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Review
Deadmau5
doles out lackluster EDM
Deadmau5, “album title goes here “(Ultra)
Deadmau5’s new anti-titled electronic dance
music album, “album title goes here,” is a
lot of things. It’s a thumping dance tapestry.
It’s pockmarked with features from the likes of
Cypress Hill and Imogen Heap. And it also underscores
Deadmau5’ global reach and feel. It just
isn’t very good. The album from the Mickey Mouse
mask-wearing electronic dance music vet pushes
no boundaries that weren’t already pushed 10
years ago. From Joel Zimmerman, better known to
his considerable fan base as Deadmau5, the lack
of creativity is a sin.
There are scores of EDM specialists crafting
new approaches these days, from Grammy-winning
Skrillex to live beat-maker AraabMuzik to
up-and-comers like HeRobust. Amid their inventive
progressions, Deadmau5’ latest album feels
a tad old and dusty. “Superliminal” is all buildup
and very little payoff. You’ll be left waiting minutes
for the drop, and perhaps scanning forward
to the next track in hopes of getting the pulse
racing. Good luck. “Fn Pig” is one of the few
tracks on board with some sizzle. It’s an eightminute
track that teases you for the first two
before any semblance of a proper beat emerges.
But once it gets going the bass line grabs you by
the shoulders and refuses to let go. It’s an addictive,
repeat-worthy track.
But mostly, we find Deadmau5 longing for
some sort of house music yesteryear. On “Maths,”
the corny digital samples feel extremely dated
and required a much smarter approach than
this. Check out this track: “Closer” cleverly borrows
the five-note sequence used by scientists
to talk to alien visitors in “Close Encounters of
the Third Kind.” It blends well into this breezy
track as synth stabs bounce around in the background.
—AP
Skaggs continues
exploring
on latest album
Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, “Music To
My Ears” (Skaggs Family/Fontana)
Ricky Skaggs has barreled down an eclectic
path since going independent at the turn of
the century - after two decades as an awardwinning
contemporary country singer. In the last
dozen years, he has shown off his skills as one of the
most revered bluegrass and gospel artists of his generation,
he’s honored influences with tributes and
collaborative works, and he has challenged himself
with projects that explore adult pop songs and complex
singer-songwriter themes.
On individual albums, he has concentrated on a
specific premise. However, on “Music To My Ears,” he
and his skilled Kentucky Thunder band have decided
to incorporate all of his interests at once. It makes for
an album of surprises, with the variety of styles connected
by Skaggs’ expressive tenor and forceful
mandolin playing. There’s hard-charging, old-school
bluegrass (a cover of the Stanley Brothers’ “Loving
You Too Well”); tributes to Bill Monroe (a fantastic
update of “Blue Night”) and Doc Watson (a romping
band version of “Tennessee Stud”); contemporary
gospel (“Music To My Ears”); singer-songwriter musings
(a cover of the Bee Gees’ wholly relevant
“Soldier’s Son”); and harmony-rich pop (“You Are
Something Else”).
All together it shows that Skaggs, at age 58, continues
to create powerful music that doesn’t rest on
laurels or reputation.
Check out this track: While Skaggs has often
flashed joy and humor over his career, he has never
recorded a novelty song quite as goofy - or fun - as
“You Can’t Hurt Ham.” —AP
lifestyle
F E A T U R E S
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
Members of Colombia’s ‘Pioneros del ritmo’ dance school perform during the 7th World Salsa Festival held at the Canaveralejo Bullring in Cali,
Colombia, yesterday. Thousands of people in Cali live from the salsa industry-whether working at dance schools, tailors, showmakers, ballrooms and
party rooms, or other related businesses. —AFP
No Doubt ready to rock again after making babies
When the members of No Doubt
got together again to make new
music, something unexpected
came with them: a bit of doubt. It had
been 11 years since they’d put out “Rock
Steady” and their priorities had changed.
