W♥M

Christmas 2016: Girls girls girls

Read More Marié Digby We previously announced The Hapa Tour (featuring co-headliners Meiko and Marié Digby) earlier in January 2016... and finally the tour will be making a stop at the Cedar Cultural Center this Monday, March 14th. …

Here are some new Christmas / Holiday songs for 2016.

Read more Christmas.

>>>

MARIE DIGBY
marie-digby.com

Singer/songwriter Marié Digby recently released her Christmas song ‘Venice Beach Christmas’ on iTunes and other streaming outlets (read: Spotify).

Unlike the typical Christmas song, featuring snow and cold weather... Digby’s song is all about feeling breezy and beachy.

We saw Digby with Meiko in March 2016 and wrote how she first came to fame with her viral cover of Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’ song.

Read More She & Him She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward) have a new cover lover album Classics this December 3rd, on Columbia Records. The entire album was recorded live and accompanied by a 20-piece orchestra. …

SHE & HIM
sheandhim.com

New Girl’s Zooey Deschanel and Monsters of Folk’s M. Ward is She & Him. I’ll never forget seeing the duo in June 2010, as the two does not often tour together. Plus with Deschanel’s commitment to her television show, I doubt the two will be doing any future appearances...

There’s good news, of course, She & Him just released their sixth studio album Christmas Party (Columbia Records). Guest appearance on the album includes Jenny Lewis, The Chapin Sisters and Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley.

Christmas Party is available digitally, on CD and vinyl. Tracklisting:

1. All I Want for Christmas Is You
2. Let It Snow
3. Must Be Santa
4. Happy Holiday
5. Mele Kalikimaka
6. Christmas Memories
7. Run Run Rudolph
8. Winter Wonderland
9. The Coldest Night of the Year
10. A Marshmallow World
11. The Man with the Bag
12. Christmas Don't Be Late

Read More Marika Hackman Marika Hackman has announced her long awaited debut album, titled We Slept at Last. The album will be the folk songstress' first full length release in the wake of a string of acclaimed EP's …

MARIKA HACKMAN
marikahackman.com

While we wait for a new Marika Hackman album in 2017, you can pick up her Christmas EP Wonderland now.

“Wonderland” is Marika’s new Alt.Christmas take on some classic holiday tunes, as well as some original compositions.

Hackman’s name first came to our attention at the Great Escape 2013. A few years later, she finally got around to releasing her debut record We Sleep At Last (in 2015) with her producer Charlie Andrew (Alt-J).

Wonderland Tracklisting:

1. Intro
2. In The Bleak Midwinter
3. Driving Under Stars
4. O Come, O Come, Emanuel
5. Paper Crown
6. Winter Wonderland

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

And Ampersand

Read More Belle & Sebastian We've been very excited about news of the new Belle & Sebastian 2015 album for a while now, but the band recently made things official: It is called Girls in Peacetime Want To Dance …

BELLE & SEBASTIAN
belleandsebastian.com

We've seen these type of crowd-source music videos before, the latest is from Scottish band Belle & Sebastian for the "Nobody's Empire" video. I've criticized a few bands for doing this, mainly because I feel it's a cheap of them (I know the band can afford to produce a music video). But hey, who am I to say, as long as fans love doing this for their favorite bands... Full details of this at belleandsebastian.com.

They need the video clips by no later than Thursday 27th November so that we have time to edit them into the video.

Tour dates:

