_Karen O. and the Kids – Rumpus

(Such an amazing magazine cover!)

It seems that with movie these days getter bigger and more expensive, that soundtracks are becoming more of an essential piece to film making. Cheaper movie producers would hire some amateur music maker with a Casio keyboard to do background music, while other would just pick up music from bands that would seemingly fit into the core demographic of the film (aka Twilight), the movie producers for “Where the wild things are” have chosen a risky strategy. That could pay off in the long run, if executed properly. They have chosen to hire some big name artists such as Karen O (front women of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s) to produce all the music for the soundtrack. This means coming up with entirely new scores, that fit into the dynamics of the film itself, giving the soundtrack and the movie more of a streamlined effect.

Like mentioned earlier it’s a grand idea that could pay off greatly not only for the film, but also sales of the soundtrack, too. However spending so much time and money on a soundtrack could end up placing money in wrong sectors where as the original dollars should have went to the production of the film.

The movie is not out in theaters yet, but with the release coming up soon (October 16th 2009, US release date) the all-star cast of music makers is slowly releasing singles to wet the whistles of fans. Here is another one from Karen O. and the Kids, called “Rumpus”. The song starts off with a few soundbites from the film, to give the listener the idea that it’s meant to reflect the fun loving nature of the film. After listening through a couple times, the choice of using an amateur boys choir for back up vocals was a splendid idea.

The lack of musical order in their tones and pitching portrays the fun lovingness of the film. This all is wrapped up nicely in a pretty red bow, due to the work of the professionals at the instruments and the mixing boards, who dub the voices in perfect unison to fit over the instrumentation. After hearing only a few songs from the soundtrack it seems that Karen O. and the Kids is shaping up to be the perfect companion to this adventurous film. Look out for this soundtrack it will be dropped tomorrow, September 29th 2009.

Karen O. and the Kids – RumpusStream

_Britney Spears – “3″

Britney Spears just premiered her new single from the upcoming singles collection a couple of hours ago, called “3″. Produced by Max Martin, this track is definitely a catchy club banger.

Remember that weird poem that was posted on Britney.com a few weeks ago right before the VMA’s? Britney was referring it to this song.

I think this might be one of her strongest singles yet in the past couple of years, the audience and listeners will all love it. Certainly not the best song that we have hears from her, but the most radio friendly. Now watch this song explode all over the world!

Listen/download after the jump! (more…)

_Death Cabe for Cutie – Meet Me On The Equinox

West Coaster’s Death Cab for Cutie are once again proving that they can practically write Indie Rock music in their sleep. This Grammy award nominated group, dubbed one of the most popular Indie rock bands on the planet continues to push the genre into more of an approachable direction. Indie rock can sometimes be shied away from by the general public due to it’s experimental nature, odd aesthetics and strange individuals putting out the music.

They seem to be shying away in their own respect, by not deviating too far from conventional music, but rather taking what makes top 40 hits conventional, using some of those concepts and adding their own indie rock twist to the melting pot.

Here is a new single released by them entitled “Meet Me On The Equinox“. Which is a very fitting title since it is also featured on the Twilight – New Moon soundtrack. It almost seems like when writing the song they had the notion in the back of their mind that they wanted this on the Twilight soundtrack.

I’ve never actually seen the Twilight movie and haven’t followed really anything about it, except for it’s fantastic soundtracks. But with advertisements plastered all over for this new film, it’s hard to not get a sense of what the movie is going to be about on an aesthetic level. The song is dark and surreal with dreamy echoing vocals. In accompaniment is a subtle electric guitar riff with an arpeggiating acoustic guitar for the rhythm section. This is all tied together smoothly by a slow rolling, hard hitting drum beat. With the anticipation level for the new Twilight movie going through the roof this approachable and seemily appropriate song should sky rocket Death Cab for Cutie to such great heights!

Death Cab for Cutie – Meet Me On The EquinoxStream

_Lily Allen and the Drama

If you haven’t heard about the Lily Allen / British musicians / illegal file sharing fiasco, well you’ve practically missed a real life gladiator fight played out on Twitter and various blogs. Over the past several weeks, Lily Allen, an artist perceived to be found on myspace, has been in defense of her stance on illegal file sharing.

On September 16th Upstart Blogger systematically posted this entry entitled “Meet the Music Industry’s New Misinformation Puppet and Learn How to Benefit From Her Tricks.” The blog post is a seemingly strategic rebuttal against various websites said to be speaking out against the public’s use of illegal file sharing.  In this rebuttal post, Upstart Blogger directly attacks Allen and her record label, EMI, stating Allen is a puppet whose musical upstart from myspace is all a shame, simply made up by her record label. In this ‘faux reality’ Upstart Blogger also goes onto saying “… her songs were written and created by EMI and their banks of battery hen producers. Her apparent poor background was soon debunked when it was revealed that she was privately educated at some of the most prestigious schools in the country.”

Upstart Blogger was prepared for a war against Allen and EMI knowing full well they would come back in their defense.  At the end of the blog post, UB states to pass on the public’s opinion through the same networks which have made Allen the phenom she is today, including sending messages to Allen via her twitter page. Since then, Upstart Blogger’s twitter account has been suspended and the EMI legal team seems to be tracking Upstart Blogger’s action rather closely (as stated in a recent blog post). Weird.

