Left To My Own Devices

I had tons of fun playing hours of Pet Shop Boys and reliving my college radio days last night. It was interesting looking back at the mini "reviews" I wrote for the station and noticing that my musical priorities have changed in the past decade. I was far more interested in electronic music as an ahead of the curve as progressive genre in the past where as these days I'm more interested in quality product than pushing the envelope. Perhaps I've come to the conclusion that electronic music has matured as new sub-genres have stopped appearing every couple of years.




On the PSB tip those interested in hearing tracks from the Pet Shop Boys XFM Session that I pulled a track from on the show can click here to listen and The Guardian has a new interview with the Boys where they talk about writing a couple of songs with Robbie Williams and they offer career advice to Brandon Flowers and Pete Doherty.

I'm Going To Wichita

Italy's World Cup Champion soccer team adoption of The White Stripes "Seven Nation Army" as their unofficial anthem has led to a number of odd moments like the song being sung at a Rolling Stones concert. Nme just printed Jack White's take on the situation:

The White Stripes song has become like a second national anthem, following the country's World Cup victory on Sunday night (July 9), when the squad, led by Francesco Totti, started singing the guitar refrain from the song.

Jack White said: "I am honoured that the Italians have adopted this song as their own. Nothing is more beautiful in music than when people embrace a melody and allow it to enter the pantheon of folk music.

"As a songwriter it is something impossible to plan. Especially in modern times. I love that most people who are chanting it have no idea where it came from. That's folk music."

: Here is video of Italian fans singing "Seven Nation Army" on the streets:

Ready For The Passion

This Friday, July 14, I will be filling in on KSCU’s legendary Dekadance program, now in it’s 22nd year, playing a four hour feature that will cover the entire career of the Pet Shop Boys culminating in playing their new release “Fundamental” in it’s entirety. Expect lots of b-sides and rarities but no “West End Girls”. The show is Friday 9PM-1AM PST on KSCU 103.3 out of Santa Clara, CA and you should be able to listen on the internet by way of the station’s website.

Originally Pet Shop Boys signed to their mentor Bobby O's record label and they credited much of their early success to lessons they learned while working with him. Here is the video for the The Flirts "Passion" which Bobby O wrote and produced decades before Felix Da Housecat sampled the song for "Silver Screen Shower Scene". Tennant and Lowe have described hearing the song as an influential moment on the direction they would take would their own music and included the track on their recent "Back To Mine" compilation:


More Bobby O video's here, here, here and here.

Close (To The Song)

Today's Pink Section has a piece that suggests in it's opening that electronic music might be the new medium of the singer-songwriter. The article as a whole is less on point than the opening paragraph, given that one of the three artists they profile works on a decided non-"singer-songwriter" IDM canvas, but it's an interesting theory in light of the recent increase in "indie/electronic" artists on myspace. Often the whole classification thing is more about marketing than an artist's higher intentions but there is a enough recent cross-pollination of ideas that there might indeed actually be something new forming out of the murk that Erlend Oye and The Postal Service stirred up a couple of years ago.
One cutting quote from Halou's (who have been on this whole songwriting path too long to make this a "new" trend) Count caught my attention:

"Today you hear monotonous electronic music in every retail store and restaurant, but people will eventually realize that melody and actual songs transcend quirky sounds," he says. "Without real music to back it up, electronica is just noise."

: Which reminds me of another quote that Mylo protege Linus Loves gave to EQ Magazine that ArjanWrites mentioned:

"It didn't feel to me like that was how people wanted to hear electronic music," he continues. "I felt they wanted it in a more pop structure – get into the substance of the record and get out again. That's our way of thinking – we want to make electronic music fresh again so people aren't like, 'Oh bloody hell. I'm seven minutes into this record and there's still two minutes to go.'"

: I'm all for bringing structure and pop elements to electronic music and what I believe both these artists are getting at is that there is plenty of room for song oriented artists in the electronic "genre". I certainly wouldn't go as far as to say that "electronica is just noise" because there are too many examples of people who work extremely well outside the confines of traditional songwriting structure without mindlessly playing out a sub-genre's conventions. Ultimately the "short-form"/"long-form" debate is more an ongoing issue that a new development in the electronic music world particularly since Daft Punk's "Discovery" and Electroclash reopened the doors to "songs" a few years ago, but The Chronicle's piece suggests that "outsiders" are taking the matter into their own hands. I'd just like to see more of it from people who have never wavered in their love electronics.

Parlez-Vous Freezepop

Freezepop fans aren't just all about fun. They also enjoy the musical stylings of Bauhaus and getting photographed for Rolling Stone:



: Big ups to Rolling Stone for their in-depth knowledge of the Industrial scene that allowed to them to attribute one fan's appreciation of Hanzel Und Gretyl to Hansel and Gretel.

Just Wanna Hide Away

After the BBC ended their coverage of England's loss at the World Cup they played a "rather moving montage" of the team's journey set to Pet Shop Boys "Numb". Given the exposure to what was "one of the biggest TV audiences of the year" I'm sure that EMI was kicking themselves for not having the song out now as a single. Previous to the montage, "Numb" had been coming up as a favorite to be the third "Fundamental" single so this might just seal the deal.



Thanks to xolondon for the video link.


UPDATE:
The Guardian has an interesting take on the PSB World Cup montage and on the importance of monatages in the modern day music world.

Stop Me If You Heard This One Before

I just discovered an article in The Believer written around the release "You Are the Quarry" that suggests that Morrissey is "blurring the lines between what it means to be a pop icon and a religious icon". On the whole the article has some interesting points, but there were a few things that annoyed me as the author went about her own ritual of Morrissey worship. Notably, this line got my attention:

Arriving on the pop scene at a time when the charts were dominated by boys with synthesizers, asymmetric hairstyles and all the emotional depth and intellectual insight of the ZX Spectrum, Morrissey's genius was simply to transfer the obsessions of his bedroom on to the stage.

: It's a given that Morrissey has always been on his own path, but given that article's author was 13 when The Smiths broke up (full disclosure: I was younger) it's a bit odd to give the 80's such a dismissal for not simply charting tracks from bands with rockist values. That an article in a serious publication would paint a decade's worth of music with such a broad brush to say that it had "all the emotional depth and intellectual insight" of an antique computer is simply mind numbing.
Then there is the article's occasional shaky reasoning. How is it that a 1992 concert gimmick that was misinterpreted by the Brit press left our hero:

Ostracized and pushed further into the margins, Morrissey became a pariah in his home country, eventually excommunicating himself to Los Angeles in 1998 where he has lived alone ever since.

: If a 1992 incident had such an effect to isolate Morrissey from his countrymen why did it take six years to make the move? Becoming a "pariah" didn't stop him from having a number one UK album in 1994. Perhaps it was the British public's indifference to Morrissey on the heels of confused efforts that motivated the move. It made me want to move on as well.

It's Psychological

The long wait for the US release of Pet Shop Boys "Fundamental" is over today. Is it a masterpiece or simply a good album? Listen for yourself here.

Symphonic Potential

Jeff Mills is one of the pioneers who helped form the foundation of techno in Detroit back in the 80's as one of the first dj's to spin minimal techno, notably appearing on the influential Detroit radio show hosted by The Electrifying Mojo. Mills went on to become a member of Underground Resistance with a career that has spanned decades as he has added label owner to his resume while continuing to create mix albums and produce music under his own name.

"Blue Potential" is his latest release which finds Mills revisiting his back catalogue with the help of the Montpellier Philharmonic Orchestra in an impressive orchestral and techno fusion. This is the sort of the things that when done wrong can be unlistenable cheese like the "Acid Brass" compilation, but fortunately this is done with high minded artistry of Aphex Twin's Philip Glass collaboration. Pet Shop Boys "Battleship Potemkin" is another reference point, and one would wonder if there wasn't some influence given both works had premiers as free concerts. I'd wager on it but Mills beat PSB to the punch by following in the footsteps of Giorgio Moroder with his own score to a silent film.

Some of "Blue Potential" can be streamed here or enjoy this teaser of the DVD:



: On a related note minimal and Detroit techno fans in the Bay Area should rejoice because Mr. Goodwrench, who hosted "Just Desserts" on KFJC in the mid-90's, has returned to the airwaves. His series of profiles and interviews with Detroit techno producers introduced me to Jeff Mills, with a memorable interview discussing Mills' "30 to 50 records within an hour" mix technique, as he brought a unique point of view and an appreciated intelligence to the college airwaves. Those out of town can tune in 12-3 Saturday night/Sunday morning PST at the station's website.