01/26/15 Auckland Laneway Festival, New Zealand
01/29/15 Sydney, Enmore Theatre
01/31/15 Australia, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
02/01/15 Melbourne, Palais Theatre
02/03/15 Australia, Perth, Astor Theatre,
02/10/15 Hong Kong, Asia World Arena
02/12/15 S.Korea, Seoul, AX Club
02/16/15 Hostess Club Taipei, Legacy, Taipei
02/21/15 Japan, Tokyo, Hostess Club
03/30/15 USA, Cambridge, House of Blues
04/01/15 Canada, Toronto, Massey Hall
04/02/15 USA, Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak
04/03/15 USA, Riviera, Chicago
05/03/15 UK, Cardiff, St David’s Hall
05/04/15 UK, Bristol, Colston Hall
05/07/15 UK, Cambridge, Corn Exchange
05/08/15 UK, Norwich, Open
05/10/15 UK, Birmingham, Symphony Hall
05/11/15 UK, Westminster, Central Hall
05/12/15 UK, Westminster, Central Hall
05/14/15 UK, Manchester, Albert Hall
05/15/15 UK, Manchester, Albert Hall
05/16/15 UK, Newcastle City Hall
05/18/15 UK, Buxton, Opera House
05/19/15 UK, Leeds, Town Hall
05/22/15 Glasgow Hydro Arena
05/24/15 UK, Sound City, Liverpool
06/10/15 New York, Radio City Music Hall
07/02/15 KEFLAVIK, ATP Iceland

Read More She & Him She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward) just released a new EP called The Capitol Studios Session. The digital-only release features new version of four songs taken from their latest Volume 3 album. …

SHE & HIM
sheandhim.com

She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward) have a new cover lover album Classics this December 3rd, on Columbia Records.

The entire album was recorded live and and accompanied by a 20-piece orchestra.

Track Listing

1. Stars Fell on Alabama
2. Oh No, Not My Baby
3. It’s Not for Me to Say
4. Stay Awhile
5. This Girl’s In Love With You
6. Time After Time
7. She
8. Teach Me Tonight
9. It’s Always You
10. Unchained Melody
11. I’ll Never Be Free
12. Would You Like to Take a Walk
13. We’ll Meet Again

Read More Gardens & Villa Gardens & Villa are back with Dunes, their second LP, which came out two weeks ago on Secretly Canadian. …

GARDENS & VILLA
gardensandvilla.com

Gardens & Villa recently shared a remix from multi-platinum, Grammy nominated producer N.O. Joe of "Domino" off of Gardens & Villa's Dunes, released earlier this year on Secretly Canadian.

N.O. Joe (I believe the "N.O." stands for New Orleans, because he is based out of Louisiana) has worked with everyone from Ice Cube to Lil Wayne, and is a multi-platinum Grammy Nominated producer.

The secret origin of this collaboration about when G&V randomly met with N.O. Joe at SXSW 2014 at a late-night tacos eatery. The two became friends and out of this, the remix of "Domino".

Hear it now:



Gardens & Villa will cap off their year with a headlining show at The Echoplex in Los Angeles on Saturday, December 13.

Read More Yoko Ono Smith speaks on the phone with John & Yoko, who are in their suite at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal for the second of their two Bed-Ins. Among other things, they discuss selling Peace as a commodity, the Activist … The Flaming Lips I think this was my first time seeing The Flaming Lips, but I could be wrong. Seems odd that this was "a very special Early Evening performance", since the band's psychedelic/space rock seems to work better at night … Jessica Hernandez Jessica Hernandez is a first-generation American, living in Detroit, Michigan. She lists her influences are Gogol Bordello and Tom Waits, both bands that we like on W♥M. …

YOKO ONO & THE FLAMING LIPS
yoko-ono.com

I know it's only November, but Christmas time is almost here.

Yoko Ono & The Flaming Lips have teamed up to record "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" for All Is Bright - The Exclusive Amazon Holiday Playlist.

The playlist features over 40 songs by artists such as the other ampersand artist Jessica Hernandez & the Deltas, Ashley Monroe, Brandi Carlile, Liz Phair, Jessie Baylin, Lucinda Williams, PHOX and many more

All Is Bright is an exclusive newly-recorded holiday songs available for listening on Amazon's Prime Music service. This is the first-ever exclusive holiday playlist from Amazon is available for unlimited ad-free listening on Prime Music for Amazon Prime members at no additional cost to their membership. If you want to own the album, they are not sold as an album, instead they are variously priced (mostly $0.99 each). It can end up costing you over $30, so the value isn't quite there if you want to own it.

