Spinner

Girls, With New Guitarist, Slow Things Down at New York Show

Kenneth Partridge — 2009-11-07T13:00:00+00:00

At New York City's Bowery Ballroom Friday night, Girls frontman and mastermind Christopher Owens, before even singing a single note, shook a tambourine for openers Real Estate and, while getting ready to start his own band's set, defused a minor fracas near the front of the stage, urging a couple of fans to "kiss and make up."

"Everybody, let's just all have a great time," Owens said.

The role of friendly peacemaker suited him, as Girls, a quartet out of San Francisco, makes music rooted in reconciliation that wrings happiness from adversity. Owens famously came of age in the Children of God religious cult, and for as sun-kissed as his '60s-style pop songs are, many betray a sadness that can't simply be willed away.

But that didn't stop him from trying.

Ladytron Pen Songs for Christina Aguilera's Next Album

Kenneth Partridge — 2009-11-07T12:00:00+00:00

Filed under: News, New Music, Exclusive

When Christina Aguilera enlisted Ladytron to write songs for her upcoming fourth album, 'Light & Darkness,' she could have wielded her diva powers and told the British electro-pop group exactly what she was looking for. Thankfully, that's not what happened. "She just told us she wanted to enter our world," Ladytron multi-instrumentalist Reuben Wu tells Spinner. "She didn't want to give us any idea what she wanted the music to be. She wanted us to do our own thing."

Wu says Aguilera approached the group two years ago and that the surprisingly modest pop star wasn't shy about declaring herself a fan. "She said she was inspired by our music and we were one of her favorite bands," he says. Although Wu and his cohorts -- fellow keyboardist Daniel Hunt and vocalists Helen Marnie and Mira Aroyo -- were initially required to remain hush-hush about the project, they couldn't keep their secret from everyone.

Joe Perry Says Steven Tyler Has Quit Aerosmith

Liz Colville — 2009-11-07T09:00:00+00:00

Filed under: News, Holy Hell

In an interview with the Las Vegas Sun, guitarist Joe Perry says that Steven Tyler has quit Aerosmith, supporting recent rumors that the band has been considering replacing its lead singer.

"Steven quit as far as I can tell," Perry told the Sun, speaking from his home in Boston following the band's recent return from a performance in Abu Dhabi. "I don't know anymore than you do about it. I got off the plane two nights ago. I saw online that Steven said that he was going to leave the band. I don't know for how long, indefinitely or whatever. Other than that, I don't know."

He added that Tyler does not return his phone calls.

Around the UK in 80 Venues: The Pink Toothbrush

Stephen Dowling — 2009-11-07T05:22:00+00:00

Filed under: UK, Down the Front!

Location: The Pink Toothbrush, 19-23 High Street, Rayleigh, Essex, SS6 7EW

Website: http://www.pinktoothbrush.co.uk/

Capacity: 200-400

Come to see: These days it seems that the Pink Toothbrush has opted for a DJ-only policy with no up and coming gigs listed at the club. There are however a host of bands and celebs spinning a mixture of alternative and indie tunes to an extremely up-for-it crowd on Fridays and Saturdays .

The atmosphere: You'd hope "minty fresh" with its nod to dental hygiene but according to the locals it's anything but. One patron's web testimonial describes the 'Brush in the following affectionate way - "It's dark, it smells and your feet stick to the carpet," and "when the pubs shut 80% of the punters take the short walk up the High Street (via Kebab Hut) to get three extra hours drinking in." Another says it's the, "best club in the area as it plays proper music."

Pavement to Play Sasquatch! Festival

Benjy Eisen — 2009-11-07T03:01:00+00:00

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News

Sasquatch! is, once again, returning to the Pacific Northwest for Memorial Day weekend. No surprise there. There aren't too many other details available yet but the little bit of news that we do have is, actually, huge: Pavement is on the lineup. Yes, that's right. After years of a rumored reunion at Coachella and after a few lucky New York fans thought that they'd get to witness the band's first licks back in Central Park next September, Sasquatch! has pulled off a bit of a coup.

