After Two Years On The Road, The Fray Jumping Out
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
While this blog is primarily focused on independent and alternative music, there are some mainstream bands that are too talented to ignore and who somehow seem to transcend all of the trappings that normally taint once-indie bands that 'crossover'.
mp3: Heaven Forbid - The Fray
mp3: How To Save A Life - The Fray
According to The Fray's official website, the Denver-based band are taking time off after nearly two years on the road. A new full-length release is expected this some time in mid-2008.
The Fray's 2003 independent debut EP Reason has been re-released. The new 'digitally-enhanced' re-issue of Reason includes all of the recordings not found on their 2006 double-platinum, worldwide blockbuster How to Save a Life.
There are some videos, photographs and an online journal of the band's time on the road, but on the whole, considering the 'fame' of the band, their website offers surprisingly little for fans.
You'd think Sony/Epic would put some of its immense resources into creating a website that would at least make an attempt to 'wow' fans. There's not even one MP3 offered on the studio's Fray page, but if you sign-up for the mailing list from their 'official' website, you apparently get one free download. Whoopie! (play smack audio clip here)
But that website is on the U.K. domain system because both Fray.com and more importantly, thefray.com, are taken. Apparently the owner of the latter was either never offered any money for the domain or is holding out.
So, here are some other Fray websites:
- MySpace - The Fray
- AllMusic - The Fray
- Facebook's iLike - The Fray
Labels: The Fray, The Fray CDs, The Fray Concerts, Top Ten Albums 2006
Coachella 2008 Official Line-Up Includes Roger Waters, Portishead, DCFC, Shout Out Louds, My Morning Jacket
Organizers of the annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival have released the official line-up for this year's event, slated for April 25-27, 2008.
Pink Floyd founding member Roger Waters, Kraftwerk, Portishead, My Morning Jacket, Death Cab for Cutie, Love and Rockets, Spiritulalized, Hot Chip, Madness and Fatboy Slim are just some of the headliners for the three-day music fest and art show. Nothing that great really.
Here is the full line-up in its entirety:
April 25 – Jack Johnson, the Verve, the Raconteurs, the Breeders, Fatboy Slim, Tegan and Sara, Madness, the Swell Season, the National, Animal Collective, Slightly Stoopid, Mum, Pendulum, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Stars, Battles, Aesop Rock, Midnight Juggernauts, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Minus the Bear, Spank Rock, Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobies Pip, Diplo, Adam Freeland, Santo Gold, Jens Lekman, the John Butler Trio, Vampire Weekend, Dan Deacon, Architecture in Helsinki, Sandra Collins, Busy P, Cut Copy, Black Lips, Datarock, Professor Murder, Reverend and the Makers, the Bees, Porter, Rogue Wave, Modeselektor, American Bang and Lucky I Am.
April 26 – Portishead, Kraftwerk, Death Cab for Cutie, Cafe Tacuba, Sasha & Digweed, Rilo Kiley, M.I.A., Dwight Yoakam (this year's token country act, also appearing at Stagecoach the following weekend), Hot Chip, Cold War Kids, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, DeVotchKa, Flogging Molly, Mark Ronson, Turbonegro, Scars on Broadway, Islands, Enter Shikari, Calvin Harris, Boyz Noise, Junkie XL, Cinematic Orchestra, Jamie T, the Teenagers, VHS or Beta, Carbon/Silicon, Erol Alkan, Yo Majesty!, Bonde Do Role, St. Vincent, Akron Family, MGMT, Institubes DJs, Surkin, Para One and Orgasmic, James Zabiela, Sebastian, Kavinsky, Dredg, the Bird and the Bee, Grand Ole Party, New Young Pony Club, 120 Days, Yoav, Eletric Touch and Uffie.
April 27 – Roger Waters, Love and Rockets, My Morning Jacket, Spiritualized, Justice, Gogol Bordello, Chromeo, the Streets, Metric, Simian Mobile Disco, the Horrors, Danny Tenaglia, Booka Shade, Murs, Dimitri from Paris, Autolux, the Field, Linton Kwesi Johnson (in a spoken-word appearance), Les Savy Fav, the Cool Kids, Sons and Daughters, Sia, Black Kids, Black Mountain, the Annuals, Kid Sister with A-Trak, Man Man, Duffy, I'm From Barcelona, Manchester Orchestra, Deadmaus, Austin TV, Shout Out Louds, Plasticenes and Brett Dennen.
Labels: 2008 Indie Festivals, Concerts, Music Festivals, Portishead
Rouge Wave's song "Lake Michigan" is easily one of my favorite songs of 2007.
So it's no surprise that the song is being highlighted in this is second installment of IRC's favorite songs of 2007.
The focus of this series remains fixed on talented, original and under-rated independent music, especially that which rises to a level that it is talked about on many other alternative and indie rock blogs.
However, there are some entries in this series that feature mainstream artists who are currently signed with non-indie records labels. Nevertheless, they are often not artists that are not household names, and I'm always good with that. I guess the best artists fail when they 'sign over', like Taking Back Sunday and to some extent Radiohead a few years back.
IRC's own 'Favorite Indie and Alternative Songs of 2007' series includes songs that are not found on many site's lists of lists for best music of 2007 (to be published later) low).
However, there is no ranking of songs. That's up to all of you, who are best critics. There are definitely songs from 2007 that I haven't heard that would otherwise be on published on IRC's 'best songs of 2007' playlists.
IRC's Favorite Songs of 2007 - Playlist Two
Lake Michigan - Rouge Wave
I'm Home - Starlet
Keep The Car Running - Arcade Fire
It Ends Tonight - All American Rejects
7 Stars - Apples in Stereo
Milk - Magpie
Herectics - Andrew Bird
Spitting Venom - Modest Mouse
DdiamondD - Panda Bear
Powerlines - Western States of Motel
Download and listen to 2007 Playlist One
Labels: Best Alternative 2007, Best Indie 2007, Best Songs of 2007
Radiohead's In Rainbows and Ray Davies' Working Man's Cafe
It's a rare thing when a new album release becomes a classic almost overnight. But in the case of alternative rock icons Radiohead, the 2007-2008 releases of In Rainbows is being hailed as a masterpiece; some even say more so than the landmark releases of The Bends and OK Computer. This time around, Radiohead has drummed up their own multi-layered promotion, distribution and publicity machines thanks in large part to the band's revolutionary and bold move last fall to offer the new release - for a limited time - at a price determined by the consumer. While Radiohead was not the first to use the Internet this way - Ray Davies, the iconic singer-songwriter of The Kinks, gave away his latest CD Working Man's Cafe - for free this past summer. …
2008 Music Festivals
- Glastonbury
- Coachella
- Lollapalooza
- Bonaroo Festival
Previous Posts
- After Two Years On The Road, The Fray Jumping Out- Coachella 2008 Official Line-Up Includes Roger Wat...
- Favorite or "Best" Songs of 2007, Playlist II
- Radiohead's Mass Distribution of In Rainbows Conti...
- The Triangle's Mid-January Indie Rock Shows Low-Do...
- Arctic Monkey's Newest Video, Upcoming DVD of Manc...
- 90+ Essential Music and Audio Links Collection
- Trailer Park Fashion Show
- Best Indie and Alternative Songs of 2007, Playlist...
- The 12 Plays of Alt-Indie Christmas Songs - Mix Tw...
Arctic Monkeys - Rare Christmas Booklet
During Arctic Monkeys' 12-show, sold-out U.K. tour last December, Big Issue magazine handed out a limited Christmas edition that included a ten-page spread featuring mainly of photos of the group taken during their 2007 world tour.
see it here»
