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sweetdreamsjeff · 3 months ago

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Jeff Buckley: Mystery White Boy (Columbia)

Dave DiMartino, MOJO, June 2000

Posthumous collection of live tracks culled from the singer's '95-'96 Mystery White Boy tour. Released in tandem with 1995 concert video filmed in Chicago.

MYSTERY WHITE BOY is by no means too little, but it is very much too late. A live package bearing the air of intent – to capture a young artist just beginning his too-brief flight, to cement a late singer's reputation as one of the last decade's potential artistic giants, may be both – it too often displays what is simply not there. And that, sad to say, would be a talent as large and far-reaching as his father's.

It's embarrassing to admit, but my sole encounter with the son of Tim Buckley did not showcase me at my most critically acute: midway through his set, in a small theatre in Hollywood, I sat watching him sing most of the songs from Grace and – well, there's no other way to put it – I fell asleep. As one whose profession has involuntarily placed him in auditoriums watching full sets from the likes of Hootie & The Blow Fish, Krokus and Michael Bolton and never shutting a weary eye, I can only shrug and attempt to rationalise why. And I blame my lack of fervour regarding Jeff Buckley on a) my age and b) his genetics.

Genetics first, please. Though precious few escape it – Rufus Wainwright alone comes to mind at the moment – there is an infamous tradition of which Frank Sinatra Jr, Julian Lennon and a growing army of newcomers like Chris Stills are painfully aware: singing sons sound like singing fathers. And while there are indeed patches on Mystery White Boy where Buckley's aggressive yelping sounds less like his father's and more like a cross between Robert Plant's and (God help him) Perry Farrell's, these sections come less often than they would have to signify any sort of unique vocal talent. Midway through album opener 'Dream Brother' one can hear such a yelp, and it momentarily startles – until one thinks a) he would've ruined his voice if he kept singing like that, and b) his father did this sort of thing so much less self-consciously on Starsailor. Even more troublesome for one apparently intent on not following his father's footsteps: the song itself must of course be related to 'Dream Letter', Tim Buckley's extremely moving Happy/Sad track – addressed to a former lover regarding the son they conceived that he would rarely see.

What I remember most from that night in my plush chair in Hollywood was watching a young man conspicuously caught between the clichéd rock and a hard place. When he sang in his natural, high voice, he could not help but sound like the fresh-faced father-to-be who recorded the likes of 'I Can't See You' and 'Aren't You The Girl' in 1966. And when he attempted the vocalese at which his father excelled, perhaps more than any other pop singer of his generation, he was too nasal, lacking the deep bass that would make such songs as 'Lorca' so eerie, sounding forced and not quite there when trying for the chimplike vocal acrobatics that seared throughout Starsailor.

Much of what I saw then is what I hear now on Mystery White Boy,though it must be said that the bands sounds better than I recall – guitarist/ producer Michael Tighe burns throughout, thankfully (for Buckley's sake, if not ours) not sounding like Tim Buckley's long-time cohort Lee Underwood, while the rhythm section of bassist Mick Grandahl and drummer Matt Johnson provides thump-solid bottom on nearly every song. Still, rather than displaying a young singer at the height of his powers, most of this album focuses your attention elsewhere – via the cover versions, on better writers like Leonard Cohen, Big Star or Morrissey/Marr. Not to mention 'The Man That Got Away', once sung by Judy Garland – whose singing daughter, need I add, is not irrelevant here either. And were it possible to forget that Jeff Buckley's father ever existed, such songs as the newly unveiled 'What Will You Say' bear lyrics that make forgetting exceedingly difficult: "Father, do you hear me? Do you know me? Do you even care?"

In the end, fully enjoying the art of Jeff Buckley may simply be a matter of age. Those who have never enjoyed the legacy of his father – never watched his career soar, crash and burn, in real time and not via a stack of CD reissues – can hear the younger singer in ways in which I will never be able. Which is not a bad thing. Because, frankly, along time ago, if someone had pulled out a copy of Fred Neil's Sessions and played it for me, maybe I wouldn't have spent that better part of my adolescence raving about the unadulterated genius and uniqueness of Tim Buckley. And maybe, once again, I would have missed something.

#jeff buckley #jeffbuckley #Jeff Buckley: Mystery White Boy (Columbia)#Dave DiMartino #MOJO #June 2000

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merzbow · 4 years ago

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putting all the disappointing but not surprising stuff here just to archive it

Roberta: And I remember one particular thing that... I've never said this in an interview before, because, you know, it could keep me from work, from getting work, for saying this. But I think now is the time to speak out against injustice. At the time we were on tour with Metallica, and James [Hetfield], Slash and Axl were talking. I remember passing them in... I don’t remember where it was, but it was some outdoor venue, and they were in an area and I had to pass them to get to my dressing room. And I heard James say about Ice T - because Ice T was supposed to join us on the tour – and he said, “I don’t wanna share my stage with a n-word.” And I was like, “What did he say?!” - you know, like, I couldn’t believe my ears. And Axl was just like, you know, “It’s my show” – I don’t remember what he said, I mean that was such a long time ago and I think my whole brain was clouded with such anger that I just kind of blacked out, you know, I just saw red.

Brando: I understand. Did he say “that...”, or did he say “a...”?

Roberta: “I’m not sharing my stage with a... n-word.”

original post with some more information from the 2020 interview with Roberta Freeman, and the short clip of the small transcript above.

How come you don't like rap, then?

"Rap is just to me very annoying. Bunk Bunk y'know like wow, f– man. It really strikes something in my head that I've just got to get away from. Just the fact that it's extra-black too – blacks, y'know, we want everything, we deserve it, give it to us, you f–ed us this and that, and that kind of shit. It's all me me me and my name in this song, y'know …?"

Ironic that, James Hetfield hates rap for the same reason many people hate Metal – because he knows f– all about it.

1992 NME interview.

Last year in Britain’s ‘New Musical Express,’ you described rap music as “extra-black” and said that it was “all me me me and my name in this song.” How about elaborating on that? They say a lot of “I’m this, I’m doin’ this, you gotta do this with me.” It’s not my cup of tea. Some of the stuff, like Body Count, our fans like it because there’s aggression there. I love that part of it. But the “Cop Killer” thing, kill whitey – I mean, what the fuck? I don’t dig it.

Some of it makes me think that they just want shock value. They want people to pay attention. It reminds me of some of the death metal, the Slayer thing with Satan and tear-your-baby-up. Like going out and shooting cops. Hopefully, no one’s going to go out and do either.

People like it, it’s fine. Whatever blows your skirt up, as my dad would say. It just don’t blow mine up.

1993 Rolling Stones interview.

"It's a joke, right?" James Hetfield is asking about Perry Farrell and Ice-T's cover of "Don't Call Me N——, Whitey" by Sly Stone. "'Cause that Perry guy is pretty open minded."

The subject came up when I asked Hetfield about a "rap" he once recorded with lyrics that you'd never accuse of being open-minded. "Rap was just starting, and I did a parody that had the N word—but you can't say n—— especially whitey." The title of the rap was simply "N——". So the lyricist, singer, and riffmeister who accounts for 60 percent of Metallica's sound is a bigot, is that it? Not exactly. After all, Lloyd Grant, Metallica's original lead guitarist before Dave Mustaine, was black.

But Hetfield is definitely, along with hunting partner Jim Martin (Faith No More), a would-be good ol' boy, a... "Go ahead and say it," he roars. "Redneck!!" With his thick build, squeezed into jeans and cowboy boots, he certaintly looks it. That his father was a Nebraska-born trucker since retired to Arkansas gives the image legitimacy—as does Hetfield's own interest in Lynyrd Skynyrd and hunting. Hetfield himself is animal-like—what you'd call a bear of a man if the blond Fu Manchu mustache didn't lend his face a leonine look.

I was warned he'd kill me if I asked him about the rap—or about the bowie knife his father passed on to him which had allegedly been used to kill a black man. He does freak when I bring up the knife ("That's not true!" he stammers unconvincingly), but otherwise he's disarmingly friendly and surprisingly open about his love of "titty bars" and the epic Jägermeister binge that almost killed him and Ulrich.

1991 Spin magazine interview.

here’s the actual video of James saying the n-slur in 1992 or so.

“It wasn’t just irate husbands and boyfriends that James was falling foul of. Alcohol brought out the dark, mouthy Mr Hyde to his more usual monosyllabic Dr Jekyll. On a flying visit to London that summer, he had revealed to Kerrang! designer Krusher Joule just how black his drinking could make him: ...” “Later, after the pub closed, we were walking back to my flat across this park and James started going on about “people coming to our country and taking our jobs.”

above excerpt from the Enter Night: Metallica, the Biography, by Mick Wall. provided by @jaymzhetfield (thank you!)

although metallica changed it to “killer kid” in the studio recording of their killing time cover, james would sing the original lyrics “like a n—— kid” (which are the original racist lyrics sweet savage wrote) in late 90s live performances of killing time. he does so here, in 1998 (time stamps: 1:58 and 2:54).

and i’m sure you’ve all seen it before since it’s always included in those “funny metallica compilation” videos that are popular, you know, the racist “you don’t know kung-fu” “joke” james made while putting on a shitty “asian” accent and doing racist “squinty” eyes gestures in like 2003/2004. white metallica stans quote it all the time as if it’s not 1) lame 2) racist. it’s not funny. no one is laughing.

#put the quotes in text so this is more accessible.#i update this post whenever new information comes up. like i said. this is for archival purposes.#thank you roberta for speaking out about this.#james #james hetfield #metallica #racism #antiblackness

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justastupidlamb · 4 years ago

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ranking the twilight soundtracks ~ Twilight (2008)

#1 Flightless Bird, American Mouth by Iron & Wine: 1000000/10. moment of silence for the beauty of this song. ok let us proceed...

