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my favorite things: drinks with phoenix

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I just discovered the “Drinks With:” series from americansongwriter.com today while searching for Julian Casablancas interviews for TheStrokesNews.com.

The interview with Casablancas was stupendous, as too were the interviews with Arctic Monkeys and Phoenix, a French band who has exploded in the States since debuting on Saturday Night Live in 2009.

So, for this ‘my favorite things’ segment, I’m simply going to post a link right here to the interview and then an excerpt to demonstrate why I enjoy it so much.

I saw an acoustic performance that you all did recently where you played with two acoustic guitars and a keyboard. I believe that you mentioned that particular setup being the way you all write songs, properly as a band. Is that true for the most part? Do you typically write songs with a more stripped down instrumentation and then take it into a studio, to fill out the rest?

CM: Yeah. We use very cheap keyboards and acoustic guitars and tape recorders—a Dictaphone. We record for hours and hours.

TM: It is always with cheap instruments—very, very cheap, like 20 dollars—or something rare and expensive. No in-between (smiles). I guess it helps us, you know, with the keyboards. If you try something different and it breaks—it doesn’t matter because it’s not valuable. So you have this freedom to use them the wrong way.

LB: When they are really cheap, they breathe, you know? They have this hum. You know the children’s samplers? We use them a lot. They almost sound like a very expensive Mellotron. We also have very good synthesizers, and they breathe too.

DD: We like everything that alters or filters your original idea. That’s why we work with very cheap equipment. We also work with cheap recorders when we compose. [Even though] it’s not supposed to sound like this on the record, it kind of fantasizes everything. So when you listen back to it, it gives you a very new vision of what you did.

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This post was written by Eric Van Dril. For more of his writing, visit his Twitter.

dicaprio drops out of mel gibson movie

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In a recent interview with Rolling Stone (I’d post the link, but they would kill me if I did), Leonardo DiCaprio talked about the possibility of working with Mel Gibson.

He knew it was a risky proposition, given that Gibson is an out-and-out crazy person/racist, but DiCaprio thought that what was put on to film was always the most important thing*.

*Of course, DiCaprio is a white guy and also the biggest movie star on the planet, so he probably wouldn’t have much beef with Gibson.

Film was the most important thing until the media got the most recent batch of Gibson tapes, which show the Braveheart star in his natural habitat of absolute crazy. DiCaprio, knowing that this man was radioactive, has since decided that he wanted no part of Gibson’s Viking epic.

Smart move, Leo.

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This post was written by Eric Van Dril. For more of his writing, visit his Twitter.

The Strokes Delay Album No. 4 Until March 2011

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Who’s up for a little cross promotion?

You!

Good, because that’s exactly what this post is going to be.  Yesterday, I was one of the first to report on The Strokes delaying their fourth record until March of 2011 on TheStrokesNews.com.

At this point, the reason frontman Julian Casablancas said the band would be delaying their fourth record is simply because it’s not to the point where they feel confident about moving forward with the mixing. It’s been over four years since their last record, so people are expecting quite a bit and The Strokes seem to be very aware of this.

The other alarming thing Casablancas spoke about was the possibility of the band breaking up if things don’t go well on album No. 4…

“I hate it when bands break up and never play again,” Julian said. “I’m split two ways now. I feel almost that my new thing is, in more ways, how The Strokes old thing was. And the new Strokes thing is something that I hope works and I hope everyone loves and makes everyone happy.”

“Is it a last shot, maybe?” Interviewer Adrian Larkin asks, making my stomach drop because I don’t have any idea how he’s going to respond.

“I think,” Julian says before trailing off. “Honestly, I don’t know.”

You can read the rest of the article right here.

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This post was written by Eric Van Dril. For more of his writing, visit his Twitter.

the hangover sequel will be shot in 3-d

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Get ready for the outbreak of 3-D films because it’s rapidly approaching.

Following blockbuster performances by Avatar and Alice in Wonderland over the last four months, movie studios are making the smart economic move and figuring they can make more money by converting their current films to 3-D and shooting many of their new films in 3-D.  You will see a lot of that from this point on.

One such film that most people would say makes absolutely no sense to shoot in 3-D is the sequel to The Hangover. But that’s what The Hangover‘s writer/director Todd Phillips will do.

