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adam keenSXSW
You can find all the news at the SXSW official site. This year's festivities will be held in Austin, TX on March 12th through 21st.
BONNAROO 2010 LINEUP NEXT WEEK
The Flaming Lips have already confirmed 2 sets, one of which will be their full Dark Side of the Moon set. Paul Simon has been confirmed as well.
Ipad - this shit is pretty cool
Check out this demo video of Apple's new touch screen computer tablet.
Owner of file sharing site "Oink" found 'Not Guilty' of Fraud
This is a huge win in the fight against excessive penalties for file sharers. For those of you following or interested in news on file sharing the article is definitely worth reading. Its from BBC news and you can find it here. If you've been following my blogs for a while you have read a lot about file sharing news and know that I am on the side of the sharers. Just scroll down and to the next blog pages and you'll see more stories. I'll continue to post about big news and cases that may wind up setting precedence for future cases.
I think its worth following as it will directly effect you in the future if you're a career musician and for the fans, it will directly effect the way you buy, obtain and listen to music. I'm all for file sharing and I ask the majority of bands I interview what they think and so far 95% of them say share away. I just don't believe that it is stealing; and either way it should be up to the artists and not the 'major' record labels. its just a mass form of giving your friend a copy of a cd, and they're not a friend, and there's no cd...ha. True music lovers will support their favorite bands...and now adays bands have more room to be creative and put out creative products and ideas fore selling their music and live shows. It takes more than playing some shows and standing around on stage...and the days of the "superstar-rockstar" are all but at an end. The 'major' labels should keep up with technology and find a way to use it for their interests; not just sue tech geeks and/or music lovers for taking advantage of the internet, in all its greatness. Anyway, read our earlier blogs on the subject if you find some time.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
I just thought I'd post this for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. It's sure to be some trippy shit...and who doesn't like Johnny Depp? It comes out this March. Can't wait - IMAX 3D.
Jay Reatard 1980-2010....RIP
from his music blog Super Indie Musician Jay Reatard died today. You can "download" (they actually just let you stream it, but hey) an unreleased cover of Nirvana's "Frances Farmer will have her Revenge on Seattle" at his blog; whoever runs the blog graciously decided to release it today. He has toured with and is friends with the likes of The Pixies and Beck. Beck posted a cover that Jay Reatard did of one of his songs on his own website, so check that out (you have to scroll down a bit) He was from nearby Memphin, TN and I know he's played in Atlanta a lot; I never got to see him live but I remember checking into his stuff when I saw that he was playing with, I think, some local Atl bands a while back, I don't recall which ones. He's been a part of 22 albums and over 100 singles since he was 15 and released his first solo album in 2006. Sucks to be dead. They haven't released the cause of his death yet.
3D TV Channels on the way...
...and you know what that means...3D Concerts will soon be a regular occurrence. Read this article from the NY Times about the TV channels being launched. I know that ESPN recently announced a 3D channel as well. It doesn't specifically talk about 3D concerts but I'm making a prediction of sorts. As you may or may not be aware, artists such as The Jonas Brothers (I neither support or advocate), U2 and The Dave Matthews Band have already had 3D concert "movies" premier nationwide in theaters. I'm not even saying it will be cool but it definitely makes me curious (I haven't seen one). It could be only a matter of years before the technology to record or transfer recordings to 3D format could be available to the public...meaning you could be making your own 3D footage within years. Something to think about.
STREAM THE NEW VAMPIRE WEEKEND ALBUM FREE...
You can stream their new album right here on beatlanta.com...
Click here to read an article and see Vampire Weekend talk about their new album on video at Rolling Stone.com
SCIENCE PONDERS 'ZOMBIE ATTACK'
This story is a few months old (I've been meaning to post for a while) but I thought it was pretty funny (someone had to fund this exercise)...or serious...depending on your view of zombies I guess...will you survive the Zombie Apocalypse? Better get your zombie survival kits ready now...check out the story from BBC news.
UNDER THE RADAR BEST OF...
From Under the Radar
The Final Cover is Revealed, As is the Rest of the Issue's Content
Under the Radar's Best of the Decade Issue will be hitting stores on December 18th. The cover features five notable indie musicians from different bands all photographed together. Every day this week we have been revealing a different cover artist building up to today's reveal of the final cover.
The Best of the Decade Issue features Under the Radar's Top 200 Albums of the Decade and all five of the cover artists have at least one album somewhere on the list.
