You Must Know Kraftwerk - Big Shot review

Album review: Kraftwerk / ‘The Catalogue’ (Kling Klang/Astralwerks/EMI/Mute)

Posted on October 8, 2009 by admin

An electro kid who hasn’t listened to Kraftwerk is like a guitarist unfamiliar with Hendrix. Or a porn star who doesn’t know who John Holmes is. Point is, you’ve gotta know your roots.

And these quirky German synth dudes—like a mix of Devo and the band in Revenge of the Nerds—were true pioneers, using primitive electronic gear to craft bleeps and blips, funky beats, and vocal snippets into songs that have influenced the likes of Jay-Z, Duran Duran, Coldplay, and Radiohead. It was their unique sound that helped Afrika Bambaataa launch American hip-hop when he famously sampled Kraftwerk’s classic “Trans Europe Express” for “Planet Rock.” The remastered version is a reminder of the original song’s undeniable allure. And much like Hendrix created some of rock’s greatest riffs, the main keyboard line in “Trans Europe Express” stands today as one of the best in the history of electronic music. From “The Man Machine” to 1981’s “Computer World” to the video game bounce of “Techno Pop” and “The Robots,” this comp should be a staple in any self-respecting minimalist or breaks DJ’s record bag. But more than that, these remasters serve as an analog and digital reminder that the group was light years ahead of its time.
Dave Wedge
File under: Brian Eno, New Order, Tangerine Dream

Link

The Penelopes - Big Shot feature!

The Penelopes: French Toast

Posted on October 28, 2009 by admin

Some may view The Penelopes’ chill room cover of The Beastie Boys’ rap-rock classic “Sabotage” as sacrilege. But the French dance-rock duo says their downtempo, atmospheric overhaul embodies their fearless approach to track making. And if you don’t buy that, just blame it on the weed.

“We like to be surprised and we like to surprise people too,” says Axel Basquiat from his home in southern France. “And we wanted to make something more stoney. We smoke a lot of joints. We wanted to do something very slow, very strange for us. We wanted a new interpretation of it.”

Basquiat and his electro-pop partner, Vincent T, are the latest to emerge from Paris’ digital renaissance—an inspiring movement that’s given the electronic music world Justice, Air, Daft Punk, and Sébastien Tellier, among others. The duo’s U.S. debut, Priceless Concrete Echoes, produced by Black Strobe’s Arnaud Rebotini, is a melodic mix of New Orderish dance rock, disco, pop, shoegaze and the sexy synth-wave purveyed by their fellow Francophiles.

“When we have an idea, we follow the idea to the end. It’s also the sophistication of the music. It’s not rock. French music is very sophisticated. We try to keep that in our minds to be demanding and to be strange and unique.”

Words: Dave Wedge

as featured in Issue 29

Read the rest here

What Do Tiesto and KISS Have In Common?

Not much really, except that both put on massive spectacles in the past week in Boston that were part of a whirlwind run of incredible shows I've checked out. I'm amazed I'm not deaf like Pete Townsend by now . . .

Saw Tiesto at an arena in Lowell, Hatebreed at Harper's Ferry in Boston, KISS at the Boston Garden and Shadows Fall and Five Finger Death Punch at House of Blues in Boston. All great shows but I was especially amazed at the majesty of the KISS and Tiesto shows. Tiesto's massive wall of video, lazers, spasm-inducing lights and pulsating house nearly rivaled the sensory overload of KISS' gargantuan set. At the very least, Gene Simmons would have been proud of Tiesto's production and probably said, "This guy gets it."

But I have to say, the KISS stage show was awesome - colored fire, giant flash pots, explosions and confetti showers. That's how you put on a show. Anyone who says otherwise is a tool.

Here are links to my reviews of some of these shows from Lime Wire Music Blog and the Boston Herald:

Tiesto

KISS

Hatebreed

I'll be at Airborne Toxic Event Tuesday at HOB. If this keeps up, I may need hospitalization . . .

7 Years Ago Today - Still Miss Her Every Day

OBITUARIES

Obituary; Arlene Wedge, 60, Brockton native a seamstress

224 words

4 September 2002

Boston Herald

© 2002 

BROCKTON - Arlene Grace (Cornelius) Wedge, 60, of Brockton died Tuesday morning at her home in Brockton after a courageous battle against cancer.

Born in Brockton, she was the daughter of the late Roy G. and Laura S. (Jones) Cornelius.

