Music

 

On the morning of Sunday, May 16th, 2010 the world of heavy metal suffered a great loss. Ronnie James Dio, one of the genre's most prominent and respected vocalists lost his battle with stomach cancer at the age of 67.  The news was officially made public by Dio's wife, Wendy, in the following message:

"Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever."

He was diagnosed in November of 2009 and had undergone treatment until his passing.

Dio's career spanned six decades from 1957-2010.  Over the years he played in numerous bands.  Elf (originally Electric Elves) was the first band to help him gain notoriety.  Elf had been an opening band for Deep Purple and Ritchie Blackmore had taken notice of Dio's vocal talent and recruited him for his new band, Rainbow.  Dio recorded the first three Rainbow albums, "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow," "Rising," and "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll."  In 1979, he joined Black Sabbath following the departure of Ozzy Osbourne.  Dio helped to breathe new life into the band with the highly successful albums "Heaven and Hell" and "The Mob Rules."  He would also record the album "Dehumanizer" with them in 1992.  In 1982 he parted ways with Black Sabbath and started his own eponymous band, which was active all the way up to his passing.  He was also responsible for Hear 'n Aid, a collective supergroup of '80s hard rock/metal musicians who raised in excess of $1M for famine relief in Africa.  Most recently, Ronnie was busy with Heaven & Hell (the classic Dio-era Black Sabbath lineup), recording the critically acclaimed album "The Devil You Know" and frequently touring.

Dio was always regarded with the utmost respect in the metal community and will most certainly continue to be revered as such.  Despite standing 5'4" he was arguably the biggest figure in heavy metal.  In the days following his death, metal news sites like Blabbermouth were covered in stories from his friends and fans about how he impacted their lives.  They remember him as being a remarkable vocal talent, but more importantly as one of the most gracious and stand up human beings anyone could meet.

Ronnie James Dio without question will be remembered with the highest admiration as his legacy helps metal to thrive into the future.

Album Review: The Oracle by
Godsmack

Dan Capeau

Thursday, May 06, 2010

After 4 long awaited years, Godsmack has released their anticipated fifth studio album The Oracle. This album screams the word “attitude,” almost as if all of the band’s energy over the 4 years span is put collectively into the 12 track collection. Each track has a different tonality to it and after watching the Making of The Oracle webisodes, you get front man and song writer Sully Erna’s own thoughts on each song. To tell you the truth, I was not sure what to expect. Sure, I heard “Whiskey Hangover” and “Cryin’ Like a Bitch” when they were released as singles and I thought they were great. Signature Godsmack riffs and Classic Sully lyrics. When I found out that “Whiskey Hangover” was not going to be part of the main disk, red flags went up in my head. It turns out that it is released as a bonus track, along with the unreleased “I Blame You.” This is perhaps the only major flaw of the album, the sales production. Many customer reviews are ready to kill the production and distribution company for adding the bonus tracks on a DVD, instead of a CD format. In my opinion, that is just asinine. Yes, the tracks are worth it and if you obtain music through iTunes, then you don’t have a problem. However, if you are one of few “old-fashioned” people who actually buy CDs, you will be partially disappointed with the Deluxe CD/DVD Edition of The Oracle. For the money, it’s still a good buy any way you slice it because Metallica’s Ride the Lightning album that came out over twenty years ago is still selling for $20+. For around $13, you get an awesome 10 track CD with a Making Of DVD with bonus tracks. What more do you want, Godsmack to play in your living room? I WISH!

 

As far as the music goes, the songs are filled with in-your-face rock riffs. In an interview prior to the album’s release, Sully stated that the album is the heaviest one Godsmack has done yet. There will be no “Serenitys” or “Voodoos” or “Hollows” because most of the fans put up with those songs and really just want heavy. So we’re gonna give them heavy. Even without the signature “Voodoo” and percussive tonality, there is still that element within The Oracle. As far as heavy goes, I have to agree with and second Sully’s statement that it is indeed the heaviest Godsmack album so far. Tracks like “War and Peace”, “What If” and “Forever Shamed” all have parts that can be considered metal. OMG WHAT! Godsmack is more than just a Hard Rock band? YES! It’s true. Shannon Larkin, the group’s ace drummer, struts his stuff with double bass grooves, off-beat rhythms and cymbal-work that would make Sabian (Shannon’s indorsed cymbal company) proud.