Via Moviefill.com…

Phillips talked to James Cameron about the technology and the process of shooting with 3-D cameras, because he feels that The Hangover 2 is “the perfect movie to do in 3D”. He also said that “pretty soon everything will be in 3D”, just like there once was a time where the industry transitioned from black-and-white to color.

I’ve seen both Alice and Avatar in 3-D and I don’t like it all that much.  I know that’s where the market is going with 3-D TVs and all, but it’s a much different experience and not that different from regular 2-D movies.

What do you think about The Hangover sequel in 3-D and the move by all major movie studios shooting films in 3-D?

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This post was written by Eric Van Dril.  For more of his writing, visit RipcordNews.com or visit his Twitter.

coldplay will release new record in 2010

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2010 is shaping up to be an awesome year in rock music with a ton of highly-regarded bands scheduled for new releases.  This list includes: The Strokes (check out my website – RipcordNews.com for everything about their fourth record), Interpol, Radiohead (!!!) and now Coldplay.

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin recently said that the band hopes to release a new record by this Christmas in an interview with Globo.com.  The band is currently working on the record – reportedly in an old church that has been converted into a recording studio.

Martin went on to say that the band is taking every precaution to ensure that their new material doesn’t leak.

“There’s only two people in the whole building who know how to open all the recording files,” Martin explained. “Even we don’t know how to do it. We couldn’t even steal our own music at the moment. You would have to be a computer genius and a great burglar to get into the building, and download it, and mix it.”

stay tuned for more news throughout the spring, summer and fall.  And be sure to stay tuned to Coldplay’s YouTube account for recordings from their summer tour.

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This post was written by Eric Van Dril.  For more of his writing, visit RipcordNews.com.

my two favorite records of the year

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As regular readers of this space know, I’m a huge fan of the The Strokes and I think Julian Casablancas’ Phrazes for the Young is the best record of the year.  I listen to it constantly and I’m a sucker for songs that Casablancas writes.

Phrazes has all the things The Strokes have become known for: catchy melody, interesting lyrics and seperate, but interlocking parts that mesh together perfectly.  If you haven’t yet heard any songs from Phrazes for the Young, please just check out these two songs (‘11th Dimension‘ and ‘Left & Right in the Dark‘).

My other favorite record of the year is Regina Spektor’s Far, which may be the prettiest record I’ve ever heard.  Spektor first rose to prominance when she toured with The Strokes in 2003 and 2004, but now has evolved into arguably the best female solo artist of the year.

For proof, watch Spektor performing “Laughing With” on The Late Show with David Letterman right here.  It’s a quiet and mellow song, but the lyrics are perfect and Spektor’s voice is beautiful.

What’s your record(s) of the year?

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This post was written by Eric Van Dril.  For more of his writing, check out RipcordNews.com.

the best record of the decade is…

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NME.com came out with a list of the top-100 records of the decade last week and in the #1 slot was The Strokes’ Is This It.

As I’ve wrote on this site a couple different times (one here), my favorite band is The Strokes.  Their songs are impecably made and rehersed and they sound amazing live.

Most importantly, however, The Strokes’ 2001 release of Is This It has inspired a ton of bands to make similar music and expand on the lo-fi sound on their first record.  Now, mainstream artists like Arctic Monkeys, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Kings of Leon have all taken what The Strokes have done and put their own spin on it.  Therefore, instead of nu-metal garbage like Korn and Limp Bizket, we have the Kings of Leon selling millions of records across the planet.

But even though each one of these bands (and The Libertines, The Vines, The Killers and about 1,000 more) don’t sound exactly like The Strokes, most everything current rock bands do resembles what The Strokes started in 2001.

So if you like good music with catchy melody, please give Is This It one YouTube listen.  And if you like what you hear, check out RipcordNews.com for all the news about Julian Casablancas’ solo album and The Strokes fourth record.

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This post was written by Eric Van Dril.  For more of his writing, check out RipcordNews.com.

the best late night band ever

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It’s rare when a late night music performance does anything for a musical act besides raise awareness.

Most problems are created by the setting of the performance.  The band’s performance is in front of a crowd that mostly doesn’t know their music.  There might be 10-12 fans, but most of the audience is there because it’s something to do and because they watch the show.

So the audience’s disinterest is a big deal.

Factor in the fact that the band is only performing one song in an unfamiliar setting that is probably the biggest audience they will ever play in front of, then you’re going to have big problems.

Most importantly, however, the band only has one day to get the acoustics absolutely correct.  If one thing is off about a band’s sound, it can lead to a terrible review from the Internet.

