W♥M

Update (May 2013)

Setlist courtesy of Brian Read More Johnny Marr The first band that I fell for was The Smiths. By the time I discovered Morrissey (on the Johnny Carson show in 1991), The Smiths were long gone. When I said that I fell for the band, I really meant it …

MARR-VELOUS
Yeah, I know, I missed Marr at the Varsity Theater, but I think I got a better deal with a personal one-on-one with the legendary guitarist at Twin Town Guitars. An employee there (Andrew Bell) said that Marr stayed over three hours to sign and personally talk to everyone in line:

"He is that kind of person, and he did stay until everyone in line had a chance to ask questions, greet him and get a personalized autograph. He's a great, generous person. He stayed at Twin Town for over three hours greeting fans."

It did make me think that I went to see Johnny Marr + the Healers at First Avenue on Wednesday, May 7th, 2003. I still have a stolen poster, which lists a couple of key things about that show: (1) it was a 21-and-over gig, (2) $20 at 6pm, (3) DAMF booked and presented the show, (4) Drive 105 was promoting it, and (5) Paloalto was the opener. This was a decade ago, so I actually have a very poor memory of it. I remember I was in front, it wasn't that crowded and I did touch Johnny Marr's arms and guitar.

Special thanks to Brian who provided a photograph of the setlist from that night. Yes, no Smiths songs, which was disappointing, but hey, he threw in a Bob Dylan cover for "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right".

On another note (and I did verify this with Marr when I met him) that Johnny Marr wanted to recruit Ian Brown (Stone Roses) to sing for his pre-Smiths band called Freak Party. Obviously that all changed when The Nosebleeds' Morrissey became singer of Freak Party. This information was from STONE ROSES: WAR AND PEACE book from St Martin's Press. I will have a review of the book up very soon.

MINNESNOWTA
The weather here in Minneapolis blows. It is freezing and I think it even snow for a bit on Wednesday. I thought they said it was going to snow today (05/03)! Yes, we're talking May 2013. Will Spring ever arrive? I came out of hibernation earlier last month, but it looks like I might have to stay indoors for a bit longer.

MY NEX CAMERA
I have a new camera. After rave reviews from Engadget (and other places), I have purchased the Sony NEX-3N. This is the perfect camera that I've been looking for: a small/compact camera that can produce DSLR-quality photographs. I did request a few recent shows to do some real-world testing: Twin Forks (previously known as Twin Falls) and Cloud Cult at First Avenue.

The former had terrible low-light (as usual for 7th Street!) I will try and see a show at Triple Rock - certainly the worst when it comes to bad lights.

For the price ($500) the NEX-3N is quite a bargain, considering its more expensive brother (NEX-5N) is double the cost but only offer slightly better options. The only downfall in this nearly perfect camera is its battery life. Shooting a regular show with turning on and off (for a total of on-time of about 15 minutes), will drain the battery to about 80%. Charging also seems to take forever. Otherwise, I am so impressed with the camera that I may invest in and get a 200mm e-mount lens. The kit lens only zooms in about 50mm.

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU
This Saturday is known as Star Wars Day (May the 4th). It's also Free Comic Book Day, which usually falls after or near a release of a comic book movie. This year, it would seem that FCBD is following Iron Man 3, which comes out this Friday (today?).

Although I thought the first Iron Man movie was alright, I wasn't that excited to see the sequel, and probably less than excited to see the upcoming movie. I'll probably pick up the Blu-Ray, but will probably skip the theatrical release.

Anyway, if you live near a comic book store, just show up on Saturday and get free comic books. Lists of free comics is available on www.freecomicbookday.com.

Some comics of interests:

SUPERMAN SPECIAL EDITION

TMNT NEW ANIMATED ADVENTURES

WALKING DEAD SPECIAL

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE HULK AGENTS OF SMASH #1

DC NATION SUPER SAMPLER #1

JUDGE DREDD CLASSICS

VALIANT MASTERS SHOWCASE ED (mostly for Barry Windsor-Smith)

SET PHASERS TO PUNS
Again, I love Star Trek. I own all the DVDs and didn't feel the need to upgrade. That is… until I finally experience the high-definition of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS in theaters last week. I was so impressed that I picked up Season 3 on Blu-Ray with a $5 extra to grab The Best of Both Worlds on BD at Target.

I have not watched everything, but a couple of notes: (1) Wesley Crusher has pimples, which I've never noticed before, (2) on HD, I also noticed seams in the costumes, (3) Everything looks so much better, especially the rich colors and extraordinary details, and (4) on a few episodes are audio commentaries. Overall, I love it; it's like the series again for the first time.

Random note: I have some duplicate DVDs that I will likely take into Best Buy and convert them for $5 and buy Men in Black III Bluray Steelcase, which is on sale at the moment for $18. With $5 taken off, it'll be $13, which is a "steel".

CROFTING THE PERFECT TOMB RAIDER
I picked up the Target Steelcase version of the new Tomb Raider game. I beat the game last night (with about 75% complete) in about a good 4 hours of playtime. I tried going back to do all the side quests to make it 100%, but quickly got bored of re-playing levels. What does this mean? Well, when you play it, it's like a sequential movie… when you get to the end, there's really no reason to go back and replay it again.

