John...Posts... » Music

Scissor Sisters Don’t Disappoint at Terminal 5

John Vasko — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:32:16 +0000

I first saw the Scissor Sisters back at Fez Lounge on Great Jones street before they cam out with their debut album. I enjoyed that show but never would have predicted the success they achieved in the UK and Europe with their debut. Although they’re American, their UK stadium-sized success never translated on our shores. I think our masses don’t get quite as exuberant about very campy bands as the British do. Despite this, Scissor Sisters have developed a solid fan base across the U.S. and especially in big cities like NY, LA, and SF.

I’m not as entranced by Night Work as I am by their debut and Ta-Dah but there are definitely some catchy songs, many of which they played last night at Terminal 5. Metromix replied to my Fourquare check-in tweet with a link to some photos from the evening. This was a great thing since my camera battery had died!

Click here on on the image below to see the photos:

Metromix NY Photos of Scissor Sisters at Terminal 5

Videos of Scissor Sisters at Terminal 5:

Scissoring with the Sisters (iheartberlin.de)
Scissor Sisters Kick Off Fairy Tale Tour (spin.com)
Scissor Sisters: Night Work | CD review (guardian.co.uk)
You: Scissor Sisters play up innuendo rather than the music at DAR (washingtonpost.com)

Telephone-The Office Version Turns Gaga into Viral Marketer for Company Teambuilding

John Vasko — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 21:40:37 +0000

Telephone: The Office Version (sent to me by a friend) was created by a company called The Go Game who provides tailored games to companies to promote teambuilding, training, and more. They created this viral video to promote a new product they have called Company Quad. You can read more about The Go Game and Company Quad in my post entitled: Company Teambuilding Exercises—Go Game, Go Social and Go Gaga.

The rumor is that Gaga tweeted this video out herself!

The video is great. My favorite lines are:

Just a week
vacation and I know where I would be
Party in New Delhi
With our outsourced I.T.

Stop callin’, stop callin’,
I don’t wanna work any more
Passive aggressive micro managing manwhore
Stop callin’, stop callin’,
I don’t wanna troubleshoot for
The customers who bought online from our web store.

Viral Promoting 101 – Not Applying It Could Kill Your Organization! (ronmedlin.com)

Album Previews—Good or Bad? And Do You Have Any Sources?

John Vasko — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 04:26:32 +0000

We’ve long been able to illegally download digital music files for free. Many people (eh…like me) don’t go there, but others have had a field day at the artists’ expense. And we’ve also long been able to play single .mp3 files on sites like HypeM , which aggregates .mp3 files from blogs everywhere.

Singles Streaming Everywhere

LaLa.com allowed us to play an album for free for the first time and then we had a chance to buy a Web-only album for a cheap price or .mp3 files at prices competitive with Amazon. Sadly, Apple bought LaLa (R.I.P. LaLa) and we’re left with sites like Rdio and Rhapsody that charge $5 for the privilege that LaLa gave us for free. Let’s see what Apple does with LaLa (if anything) or if the much-hyped British Spotify ever comes to the U.S.

The Album Preview

Once Apple shuttered LaLa, I turned to my tried and true KCRW for inspiration and discovered on their site, The Album Preview. I’m sure this has been happening for a while and I just didn’t know about it. But I do now and I love it. Every week, KCRW adds a new album to their Album Preview page. You can listen to the featured album in its entirety for at least a week, and often for up to a month. There are usually at least 3 or 4 available to listen to at any given time.

I was waiting for my pre-order of the Arcade Fire album The Suburbs and the day before the album was to arrive in my inbox, my friend in London sent me a link to NPR’s Music site and guess what? The album was streaming in its entirety so I was able to listen to it the day before I got it. “We Used to Wait”. That’s the title of one of the songs on The Suburbs and ironically about simpler times when we used to write letters and when we actually did wait for the release date of an album before hearing it. Well, no more. NPR.org/music is a great source for listening to albums in their entirety.

A friend of mine questioned why these sources are streaming entire albums and how this is ‘destroying the music industry’ and hurting artists. I would argue that the music industry has been destroyed for years and it was their inability to keep up with changing times that led them to their current dire situation, i.e. Apple leading the way in music sales. Artists are a different story. Sure, they been affected by people not paying for music but some (like Lily Allen, etc.) have used the Internet to get where they are today.

And many other people under the age of 30 may ask the question: “What is an album?” For those of you who ask this question, please disregard everything preceding this sentence and everything after.

I’m one of those people (eh.. over 30) who still listens to albums. I happen to think that getting your album previewed on a site as well known as NPR is a boon to future sales. Sure, a listener can go to the extra trouble of recording the preview, but most won’t. And if they like it, and have it stuck in their head later, they’ll probably buy it.

