W♥M

Rocktober: October 30, 2014

Read More Kimbra Kimbra is the only female act at Maitland! Song of the show is Maccabees' "Pelican", from their third album Given to the Wild. Bonus: Guitar Wolf is on tour! …

Here are shows taking place in Minneapolis/St Paul on October 30, 2014.

KIMBRA with Empress Of
at Fine Line Music Café
Thursday 10/30/14, 7:30pm
$20: finelinemusic.com

More than somebody that you used to know-- New Zealand-born Kimbra is back, touring in support of her second album, The Golden Echo (Warner Bros. Records). Produced by Kimbra and Rich Costey (Foster The People, Interpol, Muse), it features contributions from acclaimed bassist Thundercat, Daniel Johns (Silverchair) and famed string arranger Van Dyke Parks.

Empress Of will open the show. Empress Of is the solo project of 23 year old artist Lorely Rodriguez.

Tour Dates:

10/24 Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory*
10/25-10/26 Life Is Beautiful Festival
10/27 Salt Lake City, UT - In The Venue*
10/28 Denver, CO - Sherman St Event Center*
10/30 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line Music Café*
11/01 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall*
11/06 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom*
11/07 Philadelphia, PA - World Café Live*
11/08 Washington, DC - U Street Music Hall*
11/09 Allston, MA - Brighton Music Hall*

* w/ Empress Of

Read More Agnes Obel Last one of the night Agnes Obel. Very dark orchestral songs. They were all slow building and had the crowd all paying rapt attention. She filled the church, and once done, the church emptied fast. …

AGNES OBEL with Jennifer Castle
at Dakota Jazz Club
Thursday 10/30/14, 7pm
$35: dakotacooks.com

With the recent release of the deluxe edition of Agnes Obel's hit second album Aventine and double LP of 2010's Philharmonics, both via Play It Again Sam/PIAS, Obel will be back in America to support the re-issues.

The new deluxe edition of Aventine includes a second CD with new songs "Under Giant Trees," "Arches," and "September Song," live versions of the singles "The Curse," "Words Are Dead," and "Aventine," plus a David Lynch remix of "Fuel To Fire" and a Daniel Matz reworking of "Dorian."

Regarding the remix, Twin Peaks' director/writer David Lynch had this to add, "I loved doing this remix. I was turned onto Agnes' music through my record label...I think she has a most beautiful voice and can do things with her voice that are unique and extraordinary."

Upcoming North American tour dates:

10/30 Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis, MN
11/01 Park West, Chicago, IL
11/02 Stoughton Opera House, Madison, WI
11/04 Harbourfront Centre Theatre, Toronto, ON
11/05 Harbourfront Centre Theatre, Toronto, ON
11/06 Higher Ground. Burlington, VT
11/08 Iron Horse, Northampton, MA
11/09 (le) Poisson Rouge, New York, NY
11/10 The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA
11/11 L'Olympia, Montreal, QC
11/13 Le Palais Montcalm, Quebec City, QC

Read More Ben Frost Australian composer and producer Ben Frost recently announced a string of North American tour dates (read the full story at news.weheartmusic.com). He's currently touring in support of his latest album AURORA …

BEN FROST with Andrew Broder
at Amsterdam Bar and Hall
Thursday 10/30/14, 7pm
$15: amsterdambarandhall.com

Recording artist Ben Frost (not to be confused with pop artist Ben Frost) will be in North America in support of his acclaimed album, A U R O R A.

Tour dates:

10/24/14 - Toronto, CAN - The Garrison
10/25/14 - Mexico City, MEXICO - Mutek.MX2014
10/28/14 - Los Angeles, CA - Club Los Globos
10/29/14 - San Francisco, CA - 1015 Folsom
10/30/14 - St. Paul, MN - Amsterdam
10/31/14 - Chicago, IL - Constellation
11/05/14 - Bologna, ITALY - roBOt Paths
11/06/14 - Torino, ITALY - Club To Club
11/07/14 - Rome, ITALY - Romaeuropa Festival
11/08/14 - Bari, ITALY - Time Zones
11/10/14 - Brighton, UK - The Haunt
11/11/14 - Bristol, UK - Thekla
11/12/14 - Birmingham, UK - Capsule
11/13/14 - London, UK - St John Church
11/14/14 - Manchester, UK - Gorilla
11/15/14 - Leeds, UK - Howard Assembly Room
11/20/14 - Utrecht, NET - Le Guess Who? Festival
11/21/14 - Bern, SW - St. Ghetto Festival
11/23/14 - Moscow, RUS - Pipl Club
11/22/14 - Electro-Mechanica Festival
11/23/14 - Moscow, RUS - Pipl Club
12/06/15 - Rio De Janeiro, BR - Novas Frequências
01/11/15 - Sydney, AUS - Sydney Opera House
01/15/15 - Hobart, TAS - Mona Foma Festival
02/05/15 - Melbourne, AUS - HiFi Bar

Read More Jay Nash The Hotel Café is a singer/songwriter venue located in Los Angeles, California. Jay Nash Official Site MySpace iTunes …

THE CONTENDERS (JAY NASH + JOSH DAY)
at 7th Street Entry
Thursday 10/30/14, 8pm
$10: first-avenue.com

Vermont-based singer/songwriter Jay Nash and Nashville-based drummer Josh Day have teamed up as The Contenders. Their debut EP Meet the Contenders will be out next month, November 18th (digital), but you can pick up the vinyl if you see them on this tour.

