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Reveal and Around the Sun 2001-present |
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Written by krotzyk
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Tuesday, 16 October 2007 |
R.E.M.'s 2001 album, Reveal, shared the "lugubrious pace" of Up. Global sales of the album were over four million, but in the United States Reveal sold about the same number of copies as Up. The album  was lead by the single "Imitation of Life," which reached number six in the UK. Reveal included drumming by Joey Waronker, as well as contributions by Scott McCaughey (a co-founder of the band The Minus 5 with Buck) and Posies founder Ken Stringfellow. Writing for Rock's Backpages, The Rev. Al Friston described the album as "loaded with golden loveliness at every twist and turn," in comparison to their "essentially unconvincing work on New Adventures in Hi-Fi and Up." Similarly, Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone called the album "a spiritual renewal rooted in a musical one" and praised its "ceaselessly astonishing beauty."
In 2003 Warner Bros. released the "best of" compilation In Time, which featured two new songs, "Bad Day" and "Animal." That same year during a concert in Raleigh, North Carolina, Berry made a surprise appearance, performing backing vocals on "Radio Free Europe". He then sat behind the drum kit for a performance of the early R.E.M. song "Permanent Vacation," marking his first performance with the band since his retirement.
R.E.M. released Around the Sun in 2004. Stipe had suggested the new album would be "primitive and howling," and the band had released a stark political protest song called "Final Straw" free over the Internet during the invasion of Iraq, leading fans to expect a return to roots. Instead, the album (and the final recording of that song) was ultimately more processed than even Reveal, although it featured some of Stipe's most personal songwriting. Around the Sun received a mixed critical reception, and peaked at #13 on the Billboard charts. The first single from the album, "Leaving New York," was a Top 5 hit in the UK. For the record and subsequent tour, the band hired a new full-time touring drummer, Bill Rieflin, who had previously been a member of Ministry. In late 2004 the band toured with Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Bright Eyes and others on the Vote for Change tour. Throughout 2005, the band embarked on their first full-length world tour since the Monster Tour ten years earlier. During the tour, R.E.M. participated in the Live 8 concert event.
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Hold on Before It's Too Late! |
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Written by krotzyk
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Sunday, 07 October 2007 |
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Today I woke up. I feel a bit sick as yesterdays night was a bit tiring... I turned on my favorite radio and heard a Goo Goo Dools song called Before It's Too Late. You can know this song from The Transformers.
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Written by krotzyk
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Friday, 05 October 2007 |
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You're probably aware that there's a new film about Joy Division and Ian Curtis's tragically short life called Control but did you know that the star of the film; Sam Riley used to be the lead singer in 10,000 Things?
The band erupted on the scene back in 2004 and released their incendiary debut EP on Domino/Dusty Company with the legendary Phill Brown, a man who was in the room when All Along The Watchtower, Stairway To Heaven and Sympathy For the Devil were recorded and judging by his performance, it seems Sam is doing pretty well for himself in his new profession.
Control is released across the UK this week but believe it or not, the US distributors for the film apparently requested Joy Division to perform at the recent premiere in New York. Some people eh. |
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The Best of Times, the Worst of Times |
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Written by krotzyk
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Wednesday, 19 September 2007 |
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SATURDAY night rolls around, and you realize your mom threw out your favorite Cannibal Corpse T-shirt. So you grab your skateboard and head over to Village X, a T-shirt shop on St. Marks Place, off Second Avenue. Until the store closes at 1 in the morning, cool-looking teenagers mill about, some of them with wallet-chains and skateboards, some of them with combat boots and blazing Mohawks. The walls are lined with red and black band shirts folded into squares — an enormous quilt of rock. You know a shirt is cool if the band name contains at least one word that sounds as if it could be on the SAT: Incubus, Mastodon, Corrosion of Conformity.