So, let’s take a vote:

Do you know of any good sources for Album Previews? Let me know in the comments.

Here’s an album that I listened to in a preview that I may not have otherwise. It’s Ray LaMontagne’s God Willin’ and The Creek Don’t Rise. It’s NOT my usual thing but it’s an excellent album, especially (in my opinion) after the first song.

Arcade Fire Prove They’re Bigger than Madison Square Garden

John Vasko — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 04:10:40 +0000

I’ve often felt sad when a band I love so much becomes big enough to sell out a venue the size of Madison Square Garden, especially if I haven’t yet seen them in concert. Such is the case with Arcade Fire. Why didn’t I ever see them at Central Park Summer Stage or when they played Hammerstein? The 19k-capacity Madison Square Garden is perfectly suited for hockey or basketball games but for concerts, it definitely leaves something to be desired. It’s rare you can get close enough to feel like you’re really experiencing the show. Despite my distaste for the venue (for the purposes of music), Arcade Fire managed to fill MSG with more glorious sounds than I thought possible. And they managed to fill it to near capacity as well. Although the intricacies of their multi-instrument sound couldn’t fully be appreciated in such a large space, they created an electricity that kept the crowd yearning for more.

Arcade Fire at Madison Square Garden Performing "No Cars Go"

The light and video show worked artfully with the performance, complementing it rather than upstaging it. All this provided a great backdrop for the Terry Gilliam directed live broadcast on Youtube, which I was able to catch as it repeated after the show. The AF songs that worked best at MSG were definitely those that are often larger than the albums they’re on, among them “Rebellion (Lies)“, “Wake Up”, “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)”, and “We Used the Wait” from the newly released The Suburbs. The band performed songs from all three albums, although it seemed to be slightly more weighted toward Funeral and The Suburbs.

Arcade Fire Performing on August 5 at Madison Square Garden

I mentioned our going to the Arcade Fire show at Madison Square Garden to a number of people and I was surprised by how many people hadn’t heard of them before. It supports the understanding that their growth to MSG performance status has truly been organic rather than designed. Arcade Fire are an amazing band who I hope continue to make music for long into the future, or at least until I move to the suburbs.

Photo Slideshow of Arcade Fire’s August 5th Performance at Madison Square Garden

The Arcade Fire Set List for August 5th at Madison Square Garden (Via: Brooklyn Vegan)

Ready to Start

Neighborhood #2 (Laika)

No Cars Go

Haiti

Empty Room

The Suburbs

Crown of Love

Rococo

Intervention

We Used to Wait

Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)

Rebellion (Lies)

Month of May

Keep the Car Running

Encore:

Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

Wake Up

Here are a few video highlights of AF’s fantastic performance:

Here’s a Cool Pre-Show Video that Features the Band and Webcast Director Terry Gilliam

To create buzz for the show and their new album The Suburbs, Arcade Fire asked fans to share their images of their suburbs. Here’s a Flickr photo gallery of these photos, some of them quite good.

The Suburbs Photo Gallery

Arcade Fire headlining Madison Square Garden, Spoon open (brooklynvegan.com)
Photos: Arcade Fire / Spoon / Owen Pallett at Madison Square Garden (pitchfork.com)
Arcade Fire and Terry Gilliam Spread ‘Love’ With Madison Square Garden Webcast (spinner.com)
Av Sinensky: Arcade Fire at Madison Square Garden 8/4/2010 (huffingtonpost.com)

Vote on Your Favorite Arcade Fire Album Cover for “The Suburbs”

John Vasko — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 02:03:53 +0000

Arcade Fire is releasing the album “The Suburbs” next Tuesday and I’ve already pre-ordered it from their Website. Adi and I are also seeing them at Madison Square Garden and we scored pretty good seats. A phenomenal force in indie pop music in this decade, Arcade Fire have earned the right to play at the massive MSG. If you haven’t got tickets or don’t yet know them, you can watch them LIVE on Youtube at Madison Square Garden Thursday, August 5th for free. And it’ll be directed by Terry Gilliam.

Pre-order the album here.

Vote on your favorite album cover FURTHER BELOW (see the covers and back covers here) but if you hover your mouse just below, you’ll see all the album covers flipping by your eyes FAST.