Opening up the 7th Street Entry show on Thursday will be local musician Luke Redfield.

Contenders tour dates:

Oct 24 High Watt Nashville, TN
Oct 25 Off Broadway St Louis, MO
Oct 28 Cedar Valley House Concerts Cedar Falls, IA
Oct 29 Slowdown Omaha, NE
Oct 30 7th Street Entry Minneapolis, MN
Nov 01 Wildwood Park Station Marshfield, WI
Nov 03 SPACE Evanston, IL
Nov 04 Rumba Cafe Columbus, OH
Nov 05 Club Café Pittsburgh, PA
Nov 12 Soda Bar San Diego, CA
Nov 13 Bogies Westlake, CA
Nov 14 Hotel Café Los Angeles, CA
Nov 15 Leo's Oakland, CA
Nov 16 Standing Sun Winery Buellton, CA
Nov 19 Doug Fir Lounge Portland, OR
Nov 20 Barboza Seattle, WA
Nov 21 Caffe Mela Wenatchee, WA

still from New Society at ICA Boston Read More Miranda July I remember the first time I saw Me and You and Everyone We Know, I couldn't get that "pooping back and forth" icon out of my head. So, that, in a nutshell, is what I thought of Miranda July, who wrote …

MIRANDA JULY
at McGuire Theater
Thursday 10/30/14, 8pm
$30: walkerart.org

Not a typical music concert, but I thought I'd also mention that writer/filmmaker Miranda July will be at the McGuire Theater in Minneapolis as part of her performance of "New Society". She will also be appearing on Halloween at the McGuire if you cannot make it on Thursday.

Here is the description from the Walker's website:

Performer/writer/filmmaker Miranda July risks all with a unique experiment in collaboration. This hilarious and moving performance artfully blends fiction and real life in a startling chronicle of time, love, and group faith. On this very special night, July tests the limits of what is possible given two hours and a room full of strangers.

The Walker has had an ongoing relationship with the cross-disciplinary artist. Most recently, July’s second feature film The Future, praised by critics as “surreal, precious, devastating, and brilliant” (Playlist), had its area premiere at the Walker in 2011, after screenings at the Sundance and Berlin film festivals.

john + vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Evil Mirrors

Read More Halloween This Halloween Ball show is the follow-up to Peter Murphy's special Miracula Halloween, which only a handful of people attended. Discounting music festival, the Halloween Ball …

Halloween is my favorite time of the year... and with the holiday coming around the corner, here are some horror films about mirrors.

OCULUS (2013)

Director:	Mike Flanagan
Starring:	Karen Gillan Brenton Thwaites Rory Cochrane Katee Sackhoff
Company:	Relativity Media

This is one of my favorite horror film this, and last year. The film was actually based on a short story (Oculus: Chapter 3 - The Man with the Plan) which may explain the lack of story... but what it lacked, it made up for such a horrific, satisfying ending.

When you start watching the film, it does very little to tell you what the film is about. It's only about 30 minutes in, do you realize that this was a haunted mirror film. While I thought the first part of the film may bore some people... if you stick with it, it is one of the best modern horror film you'll see.

I wasn't aware that Karen Gillan was from Dr Who's fame, when I saw the film originally. I thought she did a great job, but some Who fan typecast her as Dr Who's companion.

Also, it's worth noting that the film was partly financed by WWE, but does not feature any wrestlers!

INTO THE MIRROR (거울 속으로) (2003)

Director:	Kim Sung-ho
Starring:	Yoo Ji-tae Kim Hye-na Kim Myung-min
Company:	Cinema Service

One of my favorite 'mirror' film is this 2003 South Korean film called Into the Mirror. The story is about a series of deaths involving mirrors in this department store. I won't explain any further, as to do so will reveal the secrets in this horror film.

I bought an import copy of this on DVD, which came with a 'mirror' packaging and film script... unfortunately the script is all in Korean.

The film did well and was adapted in the 2008 film Mirrors and its 2010 sequel Mirrors 2. Both films are slightly different than the Korean film, yet you can clearly see its influences.

MIRRORS (2008)

Director:	Alexandre Aja
Starring:	Kiefer Sutherland Paula Patton Amy Smart
Company:	20th Century Fox

Originally this Kiefer Sutherland film was a direct remake of Into the Mirror (2003), but the director Alexandre Aja was unhappy with the story and he changed it- however keeping the themes and ideas.

I can't say I liked the changes, as the ending was somewhat predictable. I never bothered to pick up the DVD (or Bluray), as its release was barebones.

