So I've been watching FUSE a lot lately and 30 Seconds to Mars' new music video "Closer to the Edge" has been getting a ton of publicity on their "Top 20 Countdown". I've watched it numerous times and so far I haven't gotten tired of it.
I'm not in their fanclub (The Echelon), nor do I own their entire discography. In fact, I mostly just own their singles. This video made me think however. It's basically a mini-documentary of the band touring in various continents for their world tour and hitting cities from Europe to America to Asia, etc. It's about the band but the majority of it showcases the fans; waiting outside in line, crowd-walking, shouting the chorus to the camera, describing what music is to them in their lives...
It just made me wish more bands did things like this after watching it. I feel like 30stm care about their fans a lot and even more so, they care about the music they make more than the capital they're making from it. I listen to AFI a lot and I feel like they'd agree with these sentiments.
The video to me was so close to home, too. It feels like it was made by a fan and encapsulates that raw energy of live music, the excitement of loving a band so much that it hurts sometimes, and that high you get from being in front of a stage shouting lyrics out loud alongside complete strangers who love that piece of music for the same reasons you do.
The world needs more of this; artists for the fans.
Check the video below:
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Artists for Capital: A Rant-a-lcious muse
Putting some inspirational/passionate pics in between these ranty paragraphs too :) Hooray for visual sweetness, eh?
Ok so some of you reading may or may not know that I recently graduated with a degree in English/Media & Communications/Creative Writing. My primary focus however, was on music journalism.
Overall, I spent the last 4 years of my life immersing myself in it all; heading concert planning for my college and booking bands to come and play live, finding myself in an internship at Blackheart Records, managing our radio station during my senior year, writing a music column for our campus paper, sitting down and having one-on-one's with artists at venues in and around Philly and doing phoners for this blog, etc. I'm a geek and wanted to experience it all from every angle. And I wanted to do it all at once.
Before I knew it had happened, graduation had popped up and that thing they all call, "the real world" hit me straight on. Like all of my friends, months before and right after graduation, I started hunting online for work related to all of the above areas and found myself taking a part-time position tour-managing for a local singer/songwriter. I'm not going to name names or anything because this would be extremely rude and likely karma would come back and bite me in the ass with some sort of life-threatening mosquito bite or hair-dye mishap that made me look like the Joker. Eek.
Anyway....Suffice it to say this person I was working for was the exact opposite of the experience I had at Blackheart. Everyone in their offices were incredibly welcoming and friendly, appreciative, easygoing, passionate about the work they did and believed in the label as a whole and backed the artists on it. I was interning for them for college credit and I basically traveled 5 hours from Philly-NYC to get there and stayed in a hostel two nights a week to be there for free. More than anything, I remember just being on the bus on the way out of the college town I live in and having that feeling of elation start to rise up in my chest, getting more excited week after week to be able to be a part of something so much bigger than myself and to have lived inside of this grand bubble of self-awareness while all around me these experiences were chipping away at an outer shell of myself and digging to expose who I really was at my core. The months there were gorgeous and revelatory.
And thennnnn after graduation this "artist" (loose quotes) came along and sort of threw me for a loop. I felt like they didn't care about the music at all and although they're only working on their sophomore album, there was a lack of soul to the work and a larger focus on money-making, so much so it began to be the only part of their personality that showed. Among this, other ridiculous things too; wanting to put pictures on their website of themselves with movie stars to gain notoriety through proximity, impatience with the team of their employees literally asking us what we were doing every 2 minutes online as we worked, a lack of knowledge about the business and jargon any musician should be familiar with, and little to no initiative or care to interact directly with fans, expectations higher than the alps for 9 dollars an hour and commentary about our work never encouraging or appreciative, and micro-managing like whoa. Beyond that there were dozens of other signs that this person wasn't one who you'd see bleeding their heart on a stage anytime soon, let alone willing to make the sacrifices it took hundreds of others to just make it there as an opener and it saddened me. As dramatic as it may sound, I could feel my soul dimming down working for them.
