Lindsay’s Weblog

The line-up for the first annual All Points West Festival was announced today, and all the rumors are true. Times two. Radiohead will be the headliner for the Friday and Saturday night of the festival. It looks like it is going to be an awesome weekend. Tickets are also on sale now for $89/day or $258 for all three days. It sounds like it’s worth it. I would go if I was in the area.

So here is the line-up:

Friday August 8

• Radiohead
• Underworld
• Spearhead
• The New Pornographers
• The Go! Team
• Girl Talk
• CSS
• Forro in the Dark
• Juana Molina
• Little Brother
• Andrew Bird
• Mates of State
• Nicole Atkins

Saturday August 9

• Radiohead
• Kings of Leon
• Animal Collective
• Metric
• Chromeo
• The Roots
• The Black Angels
• The Virgins
• The Felice Brothers
• Alberta Cross
• Sia
• K’Naan
• Duffy
• Your Vegas

Sunday August 10

• Jack Johnson
• Cat Power
• Rodrigo y Gabriela
• Amadou and  Mariam
• Youssou n’Dour
• Black Kids
• Jason Isbell
• Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
• Rogue Wave
• Neil Halstead

So that’s the line up. Let me know if you’re going. If you need some extra info check out the All Points West website.

Cheers!

*Warning: Viewing of this video may cause naseua, dizziness, vomiting, headaches, and severe worry of “where the f*** is the music industry going?”

Proceed with caution: “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow”

I am sorry Paula but you were finished when you did that music video in the 90’s with Keanu Reeves. Stick to your American Idol and booze and everybody will be happy. And watch for the Randy Jackson cameo, kicking it on the bass. It’s frightening, very frightening.

Also if you happened to miss Paula’s pre-recorded performance of the song at the Super Bowl check it out:

Lately I have been noticing that there has been a new trend in band names: BLACK! Where did this come from. Everybody these days seem to have Black in their name. It’s like a few years ago when everybody was “The ___”: The Vines, The Hives, the White Stripes etc. But now it is all about black. I am heading to South by Southwest in a few weeks and there are 20 bands going to be there with the word Black in their names.

So here is my top 5 bands with BLACK in their name:

1. Blackalicious
2. The Black
3. The Black Lips
4. Black Moth Super Rainbow
5. The Black and White Years

Other notable names: Black Sabbath, The Black Crowes, The Black Angels, Black Mountain, Black Francis, Black Diamond Heavies, Black Earth, Black Joe Lewis and the Honey Bears, Blacklist, Blackout….the list goes on and on.

What are your favorite band names with BLACK in them. Let me know.

I talked about South by Southwest a few posts ago. Since the festival is only a couple of weeks away I need to figure out which bands I plan on seeing. There are over 1400 bands scheduled so it has been a task trying to narrow it down.

But I think I have narrowed it down to a select few:

• The Akron Family
• The Black Angels
• Black Mountain
• The Blow
• Billy Bragg
• The Cave Singers
• The Concretes
• Dolly Parton
• Islands
  
• Jens Lekman
• The Kills
• Thurston Moore
• My Morning Jacket
• Shout Out Louds
• Sons & Daughters
• Takka Takka
• Tapes n’ Tapes
• Vancougar
• The Von Bondies
• The Watson Twins
• Yo La Tango

Well I most definitely know I will be catching My Morning Jacket and Yo La Tango because they are doing a set together which will be insane! And I believe that Billy Bragg and Islands will be part of Anti-Label showcase, as well as the Kills will be part of the Domino showcase. So those are a definite three I will be checking out, but don’t know what to do about the others. If you have seen any of these other bands let me know if they were any good or not. Also if there are any other bands you think are worth checking out let me know.

Cheers!

Since it is Valentine’s Day on Thursday I thought I would blog about something that has to do with love and romance. I had recently been shown these two music videos by Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene and I have to say that they are some of the most romantic videos I have seen in a while. I never knew he was such a romantic. He is also really into the whole slow motion thing. I guess it’s a metaphor or something for how time slows down when you’re in love. Excuse me…I think I just threw up a little.

Anyways, the first video is for “Lover’s Spit,” which Kevin is known for performing live with his girlfriend Leslie Feist. I am not sure if it is actually her in the video, but I sure she wouldn’t let him make out with another girl like that. I will warn you that there is quite a bit of making out involved in the video, so be wary of the “lover’s spit.” There is quite a bit of it.

The second video is called “Pitter Patter Goes My Heart.” After watching this video I wanted to go to the beach and bask in the waves with my boyfriend and makeout, and I am sure that you will feel the same.