#2 Supermassive Black Hole by Muse: this song BANGS HARD and totally transformed the baseball scene. 10/10

#3 Eyes on Fire by Blue Foundation: the guitar, the breathiness, the lyrics-- chef's KISSSS. mwah! 10/10

#4 Full Moon by The Black Ghosts: this song is road trip perfection. there literally could not have been a better sound to introduce us to Forks, WA. 10/10

#5 Spotlight by Mutemath: PERFECT for the scene. watching edward cullen walk into school with his raybans on to this song produced sexual awakenings for tweens all over the world. you know what i mean. 10/10

#6 Decode by Paramore: banger period. the way hayley williams sings "here" in the chorus *chef's kiss*. if u haven't sung along to this one u haven't lived. dope music video as well. 10/10

#7 Go All the Way by Perry Farrell: i describe this song as "weird pop"- in the best way. if this had been a generic pop song instead the prom scene would not have fit with the rest of the movie. the chorus provides a nice nod to the movie as well. 10/10

#8 Tremble For My Beloved by Collective Soul: great song with a slightly off kilter intro that fits the movie perfectly. 10/10

#9 Never Think by Robert Pattinson: we derved more RB on the other soundtracks. if anyone else sang it, it would rank low but it's OUR BOY. 10/10

#10 Bella's Lullaby by Carter Burwell: this could've ended up so bad, but instead was such a gift. great song for twerking, check that out on tiktok if u haven't already. 10/10

#11 I Caught Myself by Paramore: overall pretty good, but bangs less than Decode by a mile. i don't love it, but i respect it. 7/10

#12 Leave Out All the Rest by Linkin Park: doesn't hit quite as hard as the others. recommend skipping this one and going on to the next. but, it does give u those angsty teenage vibes so it's not a complete flop. 5/10

#overall one of the BEST SOUNDTRACKS OF ALL TIME #and thats that on that #twilight #twilight renaissance #catherine hardwicke #twilight saga #twilight revival #twilightenment #twilight soundtrack #edward cullen #bella swan #new moon #eclipse #breaking dawn

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papermoonloveslucy · 4 years ago

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THE BOB HOPE SHOW

May 3, 1949

“The Bob Hope Show” ~ After a dozen years as “The Pepsodent Show”, Pepsodent pulled its sponsorship in June 1948. Despite cancellation, Hope still continued on radio. Lever Brothers' Swan soap began sponsoring the show, which premiered on September 14, 1948 on NBC. Doris Day was the only one of Hope's former co-stars to continued to perform on the new show. Airing Tuesdays at 9, the program was at direct competition with the new sitcom “Life with Luigi”, which aired at the same time on CBS. “Life with Luigi” proved to be the season's new hit, crushing “The Bob Hope Show” in the ratings. Like Pepsodent before, due to the poor ratings, Swan pulled its sponsorship in 1950. The last Swan-sponsored episode of the program aired on June 13. On October 3, 1950 “The Bob Hope Show” premiered under the sponsorship of Chesterfield cigarettes. Over the next five years, it aired under various sponsors, including Jell-O and General Foods, in various timeslots until its final episode aired on April 21, 1955.

CAST

Bob Hope made his radio debut on NBC in May 1937. He became a top-rated fixture on Tuesday nights with his theme song, "Thanks for the Memories". His legendary broadcasts from military bases around the world helped boost American morale during the dark days of World War II. Over the years, his radio regulars included Jerry Colonna, Brenda and Cobina, Vera Vague, Wendall Niles, and orchestras led by Skinnay Ennis and Les Brown. Featured singers on the show included Judy Garland, Frances Langford, Doris Day, and Gloria Jean. Hope's radio career lasted well into the mid-1950s. By then, he had become a major movie and television star doing four films, and numerous television programs with Lucille Ball. He died on July 29, 2003, at the age of 100.

Lucille Ball was then a film star with her own weekly radio show, “My Favorite Husband”, which had just aired “Vacation Time” on April 29, 1949. Her new film with Bob Hope, Sorrowful Jones, would premiere in June 1949. In February 1949 she had made her first national TV appearance on “Perry Como’s Kraft Music Hall”, quickly followed by an episode of “The Milton Berle Show.”

Doris Day began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey" and "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" with Les Brown & His Band of Renown. She left Brown to embark on a solo career and recorded more than 650 songs from 1947 to 1967. Day was one of the biggest film stars in the 1950s and '60s. Surprisingly, Lucille Ball never acted opposite Doris Day in films or television, but she did interview her for her CBS radio show “Let’s Talk To Lucy” #144 on March 22, 1965. She died in 2019 at age 97.

Irene Ryan is the least remembered of Bob Hope’s female stooges. Her mousy Miss Ryan character told Hope week after week that she was, “Feeling about as well as could be expected,” before launching into a string of hypochondriac jokes. Irene Noblette and husband Tim Ryan went into radio in 1933 after a vaudeville and minor movie career. They kept busy in radio for ten years, four of them as stars of their own shows, including 1937's Royal Crown Revue. After their divorce in 1943, Irene kept the Ryan name and worked in some 20 low budget movie comedies and shorts plus occasional radio roles. While with Hope’s troupe she continued her screen work and drifted into occasional television roles in the 1950's. In 1962, at age 60 and ready to retire as a relative unknown, Irene Ryan was cast as “Granny” Daisy Mae Moses in a new television sitcom, “The Beverly Hillbillies”. The show was an immediate hit that endured for nine seasons on CBS-TV. In 1972, when she was 70, she co-starred on Broadway in the musical hit Pippin. She collapsed on stage a year later and died of a stroke, leaving a million dollars to the Irene Ryan Foundation which provides scholarships to collegiate acting students.

Bill Farrell was first spotted by Bob Hope in a night club in Buffalo, New York in 1947. Hope was impressed with Farrell's powerful baritone voice and smooth delivery and he invited Farrell to Hollywood. Hope featured him on his weekly radio show. In 1949 Farrell enjoyed a minor hit with his recording of "Circus" which reached #26 in the Billboard charts.

The Four Hits and A Miss consisted of four male singers and one female (thus the word "miss" in their name has a double meaning). They were variously known as Three Hits and A Miss, and even Six Hits and a Miss, as members came and went, mainly due to wartime service. They performed musical numbers in several Hollywood films of the 1940s.

The New Les Brown Band performed with Bob Hope on radio, stage and television for almost fifty years. They did 18 USO Tours, and entertained over three million people. The first film that Brown and the band appeared in was Seven Days' Leave (1942) starring Victor Mature and Lucille Ball.

Hy Averback (Announcer) played Charlie Appleby on “I Love Lucy” in “Baby Pictures” (ILL S3;E5), although the character would be re-cast with George O'Hanlon in season six. He played another Charlie, Charlie Pomerantz, in “The Hedda Hopper Story” (ILL S4;E21) on March 14, 1955. Averback transitioned from acting to directing, becoming Emmy nominated for “M*A*S*H.”

EPISODE

Bob Hope’s opening monologue includes top news of the day, including:

Russia starting to advertise on billboards.

Bob Hope’s return from his whirlwind tour.

Hope and Averback promote the “Swan CARE Campaign” delivering Swan Soap to needy children in Europe.

Doris Day sings “Havin’ a Wonderful Wish” from Sorrowful Jones.

Doris Day and Hope reminisce about a party at Bob's house, given for the crew of the flight that shuttled Hope on his whirlwind tour. They talk about the food and Hope’s serving small portions. Miss Ryan interrupts their chat. She was also at the party, briefly. She had to leave early due to her bad back. She talks about the fundraising efforts of her club and why she has remained single for so long.

Averback and Hope make another pitch for the “Swan CARE Campaign”.

Bill Farrell sings “Careless Hands”.

Hope introduces “his favorite redhead” - Lucille Ball - and they discuss their new movie, Sorrowful Jones. He admires her hair.

BOB: “If you get together with ‘The Boy with Green Hair’ you’d make a terrific traffic signal!”

He thanks her for not making a crack about his nose. She says she appreciated it.

LUCY: “It was such an easy place to hang my coat every morning.”

Lucy says she loved working at Paramount and hopes that they make another picture together soon. He asks her about “My Favorite Husband” on ‘that other network’. She says that her show has great ratings. She tells him the premise of the show.

He compares her domestic situation on radio with the couples he he has seen in films, like Kentucky (1938), a Romeo and Juliet story set amidst horse racing in Kentucky. They launch into a sketch playing Ma and Pa.

PA: “A-Okay, Ma. Get the children in the house and we’ll eat.” MA: “Alright, I’ll get Elam, Rufus, Walter, Albert, Effie Mae, Janie, Betty Lou, Charles, Si, Jack, Fred, George, Ellie, Billy, Clarence, Hiram, Helen, and Jean.” PA: “And I’ll get John, Harvey, Cletus, Zeke, Daniel Boone, Judy, Joan, Nancy, Carolyn, Birdie, Eleanor, Little Daisy, Sam, Kate, Tom, Abner, and Teddy.” MA: “Well, that takes care of the twins. Who’ll get the single ones?”

Hope says another interesting husband and wife is a Brooklyn cab driver and his wife. The band plays “The Sidewalks of New York”. Hope and Ball do Brooklyn accents for their characters.

In closing, as usual, Hope sings “Thank for the Memory” with special lyrics about the episode, including the Swan Soap CARE Campaign.

#Bob Hope #Lucille Ball #Swan Soap #Irene Ryan #Doris Day #Sorrowful Jones #bill farrell #Hy Averback #Les Brown #radio #NBC

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flowerslut · 5 years ago

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TWILIGHT

an updated, slightly more modern take on the original soundtrack.

note: I’ve been casually working on this playlist series for most of the year, analyzing thousands of songs, and then sorting through hundreds after that. I mainly focused on finding modern, beat-for-beat replacements of each song, with exceptions here and there. This has been tons of fun and I hope you enjoy! (I’ll be posting New Moon’s playlist later this week.)

(NEW MOON) (ECLIPSE) (BREAKING DAWN)

spotify link

[track list and commentary under the cut:]

Supermassive Black Hole — Muse ➼ ➼ ➼ Machine — Imagine Dragons

Machine was the only song I even considered for this. There aren’t many songs that you can hear and think “vampire baseball”, but I think Machine is one of them. And let’s be real, if Imagine Dragons had been putting out music between 2008-12, they would’ve absolutely ended up on one of these soundtracks.

Decode — Paramore ➼ ➼ ➼ Out of My Head — Digital Daggers

Decode was easily the most difficult song to duplicate on this soundtrack, and probably on all five of them put together. I’m still not 100% content with this choice, but it was still the best contender. (It was between Out of My Head and seven other songs.) Decode is an impossible song to duplicate, but Digital Daggers has the high energy rock-like, ‘fuck with me’ attitude to their music that late aughties Paramore encapsulated.

Full Moon — The Black Ghosts ➼ ➼ ➼ Free at Dawn — Small Black

This replacement speaks for itself once you give it a listen. Just visualize panning over those foggy mountains as you listen to Free at Dawn. Go ahead. It just works.

