Friday, 27 June 2008

Michael Penn

Michael Penn   
Artist: Michael Penn

   Genre(s): 
Rock
   



Discography:


Resigned   
 Resigned

   Year: 1997   
Tracks: 11


Free-for-All   
 Free-for-All

   Year: 1992   
Tracks: 10


March   
 March

   Year: 1989   
Tracks: 11




One of the about acclaimed singer/songwriters to emerge during the recent eighties, Michael Penn was apparently destined for a vocation in read business. The oldest logos of director Leo Penn and actress Eileen Ryan, he was innate August 1, 1958 in New York City's Greenwich Village surface area; within a yr, the house relocated to Los Angeles, and there Penn's younger siblings Sean (later accepted among the finest actors of his generation) and Chris (a noted fictional character thespian acclaimed for his work in features like Reservoir Dogs) were innate. While his brothers focused on playing, Michael turned to music, and undermentioned an other compulsion with the Beatles conditioned to toy guitar; by high school he united his first isthmus, cover hits by performers including the Rolling Stones and David Bowie. He soon turned to piece of writing his possess songs as well.


In the early eighties, Penn formed the grouping Doll Congress, which garnered a fervent local undermentioned just never expanded their winnow base outside of Southern California; discomfited, for a clip he regular left music, following in the family tradition by coming into court as an supernumerary in a routine of television set series, including the authoritative St. Elsewhere. In 1987, Sean Penn hosted Sat Night Live and brought Michael along as a musical invitee; the performance revived his stake in music, and he presently reunited with ex-Doll Congress keyboardist Patrick Warren to begin composing the songs which comprised his 1989 debut, Borderland. Upon its release, the record album became a important critical favourite, earning hail for its sparkling Beatlesque folk-pop and ingenious, Elvis Costello-like pun; the lead single, "No Myth," level became a surprise come to and helped launch the LP into the Top 40. Another minor hit, "This and That," followed in 1990.


In the wake of his initial success, Penn went on a protracted abatement; when he returned in 1992 with his soph endeavor, Liberate For All, he met a good deal greater commercial immunity than he faced with Marchland, and after only a few weeks, the album felled seam off the charts. He then spent five days contemplative his next act, finally resurfacing in 1997 with Resigned; piece critics again praised Penn's songcraft, the record, wish its predecessor, failed to catch on outside of his loyal cult following. Around the same clip, he likewise began collaborating with the acclaimed young film maker Paul Thomas Anderson, scoring his 1997 debut Gruelling Eight; later that same yr, he composed the music for the decisive ducky Boogie Nights, as well devising a cameo coming into court in the film as an Eighties-era record producer. In late 1997, Penn married associate singer/songwriter Aimee Mann; Mp4: Days Since a Lost Time Accident followed in early 2000. In 2005, afterward a long falling out with Epic records, Penn released Mr. Hollywood, Jr. 1947 on his own Mimeograph label. A vocal oscillation about post-World War II Los Angeles, it features guest appearances from Mann, Buddy Judge and Patrick Warren.






Sunday, 22 June 2008

Tom Waits on tour: Anything but old hat

PHOENIX -- The sprawling, brawling concert Tom Waits gave here Tuesday, opening his Glitter and Doom tour with two nights at the city's grand old Orpheum, found its central image, unsurprisingly, in a hat. This wasn't just any of the countless porkpies and fedoras that have sat upon the head of rock's great junkman chorister. It was a mirrored bowler that Waits donned while performing the psychedelic circus tale "Eyeball Kid." The shards of glass made the light in the room bend and sparkle, momentarily turning this baroque revival theater into a steampunk Laserium.

The magic hat was a visual metaphor for what Waits does so well in music: refiguring old or even obsolete musical forms in his own hyper-dramatic style until they dazzle in new, often disconcerting ways. This show, the first of a journey that will take Waits south and east to cities he hasn't visited in decades (like Phoenix), offered ample evidence of his core techniques in a fan-pleasing set that also had a few surprises.

The twists weren't so much in the set list, which featured crowd pleasers like "Time," " and "Innocent When You Dream," but in the arrangements. Waits likes to change up his band and switch the perspective on his songs. In the past, guitarists such as Marc Ribot and Joe Gore have found the sharp edges and the flash in Waits' work; this time, the most heavily featured player is Vincent Henry, whose sax, woodwinds and harmonica added color and warmth to songs like "Black Market Baby," connecting them clearly to gospel music and rhythm and blues.





If Waits could only claim songs that borrow most purely from these coffers, like the testifying "Jesus Gonna Be Here," you'd have to call him a minstrel. His froggy voice, so evocative of Louis Armstrong, and his streetwise diction show the heavy influence of the "White Negro" era of American hip.

But Waits is far too aware of himself as a constructed character to fall into that trap. At 58, he's accumulated a huge songbook that explores many aspects of the American vernacular, from noir fiction to the carnival barker's cries, from country music to Stephen Foster-style parlor songs. Just when it seemed he was going to play the soul man all night, he'd switch it up with a Brechtian musical-theater piece like "Rain Dogs" or a word jazz-style story song like "Murder in the Red Barn," based on a bloody Victorian-era scandal but rendered in a tone that recalls Waits' friend, filmmaker Jim Jarmusch.

