W♥M (Archive)

W♥M255: Spring 2016 Playlist

W♥M255: Spring 2016 (11 mins) Read More Beth Orton It's been six years since Beth Orton came to Minneapolis, despite the audience saying that Orton was last here "ten years ago." One thing is for sure, six years is still too long. … The Heavy The Fighter movie and The Heavy band, "How Do You Like Me Now?" Richard Cheese's "Ice Ice Baby". Yeahhhh baby. …

Vu and John’s playlist for this Spring 2016!

Our favorite new music:

The Heavy at Fine Line Music Café, Minneapolis (12 Nov 2010) photo: Vu

The Heavy is back with their new Hurt & the Merciless album, available now on Counter, Bad Son Records. We previously caught the The Heavy with Wallpaper. at Fine Line Music Café, Minneapolis (12 Nov 2010)... so ‘how’d you like us now?’

Nothing But Thieves (not to be confused with Like Thieves) is an English five-piece alternative rock band, currently signed to RCA Records. Their self-titled album came out in the UK in 2015, but the US got a domestic release earlier in Feb 2016. Nothing But Thieves will be stopping by the Turf Club in St Paul on May 22nd!

USA tour dates:

5/15 Tempe, AZ Tempe Marketplace
5/17 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge
5/19 Kansas City, MO Tank Room
5/22 St Paul, MN Turf Club
5/25 Vancouver, BC Imperial
5/27 Napa Valley, CA BottleRock Festival

Chopstick Brothers’ viral hit ‘Little Apple’ came out in 2014, but the Chinese pop song finally caught Vu’s attention.

Beth Orton’s Kidsticks is coming out this month on Anti- Records!

We caught Beth Orton at The Quest in 1999 and again at The Varsity Theater in 2012. While her music originally started as electronica/folk, she did change her music genre from folk to rock (ala Daybreaker collaborations with Johnny Marr and Ryan Adams).

With Kidsticks coming out on Friday, May 27th, 2016, via Anti- Records (her first album since 2012’s Sugaring Season), it would seem that Orton has now returned to her electronica roots.

We got a chance to listen to the new album, and it’s one of Orton’s better albums, special thanks to co-producers Andrew Hung (F**k Buttons) and mixer David Wrench (Hot Chip).

Beth Orton has also announced her first US tour this June. See all tour dates below.

6/07 - Chicago, IL - City Winery
6/09 - Pittsburgh, PA - Three Rivers Arts Festival
6/11 - Washington, DC - U Street Music Hall
6/12 - Philadelphia, PA - The Foundry
6/14 - New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge
6/15 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
6/19 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom
6/20 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
6/21 - Portland, OR - Revolution Hall
6/23 - Seattle, WA - The Triple Door

Song of the Show: Beth Orton’s ‘1973’.

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Archive of this show at archive.org. More information on podomatic.com. Recording of this podcast was made possible by Skype, CallGraph, and Audacity.

W♥M254: The Struts (07 May 2016) Vu, John W♥M253: Comic May-hem (04 May 2016) Vu, John W♥M252: Låpsley (01 May 2016) Vu, John W♥M251: Frightened Rabbit (05 January 2016) Vu, John W♥M250: Purple Rain - A Timeline of Prince's Final Days (23 April 2016) Vu, Langen W♥M249: You Spin Me Round (11 April 2016) Vu, John, Jamie

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

Beth Orton at the Quest, Minneapolis (06/13/1999)

Beth Orton at the Quest (flyer) Minneapolis (06/13/1999) Setlist Someone's Daughter Love Like Laughter Touch Me With Your Love So Much More Couldn't Cause Me Harm She Cries Your Name Sugar Boy Devil Song Best Bit Sweetest Decline Whenever Blood Red River Stars All Seem To Weep Central Reservation Stolen Car Pass In Time Feel To Believe Beauty In You Read More Beth Orton It's been six years since Beth Orton came to Minneapolis, despite the audience saying that Orton was last here "ten years ago." One thing is for sure, six years is still too long. …

It's no secret that I love Beth Orton. Admittedly, I didn't really 'discover' her until her 1999 single, "Stolen Car" from Central Reservation . I must have caught it on VH1, as I'm pretty sure by that time that MTV no longer played music videos.