Leave Out All The Rest — Linkin Park ➼ ➼ ➼ One More Light — Linkin Park

Okay, listen. Even if I had wanted to I would’ve never been able to replace with Linkin Park with anything other than Linkin Park. Call me a sentimental fool, but I’m still sore over Chester’s passing. I don’t care if it’s too sad of a song. I don’t care if, lyrically, it doesn’t really work. This was my #selfishchoice of the soundtrack. Linkin Park stays.

Spotlight — Mutemath ➼ ➼ ➼ The Deadroads — The Rural Alberta Advantage

Fun upbeat poppy guitar strumming? Sign us the fuck up. Another song that just works.

Go All the Way (Into the Twilight) — Perry Farrell ➼ ➼ ➼ Bright Whites — Kishi Bashi

No offense, Perry Farrell, but I never liked Go All the Way. It was always the main one on the soundtrack that I skipped when I was younger. Now, Bright Whites? Try putting that as your soundtrack’s orchestral banger, and now we’re talking.

Tremble For My Beloved — Collective Soul ➼ ➼ ➼ Song For Zula — Phosphorescent

Both songs here have a great otherworldly love song feeling to them. This was another fairly easy choice. Song For Zula is a little more upbeat and happy sounding than Tremble For My Beloved, but eh. It’s fine.

I Caught Myself — Paramore ➼ ➼ ➼ Mind over Matter (Acoustic) — PVRIS

Replacing Paramore was hard, and having to do it twice seemed like some sick joke I was playing on myself. But not many artists out there can replicate or even match the power of Hayley William’s vocals. Well, I’ve apparently been sleeping on PVRIS, because those vocals? Top tier, y’all. Once I heard Mind over Matter, it was clear it was the winner.

Eyes on Fire — Blue Foundation ➼ ➼ ➼ Unfair — The Neighbourhood

Eyes on Fire is another song nearly impossible to duplicate. I stuck with a moody The Neighbourhood instrumental to keep things dramatic without messing up the mood of that tense scene.

Never Think — Robert Pattinson ➼ ➼ ➼ I Take All the Blame — Vivek Shraya

Don’t worry. I have another Robert song on a later soundtrack replication. (I won’t tell which one.) This Tegan and Sara cover by Vivek Shraya was the obvious choice to replicate Pattinson’s acoustic hit that I still listen and fight back tears to all these years later.

Flightless Bird, American Mouth — Iron & Wine ➼ ➼ ➼ New American Classic — Taking Back Sunday

And behold, (what I believe is) the biggest change made to the soundtrack. And also an older song than anyone probably expected. (The album Where You Want To Be came out in 2004.) I tried other modern-day acoustic dudes. Sorry, but they don’t match up to Iron & Wine. (And don’t freak out about lack of Hozier, he’s coming. Be patient.) A classic was the obvious choice, and a New American Classic ended up winning this one. I think it’s perfect, but that might just be my high school emo phase acting up again. Doesn’t matter if that phase ended up overlapping with my introduction to Twilight...

Bella’s Lullaby — Carter Burwell ➼ ➼ ➼ Rêves — Nuit Pluie

Not much of a reason for this. I wanted a lullaby-esque piano melody. That’s what we’ve got with this one.

Now, a lot of the time the soundtracks for the Twilight Saga would add a song or three to their lists depending on the country, the edition, the purchase location, etc. (This is my own version of giving myself a Free Space.) For Twilight, I gift you two bonus tracks:

This Is For Keeps — The Spill Canvas

The One Fell Swoop album by The Spill Canvas was a Twilight-era staple for myself and a lot of people who were in their mid-to-late teens during Twilight’s release. I mean, listen to the song. The lyrics, the melody, the mood. It’s like the song was a collab with Stephenie Meyer herself. (And with it’s release in 2005, the same year of Twilight’s publication, who really knows...)

Monsters — Matchbook Romance

I know it’s another mid-00 song. I know this is supposed to be a ‘modern take’ on the soundtrack. I know, I get it. This song is only added just because I was really bummed about 15 Step by Radiohead being left out of the actual Twilight Soundtrack back in the day. Like, how are you going to have them play during the credits and not supply us with it on the soundtrack? So here’s a slightly-harder rock jam that, lyrically, just screams paranormal banger.

#the twilight saga #twilight soundtrack #WHEW!!!#im honestly so excited about this #this is my favorite non fan fiction project I've completed in any fandom TO DATE!!!

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paradiseforlana · 8 years ago

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Lana Del Rey’s interview for Dazed Magazine:

Courtney Love: Is this the mysterious Lana Del Rey?

Lana Del Rey: Is this the one and only Courtney Love?

Lana Del Rey: So, we could just talk about whatever... Like those burning palm trees that you had in the ‘Malibu’ video. I didn’t think they were real!

Courtney Love: Back when rock’n’roll had budget, you mean? Oh my God, Lana, setting palm trees on fire was so fun. You thought they were CGI?

LDR: Yeah.

CL: God, you’re so young. I burned down palm trees. In my day, darling, you used to have to walk to school in the snow. So, since I toured with you, I got kind of obsessed and went down this Lana rabbit hole and became – not like I’m wearing a flower crown, Lana, don’t get ideas – but I absolutely love it. I love it as much as I love PJ Harvey.

LDR: That’s amazing because, maybe it’s slightly well documented, but I love everything you do, everything you have done – I couldn’t believe that you came on the tour with me.

CL: I read that you spend a lot of time mastering and mixing. Is that true on this new record?

LDR: Oh my God, yeah, it’s killing me. It’s because I spend so much time with the engineers working on the reverb. Because I actually don’t love a glossy production. If I want a bit of that retro feel, like that spring reverb or that Elvis slap, sometimes if you send it to an outside mixer they might try and dry things up a bit and push them really hard on top of the mix so it sounds really pop. And Born to Die did have a slickness to it, but, in general, I have an aversion to things that sound glossy all over – you have to pick and choose. And some people say, ‘It’s not radio-ready if it isn’t super-shiny from top to bottom.’ But you know this. Whoever mixed your stuff is a genius. Who did it?

CL: Chris Lord-Alge and Tom Lord-Alge. Kurt was really big on mastering. He sat in every mastering session like a fiend. I never was big on mastering because it’s such a pain in the butt.

LDR: It is a pain in the ass.

CL: I think my very, very favourite song of yours – you’re not gonna like this because it’s early – is ‘Blue Jeans’. I mean, ‘You’re so fresh to death and sick as ca-cancer’? Who does that?

LDR: I have to say, that track has this guy (Del Rey collaborator) Emile Haynie all over it. I remember ‘Blue Jeans’ was more of a Chris Isaak ballad and then I went in with him and it came out sounding the way it does now. I was like, ‘That’s the power of additional production.’ The song was on the radio in the UK, on Radio 1, and I remember thinking, ‘Fuck, that started off as a classical composition riff that I got from my composer friend, Dan Heath.’ It was, like, six chords that I started singing on.

CL: You have that lyric (on the song), ‘You were sorta punk rock, I grew up on hip hop.’ Did you really grow up on hip hop?

LDR: I didn’t find any good music until I was right out of high school, and I think that was just because, coming from the north country, we got country, we got NPR, and we got MTV.

CL: What I hear in your music is that you’ve created a world, you’ve created a persona, and you’ve created this kind of enigma that I never created but if I could go back I would create.

LDR: Are you even being serious right now? I don’t even know if your legacy could get any bigger. You’re one of the only people I know whose legacy precedes them. Just the name ‘Courtney Love’ is… You’re big, honey. You’re Hollywood. (laughs) Touring with Courtney Love (was), like, an Elizabeth Taylor diamond (for me).

CL: You know, I met Elizabeth Taylor. I was with Carrie Fisher at (Taylor’s) Easter party and she was taking six hours to come downstairs.

LDR: I love it.

CL: I looked at Carrie and I said, ‘This is not worth it,’ and Carrie said, ‘Oh, yes it is.’ So we snuck upstairs and, Lana, when you go past the Warhol of Elizabeth Taylor as you’re sneaking up the stairs and it says ‘001’, you start getting goosebumps. And then you see her room and it’s all lavender, like her eyes. And she’s in the bathroom getting her hair done by this guy named José Eber who wears a cowboy hat and has long hair, and I’m like, ‘What am I doing here? I’m not Hollywood royalty.’ And the first words out of her mouth are, like, ‘Fuck you, Carrie, how ya doin’?’ She was so salty but such a goddess at the same time.

LDR: She was so salty. The fact that she married Richard Burton twice – and all the stories you hear about those famous, crazy, public brawls – she was just up for it. Up for the trouble.

“What I hear in your music is that you’ve created a world, you’ve created a persona, and you’ve created this kind of enigma that I never did’’ — Courtney Love to Lana Del Rey

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CL: You know what, darling? I started real early. I started stalking Andy Warhol before I could even think about it. And you kind of did the same, from my understanding. That ‘I want to make it’ thing. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

LDR: No, there’s not. There’s nothing wrong with it when you do the rest of it for the right reasons. If music is really in your blood and you don’t want to do anything else and you don’t really care about the money until later. It’s also about the vibe, not to be cliched. And the people. I think we had that in common. It was about wanting to go to shows, wanting to have your own show – living, breathing, eating, all of it.

CL: Can I ask you about your time in New Jersey? Was that a soul-searching time?

LDR: Oh, I don’t even know if I should have said to anyone that I was living in that trailer in New Jersey but, stupidly, I did this interview from the trailer, in 2008.

CL: I saw it!

LDR: It’s cringey, it’s cringey. (laughs)

CL: You look so cute, though.

LDR: I thought I was rockabilly. I was platinum. I thought I had made it in my own way.

CL: I understand completely.

LDR: The one thing I wish I’d done was go to LA instead of New York. I had been playing around for maybe four years, just open mics, and I got a contract with this indie label called 5 Points Records in 2007. They gave me $10,000 and I found this trailer in New Jersey, across the Hudson - Bergen Light Rail. So, I moved there, I finished school and I made that record (Lana Del Ray a.k.a. Lizzy Grant), which was shelved for two and a half years, and then came out for, like, three months. But I was proud of myself. I felt like I had arrived, in my own way. I had my own thought and it was kind of kitschy and I knew it was going to sort of influence what I was doing next. It was definitely a phase. (laughs)

CL: But you have records about being a ‘Brooklyn Baby’. You can write about New York adeptly and I cannot. I tried to write a song about a tragic girl in New York, going down Bleecker Street – this girl couldn’t afford Bleecker Street, so the song made no sense, right? (laughs) I did my time there, but it chased me away. I couldn’t do it because I wouldn’t go solo. I had to have a band.