Newly-written holiday songs for All Is Bright:

Anna Nalick — “Till the End of the Year (Bye Buy By)”

Blondfire — “Christmas Lights”

Emi Meyer — “Everything this Christmas”

Jenn Bostic — “Light a Candle For You”

Julian Moon — “Best Christmas Ever”

Liz Phair — “Ho Ho Ho”

Ruby the RabbitFoot — “Under Any Limb”

Selena Garcia — “Hold-up Holidays”

Never heard before renditions of holiday classics for All Is Bright:

Amanda Palmer — “The Angel Gabriel” Ashley Monroe — “Tennessee Christmas” Beth Orton — “River” Brandi Carlile — “O Holy Night” Elastic Bond — “Winder Wonderland” Escort — “Last Christmas” Heartless Bastards — “White Christmas” Hero Fisher — “Pretty Paper” Houndmouth — “Blue Christmas” Jessica Hernandez & the Deltas — “I Want a Hippopotamus...” Jessie Baylin — “Purple Snowflakes” Jillian Edwards — “O Come, All Ye Faithful” Kat Parsons — “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” Kate Davis feat. Gabe Schnider — “Greensleeves” Kelly Hogan — “Blue Snowfall” Ladyhawke — “Merry Xmas Everyone” Laura Gibson — “A Wonderful Christmastime”

Lauren Shera — “(It’s Gonna Be a) Lonely Christmas” Little & Ashley — “Someday at Christmas” Lucinda Williams — “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” Mia Doi Todd — “The Cherry Tree Carol” Natalia Clavier — “My Favorite Things” Natalia Zukerman — “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve” No Sinner — “Baby Please Come Home” PHOX — “The Christmas Song” Ruby Jane Smith — “Make a Wish” Ruthie Foster — “Amazing Grace” Shaprece — “Carol of the Bells” Shelby Earl — “We Three Kings” Sinclair — “The Christmas” Tal Wilkenfeld — “All I Want for Christmas Is You” The Rosebuds — “Let it Snow” This Is The Kit — “It’s Christmas Time” Yoko Ono & Flaming Lips — “Happy Xmas (War is Over)”

Read More Sonny & the Sunsets I Need You Bad is a compilation curated by Sonny Smith (of Sonny & the Sunsets) documenting the current garage rock scene in the Bay area and beyond (not every band included here is from the Bay area & it's not 100% garage rock!). …

SONNY & THE SUNSETS
sonnysmith.com

San Francisco's Sonny & the Sunsets is back with Talent Night at the Ashram, set for February 17, 2015, on Polyvinyl Records.

You may remember that we reviewed Sonny & the Sunset's compilation/curated album I Need You Bad, which wrote was, mostly from California's "60's surf".

Talent Night at the Ashram will be available in all the usual formats (CD, digital, cassette, and vinyl). The 180g Vinyl will be limited edition of 500 exclusive to the Polyvinyl webstore on light blue (preorder now to guarantee a copy polyvinylrecords.com). There will also be an unlimited version on red vinyl.

Track List:

1. The Application
2. Cheap Extensions
3. The Secluded Estate
4. Talent Night at the Ashram
5. Alice Leaves for the Mountains
6. Happy Carrot Health Food Store
7. Blot Out the Sun
8. Baby Jokin
9. Icelene's Loss
10. Secret Plot

Read More Cracker Upcoming December Shows 12/01/14 Allah-Las and Tashaki Miyaki at Turf Club 12/04/14 Cracker at Varsity Theater …

HUGH BOB & THE HUSTLE
hughbobandthehustle.com

I believe Wisconsin's Hugh Bob & The Hustle (headed by 'North Country' singer/songwriter Hugh Robert Masterson) will be appearing with Cracker this December 4th at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis. If you listened to our new podcast, you can clearly hear us singing to various Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven songs off the top of our heads.

Opening up the Minnesota show will be Hugh Bob & The Hustle, a band that's been compared to all the greats, including Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, John Prine, etc.

