This show starts and ends with a bang.
Opening cut is a pleasant little ditty :) from Nine Inch Nails. Closing cut is wretched guitar excess: Brian May captured live at Wembley (whence comes part of this show's title) at the peak of Queen's popularity performing the extended solo from Brighton Rock. Not something you're likely to hear at the next wedding reception you attend but a "must listen" for Brian May fans.
In between, we offer some fare with broader appeal, including a song from Manic Street Preachers that will linger with you, and a couple of experiments.
Experiment 1. We recently received our first promo CD in the mail (thank you Nettwerk Records - see note at end of post). The artist: Griffin House. The material: a little more rootsy/country than I'd normally listen to but three songs caught my attention. I've selected two for the show and would be curious to hear your thoughts on this material. Send me an email.
Experiment 2. We play a couple of stripped down acoustic tracks that don't fit the "rock format" yet each has a certain appeal. The first (from Stephen Stills) has an interesting story behind it and is very raw. It sounds like he set up a microphone in his living room (whence comes the other part of this show's title) and layed it down in one take. Raw yet memorable. The second is a short acoustic instrumental from Canada's Bruce Cockburn. Again, would love to hear your thoughts on these songs.
Finally, before Brian takes the stage, we have something for history buffs. A rare cut from a long forgotten British power trio whose guitar player, for a brief period, was giving the big guns from Deep Purple and Black Sabbath a stiff challenge as THE guitar player to watch.
A little more eclectic show than normal.
Hope you like it.
Side note: Nettwerk Records started as a small indie label in a basement office in Vancouver. Their first 'big hit' was signing a young unknown singer from the maritimes by the name of Sara McLachlan. Today, as major labels sink in a sea of red ink and layoffs, Nettwerk is growing in leaps and bounds. Between their record label, publishing and management divisions, they represent a very broad cross-section of artists including Sara McLachlan, Barenaked Ladies, Avril Lavigne, Dido, Sum 41, Delerium, The Cardigans, The Finn Brothers and a whole host of other artists, including many 'indie' artists. What's the secret of their success? Unlike many established segments of the music industry, Nettwerk founder, Terry McBride, embraces change rather than fears it. As such, they have been very open to alternative revenue streams as CD revenue dies a not so slow death. Notably, they financed the defence costs of a teenager (and her family) who was being sued by the major labels for file-sharing music.
For information on Nettwerk, visit http://www.nettwerk.com/ and if you want cutting edge insight on where the industry is going, check out http://www.savethemusicfan.com/.
Cheers,
Michael
Friday, February 22, 2008
Transitions
Well, this show got somewhat orphaned. Uploaded on Jan 26 and no reference until late February. My apologies.
This show opens with a cut from the most recent Tears for Fears album (Everybody loves a happy ending) which sees Roland Orzabal re-united with original collaborator Curt Smith (hence the album's title?). A second TFF cut highlights both their great vocal capabilities as well as their exceptional attention to detail when it comes to production. The second cut, in particular, has a production style reminiscent of The Beatles/George Martin.
Next, a truly beautiful piece off the the newest Crowded House album. If you don't 'get it' the first time, have another listen. This will really grow on you.
The beginning section ends with the title cut off Sting's Soul Cages. Great feel.
We then visit the "Progressive Rock" arena with a few cuts from Yes and Genesis, the first of which is a live acoustic cut from Yes' Steve Howe.
The final section features 'Marshall's on 11'. Straight ahead guitar rock.
The first track is, I believe, the song Led Zeppelin opened their last North American tour with (saw them in Seattle at the Kingdom - before the roof collapsed). From there, on to Britain's Stone Roses, a sadly under-recognized band.
We close with two cuts from brilliant guitar virtuoso Andy Timmons. He is a master at a wide variety of styles. A good friend of mine saw Andy in Las Vegas filling the role of guitar player (and music director) for Olivia Newton-John ( my friend was there simply to accompany his wife and said the guitar player was the only part of the show that caught his attention). The two cuts we feature are about as far removed from mainstream pop as you could possible get. The first is a very laid back jazzy cut while the second has to rank amongst the fastest possible guitar playing humanly possible.
Let us know what you think!
Cheers,
Michael
This show opens with a cut from the most recent Tears for Fears album (Everybody loves a happy ending) which sees Roland Orzabal re-united with original collaborator Curt Smith (hence the album's title?). A second TFF cut highlights both their great vocal capabilities as well as their exceptional attention to detail when it comes to production. The second cut, in particular, has a production style reminiscent of The Beatles/George Martin.
