Across The Pond
The Kinks, Lily Allen, Editors, Brian Eno, and I Was A Cub Scout
The Kinks are planning to follow in the footsteps of rockers Led Zeppelin with a highly anticipated reunion next year. Lead singer and guitarist Ray Davies said the band's original members, which included Davies' brother Dave on guitar, Mick Avory on drums and Pete Quaife on bass plan to play together for the first time in nearly four decades in 2008. Ray Davies had this to say:
"I spoke to Quaife about a month ago and he dearly wants to make another record with me. I think Dave's getting better and Mick's still playing...
Posted by Joe Roth on Jan 02, 2008 @ 12:00 am
Missed Out Music
Califone close out this year's Missed Out Music
I should have known 2007 was going to be a great year for live music when I saw The Hold Steady perform on January 1st. Easily the best way to kick in a new year - Craig and the gang jump-started a fascinating year that had the HEAVE staff seeing bands like Daft Punk and Hall and Oates.
2007 also marked my first year in Chicago - HEAVE feeds off the city in Chicago. We wouldn't exist if the staff had to be located anywhere else in the world. Chicago features a diverse music scene that is unrivaled by anywhere else. It's been argued lately that the Chicago music scene is dying, and while it may not be as strong as it was over the last fifteen or so years; Chicago is still giving it's creative breath to an appreciative music crowd, both locally and nationally.
My favorite live act this year came in the form of Califone at the Pitchfork Music Festival. Califone is Chicago rooted through and through. Roughly formed in 1997 as a solo project by Tim Rutili, Califone has grown from a small side project to a critically acclaimed band that has released nine albums in nine years. Califone is best described as experimental with their use of keyboards, violins, guitars and banjos.
"The Orchid" is the first song that Califone performed in their set at Pitchfork, and is incidentally my favorite song of theirs. HEAVE hopes you enjoyed the 2007 live music scene as much we did - and we look forward to seeing you at some shows in 2008.
STREAM: Califone ?The Orchid
Posted by Wes Soltis on Dec 31, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Record Numbers
When will Groban's reign of terror end?
Josh Groban's Noel continued its month-plus dominance of the album charts this week, selling a massive 757,000 copies in its 11th week of release to hold on to the top spot for the fifth consecutive week. Last minute holiday sales and a recent surge in sales thanks to an endorsement from Oprah has made Groban's album the top-selling disc of the year, pushing close to four million copies.
R&B matriarch Mary J. Blige flexed some commercial muscle with Growing Pains, which debuted at number two with 629,000-an impressive number given that the album is Blige's ninth studio release and has been advertised with a God-awful iPod commercial. Growing Pains was the only new album in the top ten.
Following in third place was Alicia Keys, who moved another 474,000 copies of her mega-hit As I Am. Despite being culturally irrelevant since the day of their inception, The Eagles managed to hold on to the fourth spot for another week with 313,000 unites of Long Road Out of Eden. Disney sensation Miley Cirus jumped into the fifth spot, selling 260,000 of the "Hannah Montana 2" soundtrack. Not far behind at 235,000 was the Now 26 compilation, which took the sixth spot.
Carrie Underwood further solidified herself as American Idol's biggest success story after shifting another 216,000 copies of Carnival Ride. Since October, Underwood has sold more than 2 million copies of the album. Taylor Swift stayed put at number eight with 187,000 of his self-titled debut, and the High School Musical kids snagged the ninth spot with the soundtrack from the second Disney movie, which sold 185,000. Chris Brown pushed his sales of Exclusive up 65% to 176,000, and closes the lost at number ten.
Posted by Ryan Peters on Dec 28, 2007 @ 12:00 am
We've Got You Covered
Boyz Noise attacks Feist in a "My Moon My Man" remix.
Boyz Noise was formed in 2005 and is the DJ work of Alex Ridha. Using remixes as his primary weapon - Ridha has fired off shots of Bloc Party, Shiny Toy Guns, Kaiser Chiefs and Marilyn Manson; just to name a few.
Feist has become a well-known indie super-artist, appearing on commercials and late night TV. Bringing a simple pop sensibility with an uncanny voice and stellar instrumentation, along with a Broken Social Scene background - her newest album, The Reminder found its way into many a party shuffles. Songs like "1 2 3 4" and "My Moon My Man" have good videos with a good beat; so what happens when Boyz Noise does a remix?
Well - put on your dancing shoes. Boyz Noise takes an already recognizable beat and puts it through a robot machine, making "My Moon My Man" sound like Daft Punk unwrapped a present of indie rock.
STREAM: Feist - My Moon My Man (Boyz Noise Remix)
Posted by Wes Soltis on Dec 27, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Takin' You Back
All The Kinks - all the time in this week's TYB.
Why The Kinks, you ask? Why not, I say. They are quite possibly one of the most underrated of all the British invasion bands. Everyone knows tons of songs by The Beatles, The Stones and The Who. What about The Kinks (and don't say You Really Got Me)? Here are some good Kinks songs that have not been featured in any Jolly Rancher commercials.
The Kinks - The Village Green Preservation Society - When Village Green Preservation Society was released, it was a commercial disaster...
Posted by Greg Herald on Dec 26, 2007 @ 12:00 am