13 posts tagged “dj”
gothkill.com
The latest DVD we received is a horror movie called Gothkill. This is a straight-to-DVD low budgeted movie, starting America's Got Talent's Flambeaux (as Nicholas Dread), musician Eve Blackwater (as Kate) and Mistress Juliya (as Demonatrix, aka the Devil Girl).
Mistress Juliya's name should come as no surprise to fans of heavy metal, she did, after all hosted Much Music USA's Uranium, then onto its spin-off show, Metal Asylum. Her obvious sex appeal solidified her as a fan favorite, she now appears regularly on No. 1 Countdown Rock show on the MMUSA-turned-Fused TV.
Eve Blackwater's other job seems to be as a fire-eating musician. Her myspace hilariously discourages creeps: "STOP TRYING TO GET IN MY PANTS!!! IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN!!!! sorry to disappoint you."
The story of Gothkill is quite simple, Nicholas Dread, a Catholic Priest tries and save innocent women from accusations of witchcraft. His efforts lead the church to believe he's in league with the devil and sentenced him to be burn with the women he "confessed". This lead to Dread's disenchantment with his religion and made a pact with Satan.
100 years (?) later, in modern-day New York, Dread comes back to finish his deal with the devil. His revenge is unleashed on a stripper/goth club and basically it ends in fire and hell.
The DVD cover artwork by world-famous death metal artist Mike Hrubovcak promises us: B-Movie (check), T&A (check and check), metal (check), bloody gore (check), hell (check), goths (check), and deaths (check). While I did not enjoy very short movie, I would recommend it if you are looking for a midnight gory b-movie with a heavy goth/metal theme (with all the checks above), this will fulfill what you're looking for.
Also, it's not quite as comedic or as cheesy as some of the reviewers made it out to be, sure there are some unintentional bad acting, but that's to be expected with these type of film. I thought the
Gothkill was released May 12th, you can netflix this (it's available, I just checked). If you insist on buying a copy for your Mistress Juliya collection or for the extras (including audio/video commentary by director JJ Connelly, Flambeaux, and Blackwater), you can head over to Gothkill Store. Watch the trailer at Wild Eye Releasing.
SCION
scion.com
The application is really designed for DJs for determining beats per minute (BPM), for, what I'm assuming so they can match music to that thumping-thumping noise. The application was created and developed by Epic Tilt, who is the company-for-hire when big companies need to cross promote their product (such as that Be Like Lady Gaga application). It's actually a smart way to promote, I'm just wondering why companies don't concentrate their efforts on applications.
I did download and tested out the BPM application and discovered that this application was not meant for me. This is really for DJs, as I have previously mentioned. After testing four songs, the number given back to me ranges from 100-200 BPM and that's pretty much it. You can then save the information on a playlist or assign notes to it or share them with your DJ friends.... but I found that since I did not understand the use of the BPM, it quickly became a useless application for me.
However, if you're a DJ, or interested in DJ work, I think this application is valuable to you. Plus the price is just right: FREE.
twitter.com
It
would seem like most current/modern bands all have Twitter accounts
now. If not setup by the band themselves, it's set up by their record
label. Pretty soon, all musicians will have a Twitter account, like
they do with their Myspace.
W♥M Twitter experienced a huge spike with all the bands migrating to the service - we had +63 adds since last night, mostly by bands. It's not John Mayers numbers, but it's big for us.
And I have said it before: I don't get what all the fuss is about with Twitter. Why is the country in love with it? The limitation of 140 characters kills me.... plus people use it as a popularity contest. Also, once you add more than 50 people to follow, it becomes absolutely useless. I know hardcore Twitter users basically use 3rd party applications to keep them organize (since Twitter doesn't offer such functionality).
The microblogging service hit mainstream media earlier this year with Ashton vs CNN and Oprah endorsing it. Recently, I was at a grocery store when I saw The Times with twitter for their front page story.
