25 posts tagged “morrissey”
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05/22/09 Apollo Manchester 05/23/09 Apollo Manchester 05/25/09 City Hall Salisbury 05/26/09 Mile End Troxy London 05/28/09 Brixton 02 Ace London 05/29/09 Brixton O2 Ace London 05/30/09 Brixton O2 Ace London 06/02/09 Grand Rex Paris 06/03/09 Aeronef Lille 06/05/09 Rockhal Club Luxembourg 06/06/09 Watt Rotterdam 06/08/09 Elizabeth Hall Antwerp 06/09/09 Capitol Offenbach 06/11/09 Palladium Cologne 06/12/09 Columbiahalle Berlin 06/14/09 Poer 2 Bremen 06/15/09 Rytmeposten Odense 06/17/09 KB Hallen Copenhagen 06/18/09 Ahaga Boras 06/20/09 Senstrumscene Oslo 06/22/09 Lisebergshallen Gothenberg 06/24/09 Hovet Stockholm 06/26/09 Tampere Arena Tampere 06/27/09 Cable Factory Helsinki 06/29/09 Maneshe St Petersburg 07/01/09 B1 Club Moscow 07/04/09 Tallin Rock Café Tallin 07/05/09 Riga Dream Factory Riga 07/07/09 Warsaw Palladium Warsaw 07/09/09 Archa Theatre Prague 07/11/09 Gasometer Vienna 07/13/09 Velvet Rimini 07/14/09 Velvet Rimini 10/23/09 Birmingham Symphony Hall 10/24/09 Oasis Swindon 10/26/09 Opera House Bournemouth 10/27/09 Royal Albert Hall London 10/29/09 Academy Leeds 10/30/09 City Hall Sheffield Read More |
The people over at The Music Slut (or at the very least, Matt, a self-proclaimed horn-rimmed glasses-wearing non-emo) are massive Morrissey/Smiths fan have compiled a their TMS♥MOZ.
They have been unveiling a cover everyday at 4pm until the end of May. Most of the tracks are downloaded directly from their website, with the exception of A Brief Smile's "Speedway". Possibly because it's a much longer track (larger file).
Since I'm actually kind of lazy when it comes to checking the website everyday, I've downloaded all the tracks currently and will probably forget the last five tracks. Well, that's just the way it goes.
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Of all the songs, I was drawn the songs that rarely gets covered, like "Suffer Little Children" (not sure if I like the synth/electronic approach by Chris Garneau), "The Headmaster Ritual" (reduced to a slow piano and backup vocals by Max Vernon) and "November Spawned A Monster" (Microfilm's version has techno beats - a weird approach, but it's fun).
My favorite song so far is Exit Clov's "Sing Your Life". It's pretty faithful to the original, but with female vocals. They seem to understand this song needs a "lovely singing voice" and also the message of 'nothing lasts forever, so... do it now'.
I have included the original announcement below.
Feel like more Morrissey celebrations? Read more here at morrissey.weheartmusic.com. Look for Morrissey making his triumph return to Manchester tonight for his 50th birthday bash at the Apollo Theater.ANNOUNCING: TMS HEARTS MOZ (A COVERS ALBUM IN HONOR OF MOZZER’S 50TH BIRTHDAY)
Posted by m | 5.1.09 12:00 pmAs many of you are well aware, I’m a massive Morrissey fan. In fact, ‘massive’ might just be an understatement. As Mozzer’s 50th birthday approaches (May 22nd), I wanted to celebrate in some sort of special manner. After much deliberation, I decided that a covers project would be the perfect way for The Music Slut to mark the occasion. Over the course of the last few months, I’ve asked a bevy of my favorite artists to contribute tracks to TMS Hearts Moz. Highlighting a selection of their choice, the result is a 19 song compilation that includes renditions of Smiths favorites, Morrissey rarities and nearly everything in between. I’m so proud to present this to you, our dear readers, and I’m forever thankful to each of the acts that took time out of their busy schedules to submit their own interpretations of some of my most cherished tunes. Beginning on May 4th, and concluding on May 28th, one cover will be profiled & available for free download every weekday at 4PM EST.
The full list of artists included on TMS Hearts Moz (in alphabetical order) is as follows: A Brief Smile, Bridges & Powerlines, Chris Garneau, Deleted Scenes, Exit Clov, Free Blood, The Glass, Laura Palmer, Max Vernon, Microfilm, Mixel Pixel, My Burgundy Waltz, Pattern Is Movement, The Physics Of Meaning, Sharon Van Etten, Soren Anders, Spanish Prisoners, Teddy Blanks & Unicycle Loves You.
In addition to the digital LP, we’ll be teaming up with DJ Jess & the team behind Trash! for an unforgettable extravaganza on the evening of Moz’s 50th birthday. It will be held at New York’s Studio (at Webster Hall) on Friday, May 22nd. The celebration will feature live cover performances from A Brief Smile & Teddy Blanks in addition to a slew of surprises that we can’t reveal just yet. Much more info to come shortly. Dust off your dancing shoes & be certain save the date. Once again: MAY 22ND @ THE STUDIO!
Cover photo courtesy of yours truly. Manipulation via Blanks Space.
