Velvets Fan - posts tagged 'music'

"So, this record, The Age of Adz, is, in some ways, a result of that process o..."

Mon, 27 Dec 2010 09:24:31 GMT

"So, this record, The Age of Adz, is, in some ways, a result of that process of working through health issues and getting much more in touch with my physical self. That's why I think the record's really obsessed with sensation and has a hysterical melodrama to it."

–Sufjan Stevens Discusses His "Mysterious and Debilitating" Health Issues

Yann Tiersen: Dust Lane (new album/artist I heard about via @allsongs. sounds...

Sat, 20 Nov 2010 07:32:17 GMT

Yann Tiersen: Dust Lane (new album/artist I heard about via @allsongs. sounds and looks amazing...)

Interlude I—Dream Sequence in Subi Circumnavigation; excerpt from THE BQE - A...

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 22:54:28 GMT

Interlude I—Dream Sequence in Subi Circumnavigation; excerpt from THE BQE - A Film by Sufjan Stevens

This band simultaneously delights and depresses me. I love their sound, but a...

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 00:44:18 GMT

Smith Westerns - Weekend by forcefieldprThis band simultaneously delights and depresses me. I love their sound, but also would love to be their age again (and looking like them!) ;) Seriously though, they are an excellent new, young band. I bet they go big in 2011, when their second album is released. Via Right Hear.

Tonight I listened to an NPR All Songs Considered podcast called Tunes That G...

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:38:16 GMT

Tonight I listened to an NPR All Songs Considered podcast called Tunes That Got You Through Your Teens. I thought about the artists and songs that affected me in my teenage years. Prince's 'Purple Rain' was a memorable album, just as I hit my teens. 'When Doves Cry' was the standout track, with its sparse beat and beautiful, yet harsh, lyrics.

I listened to bands like REM, INXS and Guns n' Roses throughout my mid-teens.

The revelation for me came when I discovered The Velvet Underground. I think I was around 17 or 18 and I bought a Greatest Hits CD, the image of which adorns this post. It's also where I took the lead image for this site, my personal blog Velvets Fan. I remember browsing through a CD shop at the local mall and coming across this new band that I'd not heard of, or at least didn't know much about. The silver cover, even in the relatively small CD case, intrigued me and so did their story. Discovered by Andy Warhol, etc. So I bought it and proceeded to listen to it many many times over the years. It of course led me to get the rest of VU's CDs, which I devoured constantly through my late teens and early 20s.

I still listen to the Velvets regularly, although not obsessively as in my teens.

Wu-Tang Clan: Top 10 Wu-Tang Albums

Sun, 10 Oct 2010 07:33:44 GMT

I've downloaded the top 3 so far. It's officially my Wu Phase (I went through another Bowie Phase recently, but I haven't explored Wu-Tang Clan before).

http://www.prefixmag.com/features/wu-tang-clan/top-10-wu-tang-albums/16433/

Lykke Li: SOLARIUM. As described on her website: "A major heart break and a p...

Sun, 19 Sep 2010 22:14:32 GMT

Lykke Li: SOLARIUM. As described on her website: "A major heart break and a post tour depression drove a very delusional LL out to the desert with some friends and a super 8 camera. A major sun burn later, some shattered mirrors, I found myself, my ego, my thoughts, my expectations and my image to be a burden, hard to get rid of, if ever possible?"; via Juxtapoz

SMP Ensemble presents "TWISTED ENCOUNTERS" (Local Wellington classical musici...

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:20:26 GMT

SMP Ensemble presents "TWISTED ENCOUNTERS" (Local Wellington classical musicians -- I love this promo poster!)

Guest DJ Jim Jarmusch Previews The All Tomorrow's Parties Music Festival : NPR

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 08:28:09 GMT

Jim Jarmusch is my favorite film director currently, I really loved his latest movie 'The Limits of Control.' This All Songs podcast showcases his eclectic tastes in music. I particularly liked when he said that music often "opens my imagination up" when he's writing a movie.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129529392

The Smith Westerns: "Be My Girl" (Live at Monster Island) (Video)

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:36:36 GMT

The Smith Westerns: "Be My Girl" (Live at Monster Island) (Video)