Also, the game seems to be inspired by ABC's "Lost" and that movie "Descent" (especially when Lara Croft rises from a pool of blood).

Anyway, as much as I love playing the game, I am regretting paying $60 to buy it new. It's definitely a rental game. I know there are online components to the game, but I have no desire to explore it… so my time with the game is at an end.

FREEDOMFIZZLE
You know that saying, "you get what you pay for?" It's true.

I was initially happy with the service, but after a few months of usage, I can safely say that Freedompop is one of the worst ISP I've ever dealt with. I think when I downgraded my service to its basic $10 a month, they started consistently disconnecting me from the internet. I have tried moving the modem closer to the windows with no change in service. I'm going to cancel my service this month and only keep its "free" service (for my Skype telephone).

Since the service is so bad, I am currently shopping around for a more reliable internet service (again). I may eventually just give in and call Century Link for its DSL service.

So the short answer is: avoid Freedompop.

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Johnny Marr signing at Twin Town Guitars, Minneapolis (04/23/13)

Tour Dates 04/25/13 Chicago, IL Metro / Smart Bar 04/26/13 Detroit, MI Magic Stick 04/27/13 Toronto, ON Phoenix Concert 04/29/13 Washington, DC 9:30 Club 04/30/13 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero Theatre 05/02/13 New York, NY Irving Plaza Powered 05/03/13 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall 05/04/13 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club Read More Johnny Marr Live in Minneapolis and can't afford the $25 clams to see Johnny Marr play non-Smiths songs on his The Messenger tour? No problem, if you've nothing on April 23rd from 1pm - 3pm, you can swing over to Twin Town Guitars …

The first band that I fell for was The Smiths. By the time I discovered Morrissey (on the Johnny Carson show in 1991), The Smiths were long gone.

When I said that I fell for the band, I really meant it. I tracked down every Smiths 12", every official (and bootlegs) release, and every book and magazine that I could find. They were the really the first band that I became obsessed over.

HEAVEN KNOWS I'M MISSING MORRISSEY'S SIGNATURE

Of course, now that I'm "older and wiser", I've sort of lost my enthusiasms for The Smiths. When I heard that Johnny Marr (guitarist) was doing a signing at Twin Town Guitars in Minneapolis, I was originally hesitant to come greet him. After all, I had work and duty. But it was all worth it in the end, when feelings of complete fandom overtook me as I listen quietly to whatever Marr had to say about his long career at a musician.

I thought this was strictly a signing, but apparently about two hours of it was just Q&A from fans. It was also a very rare public appearance/signing by Johnny Marr, who admitted right off the bat, "I don't know what to do, I don't normally do these sort of things," referring to the signing.

I didn't remember all the questions, but one of the most memorable questions was about The Pretenders "Kid". Watch the video. And I apology for the bad framing, I was too busy enjoying watching Marr than to pay attention to the recording.


Another great question came from an 8-year old boy who asked how many guitars Johnny Marr own. After a fair amount of random thoughts, it was best summed up with, "70's a lot, isn't it?" Everybody laughed. Apparently, Marr, in his massive collection of Fender Jaguar guitars, designed and built his perfect Johnny Marr Jaguar Guitar for Fender. It took him five years, doing the play-test, making sure the neck is long and slender enough, making sure the weight and feel of it… but yeah this was his perfect baby. The very limited guitar is available for $2,419.99.

Another question was about The The and Marr clarify that he and Matt Johnson were friends before the Smiths. He never got a chance to join Matt Johnson, because of the Smiths, but when they broke up, it only made sense that Johnson & Marr got back together to produce music.

Marr's favorite project to date is his work on the movie "Inception" (which, honestly, I had no idea he worked on the score with Hans Zimmer). I own the movie on Blu-Ray, so I may pull out the disk and put it on this weekend.

Anyway, I had a great time. I had him sign the "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" (red sleeve) because I already had Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce signatures, from meeting them previously. When Marr saw this, he mentioned to me, "I'm seeing Andy next week!" indicating that the two are still friends.

I didn't stay long, but seeing so many in line, I figure it would have taken at least another hour for Marr to talk (and sign) to everyone individually. But he seems like the nice kind of guy that would stay until the very last person in line.

Johnny Marr at Twin Town Guitars, Minneapolis (04/23/13)

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Britpop Now!

Read more Britpop. Blur, Suede (new song), Pulp ("new" song), and Stone Roses were recently covered on W♥M #167.

Read More Johnny Marr Lots of Radiohead's Ed & Phil and Johnny Marr (The Smiths) and lots of Wilco. In fact, there were one or two comments about how they thought it was such a clash of quintessentially British and American sounds.

JOHNNY MARR
johnny-marr.com

If you know me, you know that I'm actually a huge Smiths fan. I discovered the band years after they broke up through Morrissey, who came into my world in 1991 on the Johnny Carson show. Once I saw Morrissey singing about his friends in hell, I knew I had to find out more about Moz. This was pre-internet, so most of the information I had to work with came in the printed form: letters, fanzines, magazines, and books. It was only a matter of time did I get my first Smiths album, The Queen is Dead, at Tower Records. I don't care what anyone say, that album is perfect from top to bottom.

