News broke today that singer Amy Winehouse died in her London residence today. At age 27, she joins the ranks of Morrison, Joplin, Hendrix and Cobain, all of who experienced their untimely death at this age. Winehouse was known for her self-destructive persona. Her first major hit single “Rehab” embraced this. For years, her habits and vices were brutally lampooned by the media. Now, the same outlets that celebrated her tragic downfall must gather at least some reverence for Winehouse’s talent.
Though she was popularly chastised as sloppy and implosive, Winehouse made some indisputable contributions to the music scene. In an overwhelming backdrop of pop friendly female artists, she drew upon the classics, helping to bring soul back to mainstream consciousness. During her short moment, Winehouse helped chip away at the mold of what women should look or sound like. Her success was a harbinger for that of Adele, Corrine Baily Rae, Duffy and others.
While the cause of Winehouse’s death is not yet know, it is clear that she was dealing with some heavy demons. Whether her torment was the result of media bullying or bleak insecurity the most tragic aspect of her death is that she will never create new music again.
Editor’s Note: Hey all. If you haven’t noticed the Music Court has added two new writers to the blog. Andrew Leibowitz (Andrewleibo) will provide occasional rock commentary. Today I introduce Kyle Costa (whenindoubtturnitup). Kyle hails from Cincinnati, Ohio and loves finding new bands, writing band biographies, and analyzing lyrics. In his new Bios and More section he will write about just that. Please help me welcome him to the blog. Now, Kyle, take it away:
Since 2007, after the Red Hot Chili Pipers came in first place in the U.K. gameshow, “When Will I Be Famous”, they haven’t stopped spreading their name globally only to inflate their bagpipes. Formed in 2002, they’ve been bringing their self-created “bag-rock” from shore to shore all over the globe.
The band has just released their new album, Music for the Kilted Generation. With three already highly successful albums released, they’re hoping to make it four. Their previous live album and DVD, BLAST Live went triple platinum in Scotland. Bagrock to the Masses another album of their’s under REL Records, received a platinum award in Scotland and a silver award in the U.K. as a whole.
Piper Stuart Cassells was named the BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year in 2005. His piping has also been featured on The Darkness album One Way Ticket to Hell… and Back and on the soundtrack to the film “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” Graham won two world championship snare drumming competitions.
I first heard these guys on the BBC ALBA channel in Scotland. I didn’t realize how largely known they actually are since I’ve never heard of them other than this. I thought it was a pretty creative sound. Hope you enjoyed listening to the new age sound of bag-rock!
I have been so caught up with my exploration of new talent that I have not posted a version of Music News since July 4, 17 days ago. Some probably thought that I was nixing the entire category. Nope, not quite, perhaps scaling back a bit, but not destroying it as a whole. I still want to provide my take on a few music-related items from the news. Let’s get to it.
It may be safe to say that many readers do not know of 30-year-old Swedish musician Jens Lekman and that is definitely a shame. His blend of old pop, witty lyric and sampled strings/sounds is endearing. While he has only released two full-length LPs, he has released numerous EPs and he will add to his EP list this September with his five-song An Argument With Myself.
Lekman consistently receives good reviews from music writers because his style and voice are infectious. This will be his first release in four years. I’m excited. I have only recently gotten into Lekman, but his style of pop is refreshing. I’d certainly urge you readers to take a listen to Lekman’s music. It is not for everyone, but at least you can appreciate its creativity. Take a listen to “Waiting For Kirsten,” a track off of the upcoming EP. (The song starts at 2:50)
Blur/Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn has announced he will record a new album in the Republic of Congo. Gorillaz can meet some actual gorillas. He intends to record the album in a week without contracting malaria or being mauled by…a gorilla. Okay, I added that last part. Joining him on this African album safari are Kwes, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Franz Ferdinand producer Dan The Automator, hip-hop producer Jneiro Jarel, XL Recordings boss Richard Russell, Actress, Marc Antoine and Jo Gunton.
Currently, Albarn is performing in Doctor Dee, an opera he wrote.
Dave Heaton of PopMatters wrote an article yesterday about the lack of major country music released this year. In the article, he claims that Country music, like Hollywood, is recycling old material.
“For the first half of the year, the #1 country songs in Billboard’s charts were from 2010, or older, like Miranda Lambert’s “Heart Like Mine”, from her 2009 album Revolution,” he writes. “The #1 country albums were from last year – by Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift, Zac Brown Band, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts – with only a couple of relatively well-known groups releasing albums this year that made the charts (Sara Evans and Thompson Square, for example). By June we did have new albums from Brad Paisley, Ronnie Dunn and Dolly Parton, and more big-ish albums are on the way this summer… but still, the pickings have been slim.”
The article poses the question, what has happened to country music this year? Why is there a lack quality, new releases for listeners to enjoy? Country itself is a limited genre. What I mean by that is there are only so many changes you can make to a country song to make it original. Eventually, when paired with a lack of creativity, this all leads to a stall in quality releases. I am not implying that today’s country stars are untalented. Currently, they are leaning on old material and popular tours. The releases this year have been hokey and tired. Will this improve? The simple answer is yes. I do not believe Country music is leveling out, but rather taking a break.
Look at American Idol this past season. The winner and runner-up were both Country performers. And since winner Scotty McCreery’s attempts at singing any non-Country song were embarrassing, he perpetuated the message and sound of Country each and every week. And, he won. America loves it’s Country music. If you took a poll it would most likely be considered the “National” sound, which is slightly scary, but true. Country followers are loyal to their music and since there will always be a market, the talent will refresh itself constantly.
