5 posts tagged “the chemical brothers”
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chairliftmusic.com ♥ myspace.com Wow, such a great pop song, that "Bruises" song. It's a perfect blend of catchy bass and Rilo Kiley-esque vocals from Caroline Polachek and trying to impress someone with handstand but only regretting getting nothing but black and blue bruises for your trouble. And just when you thought "yes, what a great song", the song turns into a duet! Then ends on a non-sense "doo doo doo", just for good measure. What I like about them, based on their album, Does You Inspire You, is that their lyrics aren't all about love and relationships: "Garbage" is about all the junk we produce ("we're making shit for you to throw away!") and "Planet Health" seems to be a community of health nut and something about putting out fires by stop, drop, and rolling. I won't read too much into their lyrics, because they seem cryptic enough. What I think the band is having trouble with is what musical direction they want to take. They're either really catchy pop song ("Bruises", "Garbage") or no-so-pop music ("Ceiling Wax", "Make Your Mind Up", "Le Flying Saucer Hat" - although the beeps are awesome on this song). I know this sound harsh, but I feel that most people who hear "Bruises" and expecting the band to sound like this for the other 12 tracks might be in for a disappointment. As evidence, I submit one Kate II, who recently saw Chairlift on tour with PB&J. I get the impression that was how the audience react to their show: kind of zombie like, until that "one song" came on. Still, that song is so good and you'll play the pants off that song and ignore what I've said about the rest of the album. The band's currently taking their hit song on the road:
06/11/09 Bonnaroo Manchester, TN 06/18/09 Echo Los Angeles, CA 06/21/09 Detroit Bar Costa Mesa, CA 06/22/09 Casbah San Diego, CA 07/18/09 Lovebox London 07/19/09 Latitude Festival Southwold 07/26/09 Secret Garden Party Cambridgeshire 08/01/09 All Points West Liberty State Park, NJ 08/08/09 Lollapalooza Chicago 08/13/09 Oya Festival Oslo 08/14/09 Way Out West Goteborg 08/16/09 Summer Sundae Leicester Get "Evident Utensil" free from killeropeners.net |
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yeahyeahyeahs.com ♥ myspace.com ♥ twitter Let me be clear: we are not a YYY website, I get questions about the banner all the time, showing one model/singer Marijne van der Vlugt. So, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are pretty well-established now, with their third studio album, It's Blitz!. If you've liked the old yyy with their experimental noises and guitars, you may not like their new album - even though I think it's the best and most easily accessible music from them. If you think that's a joke, well the yolk's on you. Because I'm serious, this is their best work... I would recommend It's Blitz!, not the over-hyped Show Your Bones album, to fans that are just getting into the yyys. The band seems to mostly a collaboration between singer/fashion-trendsetter Karen O and guitarist Nick Zinner. They seem to share most of the spotlight, and you almost feel bad for whatthedrummer's dude (Brian Chase). But I don't think he minds it much, based on his incredibly detailed blog. For the most part, the I really liked the electro-dance songs: "Zero", "Heads Will Roll", and "Dull Life" sounds anything but dull. There's also a few tuned down tracks, "Hysteric" and "Little Shadow", which are great as you can really take the time and hear Karen O singing. If you get the deluxe edition of the album, which I'll recommend, it comes with four bonus acoustic tracks. Maybe you can pick it up at one of their shows:
06/10/09 Club 101 El Paso, Texas 06/12/09 Bonnaroo Manchester, Tennessee 06/24/09 T-Mobile In Music Festival Zagreb 06/26/09 St. Gallen Festival St. Gallen 06/27/09 Le Rock Dans Tous Ses Etats Evreux 06/28/09 Glastonbury Festival Worthy Farm 06/30/09 Openair Arena Vienna 07/01/09 Roxy Prague 07/03/09 Eurockeenes Belfort 07/04/09 Werchter Festival Werchter 07/05/09 Roskilde Roskilde 07/07/09 Docks Hamburg 07/10/09 T In The Park Kinross, Scotland 07/11/09 Oxegen Festival Punchestown, Dublin 07/18/09 Quebec City Summer Festival Quebec City, Quebec 07/19/09 Ottawa Bluesfest Ottawa, Ontario 07/31/09 All Points West Jersey City, New Jersey 08/28/09 Rock en Seine Paris 08/29/09 Leeds Festival Leeds 08/30/09 Reading Festival Reading |
