Their last stop in America will be today at Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles with Maria Del Pilar and Kisses DJ. I am hoping to get a photograph of their Los Angeles show for you. While we're at it, their limited US version of Words And Music will be on sale at each show. It is a double disc set, including a bonus disc of 10 tracks, 8 tracks has never been released anywhere before. "It's bleeding good if you ask us," the band said. The $20 double disc set is strictly limited to 2700 copies with 300 with them on tour. Saint Etienne is currently on tour in support of Words and Music.
11/03 Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles
Photo of St Etienne at the Fillmore in San Francisco is courtesy of Robin.
11/15 Teatro Lara, Madrid, Spain 11/16 Mondo Club, Vigo, Spain 11/17 Kutxa Kultur, San Sebastian 11/18 Victor Villegas Auditorio, Spain 12/10 York Fibbers 12/11 Edinburgh Liquid Room 12/12 Manchester Ritz 12/13 Brighton Concorde 2 12/14 London Shepherds Bush Empire |
11/03/2012
10/03/2012
Saint Etienne: Words and Music
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Tour Dates
10/04 Ekim, Istanbul, Turkey
10/05 Ekim, Istanbul, Turkey 10/24 Opera House, Toronto 10/25 U Street Music Hall, Washington DC 10/26 Webster Hall, New York 10/27 Paradise, Boston 10/29 Lincoln Hall, Chicago 10/31 Wonder Ballroom, Portland 11/01 Showbox, Seattle 11/02 Fillmore, San Francisco 11/03 Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles 11/15 Teatro Lara, Madrid, Spain 11/16 Mondo Club, Vigo, Spain 11/17 Kutxa Kultur, San Sebastian 11/18 Victor Villegas Auditorio, Spain 12/10 York Fibbers 12/11 Edinburgh Liquid Room 12/12 Manchester Ritz 12/13 Brighton Concorde 2 12/14 London Shepherds Bush Empire Read More The first Saint Etienne song I ever heard was 'He's On the Phone'-- I think it was on Rodney Bingenheimer's radio show. Prior to that I'd been curious about them because I kept seeing ads for their Too Young to Die ...
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WORDS
Saint Etienne is back with their eight studio album called Words and Music, out now via Heavenly Records and Universal UMC.
The album features all the original band members* including their original fourth member Ian Catt. Catt played guitars and keyboards for their first three albums, Foxbase Alpha (1991), So Tough (1993), and Tiger Bay (1994), but his role stepped back to more of a producer/pre-production/writer in later releases.
MUSIC
Musically, it's what you would expect from Saint Etienne: great little pop songs.
I've been listening to Words and Music a lot for review, and I sense this reoccurring theme how music affects us. The love of the synthesizer, the mystery of music, dancing to digital stereo, reflection of music - all these things, as a music lover, I can relate to.
If you listen to the album, from the first track to the last, they tell you about this journey of music discovery. Starting with "Over the Border", which is about how "it all happened because of music" and using Top of the Pops as a world atlas. The journey continues on the go with, "I've Got Your Music." Its catchy beats and repetitive lyrics put this song as a clear candidate for a single.
The music road leads all over the place: a music fair ("Heading for the Fair") to seeing a concert ("Tonight"), to dancing away to disco ("Last Days of Disco") to discovering disc jockeys ("DJ"). By the time we reach the end of the path, you're given these reflection songs, "When I Was Seventeen", "I Threw It All Away", and "Haunted Jukebox." To me, it asks 'did music change or did you change?' After all, you may love some music when you were a teenager, but now that you're older, do you still love those same songs?
It's not an original theme for an album, but it's still a great theme. In the modern world of catchy standalone singles, I'm happy to see that Saint Etienne still believes in creating the experience as a collected album. So how fitting is this, that the last song on the album ends with these lyrics, "And when the record is over, just tell me what it's all about."
If you listen with your heart, you know that this album isn't just about the band discovering music, but it is really about you, the listener.
MIXES
I've admitted in the past that I don't really like remixes, nor do I "get it" either. I'm just not the target audience for these remixes, which I would imagine were meant for the club goers.
