Tagged: othergenres

Since her sudden death of July 23rd 2011, Amy Winehouse has been the focus of more tributes than can be counted. From Bruno Mars at the VMAs to Green Day at their secret show, quite a few high profile artists have thrown their musical hats into the ring of Amy tributes. Not to say all of these aren't sincere, but the truth of the matter is that most of these artists had most likely never been as affected as a true Brit. That's where Matthew Beer's Falling Asleep is different. Born in Birmingham, Matthew has been a [...]

Tom Waits' newest album, Bad As Me , feels like a nice change from boring ol' Rock & Roll. In fact, it's everything but! As one goes from track to track, there's soul, jazz, folk, some Spanish-sounding ballads, and more. Tom Waits has always been a versatile artist, and he sure shows it on his newest offering. Take the opening track, "Chicago." It feels like the studio engineer hit "record" just a few seconds after the band started playing, and you're a little late to the party. It's disconcerting, but (somehow) it's also pretty cool sounding. After a [...]

I had the good fortune to see the ska-punk band Mustard Plug play in Toledo, OH recently, at Frankie's Inner City. They're a Grand Rapids, MI-based band, so it was odd for me - a Michigan resident - to see them out of state. One of the people I went with has seen them six times in the past, once only 30 minutes away from our podunk little town, so it felt a little foolish to drive 3 hours out of state for a show. Still, I'm a big ska fan, so it was worth it. It was also interesting [...]

Green Day (bottom) paid homage to the late Amy Winehouse (top), who died in late July. It's not everyday that Green Day plays an intimate show for 250 superfans. It's not everyday that anyone would expect punk rock powerhouse Green Day to be associated with the late jazzy bluesy Amy Winehouse. Obviously it's not everyday that Green Day does the expected. After a rockin' set of unreleased material at Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa that left the crowd drenched in their's, their friend's, and who knows who else's sweat, Green Day brought the energy down a bit and [...]

Sully Erna - Avalon Sully Erna, front man for the band Godsmack has released his new album "Avalon" into the world. This is a collection of music put perfectly together after many years in the making. Track by track each song more powerful then the next, stretching his musical talent to new places. Different from the Godsmack style and sound, this album has a Pink Floyd trippy vibe, with a mix of tribal chanting and maybe even some Led Zep tossed into the mix. Very difficult to classify, in the words of Sully "If you listen [...]

Ben Kitterman Ben Kitterman was enjoying a much needed break from the tour in Indiana when I had a chance to catch up with him. Just a few nights before he was 1,500 miles away playing in Biloxi, MS.; a place that holds fond memories for him. Biloxi is the city where he first coupled with the front man of Staind, Aaron Lewis by joining his current tour. Ben is certainly no stranger to music; some of his first memories were of his mother conducting a full musical orchestra. During this time his [...]

One can see the resemblance, but is Cohen capable to fill Freddie Mercury's immense shoes? I'm skeptical. " Hello it is me, Freddy Mercury... I joking, he die of AIDS ," said Cohen wearing a muscle vest as he made his apparearance at the MTV Europe awards which he presented. Ironically or not, Sacha Baron Cohen, a comedian most known for inventing timeless characters such as the flaming rapper Ali G, the gay fashionista Bruno or the ever witless Borat, has been chosen to play one of rock's greatest icons of all time, Queen frontman Freddie [...]

I'm sitting here doing nothing any more productive than listening to a podcasted edition of the Ray Foley Show from a week and a half ago, so I may as well occupy my weary fingers with this thing: writing about one of my favourite singers. Relevantly, that singer is the charming chirpy chanteuse Amber Rubarth, and she's just released a cover of R.E.M's "Losing My Religion". It's rather spiffing. Recorded for Filter Magazine's "DREAM ART EXPLOSION" (which sounds like a pretentious teen's way of explaining stained bedsheets (allegedly)) it's a wonderfully minimal little thing. Rubarth pares [...]

• Amber Rubarth - Losing My Religion (R.E.M. Cover Song for Bagavagabonds / Filter Magazine's DREAM ART EXPLOSION)

There are few things in this world that make my brain quiver more appreciatively than news of a new Mark Lanegan album. So let's all get a -quiverin', because Hawk is released this week - his latest collaboration with the lady we music cricket types are mysteriously obligated to label "Scottish chanteuse", Isobel Campbell. That his work with Campbell tends to paddle indifferently around the more insipid depths of Lanegan' s catalogue matters very little in the scheme of things, at least to embarrassingly puddlish fanboys like myself - it's still new Lanegan, y'know? Relevantly, [...]

Although written by the prolific James Shelton in the 1950's, " Lilac Wine " was catapulted to modern day classic status not before 1994 when Jeff Buckley covered it, capturing all its splendor. Now, it's a bit hard to tell if the Cinematic Orchestra version is a Jeff Buckley (likely) or a James Shelton cover, but even though the performance might not be stellar, the video is. Developed by one of my favorite creative agencies, Blind , this minimalistic animated video for Lilac Wine, produced as a tribute to Dr. Martens 50th anniversary, will undoubtedly make your day. Enjoy!

