W♥M (Archive)

Free Holiday EP from Kori Pop

Kori Pop: Christmas Time Is Here Read More Kori Pop Kori Pop stopped in on W♥M Radio to talk about her album, From The Outskirts. Questions and answers includes her name, where the album was recorded, arts and crafts, and "Nowher...

Kori Pop wants to give you More Love Goes Into Handmade Gifts: a holiday ep for free. Head over to koripop.bandcamp.com to download it.

Interested in hearing all about Kori Pop ? Listen to W♥M Radio #91!

More Love Goes Into Handmade Gifts: a holiday ep band name
by Kori Pop

Last Christmas I decided to gift my friends and family with some holiday music. This Christmas, I have decided to share them with everyone else.

Thank you to those of you who have been so supportive and kind to me and "From the Outskirts" this year.

Consider this little holiday EP a gift from me to you.

♥ Kori
xot

Tracklisting

1. Christmas Time Is Here
2. Rudie the Red Nosed Reindeer
3. Messed Up This Christmas (More Love Goes Into Handmade Gifts)
4. To My Winter Child

Recorded and Mixed December 2009 by Kori Pop and Justin Dunlop.
released 29 November 2010
"Rudie" and "Christmas Time is Here" recorded at Black Path Studio in Hamilton, Ontario
"Messed Up This Christmas (More Love Goes Into Handmade Gifts)" and "To My Winter Child" written by Kori Pop and recorded at Lemonbutton Studio in Mount Hope, Ontario

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

News: Free Exclusive Holiday Music from Target

Jenny O. : Get Down for the Holidays

It's not even December, but Target is giving away Christmas gifts with their exclusive 13 holiday songs for free at target.com.

Tracks include Jenny O. (who has a new EP called Home out tomorrow, November 30^th via Manimal Records), Indie-faves like Wavves & Best Coast team-up song, and Coconut Records (aka Jason Schwartzman, who recently appeared in Scott Pilgrim vs the World).

Although Target's website lists "13 free tracks", there are actually 14. Below are the full tracklisting of Target's The Christmas Gig album:

1. "Tiny Tree Christmas" by Guster
2. "Toy Jackpot" by Blackalicious
3. "Snow Is Falling" by Darker My Love
4. "Perfect Gift" by Natalie Hemby
5. "10,000 Watts" by Crystal Antlers
6. "You'll Never Find My Christmas" by Bishop Allen
7. "Get Down for the Holidays" by Jenny O.
8. "Mrs. Claus Ain't Got Nothin' On Me" by Little Jackie
9. "Electronic Santa" by Blazer Force
10. "Got Something for You" by Best Coast/Wavves
11. "It's Christmas" by Coconut Records
12. "Party Hard" by Little Isidore
13. "Super Mama" by The Pinker Tones
14. "Un Regalo Para Mi" by Ceci Bastida

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

Rogue Valley at the Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (11/26/10)

Discography [Mar 2010] Crater Lake [Aug 2010] The Bookseller's House [Nov 2010] Geese In the Flyway Read More Rogue Valley I did look into it, it turns out Rogue Valley is basically Chris Koza. The idea behind this band was that Koza would write and release full length albums, an album per season in 2010.

Rogue Valley's CD release show at the Cedar Cultural Center on November 26^th, aka Black Friday, was a big success. Some fans, generally a late twenties/early thirties, showed up early, and they were lucky enough to witness three really great bands.

♥ Franz Nicolay ♥ Stornoway

Starting off the night was Franz Nicolay, who surprised me with a full band. I was under the impression that it would just be Nicolay and his accordion, but he's got keys, a funky upright bass, violins and a drummer. He sounded all over the place, much like his New York gypsyness looks. The highlight of his set was an apology song to the new singer of the Dead Kennedys.

Stornoway came on stage very stiffly and muttering a fact that we already all knew: "this is possibly the coldest place we've ever been to". I didn't know any of their music, but from what I've read, they're becoming quite the star in the UK, having recently sold-out O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in London. So we were very lucky to see this young band at such a small intimate venue.

Many of their songs are the folk/rock variety, two songs were sung without microphones (which works at the Cedar, but I'm not so sure at other noisy dive bar settings), and for the first time in my concert-going career, a dolly was played on stage. I felt the violin player was underused, he only played for a few songs and most of the time he just sat there on stage with his head staring at his shoes. The highlight of their set was a song about the River Thames called "On the Rocks", and also, their final song on the set, "The End of the Movie".

