29 posts tagged “morrissey”

The music news of the world, courtesy of news.weheartmusic.com.

ATLAS SHRUGGED
myspace.com/bradfordcox

I got this note that Atlas Sound is heading out on tour next week -- with Broadcast! Since we haven't written about Broadcast in, like, 2007, it's good to hear about them recently.

Unfortunately, they're not coming near Minneapolis (I've visited Northfield before - it's a bit isolated!), otherwise I would love to do some coverage on them.

The tour information:

10/15 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
10/16 Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
10/17 Washington, DC @ Black Cat
10/18 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
10/20 New York, NY @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
10/21 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
10/22 Boston, MA @ The Paradise
10/23 Montreal, QC @ Le National
10/24 Toronto, ON @ Lees Palace
10/25 Columbus, OH @ Wexner Center
10/26 Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
10/27 Northfield, MN @ The Cave
10/30 Vancouver, BC @ Richards On Richards
10/31 Seattle, WA @ Neumos
11/01 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
11/03 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
11/04 Los Angeles, CA @ The Troubadour
11/05 Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room
11/07 Denton, TX @ Hailey's

THE SHOW'S THE THING
kylie.com

Chicagoans, please note that tomorrow's Kyle Minogue's sold-out show at the Congress Theatre has been upgraded to the UIC Pavilion (University of Illinois at Chicago: 525 S Racine Ave., Chicago, IL 60607-3303). According to the announcement, this is being done because of "the sheer scale of the production".

All the tickets that fans have purchased for the Congress Theater will be good at the UIC Pavilion. However, because of the upgraded venue, more seats/tickets are available for purchase (it went on sale October 4^th, so I'm assuming it's probably already sold out). Good luck anyway, check with ticketbastard if you still have hope to attend.

MEAT IS MURDER
transformers.com

Since Christopher can't get enough of Morrissey and the Smiths, I thought I'd offer this: did you know the Smiths is in Transformers 2: Rise of the Fallen? I know this may sound trivial, but I think it's cool.

Shia LaBeouf's character evolved from loving The Strokes & Green Day, to The Smiths, apparently.

TRANSFORMERS: Megan Fox hiding

TRANSFORMERS 2: Meat is Murder poster

PHONING IT IN
nuclearoreilly.com

Nuclear O'Reilly describes themselves as:

A music duo disguised as male escorts for librarians

The world's first iPhone album, Phoning It In, by Nuclear O'Reilly is available on their website for free. I think it's a good promotion for both Apple and its software, by Intua Software (which costs $19.99). Both platform and music software is powerful enough to produce this electronic album.

I did quickly listen to the album, it sounds a bit like a video game. If you think there are no vocals, you're wrong, you can hear some mumbling on "Creamatorium", which I'm assuming they used the iPhone's mic to record it. It's kind of a gimmick, but since it's free, why not check it out? Maybe they can be the next Guitar Zeros, or even worst, iBand.

THE PEN IS MIGHTIER
olympusamerica.com

For years now, I've been using my pocket Sony T7 Camera, which I've been quite happy with - for daytime shooting. If you are interested in a credit card-sized camera, T7 is a great camera for you. Image quality is great, but sensor is slow (as with all compact camera), but you can get around this by taking small 640x480 shots. The bigger the size, the worst it looks. Plus for night shots, see example, you tend to lose details. And you can forget about "fast-action" shots, the sensor is not fast enough to capture frame-by-frame.

The $400, I originally paid for the T7 in 2005, have been totally worth every penny. But in the day of technology growing in leaps and bounds, especially in the digital camera market, my T7 is a dinosaur!

I've placed an order for the Olympus PEN E-P1 Camera. Based on reviews I've read, comparing image quality with other standard SLR camera in its class, I am impressed with the Pen Camera. It particularly did really well with low-light situations, which is what I was looking for. It also shoots 1080 HD movie files, which I think will become more useful in the future. The only complaint people have said is that is a bit expensive (base camera starts at $800), and I've also read that it's slow on the SLR class - but slow they indicate as much as three seconds to startup the camera. Three seconds is not slow! I can live with three seconds!

The tracking number said I'm receiving the camera on Thursday, just in time for Friday's show: Asobi Seksu, Lonely Dear, and Anna Ternheim.

