« December 2008 | Main | February 2009 »

January 2009 Archives

January 29, 2009

The Pretenders

By Hal Bienstock
Special to amNewYork
• The Pretenders are at Roseland Ballroom Friday, 8 p.m., $49.50.

To most people, Pretenders songs like “Brass in Pocket” and “Talk of the Town” are massive hits and staples of classic rock radio. Singer Chrissie Hynde and drummer Martin Chambers, the two remaining original members of the band, have a different name for them.

“We call those songs the unmentionables,” Chambers said with a laugh. “Sometimes, we’re like ‘Oh God. Are we really going to play this again?’”

Despite the sarcasm, Chambers knows that fans are coming to hear the hits and he says they’ve been given new life on the band’s current tour thanks to three new members who joined just before the recording of the band’s new album, "Break Up the Concrete."

Continue reading "The Pretenders" »

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 29, 2009 5:29 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

More new Lily Allen

By eh


JavaScript and Adobe Flash player are required to view this clip.

The album is out Feb. 10, but here's Allen playing three new songs from "It's Not Me, It's You": "22," "The Fear" and "He Wasn't There." I really like her.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 29, 2009 4:47 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Colbert and Paul McCartney

By eh

Stephen Colbert met a Beatle last night! He and Paul McCartney went toe to toe discussing everything from whether or not George Martin was the fifth Beatle to cannibalism. (For the record: "What is the most tender cut of the McCartney?" "I would go for a little midriff.")

It's hilarious, and while Lindsay over at Videogum thinks McCartney seems befuddled, I think he's in on the joke. McCartney is pretty famously funny.

Also, toward the end Colbert and McCartney do a pretty sweet duet. I'm pretty freaking jealous of Colbert, let me say. When I was little, "Ebony and Ivory" was one of my favorite songs, but partly because I thought the lyrics were "Emily and Ivory." Which doesn't make sense, but I was a narcissist from a pretty early age, so it satisfied me.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 29, 2009 4:30 PM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

January 28, 2009

The Rippy Awards

By eh

If you've read this blog regularly, you've probably gathered that I have a pretty low opinion of awards shows. But Wired just announced the results of their brand new Rippy Awards, and it's actually pretty funny. It helps that no one (including Wired) is taking it at all seriously.

My favorite category, of course is:

Most Obscene Kanye West Online Rant
"I'm typing so f---ing hard I might break my f---ing Mac book Air!!!!!!!!"
"You know what, f--- you and the whole f---ing staff!!!"
"I F---ING HATE THIS COVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
[WINNER]"Soulja boy ... is actually the true meaning of what hip hop is sposed to be"

(Censorship is mine, BTW. Kanye likes the F-bomb, but amNewYork does not.)


Champion from Lauren H on Vimeo.

Also, the Rippy Award winner for Most Heartbreaking Death, Muxtape.com, was resurrected today. Now with less copyright violations! Bands sign themselves up, rather than music listeners wantonly uploading and sharing music that they may or may not have originally purchased.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 28, 2009 2:46 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

January 27, 2009

Kanye's "Street Lights"

By eh


K.West - SL from J Gavin on Vimeo.

Kanye himself blogged about this video, a fan-made mash up of 'Ye's "Street Lights" and an animation by Csaba Letay and Verena Fels. The animation is really cool. Here's the original.

It was a promo for the International Festival of Animated Film Stuttgart, and screened at various other festivals. Here's more info about the making of, if you're interested.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 27, 2009 11:48 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

January 26, 2009

David Berman dissolves Silver Jews

By eh

From the Drag City message board: "I guess I am moving over to another category. Screenwriting or Muckraking./I've got to move on. Can't be like all the careerists doncha know./I'm forty two and I know what to do."

Sad to hear it.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 26, 2009 5:27 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

New TV on the Radio video


The short video below answers the question "Dear Science, How far is Up?," according to TVOR lead singer Tunde Adebimpe. "Dear Science," of course, is the name of their highly lauded most recent album.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 26, 2009 3:33 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"Polyester Bride" just 'cause

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 26, 2009 11:15 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

January 25, 2009

A Big Yes; Kevin Kendrick excerpts

By eh

I meant to post this last week when the story ran, but I was seriously the sickest I've ever been in my life (which is also my excuse for the lack of blogging here and on Tangent for the past week). But Kevin Kendrick of A Big Yes and a small no, who I profiled in Thursday's paper, is a really interesting guy, and about 1/20th of what we talked about actually made it into the story. So here are some additional excerpts. (Also, for the "Columbia story" straight from Kendrick's mouth, check out Smart Ass Radio.)