If you're new to Twitter, or interested in being more productive on Twitter, here are some services that I use and endorse:
- Tweet Later: Automatically follow people that follows you - and the best part, it also drops people that unfollow you.
- Twitterfeed: Automatically post feeds (RSS).
- We Follow: A directory of twitterers, ranked by popularity.
06/14/2009 20:42:34 ♥ vu (
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♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com
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Sticks is an all-instrumental album (there are vocals harmonies by Cosmika, but it's rare and mostly used as backdrops). The album takes us on a journey back in time to that 60s/70s era and I never felt listening to the album that it took me into the future. All the instruments sounds very organic, with emphasis on percussions and drums (as noted in the album title) and especially the sitar which happens to appear on several tracks ("Melisma Mercury","Rififi Rococo","Little Nature"), giving it a distinct Indian/Asian sound.
Besides from taking and keeping us in the past, I also felt that Sticks did a wonderful job on mixing between music genres. For instance, the sixties-sounding go-go dancing of "Danger Buds" is paired next to funk-sounding "Rififi Rococo" (which actually sounds strangely like Russian folk music), then back to 60s with a Farfisa organ (?) of "Night Scare", then back to 70s funk with "Root Juice".
What I love is that you're always looking forward to where Joss takes you, at least I was never bored at any given point... Although I will admit the atmospheric song of "Tune Down" was a bit too loungey and way heavy on the bass for my taste.
If you're a vocals/singing fan, I don't recommend this album to you. If you like non-vocals DJ-style type of music, such as Thievery Corporation (they are one my top 10 bands on lastfm), U.N.K.L.E., and those Verve Remixed albums, you'll find Chris Joss right up your musical alley.
Sticks was released last Tuesday, March 10th, you can purchase it at most retailers, however you might have the best luck via the US record label, ESL Music.
03/12/2009 21:13:32 ♥ vu ()
♥ chrisjoss.free.fr ♥ myspace.com/chrisjoss
/ Sometimes DJs/VJs release mashup tracks individually, and others create compilations, often where the tracks have common elements or a unifying theme. Mark Vidler, as the one-man Go Home Productions, released Spliced Krispies in May 2008 and I was very interested in the content. Not only had he created videos (in the manner I described above), but he also had chosen a lot of older material. I'm a very firm believer that mashups are not a passing fad and the music can be very accessible to everyone-- if only to show that history can very much repeat itself in the music business, especially in popular genres.
Mark Vidler is based in Watford, UK and produces remixes as well as mashups. His work extends into radio and television, such as XFM's 'The Remix' and 'Rinse' radio shows as well as projects with MTV Mash. His hit mashup "Rapture Riders" was included in Blondie's Greatest Hits on the EMI label, and his "Ray of Gob" mashup of Madonna and The Sex Pistols (featured on Pistol Whipped on Half Inch Recordings) has become quite notorious. (I've referenced the "Rapture Riders" video here. I was very surprised that for a time, an excerpt was featured on the Blondie official website.)
As I said before, Spliced Krispies features a lot of older tunes, and I think that's a very good thing. It gives both the younger and older generations a fresh perspective on some old favorites. As some mashups are, it sometimes takes a few listens to get used to the songs if you're very, very familiar with the original tunes. While it would be nice for Vidler to have some studio magic to make the tracks very clean and smooth-sounding (say, compared to Simon Iddol), I think he's worked very well with the material and likely the recordings that were available to him.
My favorite on the album was "3 X A Raindrop", which takes Burt Bacharach's "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head", and the Commodore's "Three Times A Lady". The video splices scenes from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, in which movie "Raindrops" was featured, with cuts of Lionel Ritchie singing the other song in a live performance.
"This one will probably piss-off the purists, I dunno. After acquiring the REM 'parts' I thought it would be funny to put them with something completely alien to their style. Don't get me wrong, I'm a massive fan of REM's early stuff. Chronic Town, Murmur and Reckoning [were] definitely brilliant...but to put them with something more disco or funk was the intention."
