SummersRadio™ Classic! Duran Duran - 'Drive By'/ 'Crystal Ship'
Well I certainly didn't expect to be posting Duran Duran today - but this song just seems to fit the feeling in the air today. It's another hot and sunny one in Vancouver (Yay! - our June was one of the coldest and least sunny on record) and I haven't posted a classic for a while - and the last couple songs have also been dreamy summery sounding pop tunes, so let's make it a threesome!
'Drive By' is a song from Duran Duran's often maligned 1995 covers album called 'Thank You' - which was a tribute to their influences. While some of the tracks were indeed hit and miss (their cover of Public Enemy's '911 Is A Joke' is no laughing matter and should be avoided at all cost!) there were some true gems on this album - including their cover of Lou Reed's 'Perfect Day' which Lou himself said at the time was the best cover ever made of one of his songs.
For some reason I've always associated this album with summer - especially the song 'Drive By' - which is actually a remake or continuation of one of their own songs - 'The Chauffeur' - which was the closing track on their 'Rio' album. You can feel the summer heat in the air in the opening of this song - the keyboards almost sizzle while the strings seduce and the water cools you - even before the opening line 'It was the hottest day in July...'.
It appears that a fan has taken the original video for 'The Chauffeur' and altered it to make the accompanying song even more surreal. So grab a cold beverage, sit back, and... Enjoy!
Bonus Track! Their cover of The Doors classic 'Crystal Ship' is another highlight from the 'Thank You' album. Simon Le Bon channels the ghost of Jim Morrison perfectly and the music is just different enough to make it interesting - giving it an even eerier feel than the original... Enjoy!
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SummersRadio™ New Music! Metric - 'Speed The Collapse'
Metric have just released another new song from their forthcoming album online today! Metric release their fifth studio album called 'Synthetica' on June 12th and while not an official single 'Speed The Collapse' has been released online today as a sneak preview. You can revisit the album's first official single 'Youth Without Youth' here: http://summersradio.blogspot.ca/2012/04/summersradio-new-music-metric.html
'Synthetica' is available for pre-order now on itunes - featuring five bonus track songs called 'Reflections'. It will also be available physically on cd, on numbered limited double coloured white vinyl from their official website (http://ilovemetric.com/) and there's even a super limited 'Stereobox' version (which sadly has already sold out) that features a custom made 3D viewer.
The band are currently shooting a video for 'Youth Without Youth' and they posted this great photo of singer Emily Haines from the session looking rather intense on their Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/metric) earlier today:
For now the band have released another lyric video for the sneak peak of 'Speed The Collapse' - one of eleven songs on the new album - which also features a collaboration with the artist who wrote yesterday's featured song 'I'll Be Your Mirror' - the Velvet Underground's Lou Reed on a track called 'The Wanderlust'!
This is the third track on 'Synthetica' called 'Speed The Collapse'... Enjoy!
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SummersRadio™ New Music! Lou Reed & Metallica - 'The View' The first new song (full length version of course) from the forthcoming album of the collaboration between Lou Reed and Metallica has just been released online today! 'The View' is the second of ten new tracks featured on the album called 'Lulu' - which is due for release on October 31st (Europe)/ November 1st (North America).
The idea of collaborating together began when both Reed and Metallica performed at the 25th Anniversary Concert for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2009 - but it took until May of this year for the recording process to begin. The album concept began with some demos that Reed wrote that were inspired by two plays from German playwright Frank Wedekind.
'Lulu' combines two of Wedekind's plays - 'Erdgeist' or 'Earth Spirit' which was written in 1895 - and 'Die Buchse der Pandora' or 'Pandora's Box' which was written in 1905. They tell the story of a young German dancer who climbs the social ladder but ends up broke and becoming a prostitute.
How does 'The View' sound? Well, not surprisingly it rocks - but I suspect that it will be more warmly received by Reed fans than some of Metallica's - this is 'The View'... Enjoy!
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SummersRadio™ Concert News! EMA - 'California'/ 'Milkman' Portland based Erika M. Anderson aka EMA released her first solo album - since disbanding her noise-folk band Gowns - in May. The album is called 'Past Life Martyred Saints' and is released on Berlin's Souterrain Transmissions label.
EMA is currently touring in support of 'Past Life Martyred Saints' - playing shows throughout Europe this month - and returning to North America in October. She'll be performing in Vancouver at the Biltmore Cabaret on October 8th (with Wild Beasts) - you can check out her full tour itinerary here:
http://www.souterraintransmissions.com/souterrain/artist_shows.jsp?artist=22740
EMA has cited Lou Reed as a major influence in her songwriting for 'Past Life Martyred Saints' - and you can hear elements of his signature spoken word delivery in her second single (and first video) 'California'. Musically speaking her sound is often both dark and alluring... Enjoy!
This is her second video - for the third single released from 'Past Life Martyred Saints' - 'Milkman'... Enjoy!
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SummersRadio™ Love Stinks! - A SummersRadio™ Valentine's Day Spectacular! continues... Lou Reed - 'Perfect Day' (Acoustic Demo) 'Perfect Day' first appeared on Lou Reed's 1972 album 'Transformer'. It became a massive hit in the U.K. in 1997 when it was released as an all star charity single for the BBC. This particular acoustic version was included as a bonus track on the 30th anniversary edition of 'Transformer'. It features slightly different lyrics - he refers to it as a 'summers day' a few times instead of a perfect one - which is a perfect version for me with my last name being Summers! The lyrics are largely romantic but with a hint of cynicism with lines like 'you just keep me hanging on' and 'you're going to reap just what you sow'... Enjoy!