On classical music as sports for dorks:

I find this is true with a lot of musicians who are steeped in it for a while: It’s a chance to compete for people who don’t normally get a chance to compete. I wasn’t particularly athletic; I got cut from seventh grade football and basketball. Orchestral percussion is very competitive and it was a chance for me to compete in an almost athletic type of atmosphere, which I didn’t have an outlet for otherwise.

Heroin vs. pop music:

I still had this sort of idea from this orchestral upbringing and jazz background that pop music was somehow not legitimate. Being on heroin got me thinking, “Who really cares? Clearly I have bigger problems than the fact that I want to write pop music.”

Continue reading "A Big Yes; Kevin Kendrick excerpts" »

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 25, 2009 5:12 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A Big Yes and a small no

By Emily Hulme
• A Big Yes and a small no is at Spike Hill Jan. 29 and Union Hall Feb. 20.

ABYrelease_6.jpg

When you use a phrase like, “usually when you get mugged,” casually in conversation, you’ve probably had an eventful life.

“I’ve been mugged a bunch of times, and usually if you chase them they’ll throw your ID back,” says Kevin Kendrick of the Brooklyn indie pop outfit A Big Yes and A Small No. He was matter-of-factly explaining how he had recently lost his cell phone in a mugging, the first of many event-filled anecdotes he would share over the course of the interview.

In the past 10 years, Kendrick has been kidnapped and nearly raped in Colombia; been arrested and acquitted for assaulting a police officer (a case of mistaken identity); developed and then kicked a heroin habit. Oh yeah, and he went from a sideman on various classical and jazz projects to the frontman of a rock band.

Continue reading "A Big Yes and a small no" »

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 25, 2009 4:53 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

January 20, 2009

Reel Big Fish still not selling out

By Ed Condran
Special to amNewYork
•At Roseland Ballroom tonight, 7:30 p.m., $30.

Ska band Reel Big Fish has been tossing covers into its set since the group formed 17 years ago in Huntington Beach, Calif.

So it’s hardly surprising that their latest release, “Fame, Fortune and Fornication,” is an album made up entirely of other musicians’ material.

“We loved doing covers, but the biggest reason for the album is because we haven’t released anything since August of 2007,” drummer Ryland Steen explains. “We needed something new, but we weren’t ready to go into the studio to knock out originals. We wanted something to play behind for this tour and that’s how it all started.”

Continue reading "Reel Big Fish still not selling out" »

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 20, 2009 11:18 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

January 19, 2009

Music for a presidential mood

By eh

All fall, we brought you countless Obama songs. Here, here, here and here.

Also, we told you about the project "Of Great & Mortal Men: 43 Songs For 43 Presidencies" (download their composition for our 44th president here).

But if this isn't enough for you, the AV Club has compiled a list of seventy presidential tunes, including everything from The Honey Drippers' "Impeach the President" to They Might Be Giants' "James K. Polk." (And the aforementioned "Of Great and Mortal Men.")

Then, over on "Yes We Puede," the blog has compiled a mixtape of contemporary recordings of patriotic music from the public domain ("The Star Spangled Banner," "Anchors Aweigh," etc.).

But in all of these lists, there's not nearly enough of our 27th president. So I leave you with the Two Man Gentlemen Band's "William Howard Taft." Can ya dig?

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 19, 2009 3:00 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The annotated SXSW band list

By eh

As I mentioned last week, the SXSW band list is up ... a long and daunting list full of bands you've never heard of. But blogger Paul Lamere is here to help you out. He recently posted an annotated catalog of the bands playing Austin this spring, compiling data from Last.FM and YouTube to give some context to this string of names. Well done.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 19, 2009 2:53 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

January 18, 2009

Four chords to rock the world

By eh

The Axis of Awesome shows how all popular music is, in fact, the same song. It's pretty funny.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 18, 2009 2:43 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

New music all over the net

• Some Bon Iver

• New Gorillaz

• Decemberists

• M. Ward

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 18, 2009 2:30 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Flight of the Conchords back tonight

By eh

Flight of the Conchords is back tonight with their season 2 premiere. Of course, it has been online for about a month, but now it will be on television.

