Tag: Headlines (Page 72 of 76)

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: The Twilight Saga: New Moon

October 20, 2009 /


RIYL: Vampires, werewolves, everlasting love

Say this for soundtrack supervisor extraordinaire Alexandra Patsavas: with the soundtrack to “New Moon,” the second installment in Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series, she leaves nothing in the bag, as it were. With a lineup chock full of megastars and indie darlings, New Moon is the most ambitious soundtrack to come down the pipe in a while. It’s also decidedly more grown-up than its predecessor, forsaking teen angst poster children Paramore and Linkin Park for the moody stylings of Bon Iver (teamed up with St. Vincent here), Sea Wolf, and Grizzly Bear. Muse is the only returning act – expect them to appear on the soundtrack for every “Twilight” movie, as Meyer is a devout fan – and it’s a doozy, as “I Belong to You,” from their latest album The Resistance, is punched up and, more imporantly, edited down (no piano break, woo hoo!). Thom Yorke delivers the wonderfully minimalist electro brooder “Hearing Damage,” and Patsavas scores a massive coup by securing the first new song by OK Go in four years, the endearingly oddball “Shooting the Moon.”

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON

The biggest problem with the soundtrack is the sequencing. It will surely make sense in context with the movie, but as a straight-through listen sans visuals, it’s awfully up and down. All quibbling aside, New Moon is far better than anyone had a right to expect it to be, growing up along with its audience. Bravo, Alex. (Chop Shop/Atlantic 2009)

Twilight: New Moon MySpace page
Click to buy New Moon from Amazon

Alternative, Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Electronica, Folk, Gothic, Melodramatic, Pop, Rock

Flaming Lips will take on Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon”

October 16, 2009 /

Wayne

How great is that picture? That must have been so fun.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Flaming Lips have already recorded a new album hot on the heels of Embryonic, which was released on Tuesday of this week. For whatever reason, they’ve decided to recreate Pink Flyod’s 1973 classic Dark Side of the Moon.

The band will release a track-by-track interpretation of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” in the near future, which it recorded with Stardeath and the White Dwarfs, a band that features Coyne’s nephew Dennis.

Henry Rollins and Peaches make guest appearances on the album, Coyne told the crowd during a pre-concert question-and-answer session. A Flaming Lips spokesman says the album will likely be an iTunes-only release, at least initially.

It will certainly be a more comfortable — at least familiar release — than the sonic experimentations of “Embryonic.” But the Flaming Lips’ fan base is one that’s always ready for a challenge, at least that’s what Coyne is betting on.

“I think our audience would forgive us for going out in the further regions of whatever we could think of,” Coyne says. “But I don’t think we’d be worthy of being forgiven if we didn’t do that. They’re giving us the freedom, the encouragement, the money and the time to say, ‘Go somewhere where no other band could go, and come back and tell us what it was like.’”

We’re all familiar with tribute albums and one-off covers, but I don’t think a popular band has ever recorded and released a legendary band’s masterpiece. When Beck and his buddies get together and do something similar, the results are more silly than anything. If the Flaming Lips were just goofing around, they shouldn’t charge for the thing. Maybe this is some sort of artistic conquest, I don’t know. But why this album and not one with less merit? Dark Side of the Moon doesn’t need an updated version.

News

Steal This Song: General Elektriks, “Take Back the Instant”

October 15, 2009 /

Somewhere in California, Beck is throwing stuff across the room, pissed that he didn’t come up with this first.

The project of French expatriate Hervé “RV” Salters, General Elektriks is minimalist blue-eyed funk filtered through a microphone and a bevy of vintage synthesizers. RV seems particularly fond of the Clavinet (think “Superstition,” “Trampled Underfoot”), which makes sense considering it’s arguably the funkiest instrument ever created. Adding the horns for the last verse is a nice touch, too.

general elektriks

Wow, look at that shirt and tie combo. All right, so the guy might be color blind. But when it comes to music, color blindness is never a bad thing. It-it’s time to get, it-it’s time to get funky, kids.

General Elektriks – Take Back the Instant

General Elektriks MySpace page

Alternative, Artists, Dance, Downloads, Funk, Pop, Steal This Song

Rivers Cuomo and Katy Perry to collaborate

October 15, 2009 /

Rivers

Does anybody even make music anymore without asking another notable musician to contribute in some way? I mean, we were all used to the ensemble efforts of rap and hip hop albums, but lately it’s been getting ridiculous. Back in the day, the most you had in terms of a guest spot on a track was Jimmy Page tossing off a lead guitar lick or David Crosby lending some backup vocals. Now musical acts are just teaming with whoever willy-nilly to slap something together for their albums. Still, Katy Perry and Rivers Cuomo? Come on now.

“We’re writing together next week. Can’t wait,” Cuomo said. It’s unclear what the “Tired of Sex” and “I Kissed a Girl” stars will be concocting, but it’s possible the fruits of their collaboration may appear on Perry’s follow-up to One of the Boys.

As Rolling Stone previously reported, Cuomo has been feeling quite collaborative lately. He recruited Lil Wayne to join his Raditude posse for the Jermaine Dupri-produced version of the song “Can’t Stop Partying.” The dictionary-defying album also finds the Weezer gang collaborating with the All-American Rejects’ Tyler Ritter and Nick Wheeler on “Put Me Back Together.” 30 seconds clips of Raditude are now streaming over at iTunes, where fans can also sign up for the iTunes Pass to get exclusive tracks.

Guys, I already feel bad enough that you’ve become rich writing silly pop numbers. Stick to what you do, separately.

News

The Prairie Cartel: Where Did All My People Go

October 15, 2009 /


RIYL: The Klaxons, Simian Mobile Disco, The Black Ghosts

If the name Prairie Cartel sounds familiar to you then you’ve most likely played a lot of “Grand Theft Auto.” Their catchy dance-rock ode to murder, “Homicide,” is featured prominently in GTAIV and there’s even a radio station named after the group on the Nintendo DS GTA game “Chinatown Wars.” Obviously someone at Rockstar is a fan. Another odd piece of trivia behind the group is that they are fronted by Scott Lucas, the lone remaining original member of grunge stalwarts Local H. A surprising fact considering they sound nothing like Local H, and not just because they put just as much focus on synthesizers and drum machines as they do guitars. The Prairie Cartel is a sleazy band. Murder isn’t their only vice, it seems; sex, drugs (and by extension rock and roll) seem to be favorites as well, if tracks like “Suitcase Pimp,” in which Lucas inquires, “Do you like it when I lick it,” are any indication. Most of Where Did All My People Go is heavy on the electronic and less on the rock, and it suffers for it. The beats are bland, and when the lyrics aren’t hedonistic odes to drugs and boning, they’re pretty forgettable. When they plug in their guitars things are more memorable, with dance-friendly rock tunes like “Jump Like Chemicals” and “Ten Feet of Snow” easy standouts on the album. It’s an uneven album that has its merits, but if you’re a DJ at a strip club, you should really buy this. (Long Nights, Impossible Odds 2009)

Prairie Cartel MySpace Page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Dance, Electronica, Rock

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