Weapon Of Choice

Fatboy Slim's "The Greatest Hits: Why Try Harder" is out this week and PopMatters posted a review that argues for a reevaluation of Norman Cook's most famous alias because "the musical establishment is predisposed to dismiss artists who don't take themselves very seriously, and you've got a profound disconnect between the quality of the music on display and the disrespect accorded to Slim by critics across the globe." I've been following Fatboy Slim since my buddy starting playing "Everybody Loves A 303" off a compilation for his college radio show and I picked up the import of his first album the week it came out based on hearing it at record store listening station so it's been a bit strange to see him exploding onto the pop culture landscape with a handful of hit videos and commercial radio play. The "dance music for frat boys" insult has become synonymous with Slim, but I would agree with PopMatters that:

In a very real way, Fatboy Slim changed the rules. Even moreso than the Chemical Brothers or the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim proved that dance music could compete with pop on its own terms and more importantly, he also proved that dance music and pop weren't as far apart as most people probably believed. Whereas previous commercially successful artists such as Orbital, Leftfield and Massive Attack had sometimes gone out of their ways to seem more recondite than they actually were, Fatboy Slim could never be mistaken for aloof. He was, and remains an extremely user-friendly musician, someone who still believes his highest calling as an artist is to play fun records at parties. You've got to respect that.

: Two of Cook's mixes for other artists are included on "Why Try Harder" and the review notes that many of his remixes outshine the originals. The last few years have seen a decided shift in critical opinion on the importance of remixes as works of art and it's certainly worth considering that Cook's consistency inspired some of the attention that DFA and Ewan Pearson receive from the likes of Pitchfork as their every mix is analyzed. Would this had happened if people hadn't started collecting Fatboy Slim mixes into compilations? I doubt it.
Listen to "Why Try Harder" here.

Stop Of The Pops

The famed UK pop music institution Top Of The Pops was just cancelled by the BBC after a 42 year run. Having never made it across the pond TOTP always sounded like an amazing show featuring all these fantastic bands that I've loved throughout the years. At least I have some highlights from youtube:

It's All About Access

Music biz insider Bob Lefsetz has occasional rants published on the Rhino Records site as the The Lefsetz Letter. He recently touched on some interesting points about YouTube:

Why should I bother to record the performances on these lame shows when I can find them INSTANTLY, on YouTube. Oh, they're there, just search for them.

They're not on (late shows) site(s). They're not on the record company site. But the FANS have captured them and placed them on YouTube. Doing the label's work FOR THEM!

You should be able to watch EVERY act on Letterman RIGHT AFTER IT'S AIRED! As many times as you would like. Almost none of the target audience is viewing when they're shown. You're spending all that money on travel, never mind makeup and hair and backup musicians. Why not get something for your buck. Why doesn't EMI announce EVERY TV APPEARANCE OF THEIR ACTS WILL NOW BE INSTANTLY AVAILABLE! SOMEWHERE!

: I was going to post something earlier in the week about KT Tunstall's Leno appearance earlier this week, but couldn't find it online because NBC has active lawyers who keep pretty much everything from the network off the web in what I assume is an effort to keep people watching tv. It's a bit frustrating given that every clip that surfaces on the web comes from someone shouting "you should be watching this" but I've never been a media executive so I wouldn't understand.
As for KT, who has a fanbase that leans towards anti-tech folk rockists, she took an interesting approach on her Leno appearance. It was just her, a guitar, a tambourine and a couple of stompbox samplers. Here's her approach on a different show:

Emotions Have An Echo

Newsday posted a piece that attempts to explain the rash of covers of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy":

What may be a better indicator of the song's future strength and long-term influence, though, is the way it has already been embraced and performed by other artists - an increasingly rare move in today's music industry, where many pop artists balk at promoting the current work of their competitors.
The artist support for "Crazy" is a refreshing, much-needed reminder that musicians are music fans, too, and that they can get overwhelmed by a brilliant new pop song just like everyone else.

: I know that the song is so last month in the blog world but the song's near universal appeal is amazing. The songs ability to cross the generation gap is impressive, but even more startling is the way it has crossed genre boundaries being played on alt-rock, hip hop and adult contemporary radio. Every now and then everyone can be "overwhelmed by a brilliant new pop song". Just like me.

This Rock Thing Was True

Ministry's Al Jourgensen recently announced that their next album will be the last for the project:

Jourgensen, who has led the group and its numerous side projects since 1981, says he plans to go right back into the studio for what he says will be "the last Ministry album." And, he promises, this is no cheap ploy to get attention for the band.

"I've got other things to do," Jourgensen explains. "I just started a label (13th Planet Records), and I want to sign some bands and really build it up like I did with WaxTrax in the '80s, not just a vanity label. I think it's time -- and I'll be leaving on the top of my game instead of hanging on too long and doing crappy Aerosmith and Rolling Stones albums 30 years later."

: I don't know that "top of my game" applies to Ministry's recent material it's more like an improvement on the really horrible material produced at the height of Jourgensen's drug problem. If he was looking for untainted glory he could have left after the one-two punch of "Jesus Built My Hotrod" (Live 105 used to play the 8-minute version of the song during drive time radio) and "NWO". When you've got killer rock industrial songs like that and synth-goth anthems like "Everyday Is Halloween" on your resume you know there's no where to go but down:

Jourgensen, who lives near Waco, Texas, says that like its two predecessors -- 2004's "Houses of the Mole" and this year's "Rio Grande Blood" -- the final Ministry album will be politically minded blast at the administration of President George W. Bush.

"It's a trilogy," Jourgensen says. "The next one's going to be called 'The Last Sucker,' and it's also about this corrupt administration. That seems to be my muse."

: I found it really interesting when Ministry took a left turn into the political arena because a profile interview in a family newspaper during the height of Ministry-mania spent lots of time discussing, for the benefit of their Boomer readership, the band's non-political anger with Jourgensen denying any specific message when sampling Bush 1.0 for "NWO". For a taste of Ministry's political direction here's a download of "Lies Lies Lies" from their current release "Rio Grande Blood".

Is Moby Funny?

He has had amusing moments in interviews, but this video directed by fellow political activist and "Hotel" siren Laura Dawn... Well, just watch for yourself:



: Eliminating net neutrality = bad. This video = not good. So long as the message gets out I suppose...

Listen To Pet Shop Boys In Concert

Pet Shop Boys recently recorded a concert for BBC Radio 2 with an orchestra and a number of guests. Click here to stream it for the next few days. This is how the official PSB site described the event:

On stage with Neil and Chris were the 60 (approx) members of the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Nick Ingman plus Trevor Horn (bass), Phil Palmer (acoustic guitars), Steve Lipson (guitars), Anne Dudley (piano and keyboards), Paul Robinson (drums). Backing vocalists were Lol Creme, Andy Caine, Lucinda Barry and Sylvia Mason-James.
Special guests Rufus Wainwright, Frances Barber (star of the original production of "Closer to Heaven") and Robbie Williams each sang a song. Trevor Horn was the musical director.

: The broadcast also opens with an interesting interview with the Boys where they talk about the stages of their career, their history with strings, the sound of a hit and turning down the opportunity to sing "Kisses On The Wind". Interested in more on PSB, then the new Skrufff interview with Neil is up and it touches on a broad range of subjects including their approach to "Fundamental":

We brought Trevor Horn into the album because he is an amazing guy and a real record producer. It was a bit like making a film with many re- shoots, where you spend a lot of time beforehand setting up the cameras and getting the lights right. With Trevor you have many musicians coming through and experimenting, he’s not a one take wonder type of producer. It’s an interesting way to work for us, Chris and I would normally work in a quicker way, but we appreciate what Trevor does in order to get the sound right.

Far From Home

LetNoManJack is one of the world's most foremost experts on Tiga reminding us that even Tiga's visuals reflect a postmodern philosophy "about the construction of the self and false authenticity." Yes, even Tiga's album cover is a cover.

