Aidin Vaziri | Interviews, Reviews and More: August 2006

27 August 2006

Pop Quiz: Zero 7

Aidin Vaziri | Sam Hardaker and Henry Binns met as tea boys in London recording studios in the late '80s, fetching Earl Grey and croissants for the Pet Shop Boys and Fine Young Cannibals, among others. But it didn't take them long to start making music of their own as Zero 7, coming up with 2001's Mercury Prize-nominated downtempo classic "Simple Things." On its third and latest album, "The Garden," the British duo takes a soulful turn thanks to a little inspiration from some '70s easy-listening icons and guest vocalists such as Jose Gonzalez. Zero 7 plays sold-out shows Tuesday and Wednesday at the Fillmore. But will Hardaker and Binns like the posters? We spoke with Hardaker by phone from Somerset.

Sam Hardaker of Zero 7
Q: You're coming back to San Francisco even though you hated your Fillmore poster?
A: It's so funny you say that because I was just thinking about that. It went so wrong.
Q: Tell me what happened.
A: Tell you what happened? How do you know we were unhappy anyway?
Q: Never mind that. Just start from the beginning.
A: Well, you show up at the Fillmore and expect some acid emblazed glorious callback to the '60s and then you get a lime green, cocaine-fueled '80s graphic design poster.
Q: That's not what you were going for with your first album?
A: No. We wanted the acid glory! We got the designer that had been up all night doing coke.
Q: Wait, you didn't make that record for hair salons and Asian fusion restaurants?
A: No. Which album are you talking about? One of them we did.
Q: Which one?
A: You'll have to work it out for yourself.

Review: OutKast "Idlewild"

OutKast "Idlewild": Aidin Vaziri | It would be a mistake to try to top "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" (which was basically two solo albums smacked together just to keep the marketing department quiet), so OutKast doesn't even try. "Idlewild," the Atlanta hip-hop duo's much-delayed new album, doubles as the soundtrack for its Prohibition-era movie of the same name, not only lifting considerable pressure but also allowing room for wacky, musical-sounding tunes such as "Call the Law" and "Makes No Sense at All." Those might be good for a laugh, but what will keep fans coming back are the dreamy, psychedelic cuts that make up the bulk of the disc, particularly songs such as "Peaches," "Hollywood Divorce" and "BuggFace." And for those who miss the group's anything-goes fervor? Try on the first single, "Mighty 'O.' "

Popscene Turns 10

Making The Scene: Aidin Vaziri | For the past decade (actually, it all started at Cat's Grill and Alley Club in 1995 but with all the late nights and potent cocktails, who has time to keep track of actual anniversaries?), Popscene has catered to an evergreen clique of Bay Area Anglophiles. Every Thursday, college-age kids with vintage Fred Perry polos, Mick Jagger-style shags, black nail polish, tight jeans and skinny ties storm the dance floor to shimmy to the latest import singles, Britpop staples and even unsigned bands Axelson happens to come across at the station. In any given hour, patrons might hear Blur, the Rolling Stones, Duran Duran, Franz Ferdinand and Fatboy Slim alongside English-influenced local acts such as Scissors for Lefty and Every Move a Picture. Or they might get to consort with their heroes, as members of New Order, the Smiths and Pulp drop by to mingle, drink and maybe spin a few records. "From the very beginning, we wanted to make it feel like you were hanging out in your living room with a band," Omar Perez says of the party that served as the catalyst for acts like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and the Rapture.

21 August 2006

Pop Quiz: Nelly Furtado

Aidin Vaziri | Being the earthy antidote to Britney and Christina earned her a hit with "I'm Like a Bird." Now Nelly Furtado has gone back to her first love: R&B. With her third album, "Loose," the Portuguese-Canadian singer gets a sexy new makeover, thanks to hip-hop hitmaker Timbaland, who produced more than half of the disc's 13 tracks, alongside Pharrell Williams, Scott Storch and Lester Mendez. Meanwhile, Coldplay front man Chris Martin dropped by to sing backing vocals on "All Good Things (Come to an End)." So far, the gamble has paid off. Furtado, 27, whose daughter, Nevis, was born in 2003, has scored a major summer hit with "Promiscuous Girl," a song celebrating the joys of getting it on and getting it often.

