Archive for June 2008
This bit of pleasant and surprising news just reached the desk of Loudersoft, a couple of days late (the kiss of death in the blogosphere of course) but still fresh! We’re thrilled to hear and announce that, according to quintronandmisspussycat.com, Quintron’s new album will be released by Memphis’s own Goner Records. Here’s the “official info”:
So….the secret is out and not secret any more. Major big time record label GONER RECORDS of Memphis TN, will put out the new Quintron record. We sincerely apologize to Colombia, Matador, Vice, and Time Warner for turning you down but the deal that GONER RECORDS offered us was just too good to pass up. Maybe next time. The title and the cover and all the music is still a big secret….unless you live in New Orleans cuz I like to DJ my own shit….a lot. The cover has a snake on it…oops. shut up, no YOU shut up! There is a song about Freedom. Shut UP!! release date Oct. something or other, 2008. World tour to follow unless. Thank you Goner…”friend-ghetto” 4 life.
We’re looking forward to see where this exciting development leads us.
Have a wander over to check out this week’s Muxtape at http://loudersoft.muxtape.com and listen to this week’s mux. Included are:
01) West Indian Girl – All My Friends (Jason Bentley Remix) 6:36
02) The Notwist – Good Lies 5:23
03) David Ford – Requiem 4:44
04) Ivan Colón – Gabriel 3:52
05) Aimee Mann – Looking For Nothing 3:47
06) KaiserCartel – Oh No 3:07
07) Charlotte Gainsbourg – The Operation 3:59
08) Zero 7 – Crosses 6:39
09) Marlena Shaw – California Soul (Diplo/Mad Decent Remix) 4:09
10) Friendly Fires – On Board 3:46
11) Steinski – It’s Up To You (Television Mix) 5:05
12) Coldplay – Death And All His Friends 6:19
12 songs, 57:27 minutes
It’s awkward, right? I just sit here and listen to new music and tell you what I dig and why. Usually, it’s nothing more than I hear something and I just want to hear it over and over again for a while. I’m not a complicated dude, really. In the case of Ivan Colón, I’m thrilled in the discovery of another wonderful little song that is just peeking up over the ground. You see, there’s welcome hints of Donovan and Sufjan Stevens shining through every note of the song “Gabriel”. I don’t mind that this song is performed by neither of those artists, really. I’m just thrilled to have found another song that I hope will carry me into the autumn singing as happily to myself as I am right now, trampling my way through the fallen leaves.
Ivan’s EP Despite The Atlantic appears July 15th on Milan Records. Visit him on MySpace by clicking here.
I normally shy away from reviews of artists whose sound follows so clearly in the paths of (and occasionally closely resembles) those of others whom I enjoy — namely Bruce Springsteen, Conor Oberst, Bob Dylan, Billy Bragg, Damien Rice and the like. I was sent a press reminder about David Ford’s terrific release Songs For The Road and had a chance to listen through the album. While I was listening I was stopped dead in my tracks by the next-to-last song on the record, entitled “Requiem” — a completely appropriate companion to the annals of historically great protest songs. “Every administration blames the one from last year,” Ford sings to us as if we should know he is right, “so when consequence calls, there’ll be nobody here.”
It’s more than simply a wonderful piece of work, fierce in its delivery and angry in its resonance — “Requiem” strikes me as a important and necessary piece of songwriting for the times in which we are currently living. It bespeaks and bemoans the tragedy of our excesses as a people, shames us (as good protest songs should) for being the victims of our own gluttony and fear. It paints a picture of the kind of fear that grips us for refusing to accept our part in the way things have become. This is a song whose time is right now, for better or worse. We’d all better start learning the words.
BONUS: David Ford performing live at legendary Sun Studio in Memphis.
Visit David on MySpace at http://myspace.com/davidford. Buy Songs For The Road from Amazon by clicking here.
“JUST SAY THIS OUT LOUD IN A ROOM FULL OF PEOPLE, ‘KANYE DOESN’T CARE ABOUT GIVING A GOOD PERFORMANCE.’ CAN ANYONE HONESTLY SAY THAT ?????????”
To the best of my knowledge, nobody with any sense is ever going to say that, and for the record I’m pretty sure Kanye West wants to give the best performance every time he takes the stage. Being on top of the world of music, there’s nothing but people trying to come down on you and, and people will take any opportunity to lash out at you when you’re flying high.
