I always say that I’m going to swear off mash-ups—too kitschy, too early-millennium—but then another one comes along that makes my resolve waver. The pop blog Sheena Beaston unearthed the latest one to make me smile, Virginia DJ CJ Milli‘s collision between Lumidee’s summertime staple “Never Leave You” (a.k.a. the “uh oh… uh oh” song that was all over New York radio a few years back) and LFO’s ode to ladies who wear Abercrombie and Fitch “Summertime Girls.” The slight dissonance between Lumidee’s vocals and LFO’s lyte funkiness is sorta reminiscent of the bending that happens to ice cream trucks’ tinkling music as drivers make their rounds on summer evenings. After the jump, another “Never Leave You” remix that I found while trying to unearth one version of the song’s video that didn’t feature cameos by Busta Rhymes and Fabolous (no offense intended, they just weigh down one of the airiest pop songs to grace radio in ages): More »
In today’s headline wrapup: DMX isn’t in Celebrity Rehab (yet), Alan McGee is still pissy about ever even liking My Bloody Valentine, Aerosmith play for free in Hawaii, and we are all lazy because of the Internet. More »
Perhaps realizing that breaking new artists in the music-stuffed, nostalgia-mired world of now was impossible, many a band that made their mark on the world back in the 1990s got back on their collective horses and rode the wave of “remember when?” this year, from Stone Temple Pilots to My Bloody Valentine to Ben Folds Five to even Ned’s Atomic Dustbin. As you might expect, results were mixed overall, although they were probably better than those that would be realized by any new endeavors by the parties involved.
During last week’s discussion of Marmite artists–those artists that are so divisive, they force people to take sides, with no one left in the middle–Idolator commenter moomintroll wondered if we shouldn’t try and find more ways to classify popular bands through their analogues to various condiments. Since we figured the safe space in the fridge inhabited by your ketchups, your mustards, and your molding bottles of Hidden Valley Ranch was as good a way to make sense of the current musical landscape as any, we invited her to flesh out her theory for us. It’s after the jump!
The attention the media gives to Guns N’ Roses and My Bloody Valentine may give young bands the idea that it’d actually be good for their legacy to record regularly for six years, then hold off for at least another 15 so that fan excitement can build and their myth can blossom. (Hey, if Sting and Joe Strummer had waited that long to record follow-ups to Synchronicity and Combat Rock, maybe people would have cared more about Brand New Day and Rock Art And The X-Ray Style!) So I looked at what would have happened to some of rock’s most legendary figures if they, too, had waited 15 years to release new albums once their first six years of putting out records were done–and found that extended absences rarely make later projects look much better.
Waiting for the My Bloody Valentine reissues? Well, you’ll have to wait a little longer: “The two albums were due to be re-released by Sony this week, but there has been a last-minute hold-up while [Kevin] Shields, true to form, labours over his liner notes.” More »
My Bloody Valentine announced seven North American shows today, an early-autumn jaunt that will have the band hit New York, Toronto, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. And in an effort to keep their publicist busy, today also brought the announcement that the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival that they’re curating in upstate New York–which takes place Sept. 19-21–has added Dinosaur Jr, Mercury Rev, Growing, Lilys, Yo La Tengo, and Harmonia to its lineup and released a new batch of tickets. Full list of MBV tour dates (via Pitchfork) after the jump.
Patti Smith and My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields will release a double-CD recording of The Coral Sea. More »
Patti Smith and My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields will release a double-CD recording of The Coral Sea. More »
Patti Smith and My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields will release a double-CD recording of The Coral Sea. More »
