Greg's List
Because owning a boxset makes you a little more legitimate.
Who doesn't want to spend forty or fifty dollars on a CD collection? Since we all know the more you spend, the better quality you get - here's some box sets to buy. You may have to build a custom shelf out in the garage to hold all of these, but don't let that stop you. Put this stuff on your Christmas list, kiddies. There's no way your parents can say no to buying you music they're actually familiar with...
Posted by Greg Herald on Nov 15, 2007 @ 12:00 am
We've Got You Covered
A cover is hit or miss. HEAVE gives you the hits.
It's not often that anyone who claims to have even half-decent taste in music would recommend listening to an Avril Lavigne song. In this instance, we're going to make an exception. The teeny-pop song, "Complicated," is actually a pretty good tune - if it's being sung by Ben Gibbard. This is one of the times when it can be said with confidence that the cover is far better than the original. Sometimes when a song is covered, the emotion of the original is lost, or maybe the new version just plain sucks (listen to Sheryl Crow's version of "Sweet Child O' Mine" and you'll understand what I mean).
Gone is the annoying Canadian emo-girl, replaced by possibly my favorite voice in music. He even takes time to poke fun at Avril by over annunciating a few words in the same awkward way that she does. So what if he stops singing for a brief moment to tell the crowd, "Shut up, this is serious." Yes, he does forget the words late in the song, but do the words really matter? I mean come on, it's an Avril Lavigne song.
Posted by Cory Roop on Nov 15, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Commercially Aware
You can call them sellouts, but we call them career moves.
For this week's Commercially Aware, we focus on some hometown favorites: Wilco. The group licensed songs from Sky Blue Sky in early 2007 to be used in a few Volks Wagon ads. When the campaign began to air, a few uptight fans got their emo bras in a twist about the band selling out or failing to adhere to some strict standard of anti-Volks Wagonism...
Posted by Ryan Peters on Nov 15, 2007 @ 12:00 am
A Cause For Attention
Some bands pick a platform, some tours take a stand - Here's music news that doesn't highlight the messenger, just the message.
This week's focus: Live Earth and...well, a whole bunch of people.
Some may remember the bizarre day that was July 7, 2007.
Televisions in hipster bars and coffeehouses were tuned to the coverage of Live Earth, a series of concerts (stamped with the face of Al Gore) that brought together more than 150 musical acts in locations around the world...
Posted by Leen Morrissey on Nov 15, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Windy City Watch
Oh Chicago, you give us our home, and many great bands. This week Lord of the Yum-Yum hits the Watch.
The world of music can get pretty serious at times. Music is such an emotional thing; it's the soundtrack for weddings, birthday parties and funerals. The sounds we love usually have some pretty heavy or deep feelings attached to them. But sometimes you just have to break out of being serious, and truly appreciate something ridiculous, original and full of carefree fun. Chicago performer Lord of the Yum-Yum is just the person to combine all of those traits and bring a huge grin to your face no matter how you feel...
Posted by Lisa White on Nov 14, 2007 @ 12:00 am