Album name: Ocean, Meet The Valley Artist name: The Literary Greats Genre: Country Rock Released : October 2009 Label : ERROR ERROR ERROR ZME Rating: 7/10 Website: theliterarygreats.com An intro: My inbox appears to have become some sort of primitive, text-based time machine. No less than two - TWO - separate e-mails have arrived recently, directing my bespectacled eyes towards albums that were released in the latter half of last [...]

Massive Attack 's new video for " Saturday Come Slow " featuring Damon Albarn premiered last week on Feeder , but I wasn't until recently that I found the time to post it. It's actually more of a moving short-film documentary, telling the story of former Guantanamo Bay detainee Ruhal Ahmed and his experience with torture through music - such a despicable way of instrumenting pain. [via feeder ] This short film by renowned photographers Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin featuring Ruhal Ahmed, is a meditation on the former detainee's experience in [...]

Album name: Life Artist name: Uniform Motion Genre: Folk-pop-cartoons Released: 9 February 2010 Label: Aahhh Records ZME Rating: 5/10 Website: uniformmotion.net I'm something of a deliberate philistine when it comes to fine art. Despite spending six years or so studying the subject in one form or another, I never really saw the appeal. I mean, sure I can appreciate it up to a point; I'll give you your Da Vincis, your Rembrandts, your Dalis - all very talented paintbrush-pushers. But the likes of Picasso and Rothko can [...]

Album name: Perfect View Artist name: Libby Johnson Genre: Folk Released : 23 February 2010 Label : Wrong Records ZME Rating: 8/10 Website: libbyjohnsonmusic.com/ I want to preface this review with a plea, and a thank you. You see, this Libby Johnson album - quite a good album, as you've yet to find out - is, following Nite Nite and Phantom Family Halo, the third album in a row I've [...]

Album name: How To Touch The Moon Artist name: Nite Nite Genre: Gothy Stuff Released : 12 January 2010 Label : Crash Avenue ZME Rating: 6/10 Website: myspace.com/niteniteband As a beret-wearing, beard-stroking music cricket, there are certain aspects of my job I consider to be pretty vital. First among these is blagging as much free stuff as possible: if there's a gig I can get into for free, you can [...]

One of the most interesting projects of the year was N.A.S.A 's " The Spirit of Apollo" , a five year in the making, 18-track album, which featured three-dozen guest stars from mainstream rock and hip-hop stars to obscure, yet very talented high-profile street performers. "Spacious Thoughts", one of the tracks off Apollo, is a collaboration between N.A.S.A. and two true giants of their own respective scenes, Tom Waits and Kool Keith. Impressive names to go with a surprisingly unimpressive song, though, but what the song lacked in coherence and production it more than made up for in visuals [...]

It took them a while, seven years to be more exact, but the trip-hop pioneering duo have finally come through and recently announced the follow-up to the somewhat disappointing 2003 "100th Window." Massive Attack 's new album is titled " Heligoland " (named after the german Archipelago of Heligoland ), and features guest vocals by Damon Albarn, TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe, Elbow's Guy Garvey, Martina Topley-Bird, Hope Sandoval, and Horace Andy. The tracklist is only ten songs long and surprisingly doesn't feature any of the duo's previously unreleased songs played live during their recent tours, [...]

One of the most interesting debut projects of the year is, without a shadow of a doubt, the Austin electropop Neon Indian . The band's sound is an interesting mix of lo-fi and reminiscent '80s cheesy disco beats, delivering in the process some incredible synths and pop hooks. It's not nearly as danceable as Alan Palomo 's (Neon Indian's driving creative force) past projects, Vega or Ghosthustler, but it's definitely very chill and carefree, ideal for time off. Neon Indian's debut album, " Physic Charms ", is out now via Lefse Records . [MP3] [...]

Forget what Chinese astrology might tell you, 2009 is the year of the Phoenix ! After delivering what can only be described as almost pure pop perfection, in the form of their last record " Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix ", and becoming the most remixed band of the summer, it's pretty clear the band is at the top of its game. We posted a few remixes before, really great ones too, but you'll probably find the best ones on the recently released Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Remix Collection), that features remixes of Phoenix [...]

During her recent summer tour, Karin Andresson released a very limited edition 73, featuring her covering Vashti Bunyan's "Here Before" and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds' "Stranger Than Kindness." Both are excellent, but I found the Nick Cave one strangely interesting. The original is soberly dark, but this Fever Ray version dwells even further, exploring well beyond its limits, thus delivering an even darker, but sensual take. Her drum beats signature sound seals it for good, from the song's very beginning, as her own, making it feel like a regular track off Fever Ray's [...]