My Brightest Diamond - To Pluto's Moon - Live in Bordeaux Oct 2008

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:57:06 GMT

My Brightest Diamond - To Pluto's Moon - Live in Bordeaux Oct 2008

My Bloody Valentine - Soon

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:56:11 GMT

My Bloody Valentine - Soon

My Brightest Diamond - It's Over (Roy Orbison) Live @ SXSW

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:56:01 GMT

My Brightest Diamond - It's Over (Roy Orbison) Live @ SXSW

My Bloody Valentine - To Here Knows When (Live)

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:55:25 GMT

My Bloody Valentine - To Here Knows When (Live)

via Arcade Fire > The Suburbs Eight Covers

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 11:00:17 GMT

via Arcade Fire > The Suburbs Eight Covers

My Brightest Diamond

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 08:13:14 GMT

Really enjoying this band, My Brightest Diamond, and their record 'A Thousand Shark’s Teeth.' Orchestral, swirly, romantic.

http://www.mybrightestdiamond.com/biographical-information/

"“They need to quit playing video games, throw away their Auto-Tune program an..."

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 11:38:00 GMT

"“They need to quit playing video games, throw away their Auto-Tune program and cut three strings off their guitar.”"

–Jack White in NME, 3 things new musicians should do

Playing Colors, Not Notes

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 10:49:39 GMT

Jimi [Hendrix] insisted to close intimates that he played colors, not notes, and that he "saw" the music in his head as he played it. His description of his creative process has an eerie similarity to what Dr. Hoffman wrote about his own first acid trip: "Every acoustic perception . . . became transformed into optical perceptions."

Excerpted from Room Full of Mirrors by Charles R. Cross.

Richard's Top 10 Songs/Concerts of 2010 (Jan - Jun)

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 08:38:21 GMT

Richard's Top 10 Songs/Concerts of 2010 (Jan - Jun)

This list, from last.fm, shows the top songs or podcast concerts I've listened to this year. Again, it's probably not entirely accurate - as Last.fm doesn't count everything. But as I scan the list, it captures my favorites.

There are 4 Jimi Hendrix songs on here, all from my favorite album of the year: Valleys of Neptune. This is a posthumous album that was only released in March this year. The title track is amazing and I'm sure I've listened to it more than the 35 times listed :)

I was really into Band of Skulls for a time, although I have to say I haven't listened to them lately.

There are two wonderful live shows listed here: #2, Smith Westerns live at SXSW; and #5, Joseph Arthur, recorded by KEXP this year. I have listened to both shows over and over. Alas I didn't catch Smith Westerns live when I was at SXSW, but the show was thankfully recorded by NPR. Simply put, it re-established my faith in romantically-charged garage-y rock n' roll. It's loose, energetic, harmonic, youthful guitar rock. And who can resist dreamy romantic lustful lyrics like this? (I can't)

Oh, yeah-- I wanna take you home
Oh don't you know, oh don't you know
You keep runnin' through my dreams
Just be my girl
Out there in this world
Be my girl
Out there in this world

Oh, damn-- I love the way you taste
Oh don't you know, oh don't you know
You keep runnin' through my dreams
Just be my girl
Out there in this world
Be my girl
Out there in this world

Joseph Arthur's live show was notable for employing loops to record various guitar and drum sounds live on stage. He also sung and painted at the same time. It was a wonderful solo performance, with lovely lyrics and hauntingly beautiful music.

Richard's Top 10 Music Artists for 2010 (Jan - Jun)

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 08:15:05 GMT

Richard's Top 10 Music Artists for 2010 (Jan - Jun)

According to last.fm, these were the artists I listened to the most in the first half of this year. It's not completely accurate, as not all of what I listen to flows through Last.FM's Audioscrobbler. But it's good enough.

I have had big Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix benders this year. Miles more so in the first few months and Jimi in the past few months (if you add together #2 and #10, then Jimi is only a bit behind Miles). Both were incredibly inventive musicians, each with a unique individuality that was and still is incomparable. Ironically though, both were very similar artists. I's aplenty.

Wilco is at number 3, a) because they are a great band and eclectically brilliant, and b) because I saw them play live in Wellington earlier this year. Band of Skulls (#6) is another band I saw live, in Austin at SXSW - I saw them twice.

Jimi Hendrix - Like A Rolling Stone [I'm on such a Hendrix trip right now... ...

Sun, 23 May 2010 10:26:40 GMT

Jimi Hendrix - Like A Rolling Stone [I'm on such a Hendrix trip right now... this is a great version of the Dylan song.]