Now, I don’t want to take any credit for pushing the issue, but my posting on Monday asking Kanye what the deal was seems to have reached its intended recipient. In his personal blog, Kanye West himself has finally responded (in appropriate Kanye fashion) to the massive outpouring of criticism towards his appearance at Bonnaroo from all areas of the media. In his response, Kanye holds both Bonnaroo festival organizers and Pearl Jam (who stayed nearly an hour past their scheduled time) for the edited and delayed show. Kanye’s furious response and enthusiastic apology to the fans, frequently in all caps, is littered with an intense anger.
So listen, Ye. First off, I would bet you don’t read blogs and, most likely, you don’t read mine. That’s okay with me. I am just another fucking fan out there who lost his cool after being up all night. I was tired and cranky last week. I want to apologize for being a dick. I admit that my comments were pretty harsh on you about what went down at Bonnaroo. I sent my Idolator update on the morning after it happened, four or five hours sleep after the fact, so I was still pretty stung about the delays and all that. Not that it probably matters to you, but I wasn’t trying to get in the “‘Ye Hater” line.
But I didn’t understand what caused all the drama last Sunday morning and, a week later, we still don’t know for sure. You haven’t said anything about it, and I’m surprised.
Aimee Mann’s new album is being hailed by some as “a masterpiece” and I’m hard-pressed to disagree. Have you ever wanted a chance to sing with someone as awesome as Aimee Mann on stage? There’s still time to make a video of you singing her new single “Freeway” and submitting it to the Aimee Mann Freeway Contest on YouTube. Visit http://aimeemann.com/freewaycontest/ for further details.
To prove how easy it is, I made this in just a few minutes. It speaks for itself, so I won’t try. What is there to be scared of? Give it a shot! There’s currently only 50 entries, and you have until July 7th to enter.
The next time one of your blogger friends tells you that “blogging aint easy”, take their word for it and give them a hug. From time to time, we need hugs to keep us focused on doing what we do — delivering the goods to all of you music fans out there.
In answer to the questions posed by three of our readers, I’ll attempt to make an answer by sort-of not answering directly. “We’re working on it”, is the most honest answer to the question at hand. We have been working with the wonderful people at Idolator to generate stories and, so, the coverage we’ve generated will be appearing there once it’s ready.
We are aware that people like the “instant gratification” of regular updates via Twitter or tiny updates, but this year we’re trying to do something of greater quality and vision for all of you. We went to Bonnaroo looking to talk to all of you, the music fans who make the festival a reality, to ask what you think about various topics. What we learned is the basis for something much bigger than what we originally planned on doing.
Much thanks to everyone who we met at Bonnaroo 2008 — artists, fans, workers, volunteers — for making the experience memorable. We’ll tell you all about it really soon. Promise.
I don’t normally post these but this record actually isn’t too bad. I mean I probably wouldn’t buy it personally but you’ll probably dig it, right? I think Creaky Boards Coldplay have a fairly original take on music from time to time.
Click Here To Listen To Coldplay’s Viva La Vida.
Click Here to buy Viva La Vida [cd|mp3] from Amazon.
COLDPLAY – “VIVA LA VIDA” NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
(all dates are subject to change)
Date City Venue Public On Sale Date
7/14 Los Angeles, CA The Forum SOLD OUT
7/15 Los Angeles, CA The Forum SOLD OUT
7/18 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion 6/14
7/19 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena on sale now
7/23 Chicago, IL United Center 6/14
7/25 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center on sale now
7/27 Pemberton, BC Pemberton Festival on sale now
7/29 Montreal, QC Bell Centre 6/14
7/30 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre 6/14
8/2 Hartford, CT XL Center on sale now
8/3 Washington, DC Verizon Center on sale now
8/4 Boston, MA TD Banknorth Garden 6/14
10/20 Ottawa, ON Scotiabank Place TBA
10/21 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena on sale now
10/26 East Rutherford, NJ Izod Center TBA
11/3 Detroit, MI The Palace of Auburn Hills on sale now
11/7 Orlando, FL Amway Arena TBA
11/9 Sunrise, FL BankAtlantic Center TBA
11/11 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena TBA
11/13 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center on sale now
11/14 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center on sale now
11/16 Oklahoma City, OK Ford Center on sale now
11/18 Houston, TX Toyota Center TBA
11/19 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center TBA
11/21 Denver, CO Pepsi Center Arena TBA
11/22 Salt Lake City, UT Energy Solutions Arena TBA
11/26 Phoenix, AZ Jobing.com Arena on sale now
