18 posts tagged “pulp”
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BRITPOPCAST #5: Q MAGAZINE'S BRITPOP QUIZ
Some questions are dubious, as far as Britpop is concern, like The Verve question... but overall one of the better quiz out there.
The later part of the show, we talk a bit about The Abercrombie Hotel closing down, Pavement, and Empire of the Sun.
Also, don't forget to see DJ Sal in Sydney at britpop.com.au.
Below are the questions and answers.
| Question | Answer | Points | ||||||
| 01 From which London suburb did The Bluetones hail? | Hounslow | 0 | ||||||
| 02 What was the Boo Radley's debut album called? | Ichabod and I (1990) | 0 | ||||||
| 03 What was the name of Elastica's long-delayed second album? | The Menace (2000) | 1 | ||||||
| 04 What was Pulp's original name? | Abacus Pulp | 1.5 | ||||||
| 05 What was the name of the band fronted by Danny Goffrey's wife Pearl? | Powder | 1 | ||||||
| 06 What was the name of Sleeper's first Top 10 single? | "Sale of the Century" | 0.5 | ||||||
| 07 Who replaced Bernard Butler on Suede? | Richard Oakes | 1.5 | ||||||
| 08 What were Blur originally known as? | Seymour | 1 | ||||||
| 09 Which Ocean Colour Scene song was the theme music on Chris Evans's TV show TFI Friday? | "The Riverboat Song" | 1 | ||||||
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10 Which Britpop supergroup featured both Blur's Alex James and | Me Me Me | 1.5 | ||||||
| 11 How many Brit Awards did the Verve take home in 1998? | 3 | 0 | ||||||
| 12 In which year was Pulp's first Peel Session? | 1981 | 1 | ||||||
| 13 What was the name of Echobelly's singer? | Sonya Madan | 0 | ||||||
| 14 Which Britpop frontman had his shoes stolen by muggers in 1997? | Rick Witter | 0 | ||||||
| 15 Which member of John Power's band Cast also performed with Shack? | Peter Wilkinson | 0 | ||||||
| 16 One of the follow was not a member of Kula Shaker. Which one?
a) Alonza Bevan b) Jay Darlington c) Steve Peck d) Paul Winterhart | C | 0 | ||||||
| 17 Who was the singer of the Seahorses, John Squire's post-Stone Roses outfit? | Chris Helme | 0 | ||||||
| 18 Which member of Dodgy went out with Denise Van Outen? | Andy Miller | 0 | ||||||
| 19 In 1995, with Britpop at its zenith, which three acts headlined the Reading Festival? | Smashing Pumpkins, Bjork, and Neil Diamond | 0 | ||||||
| 20 What item of furniture played a prominent role in the video to Supergrass's Alright? | bed | 1 | ||||||
| 21 What was Marion frontman Jaime Harding convicted of stealing in 2000? | a garden gnome | 0 | ||||||
| 22 Which Britpop outfit were the first to appear on Top of the Pops without releasing a record? | Menswe@r | 0 | ||||||
| 23 How many Top 5 UK albums did Space manage? | 2 | 1 | ||||||
| 24 Gene's 1994 debut single For the Dead came in a limited run of how many? | 1994 | 0 | ||||||
| 25 Which former member of Pulp now runs a ceramics shop? | Nick Banks | 1 | ||||||
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26 The infamous "Battle of Britpop" - name the two singles by Oasis and Blur that went head to head that same week.
Bonus point: Who won in term of most singles sold. | "Roll With It" vs "Country House"; Blur won the battle (but Oasis won the war). | 1.5 | ||||||
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27 Elastica stole the guitar riff of "Connection" from what 70s punk band?
