Red Tropic Music Blog » News

The return of Godspeed…

Mel — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 15:44:40 +0000

Godspeed You! Black Emperor has not been heard in years but finally the band’s showing signs of making a comeback.

First, the band is set to headline and curate the ATP’s Nightmare Before Christmas to be held in Minehead, England from December 3 to 5. It’s still a long ways off so you guys might think that a comeback is not really going to happen until the end of the year. But the band has also announced on their web site that they are planning to tour in England and the rest of Europe, and they are even going to mount nine shows in the US. That’s indeed a sign of a band that is flexing its sleepy muscles to prepare us for an all out assault in the future.

Erykah Badu charged with disorderly conduct

Mel — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:56:51 +0000

If you’re one of the lucky few who have seen the newest Erykah Badu video for her new single Window Seat, then you’ll know that it’s one video that is going to get a lot of attention and discussion because of its provocative nature.

For those who haven’t seen it yet, Badu is shown walking in Dealey Plaza in Dallas, the site of the Kennedy assassination. She then takes items of clothing while she walks and ends with her completely naked. Of course, walking without your clothes in a public area is going to elicit a lot of controversy and that’s what has exactly happened as Badu has been charged with disorderly conduct because of what she did. She is reportedly going to be fined for up to $500.

It’s a small price to pay for such a powerful and moving video. Badu’s back, y’all.

Abbey Road Studios not for sale anymore

Mel — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:01:29 +0000

A week ago, music fans all over the world were shocked by reports that EMI was planning to sell the legendary Abbey Road studios. This is the same studio where The Beatles recorded most of their music. Pink Floyd also recorded Dark Side of The Moon in the studio, along with other artists who have made very important albums within the confines of its four walls. As such, it is considered a cultural landmark and one of the most important buildings for music lovers.

But because of the worldwide collective outcry over the supposed decision, EMI has released another statement that says it will not sell Abbey Road studios, but it is now looking for financial help to save it.

According to EMI’s statement, it already received an offer of more than £30 million for Abbey Road Studios last year but it was rejected by the label, which decided to just retain its ownership. But the label, which was acquired by Terra Firma – a private equity firm – in 2007, is faced with huge debts. The label said it hopes to “revitalize” the studio and possibly open it to the public as an active recording studio.

Amanda Palmer reveals new “discovery” Evelyn, Evelyn

Mel — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:56:31 +0000

Amanda Palmer is about to unleash a new music project to the unsuspecting masses.

The Dresden Dolls leader is known for frequent forays into the weird and fantastical so it comes as no surprise that this latest product of her imagination is as far from the ordinary as possible.

Amanda Palmer, together with Jason Webley, has allegedly discovered a new act called Evelyn Evelyn, which is a musical duo composed of conjoined twins. The people behind Evelyn Evelyn even released a short bio about the twins that is so far out that it is obviously made up. The speculation is that the “twins” will actually be Palmer and Webley playing together. I won’t be surprised if they actually go on stage in disguises and selling the “conjoined twins” story by actually being joined together.

The Evelyn Evelyn self titled debut album will be released on March 30 through Eleven Records. Among the highlights of the album are a ukulele cover version of Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart. The guests in the album are also quite noteworthy: Tegan and Sara, Andrew WK, Weird Al Yankovic, Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance and even Palmer’s fiance author Neil Gaiman. But probably the guest that will surely turn heads is Frances Bean Cobain. This could probably be her first official music “appearance”.

The Strokes begin fourth album

Mel — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:41:18 +0000

Finally some solid news coming out of the Strokes camp. After releasing the Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas’ solo album Phrazes for The Young in 2009, the band has converged again in New York to officially record their fourth album. Officially, the recordings began on the first day of February at Avatar Studios.

Joe Chiccarelli will be producing the new album. Chiccarelli has previously worked with U2, Beck and Bjork.The engineer for the record will be Gus Oberg.

There’s still no news or even quotes from the band regarding where they would like to take the Strokes sound for this fourth album. I’m hoping for a new and redefined sound for the band. The lo-fi post-punk garage sound that they helped define is getting a little long in the tooth and a fourth release is the perfect time for a redirection for any band. Here’s hoping they do get on with it.

The Flaming Lips to play The Dark Side of The Moon at Bonnaroo

Mel — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:32:46 +0000

Last December, The Flaming Lips released a covers album. And it’s not just any covers album where the band records their own interpretations of different songs. This time, The Flaming Lips actually covered a full album from another artist — namely, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of The Moon. The band covered it track by track, which is kinda cool. Though I’m not surprised. When it comes to The Flaming Lips, you should expect the unexpected — just look at their album Zaireeka.

