W♥M (Archive)

Who let the dogs out?

AHJ Cult Records Read More Albert Hammond, Jr. The Strokes' guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr., will be in Minneapolis on Thursday, November 14th at the Varsity Theater. It's been a while since his previous album ¿Cómo Te Llama? (2008), but it looks like he may have some new material …

ALBERT HAMMOND JR
alberthammondjr.com

“It’s the best material that I’ve made so far”, a bold statement from Albert Hammond, Jr. regarding his new EP, AHJ (on Strokes bandmate Julian Casablanca’s imprint, Cult Records) considering he and band The Strokes have made some of the most defining music of the last fifteen years.

AHJ was produced, engineered and mixed by producer Gus Oberg, who’s worked with both Hammond and The Strokes previously, as well as with the likes of Willie Nelson, and produced the latest from Minneapolis’ own Har Mar Superstar.

Newly married and also about to launch a clothing line, the EP delivers a reborn and culminating sound for Hammond, who played every instrument but drums on the release.

While you shouldn’t go into the show expecting Strokes songs necessarily, Hammond has been working in a few covers (Misfits, GBV) as well as playing the spectrum of his solo output.

Currently opening for UK wunderkind Jake Bugg, tickets are already hard-to-find (Minneapolis is long sold out), but any effort to find a ticket should be worth it.

January 15 Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre*
January 17 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue*
January 18 Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre*
January 21 Vancouver, BC Orpheum Annex Theater*
January 22 Portland, OR McMenamin’s Crystal Ballroom*
January 23 Oakland, CA Fox Theater*
January 24 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern*
January 28 Dallas, TX House of Blues*
January 29 Houston, TX House of Blues*

*= opening for Jake Bugg

Love's a Dog Don't Darling Me Records Read More Kim Taylor I'm glad I made an effort to catch Kim Taylor at the Turf Club in Saint Paul on November 4th. I don't need to tell you that crossing the Mississippi from Minneapolis is a bit tough for me…

KIM TAYLOR
kim-taylor.net

Kim Taylor's new album Love's a Dog came out last October 8th on Don't Darling Me Records. Love's a Dog reunites her with producer/multi-instrumentalist Jimi Zhivago (Ollabelle) with Devon Ashley (Lemonheads) on drums. Taylor contributes piano, guitar and vocals.

The dog on the cover artwork is actually Taylor's pet, "My dogs became an icon for this record, representing both irritation and loyalty. They compel me to reflect on my human relationships but sometimes they just drive me completely nuts. This is also pretty much how I see love."

Kim Taylor at the Turf Club 11/04/2000

As you know, we've seen Taylor a few times, the most recent was at the Turf Club in Minneapolis on November 4th, 2010.

Anyway, in addition to the new album, Taylor was cased in a lead role in Matthew Porterfield's "I Used To Be Darker" film. She's currently overseas promoting the film and her music. Here are some of her events coming up:

01/16/14 St. Thomas Kirche, Kreuzberg – 8pm concert Berlin, Germany
01/18/14 Filmhaus Nürnberg, KunstKulturQuartier 8pm Nurnberg, Germany
01/20/14 Sweethome 36 – Wohnkompositionen 8pm Berlin, Germany

Doggystyle Restyled: A Tribute To Snoop Dogg Engine Room Recordings Read More Snoop Doggy Dog Snoop Dogg needs no introduction, but what about Snoop Lion? This is Snoop Doggy Dogg's latest project called "REINCARNATED." From my understanding, the inspiration …

DOGGYSTYLE RESTYLED
engineroomrecordings.com

On the 20th Anniversary of Snoop Doggy Dog's debut album Doggystyle, Engine Room Recordings released their tribute to the man with Doggystyle Restyled: A Tribute To Snoop Dogg, which came out December 17th, 2013.

You can hear Garrison Starr's take on "Gin and Juice" on soundcloud.com.



Complete track listing below:

1. “G Funk Intro” – Tropic of Pisces
2. “Gin And Juice” – Garrison Starr (feat. PJ Pacifico)
3. “Tha Shiznit” – T.H. White
4. “Lodi Dodi” – The Tubetops
5. “Murder Was The Case” – Modern Rivals
6. “Serial Killa” – Jamie Block
7. “Who Am I (What’s My Name)?” – Spring Standards
8. “For All My N***** And B******” – Viola Dana
9. “Ain’t No Fun” – Holy Folk
10. “Doggy Dogg World” – Cookie Rabinowitz
11. “Gz And Hustlas” – Motive (feat. Scraps)
12. “Pump Pump” – CUZ

Who Let The Dogs Out? Artemis Records Read More Baha Men This reggae pop song basically put Baha Men, from Nassau, Bahamas, on the music map. The lyrics are so simple and catchy that basically people were taking the song and putting in their own item.…

BAHA MEN
bahamen.com

In a recent survey by Insurance.com for best and worst songs for the road, drivers said that Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" was top of their list. Other songs included Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long".

"Some people mock the Bay Area balladeers, but there's no denying Journey has a fan base, given they took two of the top five spots for songs that people enjoy when driving," said Michelle Megna, managing editor of Insurance.com.