Jimi Hendrix Red House Live Stockholm 1-9-69

Fri, 21 May 2010 10:56:47 GMT

Jimi Hendrix Red House Live Stockholm 1-9-69

YouTube - Muse - Undisclosed Desires

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 06:13:45 GMT

YouTube - Muse - Undisclosed Desires

YouTube - Smith Westerns, Live at SXSW 2010

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 04:13:42 GMT

YouTube - Smith Westerns, Live at SXSW 2010

"The risk of hearing damage is roughly calculated by "how loud" and "how long"..."

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:35:34 GMT

"The risk of hearing damage is roughly calculated by "how loud" and "how long" you are exposed to a certain level of sound."

–Best Hearing Protection | Earpeace.com

YouTube - Sondre Lerche @ SXSW 2010 - Faces Down.

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 08:53:19 GMT

YouTube - Sondre Lerche @ SXSW 2010 - Faces Down.

I saw this show, like him a lot - very enthusiastic, energetic and positive. Guitar work is awesome. If I was a girl, I'd probably have a crush on him (forget I said that).

Dessa Darling and DJ Turbo Nemesis perform live at the MPLS Recording School ...

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 09:43:44 GMT

Dessa Darling and DJ Turbo Nemesis perform live at the MPLS Recording School IPR on a rainy evening in Sept. 07

Like this image, from Jakob Dylan's new album 'Women & Country' - via Officia...

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 19:26:23 GMT

Like this image, from Jakob Dylan's new album 'Women & Country' - via Official Photos | The Official Jakob Dylan Site

Band of Skulls @ SXSW; Song Performance - Impossible | PBS Presents | PBS Video

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 05:02:30 GMT

http://video.pbs.org/video/1443460740/

Band of Skulls @ SXSW; Song Performance - Death By Diamonds & Pearls | PBS Presents | PBS Video

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 04:52:50 GMT

http://video.pbs.org/video/1441598736/

SXSW Music Wrap-up

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:25:28 GMT

Following on from my previous post about SXSW Interactive, I'm now jotting down thoughts about my first SXSW Music. After a 2-day trip to New York after Interactive, I arrived back in Austin for the Music festival on Wednesday, March 17. I was ready to relax, after a hectic week that included being on stage at the Paley Center in NYC.

After getting my first taste of the vibrant 6th St, or 6ixth St as it was stated on some signs, I went to Stubb's on Wednesday evening for the NPR party. My favorite band there was The Walkmen, who I also saw at the Digg show at the same location the week before. But I didn't last the distance and see all of the bands, as I was very tired after the travel.

At Stubb's I snapped some furtive pics of my music blog heroes, NPR's All Songs Considered team.

On Thursday I went to my one and only panel, about Miles Davis. I ended up dealing with a RWW business matter all through it, and then I didn't manage to get up in time for other panels throughout the week! So much for the panels.

Music highlights for me on Thursday were Sondre Lerche on the Day Stage (he played solo and I really liked his enthusiasm and guitar work) and Melissa Ferrick in the evening at the laid-back live.create.lounge.

One of my bug-bears about SXSW Music was the extreme volume that some bands played at. On Thursday I saw Cymbals Eats Guitars, an interesting new band that I discovered recently. I was looking forward to seeing them play, but I had to leave after a few songs because they played so loud. A lot of other bands at SXSW played ear-splittingly loud too, but I don't understand why. It means you can't really hear the music, all you hear is screech and noise. Yes I know that my favorite band of all time, The Velvet Underground, also used to play extremely loudly - but they did it mainly to be provocative (I would've found a way to save my ears with them too). For the current generation of bands, why do they want to damage their fans' ears? Play loud by all means, but not so loud that it distorts the actual music.

Cymbals Eat Guitars - dudes, turn it down!

On Friday I got up late and saw the likes of Diane Birch and Jakob Dylan play on the Day Stage. The highlight of Friday was seeing Band of Skulls at the lovely Beauty Bar/Palm Door venue. I'd seen them at the PBS party the week before and this was a slightly heavier version of the same show. This band, a three-piece, plays hard but with melody and structure. This is my favorite pic that I snapped on my iPhone, just before the show, of the tall woman bass guitarist heading on-stage. It's blurry but beautiful, I think.

