For the Phoenix obsessed (like myself)

Below is the first (from what I can tell) of a series called Musicvision. It takes an artist and goes through the 20 songs that changed their lives and helped cultivate the band's sound. Phoenix, one of my favorite bands, is featured in the first series. I have watched 10 minutes so far and I am in love. This is PERFECTLY executed. It allows the songs to breathe and really be absorbed by the listener while adding a commentary track, highlighting the song's profound influence on the band. Brilliant concept and really astonishingly well-executed.

Excited to see more of these!

Enjoy,
MD

R.I.P. John Hughes

John Hughes passed away yesterday at the far too early age of 59 from a heart attack. His films were staples of our youth (I may hold the record for the most Ferris Bueller viewings) and more than any other cultural artifact defined the 80s decade. Hughes was incredibly influential in his use of music in film from the Psychedelic Furs song that inspired Pretty in Pink (with one of the most brilliant soundtracks overall) to Ferris Bueller leading all of Chicago through "Twist and Shout" (my personal favorite). So much of what is going on in current music scene is influenced by the 80s music and 80s spirit embodied in his films. Many acts I have written about here from Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Phoenix, The Big Pink to Passion Pit have clear influences.

Then there is M83, the brilliant French electronic music producer, who raves about Hughes and his influence specifically on his latest album, the exceptional Saturdays=Youth, which Anthony Gonzalez (M83) credits a big debt to Hughes' Pretty In Pink and The Breakfast Club. Saturdays=Youth is a Hughes film soundtrack for our current time. The video below is for M83's "Kim & Jessie" - it has all the teen awkwardness, angst, simplicity and beauty that embodied Hughes' work.




Below is another video that surfaced a few months ago mashing up Phoenix's "Lisztomania" with the brat pack. This was user-generated, but it created so much buzz that the band has been talking about it in interviews. Love this -



And just for fun I have to include this:



Enjoy,
MD

Everything You Need to Know About (EYNTKA): Phoenix

I am introducing a new section that will be a recurring one on this blog, Everything You Need to Know About or EYNTKA. This section is intended for all of us that are too busy and ADD in this digital world to build a holistic and all-knowing history and catalog of songs from the best artists out there, but still want to have the highlights and talking points to hang at that hipster cocktail party later tonight. It is like Wikipedia, if Wikipedia was only concerned about you sounding cool. Here's Phoenix.

(Lead singer Thomas Mars at the Wiltern)

History / Trivia:
One of the two guitarists, Laurent Brancowitz, started out in a Beach Boys inspired guitar band with the two electronic geniuses that would later become Daft Punk (both paths worked out pretty well).

Cocktail Party Key Talking Points:
"While "Love Like A Sunset" isn't one of my go-to tracks when I am spinning the album, seeing it performed live showed it to be their most complex and brilliant to date. You know their motivation for the song was sonically recreating the rhythmic experience of the road and lights through a tunnel in between Paris and Versailles. Only took them two years." (This song is absolutely brilliant by the way - check it out: LINK)

Albums / Song Highlights / Cliff Notes Description:
Untitled (2000) - "Too Young" / "If I Ever Feel Better" - Glossy electro-pop
Alphabetical (2004) - "Everything is Everything" / "Run Run Run" (A personal favorite) - stripped down R&B, blues and jazz infused rock.
It's Never Been Like That (2006) - "Napoleon Says" / "Long Distance Call" - crisp electronic infused guitar driven rock: think Johnny Marr meets Strokes meets Air.
Wolfgang Amedeus Phoenix (2009) - Highlights in my Top 10 (and let's be honest this whole album is a highlight - just get it) - this album is pop perfection

Best remixes (If you are listening to and quoting remixes then you have to know alot about the original stuff right??):
Long Distance Call (25 Hours A Day Remix) LINK
1901 (Alan Wilkis Remix) LINK

Upcoming Tour Dates:
LA - Greek Theatre (one of the best venues in LA - soon to have its own write-up on this blog) on 9/16 - GET TICKETS TO THIS IMMEDIATELY
NYC - Rumsey Playfield Central Park on 9/25 ( I am probably going to this one too)
Other cities check out their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/wearephoenix

Enjoy,
MD