No Doubt Record Tragic Kingdom was Abby Bernstein’s First

07/18/2012 By

My First Record is a music column where we ask musicians about the first record they remember listening to, bought with their own money or was passed down to them. Whether it was a CD, vinyl album, cassette tape or even an 8-track (we haven’t run into anyone yet whose first music was downloaded, but we won’t be surprised when we do) we’re curious about the first record a musician remembers listening to. This week we welcome a post from Abby Bernstein.

Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt was the first album I ever bought with my own money.

I was eight or nine at the time, so I’m guessing I bought the CD with birthday money. I remember going to the record store at the mall and was initially drawn to the album because of the artwork: the bleach blond Gwen Stefani in her red dress and sneakers holding the orange from the No Doubt video “Don’t Speak.”

Gwen Stefani was and remains the epitome of cool, and I think every girl growing up in the nineties wanted to be her. “Spiderwebs” is my favorite song from the album – it’s the first track, and it kicks off the album with an angsty energy that sets the tone for what’s to come. As a young girl, I had no idea what the song meant or that this was about her breakup with No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal. I had never experienced love or felt like I was caught in the web of an undeserving man—but I could still admire the songwriting and the attitude in every ad-lib.  

Gwen Stefani is not faking anything, and the production for each song was likewise authentic and unlike anything I had ever heard before. Tragic Kingdom is also one of those albums in which every track is killer –“Excuse Me Mr.”, “Just a Girl,” “Sunday Morning,” “Happy Now,” and “Don’t Speak” are my favorite of the seven (yes seven!!) singles released, but “The Climb” and “End It On This” are equally enjoyable.

Listening back to “End It on This Now,” I really love how the hook is so repetitive –the melody becomes a word-painting of how breakups are: you think you’re done but sometimes you keep going back to the person who isn’t right. I love how the groove of the drums at the 3:00 mark changes to sound almost like punching because it’s like that final battle cry in the relationship. Gwen’s singing on this album is incredible, and I know I either consciously or subconsciously learned phrasing and dynamics by listening to No Doubt and Gwen Stefani.

Abby Bernstein is a twenty-four year old NYC singer-songwriter hailing originally from a tiny farm town in Western Massachusetts. The daughter of hippies, Abby Bernstein was named after The Beatles album “Abbey Road” and grew up listening to the best blues, folk, soul, and rock n roll had to offer: Joan Baez, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Joni Mitchell, Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones … you name it! Music runs in Abby’s blood—her grandparents were classically trained pianists and her great-great grandmother was a singer who immigrated to America from Russia to find a doctor when she lost her voice. It was only a matter of time before Abby began putting on performances in the family living room.

In 2011, Abby toured as the opening act for Barenaked Ladies, an experience she calls “inspiring because they are all phenomenal musicians who know their craft – there are no throw-away words in their songs.” As a music publisher and composer for advertising, Abby has licensed her music to film/TV (MTV, VH1, Logos, and ABC ) and advertising and is excited that her song “Spend the Night” played in the finale of HBO’s hot new show “Girls.”

The music of Abby Bernstein is best described as quirky pop rooted in hooks and storytelling. What is consistent about Abby’s songs is that they are open, honest, and conversational in feel, and particularly reflect the experiences of young women.

Thanks to Abby Bernstein for sharing her thoughts on No Doubt and Gwen Stefani! We love hearing about different musician’s earliest experiences with music. Hope you do too!

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Yair Yona Shares His Thoughts on the First Record He Bought

07/17/2012 By

My First Record is a music column where we ask musicians about the first record they remember listening to, bought with their own money or was passed down to them. Whether it was a CD, vinyl album, cassette tape or even an 8-track (we haven’t run into anyone yet whose first music was downloaded, but we won’t be surprised when we do) we’re curious about the first record a musician remembers listening to. This week we welcome a post from Yair Yona.

The first record that I bought, was by a famous Israeli band called Mashina, and it was their 1992 album, The Glory Monsters.

While the band usually played nice pop/rock music, sometimes with ska influences and many homages to other bands, this one was different. They decided to turn all knobs to eleven, and decided to completely upset their audience who wasn’t ready for the big sound and hard rock.

I didn’t know much about music, I was 14 when I bought it (in 1995), but I liked the band and suddenly it hit me that I wanted to buy a CD, not sure why exactly. I asked my father to take me to the store, give me money, and then I went on a mission.