Thus the reason to rant to you, dear reader, whomever you may be, and explain how this all led to me sit pensively at my laptop late last night to send a resignation email out because I felt something inside of me dying out a bit; that same whimsical sense of wonder and newness and being immersed in a part of the business where there was nothing to do but learn from people who shared my own inspiration; people who understood how much one song can change things and how things like tattooed lyrics on someone's skin, or the fans that show up 5 hours early just to be barricade, or how music listeners will always be dying to fill up a room to hear lines they feel they themselves could have written...these things weren't even on the foreground of this person's mind nor did they understand why they happen.
These were only some of what I want to work for and this person wasn't showing me any of that. I had countless talks about it with friends and family and we all concluded it was for the best. I'm hoping though, that Blackheart wasn't that metaphorical diamond-in-the-rough and that these things I'm looking for (and will continue to hold out for) are more than few and far between.
I also feel that coming from the perspective of a fan, if you're in this industry it's not enough to just LOVE music. That word is too small for even half of what I feel. You have to be in touch with it on a deeper level (especially if you're a musician!)thrive around it, understand that it has the ability to be this purple-cloud moment in the middle of pit where hundreds of faces are titled up towards 4 strangers above, joining sometimes off-key voices in the same chorus and you all know why you're there together and the musicians on stage in front of you know better, and the lights in all of your eyes reflect that silver gleam of something intangible that can only be seen in rare moments like that. You have to perceive that although an artist is just a regular human being like anyone else, they still hold a torch of promise above so many listeners heads month in and month out on tour, and have the potential to be responsible for as much change as a political figurehead could have or as I really believe in most cases, more.
I honestly wish that people who know or have been given the chance to find out what they want out of life and can see their passions on a clear road ahead should just say "fuck it all" and go for it with everything they've got and take away from the bad experiences not regretting them, but using each one as a lesson to hone in deeper on what they want.
I grew up with a rare genetic disease and because of this, spent months in and out of the hospital in my childhood, teenage years, and currently at times I'll fall ill for weeks at a time and find myself back there again. If it's taught me anything it's that life really is fleeting and you only get this span of chunky and sorted decades to be who it is you want to be. Cliche as this may sound, albeit vaguely GoArmy.com, what you're passionate about is far too hard to ignore, far too important to your own personal growth to place on some bac-kburner and settle for something less. So I guess what I'm trying to say is don't be afraid to be that architect of your life and build a world around you filled with art, those who understand your desires and dreams, and a job that affords you the time and existence to be that version of who you are to the core and furthermore, inspire you towards becoming it.
Also, funny side note: I had originally planned on writing about how ridiculous it is that Justin Bieber is now working with Usher in music videos and how when I was his age, I was consumed with leisure activities like POGS, playing Manhunt with neighborhood kids, wondering which arcade game at the mall would be more beneficial in the long-run to my $5 dollar allowance, and watching too many episodes of Boy Meets World and Clarissa Explains it all. Just sayin'. Usher's great and all, but I wouldn't trade those Cory & Topanga memories for this:
I'll be blogging way more often about music related things so hopefully some readers will be gained and if not, no worries.
shout it out loud,
~Laurel
Ok so some of you reading may or may not know that I recently graduated with a degree in English/Media & Communications/Creative Writing. My primary focus however, was on music journalism.
Overall, I spent the last 4 years of my life immersing myself in it all; heading concert planning for my college and booking bands to come and play live, finding myself in an internship at Blackheart Records, managing our radio station during my senior year, writing a music column for our campus paper, sitting down and having one-on-one's with artists at venues in and around Philly and doing phoners for this blog, etc. I'm a geek and wanted to experience it all from every angle. And I wanted to do it all at once.
Before I knew it had happened, graduation had popped up and that thing they all call, "the real world" hit me straight on. Like all of my friends, months before and right after graduation, I started hunting online for work related to all of the above areas and found myself taking a part-time position tour-managing for a local singer/songwriter. I'm not going to name names or anything because this would be extremely rude and likely karma would come back and bite me in the ass with some sort of life-threatening mosquito bite or hair-dye mishap that made me look like the Joker. Eek.