The Final Countdown

In the tradition of three-day weekend radio specials Live 105 counted down their "Top 500 Songs" as submitted by listeners to the station's website. It was refreshing to see that the nu-metal that dominated the station's late-90's/early-00's playlists was largely absent proving that they shouldn't have been playing it in the first place.

The station has been fairly interested in playing mashups and three of them made it on to the countdown. Not too bad when someone is saying their favorite song is actually two unrelated ones. The highest entry of the electronica-era ('96 to 00-something) came in at #124 (The Prodigy's ode to domestic violence) but the genre did fairly well with a number of tracks charting mid-countdown. Imagine if the station had played more than the ten songs or so that got any airplay during the five year long electronic prohibition during the mid-90's. New Wave one-hit wonders did surprisingly well as Alphaville* broke in the top 25, one position ahead of "Enjoy The Silence", with Ah-ha* and When In Rome also making notable appearances.

Depeche Mode proved, once again, that they are the most popular electronic band played on the station. Nine of their songs made the list with four of them in the top 100. New Order's "Blue Monday" was the top electronic song at #4, and the band did fairly well with four songs on the list as NO striking again at #17 as Joy Division with "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (which is probably the song least played by the station to make the top 100). It was also interesting to see how bands respected "importance" balanced out against their "hit power" on the trip hop spectrum with Portishead falling behind The Sneaker Pimps on a chart with no Massive Attack. Does it mean anything about the quality? No, but it's interesting.


* I know they are still around but there's only one other song Live 105 has ever played and that hasn't happened for over a decade.

Playing For England

New Order won an Ivor Novello award for "outstanding song collection" for their recent singles collection last week and since it's that time of the year a reporter for The Sun got their feelings on Embrace's new World Cup song:

Hooky told me: "I just reviewed all the World Cup songs for a magazine and they are all **** apart from SHAM 69's Hurry Up England.

"The production on the Embrace track is very weak. It starts badly. It has no atmosphere."

Bernard chipped in:"It's rubbish. You need the team singing on it and a rapper. Why didn't they have WAYNE ROONEY doing scouse rap?

: Apparently the band's acceptance speech found them slagging off everyone in the room so the band are continuing their trend of being truly rock 'n' roll when given "lifetime achievement" awards. Bernard's anti-Slash rant during the band's induction to the UK Music Hall Of Fame last year was a great moment that really sums up their attitude about being "legends".
Another note about the Ivors. Am I the only one who finds it weird that the "Songwriters Of The Year" went to Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett when Hewlett (to the best of my knowledge) is only behind the visual side of Gorillaz? Curious.

Everything I Am

I received a myspace bulletin today from futurepop project Invisible Ballet unmasking the greatest mystery since the identity of Deep Throat:

Many of our friends don't know this, but Invisible Ballet is actually 2/3 of another band called Halou! Rebecca and Ryan Coseboom of Halou recorded the Invisible Ballet album under the pseudonyms Lee Ryan and Lin Chen.

: I had speculated that the two groups were one in the same even before they mentioned that Ryan was involved as Invisible Ballet's producer, but the whole alias thing threw me off the scent. Of course the timing of this revelation has everything to do with Halou's new album being released yesterday. Read my previous Halou post to see why I adore them so much and click by their myspace page to hear songs from the new album.

UPDATE:
Halou's "Wholeness & Separation" can be streamed here until June 3.

Fundamental

It's out today. The album obvious leaked some time ago which was inevitable since PopJustice reviewed the album back in December. There are a few great reviews and thoughts on the album such as xolondon's posts on "Fundamental" and Tremble Clef's amazingly detailed five part analysis of the album to keep you interested. Sticking to my no imports policy (last violated when it became apparent that PSB's "Battleship Potempkin" soundtrack was never getting a US release) I'm waiting for the US release on June 27, and I have a feeling that will get an itunes exclusive early release in the next couple of weeks and I would suggest you wait too so American record companies have an incentive to still release albums from artists with cult followings. However if you can't wait I understand.

The Votes Are In

Fansite NewOrderOnline have been hard at work on their second compilation of New Order and Joy Division covers and today they announced the 10 winners voted onto the compilation by the site's members. There was an amazing amount of material submitted, over 100 covers if I recall, and all of the songs that made it through to the top 10 are great. I was glad to see that others recognized the greatness of Glasnost's Mazzy Star-esque take on "Turn" and the professionalism of O'ou's dancey version of "Dream Attack" (a great song selection since it is the most precious hidden gem in NO's catalogue) with both coming in way ahead of the pack in votes. The biggest shocker is that the best cover of the competition came in at spot #23. 3v's amazing original take on "Blue Monday" took the most revisited track in the band's history and found a new angle on it by "turning (the) timeline backwards with halfly reversed old leathercoated drums, neil youngish guitars and some 50's piano." I haven't given up hope because there are three "producers picks" on the compilation and 3v's cover is an excellent candidate. There's still more competition to go with remix and video contests for David Potts' (ex-Monaco) cover of "The Village" so if that interests you stop by this page for more info. Regardless of any voting interests it's shaping up to be an amazing compilation.

Here is what I voted for:

3v- Blue Monday
Glasnost- Turn
Sudden Creation- 60 Miles An Hour
Labster- Behind Closed Doors
O'ou- Dream Attack
Tomihira- Mr. Disco
Almanso- New Dawn Fades
19 New Project- Paradise
Yokohama Crepuscule- Run
Diastema- Vanishing Point
Horse In Retirement- World
Mitchell- Round & Round
Elevated Sins- Times Change
Sonic Weather Front- Disorder

Think About It

Information Society has reformed with somewhat different lineup that no longer includes singer Kurt Harland who recorded an album by himself as InSoc in the late 90's. Grave Concerns seems to have the first interview with the reformed band:

Paul: You know, early on we had a lot of highfalutin' ideas about being a "collective" and branching out into different industries and things like, which is sort of what happened actually. And there are "old Insoc" fans and "new Insoc" fans, and people who liked both eras...For some people, Information Society IS Kurt Harland (as insoc.org says), but I think a lot of people just liked the songs, and hopefully a lot of people will like the new songs too.

Sonja: That while Paul and James are moving with the times and bringing a new contemporary presence to INSOC, they are very integral and committed to the style and esthetic of the original INSOC. Chris and I respect that as well and wish to uphold that while being in the present moment with it.

: Stream a couple of songs from their forthcoming album on the band's myspace page.

Preemptive Strike

DJ Shadow just wrapped up recording on his new album "The Outsider" and he's speaking out about rumors that he's taken the hyphy route this time around:

"The album is very diverse, and reflects the fact that I don't fit comfortably in any one genre. My critics see that as a problem, but I don't...it's simply the way things are. I've never really fit into any one clique. That's why the album is called 'The Outsider'.

"In some ways it's a risky record. It's going to turn some people off. And I think I'll lose some fans. On the other hand, I know I'll gain some new ones. That's a fair trade in my mind. Besides I can't see playing it safe at this point in my life."

He added that the record contains no samples and "there's songs on this album that I think blow away almost anything else I've ever done".

: Also if you happen to be outside the London offices of Island Records about the time this posts Shadow is doing a listening party with a discman for any fans hardcore enough to stalk him.

Wholeness & Separation

San Francisco's Halou debut album is one of the best discs that summed up my musical interests back when I was doing college radio in the mid-90s. Combining the thirst for new sounds, direction and beats of the electronica genre with songs that were fully realized and never formulaic. Given that even bigger electronica acts often don't get that combination right Halou are an act to be treasured.

The first half of an interview with a member of the band is up now at Chaos Control which explains why the band are taking the self release route with this release. The certainly would know about give their first album came out on an indie label that folded a few months after the album came out making the album unavailable and the band no longer owned the rights to the material. Halou were picked up by Nettwerk for their second album but it didn't get the attention it deserved:

...the record industry changed so much during that time that even independent labels Ð their purpose in the world should be to release the more left of center, boundary-pushing music Ð even those labels have started to consolidate and operate essentially as junior major labels. I could give you countless examples of that, and in fact many are now owned by major labels. So you're talking about a shift in that direction, so these independent labels are becoming way more trendy and completely afraid to release records anymore because people aren't buying them. They are financially a lot more inhibited. So that's when we made the decision to bypass the label completely. It just didn't make financial sense. In a typical artist deal, the artist gets 10%, and the label gets 90%. Well if they're dong a hell of a lot for you, and they're taking you from ground zero to an established act, yeah that's still pretty extreme but it's not exploitative. But unfortunately, labels aren't doing that now. To give someone 90% of something and have them do very little, well that isn't fair. And it doesn't make financial sense.

