am/fm: July 2008 Archives

OK one more before I go

(Thanks, Adam)

eh.www.amNY.com

Posted by Emily Hulme on July 15, 2008 5:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'll be gone until August 3, so until then, you'll have to get your musical randomness elsewhere. I've been trying to cajole my coworkers into updating while I'm gone, but it doesn't look good. So there's that.

I was going to center this post around Chantal Kreviazuk's cover of "Leaving on a Jet Plane," as featured in "Armageddon" and the trailer for "The Terminal," but as I played the video, I realized that I hate her version (In my head, she sounds a lot more like Bjork singing it, and it's disappointing that real life doesn't comply).

So instead, I'll leave you with this, a song I've put on every mix tape I've made since I burned this CD three years ago.

Be nice! I'm off to get some fine wine.

eh.www.amNY.com

Posted by Emily Hulme on July 15, 2008 4:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Set your TiVOs

According to a press release from Atlantic Records:

Anthem/Atlantic recording group Rush will make a very rare national television appearance on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” on Wednesday, July 16th at 11:30pm ET/PT. The band will be performing their timeless hit, “Tom Sawyer.”

Get excited!

eh.www.amNY.com

Posted by Emily Hulme on July 15, 2008 4:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Aretha makes it cool

OK, maybe I unfairly slammed the @Ross series for not having enough high-wattage stars a few weeks back. (@Ross is a concert series/fundraiser for the Ross School out in East Hampton.) They just announced Aretha Franklin for August 23. I could see paying $1,500 to see her. Yeah, I wouldn't pay that myself, but I could see someone else doing it (or paying $3,000 to bring me along).

eh.www.amNY.com

Posted by Emily Hulme on July 15, 2008 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

No cameras, please!

Radiohead has released a new video for their song, "House of Cards." It's, well, kind of cool. They're making a lot of fuss about it because they didn't use cameras in the making of the video at all. Instead they employed a 3-D motion capture system that "produce structured light to capture 3D images at close proximity." (Although, let's get philosophical here: isn't a camera at its essence a machine that uses light to transfer a live panorama into a static image?)

This video explains the technology further. OK, it's neat, but I don't get how a light-receptive sensor is not a camera. But I'm obviously getting caught up in semantics here.

The grainy, bare-bones electronic aesthetic of the video is a good fit for Radiohead's sound, and it's cool to see Thom Yorke's lonely, Max Headroom-ed crooning to no one.

And, of course, this being Radiohead, there's more. They encourage you to download the data here to create your own video and post it here.

eh.www.amNY.com

Posted by Emily Hulme on July 14, 2008 3:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

You wished you signed Nirvana

Seattle label Sub Pop Records (who got relevant by signing bands like Nirvana and Mudhoney in the late '80s, and stayed relevant with The Shins, Flight of the Conchords, No Age and other hipster fare) is celebrating its 20th anniversary this weekend with a big old concert in Redmond, Washington. I didn't make it out there, but I did find this video, courtesy SLOG , of Sub Pop claiming the Space Needle for its own.

Pretty cool.

eh.www.amNY.com

Posted by Emily Hulme on July 13, 2008 4:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Goodnight Moon

There comes a point in every rock star's life when they need to settle down and grow up.

Ha! That's not true. People become rock stars so they don't have to grow up. But they do have kids from time to time, and to show their paternal (or maternal) love, they sometimes write songs for them. Many times the songs are lullabies, but not always. Here are a few that we've thought of:

Billy Joel's "Lullaby (Goodnight, My Angel)" is actually the song that got me thinking about this. Alexa is also commemorated in (obvs) "The Downeaster 'Alexa'." I hate this song. Almost as much as I hate "Captain Jack." Maybe Billy Joel should stay away from nautical themes. But I'm getting off track...

Madonna "Dear Jessie." This song is actually about the song's co-writer Patrick Leonard's daughter, Jessie.

Pretty straightforward, Ben Folds writing about his daughter Gracie. He also wrote "Still Fighting It" for his son Louie (who is in the video), which if you listen to the lyrics, is a really sad song for your dad to have written you.

Lauryn Hill "To Zion." This is a beautiful song.