Waits and his band moved neatly from one corner of his imaginary America to another. Guitarist Omar Torrez, multi-instrumentalist Henry and keyboardist Patrick Warren ably followed the twisted melodic lines and stop-start rhythms Waits loves, anchored by the refreshingly light-fingered rhythm section of Seth Ford-Young and drummer Casey Waits (yes, that's his son). Less bold than previous Waits bands, this ensemble had more agility, and it inspired the singer to try new things.

Waits is underrated as a vocalist. His baritone is easy to caricature, but a lengthy concert like this one offers a chance to hear what else he can do. He often capped a song with an eerie falsetto; on a couple of songs, with chugging arrangements that seemed like tributes to the late Bo Diddley, he adopted the hiccuping style of early Elvis Presley and his lessers. And he was frankly emotional on the ballads that demand that approach, especially the quieter ones he played during a mini-set at the piano, putting aside his quirks to go for the heart of each song. He even played human beatbox on a few numbers, though, thank goodness, he never rapped.

Over the years, Waits has developed a stage presence that complements his penchant for vocal disguise. Following the lineage that connects Japanese Kabuki theater to Bertolt Brecht's Theater of Alienation, Waits mimics the actions of the soul man or the preacher until they become surreal. His tour's stage sets help put the audience off balance; the current one features cubistic red lights, a wall sculpture made of primitive loudspeakers and gramophone cylinders, and some kind of dust that Waits kicked up to great effect.

And like any good midway barker/preacher/barfly, he told jokes. His current batch mostly involves imaginary laws. In Phoenix, he said, "No kiss can last longer than three minutes, and horses must wear diapers." And "in Baltimore, it's illegal to take a lion to the movies."

The America in Tom Waits' head is certainly strange, but it remains a delightful place to spend an evening.

ann.powers@latimes.com

Saturday, 14 June 2008

Darkufo

Darkufo   
Artist: Darkufo

   Genre(s): 
Other
   



Discography:


Collection   
 Collection

   Year:    
Tracks: 19




 






Sunday, 8 June 2008

Meat Beat Manifesto

Meat Beat Manifesto   
Artist: Meat Beat Manifesto

   Genre(s): 
Techno
   Rock
   Other
   Electronic
   



Discography:


R.U.O.K.?   
 R.U.O.K.?

   Year: 2002   
Tracks: 12


Actual Sounds and Voices   
 Actual Sounds and Voices

   Year: 1998   
Tracks: 15


Mindstream   
 Mindstream

   Year: 1993   
Tracks: 4


Satyricon   
 Satyricon

   Year: 1992   
Tracks: 16


Storm the studio   
 Storm the studio

   Year: 1989   
Tracks: 14


At The Center   
 At The Center

   Year:    
Tracks: 12




 






Wednesday, 4 June 2008

Report says Travolta won't play JR

A report in the US says that John Travolta will not star as JR Ewing in the big screen version of 1980s favourite 'Dallas'.
The showbiz website Page Six.com, which is owned by the publishers of the New York Post, says that Travolta departed the project two weeks ago.
However, Page Six.com did not get confirmation from the makers of the film, 20th Century Fox.
Page Six.com claimed Ben Stiller had been lined up to play JR, but a spokesperson for the actor said that he had not been offered the part.

Pete Wentz Takes Shot At MTV

Pete Wentz has taken a shot at television network MTV, saying he's "frustrated" by the music channel because of the small amount of airtime actually dedicated to playing music.The Fall Out Boy rocker started a poll on his personal blog asking, "What's the number one thing you hate about MTV?"According to the majority of the almost 700 respondants, lack of music was their main gripe.Wentz posted the following message on Tuesday (May 20): "i could only assume that you would be completely frustrated with the same things i am with mtv. it is a network called music television that does not play music videos. and when they do play videos it is in30 second clips on TRL or underneath the credits of whatever reality show. the truth is we have a collective memory of videos. certain ones we can all sit and look back and say "oh i remember that" or "i cant believe axl rocked the nwa hat and the bicycle shorts in the same video". people say that with the a.d.d. generation people cant pay attention to a whole music video whenever we have asked. that people wont watch those anymore. i disagree. as most of you do as well. the truth is whole videos should be played. bands should play live. premieres should be a big deal like they used to be, not just asnippet of a video. artists should be able to let their imaginations go and know that people will be able to see what they have crafted. artists should talk about their videos. we should and can make the music video important again."Photo courtesy of  

