Blogs
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30 Seconds To Mars - 'This Is War' Track By Track Guide Take a sneak peak at Jared Leto's latest project...
By Jon Bye on 19 November 2009
30 Seconds To Mars return on December 7 with their third long-player 'This Is War'. The follow up to 2007's 'A Beautiful Lie' sees Jared Leto and co. embracing the concept album format and stretching themselves in brand new directions. Here Gigwise takes you through each track of the album.
'Escape'
An atmospheric opening track, its a brooding crescendo to a disjointed choir sound. A short track at 2:30 it acts as an effective intro .
'Night Of The Hunter'
A synthy-rock statement of intent mixing their older Linkin Park style inspiration with the moodiness of prog-metal bands such as Tool and A Perfect Circle. Passionate with a pulse-like drum beat its that sure fire single that surpasses 'The Kill' in terms of enjoyability.
'Kings and Queens'
Full on epic space rock, almost certainly designed with stadium in mind. With a little bit of a U2 take but highly affirming and uplifting. “The age of man is over” Jared Leto proclaimers but he's lying - presumably after this it will just be the age of 30 Seconds to Mars.
'This Is War'
'This Is War' is a mediocre affair – a sort of anthemic-rock-by-numbers that leaves you a little numb. Still for 30 Seconds To Mars this will be their 'Black Parade' with its break-down towards the end of the track. Can't blame them for wanting a piece of that type of anthemic number on their album.
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Your New Favourite Band: Free Energy Introducing the heirs to the rock crown...
By David Renshaw on 17 November 2009
Have you heard the new Weezer album? Scrap that, have you heard the last three Weezer albums? They're really not very good at all. What this means is that the rock-pop crown is there to be snatched and Free Energy might just be the band to do that. Hailing from Philadelphia the band make the kind of songs Rivers Cuomo used to write during his lunch break and then add a mix of glam rock anthemics and a healthy dose of credibility courtesy of their links to LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy.
Frontman Paul Sprangers describes a typical Free Energy gig as “Hot dancing girls everywhere. Sweat. Pulsing lights. Emotional Rescues. Fist pumps and rainbow disco lights. Eagle soaring solos. And really cute girls. And boys. And high-fives. Someone probably throws a beer at some point. There's definitely some heckling. And then a slew of fine ladies hanging out at the afterparty.” which sounds pretty good to us and states AC/DC as the band's career he'd most like to emulate.
Listening to tracks like 'Dream City' and the eponymous 'Free Energy' it's fair to say the band stand a pretty good chance of achieving their goals. Doused in a glossy layer of MTV approved pop the songs sound like instant classics, indebted to obvious influences but charged with an enthusiasm and unbridled sense of abandon you can't help but lose yourself in. When the band came over to Britain recently they won fans wherever they went and plan to return to charm even more in February 2010. First up though they've got to finish their new album currently entitled 'Stuck On Nothing' “Expect a mindmelting menagerie of twisting guitar harmonics, big catchy hooks, lyrics about going inside your mind into the city within, and cowbells.” says Paul.
Much will be made of the fact that Free Energy's producer is the beat maker extraordinaire James Murphy. Sprangers is not reluctant to talk about his famous friend though and says, “He brings a sense of unbridled excitement at the prospect of making recorded sounds and music that are equally or more exciting than the recorded sounds and music made by our heroes who inspired us and saved our lives through music. James, like us, feels a great responsibility to do right by the music that blew his mind open.”
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On The Road In Scotland With Sparrow and The Workshop Adventures from their November tour...
By Sparrow and The Workshop on 16 November 2009
Sparrow and The Workshop tour blog from Idlewild support tour, November 2009.
Day one, Selkirk:
On day two we headed to Fat Sams in Dundee, home to the comic (fat) celebrity Desperate Dan. Some people argue that he's buff but I can't see anything past that big belly. Anyway, I digress. We played Fat Sams once before supporting British Sea Power, but that gig was in a bigger room so it was nice to find we were in a smaller, more intimate room this time around. It certainly helps the nerves (god damn nerves!). First up were Make Love, a new band that we recommend you check out immediately. They played a crackin' set and then we hit the stage. Again, the crowd was exceedingly nice to us, even after we gaffed and commented on some sheep sounds coming from the right side of the room, prompting someone to shout out "SHE'S AUTISTIC"...Oops. Hopefully the girl wasn't too offended. We meant no harm.
Day Three:
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Ask Stereophonics Your Questions: Gigwise Q and A You have all week to put them to the band...
By Gigwise on 5 November 2009
Ahead of the release of Stereophonics' seventh studio album 'Keep Calm and Carry On' we're giving you the chance to put YOUR questions to the band.
Simply write a short question in our comments section below and we'll choose the best ten to put to the Kelly, Richard, Javier and Adam next week.
We'll then run a full feature featuring Stereophonics' answers.