LDR: I wanted a band so badly. I feel like I wouldn’t have had some of the stage fright I had when I started playing bigger shows if (I had) a real group and we were in it together. I really wanted that camaraderie. I actually didn’t even find that until a couple of years ago, I would say. I’ve been with my band for six years and they’re great, but I wished I had people – I fantasised about Laurel Canyon.

CL: I wanted the camaraderie. The alternative bands in my neighbourhood were the (Red Hot Chili) Peppers and Jane’s (Addiction). I knew Perry (Farrell, Jane’s Addiction frontman) and I went to high school for, like, ten seconds with two Peppers and a guy named Romeo Blue who became Lenny Kravitz. I remember being an extra in a Ramones video and he stopped by, when he was dating Lisa Bonet from The Cosby Show and it was a big deal.

LDR: See? You didn’t really see that in New York. When I got there, The Strokes had had a moment, but that was kind of it. LA has always been the epicentre of music, I feel.

CL: LA is easier. People have garages. And then as you go up the coast, in Washington and Oregon people have bigger houses and bigger garages, and people have parents. I didn’t have parents, and you – well, you had parents, but you were on your own.

LDR: Yeah. You know that song of yours (‘Awful’) that says, ‘(Just shut up,) you’re only 16’? I think there are different types of people. There are people who heard, ‘What do you know? You’re just a kid,’ and then there are people who got a lot of support (from the line), like, ‘Go for it, go for your dreams.’ (laughs) And I think when you don’t have that, you get kind of stuck at a certain age. Randomly, in the last few years, I feel like I’ve grown up. Maybe I’ve just had time to think about everything, process everything. I’ve gotten to move on and think about how it feels now, singing songs I wrote ten years ago. It does feel different. I was almost reliving those feelings on stage until recently. It’s weird listening back to my stuff. Today, I was watching some of your old videos and this footage of you playing a big festival. The crowd was just girls – just young girls for rows and rows. I was reminded of how vast that influence was on teenagers. And – going back to enigma and fame and legacy – you know, those girls who have grown up and girls who are 16 now, they relate to you in the exact same way as they did right when you started. And that’s the power of your craft. You’re one of my favourite writers.

CL: You’re one of mine, so, checkmate. (laughs)

LDR: What you did was the epitome of cool. And there’s a lot of different music going on, but adolescents still know when something comes authentically from somebody’s heart. It might not be the song that sells the most, but when people hear it, they know it. Are you a John Lennon fan?

CL: When I hear ‘Working Class Hero’, it’s a song I wish to God I could write. I wouldn’t ever cover it. I mean, Marianne Faithfull covered it beautifully, but I would never cover it because I think Marianne did a great job and that’s all that needs to be said.

LDR: I felt that way when I covered ‘Chelsea Hotel (#2)’, the Leonard Cohen song, but when I was doing more acoustic shows, I couldn’t not do it.

CL: I don’t have your range. I’ve tried to sing along to ‘Brooklyn Baby’ and ‘Dark Paradise’ and this new one, ‘Love’. You go high, baby.

LDR: I’ve got some good low ones for you. You know what would be good, is that song, ‘Ride’. I don’t sing it in its right octave during the shows because it’s too low for me. But I’ve been thinking about doing something with you for a little while now. Then after we did the Endless Summer tour, we were thinking we should at least write, or we should just do whatever and maybe you could come down to the studio and just see what came out.

CL: When we were on tour, our pre-show chats were very productive for me.

LDR: Me too. That was a real moment of me counting my blessings. I just wanted to stay in every single moment and remember all of it, because it was so amazing.

CL: Likewise. It was really fun coming into your room. My favourite part of the tour was in Portland, getting you vinyl that I felt you needed. (laughs)

LDR: When you left the room, I was just running my hand over all the vinyl like little gems, like, ‘I can’t believe I have these (records) that Courtney gave to me, it’s so fucking amazing.’ And we were in Portland, too. It felt surreal.

CL: Yeah, I don’t like going there much but I went there with you. We have this in common, too: we both ran away to Britain. If I could live anywhere in the world, I’d live in London.

LDR: If I could live anywhere in the world other than LA, I’d live in London. In the back of my mind, I always feel like I could maybe end up there.

CL: I know I’m going to end up there. I know what neighbourhood I’m going to end up in, and I know that I want to be on the Thames. I subscribe to this magazine called Country Life which is just real-estate porn and fox hunting. It’s amazing. OK, so, if you weren’t doing you, what would you do?

LDR: You take ‘red’. I’ll trade for ‘whore’. I’m so lucky.

CL: I love this new song (‘Love’).

LDR: Thank you. I love the new song, too. I’m glad it’s the first thing out. It doesn’t sound that retro, but I was listening to a lot of Shangri-Las and wanted to go back to a bigger, more mid-tempo, single-y sound. The last 16 months, things were kind of crazy in the US, and in London when I was there. I was just feeling like I wanted a song that made me feel a little more positive when I sang it. And there’s an album that’s gonna come out in the spring called Lust for Life. I did something I haven’t ever done, which is not that big of a deal, but I have a couple of collabs on this record. Speaking of John Lennon, I have a song with Sean Lennon. Do you know him?

CL: I do, I like him.

LDR: It’s called ‘Tomorrow Never Came’. I don’t know if you’ve ever felt this way, but when I wrote it I felt like it wasn’t really for me. I kept on thinking about who this song was for or who could do it with me, and then I realised that he would be a good person. I didn’t know if I should ask him because I actually have a line in it where I say, ‘I wish we could go back to your country house and put on the radio and listen to our favourite song by Lennon and Yoko.’ I didn’t want him to think I was asking him because I was namechecking them. Actually, I had listened to his records over the years and I did think it was his vibe, so I played it for him and he liked it. He rewrote his verse and had extensive notes, down to the mix. And that was the last thing I did, decision-wise. I haven’t mixed the record, but the fact that ‘Love’ just came out and Sean kind of finished up the record, it felt very meant-to-be. Because that whole concept of peace and love really is in his veins and in his family. Then, I also have Abel (Tesfaye), The Weeknd. He is actually on the title track of the record, ‘Lust for Life’. Maybe that’s kind of weird to have a feature on the title track, but I really love that song and we had said for a while that we were gonna do something; I did stuff on his last two records.

CL: Do you have a singular producer or several producers?

LDR: Rick Nowels. He actually did stuff with Stevie Nicks a while ago. He works really well with women. I did the last few records with him. Even with Ultraviolence which I did with Dan (Auerbach), I did the record first with Rick, and then I went to Nashville and reworked the sound with Dan. So, yeah, Rick Nowels is amazing, and these two engineers – with all the records that I’ve worked on with Rick, they did a lot of the production as well. You would love these two guys. They’re just super-innovative. I wanted a bit of a sci-fi f lair for some of the stuff and they had some really cool production ideas. But yeah, that’s pretty much it. I mean, Max Martin –

CL: Wait, you wrote with Max Martin? You went to the compound?

LDR: Have you been there?

CL: No. I’ve always wanted to work with Max Martin.

LDR: So basically, ‘Lust for Life’ was the first song I wrote for the record, but it was kind of a Rubik’s Cube. I felt like it was a big song but... it wasn’t right. I don’t usually go back and re-edit things that much, because the songs end up sort of being what they are, but this one song I kept going back to. I really liked the title. I liked the verse. John Janick was like, ‘Why don’t we just go over and see what Max Martin thinks?’ So, I flew to Sweden and showed him the song. He said that he felt really strongly that the best part was the verse and that he wanted to hear it more than once, so I should think about making it the chorus. So I went back to Rick Nowels’ place the next day and I was like, ‘Let’s try and make the verse the chorus,’ and we did, and it sounded perfect. That’s when I felt like I really wanted to hear Abel sing the chorus, so he came down and rewrote a little bit of it. But then I was feeling like it was missing a little bit of the Shangri-Las element, so I went back for a fourth time and layered it up with harmonies. Now I’m finally happy with it. (laughs) But we should do something. Like, soon.

CL: I would like that. That would be awesome.

Lust for Life is out this spring.

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un-enfant-immature · 6 years ago

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Pandora Stories launches, combining music and podcasting in a new format

In an effort to one-up Spotify and Apple Music, Pandora this morning announced the launch of a new marketing tool for artists, called Pandora Stories. The feature allows artists to build music playlists combined with voice tracks, where they can add a narrative and deeper insights – explaining, for example, what a song means for them, what inspired their music, the story behind the music, or anything else they want to add. When listeners then play these Pandora Stories playlists, they get to hear both the music and the storytelling, interspersed.

The feature may not be only adopted by musicians, notes Pandora.

The company believes Pandora Stories may appeal to others who want to create music-driven stories, like actors, filmmakers, athletes, celebs, authors, podcasters, and thought leaders. This will be possible because the feature provides access to Pandora’s catalog of fully-licensed songs to use in Stories, the company says.

At launch, the first Pandora Stories include:

John Legend’s Glorious Journey

Pasito a Pasito Con Daddy Yankee

Lauren Alaina is Doin’ Just Fine

Perry Farrell’s Ocean-Sized Tales

Brooklyn Soul with Tommy Brenneck

The Music of Wes Anderson with Randall Poster

Love Songs That Aren’t Really Love Songs

The last one is more of an example of how the new format could be used for storytelling, rather than one that focuses on a single artist. Future Stories are planned with 2 Chainz, Rob Thomas, and others.

The feature is rolling out as an addition to Pandora’s Artist Marketing Platform, Pandora’s suite of free, self-serve tools that help artists promote their songs, albums and podcasts. The platform has generated over 3 billion listener impressions to date, Pandora claims.

However, creators interested in using the feature will need to submit a form to receive access to the Pandora Stories tools, which implies a level of vetting is in place. (The company says any stories by these creators are reviewed by Pandora before they’re run.)

All users will be able to stream Pandora Stories, though some will have to watch an ad to do so. Premium subscribers can listen to Pandora Stories ad-free, while Pandora’s ad-supported and Plus listeners can listen by way of Premium Access, after viewing a 30-second ad.

Users will be able discover Pandora Stories using Search – the same way you’d look for one of Pandora’s standard curated playlists. The Stories may also be recommended to listeners through the Featured Playlists module in Browse.

To some extent, Spotify offers a behind-the-scenes look into some music, through its Genius-powered “Behind the Lyrics” feature, but that’s more passive. However, Spotify also offers a number of video shows focused on musicians and artists. But neither of these are a direct comparison with Pandora Stories.