In case you haven't figured it out, Johnny Marr is the legendary guitarist from The Smiths. He co-wrote/wrote all the Smiths' songs and eventually went on to a ton of other solo projects post-breakup in 1987. Marr acted as "guitarist-for-hire" on various project, such as The Cribs, Modest Mouse, but he's finally decided to release a new solo album called The Messenger, coming out February 26th. I suppose this is the follow-up to his 2003's Johnny Marr and the Healers album (which I caught them live at First Avenue).

With a confirmed appearance at Coachella, Marr decided to put together a North American tour in April and early May:

04/11/13 Las Vegas, NV Pool at Cosmopolitan 04/12/13 Indio, CA Empire Polo Club 04/13/13 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore 04/15/13 Seattle, WA Neumos 04/16/13 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater 04/18/13 Santa Barbara, CA S Barbara Bowl 04/19/13 Indio, CA Empire Polo Club 04/21/13 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater 04/22/13 Omaha, NE Waiting Room

04/23/13 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theater 04/25/13 Chicago, IL Metro / Smart Bar 04/26/13 Detroit, MI Magic Stick 04/27/13 Toronto, ON Phoenix Concert 04/29/13 Washington, DC 9:30 Club 04/30/13 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero Theatre 05/02/13 New York, NY Irving Plaza Powered 05/03/13 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall 05/04/13 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club

Read More Noel Gallagher You know I love Oasis, so I'm always happy to mention Liam and Noel whenever I get the chance. As it is, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' first US single is called "If I Had A Gun"….

NOEL GALLAGHER
noelgallagher.com

I love Oasis, I still can't believe we interviewed Liam Gallagher through KFSR 90.7 and had special treatment by the band circa 1994 when they first tour here in the USA. By the time "Wonderwall" happened, the band was no long accessible to us! It's fine, we still love Oasis to this day.

Since wrapping up his promotional tour for his 2011 album, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Noel has been pretty quiet.

If you missed his tour, like I did, you will be happy to know that his DVD, International Magic Live at The O2 is coming out February 26, 2013, in North America. The video release will be available in a variety of formats: video downloads, 2 disc DVD, and Blu-Ray (with exclusive CD called Faster Than The Speed of Magic featuring demos of album tracks, B-Sides and live tracks).

From my understanding, the video captures two live shows: "International Magic Live" at the O2 in London and "Live At The Mod Club" from his Toronto appearance. I have been to the Mod Club and I can tell you that it's probably a lot smaller than O2 Arena.

Noel Gallagher will appear at "Give It Up For Comic Relief" in London's Wembley Arena on March 6th and "Teenage Cancer Trust Benefit" in London's Royal Albert Hall on March 23rd.

REPUBLICA
facebook.com/officialrepublica

Republica is set to come back in 2013. You may have remembered this female-fronted-band from the 90s with their massive big hit song, "Ready to Go"? Fans might argue they had other hits, but c'mon, no one knows them. The popular song was recently used in the video game Everybody Dance, which I'll confess I own on PS3.

So Saffron and the original line-up is back in 2013, with a new EP set for March with an accompanying tour:

03/14/13 London The Relentless Garage
03/15/13 York Fibbers
03/18/13 Newcastle O2 Academy Newcastle
03/19/13 Leeds Brudenell Social Club
03/21/13 Nottingham Bodega Social Club
03/22/13 Bristol Thekla
06/16/13 Newport Seaclose Park

ASH
ash-official.com

Yeah, you already know I love these guys. 1977, what a great album …. but you can tell the Scottish lads were young at the time, listening to the album on retrospect. They're not the greatest lyrics, but who cares, it sounds so good and simple.

Since finishing their A-Z project (this was their weekly write a song for twenty-six weeks straight), the band has been on constant tour. They haven't been to Minneapolis since 2005, so I was surprised to find out that they'll be at the Varsity Theater on Mar 18.

I tried looking up the rest of their US tour schedule, but I guess these are the only two announced:

Mar 12 House of Blues Dallas Dallas, TX
Mar 18 Varsity Theater Minneapolis, MN

STEREOPHONICS
stereophonics.com

I've seen Stereophonics a few times in Minneapolis, as the band ready for their UK tour, singer/songwriter Kelly Jones opened up to The Daily Mail about the passing of ex-drummer Stuart Cable.

Apparently Cable had drugs and alcohol problems that lead Jones to fire the drummer in 2003. Although the two kissed and made up within a year and a half, his sudden death in 2010 affected Jones.

He's quoted as saying, "I think about him, and miss him, every day. Every time we play an old song, he's still there."

Stereophonic's upcoming album, Graffiti On The Train, will be out March 4, just in time for their UK tour dates. The single, "Indian Summer", is out on February 25.

03/15/13 Leicester De Montfort Hall 03/16/13 Wolverhampton Civic Hall 03/18/13 Leeds O2 Academy Leeds 03/19/13 Leeds O2 Academy Leeds 03/21/13 Cheltenham The Centaur

03/22/13 Portsmouth Portsmouth Guildhall 03/23/13 Plymouth Plymouth Pavilions 03/25/13 Doncaster The Dome 03/26/13 Blackpool Empress Ballroom 03/27/13 Edinburgh Usher Hall

DODGY
dodgyology.com

Sally's favorite band ever is doing a one-off date special acoustic set at Selby Town Hall on February 16th. They will play nothing but the hits "Staying Out For The Summer", "In A Room", "If You're Thinking of Me", "Good Enough", etc.

