6 posts tagged “elvis costello”
11/29/09 Seattle, WA @ Paramount
Read More
11/30/09 Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre 12/02/09 Oakland, CA @ Paramount 12/04/09 Indio, CA @ Fantasy Springs 12/05/09 Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint 12/07/09 Pomona, CA @ Fox Theatre 12/08/09 San Diego, CA @ Copley Symphony Hall 12/10/09 Los Angeles, CA @ Gibson Amphitheatre 12/11/09 Ventura, CA @ Ventura Theatre |
itsmorrisseysworld.com
Heaven knows Morrissey doesn't need the promotion, but being a loyal fan, I thought I'd at least mention his forthcoming B-Sides album, Swords out on November 3rd in the US (UK residents will receive the album early on October 26th).
Hardcore fans will probably own all the singles, but the reason why they would pick up Swords is that it's just very convenient. Instead of compiling your own CD-R, this will do all the work for you and includes a new cover artwork. And as usual, it's definitely worth getting the limited version for the bonus disc.
Here's the tracklisting:
|
Limited edition bonus disc:
|
10/05/09
Esplanade Concert Hall
Read More
10/08/09 Fremantle Arts Centre Fremantle 10/11/09 Palais Theatre Melbourne 10/13/09 Wrest Point Entertainment Centre Hobart 10/14/09 Palais Theatre Melbourne 10/15/09 Royal Theatre Canberra 10/17/09 Enmore Theatre Sydney 10/18/09 Convention Centre Brisbane |
elviscostello.com
I guess I'm pretty old. I have a lot of music-stories.
I've seen Elvis Costello at the Berkeley Theater before. I was there to cover Sleeper, the opening band. We had pretty awful seats, I had brought some friends along. They wanted to leave, but not until he played "Veronica" (one of the girl's name in our group). So he played it about half way into his set and we started walking out.
Outside the venue, there was a whole family sitting outside the venue's wall, listening to Elvis Costello. They were somewhat offended that we were leaving the show - "What's the matter? Why are you leaving?" they asked.
To be honest, I would've liked to say for the whole Costello show. I would've love to hear "Pump It Up" live, which I suspect probably would've been encore material.
So what's my point? Next Tuesday, as part of the "Costello Show" series, Live At The El Mocambo, comes out on Hip-O Records, according to amazon.
I got a chance to preview it, and I'll have to say that the recording is clean, probably was originally recorded from the soundboard for radio broadcast. The show was originally recorded in 1978 and released to Canadian radio stations only. As usual, fans got a hold of it, and it was heavily bootlegged. It eventually got an official release in 1993, but only as part of the 2½ Years boxset. Cheapskates will be happy to know that you can now buy Live At The El Mocambo as a standalone release soon.
thisisit-movie.com
Too soon?
UK tickets for the highly anticipated Michael Jackson film, "This Is It", goes on sale today, September 27th. If I were a betting man, I would think that tickets will probably sell out - so I suggest if you really want to see it, buy the tickets early.
Here's the kicker, the movie will only be available for two weeks, starting Wednesday, October 28th. I did check for tickets in my area, there is an HD showing near me for $14, which is a little more expensive than I had hope. Remember when movies only cost $4.50 for matinee ?
While some may argue that the movie-going experience is worth it, I say for about the same amount, I'll get the DVD or Bluray version when it comes out. Which I'm almost certain it will come out.... after all, the soundtrack is available for pre-order.
Here's the official details of the MJ film:
Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT will offer Jackson fans and music lovers worldwide a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the performer as he developed, created and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts that would have taken place beginning this summer in London's O2 Arena. Chronicling the months from April through June, 2009, the film is produced with the full support of the Estate of Michael Jackson and drawn from more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage, featuring Jackson rehearsing a number of his songs for the show. Audiences will be given a privileged and private look at Jackson as he has never been seen before. In raw and candid detail, Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT captures the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect, creative genius and great artist at work as he creates and perfects his final show. Kenny Ortega, who was both Michael Jackson's creative partner and the director of the stage show is also directing the film, which is being produced by Randy Phillips, Kenny Ortega and Paul Gongaware. Executive producers are John Branca and John McClain. The film will be distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures Releasing. Tickets for the limited two-week engagement of the film go on sale beginning September 27.
09/27/2009 00:44:30 ♥ vu (
) ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com
)Top 5 Albums of 2008
1. Beach House – Devotion
Their first album was nice.
Occasionally heavy-lidded and aimless (as in, the mind wanders when
listening), but nice, certainly a curious take on dream pop. Then Devotion
came out and it was like Beach House even further demented the dreamy stargaze domain,
in, you know, a really, really attractive way.
With Victoria’s
sad, velvet voice (not at all, never ever cute,
for godsake), the off-putting pace, the hollow beat, the moodiness, the
sometimes romantic/sometimes painful lyrics, the harpsichord, that Daniel
Johnston cover…it just works. How often do all the pieces fall into
place? It may never happen again. Enjoy, Beach House.