Maybe you’ll run into Gus Fernandez, a 17-year-old from Harlem who shops there every weekend. The other night he stopped in, mid-skateboard-ride, with his cousin George Fernandez, who bought a T-shirt of the hard rock band System of a Down.
With his neatly combed black hair, a long-sleeve shirt with flames shooting down the arms, and fingerless black gloves imprinted with an X-ray image of hand bones, Gus looked almost conservative. If he were a more mischievous type, he would have found plenty of items on the shelves to tempt him — shot glasses, glass pipes, leather whips, handcuffs — but he wasn’t the least bit interested. “We’re just looking for clothes, man,” he said. |
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R.E.M. becomes a trio - 1994-2000 |
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Written by krotzyk
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Wednesday, 12 September 2007 |
After piecing together two slow-paced albums in a row in the studio, 1994's Monster was, as Buck said, "a 'rock' record, with the rock in quotation marks." Though the result was conceived as a back-to-basics album, the recording was difficult and plagued with tension. Like Out of Time, Monster topped the charts in both the US and UK. The singles "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" and "Bang and Blame" were the band's last American Top 40 hits, although all the singles from Monster—including the UK-only singles "Crush With Eyeliner" and "Tongue"—reached the Top 30 on the British charts.
In January of 1995 R.E.M. set out on their first tour in six years, beginning several collaborations with prominent  stage and lighting designer Willie Williams. On March 1, two months into the tour, Berry collapsed on stage during a performance in Lausanne, Switzerland. It transpired that he had suffered a brain aneurysm. He had surgery immediately and had fully recovered within a month. Berry's aneurysm was only the beginning of a series of health problems that plagued the Monster Tour. Mills had to undergo abdominal surgery to remove an intestinal adhesion in July; a month later, Stipe had to have an emergency surgery to repair a hernia. Despite all the problems, the group had recorded the bulk of a new album while on the road. The band brought along eight-track recorders to capture their shows, and used the recordings as the base elements for the album. After the tour was complete, the band entered the studio and recorded the rest of the album.
R.E.M. re-signed with Warner Bros. Records in 1996 for a reported $80 million, the largest recording contract in history at that point. 1996's New Adventures in Hi-Fi was their longest album to date. The album featured the seven-minute "Leave," the band's longest song to date, which was composed by Berry. Another notable track on the record was its lead single "E-Bow the Letter," a collaboration with Patti Smith, who had been one of Michael Stipe's earliest influences. Critical reaction to the album was mostly favorable; however, in light of such a huge contract sum, the album marked a considerable downfall of the band's commercial success. Though it debuted at number two in the US and number one in the UK, the album failed to generate the sales of their previous three albums'. Also in 1996, R.E.M. parted ways with their long-time manager Jefferson Holt, allegedly due to sexual harassment charges levied against Holt by a member of the band's home office in Athens. The group's lawyer, Bertis Downs, assumed managerial duties. |
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Arctic Monkeys audio documentary on Xfm |
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Written by krotzyk
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Thursday, 06 September 2007 |
To celebrate their 10th birthday, Xfm are marking the occasion with a series of 10 hour long documentaries about 10 of the most influential albums during it’s time and naturally, they had to start with the story of  Arctic Monkeys' 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'.
So much has been said about the album before of course, and you might know some of the tales already if you’re a hardcore fan. But there’s nothing like hearing it straight from the Monkeys’ mouths in their own endearingly honest way talking about the real life stories, characters and places that became the soundscape for the fastest selling debut album in UK chart history.
There’s also a plethora of personal and colourful anecdotes from the likes of the Jim Abbiss, the album’s producer, James Ford from Simian Mobile Disco (Arctic Monkey’s former - and current - producer) and John McClure from Reverend & The Makers, a close friend of the band, and fellow Sheffield musician and friend Richard Hawley.
The documentary was actually aired on Sunday but don’t despair, you can still hear it at Xfm for another week or you can download the Podcast completely free!