Based on just that single, I bought her album and went back to pick up her Best Bit EP and her second album Trailer Park. Her first album was never officially released, so I actually never knew she had a debut album called Superpinkymandy.

I really couldn't tell you any wonderful details about this show, other than that I spent a long time trying to figure where exactly the venue was! I've never been there before, so I was a little lost. I eventually saw the tiny sign that hung above me.

Opening up for Beth Orton was Joe Henry, a singer/songwriter who, at the time, was signed to Mammoth Records.

Confession, I do not remember her setlist, the information was provided via a bootleg of the show.

As you can see, she made us wait for the big 'hit' single, "Stolen Car". I think this is where the show ended, and that the last three songs listed below it, is actually the encore.

I caught Beth Orton again in 2012 at the Varsity Theater, and it was like seeing an old friend.

Central Reservation (vinyl) SRCVinyl

Beth Orton is currently on tour in support of her latest album Sugaring Season and also a re-issue of my favorite Central Reservation on vinyl. The latter comes out on March 25th, 2014, via SRCVinyl, and it celebrate its fifteen anniversary. Diehard fans will want to get the limited 180 Gram Red edition, which they are only producing 500 copies.

Details of the upcoming tour can be found on Beth Orton's official website:

Beth Orton has just announced a series of East Coast live dates! She will be joined by alongside various artist at each show. Such as guitarist/vocalist Sam Amidon, bassist Tony Scherr, drummer Ben Perowsky, and guitarist Emmett Kelly and supporting act, The Murphy Beds from NY. Shed your winter coat and join us for an evening to remember. Feb 04 Rams Head on Stage, Annapolis, MD* Feb 05 Sellersville Theater, Sellersvile, PA* Feb 07 Club Helsinki, Hudson, NY* Feb 08 Infinity Hall, Norfolk, CT* Feb 09 Asylum, Portland, ME* Feb 11 Higher Ground, Burlington, VT * Feb 13 Paradise Rock, Boston, MA (full band show) * Feb 14 Allen Room, New York, NY (full band show) Feb 15 Westhampton Beach PAC, NY * w/ The Murphy Beds

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com

Beth Orton at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (10/10/12)

Tour Dates 10/12/12 Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre 10/13/12 Salt Lake City, UT - State Room 10/15/12 Seattle, WA - Showbox 10/16/12 Vancouver, BC - Venue 10/17/12 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballrm 10/19/12 San Francisco, CA - Regency Ballrm 10/20/12 Santa Barbara, CA - Soho Restrt 10/20/12 Santa Barbara, CA - Soho Restrt 10/22/12 San Diego, CA - House Of Blues 10/23/12 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre 10/28/12 Charleston, WV - Cultural Center 11/26/12 Birmingham, UK - Glee Club 11/27/12 Sheffield, UK - Sheffield City Hall 11/29/12 Ashford, UK - St. Mary The Virgin 11/30/12 Brighton, UK - St. Georges Church 12/05/12 London, UK - Union Chapel 12/06/12 Nottingham, UK - Rescue Rooms 12/07/12 Bristol, UK - Thekla 12/09/12 Manchester, UK - Royal Northern 12/10/12 Portsmouth - Wedgewood Rooms 12/11/12 Cardiff, UK - Glee Club 12/13/12 Glasgow, UK - Oran Mor Read More Beth Orton Beth Orton is currently on tour in support of her recently released album Sugaring Season, which came out October 2nd on ANTI- Records. This is her fifth album and her first LP in six years ...

It's been six years since Beth Orton came to Minneapolis, despite the audience saying that Orton was last here "ten years ago." One thing is for sure, six years is still too long.

Opening up was Sam Amidon, who played acoustic, banjo, and fiddle (but not all at once.) I don't know if he was just taking the piss, but he played an awful fiddle instrumental (think fingernails across the chalkboard) and then did the world's worst cover song of Tears for Fears' "Heads Over Heel" (at one point even asking the audience to remind him of the lyrics.) If it was meant for comedy, I don't think anyone thought it was funny.

When Amidon is on his game, he played folky songs about trains, old hymns ("Oh, He's Taken My Feet"), "Pretty Fair Damsel," and "green, green" grass.

