Rebbeca Black Is Covered By… Bob Dylan?!

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

It Was Only To Be Expected - Rebecca Black Has Begun Getting Covers Of Their Own. But The Actual Quality Of These Covers Has Surprised Everybody.

It Was Only To Be Expected - Rebecca Black Has Begun Getting Covers Of Her Own.

No, not really. What has just happened is that her recent viral hit (“Friday”) has started being parodied/covered by the dozen. And one of these comes from nobody else but a Bob Dylan impersonator that has really been doing his homework.

Here you have the clip. And you can also watch two more remarkable versions below: one that is banjo-driven, and another which has been embedded into the timeless (no pun intended) Groundhog Day .

Bob Dylan

Banjo Version

Groundhog Day

Is Rebecca Black The New Justin Bieber?

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Singer/songwriter Rebecca Black Has Got A Lot Of Attention Recently, But The Adoration Is Clearly Being Ironic.

Rebecca Black is a singer/songwriter that has become publicly-known after her song “Friday” was derisorily mentioned by comedian Michael J. Nelson on a tweet. Nelson remarked that the clip Rebecca shot for “Friday” answered the question of “What’s the worst video ever made?” more or less uniformly.

Interest on her picked up from there. Rebecca got a mention on the Comedy Central series Tosh.0, and she has been a trending topic on Twitter for the last couple of days.

Her song “Friday” has been written off time and again, but some were also quick to point that even though the song is a million miles away from being a masterpiece, it has a certain catchiness that hints at (some) potential.

I guess it’s all going to be a matter of which career moves Rebecca makes now, while all eyes are on her…

Who Were The Hardest-working Musicians Of 2010?

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Ever wondered which bands performed the most gigs and traveled the furthest in 2010? Well, this infograph is going to enlighten you. It was assembled by concert information service SongKick, and it is obviously topped by a young, energetic performing unit (Mayday Parade). Household names such as Lady Gaga also occupy an all-too-obvious position.

But there is also a pleasant surprise in the shape or Willie Nelson, who played 161 shows last year. The man is pushing 78. On the road again? Indeed, my friends…

hardest working bands

Historias De Invierno (Laura Chinelli) – Uruguayan Independent Artist

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

The basic band who recorded “Historias De Invierno” is Laura singing and playing guitar and keyboards, Fran playing bass, drums and sequencers, Nicolás Demczylo handling additional guitars and sequencers, and Álvaro Barneche on cello. Laura wrote all the songs.

“Historias De Invierno” is Laura Chinelli's debut album. The band that recorded it included Fran Nasser, Nicolás Demczylo and Álvaro Barneche.

Is there life before love? Is there a time that exists outside of the prolongation of single moments that come to define us sentimentally? Or must we all live slave to that prolongation of moments, as if caught in an emotional ebb and flow which means all that happens will be validated by what had once come to be, ever and ever again?

Laura Chinelli’s debut album is nestled between all these questions, in a point where eyes are wide open, but often can only stare straight into that night which is not darkness but the blinding light of conscience. The majority of the songs on the album (which has been suitably named “Historias De Invierno” [Winter Tales]) have the singer retracing her steps through bridges that are not even there any longer, or burning with the kind of aching fire that is forever starting and stopping.

Laura Chinelli

In more places than one, “Historias De Invierno” feels like a musical variation on Villiers de L’Isle-Adams’ “Axel” – a story where the memory of love can modify all the present layers of perception. On songs like “Si Me Pierdo” [If I Get Lost], characters can’t see each other any longer. But their reflections still live in their eyes, and will keep on being there in spite of that blinding light which tries to overcome their staying force.

Other songs such as “Debajo De La Lluvia” [In The Rain] are more direct and rueful, very similar in tone and message to the defeatism of a song like Richard Thompson’s “She Sang Angels To Rest”. Compare Laura’s “puedo no volver a ser, puedo no ver, puedo no creer” [I might never be again, never see, never believe] and “Y si hoy soy lo que soy, y si no tengo a donde ir, y si hoy pierdo la razón” [And what if today I’m what I’m not, what if I have nowhere to go, what if I lose my mind] to Richard’s “how do you fall when you have already fell for the best”.