MIRRORS 2 (2010)

Director:	Víctor García
Starring:	Nick Stahl Emmanuelle Vaugier Christy Romano
Company:	20th Century Fox

I personally thought Mirrors 2 was a great underrated film. Although it's the sequel to the 2008 film, it had very little to do with the original film. Instead, I felt like Mirrors 2 had more in common with Into the Mirror (2003) than the original American version.

I ended up buying the Bluray version of this because it came with a bonus DVD disc of Into the Mirror.

THE MIRROR (2014)

Director:	Edward Boase
Starring:	Jemma Dallender Joshua Dickinson Nate Fallows
Company:	Haunted Mirror

In this film, The Mirror, is about a group of friends who are documenting their experiences with a haunted mirror to win a contest. It is a found footage horror movie... and with many of these found footage movies - they can be really boring at times. Scenes of them eating, scenes of them goofing around, it's all very mundane. Except for the deaths and supernatural eye-popping scenes, this is not a very interesting film. However, if you enjoy the found-footage of Paranormal Activity series, then you'll enjoy the Mirror.

FENG SHUI (2004)

Director:	Marina Sargenti
Starring:	Rainbow Harvest Karen Black Yvonne De Carlo William Sanderson
Company:	Star Cinema

This is a badly-named 2014 Filipino low budget horror film. The title comes from the Chinese philosophical system about placement of things to harmonize with people and surrounding.... but I guess it is also a Filipino belief about hanging mirrors outside your home, that the mirror will reflect evil spirits. In this particular film, the mirror that Joy Ramirez randomly found on a bus, is cursed. Soon, Joy finds herself with lots of luck, winning contests, getting job promotions.... while everyone around her suffered bad misfortunes and deaths.

While the ending probably could be less 'supernatural', I found the concept of this horror film very interesting.

A Hollywood version was considered at one point, but nothing came out of it. Instead a sequel Feng Shui 2 is in the works.

DARK MIRROR (2007)

Director:	Pablo Proenza
Starring:	Lisa Vidal David Chisum Joshua Pelegrin
Company:	IFC Films

I used to have an unlimited rental card at Hollywood Video, and I rented almost every film that came out from 2006-2009. One of the film that I rented was called Dark Mirror, which is a straight-to-DVD film from 2007.

The film is about a photographer who moved into a house that seemed to have an evil spirit trapped in its mirror. Soon the spirit switches places with Lisa Vidal's character in real life.

THE BROKEN (2008)

Director:	Sean Ellis
Starring:	Lena Headey Asier Newman Michelle Duncan Melvil Poupaud Richard Jenkins
Company:	After Dark Horrorfest

I first saw this After Dark Horrorfest film via the unlimited rental at Hollywood Video. If you're not familiar with After Dark, it is an annual horror film festival, usually featuring eight horror films.

I eventually bought all eight movies from that 2008 series via a cheap Walmart DVD set (I think for under $10). This French/British film stars Lena Headey (Dredd and Game of Thrones) and is about her doppelganger, who escaped from a broken mirror.

MIRROR, MIRROR (1990)

Director:	Marina Sargenti
Starring:	Rainbow Harvest Karen Black Yvonne De Carlo William Sanderson
Company:	New City Releasing

I'm just going to say it, these Mirror, Mirror movies are just not very good. I bought the Anchor Bay collection, which included the original (and best of the lot) 1990 film, its sequels Mirror, Mirror II: Raven Dance (1994), Mirror, Mirror III: The Voyeur (1995), and Mirror, Mirror IV: Reflection (2000).

Although the boxart features Karen Black as the main star, she actually wasn't really the main star. In fact, her role is a minor part, playing the widowed mother of Rainbow Harvest's character.

These are B-films at best, but if you have a thing for old classic horror films, then it's worth checking out.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Peter Murphy: Halloween Ball 2012

Tour Dates 12/09/12 UR1 Festival - Miami, Florida 01/09/13 Perth, Australia @ Bakery Artrage 01/10/13 Adelaide, Australia @ The Gov 01/11/13 Richmond, Australia @ Corner Hotel 01/12/13 Sydney, Australia @ Factory Theatre 01/13/13 Brisbane, Australia @ Beetle Bar Read More Peter Murphy Peter Murphy is an English musician best known as the vocalist for Bauhaus. He went on to have a lengthy solo career, having released eight studio albums since 1986 ... Peter Murphy's Halloween Ball 2012 at 4th & B, as presented by Black Cherry Music Group. PETER MURPHY photo courtesy of dollylama This Halloween Ball show is the follow-up to Peter Murphy's special Miracula Halloween, which only a handful of people attended. Discounting music festival, the Halloween Ball with special guests Mini Mansion is the last headliner show for 2012. However, starting in January 2013, Murphy will do his first-ever tour of Australia. He'll be hitting all the major cities (Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane). Australian fans should make plans now for this rare appearance. He will be performing some classic Bauhaus songs as well as his solo material. I am assuming the gothfather will be doing tunes from his classic Deep to his most recent album, Ninth. dollylama+vu ♥ www.petermurphy.info

Halloween 2008 III

Tim Fite - Dead Girl Walking Bruce Springsteen - A Night With The Jersey Devil Hot Lava-Mummy Beach

This is the last Halloween post from me today! Sorry for all the maddening posts, but the Halloween news flows fast and furious.