 

In addition to the solid drumming, bassist Robbie Merrill is granted bass intros and bass tone that cuts through the heavy production mix. “Saints and Sinners” kick off with a bass riff that sets the tone for the rest of the song. The presences non-scooped mids and deep tonality creates a perfect complement to lead guitarist Tony Rombola’s Splawn and Engl amplifiers. The guitar tracks are similar to that of Godsmack IV where it is noticeable that they ditched the Mesa Boogie Rectifiers for a more hot-rodded, Rock and Roll amplifier. While guitar tones have evolved over the course of album releases, the signature wah playing of Tony still holds true. Every solo has the addition of his wah pedal which, while sometimes makes the solos hard to differentiate, truly unique if you listen closely. Another thing that Tony does on The Oracle is use a vast range of dynamics. Swells, bends and dissonants are a large part of his playing and envelop each song.

 

“The Oracle” track is a culmination of everything on and off the album. While being an instrumental track, there are many different parts to this 6 minute track. It’s almost as if the many phases of Godsmack have been put together into one song, including the new more metal part that the song ends with. Words can’t really explain this track because it is different than a typical song. You got to feel this song, since there are no words, but the instruments do a great job of transferring emotion to the listener.

 

With all this hype, you got to ask: what are the bad things? Well, one thing that might be on the top of people’s favorites list is song-ending fade-outs. The Oracle consists of 2 tracks with a fade-out, “Love-Hate-Sex-Pain” and “Shadow of a Soul”. Now, fade-outs aren’t bad if they are done right. “LHSP” transitions into a piano ending from the ending riff which works well. “Shadow” keeps going with the chorus into the end of the track with no exact ending. This is what irks me because there is no transition. Just my opinion, but it doesn’t sound bad. It’s just something that I noticed.

 

Overall, The Oracle is a great hard rock / heavy metal album of 2010. Godsmack has put a great deal of effort into it and made it for the fans. As a devout Godsmack fan, I am overly satisfied and cannot wait until they start their 2010 tour. It all comes down to reaction to change. This album is a little different than the last couple Godsmack releases, but it still has the same elements that make Godsmack who they are. Notice how I didn’t even go into the song “Cryin’ Like a Bitch”? #1 Rock hit is all that’s necessary to say. If you’re a Godsmack fan, you won’t be disappointed with this album. Bottom Line = Buy It. ‘Nuff Said.

     

Album grade: A+

    

Mashin' in the Free World, Part 1

Danny Gutierrez

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

 

You’re cruising down the highway with your friends, having a blast, when all of a sudden on the radio, a mysterious, and insanely catchy song comes on that you’ve never heard before. Yet something about it is so familiar. The beat is instantly recognizable, it’s the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling,” but it sounds like the vocals are made up of pieces of all your favorite songs from the past year. Even more interesting, is that these snippets of vocals seem to create their own lyrics…a brand new song, so to speak.The sounds flowing from your speaker appear to be mashed up and combined to create something entirely new.  Like a photograph of an already existing piece of art, yet from a different perspective, this in its own right is an original piece of work.

 

Now of course, the song I’m referring to is DJ Earworm’s “United State of Pop 2009.” Perhaps you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months and have no idea who or what that is. That’s fine, allow me to explain. This is what we call a mashup. A mashup is, generally and most simply, a song that combines 2 or more different (and already existing) songs into one, creating a brand-new and re-imagined “song.” Essentially, it is a song made up of songs. WGBH defines mashups as “a genre that consists entirely of parts of other songs…edited to appear as one.”