Next, a truly beautiful piece off the the newest Crowded House album. If you don't 'get it' the first time, have another listen. This will really grow on you.
The beginning section ends with the title cut off Sting's Soul Cages. Great feel.
We then visit the "Progressive Rock" arena with a few cuts from Yes and Genesis, the first of which is a live acoustic cut from Yes' Steve Howe.
The final section features 'Marshall's on 11'. Straight ahead guitar rock.
The first track is, I believe, the song Led Zeppelin opened their last North American tour with (saw them in Seattle at the Kingdom - before the roof collapsed). From there, on to Britain's Stone Roses, a sadly under-recognized band.
We close with two cuts from brilliant guitar virtuoso Andy Timmons. He is a master at a wide variety of styles. A good friend of mine saw Andy in Las Vegas filling the role of guitar player (and music director) for Olivia Newton-John ( my friend was there simply to accompany his wife and said the guitar player was the only part of the show that caught his attention). The two cuts we feature are about as far removed from mainstream pop as you could possible get. The first is a very laid back jazzy cut while the second has to rank amongst the fastest possible guitar playing humanly possible.
Let us know what you think!
Cheers,
Michael
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
No Borders
Having had a few days to let Sunday's show, (No Borders), sink in, it's really starting to grow on me. There were quite a few last minute changes (long story) so it didn't end up quite as planned but (speaking very personally!), I like the blend of material from relatively new artists and newer material from veterans.
The show starts with a straight-ahead rocker from Britain's Kasabian. Up next is an extended cut from The Stone Roses. This song takes a while to get going but be patient. It has a great blend of percussive groove with rock. The following songs feature the distinctive vocals of Chris Cornell (Audioslave) and Matthew Bellamy (Muse).
Our first "featured artist" is Colin Hay. Colin first came to prominence in the early eighties as singer/songwriter with Australia's "Men at Work" ("Who can it be now", "Down Under"). It was a listener who turned me on to his current solo material (which has been featured in the soundtracks to "Scrubs" and "Garden State"). I'm still catching up on his material but am really enjoying his gift for songwriting, especially the storytelling of his lyrics. (He also has a 'Barenaked Ladies' sense of humour when it comes to lyrics). Colin is on tour on the US east coast in April/May and then hops over to BC and Alberta in July/August. Very worth catching! Check his website for details: http://www.colinhay.com/
From Colin, we move to a true surprise (for me): Rik Emmett. Rik is probably best known as singer/guitar player for Canadian power trio Triumph. He has grown into a remarkably versatile artist. The cut we selected is an acoustic piece that is as far removed from 'power trio' as you could possibly imagine. Rik is also on tour. Check: http://www.rikemmett.com/.
We follow Rik with a cut that might suggest we're 'Living in the past': a brilliant, acoustic based cut from a classic band (you'll have to listen to find out who).
The show closes with an artist that never ceases to amaze me: Jeff Beck. The first cut has a great groove to it (and a very wide dynamic range - if you don't have a lot of bass on your speakers, you may think the song has stopped at a couple of points). His ability to pull sounds out of a guitar that I don't hear anyone else doing is quite remarkable. You will find yourself wondering when he's using a bottleneck and when he's doing wild string bends coupled with skilled use of the vibrato bar. The second cut is a live blues cut. Listen to the nuances he puts into each note. Amazing! On one note, he bends the string so much you wonder how the neck didn't snap, let alone the string. Still producing cutting edge material after all these years!
Cheers,
Michael
The show starts with a straight-ahead rocker from Britain's Kasabian. Up next is an extended cut from The Stone Roses. This song takes a while to get going but be patient. It has a great blend of percussive groove with rock. The following songs feature the distinctive vocals of Chris Cornell (Audioslave) and Matthew Bellamy (Muse).
Our first "featured artist" is Colin Hay. Colin first came to prominence in the early eighties as singer/songwriter with Australia's "Men at Work" ("Who can it be now", "Down Under"). It was a listener who turned me on to his current solo material (which has been featured in the soundtracks to "Scrubs" and "Garden State"). I'm still catching up on his material but am really enjoying his gift for songwriting, especially the storytelling of his lyrics. (He also has a 'Barenaked Ladies' sense of humour when it comes to lyrics). Colin is on tour on the US east coast in April/May and then hops over to BC and Alberta in July/August. Very worth catching! Check his website for details: http://www.colinhay.com/
From Colin, we move to a true surprise (for me): Rik Emmett. Rik is probably best known as singer/guitar player for Canadian power trio Triumph. He has grown into a remarkably versatile artist. The cut we selected is an acoustic piece that is as far removed from 'power trio' as you could possibly imagine. Rik is also on tour. Check: http://www.rikemmett.com/.