We've already revealed that the first four cover artists are of Montreal's Kevin Barnes, Devendra Banhart, Bradford Cox (of both Deerhunter and Atlas Sound), and Jenny Lewis (of Rilo Kiley, and also an accomplished solo artist). Today we reveal that the fifth and final cover artist is Ben Gibbard (of both Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service).
The Best of the Decade Issue also includes interviews with other great artists on our Top 200 Albums of the Decade list, including Animal Collective's Avey Tare, The Dears' Murray Lightburn, The Decemberists' Colin Meloy, Elbow's Guy Garvey, Feist, Grizzly Bear's Ed Droste, Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock, Spiritualized's Jason Pierce, Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys, and Tegan & Sara.
As well as the Top 200 of the decade, the issue also includes Under the Radar's Top 50 Albums of 2009 list.
A lot of great music this past decade has been forged in Brooklyn, and has been imported from Sweden, Canada, and Scotland, and so we have articles on each of those scenes that incorporates interviews with many of the artists involved in the scenes. We conducted group photo-shoots in Scotland and Sweden with some of the leading indie musicians of those two countries, and did a series of new photos of Brooklyn-based musicians. For the Sweden article we spoke to such artists as The Cardigans, Love Is All, Peter Bjorn and John, Dungen, and Taken By Trees. For the Scotland article we interviewed members of Camera Obscura, The Delgados, Franz Ferdinand, and Frightened Rabbit. And for the Brooklyn article we talked to such artists as Grizzly Bear, Liars, Yeasayer, The Drums, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Devendra Banhart, The Antlers, and The National.
The issue also includes the article "A Decade of Indie: The Rise of the Outsiders." What does the term "indie rock" even mean anymore? That question and others are examined in the article, with input from the likes of The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne, Pixies' Black Francis, Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla, Grandaddy's Jason Lytle, Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock, The Decemberists' Colin Meloy, Deerhunter's Bradford Cox, Superchunk's Mac McCaughan, Portishead's Geoff Barrow, and Pavement's Scott Kannberg.
Finally, the issue features Under the Radar's 7th annual Artist Survey, in which we emailed some of our favorite artists a few questions relating to the last decade and asked them for a list of their best albums of the decade. The Best of the Decade Artist Survey section includes interviews with Camera Obscura, The Dodos, El Perro Del Mar, Final Fantasy, The Hidden Cameras, The Horrors, The Invisible, Ladytron, Sondre Lerche, Jamie Lidell, Loney Dear, Los Campesinos!, Mew, Midlake, Okkervil River, Stars, Telekinesis, The Twilight Sad, and Vivian Girls.
Pick up an issue starting December 18th.
www.deathcabforcutie.com
www.jennylewis.com
www.deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com
www.myspace.com/devendrabanhart
www.ofmontreal.net
www.undertheradarmag.com
ROLLING STONE'S TOP LISTS FOR 2009...AND THE DECADE...
Top 25 albums of 2009, according to Rolling Stone Magazine.
#5
Ex-nihilists follow up American Idiot with a rock opera about two punk lovers — and revitalize the idea of big-deal rockers actually saying something about the world.
#4
Hip-hop almost took 2009 off, so it was great to hear some of Hova's cleverest braggadocio ever, over stunningly good beats from rich friends like Kanye West.
#3
The wholesome French version of the Strokes hit on an exuberant mix of guitar rock and electronics, killing it on the unstoppable "1901" and "Lisztomania," the catchiest song ever about Franz Liszt.
#2
A wildly baroque set as musically far-reaching as The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle: decked-out folk and rock struggling with the big stuff — hard work, love and death — and having a great time along the way.
#1 U2
Aiming for rock glory, Bono, Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. explore dark places ("Moment of Surrender"), find modern twists on their classic anthems ("Magnificent") and uncover blindinglight soul ("Breathe"). The result was an album with a sense of drama that no one could match all year — more proof that a band that isn't busy being born is busy dying.
Click here to see the rest of the list starting with #25. I agree with maybe Jay-Z and Phoenix but the rest of the list, eh. The top 25 has some much better music in it, including Monsters of Folk, Bat for Lashes, Mos Def, Grizzly Bear and Franz Ferdinand, so check it.
CLICK HERE TO SEE ROLLING STONE'S TOP 100 ALBUMS OF THE ENTIRE DECADE.
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Music, Social Media and the future...
I thought I'd share this video with everyone talking about the statistics of internet users and social media and how it has and continues to change the way the world acts, reacts and works; the way business is done. I thought this directly relates to what is happening in music and for young bands and the localization of music in the future. If you read some of my blogs below you'll see my thoughts about where music is headed and how the internet and social media will shape the future of the music industry and take popular music back to the 'local arena.' Take a look at the video, its quite interesting...