AV Club has a great interview with Bret and Jemaine about season one vs season two.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 18, 2009 1:05 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

One last Best of 2008

Hype Machine and Blog Fresh Radio have teamed up for the ultimate top 50 of 2008.

They polled, like, a million bloggers, and compiled the list into top 50 artists, albums and songs. And they're streaming the results at the above link.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 18, 2009 1:01 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

January 15, 2009

Bacon Brothers contest

By eh

Between this news and the "Bacon'd" video, it seems that Kevin Bacon really has a refreshing sense of humor about himself.

What is the news? Kevin and his brother, The Bacon Brothers band, are sponsoring a YouTube contest. I'll let the brothers explain it for themselves.

Film yourself dancing like a fool, and upload it here.

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 15, 2009 12:02 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

January 14, 2009

Club Closing: Luna Lounge

By eh

I just got the following e-mail:

Hey friends of Luna,

Many people have written me asking about Luna Lounge. Basically, what happened is that after opening the new club in Williamsburg, I was unable to get enough shows on a regular basis. When the Knitting Factory expressed an interest in working out an arrangement with me I decided to accommodate their interest.

I still own the name Luna Lounge (with my old partner, Dianne) and am interested in finding another space in which to work with bands. If I find an appropriate location, you guys will be the first to know.

In the meantime, I will soon be opening a new bar called The Satellite Lounge on Havemeyer Street in Williamsburg. My good friend, Dave Ellis, is my new partner.

The Satellite Lounge will hold about 60-75 people. You'll be able to hear plenty of current indie rock as well as lots of favorite older stuff from many of the previous music scenes from the last twenty years. It will not have 'live' music... We will be doing CD listening parties, birthday events, and be open to the public seven days per week.

2008 was a tough one. Let's make the new year more enjoyable.

I'll let you know when we have an opening date in the next few weeks.

Best wishes,

Rob Sacher
Luna Lounge
Satellite Lounge

Sad news. I always liked Luna Lounge, and I hope they get to reopen somewhere.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 14, 2009 3:34 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Franz Ferdinand coming soon

By eh

Franz Ferdy's "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand" drops the 26th. Above, the band gives a preview of the new album and interviews itself, in a style cheekily reminiscent of four other lads from the British Isles.

Stereogum has an advance review up. They're not too hot on the album, but it sounds like "Tonight" still has its bright moments. I liked "Ulysses," anyway.

And, if you missed it, Franz was on "Gossip Girl" this week (just the music, not the whole band).

The song is "No, You Girls Never Know." Hear it and other tracks on the FF MySpace page.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 14, 2009 12:56 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

January 13, 2009

Call him Richard

By eh

Richard Lewis talks to NY Magazine, and drops this little tidbit of how to behave if you happen to meet a former Beatle:

I met my wife through Ringo Starr, about four years into my sobriety, at this record party. You don’t call him Ringo if you know him, you call him Richard or he’ll come after you with a pitchfork. It’s like calling Ronnie Howard "Opie" by mistake, it’s over.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 13, 2009 12:19 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

January 12, 2009

New Röyksopp

By eh

The Norwegian glitch-poppers are back with a new album, "Junior," due March 24. Stereogum has a new track, "Happy Up Here."

Full track list after the jump.

Continue reading "New Röyksopp" »

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 12, 2009 4:59 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Bonnaroo stream

By eh

That I dislike camping is only one of many reasons I'll probably never make it down to Bonnaroo, the annual summer jam-friendly fest down in Tennessee. So very nicely, Bonnaroo is bringing the festival to me, digitally. Some of it anyway. They're currently offering the Raconteurs set from last summer as a video stream (below), as well as other various downloads.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 12, 2009 4:14 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Flight of the Conchords new album

By eh

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting: "An as-yet-untitled album featuring 10 tracks from the show plus five additional songs will be available April 14, shortly after the conclusion of the 10-episode season."

Super fantastic. Better still, iTunes will have new tracks from the New Zealand folk comedy duo each week, the day after each new show airs. "Angels" (not my favorite) is up first after the premiere on Jan. 18 (the track will be on iTunes Jan. 19 ... getit?).