It has been announced that the producers of the Coachella festival in California, will be putting on an East Coast version of the festival in New Jersey. The All Points West Music and Arts Festival will take place from August 9-11 at Liberty State Park. It has been rumored that Radiohead will be headlining the first annual festival. The amount of acts and bands will be similar to that of Coachella and about the same amount of stages. Check out this article about what the producers of festival feel the festival will be like.

The line-up and other news will announced soon. Check the All Points West website. There isn’t much there yet, but you can sign up for their newsletter to get updates and news.

If you have heard any other news or updates about the festival let me know.

Now this is a festival that I have not gone to or will be going to anytime soon. I would love to go to the festival this year, but I just don’t think it’s going happen. Anyways, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a three-day outdoor festival in Indio, California. If you are planning on checking out the festival be prepared for some nice desert weather. Temperatures can heat up to 100F. The festival involves pretty much any kind of music you could want. There is something for everybody. There are five stages that have live music going continuously throughout the day. I won’t go into the history of the festival because it is long and tedious to write about.Check it out on Wikipedia.

So here are some of the major acts that will be playing at Coachella 2008:

Friday April 25th

• Jack Johnson
• The Verve
• The Raconteurs
• The Breeders
• Fatboy Slim
• The National
• Mum
• Stars
• Les Savy Fav
• Jens Lekman
• Vampire Weekend
• Architecture in Helsinki
• Black Lips
• Rogue Wave

Saturday April 26th

• Portishead
• Death Cab for Cutie
• Rilo Kiley
• Dwight Yoakam
• M.I.A
• Hot Chip
• Cold War Kids
• Animal Collective
• Kate Nash
• Islands
• St. Vincent
• Akron Family
• The Bird and the Bee

Sunday April 27th

• Roger Waters
• My Morning Jacket
• Justice
• Gogol Bordello
• Metric
• Simian Mobile Disco
• The Cool Kids
• Sons & Daughters
• Holy Fuck
• Black Mountain
• Shout Out Louds

It’s not even the full line-up, but could you just look at it! There are so many good bands playing, it’s insane! For a complete line-up check out http://www.coachella.com/

I didn’t even know the Verve was back together. I would love to see the Breeders live, just to see Kim Deal kick some ass! Also M.I.A. and Justice two of the greatest new artists out there. And who wouldn’t want to see Roger Waters live?

I am very jealous of anyone that gets to go. If you are going let me know or if you have ever been to a Coachella festival in the past tell me how it went.

Cheers!

South by Southwest is one of the largest annual festivals, which takes place in Austin, Texas. Not only is it a music festival, but it is also a film and interactive arts conference. From March 7-15, the film conference showcases many different genres of film including full-length, shorts and documentaries. They also focus heavily on the business side of film by hosting panels and discussion groups with major players in the film industry. The Interactive Arts conference runs from March 7-11, focusing on what is new and exciting in the world of new media and technology. There are panels, as well as a three-day trade-show and exhibition where people can shop around their ideas and inventions. SXSW has also added on a new gaming element the Interactive Arts conference, as well as an Arcade that will be set-up for 2 days.

But the conference that SXSW is known for best is their music conference and festival. The who’s who of the music industry will be there as part of the panels and participating as keynote speakers. Some of the greatest artists and bands today will be performing as well as some of the best up-and-coming bands. Hundreds of bands will be playing at some of the hottest venues around Austin. It is the true playground for any music enthusiast.

Tickets run higher than most festivals, but then you are getting a few more days worth. You can register for a Platinum Badge which will get you into all of events for all three conferences. There is the Gold Badge which is for the film and interactive conferences only, or you can individual badges for the film, interactive or music festivals. If you are a student and are interested in film, they offer a student badge just for the film festival.

I will be attending SXSW this year for the first time and I am so excited to go. I am already exhausted looking at the list of music performers. Here is the list so far. It is crazy! Lou Reed is going to be the keynote speaker this year and I am so pumped! Yo La Tango and My Morning Jacket are going to be doing a set together. It’s going to be awesome.

If there is anyone who had been before and has any helpful advice about how to plan out my time, maybe some good, cheap places to eat, etc. let me know. I will be most grateful.

Cheers!

Bum-ber-shoot: An umbrella

The Bumbershoot festival is an arts and performance festival that has been taking place in Seattle Centre for the past 37 Years. The name Bumbershoot was chosen for the festival because it refers to the large umbrella of performers and artists that make up the festival. The festival focuses on offering a diverse line-up of musicians, artists, performers, not just in music but film, theatre, comedy, visual art, dance and literature. Since 1980, One Reel, a non-profit arts organization has been producing the festival and is still going strong.