Bonus point: name the song. | Wire; "Three Girl Rhumba" | 0 | ||||||
| 28 Name Blur's bassist Alex James' unusual hobby? | Cheese lover | 1 | ||||||
| 29 Before Kanye's "I'll let you finish" upstage,
which Britpop maverick danced his way on stage during Michael Jackson's
performance of an award show. Bonus point: name the award show. | Jarvis Cocker; The Brit Award | 1.5 | ||||||
| 30 Name the lead singers of (1) Oasis, (2) Blur, (3) Pulp, (4) Suede, (5) Sleeper, and (6) Elastica. | Liam Gallagher, Damon Albarn, Jarvis Cocker, Brett Anderson, Louise Wener, and Justine Frischmann | 3 |
11/29/2009 20:09:50 ♥ vu (
) ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com
RAKES BREAKS
www.therakes.co.uk
I got a note from the Astralwerks band Free Energy saying that some of their shows were canceled due to the fact that the Rakes broke up. That was a bit of a shocker, considering that I thought the Rakes, along with Bloc Party, were a really successful band with top 40 singles.
Here is an excerpt from the statement from the band, dated October 22nd:
The Rakes have always been very adamant and proud of the fact that we give 100% to every gig we’ve ever played. If we can’t give it everything then we won’t do it. That was the rule we set ourselves from day one. After much deliberation we have come to the shared conclusion that we can’t give it 100% anymore and regret to announce that The Rakes are calling it a day.
A total of 10 dates were canceled by Free Energy, but here is the new dates (note: Minneapolis is canceled):- FREE ENERGY TOUR DATES:
10/24: London, UK @ Cargo (DFA Night)
10/26: London, UK @ Barfly
10/27: London, UK @ Rough Trade Records (Hoxton) In-Store
(Early Show)/Waterats (Late Show)
10/28: London, UK @ Windmill
11/11: Boston, MA @ Great Scott
11/19: Dallas, TX @ The Cavern
11/20: Austin, TX @ The Mohawk
11/21: Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
11/22: Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
11/23: Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
11/24: Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
11/25: Washington, DC @ DC9, set TBA
11/27: Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
11/28: New York, NY @ Santos Party House
lilyallenmusic.com
Speaking of splitting, Lily Allen will be splitting from her record label, EMI. Allen, who recently had that insert-mouth-in-foot moment when she had nothing but disdain her fans for sharing her music, is to set up her own record label. She's currently has no plans on touring or promoting her latest album, It's Not Me, It's You and have pretty much abandoned being on the internet.
Quote:
Ironic since her career started because of her fame on myspace.I've thrown away my laptop and I haven't got a Blackberry. I've cut myself off and it's been brilliant so far.
jarviscocker.net
Not breaking up, Jarvis Cocker was recently quoted by People Magazine as having said:
That sparked a slew of rumors that Pulp were reforming for Glasto 2010.Glastonbury means an awful lot to me, I would love to play there again. We've talked about it, there we go, there'll be a band reunion.
Unfortunately, as quick as the rumor started, it was also swiftly put to an end when Jarvis came out to say that "Pulp have no plans to get back together".
Someone asked me if I fancied playing at the 40th anniversary of Glastonbury, I said yes, they twisted that into a 'Pulp reform' story. It's not true.
www.itsmorrisseyworld.com
Speaking of further complications: It's widely reported that Morrissey collapse on the floor on the opening song, "This Charming Man" at Oasis Leisure Centre, due to breathing difficulties.
Although, NME said Morrissey to resume tour in London following onstage collapse, I suspect there will be even more cancellations in the future. Morrissey's has always been notorious for cancelling shows, due to illness and/or unexplained circumstances. I have seen Morrissey live before, but my original ticket to see him in somewhen 1994 was dashed when he canceled that show in Los Angeles. I believe we ponied up $75 per ticket (that was like a billion dollars back then).
Of course, none of this compare to the fan outage of Denny offering free burgers to fans who bought tickets to see Morrissey. Morrissey, as you know, is famous for being an advocator of vegetarianism.