The album with mp3s and videos is available at the Mark Vidler // Go Home Productions site here.
Links:
www.gohomeproductions.co.uk
myspace.com/markvidlerGHP
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10/31/08 Personal Fest Buenos Aires
11/06/08 Circolo degli Artisti Rome 11/07/08 Club to Club Turin 11/15/08 Stimul Festival Prague 11/20/08 Dingwalls London 11/21/08 Academy Manchester 12/12/08 LPR New York* 12/14/08 Ars Nova Philadelphia, PA* 01/31/09 Laneway Festival Brisbane 02/01/09Laneway Festival Melbourne 02/06/09 Laneway Festival Perth 02/07/09 Laneway Festival Adelaide 02/08/09 Laneway Festival Sydney * as Hebden and Reid |
I thought of this while listening to NYC, which is a collaborative work by Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid. It is definitely not like anything I've ever listened to before, but having researched the two, I would describe the sound as old school meets new. To say that it is definitely outside the realm of traditional jazz is an understatement, but it still is described by the jazz idiom of improvisation.
Steve Reid is a well-established jazz drummer in the U.S. He's played with big names in jazz and black music like Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, Fela Kuti, James Brown, and Sun Ra. It was the connection to Sun Ra in particular that got me thinking on that memory, and that Reid, in working with Hebden, seems to be extending the progressivism that artists like Sun Ra started. I also thought of Herbie Hancock, who has been well known for his use of synthesizers and his crossover into the U.S. pop charts.
Kieran Hebden is a mix artist and post-rock/electronica musician, better known by the name Four Tet. The list of artists he has done remixes for include Radiohead, Bloc Party, and Black Sabbath. His use of both acoustic and electronic sounds as Four Tet were dubbed "folktronica" by the mainstream music press (after his second album Pause), but I would define his abstract style (at least from this recording) as ambient. Also known as atmospheric music, ambient is a branch of electronic music characterized by an "atmosphere of sound", as compared to hooks, melodies, and refrains.
It is difficult to point to any single track on NYC, as it is much easier for me to look at it as a collective whole. It's not that the tracks aren't distinct, for they are, but they do seem to lead into each other in an eclectic and abstract progression of sound. Moreover, the track listing sounds almost like a travel log: "Lyman Place", "1st & 1st", "25th Street", "Arrival", "Between B & C", and "Departure". I would say that almost qualifies it as a concept album. It's also not the first work Reid and Hebden have done together; three albums-- The Exchange Sessions, vol. 1, The Exchange Sessions, vol. 2, and Tongues predate it. The first two in particular appear to be the product of some improvisational shows they did together in 2005, and as Reid was reported to have referred to Hebden as his newly found "musical soul mate" while discussing their collaborations, I get the feeling you really have to see them live to fully appreciate their artistry.
Links:
kieranhebdenandstevereid.com
fourtet.net
myspace.com/fourtetkieranhebden
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In 2001, Universal Music started re-releasing landmark albums in their Deluxe Editions. These reissues are in deluxe digipaks, usually with an extra CD. These Deluxe Editions are really targetted towards collectors, casual fans might be happy with just the regular album as the prices are sometime really expensive. Prices range from $15 to $40, but if you're a collector or mega fan, they are well worth it for the rare/obscure tracks and booklets that comes in these sets. The album are in digipacks and fit inside a clear plastic slipcase (note: these are not interchangeable with other Deluxe releases).
Since the series is pretty successful, there are a few imitators in similar formats, notably Rhino/Elektra/Sire releases of Depeche Mode, R.E.M., and The Cure, although I should point out that these special editions have cardboard slipcases, not the clear plastic.
Also note that "Legacy Editions" from Legacy Recordings and "Collector's Edition" from Sony should not be confused with the Universal Releases.
I've compiled a listing based on umeportal.com, livingwithmusic.com, and wikipedia: W♥M's guide to Universal's Deluxe Editions.