I was REALLY excited when I went into the tiny store and asked the guy for a CD, any CD. So he asked if I like Mashina, and I said yeah, and he sold me this record. When I got home, I was so thrilled by the fact I just bought a record, that unwrapping the cellophane and hitting the play button felt like a ceremony.

The energies in the album just got into me, and I remember being carried away with the music, not feeling the ground anymore, with a great passion to break a guitar, or somehow relive the energies in me. It was an amazing experience, and until this day, it’s one of my favorite albums by an Israeli band.

 

 

Yair Yona is a self proclaimed musician, blogger, radioman, dog owner, vegan, and nice guy. While living in London, Yair Yona discovered  British folk music, switched to acoustic guitar and started exploring the fingerpicking style. Upon discovering the world of acoustic instrumental music, he started composing his own instrumental music, and in 2010 released his solo debut album ‘Remember’. In 2012, he released his second album ‘World Behind Curtains.”

Yair Yona also writes the music blog Small Town Romance and hosts a radio show called Sonar in IDC radio, Israel.

Thanks to Yair Yona for sharing his thoughts on his first record! We love hearing about different musician’s earliest experiences with music. Hope you do too!

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JEFF The Brotherhood: Song By Song Review of Hypnotic Nights

07/16/2012 By

JEFF the Brotherhood is another example of a minor trend over the past dozen years or so: the emergence of kick-ass 2-piece bands.  Ghostland Observatory, Lightning Bolt, and Death from above 1979 are just a few of the long list of dynamite duos.  JEFF the Brotherhood has been one band that has come through and torn its own path. They’re a guitar/drum kit brother-band who know how to rock your face off, but neither of them carry the name Jeff.

Already 6 albums deep, the punk/pop/grunge/rock amalgamation throw out their latest effort with Hypnotic Nights.  The album marks the band’s first foray into big production having been produced by fellow 2-piece legend, The Black Keys‘ Dan Auerbach. With Auerbach at the board and brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall heading the charge, this heavy front of “rawk” songs shows off its stripes in short time. Here’s my Song by Song Review of the album.

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Spotify Playlist: Fast Planet’s Brandon Herrington

07/13/2012 By

For our feature Nice Playlist, Brah, we ask some of our favorite musicians to make a themed Spotify playlist for us. You know, Songs to Make-out To, The Worst Bands I Have Ever Heard, Songs Your Mom Would Like,  we just ask them to be creative, and then we post them to The Ardent Music Blog and share them with you. When you’re looking for a good Spotify playlist, now you know where to look. This week we invited Brandon Herrington, founder of Fareveller Music Festival and member of the newly minted Memphis electronic music group Fast Planet to put one together for us. We invite you to take listen to the playlist while you read why the musician included each song. Enjoy!

 

After the release of a new album, under a new band name (Fast Planet), in a completely different style than anything I’ve ever done, I have started to reflect on how I ended up here in the first place.

This Spotify playlist is dedicated to the bizarre way our influences shape us. My Playlist is called “How did I End Up Here?”

 

1. “Today” – The Smashing Pumpkins

This is where it all started. I was a seventh grader sitting in the basketball gym for the junior high talent show. After watching what seemed like hours of baton twirling and beginner piano arrangements, three eighth-graders walked out with real drums and guitars and proceeded to (probably) butcher “Today” by the Smashing Pumpkins. I was floored. It was my first experience with live music of that kind and I was beyond sold. By Christmas I had my first bass and by the next talent show, I was completely butchering “When I Come Around” by Green Day and “Unglued” by Stone Temple Pilots in front of 1,000 kids.

It was glorious.

 

2. “Stars” – Hum

So I’m a senior in high school sitting in a car outside of a bowling alley when my friend Jared puts in a CD and says, “You have to check this band out. “Stars” starts out with the simplest, clean guitar riff over the somewhat awkward vocals of Matt Talbott. Then, at exactly 44 seconds, Hum hits a single, distorted chord that completely melted everything I had ever known about music.

3. “Guitar and Video Games” – Sunny Day Real Estate

Sunny Day Real Estate will always be my favorite band. Their concert I attended when I was nineteen probably should have been the day I gave up playing music. Maybe it was being young and experiencing them then, but the intensity and emotion I saw in that show was something unmatched.