A little about beatlanta....
I just wanted to remind everyone of what we're doing here at beatlanta.com.
We are working hard to help bring good bands some exposure. Up until this month, it has been mostly just two guys doing everything you see. Adam Keen and Chris Fuller. We do not get paid and we do everything for free right now. In the past month we have received some serious inquiries in getting some good folks added to our team and so far it is looking promising. We have Amy Garret helping out...who is a professional photographer. She is awesome and she does band promo shoots as well. So hit her up at....;)
We also have a music lawyer named Ashley that is going to be added to the team very soon and she will be helping out with writing and promoting the site. Also, if you know anyone who has a passion for music and wants to get into shows for free and writes, shoots vidz or takes pics or anything of the sort, then please send them our way and we would love to have them on the team. 1 hour or 40 hours a week, we'll take whatever help folks are willing to offer.
Also, I wanted to remind everyone about our bands section. Our goal there is to have the largest accurate list of ACTIVE Atlanta area bands. By active we mean practicing to play shows and/or currently booking shows or making albums. We do believe it is one of the largest and most accurate kind of these lists out there today. Other sites have them, but they are NOT accurate, you'll find many bands that don't exist anymore. We want bands and fans to be able to come to the site to browse and learn about new Atlanta bands. We know not all of them have content but you'll always find at least a link to where you can find more about the band; we are working hard on getting content to all of the pages. We currently have on the site over 400 bands and we have about 600 more to add to the site - its a fucking daunting task...but we think its worth it. We add anywhere from 3-15 bands a week so check back often for new bands. Also, don't forget about our pics section where we post galleries for almost every band we catch live. We add more every week so check that as well. BANDS: At anytime, you can send us material for your picture gallery or your band page and we will post it.
So we invite you to check back often to not only read our features but to utilize our calendar and to browse and learn about more Atlanta bands. Please use our "posts" section for whatever you see fit as well. Soon, we'll have a "meet the staff" section, a resources section for bands to use, a venues section with info and booking info on over 100 regional venues.
We are also working on getting the site professionally designed. We are not web dudes so everything you see is kind of a learning experience for us and we are constantly working on the layout and functionality of the site.
WITH THAT SAID, IF YOU CAN, PLEASE DONATE JUST $1 BY CLICKING THE DONATE BUTTON AT THE TOP OF OUR MAIN PAGE. WE WILL USE ALL OF THE MONEY TO GET THE SITE DESIGNED SO ITS BETTER FOR ALL OF US. AFTER THAT, WE'LL JUST BE THROWING TONS OF SHOWS AND PARTIES AND PUTTING THE MONEY IN THE HANDS OF BANDS.
THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND THANKS FOR READING THIS.
SUPPORT LOCAL MUSIC AND LOCAL INDEPENDENT MUSIC MEDIA
RIP Jerry Fuchs...
courtesy of http://www.nme.com/news/!!!/48304Many of you have probably heard of the tragic death of indie drummer Jerry Fuchs. Beatlanta just wanted to pay respect to the amazing drummer and the horrible accident that ended his life. RIP dude. You'll be missed.
Here is an article about the death and some friends and bands paying tribute...
BLINK 182 LIVE AT LAKEWOOD...
I caught Blink 182 this past Wednesday at Lakewood. The show was pretty awesome. I wouldn't call myself a big fan of Blink 182 but they had their role in my life at one point and it was a pretty cool thing to get to see them; not to mention that the set was awesome. They played a vast array of their more commercially successful hits. I think I knew just about every song. Here are some photos from the show taken by our friend Mandee Johnson. Click here to be taken to the photo gallery.
Thom Yorke review - live in Los Angeles....
Thom Yorke of Radiohead has written some new solo material and debuted it this past week in LA. Check out this review from www.livedaily.com . And if you like Radiohead then you don't want to miss Odist this Friday at Under the Couch. Beatlanta presents Odist, Laertes and Hurricanes of Love; Music at 8 pm. Here is the article...
What do you do when you're on a break from working with the most innovative band in the world, a band that knocked the music industry on its backside with a pay-what-you want release and then went on to top the charts the traditional way? If you're Thom Yorke and that band is Radiohead, you assemble a little side project and continue to blow minds by playing by your own rules.
That's exactly what Yorke and company did on Monday (10/5) at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, his second night at the ornate and intimate venue after a surprise warm-up show Friday (10/2) at the Echoplex. All three were announced just days before they were held and sold out in short order.