I may return and add in Legacy Editions and Rhino re-issues, if anyone out there is interested.
By the way, some Deluxe Editions are available only in certain countries because they're popular in certain region (for instance, I think all the Pulp and Orb Deluxes are available only in the UK).
For collectors, you might want to see if you can get your hands on the free Best Buy's Deluxe Edition: Sampler. There's nothing really special about the 12-track disc, it comes in a standard jewel case.
We've previously mentioned a few Deluxe albums, so I've include a few links on the sidebar for you to read more.
Below are reviews of six Deluxe Editions that is in my collection:
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GREASE - 25TH ANNIVERSARY
Grease is the word, is the word that you heard! Aw, who doesn't love this movie and soundtrack. The double LP album went on to the Deluxe Edition, released last year. All the classic songs are on here, "Grease", "Summer Nights", "Hopelessly Devoted to You", "Greased Lightning", and "We Go Together". The bonus second disc contains mostly "sing-a-long" version, which are essentially instrumentals. Although some instrumentals, such as the title track, "Grease", is amazing with the Gary Brown saxophone. The "megamix" and "dream mix" are dance medleys, which are kind of nice, but it couldn't really take the place of the originals. Also worth mentioning is the lyric booklet are designed as a school three-ring binder. |
ELVIS COSTELLO - MY AIM IS TRUE
I've been waiting for Universal to release all of Elvis' catalogue - and I was pleased to see that This Year's Model (the album with Pump it Up) was released a few months ago. My Aim is True (1977) is the first in the reissues, and it's a good start, because it was the first Costello album. Over thirty years later, the Deluxe Edition expands on the original release with some early demos. The bonus disc features the entire live concert from The Nashville Rooms (Aug 7th, 1977) as well as the soundcheck from the same venue. The live recording is from soundboard and sounds just as good as a studio environment. Trivia: I've seen Elvis Costello twice in my life, at a live concert in Berkeley and, strangely, at the Arctic Monkeys show as one of his bodyguard pushed me aside. |
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WEEZER - THE BLUE ALBUM
There's no additions to the original album, the first disc is relatively short, being barely 40 minutes long. The second disc made up for it, with fan-favorites such as "Mykel and Carli", a song about two of their biggest fan (who died while driving to a Weezer concert), "Jamie" (a song about their attorney, originally appearing on DGC Rarities, Vol. 1), and "Susanne". There are some pre-production recording, such as "Paperface" and "I Swear It's True", that's nothing more than glorified demos, but it's still nice to have it collected on this reissue. The best thing about this Deluxe Edition is all the original lyrics were reprinted from the original hand-written notes from Rivers Cuomo. At the same time this was released, Geffen also issued their first DVD called Video Capture Device, which made a nice addition to any Weezer fan's collection. |
VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO
I've always thought this album was called Andy Warhol, but apparently the official title is Velvet Underground and Nico. What's interesting to note is that Warhol is the band's manager at this point in their career and he was the person that courted Nico to collaborate with the band. I'm actually not that thrilled about this re-release, partly because the extra is basically "the mono version" of their album. Let me put it this way: if you were to buy a bluray movie "deluxe edition" and the only extra is a VHS, it's really not worth paying extra, right? I suppose, they had to put something on the second disc as, by now, there was little undiscovered VU music. The extra bonus are five songs from Nico's album Chelsea Girl, originally released in October 1967. |
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SONIC YOUTH - DIRTY
This was the first of a series of Sonic Youth releases from Universal/Geffen. It contains a bunch of extras, mostly rehearsal recordings on the second disc (which includes songs not released on Dirty). What's important about this album is that it was originally the first album to make Sonic Youth a household name, with their massive hit "100%", even though they were previously getting airplay with "Kool Thing" (from Goo; also released as a Deluxe Edition). Photo extras includes a glimpse into the notes after their first proof print of the Dirty album, although I was disappointed to find out that they didn't reprint the pornographic image on the original album. I suppose it's all in good taste. |
TEARS FOR FEAR - SONGS FROM THE BIG CHAIR
This Tears for Fear's biggest hit album, finally released in Deluxe format. The original album only ran 44 minutes, so they added 7 B-sides, filling up the rest of the disc. The second CD contains 7" and 12" remixes, which was pretty common at the time (usually the 12" is a dance mix). The band really started to fit in radio in 1985, along such other smooth mellow soul 80s sound such as Simply Red and Sade, and their biggest hit at the time was "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Shout". Songs from the Big Chair hit #1 in the US, Canada, and Germany, making this one of the most successful album from this British band, although surprisingly they only hit #2 on the UK charts. The booklet contains a 10-page article about the importance of this album from Paul Lester, editor at Uncut Magazine. |
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The two Jasons (Jason Miles and Jason Kibler, aka DJ Logic) have teamed up for a cultural exploration in Global Noize, released April 29th on Shanachie Records.
