Niki N. Phaser » band

Blink 182 Visit The Old Continent Next Summer

Niki N. Phaser — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 19:28:24 +0000

Mark Hoppus has announced that Blink 182 will be touring Europe for a few weeks, during the summer of 2010. No exact dates or locations have been published yet, but in the following months, everything will be revealed. To be sure that you are not missing anything, check the band’s official site for future information. Since the band reformed, there has been talk of a new album, but there is still nothing certain. Drummer Travis Barker has been working on his solo record, which will feature, among others, RZA and Chester of Linkin Park and Dead By Sunrise. It will be out next year, under the title Mr. Barker’s. Mark Hoppus has been in the studio also, producing a lot of new bands, while Tom DeLonge’s side project, Angels and Airwaves is about to release a new album, Love, and also an experimental movie of the same name. The first single, Hallucinations, has been released as a free download, as will the entire record. However, some sources state that the band will be working on a new Blink 182 album before touring Europe in 2010. Their last one was released in 2003.

Red Hot Chili Peppers One Man Down

Niki N. Phaser — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:22:26 +0000

It is official: John Frusciante is no longer a memeber of funk-rock legends, Red Hot Chili Peppers. The experienced guitarist confirmed that he is going rogue and, even more, that he was out of the band for more than a year, around the time his tenth solo album, The Empyrean, was released. The departure was an amiable one:”I really love the band and what we did. I understand and value that my work with them means a lot to many people, but I have to follow my interests”.

This is the second time Frusciante leaves the band, the first being right after the Peppers made it big with Blood Sugar Sex Magik. At the time, the guitarist thought he couldn’t cope with the rockstar status and quit, just like now, in order to work on his solo projects. Indeed, he released several experimental albums, but also plunged into a lengthy heroin addiction, which was almost the death of him. Johnny Depp and Gibby Haynes documented the state of his house during this period in a short movie called:

STUFF

Placebo Gaze At ‘Bright Lights’

Niki N. Phaser — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:42:00 +0000

Well, I have to say I stand corrected… After complaining that Placebo have a well-defined singles M.O., I’m pleased to see that the recently EMA Best Alternative winners have decided to take a slightly new direction by choosing Bright Lights as their new single from Battle for the Sun.

It’s one of Placebo’s more (if not the most) upbeat and bright-sounding tracks and they haven’t got too many of those, at least, not in such a mainstream sense of the word. Besides being a different sounding Placebo, Bright Lights is also an interesting lyrical work for Brian Molko. Thematically, this is for him what Ashes to Ashes was to Bowie — a cynical and ironic look at his “crazy livin”’. It feels as if, for the first time, he doesn’t hide behind a character anymore and acknowledges his real life persona, expressing regret over the choices he has made (speaking a lot about his life in the early days, thus distracting the attention from the music).

The Heroes for Zeroes-directed video is also in tune with the song, as it starts with a dark setting only to end with Placebo playing on a background of blue skies — the journey from darkness to light that Battle for the Sun supposedly embodies. The single version of the song is slightly different than the album, as it features backing vocals by Val Etienne & Hazel Fernandes (Kylie Minogue, Jamiroquai).

BRIGHT LIGHTS VIDEO

Steve Hewitt Unveils New Band

Niki N. Phaser — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:22:08 +0000

Since his departure from Placebo, in September 2007, drum virtuoso Steve Hewitt hasn’t been slacking off. Helped by friends and family, Hewitt has started a new musical project. The band is called Love Amongst Ruin. This will also be the name of their debut album. Yes, that is correct, an album is already on the way. It was recorded at the Moles Studio (Bath, UK) in the spring-summer period of 2008. Paul Corkett, who produced The Cure’s Bloodflowers, among other noteworthy stuff, was invited to work on some of the tracks. It’s not the first time Hewitt collaborated with this producer. Paul Corkett also produced and engineered Placebo’s Black Market Music. The mixing was done overseas, at the prestigious Bernie Grundman studios in Los Angeles by Brian Gardner, whose discography is as eclectic as can be: from 2Pac to Red Hot Chili Peppers to Barbra Streisand.

Currently, Steve Hewitt is putting the ‘finishing touches’ on the band’s line-up, as most of the musicians involved in the recording sessions are members of other bands and unable to commit long term to Love Amongst Ruin. Rehearsals are on the way, but before the band premieres any new music, there is still the issue of finding the right management and a label. Knowing that, studio-wise, Steve Hewitt wasn’t restricted to playing only drums for Placebo, one cannot help wondering what this new project of his will sound like, especially since he’s also doing vocals for his new band. For more info, check his:

MySpace Page

Blink 182 – Violence : Intimacy vs. Hanging Out

Niki N. Phaser — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:30:18 +0000

While we are waiting… and waiting… and, you guessed it… for Blink 182 to release some new material, we should all take a moment and remember the wonderful non-single masterpiece that was Violence, song which appeared on as of yet still their final album, the self-titled (or untitled) from 2003. Because of this album, the band’s 2005 hiatus was even harder, because it marked the beginning of a new sound for the band. While still punk and pop, this album had more serious tones. Unlike previous stuff, it talked about love, not about dating, about intimacy, not about hanging out. The sound was hinted at by earlier songs like Stay Together for the Kids or Adam’s Song, but Blink 182 is the album where the boys grow up, they are done with practical jokes, because they feel new things and they need to get them out there. Violence is by no means the highlight of the album. It shares the title with I Miss You, All of This or I’m Lost Without You, but, still, Violence probably has the best chorus on the entire thing. The live version sounds great, too, but you kinda notice the lack of the slight reverb on the “You kill me” line. It makes all the difference.