To me, what DJs often misses is Sarah Cracknell's beautiful voice, which they'll replace with repetitive beats, beeps and bops. Or sometime they'll just concentrate on the chorus and loop that over and over, which you then loses the context and meaning of the song. Either way, I've never listened to a remix and think how much better it is to the original song.
Like Pet Shop Boys, New Order, and other electronic acts, I feel that Saint Etienne encourages DJs to take their material and re-work them to produce new creations. However, because Saint Etienne are already DJs/Producers themselves, they already know how to make great songs, so it's got to be tough for other DJs to come in.
Having said all that, if you're a Saint Etienne fan, then you probably need to own the remixes... simply because these mixes are part of Saint Etienne.
PICTURES
If you are only interested in the digital format, you can skip this package review. For old school collectors like myself, I love the care and print and physical box of the album.
I have been collecting "Deluxe Editions" from Universal Music for a while now, I was happy to see that the deluxe edition of Words and Music is in the same vein as this package style. There is also a "Super deluxe edition box set" with a third bonus disc, but I don't have that for review.
Opening up the package, you are presented with a large recent photograph of the trio: Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley, and Pete Wiggs. It's split in two, covering the two compact discs. Inbetween the sleeve is the hidden lyric book, which actually features more pictures than actual words.
If you were interested in seeing a video of the package, check out W♥M148.
LIVE
Saint Etienne will do a brief selected US dates to promote Words and Music. If you live (or planning on travelling) near one of the few dates, be sure to pick up the physical album - as it is the only way to get the CD. Domestically, you are only given the digital format for purchase on amazon and itunes. Of course, you can always pay a little more and import the disc (which I do recommend if you aren't attending a show or can afford it).
It's been six years since Saint Etienne came to the USA, so to see them come back this year is a small blessing.
Saint Etienne is back with their eight studio album called Words and Music, out now via Heavenly Records and Universal UMC.
The album features all the original band members* including their original fourth member Ian Catt. Catt played guitars and keyboards for their first three albums, Foxbase Alpha (1991), So Tough (1993), and Tiger Bay (1994), but his role stepped back to more of a producer/pre-production/writer in later releases.
MUSIC
Musically, it's what you would expect from Saint Etienne: great little pop songs.
I've been listening to Words and Music a lot for review, and I sense this reoccurring theme how music affects us. The love of the synthesizer, the mystery of music, dancing to digital stereo, reflection of music - all these things, as a music lover, I can relate to.
If you listen to the album, from the first track to the last, they tell you about this journey of music discovery. Starting with "Over the Border", which is about how "it all happened because of music" and using Top of the Pops as a world atlas. The journey continues on the go with, "I've Got Your Music." Its catchy beats and repetitive lyrics put this song as a clear candidate for a single.
The music road leads all over the place: a music fair ("Heading for the Fair") to seeing a concert ("Tonight"), to dancing away to disco ("Last Days of Disco") to discovering disc jockeys ("DJ"). By the time we reach the end of the path, you're given these reflection songs, "When I Was Seventeen", "I Threw It All Away", and "Haunted Jukebox." To me, it asks 'did music change or did you change?' After all, you may love some music when you were a teenager, but now that you're older, do you still love those same songs?
It's not an original theme for an album, but it's still a great theme. In the modern world of catchy standalone singles, I'm happy to see that Saint Etienne still believes in creating the experience as a collected album. So how fitting is this, that the last song on the album ends with these lyrics, "And when the record is over, just tell me what it's all about."
If you listen with your heart, you know that this album isn't just about the band discovering music, but it is really about you, the listener.
MIXES
I've admitted in the past that I don't really like remixes, nor do I "get it" either. I'm just not the target audience for these remixes, which I would imagine were meant for the club goers.
To me, what DJs often misses is Sarah Cracknell's beautiful voice, which they'll replace with repetitive beats, beeps and bops. Or sometime they'll just concentrate on the chorus and loop that over and over, which you then loses the context and meaning of the song. Either way, I've never listened to a remix and think how much better it is to the original song.
Like Pet Shop Boys, New Order, and other electronic acts, I feel that Saint Etienne encourages DJs to take their material and re-work them to produce new creations. However, because Saint Etienne are already DJs/Producers themselves, they already know how to make great songs, so it's got to be tough for other DJs to come in.
