Nicole Scherzinger is a singer, songwriter, actress and dancer who first gained notoriety as the front-woman of The Pussycat Dolls (a burlesque inspired recording group) before branching out as a solo artist. Part Filipino, Hawaiian and Russian, she seems to have procured the best of each gene pool. Follow her on instagram: @nicolescherzy.
KILLER COVER: Sam Smith covers Whitney Houston
I acknowledge that Sam Smith has a great voice, but I haven’t been all too impressed with his latest singles. They’re growing on me, but I think the switch still needs to be turned on before I purchase his album (full disclosure, I haven’t heard the entire album) … but when I found his cover of Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know”, I was floored. I actually went to iTunes to see if that recording was available on his album. It wasn’t. Let’s just say I would have purchased the album just for that cover.
Bonus Whitney
Since we’re talking Whitney, you should check out the a cappella track from her recording. It’s pretty awesome too.
Think You Know All About Michael Jackson’s Videos?
Since I blogged about their latest video last week, I figured I post this week a “behind-the-scenes: from the trenches” video that they shot simultaneously of them making the video. It’s basically all real time, and really cool.
MUSIC NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT
I’m not a fan, and really never have been, of Electronic Dance Music. But the youth these days can’t seem to get enough of it. Well … some have paid the ultimate cost recently when two died after attending the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas and dozen of fans were hospitalized during an Avicii show. Personally, I just don’t see the true musicianship in EDM “performances” … if you’re willing to call it a performance. I hoping that it’s just a fad. Something new has got to come along, right? Man, I hope so.
YouTube is making it hard for independent labels today. Some great artist’s videos (like Adele, Vampire Weekend, etc) may no longer be available to view on their traditional platform. For an in depth analysis of why independent label are unhappy with Youtube’s contractual offerings, you should click here and read this article. It’s not the easiest read, but it will give you perspective.
Earlier this year, I heard a little buzz about an indie-rock band from Manchester, UK called The 1975. I really didn’t know much about their music, but a lot of my female friends on Facebook had posted about them, so I decided to check out their set to see what they were all about.
I didn’t know much about their music, so I kind of assumed that it would be something akin to music of that era like Queen or Led Zeppelin (considering that they were from the UK and they were called The 1975). Rather, it was more like the pop-rock of HAIM. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of 80’s influenced, indie rock, I suppose I was just anticipating, although a bit unfounded, something a little harder of an edge.
I liked their music. With the support and push of their label. I don’t think this band will have a problem breaking into the american, mainstream market. The tunes are catchy and consumer-friendly, and the lead singer, based on a female friend’s opinion, is “a good looking, if not waif, guy” … and I’m assuming that most of the crowd would have agreed as they seemed to be mostly female (you should click the instagram video below … It’s not surprising that there is a girl yelling, “I love you, Matty,” at the end).
I liked their music. If you like bands like HAIM, CHVRCHES or Vampire Weekend, you should look into The 1975.
FYF FEST | L.A. State Historic Park | August 24 and 25, 2013 (Mikal Cronin, Charles Bradley, The Breeders, Devendra Banhart, The Locust, Deerhunter, TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Orwells, Pional, How To Dress Well, No Age, !!! (ChkChkChk), Shlohmo, MGMT, Solange, and Holy Ghost!)
Coachella 2013 | April 12-14 | Friday (Of Monsters and Men, Passion Pit, Palma Violets, Modest Mouse, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Jurassic 5, Stone Roses and How To Destroy Angels)
I woke up Sunday morning from the couch, wiped the sleep from my eyes to notice bodies strewn across the floor. In the corner, there appeared to be what looked like a pillow fort… and a feet protruding from its cushioned walls. Interesting I thought … it would turn out that those feet belonged to either the bassist or drummer of Father John Misty’s band. The morning was definitely starting out rock-and-roll.
I had a friend who happened to be in Palm Springs that weekend for work, so I ditched the group to head out to where she was to grab a late breakfast/early lunch. We met at a Hard Rock Hotel sponsored “party” and I given a “media pass” so that I could dine from the special menu. I get that lot of people forego a lot of the music at Coachella to attend these parties, but it’s really not for me. A bunch of people dancing in a pool to a DJ playing some innocuous dub-step music. I suppose the “perks” (massages, hair braiding, etc.) may make it worthwhile, but there are bands from across the world performing half an hour away, and you’re listening to dub-step from some no-name DJ? It was great seeing an old friend, but I had to be curt and hightail it back to the festival. Plus, the food was pretty bad… but that’s besides the point. Lol.