First of all, Epitaph sent in this press release for Tim Fite:

Brooklyn-based multi-genrist Tim Fite will release a new free, Halloween-centric recording via his website on October 31st, 2008. Available for one day only, the innovative song cycle entitled ding dong Ditch comes at the culmination of his tour with Man Man and will be celebrated with a special Halloween show at the Starlight Ballroom in Philadelphia.

Of course, I clicked on the "Trick" part to get "Raisins".

The two EPs, Ding Dong DITCH (2008) and It's Only Ketchup (2007) proved too experimental for me. If you like that sort of thing, you should check it out.

Bruce Springsteen is also in the giving mood, with this free bluesy recording of "Night with the Jersey Devil".

He previously invited people to trick-or-treat at his home in Rumson, but then canceled it due to safety concerns.

Dear Friends and Fans,

If you grew up in central or south Jersey, you grew up with the "Jersey Devil." Here's a little musical Halloween treat. Have fun!

Bruce Springsteen

You can download the free song today and tomorrow only at brucespringsteen.net

Finally, courtesy of Bar None Records are three songs from their catalogue of artist: Greg Camp's "Zombies on Parade", Hot Lava's "Mummy Beach", and Starling Electric's "Black Ghost/Black Girl".

Of the three songs, I thought Hot Lava was the best. It feels very indiepop.

That's it for now, if you have more Halloween-type songs, well, there's always next year.

Links: www.weheartmusic.com podcast.weheartmusic.com news.weheartmusic.com

Halloween 2008 II

The Ink Spots - I Don't Want To Set The World On fire

The Ink Spots

Happy Halloween, kids! This is my favorite time of year, I mean when else can you dress up like Bozo the Clown and NOT get looks like you're a weirdo?

Unlike last year's mega Halloween blast of articles, I will admit that I've been really busy with other stuff. Namely Fallout 3, which is taking up loads of my time.

So far, I've reached Level 6, and striving to become a "sniper" with most of my skill points in Perception, Agility and Strength. I have zero (actually the lowest is a 1) in Charisma, so my dialogue option is very limited. But who needs to be a charmer when you can shoot a Super Mutant in the head at 95%?

I'm loving the game, it looks gorgeous and I think it actually works really well as a first-person, as opposed to its previous turn-based isometric view.

The turn-based thing does exist in the new Fallout, but it's now called V.A.T.S. and you freeze time to target the enemy. I haven't figure out how to build up "action points" while in this mode, but it's amazingly gruesome when you destroy an enemy with a critical shot (we are talking a lot of decapitations).

Some bad news though, the game have high requirements to run on a computer, but it should fare fine on the PS3 and Xbox360 (however I should point out that the computer offers much more higher resolution gameplay due to turning on anti-aliasing up to 8x or high res texture). Also, you can no longer target the groin as an option :/

Still, this is such a great game. It's fun and it doesn't feel repetitive and you're never bored. Plus it's 10x better than Oblivion, especially because the enemies does not level up with you - so you feel like you're accomplishing something when you've invested all these experience points...

Anyway, back to music, here is another cover lover songs - but with a Halloween theme:

ROY G AND THE BIV roygandthebiv.com ♥ myspace.com/roygandthebiv Roy G and the Biv - Somebody's Watching Me I was offered some music review for Roy G and the Biv, but due to lack of time, I could not commit to it. Please continue to contact me regarding music submissions, I'm more than happy to look it over, although I can't promise anything. So, in case you were wondering about the name 'Roy G. Biv', it's actually the acronymn of the colors of the rainbow: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. I thought it was pretty clever (and gay), so I did end up listening to this duo's EP. The one song that did catch my attention (that's not on their EP, but you can download this song for free on his myspace) is the cover song of Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me", which long-time readers will remember that I've mentioned the original song before. The cover is pretty faithful, yet with their own guitar/keyboard mix to it. It's at time too synthy and the mix seems to overpower the vocals, but I reckon it's fine as it's their take on the song. It's not really my thing, but I will bet that Kate would really love this band, as she's expressed her love for synthpop duos, (such as Cromeo) in our podcast #30 show.

MARY SHELLEY OVERDRIVE maryshelleyoverdrive.blogspot.com ♥ myspace.com Mary Shelley Overdrive - The Hardest Button to Button This South Carolina band is making all three of their EPs available for free via their website. I wanted to mention them today, for the obviously Frankenstein author. I will admit to download all of the EPs to check out, but have only listened to a few songs for sample - they seem to me like industrial-surf-DJ music. That description probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense until you listen to it. The vocals style reminds me of Rob Zombie. I was going to use their "The Lament of Janos Skorzeny", but being a cover lover, I did really enjoy their White Stripes cover "The Hardest Button to Button". It looks like the band just released their self-titled debut album. The description via their website lists: Whenever the release of their album seemed imminent, another EP of cover songs was released - free - via their website. The bait-and-switch routine began Oct. 1, 2007, with the release of Shock Theatre, a stalling tactic to buy more time to finish their self-titled debut album. On Sept. 1, 2008, that album was finally released - a conceptual nightmare that blended a mind-bending trash culture and a general mistrust of society at large.