10/27/2009 14:51:08 ♥ vu () ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com
Jarvis Cocker: this pasty, lanky man from Sheffield, what is it about him?... it's not a traditional attractiveness; it's a combination of about seven things (give or take a few). That awkwardness, those frantic dance moves, and of course... those flailing limbs.
You have to hand it to him, others would have given up long ago, but Jarvis stuck it out. I probably don't need to say it, but Mr Cocker started his career as the frontman for the amazing English band, Pulp. If you are familiar with them, i reckon like me, you probably first heard them around 1995/1996? But NO! Pulp's first gig was at a Rotherham Arts Centre in July 1980 (the month I was born - yeah scary). So really, they'd been at it 16 years until they released Different Class, causing a vast number of people to jump on the (literal) bandwagon.
My theory for why these songs are instantly likable is not just because of the catchy tunes, but because Jarvis has an amazing knack to lyric writing. He has an acute talent for writing songs with lyrics that are clearly from experience as opposed to the usual "I'm pining for lost love" or "I've got a girlfriend, she's super lovely, she's not yours, you lose" drivel. These are all songs that the average person can identify with in some way or another. Another thing that I'm sure I mention a lot, is that I love the fact that if you happen to be listen to any Jarvis-written songs on earphones... you have to be quite careful who you sing out loud (and how loud) in front of.... "so she bought a toy that can reach the places he never goes".
I can't help but think that if Pulp kept on going at it, it wouldn't have ended gracefully in any way (although I'll probably get physically beaten for saying that Pulp aren't together anymore by a certain crazed Pulp fan i know). Anyway, i could talk about Pulp all day.... the purpose of this here article today, is to talk about Jarvis and his solo albums.
Listening to both of these albums, I feel as though I'm slightly seeing into the private life of Jarvis. I wonder "Did fat children really take his life?". But what about the beard, Jarvis? That's the real question.
9 Nov - Village Underground, London
10 Nov - Village Underground, London
11 Nov - Village Underground, London
2 Dec - Town Hall (Wellington), Wellington
4 Dec - Powerstation, Auckland
5 Dec - Hi Fi Bar, Brisbane
7 Dec - Metro (Sydney), Sydney
8 Dec - Metro Freo, Perth
10 Dec - HQ, Adelaide
11 Dec - Forum (Melbourne), Melbourne
12 Dec - Meredith Festival, Meredith
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Britpop ♥ Flyer (11/07/09) |
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BRITPOPCAST #3: WELSH BRITPOP BANDS
This show was recorded on Saturday morning at 12.30am with Sally. I was half tired and half unprepared... but lots of fun on this episode about Welsh Britpop bands.
Welsh bands we focused on: Super Furry Animals, Manic Street Preachers, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Catatonia, Stereophonics, and 60ft Dolls.
The second part, which is more like a post script is that Sally will be DJing Jarvis Cocker/Pulp music for an hour on December 5th in anticipation and celebration of Cocker touring in Australia around that date. Come stalk her in Sydney, more details on britpop.com.au.
Below is the interview Sal did with singer Gruff Rhys from SFA, originally published in Kill the Cod fanzine.
Whilst attending a smashing concert at Newcastle Uni (25th.Feb), i managed, as well as being able to watch three of my favourite bands (Lavish, Super Furry Animals and Custard), i was able to have a chat to a Mr Gruff Rhys, the lead singer of the Super Furries. So here is the story of that night....................................................................................*sally*
What's the deal with all the Welsh bands that have been touring Australia lately?
It's really funny, you know, we used to share the same amps as Catatonia and we shared drummers, we've known members of Catatonia since I was...you know...
So you lived near them?
ah...Catatonia are from North Wales and we're from South Wales...your in bands for years playing along and it's...so surreal, you know...we'll be playing in Melbourne the same night as Catatonia and we'll probably meet up with them after...and I saw them in a pub in Cardiff before coming over...
So it's just coincidence that you, Catatonia and the Manic Street Preachers have all decided to tour Australia at the same time?