05/22/2009 11:08:54 ♥ vu (
) ♥ themusicslut.com ♥ itsmorrisseysworld.com ♥ true-to-you.net
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03/06/09 House Of Blues Myrtle Beach, SC
Discography 03/07/09 Variety Playhouse Atlanta, GA 03/09/09 Orange Peel Asheville, NC 03/11/09 DPAC Durham, NC 03/13/09 The National Richmond, VA 03/14/09 Warner Theater Washington, DC 03/16/09 Wellmont Theater Montclair, NJ 03/17/09 Carnegie Music Hall Pittsburgh, PA 03/19/09 University of Buffalo Center for the Arts Buffalo, NY 03/21/09 Bowery Ballroom New York, NY 03/22/09 Academy of Music Philadelphia, PA 03/25/09 Webster Hall New York, NY 03/26/09 Carnegie Hall New York, NY 03/28/09 Foxwoods Mashantucket, CT 03/29/09 House of Blues Boston, MA 03/31/09 Michigan Theater Ann Arbor, MI 04/01/09 Palace Theater Columbus, OH 04/03/09 Eagles Ballroom Milwaukee, WI 04/04/09 Aragon Ballroom Chicago, IL 04/06/09 State Theater Minneapolis, MN 04/07/09 Midland Theater Kansas City, MO 04/08/09 Pageant Theatre St. Louis, MO 04/10/09 Dallas Palladium Dallas, TX 04/11/09 Jesse Jones Hall Houston, TX 04/12/09 Bass Concert Hall Austin, TX 04/14/09 Chavez Theater El Paso, TX 04/15/09 Sunshine Theater Albuquerque, NM 04/17/09 Coachella Indio, California 04/28/09 INEC Killarney 04/29/09 Leisureland Galway 05/01/09 Leisure Centre Omagh 05/02/09 Waterfront Belfast 05/04/09 Albert Halls Stirling 05/05/09 Caird Hall Dundee 05/07/09 Barrowland Glasgow 05/08/09 Barrowland Glasgow 05/10/09 Empire Liverpool 05/11/09 Royal Albert Hall London 05/13/09 Symphony Hall Birmingham 05/15/09 Britannia Pier Great Yarmouth 05/16/09 Corn Exchange Cambridge 05/19/09 Arena Hull 05/20/09 Borough Hall Hartlepool 05/22/09 Apollo Manchester 05/23/09 Apollo Manchester 05/25/09 City Hall Salisbury 05/26/09 Mile End Troxy Ballroom London 05/28/09 Brixton 02 Academy London 05/29/09 Brixton O2 Academy London 05/30/09 Brixton O2 Academy London 06/02/09 Grand Rex Paris 06/03/09 Aeronef Lille 06/05/09 Rockhal Club Luxembourg 06/06/09 Watt Rotterdam 06/08/09 Elizabeth Hall Antwerp 06/09/09 Capitol Offenbach 06/11/09 Palladium Cologne 06/12/09 Columbiahalle Berlin 06/14/09 Poer 2 Bremen 06/15/09 Rytmeposten Odense 06/17/09 KB Hallen Copenhagen 06/18/09 Ahaga Boras 06/20/09 Senstrumscene Oslo 06/22/09 Lisebergshallen Gothenberg 06/24/09 Hovet Stockholm 06/26/09 Tampere Arena Tampere 06/27/09 Cable Factory Helsinki 06/29/09 Maneshe St Petersburg 07/01/09 B1 Club Moscow
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I bought everything I could from BMG music club. I still think it's a great deal, you get 4 CDs for the cost of "shipping" - which usually works out to be about $4 a CD. BMG had a back catalog of only some Smiths albums (they were missing albums like Meat is Murder and Rank to name a few) and only two Morrissey albums, Viva Hate and Bona Drag (the latter is more or less a compilation).
When those few albums wasn't enough for me, I sought out singles, collecting cover artwork, fanzines, and bootlegs. I suppose it shouldn't surprise anyone that I can get a bit obsessive.
Just to let you know, for the sake of being faithful and for collecting, I still buy his singles. I no longer try and get all different version of a 'greatest hits' album or anything. For instance, I think there's a new Smiths greatest hits out, which I'll be ignoring... although there's always this nagging voice in the back of my mind to 'complete' the collection, you know?
Okay, for those still awake, Morrissey's latest album is called Years of Refusal. If you are only familiar with the 'mopey'/depressing Morrissey of those Smiths days, I have to warn you that this album is very muscular and aggressive. There is, of course, the odd sad song ("You Were Good In Your Time"), but they are quite outnumbered on this album.
I really enjoyed the opening and closing songs ("Something Is Squeezing My Skull" and "I'm Ok By Myself"), they seem like fitting bookends to a great novel. The first song is just a fast song with an amusing Morrissey lyric of "don't give me anymore". The last song was co-written by Jesse Tobias, who is a semi-new collaborator. The rest of the album are written by old band rockabillish members, Alain Whyte and Boz Boorer, they've been with Morrissey since 1991.
Morrissey is definitely a more modern and mature musician since The Smiths... and easily his most poppiest album to date. New fans will be delighted, old fans may not really like. But you know they are going to buy it anyway, so it doesn't really matter what I say.... although I will have to say this album is much, much, better than his last one, Ringleader of the Tormentors .
You can find Years of Refusal at any record store. If you can't find it, then you are shopping at the wrong record store. Fans should be sure to only get the deluxe edition with bonus DVD.
Look for Julia Riley if you're going to attend a show. I will at the Minneapolis show, so come say hi.
As a special bonus, here are some Morrissey songs I've previously mentioned:
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UPDATE 3/6/09: I got this amusing note:
"I have survived the interrogation of Atlanta's Immigration officials and Myrtle Beach shall have me tonite (Friday), and the world from then onwards ... if the world can take it. One of the many penalties of being human is that tours often take a military push to start, well, all of our answers will be in our songs tomorrow night. The bloodbath starts at 7.30. Life is testing you out. Be ready for anything."
03/05/2009 23:18:16 ♥ vu ()
♥ itsmorrisseysworld.com ♥ morrissey-solo.com ♥ true-to-you.net
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In "Sex Sells, Part One", I showed you the very breast of album art. In part two, we'll be taking a closer look at what the men can offer... well mostly.
In Sex Sells, Part Three, I am hoping to have another round of steamy covers to show off. If you have any suggestions, feel free to contact me.
