Mevio Music

Alex and Matt from The Arctic Monkeys chat with Pete Mar at the 2011 Outside Lands Festival on this episode of B-Sides.

The Arctic Monkeys began in 2002 in their native Sheffield, South Yorkshire in England. One of their early hits was Fake Tales Of San Francisco, but this year was their first time playing at Golden Gate Park. Pete asked if there was anything resembling it back home.

“On a good day, in the park, you’ll get a barbecue going, and people playing rounders (which is like girly baseball).”

After gaining prominence in the UK, the band has played festivals all over the world, including Lollapalooza, Leeds and Reading. What’s their most memorable? “Glastonbury is hard to beat.”

Their fourth studio album, Suck It And See, was released this June to mostly positive reviews for its hard rocking, vintage style. They’ve been touring throughout the U.S., Canada, the UK and Europe ever since.

Here are the album’s tracks.

• She’s Thunderstorms
• Black Treacle
• Brick by Brick
• The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala
• Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair
• Library Pictures
• All My Own Stunts
• Reckless Serenade
• Piledriver Waltz
• Love Is a Laserquest
• Suck It and See
• That’s Where You’re Wrong

The band’s current lineup includes Alex Turner on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Jamie Cook on lead guitar and backing vocals, Nick O’Malley on bass and backing vocals and Matt Helders on drums, percussion and backing vocals.

You’ll find tour dates and more information on their official site at http://arcticmonkeys.com.

Nat and Alex Wolff have emerged from their portrayal of talented singer/songwriter brothers on Nickelodeon’s wildly popular Naked Brothers Band series to show their fans who they really are. As it turns out, they actually are just what they portrayed – a pair of talented singer/songwriter brothers.

From the time they were toddlers, the duo was making music. Nat formed his first band in pre-school and Alex started playing saxophone when he was only two-and-a-half years old. Fortunately, their parents (Jazz pianist Michael Wolff and writer/director/actor/producer Polly Draper) encouraged their musical pursuits. Though only 16 and 13 now, the two show a depth that is astonishing (and refreshing, in this day and age).

Their album Black Sheep is set to be released on October 11th. The first single form the album, Thump Thump Thump, is already available on iTunes.

Here are the videos of Nat ‘n’ Alex recently recorded live in Studio B at MeVIO.

Nat and Alex Wolff Live in Studio B – Part 1 – Thump Thump Thump

Illuminated

Eighteen

All three songs are from Black Sheep.

More information is on their official site at http://natnalex.com.

Martina and Jackie reach back to 1999 as Reform School takes on the Foo Fighters‘ video Learn to Fly.

This one is just a whole lot of fun. From their third album, There Is Nothing Left To Lose, Learn to Fly is arguably the signature song for the band that Dave Grohl formed as a follow-up to Nirvana. Grohl plays six characters in the video: himself, the pilot of the plane, the flight attendant, a teenage girl, an obese woman and an F.B.I. agent. Fellow Foos Nate Mendel and Taylor Hawkins likewise portray multiple characters in the video. The sketch also features appearances from Tenacious D members Jack Black and Kyle Gass as a drug smuggling airplane maintenance crew.

“This song is such a 90s anthem,” says Martina.

Jackie agrees. “This is one of my favorite Foo Fighters songs.”

Millions of others apparently agreed too, taking the song to #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The video features a far-fetched plotline though, with a flight crew who has been drugged and a plane tumbling out of control, and a Foo Fighters concert video as in flight entertainment all the while.

“So they landed fine. Foo Fighters saved the day.”

The girls gave this one an A because “the video is entertaining and the song is a classic.”

Entertaining though it may be, this song was once banned by Clear Channel in the wake of the September 11th attacks because of the endangered airplane theme. Now there’s a real celebration of freedom for you.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members Blondie will be releasing their 9th studio album, Panic of Girls, on September 13th. The band is partnering with Amazon.com as the exclusive retailer for the album, which is available for pre-order now.

The core trio of singer Deborah Harry, guitarist Chris Stein and drummer Clem Burke worked with numerous younger musicians and producers to craft the album, which has been well-received in previews. The video for the first single, Mother, can be seen on Blondie.net.

The official press release on the album describes it this way.