If it all works out, we should have some fantastic pictures from the show. Sadly, I'll still have a perfectly working Sony T7. Should I sell it? Any offers? It's probably most likely going in the bin of other retired electronics, like my all my old iPods, Palm PDA, and MiniDisc players!

PS, Hooray, we're listed as a neighbor on team.vox.com.

As usual, these news are from our news website, news.weheartmusic.com

Tour Dates 11/29/09 Seattle, WA @ Paramount 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 Read More Morrissey http://weheartmus... Being a huge Morrissey/The Smiths fan, people often ask me: "What's your favorite Morrissey song?" My absolute favorite song is "Jack the Ripper". Casual fans might not be hip to this song, as it's somewhat of a rare song. So, it's time the tale was told on "Jack the Ripper"! The song originall... 1 comment

YOU CAN'T SPELL SWORDS WITHOUT WORDS
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 3^rd in the US (UK residents will receive the album early on October 26^th).

The thing I like about B-Sides is that for some artists, is that they can let their hair down. Sometime they take some risks, for instance one of my favorite B-Side is "Girl Least Likely To" which was co-written by ex-Smiths Andy Rourke. It was quite rare to see Rourke doing the writing chores... but when he did, it was usually a B-Side. Incidentally, Rourke also provided the music for another favorite B-Side called "Get Off the Stage" (who says Morrissey doesn't have a sense of a humor?)

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:

Good Looking Man About Town Don't Make Fun Of Daddy's Voice If You Don't Like Me, Don't Look At Me Ganglord My Dearest Love The Never-Played Symphonies Sweetie-Pie Christian Dior Shame Is The Name Munich Air Disaster 1958 I Knew I Was Next It's Hard To Walk Tall When You're Small Teenage Dad On His Estate Children In Pieces Friday Mourning My Life Is A Succession Of People Saying Goodbye Drive-In Saturday Because Of My Poor Education

Limited edition bonus disc: Black Cloud I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris I Just Want To See The Boy Happy Why Don’t You Find Out For Yourself One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, Baby Life Is A Pigsty I'm OK By Myself

Tour Dates 10/05/09 Esplanade Concert Hall 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 Read More Elvis Costello http://weheartmus... 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. Ove...

PUTTING THE "EL" IN ELVIS
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.

Read More Michael Jackson http://weheartmus... I grew up in the ghetto in Sacramento, and we were pretty poor. Our color television was probably the most valuable thing we'd own. I don't know how it came into our possessing (probably a find at the Goodwill), but we had this one-hour NBC documentary via VHS on The Jackson Five. At the end of t...

IS THIS IT? THIS IS IT!
thisisit-movie.com

Too soon?

UK tickets for the highly anticipated Michael Jackson film, "This Is It", goes on sale today, September 27^th. 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 28^th. 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.

When I started playing Magic: The Gathering, they were still struggling with balance issues with their Beta and Unlimited sets. Certainly, some cards were way too powerful for their mana cost (like the zero-costing Moxes, which were banned from tournaments). By the time Third Edition came out, I had thousand and thousand of cards, including some really rare out-of-print Legends, Arabian Nights and The Dark series.

My friends and I used to create our own Magic cards, as long as they were fair (mana cost compared to creature's abilities). Morrissey, is one of three that I made, the other two are Louise Wener, Pyrotechnician and Elastica (they have "banding", haha). The fact that the 0/2 Morrissey card is a black creature that take control of other creatures (this sort of ability is usually associated with blue) is cool, but ironically the black creature cannot be played in any traditional black deck - making it completely useless, unless you have other means of getting black mana outside of Swamps.

I gave up on Magic around the release of Ice Age (bought a box of booster for $75) and Homeland, because I moved and lost all my Magic-playing friends. New friends I found, well none of them knows what Magic is.

So. Recently, I return back to the game by picking up a "fat pack" of 2010 Core Edition. Wow, I was blown away at all the improvements: clean interface, rarity color coding, amazing artists, easy-to-understand card names, color artifacts(!), explanations of common powers (for instance, non-tapping attacks are now called "Vigilance"), and, best of all, checklist numbering.

Some things I didn't like is the "randomness" of booster packs, why are certain 'common cards' harder to find than some uncommon or rare cards? Why do I keep getting the same "rare" cards? Also, prices are ridiculous at $4 a booster pack.