Since Dodgy's original line-up re-formation in 2007, the band's been on and off the music festival circuits. Pretty soon, they went back into the studios to record and release Stand Upright In A Cool Place, which came out in 2012. Their previous album, Real Estate, was released in 2001. What's interesting to note is that the original line-up's last album prior to breakup was 1996's Free Peace Sweet.

Anyway, you can see Dodgy at Selby Town Hall on February 16th for a mere 13 of your English pounds.

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Roz, Boz, and Moz

I wanted to call this article "A Pair of Martins" (a pair of Genes/jeans?), because Boz's real name is Martin Boorer. Instead, "Roz, Boz, and Moz" seems like a cleverer title.

MARTIN ROSSITER
facebook.com/martinrossiter

Read More Gene So, anyroad, we're all pretty big fans - I think mostly because their songwriter, Martin Rossiter, reminded us of Morrissey so much. He's so smart and witty and charismatic, it's really hard to resist!

As a huge Smiths fan in the early 90s, we were always searching for the "next Smiths band." The title would fall to Gene in 1993. Their music was as sensitive and gentle as The Smiths, and even singer/songwriter Martin Rossiter bore incredible similarities to Smiths singer Morrissey. So much, that Gene fans were calling Rossiter as "Roz" (Morrissey's nickname was "Moz").

I saw Gene in 1995 in Los Angeles, at the height of Britpop and the band was riding on its wave. Check out the autograph of the "Sleep Well Tonight" (the cover artwork is unique to the one-track radio promo). The band would return after the fall of Britpop in 2000, selling out most of their US tour dates. Even Morrissey, who was living in Los Angeles at the time, showed up at their show.

Gene broke up officially in 2004, but just recently, Martin Rossiter announced the released of The Defenestration of St Martin in collaboration with Pledge Music. You can order the album now at pledgemusic.com, but I believe the official release date is listed as November 26th. According to Rossiter, "The album is already recorded, it is beautiful and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise."

Read More Morrissey So, it's time the tale was told on "Jack the Ripper"! The song originally appeared as a B-Side on his single, Certain People I Know (Dec 1992).

BOZ BOORER
bozboorer.com

As I previously mentioned, I followed Morrissey in the nineties. Around the Kill Uncle, we found out that his touring band would include Boz Boorer as guitarist. We finally saw the rockabilly band when the music video for "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful" was unveiled on MTV's 120 Minutes. Back then, we didn't really have the internet and most of the information surfaced on fanzines and magazines. There wasn't much on Boz Boorer, other that he was in a band called The Polecats in the 70s and 80s.

Anyway, since then, I've seen Boorer a number of times as Morrissey's guitarist, but I never did follow up on his solo or Polecats works. I've always liked him as songwriter; he's co-written some of my favorite Morrissey songs, including "Jack the Ripper," "Pregnant for the Last Time," and "Satan Rejected My Soul."

Boz Boorer's latest release is called Some of the Parts, which came out today (August 31st). I did listened to the album and I was surprised to find out that Some of the Parts is pretty diverse in its sound: from rock ("Slippery Forces") to blues ("I'm Gonna Make Your Mind") to jazz ("Jazz Interlude") to instrumental ("Bozanova Brown"). I was expecting it to sound like rockabilly, which it did have its moment with "Tokyo Calling."

It did occur to me that hardcore Morrissey fans will likely pick up Some of the Parts and may be disappointed that it sounds nothing like a typical Morrissey album. That's really not the point to Some of the Parts. To me, Boorer is trying to tell you about his passion for early American rock, and if you keep that in mind, you'll appreciate the music on the album.

Boz Boorer's Some of the Parts is out now via Fabrique Records.

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Filmsmiths

DETENTION (2011)
July 31, 2012
Sony Pictures

I thought I'd put together this silly article because I noticed a few Smiths/Morrissey references in popular films. I know there are a ton of films that briefly mentioned Morrissey or the Smiths, so perhaps I'll write more later.

DETENTION (2011)
detentionmovie.com

Clearly, whoever wrote and directed this movie grew up in the 90s. All the music, all the pop culture of the 90s is reference in this 2011 comedy/horror film. If you like that quick-cut/short-attention comedy styling of Scott Pilgrim or Family Guy, this is your kind of film.

Before you can really appreciate this movie, you have to see Donnie Darko, The Breakfast Club, Scream, Edward Scissorhands, and David Cronenberg's The Fly. It seems like a lot of homework to watch this movie, but it's well worth it.

Smiths reference: 31 minutes into the film, Ione Foster said this in the movie theater:

"'Meat is Murder?' Everyone knows Morrissey's Kill Uncle is a better album."

DETENTION (2012)

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN (2009) (Target)
October 20, 2009
Paramount

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN (2009)
transformersmovie.com

As an old-school Transformers cartoon fan, I did enjoy the first live-action Transformers. I love the toys, I love giant Japanese robots. Having said that… Tansformers 2 was bad.

