Saturday, January 24, 2009
Diplo – Decent Work For Decent Pay – Album Review
by Louis PattisonDecent Work For Decent Pay finds globe-trotting producer and sometime M.I.A beatmaker Wes Dipl’ Pentz on a remix tip, adding his own bass-heavy, ghetto-pop fingerprints to tracks by everyone from booty-rappers Spank Rock to whistle-along Swedes Peter, Bjorn & John. The result is an album that’s far from feeling like a complete statement, but at its best, there’s still much here to suggest Diplo is one of the more flexible, inspired producers at work today.
This comp’s at is best when Diplo’s working on tracks that play to his strengths: namely, rowdy, slightly sleazy party-starters with room for a heavier undercarriage. Immediately lovable are refixes of Spank Rock’s ‘Put That Pussy On Me’ and Bonde Do Role’s Solta O Frango, keeping the upbeat spirit of the originals but adding dirty bass and other sly production flourishes. An unlikely highlight, meanwhile, is the mix of Black Lips Veni Vidi Vic, which homes in on the drawled Latino vibe of the original, replacing dusty guitar twang with a martial, Baile Funk-influenced snare step.
There’s other times, though, where you feel Pentz’s lack of affinity for the material results in tracks that don’t quite work. A remix of Bloc Party’s Where Is Home? falters somewhat, the original’s claustrophobic angst a weird fit to pounding 4/4 beats and wobbly bass. Elsewhere, he just about gets away with it, but only by all but obliterating the original track: a take on Hot Chip's Shake A Fist sees Alexis Taylor’s syrupy sing-song totally disassembled, while the mix of Daft Punk's Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger dispenses with everything but vocoder chorus, rebuilding the track with bursts of junglist drums and snappy snare.
Ultimately, Decent Work For Decent Pay is no more or less than its title suggests – a collection of individual commissions, executed well but not meant to work as a whole, and first-timers looking for a document of Diplo in party mode might do better to look to his still-peerless 2005 Fabric Live mix.
Sundance honors `Push,' `We Live in Public'
PARK CITY, Utah – The Sundance Film Festival's prizes for best U.S. drama on Saturday went to "Push," the dark yet hopeful story of a young woman finding her way out of nightmarish circumstances in 1980s Harlem.Based on the 1996 first novel by the poet Sapphire and directed by Lee Daniels, "Push" won both the grand jury and audience awards. The film version is subtitled "Based on the novel by Sapphire" to distinguish it from the Dakota Fanning-Chris Evans sci-fi thriller due out next month.
The penultimate night of the 11-day festival, the nation's premiere showcase for independent film, was marked by political references and jangled nerves.
Sundance Institute executive director Ken Brecher hoisted an honorary festival pass with the new U.S. president's name on it, and presenter Joseph Gordon-Levitt tugged at his red Barack Obama T-shirt, saying: "These awards are exercises in democracy, and it's a good time for democracy right now."
Gordon-Levitt cheered and gave Daniels a big hug before presenting the audience award to his film, which stars Mo'Nique, Mariah Carey and Paula Patton alongside newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, who plays pregnant 16-year-old Precious Jones.
"This is so important to me because this is speaking for every minority that's in Harlem, that's in Detroit, that's in Watts, that's being abused, that can't read, that's obese and that we turn our back on," Daniels said. "And this is for every gay little boy and girl that's being tortured. If I can do this ... ya'll can do this."
When he picked up the grand jury prize later in the evening, Daniels acknowledged: "I'm drunk. I got like three shots right after we got the last one."
The grand jury prize for U.S. documentary went to "We Live in Public," focusing on little-known Internet pioneer Josh Harris and his failed "lifecasting" art projects in 1999 and 2000. The film was directed by Ondi Timoner, whose "Dig!" won the same award in 2004.
Timoner dedicated the honor to Harris, calling him "the first subject I've ever had that said I don't care how you portray me as long as you make a great film."
Nicholas Jasenovec and Charlyne Yi won the Waldo Salt screenwriting award for "Paper Heart," a hybrid documentary-improv road movie featuring Yi and Michael Cera.
"I feel sick. I'm sweaty. I smell bad," said Yi, a performance artist and comedian best known for a bit part in "Knocked Up" and her relationship with Cera.
She finished by addressing other filmmakers in the audience: "Who knows what'll happen to our films but at least they were seen."
