Every time a quirky chick tries to put R.E.M. nice and neatly away on her shelf of "I'm over that phase" stuff, they come flying down, whack her on the head and make her listen ... again! I like R.E.M.. I seem to go through the R.E.M. phase on a regular basis. And, I'm not ashamed to admit my geek girl Mike Mills love fest issues. However, that's a story for another time. I digressed.
For those who like a little extra, there will be a special edition two CD & DVD set containing a film of the Dublin shows. Check out the handy, dandy, yet snazzy widget below. You can see the video for "Living Well Is The Best Revenge" and check out other R.E.M. goodness.
Track Listing
Disc 1
- Living Well Is The Best Revenge
- Second Guessing
- Letter Never Sent
- Staring Down The Barrel of the Middle Distance
- Disturbance At The Heron House
- Mr. Richards
- New Test Leper
- Cuyahoga
- Electrolite
- Man-Sized Wreath
- So. Central Rain
- On The Fly / Maps And Legends
- Sitting Still / Driver 8
- Horse To Water
- I’m Gonna DJ
- Circus Envy
- These Days
Disc 2
- Drive
- Feeling Gravity’s Pull
- Until The Day Is Done
- Accelerate
- Auctioneer
- Little America
- 1,000
- Disguised
- Worst Joke Ever
- Welcome To the Occupation
- Carnival of Sorts
- Harbor Coat
- Wolves Lower
- I’ve Been High
- Kohoutek
- West of the Fields
- Pretty Persuasion
- Romance
- Gardening At Night
www.remdublin.com
www.remhq.com
Beatles fans rejoice! The original Beatles catalogue has been digitally re-mastered for the first time and will be unleashed upon the world on Wednesday, September 9. This is also the date the much anticipated The Beatles: Rock Band video game will be released. To make the day all the more Beatle-rific it's worldwide Beatles Day. Hey, is that a take off of work holiday?So, over at Abbey Road Studios, that's in London for those who live under a rock or just plain didn't know in whic
h case you should have all of your rock 'n' roll records confiscated as punishment for lack of rock trivia knowledge but, I digress. Anyway, over there at Abbey Road a team of engineers spent four years hunched over ancient, I mean vintage equipment while using new fangled, modern day, state of the art technology, re-mastering the analogue master tapes. They painstakingly fiddled around with the catalogue keeping the authenticity and integrity of the original recordings intact thus making everything all nice and spiffy for Beatles fans the world over. They replicated the original UK album art for the CD's including expanded booklets containing the original liner 
notes as well as newly written notes and rare photos. Each disc will also have a brief documentary about the album but only for a limited time. For those who like those nifty packages known as box sets, there will be two boxed collections available the same day.The stereo collection contains all twelve Beatles albums in stereo, Magical Mystery Tour and Past Masters Vol. I and II which are now combined to make one title. This is the first time the first four Beatles albums will be available in stereo in their entirety on CD. These discs are available individually or in the box set. All but the Past Master disc contains a mini-documentary.- Please Please Me (CD debut in stereo)
- With The Beatles (CD debut in stereo)
- A Hard Day's Night (CD debut in stereo)
- Beatles For Sale (CD debut in stereo)
- Help!
- Rubber Soul
- Revolver
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (also includes 1987 notes, updated, and new intro by Paul McCartney)
- Magical Mystery Tour
- The Beatles
- Yellow Submarine (also includes original US liner notes)
- Abbey Road
- Let It Be
- Past Masters (contains new liner notes written by Kevin Howlett)
The mono collection contains ten of the albums with their original mono mixes with an addi
tional two discs of mono masters which is I guess you could call the equivalent of Past Masters. The discs in this collection are only available in the boxed set making it more for the collectors or the hardcore fans. As a bonus, Help! and Rubber Soul will include the original 1965, previously unreleased on CD, stereo mixes. Help!, Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Magical Mystery Tour and The Beatles are making their mono mix CD debuts. - Please Please Me
- With The Beatles
- A Hard Day's Night
- Beatles For Sale
- Help! (CD also includes original 1965 stereo mix)
- Rubber Soul (CD also include original 1965 stereo mix)
- Revolver
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- Magical Mystery Tour
- The Beatles
- Mono Masters
That's a whole lotta Beatles to dig into. Mark your calendars so you can enjoy a day dedicated to one of the most famous bands in rock history and re-live, re-discover, discover and sing-a-long with John, Paul, George & Ringo.
