Category: Pop (Page 151 of 216)

Man-about-MySpace: Feist-pod Nano

September 12, 2007 / Dr. Flucke

The new iPod Nano Video commercial is a joke. To me, it just screams “Don’t buy this, because you can’t see anything on my postage-stamp screen!” And don’t take me as an Apple-basher, because I get it. A lifelong Mac devotee, I bought the 5GB iPod, then 15GB, then 40GB, and then 80GB iPods. If there were a 160GB available, I’d eBay my 80-gigger and get one–and proudly sync it to my Mac.

It’s just that, with his “technology magic” act, Steve Jobs is starting to look trite as the late Doug Henning did there at the end. I want a music player, not a Blackberry-Palm-phone-thing. I don’t want my iPod polluted with a bunch of crappy software that half-works. Plus, with the iPod’s well-known battery issues, what, I want to put my grocery list on my iPod so I can burn the battery out faster? Flucke that. And I certainly don’t want videos, because what good is a music video at 14 pixels square? Plus, all I need is to be driving on the highway amongst a bunch of 17-year-old chickie-doo Feist fans trying to watch the damn video on their Nanos when they should be, er, steering their cars and getting out of my way.

The only thing more embarrassing than watching Steve Jobs unveil some incremental upgrade to his iWhateverDuJour is the slobbering “oohing” and “ahhing” of the audience watching him. Pathetic sycophants, all of them. Ugh. Not like Mike Dell has any charisma whatsoever, but at least Dell devotees don’t wilt like wounded flowers when he speaks.

Which brings us to MySpace, which fixes the problem of the iPod Nano Video commercial. No, it turns out, the video is not a poor Busby Berkeley clone production starring a drunken Britney, Nicole, Lindsay, Paris, and their entourages filmed from the balcony at Pure, which it kinda resembles Nano-sized.

(In fact, a quasi-interesting NYT article explains how the singer, Feist, actually wears t-shirts and jeans most of the time and took something of a chance donning the blue pantsuit for the video–in my opinion, to great effect.)

iPod devotees hipped to Feist via the commercial (and not our own Mike Farley’s review from months ago) can’t go to her own site, which she says was overrun by porn spammers.

In fact, the 30-something Torontonian’s MySpace is the place to go to check out her act, at full size. Before you go, here’s that video the iPod Nano does a great job of not showing on the TV commercial:

Pop

Ruby Tuesday: Novo Combo, “Welcome Innervision”

September 11, 2007 / Mike Farley

You might remember the band Novo Combo from their modest MTV hit, “Tattoo,” which was from the band’s self-titled debut album on Polydor. But you may not recognize anything from their followup album, Animation Generation, that came out one year later (1982, for those of you keeping score). And after Animation Generation, the band unceremoniously split up. But after doing a Lost Bands feature on Bullz-Eye.com, I interviewed lead vocalist Pete Hewlett and was re-introduced to Novo Combo’s music.

“Welcome Innervision” was the first song I heard off of Animation Generation, once upon a time when you heard new music on the radio that was worth a damn. And I remember almost driving off the road because not only was this a great song, but the guitar solo by axe man Carlos Rios (who was making his Novo Combo debut) was one of the best I’d ever heard. In fact, it’s still one of the best I’ve ever heard, 25 years later.

Novo Combo’s two albums are out of print, but I managed to find copies of both. So for your listening pleasure, I give to you “Welcome Innervision.” And I trust that you’re sitting at your computer and will not drive off the road.

Novo Combo — “Welcome Innervision”

Lost Bands, Pop, Rock, Ruby Tuesday, Songs

Road Warriors 30

September 7, 2007 / Mike Farley

The Young Wild Things Tour kicks off October 18 in Columbus, Ohio and features kid hero bands Fall Out Boy, Gym Class Heroes, Plain White T’s and Cute Is What We Aim For. It’s a 34-date tour that winds up on Las Vegas on December 2.

Alt rocker chick PJ Harvey has announced two exclusive US performances in New York (October 10 at Beacon Theatre) and Los Angeles (October 15 at Orpheum). Harvey’s new album, White Chalk, is due out on September 25. No other US dates are confirmed yet.

Their live show has been called “riveting,” and now the Decemberists are back with their “Long and Short of It Tour” that starts October 28 in Chicago. The long performances will be just that, with epic, progressive songs from the band’s catalog, while the short ones will focus on their more pop leaning material. Here are Continue reading »

Alternative, American Idol, Concerts, Pop, Rock

DMed’s Video of the Week: The Holloways, “Dancefloor”

September 7, 2007 / David Medsker

At long last, the debut from the Holloways, So This Is Great Britain?, drops on these here shores. I was particularly excited about hearing the rest of the album, as my July 10 love letter for their song “Generator” will attest. Well, I finally heard it, and…sigh.

Let me be clear about that sigh. There is actually some magnificent stuff on the album. They just can’t keep up the pace for the entire record. But the stuff that’s good is damn good, like this little ditty called “Dancefloor.” Plus, the video is about as Bullz-Eye friendly as they come.

Alternative, Pop, Rock, Songs, Videos

Ruby Tuesday: Tasmin Archer, “Sleeping Satellite (Fitz Mix)”

September 4, 2007 / David Medsker

Welcome to a the inaugural installment of Ruby Tuesday, where we discuss a hidden or lost gem from music’s past. Yes, we’re very clever with our titles. Stayed up for days coming up with it. Seriously.

Our first subject is Bradford, England’s Tasmin Archer, a soul popster from the early ’90s who, thanks to her UK #1 smash “Sleeping Satellite,” was quickly dubbed the Female Seal. She was not the Female Seal, of course — anyone who bought the album that spawned “Satellite,” 1993’s Great Expressions, learned that lesson the hard way — but there is no denying that “Satellite” could easily pass for the twin sister of “Crazy.” Both songs have an airy quality to them, and both have dance-ish beats but aren’t exactly danceable. It was an apt, and as favorable, a comparison as Archer was likely to find.

The hit parade for Archer ended quickly. She scored one more Top 20 hit in the UK with “In Your Care,” though one could argue that its chart success owed more to its B-side — a remix of “Sleeping Satellite” — than the song on the cover. A few more singles crawled their way into the UK Top 40, but she never dented the US charts again. She continues to make music, but I personally have not seen anything of hers in the CD racks since the 1994 Shipbuilding EP, where she covered a handful of Elvis Costello tunes.

Such is the fate for far more musicians than you would think. Knock the one-hit wonder all you want, but at least people remember their big hit. Archer, on the other hand, has practically been erased from the history books. Which is why I would like to submit “Sleeping Satellite” — yep, it’s the remixed version from that single for “In Your Care” — as the first ruby. Enjoy.

Tasmin Archer – Sleeping Satellite (Fitz Mix)

External Music, Pop, Ruby Tuesday, Songs