Links: www.weheartmusic.com podcast.weheartmusic.com news.weheartmusic.com

 10/31/2008 03:15:34  ♥ written by vu ()

Halloween 2008

 10/24/2008 08:42:20  ♥ written by vu ()

Heavy Water Experiments - Anodyne Heavy Water Experiments HEAVY WATER EXPERIMENTS heavywaterexperiments.com ♥ myspace.com Not exactly scary, but definitely creepy, the cover art to Heavy Water Experiments' self-titled album shows a woman semi-melting due to a lens distortion. Since I think cover art also lends itself to the overall feel of the album, I would have to say that this album is also moody and dark. I thought one of the more amusing names they used to describe their sound is "Pink Sabbath," which is a very good self-description of the band: a cross between Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath. Also what's worth noting about this band is that it features singer and bassist David Melbye on his 8-string bass/electric guitar. I believe most common bass guitars are four string, and I'm assuming that the extra double bass lines are for low and high of each music note. I can't say that I have the ear to pick up these subtle differences, but they definitely don't really sound like a typical band. The bass isn't at all that aggressive, not like, say, Primus, but it is a big part of their sound. "Anodyne" is the stand-out track for me. Melbye's vocals come in loud and clear on this track and the waves and waves of guitar and sound layers go up at crucial points. Check them out at the Derby: 28 Oct 2008 The Derby Los Feliz Village, CA If you like heavy psychedelic 70's music, you might want to check out this Los Angeles-based band. Their self-titled album can be purchased on cdbaby. If you can't get enough of them then, you can pick up the band's previous incarnation, Imogene.

Kinetic Stereokids-Explosions Were Heard (Live On KEXP) Kinetic Stereokids KINETIC STEREOKIDS kineticstereokids.net ♥ myspace.com/kineticstereokids I like, nay, I love doing these singles/EP reviews because these are a quick listen. Judging from the Misfits-type cover artwork, you would think that Kinetic Stereokids are only two kids (one playing the upright bass and the other, the drums)... but their 'space lists at least five band members (although I think there's only officially only four members, judging from their promotional pictures). Their Have A Nice Day EP came out last Tuesday, October 21st which really consists of only two songs, "Have A Nice Day" and "Blunder". The third and bonus track is "Explosions Were Heard", which was recorded live On KEXP. I am assuming it is only a bonus because their 7" color vinyl could not spare the room to fit in an extra six minutes. I actually really enjoyed their live song. It shows me that they have mastered the art of incorporating samples into their live songs and I get the impression that the singer likes to be very, very close to the microphone (listen closely for his spitty lyrics). Also stay tuned at the end of the song, where you can hear the DJ talking to the soft-spoken band members. If you like those Broken Social kids or Arcade Fire kids, I think you'll really like these Kinetic Stereokids. Their Have A Nice Day EP is out now on Overdraft Recordings. Definitely check out their insane Halloween show coming up on the 31st: 31 Oct 2008 The Loft Flint, Michigan 01 Nov 2008 (Scene) Metrospace Lansing, MI 08 Nov 2008 The Aloha Flint, Michigan

G Tom Mac - Cry Little Sister [2008 Caveclub Video Mix] G Tom Mac G TOM MAC gtommac.com ♥ myspace.com/gtommac G Tom Mac, aka Gerard McMahon, is my special guest for W♥M Podcast #28. His latest release is Thou Shall Not Fall, which was recently released as part of The Lost Boys: Tribe. I did manage to rent the sequel on DVD, as I do own and love the original Lost Boys movie by director Joel Schumacher. Talking to Mac, he explained his involvement with both movies, which I'm sure he must've answered a billion times. He also tells me that there will be a tour in Spring of '09, which I will also be mentioning when the time arrives on W♥M, as it seems only a few dates are confirmed at this time (be sure to be at the Virgin Megastore for the signing and spot Corey Heim). 10/30/08 Virgin Megastore Los Angeles, CA 11/01/08 Dracula's Ball Shampoo Nightclub Phila, PAI thought I would play it safe and use the new re-made "Cry Little Sister" (the Caveclub Video Mix), as the album seems to be revolving around this song. The original song does appear at the end/closing of the album, which made for a nice reprise. The song is absolutely timeless, and 40 years from now, it will still sound just as refreshing as it did in 1987. After using "Box of Fantasy" as suggested by Mac, the song ended up stuck in my head for a few days, thanks to its catchy guitar riffs! I also really enjoyed his theme song to another movie, I-See-You.com. Although I hadn't heard anything about this movie, based on the song, it feels upbeat, like a comedy or something. You can get the album via iTunes, but I do recommend getting the CD from amazon.

