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W♥M026: Soft Targets, Brass Bed, and France Gall

nobody@vox.com(W♥M) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:25:17 -0700

10/05/2008 20:19:16 ♥ written by vu ()

Brass Bed

Brass Bed Tour Dates

10/08/08 Cate St. Pub Hammond, LA
10/09/08 Alabama Music Box Mobile, AL
10/10/08 N World Brewery Ybor City, FL
10/11/08 Rollins College Orlando, FL
10/13/08 Tin Roof Charleston, SC
10/14/08 New Brookland Columbia, SC
10/15/08 Spazzitorium Greenville, NC
10/16/08 Cave w/ Nathan Oliver Chapel Hill, North Carolina
10/17/08 Black Cat Washington DC, Washington DC
10/18/08 Rudy’s New Haven, Connecticut
10/21/08 Bog Scranton, PA
10/22/08 Space Hamden, CT
10/23/08 Knitting Factory (CMJ Fanatic Showcase) New York, New York
10/24/08 PA’s Lounge Boston, Massachusetts
10/25/08 Metro Gallery Baltimore, Maryland
10/28/08 Basement Nashville,TN
10/29/08 The Nick Birmingham,AL
10/30/08 Tasty World Athens,GA
11/14/08 Blue Moon Saloon Lafayette, Louisiana
11/21/08 Spanish Moon w/Man Plus Building Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Subscribe to our show at podcast.weheartmusic.com, via RSS Feed.

Download this episode (46 min)

Soft Targets-So Long, Baby Burns

PART ONE: SOFT TARGETS
softtargetsmusic.com ♥ myspace.com
Jesse Corry, on the road, talking to us about:

The Chicago Soft Targets
"Frequent Flyer" is like an ex-gf and new album, "Heavy Rainbows"
Cover artist, Jared Olsen
Tour highlights

PART TWO: BRASS BED
mybigbrass.com ♥ myspace.com
Christiaan Mader on his weekend off:

Preparing for new tour and CMJ onslaught
The secret origin of Brass Bed
live vs studio
Bassist Jacques keeps a food/tour blog, imhungryihavetopee
Writing process

Charlotte Gainsbourg - Everything I Cannot See	France Gall - Faut-il que je t'aime
April March - Chick Habit	France Gall - Laisse Tomber Les Filles

PART THREE: FRANCE GALL
weheartmusic.com
I love April March and France Gall.

Episode #26 used/mentioned these bands: Stormy Monday, Holdin Caufield, Soft Targets, Brass Bed, Serge Gainsbourg (W♥M, Charlotte Gainsbourg (W♥M), April March (W♥M), and France Gall (W♥M).

Links: www.weheartmusic.com podcast.weheartmusic.com

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Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul

nobody@vox.com(W♥M) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 12:22:21 -0700

10/05/2008 14:19:02 ♥ written by vu ()

Oasis - Falling Down

Oasis

Tour Dates

10/07/08 Liverpool Echo Arena
10/08/08 Liverpool Echo Arena
10/10/08 Sheffield Arena
10/11/08 Sheffield Arena
10/13/08 Birmingham NIA
10/14/08 Birmingham NIA
10/16/08 Wembley Arena London
10/17/08 Wembley Arena London
10/20/08 Bournemouth BIC
10/21/08 Bournemouth BIC
10/23/08 Cardiff International Arena
10/24/08 Cardiff International Arena
10/26/08 The Roundhouse London
10/29/08 Belfast Odyssey Arena
10/30/08 Belfast Odyssey Arena
11/01/08 Aberdeen Exhibition Centre
11/02/08 Aberdeen Exhibition Centre
11/04/08 Glasgow SECC Scotland
11/05/08 Glasgow SECC Scotland
11/07/08 Gloria Theatre ***RESCHEDULED*** Cologne
11/10/08 Bataclan ***RESCHEDULED*** Paris
11/25/08 Sports Palace Mexico City, Distrito Federal
11/26/08 Sports Palace Mexico City, Distrito Federal
11/28/08 VFG Arena Guadalajara
11/29/08 Arena Monterrey
12/03/08 Oracle Arena Oakland, California
12/04/08 Staples Center Los Angeles, California
12/06/08 The Pearl Las Vegas, Nevada
12/08/08 Broomfield Events Center Denver, Colorado
12/10/08 Target Center Minneapolis, Minnesota
12/12/08 Allstate Arena Chicago, Illinois
12/13/08 Palace Of Auburn Hills Detroit, Michigan
12/15/08 John Labatt Centre **RESCHEDULED** London, Ontario
12/17/08 Madison Square Garden New York, New York
12/20/08 GMU Patriot Center Washington, Washington DC