Each of the four had gotten married and
had kids, producing eight babies between
them. Music was no longer the most
important thing in their lives. Could they
still make it work? “That’s pretty complicated
stuff when you start to really look at
it,” 42-year-old lead singer and lyricist
Gwen Stefani says. “You’re playing this role
your whole life - the singer of No Doubt -
This CD cover image released by Interscope
Records shows the latest release for No Doubt,
Push and Shove. — AP
totally committed to this in the greatest
kind of way, and then all of a sudden,
you’re saying, ‘Actually, you guys cannot
be No. 1 anymore or else this is not going
to work.’”
The band has somehow made it work.
They return this month with their first studio
CD in over a decade - “Push and
Shove,” which blends their signature mix
of ska and British New Wave with lyrics
that reveal some anguish at their new
lives. “Here we go again/Are you insane?”
Hiatt sings of Funyuns,
more on new album
John Hiatt, “Mystic Pinball” (New West Records)
Some performers can sound good singing a grocery
list, and it turns out John Hiatt is one of
them. “Eggs,” Hiatt warbles on the “Fargo”-esque
“Wood Chipper.” “Hamburger meat. Bread. Funyuns.”
Fans hungry for fresh Hiatt will be well satisfied by
“Mystic Pinball,” his 21st album. When he’s not contrasting
mundane shopping to murder, he offers tuneful
observations on addiction, gratitude, faith, doubt and
love gone right or (mostly) wrong.
Hiatt gets bluesy on some of the best songs, including
the sax-driven “One of These Damn Days” and the
ballad “Blues Can’t Even Find Me.” There are also nods
to classic rock, from “Sweet Jane” chord changes (“I Just
Don’t Know What To Say”) to a “We Are The
Champions” beat (“We’re Alright Now”). The acoustic
waltz “No Wicked Grin” is sweet without being sentimental.
The dozen cuts include a couple of throwaways,
but even those tunes swing thanks to a crack
band led by guitarist Doug Lancio and bassist Patrick
O’Hearn. They’re a fine complement to Hiatt, whose
distinctive tenor always brings a smile, especially on a
word like Funyuns.
Check out this track: The killer cut “Wood Chipper”
ranks among Hiatt’s best songs. A love triangle
leaves the singer dead with a verse and two choruses
still to go, and at the end Hiatt offers a satisfied, sinister
cackle. —AP
Stefani sings in first single “Settle Down.”
“Don’t get me started/I’m trying to get a
hold on this/Get in line and settle down.” “I
think a lot of the record I’m writing about
being overwhelmed by trying to do all
these things at one time,” Stefani says.
“You just never know when you become a
mom what it’s really going to be like. It’s
so different than you think.”
In an interview at a downtown recording
studio, the bandmates reveal few outward
signs that it’s been 26 years since No
Doubt formed. They all still wear eyeliner,
have their hair bleached or in a mohawk -
or both - and are stick-figure thin. Stefani
herself seems to have defied time and can
rock a midriff-baring top better than ever.
Only their lunch leftovers - salmon, sliced
fruit and healthy veggies - hint that
they’re all in their 40s. “Sometimes in my
mind I still think I’m 16 onstage and my
body tells me that I’m not 16 anymore,”
says Tony Kanal, the 42-year-old bassist,
laughing. “In our minds maybe we think
we’re younger than we actually are.”
Just finding the time to record the
album with all the different schedules was
a challenge for a band whose past hits
include “Just a Girl” and “Don’t Speak.” Add
to that their notoriously exhausting
recording process, and the months rushed
past. The title of the album is no accident.
The first song for the new album, the
radio-friendly “Undercover,” was written in
2009 following the last No Doubt tour and
the rest was written the following year.
Most of the album was recorded in 2011.
“It’s been a long time coming,” says Kanal,
who for the first time became a co-lyricist
with Stefani. “For me, the goal was just to
get the record finished. To get us all in the
same room at the same time with the
amount of kids we all have between us
was a struggle.”
Eleven years without new material is a
lifetime in pop and the band returns to a
changed musical landscape. Digital singles
have replaced full-length CDs and the
dance-pop-punk post-grunge banner has
been hoisted by the likes of Pink, The
Gossip and Avril Lavigne, to name just a
few. But the band insists they just make
Green Day’s Billie Joe
Armstrong is headed to
treatment for substance
abuse. Sunday’s announcement by
the band’s representative comes
after the 40-year-old frontman had
a meltdown onstage at the
iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las
Vegas on Friday. As Green Day was
wrapping up its performance during
the all-star, two-day concert,
Armstrong profanely complained
that the band’s time was being cut
short. “One minute left, one minute
(expletive) left. You’re gonna give
me (expletive) one minute? ... I’m
not (expletive) Justin Bieber, you
(expletives)!” he yelled (Bieber was
not part of the night’s festivities).
