I feel horrible for Lindsay Lohan. It’s bad enough she’s got two parents who crave media attention, but then she also has the media publishing their leaks. The latest debacle happened when Lindsay called her father to ask for help in the midst of a fight with her mother, who she claims erupted when Lindsay asked her mother to return the $40,000 she gave her to rescue her from foreclosure. Her father; however, claims her mother lied to get the money. Somehow, the recorded conversation ended up on TMZ (likely from her father handing it over), who will probably rot in hell for publishing it. I think it’s time for everyone in the media to leave this poor girl alone. I won’t link to TMZ on this one, and I won’t share the recorded conversation. I realize that reporting on this is infringing on my requested moratorium, but how do you make a request without requesting? It’s quite the conundrum.
“For four months, it was like some kind of 19th Century romantic fever. I lost 12 pounds in weight. I felt cold all the time. I took to lying on the sofa in the day, with a blanket over me and holding a hot-water bottle against my chest. I knew then why they call it heartbroken: you can feel it in your heart. I was distracted, almost to the point of madness.” Rod Stewart, on his heartbreak after his ex-wife, Rachel Hunter, left him.
This pop-tart was pitched to me as “the next Justin Bieber.” If you know The Dishmaster, then you know I don’t see that as a flattering comparison. That being said, I took a look, and I like the kid. I’m certainly not his target demographic, but I couldn’t resist posting it. Watch his video below, and check out his EP, ‘Because of You.’
There’s a special place in hell reserved for Mike Love. And when he gets there, I imagine that he’ll have to hear The Beach Boys albums on endless repeat, with a voice-over from God, saying, “How dare you wrong Brian Wilson!” As for the source of my venomous hatred, please just read the story from the Los Angeles Times, in which Brian Wilson wonderfully articulates his disappointment with Mike Love for dropping him and Al Jardine (another original member) from a continued tour with The Beach Boys in favor of what The Dishmaster likes to call his shitty-little-cover-band. Read the full story by clicking this link: Mike Love is a Prick.
A industry insider who’s familiar with Dancing With the Stars once told me, “Everybody’s f*cking.” When I asked for specifics, he refused to elaborate, but I couldn’t help thinking about it when I saw Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas fighting in the clip below. It sure looks like love to me (or lust — depending on how you see it).
Though I’m always thankful to live in Los Angeles, there are moments when that gratitude is exponentially multiplied. And those moments usually occur when I have the pleasure of seeing a great local music show at a small venue when the quality is worthy of stadium seating. It’s the kind of thing one can only experience in this city, and I had the fortunate pleasure of seeing it first hand at Zoey’s Cafe where Brother SAL, Joe Purdy, and Brian Wright performed together. Joe Purdy has been on my radar for quite some time, and Brother SAL randomly got my attention at a local Los Angeles venue named Piano Bar, where the guy brought down the house. As for the third performer, Brian Wright, this was the first time I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him play, but his two buddies circumvented his humility and called him “one of the greatest songwriters [they] know.” In short, it was magical.
I’m always looking for records that I can listen to in their entirety. While this might seem like an easy task, you’d be surprised. And Hey Marseilles’ first album, To Travels and Trunks, met this very difficult standard. It’s clear the band knows their sound, and it’s consistent from beginning to end. It also puts me in a happy place, a task also difficult to achieve. The Seattle-based band, fronted by Matt Bishop, has seven members, a number that slowly grew from the original two (Bishop and Nick Ward) who met in college. They released their first record in 2008, and then re-released it two years later. And based on the new song off their second record, “Hold Your Head,” I anticipate great things. The record, entitled Lines We Trace, will be released on in February 2013. Read my interview with Matt Bishop below.
Your music has a European influence. Was that always your sound?
It slowly evolved. Our motivation isn’t [about] trying to capture a European sound as much as it is trying to do something eclectic and dynamic. [That sound] slipped into our first record because the music we were inspired by was very much European. But it wasn’t intentional.
Why did you re-release the first record, To Travels and Trunks?
It was about trying to get exposure for that record on a level beyond Seattle. We released it out of the back of our cars and sold it to our friends at shows. We felt that if we had the potential to get as strong of a reception elsewhere as we did in Seattle, it was worth re-releasing it.
Was there any particular moment when you realized that your hard work was paying off?
I wouldn’t say it was one specific moment. We’ve been a slow burn. We’ve been together for about six years and we’re now going on our first truly national tour. We’ve been slowly reaching [our] aspirations.
Are you ever surprised by an audience’s response to one of your songs over another?
I’m surprised when an audience responds at all [laughs]. Sometimes I can see the audience [sing along] to certain words. It’s awesome and humbling.
