We’ve singled out a few independent artists and bands from around the world that we think are worth keeping an eye on. Some of them look a little gay, too. Just saying.
After spending a lot of time writing about popular artists & albums lately, I thought it’d be nice to shift our focus on to some of independent acts from around the world that we’re digging right now.
Although the following musos have bundles of talent & promise, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of them – at least not unless you happen to live in the same city or date the guitarist or have had a sleep over at Whitney’s. Some are releasing records and touring their country, while others haven’t been beyond their local club. But regardless of experience, we think each one is worth keeping an eye on. You might agree.
If you like what you hear, get involved. Sign up to their mailing list and go to see their show. Most importantly, tell your friends. That way, should they become famous, you’re entitled to become That Asshole who endlessly gloats about how you discovered them while they were still ‘underground’. Whatever that means.
If you know of an artist or band who you think deserves some attention, tell us by emailing music [at] autostraddle [dot] com.
Macnaught is a one (wo)man circus that started as an undeniably transparent way to get laid, but has somehow become one Sydney’s best kept secrets. [Read More...]
Here’s an exclusive preview of “Hurts So Good / I Like It Rough”, a Lady Gaga & John Cougar Mellancamp mashup from Haviland Stillwell’s upcoming album, How I Role.
Do you remember how we told you that the amazingly popular actress/singer/sensation Haviland Stillwell is releasing a full-length album, HOW I ROLE, on Sept. 12?
That drop date is quickly approaching and to get y’all excited, Haviland has given us a sneak peak. Have a listen to one of the tracks, a Lady Gaga & John Cougar Mellencamp mash up, “Hurts So Good/I Like It Rough,” featuring Andrea McArdle (aka Broadway’s original Annie):
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HOW I ROLE is described by Haviland’s Press Release as an “intergalactic Glam Pop frolic through seemingly different musical genres, using universal themes and the velvety chameleon voice of The Haviland (not to be confused with De Havilland) to remind us all of the reality of connectivity.”
Last Thursday, Cee-Lo Green (one half of Gnarls Barkley) debuted “F**k You” from his upcoming album, ‘The Lady Killer.’ The song has now racked up almost 2.5 million views, with even 50 Cent contributing a freestyle remix. Is this latecomer the song of the summer or is it over-hyped?
Last Thursday, Cee-Lo Green (one half of Gnarls Barkley) debuted “F**k You” from his upcoming album, The Lady Killer (out this October). The vid has since racked up over 2.5 million views, and even 50 Cent has taken notice. Just four days after “F**k You” went viral, the rapper released a 30-second freestyle rap for the song, and Cee-Lo has chimed in with approval. So what is it about “F**k You” that has attracted so much attention? (Watch the vid below, but you may have to sign in to YouTube to view.)
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Despite no TV or radio promotion, “F**k You” has become a hit song. There are a lot of elements that make it irresistible, from the simple piano-driven bass line to Cee-lo’s soulful “ooh’s.” The use of profanity might initially be dismissed as a mere attention grabber, but I argue that it’s much more than that. Personally, I can’t recall a song that uses “fuck you” in such a joyful way. Regardless of the fact that it’s a jab at a past lover, I am tempted to sing it out with Cee-Lo-inspired enthusiasm: “Fuck you! Fuck you!” Sorrowful or angry lyrics paired with upbeat instrumentation is nothing new in music (ahem, see the blues), but there’s something special going on in this case and I think it’s more than the novelty of profanity.
Max Read at Gawker says “F**k You” should NOT be the song of the summer. Fair enough, Mr. Read. After all, it’s the end of August and it’s hardly fair to hand that title over to such a latecomer. His argument, however, goes further and attacks the very strengths of “F**k You.”
“It’s easy; it’s peppy; it’s toe-tapping; it features a singalong, slightly naughty chorus. This song is, essentially, written to soundtrack a Shrek trailer. And the question is: Do you want to be responsible for that, internet? Do you really want to make viral a song so corny, so obvious, so desperate to be liked..?”
My answer is “yes.” I take full responsibility and surrender to “F**k You,” because there is no reason to resist something peppy and toe-tapping just for the sake of resisting. Who’s with me? Let know your thoughts in the comments section.
Lucas from the Cliks and Kiyomi from Hunter Valentine take some time out from their US ‘Guts ‘N Glory’ tour to interview each other for Autostraddle. The result is so adorable it hurts.