She was educated in Brockton public schools and received a degree from the former Pierce Secretarial School in Boston.

She was a homemaker and a lifelong resident of Brockton. For the past several years, she had worked as a seamstress for Katina Katoo in Easton, making handmade christening gowns. Among her proudest achievements was a custom gown she made for the newborn son of pop singer Celine Dion. She also enjoyed knitting, traveling and spending time with her family.

She is survived by two daughters, Allyson G. DeMaggio of Burlington, Vt., and Nancy K. of Brockton; a son, David M. of South Boston; a brother, Roy G. Cornelius of Franklin; and four grandchildren, Kelsey Wedge and Danielle Wedge, both ofBrockton, and Drew and Michael DeMaggio of Burlington, Vt. She was the wife of Roger P. Wedge for many years and the sister of the late Albert G. Cornelius of Lakeville.

Her funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday from Dahlborg-MacNevin Funeral Home, 647 Main St., Brockton. Burial will be in Melrose Cemetery, Brockton.

UPDATE: Cops Searching for Woman Accused of Setting Her Man on Fire

This story is insane - and now the cops have named the woman who allegedly doused her husband in alcohol and torched his sorry ass. She is Sharon Jones, 38, of Brockton.
Read more in the Enterprise . . .

Can Always Count on Taunton for a Good, Ol' Douche . . .

I used to cover crime for the Taunton Daily Gazette and there were so many scumbags like this dude. Love me some Taunton, but there's some serious critters there . . .

MIDDLEBORO —
Local police officials familiar with Derek M. Lindsay say the Taunton man should have been taken off the streets long ago.
Lindsay, 36, has been arraigned in court 143 times — most recently on a slew of drug charges in Taunton this month and in connection with a stabbing in Middleboro in March.
“How many times do you actually have to be convicted before someone says, you need to take a break for a while and go to jail and think about what you’ve done?” said Taunton police Lt. Paul Roderick.

Read the rest here . . .

What Albums to Buy This Week - Lime Wire Music Blog

My list of albums to buy this week - (from Lime Wire Music Blog):

The soggy, cold, London-like Northeast weather this month has been a real drag, with the sun making an appearance like once here in Boston. As a result, my “summer” listening has been even more aggressive, depressing and blindingly heavy than normal. Luckily, there’s no shortage of crushing shit to be pale and miserable by this dour June. Here’s some of the best (along with one upbeat offering, just in case we get a day to put the top down):
Ex Deo – Romulus

On "Dennis and Callahan" on WEEI 850-AM This Week

My appearance this week on the "Dennis & Callahan Show" on 850-AM WEEI discussing the corruption scandal involving ex-Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi - hear the full clip here . . .

Limewire review of Jane's Addiction, NIN, Street Sweeper Social Club @ Comcast Center, Mansfield, Mass. - 6/3/09

Nearly 20 years ago, me and some friends piled into a shitbox with a cooler of beer and some weed and headed to Mansfield, MA to check out a bunch of cool bands on this new festival called Lollapalooza. Yesterday, I piled into a different shitbox and made the same drive to check out Jane’s Addiction and Nine Inch Nails, both of which were on that original 1991 tour. It wouldn’t be fair to compare the two shows, since Lollapalooza helped launch an alt-rock revolution and had a rarely duplicated energy. Still, signs of the original were on display and the current tour is more than just a nostalgia trip.

Read the whole thing here . . .

Tom Morello interview in the Weekly Dig . . .

[music]

STREET SWEEPER SOCIAL CLUB

Truth to power never sounded so good

By DAVE WEDGE

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Remember that feeling you had the first time you heard Rage Against the Machine?

Their politically charged angst and reckless energy made you want to hurl Molotov cocktails at the White House—or least smash beer bottles—but hasn't been unleashed in a long time.

Guitarist Tom Morello has valiantly pressed on post-RATM, but with Zack de la Rocha on the sidelines, his massive talents have veered away from fiery rap metal and into more mainstream hard rock (Audioslave) and coffee house revolutionary (The Nightwatchman).

But that's all changed, now that Morello has joined forces with The Coup's explosive rapper, Boots Riley, on the ferocious debut from Street Sweeper Social Club.

"I was a fan of The Coup, but I was even more impressed with him performing acoustic," Morello, a Harvard University grad, recalled of his first musical dalliances with Riley. "I felt that the world really needed to hear this guy. I said, 'We're going to be in a band, it's going to be called Street Sweeper and it's going to be revolutionary party jams.'"