Having said all that, if you're a Saint Etienne fan, then you probably need to own the remixes... simply because these mixes are part of Saint Etienne.
|
Words and Music package
|
If you are only interested in the digital format, you can skip this package review. For old school collectors like myself, I love the care and print and physical box of the album.
I have been collecting "Deluxe Editions" from Universal Music for a while now, I was happy to see that the deluxe edition of Words and Music is in the same vein as this package style. There is also a "Super deluxe edition box set" with a third bonus disc, but I don't have that for review.
Opening up the package, you are presented with a large recent photograph of the trio: Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley, and Pete Wiggs. It's split in two, covering the two compact discs. Inbetween the sleeve is the hidden lyric book, which actually features more pictures than actual words.
If you were interested in seeing a video of the package, check out W♥M148.
LIVE
Saint Etienne will do a brief selected US dates to promote Words and Music. If you live (or planning on travelling) near one of the few dates, be sure to pick up the physical album - as it is the only way to get the CD. Domestically, you are only given the digital format for purchase on amazon and itunes. Of course, you can always pay a little more and import the disc (which I do recommend if you aren't attending a show or can afford it).
It's been six years since Saint Etienne came to the USA, so to see them come back this year is a small blessing.
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How they stack up. |
* St Etienne is known currently as a trio of Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley, and Pete Wiggs.
09/19/2012
W♥M148: Mark Mallman
Vu here. Excuse me while I hijack our normal audio podcast for this special video We Heart Music Radio #148.
The video portion is necessary to show off physical items (so apologies to audio listeners who might be wondering what's happening on video). You can subscribe and watch at youtube.com/successlessness.
ITEM #1:
• Torchlight II is coming out September 20th, 2012. This is an affordable ($15) game compared to the gorilla called Diablo III. As I have previously mentioned, I will no longer be buying Blizzard games. The last game I bought from them, Starcraft 2, had similar online requirements - but if you lost connection in a game, you can still play. I'm sure Blizzard sold a ton of Diablo III games… but just not to me.
• Torchlight II Soundtrack: Anyway, as a special bonus to fans, Runic Games is offering a free download of Torchlight II Soundtrack. The full official soundtrack was composed by Matt Uelmen.
ITEM #2:
• Saint Etienne: We love St Etienne. As we've already previously mentioned, the band is heading to the US for a brief tour… their first in six years!
• Exclusive CD Version: If you live near (or planning on travelling) to see the band on this tour: be sure to pick up their latest album at the merch table. Available exclusively is the compact disc version of Words and Music. Currently, you can only pick up the regular and deluxe edition as MP3s on amazon.com and iTunes. On the bright side, it's only $10 from Amazon. Normally "Deluxe Edition" packages retails in stores for $20-$25.
• Tour Dates:
ITEM #3:
• The Return of Mark Mallman:
Minneapolis favorite keyboard superhero, Mark Mallman, will be releasing Double Silhouette this October 9th, 2012, via Eagle's Golden Tooth.
• Mallman Marathon: Previously Mark Mallman's Marathon took place at the Turf Club in St Paul. With "Marathon IV: Road Rogue," Mallman is taking the Marathon on the road. You can watch the whole thing at markmallman.com.
• Marathon IV Schedule:
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
The video portion is necessary to show off physical items (so apologies to audio listeners who might be wondering what's happening on video). You can subscribe and watch at youtube.com/successlessness.
ITEM #1:
• Torchlight II Soundtrack: Anyway, as a special bonus to fans, Runic Games is offering a free download of Torchlight II Soundtrack. The full official soundtrack was composed by Matt Uelmen.
• Exclusive CD Version: If you live near (or planning on travelling) to see the band on this tour: be sure to pick up their latest album at the merch table. Available exclusively is the compact disc version of Words and Music. Currently, you can only pick up the regular and deluxe edition as MP3s on amazon.com and iTunes. On the bright side, it's only $10 from Amazon. Normally "Deluxe Edition" packages retails in stores for $20-$25.
