Category: External Music (Page 32 of 50)

Ruby Tuesday: Rialto, “Love Like Semtex”

September 18, 2007 / David Medsker

Spawned from the ashes of Kinky Machine, Rialto was singer/songwriter Louis’ Eliot’s foray into widescreen pop, a blend of Oasis and ABC, as crazy as it sounds (and with two drummers, in an apparent nod to .38 Special). The band’s debut, Rialto, was a nifty little pop record, the kind that any fan of British pop both present and past would appreciate (“Summer’s Over” steals a big chunk of “A Day in the Life” for its chorus). The biggest problem was that the album came out in 1998, a good three years after Brit Pop peaked. By that time, only the most devoted Anglophiles paid the band any mind.

I would be one of those Anglophiles.

I was hooked by “Love Like Semtex” from the moment I saw the title, since I had been in a rather combustible relationship eerily similar to the one Eliot describes here. Also, being a fan of the Pixies and Nirvana, I like quietLOUDquiet songs, so when this tender ballad, um, blows up in the second half, I had already been hooked, gutted, put on ice and lacquered for mounting.

Rialto released one more album, 2001’s Night on Earth, which was arguably better than their debut. They had moved on from Oasis, and went after Duran Duran, Depeche Mode and the Pet Shop Boys. Again, an Anglophile’s dream, but “Love Like Semtex” will stand as the band’s lighter-waving moment.

Rialto – Love Like Semtex

Alternative, External Music, Rock, Ruby Tuesday, Songs

DMed’s Video of the Week: Encore, “All Through the Night”

September 14, 2007 / David Medsker

A publicist friend sent this my way, and I’ve had a stupid grin on my face ever since. If you came of age in the late ’70s, you will totally appreciate this video, which takes a TV show that’s near and dear to the hearts of late thirtysomethings everywhere, and brilliantly re-edits it to sync up to Encore’s discotastic “All Through the Night.” Sweeeet.

External Music, Pop, Songs, Videos

Pitchfork gives music 6.8

September 10, 2007 / John Paulsen

I love The Onion.

Music, a mode of creative expression consisting of sound and silence expressed through time, was given a 6.8 out of 10 rating in an review published Monday on Pitchfork Media, a well-known music-criticism website.

According to the review, authored by Pitchfork editor in chief Ryan Schreiber, the popular medium that predates the written word shows promise but nonetheless “leaves the listener wanting more.”

Schreiber’s semi-favorable review, which begins in earnest after a six-paragraph preamble comprising a long list of baroquely rendered, seemingly unrelated anecdotes peppered with obscure references, summarizes music as a “solid but uninspired effort.”

CD Reviews, External Music, News

What is the most rockin’ song of all time?

September 7, 2007 / Will Harris

The Onion A.V. Club’s blogger, Steve Hyden, has a nomination…but, man, that’s a subjective question if there ever was one.

So what’s your pick…?

Here are his rules:

1. It came out between 1955 and 1980.
2. It has to be bluesy, but not too bluesy.
3. It can’t be a classic rock radio staple.
4. It must make you drive at least 10 mph faster within the first 60 seconds and/or make doing the dishes fun.
5. You know it when you hear it.

And…GO!

External Music, Rock

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