Opinion

Midnight Conspiracy Dead Fame Tour Mix – Track Review

Written for AUX.

For the next thirty minutes, after the two it takes you to read this of course, all you have to do is listen. Whether your working, running, driving, blogging or putting your head back down on the pillow, your ears will not be disappointed with Mindnight Conspiracy’s latest mixtape that features Crystal Castles (front and centre), Dragonette, The Dandy Warhols, Radiohead and The Vanish among others. This mixtape has all the elements that Rob Fleming (or Gordon) would endorse: kicks off with a bang, keeps the tempo going, slows down here and there, but ultimately leaves the listener satisfied.

The Chicago band’s Dead Fame Tour is happening down south this month and next, however no Canadian dates have been scheduled. Perhaps we can get them to reconsider.

DEAD FAME 001 (Mix) by Midnight Conspiracy by Midnight Conspiracy

Track Listing:

Crystal Castles – Crimewave (Midnight Conspiracy Remix)
Kavinsky – Nightcall (MMMathias Remix)
Jump Jump Dance Dance – Show Me The Night (Grum Remix)
Miami Horror – Make You Mine (Codebreaker Remix)
Machine – There but for the grace of God go I (Le Principle remake)
Treasure Finger – What Am I Supposed To Do
Wolfgang Gartner – Undertaker
Dragonette – Pick Up The Phone (Van She Remix)
The Dandy Warhols – Bohemian Like You
Radiohead – Everything In Its Right Place (Gigamesh Remix)
The Vanish – Hold On (Gemini Club Remix)

Scorsese Directed George Harrison Doc Out Next Year

*Written for AUX

Martin Scorsese’s documentary about George Harrison entitled Living in the Material World: George Harrison, is expected to come out next year the director says. Working with Harrison’s widow, Olivia for the past three years the film will look at the former Beatles guitarist’s life before, during and after his time spent with the band.

After Harrison died of cancer in 2001, a doc about his life has been pitched several times by production companies including the BBC, but Olivia resisted for the sake that her late husband always wanted to make a documentary on his own. Eventually she turned to Nigel Sinclair who had produced the Bob Dylan documentary No Direction Home, directed by Scorsese, whom Harrison had known.

“This is a deeply personal journey for me, it’s been excruciating,” Olivia said. “I’ve been archiving for five years — 35 years, really. Throwing cassettes and letters in drawers, little things and pieces of paper that you find that say, ‘Goats on my roof.’ You think, What does that mean? But I feel really safe, I feel protected. Marty had a connection with George, and they spent time together. And he’s passionate about film and music as George was passionate about music and film.”

It is reported that Harrison left lots of unreleased material and rare footage, which will be implemented in the film. “Ultimately, we’re trying to have the development of his own music tell the story, if we can,” Scorsese said. “And the images that he shot, that (Olivia) shot, a lot of this is telling the story. There are some famous bits and some very interesting new material.” [Yahoo]

Kurt Cobain Themed Exhibit Opens at Seattle Art Museum

*Written for AUX.

With “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” the eyes of the world turned to Kurt Cobain, his band Nirvana and the city of Seattle. Cobain became the spokesperson for what folks called “grunge” music and now today, 16 years after his death, an exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum entiteld Kurt will open its doors. The exhibit will celebrate his influence and the effect he had on the creative lives and thought processes of artists, according to the museum’s website.

“International in scope, the works on view in Kurt range from straightforward portraiture to pieces that show a more subtle assimilation of Cobain’s ethos and idealism in a broad range of media,” said Michael Darling, The Jon & Mary Shirley Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art.

Pieces on display include a sculpture by Joe Mama-Nitzberg and Marc Swanson called “angel hair,” Gillian Wearing’s silent video featuring the artist dancing to Nirvana’s “Come as You Are” and Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” and a colour photograph by Alice Wheeler of a scruffy homeless man with blond hair overlooking the city in the distance. [TheFader]

Review: Air at the Phoenix Concert Theatre

Written and published for AUX.

Those lucky enough to go to last night’s Air concert at the Phoenix, or those simply looking to get out of the wet chilly evening were whisked away by some breathtaking electronic melodies and captivating visual images. Part of their first North American tour in three years, Air descended upon Toronto and for the duration of the concert made goers think of nothing else except keyboards, acoustic guitars, bass and synthesizers.

Opening act AM offered up some delightful alternative lounge tunes perfectly suited for any day at the beach, although the weather outside didn’t resemble anything beach like. Based out of Los Angeles, AM played material from his latest album Future Sons and Daughters released this past February. This was the first Canadian appearance by AM, who’s debut album Troubled Times was declared one of the “Best Albums of the Year” by iTunes.

After a brief intermission that allowed the remaining space in the venue to fill up, Air’s Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel took the stage and launched into the first single “Do the Joy” off their latest album, Love 2 and continued with new material in the form of tracks “So Light Is Her Footfall,” and “Love,” the latter recently performed on Jimmy Fallon. It wasn’t until the band started playing older songs like “Venus,” “Cherry Blossom Girl,” and “Remember” did the crowd start to respond to the music. Whether this is a representation of what fans think of the new material and how it compares to the old stuff is still undecided. After that, audience members were taken on an electronic roller coaster ride with dreamy sounds and extravagant visual images.

What Air also did with this performance was perhaps breathe some life into the new tracks that may not have won older fans over yet. An example of this was “Tropical Disease,” from Love 2, which starts off slow, but gradually picks up through the various verses and then slows back down again. The live version, running almost eight minutes had both Godin and Dunckel entranced in the music they created and was arguably the best song of the night.

Finishing their set with “Kelly Watch The Stars” from their first full length debut album Moon Safari, released in 1998, one that is now considered a chill out genre classic, the band bowed several times over to the roaring crowd. After some intense clapping and foot stopping they returned to play “Sexy Boy,” undoubtedly their most notorious song and “La Femme d’Argent,” again to overwhelming response from the crowd. Perhaps the audience sensed this might be the last time they see the band because of the distance between their last tour of our continent. Whether they return soon carrying another seemingly sub par album on their back, Air will give a truly moving performance that is surely not to be missed by anyone who digs electronic music.