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antlersmusic.com ♥ myspace.com ♥ twitter I've mentioned before that I think a band is important/notable when they have a Wikipedia page... as usually I rely on the user-submitted website for a lot of research. Unfortunately, The Antler's Wiki page tells you nothing about this mysterious band... only to mention that their latest release, Hospice, was "critically acclaimed". Upon digging, NPR calls Hospice Best Record of 2009 So Far. The band seems to center around Peter Silberman, who's been having a lot of success. He recently signed with Frechkiss Records. Apparently the album, Hospice, was inpired by the idea of caring for a terminal patient, who's mentally abusive. It's a difficult situation because they're the one that's dying... This will all be suddenly clear when you hear "Epilogue", which tells the story in song. So, I'll have to say that listening to the album was a struggle for me. It is very atmospheric and you really need to listen with headphones to try and catch everything. The vocals are often drowned in a sea of noise and it feels like shoegazy/spacey for me. It's also too dense for me, and it seems like the sort of music that Pitchfork would love (and they do). I would suggest checking out "Sylvia" as a sample song, but it's a bit too harsh and loud. Instead, I'll direct you to check out "Two". There's a lot of interesting sound on this song, and the vocals sounds like it's being sung far, far away from the microphone. Oh yeah, tour dates:
06/10/09 BAR PINK San Diego, CA 06/11/09 EL REY* LOS ANGELES, CA 06/12/09 VELVET JONES* Santa Barbara, CA 06/13/09 BIMBOS* San Francisco, CA 06/14/09 DRUNKEN UNICORN+ (Peter Solo) Atlanta, GA 06/16/09 LOCAL 506+ Chapel Hill, NC 06/17/09 OUTBACK LODGE+ Charlottesville, VA 06/18/09 IOTA+ Arlington, VA 06/19/09 M ROOM+ Philadelphia, PA 06/21/09 MAGIC STICK# Detroit, MI 06/26/09 SOUNDFIX presents @ ROOFTOP FILMS New York 07/18/09 PITCHFORK FESTIVAL Chicago, IL 07/21/09 MAGIC STICK# Detroit, Michigan 07/22/09 HORSESHOE TAVERN# Toronto 07/23/09 PETIT CAMPUS# Montreal 07/24/09 JERKY’S# Providence, RI 07/25/09 IRON HORSE# Northampton, MA 08/21/09 MERCURY LOUNGE (record release!) New York 09/12/09 MONOLITH FESTIVAL Morrison, CO 09/13/09 MONOLITH FESTIVAL Morrison, CO * w/ Au Revoir Simone, + w/ Cotton Jones, # w/ Frightened Rabbit |
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hootsandhellmouth.com ♥ myspace ♥ twitter So, the first thing I think about when I hear Hoots and Hellmouth's sophomore album, The Holy Open Secret, is that they are good old country folks. You can't help but smile when you hear their music, that's for sure. It would seem that the band name comes from their two primary songwriters: Sean Hoots and Andrew "Hellmouth" Gray (the nickname comes from an ex-girlfriend). The band came together as part of the West Chester University music scene in Philadelphia in 2005. Obviously, as I previously mentioned, I was drawn to the happier songs (banjo-picking "You and All of Us", "Watch Your Mouth"), while the softer, more introspective songs ("Ne'er Do Well", "Family Band") fits well enough in the album, but I don't know how well-receive they will be performed live. To me, they seem like a high-energy live band. It's also worth noting when I saw "What Good Are Plowshares If We use Them Like Swords", this is the first time I've ever heard the word plowshare used in a song. It made me smile as I think of Magic the Gathering. Yes, they're on tour:
06/09/09 The Redstone Room Davenport, IA 06/10/09 7th Street Entry Minneapolis, MN 06/11/09 Shank Hall Milwaukee, WI 06/13/09 Intersection+ Grand Rapids, MI 06/14/09 Ribfest Chicago - North Stage Chicago, IL 06/18/09 joe’s pub New York, NY 06/19/09 Gullifty’s Camp Hill, PA 06/20/09 Southern Shore Music Festival Millville, NJ 07/03/09 Jewish Mother* Virginia Beach, VA 07/04/09 Jewish Mother* Virginia Beach, VA 07/09/09 Club Passim Cambridge, MA 07/10/09 Empire Dine & Dance Portland, ME 07/11/09 StageOne Fairfield, CT 07/16/09 The Basement Nashville, TN 07/17/09 JJ’s Bohemia# Chattanooga, TN 07/18/09 The Beacon Pub Swannanoa, NC 07/19/09 Unplugged in the Park @ Park Tavern Atlanta, GA 07/21/09 The Melting Point Athens, GA 07/22/09 The Evening Muse Charlotte, NC 07/23/09 The Camel Richmond, VA 08/05/09 Musikfest - Liederplatz Stage Bethlehem, PA 08/07/09 Infinity Hall Norfolk, CT 08/14/09 Summerfest Society Owen Sound, ON 09/11/09 The Ark Ann Arbor, MI + w/ Rev Horton Heat! * with The Hackensaw Boys # w/ Madeline and The Ginger Envelope |
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06/08/2009 01:25:28 ♥ vu (
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♥weheartmusic.com♥podcast.weheartmusic.com♥news.weheartmusic.com
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ELIZABETH WILLIS
elizabethwillis.com ♥ myspace.com The key song and single, that everyone is excited about is "One". The song caught the attention of rapper Ludacris, who told Rolling Stones that he discovered Willis through his website. My favorite song on the album is "4am", surprisingly more fast-paced and upbeat for its song title (you would think that by that time, she'd be dead asleep). Like all of her songs on this album, it features heavy uses of the piano and violin. If you don't like sweeping violins or strictly looking for acoustic singer/songwriter, this album isn't for you. Personally, since I get so many indie guitar/bass/drum music, hearing pianos and violins are always enjoyable. Elizabeth Willis' debut album can be found on amazon and other places. Note: if you do the digital download, it comes with a bonus extended version of "One" - which is not on the CD. |
FEIST
listentofeist.com ♥ myspace.com She left the band prior to 2000, and by 2007, her third album, The Reminder had a HUGE breakthrough hit song, "1234" - thanks to that amazing well-correographed music video. It would also go on to be known as that "dreaded ipod song", and not to mention teaching children to count on The Muppet Show (!) The album and single went on to win numerous awards, and if I'm not mistaken, the one huge five-award winner for the Juno Awards (the Canadian Billboard, if you will) for "Songwriter of the Year", "Artist of the Year", "Pop Album of the Year", "Album of the Year" and "Single of the Year". You will think that she's the only Canadian musician that released anything for 2008 based on these awards. The Reminder have sold over one million copies and continues to sell well for Feist. No word yet on a new album for 2009 - but I'll keep you informed. |
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DANIEL LENZ
daniellenz.com ♥ myspace.com Since then, the duo split and Paul Sebastien went on to form Basic Pleasure Model, while Lenz, currently based in Los Angeles, have been keeping busy with film music (Saw IV, Beowulf, Love Guru, etc). Lenz have decided to released his album, Stuck in a Dream, last November (although the CD copy I have here, clearly lists the album as copyrighted 2009). This album is well produced and mixed, thanks to his years of being in the music industry as a mixer and producer. Certain songs, like "I Do It Again", "This N That" and "That's the Way" reminds me of Hack-days of Information Society. The album seems to me to be split into three distinct sound: the collaborative songs (I don't know who the woman or the guy rapping on certain songs as there are no credits listed anywhere on the album), the copy/paste sampling style as I mentioned above, and and the spaced out/down-beats, mellowier songers with Brent Daniels. I did enjoy the collaborative songs like "Check it Out", "Turn Around", and "Time to Rock" (this reminds me of a Chemical Brothers song). Overall, a really enjoyable album and fans of iiO and dance music in general will really enjoy this. You can download Stuck In A Dream from the usual locations: amazon, itunes, and emusic. Physical CDs (which I recommend) can be purchased on Kunaki. |
THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS
thechemicalbrothers.com ♥ myspace.com