THE ROLLING STONES
rollingstones.com ♥ myspace.com
Who could forget this classic cover artwork of Sticky Fingers by The Rolling Stones? It's 1971 and Andy Warhol is the photographer and art designer for the record. I believe this was the first (and only?) album to feature a working zipper - that when you pull down to reveal the guy's underwear!
VH1, in 2003, named Sticky Fingers the "No.1 Greatest Album Cover" of all time, and who can argue with that?
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itsmorrisseysworld ♥ myspace.com For someone who claims to be asexual and celibate, Morrissey's Your Arsenal (1992) gave long-time Morrissey fans something to ponder with its cover and album title. The photograph by Linder Sterling shows us a playful Morrissey with a suggestive pose, a flash of the tongue and holding the microphone like he's got the whole world in his hand. With his upcoming Years of Refusal out on Attack Records on February 17th, 2009 - The Mozzer will also be setting on his "Tour of Refusal" World Tour. The most interesting thing I've read is once you pre-order Years of Refusal, you are given the opportunity to buy advance tour tickets prior to public sale. Details of the tour dates are below.
02/28/09 Boca Raton, FL Mizner Park
03/01/09 Orlando, FL Hard Rock live 03/03/09 Jacksonville, FL Florida Theater 03/04/09 St. Petersburg, FL Jannus Landing 03/06/09 Myrtle Beach. SC House of Blues 03/07/09 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse 03/09/09 Asheville, NC Orange Peel 03/11/09 Durham, NC Durham Performing Arts Center 03/13/09 Richmond, VA The National 03/14/09 Washington, DC Warner Theater 03/16/09 Montclair, NJ Wellmont Theater 03/17/09 Pittsburgh, PA Carnegie Music Hall 03/19/09 Buffalo, NY University of Buffalo Center for the Arts 03/21/09 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom 03/22/09 Philadelphia, PA Acadmy of Music 03/25/09 New York, NY Webster Hall 03/26/09 New York, NY Carnegie Hall 03/28/09 Mashantucket, CT Foxwoods 03/29/09 Boston, MA House of Blues 03/31/09 Ann Arbor, MI Michigan Theater 04/01/09 Columbus, OH Palace Theater 04/03/09 Milwaukee, WI Eagles Ballroom 04/04/09 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom 04/06/09 Minneapolis, MN State Theater 04/07/09 Kansas City, MO Midland Theater 04/08/09 St. Louis, MO Pageant Theater 04/10/09 Dallas, TX Palladium Ballroom 04/11/09 Houston, TX Jesse H. Jones Hall 04/12/09 Austin, TX Bass Concert Hall 04/14/09 El Paso, TX Chavez Theater 04/15/09 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theater |
blackcrowes.com ♥ myspace.com The Black Crowes first came into fame with their rocking version of Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle". I don't think they have ever achieved such success, at least from what I remember. They did have a bit of a controversy with their cover artwork for Amorica, because of the pubic hairs. If memory serves me, most of the version that was eventually released just had all black except for the triangle. Anyway, the Black Crowes got the image from Hustler Magazine (July 1976). They are currently doing a few tour dates:
12/17/08 The Fillmore San Francisco, California
12/19/08The Fillmore San Francisco, California 12/20/08 The Fillmore San Francisco, California yuppiepricks.com ♥ myspace.com Obviously Yuppie Pricks' Balls. is an homage to The Black Crowes' album. Their biography lists them as " self-styled pharmaceutical business magnate", but the truth is, they're just good old punk guys. They obviously have a sense of guys humor with their influences in old 70s punk bands like the Buzzcocks and the Sex Pistols. Apparently the cover image is of Trevor Middleton. Balls. is out now and you can pick it up from their record label, Chicken Ranch Records. |
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thesilentreatment.net ♥ myspace.com The Silentreatment's lustful lesbian cover of Sinful Acts of Audio is obviously trying to catch your attention... and it certainly got mine. The Silentreatment are an alternative rock band from Pennyslvania, they kind of remind me of Matchbox Twenty, which I'm sure is a good thing. Most of their songs seems to be searching for love, at least on first impression. Check out "Pretty Little Girl", with that blowing kiss at the end! Looking at their store, it looks like they are offering their music as a free download, but making money on T-Shirts and physical CD (which I recommend). Check them out on tour:
12/26/08
Ole Tyme Charley’s Plains, Pennsylvania
12/27/08 Bar Louie @ Mohegan Sun Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 01/02/09 Tonic Dunmore, Pennsylvania 01/30/09 Tink’s Entertainment Complex Scranton, Pennsylvania 02/06/09 Tonic Dunmore, Pennsylvania 02/15/09 Tink’s Entertainment Complex Scranton, Pennsylvania 03/06/09 Tonic Dunmore, Pennsylvania 03/20/09 Tink’s Entertainment Complex Scranton, Pennsylvania 03/27/09 NEPA’s Rock Autism Now Scranton, Pennsylvania |
dionyza.com ♥ myspace.com Dionyza's Quite Like Me was released earlier this month (12/08/08), and the cover artwork I was given (not seen here) features her two assets. Actually, the final artwork for Quite Like Me has a bit of a sexual suggestion as well - it's hard to miss. I was expecting to sound more Disney-esque, ala Highschool Musical, but it's definitely more R&B and pop. The reason why I had this misconception is that she sang on the High School Musical. The production is excellent, the music and background mixes are there to play around her innocent ("Quite Like Me") - yet experienced ("Give It To Me") - sweet voice. She seems really comfortable performing and singing, but it shouldn't be such a surprise as she comes from a musical family: My song choice would probably be "I Told Myself" because it samples from a Kanye West, Jay-Z and Scarface song. You can pick up Quite Like Me from Little Dizzy Records. Other fun fact: Dionyza provides the singing voice for Sasha and Jade on the cartoon The Bratz. |