If the name Jason Miles sounds familiar, that's because he was the mastermind behind Soul Summit, an album that captured the live energy of the Berks Jazz Festival.
Global Noize combines an array of sound, from electronica, funk, trip hop, world, and jazz - such fusion sounds that M.I.A. and Santogold are making famous. So if you enjoy those artists, you should definitely check out this phenomenon album.
This project started rolling into effect when Kibler, called to ask Miles to join him for a live performance at the Blue Notes in New York. Miles recalls:
On that day I had a horrible root canal and was mourning the loss of a close relative. I thought that this could be just the tonic I needed to pick myself up. We went through life-altering experiences. It was so new to us - mysterious, crazy and another view of the world. We both knew we had to make this project happen. The picture on the CD over of the both of us with the camel in the desert says it all!
The first song on the album, "A Jam 4 Joe" sets up the mood for the album: the vocals of Falu suggests Indian, while the dedication of Joe Zawinul, suggests jazz. This is a perfect song for any mild/chill party.
Falu appears again on "Bollywood", obviously because of her Indian voice, but the bass on this song made it sound like funk.
If you can't get enough of the relaxing vocals, there is another song that features singing, "Quero Dancar" (I Want to Dance With You). As the title suggests, this is a Spanish-based song (but sung in Portuguese?) with a smooth jazz mix, featuring some very sexy vocals by Vanessa Fallabella.
The large majority of this album is instrumental, that should comes as no surprise. Songs as "Dar' Abesque" showcase Miles' staple jazz sound (check out that Herb Alpert trumpets), but as you listen in closer, you can hear Logic's contribution in shifts and beats mixed in.
As far as I'm concern, these two perfectly compliment each other, making for an interesting collaboration on Global Noize. They are going to team up for a brief appearance at the Aspen Jazz Festival in Colorado on August 28th, so check it out if you're in the area.
Links:
myspace.com/globalnoizejazz
www.djlogic.com
www.jasonmilesmusic.com
6000 Year Peach is a funk/breakbeat/hip hop outfit out of Brisbane, Australia and although I often profess my hate for dance music. This is mostly a mere cover-up to maintain my image as *cough* very cool britpop chick. However, give me a beverage and stick me in a darkened room and I'll quite happily dance away.... but not to everything.
Buddha Breaks by 6000 Year Peach is an album that would get me up and dancing. You see, Buddha Breaks does not adhere to what I think of when I think of hip hop, breakbeats and/or funk. Buddha Breaks is extremely cruisey and laid back, almost to the point of me wanting to classify it as lounge music. Forgive me if you would like to disagree, but it's perfect music for the background to a dinner party, a cute little cocktail bar or perhaps... vacuuming (if you make sure you have the stereo volume set to maximum).