• Tour Dates:
10/24 Toronto, ON - The Opera House
10/25 Washington, DC - U Street Music Hall
10/26 New York, NY - Webster Hall
10/27 Boston, MA - Paradise
10/29 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
10/31 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
11/01 Seattle, WA - The Showbox
11/02 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
11/03 Los Angeles, CA - Fonda Theatre
10/25 Washington, DC - U Street Music Hall
10/26 New York, NY - Webster Hall
10/27 Boston, MA - Paradise
10/29 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
10/31 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
11/01 Seattle, WA - The Showbox
11/02 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
11/03 Los Angeles, CA - Fonda Theatre
• Mallman Marathon: Previously Mark Mallman's Marathon took place at the Turf Club in St Paul. With "Marathon IV: Road Rogue," Mallman is taking the Marathon on the road. You can watch the whole thing at markmallman.com.
• Marathon IV Schedule:
09/19 Omaha, NE
09/21 Las Vegas, NV
09/22 Los Angeles, CA
• Song of the show is Mallman's title track, "Double Silhouette".
5pm-7pm – Joslyn Art Museum – 2200 Dodge Street 68102 hosts Marathon IV
09/20 Denver, CO09/21 Las Vegas, NV
09/22 Los Angeles, CA
W♥M Radio is available on iTunes, please subscribe!
Subscription Options
Subscribe on iTunes
Subscribe via RSS
Add to Google
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____
Archive of this show at archive.org. More information on podomatic.com
)09/10/2012
A Trio of Trios: Saint Etienne, Dragonette, and Casket Girls
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SAINT ETIENNE
saintetienne.com
We love the British trio Saint Etienne, having written about them a few times.
It's hard to believe that it's been six years since the band was in the USA. The good news is that they are doing just a handful of US dates in support of their new album, Words and Music by Saint Etienne. Unfortunately, it might be a while before I see the beautiful Sarah Cracknell since they're not playing anywhere near me.
Words and Music by Saint Etienne will come in standard and double-disc deluxe set from Universal Music Enterprises.
saintetienne.com
We love the British trio Saint Etienne, having written about them a few times.
It's hard to believe that it's been six years since the band was in the USA. The good news is that they are doing just a handful of US dates in support of their new album, Words and Music by Saint Etienne. Unfortunately, it might be a while before I see the beautiful Sarah Cracknell since they're not playing anywhere near me.
Words and Music by Saint Etienne will come in standard and double-disc deluxe set from Universal Music Enterprises.
10/24 Toronto, ON - The Opera House
10/25 Washington, DC - U Street Music Hall
10/26 New York, NY - Webster Hall
10/27 Boston, MA - Paradise
10/29 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
10/31 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
11/01 Seattle, WA - The Showbox
11/02 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
11/03 Los Angeles, CA - Fonda Theatre
10/25 Washington, DC - U Street Music Hall
10/26 New York, NY - Webster Hall
10/27 Boston, MA - Paradise
10/29 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
10/31 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
11/01 Seattle, WA - The Showbox
11/02 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
11/03 Los Angeles, CA - Fonda Theatre
|
|
DRAGONETTE
dragonette.com
Just a reminder that Canadian electropop trio, Dragonette, will be heading out on tour this week (tomorrow!) in support of their third studio album, Bodyparts (the album is coming out September 25th).
If you missed Dragonette's "Let It Go" on Good Morning America, you can see them on abcnews.go.com.
UPDATE: I am a big cover lover of cover artwork, and I love Dragonette's album art for Bodyparts. I couldn't help but poke a little fun at it with a new vuart.
Hopefully, if it all works out, we'll be covering the band at the Minneapolis date. All dates with (*) are with The Knocks, a band that doesn't seem to have a website.
dragonette.com
Just a reminder that Canadian electropop trio, Dragonette, will be heading out on tour this week (tomorrow!) in support of their third studio album, Bodyparts (the album is coming out September 25th).
If you missed Dragonette's "Let It Go" on Good Morning America, you can see them on abcnews.go.com.
Hopefully, if it all works out, we'll be covering the band at the Minneapolis date. All dates with (*) are with The Knocks, a band that doesn't seem to have a website.
