Oh where did this all start? Although Roger Troutman or Teddy Riley are often credited for the first use of auto-tune, that was in fact the talkbox. I once heard that the pioneer of auto-tuning is none other than Cher. That’s right, ‘Do you believe in liiiiife after looooove!?’ Who knew this diva would influence artists in totally different genres.
Now it seems auto-tune is for the masses. Haters tend to target T-Pain, the most notorious (ab)user of auto-tune, but some others include Akon, Lil’ Wayne and Kanye West. Now we see it spreading from R&B to indie rock with Discovery, the much talked-about love child of Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot.
Personally, I’m at a loss. I do not know what to think of auto-tune. I had no respect for T-Pain until I watched his interview with DJ Skee of Los Angeles’ KIIS-FM. When asked about the active use of auto-tune in his music, he responded, [read more…]
17 Hours have never passed so quickly. Maybe it was the stop at Sonic that kept us going (us New Englanders think of it as some Holy Grail of fast food), but most likely it was the excitement of Bonnaroo finally becoming a reality. Honestly, I feel like my visit in Manchester, TN was a fantasy I dreamt up for my own fun. But it happened, and I have the lime green wristband, 3D ticket, and tie-dye t-shirt to prove it.
Even when you talk with people who went, Bonnaroo is hard to describe. If there’s a God, I hope heaven is a big ol’ Bonnaroo in the sky (sure as hell I’d go to church more often). Some friends from Boston College plus some and I all arrived around 5 am on Thursday, pitching our tent and canopy by the light of the sunrise. We napped, and then the adventure officially started.
Here’s the layout of Bonnaroo, 700 acres of former farming lands: Centeroo is an area where all the stages are located and carnival-like vendors. That majestic red archway you see in your friends’ Facebook albums? That’s the entrance to Centeroo. They sell anything from traditional pizza to deep fried gator, and as far as souvenirs go, buy a cool band posters or a didgeridoo. When and if you go, make sure to stop at the Wonder Waffle stand to get the hot waffle sandwich: a cube of vanilla ice cream between two thick waffles smothered in chocolate syrup. Surrounding Centeroo are all the campsites grouped by movie titles and divided by that movie’s characters. Ours was Pussy Galore in the James Bond area… we all got a kick out of that. Port-a-potties are located throughout, and you get used to peeing in the dark after the first two nights. Showering is a no-no. I mean you can for a little less then 10 bucks, but if you’re going to Bonnaroo you might as well do it up right. [read more…]
Feist and Patrick Daughters
Once upon a time there was this brilliant film director named Patrick Daughters who directed short films, commercials and videos for indie artists. They were brilliant. The end?
Ooh, not even close. This Cali cool man is all but 33 years old, pumping out more indie-related videos than a 17-year-old guitar player with a bad haircut and a YouTube account. He’s the one behind the avant-garde, split screen video of King of Leon’s ‘Bucket’ and the iPod-induced sensation of Feist’s ’1234′ (not to mention the ultra chic ‘My Moon My Man,’ ‘Mushaboom,’ and ‘I Feel it All’).
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It might be the intro’s pulsing and the sing-stuttering or maybe it’s the rock pop and glazed vocals. I don’t know for sure, but whatever the reason, Phoenix’s single ’1901′ got me through finals week despite late nights, all nighters, and pure misery.
Emergency song kit coming your way:
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It was the first single released from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Phoenix’s long-awaited May release. Well, probably more long-awaited for perennial Phoenix fans hailing from France and other European countries. Wolfgang is their fourth album release, which was some surprise to me, an American fan who’s just recently hopped the Phoenix train.
After some hefty google-ing, I discovered quite an impressive history.
It’s crazy to think these guys started out over a decade ago in suburbs on Versailles. Before the name Phoenix was even established, they were more ambiguously known as those dudes playing in that remix of ‘Kelly Watch the Stars’ by Air. Things got serious when guitarist Laurent Brancowitz committed to Phoenix by officially leaving Darlin’, an unsuccessful starter band with Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (no worries, the two soon became Daft Punk). [read more…]
It may not need justification, but it’s become so obvious that I have to talk about it.
Artists love It’s Blitz!. They just want to get their hands around it, their fingers in it.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs have succeeded in making even the alternative unorthodox with this latest album release. And track by track, the remixes pour out. Ears first perked with Animal Collective’s take on ‘Zero,’ a dark horse remixer if that race ever existed. Intriguing, worth the listen, but nothing to write home about. [read more…]