Anyway....Suffice it to say this person I was working for was the exact opposite of the experience I had at Blackheart. Everyone in their offices were incredibly welcoming and friendly, appreciative, easygoing, passionate about the work they did and believed in the label as a whole and backed the artists on it. I was interning for them for college credit and I basically traveled 5 hours from Philly-NYC to get there and stayed in a hostel two nights a week to be there for free. More than anything, I remember just being on the bus on the way out of the college town I live in and having that feeling of elation start to rise up in my chest, getting more excited week after week to be able to be a part of something so much bigger than myself and to have lived inside of this grand bubble of self-awareness while all around me these experiences were chipping away at an outer shell of myself and digging to expose who I really was at my core. The months there were gorgeous and revelatory.
And thennnnn after graduation this "artist" (loose quotes) came along and sort of threw me for a loop. I felt like they didn't care about the music at all and although they're only working on their sophomore album, there was a lack of soul to the work and a larger focus on money-making, so much so it began to be the only part of their personality that showed. Among this, other ridiculous things too; wanting to put pictures on their website of themselves with movie stars to gain notoriety through proximity, impatience with the team of their employees literally asking us what we were doing every 2 minutes online as we worked, a lack of knowledge about the business and jargon any musician should be familiar with, and little to no initiative or care to interact directly with fans, expectations higher than the alps for 9 dollars an hour and commentary about our work never encouraging or appreciative, and micro-managing like whoa. Beyond that there were dozens of other signs that this person wasn't one who you'd see bleeding their heart on a stage anytime soon, let alone willing to make the sacrifices it took hundreds of others to just make it there as an opener and it saddened me. As dramatic as it may sound, I could feel my soul dimming down working for them.
Thus the reason to rant to you, dear reader, whomever you may be, and explain how this all led to me sit pensively at my laptop late last night to send a resignation email out because I felt something inside of me dying out a bit; that same whimsical sense of wonder and newness and being immersed in a part of the business where there was nothing to do but learn from people who shared my own inspiration; people who understood how much one song can change things and how things like tattooed lyrics on someone's skin, or the fans that show up 5 hours early just to be barricade, or how music listeners will always be dying to fill up a room to hear lines they feel they themselves could have written...these things weren't even on the foreground of this person's mind nor did they understand why they happen.
These were only some of what I want to work for and this person wasn't showing me any of that. I had countless talks about it with friends and family and we all concluded it was for the best. I'm hoping though, that Blackheart wasn't that metaphorical diamond-in-the-rough and that these things I'm looking for (and will continue to hold out for) are more than few and far between.
I also feel that coming from the perspective of a fan, if you're in this industry it's not enough to just LOVE music. That word is too small for even half of what I feel. You have to be in touch with it on a deeper level (especially if you're a musician!)thrive around it, understand that it has the ability to be this purple-cloud moment in the middle of pit where hundreds of faces are titled up towards 4 strangers above, joining sometimes off-key voices in the same chorus and you all know why you're there together and the musicians on stage in front of you know better, and the lights in all of your eyes reflect that silver gleam of something intangible that can only be seen in rare moments like that. You have to perceive that although an artist is just a regular human being like anyone else, they still hold a torch of promise above so many listeners heads month in and month out on tour, and have the potential to be responsible for as much change as a political figurehead could have or as I really believe in most cases, more.
I honestly wish that people who know or have been given the chance to find out what they want out of life and can see their passions on a clear road ahead should just say "fuck it all" and go for it with everything they've got and take away from the bad experiences not regretting them, but using each one as a lesson to hone in deeper on what they want.