After this post, and as the barrage of messaging began on her Twitter page, Allen became a solo woman determined to justify her stance and hold her ground in a ring with a virtual angry mob.  Allen took to her Twitter page (twitter.com/lilyroseallen), her myspace blog (myspace.com/lilymusic) and a hastily created and now defunct blog It’s Not Okay  (http://idontwanttochangetheworld.blogspot.com/) in defense of herself, her stance, her music career and upcoming artists. The now deleted Blogspot showcased letters and emails from various other British artists gladly willing to join in her battle to fight against illegal file sharing.

After receiving quite a bit of flack from vocal blog readers and twitter-ers, the abuse became too much for Allen who stated “Just so you know, I have not renegotiated my record contract and have no plans to make another record….I do however remain a fan of new music, so this is not some selfish crusade….The days of me making money from recording music has been and gone as far as I’m concerned, so I don’t (at this point) stand to profit from legislation. Except future purchases of previously recorded material.”

Is this to be the end of Lily Allen as a musical artist? As of now it’s anyone’s guess. Allen states she is not planning to renew her contract or record another album. However, Allen’s publicist and record label EMI states she is not retiring, just promoting her latest album release “It’s Not Me, It’s You.”

Regardless of the outcome, this virtual soap opera is enough a reason to make some popcorn and watch the action unfold.

http://www.myspace.com/lilymusic
www.twitter.com/lilyroseallen
http://twitter.com/upstartblogger
http://www.upstartblogger.com

_The Ting Tings – That’s Not My Name (RAC Remix)

You know how radio stations have their top singles they play over and over and over and over and over to the point that a song you once loved now makes your ears bleed? I do that. So much so that when I hear a song that use to be “my jam” it makes me want to cry because I’ve become desensitized and bored.

But I found a savior and its name is remix. When I’ve exhausted a song to a point of ennui, I get a refreshing take on what use to be a favorite tune. And thanks to the multitude of “djs” out in cyberspace there is an unending amount of remixes of whatever your favorite song may be.

One of my absolute top tunes is “That’s Not My Name” by the Ting Tings. Sadly, after repeatedly playing it on my ipod, hearing it on TV, radio, and even on the runway at various fashion shows I was, to say the least, over it. Thank god, RAC came along and gave us a brand new remix that is completely different than any other electro-techno-gay bar remix that I’ve previously heard.

With catchy guitar riffs and a poppy background beat, RAC’s remix manages to take a 2008 song and give it an 80′s sync taste. It holds onto very little of the original melody, but the Ting Tings still bring it strong, so you don’t feel that you’re listening to a completely different ditty.

The Ting Tings – “That’s Not My Name” (RAC Remix)

Pretty Much Amazing premiered this remix.

_Kanye West & Lady GaGa – Fame Kills Promo

Lady GaGa and Kanye West’s hands feature in a promo video for their upcoming collaboration tour. Looks pretty raunchy, and Lady GaGa would describe it as “unique and creative” while West would call it “artsy”. Basically 30 seconds of Kanye West holding a topless Gaga.

Are you going to be heading to this tour? I’m excited! I got my floor tickets

_Metronomy – Not Made For Love + Astronomer’s Remix

Need a new electronic music fix? Metronomy may be your remedy. The current members of the electronic group, Joseph Mount (Composer, Singer, Keyboards, Guitar, Founding Member) and Oscar Cash (Saxophone, Backing Vocals, Keyboards) ventured into vocal electropop music with the release of Nights Out last year. Previously, the band’s music consisted of instrumental music. The switch to incorporate vocals will surely surge more mainstream appeal, and in the end be a wise decision. Especially with pop gems like “Not Made For Love.”

“Not Made Love” starts with minimalist beats that create an empty and somber mood. Mount sings “You’ve made a big mistake,” although there isn’t very much conviction in his voice. The song builds off this foundation, adding in small, tasteful touches of Auto-Tune, and delicate backing vocals. In the last minute, the synths pick up the intensity, increasing in volume and presence, and melodies begin crisscrossing in a majestic sonic palette.

Metronomy – “Not Made For Love”

The Astronomers Remix of “Not Made For Love” doesn’t mess around with any foreplay. The minimalistic negative space of the original is filled out with many instruments and sounds going on at once, heading right into a driving beat, prominent synths, and snare claps.

Metronomy – “Not Made For Love” (Astronomer’s Remix)

Head over to Metronomy’s MySpace for tour dates.

_Alphabeat – The Spell

After two years of gradual success, Alphabeat is back with a new album, starting us off with their single “The Spell”. This sextet Danish indie pop band has quite enjoyed their success with their debut LP which got instant great press reviews, now touring Europe (and planned to tour the US with Katy Perry, but then later dropped out).

The first time listening to “The Spell” was a bit surprising for me – I thought they would’ve still stuck on with their retropop perspective. Instead, this new direction sounds more of an late 80s/early 90′s dance pop influenced track (which is not entirely that bad).

Although this song may not have been what I expected to hear, it is somewhat really catchy and just an overall fun song that will get you to dance. Is it 2009′s pop song of the year? I don’t think anything can beat Dragonette’s “Fixin’ To Thrill”.

Alphabeat – “The Spell”Stream