That sort of fan devotion would put a lot of pressure on an unproven act, but Yorke and his combo--so new the marquee at the Orpheum simply read, "Bill Silva Presents ??????"--were unfazed. It probably helped that his new collaborators were no slouches themselves. The band featured Flea on loan from the Red Hot Chili Peppers on bass, noted Radiohead/Paul McCartney producer Nigel Godrich on keyboards, guitars and backing vocals, former Beck/R.E.M. sideman Joey Waronker on drums, and Brazilian percussionist/David Byrne sideman Mauro Refosco.
"In the past couple of weeks I've been getting a band together for fun to play 'The Eraser' stuff live and the new songs etc, to see if it could work!," Yorke wrote on Radiohead's Dead Air Space website. Never mind the fact that "The Eraser," Yorke's first and only solo album, was released in 2006 and is probably only familiar to the most devoted Radiohead fans. That Yorke and his collaborators managed to hold the sold-out crowd rapt and standing for nearly all of the 85-minute set, playing unfamiliar material, speaks volumes of his charisma and the relentless groove-mongering of his bandmates.
Freed from the party-rock schtick of the Peppers, Flea managed to keep his clothes on and show he's a serious, accomplished musician, laying down monster bass lines matched by his violent head bobs and body thrusts. Yorke sang in his trademark clarion-call voice, occasionally opting for a falsetto so moving it sounded like a wounded animal. When not occupied with upright piano or guitar, he offered his usual spastic interpretative dancing. While Yorke and Flea were the visual and emotional thrust, the rhythmic attack came from the back-riser trio of Godrich, Waronker and Refosco, who churned out Afro-electro beats so infectious they could move a dead man.
While Radiohead has a catalog of classics it can churn out live, Yorke and his new bandmates simply relied a mix of hypnotic, trance-like rhythms, delivered with the utmost intensity. With Yorke's stamp, the new combo of course sounded reminiscent of Radiohead at times, but also recalled such post-punk powerhouses as Gang of Four--particularly when Flea traded in his bass for a recorder--as well as the Talking Heads and David Byrne's collaborations with Brian Eno.
Highlights included "Black Swan," "And It Rained All Night" and "Atoms For Peace" from "The Eraser," as well as "The Hollow Earth," the B-side from Yorke's just released new vinyl-only (for now) single, which, with its skittering beats, sounded like a lost "Kid A" track. Yorke also unveiled three brand new tracks that he performed solo, including falsetto-heavy "Lotus Flower," which he said he'd been working on during "his holiday." As the show wound down, Yorke admitted it is was a bit of "a downer" because this impromptu stint had come to and end, but then vowed that he and his new bandmates will do it again. Catch them when you can.
So long NIN, you will be missed...
Although many of you might not be fans of NIN or fans of so called "mainstream" music, one cannot deny Trent Reznor's creative ability and his influence on rock and roll and metal. I'm not going to speak into too much detail about how I feel about NIN, but I will say that their specific brand of dark, morose and almost paranormal take on society and its downfalls has, at times, been quite attractive to me during certain points in my life. Many see Trent Reznor as a sort of philosopher in his ability to take life's most depressing moments and turn them into something that heals, something that informs and something that opens minds. Trent Reznor has also been a leader in the online music revolution as well. He has been an industry leader in do it yourself major artists taking his music to twitter, Iphone apps and releasing his music in various online forms for free or cheap. He is definitely an artist for young bands and artists to model their marketing plans after and to follow in his footsteps to get their music heard. Read one of my earlier blogs below on Trent Reznor and NIN leading that aspect of online music marketing.
NIN is currently on their last tour ever. They are playing their "goodbye tour" and it ends on September 5th. I had the opportunity to see them for the first time (and last I guess), in a perfect state of mind I might add, at Bonnaroo 2009 this past June. The set and atmosphere were amazing. Reznor talked quite a bit about being tired of touring and that the show I was witnessing was the last NIN show on American Soil...he lied...but he wasn't far off. If you have had the pleasure of seeing NIN in the past then I would consider you lucky. I don't doubt they that will take the stage again one day, despite Reznor's consistence in saying he will never under the name NIN. He does strike me as someone who might mean it a little more than say Kiss, or Paul McCartney however. We'll just have to wait and see.
You can read a spin magazine article about the tour and one of NIN last shows here.
If you like NIN then I recommend checking out local Atlanta acts Attention System and The Drownout; the ladder being a little more pop but similar in many ways none the less.
You can see videos of The Drownout and Attention System at beatlanta's youtube channel.
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