4. “1/1” – Brian Eno

This is where ambient music began for me. You could probably argue that it’s where ambient music really began, period. Freshman year of college, I attended a small, Christian school in Jackson, Mississippi. It was also the year my band dora began writing…in Memphis. Needless to say, I drove back and forth from Memphis to Jackson all of the time. During those drives, I discovered a couple of ambient shows on the radio. One was “Into the Deep” on WEVL. It is now the longest running ambient show on the radio in the Southern United States.

This track is probably still my favorite ambient song. It is also a good introduction to those who think ambient music is simply boring, droning white noise.

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Tidelands’ Gabriel Leis Writes About His First Record

07/11/2012 By

 My First Record is a music column where we ask musicians about the first record they remember listening to, bought with their own money or was passed down to them. Whether it was a CD, vinyl album, cassette tape or even an 8-track (we haven’t run into anyone yet whose first music was downloaded, but we won’t be surprised when we do) we’re curious about the first record a musician remembers listening to. This week we welcome a post from Tidelands’ Gabriel Leis.

When we say record, for my generation this means cassettes.

My first memories of music of my own were mix tapes my step-mother used to make for my sister and I.  There was one in particular I remember pretty well.  She always used those high quality metal fabricated blanks, and the label was hand drawn with silver ink bleeding metallic blue outlines.  This particular mix had some songs from the Flashdance soundtrack, Styx, Hall & Oates, Michael Jackson, and a bunch of other cool shit that turned me on to pop music in general.

During this period, I kinda went back and forth between living with my mom and dad, and at this critical cultural juncture I was fortunately living with my dad and step-mom in Mill Valley, California, home to one of the greatest record stores that ever was, Village Music.  Yes, they sold cassettes as well.  The first records I ever remember buying were Kick by INXS , probably to impress my first girlfriend in the 7th grade, who I more recently saw as a contestant on Project Runway (even then I liked the arty ones) and Give Thankx by the reggae artist Jimmy Cliff.  I have no explanation for this pairing, but adolescence is a confusing time, all memories are slightly suspect, and I don’t really need one anyways.

Gabriel Leis is the male half of the San Francisco based duo Tidelands. Leis, along with his female co-conspirator Mie Araki (drums, keyboards vocals) have created an extraordinary music which draws on such disparate genres as folk, prog-rock, and classical. This mesmerizing mix of flavors should come as no surprise: Araki studied jazz, classical and European music. Leis has composed for cello, violin, and trumpet and has even experimented with loops. You’d be hard pressed to find a collective that sounds anything like Tidelands.

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Callaghan Recalls Her First Record

07/05/2012 By

 

My First Record is a music column where we ask musicians about the first record they remember listening to, bought with their own money or was passed down to them. Whether it was a CD, vinyl album, cassette tape or even an 8-track (we haven’t run into anyone yet whose first music was downloaded, but we won’t be surprised when we do) we’re curious about the first record a musician remembers listening to.

It’s interesting to look back over a lifetime so far and reminisce about all the various artists and albums that have come and gone and influenced you in some way.

I think for most people their parents’ taste and choice of music shapes the early years. I  have vivid memories of searching through my mum and dad’s LP collection and reading the lyrics on the back of the sleeve as I listened to Leonard Cohen, James Taylor, Elton John or The Beatles. I also remember an Abba record that I liked singing along to a lot, and deciding to do a performance of “The Winner Takes It All” for my family when I was about 8 years old but singing it from behind the sofa because I’d got such stage fright!

But as great as it is listening to other people’s collections, it doesn’t compare with the feeling of discovering music for yourself. Being a child of the 90’s I grew up listening to the radio a lot and taping my favourite songs from the Top 40 charts each Sunday afternoon (obviously not a practice that’s advocated by the recording industry, but it was very difficult to make 10p-a-week pocket money stretch to buying albums, so I had to listen and consider before making a purchase!).

The first single I remember buying was on cassette and was “Think Twice” by Celine Dion. I was fascinated by voices when I was growing up and there was no shortage of big divas on the charts around that time. I still have a soft spot for the big powerful singers, no matter the genre – Celine, Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, Freddie Mercury and Andrea Bocelli all have a place on my iPod.

