Record Numbers
People still buy albums, and HEAVE breaks down the weekly numbers.
Earlier this week Oprah announced that she would campaign for Barrack Obama in the Iowa primaries. That set off pundits coast to coast, who wondered whether Oprah's endorsement would help or hurt everyone's favorite junior senator. Anyone who still feels like they need an answer to that brain-buster needs look no further than this week's album charts, where Josh Groban's Christmas album, Noel, took the number one spot for the first time since it was released seven weeks ago...
Posted by Ryan Peters on Nov 29, 2007 @ 12:00 am
We've Got You Covered
The Stay At Home Joneses change some times with Bob Dylan.
In 1963, Bob Dylan wrote that the times, they are a changin'. Over 40 years later, the words of one of his most famous songs are still as poignant. However, even great songs like this one can benefit from being covered. On Listen to Bob Dylan: A Tribute, the Stay at Home Joneses took on the daunting task of reviving the title track from Dylan's third album.
Updating a classic song can be tricky, but the Joneses took a simple approach: using only acoustic guitar, vocals, and drums where many would have tried a flashy, modern approach that would have drowned out the essence of the song that is so successfully conveyed through the original recording as well as this one.
The tribute album is filled with great covers, from Anberlin's "Like a Rolling Stone" to the Format's "Simple Twist of Fate," almost every cover is extremely well done and this one is no exception, truly paying tribute to one of the greatest and most influential artists of all time.
The Stay At Home Joneses - The Times They Are A-Changin
Posted by Cory Roop on Nov 29, 2007 @ 12:00 am
A Cause For Attention
This week: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Yellow Bird Project, and Art for Change
Proceeds that go to charity are never a bad thing. But there's no denying that getting something for yourself in the return process makes it feel even better.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is just one of the bands paired up with Yellow Bird Project, a Montreal-based, non-profit initiative. The organization provides the opportunity for band members to design a unique T-shirt, which is then printed and put up for sale on the project's website. All of the profit from T-shirt sales benefits an outside charity, chosen by the band...
Posted by Leen Morrissey on Nov 29, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Across The Pond
Portishead, The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Maccabees in this week's Across The Pond
Interpol's Sam Foragino and Swervedriver's Adam Franklin released their first EP via Itunes under the moniker The Setting Suns. Fogarino said, "I've been a Swervedriver fan from the start, still am. I would have killed just to bang a can for Adam Franklin. Now, he makes sense of my melodies, and turns our ideas into a beautiful din. I feel lucky and alive...and a bit sick from my own sap."
Portishead are set to make their live return next weekend at Britain's installment of "All Tomorrow's Parties...
Posted by Joe Roth on Nov 28, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Takin' You Back
1980's Edition
Kraftwerk - Pocket Calculator (Live) - Oh, those crazy Germans! They've been ahead of the curve for so long that it seems like they are actually behind the times when it comes to music. Maybe the love for David Hassselhoff is what sets them back in the eyes of Americans. "Pocket Calculator" originally came out on 1981's The Computer World. You can find this live version on the album Minimum-Maximum. Don't listen to anyone else, there is no such thing as a bad Kraftwerk album.
The Art of Noise - Moments in Love - Mostly famous from The Prodigy sampling one of their songs (was it in the song "Firestarter" or "Smack My Bitch Up?" Who knows), The Art of Noise were an average band that made one really good record. The band's debut record, (Who's Afraid Of?) The Art of Noise!, came out in 1984. Just like reading a history book, listening to this can certainly be a struggle.
Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way - Taken from 1982's Forever Now, this is one of my favorite Psychedelic Furs songs. Yeah, Todd Rundgren produced this song - but that has absolutely nothing to do with it, I promise. Although they have some solid albums, your best bet is to pick up All of This and Nothing or another greatest hits record. For all those other people who don't like this: Now you know the Psychedelic Furs.
Posted by Greg Herald on Nov 28, 2007 @ 12:00 am