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[ Comments Off ]Posted on July 31, 2008 by admin in Music
Thursday, July 31st, 2008Unless they happen on August 4th
Except the release of Brian Eno & David Byrne’s album of the same name, which will happen on August 4th, 2008. The music will be available exclusively at everythingthathappens.com with free previews and a free song, and it actually goes on sale two weeks later. Can’t wait for some new Byrne & Eno? Then make your own by remixing studio quality tracks from the 1981 release Bush of Ghosts
Mommy, What’s a Mashup?
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on July 30, 2008 by admin in Music
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008What do you get when you cross the Black Album with the White Album?
I was surprised recently to find out how few of the young hipsters in my social circle seem to know about Mashups. For the uninitiated, read the overblown, self-important Wikipedia definition here. The concept is simple. Take two or more familiar pop media elements (from virtually any media), and mash them together to pleasing or amusing effect (I’ve never adequately defined for myself how they differ from “remixes”; they just do). The YouTube clip at left is a great example: George Bush covers U2′s Sunday Bloody Sunday, from RX’s “Party Party” mashup. Since mashups involve using large recognizable pieces of intellectual property, they’re often subject to takedown notices by the RIAA or MPAA as soon as they become popular. For that reason it’s often easiest to BitTorrent them. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but some faves of mine include Party Ben and Team9′s Dean Gray -American Edit (Green Day – American Idiot); Danger Mouse’s Grey Album
More Pitchfork 50 in 25: Arcade Fire, The National, The Tough Alliance
[ 2 Comments ]Posted on July 26, 2008 by admin in Music
Saturday, July 26th, 2008See the first of these posts for an explanation of these clips & summaries. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible Echo & the Bunnymen merge with the Pixies and set out to create Bruce-Springsteen-like anthems… The National – Boxer The Church doing an Alt-country soundtrack for a Gus Van Sant film. The Tough Alliance -A New [...]
See the first of these posts for an explanation of these clips & summaries.
Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
Echo & the Bunnymen merge with the Pixies and set out to create Bruce-Springsteen-like anthems…
The National – Boxer
The Church doing an Alt-country soundtrack for a Gus Van Sant film.
The Tough Alliance -A New Chance
All those too-queer-blonde-guys in Haircut 100 get old and do a parody of themselves with more synths and samples, except now they’re, um, Swedish.
Khalid Hanifi – Pamplemousse Presse
[ Comments Off ]Posted on July 23, 2008 by admin in Music
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008A quick listen to Khalid Hanifi’s catchy new radio-ready CD, Pamplemousse Presse
On his new release Pamplemousse Presse, Khalid Hanifi pulls off something any pop songwriter could admire, drawing from the pop palette without resorting to pop cliché, and effortlessly (well, maybe he worked on it…) blending excellent hooks with solid song craftsmanship. This collection of songs is solidly listenable from beginning to end, and in fact (whether I like it or not) remains pretty listenable in my head when the songs get stuck there. Very catchy stuff. Although you could toss off comparisons to a wide variety of singer songwriters (Rufus Wainright, Joseph Arthur, Joe Jackson, Michael Penn and others spring to mind) Hanifi has a maturity and purity of pitch in his voice and delivery that he clearly owns. You can only really compare Khalid Hanifi to Khalid Hanifi. Well paced, produced & mixed with exceptional clarity, strong melody, and nicely placed, sophisticated harmonies, this CD has only grown on me more with each listen. This is a seriously radio-ready (people still listen to those, don’t they?) artist who would fit comfortably into an adult alternative rotation as easily as an alt-country mix. If this is what Khalid Hanifi does when he’s not pursuing his music career full time, I can’t wait until he gets serious about it. Purchase a downloadable version on DigStation for USD9.99, or pick up the CD at CDBaby for USD12.97.
Delia Derbyshire – Electronic Music Pioneer
[ Comments Off ]Posted on July 21, 2008 by admin in Music
Monday, July 21st, 2008Little-known electronic musician Delia Derbyshire of the BBC was creating house beats and promoting raves 40 years ago.
Delia Derbyshire was busy being Bjork-like back when there weren’t no Bjork. Delia was told by Decca Records in 1959 that the company DID NOT employ women in their recording studios. This didn’t slow her down much; by 1960 she was working with the BBC as a trainee studio manager. This, at the age of 24, as a woman in the UK. Think about it. During her stint with the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop, she anonymously created or was involved in numerous works, including familiar pieces like the much-covered Dr Who theme. She worked at various points with a stellar array of artists like Paul McCartney, Karlheinz Stockhausen, George Martin, and Pink Floyd. As part of the organization Unit Delta Plus she practically invented the rave in 1967, and did an early version of scratching and sampling, only with reel-to-reel tape decks, for crying out loud. See a YouTube clip here. To this day she is covered and credited by bands like Aphex Twin and The Chemical Brothers. Check out this clip of a Kraftwerk/House-like beat (which she describes as a toss-off) from the early sixties, or some of the eerie and textural soundscapes downloadable here. Rock on Delia – wherever your atoms went – you’re an inspiration!