Nelly Furtado
Q: So, aren't new moms supposed to write sensitive folk songs about lesbian dolphins? You sound like a horny 16-year-old on spring break.
A: I know. It's weird. It's the genre of music, I think. You know, R&B, hip-hop, is my first love. It's like an old blanket. When I was 11 or 12, it was my whole world. My friends and I would dress up as TLC for Halloween and sing Salt 'n' Pepa songs. We really felt it in our hearts, and I don't think that ever really dies. When I sing these songs on the new album, they do hark back to that time. I think that's why it sounds like I'm 16 years old. I just went back to a more innocent place in my life where I felt so happy and overjoyed.
Q: Do you think a lot of your old fans heard the new album and thought, "What the hell?"
A: It depends on the fan. I met Pharrell last year in the studio in Miami and we had this conversation. He said, "If you follow who you think are your fans, you'll lose because your fans don't always stay the same. If you keep putting out the same music they'll move on to someone else." So that made an impact on me. For me, I think, life is evolution -- whether good or bad, if you keep moving then it doesn't get stagnant. I've gained a lot of new fans, too.

'American Idols Live' Tour Preview

'Idol' Thoughts: Aidin Vaziri | Next week, the American Idols Live tour rolls into San Jose, bringing with it the most popular contestants from the fifth season of the Emmy-nominated reality series, including big winner Taylor Hicks. Expect lots of bad singing, bad dancing and, well, performances by the nine runners-up. Just in case you forgot who's who, click here for a quick refresher.

Review: Nouvelle Vague "Bande A Part"

Nouvelle Vague "Bande A Part": Aidin Vaziri | Another week, another '80s tribute album -- only this one comes with a French twist. On Nouvelle Vague's self-titled domestic debut, producer Marc Collin gave post-punk classics such as Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and Modern English's "I Melt With You" a mesmerizing overhaul using bossa-nova beats, sexy tropical bass lines and breathless torch singers caked with plenty of black mascara. This follow-up faithfully sticks to the languid, cosmopolitan formula. It's not quite as good as the first, and not just because the novelty value has diminished, but rather because the song selection is noticeably less inspired (Ugh! Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself"), the vibe is less groovy ("Girl From Ipanema") and more grating ("My Boy Lollipop") and standout singer Camille (left) has taken off for a solo career. While there is something perversely satisfying in hearing what sounds like a melodica on a Caribbean cover of U2's "Pride (in the Name of Love)," Nouvelle Vague's revisions of the Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen in Love?" and the Cramps' "Human Fly" unexpectedly fall flat. Fortunately, other tracks better capture the cocktail-party atmosphere, particularly a minimalist take on Blondie's "Heart of Glass" and an earthy run through Heaven 17's "Let Me Go," while a dreamy update of Echo & the Bunnymen's "The Killing Moon" is simply to die for.

13 August 2006

Pop Quiz: Pharrell Williams

Aidin Vaziri | When it comes to knocking out hits for other people, Pharrell Williams doesn't seem to have much of a problem. With his Neptunes co-producer Chad Hugo, he was once responsible for what seemed like all the songs being played on the radio, including hits for everyone from Britney Spears, Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake to Jay-Z, Kelis and Snoop Dogg. But getting his solo album, "In My Mind," off the ground has been a little rougher. A testing-the-waters collaboration with Gwen Stefani called "Can I Have It Like That" fizzled late last year, and the disc's release date was unceremoniously bumped back to 2010. Fortunately, Williams managed to work ahead of schedule and get it out now.

Pharrell Williams
Q: Do you ever turn down anyone who wants to work with you?
A: Only the s -- I need to turn down. The other stuff I'm working on is inspiring to me.
Q: What if Phil Collins wanted to give you $5 to produce an album?
A: I would do it. I like Phil Collins.
Q: Are you some kind of workaholic?
A: Yeah. I feel overworked, but when I don't work, I feel weird.
Q: What would happen if you were stuck on an island without a laptop and cell-phone signal?
A: I would probably be made to experience peace.
Q: That totally sucks. You wouldn't try to make a laptop out of coconuts?
A: You know what? I probably wouldn't last too long. I would have to have some kind of drum set or something.
Q: Actually, I think bananas make a good satellite.
A: I would do something.