: Halou's new album is out next week and tracks from "Wholeness & Separation" can be streamed at the band's myspace page.

Anyone Can Play Guitar

While Radiohead is gearing with live dates supporting an upcoming release it was recently revealed that Thom Yorke has an electronic heavy solo album "The Eraser" due out in July. Here's the info from nme:

Yorke's solo album will be produced by long-time band producer Nigel Godrich. According to the statement - which was released to respected Radiohead fan site www.ateaseweb.com - Yorke wrote at the tracks and played all instruments.

"I have been itching to do something like this for ages," he said. " It was fun and quick to do. Inevitably it is more beats & electronics. But its songs. Stanley [Donwood - Radiohead's cover artist] did the cover. Yes its a record! No its not a radiohead record. As you know the band are now touring and writing new stuff and getting to a good space.

Legends In The House

The new Pet Shop Boys album is just a week away from it's European release and most of the blogs I read have mentioned something related to "Fundamental" in the past week or so. I'm a fan so I'm a bit late getting in on the action. Here are some video of interview clips done for British TV:

PSB On "Pop World"
PSB On BBC1 Breakfast News
The most amusing one I've found is this T4 clip with an interviewer the youtube submitter accurately refers to as "ghastly". The best bit is when Chris can't help but laugh at her.


Preview clips of "Fundamental" can be found here and you might be interested to hear that "I'm With Stupid" entered the UK Single Chart at number 8 this week. The US release is still unconfirmed, but I received a bulletin from an unofficial myspace profile announcing that the new album will be "out July 27th".

Want To Be A Miser

Flea of The Red Hot Chili Peppers posted a complaint on the band's site last week about their new album being leaked on the internet which was turned into a news item which turned up several places. Here is some of the rant taken from a May 3rd article on vh1.com:

"If you download it now off one of those file-sharing sites, you will be getting a pale imitation of the record. It will be of ... poor sound quality ... and that will break my heart. It will break John Frusciante's heart. It will break Anthony Kiedis' heart. And it will break the heart of Chad Smith"

: Perhaps some of the reporters should have done a little research by turning on Vh1 where they were running promos at the end of nearly every show with Anthony Kiedis and Flea singing about going to vh1.com to stream their new album beginning the day before the news item was written.

GoogleNews On Chili Peppers "Leak"

A Little Respect

Hardcore synthpop duo Erasure did the unthinkable last week and released the synth free acoustic/country album "Union Street" last week. Now I have nothing against experimentation or even completely changing styles if you can make it interesting, but this album is an example of getting things horribly wrong. Revisiting overlooked tracks from the bands twenty year history "Union Street" dries up what little inspiration it had going into it after just a few tracks to becomes horribly monotonous. There once was a time that Erasure was a commercially smarter band that would have known better to than to stick to their guns over an album that they just didn't have the passion for. Oh well. A fairly recent audio interview with Andy Bell at Retroforward Radio confirms an upcoming b-side compilation, a "fractured fairy tales" album and a new proper album in the works. Why the few interesting tracks from "Union Street" couldn't be worked into one of those projects is beyond me.

(We Might Need This) Fascist Groove Thing

Heaven 17's recent "Before/After" album has spawned some chart success in the US. Billboard reports:

It was exactly 25 years ago this week that electronic-pop-dance trio Heaven 17 made its debut on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart, with the controversial single "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thing." Just in time to celebrate their silver anniversary, the three original members of Heaven 17 return to the Club Play list this week, debuting at No. 42 with "Hands Up to Heaven" (Ninthwave), from the new album "Before After."

A Different Kind Of Smart

I doubt that anyone is discovering the video for the first time at this blog, but here is the new Pet Shop Boys single "I'm With Stupid":



: I was a bit worried when I heard that comedy act Little Britain, who I've heard of but never actually seen anywhere before, would be in the video given the direction they could have taken visualizing the Blair/Bush lyrics, but I like what they've done here. Borrowing from the bands most distinct visual era, they take the tech driven "Very" videos as direct inspiration and attempt a crude stage recreation of them. It makes sense to do a stupid video about being with stupid and so by my take on things the video is an all out success. Now I wouldn't normally do this kind of thing, but if you're not a fan of the official video try a homegrown version.

International Dateline

News from Ladytron:

Our new EP/DVD is out now, featuring unreleased tracks and mixes, the promo clips to Destroy... and Sugar, plus the 'Once upon a time in the East' mini-documentary.
Witching hour is finally on Vinyl now too, those folks at Ryko have been busy.

: Their record company has come under fire quite a bit recently by fans who think they blew the "Witching Hour" release so it's amusing that the band (or whoever runs their myspace profile) are defending them even as they announcing a new EP as "out now" without any advance notice or promotion. Here's the "Extended Play" tracklisting:

1: High Rise [Club Mix] (6:09)
2: Nothing to Hide (3:51)
3: Weekend [James Iha Mix] (4:02)
4: Sugar [Jagz Kooner Mix] (5:25)
5: Citadel (3:54)
6: Destory Everything You Touch [Catholic Version] (4:45)
7: Tender Talons (3:31)
8: Last One Standing [Shipps & Tait Mix] (3:47)
9: Destroy Everything You Touch [DVD]
10: Sugar [DVD]
11: Once Upon a Time in the East: Ladytron in China

UPDATE: You can stream the EP here for the next week.

It's The Sure Shot

Legendary producer Arthur Baker has a new import single "Glow" (featuring Tim Wheeler of Ash) that has just been released and he's done a little press for it explaining the difference between a great track and a great song, that he has "always been into disco, hip hop and rock 'n' roll", and why he's started Return To New York parties:

Well, just the fact that I wanted to show the kids where this electro-punk-funk thing really came from, which essentially was from New York in the '80s and London in the '80s too. It was important to introduce music to people who may not have been aware of it or where it came from. If you look at MySpace and the influences the kids put down, a lot of them are from back in the 80s. So, I thought that it was important for me to do that and make that connection.

: "Glow" and a few of his latest productions can be heard at his myspace page. The man still has the touch.

Slow Motion Career Suicide

I love Goldfrapp, but I think their management/record company is insane. Mute US delayed the US release of "Supernature" for half a year so "the band could tour and promote" the album properly in North America but over a month after the album's delayed release there have only been two US dates and one tv appearance. Earlier this week I received an email from ticketmaster bot that is supposed to notify me about any Goldfrapp tickets going on sale which they were about to at 10 that morning. Some of the mystery was cleared up by this recent myspace bulletin:

we are very sneakily activitating ticketmaster for the yet to be announced dates in San Francisco, Portland and Seattle. Will try to be sneaky with the upcoming East Coast visits as well. Stay tuned m'deers!!

: Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they are finally doing some live US dates, but isn't the point of promoting a band to get people to know about the concert?

You've Got It All Wrong

MTV News has the scoop on the new album Annie plans to have out by the end of the year:

...throwing herself into madcap sessions with a slew of different producers, including ex-Smashing Pumpkins/ A Perfect Circle guitarist James Iha... She reteamed with British mash-up master Richard X on two songs for the as-yet-untitled new LP, including a cover of Stacy Q's '80s hit "Two of Hearts" and an original called "Remind Me of You."

"The new songs are more club-oriented — still '80s-sounding, but different," Annie said at the recent South by Southwest music conference. "But to be honest, I never really know what things will sound like until I finish the album. I'm sort of in the middle of the album. There's going to be a lot of different people, it's going to be more diverse, but I'm not quite sure which direction the production will go."

After she finishes recording with Iha in New York, she'll team up with French techno producer Alan Braxe (who worked on Stardust's 1998 hit "Music Sounds Better With You") and then some yet-to-be-named collaborators.

: The MTV article also refers to the curious phenomenon of her there's-no-shame-in-bubble-gum style of pop having such appeal to indie rockers. While I think Annie is fantastic, I simply don't understand the appeal to the indie crowd and I am puzzled that her album is still charting at the indie rock dominated college station I used to dj at months and months after it's release. Is it an ironic embrace of all the aesthetic values they once stood for? I'm sincerely confused, but at least it guarantees that Annie's music is distributed in the US.