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Win tickets to Ash @ The Water Rats (London) / XFM party |
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Written by krotzyk
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Tuesday, 04 September 2007 |
 Ash will be playing a show for XFM London's 10th Birthday party at the very intimate Kings Cross Water Rats on Sept 4th.
To get in either listen in to XFM now! (They're giving them away every 20 mins) or win tickets online here.
See you there!
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CD review: Torman Maxt - The Problem Of Pain Part 1 |
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Written by krotzyk
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Friday, 31 August 2007 |
 Band name: Torman Maxt
Album name: The Problem of Pain: Part 1
Released: 2007 Mars Hill Records
Rating: ****
I recieved CD recorded by unknown band and I was told, that it’s metal opera. I recognize the metal part of the style-name in line with black colour on the booklet. And the opera I found inside. There are a few lines before each chapter, which include the story of the chapter.
I turned on my player and inserted the CD in. I was almost scared when I heard some kind of electronic music in the begining of „Overture“. Fortunately, it was only 20 seconds. After it I heard only purely metal instruments.
The first sung song „Job’s Song“ fluently connects with „Overture“, we can notice fast metal riffs, as well as acoustic, almots Zeppelin-sounded parts.
„The Angel’s First Song“ is mix of Led Zeppelin‘s music and Queen‘s choruses. The song gradually grows – from acoustic guitars in the begining to the drums at the end. It sounds „unearthly“
On the other hand „Satan’s First Song“ sounds „infernal“. The slow acoustic begining is changed by fast riff soon. Nearly in the middle of this song the electronic sounds appears again and the listener is in hell. Suddenly, everything goes silent and the instrumental part begins.
Chapter Three begins quiet hard, but we can hear some themes from „Job’S Song“ in the next two songs.. It means that Torman Maxt knows basic opera rule about character theme, as well as in „The Angel’s Second Song“ and „Satan’s Second Song“.
„Job’s Contemplation“ is instrumental, which can be used for scene changing for chapter five. „Job’s Second Response“ is almost the same song as „Job’s Initial Shock“. There is „Job’s Wife“ afret it with new theme and the CD is ended by „A Great Silence“. I think, that after thet song can be break during live performance in theatre.
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Written by krotzyk
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Thursday, 30 August 2007 |
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We've got here newest Hard-Fi's music video called Suburban Knights. This is the leading single of their new album Once Upon A Time In The West which is going out at 3rd Septemer.
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The Tame, the Trashy and the Rocker Quality |
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Written by krotzyk
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Wednesday, 29 August 2007 |
VH1’s “Rock of Love With Bret Michaels” is carnival sludge: a nauseating paste of fried dough, cigarette ash, salt and grain alcohol. The rococo pageantry and high spirits of “Flavor of Love,” the channel’s seminal reality dating competition, starring the hype man Flavor Flav, have gone missing from this, the rock version.
This series has trudged along like a heartbroken drunk since July 15, featuring the former Poison frontman Bret Michaels as the bachelor. New episodes appear on Sundays. Reruns appear always.
The well-meaning has-been Bret is surrounded with women who are too young, too frantic or too high to know that being easy isn’t funny in itself. These women drink large quantities of booze, caress Bret in groups of three and flaunt their skills at phone sex on national television. Many of them seem dangerously unwell, discolored, surgically altered, physically unbalanced and worryingly mood-disordered.
Rodeo, a personal trainer of indeterminate age, has a bodybuilder’s physique. Having swung between bouts of manic, gleeful giggling and severe crying jags, she was eventually sent home — by Bret, in the conceit of the show — for her own mental health. Similarly Bret deemed a spacey-looking woman surpassingly beautiful, but grew concerned about her cerebral capacities after he asked her how she liked living in a house with the other women. |
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still their most famous album, but they only made it once — In Rainbows has uptempo guitar songs and moody acoustic ballads, full of headphone-tweaking sound effects. All of it rocks; none of it sounds like any other band on earth; it delivers an emotional punch that proves all other rock stars owe us an apology.