I attended Bumbershoot last Labor Day weekend and I had a blast. 3 days was just enough to get my fill of music and the arts and left me with just enough energy to make the drive back home to Vancouver. Attending the festival also allowed me to see more of Seattle, which is a great city. The line-up for the festival ranged from world, to hip-hop, pop, rock, indies, majors, gypsies, metal. Got a little taste of everything. The line-up included: The Shins, Wu-Tang Clan, Panic! At The Disco, Crowded House, Lupe Fiasco, Fergie, Steve Earle, DeVotchKa, Devendra Banhart, Gogol Bordello, The Avett Brothers, Magnolia Electric Company, The Aggrolites, Menomena, Tokyo Police Club, Art Brut and many more.

I watched the Shins set which was awesome. They did a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Hey You” or “Comfortably Numb.” I can’t remember. If anyone was there and remembers can you let me know? But I remember it was really good. They had great energy, and got the crowd going.

I saw one band that I had never heard of, but they turned out to be one of my favorite of the festival: Menomena. They are a band from Portland, Oregon and they had a choir! A choir! It was awesome! And the lead singer also played the baritone saxophone. It was crazy. They were really engaging and interesting. Something I hadn’t heard before. Check them out if you get the chance.

My absolute favorite show of the festival was Gogol Bordello. If you do not know who this band is, you must download; purchase; stream; YouTube them as soon as you can. Their albums do not do them justice at all. They are one of those bands that are known for their live show and believe it is a show. Gogol Bordello is this Gypsy Punk band from New York. 10 people make up the band, one of them being their lead singer, Eugene Hutz from Ukraine. He is one crazy MF! Their set went on forever and I never wanted it to stop. It was so high-energy and after it was over I was exhausted but was left wanting more!

I also saw part of the Crowded House set, Art Brut, Joss Stone, and John Legend. I checked some of the comedy shows which were great and some of the art exhibitions, including an exhibition dedicated to Nick Drake and the Flatstock Poster Show.

Tickets were a good deal. You can purchase them just for one of the days or all three days. You can also get a premium pass for a bit more which gets you VIP access to some of the performances. So if you are looking for one last hurrah before you have to go back to school or want something fun to do for Labor Day weekend, I highly suggest hitting up Bumbershoot in Seattle.

They will be announcing their 2008 line-up soon! So stay tuned in. They have RSS or you can join their mailing list. Check it out! www.bumbershoot.org

M.I.A has taken over my IPod in last few weeks. I had heard her song “Paper Planes” a few months ago and thought it was an awesome song, so I decided to check out her album Kala. I put it onto my IPod and for the first little while I listened to the first song or two, then switched to something else. But within the last month or so, I can not stop listening to M.I.A. Kala has a really great dancehall, kind of funk, groovy thing going on. Can’t quite explain it, but it’s original and it’s good.
For those of you who do not know about M.I.A I will give you a little bit a background:

M.I.A. was born Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam in Hounslow, London, England. Shortly after she was born, her family moved back to Sri Lanka. Her father was activist turned militant who helped found a militant group, The Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students (EROS). For most of her life she never saw her father because he had to go into hiding from the Sri Lankan army. She moved many times because of the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, eventually moving back to London, where she and her family lived as refugees. M.I.A. began listening to the radio where her interest in hip-hip and rap began. Her early influences included N.W.A, Big Daddy Cane and Public Enemy. She also attended art school which inspired a love for painting, visual art and film. The rest is pretty much history from there.

M.I.A has had two albums, Arluar and Kala, named after each of her parent, both integrating several genres of music. Alternative, hip-hop, reggae, dancehall, electronic, and funk can all be found, also a heavy influence of her Sri Lankan background. Many of her lyrics deal with global and political issues, such as war, guerilla warfare, the difference between 1st and 3rd world countries, capitalism and money. M.I.A. has toured with Peaches, Gwen Stefani, and Bjork and has worked with the likes of Timbaland and Missy Elliot.

Rolling Stone and Blender magazines named Kala the best album of 2007 and I would have to agree. I don’t think M.I.A is not exactly everybody’s cup of tea, but she is pretty damn unique with her mix of musical genres and some of the heavier topics that she writes about in her lyrics. She looks, sounds, acts different than any female artist I have seen in a while. It was unfortunate that I missed her shows while she was in Vancouver. I heard they were insane! She is definitely one of my favorite new artists, and I am very excited to see what she comes up with next.

Check out her video for “Boyz.”