Album Version

Sugababes Line-up Updated Again

Niki N. Phaser — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:01:33 +0000

After a few days ago it was reported that Amelle Berrabah left the British pop force, Sugababes, it is now officially confirmed that it’s actually the last original member, Keisha Buchanan, that is no longer a sugababe. The departure was obviously not as peaceful as these events are advertised to be in Pop La-La Land. Buchanan herself confessed on her twitter page that “Although it was not my choice to leave, it’s time to enter a new chapter in my life”. This is not the end of Sugababes (should it be?), as a new member was already being groomed in the person of Jade Ewen, singer, actress and Eurovision contestant. The new Sugababes album, Sweet 7 will come out on November 23rd, probably re-recorded with Ewen, even though the last single to feature Keisha Buchanan, Get Sexy, reached the second spot in the UK and represented a strong comeback for the band. Maybe the music woun’t be affected, considering that the girls weren’t always holding writing credits, but it’s always sad when a band becomes an institution where people come and go.

Reunited Skunk Anansie Premiere New Video

Niki N. Phaser — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:39:14 +0000

There is some new material on the reunited front of 90′s alternative idols, Skunk Anansie. After an eight years break for solo efforts, the four members got together again. They are about to release a somewhat delayed best of album, entitled Smashes and Tashes, that will be promoted through a full-on European tour, which will have them rocking some of the major cities on the continent, like Berlin, Vienna, Zurich, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Madrid, as well as some familiar places in the UK. Still, they are not going to rest solely on past laurels, but are also offering some new material. After releasing a free download new song as a sign of good faith, Tear the Place Up, Skin & co. are gracing us with a new single from the aforementioned best of album. It’s called Because of You and already has a video to go along with it. For what it’s worth, this is quite a good song, which proves that Skunk Anansie are not into the reunion bussiness just to right their financial situation, but also to explore new places in their musical creativity. It’s a departure both from their Female Rage Against the Machine days of Little Baby Swastikkka and from their d’n'b flashes of Charlie Big Potato. Smashes and Tashes will also feature a third new track, Squander.

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR Because of You

Califone – Bottles & Bones (Shade & Sympathy) : Experimental

Niki N. Phaser — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:09:28 +0000

It’s still unclear what kind of music does Califone play, but it doesn’t really matter as long as it sounds like this wonderful song, Bottles & Bones (Shade & Sympathy). This Chicago outfit of proggies dable in some sort of experimental folk, mostly acoustic, but also with some electric shades here and there. They seem like a bunch of guys who work the fields the first six days of the week and then, on Sunday, they gather on someone’s porch and start jamming. No commercial pressure whatsoever – absolute freedom. And Bottles & Bones (Shade & Sympathy) sounds exactly like that. The emotions which transpire through this song are 100% sincere, musically that is (the ooohhh’s of the chorus will make you ponder on your existential loneliness, wherever you are). The lyrics outline a strange universe, dangerous and degraded: “Nervous john, Rescues all the whores” (Taxi Driver ???), “Aching to get your pocket picked” or “Clouds of angels liquored pink and underage”. It kinda sounds like Kurt Cobain faked his suicide just to retire somewhere with no electricity and release unrehearsed songs under the name Califone. Still, the song was written by Tim Rutili, the founder of Califone. In case it sounds familiar, you should know that Bottles & Bones (Shade & Sympathy) was featured on the Will Ferrell movie Stranger Than Fiction, contributing like 60 % to the film’s profoundness.

LISTEN TO THIS EXPERIMENTAL SONG HERE

Muse Premiere Uprising

Niki N. Phaser — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:57:07 +0000

Muse are continuing the string of new events leading up to the release of their new album, The Resistance, in September. Their first single from this album, Uprising, has had its radio premiere and is now available as a digital download in 17 countries. You can also listen to the song and United States of Eurasia on the band’s official website, but only if you register. If not, you get only 30 seconds snippets. On the same site you can also take a glance at the artwork for The Resistance, which has an 80′s feel (kinda reminds me of the movie Tron), also present in some of the synths they used for Uprising. Courtesy of Radio 1 BBC we are able to pay a little visit to Muse’s studio, alongside Zane Lowe. Thus we find the inspiration behind United States of Eurasia. But, back to Uprising, the song is quite good, but not something groundbreaking. But, we all know where our curiosity mainly lies regarding this new Muse album: Exogenesis, the three piece symphonic composition, on which Bellamy worked for years.

No Pill To Fix Sound Problems For Placebo

Niki N. Phaser — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:15:28 +0000

Placebo have encountered the climax of technical problems during a live concert, as they declared in an official statement on their site: “In our 15 year career we have never experienced such a technical difficulty on stage”. It all occurred during their set at the MTV Murcia Night show, in Cartagena, Spain. The problems started even from opener Kitty Litter and persisted all troughout the following songs, forcing the band to take the dramatic decision of cutting the gig short, six tracks in. They left the stage while the snags were being worked on, but never come back, as it was impossible to put on an at least a standard Placebo show. Useless to say that the decision was met with little understanding by the crowd. It was a free concert, so there wasn’t any question of refunds. Just a big disappointment for everyone. Despite Placebo promising that “We will try our hardest to make this up to you!”, we all know that once a gig goes awry, there is little to do about it.

WATCH A VIDEO OF THE DISPLEASED CROWD