I grew up with a rare genetic disease and because of this, spent months in and out of the hospital in my childhood, teenage years, and currently at times I'll fall ill for weeks at a time and find myself back there again. If it's taught me anything it's that life really is fleeting and you only get this span of chunky and sorted decades to be who it is you want to be. Cliche as this may sound, albeit vaguely GoArmy.com, what you're passionate about is far too hard to ignore, far too important to your own personal growth to place on some bac-kburner and settle for something less. So I guess what I'm trying to say is don't be afraid to be that architect of your life and build a world around you filled with art, those who understand your desires and dreams, and a job that affords you the time and existence to be that version of who you are to the core and furthermore, inspire you towards becoming it.
Also, funny side note: I had originally planned on writing about how ridiculous it is that Justin Bieber is now working with Usher in music videos and how when I was his age, I was consumed with leisure activities like POGS, playing Manhunt with neighborhood kids, wondering which arcade game at the mall would be more beneficial in the long-run to my $5 dollar allowance, and watching too many episodes of Boy Meets World and Clarissa Explains it all. Just sayin'. Usher's great and all, but I wouldn't trade those Cory & Topanga memories for this:
I'll be blogging way more often about music related things so hopefully some readers will be gained and if not, no worries.
shout it out loud,
~Laurel
Friday, April 2, 2010
Antigone Rising: Read all about em'!!!
Hello and happy Friday!!!
So last weekend Ursinus College and WVOU radio had a Spring headliner come and they were absolutely fantastic.
They're continuing their tour along the East Coast and will be playing at the famous "Bitter End" in NYC April 10th, next Saturday. I encourage everyone who's around the area to attend this one. Their new lead singer Nini Camps has a voice that's revelatory with vocals that can survive with no accompaniment whatsoever and the rest of the band (drummer Dena Tauriello, sisters Kristen (bassist) and Kathy Henderson (electric) )are musicians in the purest sense of the word.
Check out their tour dates below, which include some pretty sweet venues along the East Coast as well as a show at Pridefest in NY that's no doubt going to be a terrific time, and a 3-hour boat tour that circles Manhattan with a live show from Antigone during the cruise!!!
Tickets and show times can be found here with dates listed below
April 10 Bitter End : NYC
April 29 Infinity Music Hall : Norfolk,CT
May 1 Jerkys : Providence, RI
May 9 Tulip Festival : Albany, NY
May 14 The Record Collector : Bordentown, NJ
May 22 Mamapalooza : Valhalla, NY .. Kensico dam
June 13 Long Island Pride Fest : Hecksher Park, Huntington, NY
June 25 Katherine Hepburn Theatre : Old Saybrook, Ct
July 8 Rock Boat : NYC- cruise around Manhattan
Aug 7 Club Passim : Cambridge,MA
They're on just about every social networking site there is so feel free to check them out on:
Their Homepage, where you can listen to their newest track, "Breaking Me"
Myspace
Youtube
Or in my blog archive here
Friday, February 5, 2010
Joan Jett news...all kinds of good stuff to read!!
Happy Friday guys!
There's been so much happening with the label I intern for, Blackheart Records, I figured I should make a comprehensive blog about it.
Beginning with things to read about, AMMO is releasing a book in tribute to Joan, chronicling her life and career in pictures designed by Todd Oldham.
Click here to Pre-order
As if one rock and roll text isn't enough, "Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway", written by Runaways member Cherie Currie herself, can also be purchased Here on Amazon
You'll definitely want to read about this after the "The Runaways" movie comes out on March 19th. Check out some of pics from the premiere at Sundance as well as the afterparty where Joan performed some Blackheart & Runaways tunes. Also, be sure to check out this exclusive clip of the film you can view Here
And if you're really curious about the film and how it was received two weeks ago at Sundance, read what Vanity Fair had to say about it
Read the Review
Next, Urban Outfitters (AKA one of the best stores at KOP Mall) is now selling Joan's "I Love Rock and Roll" LP. There's nothing sweeter than listening to some vinyl on a Saturday night. You can purchase that on their website by clicking below.
Urban Outfitter Link
Feel free to follow the Runaways and Blackheart on these sites to keep up with the goings on :)
Blackheart Records Twitter
The Runaways Twitter
The Runaways Homepage
Joan Jett Twitter
Joan Jett Myspace
There's been so much happening with the label I intern for, Blackheart Records, I figured I should make a comprehensive blog about it.