Discography

[1994] Definitely Maybe	[1995] (What's the Story) Morning Glory?	[1997] Be Here Now
[1998] The Masterplan	[2000] Standing on the Shoulder of Giants	[2002] Heathen Chemistry
[2005] Don't Believe the Truth	[2006] Stop the Clocks	[2008] Dig Out Your Soul

The truth is, I am (or was) a huge Oasis fan. Back in the day when the single Supersonic hit our college radio station, KFSR 90.7 FM, I knew this band was special. Of course, all the press (NME, Melody Maker, etc) was already "mad for it" as they say.

They were perhaps the biggest hyped band, next to Suede, at the time.

Oasis - Slide Away

I had requested to interview and see Oasis in Sacramento, and at the time no one knew who they were (at least in the US). Of course, I couldn't understand a word that came out of Liam's mouth. I think he said something like "becos I'm the fookin' singer, yea?"

(note: the cover artwork for "Slide Away", one of my favorite Oasis song, has all the band member's autographs - including the rare Noel Gallagher who refused to sign my copy at first.)

By the way, no one recognized Liam, sitting outside the venue (I forget what venue it was), and he and Bonehead was outside smoking and talking to random audiences that came to see the band. Such a different picture now, isn't it? Now you can't even go near them with a ten-foot pole.

Oh and it was such an exciting time, remember the beef between Oasis and Blur? Oasis was "working class" from the north, representing the everyman... and that one time they both release their single at the same time. Oasis and Blur fans were both divided in the middle, you either love Oasis or Blur.

I will confess, I was a bit of a rocker back then, so it was Oasis for me. As it turned out, Blur did end up winning over Oasis with 274,000 copies of "Country House", just about 50k over Oasis' "Roll with It".

Say what you will, it was good publicity, I don't know if an average album even move that many units these days, let alone a single.

By the time Oasis came back for (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, they were selling out near-Stadium shows. I did went to see them in San Francisco and I remember having to borrow someone's bionocular to see Liam on stage. Oh man, when they broke out their "I Am the Walrus" cover, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, was belting out their best Beatles "cuckoocachoo!".

I won't go into more details about my relationship with Oasis, but I wasn't so impress with Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, Heathen Chemistry, Don't Believe the Truth. There are some outstanding songs on each of the albums, but let's just say I wasn't really into it as I should.

So what do we have here, Oasis is releasing Dig Out Your Soul this coming Tuesday (Monday for UK, October 6^th).

I see that Noel Gallagher have soften his grip on Oasis and have let his brother Liam and others write and contribute songs to the new album. I know he slowly started letting the other band members contribute songs, if you recall Liam's "Little James" on the Standing record (which I actually will admit to not liking that song).

On this record, I see that Gem and Andy contributed some songs (they've been doing it since Heathen).

I thought the relationship of the two Gallagher (one writes, the other sings) worked best. I don't normally like Noel doing the singing (he sounds like he tries too hard), but I really love "Falling Down" on the new record. I think Noel is one of the best song writer, even his lyrics on this one have improved from his early days.

If you like Oasis, it doesn't really matter, you'll probably buy the CD anyway. They are offering a very expensive package Super Deluxe Boxset for $99 that comes with 2 CD, 1 DVD, 4 Vinyls, a hardback book in a box, and digital downloads. As much as I love Oasis, that price is too ridiculous for me right now - but if this was available in 1994, I would've slap down my Benjamin for this.