Check out his song "Butternut":



When Masterson play live, he's joined by The Hustle, a band comprising of bassist Nicholas Stuart, keyboardist Bradley Kruse, guitarist Quinn Scharber, and drummer Justin Krol.

Hugh Bob & The Hustle's other show will be at The Frequency in Madison on December 5, 2014.

Read More Arrica Rose & the ...'s Arrica Rose & The ... is essentially Arrica Rose, she's backed up by her band The ...'s (The Dots Dots Dots), and I'll bet that her latest album, La La Lost, is in reference to being lost in her residence of Los Angeles. …

ARRICA ROSE & THE ...'S
arricarose.com

Remember Arrica Rose & the ...'s (The Dot Dot Dots)? They just released their latest album Wavefunction, out November 4th via pOprOck records.

The album was designed for vinyl, each side featuring a distinct mood. Rose explains, "We think of it as music for different occasions, a choose your own adventure kind of album." (Which incidentally, " Choose Your Own Adventure" one of the key creator R. A. Montgomery passed away November 9th).

Track List:

1. Song in Your Head
2. Love You Like That
3. Tiny Broken Boats
4. California On Repeat
5. Oh the Day (Then the Night)
6. In Dreams
7. Safety Pin
8. The Shallow End
9. Cut It Out
10. Where You've Been
11. (Oh the Day) Then the Night

BRIEFLY:

RAZOR & TIE razorandtie.com Record label Razor & Tie had a breakout year at rock radio in 2014 with hits from The Pretty Reckless ("Heaven Knows" finishes the year as the #1 song at Active and Mainstream Rock), All That Remains and Starset making the label the most successful indie in the format and the second strongest rock label, second only to Warner Brothers.

TOOTH & NAIL toothandnail.com Record label Tooth & Nail announced a new album from Copeland (who we saw in 2009) called Ixora.... his first album in six years. Also, they recently also signed Long Beach's Hearts Like Lions.

MILK & BONE milkandbone.mu Montreal's Milk & Bone recently signed with Bonsound with a single and music video called "New York". The electro-pop duo (Camille Poliquin and Laurence Lafond-Beaulne) will be releasing their debut album early spring 2015.

KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD kinggizzardandthelizardwizard.com One of the most ridiculous band names, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are wrapping up their UK tour in support of their latest LP I'm In Your Mind Fuzz (released November 11th on Castle Face in the US and Heavenly in the UK). Remaining tour dates: Bodega Social Club, Nottingham (11/26) and Rough Trade East, London (12/01).

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

She & Kim & Matt & Him

Read More She & Him Although the sisters exit the stage, they soon appear, singing back up for She & Him. I'll have to say that seeing Zooey, standing next to Matthew Ward, that she's a very small person. Ward rarely sings.…

SHE & HIM
sheandhim.com

She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward) just released a new EP called The Capitol Studios Session. The digital-only release features new version of four songs taken from their latest Volume 3 album.

Volume 3 was released earlier in May, and is a bit of a misnomer as it is the fourth studio album by She & Him (the third album was a Christmas special, A Very She & Him Christmas).

The Capitol Studios Session features Zooey Deschanel, M. Ward, Abigail Chapin, Lily Chapin, Mike Coykendall, Tom Hagerman, Scott McPherson, and Chris Scruggs. It was recorded at Capitol Studios and mixed by Larry Crane.

Track listing:

1. I Could've Been Your Girl
2. Shadow of Love
3. Snow Queen
4. Turn to White

Read More Matt & Kim That was a lot of fun. The foul-mouthed couple/duo Matt & Kim brought their energy to First Avenue in Minneapolis, last night, November 7th. …

MATT & KIM
mattandkimmusic.com

We saw Matt and Kim live a few years ago, and they were so much fun. What's new with the duo? They are selling all their MP3 albums for $5.99 each (sale ends December 7th). Their final year-end show will be in New York at Cyndi Lauper & Friends: Home for the Holidays benefit show at the Beacon Theatre on December 7th. Ticket and information at truecolorsfund.org.

