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Primus at Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, 1030 15th Street, Suite 100, Sacramento, CA on Sep 14
Menomena at Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Avenue, Seattle, WA on Sep 10
Ratatat at Riviera Night Club, 4746 North Racine Avenue, Chicago, IL on Sep 10
Search results for: David Byrne
Before the Hype: Kisses
Welcome to “Before the Hype,” a column where we expose you to unsigned bands and artists who we feel really deserve to be heard.
Meet Kisses, a duo from LA who are steadily building buzz with their brand of new wave inspired, dreamy synth-pop. Kisses is the creation of boyfriend/girlfriend Jesse Kivel and Zinzi Edmundson, and while their output has been sparse, it’s shown a ton of promise. While Edmundson is admittedly new to the music making front, Kivel has been doing it since elementary school, and Kisses, I suppose, could be considered his side project, as the brothers Kivel are the driving force behind Princeton. Lighthearted and whimsical, Kisses’ sound is fits just right for everything from relieving the pressure from a hectic day to being a welcome addition to your party mix.
“People Can Do the Most Amazing of Things” is the latest single from Kisses, and as you could guess from the title, is a track that is both hopeful and soothing in a way that makes you feel that everything’s gonna be all right ’cause whatever you’re going through, you’re not alone. It’s uplifting and relatable without being trite, and the subtle guitar work layered in with drum effects and electro/synth melodies make for quite the catchy hooks. It’ll definitely have you reaching for the repeat button.
“People Can Do The Most Amazing of Things” – Kisses by crawdaddy
“Bermuda”, Kisses’ other single, keeps with the joyous, upbeat melodies. It’s hard not to think of Jens Lekman when hearing “Bermuda”, as it’s got a similar penchant for chimes and tropical cruise-type arrangements. Give yourself to these songs, and you’ll walk away in a better mood.
“Bermuda” – Kisses by crawdaddy
Kisses’ Jesse Kivel was kind enough to share some of his time with us. Check out the interview after the jump.
Brian Eno and David Byrne to Grace the Soundtrack of Wall Street 2
Just as the Oliver Stone directed original Wall Street contained music by the Talking Heads, David Byrne, and Brian Eno, the classic film’s sequel, dubbed Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, will be keeping with tradition by again showcasing music by Eno and Byrne, much of it culled from the quite excellent collaborative album between the two that was released in 2008 called Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. It will also include the Talking Heads track, “This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody)”, that was featured in the original Wall Street, along with a few Byrne-only songs and music by composer Craig Armstrong.
The soundtrack is due out on September 21st, and the film, starring Michael Douglas and Shia LaBeouf, is to be released on September 24th. Check out a few songs that will be on the soundtrack, a trailer for the film, and the tracklist after the jump. Thanks to Exclaim! for the tip!
Live Show Review: Dum Dum Girls, Crocodiles at Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco
Dum Dum Girls and Crocodiles
June 30th at Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco
The Dum Dum Girls are cooler than all of us, and they know it (or at the very least, I know it). Last night, it was the Girls’ world, and I just felt lucky enough to share some space in it. The LA female four-piece exude a confidence and energy that seem effortless and command the room, perfect for the sold-out show at the low-lit, bluesy Bottom of the Hill, where the less than stellar acoustics create a weighty wall of sound fitting for both Dum Dum Girls and the co-headlining Crocodiles, who deserve their own accolades as well.
While familiar with Crocodiles’ aggressive and enjoyable ’09 debut Summer of Hate, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect in the way of a live show from such a young band that seems to be changing up their sound a bit based on the first single of their upcoming follow-up. Suffice it to say, the loud, reverb-heavy rock translates just fine onstage. Crocodiles’ sound is, for lack of a more refined phrase, shoegaze with balls, a combination of atmospheric sonic swirls, echoey vocals, and blasting garage-rock guitars. read more
Devotchka at Work on New Album
Anti- has just announced that endearing gypsy-rock band Devotchka are recording a new album. The band may have got their start backing burlesque shows, but they’ve traveled way beyond dimly-lit theaters in more recent years, supporting artists including David Byrne and Muse on tour, and selling out back-to-back gigs at legendary venues like the Fillmore. So, this next album could find exponentially more eyes and ears poised on them to see where they head next. We’ll let you know when we have some more info on the release. For now, though, watch the video for “Till the End of Time” from Little Miss Sunshine, which they scored.