When I got the festival, I walked by the stages and tents where Jessie Ware and Kurt Vile, respectively, were performing. Jessie Ware sounded decent enough, but I wasn’t particularly drawn to her music in the first place, and Kurt Vile just didn’t sound very good. It reminded me of Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks from a few years ago, and I left that set early too.
There was a singer that I was interested in by the name of Alex Clare. From the United Kingdom, his biggest hit to date was his single, “Too Close” which, ironically enough, is a rock song with dubstep and soul influences. Now, I know I was just complaining about bad dubstep music, but when it’s produced by Diplo and Switch, it gets a pass.
Alex Clare blew my mind. That dude has some serious pipes. I wasn’t too familiar with his entire catalogue of music, but whatever he sang, I was feeling. He may have hit the stage five minutes past his starting time, but I’m not going to blame him for anything. His voice had a soulful rasp to it, and boomed.
Not only did he kill his set vocally, but he was extremely humble. When he addressed the audience half way through his set, he went out of his way say, “This is my dream right now.” I wish I new more of his catalogue, and I’ll probably buy his CD at some point in the near future, but what I do remember from the set was that his cover of Prince’s when “Dove’s Cry” was a pleasant surprise and perhaps the most impressive part of his set was when he sang sans accompaniment, a cappella. His crowd, which was particularly sizable, knew all the songs that I didn’t and the sang choruses quite pleasantly.
After Alex Clare’s set, I decided to wait around for Rodriguez. I hadn’t seen the documentary “Searching for Sugarman”, but I did have a copy of “Cold Fact” on CD. I knew about his legend, and I was really anticipating seeing him perform.
As I waited in the tent for his set to start, I noted that there were many others, like me, who wanted to get there early for a good spot. Some girl gave the stage manager a note on a napkin. He looked at it, and then pointed to his wedding ring. You can only speculate what was on that napkin.
When Rodriguez took the stage, he had to be escorted. It was at that moment that I felt like I was having a bucket-list moment. It took a moment for him to get set up, and you could feel the anticipation in the tent. Then the music started … are at least, I thought the music started. The levels across the board were a little off. The bass was to loud and the vocals were to low. In between the first couple songs, the crowd chanted, “Turn it up!” It wasn’t until “I Wonder” that I thought that the levels were correctly set, and that was about a third of the way into the set. “I Wonder” was perhaps the highlight of the set as everyone knew the lyrics and sang along.
Though I wish that the sound was perfect from start to finish, I’ll take what I got and appreciate it. Half an amazing set is better than none at all.
Another band that I had seen before at Coachella was Vampire Weekend. The last time I saw them, they were playing the Outdoor Stage. This year they were on the main stage. I had a good time then, so I knew I’d have a good time now. I didn’t get as far up as I would have liked, but it really didn’t matter. I just got lost to their music and danced with the other free souls in the area.
Cousins
White Sky
Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
Diane Young (New Song)
Step
Holiday
Unbelievers
A-Punk
Ya Hey (New Song)
Campus
Oxford Comma
Giving Up the Gun
Walcott
At this point I was hungry, so I decided to eat between the Outdoor Stage where Pretty Lights was performing, and the Mojave tend where Father John Misty. The whole time I was eating, I was thinking, “Some dude on stage made a pillow fort next to the couch I was sleeping on,” …
After eating, I headed back to the Main Stage to get as far up front as I could for Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.
I have a friend who had kicked it with Nick back in the day. She told me a few stories about him, and I can say- if those stories are true- Nick Cave is the living embodiment of punk. I’ll be honest with you, I have a few of his albums, but they’ve always been more mood music to me than anything. His performance at Coachella changed my perception of him.
It was a relatively dark set, heavy on mood, but pure rock-and-roll. It was almost chilling when he brough up the Silverlake Conservatory children’s choir to sing the refrain of “Keep On Pushing”. Having watched him perform, I actually regretted not catching his other band, Grinderman”, perform the other day.