The main song is the Q-Tip song, "Galvanize", an in-your-face rap/dance song. You will see The Chem doing more music in this direction with their latest, greatest hits album Brotherhood on the brand new song "Keep My Composure". Although it's not entirely one of my favorite Chemical Brothers album, people all over the world seems to have enjoyed this one. There was even a project that started up called Chemical Brothers Remixed, called Flip the Switch. Note that this is not an official release, but the Brothers have endorsed its bootleg culture and roots. You can download Flip the Switch for free, but they do ask that you donate to charity. Some of the songs on the remix album is very different from the original album, it's well worth checking out if you already have Push the Button and wanted more out of it. |
Links:
www.weheartmusic.com
podcast.weheartmusic.com
news.weheartmusic.com
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Let me throw out some numbers to impress you: 10 million records sold, 5 consecutive UK #1 albums, 4 Grammy Awards..... The Chemical Brothers needs no introduction. (Be sure to check my previous Chemical Brothers article for We Are the Night if you do need an introduction.)
Their second greatest hits album, Brotherhood (the first was Singles 93-03), they prove they are still the big beat techno kings with two brand new tracks, "Midnight Madness" and "Keep My Composure". I was doubtful, at first, for the new tracks, because I felt the intro to "Keep My Composure", was weak - however the song quickly turn amazing when Spank Rock did more rapping. "Composure" feels like "Galvanize", a mix between beats and rap - a sound that the Brothers seems to be heading towards.
Those are the two stand-out new tracks, but we shouldn't ignore the other 12 greatest hits tracks. Some of their best known songs are on here - unfortunately my favorite song, "Life Is Sweet", isn't on here. This is understandable because if you listen to their debut album, the song doesn't really have an ending (it just morphs into "Playground for a Wedgeless Firm").
I personally think that they are also known for their amazing music videos, with some of the most memorable video moments like the girl that keeps seeing skeletons ("Hey Boy Hey Girl"), a couple on the run from the law ("Block Rockin' Beats"), a singing fish ("The Salmon Dance"), that amazing train ride ("Star Guitar), etc. If you haven't seen their music videos, you need to do yourself a favor and look them up on youtube or something.
Brotherhood comes in two formats: a standard 15-track release and a deluxe package (which I recommend for fans), which comes with a bonus disc. The bonus disc contains 10 "Electronic Battle Weapons" tracks - these songs were available available on ultra rare DJ-White labels, but for the first time it's publically available with this release. Although it's kind of neat to hear some of the standard beats and loops that the Brothers use in their sets, I felt you had to be pretty big hardcore trance/dance fans to really appreciate this. After a while, forgive me for say, but it sounded all the same to me. It's still good though, like something you would put on when you're cleaning the house.
The sweet package also comes with lyric book containing all the singles cover artwork, but in duo-tones colors (like silkscreening art), and one postcard showing them on stage at Glastonbury.
If you're a Chemical Brothers fan, you definitely need to pick this album up, if only for the two new songs. The two songs made me very excited for what's to come for the Chemical Brothers. Brotherhood is available now from Astralwerks.
Links:
thechemicalbrothers.com
myspace.com/thechemicalbrothers
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Thanks to Bookishly Fabulous for pointing out that Ben Sollee was recently on NPR's "All Things Considered" (July 5, 2008).
It would be seem that Sollee is looking for a fight with Kanye West, who recently disappointed fans at Bonnaroo for being two hours late (performed at 4:30 am). He made national/internet news by blogging about the venue's inability to setup the lighting and Pearl Jam was already an hour late.
This "open letter" song to Kanye West basically tells off West that "you don't need a light show, just good flow".
You can read more about Ben Sollee on our previous W♥M articles.