Since this was an album release show for Geese in the Flyway, the third "Fall" album in 2010, from Rogue Valley, it would make sense that they'd play music from their new album. I didn't expect that they basically play the entire album, from start to finish, with a couple of songs from their previous two other albums thrown in there at the encore.

I did not have their album, nor did I get a chance to listen to the album online, but listening to the album for the first time live, I can tell you that these songs are about experiences and places. I get the impression that the majority of these songs were written on tour, through places like "Somewhere in Massachusetts", "Grand Central Station", "Cape May", etc. Which, I also suspect were written on the East Coast.

In addition to hearing the entire album played live, they also had a movie playing in the background to accompanied each track. Each movie is different from each other, but it's mostly footage that the band shot in their travels.

Another surprise was hearing Linnea Mohn singing on some songs, particularly on the upbeat track "Centralia, PA", because I was expecting singer/songwriter Chris Koza to carry all the weight. The final song on the set was "Racecar Driver" from The Bookseller's House.

If you were interested in purchasing any of the three albums so far (Crater Lake, The Bookseller's House, and Geese in the Flyway), you can find details on their official website. Lara has agreed to review their third album, so expect to hear from Rogue Valley again in the future.

♥ Rogue Valley at Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (11/26/10)

vu () ♥ lostinroguevalley.com ♥ chriskoza.com

KT Tunstall at the Epic, Minneapolis (11/18/10)

Tour Dates 11/27 - 9:30 Club Washington, DC 11/29 - House of Blues Boston, MA 12/01 - Terminal 5 New York 02/19 - Radisson Hotel Galway, Ireland 02/20 - Cork Opera House Cork, Ireland 02/21 - Olympia Theatre Dublin, Ireland 02/23 - Alhambra Dunfermline, UK 02/24 - O2 Academy Newcastle Upon Tyne 02/25 - Academy Manchester, UK 02/27 - O2 Academy Leeds, UK 02/28 - Assembly Rooms Leamington Spa 03/01 - Colston Hall Bristol, UK 03/03 - O2 Academy Birmingham, UK 03/04 - O2 Academy Bournemouth, UK 03/05 - Brighton Dome Brighton, UK 03/07 - UEA Norwich, UK 03/08 - HMV Forum London, UK 03/14 - Ancienne Belgique Brussels, Bel 03/15 - MELKWEG MAX Amsterdam 03/16 - La Cigale Paris, France 03/18 - Les Docks Lausanne, Switzerland 03/20 - Komplex Zurich, Switzerland 03/30 - O-East Tokyo, Japan 03/31 - Club Quattro Nagoya, Japan 04/01 - Club Quattro Osaka, Japan Discography [2004] Eye to the Telescope [2007] Drastic Fantastic [2010] Tiger Suit Read More KT Tunstall You can now watch all of KT Tunstall's music videos, live performances, and various appearances on Hulu at hulu.com/kt-tunstall.

So, I was lucky enough to catch KT Tunstall on November 18^th at the Epic. As I've previously explained, I have not been to that venue in a long time, back when it was called the Quest.

♥ Hurricane Bells

Opening up for KT was Hurricane Bells, a band from New York. The first thing that came to my mind was that the band is a very strange assembly of people (like they shouldn't all be friends). Whatever the case, they all seem really happy to be in Minneapolis, for the first time. Memorable moment was when singer/songwriter Steve Schiltz explained that their song, "Monsters", was featured in Twilight. I didn't know any of their songs, but they ended their set with a song that had these lines: "you're an accident waiting to happen", which certainly is not "The Winters in New York" (which is a free download on their website).

A quite small framed-KT Tunstall came on stage, through a fog machine, to a screaming crowd of eager fans. I'll tell you one thing, I only have her earlier albums, Eye to the Telescope, Acoustic Extravaganza, and Drastic Fantastic, but unfortunately, most of her songs played at that were from her latest release, Tiger Suit. I'm not the only one there that didn't know the new material, it seems all the people around me didn't even know she had a new album. The new songs seems to include more keys/electronic in the tunes.

Of the new songs, I thought "Glamour Puss" and "Madame Trudeaux" were good. The later was supposed to be about Margaret Trudeau, who ditched her husband, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, on election day, to follow the Rolling Stones on tour. Incidentally, I think he lost.

By the time familiar songs were played, which was about seven or eight songs in, the crowd went nuts for "Black Horse & The Cherry Tree", clearly the night's favorite song. Another block of new songs followed with "Lost", "Golden Frames", "Difficulty", and "The Entertainer". For a few of those songs, most of the band left the stage.