Read the rest here . . .

Tom Morello on Obama - Boston Herald "Pols & Politics"

Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello had an interesting take on President Obama . . .

Out of tune with Obama
By Dave Wedge

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Count Harvard University-educated guitar virtuoso Tom Morello as one liberal political activist underwhelmed by President Obama.
“It’s nice to have someone in office who can read above a third-grade level. That’s new for us,” said the Rage Against the Machine musician, who has a new politically charged group called Street Sweeper Social Club. Despite Obama’s liberal policies, Morello, who once worked as an aide to the late Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.), says there’s still much to fight against in Washington. He criticized the administration’s handling of possible war crimes as well as the taxpayer-funded bailouts showered on financial giants who plunged the nation into a recession.

Read the rest here . . .

Cleveland officials want you to know: "We are not a bunch of unemployed douche bags"

It was only a matter of time before the woeful city of Cleveland tried to cash in on this hilarious faux-promo video that pokes fun at the hardscrabble burg's joblessness, pitiful, two-building skyline and "douche bag"-inviting downtown. Both videos are hilarious and now the city is trying to repair its image with of course, a feel good contest . . .

Maligned Cleveland makes most of comic's insults
20 hours ago
CLEVELAND (AP) — Come to Cleveland, where the economy is based on LeBron James, the streets are filled with drifters and broken-down homes can be had for the price of a VCR.
Those claims are made in sarcastic YouTube music videos produced by a hometown comic. But in the spirit of good faith, travel officials are asking him to help judge a contest they're responding with.

Read the rest here . . .

Here is one of the awesome videos . . .

Pretty boy to play world's most notorious killer guitarist

Cute little vampire boy Jackson Rathbone from the teenie bopper flick "Twilight" has been tapped to play killer Burzum frontman Varg Vikernes aka Count Grishnackh in "Lords of Chaos," a new flick based on a book about the blood-drenched, scandal-plagued Norweigian black metal scene of the 1990s.

Vikernes (that's him smiling in a Norway court as he was sentenced to 21 years) was released from jail this week after serving 16 years for brutally stabbing to death Mayhem guitarist Euronymous (above, in corpsepaint during better times) in 1993. Oh yeah, and Vikernes also burned down a bunch of churches.

Tough task for this kid . . .

Weekly Dig piece on Moderat

MODERAT
Plus 600 pounds of gear, equals one massive party
By DAVE WEDGE

Moderat didn't have a deadline to meet for their new record. But still, the notorious perfectionists nearly worked one member of their crew to death—literally.
"One guy was falling on the ground. He was so exhausted," Sebastian Szary says from his home in Germany. "They worked every day—20 hours per day. He forgot to eat."

Read the whole damn thing here . . .

This dude went down the wrong road - he should have grabbed a scouting job . . .

I don't remember this dude playing for the Pats, but he's in deep shit now. He makes Dave Megget's cases look tame. A former UConn runningback, he backed up legendary Pats Pro Bowl linebackers Andre Tippett, Vincent Brown, Johnny Rembert and Larry McGrew . . .

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - A former Patriots [team stats] linebacker and his ex-lover were charged yesterday with killing a wealthy Orange County businessman for financial gain nearly 15 years ago.

Nanette Packard McNeal and Eric Naposki, who played in the late 1980s for theNew England Patriots [team stats] and Indianapolis Colts, were arrested and each charged with one count of murder.

Both had long been suspected in the December 1994 shooting death of multimillionaire William Francis McLaughlin, 55, but were not arrested at the time.

Read it all here . . .

Passion Pit review in Big Shot

Read my review of this Cambridge-based indie-electro band in Big Shot magazine . . .

Fatcats dare you to find out how much the hacks make - Boston Herald

Here's a shining example of the lack of transparency going on at the State House these days:

More than three-quarters of Beacon Hill lawmakers - including the House speaker and Senate president - threw up “a veil of secrecy” when pressed for the size and salaries of their taxpayer-paid staff, even as they are muscling through wallet-crippling tax hikes.

For nearly two months, some 155 of 200 House and Senate lawmakers have stonewalled a Herald request for a list of their staff and salaries - public information that should be readily available upon request.

“They have an obligation to the people who elected them to be forthright with their actions, how they’re spending money, and be accountable,” said Edwin Bender, executive director of the Montana-based National Institute for Money and State Politics. “If lawmakers are not willing to tell you something as simple as their employees and their salaries, what else are they hiding?”