Review: Grant Lee Phillips "Nineteeneighties"

Grant Lee Phillips "Nineteeneighties": Aidin Vaziri | Grant-Lee Phillips, the roaming local troubadour on "Gilmore Girls," had a better 1980s than most, somehow evading the horrors of Pat Benatar and Starship. Here, the former Grant-Lee Buffalo singer pays tribute to the post-punk classics that not only carried him through the Pac-Man decade but informed his own music. He delivers lilting, dramatic readings of the Pixies' "Wave of Mutilation," R.E.M.'s "So. Central Rain" and the Smiths' "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me." Each one gets a distinctive makeover thanks to the singer's mesmerizing falsetto and propensity for soft-focus Americana ballads. But it's the most unexpected covers that work the best -- surprisingly beautiful takes on Echo & the Bunnymen's "The Killing Moon" and the Psychedelic Furs' "Love My Way."

New Music Online: Pandora, Last.FM, Linx

Music to your ears: Aidin Vaziri | Despite the music industry’s exhaustive efforts, the Internet remains the best place to discover new music. Three innovative — and legal — services make it easier than ever.

Click to read about Pandora, Last.FM and Snocap's Linx.

Pop Quiz: Dirty Pretty Things

Aidin Vaziri | He survived being in a band with Pete Doherty (who at one point broke into his flat and stole from him), battled drug-induced depression and has found himself an unsuspecting mark for the British tabloids. How has former Libertines member and current Dirty Pretty Things front man Carl Barat managed to keep it together? Rather nicely, judging from his new group's spiky debut album, "Waterloo to Anywhere." But that doesn't mean he's in the clear yet. Speaking on the phone from the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan, Barat talked about how the past just won't let him go.

Carl Barat of Dirty Pretty Things
Q: Do you think people have forgiven you for getting on with your life instead of killing yourself after the Libertines broke up?
A: I think people started to go, "Hang on, let's check this out and stop whining." If they thought (the Dirty Pretty Things album) was complete s -- , then they would still be pissed off, but they seem to be moving with us.
Q: There was a picture of you with Pete Doherty that appeared last week. Are you thinking of re-forming the band?
A: It's just a mate, you know. I'm as committed to this band as I was to the Libertines. Right now this band is everything.
Q: You're not just doing this because the band you really wanted to be in broke up under tragic circumstances?
A: No, that's not the case. It's a continuation for me, just with different body parts. It's something different from the Libertines. For me, this goes a little deeper. It deals with some kind of darkness that I was never able to fit into Libertines songs.
Q: Here's what the caption said: "Former bandmates Pete Doherty and Carl Barat have reunited to discuss re-forming the Libertines, two years after Barat kicked Doherty out of the British group. The pair met in the Dublin Castle pub in Camden, London, on Tuesday evening after mutual friends Kate Moss and singer Lisa Moorish encouraged them to put their troubled past behind them."
A: Hell.
Q: How many factual inaccuracies are in that?
A: All of them, I think.

Review: Feist "Open Season"

Feist "Open Season": Aidin Vaziri | When someone finally gets around to opening the museum of useless artifacts of the 21st century, remix albums will surely find a place right there next to Japanese robot dogs and motorized tie racks. Once in a while, these discs manage to successfully stretch out and enliven the original work (see: Massive Attack v Mad Professor's "No Protection"), but for the most part they're merely lazy stopgaps between proper albums -- the modern equivalent of the bloated double live records of the '70s. In the case of Canadian songbird Leslie Feist's "Open Season," it's a little bit of both. As a follow-up to her stunning 2004 major-label debut, "Let It Die," the release is a disappointment. It means not only another year without new material but also another run through the same old songs, with the single "Mushaboom" appearing in no less than four incarnations. As a worthwhile remix project, well, let's just say that at least three of those versions actually make the track sound worse. The rest of "Open Season" requires some serious hands-on mining, but it's not without its plunder: An acoustic version of "Inside and Out," recorded live for the BBC, brings the singer's languid voice to the forefront of the Bee Gees' disco classic; the Frisbee'd mix of "Lonely Lonely" sees the torch song get completely deconstructed and rebuilt around seductively skipped beats and a slide guitar solo; and a moody duet with Jane Birkin on "The Simple Story" should have rightfully made it onto the next real album -- whenever it comes out.