Here’s the info on seeing Arcade Fire on Youtube:

Gilliam to direct Arcade Fire gig (bbc.co.uk)
Terry Gilliam To Direct Arcade Fire Webcast (undercover.com.au)
Arts & Leisure Preview: Arcade Fire, ‘Scrappers,’ Patricia Clarkson and More (artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com)
Arcade Fire To Stream Madison Square Garden Show Live On YouTube (beatcrave.com)
Cool Arcade Fire album cover Flash animation (albumartexchange.com)

You’re a Homo – Parody of Gaga’s Alejandro by Sherry Vine

John Vasko — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 17:39:35 +0000

Parodies of Lady Gaga‘s Alejandro are numerous but “You’re a Homo” presented by misssherryvine is one of the only Gaga parodies I’ve seen that is politically charged and takes on closeted politicians. It was just sent to me by a friend who quickly spots these things. Sherry Vine sings the songs title “You’re a Homo” flanked by photos of four prominent republican politicians, Independent Governor Charlie Christ of Florida, Republican Congressman David Dreier of California, Former Republican Senator Larry Craig from Idaho, and Republican Congressman Aaron Schock of Illinois. The video mistakenly states he’s an Independent. Despite this mistake and whether any of these people really are gay, it’s funny. Here’s the real Alejandro video.

“Then when you vote against me
from the capital in DC
can’t you see that you create
a world of hate”

SVIIB—School of Seven Bells—Disconnect from Desire [Album Review]

John Vasko — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 02:04:31 +0000

The best way to listen to Disconnect from Desire, the new full-length from School of Seven Bells is set aside an hour’s time, put up your Do Not Disturb sign, turn your stereo to full volume, and get prepared to journey deep into a psychadelic kaleidoscope of vocal harmonies, pulsating synths, and wall-of-sound guitar. Numerous opinions abound on the direction of SVIIB’s sophomore effort. If I’d had the ability to communicate exactly what I hoped for in Disconnect from Desire, the result would be no different than what it is.

School of Seven Bells (SVIIB) is a trio comprised of twins Claudia and Alejandra Dehaza (formerly of On!Air!Library!) and Benjamin Curtis (formerly of Secret Machines). Their debut album Alpinisms was a huge indie success and Half Asleep was by far the signature track. I was captivated from the moment I heard it but I tend to be a sucker for their successful formula of Harmonies by Twin Sisters + Cool Guitarist.

Disconnect from Desire catapults you head first into its largess with “Windstorm”, said to be reminiscent of U2 whose Edge is rumored to be quite taken by the trio. Personally, I don’t hear U2 in “Windstorm” but it’s a great track. If you’ve never listened to SVIIB before, it’s the harmonies sung by the sisters that immediately draw you in. They’re a focal point of most of the songs on the album, including the powerful “Dust Devil”, where the sisters sing “I know you …” repeatedly amidst a powerful backdrop of pulsating drums, beats, and quirky synths that build to a crescendo and then gracefully place the listener front and center in the face of my favorite track on the album, “ILU”. “I want you to know that… I loved you,” sings Alejandra as the background sound that engulfs her takes on an a undulating and beautiful warp, paying homage to My Bloody Valentine circa “Soon“.

Yes, shoe-gazing giants MBV and M83 certainly seem to influence the general feel of SVIIB and in particular, Disconnect from Desire.

But I’m also continually reminded of one my favorite 80′s artists that I haven’t seen SVIIB compared to much. That would be the Cocteau Twins. Although the Dehaza twins’ voices are disimilar to that of Elizabeth Frazier, it’s more what they do with harmonies and sound that conjures up pleasant memories of being captivated by ”Heaven or Las Vegas” or “Four Calendar Cafe“. It’s the mood they create.

Perhaps it’s an interest in mysticism that accounts for the sigil (symbol representing magical powers) that adorns the cover of Disconnect from Desire. So far, it’s working…

Click to hear the Featured Tracks:

“I L U“

“Babelonia“

Song of the Day: School of Seven Bells – Windstorm (kexp.org)
School Of Seven Bells – “Babelonia” (Stereogum Premiere) (stereogum.com)
School of Seven Bells Preview New Album in New York (spinner.com)
School of Seven Bells Debut New Record Live (spin.com)
School Of Seven Bells invites listeners to connect with Desire (chromewaves.net)
School of Seven Bells: Disconnect from Desire | CD review (guardian.co.uk)

Robyn is #killingme. What’s Killing You?

John Vasko — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 03:12:40 +0000

Robyn is not your average Swedish pop star but then again Sweeds aren’t usually average pop stars. Robyn busted out of any possible middle-of-the-road pop mediocrity her early work was associated with. Her breakout album Robyn in 2007 set the groundwork for Body Talk I with singles like Konichiwa Bitches. Body Talk I is the first of a series of 3 and if the first is any indication of what’s to come, we’re in for some fun. “Dancing on my Own” is the standout dancehall anthem and my favorite track on Body Talk I but an unlikely single is “Don’t Fucking Tell me What to Do”.

It starts of with Robyn repeating “My drinking is killing me”. She then moves to smoking, and e-mail, among other things that are “killing her”. We can all relate.