 

Also known as bastard pop in many places around the world, the genre has exploded into the mainstream over the past few years, but more specifically over the past 7 months. Back in October, the smash hit television show Glee aired an episode during their first half of season 1 called “Vitamin D.” In this episode, glee club director Will Schuester (played by Matthew Morrison) divides the glee club into boys vs. girls and directs them to put together a mashup competition. The boys performed a rousing rendition of Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life” mixed with Usher’s “Confessions, Part II,” while the girls mashed Beyoncé’s “Halo” with Katrina and the Waves’ classic hit “Walking on Sunshine” (keep in mind, both teams were high on pseudoephedrine during their performances, but more on that if you watch the episode). The popularity of Glee really brought mashups and blends into the spotlight and people everywhere were interested in this somewhat new, and revolutionary, way to think about music.The mashup theme is now a constant in Glee, with mashups being performed every few episodes, as well as having an entire episode titled “Mash-Up.”

 

A few months after that peak in the interest of the mashup genre and culture, DJ Earworm compiled the 2009 version of his yearly megamix of the previous year’s top 25 Billboard songs. Dubbed “United State of Pop,” the 2009 version is his 3rd in a row, having started this tradition in 2007. What makes “USoP ‘09” unique in comparison to Earworm’s previous efforts is that he spliced the song’s lyrics to form his own lyrics (something not always done in mashups), creating an entirely new, original, and interesting work. The mash, according to Sir Earworm, is about the tough economic times we’ve gone through, and although we’ve “been through a lot…right now we’re gonna celebrate with music and dance, and it’s gonna be ok.” Earworm released “United State of Pop 2009” shortly before the end of 2009, and soon enough it was being heard on radio stations all over the country and the world. The burgeoning interest in and popularity of mashups has finally brought one to national radio. Never before has this happened.  Sure mashup stations exist, but they’re mainly internet-only stations or underground radio stations. We’re talking national radio here. With this, mashups seem to be the latest craze, with everyone and their mothers listening to them, or even trying to make them.

 

However, mashups weren’t always as well-received as they seem to be today. The entire genre of bootlegs, as they’re also referred to, have actually come under a lot of fire from recording companies and various music artists and bands wondering if mashups are actually legal. This brings up a good question: Is taking pieces of songs that do not belong to you and combining them to form a new work illegal? Well, you might think yes, and many of those record companies and individuals do try to slam the door on mashups using the whole “copyright infringement” spiel. However, the overwhelming majority would say that mashups are indeed legal, falling under the United States’ copyright law doctrine of fair use, as well as our first amendment right to freedom of speech. Fair use is a fairly simple legislation; it says that we, as a people, are entitled and allowed to limitedly use copyrighted material, under certain circumstances.

 

Yet even with that protection behind us, many mashup artists, DJs, and mashup websites are still sent cease-and-desist letters forcing them to stop production of their mixes or take down mashups from their websites. Perhaps the most notable example includes EMI’s attempt in 2004 at stopping native New Yorker, Danger Mouse, from distributing his genius, and now legendary, Jay-Z/The Beatles mashup album, The Grey Album. Popular YouTube masher, DJ Ryson, has also been a victim of the heat applied by record companies, having had both his accounts (MysteriousNight and RysonRemix) suspended on multiple occasions. Most recently, DJ Lobsterdust was harassed by (guess who?) EMI when he created a mashup of “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana. He, however, succumbed to the pressure and pulled his “NirGaga” mashup off of his personal website. Various incarnations of the song have been reuploaded all across the internet, though, and it can still be found, regardless of EMI trying to stomp out mashups.