The Beatles "Good Night." According to wikipedia, John wrote this for Julian but asked Ringo to sing it, and George Martin to make a "really cheesey" arrangement.

John Lennon "Beautiful Boy." John's song for Sean is much nicer.

They Might Be Giants "Never Go to Work." The Johns have released two whole albums for kids: "Here Come the ABCs" and "Here Come the 1, 2, 3s."

What am I missing?

eh.www.amNY.com

Posted by Emily Hulme on July 13, 2008 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What the heck?

I was just sent the following photo. What the heck is that about?

Mysteries revealed after the jump ...

Continue reading "What the heck?" »

Posted by Emily Hulme on July 10, 2008 5:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Nick Thorburn never sleeps

On the heels of the recent release of Islands' "Arm's Way" (of which The Morning News recently did a trenchant analysis) frontman Nick Thorburn is releasing another album with Jim Guthrie under the name Human Highway. Pitchfork has a good interview with Thorburn (who I always want to call Thorburton, for some reason).

Here's a sneak peak:

Much lighter than Islands, right?

BTW, see Islands at Siren Fest next week. It's gonna be awesome.

eh.www.amNY.com

Posted by Emily Hulme on July 10, 2008 4:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Let My Love Open the Door ... to your movie

So this song popped into my head just now, and I started wondering: How many music soundtracks is this song on. A lot, I bet.

According to IMDB, the song was used in the following films:
• Dan in Real Life
• Jersey Girl
• Along Came Polly
• Mr. Deeds
• Grosse Pointe Blank
• Look Who's Talking

But two other songs kept popping up on Mr. Townshend's entry.

"Won't Get Fooled Again" has appeared in a whopping 14 movies, tv shows and video games (Rock Band). It's the theme song to "CSI: Miami" and was featured in an episode of "The Simpsons. This is also not counting any Who specials or documentaries.

Baba O'Reilly (not "Teenage Wasteland") has had nine appearances on the big and small screen (no video games), including the theme for "CSI: New York."

Both "Baba" and "Fooled" are on the soundtrack to "Summer of Sam."

And now you know.

eh.www.amNY.com

Posted by Emily Hulme on July 10, 2008 2:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Shaken and Stirred

OK, I'm making an executive decision: From here on in, this site will cover music ... and videos of Rube Goldberg machines. Why? Because I like them and it's my blog.

Here's one of a cocktail making machine from Boing Boing:

If you make me a video, you win a prize. (Warning: the prize will probably be a crap CD off the slush pile.)

eh.www.amNY.com

Posted by Emily Hulme on July 10, 2008 2:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Rock operas that never were

If you've read any recent criticism of classical music, you probably have heard the lamentation that the traditional form of the genre is in trouble (in the west, that is; a recent New Yorker article points out that classical music is thriving in China). But this doesn't mean that people aren't doing interesting classical-based things with music.

I've written about them for the paper before, but local string quartet Ethel combines just about every genre to come up with a really cool sound. Listen.

And now East Village Opera Company is working on a project where they reimagine great arias as rock operas. It's pretty awesome, especially if you're familiar with the originals. Their "La donna e mobile" (done in a Queen-reminiscent style with a mid-eastern beat) made me laugh out loud. I'm not sure what this means about me. (Yes I am; It means I'm a dork.)

You can hear a couple of selections on their MySpace page.

If that's too much new for you, here's a more traditional version of the Habanera from Carmen, done by an orange.

eh.www.amNY.com

Posted by Emily Hulme on July 9, 2008 1:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Beck-watch: It's arrived!

"Modern Guilt" drops Tuesday, songs leaked last week and I got my copy today!

Predictably, I love it ... I mean, it's awesome. I do pretty much love love love everything Beck has ever done (although "The Information" was underwhelming and forgettable), so, you know, bear that in mind when you read my ~~endorsement~~ review.

The first three tracks -- "Orphans," "Gamma Ray" and "Chemtrails" -- have been floating around the internet for a few weeks, so they already feel somewhat familiar. You can hear Danger Mouse's production all over this baby, but not in a way that's distracting. It's just part of the evolution of Beck's ever-hip sound.

