12 posts tagged “stars”
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I got an announcement stating that legendary instrumental rocker Joe Satriani is about to release his 13th solo album called Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock on April 1st. When I first read that I thought, oh god, how many people are going to think this is an April Fools joke when the day arrives?
Follow the press release link for more information about the tracklisting and all that details.
An interesting thing that caught my eye was that at the end of the press release it said that they had re-released Surfing with the Alien deluxe edition! It's a shame that I only have the crappy 1 CD version :/
Well here's something I thought you might be interested in hearing, since I am a pretty big comic book nerd. Did you know that the cover art is by John Byrne? Personally, I would've prefer a Jack Kirby Silver Surfer :)
Maybe someone should compile all comic-book album artwork (note: Frank Frazetta and fantasy won't count). I know there's a few out there, I would love to see it all in one post.
There's a bunch of tour announcements recently, so I'll just briefly mention the ones that are relevant to us: Mark Olson announces Winter Tour Dates and The Last Town Chorus ends her tour. Check out the link for more details - as well as a surprise at the end. Well maybe not so much a surprise if you're an old W♥M reader.
Olson is coming back to the Twin City, but I won't be around to do the coverage - instead, I am having Todd do the honor. You may have noticed his entry for Brownout.
Stars confirmed their East Coast tour dates, see press page for all the dates.
01/24/2008 07:36:57
vu
my♥posts
www.weheartmusic.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
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These are the Top 7 in Concerts on W♥M.
There are some great concert reviews, I had to drop a few (apologies to Jack Penate, Ravenonettes, Last Town Chorus, and Jill Barber) in favor of just diversifying the different writers.
So, let's look at some of the concerts this year:
Ryan & Valley Girl went to see Josh Ritter, while Lara and Silpa wrote about Saint Bernadette.
The shows I wanted to mentioned was Robbers on High Street/Great Northern at 7th Street, with drawing! Plus Mark Olsen's show was equally memorable.
Silpa wrote about her show at the Village Underground for Girls Don't Cry and Lara attended the massive Fanatic Bands as part of the famous CMJ Music Showcase
Finally, Maggie takes the prize and wrote about her amazing concerts: Stars and Ming & Ping.
I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to 2008. Hopefully, we'll bring even more concert experiences in the new year!
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12/28/2007 05:45:28
vu
my♥posts
www.weheartmusic.com
Last night the Canadian band Stars took over the beautiful Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. Somehow it seemed the perfect venue for this grand performance. Lead singer Torquil Campbell came out to introduce the opener, who's quite a legend in his own right: Lloyd Cole. It was just him and his guitar but somehow it seemed right.
When he was done, we were counting down the minutes until our heroes took the stage. Looking around I saw Sandra Oh in attendance, and apparently the Watson Twins were hanging out, too. There was a row of enthusiastic kids (I don't know how old they were but I call everyone "kid") dancing to "Video Killed the Radio Star." And then. And then, the lights went down and the opening strains of "The Beginning After the End" filled the room. The band took the stage amidst cheers and screams and Torq yelled for everyone to "Get up, GET UP!!!" (The Orpheum is an all-seated venue.) We all did and it was non-stop dancing and smiles and flying flowers all around.
Stars are the kind of live band you could see a hundred times and every time they will create for you a new experience. The band were in top form and Torq's seemingly-endless energy was contagious. Stars have been around for a while so you get the feeling that they never take anything for granted, and perhaps it is this earnestness that earns them a special place in my heart.
They played a nice mix of most of the songs from their new album, In Our Bedroom After The War, as well as some of the older favorites. For "The Ghost of Genova Heights," Torq came out wearing a light-bulb jacket, asking if we wanted to hear a ghost story. During the encore, they played an old crowd-pleaser, their cover of the Smiths' "This Charming Man," and the very last song was "Calendar Girl" which came to a glorious close with Torq holding out his mic to the audience, the whole room singing "I'm alive."
W♥M ♥s Stars | More photos
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
Welcome to the first annual W♥M Award for 2007! Here are the nominees as voted by our readers:
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So start voting by marking these songs as a favorite. Winners will be announced in October, and it looks like Stars is destroying the competition :/
If you feel your favorite band is not represented here, please get four of your friends to mark one of our song a favorite and then send me an email, I will definitely reconsider in the next voting reminder in September.
Some honorable mentions (four favorites): Asha Bhosle - Mohabbat Hoon Haqiqat Hoon, The Left Banke - Walk Away Renee, Morrissey - Tomorrow (Single Mix), Metric - Combat Baby, The Here+Now - Xochimilco, Strawberry Fair - Where is Alex Taylor Now?, Freezepop - Here Comes a Special Boy, So Post All 'Em, Charlotte Gainsbourg - Everything I Cannot See, The Marmalade - Twenty Miles, The Farewell Circuit - Oceans Cry, This Is Not The End, The Decemberists - The Soldiering Life, Garbage - 02-I Think I'm Paranoid, Arabesque - Hello Mr. Monkey, Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, Moonbaby - Here We Go, Bangs - Scorpi-oh, Bertrand Betsch - Bang Bang, I Hate Camera, Raymond Wong - Shaolin Soccer Opening Theme, This World Fair - This Morning, UR Hung Up, Chelsea Dagger, The Smiths - I Know It's Over (live), The Smiths - I Know It's Over (live), Young And Dumb, Under the Rotunda, Frodo, Peter Bjorn And John - Teen Love, Midnight Movies - Blue Babies, Gregorian - Losing My Religion, No Pussy Blues, Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - Rent a Wreck, RIAA - It's Whiskey, Sweet Geisha Love, Dirty On Purpose - Mind Blindness, Coco Freeman feat. Franz Ferdinand - The Dark Of The Matinee, Candie Payne - All I Need to Hear, Math and Physics Club - Weekends Away, The Feminine Complex - Are You Lonesome Like Me?, Tiger Trap - Supreme Nothing, Chia Pet - Don't You Want Me Baby, Looper - Impossible Things #2, France Gall - Faut-il que je t'aime, Simon & Garfunkel - Red Rubber Ball, The Lucksmiths - Deep Sea Diving Suit
August 5, 2007 2:08 PM
vu
my♥posts
vu@weheartmusic.com
www.weheartmusic.com
I apologize for not posting this sooner but I had to go in for some oral surgery today. Now I'm holding some frozen burritos up to my face and I'm a little loopy from vicodin but I love this band so much I had to post this before I went to bed. First news is, Stars' new album In Our Bedroom After the War is set to be released on CD and double-LP on Sept. 25, 2007. But, in keeping with current technology and downloading trends, they have decided to make their new album available for legal download now:
From their myspace:
Friends, fans and supporters of Stars...
