Windy City Watch
Sunday Morning Chameleon Hits the Watch
There really is nothing like leading the life of an unsigned local band in a large city like Chicago. You can expect late nights, little money (if any at all), and playing to many an empty room. Even the most talented musician can go unnoticed in a city saturated with promising and not so promising talent. But sometimes it's all about being in the right place at the right time, or better yet making the right music at the right time...
Posted by Lisa White on Dec 11, 2007 @ 12:00 am
And Now You Have...
HEAVE continues to bolster your band knowledge. Impress your friends with Orba Squara.
Every single person that owns a television and watches it on a regular basis (or even a not so regular basis) has heard Orba Squara. The soundtrack for the Iphone, Orba gives the melody to the "how to" commercials that Apple has pushed our way over the last four months. "Perfect Timing (This Morning)" symbolizes a phone that is supposed to be simple, elegant and usable by almost anybody. Fitting for Apple; but more so for Orba Squara, who delivers a sound that could be picked up by anybody - without the four hundred dollar price tag.
The work of Mitch Davis, Orba Squara is a project of acoustic guitars, ukuleles, xylophones and harmonicas; with vocals that sound like a fine tuned Iron and Wine. The album, Sunshyness, makes it seem like Davis took all of his favorite childhood memories and put them on an album, but the album has actually nothing to do with his childhood. It's innocent, it's sincere and it's good music. Listen to "Perfect Timing (This Morning)" below. You will have your, "Oh yeah, this song!" moment. After you nod your head accordingly, check out Sunshyness, you won't be disappointed.
Orba Squara - Perfect Timing (This Morning)
Posted by Wes Soltis on Dec 10, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Record Numbers
Some people still buy albums, and HEAVE breaks down the numbers.
You know the feeling: Red eyes, a pounding headache and the inevitable feeling that you may throw up. Yes, we're definitely feeling the Thanksgiving hangover, albeit two weeks late. Sales on the album charts were down 16.9% this week from the same time last year, in what is usually a slow sales period after the Thanksgiving / Black Friday rush and before the Christmas blitz.
Propelled by the commands of Oprah, more people went out this week and bought Josh Groban's Noel, pushing the crooner's sales up 33% to 539,000 units. The album has been out for almost two months, but captured the top spot for the first time in the last two weeks after being featured on Oprah's show. The Eagles, whom everyone hates, also received a television boost this week as Long Road Out of Eden jumped up 70% to 313,000 in sales after an interview on CBS' "60 Minutes."
Alicia Keys held strong at number three, moving 257,000 copies of As I Am, while ?ow 26?took the fourth spot dropping 46% from last week with 127,000 in sales. Much like last week, Garth Brooks' greatest hits collection and the soundtrack to "High School Musical 2" latched on to the heart of the charts, snagging the fifth and sixth spots with 112,000 and 98,000 in sales, respectively. The "Hannah Montana 2" album sold 96,000 copies to land at number seven, while Celine Dion's Taking Chances dropped only 28% from last week to 93,000. The top ten was rounded out by Carrie Underwood? ever-present Carnival Ride and the latest holiday bait from Mannheim Steamroller.Posted by Ryan Peters on Dec 07, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Your Listening Pleasure
Vampire Weekend, The Raveonettes and Black Mountains in this week's YLP.
Vampire Weekend - A Punk - These CMJ/blog-hype sensations prove they've got that special something with "A-Punk." As the title would suggest, the tune starts off with an Operation Ivy-type beat and bass line, while backing a playful guitar riff. The track maintains an upbeat yet refined groove before kicking with in with...flutes? Somehow these Upper West Side boys make it work, especially with vocals reminiscent of The Talking Heads or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah...
Posted by Jason Prechtel on Dec 07, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Across The Pond
Belle and Sebastian, The Whitest Boy Alive and Morrissey.
Morrissey has responded, in a most poisoned pen, to the recent NME cover story hinting at his supposed racist beliefs regarding the influx of immigrants into England. Editor Conor McNicholas and writer Tim Jonze were the target of Morrissey's rage in a newly posted response on the Guardian website. Morrissey and manager Merck Mercuriadis have filed suit against the NME citing slander. Here is a portion of the statement.....
Posted by Joe Roth on Dec 06, 2007 @ 12:00 am