Yeah...cos Wales is a small place...you bump into everyone and you meet everyone...the music is quite different...you know? Everyone does their own thing, so no one is in competition with each other...it's great you know...to meet up in exotic locations
How do you like playing with Lavish and, tonight, Custard?
well...I haven't heard Custard and I hadn't heard Lavish until last week
How do you feel about not being the headlining band tonight (Newcastle Uni)?
That's fine...yeah...I mean we've never played in Australia before and no one's heard of us practically...you know..we sort of have just started out in Australia, so it's great to be number 1 and number 2...it's good to have an audience...I don't care about headlining...you know, I think that's secondary to the music true true...
So how did the Super Furry Animals form?
ahh...we started recording in Dafydd's house about five years ago (points to Dafydd)...this doesn't translate on tape..um..that short guy with the brown shirt..um..we had a home studio..we spent a few years writing songs and before that me and Dafydd were in a band called Ffa Coffi Pawb, Guto and Bunf were in a band, and Cian had his own band and Cian is Dafydd's brother so he used to hang out with us...and by this time me Cian and Dafydd had moved down from North Wales to Cardiff and we knew Bunt and Guto from the days in Ffa Coffi Pawb, we were all in Welsh punk rock bands you know..then we spent two years in the house writing songs and playing around and um...then we decided to start playing live...we did a few gigs and then we got together to release a single on a label called Ankst and so it's one of those freaky things...we'd played about two gigs and we sent a copy to the NME or something and we got a slot in a pub in London and about 10 journalists came to see us and wrote rave reviews...we went to London again the week after and played in another pub and there was about 40 record companies and they all wanted a piece and...it was really strange and easy and then we did an album for Creation...we've been in bands for 10 years making music and suddenly you get offered this chance to record the albums of your dreams you know..and come to places like Australia to play
Are you enjoying Australia?
Yeah...I didn't know what to expect at all and it's a good place and um...i'm looking forward to coming back...yeah I want to come back
I don't know if you've ever been asked this but...i've got a game called Actua Soccer at home..
..oh yeah...
and I notice a SFA team with you running around the field...so how did you get into that?
well...we were making a video and we didn't have many pictures and we wanted to walk into the screen and change into football players and so we got in contact with these people and they did it free for us and...but they fucked up cos..we selected a team of all our heros..um...we had..i think Che Guevara was in goal, Nelson Mandella on the wing..i think Lou Reed was in the team and...Fidel Castro and...Frank Zappa on the wing, etcetera, etcetera and the five of us...apparently they've put like..Stalin and Ghengis Khan on the team and it's horrible cos they lost the piece of paper we sent them so they put all these wankers in, you know...it's really bad...so we're all embarrassed it's still an alright game though I prefer Fifa 98
yeah...me too... What football teams do you support?
Bangor City...their in the league of Wales............ah a bug (on the ground).........yeah..i support Bangor City in the league of Wales and I support Cardiff City who are in the third division of the English league even though it's a Welsh team...um...I support Barcelona and Bilbao in the Spanish league...who do you support?
I support Arsenal and it's not just because they won the FA cup and that, I had been supporting them for years, so don't get any ideas
o.k....i know some Arsenal fans
What is your favourite telly show ever?
well...Calimero...it's like a Czech cartoon. Calimero is a little black chicken with half a shell on its head and um...I did have a photo of him (searches his pocket and wallet)...he's like the only black chicken in a family of yellow chickens and it gets translated into Welsh so we used to watch it in Welsh on Welsh TV and i've met Japanese people...it's been translated into Japanese and Italian and in Scotland it's in English with an Italian accent so Calimero's catch phrase is "It's an injustice" (in an Italian accent) and um..in Welsh it's (Welsh words-sorry ) which is "there's no flavour to life"..it's this depressed chicken..it's a cartoon for kids but, you know...Calimero...god guy..one of the greats
How do you Kill the Cod?