The Drugs Don't Work

This is a bit off my usual track but today's pink section had an entertaining interview with former The Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft which derailed after asking about his Live8 cameo into a discussion about his complicated relationship with the best selling band in the world Coldplay:

A: In cynical record company terms, they would have been hammering home their new hit single in front of 3 billion people, and they gave me that time. But also, they were going on after Paul McCartney and U2. Yeah. I think, in Chris' head "Bitter Sweet Symphony" is one of the tunes that stands with that other generation of people.

Q: If that's how you feel, why have you agreed to open Coldplay's shows in America?

A: Why am I opening for them?

Q: Yeah.

A: Quite the simple fact that I'm going to be playing to 30,000 people straight away. That's it. There's no deep thought about it. As far as how many people know my name in America, that would take me all year.

Covers

Every year the Depeche Mode site does something hilarious to celebrate April 1st and every year people actually fall for it. I actually read serious online discussions about Fletch posing for "Playgirl" last year and once again this year people are angry at Robert Smith for "suing" the band over the "Playing The Angel" cover. That DM webmaster is so funny. The least they could do is follow in the footsteps of the Pet Shop Boys and do something subtle like releasing the first images of their new album cover. Is it for real? I think so, but I got more of a chuckle out this news than the DM fantatics screaming across the internet.

Also, the PSB site reported a couple of days ago that they are in final negotiations to release "Fundamental" in North America in conjunction with the rest of the world. Reassuring to hear after the frequently mentioned "PopArt" contracts never got sorted out.

Hey Annie

The BBC has done a three part audio documentary about the career of Anne Dudley. The first section looked at her meeting Trevor Horn, arranging ABC's "Lexicon Of Love" and how the emerging sampling technology shaped the sound of Art Of Noise. The second segment is up this week and explores Dudley's second career scoring film and television which led to her winning an Oscar. Listen here.

Richard X Producing PSB

Richard X's site offers some encouraging news:

A brand new Pet Shop Boys track now in the bag for some future release. Speculate away. Update: No more emails please, it's a new track , not a remix, i'm sure the boys will announce all soon...Update 2: It's called Fugitive and will be released on the second disc of the new Pet Shop Boys album "Fundamental"

Announcing Electro Downloaded Podcast

Regular readers have probably caught on that I've caught the podcasting bug and recently I found my way around my two main problems: cost and legality. Electro Downloaded is my solution, a podcast version of an mp3 blog that brings songs to your pod catcher song by song. It’s a bit like some popular pocasts available on itunes but without the focus on creative commons artists (who are, no offense, mostly amateurs) instead taking downloads from legitimately hosted mp3s by artists of note. The podcast follows my taste and currently I’ve got downloads from Mylo, The Juan Maclean, Carmen Rizzo, Prodigy, Sia, and Out Hud up with more to come. Subscribe with itunes, the rss feed or those unfamiliar with the technology can click on the pod cast player link at the PodcastAlley page to listen.

Free Download: Bitter:Sweet- The Mating Game

Kiran Shahani and singer Shana Halligan comprise Bitter:Sweet and you can download the title track to their album "The Mating Game" here. The song highlights the electro-lounge style that Shahani's former project, Supreme Beings Of Leisure, excelled at and if you were to visit the band's myspace page you might be convinced that Bitter:Sweet have an exciting album on the way. Sadly the album as a whole is something of a mess. Stream it here to hear for yourself.

Give Me Every Little Thing

The Juan Maclean is playing South By Southwest and is celebrating by offering a free download on the festival's site. Download "Give Me Every Little Thing" here.

A Different Kind Of Smart

The new Pet Shop Boys "I'm With Stupid" was played on Swedish radio earlier this week and Popjustice offers instruction for the interested fan willing to put in a little effort. Go to this page, click on 22.10-23.00 and skip ahead 19 minutes and the song should start right up.
On first listen I find the song to be a bit of a letdown from the PopArt singles and Trevor Horn's horn-heavy production sounds straight out of the late 80s which isn't a good thing. The lyrics were probably the deciding factor in this being the first single and the song does grow on you with a few listens so there is still plenty of reason to think that Fundamental will still be a great album. "Minimal" was originally slated as the first single, "Numb" was recorded as a potential single for PopArt and PopJustice had suggested "Integral" as the best choice for a single so there are plenty of other tracks with potential. Regardless the official PSB site reports that "I'm With Stupid" will be remixed by Melnyk, Max Tundra and Abe Duque with possibility of more before the single is released.

Reproduction

Orac's Electronically Yours has resurfaced as a news section attached to his much praised Human League fansite. He reports that Goldfrapp have dropped "Satin Chic" in favor of "Fly Me Away" as the next UK single to be taken from "Supernature". While I agree with Orac's assessment that "Satin" is the better track but just last night I was struck by what a great song "Fly Me Away" is bringing together elements of the last three decades of electronic music in to one great song.
Orac also has an item about the new version of DM's "Suffer Well" where Dave Gahan sings the song in Simlish. I first saw the video for the song by way of Bardot's blog and I can only describe the experience as surreal. Apparently Gahan describes the move to rerecord the song for a recent Sims expansion pack done because the band have "always been open to new ways of sharing our music".

The Real Thing But You Knew It All Along

Today's Chronicle has a feature on DEV2.0, a Disney-sponsored version of Devo that recasts kids as members of the band in a move they compare to "Star Trek: The Next Generation." In typical fashion the Devo members spend the interview complaining about corporate influence on the product they are supposed to be promoting. Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh on the Disney experience:

"In many cases, they were telling me what the lyrics meant that I wrote 25 years ago. In 'That's Good,' there's a parochial school nursery rhyme couplet that goes 'Life's a bee without a buzz, it's going great till you get stung.' That had to go because 'B' is slang for bitch and 'life's a buzz' means you're high. Stung means you're getting away with it until the cops pop you. I found out I was writing gangster rap lyrics. It became a Devo experiment to learn how corporate thinking works these days."

"They thought 'Uncontrollable Urge' was sexual," Mothersbaugh says. "I thought it was about fulfilling your dreams because you were inspired to change the world. They changed the lyrics to make the kids sound like they're having a snack attack, but if the kids listen to DEV2.0 they may eventually seek out Devo albums and wonder why the lyrics were changed."

: The project hasn't led to any promising news about the original version of the band as many hoped:

"We get asked all the time to write a new record and do a tour," Casale says. "So far, Mark doesn't want to. He composes all the time, but without his collaboration it's not really Devo. Limited dates will continue, like Bigfoot or UFO sightings. We'll appear and then vanish again."

Please Don't Say

Whatever your feelings about Madonna, still ambivalent in my case, you really must admit that she has fantastic taste in collaborators. Her latest single “Sorry,” which I reviewed for synthpop.net, is a great example of her bringing together great people that I admire in the name of her music. Not only did the talented Stuart Price produce the original version, but the single has two of his remixes including a floor filling version of the awkwardly worded “Let It Will Be”. Green Velvet and Paul Oakenfold contribute as well, but the highlight is Pet Shop Boys take on the song which is absolutely epic and features additional vocals from Neil Tennant making for a mix that is the duo's most involved since they worked with Bowie. Download the original from her myspace page or stream the PSB maxi-mix with winamp.

Pop Idol

A recent Popjustice column by Alexander Bard reclaims David Bowie as an artist of the Pop camp while refuting claims of the rock critic establishment:

David changed his last name to Bowie (unless they are born with fancy sounding names, pop stars always change their passport names into something more glamorous: pop is all about entertainment, not boring genuinity), invented a wicked alter ego called Ziggy Stardust, and began to write gorgeous anthemic pop songs with titles like "Space Oddity" and "Life On Mars". The guitars were now left in the background, David Bowie's sound was instead drenched in grandiose strings, hysterical chorus sections, and melodic piano harmonies. The pop icon David Bowie was born.

Nile Rodgers maximised the huge pop star potential of David Bowie with a fantastic pop album called "Let's Dance". The album went on to top the charts around the world and turned David Bowie into a global pop phenomenon. Naturally, rock critics hated the record and what it had done with David Bowie's career.

