Fredstuff.com » Music

Music: Robyn – Hang With Me

Fred — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:59:18 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

Robyn’s next album, Body Talk Pt. 2 will be out on the 6:th of September. The track “Hang With Me” was also included on Body Talk Pt. 1, but in a more acoustic version. This is the “full” version of the track. Video directed by Max Vitali who also did her video to “dancing On My Own”.

I fund another version of the track recorded live at “the Rimmel Room”, whatever that is. Still, it’s a fantastic rendition of Hang With Me.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Now if only I can get the damn melody and words from Robyn’s “You Can’t Handle Me” out of my head when listening to this track.

Fun fact: At the very start of the (first) video there’s a brief shot of the legendary synthesizer Sidstation made by Swedish geek-gods Elektron. If you manage to find one that’s for sale, prepare to pay a lot of money for it. Check it out here.

Links:
Robyn | Official | MySpace

Remix Magic #6 Rosanna – Waterfall

Fred — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:04:45 +0000

Brand new remix coming up in a sec! The guilty part this time; Fear of Tigers. This guy is simply amazing and I need to do a post (and possibly an interview) about him in the future. So, who is Rosanna? I had to do some research. After reading the incredibly short Wikipedia entry on Rosanna I instantly knew who she was. She was part of the Swedish girl band Play who toured the States with some pretty big acts between 2001-2005. The band split up and last year a Swedish TV channel made a reunion-reality-show trying to get the group together again. Rosanna passed on the “opportunity” focusing on her solo career.

To get things rolling she’ll be releasing her first single “Waterfall” on Popjustice’s brand new label Popjustice Hi-Fi on August 22 of this year. Some additional info from the Popjustice Hi-Fi site: “Rosanna is twenty two years old and is brilliant at making charismatic, hot-blooded pop music. She says that the genre in which she operates is best described as “big emotional, chaotic, beautiful pop”. Time for some music then;

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is the single version on the track. It stands incredibly firm on it’s own, no mystery since it’s produced by Jim Eliot. His previous work include (among others) Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Kylie, Royksopp and Ladyhawke. Just for fun I’ll post another version with just a tiny tape recorder and a guy on the piano. From the YouTube description: “Teknologgatan is a collective of musicians and bands from Stockholm with Rosanna Munter, Rocket Boy, Icona Pop amongst others.” I guess the piano guy is Rocket Boy, haha! Here goes:

Click here to view the embedded video.

And now, finally — the AMAZING remix by Fear of Tigers. As I mentioned earlier I’m going to do a full post on him in the not to distant future so I’ll just drop the remix down below and be done with this post — that’s how bad I want you guys to hear it. Listen, NOW! Rosanna – Waterfall (Fear Of Tigers Remix).

Click here to view the embedded video.

The “video” is not all that, but it’s the one with the highest audio quality.

Remix Magic #5 Spark – Shut Out The Moon

Fred — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 20:22:42 +0000

I’ve had the demo of this track for a while now. Thought it was a good track but nothing special. Then the other day a friend sent me a link to the Monsieur Adi Remix of “Shut Out The Moon” and I was hooked. Yet again a remix made me check out an artist that was pretty much unknown to me. Spark is (or was) on tour with Marina And The Diamonds and her track Shut Out The Moon will be released in a few days (12:th of July 2010) as a digital download. The remix is out on the 13:th and is up for preorder over at Pure Groove. That’s it, that’s all I know about her.

OK, on to the actual music. I’m going out on a limb here posting THREE version of the track. First up is the Demo of the song:

Then onto an “acoustic” version performed with a keyboard outside on a bench — “just a little taster” as she describes it on her Tumblr blog.

Click here to view the embedded video.

And finally the remix. I think I’m going to quote Spark again regarding the track; “It’s not a typical remix, but that’s why it’s special. This man made something beautiful.” Yup, I concur. The first word that came to mind when I heard the track was “skev”, a Swedish word meaning something along the lines of “skewed”. Can’t explain it — don’t care. Haha! Monsieur Adi made remixes for (among others) Ellie Goulding, Frankmusik and Marina And The Diamonds. Here we go, Spark – Shut Out The Moon (Monsieur Adi Remix):

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is one of those tracks that makes me disable the Last.fm scobbler after a while, I don’t wanna come across as a complete psycho listening to one track over and over and over. But, it’s true. As with the other artists I’ve bogged about here I’m really, really looking forward to what Spark has in store for us.