Read the whole story here . . .

Two rings and there wasn't a job available in Pawtucket for this guy?? WTF???

Granted this isn't as bad as when Cecil Fielder turned up broke after making like $70 million or when Leon Spinks was found washing the glass at the St. Louis Blues hockey rink.

And it's not quite as bad as actually seeing former middleweight champ Robbie Sims just walking around Brockton aimlessly.

But still, this kind of sucks:

Doug Mirabelli has joined Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors as a full-time sales associate working out of the 522 East Front Street office.Prior to joining Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors, Mirabelli played professional Baseball, winning two World Series with the Boston Red Sox. A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, Mirabelli met his now wife, Kristin while both were attending Wichita State, where she was an All-American Softball Player. They have been residents of Traverse City for the past 5 years, and have three children.

Here's Wakefield's former catcher's new website . . .

Jim Marzilli's lawyer says being a creep isn't a crime

James Marzilli fights felony indecent assault charge
By Associated PressMonday, May 18, 2009 - Updated 1h ago

BOSTON — A lawyer for a former Massachusetts state senator charged with sexually harassing four women is trying to get the most serious charge against him dismissed.
James Marzilli is accused of making sexually explicit remarks to the women and attempting to sexually touch one of them in Lowell last June.
His lawyer is arguing the most serious charge — attempted indecent assault and battery — is not technically a crime in Massachusetts. It is the only felony charge against Marzilli.

Read the whole story here . . .

Bay State pols speak out of both sides of their mouths - Boston Herald's "Pols & Politics"

A gift for doublespeak

By Dave Wedge / Pols & Politics
Sunday, May 17, 2009 - Updated 13h ago
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Senate President Therese Murray, Sen. Richard Moore and Sen. Mark Montigny have all tapped into their campaign accounts for gifts to supporters, including stuffed teddy bears, dinners, cigars and American Express gift cards.

But the trio was also the driving force behind a new law that bans pharmaceutical companies from giving gifts to doctors.

The pharmaceutical gift ban, signed into law by Gov. Deval Patrick last year, prohibits drug makers from handing out swag to doctors, including gift cards, restaurant vouchers or even pens bearing a company logo. The senators argued that the gifts were a form of bribery. But campaign-financed gift-giving is a tried-and-true practice for all three solons.

Read my whole column here . . .

The Crystal Method review - Big Shot magazine

The Crystal Method / Divided By Night (Tiny e)

Posted on May 15, 2009 by admin

One thing TCM has always been good at is seamlessly blending eclectic styles while maintaining their own distinct vibe. And that’s what they’ve done once again on their latest, which comes five years after their rocktronica classic Legion of Boom.

Their solid foundation of breakbeats, after-hours rocking big beats, rock, and old school hip-hop remains in place. But this time out, they incorporate elements of indie and electro, inviting in Joy Division’s Peter Hook on the somberly psychedelic “Dirty Thirty” and “Blunts and Robots, and She Wants Revenge’s Justin Warfield on the Britpop-ish “Kling to the Wreckage.” But lest anyone accuse them of chasing the indie/electro trend, the disc’s first single, “Drown in the Now,” is a trippy club banger featuring Hasidic hip-hop phenom Matisyahu. And “Smile” is a classic TCM synth-and-breakbeat slammer, with touches of trance and house. And therein lies the beauty of TCM: they’re too talented and experienced to let themselves put out a garbage dump of ripoff tracks. Instead, they’ve brought in a team of like-minded vocalists and musicians to add a fresh edge to their distinct thump. And whatever the style, their knack for addictive digital melodies and big hooks remains a potent drug.

Dave Wedge
File under: The Chemical Brothers, Steve Aoki, Junkie XL

Posted in Big Shot Magazine, Music Reviews | Comments (0)

Check out more of my work in Big Shot - "The Best DJ Magazine in the Galaxy" - here . . .

Boston Herald feature on The Prodigy

Check out my feature on The Prodigy in today's Boston Herald:

Hip-hop pioneer L.L. Cool J famously rapped: “Don’t call it a comeback, I’ve been here for years.”

It’s a mantra Liam Howlett and his partners in digital chaos, The Prodigy, might want to adopt.

“We hadn’t really had a long break. We’ve just been out of the limelight for a while,” Howlett said from his studio in England. “We’ve been doing gigs, but we hadn’t had a record out in some time. But we haven’t come out of nowhere.”

Read the whole story here . . .