Monday, February 29, 2016

Depeche Mode To Enter The Studio


Depeche Mode, one of my all time favourite bands, are going to record a new album this year and, probably, to be released in 2017.
Martin Gore already admitted that he and Dave Gahan have already written some songs and are going to enter the studio in April.
The band's latest album was Delta Machine, released in 2013 and was followed by a huge tour.

Depeche Mode already released 13 original albums and all of them (!) entered the UK Top 10, which is an incredible remark.


Thursday, February 25, 2016

George Fest To Be Released In CD


George Fest was a tribute concert in the memory of George Harrison held on the 28th of September 2014.
Many famous artists like George's son, Dhani Harrison, Norah Jones, Ben Harper, Brandon Flowers, Brian Wilson among others, performed classic songs of the ex-Beatle to celebrate is artistic influence in modern music.
Now, actually, tomorrow, the concert will be released in 5 configurations including 2xCD/DVD, 2xCD/Blu-Ray, 3xLP (180 gram), digital, and a store exclusive bundle.

George Harrison is my favourite Beatle. He had a lifestyle truly amazing, and he was a very very very wise person with a fantastic personality. His thoughts and words are a true inspiration for my everyday life. And of course, his fantastic songs as well.


A Night To Celebrate George Fest 

Disc one

1. "Introduction"  
2. "Old Brown Shoe" - Conan O'Brien
3. "I Me Mine" - Britt Daniel
4. "Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)" - Jonathan Bates, Dhani Harrison
5. "Something" - Norah Jones
6. "Got My Mind Set on You" - Brandon Flowers
7. "If Not for You" - Heartless Bastards
8. "Be Here Now" - Ian Astbury
9. "Wah-Wah"  - Nick Valensi
10. "If I Needed Someone" - Jamestown Revival  
11. "Art of Dying" - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
12. "Savoy Truffle" - Dhani Harrison
13. "For You Blue" - Chase Cohl, Brian Bell
14. "Beware of Darkness" - Ann Wilson

Disc two

1. "Let It Down" - Dhani Harrison
2. "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" - Ben Harper
3. "Here Comes the Sun" - Perry Farrell
4. "What Is Life" - "Weird Al" Yankovic  
5. "Behind That Locked Door" - Norah Jones  
6. "My Sweet Lord" - Brian Wilson, Al Jardine  
7. "Isn't It a Pity" - The Black Ryder  
8. "Any Road" - Butch Walker  
9. "I'd Have You Anytime" - Karen Elson  
10. "Taxman" - Cold War Kids
11. "It's All Too Much" - The Flaming Lips  
12. "Handle with Care" - Brandon Flowers, Dhani Harrison, Jonathan Bates, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Britt Daniel, Wayne Coyne.
13. "All Things Must Pass" - Ann Wilson, Dhani Harrison, Karen Elson, Norah Jones  

Watch the trailer of the album here:

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Failed Tribute To David Bowie


During this year Grammy Awards, Lady Gaga did a tribute to David Bowie.
Everyone started to speculate that this was going to be the ultimate Bowie's tribute and, after, the performances people  are saying that it was perfect and Lady Gaga was the right choice to make this tribute, etc.
Although, I think it was a very very sad tribute for several reasons.

First, Lady Gaga is an international popstar, with pop songs, with people writing for her, etc. You would put her in the same pocket of Rihanna, Britney Spears, Shania Twain, not in the same section of Bowie. The styles are not similar. Bowie created egos, put make up, wear dresses, etc. but he had a point, a vision, and it was directly related with his music.

Second, the Medley is very confused, it has a lot of songs, played very small parts of it and consisted of only hits from the 70's and 80's. Nothing from Blackstar was played or refer in music or image for example.
Gaga's performance is completely hysterical, it looks more like a cabaret play then a sentimental tribute.

Also the vocal performance is weak... When she tries to thicken her voice, it sounds terrible, also she tries to do a lot of "little voice solos" with fast variations of notes, which is a symbol of current popstars, not Bowie for sure. Ziggy Stardust was more focused on the flying piano then on the music. Also, is she trying to impersonate an English accent? Fame is terrible, and actually when she could shine in Let's Dance on the line "and tremble like a flower" her voice crumbles... Heroes is terrible also, it's like she wants to look tough and very passionate at the same time... It seems forced and unnatural at all.

In resume, Lady Gaga is a little bit out of the top of her success form for a while, and this looked like a desperate way to call attention to her following the death of Bowie (probably it wasn't, but still looks like). It's good for people to make tributes and Bowie surely influenced almost every singer in the world but, in my view this was a weak tribute to be calling so much attention. For example, Mike Garson's tribute was much more true, sentimental and interesting than this one.


