14 posts tagged “smiths”
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(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
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.
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 1st, where the soundtrack actually have two Aussie bands: The Temper Trap and Wolfmother.
08/01/2009 22:16:06 ♥ vu (
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♥ foxsearchlight.com/500daysofsummer
| 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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10/16/08 Live TV on KARE 11, Minneapolis, MN
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10/16/08 The Cedar, Minneapolis, MN 10/17/08 The Hideout, Chicago, IL 10/18/08 Illini Union Courtyard Cafe, Champaign, IL 10/20/08 Gypsy Hut, Cincinnati, OH 10/21/08 Annabell's, Akron, OH 10/22/08 Red and the Black, Washington DC 10/23/08 The Fire, Philly, PA 10/24/08 Ace of Clubs (CMJ), NY 11/04/08 Bottom of the Hill, SF, CA |
Singer Kylee confessed that she was quite hungover when they recorded the song:
| Kylee Swenson wrote: Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 1:41 PM |
If you only knew how hungover I was when I sang that Smiths cover. Oh man, it hurt so bad. Thanks for the kind words, We Heart Music. See you guys October 16 when we play in Minneapolis, finally....
I don't know what the big deal is, but they really, really, want to play in Minneapolis! The weather here is getting a little chilly, I recommend a heavy sweater when going out at night.
The cool thing is that they will be appearing on KARE 11, our local station here. I'll have to find the listing hopefully try and tape it.
Anyroad, the album is still somewhat dreampop, with electronica. Swenson's vocals is still sugar sweet here. It's all good though, if you've ever liked female-fronted bands, Loquat should be right up your alley.
Some of the strong tracks includes the first song, "Harder Hit". I'm glad to see that the band also love this song as it is also their promotional music video. The video is based, no, more like inspired, by the French film "Le Ballon Rouge" (The Red Balloon).
Other songs I thought was very strong: "Sit Sideways", which has a funky feel to it at the beginning, but the electronic and piano keys brings it back to a nice rhythmic beat. I mildly smiled at the line "I'm rubber and you are the glue" on "Clearly Now".
Also, check out "These Kinds Of Friends" too. Listen to the first few bars of the song - does it remind you of Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang"? Maybe it's just me.
Secrets of the Sea is out now on Talking House Records, where you can purchase the album directly for an even-steven $10. Look for them on the rest of the tour through the midwest and eventually at the monster that is CMJ (they take the stage at 11pm).
Enjoy their video:
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
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07/04/08 London - O2 Wireless Festival
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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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I originally was going to compile my favorite seven posts I've made (out of 380+ posts) and it proved too, too much! Anyway, since I previously compiled something similar to this (see W♥M Award Nomination), this post will be an easy breeze.
I present to you: the Top 7: Favorites! Yes, these were voted by you guys. If you don't like any of these songs, it's all your fault.
Coming in at 16 Favorites is Stars. Stars, Stars, Stars! It's always about Stars.
France Gall's "Laisse Tomber Les Filles" song got 13 Favorites. If you don't understand French, check out April March's "Chick Magnet".
Dolly Parton's "Jolene", the one, and only, original classic song is marked with 12 Favorites. To hear eight "Jolene" cover songs, head over to my abandoned Cover Lover.
"Sway" by Dean Martin got 10 Favorites. It's such a great song, I'm sad to see it so low if you ask me.
And seriously, Stars once against shows up unexpected with "Heart" with 10 Favorites. I suspect the reason why this song got marked up recently is because it was mentioned in the Top 7: Concerts.
Jonathan Coulton probably would charted higher if we'd use his "Code Monkey" song (which is a favorite among nerds), but instead "Baby Got Back" is just as awesome with 9 Favorites. You can download "Baby Got Back" from jonathancoulton.com.
Incidentally, since Alanis Morissette did a similar cover of My Humps, Coulton loves it and covered Morissette's You Oughta Know.
Speaking of similar, OrangeAppled said that The Parcels's "Jessica Pancakes" is "to the tune of the Associations' "Windy"...." I've since checked out the said-song and you know what? Wow it's practically stolen! Still 8 Favorites from you guys managed to keep it on the top 7.
After researching Sunshine Pop, I might check out more stuff in this genre because I've already am a big fan of The Beach Boys and The Mammas and the Pappas... so look for this article next year.
So what's up and coming? These are hot: Kerry Politzer's Always with (5), This Morning Call's Clockworks (5), The Chemical Brothers's The Salmon Dance (5) Colin Meloy's Jack the Ripper (5), The Legendary K.O.'s George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People (5), Hans Zimmer's Spider Pig (5), and Asha Bhosle's Mohabbat Hoon Haqiqat Hoon (5).
So this is the 7th and final installment of the Top 7. I have to say that it was really fun to look back at 2007! I'm so excited for Top 8, aren't you?
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12/31/2007 21:07:25
vu
my♥posts
www.weheartmusic.com
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Here are the Top 7 most talked about musicians on W♥M (based on tags).
The winner is Morrissey (14 tags) and The Smiths (11 tags), which is all my fault as every possible opportunity presents itself - I will mention the great Mozzer.
Radiohead came in second with 11 tags, obviously because of the news they generated by giving away their album, In Rainbows for any price you can afford.
Belle & Sebastian also made a few appearance, mostly because I love them and they recently gave away "Are You Come Over for Christmas" as an xmas gift.
And as usual, Stars are heavily covered by a few of us. Most recently appearing as a Top 7 Concert and also Most Favorite song with 15 people marking "This Charming man" cover as a favorite.
Blur made some appearances, with some stories such as Blur to finally reunite with Coxon? and Blur Drummer Running for Office in London. By the way, Dave Rowntree didn't win the election.
Obviously we're all big fans of 80s alternative, so it's really no surprise that The Cure made it on the list.
Shockingly, Avril Lavigne made it on this list with over six mentions. It started with The Rubinoos suing Lavigne over her "hey hey you" bit in her hit song "Girlfriend".
For a comparison, I suggest you head over to The Rubinoos vs Avril Lavigne and listen for yourself (they sound nothing alike).
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12/29/2007 15:01:56
vu
my♥posts
www.weheartmusic.com
Celebrating our 500th post!!
I actually planned on doing a bunch of "500" songs, but I didn't think that would really represent W♥M. So I thought back and remembered that we sort of had a contest about which songs were your favorite.
As it turns out, the clear winner is Stars' "This Charming Man", a favorite here since we've mentioned them several times now.
So let's take a look at why this song is good? First of all it's a Smiths cover song, so instantly there's something to be liked. Then there is Stars' unique take on the song, mixing melody with a dance beat.
When you add it up, it's a very excellent song!
September 18, 2007 12:05 AM
vu
my♥posts
vu@weheartmusic.com
www.weheartmusic.com
I'm testing out this new feature called Vox This, which is basically grabbing and inserting that link into your entry (link appears with an image that you can select). It looks pretty neat.
According to the news report, Morrissey halted his Boston performance due to a throat infection. His doctors ordered him not to sing for three days, so as a result he canceled tonight's performance.
Also, as noted by W. B. Mook that the RSS feed is now reduced to crappy version and full version. You must change the name atom.xml to atom-full.xml if you want to view the full atom feed. This makes sense because (personally to me) that feeds should be just be an excerpt of the full article. But I'm glad that they are also still making the full feed available.