Yet, there are also moments of sentimental victory. The deepest comes as the album is ending with the song “Llévame“ [Carry Me]:

Llévame en tu mente
Búscame en los paisajes que te gustan
Búscame entre la gente
Búscame también en la oscuridad

[Carry me in your mind
Look for me in that scenery you love
Look for me in the crowd
And also, look for me in the darkness] Continue reading →

What Was The First Chart Hit Andy Partridge Had With XTC?

Posted on March 12, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

The First Top 20 Single Penned By Andy Was No Other Than The Much-reviled “Sgt. Rock (Is Going To Help Me)”

The First Top 20 Single Penned By Andy Was A Song He Really Hated: “Sgt. Rock (Is Going To Help Me)”

As you know, the song that gave the Swindon-based art rockers their first taste of success was “Making Plans For Nigel”. That was the first single culled from “Drums & Wires”, and it was a Top 17 hit. But it wasn’t penned by Andy Partridge. Rather, it had been composed by bassist Colin Moulding.

Andy would have to wait until the next album (Black Sea) to have a Top 20 hit of his own. Yet, fate dictated that his least-liked composition from the whole LP was to be the one putting him on the map. The song “Sgt. Rock (Is Going To Help Me)” got to number 16 on the charts.

Andy was to lament forever more that a song harking back to his puerile writing days became his first hit. Remember, at that time he was already penning stuff like “Living Through Another Cuba” and “Respectable Street”. Continue reading →

Cindy Lauper Performs “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” When Stranded In Argentina

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Something bizarre for the weekend… Cindy Lauper recently found herself stranded at Jorge Newbery Airport in Argentina, and when the wait became just too bloody long for everybody she did the only thing she could do: seize a microphone and entertain the crowd.

This is her performing her signature song, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”:

It is hard to watch this and not think of Kanye West’s recent stunt on a Delta flight in which he took over the PA and regaled passengers with performances of the songs “Gold Digger” and “Good Life.”

Which was not bad a move at all. Yet, the “Imma let you finish” incident is a hard bone to chew. He will have to exert himself even more…

Write A Song Live With Maroon 5

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

A Live Session With Maroon 5 Will Be Streamed On March 22. The Band Will Have 24 Hours To Come Up With A Song, With The Help Of Its Fans.

On March 22, Coca Cola will make the dream of many a fan of Maroon 5 come true. A live studio session will be held on that day, and fans will be able to contribute lyrics, riffs and melodies for the band’s next single.

And the fans who take part of this session will be able not only to send their ideas in, but also to ask direct questions to the band.

This session is going to last 24 hours, and Coca Cola is promoting it on its Facebook page (it currently has more than 20 million fans).

Although I find Maroon 5 unbearable, I thought this was worth sharing with you if only because it is one of the coolest social media strategies yet applied to the music industry. Let’s just see if more sessions are announced, and who are involved…

The First Video From “Angles” (The New Album By The Strokes) Is Released

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

It Took The Strokes 5 Full Years To Release A New Album, But “Angles” Is Coming To Stores At The End Of March

After a five-year hiatus, The Strokes are back in town with a new album (“Angles”), and a sparkling video to go with it.

The first song on the album (“Under Cover Of Darkness”) has been chosen as its first promotional side. The clip has already been watched more than 900,000 times. Here you have it:

Not bad. Not at all. Yet, whether “Angles” will make people forget “Is This It” (the band’s spotless debut from 2001) or just bring it to mind time and again is the question that the press has been asking incessantly.

“Angles” is slated to be released on March 22 in the US, and March 21 in the UK…

Jog.fm – Music To Listen To While Running, Walking & Cycling

Posted on March 5, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Name: Jog.fm
URL: http://www.jog.fm

Jog.fm is a site where you can get music to listen to while you are exercising. So far, three different activities are supported: running, walking and cycling. In all three cases, music is found simply by specifying your actual kilometer time for Jog.fm to come up with a suitable playlist.

Alternatively, you can browse through these playlists that other people have favorited and download the ones which are more popular directly.

And in addition to providing you with music to enliven your trots up and down the city, the site features a route planning application. This will let you add points one by one until you have devised a route that will test your endurance to the limit. Or (if you are a bit like me) one that will take you through all the trendiest spots in town. As long as you are exercising as intended, I suppose that it makes no difference, right?

Right?

MusicKO

We Built This City On Rock & Roll

Monthly Archives: March 2011