At 68, Calypso Rose Still Winning New Fans
NEW YORK (Billboard) – More than 55 years after she began performing in the calypso tents of Trinidad, pioneering singer Calypso Rose has released a new album aimed at taking her music to a more diversified international audience."Calypso Rose" revamps several traditional calypso and faster-paced soca classics culled from Rose's extensive catalog, with strains of R&B and Caribbean-flavored jazz.
The album was released in October in France on the Maturity Music label. It will be released in other European countries in March, and the U.S. release is scheduled for May. All 12 tracks are available for download purchase on Trinidadtunes.com, and for a limited time the jaunty ska single "Israel by Bus" can be downloaded for free.
"This is a whole new chapter opening up for me in my senior years," says Rose, 68, in an interview in her Queens, N.Y., home. Her living room is cluttered with trophies, plaques and numerous citations, each attesting to her preeminence in the calypso genre and, by extension, her ambassadorial role for calypso's birthplace, the southern Caribbean Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
"The arrangements on this album are open to a wider scope of listeners," she says, "and when we launched in France, I performed in front of thousands of people who have never seen me before."
DAZZLING DEBUT
On January 11, Rose made her debut at the sixth annual GlobalFest, a showcase of world music artists held in New York as part of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters conference. During a 50-minute set Rose dazzled the talent bookers, tour agents and other tastemakers with her bold, occasionally bawdy stage persona. Her performance that day included her best-known hit, "Fire in Meh Wire" (which has been recorded in eight languages by various artists), and lent authenticity to Nat "King" Cole's nod to calypso, "Calypso Blues."
"Calypso Rose is a jewel that hasn't been discovered in America," explains Shanta Thake, director of Manhattan's Joe's Pub, a co-producer of GlobalFest, "We felt this was a great opportunity to bring her to the forefront."
Born McArtha Sandy Lewis in Tobago, Rose was adopted by an aunt and uncle in Trinidad. She started performing there as a teenager in the 1950s when it was considered shameful for women to sing calypso. Performing provided Rose with the necessary confidence to overcome her severe stuttering; despite heated opposition from her family and vociferous protests from Trinidad's religious groups, she persevered and secured her several-decade-long reign as Calypso's queen.
She made history in 1977 as the first female to win Carnival's Road March title (which honors the most popular song) with "Tempo," and since 1978 she remains the only female to have captured Carnival's three top musical honors -- Road March, National Calypso Queen and Calypso Monarch -- in one year.
Rose returns to Trinidad in February to perform at several carnival shows and shoot a video for "Israel by Bus." She then heads to Tobago to film the documentary "Rose, the Calypso Diva."
"Through all of the criticisms I got, I have opened doors for Caribbean female artists," Rose reflects. "I have passed through hell, but thank God I am still here to give them fire."
Reuters/Billboard
Christian Music Stars Join Forces On Charity Album
NASHVILLE (Billboard) – In an effort to use music to help alleviate poverty throughout the world, a dozen of Christian music's best-known singer-songwriters met in Scotland a year ago to create a special project.
"CompassionArt: Creating Freedom From Poverty" is the brainchild of Delirious frontman Martin Smith. It features Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, Israel Houghton, Chris Tomlin, Paul Baloche, CeCe Winans, Darlene Zschech and other notable acts donating all proceeds to charity.
The album arrives January 27 in the United States distributed by EMI Christian Music Group (CMG), and will be accompanied by a 50-minute documentary. A book, "The Art of Compassion," is being released simultaneously.
"We went to an old house in Scotland, camped out for a week, and we came out with 20 songs," says Martin Smith, who spent more than a year organizing the January 2008 songwriter's retreat.
Tomlin was ill and missed the retreat, but was able to make the recording sessions a month later at London's famed Abbey Road Studios. He co-wrote a tune called "Come to the Water" that also features Kirk Franklin and Uganda's Watoto Children's Choir.
Martin Smith hatched the idea for CompassionArt after visiting India and seeing the deplorable conditions some children were living in. He and his wife, Anna, were particularly moved by the plight of a young girl named Farin, to whom "The Art of Compassion" is dedicated.
"I actually tried bringing her home to England, and that did not work out," says Smith, who founded an organization to help children in that region. "That is one of the projects that we are supporting -- getting those children back on their feet again. It has been a real joy and has really changed my life."
