys’ sweetest and most sentimental songs.
Filed under: Pop and Alternative and Songs and Artists and Videos and Less Talk, More Music Comments: None |
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