Also, in case you missed it, last month Matt & Kim released a remix album called Lightning Remixes on FADER. If you get the album on limited vinyl, it comes with a die-cut featuring a topless Kim.

Lightning Remixes Tracklisting:

1. It's Alright (Bonde Do Role Remix)
2. Let's Go (Stefan Dabruck Remix)
3. Now (Lazerbeak and Cecil Otter Remix)
4. Overexposed (Anamanaguchi's Turbo Remix)
5. It's Alright (Salva's Synth Pop Remix)
6. Not That Bad (Jingle Punks Hipster Orch Cover)
7. It's Alright (DJ Venom Remix)
8. Overexposed (Druids Remix)
9. Let's Go (Team Bayside High Remix)
10. Tonight (Federation Sound Remix)
11. It's Alright (Yung Skeeter Remix)

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com

W♥M135: The Golden Age of Minnesota Music

W♥M135 (47 mins)

Your hosts are Lara, Kate, and Vu.

Is Minnesota experiencing a new golden age of music? MPR and The Current seems to think so.

In the current music Minnesota scene, there are a couple bands that's really blown up nationally, even overseas.

Hot Minnesota bands at the moment:

• Doomtree (all the Rhymesayers artists, including Atmosphere)
• Trampled by Turtles
• Poliça
• Howler
• Motion City Soundtrack

The majority of the show is about Semisonic and Dan Wilson. The band doesn't regularly release music or go on tour, but once in a while, Wilson and company will play a show here and there. They recently played in Mound, Minnesota (5/19/12).

Opening up for them was The Twilight Hours, featuring Dan's brother, Matt Wilson. We also discuss a little about Trip Shakespeare.

Song of the show is Semisonic's "Closing Time".

PLUS:
Soul Asylum has a new album called Delayed Reaction, coming out July 17th, 2012, via 429 Records.

They are doing some random shows this year:

Jun 1 Friday LIVE! at the Factory Charlotte, NC
Jun 2 Balloon & Wine Festival Temecula, CA
Jun 23 Safeway Barbecue Battle Washington, D.C.
Jul 13 Common Ground Music Festival Lansing, MI
Jul 20 First Avenue Minneapolis, MN

BONUS:
• Spearz, the all-male Britney Spears cover band, will be playing at The annual Pride Festival in Loring Park on June 23, opening up for Kelly Rowland.
• Har Mar Superstar wrote songs for Britney Spears, but some of those songs were rejected by Britney Spears' management. He recorded those songs under his 2009 album, Dark Touches.
• Rock the Vine 3: June 9th in Stillwater, Minnesota. We preview some artists on the lineup, and mentioned Lynhurst, the band used to have their dad as the drummer under the name The Abdomen.
• Cults, the "forgettable appearance" at NXNE in Toronto, Canada .
• Zooey Deschanel's "New Girl" is an awful show. Adorkable boy/girl/twee cute music will make Kate and Lara want to stab themselves.
• Minneapolis beat Seattle/Portland for the "mostiest" hipster state. We have more bike trails, and we have Caribou Coffee vs Starbucks.

W♥M Radio is available on iTunes, please subscribe!

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____
Archive of this show at archive.org. More information on podomatic.com

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Tributes

I've a couple of Crickets/Buddy Holly and Bobby Vee albums that I ended up listening to all day today. They sure don't write them like they used to.

>>>
THAT'LL BE THE RAVE
Since it would be Buddy Holly's 75th birthday, if he were still alive, so there's actually a few tribute album to the thick-rimmed glass-wearing rock pioneer.

Listen to Me: Buddy Holly is one of the albums, coming out September 6th, 2011, via Verve/Forecast in the US (and eOne Music in Canada). The album is produced by Peter Asher (with Songmasters), and it features a collection of tribute/cover songs, all originally written by the late Buddy Holly. Some of the artists involved, includes Ringo Starr (Beatles), Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac), Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs), Jackson Browne, Cobra Starship, Brian Wilson (Beach Boys), Chris Isaak, Pat Monahan (Train), Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy), Jeff Lynne (Electric Light Orchestra), and Zooey Deschanel (She & Him).