Are you an active fisher?
it's actually out of the Goodies
Ah yeah...i saw a band a few weeks ago and they've got Graeme Garden's son on keyboards...he's got the same smile...that's quite amazing..i don't'know if I endorse killing cod..so maybe we should let it swim..you know.
10/24/2009 20:06:30 ♥ vu () ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com
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The structure I wanted to keep this: 1. The origin and definition of what Britpop was. 2. It's ultimate demise, our theories on why it went away. 3. Survivors of Britpop, bands that are still around today, including Blur, Radiohead, Oasis, etc. We ended with what song would best sum up what Britpop was. While we had a two-to-one Blur vote, I do think that Kristen's suggestion of "Common People" made a lot of sense.
While I would admit that based on repeated playing of this song, that I've gotten sick of it, it's hard to ignore that the song is a really great song. It's about meeting a rich student, and in typical Jarvis Cocker-reality/vengeful lyrics, tells the student that basically she would never understand what's it is like to be living in poverty like himself, like common people.
The song was king at the time of its release in 1995, and remain to be the band's most popular song. I'm pretty sure the song's been covered a few times, these are two popular ones: William Shatner and Libitina.
The actual show length is about 30 minutes, but I liked all the random topics, that I kept some of them in the first portion. If you like that randomness, stay after the "Common People" and you will be treated to some These Animal Men, Powder, Lush, and Salad. I'm sure none of these bands will be played at Sydney's Britpop Night, as I'm not sure enough people like them.
I'm hoping to have another Britpopcast in a month or so, let me know if you would like to join in on the discussion.
09/05/2009 20:12:16 ♥ vu () ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com
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Schnitzel lover, Sally, joins us once again to talk more Britpop! Is there a britpopcast in the future?
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Pulp started in 1978, but did not garner fame until His N Hers in 1994, followed by the international hit album, Different Class the following year. "Common People" is perhaps Pulp's biggest, most well-known hit song. By the time This is Hardcore came out, towards the end of the Britpop era, people had become disinterested in the band (although I thought This is Hardcore is a great album).
By 2002, the band released We Love Life and ultimately broke up, however singer and songwriter, Jarvis Cocker continued on by himself. It made sense, really, he was the creative driving force since the very beginning. So far, Cocker released two solo albums, Jarvis (2006) and Further Complications (2009).
Stay tuned after the "Angela" song (which is a free download from jarviscocker.net) for some even more random thoughts: the state of music and the kids, "Sally's music shop", music magazines, and Oasis.
08/16/2009 18:24:58 ♥ vu () ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com
Where we last left off on my Star Trek music coverage, we heard from Brent Spiner (Data) , Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), and Leonard Nimoy (Spock) and William Shatner (Captain Kirk).
Today, I am happy to report that I have Tim Russ's self-titled 2000 album that I picked up used. Fans of Star Trek: Voyager will know Russ as Lt Commander Tuvok, but if you follow Star Trek closely, you'd recognize Russ in other Trek roles (like the movie Star Trek: Generations).
The album is largely jazz-style, but there is a blues song that really stood out for me: "Crossroads".
The most interesting thing about this song is that it's based on Robert Johnson's most popular song, "Cross Road Blues". Johnson had a short (less than two years), but very influencial career as a Delta blues musician... and many believe that he made a deal with the Devil to become a famous singer (and hence his untimely death at the age of 27).
I'm not sure if Russ was a fan before starring as Robert Johnson in Crossroads (1986), but it's evident that Russ loved Johnson's song that he recorded his version of it on this self-titled album.
What makes Russ' version more compelling is that it's actually based on an interpretation of Johnson's classic song from Eric Clapton when he was in Cream (from the album Wheels Of Fire). I love the Clapton's version as well, featuring some great guitar-playing and his blues-rock vocals.
Tim Russ will be making some rare appearance: September 20th at the Rhythm and Ribs in Sacramento, California and on October 11th at the Tri-State Convention in Washington.
Below are some more Star Trekkin' goodness.
