[digbicks]

Art on your sleeve: Classic works of art reinvented as classic album covers, Christophe Gowans

Duchamp

Venus de Milo

Munch

Magritte

Vermeer

Da Vinci

Van Gogh

Van Gogh

Sir Henry Raeburn

Franz Kline

[retroberry]

Will you be my Valentine Inch Nails?

[epic-humor]

[retroberry]

Excuse me that is a FABULOUS unit of measurement.

[livenationfans]

Panic! At The Disco - Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! Tour

Panic! At The Disco lyrics aren’t meant to be sung so much as screamed. Breakups, makeups, beginnings, ends, feeling lost, feeling alive - Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! covers it all with enough pop synths and hip hop beats to dance away your demons.

Watching their sold-out show at Sound Academy in Toronto was literally a blast. Not even the 5-4-3-2-1 countdown before the opener “Vegas Lights” could prepare me for the power surge I got from its slot machine-inspired synth hook. Non-stop jumping? Awesome.

As big as their new dance sound is, Panic!’s stage presence is even bigger. During the driving guitars of “Nicotine,” Brendon Urie sang his way past exploding columns of smoke as Dallon Weekes leapt on and off platforms without missing a bass note. By the end of the night, Brendon did back flips, stripped, beat-boxed, played piano beautifully, and sang higher than an opera star. It’s like scientists genetically engineered a fabulous one-man circus.

The carnival image might be a throwback to “I Write Sins Not Tragedies’” breakout video, and of course we got to scream it for the encore, but this isn’t the Panic! of 2005 at all. That’s what I love the most about seeing Panic! today: they’re proof that dancing is the best cure for sweating off the past. Letting go has never been more fun.

Don’t miss Panic! At The Disco on tour!

[retroberry]

This was one of those reviews where my memory was better than my notes. Mainly because I suck at handwriting when I'm dancing. Anyways, Panic! have this amazing '80s-pop-meets-hip-hop vibe now that you should check out, m'kay?

[livenationfans]

Nile Rodgers Nokia All Access Moment

Before “Get Lucky” swept The Grammys, riff master Nile Rodgers told me the strangest place he’s heard his Daft Punk hit and the key to great songs. Definitely feeling lucky we got to chat in NYC!

[retroberry]

Nile's excitement for music is so electric it's as if he's an up-and-comer who just got a record deal. Thankfully his production resume (Debbie Harry, Madonna, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Daft Punk...) is far more intimidating than the man himself. It was a real joy and honour to pick his brain.

[retroberry]

Today is the perfect day for Bowie bling.

[oneweekoneband]

Nine Inch Nails - La Mer

The first time I strongly associated the sea with New Orleans, Trent Reznor’s home during the writing of The Fragile (1999), came through reading The Awakening (1899) by Kate Chopin. While “La Mer” and the classic novel certainly both use Creole French at the surface, The Awakening's end and Reznor's mindset at the time share a much greater, darker focus: committing suicide at sea.

Chopin eloquently narrates the struggle between a New Orleans woman fighting for greater independence and the conservative culture of nineteenth-century Louisiana. Sadly, this societal resistance ultimately crushes her ambitions as an early feminist, fuelling her depression to the point of suicide. The final scene memorably depicts her slow, steady waltz into the sea.

So too is “La Mer” both delicate yet haunting. The initial piano hook imitates a peaceful tide flowing in and out before pounding drums, bass and electronic distortion cannibalize the melody. It makes sense that the song came to be in a house Reznor was renting by the ocean. However, as he revealed onstage in 2009, the seaside escape to Big Sur, California was less to inspire the first writing session of The Fragile and more for an idealized suicide during his own battle with depression.

Reznor’s use of contrast extends lyrically as well. The calm Creole French whispers of guest vocalist Denise Milfort, Reznor’s then-girlfriend in New Orleans, are betrayed by the embrace of death apparent in Reznor’s native tongue:

"Et la mer avait embrassé moi / And the sea has embraced me

Et la délivré moi de ma caille / And it has dispensed me from my cell

Rien ne peut m’arrêter maintenant / Nothing can stop me now”

Just as the sonic chaos swells to a peak, the calm piano intro reclaims the song for a peaceful conclusion. Likewise, during that same performance of “La Mer” in 2009, Reznor stated his plans to reclaim the seaside house: “It’s weird to think how different things are now. I’m afraid to go back to that place because it feels kinda haunted to me, but I needed that. I’m getting married there.”