Instead, the idea for Pandora Stories is meant to capitalize on listeners’ growing interest in streaming podcasts, by offering them access to voice-based stories with a different twist. Instead of having the podcaster discuss the music or interview an artist, the new format allows the artist to do that, directly.

“Podcasts can tell stories about music, but it’s difficult to include full songs, and regular playlists have songs but lack personal context from the artists behind them,” said Jeff Zuchowski, Pandora’s VP of Artist Marketing and Industry Relations, in a statement. “We’ve created Pandora Stories to fill that void, bringing together the greatest strengths of both podcasts and playlists, and giving artists the opportunity to connect with listeners on a uniquely deep and personal level,” he added.

#TechCrunch

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wacco-archive · 8 years ago

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Full Transcription: Lana and Courtney Dazed Interview

LDR: So, we could talk just talk about whatever...like those burning palm trees that you had in the 'Malibu' video. I didn't think they were real!

CL: Back when rock'n'roll has a budget, you mean? oh my God, Lana, setting palm trees on fire was so fun. You thought they were CGI?

LDR: Yeah.

CL: God you're so young. I burned down palm trees. In my day darling you used to have to walk to school in the snow. So since I toured with you I kind of got obsessed and went down this Lana rabbit hole and became - not like I'm wearing a flower crown, Lana don't get me wrong - but I absolutely love it. I love it as much as I love PJ Harvey.

LDR: That's amazing because maybe it's slightly well documented but I love everything you do, everything you have done - I couldn't believe that you came on tour with me.

CL: I read that you spend a lot of time mastering and mixing - is this true on the new record? LDR: Oh my god yeah, it's killing me. It's because I spend so much time with the engineers working on the reverb. I actually don't love a glossy production. If I want a bit of that retro feel, like that spring reverb or that Elvis slap, sometimes if you send it to an outside mixer they might try and dry things up a bit and push them really hard on top of the mix so it sounds really pop. And Born to Die did have a slickness to it but in general I have an aversion to things that sound glossy all over - you have to pick and choose. And some people say 'it's not radio ready if it isn't super shiny from top to bottom'. But you know this. Whoever mixed your stuff is a genius. Who did it? CL: Chris Lord-Alge and Tom Lord-Alge. Kurt was really big on mastering. He sat in every mastering session like a fiend. I never was big on mastering because it's such a pain in the butt.

LDR: It is a pain in the ass.

CL: I think my very very favourite song of yours - you're not gonna like this because it's early - is 'Blue Jeans'. I mean 'You're so fresh to death and sick as ca-cancer?' Who does that? LDR: I have to say that track has this guy (Del Rey Collaborater) Emile Haynie all over it. I remember 'Blue Jeans' was more of a Chris Isaak ballad and then I went in with him and it came out sounding the way it does now. I was like 'that's the power of production.' The song was in the radio in the UK on Radio 1 and I remember thinking 'F*ck, that started off as a classical composition riff that I got from my composer friend Dan Heath.' It was like six chords that I started singing on.

CL: You have that lyric 'You were sorta punk rock, I grew up on hip-hop.' DId you really grow up on hip-hop?

LDR: I didn't find any good music until I was right out of high school, coming from the north country, we got country, we got NPR and we got MTV. So Eminem was my version of hip-hop until I was 18. Then mayb I found A Tribe Called Quest.

CL: Have you met Marshall Mathers? LDR: No. Sometimes he namechecks me in his songs. I called the head of my label (Interscope CEO) John Janick and I was like 'OK in this last song (Big Sean's "No Favors") when Eminem says 'I'm about to run over a chick, Del Rey CD in". Did he mean he wanted to run me over or was he listening to me while he ran someone over?'. And John was like, 'No, no he was listening to you while he ran someone over' and I was 'Ok, cool.'

CL: You got namechecked by Eminem? oh my god that is a jewel in the crown.

LDR: Just a little ruby.

CL: Yeah, it's not really a diamond, but it's a ruby.

LDR: Not like touring with Courtney Love. That's like an Elizabeth Taylor diamond.

CL: You know, I met Elizabeth Taylor. I was with Carrie FIsher at Taylor's easter party and she was taking six hours to come downstairs.

LDR: I love it.

CL: I looked at Carrie and said 'This is not worth it,' and Carrie said, 'Oh yes it is.' So we snuck upstairs and, Lana, when you go past the Warhol of Elizabeth Taylor as you're sneaking up the stairs and it says '001' you start getting goosebumps. And then you see her room and it's all lavender like her eyes. And she's in the bathroom getting her hair done by this guy named Jose Eber who wears a cowboy hat and has long hair and I'm like 'What am I doing here? I'm not Hollywood royalty. And the first words out of her mouth are like, 'F*ck you, Carrie, how ya doin'?' She was so salty but such a goddess at the same time.

LDR: She was so salty. The fact that she married Richard Burton twice - and all the stories you heart about those famous, crazy, public brawls - she was just up for it. Up for the trouble.

CL: So back to you. What I hear in your music is that you've created a world, you've created a persona, and you've created this kind of enigma that I never created but if I could so back I would create.

LDR: Are you even being serious right now? I don't even know if your legacy could get any bigger. You're one of the only people I know whose legacy precedes them. Just the name Courtney Love is...You're big honey. You're Hollywood (laughs).

CL: You know what darling? I started real early. I started stalking Andy Warhol before I could even think about it. And you kind of did the same, from my understanding. That 'I want to make it' thing. And there's nothing wrong with that.

LDR: No. there's not. There's nothing wrong with it when you do it for the right reasons. If music is really in your blood and you don't want to do anything else and you dont really care about the money until later. It's also about the vibe, not tobe cliched. And the people. I think we had that in common. It was about wanting to go to shows, wanting to have your own show - living, breathing, eating, all of it.

CL: Can I ask you about your time in New York? Was that a soul searching time? LDR: Oh I don't even know if I should have said to anyone that I was living in a trailer in New Jersey but stupidly, I did this interview from the trailer, in 2008.

CL: I saw it! LDR: It's cringey, it's cringey (laughs).

CL: You look so cute though.

LDR: I thought I was a rockabilly. I was platinum. I thought I had made it in my own way.

CL: I understand completely.

LDR: The one thing I wish I'd done was go to LA instead of New York. I had been playing around for maybe 4 years, just open mics, and I got a contract with this indie label called 5 Points Records in 2007. They gave me 10,000 dollars & I found this trailer in New Jersey, across the Hudson-Begren Light Rail. So I moved there, I finished school and I made that record (LDR AKA Lizzy Grant) which was shelved for 2 and a half years and then came out for like 3 months. But I was proud of myself. I felt like I had arrived, in my own way. I had my own thought and it was kind of kitschy and I knew it was going to sort of influence what I was doing next. It was definitely a phase (laughs).

CL: But you have records about being a Brooklyn Baby. You can write about New York adeptly and I cannot. I tried to write a song about a tragic girl in New York going down Bleecker Street - this girl couldn't afford Bleecker Street so the song made no sense, right? (laughs) I did my time there, but it chased me away. I couldn't do it because I wouldn't go solo, I had to have a band.

LDR: I wanted a band so badly. I feel I wouldn't have had some of the stage fright I had when I started playing bigger shows if I had a real group and we were in it together. I really wanted that camaraderie. I actually didn't even find that until a couple of years ago, I would say. I've been with my band for 6 years and they're great, but I wished I had people - I fantasised about Laurel Canyon.

CL: I wanted the camraderie. The alternative bands in my neighborhood were the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Jane's Addiction. I knew Perry (Farrel, Janes Addiction) and I went to high school for like, ten seconds with two Peppers and a guy named Romeo Blue who became Lenny Kravitz. I remember being an extra in a Ramones video and he stopped by, when he was dating Lisa Bonet from The Cosby Show and it was a big deal.

LDR: See? You didn't really see that in New York. When I got there, The Strokes had had a moment, but that was kind of it. LA had always been the epicentre of music, I feel.

CL: LA is easier. People have garages. And then as you go up the coast, in Washington and Oregon people have bigger houses and bigger garages and people have parents. I didn't have parents. and well, you had parents, but you were on your own.

LDR: Yeah. You know that song of yours (Awful) that says, '(Just shut up) you're only 16'? I think there are different types of people. There are people who head 'What do you know, you're just a kid?' and then there are people who got a lot of support (from the line) like 'Go for it, go for your dreams.' (laughs) And I think, when you don't have that, you get kind of stuck at a certain age. Randomly, in the last few years, I feel like I've grown up. Maybe I've just had time to think about everything. I've gotten to move on and think about how it feels now, singing songs I wrote ten years ago. It does feel different. I was almost reliving those feelings on stage until recently. It's weird listening back to my stuff. Today I was watching some of your old videos and the footage of you playing a big festival. The crowd was just girls - just young girls, for rows and rows. I was reminded of how vast that influence was on teenagers. And - going back to enigma and fame and legacy - you know, those girls who have grown up and girls who are 16 now, they relate to you in the exact same way as they did right when you started. And that's the power of your craft. You're one of my favourite writers.

CL: You're one of mine, so, checkmate (laughs).

LDR: What you did was the epitome of cool. And there's lots of different music going on but adolescents still know when something comes authentically from somebody's heart. It might not be the song that sells the most, but when people hear it, they know it. Are you a John Lennon fan? CL: When I hear 'Working Class Hero' it's a song I wish to God I could write. I wouldn't ever cover it. I mean, Marianne Faithfull covered it beautifully, but I would never cover it because I think Marianne did a great job and that's all that needs to be said.

LDR: I felt that way when I covered Chelsea Hotel No2, the Leonard Cohen song, but when I was doing more acoustic shows, I couldn't not do it.

CL: I don't have your range. I've tried to sing along to Brooklyn Baby and Dark Paradise, and this new one, Love. You go high, baby.

LDR: I've got some good low ones for you. You know what would be good, is that song, Ride. I don't sing it in its right octave during the shows because it's two low for me. But I've been thinking about doing something with you for a little while now. Then after we did the Endless Summer tour, we were thinking we should at least write, or we should just do whatever and maybe you could come to the studio and just see what came out.

CL: When we were on tour, our pre-show chats were very productive for me.

LDR: Me too. That was a real moment of counting my blessings. I just wanted to stay in every single moment and remember all of it, because it was so amazing.

CL: Likewise. It was really fun coming into your room. My favourite part of the tour was in Portland, getting you vinyl that I felt you needed. (laughs)

LDR: When you left the room, I was just running my hand all over the vinyl like little gems, like 'I can't believe that I have these (records) that Courtney Love gave to me, it's so f*cking amazing.' And we were in Portland too. It felt surreal.