Jubilee Street
From Her To Eternity
Red Right Hand
Deanna
Jack the Ripper
Stagger Lee
The Mercy Seat
Push the Sky Away
After Nick Cave, I walked over to the Wu-Tang Clan to catch up with my friends. I came half way through their set, but I could hear them “bring the mutha-fuckin’ ruckus”. As tired as I no was from the three days of music, I pushed on to search for my friends. Once I found them, I sat down on the ground rest. At that point in the evening, the wind was picking up, and dust was flying around everywhere. Thankfully, I had purchased a bandana and used it to cover up my nose and mouth. The sand storm was actually bad enough that Wu-Tang actually acknowledged it on stage.
They’re set was a greatest hits compilation, and I should have been more pumped for it, but I think my exhaustion, coupled with the fact that I saw Wu-Tang a few years back to the entire “Enter the 36 Chambers” album, kind of left a been there, done that vibe with me.
Protect Ya Neck
Bring da Ruckus
Shame on a Nigga
Clan in da Front
Da Mystery of Chessboxin’
Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing to F’Wit
Can It Be All So Simple
Method Man
Tearz
C.R.E.A.M.
Bring the Pain (Method Man)
All I Need (Method Man)
Ice Cream (Raekwon)
Winter Warz (Ghostface Killah)
Duel of the Iron Mic (GZA/Genius)
4th Chamber
Reunited
For Heavens Sake
Shimmy Shimmy
Brooklyn Zoo (Ol’ Dirty Bastard)
Da Rockwilder (Methodman and Redman)
Gravel Pit
Triumph
Before the Wu-Tang ended their set, I went to the main stage to check out The Red Hot Chili Peppers. My friend and I positioned ourselves toward the exits, with enough of a view that we could tell what was going on, and in line with speakers so we could hear everything clearly.
A this point, the sand storm was getting pretty intense. People started to leave the festival grounds. They started playing “Under the Bridge” and, for the first time all weekend, I lay on the sand covered grass. My friend was absolutely beat, so I promised her that I wanted to hear two more songs, then we would leave. The second song they played after “Under the Bridge” was “Higher Ground”. If you know me, you know that I love my Stevie. It was a sign that it was time to go.
Monarchy of Roses
Dani California
Otherside
Look Around
Can’t Stiop
Snow (Hey Oh)
The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie
Tell Me Baby
Parallel Universe
Under the Bridge
Ethiopia
Higher Ground
Californication
By The Way
Jam
Around the World
Give It Way.
And with that, my Coachella 2013 had concluded. Sandstorm notwithstanding, I’ll be back next year.
The lineup for Coachella 2013 came out last night, and the first band listed, to my immense joy, was The Stone Roses.
There are other notable acts that were listed: Modest Mouse and Franz Ferdinand (2004 anybody?), Vampire Weekend, Grizzly Bear, Hot Chip and Passion Pit (Coachella 2010 revisited?), Lou Reed, Postal Service, OMD and New Order (British New Wave contingent?), Descendents, Violent Femmes and DInosaur Jr (80s, early 90s, throwbacks?)… BUT, my quest for the a “golden wristband” (Coachella issues wristbands instead of tickets) is ground in the fact that The Stone Roses are headlining Friday night.
Their self-titled debut album was a sensation. From the moment you pressed play, there was no reason to fast forward or skip through tracks because, as a whole, that album was perfect. Their brand of indie rock fused guitar pop with dance culture, but it’s attitude was all rock and roll.
Lead singer Ian Brown’s vocals assumed a laid back and nonchalant approach which seems almost to be contradictory in style to the underlying music, but it all meshed together. “I Am the Resurrection”, “I Wanna Be Adored” and “She Bangs The Drums” are highlights from the album.
I’ve noticed that a lot of the “kids” responding to the line-up news seem to be disappointed with some of the selections. They seem to be more upset that Daft Punk or other “dance” acts aren’t on the bill. What they don’t seem to understand is that The Stone Roses have musical, historical relevance in that they created an album that brought, and in late 80s and early 90s, “dance music to an audience that was previously obsessed with droning guitars, while it revived the concept of classic pop songwriting and the repercussions of its achievement could be heard throughout the ’90s.” (quoted from http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-stone-roses-mw0000653335)
It’s too bad that the younger generations can’t understand how big this act is in the context of music history. Hopefully, newbies at their crowd at Coachella will hear and feel the the amazingness of their music like I did when I first pressed play on that used cassette tape that I bought back in high-school.
Cheers, Goldenvoice and Coachella. You’ve made one hopeful patron very happy.
#DKLPHOTOS 