Oasis is about to set out on tour, go a head and see them. Bring binoculars.

Links: oasisinet.com myspace.com/oasis

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THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME

nobody@vox.com(MARSHALL STAR) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 09:38:17 -0700

Yep, yep yep yep yep, latest tracks, I guess will be a contender for my next record - The Shape of Things to Come,,, exciting huh??

The shape of things to come

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Dungen - 4

nobody@vox.com(W♥M) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 08:35:46 -0700

10/05/2008 10:32:48 ♥ written by vu ()

Dungen-Det Tar Tid

Dungen

Tour Dates

10/24/08 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg (Kemado/CMJ)
10/27/08 Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's
10/28/08 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
10/30/08 Boston, MA - Great Scott
10/31/08 Toronto, ONT - Horseshoe Tavern
11/01/08 Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig
11/02/08 Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge
11/04/08 Minneapolis, MN 400 Bar
11/07/08 Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
11/08/08 Portland, OR - Doug Fir
11/10/08 SF, CA - Bottom of the Hill
11/11/08 Visalia, CA - Cellar Door
11/12/08 Los Angeles, CA - The Echo

I actually would rather Soup write about this band, but seeing he's got a lot on on plate and that I need this one up right away... I'm taking over this one.

At first, I thought this Swedish band was called "dungeon", like maybe it's the word for dungeon in Swedish, but as it turns out, it's pronounced "doong-en" (translates to "the grove").

Dungen, from my limited knowledge of the band, comes off their 4 album as sounding like classic rock or even psychedelic-sounding (60s/early 70s-inspired). Between these instrumentals are pop songs. I know that sounds weird, but it's a mix of pop and classic rock.

It should be noted that although I use the word 'pop' music, I use it loosely to describe some of their 60s-inspired songs. In fact, although briefly signed to major label, Dolores/Virgin, the band quickly went back to their indie label Subliminal Sounds because they felt that they were "not a pop act".

All the actual vocal tracks are sun in singer/composer Gustav Ejstes' native Swedish tongue, and, although it lends itself to being a little mysterious, people who don't speak Swedish won't really understand it and might be put off. Although, I will confess that the songs with lyrics on them are my favorite.

Among all the lyrics-based songs, I thought "Det Tar Tid" had a great variety mix of vocals and instrumentals. Guitar instrumental rock fans will want to check out "Samtidigt 1", which has some excellent guitar-playing. The guitar shredding seems improvised, but I'm certain it's all played to a T. The sequel, "Samtidigt 2", surprisingly a little toned down, but still features that electric guitar playing.

Going back to the title 4, maybe I'm missing something, but this is actually the fifth release from Dungen. I did manage to read their press material, and, according to the document, they say that 4 is the "fourth studio album".

Fans who were disappointed that they didn't tour last year for Tio Bitar, will be happy to know that they are doing some touring for this album - starting right off at CMJ. Be sure to pick up 4 on limited edition clear vinyl (only 1,500 copies were pressed) if you see them. If you can't make it to their show, I'm sure you can order it online if it's not already sold out.

Dungen's 4 was released on September 30^th on Kemado Records.

Links: dungen-music.com myspace.com/dungen

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I'M MANDY - I'M BACK

nobody@vox.com(MARSHALL STAR) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 06:41:04 -0700

No, not me, ya daft ijdiots... Peter Mandleson 'Mandy fly me' who would have thought?,,, the point is, he stayed for 10 days too long, and now its taken him 10 years to get back,,, a year per day of delay,, thats a song-title if ever I heard one 'A Year Per Day of Delay', I feel the royalties pulsing through my body, perhaps it should be the Tory campaign song next year... and here's my 1 line review of the new Kings of Leon record (actually started out as one , but its on a very wide piece of paper) 'Stone Temple Pilots' with the U2 song. I love his voice, but the albums a bit 'filler' , apart from the single. I give it 4 stars.. Luv the voice though lads !