Our money is that the rest of the lineup is going to be pretty killer as usual. And even if it wasn't, Sasquatch! would probably still be worth going to for the scenery alone -- it's held in the belly of Washington's Columbia River Gorge, at one of the most jaw-dropping places in the world where there's a stage, rigging and overpriced concessions: the Gorge.

Founding Smugglers Drummer Paul Preminger Dies

John D. Luerssen — 2009-11-06T18:39:00+00:00

Filed under: News, R.I.P.

Paul Preminger, former drummer for the notorious Vancouver-based garage punk band the Smugglers, died of an apparent heart attack on October 27. Preminger -- who co-founded the band in the late 1980's, but left to become a chef in 1992 -- played on the band's early singles, debut EP and compilation tracks.

Smugglers vocalist Grant Lawrence, who doubles as a CBC Radio 3 host, described the kitman in a news interview with Vancouver's Georgia Straight. "[Paul was] a guy that hit the drums hard, and who lived hard," Lawrence said. "He was a Joe Pesci, bulldog kind of a guy, but very smart, very funny and very kind. He was one of those guys who'd sit on the couch and answer every single question on Jeopardy!, and you'd be like, 'What the f---? How does this Bukowski-esque character know all this?'"

Brendan Benson Explains His Songwriting Process

Brendan Benson — 2009-11-06T18:38:00+00:00

Filed under: Exclusive, Guest Blogger

Rock troubadour Brendan Benson is letting fans into the inner workings of his creative process with four weekly webisodes on Spinner, in which he talks about his fourth album, 'My Old, Familiar Friend.' In his fourth video, Benson talks about the construction of his songs and how he doesn't always have a clear goal, but usually ends up with something that makes sense:

"Some songs are really concise and conveyed a real, actual feeling or idea, and then there are other songs that just ... sound cool. That's the cool thing about music -- you can leave it kind of vague."

Download 'My Old, Familiar Friend'

Previous Entry

One Hundred Dollars Write Country Music About Cities

Jenny Charlesworth — 2009-11-06T18:30:00+00:00

Filed under: News, Exclusive, You Oughta Know, Canada

It's not everyday you come across a country song that follows the life of a slum owner on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, but then Toronto's One Hundred Dollars isn't your typical alt-country band.

Making the trek out west this week in honour of 'My Father's House' -- the Deranged Records installment in the outfit's ongoing 'Regional Seven-Inch Series,' a collection of vinyl singles thematically linked to the location of the label releasing each record -- One Hundred Dollars will get an up-close look at the city that stands as the backdrop to their latest sonic offering.

"It seemed like Vancouver was an apt place to position the story because of the whole Robert Pickton thing," says frontwoman and lyricist Simone Fornow, referring to the convicted serial killer and pig farmer believed to have murdered as many as 49 local women.

Zoos of Berlin, 'Black in the Sun Room' -- Video of the Day

Adam Horne — 2009-11-06T18:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Video of the Day

Artist: Zoos of Berlin
Video: 'Black in the Sun Room'
Highlight: Trippy animation and superimposed images make for a seriously hypnotic viewing experience.

Matthew Good Blames Liquor Laws for Killing Vancouver Music Scene

Sam Sutherland — 2009-11-06T17:15:00+00:00

Filed under: News, Exclusive, Canada

Matthew Good is adding his name to a growing list of Vancouver musicians fed up with the stringent liquor laws preventing venues from keeping their doors open to new, independent musical talent.

In recent years, the west coast city's move to shut down smaller bars and clubs has choked Vancouver's punk and indie scene, with strict requirements relating to security and hours of operation making it increasingly hard for venues that don't cater to mainstream audiences to stay open.

"I was lucky enough to be pretty much the last performer at the Town Pump before it stopped being a live music venue," Good, who titled his just-released album 'Vancouver,' tells Spinner. "There was the Cruel Elephant, Gastown Music Hall, Smiling Buddha and now [they] have evaporated. There could be a bunch of guys jamming in a basement in Burnaby that could be the next Explosions in the Sky and who's going to give them a chance? Who's going to let them play?"