Before writing this blog I had a look at which other songs were in the UK charts the year that “Think Twice” came out. It was surprisingly varied – from pop acts like Wet Wet Wet, Take That, and D:Ream, to Brit-Pop bands Blur and Oasis, to legendary artists like The Beatles, Prince, and The Rolling Stones. I suppose with all the variation around at the time it’s not surprising that my musical tastes have remained eclectic.

Whilst artists and records have come in and out of fashion as well as in and out of my life, the very first full length album I bought has stayed with me to this day – Soul’s Core by Shawn Mullins. Best known for its Number 1 hit single, “Lullaby”, I think it’s fair to say that album had a lasting effect on me. It was on an episode of “Dawson’s Creek” that I first heard Shawn Mullins (along with so many other artists that were on that show who also became favourites of mine including Beth Nielson Chapman, Jewel, and Sarah McLachlan).

Soul’s Core came out in 1998 and, as an impressionable and typically emotional teenager, it truly spoke to me and felt like it healed my soul a little bit each time I played it. Living in the UK and listening to songs that told stories about people in the United States of America all seemed so exotic and exciting to me. A glimpse into another world. Never in a million years when I bought that record would I have imagined that one day I would be living in the USA and would have recorded my debut album with the very same Shawn Mullins. But I suppose that’s the magic of good music – it makes you dream and helps you believe anything is possible.

And even after all these years I still listen to Soul’s Core and it still heals my soul a little bit each time.

Singer-songwriter Callaghan recently released her album, Life In Full Colour, on May 1, 2012. Born in Boston, Lincolnshire, UK to a musical family, by 14 Callaghan was writing songs, and started trekking to London to record with various producers. At 18 Callaghan moved to London, recorded a number of independent EPs, and played all over the city, at spots like the Bedford, Regal Room, Royal National Theatre and 100 Club. Since landing stateside Callaghan has toured extensively throughout the U.S. playing in 30 states alongside Mullins and other artists and in her own headline shows.  She now calls Atlanta, and the United States, home.

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Rick Owens is Included in Stars In Stereo’s Pick Three Column

07/02/2012 By

Pick Three is a column where we ask some of our favorite musicians to choose three pop culture picks – this can be a fashion label (“Levis are the only jeans that make my butt look good!”), an instrument manufacturer (” I can’t imagine playing anything but Gibson guitars!”),  a movie (Gone with the Wind changed my life!) , tv show, book, comic, internet video, album, etc… whatever they want to talk about! We all have our favorites – these are their favorites. And now for Justin Siegel’s of Stars In Stereo Pick Three Column!

 

1. Gallery 1988

If I took the money that I’ve spent at this gallery and put it towards college, one might be able to now call me Dr. Siegel.  It combines two of my favorite things in the world, pop culture and art.  The artists selected by the owners/curators are always innovative, relevant, and insanely talented.  The themes of the shows have geeks and non geeks alike salivating from the initial announcement alone, especially the annual Crazy 4 Cult shows.  Every time I go to an opening, there is a line around the block that sometimes commences a whole 24 hours prior.  Lately, I’ve been collecting every He-Man related piece that comes through (you’d be surprised).  When they had their Mattel sponsored He-Man show, I picked this piece up as soon as I laid eyes on it:

 

Some of my favorite artists that consistently display there are N.C. Winters, Luke Chueh, Dan Goodsell, Greg Simkins, Alex Pardee, Daniel Danger and Robert Brandenburg.  We also went through the gallery to commission artist Greg “Craola” Simkins to design our Stars in Stereo starbolt logo.

2. 42 Entertainment 

 I’m a very big fan of smart marketing campaigns.  I’m a consumer, I eat it all up, give me the same toothpaste I already have but in a cooler box, I’ll probably buy it!  So when I first started hearing about the buzz happening around the release of Nine Inch Nails’ Year Zero album, I got hooked hard.  This was a multi platform campaign happening that not only encompassed the internet, but it ventured way outside to an alternate reality video game, and ultimately to the real world, utilizing murals, telephone numbers that led to pre recorded phone messages, USB drives that were found by fans at NIN shows, and ultimately climaxed at a secret show that was disguised as a “resistance meeting” in a Los Angeles Parking lot.  The video of that show can be seen here:

The next campaign they produced that caught my and many others’ attention was the “Why So Serious?” campaign for The Dark Knight film.  This campaign sent fans on a massive online and real world scavenger hunt to ultimately unlock a new teaser trailer for the film and the first photo of the Joker which obviously went on to become one of the most iconic roles ever played on the big screen.  They had a series of the these scavenger hunts each leading to more content, sometimes digital sometimes physical, but it always kept the fans consistently excited and engaged, it was fun as a fan to watch it all unfold.  They’ve done campaigns like this for Tron and for Halo as well, I really hope that one day we can engage our fans in the same way and create an experience as incredible as this company has done in the past.