Beginning with things to read about, AMMO is releasing a book in tribute to Joan, chronicling her life and career in pictures designed by Todd Oldham.
Click here to Pre-order
As if one rock and roll text isn't enough, "Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway", written by Runaways member Cherie Currie herself, can also be purchased Here on Amazon
You'll definitely want to read about this after the "The Runaways" movie comes out on March 19th. Check out some of pics from the premiere at Sundance as well as the afterparty where Joan performed some Blackheart & Runaways tunes. Also, be sure to check out this exclusive clip of the film you can view Here
And if you're really curious about the film and how it was received two weeks ago at Sundance, read what Vanity Fair had to say about it
Read the Review
Next, Urban Outfitters (AKA one of the best stores at KOP Mall) is now selling Joan's "I Love Rock and Roll" LP. There's nothing sweeter than listening to some vinyl on a Saturday night. You can purchase that on their website by clicking below.
Urban Outfitter Link
Feel free to follow the Runaways and Blackheart on these sites to keep up with the goings on :)
Blackheart Records Twitter
The Runaways Twitter
The Runaways Homepage
Joan Jett Twitter
Joan Jett Myspace
Monday, January 25, 2010
Runaways Premiere at Sundance, review, trailer link
"The Runaways", which is set to hit theaters March 19th directed by Floria Sigismondi and Executive Produced by Joan Jett and Kenny Laguna debuted this past weekend at the Sundance film festival.
Here's a review from:Collide.com
"With fantastic performances from Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning and Michael Shannon, The Runaways delivered the goods at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Based on the book Neon Angel: The Cherie Currie Story by Cherie Currie, The Runaways tells the coming-of-age story of the teenage rock band The Runaways and how they came together in the mid 1970’s. Kristen Stewart stars as Joan Jett, Dakota Fanning is Cherie Currie, and Michael Shannon stars as the über-eccentric Kim Fowley - the man who put The Runaways together.
While there was a lot of debate if the film would show a no-holds-barred account of what The Runaways really went through back in the 70’s - like the drug use and the in-band make-out sessions - not only does the film show a warts-and-all look at what happened to the band - at times you’ll feel like you’re watching documentary footage from the era as Stewart and Fanning are really playing and singing in the film, and they both deliver inspired performances.
The first thing to know is if you’re wishing you were at Sundance to see The Runaways, Apparition bought the film and it’ll be released in America on March 19, 2010. So it’s only a short wait.
The movie opens in 1975 Los Angeles. We’re quickly introduced to Joan Jett and Cherie Currie and what they were going through in their lives.
Jett was a loner trying to figure out her look and a way to play guitar when women were considered groupies and not members of a band. At the same time, Cherie Currie was a tenth grader idolizing David Bowie and hanging out in the same local clubs as Jett. When Joan Jett runs into Kim Fowley outside a venue, she pitches the idea of an all girls rock band and after some makeshift rehearsals and band auditions, The Runaways are born.
It’s when the group is forming that we get some awesome scenes of Michael Shannon as Kim Fowley. Also, to help get the group ready for the road and what being a rock star is all about, Fowley makes the girls go through band camp where he teaches them the ropes and delivers some killer dialogue. Remember, at the time, an all girls rock band had never been done and Fowley realizes he might have a huge hit on his hands. Finally after some local parties, the band hits the road and we watch as The Runaways make the big time.
As the journey unfolds, the teenage girls begin to experiment with drugs, their sexuality, and how to survive as a band, which Cherie Currie pushes too far in almost every way.
Again, the performances are fantastic across the board, and Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning really impressed me with their portrayals of these still-living rock stars.
What I really liked about the movie is that it doesn’t take any sides about The Runaways story. Writer/director Floria Sigismondi paints a realistic portrait of Los Angeles in 1975 and what was going on in Joan Jett’s and Cherie Currie’s lives. We get to see how each of them lived and what brought them together. And after they got famous and made it in the record industry, Sigismondi paints a portrait not of judgment or condemnation, but simply as it was. The story has enough ups and downs that she didn’t need to use a heavy hand to tell the story, which some filmmakers might have done.