So, I am building an Angels deck, which isn't easy because most angels are rare and their casting cost is too high. Plus many of them require at least two white mana, which means you're better off playing a white-only deck. The Platinum Angel should be used with a combination with Disenchant. When you're ready to win, just get rid of the artifact angel.

Sera Angel	Archangel	Angel of Salvation	Baneslayer Angel
Asha's Favor	Warrior Angel	Angel of Retribution	Platinum Angel

(500) Days of Summer is a romantic comedy movie that was released on limited screens in the US a few weeks ago. Although based on the trailer (yes, I am judging a film by its commercial), it looks very indie and very chick-flicky... I'm sure I'll love it, but it seems like I will be renting this a heart-warming love story and secretly crying to myself in the dark instead of in public.

(500) Days of Summer is a movie about love, sure, but it's also a movie about music. These songs build bridges between Tom and Summer and they tear them down. They can make you dance and they can make you cry. They describe how we feel and express emotions that just couldn't get out any other way. Music is the soul of this movie.

- director Marc Webb

You know, they had me at The Smiths, who appears on the soundtrack with two songs (plus a bonus Smiths cover by She & Him). It definitely sparked my interest. I'm happy to report that I have the album for review, and it seems to be a great mixture of 80s modern rock with, er, 00s modern rock.

Of course, I'm familiar with all bands on the soundtrack, most of these songs I already have on various albums. Particularly, I'm keen on the old stuff. I mean who can say no to Hall & Oates' "You Make My Dreams" as you picture Daryl Hall's legs flapping. Or just give into Morrissey as he whines "Please, Please, Please, Please, Please, Pease, Please, Please, No Really Please Let Me Get What I Want". Or reflecting on a time of innocence with Simon & Garfunkel's sweet and harmless "Bookends".

If there is a theme on this soundtrack, it's that these are all love songs. While as usual, the more established alternative acts (Regina Spektor, Feist, Wolfmother) does a great job with their love songs, the unknown artists (at least to me) on this compilation actually does a great job introducing themselves to me. I was particularly impressed with "She's Got You High" by Mumm-Ra (are they named after the Thundercats' arch-nemesis? If so: AWESOME).

As a cover lover, I noticed there are two on the album. As I previously mentioned, "Please...." by She & Him does an excellent job with the cover, although it sounds pretty much like the original. Singer Zooey Deschanel does not bother changing the lyrics from a male's perspective (and there's no hint of desperation in her vocals) and M Ward does his best Johnny Marr jangly guitar. No problem here, it's just that I've heard this before.

My absolute favorite is The Pixies' "Here Comes Your Man" by Meaghan Smith (official/myspace). She re-interpreted the song as a slower-based song with male backup singers. There's just something really sweet about the song when it's slowed down from the original.

The really weird wild-card in this bunch is current-spouse of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian model-turned-singer, Carla Bruni. To be fair, she's been releasing music since 2002, and her acoustic-folk French song, "Quelqu'un m'a dit" does a nice job as a break between all the English-based songs.

It should be interesting to see where the soundtrack play in the movie, so let me know if you see (500) Days of Summer. The romantic comedy movie is currently playing at selected theaters near you, while the soundtrack is available now via the great Sire Records. There's always Amazon and iTunes (iTunes version includes the actors singing "Sugar Town", "Here Comes Your Man" and "At Last").

Trivia: The movie will be released in Australia on October 1^st, where the soundtrack actually have two Aussie bands: The Temper Trap and Wolfmother.

Every Morrissey fan knows what today is: it's Steven Patrick Morrissey's 50^th Birthday. 

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.

Mojo Nixon - Girlfriend In A Coma 1 comment Bill Nye (Momentisey) - "The Faster You Push Me"

So far, I've noticed a few duplicated covers: "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get" (covered by Sharon Van Etten and Unicycle Loves You) and "Girlfriend in a Coma" (covered by Teddy Blanks and Mixel Pixel). Let's just face it, as far as "Girlfriend" is concerned: Mojo Nixon did it best. As for "Ignore", Bill Nye The Science Guy's version is pretty awesome.

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.

ANNOUNCING: TMS HEARTS MOZ (A COVERS ALBUM IN HONOR OF MOZZER’S 50TH BIRTHDAY)
Posted by m | 5.1.09 12:00 pm

As 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.