CL: Yeah, I don't like going there much but I went there with you. We have this in common, too: we both ran away to Britain. If I could live anywhere in the world, I'd live in London.

LDR: If I could live anywhere in the world other than LA, I'd live in London. In the back of my mind, I always feel like I could maybe end up there.

CL: I know I'm going to end up there. I know what neighborhood I'm going to end up in, and I know that I want to be on the Thames. I subscribe to this magazine called 'Country Life' which is just real estate porn and fox hunting. It's amazing. OK so, if you weren't doing you, what would you do?

LDR: Do you have a really clear answer for this, yourself? CL: Yeah, I would work with teenage girls. Girls that are in halfway houses.

LDR: That's got you all over it. I'm selfish. I would do something that would put me by the beach. I would be like, a bad lifeguard (laughs). I'd come help you on the weekends though.

CL: Do you like being in Malibu better than being in town? LDR: I like the idea of it. People don't always go out to visit you in Malibu. So there's a lot of alone time, which is kind of like, hmmm. I'm not in (indie rock enclave) Silver Lake but I love all the stuff that's going on around there. I guess I'd have to say I prefer town, but I've got my half time Malibu fantasy.

CL: The only bad thing that can happen in Malibu really is getting on Etsy and overspending.

LDR: Oh my God, woman...(laughs) Tell me about it. Late night sleepless Etsy binges.

CL: Regretsy binges. Ok, so lyrically, you have some tropes and themes and one of them is the colour red. Red dresses, scarlet, nail polish...I kind of want to steal that.

LDR: You need to take over that, because I think I've got to relinquish the red.

CL: Well, I overuse the word "wh*re".

LDR: You take red, I'll trade for wh*re. I'm so lucky.

CL: I love this new song (Love).

LDR: Thank you. I love the new song too. I'm glad it's the first thing out. It doesn't sound that retro, but I was listening to a lot of Shangri-Las and wanted to go back to a bigger more mid-tempo, single-y sound. The last 16 months, things were kind of crazy in the US, and in London, when I was there. I was just feeling like I wanted a song that made me feel a little more positive when I sang it. And there's an album that's gonna come out in the spring called Lust for Life. I did something I haven't ever done, which is not that big of a deal, but I have a couple of collabs. Speaking of John Lennon, I have a song with Sean Lennon. Do you know him? CL: I do. I like him

LDR: It's called Tomorrow Never Came. I don't know if you've ever felt this way, but when I wrote it I felt like it wasn't really for me. I kept on thinking about who this song was for or who could do it with me and then I realised that he would be a good person. I didn't know if I should ask him because actually I have a line in it where I say "I wish we could go back to your country house and put on the radio and listen to our favourite song by Lennon and Yoko". I didn't want him to think I was asking him because I was namechecking them. Actually, I had listened to his records over the years and I did think it was his vibe, so I played it for him and he liked it. He rewrote his verse and had extensive notes, down to the mix. And that was the last thing I did, decision wise. I haven't mixed the record, but that fact that Love just came out and Sean kind of finished up the record, it felt very meant to be. Because that whole concept of peace and love really is in his veins and in his family. Then I also have Abel (Tesfaye), the Weeknd. He is actually on the title track of the record, Lust for Life. Maybe that's kind of weird to have a feature on the title track, but I really love that song and we had said for a while that we where gonna do something; I did stuff on his last two records.

CL: Do you have a singular producer or several producers?

LDR: Rick Nowels. He actually did stuff with Stevie Nicks a while ago. He works really well with women. I did the last few records with him. Even with Ultraviolence, which I did with Dan (Auerbach) I did the record first with Nick, and then I went to Nashville and reworked the sound with Dan. So yeah, Rick Nowels is amazing and these two engineers - with all the records that I've worked on with Rick, they did a lot of the production as well. You would love these two guys. They're just super innovative. I wanted a bit of a sci-fi flair for some of the stuff and they had some really cool production ideas. But yeah, that's pretty much it. I mean, Max Martin -

CL: Wait, you wrote with Max Martin? You went to the compound?

LDR: Have you been there? CL: No. I've always wanted to work with Max Martin.

LDR: So basically, Lust for Life was the first song that I wrote for the record but it was kind of like a Rubik's Cube. I felt like it was a big song but....it wasn't right. I don't usually do back and re-edit things that musch, because the songs end up sort of being what they are, but this one song I kept going back to. I really liked the title. I liked the verse. John Janick was like, 'Why don't we just go over and see what Max Martin thinks?' So I flew to Sweden and showed him the song. He said that he felt really strongly that the best part was the verse and that he wanted to hear it more than once, so I should think about making it the chorus. So I went back to Rick Nowels place the next day and I was like, 'Let's try and make the verse the chorus' and we did, and it sounded perfect. That's when I felt like I really wanted to hear Abel sing the chorus, so he came down and rewrote a little bit of it. But then I was feeling like it was missing a little bit of the Shangri-La element, so I went back for a fourth time and layered it up with harmonies. Now I'm finally happy with it (laughs). But we should do something. Like, soon.

CL: I would like that. That would be awesome.

Lust for Life is out this spring.

#lana del rey #courtney love #dazed and confused

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toomanysinks · 6 years ago

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Pandora Stories launches, combining music and podcasting in a new format

The feature may not be only adopted by musicians, notes Pandora.

At launch, the first Pandora Stories include:

John Legend’s Glorious Journey

Pasito a Pasito Con Daddy Yankee

Lauren Alaina is Doin’ Just Fine

Perry Farrell’s Ocean-Sized Tales

Brooklyn Soul with Tommy Brenneck

The Music of Wes Anderson with Randall Poster

Love Songs That Aren’t Really Love Songs

source https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/26/pandora-stories-launches-combining-music-and-podcasting-in-a-new-format/

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lyrasky · 2 months ago

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【Jane's Addiction 喧嘩で活動休止の真相】解説画像付き Liam Gallagherのオマケ話 Jane's Addiction Fight

【Jane's Addiction 喧嘩で活動休止の真相】解説画像付き Liam Gallagherのオマケ話 Jane's Addiction Fight LyraのBlogへ #JanesAddiction #PerryFarrell #DaveNavarro #StephenPerkins #EricAvery #ジェーンズアディクション #LiamGallagher #oasis #オアシス #nothingshocking #ritualdelohabitual #fight #tour

Jane’s Addiction大好き人間としてはPerry Farellがステージ上で殴りかかった事件について色々な感情が込み上げて来て、非常に悲しくてたまりません。昨夜のことを直ぐにTwitterやインスタに投稿したのでフォロワーの皆さんにはお伝えしました…それに嫌な予感がしたこともね。 “Perry Farrell o’Jane’s Addiction assaulted Dave Navarro during a performance at the Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston tonight(Sep13th),so bassist Eric Avery&others subdued Perry&took him off the stage.The incident happened when the song”Ocean Size”ended,…

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fmservers · 6 years ago

Text

Pandora Stories launches, combining music and podcasting in a new format

The feature may not be only adopted by musicians, notes Pandora.

At launch, the first Pandora Stories include:

John Legend’s Glorious Journey

Pasito a Pasito Con Daddy Yankee

Lauren Alaina is Doin’ Just Fine

Perry Farrell’s Ocean-Sized Tales

Brooklyn Soul with Tommy Brenneck

The Music of Wes Anderson with Randall Poster

Love Songs That Aren’t Really Love Songs

However, creators interested in using the feature will need to submit a form to receive access to the Pandora Stories tools, which implies a level of vetting is in place.

Via Sarah Perez https://techcrunch.com

#TechCrunch

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chevd-blog · 7 years ago

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My Top 100 Favorite Albums of All Time (Part 2: 80 - 61)

80. Karmacode – Lacuna Coil (2006)

My first exposure to the Italian metal band Lacuna Coil was in college in Florida, when I discovered their breakthrough album, Comalies. The album was an interesting formulation of gothic metal with occasional flourishes of electronica, and I was immediately awestruck by Cristina Scabbia's lush vocals. Although perhaps a bit melodramatic for my usual tastes, it was certainly enough to make me take notice of any of the band's subsequent releases. So, years later, when they finally released a follow-up, Karmacode— I cannot overstate this— I was not prepared for the monumental shift in sound. Karmacode was a calculated move away from their old sound, and into the realm of Middle Eastern-influenced nu metal, in a similar vein as Disturbed. While such a move might seem counterintuitive at a time when nu metal's popularity was already waning from its former glory days, in this case the genre recasting totally worked. Lacuna Coil's new direction actually seemed to add an entirely new dimension of gravity that hadn't quite reached critical mass on the previous album—and the cherry on top was their inclusion of a cover of the Depeche Mode classic "Enjoy the Silence" as the album's finale. It was a remarkable change for the better, so far as I was concerned, and one to which I gladly listened.

Prime cuts: "Closer", "Our Truth"

79. Morning View – Incubus (2001)

Brandon Boyd knows the way to make a point with an interesting turn of phrase. On Morning View, his lyrics show even more wit and poeticism than they did on Make Yourself, building metaphors on such premises as references to Uri Geller's spoonbending, the cautionary story of frogs slowly being acclimatized to boiling water, and fingernails on a chalkboard— all while the words maintain their overall insightfulness. Musically, despite not being quite as hard-edged as the previous album, Morning View still holds interest by displaying a more mature and experimental approach, mixing smooth rock jams like "Echo" and "Are You In?" with the tranquil Eastern vibe of "Aqueous Transmission". It's an admirable mark of progression, which demonstrates that change and growth doesn't necessarily have to mean sacrificing popular appeal.

Prime cuts: "Nice to Know You", "Under My Umbrella"

78. Nothing's Shocking – Jane's Addiction (1988)

…And while we're on the subject of easy-going SoCal alt-rock… let's talk about these guys, who were doing it 13 years earlier. For their debut studio release Nothing's Shocking, the alternative pioneers Jane's Addiction blended together Dave Navarro's soaring metal guitar licks, a cavernous production quality, and Perry Farrell's unmistakable voice, and somehow ended up with an album that is simultaneously one of the most energetic and laidback rock recordings of the 1980s. Though not afraid to broach taboo subject matter at times (with one song, "Ted, Just Admit It…", being a sardonic diatribe against serial killer Ted Bundy), the shocking thing about Nothing's Shocking is… there's really nothing on the album that is as shocking as its infamously censored cover art implies.