"Guilt" is driving and slick and sad. Whereas "Guero" was an all-out party (and "Guerolito" was just unnecessary), this new album is very aware of actions and consequences. The lyrics are more straightforward than usual, and there are actual sentences that convey actual, if not straight-up meaning, at least a feeling. But there's still plenty of Dadaist word salad to be had: "And we could live inside a hollow tree/Grow up old and bury the sea" -- from "Replica," a frantic little number which features Beck keening over a jacked up BPM.

At just less than 40 minutes, the album feels even shorter than it is. The songs clip by at a frenzied pace with a surprising dark intensity. The bleeps and bloops of previous efforts are there, but "Guilt" is very much rock and roll.

Also, Cat Power is employed beautifully on "Orphans" and other songs.

eh.www.amNY.com

Posted by Emily Hulme on July 6, 2008 3:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Music for our country

So earlier this week, I promised you some American music in honor of Independence Day, but that genre's too big for me to handle. I suppose I could have gone with music about being Free or Brave or something, but instead I killed two birds with one stone and made a mix- and a muxtape for a road trip I'm taking this weekend -- because there's nothing more American than the Great American Road Trip. And paying $5 million for gasoline.

Enjoy!

eh.www.amNY.com

Posted by Emily Hulme on July 2, 2008 7:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

No Emmy for Britney

Britney Spears' "I'm not completely bonkers" comeback was entertaining (in a positive, non-schadenfreude way), but she did not make the Emmy shortlist. Oh well, we're rooting for you anyway Ms. Spears.

eh.www.amNY.com

Posted by Emily Hulme on July 2, 2008 4:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

National anthems from around the world

As we get ready to celebrate our nation's independence, let's take a look how other nations commemorate their homes in song. (Also, it's good preparation for the Olympics later this summer ...)

(Also, the YouTube comments on each of these videos are pretty offensive and depressing, so I suggest not reading them. Sometimes I hate the internet.)

Le Marseillaise, France

Hino Nacional Brasileiro, Brazil

Das Deutschlandlied, Germany

Star Spangled Banner, USA, of course

many, many more after the jump...

Continue reading "National anthems from around the world" »

Posted by Emily Hulme on July 2, 2008 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A YouTube puzzle

OK, so this is only tangentially music related -- can you spot my man Ben Folds' CD in the above contraption? -- but YouTube's featured videos today are almost all Rube Goldberg devices. Seems odd. His birthday is July 4th, but that's still two days away. What's going on?

Also, this is the neatest thing ever. Supposedly a commercial in Japan, although the talking is all in English. Whatever, it's awesome.

eh.www.amNY.com

Posted by Emily Hulme on July 2, 2008 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

On the Waterfront

East Hampton's Ross School just announced its schedule for this summers series of fundraiser concerts. As I remember last summer was kind of a high-profile disaster. Page Six recently reported that "Social @ Ross," as the series was called, would not be returning for a second summer.

And, in fact, this year's series is different. First off, it's billed as "@Ross," and Warner Brothers is no longer involved. The ticket price is still heafty: $500-$1,500. But, whereas last year the acts included Billy Joel, Dave Matthews and Prince, this year's schedule looks like this:

Event listings are as follows, with additional talent to be confirmed:
August 8 THE B-52s @ROSS
August 9 JONAS BROTHERS @ROSS
August 16 ANDRE AGASSI FOUNDATION @ROSS
August 18 THEATER @ROSS
August 20 WELL-BEING @ROSS
August 22 CUISINE & WINE @ROSS
August 24 CLASSICAL @ROSS
August 28 FILM @ROSS
August 29 COMEDY @ROSS

out there

First off, happy birthday Debbie Harry!

• Gothamist talks to Sarah Hooper of Jelly NYC, the group behind the McCarren Park Pool Parties. I interviewed her a couple of years ago, and she's super nice and super passionate about what she does. It's nice to see someone with such positivity thriving in the cooler-than-though hipster community.

• It may be summertime, but we're just three months away from the Grammy deadline. The LA Times blog breaks down some likely contenders in a continuing series. Part one, part two.

• Mini-Beckwatch: NY Mag has heard "Modern Guilt" and they like it: "All songwriting is sharp and the drums are, predictably, awesome." If you haven't already, hear the title track here.

eh.www.amNY.com

Posted by Emily Hulme on July 1, 2008 1:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)