Now, The Flaming Lips will take their Pink Floyd tribute a step further as they are booked to appear at the Bonnaroo festival and play the Dark Side of The Moon in its entirety. This is not the first time they have done this. During their New Year’s Eve show in Oklahoma, they also played the whole album track by track.

If you can make it to Manchester, Tennessee for the festival from June 10 to 13, then check The Flaming Lips out.

Sigur Ros on indefinite hiatus

Mel — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:12:34 +0000

Sigur Ros is definitely one of the most unique bands on the planet. Each album they have released is a masterpiece and, in my opinion, a work of art. Their music is something that affects you in the most fundamental levels. I challenge anyone not to feel anything when they hear Glosoli.

Unfortunately, it looks like after nearly a decade of making music, Sigur Ros will be taking some time off… indefinitely. From all indications, the compounding factors for the hiatus is singer Jonsi Birgison’s new tour for his solo effort Go, and the band members’ current priority of being with their families.

According to Birgisson, it will be a while before fans hear any new material from the band. There was talk of the band recording an as yet unreleased album but Birgison immediately shot it down and said that it was just a rumor. He clarified that the band began to record new material but decided to scrap all of it. He said everyone is on a break and all of the members are expecting babies.

At this point, it’s anyone’s guess when the band will decide that it’s too boring being cooped up inside their homes and get back together again to record new material.

Pete Doherty possible Darwin Awards winner for new courtroom faux pas

Mel — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:35:08 +0000

Some people try to be witty when they say that such-and-such noun or adjective is their middle name, but in the case of Babyshambles frontman and ex-Libertine Pete Doherty, he can say “trouble” is his middle name and no one will find it cheeky. In fact, they’ll probably nod their heads in a knowing way and mutter “too true.”

Case in point, in Doherty’s latest appearance in court. He was ordered to appear in the Gloucester Magistrates’ Court to face charges of reckless driving. But after the hearing, on his way out of the courtroom, he accidentally dropped £200 worth of drugs on the floor. He was, of course, immediately charged with possession and arrested. The judge actually gave a very moving quote about the whole incident, “Either this was sheer stupidity or a ploy to get more publicity.”

Doherty’s lawyer, Bruce Clark, was quoted as saying Doherty “felt very stupid” about the whole incident. Well, “felt” shouldn’t even be used there. He was REALLY stupid for actually bringing drugs to court. Maybe the judge should provide him with a court-appointed nanny or something because he obviously couldn’t handle his shit together.

Grizzly Bear contributes music to new film

Mel — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:18:29 +0000

The guys from Grizzly Bear must be so happy right now. They are being name-checked by every Tom, Dick and Harriett who wants to sound cool and current. Heck, even Jay-Z has been mentioning them so he won’t look like an old geezer.

But unlike some of the more recent indie breakthrough success stories, Grizzly Bear can actually be found doing work in more mainstream environments. For example, in the movies.

The band has been contributing songs to movies, which used to be such an uncool thing to do, until Death Cab for Cutie turned the world on its ear by contributing a song to the Twilight movie (egads!). Grizzly Bear has made the music score to the new Ryan Gosling/Michelle Williams movie Blue Valentine.

But it doesn’t end there. It seems that they are also contributing a song to Jack Goes Boating, the directorial debut of one of my fave actors Philip Seymour Hoffman. There is speculation on what kind of contribution Grizzly Bear actually makes on Hoffman’s film. There are some who say that the band will not be the main contributor for the music’s score but will contribute songs, instead. But others insist that they actually did “music” for the film, which indicates that they are largely responsible for the music aspect of the movie.

Either way, it’s cool that Grizzly Bear is getting this much exposure. Lord knows, the world needs more good music.

Passion Pit remixes Lady Gaga

Mel — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:49:36 +0000

In my geek perspective, I’ve always thought of music collaborations between artists as similar to the crossover team-ups of comic book heroes. And in a way it does feel the same. A successful collaboration between artists is uplifting and, dare I say, gives off a vibe of something legendary happening. We’ve seen that in the now-mythical collaboration between Aerosmith and Run DMC or Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye. Of course, there are also collaborations that make you go “hmm.”

One such collaboration would be the pairing of Lady Gaga – the current queen of weird – and indiesynth darlings Passion Pit. The collaboration between the two happened with the Passion Pit remixing Lady Gaga’s new single Telephone. Yes, the same Telephone single that also features Beyonce. And no, this is not some bootleg or unauthorized remix. This is an OFFICIAL remix. Talk about a genre-blurring collaboration!

Either Lady Gaga’s got really cool music taste, or The Passion Pit guys sees something in Gaga that I don’t (aside from the theatrical strangeness of course). I do admit that Lady Gaga’s songs are infectious (I sometimes find myself just suddenly singing “p-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face”) so there really must be some kind of mutual admiration thing going on here.