Prime cuts: "Jane Says", "Mountain Song"

77. Deadwing – Porcupine Tree (2005)

Steven Wilson apparently really likes ghost stories, because this is his second album the list to be largely inspired by them (though, of course, chronologically it was the first of the two). A cinematic concept album based on a ghost story that was never fully divulged publicly, Deadwing was a product of the band's immensely successful turn toward a more radio-friendly blend of alternative rock, metal and prog in the 2000's. Sandwiched as it is between two of the band's more iconic albums, it sometimes doesn't get the love it deserves—although it is undeniable that its 12-minute memento mori masterpiece, "Arriving Somewhere but Not Here", contains one of the band's most successful digressions into full-blown, dynamic heavy metal. Elsewhere, the album legitimately seems haunted at times, with the title track's paranoia, the charming wistfulness of "Lazarus", and the roiling, soft-spoken resentment of "The Start of Something Beautiful" displaying a full range of emotional malaise.

Prime cuts: "Arriving Somewhere but Not Here", "Deadwing"

76. Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd (1975)

Pink Floyd's melancholic remembrance of their original vocalist Syd Barrett, who left the band due to deteriorating mental health, is represented here as the lowest of their albums on my list— although by no means does that make it my least favorite Pink Floyd album of all (Atom Heart Mother, I'm looking at you). Truthfully, the only reason for its low ranking on the list is that there's not quite enough of it. Bookended by the two halves of the massive suite "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", the album only contains three shorter songs (all of which, of course, have become staples in Pink Floyd's repertoire). For me, the album's most distinguishing feature is its use of piercing synths in "Welcome to the Machine" and "Have a Cigar", which give it an unmistakable 70's prog sound.

Prime cuts: "Wish You Were Here", "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)"

75. The Moon and Antarctica – Modest Mouse (2000)

Another album where nostalgia is the primary motivation for its inclusion. My exposure to this album didn't come until about seven years after its release, after moving to Canada. I have my friend Laurie to thank for it—she was a fan of Modest Mouse, so I heard quite a bit of their music when we were together. There is, I suppose, a hint of irony in this particular album, which deals heavily with the theme of isolation and alienation, being represented in my mind as a signifier of my own social renaissance. But then, it seemed to fit all too perfectly at the time— after all, even when you know people there, moving to a different country can be a very daunting and lonely prospect.

Prime cuts: "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes", "The Cold Part"

74. Weather Systems – Anathema (2012)

I realize a lot of Anathema's original fans bemoan the band's migration away from doom metal and into the realm of more consumer-friendly hard rock with a slight prog twist (a hallmark of their move to their current label, Kscope). I, however, adore their Kscope sound. There is a beautiful sentimentality about it, echoed in the vocals of Vincent Cavanagh and Lee Douglas. Their voices just mesh so naturally in duets, and on the occasions where Douglas is given solo parts to sing (such as "Lightning Song"), her voice is completely mesmerizing in its purity. As the name suggests, Weather Systems is a breezy, atmospheric album, chock full of meteorological metaphor. Sometimes the gale rages, and sometimes the sun comes out—but don't be fooled. At the core of it is a stable band which is confidently anchored to terra firma.

Prime cuts: "The Storm Before the Calm", "Lightning Song"

73. 90125 – Yes (1983)

It probably comes as no surprise, considering it is one of their most accessible albums, but 90125 was my introduction to seminal first-wave prog band Yes. By this point in their career, the excesses of sprawling 20-minute songs and theatrical live shows had fallen out of favor, and the band had all but collapsed as a result. 90125 was the result of a more commercially viable side project of Chris Squire and Alan White, called Cinema. After the return of singer Jon Anderson, the material was released under the banner of Yes, and like a phoenix, the band re-emerged from the ashes of its previous incarnation to find even greater vitality and appeal than before. "Owner of a Lonely Heart" quickly became a rock radio staple, which it remains to this day on classic rock stations. A must-have for admirers of 80s rock, and mandatory listening for fans of Yes.

Prime cuts: "Owner of a Lonely Heart", "It Can Happen"

72. Your Wilderness – The Pineapple Thief (2016)

In my view, The Pineapple Thief is criminally underexposed. Another band on this list with progressive roots, their sound falls somewhere toward the center of a spectrum between 1990s Radiohead and 2000s Porcupine Tree—so of course it appeals perfectly to me. (Actually, the Porcupine Tree resemblance makes sense on this album, given that time is kept expertly here by none other than PT's drummer Gavin Harrison.) And frontman Bruce Soord has an obvious talent for crafting catchy and emotive pop/alt-rock, even while taking it in less obvious directions. Your Wilderness is a shining example of that pop craft in action. As an album, it's a bit more on the wistful, subdued side, with a heavy reliance on acoustic balladry (and at least one prominent appearance of smooth jazz clarinet), but it still definitely has its moments of hard rock brilliance, too.

Prime cuts: "In Exile", "That Shore"

71. Sonic Highways – Foo Fighters (2014)

Moving into a new home in Washington state in the summer of 2014 came with a few perks—it was larger than my apartment in Vancouver had been, as well as quieter and cheaper. One of my favorite perks, however, was the addition of HBO to my television package. Subsequently, I became aware of Sonic Highways through the 8-part HBO documentary series directed by Dave Grohl. In short: to celebrate the band's 20th anniversary, Grohl took the band to eight U.S. cities, to conduct interviews for the documentary, discussing each city's historical contributions to American musical culture. Afterwards, he would write songs for the band to record based on those interviews, and even record with guest musicians (including Joe Walsh, Rick Nielsen, Ben Gibbard, Zac Brown, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band). The premise intrigued me. As the band traveled from Chicago to Washington, D.C., Nashville, Austin, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Seattle, and finally New York, I watched with great interest, delighted that such a good band could be involved in such a unique celebration of creative spirit. Kudos to the Foo Fighters, for promoting the conservation of our musical heritage.

Prime cuts: "Something from Nothing", "Outside"

70. Black Holes and Revelations – Muse (2006)

Back before the dabbling with dubstep, back before the three-part space operas, back before the blatant Queen impersona—er… homages, there was Muse's political-prog gem, Black Holes and Revelations. Around 2006, with the Morricone-esque "Knights of Cydonia" finding heavy play on music video channels (at least, the ones that still played videos at that point), this album came into my life and perfectly summed up the zeitgeist of the Bush years for me. I was isolated, discontent with a political establishment that did not reflect my values, and desperately seeking solace from my feelings of alienation and helplessness. How many times did I actually ask myself the question at the core of "Map of the Problematique": "When will this loneliness be over?"? How many times did I actually repeat the affirmation at the end of "Soldier's Poem": "There's no justice in the world, and there never was"? Well, anyway, it was an immense help to me to at least know these were things on somebody else's mind, too. (And it's amusing to look back on the album in retrospect and remember a time when "Knights of Cydonia" was actually among the more outlandish and indulgent things they had done to that point. Those days are long gone now.)

Prime cuts: "Map of the Problematique", "Knights of Cydonia"

69. Gravity Kills – Gravity Kills (1996)

If you know St. Louis band Gravity Kills at all, it's probably from their song "Guilty", which appeared briefly in the David Fincher movie Se7en, as well as a promo for True Blood. Truly a product of its time, their debut album was released during the upswing of industrial, when Nine Inch Nails had propelled the genre to the foreground of public consciousness, and other industrial acts were beginning to capitalize on the new exposure. There is, perhaps, a twinge of 90s cheese here which might sound dated to a present-day listener—but to me, at least, it really doesn't matter. I like the 90s. I grew up in the 90s. I understand that decade, better than I even understand what's going on now. And anyway, Gravity Kills isn't a NIN album. It has a distinct sound—sometimes grungier, and sometimes more danceable, but never boring.

Prime cuts: "Guilty", "Blame"

68. The Bends – Radiohead (1995)

AKA, the album which set such a high bar that it could only properly be followed directly by two successive decade-defining albums in a row, The Bends marks the beginning of Radiohead's streak of masterpieces. At the time, some had dismissed them as a one-hit wonder, known primarily for their break-out single "Creep". The Bends put any of those naysayers' theories to rest for good. Thanks in part to fantastic memorable music videos for "Just", "Fake Plastic Trees", and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)", the album heralded the rise of Britpop as a force with which to be reckoned in the alt-rock sphere. There's a reason why some of Radiohead's fans were alienated by their total change of pace during the release of Kid A—because the band's material circa The Bends is just so fucking good.

Prime cuts: "Just", "Street Spirit (Fade Out)"

67. Lunatic Soul – Lunatic Soul (2008)

"Lunatic Soul" was the first I'd ever heard of Mariusz Duda. The song was included on a sampler disc of artists on the Kscope label, which I received as a free bonus along with my copy of Porcupine Tree's The Sky Moves Sideways (more about that album to come later on in the list). At the time, I was a senior at art school, finishing up a degree in Fine Arts. While working in the studio one day, I got curious and popped the disc into my Discman to see if I could paint to it. I was so struck by that song in particular, that I decided to buy the album, and did some more research into Riverside's back catalog of music as well. As mentioned earlier, Lunatic Soul is like the yin to Riverside's yang. The first album is a concept album revolving around the journey of a dead soul drifting through the afterlife. As such, the album is equal parts dark, eerie, ambient, and mournful, with touches of east Asian aesthetics blended in for good measure. Truly, though, the pinnacle of the album is the epic "The Final Truth", which sees the protagonist encountering the ethereal ferryman and being forced to make a fateful decision; the song begins as little more than a funeral dirge underpinned by a drum loop, before gradually reaching a tremendous dramatic climax.

Prime cuts: "Lunatic Soul", "The Final Truth"

66. Graceland – Paul Simon (1986)

My appreciation of Graceland is largely inherited. Along with Queen, the Police, the Eagles, and Emerson Lake and Palmer, it was among the albums I grew up hearing a lot due to my parents' musical tastes. There really is something special about it. The entire album is an exercise in branching out into territory which was largely unexplored by popular musicians of the 1980s—New Orleans zydeco, Tex-Mex rock, and of course, the African isicathamiya represented here by the appearance of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. At the time of its release, of course, Graceland was a controversial album for flying in the face of the recording industry's boycott of South Africa because of apartheid. Growing up listening to it, though, I didn't have any of that context. All I knew was that it sounded different than anything I'd ever heard before. Over 30 years on, I can still say that about the album.