The other fan-favorite that night was "Saving My Face", which sounded much more rocking than I remembered it being on Drastic Fantastic. Admittedly, songs from Drastic Fantastic were more rock than her acoustic folky debut album.

She did three songs for her encore, with the most interesting being an Erasure cover, "A Little Respect". Maybe she should've dedicated the song to a pack of girls in front were clearly not paying attention to the show.

PS, I understand that people are just out to have a good time at concerts, but if you're going to be talking on the phone, taking pictures of yourselves, and talking over the singer - maybe you shouldn't be right in front where the singer can clearly see and hear you. Just saying it's rude.

PPS, Also, I had no idea that playing with KT was Charlotte Hatherley. I've met her before when she was in Ash, and last year saw her in Bat for Lashes at the Varsity Theater. So it was quite surprising to see her in the band, it really made my year. I love Charlotte and I think she really compliment KT, by taking the heavy guitar work and leaving KT to do the vocals thing.

PPPS, The ultimate KT fan should check out the Amazon exclusive CD/DVD, which includes a documentary of "How To Make A Tiger Suit". According to the description, the film is about her travels from Scotland to London, then California to Berlin.

♥ KT Tunstall at the Epic, Minneapolis (11/18/10)

vu () ♥ kttunstall.com

Two Hours Traffic - Territory

Tour Dates 11/27 - Edinburgh Castle Hotel, Adelaide 11/28 - East Brunswick Club, Melbourne 11/29 - East Brunswick Club, Melbourne 12/02 - Spotted Cow, Toowoomba 12/03 - Northern, Byron Bay 12/05 - The Zoo, Brisbane Discography [2005] Two Hours Traffic [2007] Little Jabs [2009] Territory

In 2008 Two Hours Traffic was short-listed for a Polaris Music Prize—Canada’s version of the Mercury Prize—alongside critically-acclaimed acts like Stars and Caribou. No small feat for a band that hails from an island province with a population of 141,000. Take one listen to their newest release, Territory, and you’ll get it: you’ll hear it: the satisfying deep release of untainted, unabashedly sweet pop music. I’d imagine that years spent on a quaint island, fishing, renewing energy, and paying lofty sales tax would keep even the naughtiest rockstar humble. Nice, even.

Absent from the album is the cynical edge so favored by New York bands or the inert depression so favored by Midwest bands. Instead, Two Hours Traffic relies heavily on catchy hooks and heartfelt lyrics.  In this way, Territory is reminiscent of 90s “alt” bands like Gin Blossoms and Semisonic (if the Gin Blossoms included more four-part harmonies in their repertoire). Singer Liam Corcoran’s palatable range and gentle, understated yearning would mollify the pants off any self-respecting Gen-Xer for sure.

This is not to say that Territory is fluff. No, the sound may be joyful but the general consensus is “sincere.” In fact, the band is so convincing as melodic sweethearts, they can do without chasing a few demons; instead, penning tunes that may touch on complex issues (God: “Sing a Little Hymn”) while remaining, for the most part, optimistic.  “Heroes of the Sidewalk” is one of the catchiest tracks for good reason: Corcoran’s vocals sail at all the right moments, yet never stray too far from comfort. That’s a good adjective for Territory: ‘comfortable.’ Like cotton, denim, and other fabrics of our lives, comfortable music never goes out of style. This can be partly attributed to television and the need for background music to propagate emotional connection (“Just Listen” is so Meredith Grey doubting love!).

Besides an affinity for being charming, Two Hours Traffic are solid live musicians. This was obvious when they played in Minneapolis earlier this month. Sunshine infiltrated the 400 Bar’s chronic gloom! It was cheery. Corcoran and co. beefed up on stage, laying into Territory like summer break came early. More voracity, a bit of showy guitar work, throatiness; just goes to show that even nice boys crave naughty rockstar debauchery.*

Territory is available via iTunes, CD Baby, or the official Two Hours Traffic website. Elsewhere on the Internet: Follow / Like / Friend / Ogle. The band is currently touring Australia; visit their website for all listed dates.

*Or, more befitting, mildly unruly rockstar shenanigans.

lara () ♥ www.twohourstraffic.com ♥ myspace.com/twohourstraffic

Do we have a video?

Just a couple of videos for your friday viewing pleasure....

Oh Mercy - The Good Life Never Ends

Filmed in The Hollywood Palace souvlaki shop in South Yarra on the way home from the Keith St video clip shoot, Alexander from Australian band, Oh Mercy, performs The Good Life Never Ends. This song was written by David McComb and performed by his last band, Costar. 