XXX

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Creepy Duos

nobody@vox.com(W♥M) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 22:07:03 -0700

10/03/2008 00:02:12 ♥ written by vu ()

I received the first two from Germany, and since we rarely receive anything from overseas, they ended up on my priority list. Both are of the weird electronic genre that are best reviewed by Derek, but since they were just officially released a few days ago - I have decided to review these myself.

The theme to this post is creepy duos.

Patron & Patron - Either Or

Patron and Patron

PATRON AND PATRON
myspace.com/patronandpatron ♥ nonine.com
The first thing you'll notice about Patron & Patron's Gen is that it's the type of music you'll find on a horror movie or some science fiction movie. A little bit dark and a little bit creepy.

Like many of these electronic artist, the music is usually composed by one man or a duo, in this case, the later is true: Sakuran (Frederik Van de Moortel) and Me Raabenstein makes up Patron & Patron.

There's a lot of usage of bass in these songs, which is kind of unusual for electronic artists. But you'll quickly find yourself at home when you run into random noises and quirks throughout the album.

There are no lyrics (although there are random movie lines or something, like "We Are Not Alone"), so you're left to interpret each song. This actually makes it really hard for me to describe to you what each song is about.

There seems to be an industrial influence on this album, songs like "Magenta Verve" uses natural sounds like doors opening or chains (?), mixed with artificial energy... but warped somehow.

Of all the songs, I thought "Either Or" is perhaps the best one. There's a skeleton structure to it, and there's also a funky jazz feel to it. I'm calling it space jazz.

I suggest you really experience this album with headphones to catch all the quirkiness and sound effects.

The full album can be purchased on nonine.com, but via paypal and digitally.

Taub - Backyard Maud the Fraudian Fairy

Taub

TAUB
myspace.com/meraabenstein ♥ nonine.com
Nonine is also releasing Bedtime Stories from Taub. Between Patron & Patron and Taub, I thought Taub had a more cohesive feel to it.

Think of it as a soundtrack to a children book.

Once again, Me Raabenstein is co-writing. This time with David Hillary (aka Harold Nono). If Nono sounds familiar to you, that's because we've previously mentioned him twice over. What makes this collaboration interesting is that Nono is Scottish, and with the internet, this teamup is possible.

I liked the piano and weird noises on "Chamber Pot" (there's definitely a lot of pianos and keys throughout the album, I'll have to add). Towards the end of this song, you'll notice some sort of singing that sounds like children dying (!)

As soon as I heard lyric-type singing (it's not actually someone singing, it's more like distorted vocal samplings) they made the songs more memorable. At least to me. Like "Rouge Absolu" feels like a French film, especially with the dialogue at the beginning. I'm not even sure it was French, come to think about it.

Speaking of French, my favorite song on here is "Backyard Maud the Fraudian Fairy", it sounds like scary circus music.

The "La Ronde at the Top" song seems to be two songs in one. The first part has a Middle Eastern feel to it, but the second half sounds chaotic.

Again, this is available digitally. The cost is 10,90 Euros, which is about $15 at current exchange (keep in mind that a portion of this amount actually goes to paypal), but like Gen they do come with a full size 800x800 cover artwork and PDF file (I am assuming that's the lyric book) and each song is encoded at 320kbps.

Antenne - Gloves On

Antenne

ANTENNE
antenne.suite.dk ♥ nonine.com
Speaking of creepy, check out this #3 album by Antenne. As the name suggest, this is the third full length album from a duo (Kim G. Hansen and Marie-Louise Munck) based out of Denmark.

The majority of the album features the vocals of Marie-Louise Munck, and despite being Danish, she actually sings in English. Sometime her voice, although sweet and clear, it makes me sad for some reason.... kind of like a haunting ghost.

I do actually enjoy feeling sad and depress and songs like "Long to Kiss" and "Blue Light" takes me to an isolated place, surrounded by empty space ("Days into Nights") or unnatural electric field ("Ttreaa#7").