Feel like more Morrissey celebrations? Read more here at morrissey.weheartmusic.com. Look for Morrissey making his triumph return to Manchester tonight for his 50^th birthday bash at the Apollo Theater.

To say the least, Morrissey is the main reason why I listen to alternative music. Prior Morrissey, I was hopelessly in love with Chynna from Wilson Phillips. What made me deflect to the dark side was seeing Morrissey's black humor as he sings his heart out to "There is a Place in Hell for Me and My Friends" on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

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.

You might have seen his "All You Need Is Me" tongue-in-cheek answer to all your woes or have heard "That's How People Grow Up" on his last Greatest Hits album (that song was a brand new song at the time). The new "hit" single from this album is "I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris", which sounds sweeping. I don't know how to describe it, it sounds like the song should be epic, but it's wrapped up in a two minute pop song. Typical Morrissey to end the song with "nobody wants my love".

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:

Morrissey - Reader Meet Author	Morrissey - The National Front Disco	Morrissey - Sunny	Morrissey - Girl Least Likely To	Morrissey - Jack The Ripper (live) 4 comments
Morrissey - Boxers	Morrissey - Piccadilly Palare	Morrissey - That's How People Grow Up 4 comments	Morrissey - Jack the Ripper (studio)	Morrissey - Tomorrow (Single Mix) 3 comments

 12/18/2008 02:07:10  ♥ written by vu ()

Sex Sells, Part Two

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?

Morrissey - The National Front Disco MORRISSEY 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 PS, Remember all those rumors last year that Morrissey will stop touring, and I laughed it off on our podcast?	The Black Crowes-Wiser Time 3 comments THE BLACK CROWES 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 Yuppie Pricks-Collars Up YUPPIE PRICES 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.
The Silentreatment-Pretty Little Girl 1 comment THE SILENTREATMENT 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-I Told Myself DIONYZA 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: I've been around music all of my life, up to the wee hours in studios while Mom and Dad were working. My greatest memory is being at Motown where I got to meet Smokey Robinson. And Teena Marie took my sister and me to the park while my parents were in the studio. I have two older brothers and one sister - I'm the youngest. As children we saw the ups and downs of the music business first hand, so they didn't have to 'warn' us about anything! Every one of us can sing…but I'm the only one taking it all the way! - Dionyza 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.
Xiu Xiu - Fast Car 1 comment XIU XIU 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.	Padre Pio-Madeline 1 comment PADRE PIO 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.

 12/08/2008 01:57:06  ♥ written by vu ()

Cover Lover presents: "There is a Light that Never Goes Out"

Inspirational Place wrote: Fri, Dec 5, 2008 at 11:07 PM

[this is good] Sounds a little bit like Morrisey...which is good, real good ;o)

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.

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"

Undoubtedly, one of my favorite long-titled song is "There is a Light that Never Goes Out". This is a really sweet, but sad song. Every time I hear Morrissey sings "and if a double-decker bus crashes into us, to die by your side is such a heavenly way to die", ah, well it just makes me cry a little inside.

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):

Trainspotting

Irvine Welsh

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.

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.