I read that some of your band members disagreed on your band’s name, and the majority won out. Do you vote on all band disagreements?
There’s always a discussion. But it’s helpful that there’s an odd number of people in our band so it’s kind of like the Supreme Court. We’re pretty egalitarian.
Why the time span between your first record and your upcoming record?
We’ve been writing our upcoming record for a year and a half. There were moments when we thought we were done and then we went back. We want to be intentional about releasing a record we are proud of, and we’ve finally gotten to that point.
I know you have a day job in addition to being in a band. Are you the coolest guy at your job?
I don’t know about that [laughs]. It’s gratifying that people at my job are supportive. But it’s also really frustrating to balance two different mindsets. It’s not easy. But with the release of our next record, I’m stepping away from it. I’m looking forward to solely focusing on music. We’ll see how that goes.
I read a funny story about you that I have to ask you about. Is it true you stole instruments from your school’s marching band?
There was a period where we used a sousaphone that we procured from the University of Washington’s marching band room. We returned it though and nobody knew. Not too many people [use] the sousaphone.
You’ve said that your study of poetry hinders your song-writing ability. I would assume it would be the opposite.
The rhythm and musicality of poetry is entirely dependent on the words and how they are spoken. When you’re writing lyrics for music, you have to depend on the musicality of the melody. I’ll easily write something and then have to step back and decide if it works well in the context of music instead of how it’s written on a page or how it’s spoken.
Does the songwriting process ever create friction with your bandmates if they want to go a different direction?
I’ve been lucky. They kind of let me have full control over the lyrics, so I have a lot of autonomy. But most of the collective work is on the music.
Does your new record have a different sound than your first record?
It’s much more mature. The strength of our musicianship has improved. I think it’s a good reflection of where we are at in our lives.
Watch below to see Hey Marseilles’ video for ‘Hold Your Head.’
“Hold Your Head” by Hey Marseilles from Look Sessions on Vimeo.
Nicole Scherzinger is fundamentally unlikable. I wish I could properly articulate why, but sometimes it’s tough to explain what makes an entertainer unappealing. Perhaps it’s that she seems like the mean-girl I hated in high school. Or it could be that she’s an indulgent performer who strikes me as someone who gets off on her own reflection. So when she revealed to VH1’s ‘Behind The Music’ that she “sang everything” during her time with the Pussycat Dolls, beginning the inauthentic declaration that, “those girls are like [her] sisters,” it became even more clear that she’s has some serious public relations issues that need to be cleaned up. It’s fine to be honest, but her delivery, coupled with her satisfaction with the revelation, makes her appear, once again, like a mean-girl who enjoys trampling on others for her own benefit.
Get More: Nicole Scherzinger, Behind The Music, Nicole Scherzinger Behind The Music Tune-in 10/7 At 9/8c
My love for covers is growing strong. It’s a way to get exposure for your musical talent without having to simultaneously sell the public on your original material. Watch Seth Gillard cover Ellie Goulding’s ‘Lights.’
The Taken franchise works because you know exactly what you’re getting and you’re satisfied when you leave. It’s not a high grade action flick. It’s a cheesy, low-budget, plot-easy movie that successfully keeps the suspense afloat from beginning to end. And because Liam Neeson is an unassuming action star who has made his career with more relevant portrayals, I rooted not only for his character, but for the idea that an actor can reinvent his career at any point in life.
The film is much like its original, centered solely around Neeson’s attempt to retrieve his “taken” family members. Though critics have suggested it’s a duplicate, I’ll repeat the answer that I had for that same criticism of the Hangover sequel: if it worked once, then do it again. The main difference between the two films is its quality. The sequel is more polished, the action sequences are better choreographed, and Neeson’s character has more opportunity to show his post-CIA knowledge base. There’s a reason the movie opened at number one. And it’s refreshing that you don’t need one hundred million dollars to accomplish it.
I feel horrible for Lindsay Lohan. It’s bad enough she’s got two parents who crave media attention, but then she also has the media publishing their leaks. The latest debacle happened when Lindsay called her father to ask for help in the midst of a fight with her mother, who she claims erupted when Lindsay asked her mother to return the $40,000 she gave her to rescue her from foreclosure. Her father; however, claims her mother lied to get the money. Somehow, the recorded conversation ended up on TMZ (likely from her father handing it over), who will probably rot in hell for publishing it. I think it’s time for everyone in the media to leave this poor girl alone. I won’t link to TMZ on this one, and I won’t share the recorded conversation. I realize that reporting on this is infringing on my requested moratorium, but how do you make a request without requesting? It’s quite the conundrum.