Let me be clear on some things, these are not pop songs... but easily the poppiest, and the most accessible, song on this album is the beautiful "Gloves On".

If you like experimental music with haunting vocals, definitely check out Antenne.

Don't let the eight tracks fool you, this is by no means an EP. The album clocks in about 50 minutes, perfect for an LP. The album was released earlier in July 2008, and you can purchase it on the record label Helmet Room Records.

The Battle of Land and Sea - Harden My Heart

The Battle of Land and Sea

THE BATTLE OF LAND AND SEA
myspace.com/battleoflandandsea
In keeping with the creepy duos theme, here's The Battle of Land and Sea. I actually don't know much about this Portland-based band, but they seem to be good friends with a Mr Jacob Golden (if you remember, Ryan went to see him in Newcastle, UK).

Their music, based on this (debut?) self-titled EP from Mis Ojos Discos (My Eyes Disc), they seem very acoustically folky.

As a cover lover, my favorite song on here is "Harden My Heart". It totally made me dig out my Quarterflash single. Battle's version is so stripped down and haunting that they can be considered two different songs.

Quarterflash - Harden My Heart

What I especially love about the Battles version is that it sounds like singer Sarah is coming at you from a deep, sad place. A dark song like this doesn't need a happy sax, if you know what I mean.

Special notes: I used to think this song goes, "I'm going to pardon my heart".

Links: weheartmusic.com news.weheartmusic.com

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TIME TO...

nobody@vox.com(UNIKFREK) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 08:54:55 -0700

...GET IT STARTED.

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W♥M Updates (October 2008)

nobody@vox.com(W♥M) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:43:34 -0700

10/01/2008 20:37:48 ♥ written by vu ()

Cooking with Dolly and Vu

The adventures of Vu and his cat.

Did you know I used to do a series of videos called "Vutubes"? To this day, I still get comments or private messages, most of which I've ignored (even for the chance to work with post-it notes at 3M). I got this one recently:

hi there i love your cooking video you come across well on camera..i work for the cooking department for the bbc here in england and we have a show coming up and would love to put your video in it..the show will be based on poultry could you do a video on how you cook and carve a turkey please let me know if you can do it
thanks

You know, I might try out for it re: video for the BBC.

I think, more importantly, I did take a trip down memory lane to bring you THE BEST OF VUTUBES:

The Would-be-Goods - Le Crocodile	Vutube #12: Raking is fun	Vutube #10: Post-It Note Art	#16: The Toilet Paper Race	vutube #14: my record player
Vutube #15: My cat climbs ladders!!	Vutube #9: Superior Lake	#22: It's D&D!!!	24: Bicycle	vu cuts his hair (finally)

In actual W♥M news, the big announcement is that the podcast thing is going strong. I am getting a lot of requests from bands to appear on the show. So, before you contact me, please note if you could commit to 25 minutes on a weekend. Instructions below:

You pick the date and time for Saturday or Sunday. I prefer Sunday daytime.
Once the date and time is locked, I will need the band's telephone (alternatively, managers/secretaries can forward my call). NOTE: I will be calling from 612 xxx xxxx on the agreed date.
I would like to commit to about 25 minutes (actual airtime will likely be 15-20 minutes).
You can email me () or emergency txt me if there is going to be a problem: 763 xxx xxxx

A request:I will be asking for band to say a Station ID for me: "We're _____ and you're listening to We Heart Music Radio". These clips will be reused for future shows with excerpt of your music.

Listen to our latest podcast to get a general idea of what to expect: W♥M025, W♥M024

If you think you can make it to one of our shows, email me and I will send you the uncensored instructions. I am booked this Saturday & Sunday, but am free after October 11th. But hurry because as soon as I have three bands, I'm closing it off for the week. W♥M writers are exempt; you guys can appear on the show anytime.

BONUS:

Links: weheartmusic.com news.weheartmusic.com

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