anticipated reunion tour: yazoo (aka yaz)

back when i was a young little tyke, i discovered an affinity to electronic beats and synthesized keyboards (a sound which still wins me over to this very day). one of the earliest recollections of my love for the sound came from a duo from the UK called yazoo (or 'yaz' as they were known in the US). there was something about the soulful vocals of alison moyet set against the catchy musicality of vince clarke that just made this short union special.

with only two albums under their belt, vince and alison called it quits, both finding success in other incarnations (um... erasure!). now, 25 years later (!!!), yazoo have announced a reunion that includes a mini tour and a 4 disc box set collecting their brief but influential musical collaboration.

check out their story (and some musical gems) below:


yazoo reconnected: the formation of yazoo


yazoo reconnected: recording only you


yazoo - only you (1999 mix) [link 2]
[with additional strings to this remix]


yazoo - don't go [link 2]


yazoo reconnected: yazoo and the split


yazoo reconnected

got the yazoo fever yet? pre-order their 4 disc box set in your room (which includes both yazoo albums, remixes and a dvd) now!

oh and if you haven't bought your ticket for the upcoming tour, here are the dates for you to try and get tix (good luck!):
Mon 07 July: Oakland, CA Paramount Theatre
Tues 08 July: Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theatre
Thu 10 July: Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theatre
Fri 11 July: Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theatre
Mon 14 July: Chicago, IL Chicago Theater
Wed 16 July: New York, NY Terminal 5
Thu 17 July: New York, NY Terminal 5

live wongie: colin meloy - we both go down together (live performance)

colin meloy - we both go down together (live performance) [link 2]
[with his live album, colin meloy sings live!, just out, i thought i'd give you a teaser of what to expect when you go and check out the wonderful decemberists lead singer on his solo tour this season (if you can get a ticket, i heard it's sold out in some cities!).]

4/15 Somerville, MA Somerville Theatre
4/16 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall Of Williamsburg
4/17 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall Of Williamsburg
4/21 Chicago, IL Park West
4/22 Milwaukee, WI The Pabst Theater
4/23 Madison, WI Barrymore Theater
4/25 Lawrence, KS Liberty Hall
4/26 Boulder, CO Fox Theatre
4/28 Los Angeles, CA Henry Fonda Theatre
4/29 Santa Cruz, CA The Rio Theatre
4/30 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
5/2 Seattle, WA Showbox
5/3 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom

remix baby: bjork - innocence (simian mobile disco 12" remix)

bjork - innocence (simian mobile disco 12" remix) [link 2]

it's always a bit of an event when bjork releases a single for the masses. taken off her mixed bag album volta, the timbaland produced "innocence" is easily the most commercial track from this collection.

though bjork is still asking fans to submit stuff for the video, the single was released today with a chock full of hot remixes. and because i'm so nice, i've offered up the best of the batch.

if you want to hear more remixes, discover the whole shebang via itunes (though US fans will have to wait until the 31st)

innocence remix EP track listing:
one ___ mark stent radio edit
two ___ simian mobile disco twelve inch remix
three ___ alva noto unitxt remodel twelve inch remix
four ___ ghostigital untouchable innocence still amazes fearless remix

and while you're at it, go check out bjork live as she added a few more dates to her north american tour:
September 08...Toronto, ON: V Festival
September 11...Detroit, MI: Fox Theatre
September 14...Austin, TX : Austin City Limits Music Festival
September 17...Atlanta, GA: Fox Theatre
September 21...Montreal, BC: Jacques Cartier Pier
September 24...New York, NY: Madison Square Garden

news flash: beirut announces a new album and fall tour dates

while trolling the blog world today, i discovered that cutie genius zach condon (aka beirut) has announced an october 9th release of his new album 'the flying cub cup'.

the tentative track listings are:
00 A Call to Arms
01 Nantes
02 A Sunday Smile
03 Guaymas Sonora
04 La Banlieu
05 Cliquot
06 The Penalty
07 Forks and Knives (La Fête)
08 In the Mausoleum
09 Un Dernier Verre (Pour la Route)
10 Cherbourg
11 St. Apollonia
12 The Flying Club Cup

not only that, but he's planning on coming back to the states for a limited number of dates. i'm so there!
US dates:
09.23 Princeton, NJ - Terrace F Club
09.24 New York, NY - Society for Ethical Culture (Wordless Music Series)
09.26 New York, NY - Delacorte Theater
09.30 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa
10.02 Toronto, Ontario - Danforth Music Hall
10.04 Chicago, IL - Portage Theater
10.08 San Francisco, CA - Herbst Theater
10.09 San Francisco, CA - Herbst Theater
10.10 Los Angeles, CA - Avalon

(thanks to pitchfork and i guess i'm floating for the info)

also if you want to listen to live versions of "nantes" and the lovely "penalty", check out rewritable content's page for beirut's complete show at the koko on the 26th.

while you're at it, check out this song that zach recorded under the guise of the real people. definitely more electronic than what you've grown to love, but still gorgeous to listen to!

zach condon (the real people) (aka beirut) - venice [link 2]

news flash: spice girls announce reunion tour!

like you're surprised. for the past week there have been constant reminders of the 'big announcement' from the spice girls and as expected, the fab five have admitted to an 12 city reunion tour, a new greatest hits package and a warts and all documentary about the spice girls story.