The other thing to know about the film is that while the movie has a great supporting cast featuring Scout Taylor-Compton (Lita Ford), Alia Skawkat (Robin who is a fictional composite of all the people that played bass in the band), and Stella Maeve (Sandy West), they’re relegated to background players with only a few scenes. Sigismondi focuses on the Jett-Currie-Fowley relationship, and it’s a smart decision that pays off.
Of course what would a review of The Runaways be without some mention of the rumored make out scene between Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning?
Yes, the movie has such a scene, but it’s tastefully done. You never get the feeling that Sigismondi is using either actress more than is necessary to show the two had a night together. But it’ll be very interesting to see what the Twilight fans think of this scene, especially Stewart’s teenage fanbase.
My larger question is what parents are going to do with their kids who want to see Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett? Even though the film doesn’t glorify or condone any questionable action in the movie, you see Kristen Stewart (and Dakota Fanning) doing drugs, kissing girls, and walking around with not much clothing on. The Runaways is an R-rated film that explores a different era and I think depending on the kid, some parents may have to do some actual parenting and say that while Stewart plays Bella Swan and Joan Jett, Bella Swan is nothing like Joan Jett.
Exercise common sense.
Final Thoughts
While some Sundance movies have a lot of buzz before the festival, The Runaways will ride its Sundance momentum into theaters this March and should be able to mint a lot of coin from worldwide audiences. Also, with a killer soundtrack and an honest portrayal of The Runaways, the band should enjoy a bump in sales and a lot of new fans finding their music.
But more than anything, The Runaways is a great movie filled with honest and real performances from its experienced and talented lead actors.
Definitely recommended."
To view the official trailer, click here: Runaways Trailer
Here's a review from:Collide.com
"With fantastic performances from Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning and Michael Shannon, The Runaways delivered the goods at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Based on the book Neon Angel: The Cherie Currie Story by Cherie Currie, The Runaways tells the coming-of-age story of the teenage rock band The Runaways and how they came together in the mid 1970’s. Kristen Stewart stars as Joan Jett, Dakota Fanning is Cherie Currie, and Michael Shannon stars as the über-eccentric Kim Fowley - the man who put The Runaways together.
While there was a lot of debate if the film would show a no-holds-barred account of what The Runaways really went through back in the 70’s - like the drug use and the in-band make-out sessions - not only does the film show a warts-and-all look at what happened to the band - at times you’ll feel like you’re watching documentary footage from the era as Stewart and Fanning are really playing and singing in the film, and they both deliver inspired performances.
The first thing to know is if you’re wishing you were at Sundance to see The Runaways, Apparition bought the film and it’ll be released in America on March 19, 2010. So it’s only a short wait.
The movie opens in 1975 Los Angeles. We’re quickly introduced to Joan Jett and Cherie Currie and what they were going through in their lives.
Jett was a loner trying to figure out her look and a way to play guitar when women were considered groupies and not members of a band. At the same time, Cherie Currie was a tenth grader idolizing David Bowie and hanging out in the same local clubs as Jett. When Joan Jett runs into Kim Fowley outside a venue, she pitches the idea of an all girls rock band and after some makeshift rehearsals and band auditions, The Runaways are born.
It’s when the group is forming that we get some awesome scenes of Michael Shannon as Kim Fowley. Also, to help get the group ready for the road and what being a rock star is all about, Fowley makes the girls go through band camp where he teaches them the ropes and delivers some killer dialogue. Remember, at the time, an all girls rock band had never been done and Fowley realizes he might have a huge hit on his hands. Finally after some local parties, the band hits the road and we watch as The Runaways make the big time.
As the journey unfolds, the teenage girls begin to experiment with drugs, their sexuality, and how to survive as a band, which Cherie Currie pushes too far in almost every way.
