Archive for April, 2009
“Far” isn’t too far after all!
See what I did there with the title of this post? Oh, my lack of cleverness (pretty sure that’s not even a word) cracks me up.
Sire Records officially announced today that Regina Spektor’s new album “Far” will be released June 23 2009.
Look, NME talked about it and spelled her name wrong on the link: http://www.nme.com/news/regina-spector/44001 FAIL.
Let’s all go into the next room and let out a high-pitched scream of excitement!
I recently saw a photograph* from the set of Regina’s new video (no idea what song though) and it looked magical. Artist Brendan Sharkey painted clouds on Regina’s piano and drew the background shots. Sharkey has also been asked to contribute to the album artwork for “Far”, which will no doubt be inspired.
*Out of respect for Sharkey and his work, I am not sure if I’m allowed to share the photo here. We’ll just have to wait until the video premieres!
The Water (2009)
The directorial debut of Broken Social Scene‘s Kevin Drew, The Water is a short film starring Cillian Murphy, Leslie Feist (yep, that Feist), and David Fox. Not particularly a fan of Broken Social Scene or Feist, it was Cillian Murphy’s involvement with the film that caught my attention.
The Water feels almost as if you’re watching someone else’s weird dream about a depressing love story they once read. The scenic shots of wintry landscapes and the emotion Murphy and Fox are able to convey without saying a word pull you in and make you wonder where the story is going. With only a fifteen minute runtime, you’re left wanting more. That’s always the downside to short films, yet also part of their brilliance, how so much can be said in so little time.
Pitchfork is screening the film for one week starting today, April 10. I tried to embed it, but failed.
Just a warning: If you’re not a fan of slow-moving films with little dialogue, this may not be the movie for you. But it’s only 15 minutes, isn’t it worth a shot? Plus, Cillian Murphy! Read an interview Murphy had with IFC about The Water right here.
Stand and Deliver!
If you haven’t already heard that No Doubt are back to own your heart, you might have been living under a rock. Today fans were treated to the release of the bands’ cover of “Stand and Deliver” by Adam and the Ants– their first recorded material together in YEARS.
Excited much?!
Things you should consider while/after listening to No Doubt’s “Stand and Deliver”:
1. This is NOT the band’s “comeback” single. They are still hard at work on album #6 and that “comeback” single will make waves in the months to come. It’s just a fun cover recorded for all the fans who have been eagerly anticipating their return.
2. If you’re asking yourself “Good lord, why does Gwen Stefani’s voice sound so weird?” you have obviously never heard No Doubt’s Self-Titled record or The Beacon Street Collection. There’s more to No Doubt than Tragic Kingdom, you know? And Gwen’s voice has always been part of the band’s appeal, she sounds like no one else.
3. Remember, you don’t have to like it. But that doesn’t mean the rest of us won’t love it.
4. Personally, I love it. (You might have already guessed that.) But it doesn’t mean I’m simply being biased because I’ve been a No Doubter for the last 11 years. I wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of Rock Steady. But this…this I actually love. It makes me happier and more excited than most will ever comprehend.
5. I love hardcore No Doubt fans. They are the best kind of fans in the world. See you all this summer.
excitement!
There’s some very very very exciting news brewin’. I hate to be a tease and I want to share my excitement with you, but I must keep it secret until everything is 100% official. I don’t want to jinx anything, now do I? Keep watching this space.
I’ve seen you, you show it…
New Whale tunes/videos
Noah and the Whale have finished their Club Silencio tour and will soon be coming back to the States to fill our ears and hearts with beautiful folk-influcenced goodness. In the meantime, you can enjoy a recent session with Maps the band recorded before a gig in Italy, which includes a three-part interview and performances of ‘Mary’ and ‘My Door is Always Open’ (new song!).
You can find the video for their performance of ‘Mary’ right here.
Listen to the interview and download their performances FOR FREE right over here.
The interview is in English and Italian, with the boys talking about their name, good movies they’ve seen recently (some very good choices, imo), finishing the new album and making a film to accompany the new songs, as well as talking about being on the soundtrack for a new film premiering at the Cannes Film Festival this year. It’s a ten minute interview, definitely listen if you’ve got the chance!
Wall of Arms cover art!
Yep, The Maccabees have finally unveiled the cover for their second album “Wall of Arms” (released May 4th on Fiction Records). The painting and photograph are the work of British artist Boo Ritson, who is known for literally coating her subjects in paint, photographing them, and creating surreal portraits that the eye mistakes for paintings or sculptures at first glance.
Orlando Weeks (vocals/guitar/wicked dance moves) has written a piece for The Guardian describing what the band wanted for their album art work and their experience working with Ritson:
Both the band and Boo are over the moon with the results. We put everything we had into making the new album and we’re really proud of it. To have the artwork that we set our hearts on is the icing on the cake. None of us Maccabees are comfortable in front of the camera but this was fine, it was an exercise in camouflage. If we had thought at the start of writing the album that not only would a photograph of us be our cover, but that we would be wearing sunglasses and what looks like lipstick, we would have run a mile. But we love it because it’s not really us, even though it is.
You can read the rest of the article here, where he describes what it was like to be coated in paint from head to toe. Personally, I like the artwork. I think it’s different in the sense that you don’t see your generic run-of-the-mill bands doing something like this, but it’s also different for The Maccabees themselves. In the past, their artwork has been the product of Weeks or close friends and it’s been good and become representative of the band, but now they’re taking a step outside of themselves. This seems to be the recurring theme of the new album and with the artwork, “No Kind Words”, and “Love You Better,” The Maccabees are showing the world that they’ve grown and matured as artists, musicians, and as people. And you know what? They’re doing a damn good job of showing it.
The band has put up “Love You Better” on their myspace page again this week. While it’s only a one minute preview for now, the band have promised to upload the full-lenght version of the song in the coming days. So keep an ear out for that!
I remember having seen Ritson’s work in the past and being blown away when I discovered that what I had believed to be paintings were actually photographs of models made to look like paintings. It sounds crazy, but it really is an interesting style that renders very cool and unexpected results. Definitely check out more of her work here!