It's computerised mostly, but with hints of real instruments. If i had to pick a favourite track I'd choose Computer Is The Sound as it reminds me of cheesy computerised 80's music. Howewver, Cool Cats is also brilliant in my opinion as it's possibly the least dance music-esque track on the album; it's still electronic, but it has it has vocals... incoherent vocals, but vocals all the same. Also, a special mention to the track Poly Br@ke due to it's inclusion of samples from the highly hilarious telly show Summer Heights High (very much worth tracking down if you've not seen it).
Now, if I didn't know Andy (Mr 6000 Year Peach), I would say that the creator of this music had just sat down at the computer one day and decided that they want to be a DJ. However, I know better and now you do too. Andy was in my music classes throughout our later years of high school and when I listen to Buddha Breaks I can hear that there is an underlying musical knowledge that is not just retstrained to flutes, pianos, guitars and glockspiels. As opposed to some idiot that's just slapped together a few breakbeats and called it "music".
Just to work in a britpop reference, i'd like to briefly remenise about the day that Andy played guitar for an horrendous rendition of Blur's Sunday Sunday (with me on keyboards and vocals, no less).... it makes me laugh inside as I think about it even now.
Anyway, back to the point 600 Year Peach has (accoring to his myspace page) played alongside, D-KO, The Funk Trust Djs, Lab 4, Kato, Devastating Dave, Vertical Transport, Chemical Kurt, Juvanille Djs, Anakin Skywalker, Down n Dirty Djs, Travis White, Guy Davy, Adam Phillips, and the Plump Djs, which is quite an impressive list (impressive in that someone with next to no knowledge of the electronic music world, me, has actually heard of some of these artists).
Well, that's about it from me. To hear more of 6000 Year Peach mosey on over to his myspace page or if you're in a position to do so, you can email 6000-year-peach@inthemix.com.au for bookings.
Sal
Band Members
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Polynya are from North Carolina... and that's pretty much all I know about this band! I thought they were a new band, but I was told that the recording of their debut album took about "4 fastidious years". Which only means that the band were together at least four years ago.
Judging from the photographs of their myspace that they seem like a really close-knit bunch of friends. Their debut self-titled album is only $10, see details on their official website.
So, it seems maybe Luke is the primary song writer and music arranger. It's also interesting to note that two of the band members also DJs at the college station in Chapel Hill (WXYC), so I think they're very well versed in the college music scene.
So the first thing that struck me is how much the singer's vocals (I think it's Amelia) sound like Rose Melberg (from Tiger Trap). Their sound like is a sweet indie pop, with some great harmonies. Sometime Luke jumps in and sings as well, so they have a great girl-boy sound that reminds me of Velocity Girl.
I like the opening song, "Old West", a lot. I think there's three layers of different vocals on this song. It's also best listened to with headphones because there's some music and noise that exists independently on either left or right headphones.
I also remember liking "Sweatshop" a lot. The sound on this song sounds a bit noisy and low-fi, which I liked. You can preview their whole album on their website.
Lastly, can someone explain to me why downloading the album costs much more than buying the physical CD? According to my calculations, if you download the album from Digstation (not to be confused with Diggnation), it will cost you $12.87 - while the physical CD with Shipping & Handling has a grand total of $10. If anything, because there's no cost of pressing the cd, printing the sleeve and shipment, digital sales should be much lower.
So, yes, buy the physical CD is my recommendation by sending an email to 
(image).
If you like what you heard, they are in the process of recording their next album, which I'm told will sound pretty similar to this album.
Watch my mispronouncing of their name on the second video:
Other bands mentioned: Finespun, more detail on their EP later, in the meantime, check out: finespunmusic.com.
12/06/2007 22:02:24
vu
my♥posts
www.polynya.info
myspace.com
Sorry, I've been missing in action lately. While Randy is on his Swedish Rampage, I'm going to focus more of music outside of the USA this week. This is partly because looking at the W♥M Directory, it tells me that the majority of music I cover is US-based.
So, this is an incredibly popular song right now called "Tu Tu Hai Wohi" by DJ Aqeel. Most DJs that I'm familiar with, they normally do not sing but stay in the background dubbing in dance beats and music to the vocals.