In a stroke of marketing genius, Robyn manages to market “Don’t Fucking Tell me What to Do” to the entire social media crowd in one fell swoop. On a page off of her Website, http://www.robyn.com/killingme you’ll here the entire song with red, black and baby blue geometric shapes floating toward you along with the words the represent what’s “killing her”. But then comes the twist. Click the links on top right and you can add your own #killingme phrase, which you’ll then see in the middle and on the bottom left

Here’s a visual for Robyn is #Killingme:

(click anywhere on this image or on http://www.Robyn.com/killingme to try it for yourself)

So What’s Killing You?

What’s Killing You? (thedenveregotist.com)
WATCH: Hot New Robyn Video (spin.com)
Robyn – “Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do (Mylo & Sharooz Mix)” (stereogum.com)
Robyn’s Trippy, Interactive 3D Video With Twitter Integration Is #KillingMe (techcrunch.com)

NPR Deconstructs Alejandro – From Gaga to Gregorian Chants?

John Vasko — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:17:39 +0000

: Image by qthomasbower via Flickr

I love NPR and I love Lady Gaga. Some of the banter in this quick sound click discussing what helped influence the sound of Alejandro I can see but others, I can’t. There is a Mashup of Ace of Base’s “Don’t Turn Away” below, where you can judge for yourself. But the greatest similarity in my opinion is the word “Don’t”. I agree with them on Isla Bonita but only because of constant comparisons to Madonna. And Shakira‘s “Whatever, Whenever”, I don’t think so.

I do agree with them few things are truly original. Everything is influenced in some ways by something from a the past. And it’s interesting how they tie Gaga’s Alejandro to Gregorian Chants!

Here’s what NPR had to say:

Pop songs are never born in vacuums, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth pointing out the resemblance between Lady Gaga’s current Top 10 hit “Alejandro” and Ace of Base’s “Don’t Turn Around,” which the Swedish act took to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1994. “Don’t Turn Around” had actually been kicking around for nearly 10 years before Ace of Base took its turn with it. The song was co-written by Diane Warren — the songwriting workhorse whose repertoire includes Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” and Milli Vanilli‘s “Blame It on the Rain” — in the 1980s for Tina Turner, who gave it a torchy spin. It was later covered by the British reggae group Aswad, whose version hit the top of the U.K. charts in 1988.

Read the full article: Lady Gaga vs. Ace of Base

Listen to the quick clip:

Listen to the Ace of Base/Gaga Mashup:

Lady Gaga ‘Alejandro’ Video: Homoerotic Military Fantasy (WATCH, NSFW) (huffingtonpost.com)

The National – “Bloodbuzz Ohio” [Song of the Week]

John Vasko — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 02:48:24 +0000

Right now I’m really into The National’s new album High Violet. It’s certainly a contender for this year’s list of top albums and “Bloodbuzz Ohio”, the first single from High Violet, may be the song of the year. So far, The National are the coolest band of 2010, possibly the coolest band to ever come out of Brooklyn. The video for “Bloodbuzz Ohio” is elegant, melancholic, artistic, and quirky.

John...Posts... » Music

Scissor Sisters Don’t Disappoint at Terminal 5

Click here on on the image below to see the photos:

Videos of Scissor Sisters at Terminal 5:

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Telephone-The Office Version Turns Gaga into Viral Marketer for Company Teambuilding

Related articles by Zemanta

Album Previews—Good or Bad? And Do You Have Any Sources?

Singles Streaming Everywhere

The Album Preview

So, let’s take a vote:

Do you know of any good sources for Album Previews? Let me know in the comments.

Arcade Fire Prove They’re Bigger than Madison Square Garden

Photo Slideshow of Arcade Fire’s August 5th Performance at Madison Square Garden

The Arcade Fire Set List for August 5th at Madison Square Garden (Via: Brooklyn Vegan)

Here are a few video highlights of AF’s fantastic performance:

Here’s a Cool Pre-Show Video that Features the Band and Webcast Director Terry Gilliam

The Suburbs Photo Gallery

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Vote on Your Favorite Arcade Fire Album Cover for “The Suburbs”

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You’re a Homo – Parody of Gaga’s Alejandro by Sherry Vine

SVIIB—School of Seven Bells—Disconnect from Desire [Album Review]

Click to hear the Featured Tracks:

“I L U“

“Babelonia“

Related articles by Zemanta

Robyn is #killingme. What’s Killing You?

Here’s a visual for Robyn is #Killingme:

So What’s Killing You?

Related articles by Zemanta

NPR Deconstructs Alejandro – From Gaga to Gregorian Chants?

Related articles by Zemanta

The National – “Bloodbuzz Ohio” [Song of the Week]