Here are some of my personal favorite mashups:

Bavor 

Let It Be Me

(The Beatles vs. Shaggy)

     

Flashlight

Gimme 4 Minutes

(Britney Spears vs. Madonna)

      

FAROFF

The Brits Are Playing at My House

(LCD Soundsystem vs. The Beatles vs. The Kinks)

       

Terry Urban

Viva La Milli

(Coldplay vs. Lil Wayne)

       

Danger Mouse

What More Can I Say

(Jay-Z vs. The Beatles)

          

Mashin’ in the Free World, Part 2

Danny Gutierrez

Friday, May 07, 2010

 

All legalities and loopholes and threats aside, mashups are just plain out fun! It’s great to hear your favorite song rearranged and blended together with another song. Sometimes it can make a song you really don’t like quite favorable to you. Conversely, if they’re both songs that you love, then that’s an added bonus. Mashups can range from the usual and expected, to the bizarre, comedic, and even blasphemous, mixing bands and artists from different genres, eras, or styles that you would never in a million years think you’d hear together.

 

Though the concept of mashups has been around for almost a couple centuries (some citing classical and orchestral rearrangements of traditional folk songs as the roots of the “mashup”), the first mashup to gain widespread attention, as well as come under attack by record companies, was in 2001 when Freelance Hellraiser combined an instrumental of The Strokes’ “Hard to Explain” with an a cappella of Christina Aguilera’s “Genie in a Bottle.” Cleverly titled “A Stroke of Genie-us,” this mashup achieved massive popularity, being shared all across P2P file sharing networks such as Napster and Kazaa, which were prominent at the time.

 

Further back, in 1999, one of my personal favorite DJs, DJ Z-Trip, independently released his classic magnum opus Uneasy Listening, Vol. 1. Created in 1 week along with DJ P, this hour and 13 minute long mix combines an eclectic variety of rock, hip hop, pop, and electro songs and samples. What makes Uneasy Listening special and stand out above all the rest, though, is that it was made entirely through the use of vinyl records and turntables, rather than computer programs like many of today’s mashup artists use. Z-Trip is more of a classic and traditional turntablist, scratching and mixing his vinyls into beautifully thought-out and orchestrated mixes. Rumor has it, that Z-Trip and P used an astounding 8 connected turntables to make Uneasy Listening (the standard and typical setup includes only 2 turntables connected to each other). DJs such as Z-Trip help to further show the evolution of mixing and combining music through history, with mashups also having influences in old school hip hop and the turntablism culture.

Since really the turn of the millennium, the mashup/DJ scene has had a huge underground following. Helping to popularize mashups, DJs Adrian & the Mysterious D (also known as A Plus D) brought mashups to the attention of much of the west coast, and created a club night simply called “Bootie”. Every month in various cities, a club in each city will host a night entirely dedicated to mashups and bootlegs. “Bootie”, which originated in San Francisco, now also holds club nights in Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Portland and Seattle, and has even expanded to various large cities across the world (Paris, London, Berlin, Hong Kong, and Rio de Janeiro, to name a few).

 

Though Glee and DJ Earworm are bringing mashups under the microscope today, various other situations have occurred in which mashups were brought into light. Producers/mashup artists Loo & Placido had their “Black Beatles” mashup (The Beatles vs. Black Eyed Peas vs. Ludacris vs. Kelis vs. N.E.R.D) featured in the June 2008 issue of Rolling Stone under a “Single-Minded Weekend Jam” section. Rolling Stone continues this section, and on Fridays it is now dedicated to mashups, among other rarities and remixes. A year earlier, the first fully legal mashup album was released. Mashed, coincidentally released by EMI, was entirely produced by Go Home Productions except for 2 tracks produced by Loo & Placido. The album was a success, and featured two chart-topping mashups, L&P’s “Horny as a Dandy” (The Dandy Warhols vs. Mousse T.) and GHP’s “Rapture Riders” (The Doors vs. Blondie). “Rapture Riders” is noteworthy because both bands outwardly approved the mashup when it was first released before Mashed came out, and allowed GHP to re-mix the mashup using the original studio tracks for both songs (“Rapture” by Blondie and “Riders on the Storm” by The Doors). Another year earlier than that even (in 2006), came the release of The Beatles’ Love album. Love is the only official Beatles remix/mashup album, and it serves as the soundtrack to the Cirque du Soleil show of the same name. Long-time Beatles producer George Martin, and his son Giles, were commissioned by Cirque du Soleil and the surviving members of The Beatles to create a sort of “soundscape” for the Las Vegas show, comprising of the entire catalog of Beatles music.