Also: "A North American tour is being targeted for April or May."

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 12, 2009 3:56 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Legend of Zelda a cappella

By eh

This man does a 4-part a cappella version of the Legend of Zelda theme song, and accompanies himself on the violin. (So, yeah, not technically a-cap.)

Trend alert! Apparently this is a thing: 4-part a cappella done by one person on a four-way screen, often with video game or scifi themes. Funny, yes, but running the risk of becoming old quickly. It's not ironically cool if everyone's doing it.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 12, 2009 3:15 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Little Drummer Girl

By eh

I've been really into drummers and drumming lately. Here's a teen girl from Japan who rocks the skins to Rush's "YYZ." (Via)

She's not as fast and furious as this guy from yesterday, but she's pretty good. Especially at twirling the sticks.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 12, 2009 12:20 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

January 11, 2009

SXSW initial band list up

By eh

The Austin music fest released their band list. Like you'd expect from an industry showcase with the mission of uncovering new acts, most of the bands are unknown, with a few old faves in the mix, including Ra Ra Riot (above).

Every year, I toy with the idea of going, and then ultimately end up staying in NYC, and I fear that this year will be no different. Oh well...

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 11, 2009 3:49 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

New Franz Ferdinand video

Here's the video for "Ulysses," from Franz's forthcoming album, "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand." I like it. The video definitely enhances the frantic, paranoid feel of the song, which I found unremarkable at first, but I'm really getting into it. Spinner compares the to "Trainspotting," which I think is apt.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 11, 2009 2:57 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

SMB. 3 drumming

This guy drums along with the Super Mario Bros. 3 soundtrack, and he's pretty amazing. I especially enjoy the double bass drum he's got going on. He could be in my band, if he wants.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 11, 2009 2:37 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

January 8, 2009

Gloria Gaynor, Surviving 30 years on

By eh

Just about every recording artist ever has covered it, and it's become a karaoke staple. Put the song on the jukebox in a crowded bar, and everyone will sing along. It was adopted as a gay-rights anthem, and has become movie soundtrack shorthand for triumph over adversity.

It's safe to say, thirty years on from it's initial release Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" is EVERYWHERE. But, did you know, it was originally released as a B-side? Polydor decided that "Substitute" would make a stronger single. Of course they were wrong, and "Survive" shot to the top of the Billboard charts, and won a Grammy. (Fun facts I learned from Gaynor's publicist.)

My interest, of course lies in the numerous covers of the song. More than 200 musicians have set their versions to tape. My favorite 5 after the jump.

Continue reading "Gloria Gaynor, Surviving 30 years on" »

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 8, 2009 4:52 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

John Lennon's MBE found!

By eh

In 1969, John Lennon publicly returned his MBE, in protest of Britain's involvement in Biafra. The metal was assumed by the public to be melted down, but Spinner is reporting that is was recently found. Buckingham Palace has decided that as Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono is in ownership of the metal, and that the decision to display it publicly or not is up to her.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 8, 2009 3:35 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

'Logan's Run' is now

By eh

As Videogum points out, this Kidz Bop video illustrates what the world would be like if the world were populated entirely by nine-year-olds who dance at a professional level. Creepy.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 8, 2009 3:08 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Best of 2008 in Mash-ups

By eh

Via Boing Boing, DJs Adrian & the Mysterious D have internetly released a mix tape of the best mash ups from the past year. Tracks include Party Ben, "Single Ladies (In Mayberry) (Beyoncé vs. "The Andy Griffith Show" Theme)" and Totom, "Every Kind Of Creep (Zebra remix) (Radiohead vs. Robert Palmer)" are both pretty cool. Maybe they're cheesy, but I love mash ups.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 8, 2009 2:57 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Phish at Jones Beach

By eh


(Letterman looks so young here!)

So Phish is playing Jones Beach this summer, June 4 and 5 (tickets at Live Nation Jan. 30). Apparently they're back together. Did we know that?

ETA: Apparently not. This is their first tour in five years.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 8, 2009 1:24 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

January 7, 2009

New Peter, Bjorn and John

By eh


You remember PB and J, right? "Young Folks" was stuck in our collective heads for months after SXSW in 2007. Well, they're back. Kanye West, who is a big fan, has a new track that'll prolly be on their new album, ""Living Thing," due out March 31.