Before the Hype: Cotton Mouth
Welcome to “Before the Hype,” a column where we expose you to unsigned bands and artists who we feel really deserve to be heard.
It’s that time again where we scour the net for quality tunes the record labels have yet to discover. In this installment, we stumbled upon Montreal band Cotton Mouth. Cotton Mouth started out as the relatively new project from frontman Martin Horn before the band was filled out by members of fellow indie rock compatriot Parlovr. Cotton Mouth has a couple EPs worth of material and is currently working towards the release their debut full length.
To give you a sense of their sound, take a listen to “Black Hand” and “Watch the Street.” They’ve got a David Byrne meets Apologies to Queen Mary era Wolf Parade vibe; it’s incredibly catchy, and has the capacity to feel both faintly familiar and refreshingly new. While the Cotton Mouth project is still growing and evolving, Horn already has a clear knack for arrangements and skill for crafting songs that just won’t leave your head. Have a listen and hear for yourself.
Black Hand by Cotton Mouth
Watch the Street by Cotton Mouth
Intrigued? You should be. We’ve got the interview and another track after the jump.
Watch David Byrne Pontificate on How Venues Determine Music
This is super interesting. Watch David Byrne talk about how music venues inform a musician’s sound, particularly pertaining to Byrne’s own music and writing music for specific rooms and how it’s a model for creativity. He takes it back to Africa and cathedrals, Bach and Mozart… then on into today and how the digital venue is affecting the creation of music. It’s a very interesting angle, one I never really thought a whole lot about. Check it out.
Lo-Fi Friday: Portastatic Apes Talking Heads Along To “San Andreas”
Mac McCaughan’s little shot-by-shot homage to the Talking Heads in this video is really just an awkwardly hilarious testament to the perfect, artful weirdness of David Byrne, in that Byrne totally pulled it off, whereas Mac just looks like a freak. Of course, Byrne knew his choreographed jerks and spasms were intended to convey the epileptic marionette-like stumblings of modern man, and he had the luxury of twitching and sweating along to the idea’s associated music with all the passion of an innovator. A decade later, Mac was probably just going for — well, “freak.” Part of the hilarity, too, is just how young Mac looks. The Portastatic song was first released on the San Andreas Couch 7″ in ‘94 and re-recorded for inclusion on Slow Note From a Sinking Ship in ‘95, so, sure, we were all a bit younger then, but still: Look at that baby-faced kid in the baggy Black Flag t-shirt! Awww.
Mac was actually in his early twenties then. He recorded about a third of that album (Portastatic’s second) by himself on a Tascam four-track and the rest in Duck Kee Studios just outside Chapel Hill. As for David Byrne, that Talking Heads song was issued as a single in ‘81, so in the video, he was probably in his late twenties, maybe around 30. The original “Once in a Lifetime” video is waiting just after the jump. You know you can’t resist. read more
Senate Candidate Rand Paul Asked to Stop Playing Rush at Rallies
We mentioned it briefly the other day in our Don Henley copyright battle post, but let us elaborate on this particular subject: Kentucky Senate Candidate Rand Paul has been using music by the band Rush at rallies and fundraisers without the band’s permission and has been asked to stop by representatives of the band. Paul’s campaign received a letter from the General Counsel of Anthem Entertainment Group (Rush’s label), notifying the Republican candidate that copyright laws matter, and that he is violating them every time he plays Rush at one of his events. The Rush camp also made it clear that this is not a political issue. “We would do this no matter who it is,” Rush attorney Robert Farmer told the Louisville Courier-Journal. When asked about it, Rand Paul campaign manager Jesse Benton stated, “The background music Dr. Paul has played at events is a non-issue…” Really? Copyright laws do not matter?