I've included the video to "Tu Tu Hai Wohi", perhaps anyone can recognize the women singer?
As a special bonus, I've included "Ek Haseena Thi". When I say "bonus", it's more of a mistake, I had meant to upload "Tu Tu Hai Wohi" and instead mistakenly added this song instead.
Here is a translation of it courtesy of Cactina:
"There was once a beauty
And there also was her lover, nearly mad in her loveWho knew this would happen Who knew this was their fate
How young they were What a time it was What beauty and fantasy
You make me feel so good You make me feel so much love You light up my life with your love (oh yeah) For you I will give my whole night long
Mon Amour...."
This is followed by something that sounds like French :-D
PS The flash on DJ Aqeel's official website crashes my FireFox, so I don't recommend visiting his website unless you want to take a chance.
August 22, 2007 8:24 AM
vu
cactina
my♥posts
vu@weheartmusic.com
www.djaqeel.com
I used to be a radio disc jockey, I went by the name of "DJ Drivel-Head" (it was a bit of a joke because it was really "dri-vu-head" and it was also a nod to Elastica's song "Line Up".) I worked for KFSR 90.7, which is where Emelia heard the Parcels, so I guess our station played some good indie stuff back then.
My time slot was pretty bad, it was every Thursday from midnight to two in the morning and I really didn't think I had regular listeners (although there were these two girls that would call and talk every week).
Anyway, I stopped DJing around 1996, and about seven years later, I received a message from one of my fans:
I used to actively listen to your show for the first hour (blank tape cued up and ready), then I would go to bed and just let the stereo record the rest of the show. After I woke up, there were usually one or two songs I would choose to "keep" and put them on a "keepers" tape. One day, I listened to the tape I had left to record while I slept, and the whole block was really good. The whole tape automatically became a "keepers" tape. The first song was bedside manners, and I started recording too late to get the lead-in, intro information about the name of the band or song. In case you're curious, and you think it would be nostalgically interesting to know what you played in that one night, it was...
He then proceeded to name all the songs, in the correct order and what I said about each song (they were: Mazzy Star, Jesus and Mary Chain, Morrissey, Lush, Frente, Echobelly, Miranda Sex Garden, and They Might be Giants).
The strangest part ? He had recited these from MEMORY!! Apparently he had lost the tape and was telling me what he remembered because he listened to the tape over a million times! He said that he recorded too late for the introduction of "Bedside Manners" so he didn't know who the artist was... well it is a b-side from my favorite band, Sleeper!
Sleeper, is of course, from the London-area, in England. They were originally called Surrender Dorothy (a reference to the Wizard of Oz), but changed their name on account that there were already several bands registered under that name in the UK.
They settled for Sleeper, which was a reference to Woody Allen's film. They were signed to a small indie label called Indolent in the UK.
I first heard of them in 1994 when my friend Mark, who came back from France, lent me the Alice in Vain EP and Swallow EP. I fell in love with Louise Wener when I met and interview the band in real life in 1995 and have been a loyal fan since then.
Currently, Louise Wener is a novel writer, penning Goodnight Steve McQueen, The Big Blind (aka The Perfect Play), and The Half Life of Stars. She's also a part-time columnist at the Guardian. As for the other band members, I think Andy Macclure is a computer-guy who's living with Louise. Jon Stewart, guitarist, teaches music and as session musician (he is the guitarist on Mel C's Reason album) and sometime band manager. Not really sure what Diid Osman is up to.
Trivia: For a short time, Sleeper was known as Sleeper UK because there was already an established punk band called Sleeper.
PS, Sleeper is probably my all-time mondern favorite band, at least when they were active. I've created a fanzine and website devoted to Sleeper (www.louisewener.com), which have been around since Sep 1996! If you are new to Sleeper, I suggest checking out "Nice Guy Eddie", "What Do I Do Now?", and their massive hit, "Inbetweener".