Joetown - Hole In My Soul Joetown JOETOWN joetown.com ♥ myspace.com/joetown Rounding out my vote for scariness is Joe Delaney, aka Joetown. Looking at the all-red cover art for Pills And Ammo, which was released just last August, I can tell you that Joetown scares me. He looks like a cross between the Devil and Jack the Ripper. Anyway, Slash from GNR is one of Joetown's biggest fans, and you can see why: Joetown is an excellent guitarist and songwriter. It's mostly classic 70's style guitar rock, so if you're not into going out drinking at a bar and rocking out, this album might not be your thing. Although mostly guitar-driven songs, I did enjoy the bass-y sound of "Broken Man" and the bluesy 46 second "Devil as Woman" (which I suspect is a cover song?). Some of the weird tactics Joetown uses are distorted vocals and odd sound effects. Speaking of Blues, Joetown thinks most of his songs are basically blues songs: If you break down my songs to chords and words, they are pretty much simple I-IV-V blues songs. They address the human condition and the give-and-take between relationships and the sexes. If you like guitar shredding and don't mind a few f-bombs, you'll love "My Anger Knows No Bounds". This sounds almost metal with the hardcore singing. But I've decided to go with "Hole In My Soul" to represent Joetown. This song features a lot of the distorted vocals I mentioned earlier. It's pretty much guitar-city on this song. Pills And Ammo is out now, you can pick it up from CD Baby.

Links: weheartmusic.com news.weheartmusic.com 

Songs about Werewolves

 

Ginger Snaps

In my final installment of Halloween treats, I'm going to compile some songs about Werewolves. I actually had a lot more Halloween-related posts I wanted to do, but lately I have not been home.

It began with the Greek mythology about Lycaon who was transformed into a wolf from eating human flesh. The term "werewolf" is based on old English, meaning "man-wolf".

In modern pop culture, the definitive portrayal of the Werewolf was by Lon Chaney Jr in "The Wolf Man" (1941).

Some characteristics of the Werewolves (all based on folklore): Once bitten by a Werewolf, that person also becomes a Werewolf. They turn into a Werewolf on a Full Moon. The only way to kill them is with a Silver bullet.

 

Michael Shields - Ginger Snaps Theme

 

My favorite Werewolf movies are "Ginger Snaps". The first movie is about two teenage girls. It was brilliantly executed, paralleling the transformation to a Werewolf and going through puberty. The second movie does the same thing - only Werewolf/drug addiction. The third movie takes place in the past. All the sequels are very different from each other, in story and theme, but they are all about Werewolves.

Update: I was gonna add this yesterday, thought better of it, but Vu's convinced me... The Ginger Snaps theme, composed Michael Shields and available only on his website for free download. It's hauntingly good! Oh maybe I should also mention that the girl who played Bridget in the movie, Emily Perkins (shorter darked haired one), came to my Uni a couple years ago to give a lecture / q&a session on the show (all 3 of which we got to see free, though I'd seen the first before), then ran off with and married one of the Uni lecturers! And that thing about puberty is exactly what I though, but apparently it is just about lesbians. Who knew. - Christopher.

 