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xiuxiu.org ♥ myspace.com Xiu Xiu is an experimental indie band from the West Coast. The band revolves around singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart, who got their name from a Chinese film called Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (1998). They first gained fame (at least on my radar) with their second album, A Promise, featuring a very disturbing photography of a naked asian man. You can see the uncensored cover on wikipedia (not safe for work). The recording of the album was struck with tragedies: original members Yvonne Chen left the group, while Cory McCulloch only wanted to work on production, Stewart's father committed suicide. Certainly you can hear the sadness on these songs on A Promise. It looks like the band is kind of on a break after their Women As Lovers release. There's some sort of Polaroid Project Book or something and band member, David Horvitz, stated that he will not be able to be on the next Xiu Xiu tour. |
myspace.com/padrepionyc This The Madeline EP by Padre Pio just came in house and looking at the cover artwork, I can't quite tell if it's a woman or a man. It's quite androgynous, isn't it ? I would hazard a guess that it's a woman, possibly the Madeline. The EP was released earlier this month and it was an easy six song listen. I did like the background piano on the title song, "Madeline", and something about her bleeding. Is she hurt? It's a mystery to me. David Mosey's vocals has a vague resemblence to The Psychedelic Furs' Richard Butler. It was a surprise to find out that their keyboardist, Joe McGinty - who previously spent five years playing keys for the Furs! The other thing is that the EP reminds me so much of early 90s British alternative music - mainly focusing on the lead singer. None of the musical instruments (including the sax on "Common Day" or the girl-pop backup singers on "Whenever Moonlight") ever distracts you from Mosey's clear voice. They will be playing at The Delancey in New York on January 29th. |
Links:
www.weheartmusic.com
podcast.weheartmusic.com
news.weheartmusic.com
| Inspirational Place wrote: Fri, Dec 5, 2008 at 11:07 PM |
Inspirational Place's comment above, er, inspired me to write about "There is a Light that Never Goes Out" covers. I realized that there's already been several website doing coverage on this song (and its covers), but their articles are ugly! Ok! As a long time Morrissey/Smiths collector, I have also extended my collection to tribute CDs and bootlegs, so most of these songs are already in my little Moz shrine.[this is good] Sounds a little bit like Morrisey...which is good, real good ;o)
A little introduction on Morrissey's obsession on super long song titles. Here's some examples:
- "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me"
- "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want"
- "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before"
- "Please Help the Cause Against Lonliness" (written by Morrissey, recorded by Sandie Shaw)
- "Such a Little Thing Makes Such a Big Difference"
- "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful"
- "The Last of the Famous International Playboys"
- "There is a Place for Me and My Friends in Hell"
- "The More you Ignore me, the Closer I Get"
Obviously the song's been a major influence on a lot of bands (we'll get to that later), but I was surprise to see it in Irvine Welsh's book Trainspotting the first time I read it after seeing the movie (incidentally, one of my favorite top 10 movies of all time):
So below are some covers of "There is a Light". This is by no means a definitive list, but it's a pretty good list by diverse artist. Plus many of these covers were released in one format or another with the exception of the Death Cab's version as that was a live radio broadcast. I have several videos also (notably Noel Gallagher's rendition of "There is a Light" that's worth looking up on youtube if you get a chance), but I'm mainly sticking with CD releases.
Spud wanted to never get to that party, wishing that they could just go on walking and talking. They went down into the underpass and Spud thought that he should try to put his arm around Nicola. Then a passage from a Smiths' song, one he'd always liked called: 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out', came into his head:
and in the darkened underpass
I thought Oh God my chance has come at last
but then a strange fear gripped me
and I just couldn't ask
Morrissey's sad voice summed up his feelings.He didn't put his arm around Nicola, and his attempts to chat her up were half–arsed after that.
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ANBERLIN
schneidertm.net ♥ myspace.com They're currently on tour in support of their major-label album, New Surrender:
12/12 - The Great Salt Air - Magna, UT 12/15 - Toad's Place - Richmond, VA 01/07 - Nashville, TN @ Rocketown 01/08 - Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel 01/09 - Harrisonburg, VA @ The Alethia 01/10 - Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club 01/11 - Providence, RI @ Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel 01/13 - Montreal, QC @ Studio JPR 01/14 - Ottawa, ON @ Babylon 01/15 - London, ON @ Cowboy's Ranch 01/16 - Grand Rapids, MI @ Calvin College Fine Arts Center 01/17 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Eagles Club 01/18 - Des Moines, IO @ People's Court 01/19 - Omaha, NE @ Slowdown 01/21 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue 01/22 - Fargo, ND @ The Venue 01/23 - Winnipeg, MB @ Garrick Centre **VENUE CHANGE** 01/24 - Regina, SK @ The Exchange 01/25 - Edmonton, AB @ The Starlite Room 01/26 - Calgary, AB @ The Warehouse 01/28 - Vancouver, BC @ Richard's on Richards Cabaret 01/30 - Billings, MT @ Shrine Auditorium 01/31 - Pocatello, ID @ Icon |
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
deathcabforcutie.com ♥ myspace.com This is an acoustic version, pretty faithful with Ben Gibbard only messing up slightly (but not noticable) for Philadelphia's Radio 104.5. I've seen the band live before, and I sure wish they'd play this song as I would've gone nuts for it. The band's recently been in the news because their "classic" 1998's debut album Something About Airplanes was re-issued as a limited edition deluxe 10-year anniversary 2-disc set. The bonus disc contains "recently-unearthed recording of the band’s first-ever Seattle show, a February 1998 set at the legendary venue The Crocodile Café". Apparently on this live recording also includes Sean Nelson on vocals for Death Cab's version of yet-another The Smiths' song, "Sweet and Tender Hooligan"! Since I actually own their first album and didn't get a review copy for this release, I probably won't pick up the album (sorry Death Cab!).... Although it's very tempting at such a reasonable price of $12. Oh, hey, they're on tour.
