The News Review:
- A Ramones Drummer Says Hey! Ho! Let’s Sue!
- Music fashion go hand in hand
- Kanye West: King of rap
- Twelve for the future.
- High scorer; Composer Nico Muhly has already wowed them at Carnegie…
- Akron/Family melds its influences in fiercely original show
A Ramones Drummer Says Hey! Ho! Let’s Sue!
New York Times – Sep 22, 2007
Reinhardt claims that the rights to his songs were taken without his permission by Ramones Production Inc. and by the estate of John Cummings better known as Johnny Ramone the band’s lead guitarist who died in 2004. His suit contends that they worked with music companies and accountants and made the songs available for download by Apple’s iTunes service and a similar service on. Reinhardt is the sole author of what the lawsuit filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan called six compositions: “Smash You” “Somebody Put Something in My Drink” “Humankind” “I’m Not Jesus” “I Know Better Now” and “(You) Can’t Say Anything Nice.
Music fashion go hand in hand
Jakarta Post – Sep 22, 2007
So why bother staying in it for so long and withstanding all the risks with something as seemingly feeble for ammo as an indie clothing brand? Indra Wibisana a name that has been in the battle zone for four years with his King of Queens brand puts forward two reasons: originality and different marketing targets. It is well-known that many independent clothing lines categorize themselves according to certain music genres and perceive music as a critical influence on their products’ styles from emo-rock with My Chemical Romance Fall Out Boy and Avenged Sevenfold to metal with Black Sabbath Van Halen and Judas Priest. From indie pop with Camera Obscura Broken Social Scene The Softies and Bishop Allen to indie rock and indie punk with bands like Green Day Rancid and Bad Religion — all have big impacts on skater communities and the SoCal Punk Movement. Besides music sociopolitical conditions also play a pretty big part. This proves that Indonesia’s younger generation is critical and has their own ideas about what is going on around them. The initiators of independent clothing lines usually come from the indie communities themselves.
Kanye West: King of rap
The Independent – Independent – Sep 22, 2007
Rap aficionados recognise that he served his time as a producer constructing beats for artists such as Jay-Z Mobb Deep and Eminem. And since emerging as a rapper in his own right he has won over many of those who doubted his microphone skills making classics from his 2004 breakthrough hit “Through the Wire” to the street anthem “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” from his third and latest album Graduation. At the same time he has broken down rap conventions sampling French electronica duo Daft Punk to create “Stronger” a British No 1 and deploying the services of London pop singer Lily Allen when producing the latest album of his fellow Chicagoan rapper Common. Somehow West has retained the admiration of the streets in spite of the fact that his music and particularly songs such as the Shirley Bassey-sampling “Diamonds from Sierra Leone” would not be out of place in Mahiki or Boujis the kind of clubs patronised by Princes Harry and William who are now among his global army of fans. So what’s not to like? Well in an era when gratuitous self-promotion has become not so much commonplace as near compulsory it seems unreasonable to criticise someone for being overconfident of their abilities particularly someone working in a musical genre where braggadocio is a pre-requisite. Yet almost everyone who has spent any time in the presence of West including many with long experience of accommodating the demands of musical prima donnas seems to feel the need to comment on his unbounded arrogance. Born in Atlanta the son of Ray West a Black Panther and talented photojournalist and Donda West an academic he moved to Chicago with his mother at the age of three after his parents divorced… West heads a coterie of African-American artists which includes Legend Common and New York rhymers Talib Kweli and Mos Def providing a positive lyrical alternative to gangsta rap. When he returned to London in July this year it was to Wembley Stadium and the Concert for Diana where he stole the show and met the princes afterwards. The princess would no doubt have loved his infectious music his energy and his preppy wardrobe. As do millions of others all around the world. West’s album Graduation shifted an extraordinary 957000 sales in its first week propelling it to the top of the Billboard Top 100 chart and giving him a British No 1. It trounced Curtis the new album from gangsta rapper 50 Cent which was released on the same day. In an attempt to drive sales 50 Cent (or “Fiddy”) who has been the dominant force in rap music for the past four years had said that he would retire if his album sold less than Graduation.
Twelve for the future.
Free with registration – Music Week – AccessMyLibrary.com – Sep 22, 2007
Your track-by-track guide to the acts on this week’s Diesel-U-Music CD 1. Iman: Owning Me A leading finalist in the urban music category soul singer Iman counts winning The National Music Award in December 2006 among her many achievements in what has been a relatively short career thus far. The songwriting accolade helped the young artist secure a string of high- profile live dates throughout 2007; among them a slot at The London Jazz Festival where she appeared on the Ladies Unplugged stage alongside established names such as Shola Ama and Keisha White. One of her tracks Brownswood Bubblers is featured on Gilles Peterson’s latest compilation.
High scorer; Composer Nico Muhly has already wowed them at Carnegie…
Free with registration – Smithsonian – AccessMyLibrary.com – Sep 22, 2007
(Interview) OH TO BE NICO MUHLY–26 years old exuberantly talented a friend and colleague of musicians ranging from Bjork to Philip Glass and still basking in the afterglow of the first-ever full-evening concert of his music presented by no less august an institution than Carnegie Hall. Life is sweet for the friendly boyish-looking composer who talks a mile a minute and would seem to think a good deal faster. Everything reminds him of everything else: his conversation ranges widely over many different fields–movies television books and music from Viennese late-Romanticism to East Village post-punk–and it is difficult not to be caught up in his eagerness and enthusiasm. “I’m sometimes nervous that people like my music because they like me”… Life is sweet for the friendly boyish-looking composer who talks a mile a minute and would seem to think a good deal faster. Everything reminds him of everything else: his conversation ranges widely over many different fields–movies television books and music from Viennese late-Romanticism to East Village post-punk–and it is difficult not to be caught up in his eagerness and enthusiasm. “I’m sometimes nervous that people like my music because they like me”.
Akron/Family melds its influences in fiercely original show
Columbus Dispatch – Sep 22, 2007
Thewholly contemporary indie rock band whose members are neither family nor from Akron displayed amusical attitude as comprehensive of punk the recent freak folk movement ?80s noise bands andthe naively optimistic indie pop of bands such as the Flaming Lips and Polyphonic Spree. That evaluation too would shortchange the seven-piece group which played an oftenbreathtaking challengingly dynamic set that went on long past the 90-plus minutes I caught beforehaving to leave for deadline. Taking them chronologically:The spirit of the Grateful Dead was echoed at more than a few points last night though thegroup might shudder at the possible mistaken association with the jam- band culture new and old… One song ended with a raving reading of the blues standard Turn On Your Lovelight a centerpiece of the Dead?s early sets. Another tune echoed 1960s San Francisco?s Quicksilver Messenger Service while still anotherseemed to explore that band?s influence on the 1980?s group Television. Folk blues (theButterfield Blues Band was conjured at times) the great American songbook even a smidgeon ofmodern classical worked into the mix. The spaced-out delicacy of the quieter sections in last night?s songs sounded as much like therecent freak folk of Davendra Banhart as 1960s inspirations the Incredible String Band.