In case you were wondering what Songmasters' name attached to this project, they are supporting emerging talents to carry on Buddy Holly's legacy. Since 2009, Songmasters has given out The Holly Prize, an annual award presented by the Songwriters Hall of Fame to recognize and support aspiring young musician/singer/songwriter whose work exhibits the qualities of Holly's music.

More information on Songmasters at songmasters.org, more information about Listen to Me: Buddy Holly at listentomebuddyholly.com.

While the above tribute is more centered around established and older musicians, it would seem that Rave On Buddy Holly speaks more on the modern music listeners with such artists like Paul McCartney, My Morning Jacket, Cee Lo Green, Justin Townes Earle, The Black Keys, Florence + The Machine, She & Him (Zooey is double-dipping!), Modest Mouse, Julian Casablancas (Strokes), Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Fiona Apple and John Brion, Graham Nash, The Detroit Cobras, Kid Rock, John Doe, Karen Elson, Nick Lowe and Jenny O.

The album actually came out last month (June 28, 2011), via Fantasy Records/Concord Music Group. I don't have a copy, but I'm curious what Fiona Apple & Jon Brion's version of "Every Day" (one of my favorite Holly song) would sound like. I can only imagine Apple to ooze of sex and weirdness.

You can find out more about Rave On Buddy Holly at raveonbuddyholly.com.

NEVERFIND
I'm not sure if you can still get this, but Spin Magazine is giving away Newermind, a collection of covers by Meat Puppets, The Vaselines, Butch Walker & The Black Widows, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Midnight Juggernauts, Titus Andronicus, Amanda Palmer, Surfer Blood, Foxy Shazam, Ema, Telekinesis, Jeff the Brotherhood, Charles Bradley & the Menahan Street Band. I was told that the album is free until July 25th, but as of this writing, it's still available at facebook.com.

You are required to "like" Spin (lame, I know)... but it's cool, I actually like Spin Magazine, they give away a lot of free music.

Since I have a lot of music to shift through, the only song I listened to from this tribute is the Meat Puppets song, "Smells Like Teen Spirit". I've heard a lot of "Teen Spirit" covers, this isn't one of my favorite - but there are very few bands that can do Nirvana justice.

GERMFREE IDENTITY
It was at the Hunx and His Punx show (05/01/11) when I first heard that Poly Styrene had passed away. It was a random conversation with a fellow X-Ray Spex fan. She's gone, but she's definitely not forgotten.

The latest news is that Michael Jackson impersonators paid tribute to the late Poly Styrene for the video "Ghoulish". Having just watched the video, it's about a Michael Jackson audition, and it turned into a massive Thriller-dance throw down at the end. Really fun video.

I think the real irony is that the song "Ghoulish" was inspired by Michael Jackson himself. Her lyrics about seeing through Jackson's mask of "crimson lips and charcoal eyes" to see that he is "quite a nice guy", even though she's never met him.

The music video can be seen at youtube.com, more information about Poly Styrene can be found at www.poly-styrene.com.



YOU KNOW I'M NO GOOD
I know, I know, she's not gone for a week and already I got a note about a mini-mix tribute by Diwon.

Off topic, but I've also noticed all these compilations called Amy Winehouse Tribute/Collection appearing on iTunes and Zune marketplace. I know they have to strike while the iron is hot, but doesn't it seem weirdly greedy? In fact, Microsoft apologized for tweeting "Remember Amy Winehouse by downloading the ground-breaking 'Back to Black' over at Zune." Microsoft didn't need to do that, by all accounts, her death brought her album album "Back To Black" back on the charts.

Anyway, the free Amy Winehouse mix by Diwon can be download at shemspeed.com, where they have this to say:

We were all really sad to hear that Amy Winehouse, the English singer-songwriter known for her powerful contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz passed away two days ago and we wanted to pay tribute with a mini-mix that really shows how incredible of an artist she was. Feel free to share and re-post wherever you would like.

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