The wittier, more incisive or funnier they are then the better the chance your questions have of being picked.
Fire away below:
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The Silent Years' Joshua Epstein On His 10 Favourite Detroit Songs From MC5's 'Kick Out The Jams' to Deastro's 'Toxic Crusaders'....
By Joshua Epstein on 22 October 2009
Here is a list that I have compiled of 10 of my favorite bands (and tracks) from Detroit. They range in era, genre, and popularity -- but to me they tell the story of Detroit.
The Hard Lessons: 'Sound The Silent Alarm' - The Hard Lessons is a trio that's current and just came out with a new record called "Arms Forest". They have so much energy in their live performances it's amazing. This video was filmed in Florida at a crazy guy's film studio (who insists on doing camera introductions for videos for some reason) but it looks awesome and feels hilarious.
Child Bite: 'Bone/Sleep' remix by Scott Allen (Thunderbirds Are Now!) - Child Bite is another current fixture of the Detroit scene and their brand of spazz rock is highly entertaining. This particular song was remixed by Scott Allen, who plays in the band Thunderbirds Are Now! Thunderbirds are pretty much defunct aside from the local show now and again, but when I was first starting The Silent Years they were the biggest band in Detroit.
The Temptations: 'Get Ready' - Detroit has been at the forefront of 3 different genres: Techno, Garage Rock and Motown. I am a fan of Motown before all else, and The Temptations were one of the best groups around. They still do shows around town too! This is them in their heyday though, and they were incredible.
Deastro: 'Toxic Crusaders' - Randy Chabot A.K.A. Deastro is one of my buddies. He is a young and talented songwriter and has really grown quickly. This video is from a live performance on KEXP (which is a great public radio station from Seattle). He and I have worked on a few things together and I hope to do more because he is an immense talent.
Brendan Benson: 'Metarie' - Brendan is one of the nicest guys in rock and roll, and while he's now in Nashville with Jack White, I'm fairly sure he still has his house here which would then make him a Detroiter. Anyhow, this song was recorded in Detroit! It's a great one.
Black Milk: 'Give The Drummer Sum' - Black Milk picked up where J. Dilla left off and is producing some insane stuff. He's very inspiring and I hope to meet him soon and do a few tracks together. I love hip hop and have always wanted to do some hip hoppy material.
Smokey Robinson and The Miracles: 'Shop Around' - As I said prior, I'm a Motown Detroiter, and this is one of the all time greatest songs. Smokey Robinson is the best songwriter in Detroit... There, I said it.
MC5: 'Kick Out The Jams' - Long before garage rock as we know it in the modern sense, these dirty ass punks from Detroit made a lot of noise and did it unarguably well.
Eminem: 'My Name Is' - Eminem is one of the biggest artists in the world and he calls Detroit home. Every engineer in any studio in Detroit can tell you a funny or scary story about him. I realize it's going back a ways, but this track is infectious.
The White Stripes: 'Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground' - This video is one of the best ever made. I love the song, Meg is one of nicest people anyone could ever meet, and the video is fantastic. What more can you say? They started as a garage band and crossed over to all genres. Jack White can do no wrong
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10 Acts I'd Hate To See Headline Glastonbury Avoid these bands at all costs please Eavis'...
By David Renshaw on 6 October 2009
So Glastonbury is apparently edging nearer (isn't it only October?!) but with all the tickets snapped up already we are looking forward to an extra special line up for the festivals 40th anniversary. Obviously the dream line-up discussion is a pub staple and one that Gigwise have looked over here but what about the potential pitfalls?
Having attended festivals with dud headline bands (Razorlight I'm looking at you) I know the importance of having a great band to round off the days festivities. With that in mind lets have a look at the acts who could potentially headline the Pyramid Stage next June but who really shouldn't for all of our sakes.
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10 Headline Acts Perfect For Glastonbury Michael and Emily Eavis, please take note...
By Scott Colothan on 5 October 2009
Celebrating its landmark 40th anniversary, Glastonbury 2010 could potentially be, to use Michael Eavis' well-worn phrase, “the best yet”. With all tickets selling out within 12 hours yesterday - a marked change from relatively sluggish sales in the two previous years - there seems to be a buzz of expectation for a monster year.
While the clichés are rolled out with monotonous regularity saying that Glasto is all about the “experience and unique atmosphere” rather than just the line-up, I reckon those phrases should be banished for next June's spectacle. Glastonbury 2010 needs to deliver headline acts monumental enough to match its landmark anniversary. At a whopping £200 a ticket, the recession hit British public deserves its money's worth too.
Here are ten acts that I believe would make perfect headline acts for Glastonbury 2010 – some are realistic while others are very far-fetched. I'll live in hope though...
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Micah P. Hinson on The Beatles, Elvis and Leonard Cohen A track-by-track guide to his new covers album...