Prime cuts: "You Can Call Me Al", "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes"

65. Year Zero – Nine Inch Nails (2007)

Year Zero is a transitional album for me. I bought it during my third and final year of college in Florida, before dropping out to continue my studies in Canada. I have memories of that album from both places. It is perhaps Trent Reznor's most overtly political statement—a concept album about a dystopian future America where conservative government has devolved into moralistic neo-fascism (a premise that gets more and more tangible every day now, sadly). In a way, I suppose it was a fitting soundtrack to my exodus from Bush's America. Too bad we still haven't learned our lessons from then.

Prime cuts: "Survivalism", "Me, I'm Not"

64. Fully Completely – The Tragically Hip (1992)

Like the previously mentioned Finger Eleven album Tip, this is another album which is inextricably linked with my experience of Canada. I lived there for six years, so it's inevitable that some Canadiana would have seeped into my soul by osmosis. Like Tim Hortons and reruns of Corner Gas and The Red Green Show, this is another piece of culture from north of the border that will always take me back to my mid-twenties.

Prime cuts: "Courage (For Hugh Maclennan)", "Looking for a Place to Happen"

63. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix – Phoenix (2009)

The bombs on the cover art are quite appropriate—this was the album that dropped and blew up Phoenix into a mainstream act. Attracted by the single "1901" (which had found its way to being featured in an oft-repeated car commercial), I decided to give it a listen, and I loved what I heard. While not quite as hard-rocking as is my usual taste, it sounded fresh and vibrant and full of youthful vigor. A peppy mix of indie rock and synthpop, the album provided a breath of fresh air and organic listening fare that was on the easier side for me, without being sickeningly saccharine or processed.

Prime cuts: "1901", "Lisztomania"

62. The Wall – Pink Floyd (1979)

The Wall, I find, is something of a mirror. That is where I find it contains most of its potency. My own circumstances may be quite different, but the psychological struggle of Pink is one that certainly strikes a nerve with me. I was introduced to this album in high school, where the one-two punch of "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" and "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" often echoed my own discontented sentiments about being trapped in a demoralizing educational environment. Like Pink, my adult years have frequently led me to placing more bricks into my own wall to seal myself off from others. And indeed, I often find myself wondering, "Is there anybody out there?" Nearly 40 years after its release, The Wall still holds up, largely because it is such a relatable tale—on some level, at one point or another, I believe everyone can identify with the sheer, horrifying, abysmal loneliness faced by the album's protagonist.

Prime cuts: "Comfortably Numb", "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)"

61. Achtung Baby – U2 (1991)

Okay, let me get this out of the way: I think The Joshua Tree is a great album. Don't get me wrong about that. I know exactly why it is as highly lauded as it is. It's got some timeless songs on it, and believe me, I have more than my fair share of memories attached to it, both good and bad. But, spoilers, everyone: Achtung Baby is the only U2 album that made this list, and the reason is very simple— it just appeals more closely to my sensibilities than The Joshua Tree. It is a much more electric record, certainly moodier in tone and heavier in subject matter. It's easier for me to relate to, especially when I feel lost (which is frequent). When you boil it all down, that's the big difference for me: While The Joshua Tree has certainly been present during some moments of revelation and heartache for me… the truth is, this album has actively played a part in getting me through some tough shit over the years, and challenged me to re-examine my life. It has earned its spot on my list.

Prime cuts: "The Fly", "Mysterious Ways"

Next time: Part 3 (#60 - 41)!

#top 100 #top 100 list #music #albums #list #favorite

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davedimartino · 7 years ago

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NEW THIS WEEK 1.13.09

Have you ever heard the expression "workmanlike"?

That's a nice way of saying "nothing terribly extraordinary going on, but still…it could be worse."

I wish I could say that this week's new releases represented a "workmanlike" effort on part of today's major labels to release records that America is clamoring for--but, sadly, that would be…incredibly sexist! I mean, women work too!

So, to be diplomatic--and for that matter politically correct--let's just say that everybody, whether male or female, should agree that this week's releases are less than compelling!

Let's meet for coffee and discuss it further!

Bee Gees: Odessa (Expanded Edition) (Reprise/Rhino) Oh, what the hell--I just spent two entire minutes writing a review of an album that just got delayed two weeks, so why not start this week's blog off with the album that, brand new or not, is the best thing coming out this week? That of course would be this deluxe reissue of the Bee Gees' spectacular 1969 album Odessa--a masterful work that represented this wonderful band at the peak of their first run at pop stardom. Originally a 2-LP set, this special edition features the same gold-embossed red velvet cover containing 3 full CDs, including the original stereo version, the mono mix, and a batch of related demos and songs recorded during the same sessions. Hitwise, the set includes "First Of May," which you may have heard--but what you haven't heard is even more impressive. The later levels of fame the Bee Gees obtained via Saturday Night Fever have obscured their status as pop geniuses for some, but a thorough listening to this record will set the matter straight now and forever! Yes! Buy it today and tell all your friends that music "peaked" in 1969 with the Bee Gees! Then see your financial advisor about that bothersome 401K issue!

Eliane Elias: Bossa Nova Stories (Blue Note) Here's the deal: Go to Starbucks and get some coffee, pick up this album on your way home, then invite a really attractive girl over to listen to records! When she comes, put this on, and as "The Girl From Ipanema" starts the album off, confess to your visitor that you've actually always been "unsure" about most rock music, and that hip-hop generally leaves you cold, but the smooth and soothing music of Brazil has always held an allure for you that continues to grow with each passing year! Soon "Desafinado" will start, and if you play your cards right, if you manage to convey true sincerity as you directly glance into your visitor's eyes, she won't hurl hot coffee in your face and call you a simmering sissy while masked friends of hers invade your apartment, loot all your valuables, and make fun of your taste in music! Yeah, this record is that good!

The Derek Trucks Band: Already Free (Columbia) People in the know already are hip to the fact that Derek Trucks is quite the good guitarist--including the Allman Brothers, for whom he has played for several years now! Since it's now been officially decided that all pop music is now completely ephemeral and the only thing that matters is musical ability and complete devotion to musicianship rather than blatant careerism, this may indeed by the album that lifts him from his already considerable status as a skilled player to--who knows?--a superstar the likes of which the world hasn't seen in years! Featuring guests like Susan Tedeschi and Doyle Bramhall, the album is additionally aided by a title that will indicate--at least to slower fans--that it's being issued free of charge! As a result, retail re-orders could be staggering! I'm quite enthused!

Original Soundtrack: Notorious (Atlantic) Like many, I'm completely stunned that someone in Hollywood thought there would be any money to be had in a hip-hop remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1946 film classic Notorious, but you know what? This thing works! With the help of modern-day superstars like Jay-Z, Lil' Kim, Too Short, and newcomer PuffDaddy--not to mention superb singer Faith Evans, apparently in the Ingrid Bergman role--such tracks as ""Kick In The Door," "Notorious Thugs" and the superb "Party And Bulls**t" create an action-packed score likely to recreate the excitement many felt while watching Cary Grant's antics in Hitchcock's original classic! I didn't know rap was even invented then, but what the hey!

Heather Headley: Audience Of One (EMI Gospel) A wonderfully emotive singer who has won Tony awards and received Grammy nominations, Ms. Headley follows two albums in the pop/R&B mode with this brand new gospel album--which may not make newspaper headlines but is certain to wow gospel fans with her vocal prowess and personal sense of religious devotion. Why the change? Apparently Headley was unhappy with the "provocative lyrics" that had lately been supplied to her while planning on making a new record. "I never wanted to compromise anything," she now says. "Now I want to make sure God is happy. This album is for Him." Here's hoping He can find a record store!

Kreator: Hordes Of Chaos (CD/DVD) Steamhammer/SPV It would be safe to say that fans of Heather Headley's new album probably wouldn't enjoy Kreator's latest and vice-versa! Everyone's favorite German thrash legends--well, not everyone's, especially after their 2005 classic, Enemy Of God--return with a few upbeat numbers including "Corpses Of Liberty," “Warcurse," and personal fave "Absolute Misanthropy" and are bound to make an impression on humans worldwide! Some attribute their negativity to their finally being told that "Kreator" should actually start with a "C" and thus their entire professional career has no meaning! Others simply think their pants are too tight! It's a toss-up!

Arthur Lee: Arthur Lee /Love Love Live: Whisky A Go-Go 1978 (Friday Music) Following this dissolution of his classic L.A,-based band Love, and prior to his unfortunate prison stint in the '90s, singer Arthur Lee never quite followed through on the promise of his band's earlier, classic work. These two releases, originally issued by Rhino Records during the '80s, document two such periods when he was attempting to make a go of it. Neither are particularly outstanding: The live record, featuring a reunion of sorts of the original '60s band, is fascinating listening for fans but oddly colorless; the solo album is a mishmash featuring some interesting solo tracks and unnecessary covers of Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers To Cross" and the Bobettes' '50s hit "Mr. Lee." But both are welcome in CD configuration after all this time, and I suggest that--after buying every other album in Lee's catalog--you seek them out. He's better than nearly everybody!

Original Soundtrack: Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans (Lakeshore) These Underworld movies are great, of course--though nothing matches In The Folds Of The Flesh, which you should see immediately!--and this soundtrack is pretty groovy, too! If you're like me, you've always thought that the Cure would be immensely aided by the addition of Maynard James Keenan, so you'll enjoy "Underneath The Stars (Renholder Remix) here, which is officially by "The Cure (f/ Maynard James Keeenan/Puscifer and Milla)," certainly a billing the world's been waiting for! Also appearing are tracks by Perry Farrell, Deftones, AFI, Alkaline Trio, Thrice, Blaqk Audio, and a bunch of "those" kind of artists--you know, the ones that people with tattoos like! Jumpin jiminy, you'll declare, I'm going to Bimini!

Steve Kuhn: Life's Backward Glances (ECM) One of America's finest jazz pianists, Kuhn's released fewer recordings than many of his contemporaries since the '60s, and this package--a limited edition box set--contains three of his finest, all recorded for ECM during the '70s: Ecstasy (1974) Motility (1977) and Playground (1979). The latter features Kuhn with singer Sheila Jordan, with whom he'd later continue to work to great success. And here's hoping someone somewhere reissues his extraordinary 1971 Buddah album with string arrangements by Gary McFarland. Wonderful stuff.

Late Of The Pier: Fantasy Black Channel (Astralwerks) A great new British band receiving tons of acclaim, this disc features two US-only bonus tracks and an album cover depicting a bunch of musical instruments crashed on a mountaintop! Tell everyone you really liked 'em before the plane crash, then go pick up a sandwich!

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