2. The Raveonettes – Lust Lust Lust
So the Raveonettes are getting fuzzier and less defined, and moving further from those neo-noir 60s Phil Spector-inspired melodies into darker territory. Darker, louder territory. Like, seriously loud. I’d probably be less impressed with this album if it wasn’t for the sheer enormity of sound. Every song has a kind of feverish build-up; by the end it’s bye-bye future hearing, hello creepy weird aural enlightenment, or something.
3. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – Real Emotional Trash
What I like about Real Emotional Trash is that it combines the best of the Pavement core—bizarre/absurdist lyrics and sprawling noise/extended “jammin’/freak deaky guitar rifts. This album sounds very Malkmus; it isn’t the work of a middle-aged rocker desperate to fit in one last reinvention and prove to the twenty-somethings that he’s “still got it.” No, Malkmus hardly seems concerned with too much change; he may choose different directions with each of his solo albums, but there’s always a comfortable familiarity. (And, for the record, he’s definitely still got it.)
|
|
4. Santogold – Santogold
Let’s just get the obvious out of the way: yes, she reminds you of M.I.A. Sure, Santogold sings through her nose, loves a crazy beat, and is scarily supa fly (intimidating to the average-looking), but if you actually listen to her album you’ll realize that she ain’t no M.I.A. Which isn’t to say that Santogold ain’t fabulous. Au contraire, it’s perfect downtown club music (for the mild, hip and white). You can bump, grind, convulse, jump, rapidly move your hands in front of your face, remain mostly still while nodding your head, twirl, whatever. Also, with the absence of any kind of political message you don’t even have to pretend that you care about real things.
5. The Magnetic Fields – Distortion
What an aptly titled album. I’m found of aptly titled things. I wish Animal Collective and Xiu Xiu would take note and start naming their albums “Weird Crazy Things That Sound Like Woodlawn Creatures and Kitchen Utensils.” It would be convenient for writing reviews. Anyway, Distortion is Stephen Merritt doing distortion, which means fuzzy, drone-y guitar that lovers can still swoon to, and sad/silly lyrics like “sober, you’re old and ugly; shit-faced, who needs a mirror” (“Too Drunk to Dream”).
Top 5 Songs of 2008
1. Beach House – “Heart of Chamber” (Devotion)
Honestly, I could have chosen any song from Devotion, but “Heart of Chamber” is the one that gives me the strongest heart palpitations (like remembering a teenage night that never happened). As I said before, it works, and who needs solid logic?
2. Beck – “Walls” (Modern Guilt)
My relationship with Beck is similar to my relationship with thrift shopping: 99% of the time I leave the store irritated and resentful; however, maybe once a year I find something absolutely stunning, like amazingly, disgustingly perfect that I forget about all the previous disappointments. “Walls” is my disgustingly perfect gold lamé romper that I will never wear again.
3. Okkervil River – “Lost Coastlines” (The Stand Ins)
Apparently there are (self-proclaimed) straight men out there that would “go gay” for Will Sheff. Who knew. I cannot make that same declaration, but I will say this: Jonathan Meiburg’s voice keeps me comfortably heterosexual.
|
|
|
4. Benoît Pioulard – “Brown Bess” (Temper)
His name is Tom (hint: he’s not French). Tom taps into those same otherworldly arrangements that Zach Condon used to convince hipsters that foreign music could be edgy too. “Brown Bess” is just too pretty to ignore. I don’t know what he’s singing (it’s in English; he mumbles, I selectively listen), but similar to hearing a beautiful French phrase, do you even care?
5. Lucinda Williams (ft. Elvis Costello) – “Jailhouse Tears” (Little Honey)
The whole album’s kind of a mess: a few old-school bluesy ballads, some terrible angry rockers, and a truly frightening AC/DC cover (Lucinda, no). However, this duet with Costello makes me smile because I think Lucinda’s being a bit cheeky, no?
Top 5 Bands to Think About in 2009
|
|
|
1. Sybris
What: Anti-twee
indiepop
Where: Chicago, IL
Think about: “Oh
Man!” (Into the Trees, 2008)
More! http://myspace.com/sybris
What:
Halloween-voiced lad + pop music + geek beats
Where: St. Louis, MO
Think about: “Gamble”
(Classy Entertainment EP, 2008)
More! http://myspace.com/jumblingtowers
3. Alina Simone
What: Folk/punk
Where: Brooklyn, NY
Think about: “Half My
Kingdom” (Everyone is Crying Out to Me,
Beware, 2008)
More! http://myspace.com/alinasimone
4. The Pharmacy
What: Dirty rotten
indie rock
Where: New Orleans, LA
Think about: “Little
Toys on the Shelf” (Choose Yr. Own
Adventure, 2008)
More! http://myspace.com/pharmacy
5. Doomtree
What: White-friendly (read: non-threatening or “not too ghetto”) “smart” hip-hop
Where: Minneapolis, MN
Think about: “Dots
and Dashes” (Doomtree, 2008)
More! http://myspace.com/doomtree
Note: Doomtree is
extremely popular within their home state of Minnesota, but have they crossed the
border? Let me know.