Other interesting music news: Facebook's a hotbed of celebrity gossips. Lilly Allen and The Chemical Brothers' Ed Simon are back together. Apparently they both changed their facebook status to "in a relationship" and immediately thousand of fans wrote to congratulate them.
Björk seems to be canceling a few concerts, citing throat ailment. I'm not sure why that's so closely followed by the media, but Ex-Whitesnake guitarist is dead. Does anyone even know his name?
The outrageous headline of "Kylie Minogue Saves Fan from Suicide" makes it sound as if Minogue was there on the rooftop talking that person down. The truth is, the fan was listening to his iPod and her song came on and he suddenly didn't want to stab himself. (Lame, right?)
Also, some idiot stole the headstone to Joy Division's Ian Curtis' grave. I hope his ghost haunts him.
The sad news of the collector's mentality of the CD box sets are on its death bed (hint: maybe it's because it's too expensive). The Yahoo story (written by Ed Christman) paints a picture that "Boxed-set sales have fallen off the cliff; they went from something to nothing".
Even at price slashed to about $29.99 (from the regular $49.98), sales continues to decline. At the end of the article, they mentioned that the limited-edition box for Nine Inch Nails' "Ghosts I-IV," ($300) sold really well.
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Links:
weheartmusic.com
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Tour
29/09/07 - Nocturnal, LA 10/10/07 - Maximum B1, Moscow, Russia 11/10/07 - Maximum B1, Moscow, Russia 12/10/07 - Yubileniy, St Petersburg, Russia 18/10/07 - Sports Palace, Kiev, Ukraine 20/10/07 - Sala Polivalenta, Bucharest, Romania 25/10/07 - KOKO, London 07/11/07 - Credit Card Hall Sao Paulo 10/11/07 - Creamfields Buenos Aires 21/11/07 - Arena Berlin 22/11/07 - Klokgebouw Eindhoven 23/11/07 - Sports Palace, Antwerp, Belgium 24/11/07 - Zenith, Paris, France 26/11/07 - Incheba Hall, Bratislava, Slovakia 27/11/07 - Palamalaguti, Bologna 28/11/07 - Forum, Fribourg, Switzerland 06/12/07 - Manchester Apollo, Manchester 07/12/07 - Birmingham NIA, Birmingham 08/12/07 - SECC, Glasgow, Scotland 09/12/07 - Liverpool Aintree Pavilion, Liverpool 12/12/07 - Brighton Centre, Brighton 13/12/07 - Brixton Academy, London 14/12/07 - Brixton Academy, London 15/12/07 - Brixton Academy, London 05/03/08 - Vodafone Arena, Melbourne 07/03/08 - Sydney Entertainment Centre |
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The first time I heard about The Chemical Brothers, they were known as The Dust Brothers, named after the US group. After their third single under the Dust Brothers name, they changed it to The Chemical Brothers because of a possible lawsuit. They even named their debut album after the change, Exit Planet Dust.
The Chemical Brothers are basically two guys, Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, who along with The Prodigy (and later Fatboy Slim) really pushed forward the Electronic-Dance genre.
What they did back in those early days that made them stood out from the pack was that they were usually working with established singers such as Beth Orton and Tim Burgess (The Charlatans).
Their debut album, Exit Planet Dust, went on to being their most successful album, selling over one million copies.
Their latest CD is called We Are The Night and it features one of the catchiest song called "The Salmon Dance". The song features Fatlip (which I will also be including my favorite Fatlip song here called "What's Up Fatlip").
The video for "The Salmon Dance" is also the number one video on Stage6!
They usually make the best video, even though they rarely appear or have a hand in their own videos. This is a different approach, since in the early 90s, George Michael was basically sued by his label because he refused to make appearances.
Anyway, this video, directed by Dom & Nic, is pretty amazing, it features Fatlip as a fish talking about his friend, the Salmon. The computer effects for rendering the fish are pretty awesome and looks like a very high budget video.
If you have the new album, check out some of the more dancey tracks: "A Modern Midnight Conversation" and "Das Spiegel".
09/30/2007 00:03:04
vu
my♥posts
vu@weheartmusic.com
www.thechemicalbrothers.com