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Links:
timrusswebpage.net
Maude Maggart is the sister of Fiona Apple. |
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If you've ever seen my DVD collection, you'll know that I am a pretty big fan of Star Trek. I have previously mentioned how much I love Data from Star Trek and was glad to see that the actor, Brent Spiner, had recorded Ol' Yellow Eyes Is Back. The 1940's pop and showtunes standard album have been out of print for a while, and fans and collectors have paid a lot of money to own an original copy. I would recommend getting a copy of his new, just-released, album, Dreamland before it goes out of print or you'll regret it later.
Dreamland is an old fashion radio musical with already established jazz singer, Maude Maggart. We've previously used her cover of Cole Porter's "Night and Day". It is important that I mention the Porter tune, because Brent Spiner heard her Porter cover of "Looking at You" and fell in love with her voice.
The other star appearing on this CD is Mark Hamill (Star Wars). He plays the villainous boyfriend and the Spanish waiter, and I believe other character voices too. I'm not familiar with the other voice actor Pat Richardson, but I think she is a pretty famous TV actress.
This album was meant to be listened to from start to finish, like an hour radio program. I was surprise to see that you can download it as per song ($1.50), but to me, this doesn't make much sense because you're only getting 1/16th of the story.
I didn't realize that the story is actually a dream (if you think I'm spoiling the story, I'm not, the explanation is written on the liner notes), so at one point in the story I was pretty confused when Spiner woke up with (what I imagined based on the voice acting) a horrific and older lady. The story is a great idea and it keeps you listening to find out what will happen next.
As for the songs, if you love old big band/swing Frank Sinatra tunes ("In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", "Nice 'n' Easy"), you'll love these new recording from Spiner and Maggart. The songs that are excellent are the duets, especially on the last track "To Know You is to Love You".
For some reason, when I was listening to this album, the one song that I kept going back to was "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone". There's a sense of humor in the song ("What do you call a singer who breaks up with his girlfriend?" answer: "Homeless!") and some improvisation and it made me think of a live 1930 setting.
Check out this video "behind the scene" of Dreamland, it really shows off what a great fun time they all had while recording this album (and it translate to the album too).
Dreamland is available on amazon and iTunes, but I would recommend getting it directly from therealbrentspiner.com because you can get it personalized and autographed.
What's in store for Brent in the future? It looks like he's going to be filming a documentary? From reading his blog, it would seem that he's going to be traveling around and will personally make stops to people's homes.
Bonus: Let's not forget other Star Trek actors have recordings. Here are some songs that we've previously used:
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Links:
therealbrentspiner.com
myspace.com/realbrentspiner
maudemaggart.com
myspace.com/maude...
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In 2001, Universal Music started re-releasing landmark albums in their Deluxe Editions. These reissues are in deluxe digipaks, usually with an extra CD. These Deluxe Editions are really targetted towards collectors, casual fans might be happy with just the regular album as the prices are sometime really expensive. Prices range from $15 to $40, but if you're a collector or mega fan, they are well worth it for the rare/obscure tracks and booklets that comes in these sets. The album are in digipacks and fit inside a clear plastic slipcase (note: these are not interchangeable with other Deluxe releases).
Since the series is pretty successful, there are a few imitators in similar formats, notably Rhino/Elektra/Sire releases of Depeche Mode, R.E.M., and The Cure, although I should point out that these special editions have cardboard slipcases, not the clear plastic.
Also note that "Legacy Editions" from Legacy Recordings and "Collector's Edition" from Sony should not be confused with the Universal Releases.
I've compiled a listing based on umeportal.com, livingwithmusic.com, and wikipedia: W♥M's guide to Universal's Deluxe Editions.
I may return and add in Legacy Editions and Rhino re-issues, if anyone out there is interested.
By the way, some Deluxe Editions are available only in certain countries because they're popular in certain region (for instance, I think all the Pulp and Orb Deluxes are available only in the UK).