Oh Mercy - The Good Life Never Ends from Oh Mercy on Vimeo.

 

Norah Jones - Featuring...

A slew of stars chat about appearing on Norah Jones' new album Featuring... Including Andre 3000, Ray Charles, Dolly Parton, Ryan Adams, Willie Nelson and more.

 

Sally

[email protected]

Black Friday 2010

60 Ft. Dolls: Happy Shopper

It's that time of the year: Black Friday, this Friday! It's tradition, I'm heading out in the bleak morning of Black Friday to these stores: Best Buy, Target, and Wal-Mart. It seems the big thing this year are big LCD or Plasma television. I am not in the market for a new TV, but some of these prices ($400 for a 40 inch 1080p sounds really cheap) makes it hard to not buy it.

I was very tempted on picking up a Kinect, but I've decided on (literally) sitting out on this one. I just can't see myself being all that active, however, I do think this is a device I would like to have when I have family and friends over to keep them entertained.

For certain, I'm going to be picking up some cheap Blurays, like the new Karate Kid for $10 from Walmart and Lord of the Ring for $7.99 at Target... but outside of that, I don't really have anything that I really want. Perhaps I'll find some things I can buy for other people, but generally I'm a bit selfish when it comes to deals.

So below music deals from Target and Best Buy, unfortunately they aren't offering much in terms of music deals.

♥ Target

♥ Best Buy

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

Rogue Valley

I know I said that KT Tunstall was my last show for the year, but I ran into a fellow concert-goer at KT's show and he convinced me that missing Rogue Valley's show at the Cedar on November 26^th would be a mistake. I did look into it, it turns out Rogue Valley is basically Chris Koza. The idea behind this band was that Koza would write and release full length albums, an album per season in 2010. That's pretty ambitious, considering that that most bands are lucky to release three albums in three years...

Well the year's almost up and we're getting the third "fall" album called Geese In the Flyway. Will we see the Winter album by December 31^st? We'll see. (see comment below)

Anyway, I'm not huge into the local music scene, but I've asked Lara to look into this album, considering that she really likes Chris Koza. I've seen Koza twice now, but hopefully I'll see him under this new band, this Friday.

Also, supporting the CD release show is 4AD's Stornoway from Oxford, and Ex-Hold Steady Franz Nicolay. Details of the show below:

Friday, November 26, 2010 - 8:00pm
Doors Open: 7:00pm
Advance/day of show: $14.00
Standing room only

PS, I was just digging around and noticed that Franz Nicolay offered a free download of Yoni Gordon & The Goods' cover of the Pogues' "Fairytale of New York" on his website. Nicolay plays accordion, keys, and background vocals on this duet.

Yoni Gordon: Fairytale of New York

 

vu () ♥ lostinroguevalley.com ♥ chriskoza.com

Pete Sieve wrote Wednesday, 24 November 2010 at 01:20 PM:

Yo! This is Pete from Rogue Valley... thanks for the blurb. Wanted to let you know that we won't have the Winter record out by the end of 2010 -- the idea was to get four albums out in the span of a year's time, not all within a calendar year. The first chapter came out in April 2010. We hope to release the final one by March 2011. Hope to see you at the Cedar!

You can listen to our entire Fall album right here: http://roguevalley.bandcamp.com

W♥M092: Live Shows

W♥M092 [download (35min, 44mb)]

Vu, Sally and Oscar on this week's W♥M Radio.

News

1. Pulp are back!. Sally will be celebrating by drinking loads of things and DJing and hanging out on BRITPOP.com.au's Party Hard (Pulp Night)
2. Beatles on iTunes. Yep, welcome to 2010, Beatles.

Main program: Live shows

Sally: Charlatans at the Metro Theatre on November 11th. Apparently it upsets Sally that Tim has better hair. Also, Manic Street Preachers at Metro Theatre on November 15th.
Oscar: Delorean at 7th Street on November 16th, then on the 18th, he saw Free Energy at 400 Bar
Vu: KT Tunstall's appearance at the Epic on November 18th was dwarfed by Charlotte Hatherley's awesomeness.

Song of the show: Hollerado's "Americanarama"

Throwaway bits: too random to mention.

