popwreckoning updates |  |
- The Heavy – “How You Like Me Now?”
- Ingrid Michaelson – Everybody
- Tori Amos Hits the Northeast: the Fine Line Between Fandom and Press Coverage, Part II
| The Heavy – “How You Like Me Now?” Posted: 25 Aug 2009 09:48 AM PDT The new video by The Heavy for “How You Like Me Now?” combines live action with Flash and traditional 2D hand drawn animation. Whilst bringing the Heavy graphic image to life, it tells the story of 2 ex-lovers and the chase by our lead “Wolf” of “Red” to see “how she likes me now.” With reference to the classic 70’s horror movie Don’t Look Now, there is a twist in the tale. “How You Like Me Now?” can be found on The Heavy’s forthcoming album The House That Dirt Built released on October 13th on Counter Records. The single itself will be made available exclusively through iTunes starting September 8th and will then be made available everywhere September 15th. We’re definitely looking forward to hearing more from these English lads. You can catch the Heavy in action as they rattle bones and howl across the US starting October 21st. Tour Dates: Related Posts |
| Posted: 25 Aug 2009 08:15 AM PDT Ingrid Michaelson is probably best known for her song "The Way I Am," which made its way into an Old Navy commercial and countless shows like “Grey's Anatomy.” Ingrid's fourth album Everybody arrives today, full of the folky pop songs that fans expect from her. If you aren't familiar with Ingrid's work, she's a bit like Lisa Loeb 2.0, both in appearance and songwriting. Unlike Loeb, her soulful voice lands somewhere between Joni Mitchell and Annie Lennox. The result makes her songs sound like they're being sung in your ear by a tiny fairy sitting on your shoulder, there for no reason but to provide the score to your day. Ingrid's vocal similarity to Lennox comes out on tracks like "The Chain" (FYI, this is NOT a Fleetwood Mac cover) and "Once was Love." In addition to the almost operatic quality of her voice, the songs themselves are reminiscent of songs like "Walking on Broken Glass" from Annie's Diva album, but with a folk twist. Lyrically the songs on Everybody stick to relationships, mostly of the failed variety, but always with a fairy tale faith in the power of love. To put it simply, it's an optimists' breakup record. Despite every song being from the post break up perspective of the dumpee, there is still the belief in love. You know… "Love is like oxygen. Love is many a splendid thing. All you need is love." I think I'm starting to sound like a Baz Luerman flick now, among other things. Even when the anger or cynicism of the lyrics appears to be winning out, however slight – sonically, there is an airy sweetness that is almost unwavering. This sweetness of her voice and words is highlighted by the sparseness of the compositions. Nothing is covered up with embellishment, and the songs are left to stand on their own. This is most true on songs like the title track, "Everybody". While the verses deal with pain and heartbreak, it all comes back to the singsong childlike chorus of: "Everybody, everybody wants to love/everybody, everybody wants to be loved." This joyous chorus sounds like it belongs over a montage of happy couples of varying ages and races, sharing dinners, holding hands, and playing on playgrounds, or maybe I just stumbled across the February ad campaign for an unnamed conglomerate. If it finances a tour or another record, all the better. The overall tone of the record is summed up in the bookends of record opener "Soldier" and closer "Locked Up." The spoken word verse of "Soldier" opens the record with a declaration of "I don't believe in anyone but myself" before going into lyrics that read like the tale of someone who gave their heart and life to someone before ultimately ending up alone. The anger doesn't win out though, with the chorus of "and so it goes, this soldier knows/the battle with the heart isn't easily won." Anyone else thinking "Love is a Battlefield"? The insistent piano of the intro on "Locked Up" has an edge and attitude that is uncharacteristic of the rest of the record and all of Ingrid's earlier albums, but it works. This song is best summed up with the line, "love, love, love, love is everywhere/but not a drop for me." In the end, the sweetness does win out with the infections earworm "bah-dah-dah's" that pepper all of Ingrid's records. Like I said, this is essentially an optimists' break up album, but it could also be argued that they're love songs for pessimists, so maybe it will find a place in the music collection of hopeless romantics and anti-monogamists alike. Everybody is available now on Cabin 24 Records. Tracklisting: Check Ingrid’s MySpace page for Everybody headlining tour dates. Ingrid Michaelson: website | myspace | @ the tla | interview with | Be OK review Related Posts |
| Tori Amos Hits the Northeast: the Fine Line Between Fandom and Press Coverage, Part II Posted: 25 Aug 2009 07:15 AM PDT