Again, the performances are fantastic across the board, and Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning really impressed me with their portrayals of these still-living rock stars.
What I really liked about the movie is that it doesn’t take any sides about The Runaways story. Writer/director Floria Sigismondi paints a realistic portrait of Los Angeles in 1975 and what was going on in Joan Jett’s and Cherie Currie’s lives. We get to see how each of them lived and what brought them together. And after they got famous and made it in the record industry, Sigismondi paints a portrait not of judgment or condemnation, but simply as it was. The story has enough ups and downs that she didn’t need to use a heavy hand to tell the story, which some filmmakers might have done.
The other thing to know about the film is that while the movie has a great supporting cast featuring Scout Taylor-Compton (Lita Ford), Alia Skawkat (Robin who is a fictional composite of all the people that played bass in the band), and Stella Maeve (Sandy West), they’re relegated to background players with only a few scenes. Sigismondi focuses on the Jett-Currie-Fowley relationship, and it’s a smart decision that pays off.
Of course what would a review of The Runaways be without some mention of the rumored make out scene between Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning?
Yes, the movie has such a scene, but it’s tastefully done. You never get the feeling that Sigismondi is using either actress more than is necessary to show the two had a night together. But it’ll be very interesting to see what the Twilight fans think of this scene, especially Stewart’s teenage fanbase.
My larger question is what parents are going to do with their kids who want to see Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett? Even though the film doesn’t glorify or condone any questionable action in the movie, you see Kristen Stewart (and Dakota Fanning) doing drugs, kissing girls, and walking around with not much clothing on. The Runaways is an R-rated film that explores a different era and I think depending on the kid, some parents may have to do some actual parenting and say that while Stewart plays Bella Swan and Joan Jett, Bella Swan is nothing like Joan Jett.
Exercise common sense.
Final Thoughts
While some Sundance movies have a lot of buzz before the festival, The Runaways will ride its Sundance momentum into theaters this March and should be able to mint a lot of coin from worldwide audiences. Also, with a killer soundtrack and an honest portrayal of The Runaways, the band should enjoy a bump in sales and a lot of new fans finding their music.
But more than anything, The Runaways is a great movie filled with honest and real performances from its experienced and talented lead actors.
Definitely recommended."
To view the official trailer, click here: Runaways Trailer
Monday, January 18, 2010
Antigone Rising, check em' out!
Hello to everyone out there in the inter-web world :)
Just wanted to give you guys the skinny on a new band I've been introduced to called "Antigone Rising". Have a read and a listen...
Antigone Rising has had quite a journey so far. As an all-female rock band with roots based in NY’s Greenwich Village in the early 90’s, their sounds encompass a mixture of rusty rock, bluesy folk, and some CMT-worthy twang sprinkled in between. Originally formed by sisters Cathy and Kristen Henderson during their days at Bucknell Univeristy, Antigone or “AR” (as their fans refer to them), started out and have continued to play venues in and around New York City and along the East Coast. They’ve been known to frequent small clubs on Bleecker Street like the “Back Fence” and even “The Bitter End”, New York City’s oldest rock club where acoustic wonders like Carly Simon, Norah Jones, even Bob Dylan have performed.
Their influences range from various guitar-gods, citing artists like Zeppelin, Bowie, Petty, and Hendrix as favorites; what’s more is that their sound actually reflects this. And having toured with acts like Joan Jett, Aerosmith, and The Stones, they've most certainly proven themselves worthy of a respectable fan-base for an indie-labeled band.
Not to place the sole focus on their instrumentals, but the vocals of Antigone are revelatory. Songs like, “Longshot” bring to mind that syrupy quality of Joni Mitchell every folk listener craves, intertwined with the sadness and sincerity of Sheryl Crow. And with seven albums under their belt with their latest release a live acoustic album recorded in 2005, they’re planning on entering the sound-booth for an EP sooner than later.
Antigone are currently on tour on the East Coast and will be hitting the Tin Angel in Philly on March 12th. What better way to spend Spring Break than to take in a live show with some musical goodness?