Panic of Girls, colored with inspirations from New York City’s roiling melting pot and street-level pop culture, features new wave dance gems, songs sung in French and Spanish and even a reggae cover threaded together with a timeless pop sheen.

The band has also embarked on a tour of North America this week, with new band members Leigh Foxx, Tommy Kessler and Matt Katz-Bohen rounding out the lineup.

Here are the upcoming tour dates.

• September 9th Windsor, ON @ The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor
• September 10th Orillia, ON @ Casino Rama Entertainment Centre
• September 12th New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
• September 13th New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
• September 14th Boston, MA @ Wilbur Theatre
• September 16th Atlantic City, NJ @ Borgata Spa & Resort – Music Box
• September 17th Clark, NJ @ Oak Ridge Park
• September 18th Westbury, NY @ Theatre at Westbury
• September 21st Durham, NC @ Durham Performing Arts Center
• September 23rd Alpharetta, GA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
• September 24th Clearwater, FL @ Ruth Eckerd Hall
• September 26th Hollywood, FL @ Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock
• September 28th New Orleans, LA @ Mahalia Jackson Theatre
• September 29th Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Live at Moody Theater
• October 1st Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
• October 2nd Mescalero, NM @ Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort & Casino
• October 4th Phoenix, AZ @ The Foundry
• October 5th Los Angeles, CA @ Club Nokia
• October 7th Saratoga, CA @ The Mountain Winery
• October 8th Las Vegas, NV @ The Beach at Mandalay Bay
• October 9th Palm Desert, CA @ McCallum Theatre of the Performing Arts

Blondie will be appearing on NBC’s Today Show this Sunday, September 12th, and will also play The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on October 6th.

Here’s the track listing for Panic of Girls.

1. D-Day
2. What I Heard
3. Mother
4. The End The End
5. Girlie Girlie
6. Love Doesn’t Frighten Me
7. Words in My Mouth
8. Sunday Smile
9. Wipe Off My Sweat
10. Le Bleu
11. China Shoes

Click here to pre-order at Amazon.

More information on the Official Blondie Website.

Jackie and Martina are back with another retro video. This time it’s New Kids on the Block, You Got It (The Right Stuff) on Music Video Reform School.

In 1989 it would have been hard to avoid the ubiquitous refrain of “Oh, Oh, Whoa-Oh Oh.” The New Kids on the Block had one of the biggest hits of the year with You Got It (The Right Stuff), particularly among their teenage and tweenage female fans. The video was a staple on MTV that entire year, and helped to propel the NKOTB’s sophomore release, Hangin’ Tough, to the very top of the Billboard Album Chart. The song was a #1 hit in Australia and the UK, and peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the United States.

Martina and Jackie liked a lot of things about this video. First of all, the Kids were awfully cute in their younger days. Just look at the little leather jackets and the ripped up jeans. The choreography is also a plus, and something that is missing in a lot of today’s videos, which sometimes seem to emphasize narratives over music and dancing.

Ultimately though, the girls found this video to be, in a word, boring. “Kinda blah,” says Martina. “Sorry.”

Being rendered in black and white was also a drawback, at least for Jackie, who won’t even watch classic black and white films.

Overall grade? Solid but unspectacular C.

I guess after all these years, they just don’t have the right stuff.

Jackie, Dorian and Eddie chat about the music they heard this year at the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival on this episode of The Rad Report. The festival was held in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park from August 14th through the 18th.

On Friday, Dorian got to check out some of the set from Foster the People. “We only actually heard Pumped Up Kicks and then some covers, but then we saw Ellie Golding. She was amazing.”

The highlight for Jackie was Saturday’s performance from MUSE.

On Sunday, Eddie was finally back from Los Angeles, but since he forgot his wallet, he had to borrow money for the festival (and he still owes Jackie ten bucks, by the way). On the schedule for the day was The Decembrists, and then Arcade Fire. “It’s the first time I’ve ever seen them. They’re such a powerful band. All such talented musicians. Also, they had the sickest backdrops i’ve ever seen of any band,” says Eddie.

Eddie and Jackie both gave the festival and 8 out of 10. Dorian went with a 7, only because the beer lines were incredibly long, and with the limit of two beers per customer, you barely get out of the line and you have to get back into it again. Despite that, they all agreed that they had a great time, and can’t wait for the festival next year.

Now, about that ten bucks…