May I Say Nothing

This story has been making it's way around the internet for about a week now and I hadn't posted it because it speaks for itself. From London's Evening Standard:

Lead singer Neil Tennant regularly donated thousands of pounds to the labor Party during its first term in office between 1997 and 2001 but he now votes Liberal Democrat... Tennant and Lowe vehemently oppose the Government's plan for ID cards and the "special relationship" between George Bush and Mr Blair. One song, Integral, is scathing about the aims of the New Labour project.

A spokesman for the Pet Shop Boys said: "Neil has always been a Labour Party supporter but at the last election he voted Liberal Democrat because he is completely against the idea of ID cards.

"The Pet Shop Boys think we should try to increase our freedom, not limit it. They don't believe ID cards are an effective way of countering terrorism.

"Some tracks are about the climate of fear that is being exploited so people can push through ID cards. I'm With Stupid is inspired by the relationship between George Bush and Tony Blair."

: PSB are far from complete strangers with politics since some of their early material has a decided anti-Thatcher tilt, they campaigned against the law that outlawed unlicensed raves in the early 90s and wrote "DJ Culture" about the first Gulf War. Why wouldn't they have something to say about when governments are working within this "climate of fear" that the spokesman mentioned? If there was a time when politics and governmental action had visible consequence it is our times today.

Supernature

Regular readers of this blog no doubt realize that I'm quite excited about Goldfrapp and that I had been looking forward to the release of their "Supernature" album which is out today. Stream it for yourself this week at this site.

Rewind That

Dance label owner and dj Dave Piccioni on the recent wave of retro rave compilations:

Dance music has been around a long time, but this current cycle, the one that started with the rave scene has really now matured. New people entering the scene want to know about its history so these compilations are relevant and you’ve also got younger DJs coming along now bringing their own different histories. So there’s enough room and I think there’s a demand for these CDs definitely and they are interesting albums. Though in some ways they’re a labour of love, because we don’t make a lot of money off them because all the tracks are licensed from major labels, and are really a nightmare to put together.

Looking For The Rest Of Me

R&B singer Rihanna latest single samples Soft Cell's version of "Tainted Love" which is something I dismissed when I first saw it at ArjanWrites a week ago, but I'm having a change of heart. Having heard it a on the radio a couple of times since then I think Arjan might be right about the song becoming a hit, and if that happens would be the US breakthrough of the Richard X/Girls On Top style mash-up. To oversimplify, the Richard X formula is to take an early 80's backing track and throw some 90's R&B vocals over it creating an unlikely but effective combination that has led to hits for pop groups Sugababes and Liberty X in the UK. Time will tell how well the song does, but it's interesting to hear a 2000's r&b song done by a singer from Barbados that samples a 80's UK new wave hit that was a remake of a 60's northern soul song originally recorded by a native Texan.

Listen for yourself here.

This Is Only A Test

I'm make a test run at making a podcast. Feel free to ignore this link or check out the rss feed if you are curious.

Doughy White Guys

Eric O of Null Device recently posted an amusing list of do's/don'ts for the synthpop set. A few highlights:

No naming your band after classic synthpop songs or lyrics. Obscure ones, however, are acceptable. So if you're a Kraftwerk fan, naming your band "Pocket Calculator" is right out, but "Der Telefon Anruf" is fine. If you're a dM fan, only "Ice Machine" is left.

It's okay to wear something other than black in your stage shows. Since many electronic-music artists are doughy white guys, things like tight pants and fishnet shirts should probably be avoided.

If you do "darker" stuff, please, please for the love of god stop singing about replicants. Even Bill Leeb has given up on that.

If anyone asks, the reason you've adopted the sound of the 80's is because of postmodern irony. Do NOT admit to actually liking it. The same is true for vintage gear. You bought the Moog because of the inherently unstable tuning and the hilariously dated graphic design, not because you like the sound. If you own a 303, it's because it's overused and kitschy and you want to be ahead of the curve for the inevitable acid revival.

Go to GoodWill and buy a bunch of toys that make goofy noises and maybe a cheap old casio keyboard. Leave them scattered about your studio, and keep a soldering iron handy. You never have to actually do anything with them, but it will give you immense cred when the photographers from FutureMusic stop by.

Mindphaser

Industrial legend Bill Leeb, the man behind Front Line Assembly, Delerium, Noise Unit and a few other projects, is selling a fair amount of his vintage equipment on ebay. No word yet on his motivation to move on, but there are only two days left to bid...

Made For Love

Goldfrapp's "Supernature" is two weeks away from finally getting that long promised US release and the peace offerings are coming. The band will be touring shortly and the domestic version of the album will have a bonus dvd that appears to have some content. Better yet, "Ooh La La" is this weeks free download on itunes. Click here to download one of my favorite songs of 2005.

Monolithic Super Bands

PopMatters recently made their predictions about the generational shifting of musical canon and today's SF Chronicle compiled a causal list of twenty "new classic" albums that classic rock fans may have missed:

While music scribes and the Bay Area faithful continue to preach the golden-era gospel of monolithic super bands from the '60s, the alternative music congregation believes Kraftwerk, Talking Heads and Joy Division to be more influential than the Beatles, the Stones and the Dead. These alt-rockers know their music has been underappreciated, while all of the references to the Stones printed in The Chronicle over the past 40 years probably exceed the number of times the word "God" is used in the Bible...

Rhythm Is The Key

Try tapping the rhythm of a melody and The Song Tapper identifies the song...usually. Warning: somewhat addictive.

(Via Slothblog)

Feel The Pressure

It's been out elsewhere forever now, but Mylo's album just received a domestic release a week ago. I've contemplated doing a full review, but I found Pitchfork expressed my sentiments better:

Mylo's tracks read a bit like a cross section of the genre's history. All the happiest tricks of each era-- disco groove, synth-pop melodies, house rush, downtempo foot-tapping, French filter sweeps, cut-rate Daft Punk, choppy edits-- sharing space. And yet this is anything but one of those big, bursting pastiche albums, packed with ideas and flailing everywhere at once. No, these tracks go in straight, simple lines, and they rarely take their eyes off whichever hooks grab you fastest. Don't count on the dance cognoscenti to approve of them: If anything, this is house music as Saturday-morning cartoon-- all bold lines inked in bright, primary colors.

Essentially I'm impressed by the quality of the tracks, but a bit disappointed that this album that brings little to the table in the way of new ideas has been the buzzed about electronica album of the past couple of years. Of course maybe I shouldn't worry so much:

This is to dance what Art Brut is to rock: cheeky, charming, too straightforward to worry about style, ramming through the fundamentals as if pure enthusiasm is the most important part of making music.

Arms Up Just Dance

Sometimes things slip away from me and I need a reminder. I recently got one of those in the form a nice thank you email from electropop duo Dangerous Muse. They are one of the first signings to Warner Bros new imprint Cordless Recordings which deals in online exclusive releases from new acts. Here is an excerpt from my review at synthpop.net that should give you an idea of what they are about:

“The Rejection” typifies the duo’s approach. The low key synths and underplayed vocals find the band in musical waters that lie between a less nervous Junior Boys and a modernized Fortran 5. A distinct rhythmic pulse push the song along a series of smart chord changes while the stream of conscious lyrics take us on a journey through a gentle dance floor rejection.

: While I think they suffer from a name that is unfortunately similar to Danger Mouse, they arew band that are rock solid and full of potential. Hear for yourself at their myspace page.

Score

The last year might have been the most release heavy period for New Order ever. They put out "Waiting For Sirens Call", a few singles, web exclusive remixes, a dvd video collection, and a new singles collection. Now the word is that the side-project Other Two will be scoring the Brit crime drama Cracker:

...drummer Stephen Morris and his wife, keyboard and guitar player Gillian, are writing the soundtrack for the Manchester-set series.

"I was a fan when Cracker was last on TV so it's great to be doing the music for the new series," Stephen says.

"The writer Jimmy McGovern asked us to do it. It also means we'll be two of the first people to see it."

: No word on how this will effect progress on New Order's 2006 album but it's New Order so it's not like they do much in the way of announcing plans in advance.

Breakin

The latest download.com newsletter linked to an "audio installation" called Can I Get An Amen? that explains the history of the amen break and goes on:

...to bring into scrutiny the techno-utopian notion that 'information wants to be free'- it questions its effectiveness as a democratizing agent. This as well as other issues are foregrounded through a history of the Amen Break and its peculiar relationship to current copyright law.