I ended up buying the DVD from Target because the custom case transforms into Bumblebee. I would've liked to buy the Bluray version, but the DVD was much cheaper ($20 vs $34). Since I didn't like the movie to begin with, I didn't mind paying less for the DVD.

Smiths reference: At the beginning of the movie, you get to see Shia Labeouf's room which adorns a Smiths' "Meat is Murder" poster. Who knew Labeouf was a Smiths fan?

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN (2009)

SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004) (Steelbook)
November 2, 2010
Alliance Films

SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004)
transformersmovie.com

Speaking of Scott Pilgrim, I previously mentioned that I saw director Edgar Wright and actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost at the premier of "Shaun of the Dead," in Minneapolis.

I love this little film, and if you haven't seen it, you really need to rent or buy this movie. You don't need to watch "Dawn of the Dead," but you should anyway.

Smiths reference: Pegg is oblivious to what is happening across the city. He flips channel and saw The Smiths music video for "Panic." Lyrics best describe the situation:

"Panic on the streets of London."

SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004)

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Smith, Smith, Smith, Smiths

MORRISSEY
itsmorrisseysworld.com

I'll admit that I was a massive Morrissey/the Smiths fan. I have all of his singles and albums pre-2010. A few years ago, Morrissey basically went crazy and declared war on Morrissey-solo and forbade the website owner from seeing him at live shows. I'm on David T's side on this one. Morrissey just doesn't understand how the internet works.

Morrissey is still pretty popular now and I'm pretty sure he'll sell out the Orpheum Theatre here in Minneapolis. If I were to see him, it would mostly be for the Morrissey apostles that follows Morrissey from city to city to see him live every night.

Morrissey's fall/winter dates:

10/05 Boston, MA @ Wang Theatre 10/06 Waterbury, CT @ Palace Theater 10/10 New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall 10/12 New York, NY @ Terminal 5 10/13 New York, NY @ Terminal 5 10/15 Portland, ME @ State Theatre 10/16 Burlington, VT @ Flynn Center 10/18 Albany, NY @ Palace Theatre 10/19 Niagara Falls, NY @ Rapids Theatre 10/23 Pittsburgh, PA @ Heinz Hall 10/24 Columbus, OH @ LC Indoor Pavilion 10/26 Flint, MI @ James H Whiting 10/27 Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre 10/29 Minneapolis, MN @ Orpheum Theatre 10/30 Clear Lake, IA @ Surf Ballroom 11/01 Lincoln, NE @ Rococo Theatre 11/03 Denver, CO @ Ellie Caulkins Opera 11/04 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kingsbury Hall

11/08 Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre 11/10 Bellingham, WA @ Mount Baker Theatre 11/11 Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert 11/14 Davis, CA @ Robert Mondavi Center 11/16 San Francisco, CA @ Davies Symphony Hall 11/17 Reno, NV @ John Ascuaga's 11/21 Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theater 11/23 Las Vegas, NV @ Cosmopolitan 11/24 Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center Arena 11/27 El Paso, TX @ Tricky Falls 11/28 Wichita Falls, TX @ Kay Yeager Coliseum 11/30 Pharr, TX @ Pharr Entertainment Center 12/01 Beaumont, TX @ Jefferson Theatre 12/03 Atlanta, GA @ Cobb Energy Performing 12/05 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel 12/07 North Bethesda, MD @ Music Center 12/08 Atlantic City, NJ @ Showboat Resort

MINDY SMITH
mindysmithmusic.com

Just a reminder that singer/songwriter Mindy Smith will be stopping by Minneapolis' Dakota Jazz Club this Friday (August 3rd). It's "closer" than you think.

Smith's self-titled fifth album is out now.

She's wrapping up her tour with Rosi Golan (*) and Angel Snow (**).

08/01 The Ark Ann Arbor, MI*
08/02 Old Town School of Folk Chicago, IL*
08/03 Dakota Jazz Club Minneapolis, MN*
08/04 High Noon Madison, WI*
08/10 The Grey Eagle Asheville, NC**
08/11 Square Room Knoxville, TN**
08/12 Natasha’s Bistro Lexington, KY**

Caroline Smith: Calliope

CAROLINE SMITH & THE GOOD NIGHT SLEEPS
thegoodnightsleeps.com

Also, another reminder that Caroline Smith & the Good Night Sleeps will be playing for free at Lake Harriet. The event is sponsored by Vita.MN and will starts at 7:30pm, follow by a movie ("So I Married an Axe Murderer").

If you're planning on seeing the movie, do yourself a favor and bring a sheet or chair and bug spray.

08/01 St Louis, MO Rob Schlette’s House
08/02 Iowa City, IA The Green House Effect
08/03 Minneapolis, MN Lake Harriet Bandshell
08/25 St. Paul, MN Minnesota State Fair
08/26 St. Paul, MN Minnesota State Fair
08/26 Minneapolis, MN Hell’s Kitchen
09/08 St Paul, MN Summit Brewery
09/21 Rapid City, SD Dahl Fine Arts Center
11/10 St Cloud, MN* Paramount Theatre

GRANGER SMITH
grangersmith.com

Texas country singer/songwriter Granger Smith unveiled his alter ego, Earl Dibbles Jr., last month, with the new single "This Country Boy Song." Smith explained the Dibbles character:

"We started doing [Earl] Dibbles just for fun, but we realized quickly it really resonated with our fans. Pretty soon they were urging me to create more and more Dibbles content and we’re excited to see how they react to the song and music video."

