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: OKGo and DonorsChoose.org.
Famous for pom-squad routines and treadmill gymnastics, the members of OkGo have already proven that their songs are perfect for that Saturday night dance party that’s been in the works for years. Next on their list is getting help with what Damien Kulash (vocals and guitar) calls “a little good old-fashioned world-saving...
Posted by Leen Morrissey on Nov 01, 2007 @ 12:00 am
The Importance of Thriller
It's a movie, it's a video, it's the <i>Thriller</i>.
Perhaps no film has had as much an influence on the music industry as Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Yes, the album by the same name has sold over 104 million copies, was the best-selling record two years in a row and remains the best-selling album in the history of time; but these successes are due in no small part to the music video produced for the title track...
Posted by Diego Baez on Nov 01, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Across The Pond
HEAVE jumps from lily pad to lily pad for UK indie news that matters.
Tom Clarke of The Enemy thinks Johnny Borrell of Razorlight is an idiot. Clarke explained in a recent XFM interview, "Having his own tour bus or chauffeured car that drives behind? And at Reading [Festival] apparently he had his own dressing room, his own tent that was his. I'm mean what's that about? "And I just think it's a shame that someone who came from nothing who has clearly got talent can develop an ego and make people dislike him...
Posted by Joe Roth on Oct 31, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Missed Out Music
Sometimes an album gets lost in the shuffle. HEAVE reminds you of its wonderful existence.
Koufax is the reason I had friends in college. It was tough to attend a small Midwestern Liberal Arts school and find people who appreciate a Moog as much as I do; but I found these people and I clung to them. These friendships seemed to blossom as much as the musical tastes did, and eventually best friends became larger music collections. It’s pretty odd, I can look back at my music library and tell you who introduced me to what band, or who I introduced a band to – but I couldn’t tell you any topics of the papers I handed in during my freshman, sophomore, or junior year.
College is an awkward time, especially starting out. You are forced to make friends through ridiculous situations. Most of my awkward situations involved around figuring out what type of music someone listened to. I figured I could tolerate someone if we at least agreed that Social Life was a good album.
It could be argued that you really aren’t friends with someone until you dance stupidly with them. Whether it’s in a dorm room, a kitchen or in the middle of nowhere in a field, boogying down solidifies a friendship. Social Life was the first album I danced incoherently to in college, and it helped blossom into friendships that are still as strong as “the robot? I pulled out that night on the dorm room dance floor.
Take a listen to “Simply Passing Time,? a delightful little romp about sexual activity to make the day go by faster. Yeah, college was a weird time.
Posted by Wes Soltis on Oct 30, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Windy City Watch
Oh Chicago, you give us a home - along with many great bands. This week Sharks hit the watch.
This week's Windy City Watch is technically a stolen find from our buddies at Chicagoist, who wrote about this band a few weeks ago; but why not share a good thing? Enter Sharks, a poppy, danceable outfit here in Chicago. Before I even gave their music a listen, I knew I'd be smitten. First, I have a slight love of sharks (have you ever seen Shark Week on Discovery Channel?). Second, take a gander at this gem of a bio from their Myspace; "The Sharks started their music career not as a band, but as an Islamic terrorist group...
Posted by Lisa White on Oct 30, 2007 @ 12:00 am