By Micah P Hinson on 25 September 2009
This week, Micah P Hinson released his covers album ‘All Dressed Up And Smelling Of Strangers Volume 1 and 2’ via Full Time Hobby. Featuring his takes on classic songs such as The Beatles' 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps', Leonard Cohen's 'Suzanne' and Frank Sinatra's 'My Way', it's a stunning collection. Here, Micah himself explains exclusively to Gigwise why he picked each song the record:
Slow And Steady (originally by Pedro The Lion) - I was raised in a religious family, but when a dear friend of mine died in a strange car accident, I wasn't able to find a God anywhere who could help support my faulted spirit. Listening to David Bazan’s songs was probably the only thing that kept me connected to the idea of spirituality and the existence of a higher power.
This Old Guitar (originally by John Denver) - John Denver played an enormous part in my childhood. I remember being really young and getting my father to show me how the guitar picking patterns went.
Kiss Me Mother, Kiss Your Darling (originally by Letta C. Lord (lyricist) and George F. Root (composer)) - “This is the oldest American folk song I know. The words are sad and fascinating.”
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Your New Favourite Band: The Antlers Heartbroken loner from New York...
By David Renshaw on 22 September 2009
Until Arcade Fire bother to get in the studio and record another album of epic melodrama it seems we're going to have to make do with scrabbling around in the dust that they have left behind and hoovering up those influenced by the Canadian Funeral dwellers. Luckily for us the dust contains great bands like The Antlers.
Noah and The Whale set the bar high in 2009 by channelling Win Butler et al and now we have The Antlers who combine the loner confinement heartbreak of Bon Iver with the bombastic volume of Arcade Fire in a fragile but explosive cocktail. The band originally started as a solo project for singer Peter Silberman when he moved in to a Brooklyn (where else?) apartment to get away from his friends and family. Whilst locked away in his apartment he wrote the majority of the album 'Hospice', a concept album about illness, dysfunction and death. Eventually the intensity of everything got too much for Silberman and he recruited a band of like minded misery guts to help him record 'Hospice' and play it live.
Despite the band citing Sylvia Plath as an influence (Apparently not much of a disco diva) The Antlers have an uplifting quality to them and 'Hospice' is genuinely joyous at times. The fact that Silberman has found the strength in his solitude to craft these massive pop songs is a testament to his ability and with songs as good as 'Bear' and 'Two' in their arsenal there is no reason this band couldn't go on to emulate the recent success of Fleet Foxes or more pertinently Grizzly Bear. The Antlers are certainly a big deal in America where 'Hospice' was originally released independently but was soon snapped up by the Les Savy Fav owned label Frenchkiss as the band, by their own admission couldn't cope with the requests. Due to popular demand the album is now on its second re-release and continues to grow in hype and popularity.
The Antlers currently have no plans to tour the UK but 'Hospice' is available to buy and the band play the industry meat market CMJ in New York in December.
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Brand New: 'How It Feels When Your Album Leaks' Guitarist Vinnie gives his view on illegal file sharing...
By Vincent Accardi on 21 September 2009
During a recent interview with Gigwise Brand New guitarist Vincent Accardi had some interesting things to say to us about illegal file sharing and how it feels when you album leaks on-line. As Lily Allen has put this topic firmly back onto everyone's agenda now seems a good time to share with you another musicians thoughts on the topic. Here is what Vinny had to say,
“We were devastated when the last record (2007's Devil and God...) leaked. We were in the middle of tracking the record and half of the songs that we had been working on got out there and we didn't even know if they would be on the final record but they were out there on the internet. We were recording in Massachusetts at the time and we all went home for the weekend and the record leaked on the Friday. When I got back to the studio everyone had really miserable looks on their faces and they told me the record had leaked and we were all so upset because those were demo's and half completed so we weren't given the opportunity to present the material in the way we wanted. At least when 'Daisy' leaked it was in it's full form and that makes it slightly easier to swallow.”
“When your album leaks it feels the same as when it's released- it's just out there. I can't imagine how many kids downloaded the album but I know we downloaded it! We were backstage at Reading or Leeds and were getting all these emails saying “The record's out, the record's out” and I just went to whatever website it was and got it. We all looked at each other like 'Alright the record's out now'.”
“Everything is so out of control as far as that stuff is concerned especially as far as anyone even being near having a plan on how to prevent it or protect those affected by it. It's almost become a part of how things are, you expect your album to leak and you expect it to be copied around the world. It was probably more difficult to accept when the technology first came out but we started at the same time as downloads took off so in a way we've never know any different. It's not like we're a band who have been around for twenty years and having every album we release go triple platinum- those guys must feel it a lot more. It's never been something that's affected us, we've always gauged our success by playing live and touring. You just have to accept that it's no longer a business you can make money from, people no longer make money from selling records.”
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