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9/11: Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom *
9/12: New York, NY @ Webster Hall * 9/13: Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer 9/14: Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club * 9/15: Washington, DC @ Black Cat 9/16: Cleveland, OH @ Ingenuity Festival 9/18: Chicago, IL @ Metro * 9/19: Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club * |
9/20: Kansas City, MO @ Beaumont Club * 9/21: Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge* 9/22: Las Vegas, NV @ Hyde at Bellagio Hotel 9/24: San Diego, CA @ Belly Up * 9/25: Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre * 9/26: San Francisco, CA @ Mezzanine * 9/27: Portland, OR @ Doug Fir * 9/28: Seattle, WA @ Decibal Festival / Neumos * |
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THE CASKET GIRLS
casketgirls.org
The Savannah trio, The Casket Girls will be releasing their debut album, Sleepwalking, on November 6, 2012, via Graveface Records.
The band consists of Ryan Graveface (from Black Moth Super Rainbow and various other bands) and sisters Elsa and Phaedra Greene.
You can preview the title track, "Sleepwalking," below:
The Casket Girls' live band will include additional music support from bassist Bullsmear (Black Moth Super Rainbow) and drummer Peter Seeba (Dreamend).
Tour information below.
^ w/ Black Moth Super Rainbow, & w/ The Faint
casketgirls.org
The Savannah trio, The Casket Girls will be releasing their debut album, Sleepwalking, on November 6, 2012, via Graveface Records.
The band consists of Ryan Graveface (from Black Moth Super Rainbow and various other bands) and sisters Elsa and Phaedra Greene.
You can preview the title track, "Sleepwalking," below:
Tour information below.
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10-27 Savannah, GA - Graveface Fest ^
10-29 Orlando, FL - The Social ^ 10-30 Miami, FL - The Stage ^ 10-31 Tampa, FL - Crowbar ^ 11-01 Tallahassee, FL - Club Downunder ^ 11-02 New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks ^ 11-03 Austin, TX - The Mohawk ^ 11-06 Dallas, TX - The Loft ^ 11-07 Nashville, TN - Exit/In ^ 11-08 Louisville, KY - Zanzabar ^ 11-09 Columbus, OH - Skullys ^ |
11-10 Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Smalls Theatre ^ 11-16 Sacramento, CA - Ace Of Spades & 11-17 San Francisco, CA - Regency Ballroom & 11-20 San Diego, CA - House Of Blues & 11-23 Phoenix, AZ - Crescent Ballroom & 11-24 Las Vegas, NV - House Of Blues & 12-03 Boston, MA - Paradise ^ 12-05 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom ^ 12-06 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall Of Williamsburg ^ 12-07 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer ^ 12-08 Washington DC - U Street Music Hall ^ |
^ w/ Black Moth Super Rainbow, & w/ The Faint
07/19/2007
Saint Etienne - He's on the Phone
The first Saint Etienne song I ever heard was 'He's On the Phone'-- I think it was on Rodney Bingenheimer's radio show. Prior to that I'd been curious about them because I kept seeing ads for their Too Young to Die compilation in magazines like Select and Vox, and I thought their name sounded cool (I was 16, okay?). I'm terrible when it comes to identifying genres but for me there's no other way to describe this song than: dance-pop. Pure, triumphant, sparkling, fabulous dance-pop. Every time I've seen them live this song turns the floor into a madhouse. Saint Etienne have loads of good songs but there's just something about this song. I like their final version the best but there are several different incarnations of this song.
It was first written by French singer Etienne Daho back in 1984, and was a pretty big hit off his album La Notte La Notte. Back then the title was 'Week-end à Rome' and it sounds somewhat dated now but I still think it's way catchy and great to sing along to (even though I don't speak a word of French!). Then in 1995, Daho and Saint Etienne collaborated on the Reserection EP, which includes 'Accident' which is basically the first English version of 'He's on the Phone.' The lyrics contain an extra couplet in the second verse (and hers is lilac and gold/ the things she has/ she's feeling sad/ she's feeling old). Then they turned up the piano, mixed it up and re-released it as 'He's on the Phone,' which is included in several compilation albums (Too Young to Die, Continental, Smash the System, Travel Edition).
Incidentally, Saint Etienne got their name from a French football team, and I'm not sure how they first got together with Daho, but they've collaborated on several songs, the most (relatively) recent being 'Le Premier Jour' which was a song that first showed up on Sarah Cracknell's solo CD as 'Ready or Not.'
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