12/11/08 Oracle Arena Oakland, California 12/13/08 Tucson Convention Center Tucson, Arizona 12/14/08 Gibson Amphitheatre Los Angeles, California 12/12/09 Club Quattro Naka-nu Nagoya 12/14/09 Shinkiba Studio Coast Koto-ku, Tokyo 12/16/09 Big Cat Chuo-ku, Osaka |
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THE LUCKSMITHS
thelucksmiths.com.au ♥ myspace.com The song recently made its way back on The Luckies' two-disc compilation CD, Spring a Leak released last year. What makes this an invaluable item in your collection will be that it contains songs from their debut 7" single The Macintyre 7 inch which has a very surprisingly country-esque song "Are You Having A Good Time!!". This is rock n roll so everything rhymes! I love it. |
THE DIVINE COMEDY
thedivinecomedy.com ♥ myspace.com Although I can't agree with some of the direction of the songs, overall it was a decent effort. Some of the highlight of this album for me is Placebo's fast-paced, yet whiny, version of "Bigmouth Strikes Again" and Supergrass' dope version of "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" Neil Hannon's approach to "There is a Light" is very orchestral - which is basically what The Divine Comedy is known for. Hannon's operatic vocals lends itself to feel more epic. |
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YO-YO MUNDI
yoyomundi.it What I love about this release is that the cover artwork is the full print of "The Enchanted Desna" (unknown actors). The picture previously was cropped only showing the baby for "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore".... and in addition, unseen photographs of The Smiths were used. The price is kind of steep if you're on a budget at $20, but hey, if you're a Smiths fan (and generally like covers), this is a great package - if not for the limited run. |
WALLEYE
myspace.com/walleyemusic I can't bring myself to listening to, but it was a nice try, at least a very different take on Smiths songs - which are known for their sensitive side. I don't know any of the bands that made it on The World Still Won't Listen, so there's not much to write here, sorry :/ PS, one thing I liked was that the cover artwork, mimicking The Smiths' compilation album, The World Won't Listen, only with mohawked kids on the cover. |
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SCHNEIDER TM
schneidertm.net ♥ myspace.com I couldn't find proof of this on wire.com (Wire: please have better search features, please?), but according to wikipedia, the song was voted as "best cover versions ever recorded" by Wire Magazine. |
THE OCEAN BLUE
theoceanblue.com So, that was early 90s, so I was really surprise to see that they're still around - on Sally's review of Blue Skies Daisy Days. |
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BRAID
polyvinylrecords.com The band broke up before I had discovered them, but you can find their greatest hits/compilation Movie Music volume 1 and 2 in used bins at most record store. |
NEIL FINN
finnbros.com ♥ myspace.com/neilfinn For Marr's appearance, they covered The Smiths' "There is a Light that Never Goes Out" - which sounded fantastic live! |
Links:
www.weheartmusic.com
podcast.weheartmusic.com
news.weheartmusic.com
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So... I had a theory, back in the early 90s, based on the music for "Here Comes Your Man" song, that it was somehow a nod to The Smiths' "This Charming Man".
Now, I know these two songs are unrelated, but let's amuse my teenage obsession:
- Both songs features very, very catch guitar playing
- Both music videos features band playing
- Flowers
- Very "soft" video filming
- Morrissey is overally bad at lip syncing, while the Pixies doesn't even bother with lip syncing...
- er, both songs features "Man" in the title?
Well, at the time, I thought those things was viable.
Watch the videos if you don't believe me.
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As for the other band members, Kim Deal is probably best known for being in The Breeders for their breakthrough hit song, "Cannonball".
Links:
blackfrancis.net myspace.com/officialblackfrancis
4ad.com/breeders
myspace.com/thebreeders
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Breaking news: I just got this press release for Morrissey's Live at the Hollywood Bowl DVD for release in the UK on October 6th.
Read an excerpt:
Warner Music Entertainment is pleased to announce the UK release of Morrissey ‘Live At The Hollywood Bowl’ on Monday October 6th.
This forthcoming DVD captures Morrissey ‘Live at the Hollywood Bowl’ 15 years after his last gig at the legendary venue. A 17,000 plus audience is captivated with a career defining performance that includes The Smiths’ classic tracks ‘The Queen Is Dead’, ‘The Boy With The Thorn In His Side’, ‘Girlfriend In A Coma’, ‘How Soon Is Now?’, Please, Please, Please Let me Get What I Want’ and ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’.
Morrissey’s darkly raw and witty lyrics are teamed with a flamboyant stage persona as we see at least 2 shirt strips and a constant flow of impassioned stage invaders. He delivers an unforgettable set spanning three decades of new and classic material on a night where his voice and performance is at it it’s very peak.
Morrissey collectors would've already own the bonus audio CD on the limited version of Morrissey's Greatest Hits which features only a portion of this show.... now you can get the entire performance (including encores) on the new DVD out in the UK only.
As of this writing, I'm not aware that this DVD will be released in the US, our last major DVD release for Morrissey was Who Put the M in Manchester in 2005.
You Brits are so lucky.
UPDATE: Of course this is typically Morrissey. Given the opportunity, he denounces everything from Babylon Books to Johnny "rodent" Rogan. What he doesn't say that he actually does get music publishing royalties, granted it may not be a lot of money derived from the DVD sales... Anyway, you gotta love the guy.
Message from Morrissey
14 August 2008MESSAGE FROM MORRISSEY.
The slapdash release of Morrissey live at the Hollywood Bowl is done by Warner without any consultation to me whatsoever, and is in breach of their terms as laid out by themselves in an agreement made for the film between Warner and my ex-manager. Being Warner, predictably the sleeve art is appalling. It is the work of cash-hounds, and I urge people NOT to buy it. I am not signed to Warner, and no royalties from this dvd will come to me. Please spend your money elsewhere.
thank you, MORRISSEY.
UPDATE 8/27: This doesn't surprise me, given Morrissey's dispute in the matter, that I have been told "The Morrissey 'Live At The Hollywood Bowl' DVD has been postponed pending a new release date."