For collectors, you might want to see if you can get your hands on the free Best Buy's Deluxe Edition: Sampler. There's nothing really special about the 12-track disc, it comes in a standard jewel case.
We've previously mentioned a few Deluxe albums, so I've include a few links on the sidebar for you to read more.
Below are reviews of six Deluxe Editions that is in my collection:
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GREASE - 25TH ANNIVERSARY
Grease is the word, is the word that you heard! Aw, who doesn't love this movie and soundtrack. The double LP album went on to the Deluxe Edition, released last year. All the classic songs are on here, "Grease", "Summer Nights", "Hopelessly Devoted to You", "Greased Lightning", and "We Go Together". The bonus second disc contains mostly "sing-a-long" version, which are essentially instrumentals. Although some instrumentals, such as the title track, "Grease", is amazing with the Gary Brown saxophone. The "megamix" and "dream mix" are dance medleys, which are kind of nice, but it couldn't really take the place of the originals. Also worth mentioning is the lyric booklet are designed as a school three-ring binder. |
ELVIS COSTELLO - MY AIM IS TRUE
I've been waiting for Universal to release all of Elvis' catalogue - and I was pleased to see that This Year's Model (the album with Pump it Up) was released a few months ago. My Aim is True (1977) is the first in the reissues, and it's a good start, because it was the first Costello album. Over thirty years later, the Deluxe Edition expands on the original release with some early demos. The bonus disc features the entire live concert from The Nashville Rooms (Aug 7th, 1977) as well as the soundcheck from the same venue. The live recording is from soundboard and sounds just as good as a studio environment. Trivia: I've seen Elvis Costello twice in my life, at a live concert in Berkeley and, strangely, at the Arctic Monkeys show as one of his bodyguard pushed me aside. |
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WEEZER - THE BLUE ALBUM
There's no additions to the original album, the first disc is relatively short, being barely 40 minutes long. The second disc made up for it, with fan-favorites such as "Mykel and Carli", a song about two of their biggest fan (who died while driving to a Weezer concert), "Jamie" (a song about their attorney, originally appearing on DGC Rarities, Vol. 1), and "Susanne". There are some pre-production recording, such as "Paperface" and "I Swear It's True", that's nothing more than glorified demos, but it's still nice to have it collected on this reissue. The best thing about this Deluxe Edition is all the original lyrics were reprinted from the original hand-written notes from Rivers Cuomo. At the same time this was released, Geffen also issued their first DVD called Video Capture Device, which made a nice addition to any Weezer fan's collection. |
VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO
I've always thought this album was called Andy Warhol, but apparently the official title is Velvet Underground and Nico. What's interesting to note is that Warhol is the band's manager at this point in their career and he was the person that courted Nico to collaborate with the band. I'm actually not that thrilled about this re-release, partly because the extra is basically "the mono version" of their album. Let me put it this way: if you were to buy a bluray movie "deluxe edition" and the only extra is a VHS, it's really not worth paying extra, right? I suppose, they had to put something on the second disc as, by now, there was little undiscovered VU music. The extra bonus are five songs from Nico's album Chelsea Girl, originally released in October 1967. |
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SONIC YOUTH - DIRTY
This was the first of a series of Sonic Youth releases from Universal/Geffen. It contains a bunch of extras, mostly rehearsal recordings on the second disc (which includes songs not released on Dirty). What's important about this album is that it was originally the first album to make Sonic Youth a household name, with their massive hit "100%", even though they were previously getting airplay with "Kool Thing" (from Goo; also released as a Deluxe Edition). Photo extras includes a glimpse into the notes after their first proof print of the Dirty album, although I was disappointed to find out that they didn't reprint the pornographic image on the original album. I suppose it's all in good taste. |
TEARS FOR FEAR - SONGS FROM THE BIG CHAIR
This Tears for Fear's biggest hit album, finally released in Deluxe format. The original album only ran 44 minutes, so they added 7 B-sides, filling up the rest of the disc. The second CD contains 7" and 12" remixes, which was pretty common at the time (usually the 12" is a dance mix). The band really started to fit in radio in 1985, along such other smooth mellow soul 80s sound such as Simply Red and Sade, and their biggest hit at the time was "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Shout". Songs from the Big Chair hit #1 in the US, Canada, and Germany, making this one of the most successful album from this British band, although surprisingly they only hit #2 on the UK charts. The booklet contains a 10-page article about the importance of this album from Paul Lester, editor at Uncut Magazine. |
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Further Reading
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Joe Jackson was sending out his demos before being picked up by A&M Records in 1978. The result was the amazing debut album Look Sharp! (1979), featuring his big hit "Is She Really Going Out with Him?"
