5 posts tagged “blonde redhead”
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Yep, it's nearing the end of the year and everyone's doing their top stories of the year. I have so many favorites that I'm splitting them by categories. This is the Shoegazing/Dreampop Top 7 for 2007.
To my ear and understanding, Dream Pop and Shoegazing/Shoegaze are essentially the same, deriving from from the 80s 4AD sound (the most famous being The Cocteau Twins and Dead Can Dance). The term 'shoegazing' was coined by Melody Maker in the early 90s because the musicians in these groups does nothing but stand and stare at the floor.
This quote from wikipedia made me laugh at the generalization of the look and sound of Dream Pop:
The essence of the music is a focus on ethereal textures and moods, rather than on propulsive rock riffs. Breathy, high-register female vocals (and androgynous male vocals) are the preferred means of lyrical delivery; lyrics are generally introspective and existential in nature. Cover art tends to consist of blurry pastel imagery and/or stark minimalist designs.
You may noticed that bands such as Lush aren't listed here, that's because the songs represented here aren't Shoegazing, but more rock (Lush's sound changed shortly after Split was released). Maybe in 2008, I will have to write about the pre-Split Lush. Also, will someone do coverage on My Bloody Valentine already?
Special thanks to Gus, Cristina, and Michael for submitting some of these articles:
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12/22/2007 13:13:44
vu
my♥posts
www.weheartmusic.com
Welcome to the first annual W♥M Award for 2007! Here are the nominees as voted by our readers:
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So start voting by marking these songs as a favorite. Winners will be announced in October, and it looks like Stars is destroying the competition :/
If you feel your favorite band is not represented here, please get four of your friends to mark one of our song a favorite and then send me an email, I will definitely reconsider in the next voting reminder in September.
Some honorable mentions (four favorites): Asha Bhosle - Mohabbat Hoon Haqiqat Hoon, The Left Banke - Walk Away Renee, Morrissey - Tomorrow (Single Mix), Metric - Combat Baby, The Here+Now - Xochimilco, Strawberry Fair - Where is Alex Taylor Now?, Freezepop - Here Comes a Special Boy, So Post All 'Em, Charlotte Gainsbourg - Everything I Cannot See, The Marmalade - Twenty Miles, The Farewell Circuit - Oceans Cry, This Is Not The End, The Decemberists - The Soldiering Life, Garbage - 02-I Think I'm Paranoid, Arabesque - Hello Mr. Monkey, Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, Moonbaby - Here We Go, Bangs - Scorpi-oh, Bertrand Betsch - Bang Bang, I Hate Camera, Raymond Wong - Shaolin Soccer Opening Theme, This World Fair - This Morning, UR Hung Up, Chelsea Dagger, The Smiths - I Know It's Over (live), The Smiths - I Know It's Over (live), Young And Dumb, Under the Rotunda, Frodo, Peter Bjorn And John - Teen Love, Midnight Movies - Blue Babies, Gregorian - Losing My Religion, No Pussy Blues, Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - Rent a Wreck, RIAA - It's Whiskey, Sweet Geisha Love, Dirty On Purpose - Mind Blindness, Coco Freeman feat. Franz Ferdinand - The Dark Of The Matinee, Candie Payne - All I Need to Hear, Math and Physics Club - Weekends Away, The Feminine Complex - Are You Lonesome Like Me?, Tiger Trap - Supreme Nothing, Chia Pet - Don't You Want Me Baby, Looper - Impossible Things #2, France Gall - Faut-il que je t'aime, Simon & Garfunkel - Red Rubber Ball, The Lucksmiths - Deep Sea Diving Suit
August 5, 2007 2:08 PM
vu
my♥posts
vu@weheartmusic.com
www.weheartmusic.com
So, I put together a proof copy of the We♥Music CD/Booklet. You can see what it looks like on the photograph, ignore the trash cinema in the background...
The CD is free to anyone interested, I just need you to send me postage, it should be less than $3. I will post again when they are ready and finalized. In the meantime, it's always good to re-read and re-listen to some of these classic tracks on here. The track listing* :
1. Cristina | Zazie - Rose
2. Randy | Math and Physics Club - Weekends Away
3. Michael | Sonic Youth - Kool Thing
4. Brody | A Very Hip Band From London Called The Rocks
5. Gus | 23
6. Vu | Stars - Heart
7. Melinda | "Beware of the Piano": DJ Lebowitz rockin' your punkass like the donkey
8. Christopher | Halflight - Worship
9. Minh | It's Mono, so there!
10. Kristine | Nada Surf - Always Love
11. Jason | Eisley - Sea King
12. Em | RIAA - It's Whiskey
13. Jaime | Moi, le voisin
14. Maggie | My Favorite - The Kids Are All Wrong
15. Em | Daft Punk - Da Funk
16. Mads | Candie Payne - All I Need To Hear
17. Troy | Bleach - Dipping
18. Celeste | The Feminine Complex - Are You Lonesome Like Me?
* Track listing are subject to change.
Last year, I had this stupid idea about my Winter Mix CD - I was going to get people to just send me songs and I would put it together and everyone who contributed would get a copy. I didn't get nearly enough songs to fill up a CD, and then I sort of just forgotten about it.
This time around, I realized that I've already gotten enough songs to make a CD - off weheartmusic! I will also be including a printed booklet, see example photo.
So, I wanted to mention that I bought a CD based on a review by Gus and the strength of the song (which I'm re-posting here).
I saw the CD at Best Buy for $7.99 on sale. The packaging is a cardboard digipak. The image on the cover is slightly raised and the tri-fold-out is in all blue with the words "23" in the center. There were no lyric book or liner notes... in fact, there's no information at all! On the CD it has the track listing and their website Blonde-Redhead.com (it directs you there for more information on this CD). Their website doesn't even have any information on "23", by the way.
Well anyway, I've only listened to half the album, but it's pretty good so far. There's a guy singing on a few of the songs, which caught me off guard.
| 秀吾 wrote: Apr 14, 2007 at 9:46 PM |
I got this album recently, and I think it's great. So far, on the whole I still prefer their previous album, Misery Is A Butterfly. Anyways, here is a song from their Melody Of Certain Damaged Lemons album which is also great.
I was surfing around their website, and found out that these 4AD (Modern English, Cocteau Twins, The Pixies) vets are releasing a new CD in April. Being a huge fan of their previous albums (specifically the aforementioned Misery and Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons), I snatched up the single off their forthcoming album and gave it a much needed listening-to.
The track in particular, "23" (pronounced "two-three," vice "twenty-three") starts off with distorted guitars, a persistent beat, and lead singer Kazu Makino's ghostly vocals. They do their thing perfectly here -- anyone with a heart for 4AD nostalgia would do well to check this one out. It blends Blonde Redhead's signature weirdness with classic shoegaze elements -- over-the-top guitars, a wall-of-sound approach, and that tingly feeling you get shortly thereafter.
--Gus