But hey, take a look on it and have your own opinion about it:

Tuesday, February 09, 2016

Mike Garson Pays Live Tribute To David Bowie


A lot of artists are paying tributes to David Bowie. But this time is different.
Mike Garson is the most remarkable pianist in Bowie's career. He played in a lot of his albums, from the classic Aladdin Sane (where he created the most insane and cool piano solo ever during the album's title song) to one of my personal favourites Heathen. We can say that Garson was Bowie's piano man in the 70's and the 90's. He also did amazing live performances with the English musician, including heartbreaking versions of Life On Mars? and Wild Is The Wind.

On monday, there was a charity gig called "Celebrating David Bowie" in Los Angeles, USA, where artists like Seal, Ewan McGregor and Gary Oldman performed. Although, the highest point of the gig was when Mike Garson, who was also part of it, played the song Aladdin Sane, where he tried (and succeed) to replicate the original solo from the album version. After this song, Seal joined Garson and the pair performed Bring Me The Disco King from the 2003 Bowie's album Reality.

Quoting Billboard Magazine:
"The emotional core of the evening, though, came from longtime Bowie keyboardist Mike Garson, who nearly broke into tears explaining his year's-long kinship with the late legend whom he said slept directly across from him on the tour bus. After delivering what amounted to a eulogy, Garson played on "Aladdin Sane" -- including his famous avant-solo, for the first time in 20 years -- and stayed onstage for both an improvised ode to Bowie and a surprise appearance from crooner Seal, who sang the obscure, jazzy track "Bring Me The Disco Queen." Garson -- who popped in and out for the rest of the set -- seemed like he was having a going-away party for his friend."

Check the performance here:

Suede And The Press


When you are a big big fan of a band, you always feel that the band is being underrated by the press. In my view, Suede were always a little bit left outside of the music press, since Blur, Oasis or Pulp have overpassed them in therms of comercial success in the 90's. However, even if the popularity of the others bands were bigger, it isn't an excuse of why the press is not covering more Suede, when they are doing new and significant music, while they (the magazines) are still making boring articles about "the last time Liam and Noel chatted" or "What's the best Nirvana album?".
Actually, I think it is really disrespectful that NME or the other magazines, are not giving big headlines, or even news, about the current Suede tour and album. Of course they did a review of "Night Thoughts" (if they didn't it would have been some kind of tragedy, they have the obligation to review every significant album of the week), and almost all of the reviews are having a really, really positive view of the new album. So that should bring more news and more interest on the band by the part of the magazine. However I don't see any news from Suede apart from the album review.

Well, Night Thoughts was number 6 at the UK charts, it was the highest new entry of the charts, they are making a critically acclaimed Europeen tour, they are chatting about important issued like the death of Bowie, how a 90's band can still survive on the music business today, the passion of playing live, they are still debuting live old great songs, they are giving double concert sizes. Wouldn't any of these things be enough to have a link on some newspaper website first page, where they have like 50 daily different headlines? Well, NME preferes to cover that Damon Albarn is returning to Denmark, that Kanye West changed his album title, the deleted scenes of Mrs Doubtfire, or Johnny Deeps 20-years comments about Leonardo DiCaprio. Really, there something much more interesting and meaningful to talk about.

The press, specially NME, have their "wonder" kids, and they keep attached to them. Leaving apart other great bands. Suede were right when they wrote their new song, Outsiders, we (Suede fans) actually feel like outsiders, and the band also feel outside, and the rest of the world wants to try to keep them outside.

It's a pity really. In the Suede world is actually good to feel an outsider, a stranger, a beautiful one, but a little of recognition and publicity is always welcome also,

Thursday, February 04, 2016

Primavera Sound Porto 2016 Line -Up


Today it was revealed the complete line-up of my city's main festival.
The festival will be from 9 to 11 of June and the ticket for the 3 days is 90€.

First, Primavera Sound in Porto is not only a festival it's also a great experience. Imagine watching to your favourite bands' concerts 5 minutes from the beach and sea, in a beautiful green park with 3 stages, foods, drinks, nice atmosphere and beautiful people. The only "almost bad" thing of it is that it doesn't have camping (but personally, I really don't need it).

Well, I admit I was expecting a little bit more from the line-up. I honestly was hoping for a double Suede concert just like what is going to happen in our twin brother Primavera Sound Barcelona. ~

Although we don't have Suede we have a lot of superb acts, which includes PJ Harvey, Brian Wilson, Savages, Sigur Rós, Beach House and Air between others.

This festival is becoming, or already is, the strongest Indie festival of Portugal.
But just look at the picture above to see the complete line-up and I hope to see you there at the festival!