Amidon ended his set with "How Come That Blood."

Beth Orton had three spare guitars on stage, which I am assuming were all pre-tuned (although Orton does a fair amount of tuning while telling little stories). One guitar was exclusively for her husband Amidon.

Although this tour was meant for the new album Sugaring Season, I felt that she did a good mix of old songs. Of the new songs, I remember hearing were "Candles", "State of Grace", and "Call Me the Breeze".

The rest seems like a ton of "old" songs, which is exactly what the fans wanted to hear. Some of these songs were played: "Touch Me With Your Love", "Sugar Boy", "Shopping Trolley", "Concrete Sky" (big cheer for that one), "Stolen Car" (my favorite), "Galaxy of Emptiness", "Pass in Time", and "Central Reservation." Two songs for the encore, I only recognize the latter to be "Feel to Believe."

Most of the set was just Beth Orton, her voice, and her acoustic guitar. Sometime Amidon would come on stage to play additional acoustic and vocals. It seems like he only appears on the new songs (in particular harmonizing on "Call Me the Breeze.")

The other thing you should know is that this show was entirely seated. I've never been to a Varsity Theater show that was seated, so what I can tell you is that the typical concert venue was transformed into a fancy listening room. Which is, to be honest, is perfect for Orton's quiet acoustic songs.

If you were hoping for a more electronica sound like "Stars All Seem to Weep" or her collaboration with The Chemical Brothers, you may be in for a disappointment… this was purely a folk singer show.

Beth Orton is currently on tour in support of her latest album, Sugaring Season, out now on ANTI- Records.

Beth Orton at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (10/10/12)

vu () ♥ bethortonofficial.com ♥ samamidon.com

Beth Orton: Sugaring Season

Read More Beth Orton I bought Trailer Park on the strength of her other album, Central Reservation, and I lent it to someone and I've since long lost the album. Beth Orton is currently on tour in support of her recently released album Sugaring Season, which came out October 2nd on ANTI- Records. This is her fifth album and her first LP in six years (discounting the greatest hits album in 2008). I've always liked Orton, ever since I first heard "Stolen Car" in 1999. Then I started noticing her collaborations with the Chemical Brothers, Bert Jansch, Beck, and Terry Callier… so she's in really great music company. If you've never heard of Beth Orton, she's got this amazing soulful voice. Her music is often described as "folktronica", a mix of folk and electronica. If you pick up Sugaring Season, be sure to get the deluxe edition, which comes with three covers: Jonathan Richman's "That Summer Feeling", Goffin & King's "I Wasn't Born To Follow", and Neil Young's "Goin' Back." Orton will be stopping by the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis tomorrow. I am told this is a seated show and the last time I was at a seated event at the Varsity, it was for Sonya Kitchell, but that was more like it was an open dance floor with tables and candles. I think this will be more formal with rows and rows of seats. Also, I see that Sam Amidon is listed as the opener. A little trivia for you: Amidon is married to Beth Orton. I wonder if Beth Orton will walk on to help him with his set? 10/09/12 Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall Ballroom 10/10/12 Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater 10/12/12 Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre 10/13/12 Salt Lake City, UT - The State Room 10/15/12 Seattle, WA - Showbox At The Market 10/16/12 Vancouver, BC - Venue 10/17/12 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom 10/19/12 San Francisco, CA - The Regency Ballroom 10/20/12 Santa Barbara, CA - Soho Restaurant 10/20/12 Santa Barbara, CA - Soho Restaurant 10/22/12 San Diego, CA - House Of Blues 10/23/12 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre 10/28/12 Charleston, WV - Cultural Center Theater 11/26/12 Birmingham, United Kingdom - Glee Club 11/27/12 Sheffield, United Kingdom - Sheffield City Hall 11/29/12 Ashford, United Kingdom - St. Mary The Virgin 11/30/12 Brighton, United Kingdom - St. Georges Church 12/05/12 London, United Kingdom - Union Chapel 12/06/12 Nottingham, United Kingdom - The Rescue Rooms 12/07/12 Bristol, United Kingdom - Thekla 12/09/12 Manchester, United Kingdom - Royal Northern 12/10/12 Portsmouth, United Kingdom - Wedgewood Rooms 12/11/12 Cardiff, United Kingdom - Glee Club 12/13/12 Glasgow, United Kingdom - Oran Mor vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ www.bethortonofficial.com