If the single takes off, prepare to see more of Earl Dibbles Jr. in the future.

Granger Smith is currently on tour:

08.02 Dirty Bourbon Albuquerque, NM 08.03 Toby Keith's Denver, CO 08.04 Cheyenne County Fair, CO 08.09 Rockin Rodeo Midland Midland, TX 08.10 Hanks Texas Grill Mckinney, TX 08.11 Drunken Mule Saloon Commerce, TX 08.15 hirsty Horse Saloon San Antonio, TX 08.17 Midnight Rodeo Austin Austin, TX 08.18 Private Event Georgetown, TX 08.23 Big Texas Saloon Webster, TX 08.24 Banita Creek Hall Nacogdoches, TX 08.25 Cypress Saloon Cypress, TX 09.01 Dirtys Tavern Coffeyville, Kansas 09.02 Central Texas State Fair Belton, TX 09.05 Electric Cowboy Tyler, TX 09.07 Texas Music Aggie, TX

09.15 City Limits Stephenville, TX 09.20 Hub City BBQ Lubbock, TX 09.28 Fort Bend County Fair Rosenberg, TX 09.29 Toby Keith's Dallas, TX 10.06 Jax Sports Bar Garden City, KS 10.19 Western Days Ziegfest Yorktown, TX 10.20 East Texas Yamboree Gilmer, TX 10.26 Midnight Rodeo Amarillo Amarillo, TX 10.27 Wild West Lubbock Lubbock, TX 11.01 Denim & Diamonds Wichita Falls, TX 11.10 Fort Polk Fort Polk, Louisiana 11.17 Chicken Ranch Dance Hall Ledbetter, TX 11.21 Yoakum Gin & Feed Yoakum, TX 11.23 Wild West Waco Waco, TX 11.30 Singers Hays, Kansas 12.01 Arbuckle Ballroom Davis, OK

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Girls Girls Girls 6

Like this? Read more Girls Girls Girls articles.

V V BROWN
vvbrown.com

I honestly really loved V V Brown's debut album, Travelling Like the Light, and every once in a while, her song, "Leave!" comes up on my iPod and I just can't help but tap my foot to it.

She's hoping that her latest single, "Children", will inspire a singalong too, you can check out the video at vevo.com (officially released on VH1's "Big Morning Buzz Live").

What can I say? It's catchy, I love the ice-cream van song.

The song will probably be featured on her second LP, Lollipops & Politics to be released February 7th, 2012 on Capitol Records.

Catch V V live:

November 4 Washington, DC DC9
November 7 Los Angeles, CA Bardot *
November 8 San Francisco, CA Rickshaw Shop
November 9 Los Angeles, CA Hotel Café
November 10 Seattle, WA Nectar Lounge

THE BANDANA SPLITS
facebook.com/thebandanasplits

You know I love The Smiths/Morrissey, so I'm always game to hear people's interpretation of their songs.

We've previously featured this 50s doo-wop band, The Bandana Splits, on our Freebies section, but I wanted to spotlight their cover of Morrissey's "Everyday is Like Sunday" here.

The song was recorded as a special gift to fans for reaching 1,000 "likes" on their facebook. I did listen to it, it's very harmonizing and acoustic and, er, harmless.

Maybe they'll play it at their upcoming show?

11/12 - Brooklyn, NY @ Branded Saloon - 7:00pm - RSVP

PARENTHETICAL GIRLS
twitter.com/pgrrrls

Speaking of cover lovers, Parenthetical Girls covered Kate Bush on their new release Privilege 12" released yesterday (November 1st). You can listen for yourself on soundcloud.

Okay, so the singer isn't a girl, but I never said you had to be an XX to fit in this "Girls Girls Girls" series.

Well, it looks like the 'Rent-Girls will be doing some dates:

Nov 5 Portland, OR: Backspace
Dec 1 Brooklyn, NY: GLASSLANDS *
Dec 2 Purchase, NY: SUNY PURCHASE
Dec 8 Annandale-on-Hudson, NY: SMOG (Bard College)

RACHAEL YAMAGATA
rachaelyamagata.com

Just briefly, but I wanted to pass this along: Rachael Yamagata has been invited to tour the White House to participate in an official White House "tweet up meeting" today (Wednesday) at 4:30pm EST.

I have re-tweeted her message:

Going to the White House tmrw any ?'s/ topics you guys have u want me to relay? Tweet to @rachaelyamagata @JonCarson44 and @whitehouse

We have previously mentioned her current tour dates. Rachael will be stopping by the Fine Line Cafe in Minneapolis on 11/11/11.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

News: Today in Death

Sorry for the bleak title, but today's theme is about death.

SONIC DEATH:

Thanks to Cristina who passed this along, but the big shocker comes from Huff Po reporting that Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon have separated after being married for twenty-seven years.