The Chum Bucket: MGMT Turned Down Jay-Z + More

Adam Horne — 2009-11-06T17:00:00+00:00

Filed under: The Chum Bucket

Wow, MGMT. Hard to imagine saying no to a collaboration offer from Jay-Z. [ONTD]

Director Robert Zemeckis has reached out to Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to participate in his 'Yellow Submarine' remake. Good thinking. [The Daily Swarm]

A top-10 list dedicated to the man who made an art form out of music videos. [Pop Tarts Suck Toasted]

The UK is airing a live séance for Michael Jackson. Classy. [Prefix]

Twisted Tales: Liverpool Wildman Rory Storm Gets Left Behind in Beatles' Wake

James Sullivan — 2009-11-06T17:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Twisted Tales

In working-class Liverpool, Alan Caldwell was the "Golden Boy." Tall, blond and athletic, a soccer player and a superb cross-country runner, he was also a fanatic for the new sound of rock 'n' roll. By the late 1950s, when local boys named Lennon, McCartney and Harrison were knocking around the coffeeshops as the Quarrymen, Caldwell was a local demigod.

He changed his name -- first to Jett Storm, then to Rory Storm -- and formed a group called the Hurricanes. He started a skiffle club in the basement of a retired nurses' home, naming it the Morgue. The Quarrymen were an opening act for the flamboyant Storm, who took the stage in pink suits and gold lamé shirts and made a conspicuous display of grooming his thick coif with an oversize comb.

Pearl Aday Owes Her Marriage to Motley Crue

Benjy Eisen — 2009-11-06T16:00:00+00:00

Filed under: News, New Music, Exclusive

When your father is Meat Loaf and he takes you around the world as a back-up singer for his live band, well, you're automatically the coolest kid on the block. But after years of touring with dad, Pearl Aday still got star-struck when she auditioned for Motley Crue back in 2000. Afterward, Crue bassist Nikki Sixx told her that not only did she get the gig as their main back-up singer but that they were also putting her in charge of finding the second girl. "Man, my head was spinning," Aday tells Spinner. "I mean, this was bringing me back to my adolescence when I'd save up all my allowance to buy Metal Edge, Circus and RIP magazines, cut out all of the pictures of Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee and paste them all over my bedroom wall."

And while she met many a superstar from the time she was a baby just being daddy's girl no doubt, she credits Motley Crue with landing her a husband -- Scott Ian from Anthrax. "I met Scott on that tour in 2000," says Aday. "Thank you Nikki and thank you Motley Crue."

Lissy Trullie Is More Than Just a Former Model

Dan Reilly — 2009-11-06T15:00:00+00:00

Filed under: News, New Music, Exclusive

Most articles about up-and-coming music Lissy Trullie mention that not only is she talented, she's also a former model. While that statement is true, it's also led to plenty of misconceptions about the New York-based singer/guitarist. "People assume that I was just like a scenester and I decided to pick up a guitar," Trullie tells Spinner. "I've been playing music since I was a child and I've been in bands since I was a child."

Her brief career in the business started when she originally moved to New York. "I was in college and and I booked my first job and made some money," she says. "This woman was like 'I can take you to an agency and you can earn some money while you're in college.' For any college kid, I think that sounds awesome. Like 'Wait, I just have to stand here in a picture and I get money?' It was something I did for not that long. I wasn't by any means successful at all, so I'm always like 'wait, five or six years later people are still calling me a model?'"

Rufus Wainwright Happy With His Level of Fame

Steve Baltin — 2009-11-06T14:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News, New Music, Exclusive

Last month, Rufus Wainwright, who recently released the CD/DVD 'Live in Milwaukee,' took part in Gavin Friday's 50th birthday celebration at Carnegie Hall. It was quite the extravagant affair and Wainwright found himself on stage at times with Scarlett Johansson (with whom he dueted), Courtney Love, U2 and more. Wainwright confesses to Spinner that being around that level of fame can mess you up a bit. "One does get a little bit jacked up on the fame quotient," he says. " I found myself saying, 'Oh, I'm going to wipe the stage clean,' or 'Nobody's gonna notice me' or 'Why don't I sell more records?' You get in this weird, ornery mood."