Here's a quicky, just because there are some news & notes. Since, you may have noticed, I like doing these theme posts, this theme are one-song submissions.
They are very easy to write about (hey, it's just three minutes of your life!) but because they're based on one song, there's really not much I can write about.
First up, if you have a need to get all the latest music news, check out our announcement page. It's updated nearly every few hours, so news junkies will love this.
Some interesting news to note: watch DIG for free, Skybombers Announces new US Tour Dates, download Jeff Hanson music, and if you're in New York - you guys are so lucky. You could be attending Spiegelworld Festival!
That's just a few items from the nearly 100 post I've made since its birth a few days ago!
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LOQUAT
loquatmusic.com ♥ myspace.com
I actually really love San Francisco's Loquat, so imagine my surprise to find that I have an advance copy of their brand new album, Secrets of the Sea - which is not out until the third quarter of this year. I'm probably not even supposed to talk about it until October, but what I can tell you is that it's very, very good. Just keep your eyes here, or site.w♥m for the latest news. Since I can't unveil any music from the new album, I will tell you that I first discovered her a few years ago when Loquat covered The Smiths' classic "There is a Light That Never Goes Out". Since I was already a huge Morrissey/Smiths fan, it's easy to fall in love with her version... which is a safe and very faithful cover. You can download the song from their flash official website.
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THERESA ANDERSSON
theresaandersson.com ♥ myspace.com
Since I am in love with all-things Swedish, here's a handsome girl called Theresa Andersson. Looking over her press release about her tour dates and the dazzling 700k youtube views. The weird thing is that the press release doesn't indicate any link to the actual video, but if you were curious, it is her playing in her kitchen (in New Orleans?). I was given one of her song, "Birds Fly Away", from her upcoming album Hummingbird, Go! (is that a nod to Thunderbirds Are Go!?) on September 2nd, and I thought it was very 60s pop girl-sounding, but with weird percussion instruments. I was happy to see that Mr Tobias Fröberg is producing her album.
Trust me, this is a girl worth keeping an eye on. |
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THE DARES
thedares.com ♥ myspace.com
Speaking of keeping an eye... Here's The Dares, an up-and-coming power pop trio from California, by the way of Vermont. Maybe I'm just old, but usually this kind of high-energy, on the verge of punk, type of music really isn't my cup of tea. However, I would have to admit this "Love Me When I Leave" is pretty catchy. It's very short, I had to re-play it a few more time to hear how well produced it is. They're currently signed to Zomba Recordings, which is a division of Sony/BMG, so expect a push from them on popular radio this Summer. Even if they don't do much this year, youth is on their side, I'm sure you'll hear from them next year. |
THE SPACE BETWEEN THINGS
myspace.com/thespacebetweenthings
After three version of his "Towels" song, Chris Hobson, aka The Space Between Things finally settled for his perfect version of "Towels". The irony would be if I f-ed up and uploaded the wrong version :/ I'm not given a whole lot to work with here, just one song and no biography. Instead, he directs me to an interview he did at Daydream Generation, which showcase the awesomely snowy Toronto (which means, shock, he's Canadian). Daydream must really like him, as he's also on their Daydream Generation 5 free compilation (over 300mb of music!) So happy downloading and let me know what you think of his song? |
Links:
weheartmusic.com
Comcast's internet services have been sporadic, at best, the last few days, so I never got around to my regular and multi-posts yesterday - but I suppose that is all for the best as it seems Emelia's taking charge in my absent. This article below is dedicated to her, as I know she is a big dork when it comes to comic book movies (as I am).
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THE WATCHMEN (Film)
Ain't it Cool (oh god, I
hate that name) recently posted a photograph of the Minutemen, which, I
will have to admit, made me really excited about this upcoming The Watchmen film.
If you've read my Jack the Ripper article, you'll realize what a massive Alan Moore fan I am, but my reaction to hearing about The Watchmen movie was less than enthused. This is especially because the film versions (League of the Extraordinary Gentlemen, V For Vendetta, From Hell, etc) never really live up to the complexity and imagination of the comic book version. I suppose you can argue the same for movie adaptation of books, but seeing as comics are a visual medium, essentially storyboards, it would be easier to adapt into motion pictures, no?
So far, I've enjoyed all of Watchmen's director, Zach Snyder's previous works. His debut film was the remake of Dawn of the Dead, with an homage to the original George Romero feature, but adding the "fast zombies" ala 28 Days Later. His adaption of Frank Miller's 300 was incredibly faithful, almost a shot-by-shot of Miller's art. I ended up buying the Bluray version of this movie, even though I had already own the 2-disc DVD version. The only problem I have with this film is that it just seems like one gigantic fight sequence (which is basically what the comic book version was like- so no fault on Snyder's part).
With 300, Snyder demonstrated that he understands the source material and it really does translate well onto the big screen, so I am actually kind of excited to see what he does with the very long and complicated storyline of The Watchmen. To be honest, I think the film should be done in two or three parts if it were to include everything and please its core audience... but seeing this photograph of the Minutemen shows his attention to detail (this photo appears throughout the comic book in the background, often obscured by distance or objects).
THE WATCHMEN (Comics)
Of course I own all the original 12
issues limited baxter series, plus the trade paperback, plus the
Absolute Edition, plus various interviews, magazines such as Wizard and I thought I would give you a little insight on the origin of the characters of the Watchmen.
Originally Moore had an idea about writing a story of the MLJ/Archies superheroes, about a murder mystery surrounding the death of The Shield. I think because of licensing issues (which might not be a factor because DC Comics eventually published these characters, including the Black Hood, on their Impact series), The Charlton characters, as suggested by DC Vice President Dick Giordano, were used instead.