The news is a bit of a shock to me, I first came to Sonic Youth with Goo and Dirty and continued to follow the band (even though they were a wee bit too experimental and weird sometime for my music taste).

Just out of pure speculation, I am assuming this also spells the death of Sonic Youth, because, at least to me, Sonic Youth would not be the same without both Gordon and Moore.

NEEDLE OF DEATH:

Speaking of death, influential folk music, Bert Jansch, passed away earlier this week (October 5th). He was 67. It is not made clear what he had died of, but since he had both heart and lung surgeries (2005 and 2009 respectively), I would hazard a guess that he was in poor health.

Johnny Marr, of the legendary The Smiths, is quoted as saying how Jansch was "one of the most influential and intriguing musicians to have come out of the British music scene".

Jansch influenced a ton of musicians, including Paul Simon, Donovan, Neil Young, Bernard Butler (Suede), Graham Coxon (Blur), and recently Fleet Foxes and Marco Mahler.

RE-ISSUE, RE-PACKAGE, RE-PACKAGE:

Speaking of Johnny Marr, one of the best Smiths song is called "Paint a Vulgar Picture", which is about a death of a singer and the "sycophantic slags" executives are celebrating and scheming to release a best-of, most-of release.

The good news is that I just read that Marr remastered the entire Smiths catalog called Smiths Complete at a reasonable price ($55), that's less than if you bought each Smiths album individually. However, for the true collectors, you may want to splash out for the vinyl release (which is about $190).

Even though I already own all the albums (in both 12" and CD), I will actually buy this new release, just because I want to hear the new remastered sound. I've always thought that their first album's audio production was completely terrible, so I'm hoping to fall in love with it on the new re-release.

Read the two-page article:

DEAD LEAF ECHO:

As with previous articles this week, we're spotlighting a CMJ band. And this one fits the bill: Dead Leaf Echo.

The band just finished their debut album, scheduled for early 2012. Look for their lead-single "Kingmaker" on 7" vinyl this fall on Custom Made Music.

More details on www.deadleafechonyc.com. Here is their CMJ shows, plus other dates:

CMJ- Saturday Oct. 22nd Vaudeville Park 7PM
Perfect Prescription- Shea Stadium/Brooklyn Thursday Oct. 27th w/The Morning After Girls
Washington DC. Gold Leaf Studios- Saturday Nov. 5th

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ? twitter.com/weheartmusic

Cover Lover: Totally 80s

DUNCAN SHEIK
duncansheik.com

You all remember Duncan Sheik, he found massive success with his single "Barely Breathing" from his self-titled debut album from Atlantic Records. He won a Grammy for "Best Male Vocal Performance, Pop", you know, no big deal.

So it's been a while, but Duncan Sheik returns to pop music, and it's obvious that Sheik wears his influences on his sleeve with his all covers album, Covers 80s (released earlier this month via Sneaky Records). I can only imagine that Sheik is a bit of an anglophile, considering the artists covered here: The Cure, The Smiths, Howard Jones, Love & Rockets, Tears for Fears, Japan, Talk Talk, Blue Nile, The Psychedelic Furs, Depeche Mode, Thompson Twins, New Order. No Cyndi Lauper, no Madonna, no cheesy Def Leppard.

I can tell that Sheik loves these songs, it really shows in his covers, and especially the song choices. The Smiths' "William, It Was Really Nothing" isn't one of their more popular songs, and even the almost-random The Blue Nile (from Glasgow) song, "Stay" doesn't quite belong, but he loves it enough to include it on the album. The pronunciation is a little off on the Smiths cover, it sounds like Duncan is saying "Willie-um", which may be a disservice to one Steven Patrick Morrissey.

If you like 80s synth, which many of these artists are, especially Depeche Mode, Howard Jones, and Japan, you may be disappointed that the synthesizers are nowhere to be found on Duncan Sheik's covers... which are more low-key. This is a good thing, in my opinion. Sheik is trying to put his own spin on these songs, and like or hate it, I feel it's the right course.

Other notable mentions is that Holly Brook and Rachael Yamagata appears on the record. I am assuming that is Yamagata singing with Sheik on "Shout" and Brook on "Hold Me Now", which is my favorite cover on the album.

Covers 80s, the seventh studio album by Duncan Sheik is out now.

THE ASTEROIDS GALAXY TOUR
theasteroidsgalaxytour.com

Yeah, you know the story. I think these guys are great, calling them top for 2008, and to this day, I sometime hear "Around the Bend" at clubs - which is pretty amazing how far the band's come.

I finally got a copy of The Golden Age EP for review. Guess what? The Asteroids Galaxy Tour covered "Safety Dance", what perfect timing since I just saw Men Without Hats (they are still alive and breathing). The Asteroids Galaxy Tour's version has a bit more horns and that unique Danish vocals from Mette Lindberg. Their version doesn't take into account the extended remix, but that's just fine, it's a perfect pop song.

As for the rest of the EP, lots of horns, giving it a more 70s flavor to it. It is obvious to me that these songs are meant for the dance floor, especially for "Fantasy Friend Forever" and "Safety Dance" cover ("because if your friends don't dance...") If you don't believe me, listen for yourself on their soundcloud set. If video's your poison, their 2+ million youtube video is 70s spectacular: one-eyed villain, kungfu and a spy flutist (yes, it's also a Heineken commercial).