Links:
www.weheartmusic.com
podcast.weheartmusic.com
news.weheartmusic.com
|
|
As much as I hate the DRM on iTunes, this EP is only available through iTunes. If you have an iPod and likes funny Christmas songs this might be worth your while.
Guests includes Toby Keith, Elvis Costello, John Legend, Feist, Willie Nelson, and Jon Stewart. The John Legend song about Nutmegs has very sexual innuendos that's safe for the kids and fun for the adults. I was happy to see that W♥M favorites Elvis Costello made an appearance too!
Recently, Colbert declared war on Kanye West because his 808s & Heartbreaks is #1 while Colbert is at a respectable #16. So, I guess, "Operation Humble Kanye" will be on next Wednesday, December 5th at 5pm (eastern).
Since I actually block double-click, I couldn't actually view the video on comedycentral.com, so instead here is a clip via hulu.com:
* Before you dismiss this Christmas cash-in and Colbert's arrogance, this project is actually for a good cause, for the charity group Feeding America.
|
|
|
|
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:
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
02 Death Cab For Cutie
03 Engelbert Humperdinck [Full]
04 Kate and Anna McGarrigle [Full]
05 Charles Barnett
06 Aidan Hawken
07 Ozomatli [Full]
08 The Submarines
09 Tim DeLaughter
10 Regina Spektor
11 Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice
12 Malvina Reynolds [Full]
02 Angelique Kidjo
03 Kinky
04 Donovan
05 Billy Bob Thornton and The Boxmasters [Full]
06 The Shins [Full]
07 The Individuals
English Covers:
Full Versions (of the 50 second long edits used on the show):
Covers in Other Languages:
Parodies:
| Links: Music from Weeds (Showtime Site) | Wikipedia (Little Boxes) | List of Covers | Posted by Jason |
| bellawilfer wrote: Sep 17, 2007 at 1:43 PM |
Fantastic job, but it would be great if you could note that Pete Seeger did more than just cover the song. Malvina Reynolds wrote it, but it definitely was Pete who made Little Boxes famous. I think his first recording of the song was on the live album of a 1963 concert at Carnegie Hall, We Shall Overcome, but there was a later studio version that was pretty successful as a single. There's what looks like quite a good discography on the Pete Seeger Appreciation Page.
| Sixbucksamonkey wrote: Sep 17, 2007 at 7:04 PM |
[ciò è buono] NICE! Decemberists version here.
* French Voxer olivelela also has a post about the "Little Boxes" covers.
* There are apparently 3 different versions of the Pete Seeger cover. A live version that appears on The Essential Pete Seeger and Pete Seeger's Greatest Hits are the same exact versions. It's the same version that appears on We Shall Overcome: The Complete Carnegie Hall Concert sans the stage banter. Then there are 2 studio recordings, one on Broadside Ballads, Vol. 2 that's acoustic and another on Headlines and Footnotes that uses a banjo.
* I noticed the "permalink" to this post includes an "s" after "little" making it "littles-boxes.html" instead of "little-boxes.html". That's a typo on my part because when I wrote up the entry, I entered "Littles Boxes" in the title field.
Yesterday, a friend of mine recommended where I should start in the huge collection of Aesop Rock that I'd acquired. (Through strictly legal means, of course.) Labor Days just floored me. I have seen too many profiles who say they like all kinds of music "except rap or country" and I'm telling you that this is the way to change that. But as long as I'm expanding my own horizons, I may as well go back to my roots as well. So, here are a few tracks about the working week.
|
|
|
|
Aesop Rock was, depressingly enough, born the same year as I was, which goes to show you where a bit of talent and dedication can get you. I mean, sure, I could copy and paste a couple lines from the wikipedia article, but it would just be fronting for the fact that I know almost nothing about this guy. So no plagiarizing, no quoting, just go read it yourselves.
The Bonzo Dog Band (alternately The Bonzo Dog Doodah Band) were sort of a British counterpart to Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. Alternately, you could think of the Bonzos as Monty Python to Zappa's Lenny Bruce. Both of them ended up making comic-pop because they couldn't really bring what they wanted to the public through their chosen medium. Both ended up poking fun at the establishment, but the Bonzos tended to use absurdity rather than irony to make their points. The Bonzos are the musical step daddy of They Might Be Giants, producing a lot of niche songs that would occasionally bleed over into a bit of attention on the pop scene.
And, as a bonus, Elvis Costello tells us all to sit the fuck down and get to work.
My Groups
-
Voxaholic Updated: 7 minutes ago
-
Los Angeles Updated: 48 minutes ago
-
Asian Updated: 53 minutes ago
Neighborhood
Explore friends, family, friends & family, or entire neighborhood.