Crayon Angel: A Tribute to the Music of Judee Sill

Daniel Rossen - Waterfall Daniel Rossen Discography [1971] Judee Sill [1973] Heart Food [2005] Dreams Come True [2006] Abracadabra: The Asylum Years [2007] Live in London: The BBC Recordings 1972-1973 [2009] Crayon Angel: A Tribute to the Music of Judee Sill See Also Joni Mitchell http://weheartmus... Joni Mitchell is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small n...

Crayon Angel: A Tribute to the Music of Judee Sill

If you’re asking yourself “Judee who?” don’t worry, nobody thinks less of you (except for Judee Sill.  But she’s dead and is probably not actively concerned with your ignorance).  I too said “Judee who?  What?  Why?”  Thankfully, Wikipedia exists.

 

Judee Sill - Jesus Was A Cross Maker

Judee Sill was a folk songstress during the early 70s.  Her sweet voice and gentle plucking placed her alongside fellow folkies Carole King and Joni Mitchell (see: “Laurel Canyon”); although Sill, who died in 1979, never reached the same popular mass as her peers.  As the first artist signed to David Geffen’s Asylum label, Sill released her debut album in 1971; nearly two years later she followed it up with Heart Food.  Neither album fared well commercially.  Career disappointment, a series of car accidents, and a history of drug abuse are the likely catalysts for her departure from the music scene and subsequent overdose in late 1979.  In 2005, Water Records released Dreams Come True, Sill’s “official” third album (most of the songs were recorded with the intention of release).  Also in 2005, Rhino reissued Judee Sill and Heart Food as limited editions with bonus material. 

This brings us to the present:  independent label American Dust invited a smattering of current musicians to cover selections from Sill’s discography.  All artists, presumably fans of Sill, approached the task with unique styles, ranging from traditional to interpretative to faintly bizarre (Nicolai Dunger’s stripped down version of “Soldier of the Heart” warbles flamboyantly as birds chirp in the background).  Mostly, the songs remain faithful.  Sill’s posthumous presence amongst contemporaries is obvious—very few of the covers stray too far from the calming folk base (i.e. no psychedelic, droned-out, heavily rhythmic adaptations).  Standouts include Frida Hyvönen’s (blue-eyed) soulful “Jesus Was a Cross Maker” (yes, Sill’s lyrics are filled with religious allusions), Daniel Rossen’s restraint on “Waterfall” (popular on the Internet; Google ‘Judee Sill cover’ and note the first few results), and Marissa Nadler (ft. Black Hole Infinity) tackling the lush “Kiss” with Air-like flair.  As a tribute album, Crayon Angel certainly highlights the best of Sill, but for those of us unfamiliar with the artist’s brief legacy, the impact may be lost amongst the mishmash of soft-pop melodies and indie-familiar names. 

Crayon Angel: A Tribute to the Music of Judee Sill is available Sept. 22.  Pre-order the album here.  For more information, visit American Dust’s website at www.americandust.net.

Track Listing:

1.  Ron Sexsmith – “Crayon Angel”

2.  Beth Orton – “Reach for the Sky”
3.  Daniel Rossen – “Waterfall”
4.  Frida Hyvönen – “Jesus Was a Cross Maker”
5.  The Shalants – “Lopin Along Thru the Cosmos”
6.  Final Fantasy – “The Donor”
7.  Nicolai Dunger – “Soldier of the Heart”
8.  Trembling Blue Stars – “Lady-O”
9.  Colossal Yes – “The Phoenix”
10.  Marissa Nadler & Black Hole Infinity – “The Kiss”
11.  Princeton – “Down Where the Valleys Are Low”
12.  The Bye Bye Blackbirds – “There’s a Rugged Road”
13.  Meg Baird – “When the Bridegroom Comes”
14.  Bill Callahan – “For a Rainbow”
15.  P.G. Six – “Til Dreams Come True”