That said, the Strokes are unquestionably the best at performing late night shows.  While promoting Is This It, their ground-breaking debut record, the Strokes played Leno, Conan and Letterman in three absolutely unbelievable performances.

Because I don’t have the capabilities to post videos on this website, you have to take a leap of faith and simply watch three videos.

“The Modern Age” on Conan (1st American TV appearance ever): HERE

“Hard To Explain” on Leno: HERE

“Take It Or Leave It” on Letterman (the best late night performance ever): HERE

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This post was written by Eric Van Dril.  For more of his writing, check out RipcordNews.com.

when a sxsw performance goes wrong

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A performance at South By Southwest music festival can vault a band to super-stardom.  It happens every year with a select few.  Last year, it was The Kills.  In 2001, it was my favorite band, The Strokes.

In March of 2001, The Strokes went down to Austin, Texas fresh off of a sold-out tour of England.  They had “The Modern Age EP” in hand, and went down to Austin to show what the buzz surrounding the band was about.  After playing another sold-out set, the Austin American-Statesman wrote a review with the headline “The Strokes Offer a Peek at Rock ‘n’ Roll’s Future.”  Penthouse (link completely SFW) was also at the show, and showed that this is how legends are made…

Impossibly cool and unrealistically handsome in their black leather, ’70s shag haircuts, and dark, Mediterranean complexions, the five New York twentysomethings tear through their set with sweaty exuberance as the capacity crowd of journalists, radio insiders, and record company weasels are swept up by the energy of the snarling melodies and breakneck rhythms. The Strokes are living up to the promise of The Modern Age, the debut E.P. they released on England’s Rough Trade Records in January, and they know it. But the fact that they’ve got almost all of this jaded crowd pogoing in place isn’t quite enough to satisfy them. They want to convince everyone.

Singer Julian Casablancas can see the disinterested middle-aged executive standing in the center of the throng. This guy has got places to go, other acts to see, an expense account to abuse, and a ponytail to flaunt. When he impatiently looks at his Rolex and scans the evening’s schedule for the third or fourth time in a row, Casablancas finally lets him have it.

“Don’t you f*cking look at your watch while I’m singing!” the frontman shouts, then returns to the tune without missing a beat. Behind him, the band doubles the intensity of its attack, and Mr. Ponytail quietly slithers from the room. When the Strokes leave Texas, the Buzz has grown from a quiet but steady hum into an absolute roar.

South By Southwest can also destroy bands.  Peter, Bjorn and John were booed off the stage this year after, well, an absolutely horrific performance. Rolling Stone wrote the following a few days after the show…

“Eriksson whistled a different melody for a few moments to kill some time, but the band mostly appeared disinterested and disconnected from the audience — a shout of ‘show me that you give a sh*t!’ was later followed by boos as the band struggled to get a guitar working (‘Boo for bad guitars,’ the band responded. Perhaps a language barrier was to blame?).”

For more on SXSW from a first-hand account, check out TC On The Radio, written by a University of Iowa student who went down to Austin during spring break.

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Oh, and if you’re a fan of The Strokes, check out my site – Ripcordnews.com – for daily updates on the band and a countdown to the fourth album with all sorts of rare videos.

gossip of the day: dunst dating hartnett

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This is a bit trashy, but interesting none-the-less.

It seems to myself, a complete Hollywood outsider, that Kirsten Dunst is passed around more frequently than the collection basket at church.

(That was probably really mean, but absolutely true)

The Spider-Man actress has recently been romantically linked to Justin Long, Jacob Soboroff, Fabrizio Moretti and Ryan Gentles, the manager of The Strokes.  Dunst also dated Jake Gyllenhaal for two years.

And now, the New York Post‘s gossip column – Page Six – reports that Dunst has a new flame; Josh Hartnett. An insider tells the publication…

“They were whispering and smiling at each other. At times it looked like she wanted to grab his hand, but stopped. She was especially smitten with him.”

I feel kind of bad for Dunst because she’s consistently labeled in the tabloids and on the Internet as a slut.  I mean, how did the Post take looking like your going to grab someone’s and flip it into Kirsten Dunst hooking up with Josh Hartnett (which they did today).

And now, let’s say that Dunst and Hartnett are indeed going out.  The dynamic of their relationship completely changes with this article on Page Six.

It’s too bad, really, because the relationship is doomed by being in the public forum.