www.thebeatles.com
I've been spinning Light, the new record from Matisyahu for a bit now and trying to formulate words for this post. I suppose I should start by saying that I began looking forward to checking out Light, which hits stores this coming Tuesday, August 25, since I'd heard that it didn't rely as heavily on the reggae sounds that he has become known for. Being a minimal fan of reggae, this was a positive for me though I've been hearing rumblings that this is a negative for many. Of course rumblings generally happen when an artist ventures to expand, grow or change even in just a small way from what people initially became fans of. I have a respect for Matisyahu for remaining and maintaining himself regardless of musical stylings. I like that he's fun and positive without the whole overbearing, shove it down your throat, preachiness that often accompanies positive messages from those who choose to proudly display their faith.But, fear not, the reggae sounds are still there though. They just aren't occupying the whole record nor are they as in your face. The record overall seems more reserved and subtle sound wise. Light has more of a crossover appeal than Matisyahu's previous works. I'm undecided as to how I feel about that having been a fan of artists who have crossed over. On one hand you're happy that the "rest" of the world has seen the light while proudly wearing your badge of honor for knowing about it before it caught on. But, at the same time, you feel a bit of loss.On first listen I found myself facing a bit of irony. That first listen, I found myself immediately being drawn to the more reggae, hip-hop flavored songs. After that first listen however, I attempted to put any previous knowledge of Matisyahu out of my head and just listen. The first songs that really caught my ear and had me hitting the back button was "On Nature," though I could have done without the children singing bit, and the acoustic soul "I Will Be Light" which reminds me a little of Ben Harper. My opinion, "I Will Be Light" is worth the price of the album all on its own. The other stand out tracks for me were, "So Hi So Lo" and "Motivate" which has some nice guitar bits and will get you up and moving around.When I first listened to "Darkness Into Light" I really liked it. After a few listens, I still like it but not as much. There's something about the music that I can't put my finger on that just gets on my nerves about halfway through. The music is upbeat and danceable but for some reason it just kind of bothers me. The thirteen song disc ends with "Silence." This song didn't really grab me when I first heard it bu
t after hearing it a few times, it is becoming one of my favorite songs on the record and works well as an ending.I find myself enjoying the stripped down songs more and more with each listen. While Matisyahu doesn't have a powerhouse voice, I'd be interested in hearing a straight up, outright acoustic EP. Though it's not the most flexible of instruments, he does have a nice texture to his voice.I like Light. But, it is a more commercial sounding effort. Some hardcore fans may have trouble digesting the slightly more accessible sounds. At the same time, I don't think those same fans would tell you it's a bad album. They would probably just recommend his previous efforts first. For those new to the Matis experience, I would probably recommend picking up Live At Stubb's along with Light. For my tastes, I think he has found the right mix between doing what he does best and exploration. Matisyahu already has a massive "in the know" following. I think his following is about to get even bigger with the release of Light.
Track Listing
- Smash Lies
- We Will Walk
- One Day
- Escape
- So Hi So Lo
- I Will Be Light
- For You
- On Nature
- Motivate
- Struggla
- Darkness Into Light
- Thunder
- Silence
www.myspace.com/matisyahu
www.matisyahuworld.com
www.wheresmatis.at
www.twitter.com/matisyahu
Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons have a new record, Death Won't Send A Letter, coming out on September 29. You can grab the first single "Born Again" HERE. The song and the video, which you can watch below, features Brendan Benson and Patrick Keeler of The Raconteurs.
If you're in the New York area, Chisel will be at City Winery on August 25. And, he'll be at Zankel Hall, that's at Carnegie Hall for those not in the know or who confuse easily, on October 10.
corychisel.com
www.myspace.com/thewanderingsons
The delightfully fun Those Darlins have put out a video for their song "Red Light Love." The video was directed and illustrated by Jessi Darlin, animated by Teddy Gage with additional art work by Nikki Darlin and Sheriff Lin. Those Darlins are on tour so check out their website for dates as well as other info.
www.ThoseDarlins.com
Hockey gets a remix ... well, Hockey the band that is. The Portland band is offering up a remix of the song "Song Away." Check out "Song Away (Jack Beats' Anger Management Remix)" HERE.
Also, check out the video for "Song Away."
www.myspace.com/hockey
New York group The Phenomenal Handclap Band are offering up a remix of their song "15 To 20." You can check out the David E Sugar 5 10 Replay Remix HERE. Of course, the studio version of the song can be found on their self-titled debut. They're a fun band to see live.
www.myspace.com/phenomenalhandclap
Arizona band The Summer Set are scheduled to drop their first full length record, Love Like This (Razor & Tie), on October 13. They're full of sun shiny fun-ness and catchy pop rockiness. If you're unfamiliar with their sound, check out their cover of Usher's "Love In This Club" from their EP Meet Me On The Left Coast HERE.For those in the New York area, you'll have a chance to catch The Summer Set live. They'll be at The Gramercy Theatre with Cartel and This Providence on October 27.
www.myspace.com/thesummerset
www.facebook.com/thesummerset
www.youtube.com/thesummerset
California band Port O'Brien are gearing up for the release of their third album, threadbare, which is scheduled to reach the happy little hands of fans on October 6. You can check out "My Will Is Good" from the upcoming record HERE. For those in the New York area looking to catch Port O'Brien live, they have two dates. They'll be on the LES at Mercury Lounge on October 14 and across the bridge in Brooklyn on October 16 at Union Hall. For both of these dates they'll be with Sea Wolf and Sara Lov.