Vanishing Point

Apparently the tide has changed for Primal Scream:

The new songs - 'Country Girl', 'Cars', 'Nitty Gritty', 'Suicide Sally', 'Bomb Drops' and 'Hole In My Heart' - confirmed rumours that the band have foregone their recent, electronically-influenced sound for a return to the straightforward rock 'n' roll of their 'Give Out But Don't Give Up' era.

: Primal Scream as an electronic rock act are amazing. After their last rock record, which the official amazon.com review calls a "Rolling Stones-meets-Black Crowes monstrosity", they slowly got back into electronics with the trip hop beats of "Trainspotting" and the criminally ignored single "Kowalski" before they delivering their millennial masterpiece "Exterminator". No one else touches them when they experiment with electronics. However, the band's straight rock just doesn't cut it. Hopefully they will come to their senses soon enough and switch on a machine or two the next time they're near a studio.

I Will Follow

PopMatters recently placed odds on which bands will be topping "best band ever" lists as the Boomer generation, um, dies off. Not that PopMatters is sad about it because since they consider the whole "best ever" list phenomena a cultural reminder of which generation is still in charge. After all we've all seen these...:

...many navel-gazing pat-on-the-back love letters that baby boomers send to themselves to remind themselves that everything was better when they were young: the relationships, the culture, and most certainly the music.

: I think they've got the odds just about right since earlier this week I flipped between three radio stations playing songs by this candidate for best band ever all at the same time. Maybe music on this scale is really all about the marketing.

No Spin Zone

Dead Or Alive frontman Pete Burns recently "lashed out" over this week's UK re-release of his band's biggest hit as it capitalizes on his recent appearance on "Celebrity Big Brother":

Fans and newspapers campaigned for the track's re-release today (January 30). However, when told of the decision Burns attacked the plans.

"I'm sick of that song," the singer told Channel 4 presenter Davina McCall after leaving the 'Big Brother' house. "It's like still wearing school uniform when you're 50."

The single has already been re-released once, when it reached number 23 in 2003, though this time it is expected to climb higher.

: I suspect the "story" I just quoted is a driven by some quotes taken out of context, but if Burns is really upset this would be a first for him. Not only was there the 2003 re-release, but "You Spin Me Round(Like A Record)" has a 1999 version, a 1996 mix and an official Dannii Minogue mash-up.

----UPDATE----
"You Spin Me Round" charted at #5 on the UK singles chart on the week of this re-release.

The Last One Standing

Some highlights from an interview with Ladytron I recently found.

On signing to a major label:

When we were with Telstar, they knew we wanted to make an amazing album but they wanted us to make something that was very like Light and Magic and do another ‘Seventeen’, like Nineteen or something, because that type of music had become popular and they wanted more radio friendly tracks. But we were totally against that, we wanted to create our own sound and didn’t want to be forced into anything.

...being mistaken as an Eastern European band:

...it’s as silly as us being called a scouse band, Reuben and I live there but it’s funny to think of Mira and Helen being called scousers. Exit was an amazing festival, one of the best gigs this year along with Benicassim. It was in Serbia, and we had no idea what to expect. We were on between Slayer and Fatboy Slim, they thought we were perfect to bridge the gap for some reason. We played to 40,000 people and the crowd were so up for it. It was brilliant.

...defining success:

I always thought it was a blessing that although everyone seems to know ‘Seventeen’ it wasn’t a huge radio hit and so it hasn’t stopped us developing... The last gig we did in 2003 was in Liverpool with this little band called Franz Ferdinand, who no one had ever heard of, supporting us. We thought we’d give them a chance! It was like ‘Oh well done lads, you’re quite good, we think you’ll make it.’ Little did we know!

Take The Side Streets Home

Saint Etienne finally saw their most recent album released State-side this past week and what an amazing return. While I've kept tabs on the band over the years I have found myself less enthusiastic about their more recent outings, and I am pleasantly surprised to see this one buck the trend. On paper "Tales From The Turnpike House" should be the band's most bloated work given that it is a concept album with songs written from the point of view from various residents of a low income London apartment building and they dared to fully go "rock" on a track or two. However, this is the band's most consistent and accessible album since "Tiger Bay". Listen for yourself at the band's page on their new label's site where you can stream the whole album.

Listening To The Game

I saw an ad in today's Chronicle for a live orchestral performance of video game music. Here's the info from their site:

Video Games Live will feature the best music and video clips from the most popular games from the beginning of video gaming to the present. Games include:

Mario™, Zelda®, Halo®, Metal Gear Solid®, Warcraft®, Myst®, Final Fantasy®, God of War™, Kingdom Hearts, Castlevania®, Medal of Honor™, Sonic™, Tron, Tomb Raider®, Advent Rising, Headhunter, Beyond Good & Evil™, Splinter Cell®, Ghost Recon™, Rainbow Six®, EverQuest® II and a special retro Classic Arcade Medley featuring over 20+ games from Pong® to Donkey Kong® including such classics as Dragon's Lair, Tetris, Frogger, Gauntlet, Space Invaders & Outrun!

It will be a stellar event, which includes performances of the music, video and specially designed laser and light sequences showcasing over 50 different games in a wide variety of styles. Also included of course, is a special segment focusing on retro arcade classics!

This touring event will include a retrospective segment from the beginning of the video game era up to the present, several segments with game footage on three giant video screens, handheld cameras showing orchestra, and character close-ups. There will also be an interactive segment where selected audience members will actually play a game live onstage while the orchestra plays the music.

Ceremony

Peter Hook on New Order's first Grammy nomination:

``As Bernard says, I'd go to the opening of an envelope,'' Hook joked. ``So, if the record company pays for me (to attend), the answer is yes. That'd be pretty weird. I always love these ceremonies. They're so overblown. They really go to town on the bloody production and everything. That's always quite entertaining.

``Steve Morris has an interesting look on it, though. He says it's like a prize that you get because of the fact you've been through hell and you're still alive. He says they just wheel out all these old musicians and give them prizes. I think that because New Order and Joy Division did something different, people maybe took a while to understand the sort of impact we made, because we didn't do it normally.''

: Did I mention this for a track that Hooky cited as his least favorite on "Waiting For The Siren's Call"?

Changes

Ben Rubenstein's most recent column at PopMatters explores the recontextualization of music in everything from hip hop to car commercials:

Our initial reaction to a certain song is the one to stick the most; many critics will tell you that some of the greatest albums take a few listens to really take in, but it's that first involuntary response that is likely to keep you coming back. We all hold onto our favorite songs as though they were our own, and want to believe they hold the same importance for everyone. The likelihood of this is compromised when the songs we love exist in other forms — it is possible for others to view them in very different ways...Maybe this is the beauty of music: it can be experienced and loved in multiple formats; it can be recycled to inspire new generations and demographics.

: I tend to view sampling as a postmodern referencing point that points to an artist's influence. However, I’m occasionally reminded that not everyone is looking in that same context. A younger guy I work with is a huge Tupac fan and had “Changes” playing one day when I complained that I could never actually listen to the song, which expresses “the social stresses of the black race in America” because of all I ever hear is the cheese of Bruce Hornsby’s soft rock staple “The Way It Is “. This has never been a problem for my coworker, who first heard of Hornsby's version when he thought he heard Tupac playing at the dentist office.

Vote Or Die

You can vote for your favorite tracks, djs, producers and more in the first round of the International Dance Music Awards. The winners will be announced at the Winter Music Conference in Miami later this year.

In The Pink

This week's Pink Section in the SF Chronicle was a mirror to my recent blogging interests. They noted Channel 1049's demise about 3/4 of the way through Ben Fong-Torres Radio Waves column, gave Party Ben's "American Edit" mash-up album a rave review and had a puff piece on Live 105 music director and former Subsonic host Aaron Axelsen. The interview played up the importance of Axelson's club Popscene, which is a Bay Area institution, and the importance of Live 105's Sunday night new music show which he hosts. Axelsen has been around the station for years and is the glue that has kept the station somewhat consistent with it's heritage of playing interesting new music that doesn't always jive with the mainstream. As you might expect from a music director who has lasted over a decade in the position he is pragmatic and the station doesn't always reflect his own taste:

...he dismisses rumors to the contrary as the groundless charges of message-board-frequenting music snobs who complain that the Bay Area's oldest alternative station has become anything but alternative.

