Archive for November, 2009

Susan Boyle keeps surprising us

Susan Boyle’s album ‘I Dreamed A Dream’ has topped the UK album charts on Sunday night (November 29), and also achieved the biggest first week sales for a UK debut album in history.

Reality TV star Boyle sold over 410,000 copies of the album, beating previous debut album first week sales record holders Leona Lewis (’Spirit’) and Arctic Monkeys (’Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’).

‘I Dreamed A Dream’ has also become the fastest selling album of 2009 to date, according to The Official Charts Company, and is ranked fourth in first week sales for UK albums overall, behind Oasis (’Be Here Now’), Coldplay (’X&Y’) and Take That (’The Circus’).

Boyle also fares well in this week’s singles chart. Her cover of The Rolling Stones’ ‘Wild Horses’ is currently at Number Nine, while comic Peter Kay’s Animated All Star Band top the chart with ‘The Official BBC Children In Need Medley’. Rihanna ‘Russian Roulette’ is this week’s highest new entry at Number Six.

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UK albums chart Top Ten:

Susan Boyle – ‘I Dreamed A Dream’

JLS – JLS’

Black Eyed Peas – ‘The End’

Queen – ‘Absolute Greatest’

Leona Lewis – ‘Echo’

Michael Bublé – ‘Crazy Love’

Lady Gaga – ‘The Fame’

Snow Patrol – ‘Up To Now’

Robbie Williams – ‘Reality Killed The Video Star’

Will Young – ‘The Hits’

UK singles chart Top Ten:

Peter Kay’s Animated All Star Band – ‘The Official BBC Children In Need Medley’

The X Factor Finalists 2009 – ‘You Are Not Alone’

Jason Derulo – ‘Whatcha Say’

Black Eyed Peas – ‘Meet Me Halfway’

Lady Gaga – ‘Bad Romance’

Rihanna – ‘Russian Roulette’

Ke$ha – ‘Tik Tok’

Cheryl Cole – ‘Fight For This Love’

Susan Boyle – ‘Wild Horses’

Leona Lewis – ‘Happy’

Source: NME

Michael and Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson said the realisation of her brother, Michael’s, death only hit her three months after his death.

The ‘Make Me’ singer said she had avoided everything that could remind her of her Thriller’ singer brother after he suddenly passed away in June, until she was about to perform at the

MTV Video Music Awards in September, when she saw a huge picture in tribute to him.

Janet, 43, said: ‘It hit me before I was about to do the performance, and it hit me when we were in rehearsal.

‘There was a huge image of him on this screen, and I started to cry. I had to step away.’

She also said that she is continuing to come to terms with the singer’s death, of acute intoxication by the anesthetic Propofol, but that she feels in future things will get easier.

She added: ‘You know, a day doesn’t go by where you don’t think about him. It’s always there, in every sense. ‘But it will get better. It’s not easy, but I know with time it will get easier. But it will never be easy. It’s my brother.’

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Janet Jackson: Become a fan!

Source: Music-News

I can’t remember the last time I actually felt compelled to buy a live album.  Between the ailing state of album sales and a scant amount of amazing artists who actually make the effort to create a live album, it’s enough to lay down your copy of the Rage live DVD and hang your head in despair.

Thankfully, in addition to creating some of the most interesting music to come out in the past few years and exhibiting some of the strangest behavior, Karin Dreijer Andersson, AKA one half of the incredible electro outfit The Knife along with her brother, also works under a moniker you may know as Fever Ray, and her new live album is slated to drop today via digital release.  The album, recorded in Lulea, Sweden, features a number of tracks off of her debut album, as well as a few surprises, including a much-hyped cover of the Nick Cave tune “Stranger Than Kindness”.

Last week was also big for Fever Ray after the release of her epic new music video “Keep the Streets Empty for Me”, featuring a desolate barren urban backdrop pinned against the tale of a homeless Japanese girl.

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For some reason, an acoustic guitar has always sounded better to me in dim lighting.  The notes and chords creep and curl through the air to your ears, winding around the room and sitting next to you and your drink.  It’s more atmosphere to an atmosphere.  I hadn’t paused to consider this for some time, maybe a few years, until last night at the Baumann show at Le Reservoir, and the acoustic practically curled in my lap.

The show was at Le Reservoir, possibly my favorite venue in Paris.  The place is decorated in something akin to a circus train in a head-on collision with a traveling cabaret show.  The walls were littered with rusted instruments and trinkets from the early 20th century, faded tapestries of mythical animals and illustrious gentlemen and ladyfolk, and sepia photos of twenties parlors depicting a forgotten time.  It’s from a dream, and provided the ideal setting for Baumann to lay down some tunes.

He hit the stage accompanied by only another guitarist (by the way, props for seeing the first dobro, a.ka. metal-faced guitar in Paris), and a percussionist playing a cajon, aka a box that makes different noises from the drum set.  They wore nothing flashy, button-up shirts and earnest expressions, and their organic, stripped-down comportment reflected in their music.  Baumann crooned in French over the scrape of a slider on strings, soft, ethereal chords, and a fluent blend of snare, bass drum, and tambourine.