On September 25th, Arts&Crafts will release Stars' fourth studio album, In Our Bedroom After War.
We love it and are excited and proud to be bringing it to the world.
We enlisted Joe Chiccarelli to mix the album. He finished in early June, passing the tapes along to Emily Lazar at the Lodge for mastering. Last Friday, July 6th, a final master was delivered to us.
Traditional music business practice says we are to begin sending out copies of this album now. We give advance copies to print publications in hopes of securing features that coincide with our September date. We meet with radio stations in hopes of securing airplay. etc, etc.
Inevitably someone will leak the album.
Throughout this process, the most important people in this value chain, the fans, are given only two options - wait until September 25th to legally purchase the new album or choose from a variety of sources and download the album for free, at any time.
We hope you'll choose to support the band, and choose to pay for their album. However we don't think it's fair you should have to wait until September 25th to do so.
We believe that the line between the media and the public is now completely grey.
What is the difference between a writer for a big glossy music magazine and a student writing about their favourite bands on their blog? What differentiates a commercial radio station from someone adding a song to their lastfm channel? or their myspace page?As such, we are making the new Stars album available for legal download today, four days after it's completion. The CD and double vinyl versions of the album will still be released on our official release date, September 25th. We hope you will continue to support music retailers should a physical album in all it's packaged glory be your choice of format.
It's our hope that given a clear, legal alternative to downloading music for free, you will choose to support the creators.
We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Sincerely,
Stars and Arts&Crafts
Now, I'm still a big fan of buying CDs (call me old-fashioned but there's still a great feeling about ripping the plastic off a brand new CD that just came out that day) so I'm sure I'll be buying their CD when it comes out but the temptation of being able to listen to it NOW is also pretty great. I'll probably compromise and buy a few tracks now and the CD later. But if you're curious about their new album you can download the song 'The Night Starts Here' for free off their myspace, or from here. Or just listen to it here on W♥M!
Also, they will be touring in the fall to support their new album. Some pre-sale tickets are available through their website now, which I would recommend as it means you'd be avoiding ticketmaster and their exhorbitant "convenience fees."
maggie ♥ contact
ALBUMS
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Heather, Erika, and Annie, are Au Revoir Simone. (joke)Looking at their photographs, I can only speculate that they bathe together and sleeps together. Well, at least, we can only hope, because these are three very gorgeous ladies.(/joke)*
They are from Brooklyn, New York, and their music is nothing more than sweet harmonic vocals between Heather & Erika, with a backbeat of sound loops and synth-noise created by their three (yes, three) keyboards.
They're currently going to be in the UK on their extended tour, so check them out if they're in your area. I believe they're coming back to Minnesota with Voxtrot, so I may see them again next month.
"Stars" is from their advance CD (it's not officially released until a few weeks from now) and "Through the Backyards" was used in the television show "Grey's Anatomy".
See also: Sotd 009: Fallen Snow
Trivia: They've been on tour with Peter, Bjorn, and John, so usually Heather comes on stage to sing with Peter during that whistling song, "Young Folks".
*May be offensive.
vu 
Links: www.aurevoirsimone.com | myspace.com/aurevoirsimone
So, I put together a proof copy of the We♥Music CD/Booklet. You can see what it looks like on the photograph, ignore the trash cinema in the background...
The CD is free to anyone interested, I just need you to send me postage, it should be less than $3. I will post again when they are ready and finalized. In the meantime, it's always good to re-read and re-listen to some of these classic tracks on here. The track listing* :
1. Cristina | Zazie - Rose
2. Randy | Math and Physics Club - Weekends Away
3. Michael | Sonic Youth - Kool Thing
4. Brody | A Very Hip Band From London Called The Rocks
5. Gus | 23
6. Vu | Stars - Heart
7. Melinda | "Beware of the Piano": DJ Lebowitz rockin' your punkass like the donkey
8. Christopher | Halflight - Worship
9. Minh | It's Mono, so there!
10. Kristine | Nada Surf - Always Love
11. Jason | Eisley - Sea King
12. Em | RIAA - It's Whiskey
13. Jaime | Moi, le voisin
14. Maggie | My Favorite - The Kids Are All Wrong
15. Em | Daft Punk - Da Funk
16. Mads | Candie Payne - All I Need To Hear
17. Troy | Bleach - Dipping
18. Celeste | The Feminine Complex - Are You Lonesome Like Me?
* Track listing are subject to change.