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The Flaming Lips Get a Song by Song Review of Heady Fwends

06/26/2012 By

Although The Flaming Lips have been kicking up dust long before their commercial debut  with 1993′s Transmissions from the Satellite Heart, their sound didn’t fill their song-writing shoes until 1999′s The Soft Bulletin.  Since then, they’ve released a string of critically acclaimed albums, EPs, and digital releases.

Following their departure from Warner Bros. in January of 2012, The Flaming Lips vowed to deliver different music in a different manner than ever before.  This was quickly found to be an understatement when songs come packaged in gummy-brains and a song stretched to 24 hours in length.

Possibly the most far out move to be credited to The Flaming Lips is an album whose liner notes feature both the names “Yoko Ono” and “Ke$ha.”  Heady Fwends is a collection of thirteen tracks written over the course of the latter half of 2011 and early 2012 with various musicians from a diverse range of musical backgrounds, such as  Bon Iver, Neon Indian, Lightning Bolt, Prefuse 73, Eryka Badu, Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Yoko Ono. Wearing a heavy coat of satire, the album is a dense piece of work at heart offering a bevy of differing sounds and songs from a random assortment of musical talent.
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My First Record: Ben Heywood of Summer Darling

06/21/2012 By

My First Record is a music column where we ask musicians about the first record they remember listening to, bought with their own money or was passed down to them. Whether it was a CD, vinyl album, cassette tape or even an 8-track (we haven’t run into anyone yet whose first music was downloaded, but we won’t be surprised when we do) we’re curious about the first record a musician remembers listening to.

I grew up in a pretty strict, religious home, so I wasn’t able to buy music until late in my teens. But one of the first records I ever bought that really inspired me and changed the way I listened to music was Sunny Day Real Estate‘s LP2. 

I was sitting in Art class, proudly showing off this recording I’d made with my band on an 8 track over the weekend.  This one guy listened to it for a moment, then quietly took off the headphones and said, “I think you should play the drums more like this,” and he handed me his walkman headphones and pressed play on the cassette.  The music was like nothing I’d ever heard.  The drums were so busy, yet musical, the guitars were rhythmic and repetitive, and the bass carried most of the melody.  The song was “Red Elephant” the third song on Sunny Day’s LP2.

I immediately went out and bought the CD, transfered it to cassette and hid the original, since I wasn’t allowed to listen to “secular” music.  I had a drumset in my living room and began methodically teaching myself the drum parts to my favorite songs.  To this day, LP2 remains the most influential album of my 16th year, and still one of my favorite records of all time.

 

To say Ben Heywood is busy is an understatement : he fronts the long running Los Angeles band Summer Darling, plays in the new project Pyyrimads (with Tim Nordwin – singer of Ok Go), and plays in TS & The Past Haunts (with Travis Shettel – singer of Piebald) , and is working on his 2nd full length novel.  Among all this . . .  his newest effort is Heywood Skills For The Long Emergency, his first ever solo record.

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Pick Three with Kellen Ross of Opium Symphony

06/20/2012 By

1.V for Vendetta

V for Vendetta is the most underrated mainstream movie ever!  The movie finally vocalized frustrations that I feel the world has been feeling for a long time.  I tip my hat to the movie makers (and anyone else really) that aren’t afraid to “speak the unspeakable.”

2. UFO Conspiracies

I am huge UFO conspiracy theory buff.  The book that confirmed my belief in extraterrestrials was The Day After Roswell by Philip Corso.  The last 2 years have been very exciting for me because there has been a dramatic increase in public broadcast/general awareness that we are not alone.  For example,  there was a UFO in a Mongolian airport that put a stop to air traffic for 45 minutes while hovering there not too long ago.

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