Now, as for the worst songs, The Baha Men took the top spot with their one-hit wonder song "Who Let The Dogs Out?", a song that W♥M dared as greatest song ever. Whenever "Who Let the Dogs Out?" or Taylor Swift's "We Are Never, Ever Getting Back Together" came on the radio, drivers switch stations immediately.

Top five worst driving songs:

• "Who Let the Dogs Out?" by The Baha Men
• "We Are Never, Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift
• "Believe" by Cher
• "Feelings" by Morris Albert
• "Papa Don't Preach" by Madonna

john + vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com

Flashback: Ron Sexsmith at Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (01/17/07)

Ron Sexsmith Setlist Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (01/17/07) Read More Ron Sexsmith This is because the male vocals on this song is by none other than Ron Sexsmith. While the presence of Sexsmith doesn't hurt the song, I just felt the gentle love song … Kim Taylor Kim Taylor opened up the show. From my notes, I think she started the set with a song from her first album, followed by "Anchor Down", which is from her latest album, Little Miracle. …

Welcome to 2014! Since everybody is on holiday, here's a special look at Ron Sexsmith at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis in 2007, seven years ago.

W♥M started on January 25, 2007, and this show took place the previous week. I didn't take any notes, but I do have documentation via some photographs of the show.

Concert Poster Varsity Theater

According to the show poster, the show was $10 in "adcance" and it started fairly early at 8pm. The poster indicated that Ron Sexsmith was on tour for his then-new album Time Being.

The Varsity Theater doesn't print these extra-large elongated posters anymore, and speaking with the manager from that period, it's printed on some architecture/drafting industrial printer (meant for printing large blueprints). For a time, these colorful posters adorned the interior walls of the Varsity Theater.

Kim Taylor 01/17/2007

Opening up for Sexsmith was Kim Taylor, a singer/songwriter from Ohio. This was fairly early in Taylor's music career, chances were she played songs from her 2006 album I Feel Like a Fading Light. That album featured her hit song, "Baby I Need You", which was later used in the 200th episode of Smallville (October 22, 2010).

I later caught Taylor again at the Turf Club in Saint Paul (11/04/10) and noted that she was quite shy.

Taylor was recently one of the star of Matthew Porterfield's film I Used to Be Darker, where she plays a singer/songwriter named Kim. She's currently in Europe, promoting the film.

As for Ron Sexsmith, he's a Canadian singer/songwriter, whose major label debut self-titled album was heavily promoted in the UK (including massive advertisement campaigns in NME, Select, and Q) in 1994-1995.

As expected, he played a few songs from Time Being, including "Hands Of Time", "Ship Of Fools", "Snow Angel", "Jazz At The Bookstore", "Never Give Up", and "All In Good Time". I actually filmed "Cheap Hotel", which was played fairly early in his set. The song is taken from his 2001 album Blue Boy, and you can view it on YouTube.

Currently, Ron Sexsmith released Forever Endeavour on February 2013, via Cooking Vinyl Records. He did a brief East Coast tour in April, ending at Chicago's City Winery on April 11th.

Ron Sexsmith at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (01/17/07)

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ ronsexsmith.com

Kim Taylor

Discography [2002] So Black, So Bright [2006] I Feel Like a Fading Light [2008] The Greatest Story EP [2010 ] Little Miracle Read More Kim Taylor Live: Kim Taylor at Turf Club, Minneapolis

I'm glad I made an effort to catch Kim Taylor at the Turf Club in Saint Paul on November 4^th. I don't need to tell you that crossing the Mississippi from Minneapolis is a bit tough for me, however lately I'm alright with it because I always have really awesome parking spots at the Turf.

I wasn't there to cover Greg Laswell, but I'll quicky mention that he does a sad and depressing version of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", possibly closer to the original Robert Hazard song (I only found out this little detail when I saw Wakey! Wakey! a few nights later and Mike Grubbs does the same sad version, but explained it in details). Laswell's backup band was Harper Blynn (who also played a set prior to Laswell's appearance).

Speaking of girls, Kim Taylor opened up the show. From my notes, I think she started the set with a song from her first album, followed by "Anchor Down", which is from her latest album, Little Miracle.

Her set was pretty short, I think only six or seven songs were played. She also seems really shy, hardly talking (and if she is, she's mumbling to herself).

♥ Kim Taylor at the Turf Club

The one moment where I thought she seemed most talkative was when she mentioned that her song, "Baby I Need You" was played on the final scene of the 200^th episode of Smallville (which actually just aired quite recently on October 22, 2010). She seemed really proud of it, and it's easy to see why, I mean it's not everyday you find your song on a television show. The only downside is that the song is an older song, from I Feel Like a Fading Light.

My favorite of the night was "Fruit of My Labor", which was a song written for her immigrant uncle. I don't think I need to tell you that it's about hard labor and picking fruits and dreaming that American dream of opportunity. You can find that song on her new album, Little Miracle, which I did get a chance to briefly listen to. It's acoustic folk and like most folk songs, they tell wonderful little stories. You can pick up the album digitally at the usual location, but I like bandcamp.

vu () ♥ kim-taylor.net ♥ myspace.com/kimtaylor ♥ kimtaylor.bandcamp.com

Live: Kim Taylor at Turf Club, Minneapolis