Saturday turned cold and windy suddenly. I went to the Seattle party in the afternoon dressed in my light jacket, but had to return to my hotel afterwards to put on my heavy jacket. In the evening I had plans to get into the famous Antone's bar for the Alex Chilton of Big Star tribute. I got in before the first band all right, but the venue was rather tiny and the amplifiers way too loud. There was literally no escape from the tsunami of sound, so rather than go deaf that evening I wandered out after the first act (a pretty bad David Bowie wannabe from Bristol).

I then went to the Central Presbyterian Church (an actual church) and saw The Watson Twins, a couple of beautiful brunettes who sang sweet harmonies above a melodic, grinding organ and guitar. A bass and drums rounded out the band. I was impressed by the twins' original songs, but also a cover version they did of Sade's 'Sweetest Taboo.' After the show, I bought their latest CD and complimented one of the lovely (and tall!) ladies about that cover. They signed my CD and I left with a smile on my face.

I then briefly checked out Titus Andronicus at Red 7 off 6th St, but left after a couple of songs. While normally I like a fair bit of heavy guitar music, by that stage at SXSW Music I'd had enough of aggressive guitar rock. A lot of the bands at SXSW seemed to be thrashing about on-stage, or flailing on their guitars. Virtually every place I passed on or about 6th St had the same thing, bands trying too hard to play 'crazy' rock. So that, along with the deafening sound in a lot of places, had worn me out.

I would've killed for a great acoustic show at that point, tbh. Instead I found that even the Church had turned the amps up, when I returned there.

I walked past Antone's again, at about 11.30, with the faint hope of getting in (with ear plugs in my pocket) and seeing the Big Star tribute. But the line was expectantly long, so I called it a night.

The wonderful Band of Skulls

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed SXSW Music, although next time I will prepare myself better. I could've done a better job seeing more diverse types of bands and I didn't take advantage of some of SXSW's features well enough (e.g. I only discovered the express line badges on the final day). Partly that was due to the information overload of SXSW, but partly it was due to me not preparing well enough. And I totally missed Muse, one of my favorite bands!

As noted above, next year I think something should be done about the extreme volume some of the venues play at. It's not fun or musical, just uncomfortable and dangerous for our hearing.

I'd also probably not want to go again on my own - I think I was expecting a few Interactive folks to stay for Music, but none of my friends there did.

On the positive side, I really enjoyed Band of Skulls, The Watson Twins, Sondre Lerche and several other acts that I never get the chance to see at home.

Also I loved walking up and down 6ixth St, with the fesitval atmosphere, yummy Chilli dogs and pizza (special shout-out to Death Metal Pizza!), and colorful crowd.

Austin is a wonderful, vibrant town. I got to see some of the more local flavor today (Sunday) when I checked out Domy Books and then the cafes and cute shops in the South Congress St area. I'll definitely be back!

SXSW 2010: The Walkmen, Live In Concert : NPR

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:21:03 GMT

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124051581

The Walkmen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:17:57 GMT

Seen this band twice at SXSW, really good.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walkmen

Ohhh, that's my company listed there!

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:18:30 GMT

Ohhh, that's my company listed there!

Joseph Arthur, 'Crying Like a Man,' live on KEXP. This is amazing - he uses l...

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:23:34 GMT

Joseph Arthur, 'Crying Like a Man,' live on KEXP. This is amazing - he uses loops to record the guitar and drum sounds live on stage, then he sings *and* paints at the same time. Incredible performance, lovely song too.

Musician Finds a Following Online - WSJ.com

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 08:11:57 GMT

Bon Iver

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123060241431841475.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

The Digital Destiny - A Music Collaboration: Bundle Packages = The 2009 Artist Release Strategy

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 23:12:17 GMT

http://adamwexler.blogspot.com/2008/12/bundle-packages-2009-release-strategy.html

MySpace.com - Crystal Stilts - BROOKLYN, New York - Psychedelic / Minimalist / Punk - www.myspace.com/crystalstilts

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 03:45:40 GMT

sinKing was the first song on auto-play on Crystal Stilts' MySpace page.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=58881908

Crystal Stilts

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 03:44:27 GMT

Discovered this NY band via KEXP live show. Velvets influence, in jangly guitars and organ (a la VU live 69). Lead singer has a Joy Division sound about him. Cool band, going to listen to more.

http://www.last.fm/music/Crystal+Stilts

NPR Listeners Pick The Year's Best Music : NPR Music

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:18:23 GMT

Fleet Foxes number 1

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98092448