As we’ve mentioned last week, two of Autostraddle’s favorite bands – The Cliks and Hunter Valentine – are currently traveling around the USA on their ‘Guts ‘N Glory‘ tour, and we’re really excited about it!
Typically when we get this amped up about a tour, our first instinct is to interview the bands. However in this instance we’ve already been there and done that. So we thought the only thing left to do was ask the bands to interview each other.
Lucas (The Cliks) and Kiyomi (Hunter Valentine) took some time out of their hectic tour schedule to ask each other hard hitting questions about topics ranging from life on the road, to sushi parties, sanity and Linda Perry’s bad-assery.
This interview also exists in video form, which we’ll hopefully get our hands on once these bands return from tour. ‘Til then, have a listen to the mp3 recording below. It’s probably going to be the best thing you hear this week.
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Highlights:
Here are just a few of excerpts – listen to the recording to hear the full context and find out who said what.
On life on the road: “Your bag is like your home, right? It’s your anchor. You’ve got all your compartments, like the net part of your bag is like your living room.”
On favorite cities: This time around, oddly, I would have to say San Francisco. When I say oddly, it’s because I have such a weird history with San Francisco, of coming in and out of there with death on my back … I was like, “What is up with this city? I am always depressed here!” [Read More...]
On a summer evening in June, some of Team Autostraddle went to see American Idiot: the Musical on Broadway. It was wonderful. And because I never pass up an opportunity to write about Green Day, now I’m gonna to tell you all about it.
If ten years ago someone were to have told me that the music of Green Day, my favorite band, would one day be turned into a Tony award-winning Broadway musical, my 13 year-old skateboard-ridin’, wallet chain-sportin’ punk self would’ve been offended. My boyfriend Billie Joe would never ‘sell out’ like that.
In the 90s Green Day weren’t Broadway material, you know? They weren’t even off-Broadway material. They’d built their reputation on two-minute three-chord power punk anthems about melancholy, marijuana and masturbation that were best appreciated from a sweaty, trashy mosh pit, or better – the depths of my teen emo cave. Not from under the bright fancy lights of Broadway.
Thankfully as the band evolved & matured, so did I. And so when they announced that their Grammy award-winning rock opera, American Idiot, was being adapted into a Broadway musical, I knew that at first excuse I’d make the trans-Atlantic voyage to see it. I had to. And so that’s how and why some of Team Autostraddle – Riese, Alex, Laneia, Sarah & myself – came to be sitting on the Mezzanine of the St. James Theater in New York, New York, watching American Idiot: the Musical.
It was so spectacular that I have to tell you all about it. But first here’s a little trailer to get you in the mood:
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The Story
As with the aforementioned members of Autostraddle, I suspect that most of you have never listened to the American Idiot album in its entirety. And that’s okay, I’ve never listened to Fame Monster in it’s entirety either. So you may not be aware that American Idiot is actually a concept album, an anti-establishment ‘rock opera’ that tells the story of disaffected youth who flee suburbia in a search for self and freedom and meaning.
American Idiot’s protagonist is Johnny, aka Jesus of Suburbia, a young man who’s been raised on a steady diet of soda pop and Ritalin in a place called Jingletown, which he describes as a land of make-believe that don’t believe in me. Concluding that the American Dream no longer exists, Johnny and his two BFFs, Will & Tunny, decide to leave town in search of something that will fulfill them, something they can believe in. They buy one way tickets to the city, but not all of them escape – Will’s girlfriend gets pregnant and Tunny falls for the promises of the US Army and enlists.
Finding himself alone and in the city, Johnny becomes torn between the story’s two core themes – rage and love. The love is represented by Whatsername: a free-spirited bohemian girl, a runaway of the establishment, a hero for the lost cause, the last of the American girls. And the rage is a destructive punk antagonist named St Jimmy:the patron saint of denial, the product of war and the fear that we’ve been victimized. St Jimmy is Johnny’s alter ego – under his influence, Johnny becomes erratic and addicted to drugs, and so Whatsername leaves him.
The Adaptation
As a Broadway musical, American Idiot really is second to none. Its production, staging and talent is hard to fault, which is not a surprise given that Green Day decided to entrust [some of] Spring Awakening‘s creative team – including director Michael Mayer - with the job of bringing their vision to life. The cast is exceptional, with Spring Awakening‘s John Gallagher Jr. [Johnny] and Tony Vincent [St. Jimmy] in particular delivering stand out performances.