CompassionArt is supporting 16 charities, among them Ray of Hope, which aids communities in Brazil; Stop the Traffik, a global campaign with the United Nations aimed at stopping human trafficking; and a charity benefiting the Watoto community in Uganda.
The project's first single, "So Great," featuring Houghton, Michael W. Smith, Christy Nockels and the Lakewood Choir, was a top five Christian adult contemporary hit last year and was included on the "WOW Christian" hits compilation. Current single "King of Wonders" featuring Matt Redman, Tim Hughes and Joel Houston is currently climbing the charts.
All sales and publishing royalties go to charity. And because the songs are likely to be embraced by the church, they'll have a longer shelf life and provide a continual revenue stream -- "hopefully for 50, 60, 70 years, if we steward it right," Houghton says. "It's definitely a different type of residual income. If a song connects with the church worldwide, and if it's put in hymn books and becomes a classic, that could make a difference for several generations."
Reuters/Billboard
"CompassionArt: Creating Freedom From Poverty" is the brainchild of Delirious frontman Martin Smith. It features Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, Israel Houghton, Chris Tomlin, Paul Baloche, CeCe Winans, Darlene Zschech and other notable acts donating all proceeds to charity.
The album arrives January 27 in the United States distributed by EMI Christian Music Group (CMG), and will be accompanied by a 50-minute documentary. A book, "The Art of Compassion," is being released simultaneously.
"We went to an old house in Scotland, camped out for a week, and we came out with 20 songs," says Martin Smith, who spent more than a year organizing the January 2008 songwriter's retreat.
Tomlin was ill and missed the retreat, but was able to make the recording sessions a month later at London's famed Abbey Road Studios. He co-wrote a tune called "Come to the Water" that also features Kirk Franklin and Uganda's Watoto Children's Choir.
Martin Smith hatched the idea for CompassionArt after visiting India and seeing the deplorable conditions some children were living in. He and his wife, Anna, were particularly moved by the plight of a young girl named Farin, to whom "The Art of Compassion" is dedicated.
"I actually tried bringing her home to England, and that did not work out," says Smith, who founded an organization to help children in that region. "That is one of the projects that we are supporting -- getting those children back on their feet again. It has been a real joy and has really changed my life."
CompassionArt is supporting 16 charities, among them Ray of Hope, which aids communities in Brazil; Stop the Traffik, a global campaign with the United Nations aimed at stopping human trafficking; and a charity benefiting the Watoto community in Uganda.
The project's first single, "So Great," featuring Houghton, Michael W. Smith, Christy Nockels and the Lakewood Choir, was a top five Christian adult contemporary hit last year and was included on the "WOW Christian" hits compilation. Current single "King of Wonders" featuring Matt Redman, Tim Hughes and Joel Houston is currently climbing the charts.
All sales and publishing royalties go to charity. And because the songs are likely to be embraced by the church, they'll have a longer shelf life and provide a continual revenue stream -- "hopefully for 50, 60, 70 years, if we steward it right," Houghton says. "It's definitely a different type of residual income. If a song connects with the church worldwide, and if it's put in hymn books and becomes a classic, that could make a difference for several generations."
Reuters/Billboard
Friday, January 23, 2009
"Idol" David Cook to Hit Colleges on U.S. Tour
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – "American Idol" champ David Cook is going back to school, announcing a U.S. tour on Friday that will take him to colleges around the nation.Cook's 37-date tour will begin on February 13 at Florida State University in Tallahassee and end on April 25 at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma, AOL music Web site www.PopEater.com said.
Most of the concerts will take place at colleges, including the University of Mississippi and the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. But Cook will also play at Seneca Niagara Casino in New York State and Ameristar Casino in Kansas City, Missouri.
Cook worked as a bartender while trying to make it in the business before winning "American Idol" in May 2008. He said he was keen to get back to his roots and promote the tradition of college tours.
"There's something inherently nostalgic about playing college shows. So many amazing acts used to do it, so it's nice to be able to bring that ideal back, in some small way," Cook said.
"Besides, touring on a bus beats what we used to do, which was cram five guys into a 7 passenger van for one show, 13 hours away," he added.
The rock singer's self-titled debut album came out in November and won the No. 3 spot on the Billboard charts. It is holding at No. 10 this week.
Cook said the inspiration behind the tour is superstar Irish rock band U2, whom he saw perform at the Super Bowl in 2002. "It was just very poignant," Cook said. "Not overdone, but definitely powerful."
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