In this article am going to talk about some of my favorite Joe Jackson songs, only because he has a new album coming out in a few weeks. A full review will be done by Ryan later (keep your eyes peeled for that).
"Steppin' Out" is one of Jackson's best-known songs. If you don't think you know this song - trust me: YOU KNOW THIS SONG. It's from his best-selling and critically acclaimed album Night and Day (1982).
He didn't actually cover the Cole Porter's song (see Jason's article: Night and Day), this album is kind of in the tone of Porter's style.
Although this album is more piano-driven, all of Jackson's lyrics are still there: "You dress in pink and blue/Just like a child/And in a yellow taxi turn to me and smile/We'll be there in just a while/If you follow me..."
Embarrassingly enough, for the longest time, I have always thought "Steppin' Out" was a Hall & Oates song - especially with the xylophone.
The song, "Look Sharp!", was never released as a single, but I am in love with this wonderful New Wave/Rock sound.
Check out that rebellious punky lyrics:
Okay, what you say
Tell me what they're wearing this year
Go on and laugh at me 'cause you don't see
That I got something going right here
Say I'm just a dreamer
Say I'm just a kid
Well ace, shut your face
Maybe you will see or hear
I gotta say, "wow"! The song is saying to the world, hey you may not see much in me but the new kid in town is going to show you something.
"You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)": Just the title alone, it really illustrate Jackson's lyric writing for Body & Soul (1984).
I especially love the saxaphone as it carries its long note when Jackson sings "You can't get what you want/Till you know what you want".
So, obviously, I am a fan of Joe Jackson's 80s releases. To be honest, I haven't heard much from Joe Jackson until he resurfaced on my radar on William Shatner's Has Been (2003). I am sure all W♥M readers already have a copy of this CD. It's certainly one of my favorite cover song, and I am almost certain that Joe Jackson was the driving force behind getting Pulp's song covered.
Which brings me to 2008, Joe Jackson has a new album coming out in a few weeks called Rain. Since the album is already being reviewed, I won't spend too much time on audio portion (although I can tell you it's certainly piano-driven just like Night and Day). I'll be focusing on the DVD portion of Rain.
You get about 20 minutes of live concert with three songs ("Invisible Man", "Wasted Time", and "Good Bad Boy") recorded at the Islington Academy in London (24th May 2007). The concert footage is excellent and very professional.
There's some interviews (conducted with Alan Bangs), which I thought seemed awkward.
The best part of the DVD is the Joe's guide to Berlin! This is just great, whoever thought of this idea should get extra points.
I'm only showing you an excerpt of Joe talking about the Wall of Berlin and his insight on the whole thing.
I don't know if the bonus DVD will be available on future pressing of Rain, but looking at the retail price (about $16), it's a very good price for CD/DVD combo. The more common prices I've seen for CD/DVD combos are about $20.
By the way, there is a limited edition (signed and numbered by Jackson) - but it is already sold out.
Expect Jackson to go on tour shortly after the album's release on Ryko Disc in the UK (Jan 28th) and US (Jan 29th). They've already announced the password for his concert presale (the password is Davidian).
01/11/2008 07:03:03
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