The next day, we got to Philly early so I could hit photo call just after sound check. I was a bundle of nerves. The idea of Tori and the guys playing to a mostly-empty theatre for a small cadre of photographers, myself included, was just astonishing to me. My friends were insanely jealous, I was aquiver and worried I'd never be able to get myself in check enough to avoid camera shake, and I couldn't help but wonder which song she'd play. When I made it to the Tower Theatre, though, something seemed off. There were plenty of people with cameras loitering, but it was apparent by the quality of the gear that these people were decidedly not photographers. When the girl in the box office had no answers, I asked one of the loiterers what was going on, and the response I was given was delivered with an attitude: "We're waiting for Mindy [the tour manager] to come out with ticket upgrades." Well, well. That was when I decided to call Mindi—a phone number the superfans would kill to have on speed dial, no?—to see what was up. Sadly, photo call for the day had been canceled due to scheduling issues, but we'd be allowed to shoot the first song, which turned out to be a crapshoot. Shooting from the wings when the performer's back is facing you can be a little problematic. Another thing Mindi told me was that getting me on the list for photo call in Boston would be easy. And my friends had already planned on going, so I had a ride. It seemed pretty apparent that the universe wanted me in Boston, but that comes later. The Philadelphia show was good, but it was no Jersey—a phrase I found myself repeating in Boston, too. Again, there were highlights: "Bouncing Off Clouds," "Northern Lad" (friend Mitch's request from the day before!), "Flying Dutchman," and "Carbon." While "Flying Dutchman" was a highlight because it's a rarity (albeit a gorgeous one), it was really "Northern Lad" and "Carbon" that got to me. They're songs I've always identified with; one about the ways in which infatuation and/or love can make a person naïve, self-deceiving, detrimentally malleable, and the other about depression, breaking points, and urgency. The thing with this music is that it reverberates so deeply, and continues to do so as you grow. There were things I understood on a more intuitive, basic level at fifteen that really became apparent with life experience.
In case it's not clear: a fan finds herself awash with anticipation during every show, gripping the arm of her seat, wondering how/when next she'll be blown away. It's an experience I've only ever really encountered at Tori shows. I go to other shows, bounce, sing along, and take my photographs. I observe, but often have little to say that the photographs don't illustrate. A Tori show is different. It's both cerebral and visceral at the same time. There are comparisons to other shows or other versions of the song being played; there are the improvs, where you find yourself wondering at how this woman picks the perfect words from the air to go with the melody she's playing; there are the tears that take you by surprise; and there are always new ways to interpret lyrics, to learn new things about the songs. It's a rollercoaster ride which really demands all of your attention. It requires mentally plugging in and, simultaneously, allowing yourself to be receptive and vulnerable. After three days of running around various cities, negotiating mass transit like a chicken with no head, a day off was welcomed. It gave me much needed time for sleep and a little bit of processing, though the anticipation of shooting in Boston was palpable. On Monday morning, fully rested, I hustled down to Midtown to meet my friends, where we subsequently piled into a rental car and drove speedily to Boston in order to catch the meet and greet. By the time we arrived, judging by the reverent hush that had taken over the line of fans, it was apparent that Tori was already was already doing her thing. When she got to me, I thanked her for the song in Red Bank and took a photo with her. The meet and greets this year were far less chaotic than the ones on recent tours. Even better: it seems like everyone, at the very least, gets to say hello. Back in 2001, if you weren't in line at noon and hyper-vigilant about keeping your spot, there was a very realistic possibility of losing the chance to meet Tori—and even then, it was a gamble. If you weren't at the front of the barricades when she came out of the venue, it was over. Luckily for the fans, there's some pretty good structure and organization going on these days. After the meet and greet, we settled in with some alcohol to wait for the show. Somewhere in the middle of all of that, the most magical five minutes of my life happened: photo call. I took leave from my friends and headed across the street to the venue, where I was made to sign a release (essentially signing my rights away to a set of photos I hadn't even taken yet) and then, along with two other photographers, I was led into Boston's Bank of America Pavilion. It was completely empty, save for two older women, guitar and lighting techs, and the band. We were told we'd have run of the venue and Tori in full show dress for one song and to go to town. I prepped my gear and got my nerves in order. We waited for a good twenty minutes in the unrelenting heat before Tori came onstage, flanked by Mindi. She said hello, asked how we were doing, and then she went nuts on "Talula," hamming it up for our cameras all the while. I'm pretty sure I spent the entire song grinning my fool head off and mouthing along as she sang, but I got some good shots out of it. After those few minutes, the show itself didn't really matter anymore. It ended up being good, ranked just above the NYC show, but below New Jersey and Philly—from my point of view, anyway. It wasn't the sort of amazing I'd been prepping myself for, but at that point, I just didn't care anymore. I'd reached the zenith and had to come down sometime. The highlight was the Lizard Lounge improv about saying goodbye, which led into a solo version of "Cool on Your Island," a song that resonates. "The Power of Orange Knickers" was nice too, but hey, let's check out the pictures!
Related Posts |
| You are subscribed to email updates from popwreckoning To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