"For every person that accuses the station of being too mainstream, there's someone else who wants to know why we aren't playing more Linkin Park," he jokes. "My job isn't to cater to this group or that group. My job is to understand our listeners' taste and to give them what they want."

: I think it's telling that on Live 105's pre-Soundcheck Sunday night new music show he played Creed before anyone had heard of them, took some on air calls bashing the band that he agreed with saying that they were a warmed over Pearl Jam lite that weren't a "good fit" for the station's sophisticated audience before adding them to the station's playlist the next week. I realize he's fighting for good music within the system, and I respect that he does can which is one of the reasons I've stuck by the station for so many years. It's Axelsen's okay-to-loose-some-battles-to-win-over-the-long-term attitude is why I think he has been quiet over Subsonic's recent cancellation.

Timeless

Drum 'n' bass might have joined the ranks of dead genres, but I just discovered an interview done earlier this week with Goldie who is in the UK promoting a film he wrote and directed. Here's a bit of The Independent's article:

"I got told a great quote which I wish I heard ten years ago: 'If you walk with a half glass of water nobody can knock anything out of it'. Well, I filled that glass to the brim and tried to walk through a very busy place with it."

David Bowie, a long-time friend, helped Goldie emerge from creative exile. " Bowie said, 'If you make a pile of crap tomorrow, the one thing you have to understand is that you've made Timeless and nobody can take that away from you. So do what you do, carry on and reinvent yourself.'

: That last bit of advice sounds just like Bowie. Maybe this film career might work out for Goldie, while he starred with Bowie in B.U.S.T.E.D. one of the worst crime movies I've ever had the pleasure of turning off, I think he has a great screen presence. It's a shame he was completely under used as a Bond villain a few years ago. This film that he is promoting also signals his return to music. Apparently Goldie wrote a song for each character and is shopping the disc around to different labels.

Stella's Cry

Sad news about one of the first stars of trance. Details from Trust The DJ:

Marc Spoon died suddenly in his Berlin apartment this week, after reportedly suffering a heart attack. MTV Germany said police broke into his flat after friends tried and failed to contact him. He was 39 years old.

The legendary German DJ, whose real name was Markus Loeffel, achieved massive commercial and critical success in the early 90s, remixing acts including Quincy Jones, the Pet Shop Boys and Dr Alban before producing the definitive remix of Age Of Love that became one of the first trance superhits of the era. He also became a bona fide pop star in 1993 when he teamed up with classical musician Jam el Mar to form Jam & Spoon, scoring massive worldwide hits with Stella and Find Me, featuring the vocals of former Shamen singer Plavka.

: It would take the rest of the decade for trance to break in the US, but Jam & Spoon's "Stella" is a timeless track that helped define the genre in the early 90s. I played that track as a college radio dj some five years after it was released and still got a couple of calls asking about the track with one caller going on and on about how he really liked this "new" sound that was so much deeper and soulful than other trance out at the time. That caller was on to something.

More Subsonic Fallout

Even more bad news on the Subsonic front. Before finding the item I post previously I sent out an email to the show's host Disco Shawn asking about the show. He responded that the show was cancelled over the holiday hiatus (sneaky move) and that the station had fired him for talking to the press about the cancellation. Considering all the noise Live 105 has been making about wanting "activist" listeners it is interesting that they don't want people to know about what the station is canceling and is then willing to fire people over it. Perhaps this is what led to the station's new totalitarian slogan "The Only Alternative".

Subsonic Ends!?!

I turned on the radio tonight and something is missing! Apparently the long running Subsonic is cancelled. Not that you can find that out easily given that no one is picking up the phones at the station and the only official indication that it happened is that there is no longer a "Subsonic" link on live 105's website. Here's an explanation from The SJ Merc's radio writer Brad Kava:

Another change: LIVE 105, KITS-FM, this week killed off its Saturday night Subsonic show, the electronic showcase that has been on for 10 years.

"The same reason that the electronica section of Virgin Records has shrunk since 2000," said Sean Demery, Live 105 program director. "I thought this would be the new direction for alternative, but it's not happening."

"Our goal for 2006 is to present a more unified station."

Demery added that he's sad about the death of Channel 104.9, because it means less alternative music out there.

"No one is dancing a jig here. It's a big loss to the community," he said of his competitor.

"They weren't the big competitor. It's a competition for mindshare. We are competing with the internet, cell phones, TV. It's all a battle for mindshare."

: I now take back all those nice things I said about Sean Demery. If his defense for cutting a late night specialty show is that they "are competing with the internet, cell phones, TV" one would think that you might emulate the specific focus that those mediums (well if you count digital cable and on-demand tv) bring. Maybe with a long running specialty show.

That Much Is True

The Human League are apparently touring the UK at the moment, and while I missed their relatively recent US visit a few years ago I heard great things from those who made it out. I thought it might have been overexcited hardcore fans, but Fake DIY seem to agree with them:

The Human League's Synth City Tour could be perceived as a cynical cash in with nostalgic fans, but gratefully there is no such worry here. From the band's sudden arrival, to the close of splendid opener 'Tell Me When', it's clear that not only do the band look and sound great, they're working hard for all the applause...

Pioneering synth survivors, they produce a stirring and fun filled gig in which they show that they are as relevant and enticing today as they were in the past. Crowd favourites and sing a long classics like 'Love Action' and 'Together In Electric Dreams' thrill, and it feels like almost an event in itself to be present when perennial disco favourite 'Don’t You Want Me' is played live.

So Sorry, I Said

From PetShopBoys.co.uk:

We can confirm that Pet Shop Boys have remixed Madonna's next single, "Sorry", which will be released in February. At the moment we do not know whether "Sorry (PSB Maxi-Mix)" will be commercially released or only made available on promo copies to club DJs.

Chris and Neil remixed the track in December and Neil added some vocals to it.

: You would think that Madonna's "Jump" with it's quoting elements of "West End Girls" would be a more obvious choice for a PSB remix.

Down To The Underground

The long anticipated second album that Massive Attack was supposed to release in 2003 has a release date- February 2007. Details from nme.com:

Massive Attack's fifth album will be called 'Weather Underground'.

The Bristol band have completed 7 tracks for the album with long term collaborator Neil Davidge producing.

The band have been splitting their time between Bristol and New York where they have been collaborating with TV On The Radio. A release date is set for February 2007.

: At least they know how to plan in advance. Maybe if Portishead put this kind of pressure on themselves they would be more productive. Of course it's not that MA don't have other things on the way...:

Preceding this, the band are set to release 'Collected', a double CD best of on March 27.

The double CD will be preceded by a single 'Live With Me' featuring Terry Callier, set to be released on March 13.

The first CD will feature songs chosen by the band including singles 'Unfinished Sympathy' and 'Protection' while the second CD will feature rare and reworked tracks as well as a DVD of all their promo videos.

Channel 1049 Closes Down

Clear Channel's local alternative station just flipped formats to a Spanish language station at the start of the New Year. Originally started in the late 90's playing 80's Alternative, the station evolved over the years into a station in direct competition with the Bay Area's longstanding Modern Rocker Live 105. On the whole the station lacked the personality of Live 105, particularly since Sean Demery took over from the hack PD who attempted to ruin Live 105 a few years back, but had some nice features like the daily "What The Hell Was That?" and their Saturday night line-up. Oddly enough I just ran into a year old article on the day I discovered the format change that seems oddly prophetic:

Aaron Axelsen, the music director for Live 105, 105.3 FM, doesn't believe that battle is over, though the week I spoke to him, a major alternative station in Washington, D.C., switched its format to ranchero. "It's an interesting crossroads for radio – more competition with satellite radio and iPods and MP3s and 21st-century mediums that have empowered people to create their own musical
mix – but radio listenership has maintained even though we've been hit by all
these new-school mediums, so we have to work extra hard to come up with creative
programming."

: It's also worth noting that the 104.9 frequency hosted a Spanish language station as far back as I can remember before the late 90's flip, and if I remember correctly it went by the name Radio Romantica and ended up just moving down the dial a bit. The new station's name: La Romantica.