Cocorosie - Werewolf My favorite Werewolf song is - hands down - "Werewolf" by Cocorosie. Coco (Bianca Casady) and Rosie (Sierra Casady) are real-life sisters. They have released three albums through Touch and Go Records. I don't know which of the two is singing (probably Coco as her name goes first in their name), but she has this very interesting vocal style. It's like a weird accent, it reminds me a lot of Joanna Newsom[W♥M]	Warren Zevon - Werewolves of London Warren Zevon has perhaps the best-known song of this group, "Werewolves of London". The song has a comic feel to it and not to be taken too seriously. According to listeners' polls, on the Jeremy Vine show, the first verse is the #1 "Greatest Opening Song Line." I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand Walking through the streets of Soho in the rain He was looking for the place called Lee Ho Fook's Going to get a big dish of beef chow mein
Running Wild - Prowling Werewolf Running Wild are a German heavy metal band from the 80s. What you probably didn't guess is that this song (and many of their other songs) are in English. "Prowling Werewolf", in particular, is a pretty good song. It's more like a power rock song than metal. An interesting note about Running Wild, is that they became the world's first "Pirate Metal" band. They arrrrr still an active band.	London - Werewolves In London Speaking of cheesy 80s metal, this song "Werewolf in London" by London, was suggested by This Episode. The song is fairly typical of this genre: loud guitars and the lead singer can really scream. Incidentally, in doing research for this American band, I found out that there is a British band also called London. But they are better suited for this name, seeing as they do live in London...
Harry and the Potters - My Teacher is a Werewolf Harry and the Potters was previously mentioned on W♥M. I've never read any of the books, but I get the impression that one of Harry's teacher was turned in a Werewolf? This information is what I've derived from the song. As for Werewolves in Harry Potter, apparently there's only three in the series: Remus Lupin, unnamed character, and Fenrir Greyback. I've deduced that Lupin is the teacher by day and wolf at night.	Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - She Said I didn't know about Jon Spencer Blues Explosion's "She Said" until Life in Ruins mentioned it. Listening to the lyrics, it's obvious now. The "She" in this song are words spoken by a Gypsy, who warns that the singer is a Werewolf: "you ain't a man no more, you're outta control. These wolf bites gonna find out what its like to lose your soul."
Scary Bitches - Werewolf Scary Bitches has a song called "Werewolf". Beyond that, I don't really know much about this British band. They seem to have a huge following in Germany, and are drenched in Goth-Rock.	La Union - Lobo Hombre En Paris La Union's song "Lobo Hombre in Paris" is a Spanish song, sent in by Cristina. Since I don't understand Spanish, I just thought of that movie "An American Werewolf in Paris" - the sequel to "An American Werewolf in London". But I am assuming this song pre-date the 1997 film?
the Dillinger Escape Plan - Sunshine the Werewolf The Dillinger Escape Plan's "Sunshine the Werewolf" is LOUD. It's too loud and hardcore and screamo for me to really enjoy. I figure if I was ever at one of their live show that I would go deaf instantly. However, before you start to turn down the volume, two minutes into the song and there is a nice break in the song. I still can't figure what the song has to do with Werewolves?	The Born Losers - Werewolves on Wheels Cristina also sent in this song "Werewolf on Wheels" by The Born Losers. I had a hell (haha) of a time looking for the album art for this album. It's a various artist album called Halloween Party. I had even a harder time finding any information about The Born Losers. This song is just an instrumental. I guess it's best imagined if you saw a hairy Werewolf on a motorcyle!
Metallica - Of Wolf and Man Metallica's song "Of Wolf and Man" is essentially about a Werewolf. The song is loud and includes a some crazy guitar noodles half way into the song (this part makes me think of hair bands from the 80s!). My favorite line from the song is: "The company we keep/Roaming the land while you sleep".	The Browns - American Werewolf in Calgary The (Motherf******) Browns are a punchy powerpunk band - similar to Blink 182. I thought this song was very poppy/fun band, and as their song title suggests, they really are based in Calgary, Canada. They're currently releasing their music on Meter Records.
Southern Culture On The Skids - Werewolf I have to say that I have rather enjoyed this song by Southern Culture on the Skids (SCOTS). The song simply is called "Werewolf". They kind of remind me of surf rock and has a very 70s feel to it (for a band that's in the mid-80s to 90s).	Cat Power - Werewolf Finally, remember that Cat Power song that was requested by a reader so long ago? Guess what? It's about a Werewolf! An interesting note about this song is that it's a cover! Originally written by Michael Hurley. Apparently Chan Marshall is a huge Hurley fan as she's also covered two of his other songs, "Sweedeedee" and "Troubled Water".

 

 10/31/2007 23:25:14  vu my♥posts [email protected] wikipedia.org/wiki/Werewolf

Not Exactly Halloween Songs

Here's my contribution for Halloween related music. I had an idea to post songs that were created specifically for Halloween, can be interpreted as Halloween songs, or conjure up images of Halloween. Hopefully you agree.

 

Haunted Castle

Belaire
"Haunted Castle" from Haunted Castle 7"
First up is Belaire's "Haunted Castle" from their out-of-print 7-inch with the same title. It's a perfect Halloween inspired song and the lyrics are quite straight-forward so there's no need for explanation.
Official Website | MySpace | Label | W♥M Post

Skulls

BlackBlack
"Skulls" from BlackBlack EP 2
BlackBlack's "Skulls" is a Misfits cover about wanting and needing skulls. Instead of the high-energy, upbeat, punk sound, they covered it as a down-tempo, slow, dull (not in a bad way, it fits the tempo), rock song.
Official Website | MySpace

Skeleton Song

Kate Nash
"Skeleton Song" from Made of Bricks
Kate Nash's "Skeleton Song" is a happy sounding, upbeat, pop song about love, though you don't have to view it that way. Since it's Halloween, you can view it as some weird relationship with a live skeleton.
Official Website | Virb | MySpace | Label

The Dandy Cowboys

Soko
"The Dandy Cowboys" from Not Sokute - EP
"The Dandy Cowboys" adds to the wonderful songs that Soko creates. It's a love song about a cowboy couple in which a lady is telling a man how much she loves him... or does she?
Virb | MySpace

Ghosts Have the Best Time

The Panda Band
"Ghosts Have the Best Time" from This Vital Chapter
I'm not exactly sure what this song's about, but I guess if you're dressing up for Halloween, go as a ghost.
MySpace | Label

Black Magic

Jarvis Cocker
"Black Magic" from Jarvis
"Black Magic" is about that dark magic that "blows your mind away and takes you somewhere that you wanna stay".
Official Website | MySpace | Label | W♥M Posts

October Leaves (October)

The Good Life
"October Leaves (October)" from Album of the Year
"October Leaves" isn't about or related to Halloween, but I thought it was a good song to segue away from Halloween. It's a beautiful song about someone acting differently around their partner around this time of the year; "everything's changed."
Official Website | MySpace | Label

Happy Halloween!