Captain Atom, Blue Beetle, Peacemaker, Nightshade, Peter Cannon... Thunderbolt, were originally drafted, however seeing as major characters would be killed and not wanting to create continuity nightmares, Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons created original characters in replacement of these Charlton superheroes: Dr Manhattan, Nite-Owl, the Comedian, and Ozymandias.
THE MINUTEMEN
Preceding The Watchmen were the golden age superheroes called The
Minutemen, from 1939 to 1949. Although the comic book briefly mention
these characters (appearing in mostly in scattered flashbacks),
detailed background were given to each characters.
Here are the liner notes for the original Silk Spectre, as written by Moore:
Very much in the tradition of the original Phantom Lady, the Silk Spectre was voluptuous to the extreme and even had the honour of appearing in her own brief line of pornographic Tijuana bibles along with such other real life notables as Mae West. Born in 1926, she took up her secret idenity in 1942, age eighteen. In later years she confessed that this was because she had a crush on an obscure then-popular super-hero called himself Hooded Justice, and by the time she had learned on that the super-hero gossip grapevine that he was in fact a well-known gay sadomasochist, she was too deeply involved in extricate herself. Although in her early career she used a number of tricky scientific weapons based upon her knowledge of chemistry, she abandoned these when a preparation blue up, badly burning one hand. After this point she wore a single glove to conceal her admittedly slight disfigurement. Most people took it as a further erotic enhancement to her costume rather than concealment of a blemish, and she became more popular than ever. A famous moment in her career came when underworld czar Jimmy Fantucci gave himself up to the polic rather than shoot her.
None of the above were mentioned in the comic - but this kind of microscopic details in her background makes for a wonderful writer that Moore truly is.
MUSIC
The Canadian band, The Watchmen, formed in 1988, got their name from the Alan Moore book. I was surprise to find out that they were pretty successful - although it seems popular in the regional sense.
The band really took off in 1992 with their debut album, McLaren Furnace Room and had a couple of his singles: "Cracked" and "Run and Hide", both were widely played on rock stations in Canada.
In the next few years, although critically acclaimed, did not do so well, commercially. That all changed with their 1998 gold-certified album, Silent Radar with the first of the big hits: "Stereo".
In addition to the audio tracks, fans were treated with a special CD-activated key to access videos and extra music on the band's website - this was really ahead of its time in '98. They even won several awards for this album, including a MuchMusic Award (Canada's answer to MTV) for "Best of Use New Technology".
By 2001, The Watchmen with Slomotion experimented with industrial sound and manufactured drums to replacing their departing drummer, Sammy Kohn. It wasn't long until the band realized they couldn't carry on and by 2003, the band broke up.
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As for Zach Snyder, people rarely knew that he started his career as a music director, he shot one of my favorite Morrissey video, "Tomorrow". For those who haven't seen it, it's a one-take shot of Morrissey singing his song while walking down the street through various corridors and alleys.
The video was later remixed with various shots of the bands, probably to make it look more "interesting" for MTV's audience. I have read Morrissey's memos about this video, and he hated the remixed video version.... I believe only the original one-take version appears on his various video compilations, The Malady Lingers On (1992) and Oye Esteban! (2000). It drives completists like myself mad because the remix version have never been officially released. See also the video for "Our Frank".
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Speaking of Morrissey, apparently he announced a new album that he will call Years Of Refusal, and will be out sometime in September of 2008. Also, according to True to You, everyone's least favorite Morrissey album, Southpaw Grammar, is expecting a remastered edition with new artwork in July. You're kidding, right?
The good news is that they are adding additional tracks to the album, which is fine because the original release only contain barely 8 tracks.
Also, check out the latest video for "All You Need is Morrissey", (ahem) I mean "All You Need is Me".
Morrissey is doing what he does best in this video, being a goofball.
By the way, this has been the strangest themed-post: Alan Moore, The Watchmen (comics, film & band), Zach Synder, and, of course, Morrissey. You can always read more about the Mozzer on W♥M :)
Links:
watchmenmovie.com
watchmencomicmovie.com
morrissey-solo.com
true-to-you.net
zack-snyder.com
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07/04/08 London - O2 Wireless Festival
Read More
07/29/08 Tel Aviv - Heatwave Festival |
I rented ITV's See No Evil: The Story of The Moors Murders a few nights ago. Like most Morrissey apostles, I came across this horror from The Smiths song "Suffer Little Children", off their self-titled debut album.
See No Evil: The Story of The Moors Murders is about the infamous Moors Murders case in Manchester. The case involves serial killer couples, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, who killed a total of five children between 1963-1965. The ITV movie version is in two parts and largely centers around the Brady & Hindley's relationships with brother-in-law, David Smith, and his wife, Maureen Hindley.
The movie tastefully does not show any actual murder, and most references were made after-the-fact through investigations and their eventual capture and trial in the second part of the movie.
I will have admit, the movie should have long ended with the imprisonment of the couple, instead it dragged on with Maureen's story.
Anyway, the song, "Suffer Little Children" (originally titled "Over the Moor"), is the first song to be written by Morrissey and guitarist, Johnny Marr.
The title in referenced to the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 19, verse 14:
Suffer little children, and forbid them not to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
The song captures the mood of Moors Murders, from the shallow graves ("Dig a shallow grave and I'll lay me down") to some of the children ("Lesley-Anne [Downey], with your pretty white beads/Oh John [Kilbride], you'll never be a man" and "Edward [Evans], see those alluring lights")
Johnny Rogan, writer of Morrissey & Marr: The Severed Alliance and The Smiths: The Visual Documentary, suggested that this song was "too personal for regular public exposure" pointing to the fact that "Suffer Little Children" was only performed live once.
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As for recorded version of this song, the one that most people are familiar with is John Porter's version from The Smiths' debut album. What most people don't know was that the original album was to be titled The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, by producer Troy Tate.