 08/17/2009 10:35:28 ♥ lara (/lara206.vox.com) ♥ americandust.net 

A Beginner's Guide to Beth Orton

Beth Orton - Stars All Seem To Weep Beth Orton Discography [1993] Superpinkymandy [1996] Trailer Park [1997] Best Bit EP [1999] Central Reservation [2002] Concrete Sky EP [2002] Daybreaker [2003] The Other Side of Daybreak [2003] Pass In Time: The Definitive Collection [2006] Comfort of Strangers

I would have to admit, I'm a huge Beth Orton fan. I've written about other musicians that sounds like Orton, but since I haven't don't an article on her, I couldn't make reference to her music. That's going to change because I'm going to do a my guide to Beth Orton now.

Beth Orton - The Prisoner Beth Orton - Stolen Car Beth Orton - Best Bit Beth Orton - Concrete Sky Beth Orton - Anywhere Beth Orton - Worms

So I'm basically going to tell you about Orton through her discography. Her first record is called Superpinkymandy, which I think she's a bit ashamed of or something. It was only released in Japan and had more of an electronic feel to it, which was mostly because of her boyfriend William Orbit (I don't think they're still together). Orbit is probably best known for the Madonna album, Ray of Light

I guess Beth Orton thought that Superpinkymandy was more of an Will Orbit album that she's left it off her own discography on her website. Two of her songs on this early album made it onto other releases, including "She Cries Your Name" on Trailer Park.

I bought Trailer Park on the strength of her other album, Central Reservation, and I lent it to someone and I've since long lost the album :/ Fortunately, I did have them on MP3 for my iPod. I can't remember which songs were the good one ... I think I really liked "Someone's Daughter". Overall, I don't think I liked the album all that much.

"Stolen Car" is the song that got me interested in Beth Orton. I got the album and was impressed with the single and also "Stars All Seem to Weep", which for the sake of not re-using the cover artwork for Central Reservation, I am including it on her greatest hits CD.

I ended up picking up her EP Best Bit and was kind of surprise that it had a more blues influence. The EP featured Terry Callier, who is somewhat of a cult blues and jazz man. (I've never heard of him, but he sounds a bit like Arthur Alexander).

Her other EP is Concrete Sky which I wanted to include here to showcase her incredibly skinny frame. I think she's also quite tall! The "Concrete Sky" was released about the same time as Daybreaker and features Ryan Adams on guitars and backup vocals. This song was also co-written by Johnny Marr from the Smiths, making it extra special.

Although Daybreaker seems like a departure from her folktronic songs, she did gave the go-ahead to release The Other Side of Daybreaker which I sort of regret buying. The Other Side... features mostly remixes of her songs. I realized that I like her vocals and some of these remixes uses very little of her vocals, and especially in the Roots Manuva remix had mostly Manuva's rap overpowering Orton.

Around the same time, there was a greatest hits CD called Pass in Time. The package did a good job collecting some of her best-known work. Unfortunately, it doesn't contain "Star Guitar", her work with The Chemical Brothers^[W♥M], which I'm almost certain everyone knows her from.

Comfort of Strangers is her latest release, and it's an album that I haven't really given a fair listen to. I had ordered it and when it arrived, I discovered that there was apparently a "Limited Edition" version which made me instantly hate the version I already own. Her record company should really do a better job at marketing her Limited Version (trust me, I would much rather perfer the extras and pay a little more - but not too much more).

I enjoyed "Worms" a lot from Comfort, it has some comedic lyrics: "Worms don't dance they havn't got the balls/No matter how do you do/It's just you do thats all... Chickens don't fly but they have got the wings/No matter how hard they try/They bump into things/They're all running around/But their heads on the ground/They got a wish bone where their back bone should've grown"

She'll have a new 2008 album coming out, no details about the title or when it's release. I can guess that it will be very stripped down and more folk. Her recent interview on AOL stated that:

I was never really into dance music.

I tried listening the said-interview on The Interface. It makes you install an aol plugin (to ensure adverts). Then it asks me to upgrade to Windows Media Player 11. I'm gutted that I can't watch this, but I have Windows Media Center and it won't upgrade (nor would I upgrade Windows Media) - AOL really need to get their act together.

 01/27/2008 20:10:54  vu my♥posts www.bethorton.co.uk