Buy Tickets for the Tin Angel show here
To hear more from AR, check them out on
Myspace
Their Official Website
Facebook
lord knows I'm a voodoo child, baby
~Laurel
Just wanted to give you guys the skinny on a new band I've been introduced to called "Antigone Rising". Have a read and a listen...
Antigone Rising has had quite a journey so far. As an all-female rock band with roots based in NY’s Greenwich Village in the early 90’s, their sounds encompass a mixture of rusty rock, bluesy folk, and some CMT-worthy twang sprinkled in between. Originally formed by sisters Cathy and Kristen Henderson during their days at Bucknell Univeristy, Antigone or “AR” (as their fans refer to them), started out and have continued to play venues in and around New York City and along the East Coast. They’ve been known to frequent small clubs on Bleecker Street like the “Back Fence” and even “The Bitter End”, New York City’s oldest rock club where acoustic wonders like Carly Simon, Norah Jones, even Bob Dylan have performed.
Their influences range from various guitar-gods, citing artists like Zeppelin, Bowie, Petty, and Hendrix as favorites; what’s more is that their sound actually reflects this. And having toured with acts like Joan Jett, Aerosmith, and The Stones, they've most certainly proven themselves worthy of a respectable fan-base for an indie-labeled band.
Not to place the sole focus on their instrumentals, but the vocals of Antigone are revelatory. Songs like, “Longshot” bring to mind that syrupy quality of Joni Mitchell every folk listener craves, intertwined with the sadness and sincerity of Sheryl Crow. And with seven albums under their belt with their latest release a live acoustic album recorded in 2005, they’re planning on entering the sound-booth for an EP sooner than later.
Antigone are currently on tour on the East Coast and will be hitting the Tin Angel in Philly on March 12th. What better way to spend Spring Break than to take in a live show with some musical goodness?
Buy Tickets for the Tin Angel show here
To hear more from AR, check them out on
Myspace
Their Official Website
lord knows I'm a voodoo child, baby
~Laurel
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
NEW Dollyrots single out today!!!!!
Hey there music-listeners ;)
Just a friendly update that the Dollyrots new single, "California Beach Boy" is now available for digital download here:
"California Beach Boy" & "Dumb" Itunes
and it's also on sale in a pretty little vinyl you can pick up at the Blackheart Records store,here: Buy the Vinyl here!
Andddd as if that wasn't enough, you can listen to both California Beach Boy and a second new track, "Dumb" all right here for free (no 30 second clips but the FULL SONGS)
MP3 GOODNESS
Oh yeah, and it should be mentioned that The Dollyrots are going to be performing on this Friday's (that's January 15th, folks) airing of "The Price is Right"
So be sure to catch that as well. Drew Carey might cry if you don't view it. And no one wants to see that...No sir.
Oh yeah, and one LAST THING...
this music video is lovely. LOVELY MUSIC VIDEO OF MYSTERY
In lieu of Simon Cowell leaving American Idol after this season, it had to be posted.
keep on rockin' in the free world,
~Laurel
Just a friendly update that the Dollyrots new single, "California Beach Boy" is now available for digital download here:
"California Beach Boy" & "Dumb" Itunes
and it's also on sale in a pretty little vinyl you can pick up at the Blackheart Records store,here: Buy the Vinyl here!
Andddd as if that wasn't enough, you can listen to both California Beach Boy and a second new track, "Dumb" all right here for free (no 30 second clips but the FULL SONGS)
MP3 GOODNESS
Oh yeah, and it should be mentioned that The Dollyrots are going to be performing on this Friday's (that's January 15th, folks) airing of "The Price is Right"
So be sure to catch that as well. Drew Carey might cry if you don't view it. And no one wants to see that...No sir.
Oh yeah, and one LAST THING...
this music video is lovely. LOVELY MUSIC VIDEO OF MYSTERY
In lieu of Simon Cowell leaving American Idol after this season, it had to be posted.
keep on rockin' in the free world,
~Laurel
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