The original Troy Tate sessions found its way, in parts or in whole, on many Smiths bootlegs, including The Cradle Snatchers, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle (LP), A Nice Bit of Meat, and the horribly named, The Troy Hands that Rocks the Cradle.
Apparently there is another version of the Troy Tate sessions, often called "rare remixes" that's found its way on the internet.
Stephane from passionsjustlikemine.com wrote a very good summary of the difference between the two Tate version:
This one is rather obvious. At the end of the TATE2 mix, the outro guitar is accompanied by cymbal, but at the end of the TATE1 version, there is no cymbal. Instead the song segues into the piano part that was later used by the band in "Asleep". The woman giggling or crying at the 4:00 mark is present in the TATE1 mix, and absent in the other one. Also, the "you might sleep but you will never dream" line differs.
Another slight but noticeable difference is the presence of an echoey 'tock' sound at the very beginning of the TATE2 mix. The same sound can be heard at the very beginning of the TATE2 mix of "Wonderful Woman", but in a lower pitch.
That's it for now. Read more about Morrissey on W♥M.
05/02/2008 03:26:34
vu
my♥posts
morrissey-solo.com
passionsjustlikemine.com
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Further Reading
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What? What? What?!!?? Morrissey has a brand new Greatest Hits CD out on February 11, 2008, according to his official website.
Does this not drench of sweet irony? Morrissey who once sang about the vulgarity of such things:
Re-issue ! Re-package ! Re-package !
Re-evaluate the songs
Double-pack with a photograph
Extra track (and a tacky badge)
It looks like, looking at the track listing, that most of the songs are pretty recent. There is one brand new song (the extra track) called "That's How People Grow Up", which actually sounds pretty good. Listen to that intro! Hazard to say that it might even deserve to be on a 'Greatest Hits' CD (it's that good).
So, to celebrate, I thought I would compile a list of Morrissey's compilation CDs. Please note this list does not include The Smiths releases and certainly not that Under the Influence. I bought that Under the Influence CD and to this day, it would not play because of some deranged DRM on the disc which prevented playback. It's left a very sour taste in my mouth, that I've long since avoided buying any CD from that Under the Influence company.
Anyway, just to let you know, I do own every Morrissey and The Smiths albums, but that's a LOT of music. Casual fans or maybe if you're just getting into Morrissey, you may want to try out a 'best of' and go from there.
BONA DRAG (1990)
Believe it or not, this wasn't a studio album. It was released after Viva Hate
(1988), so obviously there weren't enough songs to warrant a collection
as a "Greatest Hits". So instead the album collects some singles and
b-sides in album called Bona Drag.
The title is actually a Polari slang for "good dress". Take a listen to "Piccadilly Palare" to understand where this was coming from.
Other interesting Polari that was mentioned in the song:
♥ "bona to vada" which means "good to see you"
♥ "eek" means face
♥ "riah" means hair (spells backwards)
Although this is an excellent album, it is not an essential buy. Although I would have to admit, "November Spawned a Monster", "Interesting Drug", "The Last of the Famous International Playboys", "Everyday Is Like Sunday" and "Suedehead" are strong staple songs in the Morrissey universe.
And speaking of universe...
WORLD OF MORRISSEY (1995)
Or as Matt Johnson, from The The, calls it, "World of Dorrissey".
I think most fans at the time absolutely hated this title. What the heck is a world of Morrissey? A world filled with wonders, I'm sure.
If you look at the track listing, there's no "Everyday is Like Sunday" or "Suedehead", so I wouldn't really consider this a greatest hits. Instead, it compiles some interesting songs in the mix, including a live version of "Jack the Ripper", the 9 minute "Moon River", and the creepy "Spring Heel Jim" from Vauxhall and I (1994).
The cover is a still taken from "The Boxers" video, which was released around the same time that Sweet and Tender Hooligan single was released (cover image taken from same boxer).
SUEDEHEAD: THE BEST OF MORRISSEY (1997)
This was a UK-only release, which meant that I had to get someone in the UK to buy it for me.
Again, nothing new is added here, but it is a pretty good starting point if you were to get into Morrissey as it does contain some of his better-known songs.
Since the CD was released after Vauxhall and I, it does contain the recent-hits: "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get" (I hate this song!), "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful", and "You're the One for Me, Fatty".
Interestingly enough, it also contains the single-only release "Sunny" as well as "Interlude" a duet with Siouxsie Sioux.
MY EARLY BURGLARY YEARS (1998)
I think this title is pretty funny, especially if you think that people with lisps would say it inappropiately.
This collection is more or less a rarity and b-side compilation, so I would pass on this if you're not interested in rare songs such as: "At Amber", "Cosmic Dancer" (T-Rex cover), "Nobody Loves Us" and "Sister I'm a Poet".
Of course, if you collected the singles, you'd have all these songs already as either b-sides or a-sides. My favorite b-side is "Girl Least Likely To", which was originally released on the November Spawned a Monster single. I found out later that it was (shock) written by lawnmower part, Andy Rourke.
THE BEST OF MORRISSEY (2001)
This is the last best of, which
I'll have to admit is a very good collection. It includes all the hits
and it's the one that is available at most record stores.
It kind of upsets me that "Disappointed" is not placed at the end of the compilation. If you listen to the song, it's an obvious song to end the set with its lyrics: "This is the last song I will ever sing. No, no, I've changed my mind again. Goodnight, and thank you."
It has "Hairdresser on Fire" which was never a hit outside the fans. I love the line, "busy scissors" and I often use this to tell people I'm not available.
That wraps up the compilations, best of, most of, reissues, repackage.
PS, with this entry, I'm ensuring Morrissey as the king of most talked about.
PPS, I have a huge favor to ask anyone that reads this. Please register and vote for Louise Wener's book The Half Life of Stars. She promised to buy me a cake if she wins. Admittedly I haven't bought or read the book yet :(
01/18/2008 17:35:32
vu
my♥posts
www.morrisseymusic.com
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