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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

Free Energy at 400 Bar, Minneapolis (11/18/10)

Free Energy: Free Energy Tour Dates 11/22/10 Valentines* Albany, NY 11/23/10 Paradise Rock Club* Boston, MA 11/24/10 Bowery Ballroom* New York, NY 11/26/10 Music Hall of Williamsburg* NY 11/27/10 Theater of Living Arts* Phila, PA 11/30/10 Chameleon Club* Lancaster, PA 12/01/10 Rock n Roll Hotel* Washington 12/05/10 Blue Note Columbia, MO 12/06/10 Midland Kansas City, MO 12/07/10 Bourbon Theater Lincoln, NE 12/08/10 Vaudeville Mews Des Moines, IA 12/09/10 Blue Moose Tap Iowa City, IA 12/14/10 Orpheum Theatre+ Boston, MA 12/15/10 Orpheum Theatre+ Boston, MA 12/17/10 Roseland Ballroom+ New York 12/18/10 Roseland Ballroom+ New York *with Hollerado + with Weezer Read More Free Energy I felt that they should have ended their set with the easy to follow "Bang Pop" song (their chorus is easy to remember: "bang, bang, pop, pop"). Easily their best song.

If you haven’t heard of Free Energy by now, you are seriously missing out on life my friends. The five piece band is originally from Red Wing, MN but now resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band consists of Scott Wells (lead guitar), Paul Sprangers (lead Vocals), Evan Wells (bass), Geoff Bucknam (guitar), and Nick Shuminksy (drums). The latter two members were met in Philly and the rest have a history in Minneapolis as the no longer active band, Hockey Night. And their record “Stuck On Nothing” has received many the ecstatic reviews from places like, Spin, Rolling Stone and Pitchfork.

Unlike a lot of hype bands these guys aren’t the young guys with the colorful synth tunes. These 5, 30 year old guys, rely on catchy, hook-laden 70’s guitar riffs, sing-a-long anthems,  with a dose of good feelings, and “energy” for good measure and a worry “free” feeling. Ironically they are signed to DFA records, which is the child of James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) and home to Hot Chip , Shit Robot, Holy Ghost!, Hercules and Love Affair, and YACHT. (If you are unfamiliar with these bands, they are all synth-laden indie rock bands.)

I was very privileged with the opportunity to see them in Paul Sprangers’ and the Wells brothers’ home state of Minnesota for the second time. When I got to the venue, I noticed there was only one drum set, which clearly belonged to Free Energy. I asked the bartender what the deal was and he told me that there had been a complication. It seems that both bands had been held back at the Canadian boarder earlier, and they would be playing an hour and a half late. Having seen them open for Titus Andronicus, I knew the kind of party these guys bring to wherever they go. So,  I decided to wait, and boy was I not disappointed. At About 10 PM they had a sensational power-pop group from Canada, open for them. The name of this band was, Hollerado, and they got the crowd amped and jumping in glee. The perfect openers to set the stage for the crazy fun that is Free Energy. Scott Wells and Paul Sprangers took stage with Hollerado for a couple songs. It seems they like to do that a lot, since last time they joined Titus Andronicus on stage and they brought Amy of Titus Andronicus on stage with them during their set  too.

Free Energy took stage at about 10:50, and opened their set with “All I know.” And proceeded the song with their hit single, “Dream City.” Their set, like always was a sing-a-long rock party that had the crowd jumping, and fist pumping. The happiness and energy they bring on stage is so incredibly contagious. They closed their set with “Hope Child” and then came right back out for a two song on-core, which they closed with “I’m going down” by Bruce Springsteen. Which was probably the highest and most epic part of the show. Paul started to pull people up on-stage with him, which ended with half the floor up on-stage. I took the microphone at the last verse and sung it and the chorus. Then it lead into a spontaneous cover of Neil Young’s “Keep On Rockin’ in the Free World” when lead singer and guitarist of Hollerado, Menno Versteeg picked up Scott Wells guitar. Then the venue erupted into chaos, as members of Free Energy and Hollerado and I sang loud and proud, while the venue sang-a-long and danced.

All in all, if Free Energy is coming to your town. Do not miss out. There are still a few dates left on this tour, and they promised to return real soon on a spring tour. And listen to Free Energy if you are into bands such as Thin Lizzy, Cheap Trick and The Cars. Or if you need something to blast on your iPod or stereo while you sit back and try not to worry about the world around you.

For more of Hollerado:
http://www.myspace.com/hollerado
http://www.hollerado.com/

And more of Free Energy:
http://www.myspace.com/freeenergymusic
http://www.freeenergymusic.com/

♥ Free Energy at 400 Bar, Minneapolis (11/18/10)

oscar () ♥ myspace.com/freeenergymusic ♥ twitter.com