 

So perhaps you’re just discovering mashups. That’s great! There is much to explore, considering the long and detailed history of mashups. Besides all the aforementioned mashup artists, there are other notable mashup-makers out there today, including dj BC, Immuzikation, Divide & Kreate and Wax Audio, among many others. A simple Google search on “mashups” should suffice in helping you find mashups and mashers. Also, there’s something in mashups for everyone. Having roots in hip hop, electro, classical, and pop music, mashups break borders and can bring people together by combining virtually anything you can think of (but not everything…some things just don’t work too well together). Call them whatever you like. Mashups, bootlegs, blends, bastard pop…they still have the same effect: forcing you to look at music in another way and maybe not be so critical of the songs, genres, or artists you don’t like. It’s a fun ride.

 

Check out the following links for some more information on select things mentioned in this article, as well as some of my personal favorite mashups that I’ve heard over the years.

         

Freelance Hellraiser

A Stroke of Genie-us

(The Strokes vs. Christina Aguilera)

      

Loo & Placido

Horny as a Dandy

(Mousse T. vs. The Dandy Warhols)

      

DJ BC

Could You Be LoveGamed

(Bob Marley vs. Lady Gaga)

           

Links:

   

DJ Earworm's Official Website:

www.djearworm.com

DJ Z-Trip's Official Website

www.djztrip.com

Mashup Town Website:

www.mashuptown.com

Latin with Soul: An Interview with Gemma Genazzano 
Ryan Mundaca
Monday, May 03, 2010
 
Sensual, erotic, and passionate - these are the words that can best describe Gemma Genazzano. For those of you that have never heard of Genazzano, it’s safe to say that you’re missing out. She has performed on NBC’s The Today Show and currently owns the #4 spot on the Latin iTunes most downloaded albums. After watching a live performance of Genazzano, it’s hard not to be immediately enchanted with her sexy style and lyrics. Luckily for me, I managed to get an interview with this sultry singer.  

When asked at what age she knew she wanted to be a singer, Genazzano says that she always knew she wanted to be in the spotlight, but she didn’t know she wanted to be a singer. As a young girl in Spain, she would frequently accompany her father to the movie theaters. There, she would become fascinated with the actresses and the glamour that went with it. “I knew I wanted to be in the spotlight but it was tough because it was during the era of Franco” says Genazzano. It wasn’t until the age of 22 when she saw a woman perform soul music. This was the first time she had ever been hypnotized by the rhythms and lyrics that encompassed deep love and sensuality. This was also when she knew she wanted to be a singer. However, it wouldn’t be just soul music, it would be Latin soul. “Latin soul is an interesting combination of the sensual, the passionate, the sexy, and the erotic” says Genazzano. 
 
Many critics and fans alike have even compared her to the legendary Sade and in turn earned her the title of the “Latin Sade”. “Sade dared to talk about the open woman,” says Genazzano. “I’m also touching on this topic. The only difference is that it’s in Spanish.” Genazzano continues. “Believe in life, love, and in music. [Music] is a massage for the soul. [For women], music creates a magical space of femininity. Enjoy your body, your power, and your spirit. There is a goddess within every woman, [one] that they must discover.”     

Needless to say, this goddess had cast her Latin spell of love over all her fans. Believe me; it won’t be easy to break free from such a charm. Genazzano will be touring in Europe this summer.   
 
 
For more information on Genazzano, just follow the links below. 
 
www.gemmagenazzano.com 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiVEhqxuUWA

Album Review: Volume Two by She & Him
Danny Gutierrez
Monday, May 03, 2010