Here's what left of their galaxy tour on Earth:

7/01 – Poland, Open’er Festival
7/10 – Hungary, Balaton Sound Festival
9/23 – Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Rock in Rio

What Difference Does It Make

STRANDED HORSE
theestrandedhorse.com

I love covers and I love the Smiths, and if my math is right, I should love all Smiths covers. That isn't always the case, especially when I heard Emily Browning's "Sing Me To Sleep" on the awful, awful, awful Sucker Punch movie. The song is about suicide, hearing it as a pop song is just.... but anyway, Stranded Horse's cover of "What Difference Does It Make" is actually pretty good. If you listen to it (available as a free download at soundcloud.com), it's basically deconstructed to just singer Yann Tambour's vocals and plucky kora acoustics. It has a very medieval/madrigal feel to whole thing.

Stranded Horse is not actually not a brand new band, it's just shorten from his ex-band, "Thee, Stranded Horse", and just to give you a little background on Tambour, he is French, but based on the Smiths cover and And The Shoreline It Withdrew In Anger, his English is impeccable. His latest album, Humbling Tides was written and recorded in Bristol, UK, but he is returning and touring to France this Fall:

sept, 10 • Bordeaux • Festival Ouvre la Voix
oct, 01 • Bruxelles (b) • Festival 'Comme à la maison'
nov. 03 • Pau • la Centrifugeuse
nov. 04 • Bayonne • le Microscope
nov. 08 • Clermont Ferrand • l'hôtel des vils
nov. 09 • Allonnes (72) • la péniche w/ Arlt
nov. 17 • Martigues • Scène Nationale, Théâtre des Salins w/ Piers Faccini
nov. 18 • Katowice (p) • Festival 'Ar Cameralis'
nov. 24 • Paris • la maroquinerie w/ Arlt

LOVEDRUG
www.lovedrugmusic.com

These guys, I only know because I liked their cover artwork. They make attractive CDs.

Their best of album, strangely titled Best of I AM LOVEDRUG is not really a best of Lovedrug, but a best of covers by "I Am Lovedrug". I know, it's confusing.

You can see the songs covered for yourself at freefallmediagroup.net, the album is available now (June 28th). You can download their cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" for free via their Facebook-thingy.

They didn't list the artists, but here's what I've compiled:

Only Shallow (My Bloody Valentine)
Dreams (Fleetwood Mac)
Hysteria (Def Leppard)
Me and My Arrow (Harry Nilsson)
Talk To Me (Stevie Nicks)
Plug In Baby (Muse)
Zombie (Cranberries)
Pure Imagination (Willy Wonka)
Billie Jean (Michael Jackson)
God of Wine feat. Kevin Cadogan (Third Eye Blind)
Endless Day (The Kinks)

 

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

 

Salinthia wrote:

It's called 'Best of I AM LOVEDRUG' b/c all the recordings are from fans pledging for cover songs as part of their PledgeMusic campaign which was called I AM LOVEDRUG (www.IamLovedrug.com).

Posted Tuesday, 05 July 2011 at 01:05 PM

Morrissey and Marr

Please Help the Cause Against Lonliness (demo)

If you haven't been paying attention, you know that I'm actually a pretty big Smiths fan. I was pretty excited to find out there are a few Morrissey and Johnny Marr news!

EMI Records is releasing Morrissey's Bona Drag: 20th Anniversary on vinyl and compact disc on October 4^th, 2010. Details on Julia Riley's website True to You. New tracks are: "Happy Lovers At Last United", "Lifeguard On Duty", "Please Help The Cause Against Loneliness" (demo), "Oh Phoney", "The Bed Took Fire", and "Let The Right One Slip In" (alternate long mix).

Of course, if you are already a fan, like myself, you probably already have those tracks via bootleg. And, of course, you'll buy it all again.

Hot on the heels of the release, Morrissey is doing some rare promotional appearances, including on Steve Lamacq on October 1st and Radcliffe & Maconie show on October 4th. Look out for even more television and radio appearances as they are finalized.

Can't wait to get my hands on the reissue. I hope it also comes with a "tacky badge".

Not to be outdone by his former songwriting partner, legendary guitarist Johnny Marr will be releasing a charity single, "Tendency To Be Free", from the forthcoming Centrepoint album, 1969: Key to Change. Both items, I think, are released October 4^th, the same day as Bona Drag.

Centrepoint has been helping homeless young people since 1969, hence the title, 1969: Key to Change. Other notable mention is that each song covered on the compilation album are all from 1969. Quite interested in hearing Ian Brown's version of "The Year 2525" and Get Cape Wear Cape Fly's version of "Space Oddity". Johnny Marr is doing a cover of Rabbit Mackay, a singer I've never heard of, but should be worth checking out.

It looks like the album is only available digitally, but on the bright side, it's reasonably priced at £7.99 (with half the money going directly to Centrepoint). Full tracklisting and additional details from fairsharemusic.com.

PS, I've flagged this item for discussion on our upcoming podcast.

vu () ♥ itsmorrisseysworld.com ♥ johnny-marr.com