Posted by Jason

 

Little Blue Crunchy Things - Halloween

Little Blue Crunchy Things - Halloween

Little Blue Crunchy Things - Licorice

Little Blue Crunchy Things - Florence (Goes To Hell)

Little Blue Crunchy Things - Sindy

Fed up with Haloween tricks? Well oh boy do I have a big treat for you today, a big fat musical onesugar coated with an assortment of what we like to call Little Blue Crunchy Things. Also know as the damn well finest musicians to ever grace the state out of Wisconsin, if not the entire planed.

I first came across LBCT's blend of funk, jazz, hip-hop, blues, rock, rap, ska, country and who knows wtf else on the tabloid Jenny Jones chat show which incidently happened to have one of the finest line up of live band appearances I've ever seen on TV, but enough of that... Over five years I searched far and wide for every single thing the band have ever recorded, which wasn't so easy as they officially broke up around 2000, before I first heard of them.

They formed in the late 80s in Milwaukee, WI, fronted by a man called Noah Tabakin. They recorded three studio and two live albums but due to their range of styles and extended length of the albums it feels like a hell of a lot more. Noah freestyles, raps and beatboxes over a few songs, in addition to playing the sax and DJing. Some of the finest saxaphonests, bassists, funk guitarists and drummers in the area joined up, add in some trombone, trumpet, covers of heavy metal songs, and a range of vocalists from female hip-hop to male country singers and you have one of the widest musical styles to a band I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. No wonder frontman Noah is now part of a so-called "circus punk marching band".

Anyway, I've included a few songs in this post, but focusing primarily on anything with a bit of a dark side.
Starting up is the obvious "Halloween", their only released instrumental track from a live show in 1996.
"Licorice", which hopefully not to much of you are treated with tonight (it sucks, eh?) is from the same show, and demonstrates Noah's hip-hop vocal style.
Up third is a version of LBCT song "Florence" that was re-jigged by the band for their special Halloween shows throughout the 90s, and rebranded "Florence Goes To Hell" by their fans. It's much more of a treat if you've heard the original first, as this one flips the light hearted acoustic tune on it's much darker sided head.
Finally there's one of my favourite LBCT tunes, the synthed up, sexed up "Sindy" from their last ever official show in 2000.

I say official as the band to this day still get together to play reunion shows every now and then. Unfortunately a wee English kid with no money can not afford the trip over the pond, so has to make do with whatever turns up online. Which ain't much; below are the only videos of the band I've ever found - poor quality, dark, mobile phone clips, but fuck me if the 40 seconds of "Billy The Kid" on there isn't the best sounding country style track I've ever heard.

 

LBCT - Billy The Kid

LBCT - Hot Tub

LBCT - Wasp

Anyway, if there's one thing you do on a whim from this site, I'd suggest it's grab a hold of every Little Blue Crunchy Things album you can find, most of which are on digital download sites right now. You can start on their MySpace site and if you're not full enough of treats by this evening, just take a listen to Angels, the original Florence, Thunder, Hurricane, Babies, How Ya Gonna Do Me, Slip Away... hell, anything, and you'll get a taste of the greatest musicians ever.

- Christopher

Halloween Part I

Halloween

I'm just surprised that Danzig spent so much time unemployed and living in his parents' basement, instead of working for the New Jersey Tourism Board. There's more to NJ than shopping, folks -- Infection and possible death. Remember, biohazard is just a beach away. Just kidding. They picked up those syringes ages ago.

 

 

Now, ready yourselves for some really unscary tunes.

 

 

Halloween

Well, not this one. This is a really frightening song -- if you're four years old. I don't know when or where I first heard it, but I've loved spelling the chorus forever.

Wade Denning was a composer and jingle writer. (He passed away this last September.) Kay Lande is an actress and singer who's worked on children's projects since the early 60s.

I snagged the album from Scar Stuff.

 

 

 

Halloween

 

This endearing, little song won me over at first listen. I even like her sort of out-of-tune singing.

There's really not too much information about Lady Krishna's Peppermint Lounge, except for the little that appears on their MySpace page.  Their fan club is riddled with pop-ups and white space.

 

 

 

Halloween

 

As a fan of SynthPop and some Dark Wave, I always thought that I would like Japan. I tried a couple of times, but, for some reason, their moody electronics would not take.. till now. I'm all gooey for "Halloween", "Quiet Life", and "Fall in Love with Me".

 

 

 

Halloween

 

 Typical Aqua. Squeaky, silly, and great, braindead entertainment for the whole family. (That bald fool always makes me laugh.)

As of yesterday, they've reunited for a tour.

 

 

 

Halloween

 

There's no Halloween without Helloween's screamy goodness. I must apologize for depriving you guys of the 13-minute version with its extra shrillness and more menacing atmosphere. I don't know about those lyrics, though.

In November, Helloween will be touring with Gamma Ray (former Helloween guitarist Kai Hansen's band).

 

 

 

 

Oozing with moodiness, Cristina