Monday, February 01, 2016

Blackstar by David Bowie, Track by Track


Earlier this year, before knowing Bowie was dying and before listening to Blackstar whole album I made a review of the single Blackstar. After the news of his death, naturally the meaning of the song and of the album changed.
Bowie planned his death, planned his goodbye of music, he knew that this moment was coming so he release his last statement, a fantastic album. There's a lot to analyse of the incredible way David died, his death was a unique historical moment, that will, probably, never happen again. The impact of his death was enormous. I have a solid opinion about it which I'll write later, in another article.

Now, I want to analyse and review his farewell album "Blackstar" track by track

01 - Blackstar
This, and Lazarus, are the most important songs on the album. I think David here, assumes a position of a God (a Blackstar) and, not only predicts his death ("on the day of the execution", "something happened on the day he died") but also clears how he wants to be remembered. And I think he wants to be remembered as a Godlike figure, a Blackstar, something unpredictable and unknown. On the first part of the song, his voice is very solemn, dark and divinal, and then, the song goes through a different direction, almost angelical. It's amazing.
And, the song is so well structured, that, although it has 10 minutes, it's never too repetitive and boring, Those 10 minutes pass really quickly. Love the keyboards on the last verses. Perfect song to define an album and an artist.

02 - 'Tis A Pity She Was A Whore
Bowie released this song as a b-side to Sue back in 2014. Here the song is re-recorded and, although it maintains the same line as the original, the production is must better and clear. The songs is fast, cynical, diabolic. 

03 - Lazarus
Here, we say Bowie defining his death. He realizes his death and tells us that he's not OK but soon he will be free, just like he intends to be. Lazarus, the biblical figure, resurrected from the death. And this is very important, because Bowie, in a way, also came back to life. He's still here with his songs, with his legacy, just like Lazarus did, Bowie died and then came back to stay.
The melody of this song is very soft, peaceful and sad. Actually, after knowing about his death, listening to this song is something very turbulent specially if you see the video. You actually see Bowie dying and you see also his productive soul still working and creating, just like what happened. Artistically the combination of David's death, the song and the video is one of the most emotional moments (or even the most) ever in cultural terms. Fantastic, just a visionary like Bowie could have the courage to do something like this.

04 - Sue (Or A Season of Crime)
Maybe, the best surprise of the album. I was not a big fan of the original version of this song released in 2014. Too jazzy, too soft, disoriented, but here we listen to a brutal and aggressive song, very complete and strong. Much better than the 2014 version.

05 - Girl Loves Me
A nice and strange song. Bowie's voice during the chorus is perfection, and actually it is catchy (very dark catchy), you are singing it easily. Bowie sings in a fictional language during mos of the song. Again, a dark song (like most of the album) but actually very attractive and sexy.

06 - Dollar Days
The sweetest moment in Blackstar. A fantastic song  also about his mortality. "If I'll never see the English evergreens I'm running to", "Don't forget for just one second I'm forgetting you, I'm dying to". A lot of people were calling this album as a jazz album, which I disagree, but actually you have on this song the jazziest moment with the saxophone fantastic solo. This is the brightest song on the album, but still a little bit sad. 

07 - I Can't Give Everything Away
This is Bowie's goodbye. He knows he is passing away, and he is afraid of it, of letting behind everyone he loves. He's sad of leaving but also happy that he did everything he wanted to do with his life "This is all I ever meant, that's the message that I sent". The last verse when he re-sings "I know something's very wrong, the pulse returns for prodigal sons" is truly heartbreaking. Actually, I think we find Bowie on his most vulnerable emotional side. By now, he is everything in music, he is a God, an  alien, a Blackstar but he realises that he is also David Jones, a human being that feels loss and feels pain. Fantastic.

As a whole, a lot of music critics were defining Blackstar as a Jazz experimental album, that David choose it that way because he still wanted to take us to the unknown, like the place where he is now. I disagree, fist this is not a jazz album, it has jazz moments and jazz instruments but this is some kind of glam-rock. I would prefer to call it, this is a "Bowiesh" album, some kinds of modern Aladdin Sane. But also, this a album of a man that is facing dead, so it's way it is a very sad album. For me it's perfect this way, I always preferred sad music. Bowie's voice is still on top and his tone fits perfectly with the content of the album. Blackstar is an artistic testament of Bowie's capacities and is one of the best and most interesting albums of all time because of the brilliance and quality of the music but also because of everything that surrounds it.
Blackstar is one of the most important albums ever released, and we were here to see it. David was here too, and he still is. Just like Lazarus he resurrected and is eternal in this word with his music. 

Thank you.