If you are of the Millenials generation the name Albert Hammond might immediately spark images of the curly-haired Strokes’ guitarist. Yeah, that guy in the picture. But who is the dude next to him? That, my friends, is Albert Hammond, father of the Strokes’ guitarist and tremendous musician in his own rite. Hammond has been releasing and writing music for over 40 years and has skillfully adjusted to the transformation of music along the way. In 2008, he was inducted into the songwriter’s hall of fame (source for picture above). Let’s explore the musical life that is Albert Hammond.
Artist: Albert Hammond
Origin: Gibraltar
Genre: Singer/Songwriter – Mainstream
History:
Albert Hammond was born in London but grew up in Gibraltar with his Gibraltarian parents. Hammond, like many other musicians, left school to pursue music and first found a small market in the emergence of Spanish rock. While his first band, The Diamond Boys, wasn’t successful, it did help Hammond get performance experience and this came in handy later in his career.
1966 can be pointed to as the year Hammond broke out of his shell and started succeeding at song creation. He partnered with singer/songwriter Mike Hazelwood and helped form Family Dogg, a British vocal group, that also featured Steve Rowland. Hazelwood and Hammond not only performed with Family Dogg, but also became one of Britain’s most successful songwriting teams, scoring with hits like “Little Arrows.”
Family Dogg gave them an opportunity to sing and perform. The band released A Way of Life in 1969. The album’s success can be somewhat accredited to the historical personnel, but we will get to that later. Here is the Family Dogg performing the same-named “A Way of Life,” which appeared as the last track of the album. Just to make it clear, “A Way of Life” was not written by the songwriting duo of Hammond and Hazelwood (written instead by Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway). Hammond and Hazelwood’s only conjoined songwriting credits come from track 10, “Moonshine Mary” and track 11, “You Were On My Mind.”
That is how the 60’s ended for Hammond. But despite his successes, Hammond’s true contribution to music came in the 1970s. Hammond and Hazelwood moved to Southern California and continued writing together. Hammond signed with Columbia Records and started showing off his chops. Numerous famous 70’s acts starting covering his material. The list includes Johnny Cash, Elton John, Mama Cass, The Association, Steppenwolf, Sonny & Cher, etc. Hammond, who is bilingual, was able to start making Spanish-language albums. Then, in the 1980s, Hammond wrote several other highly successful songs including “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now.” He continues to write music today.
If I had to choose a highlight from Hammond’s brilliant career it would have to be the release of his most known, and arguably best song in 1972. The song, “It Never Rains in Southern California,” is such a classic 70’s song. For what it is, it’s great. The song is soft-rock at its finest. It mixes light horns and Hammond’s pleasant voice into the pot and out comes a hit. I’ll leave you with a low-key performance of the song below.
Did You Know: The Family Dogg‘s album A Way of Life featured some pretty special guest musicians in the studio, including Elton John and Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, John Bonham and Jimmy Page.
“A Korean, a Sri Lankan, a Mexican, and a Jew from Cleveland. four musicians from four corners of the world aiming to shotgun blast through the insipid airwaves of current music using acoustic harmonies fused with modern technology.”
The beginning of Los Angeles based Indie band Mind The Gap’s introduction on their short biography page on their website sounds like the premise of a bad joke. But this neat band objective effectively explains the band’s sound in few words. So why I am I needed here? Good question. Just listen to this:
Before I proceed with my flowery praise for Mind The Gap, let’s celebrate the second week of The Bands of Summer. I know I said it was only a week special, but I have decided to make it an every Tuesday post. There are so many great new bands to profile. Today that band is Mind The Gap. I’m sure by now you have listened to the song above.
Mind The Gap has to be one of, if not the most ethnically diverse indie foursomes in the world (as you have read above). The band is a melting pot of diversity and mature rhythms, acoustic and electronic. Put the pot on a stove and after just a few songs on their debut 12-track album the intense laid-back creativity of Mind The Gap begins to boil over.
Mind The Gap’s debut release The Good Fight (released May, 2011) is one of those rare albums where every song is not only enjoyable, but also different. The album is like a good mystery film, there are just so many twists and turns that you are not sure what the next song will bring. The first two tracks are a good example of this. “Fall,” track one of the album, plays like an alt/rock hit with a fast-paced guitar riff carrying the verses with underlying electronic sounds. And then track two, “Smile Back At You” introduces itself with basic chords and manipulative keys and the alt/rock of track one fades away and is replaced by a blissful, effervescent pop song carried by lead vocalist Greg Cahn’s melodic voice and the band’s choral harmonies which are soft like a cool pillow. This is a diverse album. The band is composed of wonderfully talented musicians, each who makes their voice heard in their tremendous instrumentation. Whether it is Cahn’s magical vocal, Ozzy Doniz’s moving bass and rhythm guitar, Ruwanga Samath’s significant keyboard work, or Alex Yang’s skilled lead guitar and piano work, the band works together to create music that knocks down the walled conventions of pop/indie/electronic/acoustic music and blends them together into a high-quality, low calorie shake, one that you just feel good about drinking.
I will leave you all with “Once You Leave” which has a little more fun with modern electronic sounds. But while electronic sounds often seem tasteless and gratuitous in music today, Mind The Gap uses them with precision and they are vital to the advancement of “Once You Leave” which, when completed, is a fine indie/pop track.
Mind The Gap stands true to their band objective. They are skillful mashers of acoustic instrumentation and electronic sounds. They are definitely a band to follow.
Enjoying the music. For another 13 hours you can obtain the whole debut album for $5 on GroopEase where Mind The Gap’s album is being offered at a discount price. I bought it. Here is the link.
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