We follow Rik with a cut that might suggest we're 'Living in the past': a brilliant, acoustic based cut from a classic band (you'll have to listen to find out who).
The show closes with an artist that never ceases to amaze me: Jeff Beck. The first cut has a great groove to it (and a very wide dynamic range - if you don't have a lot of bass on your speakers, you may think the song has stopped at a couple of points). His ability to pull sounds out of a guitar that I don't hear anyone else doing is quite remarkable. You will find yourself wondering when he's using a bottleneck and when he's doing wild string bends coupled with skilled use of the vibrato bar. The second cut is a live blues cut. Listen to the nuances he puts into each note. Amazing! On one note, he bends the string so much you wonder how the neck didn't snap, let alone the string. Still producing cutting edge material after all these years!
Cheers,
Michael
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Year end show
By the skin of our teeth, we managed to get the year's final show (Archive 13 Beaucoup Entendu) uploaded on New Year's eve (with special thanks to Jay VP, a Vancouver based recording engineer with a growing international reputation, who helped trouble-shoot a ridiculously stupid techie problem of my own creation at the last minute!).
With most of the shows, I like to present a cross-section of material in the hope of turning someone on to an artist/song they hadn't heard before.
This show is an exception. With other stations producing their "Top 500 songs of all time" countdowns, I decided to take a (heavily biased) look back at artists that have had a major impact on me personally and the music industry in general. You will no doubt be familiar with most of the artists but the song choices may be different from what you'd see on most 'best of' lists. In most cases, I chose the songs that locked me in as a fan. I'll be curious to hear your thoughts on the choices!
Also included are two songs that were a large part of the impetus to launch this station. In particular, the final cut of the show is a 17 minute instrumental that would most likely never see the light of day on a conventional station. Not an instantly catchy pop/rock tune. Instead, a song that takes its time to draw you in. If you give it a chance to get under your skin, you will find yourself returning to it over and over.
All the best for the new year!
Michael
With most of the shows, I like to present a cross-section of material in the hope of turning someone on to an artist/song they hadn't heard before.
This show is an exception. With other stations producing their "Top 500 songs of all time" countdowns, I decided to take a (heavily biased) look back at artists that have had a major impact on me personally and the music industry in general. You will no doubt be familiar with most of the artists but the song choices may be different from what you'd see on most 'best of' lists. In most cases, I chose the songs that locked me in as a fan. I'll be curious to hear your thoughts on the choices!
Also included are two songs that were a large part of the impetus to launch this station. In particular, the final cut of the show is a 17 minute instrumental that would most likely never see the light of day on a conventional station. Not an instantly catchy pop/rock tune. Instead, a song that takes its time to draw you in. If you give it a chance to get under your skin, you will find yourself returning to it over and over.
All the best for the new year!
Michael
Friday, December 28, 2007
In the beginning
Welcome to our first post! 2007 saw a lot of groundwork come to fruition as we finally 'flipped the switch' and declared planetnerve8 'on air' in early September.
With our goal of exposing material that is not typically heard on conventional radio stations, this blog will be the forum where we can provide more background on the artists/material we are highlighting. This will also be the venue where listeners can provide feedback on the material played.
The music industry is undergoing huge change right now. This is a very exciting time for people who really care about music as technology has opened up both the means of production and the means of distribution so no longer is a talented musician forced to go cap in hand to a major label. Can't get a record deal? No problem. Do it yourself. While I think the majors will continue to have a vital role to play, the nature of that role will shift rapidly. Instead of "selling CD's", it will shift more to exposing their artists to the public and investigating innovative ways to 'monetize music.'
We hope to also discuss these changes in this forum.
Cheers,
Michael
With our goal of exposing material that is not typically heard on conventional radio stations, this blog will be the forum where we can provide more background on the artists/material we are highlighting. This will also be the venue where listeners can provide feedback on the material played.
The music industry is undergoing huge change right now. This is a very exciting time for people who really care about music as technology has opened up both the means of production and the means of distribution so no longer is a talented musician forced to go cap in hand to a major label. Can't get a record deal? No problem. Do it yourself. While I think the majors will continue to have a vital role to play, the nature of that role will shift rapidly. Instead of "selling CD's", it will shift more to exposing their artists to the public and investigating innovative ways to 'monetize music.'
We hope to also discuss these changes in this forum.
Cheers,
Michael
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