The new track -- according to the Stereogum comments, called "Lay it Down" -- is pretty catchy, in a completely different way than "Young Folks." Sample heavy with a severe drum beat, it betrays a heavy hip-hop influence. I wonder if 'Ye helped out on production...

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 7, 2009 6:32 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

New Calexico track

By eh

Threadless is a T-Shirt company, but they're offering a free, exclusive Calexico track in conjunction with this shirt. (You don't have to buy the shirt to get the song.)

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 7, 2009 2:16 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Andrew Bird is all over the web

By eh


• Listen to a preview of his forthcoming album, "Noble Beast," at NPR.

• Hear a stream of his instrumental work "Useless Creatures" at Bird's site.

• Read a profile of him at the NY Times.

He'll be performing at Carnegie Hall Jan. 28. Tickets go on sale Saturday at noon.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 7, 2009 2:01 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

January 6, 2009

Not free Beatles

by eh

Boing Boing has an update on that free Norwegian Beatles podcast I told you about yesterday: It's down. Apparently NRK did not have the rights to the show that it thought it had. A pity.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 6, 2009 4:59 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

January 5, 2009

Free Beatles!

By eh

Over on Boing Boing, they've got the news that Norwegian Broadcast is podcasting "Vår daglige Beatles" ("Our Daily Beatles"), a radio series from 2001 in which journalists Finn Tokvam and Bård Ose discuss every single Beatles track, chronologically. Unfortunately (for me, I guess), their discussion is in Norwegian, but appended to the end of each show is the full Beatles song they've discussed. Groovy.

Somewhat related, the 40th anniversary of the white album came and went (with only a fraction of the fanfare that greeted the "Sgt. Pepper" anniversary) in November. Between holidays and illness and general absentmindedness, I only got around to listening to the recent hour All Songs Considered devoted to it. It's really good. Bob Boilen breaks down the record track by track with Beatles historian Bruce Spizer, and they get all into the nitty gritty. I recommend it.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 5, 2009 7:16 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This is neat!

Can you recognize what this young man is playing on the turntables? Here's the whole routine, if you're interested.

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 5, 2009 7:12 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Kevye West's spoiled milk


(via Nerdist)

This guy, Kevin Pereira, does a pretty funny parody of a Kanye West video, Auto-Tunes-ing himself into oblivion. In Kanye's defense, he'd have better beats, but the rest of the production nails it.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 5, 2009 6:59 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

No Comment Necessary: Paul Green's School of Rock does Steely Dan

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 5, 2009 6:47 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Femi Kuti

By Hal Bienstock
Special to amNewYork

Having a famous parent isn’t always a recipe for musical success. Just ask Julian Lennon. Yet Femi Kuti, son of legendary Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, has managed to not only uphold his late father’s legacy, but also forge his own identity as one of the best Afrobeat musicians in the world by adding elements of Western hip-hop and R&B to his father’s traditional sounds.

Femi was scheduled to perform at Webster Hall Thursday and Sunday, but these performances were canceled at the last minute due to illness. The Jan. 8 show will be rescheduled at a later date.

His latest album, “Day By Day,” is out now, however. It’s his first release in seven years. Femi spent that time in the interim honing his sound and raising his son as a single parent.

“I think it helped me creatively,” he said of the time off. “I became a better person and a better father. I also used the time to teach myself trumpet and piano.”

Continue reading "Femi Kuti" »

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 5, 2009 6:44 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Bon Iver on NPR

NPR has an interview with Bon Iver here. They discuss the new EP, "Blood Bank," and play some samples. The new stuff is pretty different and cool.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 5, 2009 2:46 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

January 4, 2009

Zooey Deschanel and Ben Gibbard!

By eh

Indie princess Zooey Deschanel and original mope rocker Ben Gibbard (duetting in the video above) are getting married, according to Stereogum and a whole bunch of other places. I don't usually care about indie rock gossip -- they're musicians, not my friends -- but I thought this was an interesting turn of affairs. Good luck, guys.

Tags:

Posted by Emily Hulme on January 4, 2009 3:07 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Search this site

amNewYork Blogs

AP Headlines

More from amNewYork

Subscribe

Subscribe to this blog's feed
[What is this?]

Archives

Popular Tags

(view all)

Categories