Baumann was also unabashed about sharing the stage with friends.  Towards the end of his first song, he beckoned up a woman from the front row for a duet on the song, their voices melding back and forth in a soulful blues/folk creation.  When the last note died, the two were met with an uproarious amount of applause from the crowd seated to dinner all throughout the small, intimate setting.

All in all, pretty good show, if you’re looking for something akin to a French Tom Petty mixed over Jack Johnson, check out Baumann, turn down the lights, and make friends with acoustic again.

And you thought nobody watched The Muppets anymore. Apparently you were wrong. The latest, biggest, oft-shared video on the internet right now is perhaps the finest piece of Muppetdom ever created: An update on Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

Featuring Rolph the Dog on piano, Statler and Waldorf on chorus, Gonzo and his chickens for the moody bits, Beaker working the “Galileos,” and Animal all over the place, the hilarious YouTube video has been seen over 1.5 million times in almost 24 hours.

Part of the genius behind the video is in how the creators managed to skip past the more adult parts of the song, with discussion of killing a man and going to prison, without making the edits obvious. Of course, when you can throw in copious quantities of “ma-na-ma-na” at any point in the track, such things become a little easier to manage.

Watch the video below:

This photo makes about as much sense as the lawsuit.

I don’t think I’ll ever fully comprehend this phenomenon of World of Warcraft, and honestly I hope I never do, especially after coming across this story.  Some dude named Erik Estavillo from San Jose, California, is reportedly attempting to sue Activision Blizzard because WoW has directly contributed to his alienation.  Pause here for a moment, and just bathe in this small tub of insanity before we set sail for the ocean of outright goddamn ridiculous.

Not only is Estavillo attempting to pull of this lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, he’s attempting to get some help while he’s at it, from…oh, I dunno, say the guy from Depeche Mode?  Yes indeed, Erik Estavillo has subpoenaed Martin Gore of Depeche Mode because Estavillo believes Gore is an isolated, lonely individual who can testify to alienation.  But why stop there when you can look like so much more of a crazy asshole?  Estavillo has also subpoenaed actress Winona Ryder because she’s a big fan of the Salinger classic The Catcher in the Rye, and can also speak about alienation on the basis of the book.

Estavillo is also attempting to subpoenae the Count of Monte Cristo, Frankenstein, the hunchback of Notre Dame, and the Trix Rabbit.  Blargh.

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Frightened Rabbit: It's delicious!

Scott Hutchinson may have chosen one of the most timid animals on the planet, a rabbit, and add to that said rabbit being frightened, making for one of the least impressive sights ever, but Frightened Rabbit don’t seem intimidated by the coming months.  It was announced recently that in March, Frightened Rabbit will embark on a full tour through the United Kingdom, strolling through 9 nine shows in about a 2 week period.

The band is currently working on their as-of-yet untitled new album for the winter, but the first new single, “Swim Until You Can’t See Land”, has been up and running for close to 2 weeks at this point.  Their 2008 release, Midnight Organ Fight, garnered a slew of acclaim and success for the band, and a steady touring diet through Europe and the States has opened them up to a pretty solid fanbase.  Frightened, indeed.

Source:  NME

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London Calling: 35 years already

The Clash have revealed details of the upcoming 30th anniversary edition of their seminal album ‘London Calling’.

Released on December 14, the album will feature a different tracklisting to the 25th anniversary release of the 1979 record.

The re-issue will also feature the Don Letts documentary ‘The Last Testament: The Making of London Calling’ as well as music videos and home-movie footage of the band.

The Clash: Become a fan!

Order the ‘London Calling: 30th Anniversary Legacy Edition’ on Amazon: Order it!


The tracklisting for ‘London Calling: 30th Anniversary Legacy Edition’ will be:

‘London Calling’

‘Brand New Cadillac’

‘Jimmy Jazz’

‘Hateful’

‘Rudie Can’t Fail’

‘Spanish Bombs’

‘The Right Profile’

‘Lost In The Supermarket’

‘Clampdown’

‘The Guns Of Brixton’

‘Wrong ‘Em Boyo’

‘Death Or Glory’

‘Koka Kola’

‘The Card Cheat’

‘Lover’s Rock’

‘Four Horsemen’

‘I’m Not Down’

‘Revolution Rock’

‘Train In Vain’

DVD

The Last Testament: The Making of London Calling

‘London Calling’ music video

‘Train In Vain’ music video

‘Clampdown’ music video

Home video footage of The Clash recording in Wessex Studios

Source: NME

Back in 2010?

The Rolling Stones are to go on a world tour in 2010.

The rock veterans – whose last tour finished in 2007 and earned them more than £300 million – are planning a mammoth run of shows next year, according to Ronnie Wood’s cocktail waitress girlfriend Ekaterina Ivanova.

The 20-year-old Russian waitress – who has been dating 62-year-old Ronnie since he walked out on his 23-year marriage to Jo Wood in July 2009 - has been a little indiscreet in letting the world know about their plans.

A source told Britain’s The Sun newspaper: “She’s not supposed to talk about it, things haven’t been finalised but she couldn’t resist telling a few friends.”

Ronnie recently admitted he had been in touch with his Rolling Stones bandmates Sir Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts and insisted everything was ‘great’ between them, despite rumours he could be fired from the group because of his parting lifestyle.

Rolling Stones: Become a fan!

Source: Music-News