Armstrong smashed his guitar
before leaving the stage. In a statement
to The Associated Press, Green
Day apologized “to those they
offended at the iHeartRadio
Festival” and said the set was not
cut short by Clear Channel, host of
the two-day festival. The Grammywinning
band also is canceling
some promotional appearances. It is
due to release the album “Uno” on
Tuesday, the follow-up to “21st
Century Breakdown,” released three
years ago. “Uno” is the first in a trilogy
of albums; the second is to be
out in November, and the last in
January. The band is due to kick off
a nationwide tour Nov 26 in Seattle.
Armstrong was hospitalized in
early September in Bologna, Italy,
Gwen Stefani and Tom Dumont of No Doubt perform at the iHeart Radio Music
Festival on Friday at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. — AP
the music they like, without an eye to the
marketplace. “It’s more about pleasing
ourselves,” Stefani says. “It’s very selfish.”
So far, No Doubt has booked some
high-profile appearances, such as the
kickoff game for the 2012 NFL season,
ABC’s “Good Morning America” and “The
Ellen DeGeneres Show.” They plan a warmup
six-show stand at the Gibson
Amphitheatre in Los Angeles after
Thanksgiving and a European tour next
year. The album turned out to be much
more upbeat than the bandmates expected,
veering from the light summer fare of
“Looking Hot” to the dreamy electronica
of “One More Summer,” the almost folky
“Undone” and the mainstream pop of
“Sparkle” and “Heaven.”
“Those who sit and listen to the entire
record will get that - that we’re not after a
specific thing. None of our records have
been that way. They’re very broad in
genre,” 43-year-old drummer Adrian
Young says. “It used to work against us,
before we got on the radio. We used to be
told, ‘You guys need to focus, narrow your
style.’” During the band’s hiatus, each
for an undisclosed ailment, but
recovered well enough to perform
at the MTV Video Music Awards on
Sept 6. Since then, the band has
made a series of performances,
including a “Good Morning
America” performance and a New
York City concert for the launch of
Nokia Music on Sept 15. No interviews
of the band were allowed that
evening, but the band chatted with
fans and Nokia and AT&T executives
before performing for about two
hours.
It’s unclear what Armstrong is
receiving treatment for; in 2003, he
explored their own art. Stefani, who is
married to former Bush lead singer Gavin
Rossdale, put out two solo CDs, toured
and designed clothes under her label
L.A.M.B.
Guitarist Tom Dumont produced two
CDs for Matt Costa, including “Songs We
Sing.” Young worked with Scott Weiland
and performed with several acts including
Colt Ford. Kanal collaborated on two
songs - “Sober” and “Funhouse” - with Pink
and helped write songs with an array of
artists, including Weezer, Shontelle and
former Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt. They
insist their chemistry is better than ever
and that the time away recharged their
batteries. Now this onetime garage band
that endured rifts, long tours, writing
block and mega-fame are now happy that
their music is no longer their first love.
“The band was No. 1 in our lives for a long
time and that’s changed, but we’ve been
able to survive that,” says Dumont, 44. “It’s
No. 2 now, but we all share this work
together. We built this whole thing
together and we’re still trying to protect it
and make it the best thing we can.” — AP
Rep: Green Day’s
Armstrong getting treatment
File photo released by Clear Channel shows Billie Joe Armstrong of Green
Day performing at the 2012 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand
Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. — AP
was arrested for DUI, and has
acknowledged in the past taking
various drugs but has said he now
eschews them. Green Day is one of
rock’s top acts and had huge success
with its 2004 politically
charged album “American Idiot,”
which went on to become a
Broadway musical. Armstrong performed
for a stretch in the musical.
Most recently, he was a mentor on
the NBC talent competition “The
Voice.” —AP