As you’d expect from a rock opera, the music was the real hero of this show. The score features every song from the American Idiot album in sequence, plus select B sides and hits from 2009’s 21st Century Breakdown. And of course Green Day don’t actually perform in this musical, and they don’t need to. The 8-piece band – lead by young Australian music director Carmen Dean – does a spectacular job of recreating Green Day’s power, presence and punk spirit on stage.
American Idiot relies almost entirely on Billie Joe Armstrong‘s lyrics to tell its story. There are quite literally only a handful of spoken lines, the bare minimum to provide context and thread the score’s 22 songs together. The lyrics compete with crunching guitar riffs and booming double-kicks, so my advice? If you decide to see this show, spend a bit of time with the album first. You’ll need to piece less together.
The Verdict
When the house lights went down and the curtains opened to reveal rebellious Hot Topic youth stomping and snarling and shouting I don’t wanna be an American Idiot! against a backdrop of TV screens showing George W. bites, war zones and inane sitcoms, I sunk down into my seat a little. The cast tore up the stage, and scaffolding, with choreography and enthusiasm that was slightly reminiscent of the last stage adaptation I had the pleasure of attending, High School Musical.
But the moment Jesus of Suburbia stepped up and started telling his story, everything quickly fell into place. For the majority of the evening, it remained there. Overall the show is riotous and thrilling, with all the energy and attitude and emotion you could possibly ask for. I loved it as much as I expected to, possibly even a little more. But that’s not to say it’s without quirks.
The American Idiot plot isn’t exactly air-tight. It is, after all, based on a collection of 15 songs rather than a script or novel, so at times you’ll need to draw your own conclusions and resist getting hung up on things that don’t add up. Why did an anti-establishment rebel like Tunny suddenly become so attracted to military propaganda? Idk! So let’s just appreciate all those jazz hands in the chorus line and move on.
Also? If you like your musicals to have a happy and uplifting ending, go and see Mamma Mia! instead because American Idiot may leave you feeling as jaded and as hopeless as its characters, none of whom necessarily find the better life that they set out looking for.
At times it feels like the conclusion of this musical is that it’s almost impossible to find yourself, and greater meaning, in 21st Century America. That maybe there’s really nothing out there for our generation. I think it goes a little deeper, to possibly say that a search for something to believe in is fine and all – but essentially fruitless unless you believe in yourself first.
Watch the cast of American Idiot perform their opening act at this year’s Tony Awards:
+ Tip: Tickets for American Idiot are available from $55 – $277 via the website. If you’re not adverse to risk, I recommend going to the TKTS ticket booth to see if you can pick up half-price seats on performance day.
about 2 days agofrom webCee-Lo debuts the official vid for "F**k You" (http://bit.ly/bo4TMb). Read our thoughts about the song here: http://bit.ly/9Hcknh
If ten years ago someone were to have told me that the music of Green Day, my favorite band, would one day be turned into a Tony award-winning Broadway musical, my 13 year-old skateboard-ridin’, wallet chain-sportin’ punk self would’ve been offended. My boyfriend Billie Joe would never ‘sell out’ like that.
As with the aforementioned members of Autostraddle, I suspect that most of you have never listened to the American Idiot album in its entirety. And that’s okay, I’ve never listened to Fame Monster in it’s entirety either. So you may not be aware that American Idiot is actually a concept album, an anti-establishment ‘rock opera’ that tells the story of disaffected youth who flee suburbia in a search for self and freedom and meaning.
As a Broadway musical, American Idiot really is second to none. Its production, staging and talent is hard to fault, which is not a surprise given that Green Day decided to entrust [some of] Spring Awakening‘s creative team – including director Michael Mayer - with the job of bringing their vision to life. The cast is exceptional, with Spring Awakening‘s John Gallagher Jr. [Johnny] and Tony Vincent [St. Jimmy] in particular delivering stand out performances.
When the house lights went down and the curtains opened to reveal rebellious Hot Topic youth stomping and snarling and shouting I don’t wanna be an American Idiot! against a backdrop of TV screens showing George W. bites, war zones and inane sitcoms, I sunk down into my seat a little. The cast tore up the stage, and scaffolding, with choreography and enthusiasm that was slightly reminiscent of the last stage adaptation I had the pleasure of attending, High School Musical.