But once the music started, that all faded away. "Then you get there and you start singing with the people and you start hanging with them as just human beings and all that s--- evaporates in a split second and the music really saves the day and pacifies the ego," he says.

Morrissey Named the Greatest Lyricist in British Pop History

John D. Luerssen — 2009-11-06T13:30:00+00:00

Filed under: News

Let the debate begin. Morrissey is the greatest lyricist in the history of British popular music, according to a new book by Scottish academic Dr. Gavin Hopps. In 'Morrissey: The Pageant of His Bleeding Heart,' Hopps compares the singer to literary giants like Philip Larkin and Oscar Wilde.

Moz, who gave us all such lyrical classics as 'Bengali in Platforms,' 'Barbarism Begins at Home,' 'Shoplifters of the World Unite and Take Over' and countless others with and without the Smiths, is heralded for his use of different writing techniques.

F---ed Up to Record All-Star 'Do They Know It's Christmas' Cover

Joshua Ostroff — 2009-11-06T13:00:00+00:00

Filed under: News, Canada

After pocketing the $20,000 Polaris Music Prize for best Canadian album in September, hardcore heroes F---ed Up announced they'd be using the money to record a charity single. Now singer Damian Abraham has announced it will be a cover of Band Aid's 1982 colonialist classic 'Do They Know It's Christmas.'

In an interview with New York magazine, Abraham revealed the all-star guest list, which includes Broken Social Scene, David Cross, Vampire Weekend, TV on the Radio, Bob Mould, No Age, Yo La Tengo and indie-loving rapper GZA. He's still waiting on word from M.I.A., Jarvis Cocker and Feist (who last night replaced an ill Kristin Chenoweth to perform in Toronto for upscale retailer Holt Renfrew's holiday window display unveiling, an event which also raised money for the United Way).

Potent Quotables: Miley's Questionable Claim

Kim Davis — 2009-11-06T13:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Potent Quotables

"I've never heard a Jay-Z song. I don't listen to pop music, and it's not even my style of music." --Miley Cyrus

We're not going to call her a liar, but really Miley? Never heard the 'Izzo' song? And we quote from your new single 'Party in the U.S.A.,' "and the Jay-Z song was on/and the Jay-Z song was on."

Next Quote

Elton John Ready to Resume Tour After Hospitalization

John D. Luerssen — 2009-11-06T12:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News

Elton John has recovered from the flu and E. coli bacterial infection that left him sidelined him last week. The Rocket Man was released from a London hospital early Thursday, according to his spokesman Gary Farrow.

Farrow said that John was home Friday and feeling better. Last month, the 62-year-old pop icon became seriously ill, forcing him to cancel the final dates of his Red Piano tour plus a series of US West Coast shows with Billy Joel.

Spinner

Girls, With New Guitarist, Slow Things Down at New York Show

Ladytron Pen Songs for Christina Aguilera's Next Album

Joe Perry Says Steven Tyler Has Quit Aerosmith

Around the UK in 80 Venues: The Pink Toothbrush

Pavement to Play Sasquatch! Festival

Founding Smugglers Drummer Paul Preminger Dies

Brendan Benson Explains His Songwriting Process

One Hundred Dollars Write Country Music About Cities

Zoos of Berlin, 'Black in the Sun Room' -- Video of the Day

Top 10 Funny Music Videos of the 2000s: The Song Parodies

Matthew Good Blames Liquor Laws for Killing Vancouver Music Scene

The Chum Bucket: MGMT Turned Down Jay-Z + More

Twisted Tales: Liverpool Wildman Rory Storm Gets Left Behind in Beatles' Wake

Pearl Aday Owes Her Marriage to Motley Crue

Lissy Trullie Is More Than Just a Former Model

Rufus Wainwright Happy With His Level of Fame

Morrissey Named the Greatest Lyricist in British Pop History

F---ed Up to Record All-Star 'Do They Know It's Christmas' Cover

Potent Quotables: Miley's Questionable Claim

Elton John Ready to Resume Tour After Hospitalization