Remix Magic #4 Lykke Li – Breaking It Up

Fred — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 00:04:39 +0000

I’m really, REALLY behind on this one. Not the blog, I don’t care about the update frequency — I’m talking about Lykke Li. Her debut came two years ago and I started listening to her about a week ago. The Swedish scene was somewhat swamped with female newcomers back then and I think I just couldn’t cope with ‘em all at once. The track that got me hooked on Lykke was yet again a remix, without it her album “Youth Novels” would be pretty much unbeknown (yes, it’s a real word) to me. Yay remixes!

So, here we are — a new musical realtionship is in its budding prime. First up: the original track “Breaking It Up”. According to the YouTubes this is an “alternative video” filmed by Christian Haag in one take, live.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I like the video and I like the track. The remix video on the other hand is pure garbage — but the track is yet another example of some outstanding remix magic courtesy of two guys from London, namely “Punks Jump Up”. Name of the track: “Lykke Li – Breaking It Up (punks Jump Up Remix)”. Enjoy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’m looking forward to Lykkes next release, whenever that is due.

Amazing collection of links:
Lykke Li | Official | MySpace | Last.fm
Punks Jump Up | MySpace

Remix Magic #3 Robyn – Dancing On My Own

Fred — Fri, 21 May 2010 17:50:51 +0000

Time to start blogging again. No updates for a while — didn’t feel like it. But, I just got news that Robyn posted her new video for “Dancing On My Own” on Vimeo.com three hours ago. I felt I have to post it here and help spread it. It’s also a great opportunity to post one of the amazing remixes that’s been posted on the web, more on that after the video itself.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I like the video and I really like the track, too bad it’s the only track I like on her new album (Body Talk Pt. 1). Just as with Marina and the Diamonds “Hollywood” video Robyns “Dancing On My Own” is slightly different from the single version. There’s a new blippy synth line in the video version and I don’t like it when artist change stuff around — why change something that’s already working? The remixer is another story, he or she is supposed to change stuff around and make the track into something of their own. New York producer Chew Fu made the best remix so far, the track is not that different from the original single version, maybe that’s why I like it. Am I contradicting myself? I hope not. Ah, hell — just listen to the remix and you might understand where I’m coming from; Robyn – Dancing On My Own (Chew Fu Extended Mix).

Click here to view the embedded video.

There are several remixes of the track out there, Google “Robyn – Dancing On My Own (Buzz Junkies Club)”, “Robyn – Dancing On My Own (Rex The Dog Club)” to find a download link.

From Robyns Vimeo.com page: The single is available to download from June 14th (June 1st in the US), with Body Talk Pt. 1, which also includes Fembot and None Of Dem (with Röyksopp), in stores on June 14th on CD and Download, Pre-orders are already available here.

That’s it for now, have a nice weekend!

Links:
Robyn | Official | MySpace
Chew Fu | MySpace | Interview MTV UK

Remix Magic #2 Dragonette – Pick Up the Phone

Fred — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 21:09:56 +0000

OK, time for post #2 in this series. Yet another act from Canada — imagine that. This time it’s Dragonette hailing from Toronto and the track is “Pick Up the Phone”.

First up, the original version. Don’t get me wrong — the track is really good on its own and the idea behind the “Remix Magic” posts are not to somehow show how much better a remixed track is compared to the original. It’s just to show what other people can do with a track and that the result can in fact be nothing short of amazing. Original:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Moving on to the remix done by Michael Di Francesco of Van She. A download of the remix is available in the link section (a few rows down, just underneath this text, get it?). Great stuff!

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Van She version is spot on. Staying true to the original but at the same time improving it — at least in my highly trained ears. Anyway, the original version is still a good track.