www.myspace.com/portobrien
www.portobrien.com
Talking To Walls: August 15 @ Desmond's Tavern, New York, NY
Connecticut rockers Talking To Walls came back to New York this past Saturday and I was fi
nally able to witness them! It wasn't the full band with amps on eleven this go 'round though. It was just a couple of the lads, Brian Kelly (vocals, guitar) and Nat Webb (guitar, vocals) doing a intimate, yet lively and extremely fun acoustic set.For those who haven't experienced Desmond's, it's a small pub, with a small back area for the stage making everything all up in your face personal. That's just perfect for an acoustic set. Up until Saturday, I had only experienced Talking To Walls on record. As a result of seeing them live, I discovered a some things. Well, actually, I didn't just discover this but seeing it live made it stand out more. The first thing, they're really good live ... full of fun and charm. Okay, yeah, the live part I just discovered but the fun and charm bit I already knew about. I've probably mentioned this before but I like when people smile on stage. Well, not random pointless smiles. I enjoy seeing musicians have a good time on stage and when they have genuine smiles, it's infectious. These guys smiled a lot an
d it was catching.The second thing, Kelly has an incredibly strong voice with a great tone. I already knew he had a good voice but hearing it up close and acoustic made it more noticeable. You can't hide anything in such an intimate setting. Being so close to musicians and acoustically to boot, gives one a sense of seeing an artist naked to the world. Kelly showed that he can hold his own quite well stripped down for the world to see.The third thing I discovered, Webb is a hell of a guitar player. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, QNYC, you're a guitar lovin' chick. How did you not notice this before? I noticed! I knew
he was good. But, Webb isn't a flashy, kick you in the teeth, hey look at me, show off type of guitar player. He's a more subtle player. Prior to this show I listened to Talking To Walls as a whole, not breaking it down to individuals. Saturday, I had the opportunity to focus on and experience his pure raw talent and it was a pleasure. Most of the set consisted of tracks from The Megan EP and the free acoustic EP, A Long Stilt Walk both of which can be found on their website. They kicked off their set with "Walkaway" and ended with a rousing version of "Song For Megan" which you know made me happy as I've raved about this song since I heard it for the first time. Really, if listening to Megan doesn't make you feel good and smile then something's wrong with you. Lucky for all in attendance that I was holding my camera or I may have gotten up and flailed around like a nut, scaring folks and causing overall alarm in the general vicinity of Desmond's. I also have to make mention of the stunning version of "Crossed My Mind" that was done. If I wasn't already a fan of the song, they would have won me over with that performance. This makes my list of songs you must hear live. The other must hear live song that I'm currently diggin' is "New England."
They were joined onstage by their friend Mike Morello (whose set I unfortunately missed) for a brilliantly fun rendition of Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn." This song was particularly fun for me as Brian and I discovered some time ago, via our online communications, that we share similar music tastes ... most of it good, some of it questionable, but, all of it fun to talk about. He's probably one of the few people who knows how truly dorky some of my music collection is. At any rate, Poison and their ilk were a topic of conversation for us at some point so it was terrific to hear that cover.I know bars have this thing about TV's but it was rather annoying that the staff at Desmond's didn't make sure the volume was turned down when the band hit the stage. Perhaps most bands do
n't do acoustic sets there so it didn't occur to them, who knows. Morello I believe it was, took matters into his own hands and put America's Most Wanted on mute ... thank you. You'll be happy to know that no one at Desmond's matched the fugitive descriptions that were airing though Kelly did seem a bit nervous for a moment or two until he realized he wasn't being featured ... that episode airs next week. What? You know I couldn't resist having some fun with that! At any rate, I would also like to give thanks to the bartender who trooped downstairs to find me a can of Coke after I decided the ginger ale from the tap tasted off. Talking To Walls put on a great show. I'm glad I finally had a chance to see them live and I look forward to seeing them again, electric or acoustic. Check them out if you and they are in the same general vicinity or even if they're not. Heck, it's summertime ... take a road trip to see them. You'll have fun ... I did!
The videos ...
Set List
- Walkaway
- Rollercoaster
- Cherry Red Heart
- New England
- Take Me Home
- Fine Man
- Crossed My Mind
- We Were Not So Tall
- Every Rose Has Its Thorn
- Song for Megan
www.talkingtowalls.com
www.facebook.com/talkingtowalls
twitter.com/talkingtowalls
Every time a quirky chick tries to put R.E.M. nice and neatly away on her shelf of "I'm over that phase" stuff, they come flying down, whack her on the head and make her listen ... again! I like R.E.M.. I seem to go through the R.E.M. phase on a regular basis. And, I'm not ashamed to admit my geek girl Mike Mills love fest issues. However, that's a story for another time. I digressed.