— Jill Krajewski (Jill previously wrote for us about U2 in the 90s and Nine Inch Nails.)

[retroberry]

Wrote some thoughts on Nine Inch Nails for One Week One Band (super cool music discovery Tumblr). What really makes "La Mer" beautiful to me is how it ended up tying together the worst and best days of Trent Reznor's life.

[theyuniversity]

Are band names singular or plural?

[theyuniversity]

Simply put, in American English, we treat band names in the same way we treat regular nouns:

NOTE: In British English, band names (irrespective of whether they’re singular or plural nouns) are followed by the plural form of verbs (e.g., are, play, sing, etc.). For instance, “Radiohead are my favorite band” would be correct.

[retroberry]

[perpetua]

This is the best GIF of 2013

[retroberry]

My biggest grievance with mainstream EDM is its over-reliance on volume and shock value to manufacture cheap hits. It's mistaking surprise for stimulation.

Disclosure really set themselves apart here by valuing space and layering subtle details to craft superb dramatic tracks.Their sense of flow on "White Noise" in particular is so well done that I still never know when the lowest low or highest high is coming.

This is a song I can happily listen to for an hour straight and be just as thrilled every time.

[livenationfans]

Paramore Nokia All Access Moment Part 1

Hayley, Taylor and Jeremy chatted with me backstage in Toronto about headlining Madison Square Garden for the 1st time, beating Lady Gaga to space, and why they’re living their song Daydreaming.

Watch out for Part 2 of our awesome interview on Live Nation Fans!

[retroberry]

One of the coolest interviews I've done so far. Definitely had to step up my red hair game for sitting beside Hayley Williams.

[c18h20n2]

Paul McCartney on  Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

[retroberry]

Bless you sassy Paul.

[oneweekoneband]

Q&A: Rob Sheridan, Art Director of Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails’ most prominent visual theme evolved from decay into glitch during the With Teeth (2005) and Year Zero (2007) eras though the work of Rob Sheridan (Tumblr), a Los Angeles-based artist, designer and photographer. Sheridan started working with Trent Reznor in the late ’90s at a time when he was a budding artist with a well-run NIN fansite and Reznor was looking to expand his digital presence. As their partnership grew more and more collaborative, Sheridan’s role evolved from designer and photographer to Art Director. He also went on to create glitched visuals for Reznor’s work on The Social Network soundtrack in 2010 and with How to destroy angels_ this year in addition to becoming Reznor’s bandmate in the latter project. Despite being just as swamped as Reznor with NIN’s comeback, Sheridan was kind enough to speak with me over email about how he matches visuals to Reznor’s music.

Jill Krajewski (One Week One Band): What interests you about glitch art?

Rob Sheridan: I’ve always been fascinated with things that feel off, things that break formality or break the expected in interesting ways. When I started working with Nine Inch Nails and found myself tasked with visually representing the themes and emotions and sounds of the music, visual glitching was a natural fit. Trent has always played with things that sound slightly “wrong” in his music, and seeking the same visual metaphors often leads me to trying to use visual tools in “wrong” ways. Over time that’s meant dragging paper through broken printers, pouring liquids onto scanners, intentionally breaking cameras, corrupting code, disrupting signals, and on and on. But it depends entirely on the project and the themes and emotions behind it - you won’t find a trace of glitching on some of the albums I’ve done with NIN, because it wasn’t appropriate thematically.

OWOB: Your use of glitch art for The Social Network and Year Zero seems to reflect the backdrop of corruption in both works. Why do you feel glitch art suits this theme?

RS: Well glitch art is, by its nature, corruption. For Year Zero it was a really natural fit, and the use of glitching came initially out of the story. The idea in the mythology was that everything visual in the Year Zero campaign - album art, websites, video footage - had been sent here from the future. So the glitching was a way of visually showing that story element, showing that the data had been corrupted to varying degrees during the transmission back through time. Corruption being a thematic tie-in with Year Zero’s story made it that much more perfect.