Links:
Track: Pick Up The Phone (Michael Di Francesco of Van She Remix)
Dragonette – Official | Last.fm | MySpace
Van She – Official

Remix Magic #1 Coeur de Pirate – Commes Des Enfants

Fred — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 18:01:28 +0000

I started collecting links and stuff for this post yesterday night, then I felt really tired and went to bed — had to do it all over again. I’m trying out a new kind of post here, I mentioned in the 2009 round up post that last year was the year of the remix (for me that is). I have a bunch of songs in mind that will suit this series quite well.

I’m going to start off with Coeur de Pirate (Béatrice Martin) and her amazing track “Commes Des Enfants”. Universal Music France seems to be a bit behind the times not letting me embed her video from YouTube. I wonder what the PR department are up to “What – let people show videos of our artists on their blogs?! Sacré bleu, you are the crazy! So, this is Commes Des Enfants, the original version from Vimeo.com:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s the Remix done by Le Matos, another outfit from Quebec, Canada:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’ve only heard about three tracks from Coeur de Pirate but without the remix I guess I wouldn’t even know she existed. Look out for more posts like this one in the near future!

Oh, yeah — I almost forgot! Go to RCRD LBL to download a free legal copy of the track “Commes Des Enfants” (original version).

Links:
Coeur de Pirate – MySpace | Last.fm | Wikipedia
Le Matos – MySpace

Marina And The Diamonds In Stockholm

Fred — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:01:58 +0000

Yup. I got an invite to a Marina and the Diamonds showcase from Warner Music Scandinavia. The exclusive gig was yesterday night at a location called Södra Bar in the South side of Stockholm. The place was totally packed and Marina was surprised that many people showed up. She’s traveling around Europe and the States to promote The Family Jewels album together with two guys, one on keyboard and one on (electric) bass. They performed, I don’t remember — five or six tracks including Numb, Hollywood and Obsessions. I knew it was going to be good, and it was. When she left the stage I said “thank you” and she said “thank you” back. Luckily no one else heard since I told her when she passed by, haha.

OK, it’s time to include the mighty WordPress Audio Player in this blog, first track out is Marinas “Hollywood” recorded live on my iPhone last night.

Seems to work just fine, doesn’t it? I love WordPress.

Next up is a video I shot with my trusty Panasonic HD cam. The track is “Numb”.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Jerry, a guy I almost know (Hi Jerry!) shot the track “Obsessions” with his camera.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I took some photos but the lack of a flash on the iPhone made them really weak (I’m sad to say). But, I’m providing audio AND video – not bad, huh?

What about the album then, what do I think about it? Well, I’m not that into it actually. I think the album version of “Hollywood” is, how should I put it — wrong? The video version is better, I think it’s the extra verse in the beginning that ruins it. The tracks on the album are all good, no doubt about that but I don’t understand why she didn’t include the track “Starlight” from her rather large catalog of great songs. I love that track. I still listen to her older, previous stuff, maybe I’m used to her songs being a bit less polished than those on the album, I think she’s better when it’s more raw and not overly produced.

A woman from the record company said Marina will be coming back to Sweden in August playing the Way Out West festival in Gothenburg. Looking forward to it, I’ve never been to WoW — I might go there.

Marina And The Diamonds With Gonzales

Fred — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:32:02 +0000

Marina is at it again with yet another good version of the track ‘Hollywood’. This is brand new — only 482 views on YouTube.

Click here to view the embedded video.

From YouTube-info:

Gonzales dreamt up and conducted a full orchestral reworking of Hollywood, inspired by the songs lyrics. Marina & Gonzales came together to record one performance for an Eastern European TV show…this footage has only now been uncovered…

I guess “only now been uncovered” means “shot, edited and uploaded the other day”. I found this video yesterday on some UK newspaper site and I was happy to see she made it available on her YouTube account. Hollywood is released on 1st February 2010 via 679/Atlantic, and taken from Marina’s debut album ‘The Family Jewels’, out on 22nd February 2010. I think I’ve said it before — I can’t wait!