Pepper breaks out 'Pink Crustaceans' for summer trip

Rock/dub/ska outfit Pepper [ tickets ] has lined up a summer tour with fellow reggae-influenced rockers Slightly Stoopid [ tickets ] in advance of its new studio album, which is due in July.The Hawaii-bred, Southern California-based Pepper--Bret Bollinger (vocals/bass), Kaleo Wassman (guitar/vocals) and Yesod Williams (drums)--has a few headlining dates to polish off first, kicking off June 20 in Las Vegas. The group is currently touring extensively in Europe, an outing that will keep it busy overseas through early June. The band's complete international schedule can be found at Pepper's website, and the complete US schedule is included below."Pink Crustaceans and Good Vibrations," the band's fifth studio album, is due in stores July 22 on Pepper's own Law Records imprint. The set was produced by Paul Leary of The Butthole Surfers, who also helped produce the group's previous effort, 2006's "No Shame."The trio also released a b-sides collection, "To Da Max," last March. That set comprises unreleased songs, demos and live performances recorded between 1997 and 2004. One track, "2B," is streaming at the band's MySpace page.Williams, Bollinger and Wassman formed the band in Hawaii and then relocated to Southern California in 1999, thanks to a promotional deal with surf/skate/snow-lifestyle company Volcom Entertainment.

Critics Go Postal Over Boll Film

The only film producer challenging Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with a new release this weekend is the critically despised German director Uwe Boll, who has managed to find 17 theaters across the country to show his R-rated Postal. It's based on a video game about a man who "goes postal" and begins shooting everything and everyone in sight. The movie includes scenes of the the 9/11 hijackers crashing into the World Trade Center while discussing the virgins they're sure to win when they arrive in paradise. Another scene shows Osama Bin Laden and George Bush holding hands as they walk into a mushroom cloud. When virtually every major theater chain, including AMC and Regal, the nation's two largest, turned it down, Boll distributed it himself, sometimes even renting theaters, but even many of the theaters that have agreed to show it are only doing so at odd hours. "We're running in Austin only at midnight at the Alamo. How are you going to do box office if you're not going to play five times a day?" Boll asked in an interview with MTVNews.com. In the New York area, the movie is only playing in outerborough Brooklyn.


See Also

Chino

Chino   
Artist: Chino

   Genre(s): 
Drum & Bass
   



Discography:


Winding Down / Copantl   
 Winding Down / Copantl

   Year: 2005   
Tracks: 2


Avalanche (AVA005)   
 Avalanche (AVA005)

   Year: 2005   
Tracks: 2




 





Afro-Cuban All Stars

Eurovision Song Contest - Irish Puppet Fails To Make Eurovision Song Contest Final

There will be no Irish entry in this year's Eurovision Song Contest final after the country's entrant, a turkey puppet named Dustin, was eliminated in the first semi-final.

The glove puppet - a popular fixture of Irish television - will not appear in Saturday's final in Serbia after failing to make the grade in last night's semi.

Greece, Romania, Armenia, and Finland were among the ten successful countries sent through to the Eurovision final while a further ten will be selected in the second semi-final on Thursday.

The UK's entrant - former X Factor runner up Andy Abraham - is also guaranteed a place in the final as are the contestants from France, Germany and Spain, due to their significant financial contributions to the continental music competition.

However, Dustin the Turkey, who has released six albums in his homeland, will not take to the Serbian stage after his song Irelande Douze Pointe failed to impress voters.

Keith Mills, editor of Irish Eurovision website All Kinds of Everything, said he had "thought from the day [Dustin] was chosen that we were in for a disappointment".

"I never saw it as a Eurovision winner, even when it was hot favourite and since I arrived in Belgrade, I've said that I thought it would lose out," he wrote on his blog.

"It was a three minute 'joke' that wasn't especially funny, didn't work for an international audience and looked very messy on screen."


21/05/2008 12:08:53




See Also

Tori Spelling - Spelling Thinks Dad May Have Been Reborn As Tot

TORI SPELLING believes her father AARON has been reborn as her son LIAM.

The actress admits her son reminds her a lot of her late dad and thinks the tot may have a lot of the TV mogul in him.

She says, "We conceived right after my dad passed and it was a little boy.

"We look at him sometimes, like, 'Oh, my dad.' I think he has so much of my dad in him... Every time I look at him, I see my dad."




See Also

Judge Scolds Ja Rule For Missing Court Date

Rapper JA RULE has been reprimanded by a New York judge for failing to show up for an April (08) court date - because he was on tour in Germany.
On Wednesday (28May08), lawyer Stacey Richman blamed the error on the organisers of the German tour, arguing the dates had been booked by mistake.
Supreme Court Justice Micki Scherer told the star - real name Jeffrey Atkins - it was "no excuse", but granted him a break when she agreed to let him out of the country again for performances in Russia, reports the New York Daily News.
She told the rapper, "There was no excuse in my view for your absence (last month)."
Scherer said Atkins must give five days' notice of any business trips that would take him out of New York City's metropolitan area before he departs for Russia, and warned him he must check in with the court upon his return from Moscow.
Atkins, 32, his road manager Dennis Cherry and his driver Mohamed Gamal, were arrested and charged with criminal weapons possession last summer (07), after a loaded semi-automatic firearm was allegedly found in a car they were travelling in.