For The Social Network, the look of corrupted images played perfectly into not only the themes of corruption in the film, but of the way we portray ourselves digitally on Facebook. The look of it hinted at a darker side to what would be otherwise benign photos.

OWOB: Is there a theme behind your use of glitch art with How to destroy angels_?

RS: I came to the world of analog glitch while seeking out visual inspiration for the new HTDA record [Welcome Oblivion]. Wanting to move away from databending and try something different, I found that the analog equipment I was starting to experiment with created a process that interestingly mirrored what was being done on this album with audio equipment in the studio. And the way the process distorted imagery tied in really well with the themes I wanted to explore. There are themes of singularity, of a sort of end to mankind in an apocalyptic yet distinctly non-apocalyptic sort of way. There are themes of information overload, an increasing inability to process the amount of data that’s coming in. None of that probably makes any sense, but I don’t want to go into it in too much detail. The themes are closely connected to the themes of the HTDA album, and I’d rather people be able to experience it themselves and have their own takeaway on what it’s about.

Read More

[retroberry]

Did I just talk to Trent Reznor on Reddit?! Life. Made. Nine Inch Nails is my bucket list interview!

I'm glad to hear Trent's just as invigorated by The Fragile 14 years on as fans are. Experiencing the bass grooves of "Into The Void" live - my favorite - was phenomenal. 

[livenationfans]

Paramore - The Self-Titled Tour

2013 is definitely the year of Paramore. The pop punk trio’s comeback album went to number 1, “Still Into You” became their biggest single yet, and they put on a hell of a show for their first headlining arena tour.

I got to watch them rock Toronto, and that show was no exception. Whether it was Taylor’s wailing guitar solo during “Decode,” Hayley’s soaring vocals on “Daydreaming,” or Jeremy slappin da bass on “Ain’t It Fun,” each of the Tennessee trio worked the stage like it was a badass rock catwalk, running, spinning, and headbanging their way back and forth. Their energy is infectious.

I really respect how Paramore make an effort to genuinely connect with their fans, both online and onstage. They brought up a local choir to preach the last verse of “Ain’t It Fun,” the whole band thrashed around with a lucky fan during “Misery Business,” and Hayley even personally handed their setlist to someone in the crowd.

By the time we were covered in confetti butterflies during the epic “Still Into You,” it was clear why we’re still into Paramore. On top of being three talented bandmates, Jeremy, Taylor, and Hayley’s amazing friendship brings out the best in them and us as fans. Each one pushes the other to play harder, dream bigger, and keep moving, no matter what. That’s Paramore.

Got your Self-Titled Tour tickets yet? You better!

[livenationfans]

Just interviewed Paramore backstage in Toronto! They’re so nice and down to earth. :) Watch out for our Nokia All Access Moment video on everything from Madison Square Garden to Adventure Time!

[retroberry]

Biggest interview I've done so far! Pretty surreal considering all the high school MSN convos I've had about Hayley Williams' hair.

[livenationfans]

Hey there, Jill. I just wanted to say that I loved your review on the 1975 concert! I wrote a review for The 1975 on the anonymousounds blog and I was wondering if you can give me any advice? I would love to get a kick start on my career by reviewing concerts, films, etc. and even interview artists at one point. Can you give me any advice on how to start? Thank you for your time on reading this!

Thanks so much! Glad you loved The 1975 as much as I did. My path to getting to interview Matt Healy and shoot their show started with doing just what you’re doing. :)

Blogging about music is a great way to hone your knowledge, passion, and writing skills to eventually create a portfolio for yourself. Once you feel like you have a good roster of pieces, look up the independent music sites in your scene to start developing freelance relationships.

It’s more common to start out at a site with album and show reviews. After you’ve built up trust with a publication, they’ll be more open to having you do artist interviews too. With time, you can move up to larger music sites and bigger artists through the same deal.

It will take time and sweat, but if you know in your heart that working in music is what you want to do, don’t lose sight of the passion that started it all. Hope that helps!