ANBERLIN schneidertm.net ♥ myspace.com Anberlin-There Is A Light That Never Goes Out 2 comments When I spoke with Stephen Christian of Anberlin earlier this year on W♥M Radio #24 (incidentally one of our most downloaded show!), I was happy to learn what a big anglophile he was. I suppose I should've seen the writing on the wall as the band's covered some of Britain's best songs.... including The Smiths' "There is a Light that Never Goes out" which appeared on their 2007 album, Cities (The Special Edition version). They're currently on tour in support of their major-label album, New Surrender: 12/10 - The Night the Buzz Stole Christmas @ The Midland - Kansas City, MO 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 Death Cab For Cutie-There's a Light That Never Goes Out 1 comment As mentioned above, I don't have this on CD, this was strictly a download via morrissey-solo. We've previously mentioned Death Cab a few times on W♥M because we like Barsuk Records, so be sure to read some of our articles on Death Cab. 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. 12/09/08 WaMu Theater Seattle, Washington 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
THE LUCKSMITHS thelucksmiths.com.au ♥ myspace.com The Lucksmiths-There is A Light that Never Goes Out This is one of my favorite cover - as it's also a duet. Originally appeared on the Smiths tribute CD called Romantic and Square is Hip and Aware (the cover art appears to have been taken from the Smiths' "Ask" video), I picked this up way back in 2003. 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 The Divine Comedy-There Is A Light That Never Goes Out 10 years after the release of The Queen is Dead, French Magazine Les Inrockuptibles compiled this wonderful little tribute album consisting of then-famous British rockers doing song-for-song of The Queen is Dead. 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.
YO-YO MUNDI yoyomundi.it Yo-Yo Mundi -There is a Light that Never Goes Out Yo-Yo Mundi is an Italian band and that's all I really know about the band. Their cover of "There is a Light" appeared on the Italian Smiths Tribute CD called There is a Light that Never Goes Out. It was released in 2000, limited to 1,000 pressing (it may have been re-issued due to demands). 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 Walleye-There Is a Light I'm not sure if that's actually their myspace, but I picked up this Smiths tribute CD called The World Still Won't Listen, which is a hardcore punkified version of Smiths song. I suppose I am more of a fan of melodic punk/pop punk, as these songs on this album is much too much for me. The sound volume on the CD is loud and louder. 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.
SCHNEIDER TM schneidertm.net ♥ myspace.com Schneider TM - The Light 3000 (There is a Light that Never Goes Out) Possibly the most interesting and inventive cover version of "There is a Light" by electronic artist Dirk Dresselhaus, or better known as Schneider TM. The song originally appeared as a b-side on his Binokular EP (2000) with collaborator KPT.michi.gan. 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 The Ocean Blue-There is a Light that Never Goes Out 3 comments The Ocean Blue's cover of "There is a Light" originally appeared as a b-side on their EP, Peace and Light. Way back in high school, trendsetter Dan Davis (we all admired this guy in high school) was really into The Ocean Blue. At the time, I think he was really into Echo & The Bunnymen and Candy Flip (remember their cover of "Strawberry Fields Forever"?) 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.
BRAID polyvinylrecords.com Braid-There is a Light That Never Goes Out 1 comment I thought this punk-ish band's version of "There is a Light" is pretty good. It has a, I don't know, a power-pop to the song - which clearly is not what the song is missing. It's a good take on the song though. 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 Neil Finn - There is A Light that Never Goes out Probably best known for being in Crowded House (wow, remember those guys?), Neil Finn teamed up with a bunch of superstar rockers, Lisa Germano, Sebastian Steinberg, Ed & Phil of Radiohead (I interviewed Phil Selway for KFSR 90.7FM a long time ago), Eddie Vedder, and of course Johnny Marr. For Marr's appearance, they covered The Smiths' "There is a Light that Never Goes Out" - which sounded fantastic live!

So, a funny thing about the title "There is a Light" was I bought this stupid keychain flashlight at a Smiths convention a while back with the text clearly written on the side: "There is a light that never goes out". You know what? A year into owning this dumb thing, the flashlight stopped functioning. I guess the light went out for me :/

 10/19/2008 09:30:30  ♥ written by vu ()

Someone recently asked me who the Pixies were, which really surprised me, because they are one of the most influential alternative rock band in the late 80s/early 90s. I came to know them through their wonderful, song "Here Comes Your Man" from Doolittle.

My friend, Shawn, at the time, had become a huge fan and had bought most of the Pixies' releases at the time (Doolittle to Trompe le Monde). I borrowed his albums and I can't say that I really got into it, you know, but I do love a few of the tracks. Particularly, "Here Comes Your Man" and maybe even some of their other hits such as "Monkey Gone to Heaven" and "Allison" (okay I really love this song a lot).

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.

Pixies - Here Comes Your Man 1 comment

The Smiths - This Charming Man 1 comment

Frank Black - Hang on to Your Ego 7 comments

The Breeders - Cannonball

By the way, I did follow Pixies' lead singer Black Francis, who went solo in '93 after the band's breakup. He went solo under a new moniker, Frank Black, but it would seem recently as of 2007, he's switch back to his original stagename, Black Francis, once again.

As for the other band members, Kim Deal is probably best known for being in The Breeders for their breakthrough hit song, "Cannonball".

 08/13/2008 09:10:14  ♥ written by vu ()