Links:
Gonzales – Wikipedia
Marina and the Diamonds – Blog
Marina and the Diamonds – MySpace

Lying Lyrics and the Lying Liars Who Sing Them

Fred — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 20:29:41 +0000

The title of this post it kind of long, I know. It’s also pretty similar to Al Franken’s book ‘Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them’. Anyway, this post is about lyrics that may sound poetic and creative and stuff but are in fact — lies.

Mick Jagger was indeed correct when he sang ‘I’ll never be your beast of burden’. You see, only animals can be beasts of burden. To be able to give the Rolling Stones an ‘A’ the song would have to be called ‘I’ll never be your slave’. You get the idea.

Hound Dog, Elvis Presley – That person is neither a hound nor a dog.

Stairway To Heaven, Led Zeppelin – There is no stairway to heaven.

When Doves Cry, Prince – No known animals have the abillity to cry.

Every Breath You Take, The Police – Sting, you Sir, are a liar.

While My Guitar Gently Weeps, The Beatles – Only people can cry.

Purple Rain, Prince – Water have no color.

The Sounds of Silence, Simon and Garfunkel – Silence is just that – silent.

I Only Have Eyes for You, The Flamingos – No you don’t. You have eyes for everything around you.

I Can’t Stop Loving You, Ray Charles – Yes you can – and you did since you died several years ago.

Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone, The Temptations. Not just unlikely. Impossible.

Free Fallin’, Tom Petty – Tom, you might be free but you’re not falling.

Knocking on Heaven’s Door, Bob Dylan – First off, heaven has gates, not a door. Oh, and there is no gate OR door to bang on in heaven.

Sweet Child O’ Mine, Guns N’ Roses – No one in Guns had children when this song was written.

I Fall to Pieces, Patsy Cline – Patsy, you never did whilst alive. Liar.

(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher, Jackie Wilson – If you’re in love with a crane you have a big problem.

Chain of Fools, Aretha Franklin – Chains are not made out of fools.

Highway to Hell, AC/DC – You can’t drive a car to hell.

Heart of Glass, Blondie – Dear Debbie, in love with a gas? It was not a gas and it didn’t have a glass heart.

Paranoid Android, Radiohead – Androids are not that evolved yet.

You Are the Sunshine of My Life, Stevie Wonder – I know you’re blind Stevie. The sun is whats emitting sunshine.

Heart of Gold, Neil Young – Not glass, not stone, not frozen water, not gold – just meat.

Piece of My Heart, Big Brother and the Holding Company – Not possible, even if you are a donor. The whole heart or nothing at all.

Tears in Heaven, Eric Clapton – No tears in heaven.

Bad Moon Rising, Creedence Clearwater Revival – The moon is neither good nor bad.

Killing Me Softly With His Song, Roberta Flack – If his knife or gun was named ‘Song’. Otherwise, a lie.

All You Need Is Love, The Beatles – And oxygen, nutrition and sleep. Ad Absurdum.

The Wind Cries Mary, Jimi Hendrix – The wind does not have vocal chords.

Tiny Dancer, Elton John – A small dancer perhaps. Tiny? Not a chance. A blatant lie.

Beast of Burden, The Rolling Stones – A person can not be a beast of burden – only animals can.

I Wanna Be Your Dog, The Stooges – Probably the drugs talking. Mr. Pop is a liar.

I Shot the Sheriff, Bob Marley and the Whailers – No you didn’t.

Standing in the Shadows of Love, The Four Tops – Love doesn… Well, you know.

Welcome to the Jungle, Guns n’ Roses – The band was not in any of the known jungles of the world when this song was written.

I Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor. No you won’t. Stay alive for a really long time? Hopefully.

Running on Empty, Jackson Browne – Impossible.

It Takes A Fool To Remain Sane, The Ark. Anyone would agree – it takes a sane person to remain sane.

The Sun Always Shines On TV, A-Ha. I know for a fact that this is a blatant lie.

Ocean of Noise, Arcade Fire. Oceans are filled with water, not noise.

Jesus is my Girlfriend, Babybird. No he’s not.

Heaven is A Place on Earth, Belinda Carlisle. If heaven was real it would be up in the sky.

There you go. If you’d like to contribute to the list of lying song titles, be my guest — post them in the comments!