UPDATE 6/29 here is the reel that they showed at the press conference:


looking at the adult version of these girls makes me wonder if their teeny bopper muzac will work in this day and age (since the much sexed up, and more talented pussycat dolls, have modernized the whole 'girl power' idealogy). truth be told, just the idea of these ladies doing 'wannabe' is reason enough to go.

these are the cities announced:
Los Angeles - December 7
Las Vegas - December 8
New York City - December 11
London - December 15
Cologne - December 20
Madrid - December 23
Beijing - January 10
Hong Kong - January 12
Sydney - January 17
Cape Town - January 20
Puerto Rico - TBA 2007-2008
Buenos Aires - January 24


while we're on a memory kick, here are some highlights that i openly enjoyed in the past!

spice girls - 2 become 1 [link 2]
["cause tonight... is the night... when 2 become 1!" oh the joy! definitely my favorite spice girls song ever!]


spice girls - goodbye [link 2]
[another great song. gosh i forgot how many wonderful cheesy mid-tempo stuff they did!]


spice girls - viva forever (acoustic version) [link 2]
[can you just see the turmoil among the group? they couldn't even get together to make a video! the animated spices look like they are crazed, which wasn't too far from the truth.]


spice girls - spice up your life (live @ istanbul)
[something to look forward to for their upcoming tour. to me, the girls always seemed like a childrens tv show that crossed over into the mainstream. nothing better shows that than this sugar coated performance!]

rufus wainwright day: tour news, free in-store performance, album leak

it's a big rufus wainwright day with loads of updated information, a free performance and an album leak in the process.

UPDATE 4/20: check out this really wonderful review of the album by xolondon here.

first things first, our good friend xolondon tipped us on additional performances of good ol rufie in the US including the already sold out four dates in NYC at the gramercy theater [though their own site states you can still buy tix at approx 200 bucks a pop!].

here's the full tour schedule (check this official site for updates)

Sun/Mon, 04/22-23/07 Rufus Wainwright Triple Door Seattle, WA
Wed, 04/25/07 Rufus Wainwright Palace of Fine Arts San Francisco, CA
Tue, 05/01/07 Rufus Wainwright El Rey Theatre Los Angeles, CA
Tue/Wed, 06/05-06/07 Rufus Wainwright Gramercy Theatre New York, NY
Fri/Sat, 06/08-09/07 Rufus Wainwright Gramercy Theatre New York, NY
Sat, 06/16/07 True Colors Tour: Bank of America Pavilion Boston, MA
(Cyndi Lauper, Erasure, Debbie Harry, & Dresden Dolls)
Sun, 06/17/07 True Colors Tour: Merriweather Post Pavilion Columbia, MD
(Cyndi Lauper, Erasure, Debbie Harry, & Dresden Dolls)
Sat, 08/04/07 Rufus Wainwright Mountain Winery Saratoga, CA
Sun, 09/23/07 Rufus Wainwright Hollywood Bowl Hollywood, CA
(Plays Judy Garland: Live at the Hollywood Bowl)
Mon/Tues, 06/11-12/07 Rufus Wainwright The Danforth Music Hall Theatre Toronto, ON

now if you live in the nyc area and have some free time on the 16th of may, rufus will be performing for free at the barnes & noble on 17th street!
here is the info posted on his myspace:

Rufus at Barnes & Noble in New York City

Rufus will do an instore performance and signing at the Union Square Barnes & Noble in New York City (33 East 17th Street) on May 16 at 7:00PM to promote his new album 'Release the Stars'. Be sure to get there early!

FINALLY, i just got my grubby hands on the upcoming 5th album release the stars and i have to admit that on first listen, i'm not as instantly wowed as i was when i heard previous albums like want one or his self titled album a few years back.

i love rufus to death, but this time around i have to say that i'm kind of 'eh' about this collection (even if neil tennant and marius devries on deck as producers). though i cannot deny that even amidst my blase feelings i can recognize the adventurous amounts of musicality that went into this album. so for that reason alone you should check it out.

here are the track listings (and my faves highlighted):

01. Do I Disappoint You
02. Going to a Town
03. Tiergarten
04. Nobody’s Off the Hook
05. Between My Legs
06. Rules and Regulations
07. I’m Not Ready to Love
08. Slideshow
09. Tulsa
10. Leaving for Paris pt2
11. Sanssouci
12. Release the Stars