Rush is an interesting choice for a candidate who is popular with the crazy-ass tea bagger movement. First off, they are from Canada, not America. And Rush has twice been falsely accused of promoting Satanism—once by the PRMC, and once by a Texas Christian group. However, Rush lyricist and drummer Neil Peart’s interest in Ayn Rand as a young man still has some believing Rush are followers of Rand’s Objectivism, so perhaps therein lies the connection—though Rush remains strongly apolitical.
Don Henley Defeats Republican Senatorial Candidate in Copyright Battle
In the immediate wake of Browne v. McCain, a little known CA assemblyman with unrealistic dreams of being the conservative to unseat Barbara Boxer took a page from the Republican play book and did some infringin’, but in a particularly smug and arrogant way. Here’s how we summed it up as it developed last year:
On the tighty-righty Big Hollywood blog he devotes a conspicuous amount of time to (does the assemblyman have nothing more important to do?), California State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore decided it was worth a couple chuckles and a desperately-needed dose of publicity to rewrite the lyrics, verse by verse, to the 1984 chart-topper “The Boys of Summer”, originally co-written by Don Henley and Mike Campbell (of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers). His 2010 senatorial campaign’s Director of New Media performed it for a YouTube post that went up on April Fool’s Day [2009]. Liberal activist and nobody’s fool, Henley promptly had the video yanked, after which DeVore, the dignified statesman, thought it befitting of an elected official to exacerbate the left-leaning songwriter’s temper by co-opting yet another of his songs, out of pure, self-advancing spite. Blogwards he launched his spoof of Henley’s “All She Wants to Do Is Dance”, ingeniously inserting the word “tax” in place of “dance” and declaring it a shot at Barbara Boxer, whom he hopes (yet, by most accounts, doesn’t stand a chance) to unseat in elections next year. On Friday, April 17th [2009], Henley officially filed suit against DeVore on charges of copyright infringement and false endorsement under the Lanham Act (sound familiar?). DeVore filed a motion to dismiss, citing fair use; however, that motion was rejected by the court, and so the case goes to trial.
Trial’s over — Henley won! The false endorsement/Lanham Act part was dismissed, but the copyright claims stand. read more
Riot Gear!: Press Releases… On Paper!
by: Max Mobley
I get lots of press releases, all delivered electronically, and nearly all about some new product or update related to the gear and technology surrounding music production and consumption. With tradeshow season about to start, the number of press releases coming out weekly will soon get a bit crazy. So and so has a new update, a new sample library, a new VP of R&D, a new kind of guitar string, a new vampirey lacquer finish, a new endorsee, a new social media blah blah, and the latest blah to revolutionize the way blah blah fucking blah! Don’t get me wrong, I like press releases—sometimes it’s all that reminds me I am a member of the press. But in the age of CEO Tweets and corporate Facebook accounts, press releases have become a very old school way of making product announcements. And frankly, they are one of the few things keeping industry press relevant—and I’m all for remaining relevant! Before Twitter and Facebook and email blasts, magazines were responsible for product announcements—like Les Pauls now come in ice-nine blue, or whatever the next big thing is they wanted you to care about. And yeah, companies can do it directly now, which they do all the time with various degrees of disaster and success.
And so, for reasons that I hope to make evident, a press release about sheet music grabbed my attention this morning. I figured everyone under 30 who wasn’t forced to take music lessons probably thought it was a typo, and that the press release was really about sheep music—maybe it’s some new band I am supposed to love, maybe it’s a new David Byrne project that uses an all-sheep orchestra, or maybe some Scandinavian professor released a study about how the baa-ing of sheep is some form of call and response field holler—all things worthy of a press release, to be sure. But nope, this press release was actually about sheet music—you know, notes and rests on papers with bars and lines, sharps and flats, and terms like mezzo forte and D.C. al Coda. The release was by Alfred Music Publishing; its all-important first line says: “Alfred Music Publishing, the leader in educational music publishing since 1922, is excited to release a comprehensive collection of sheet music for holidays and special occasions around the year, arranged in a songbook for piano and voice, including chords for guitar.”
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by: Max Mobley
published: September 7, 2010
in column: Riot Gear!, What Goes On
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