Monday, November 22, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Kanye West - So Appalled (Feat. Jay-Z, RZA, Pusha T, Swizz Beatz & Cyhi The Prynce)
Kanye Omari West (pronounced /ˈkɑːnjeɪ/; born June 8, 1977)[1] is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally used pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. However, subsequent productions saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences encompassing '70s R&B, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, folk, alternative, electronica, synth-pop, and classical music.[2]
West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, and his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008. His four albums have received numerous awards, including a cumulative twelve Grammys,[3][4][5] and critical acclaim.[6] All have been very commercially successful, with 808s & Heartbreak becoming his third consecutive #1 album in the U.S. upon release.[7] West also runs his own record label GOOD Music, home to artists such John Legend, Common and Kid Cudi.[8] West's mascot and trademark is "Dropout Bear," a teddy bear which has appeared on the covers of four of his five albums as well as various single covers and music videos.[9] About.com ranked Kanye West #8 on their "Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers" list.[10] On May 16, 2008, Kanye West was crowned by MTV as the year's #1 "Hottest MC in the Game."[11]
Kanye West was born in Atlanta, Georgia,[12] where he lived with his parents. When he was three years old, his parents divorced, and he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois.[13] His father was Ray West, a former Black Panther who was one of the first black photojournalists at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and is now a Christian counselor.[13] West's mother, Dr. Donda West, was a Professor of English at Clark Atlanta University, and the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as West's manager. He was raised in a middle-class background, attending Polaris High School[14] in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois after living in Chicago.[15] West credits his feminine nature to being raised by his mother. When asked about his grades in high school, West replied, "I got A's and B's. And I'm not even frontin'".[16]
West attended art classes at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, and also enrolled at Chicago State University, but dropped out to focus on his music career.[17] While attending school, West produced for local artists. He later gained fame by producing hit singles for major hip hop/R&B artists, including Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Cam'ron, Paul Wall, Common, Mobb Deep, Jermaine Dupri, Scarface, The Game, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, John Legend among others. He also "ghost-produced" for his mentor Deric Angelettie, according to his song "Last Call" and the credits of Nas' "Poppa Was a Playa".[17]
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Falling Slowly - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
From the movie "Once"
super low budget film set in the streets of Dublin, Ireland.
its a movie about music and love and shit like that.. good stuff
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Coldplay - Life in Technicolor II
coldplay is one of my favourite bands. This music video is one of the best i have ever seen. if you want to pick up some chicks, puck up a guitar and learn some of their songs. its instant magic. protip of the day.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Rick Astley- Never gonna give you up
Richard Paul "Rick" Astley (born 6 February 1966) is a BRIT Award-winning English singer-songwriter, musician, and radio personality. He is known for his 1987 song, "Never Gonna Give You Up", which was a #1 hit single in 25 countries.[1] Astley holds the record for being the only male solo artist to have his first 8 singles reach the Top 10 in the UK[2] and has sold approximately 40 million records worldwide.[3][4]
After retiring from the music industry in 1993, Astley made a comeback in 2007 when he became an Internet phenomenon, as his video for "Never Gonna Give You Up" became part of a popular Internet meme known as "Rickrolling".[5] Astley was voted "Best Act Ever" by Internet users at the MTV Europe
Early life
Richard Paul Astley was born on 6 February 1966 in Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, England, becoming the fourth child of his family. During his schooldays, Rick formed and played the drums in a number of local bands.[2] Employed during the day as a driver in his Father's market-gardening business, Rick played the club circuit at night in bands such as 'Give Way' - specialising in covering Beatles and Shadows songs - and FBI.[7]
Career
1980s
The group FBI, from left to right, Kevin Needham, Rick Astley, Will Hopper, Peter Dale, & Greg Smee, in 1984
In 1985, Astley was performing as a drummer with a soul band named FBI. They were a well known local band writing and performing their own music, gigging in pubs and clubs. When FBI's lead singer left the band, Astley offered to be the lead vocalist. This was when he was noticed by the record producer Pete Waterman, who persuaded him to come to London to work at the PWL recording studio.[2] Under the tutelage of the production team of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman, known as Stock Aitken Waterman, Astley was taught about the recording process and groomed for his future career, supposedly starting off as the recording studio 'tea boy'.[8] The reason for Astley to be hired initially as a 'tape op', was to overcome his shyness.[9]
His first single was the little-known "When You Gonna", released as a collaboration with Lisa Carter, with little promotion. It did not chart. His first solo offering was "Never Gonna Give You Up", recorded on New Year's Day 1987, and released eight months later, in August. Astley's distinctive rich, deep voice combined with dance pop, made the song an immediate success,[10] spending five weeks at the top of the British charts and becoming the year's highest-selling single. The song was also a worldwide number one hit, topping the charts in 24 other countries, including the U.S., Australia, and Germany. It would become the first of 13 (worldwide) top 30 hit singles for him. "Never Gonna Give You Up" won Best British single at the 1988 BPI awards (now called the BRIT Awards),[11] and he performed the hit in front of a global audience of 100 million.[2][12]
His next single was "Whenever You Need Somebody", which was released in October. The single was a recycled Stock, Aitken, Waterman song, originally recorded by O'Chi Brown in 1985. It became a successful European hit, reaching #1 in seven countries, including Germany and Sweden, following up the success of his debut single. It also reached #3 in the UK. It was not released in North America.[13]
In November 1987, the album Whenever You Need Somebody also reached number one in the UK and Australia, and #10 in the U.S. Overall Whenever You Need Somebody sold 15.2 million copies worldwide, making him the top selling British act of the year.[2]
In the run up to Christmas 1987, Astley released a cover version of the Nat King Cole classic "When I Fall in Love". This single is mainly remembered for a closely fought contest for UK Christmas Number 1. Rivals EMI hoping to see their act, the Pet Shop Boys, reach #1, re-released the version by Nat King Cole.[14][15] This led to a slow down of purchases of Astley's version, allowing the Pet Shop Boys to reach the coveted top spot. Despite selling over 200,000 copies and gaining a Silver certification from the BPI,[16] it peaked in the UK at #2 for two weeks. The re-release of Nat King Cole's version reached #4. The B side was a dance number "My Arms Keep Missing You", which was successful in Mainland Europe.
Astley's fourth single release would be "Together Forever" in 1988, reaching #2 in the UK. It was denied the top spot by Neighbours sensation Kylie Minogue's debut I Should Be So Lucky.[17] "Together Forever" was more successful state-side, topping the U.S charts, making it his second U.S chart topper, which meant Astley was one of the few British acts to crack the American market. In 1989 he was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist, but lost to Tracy Chapman.
His fifth and final release from his debut album was "It Would Take a Strong Strong Man". It was a more soulful song, when compared to his other releases, and was mainly intended for the North American market. Thus, it was not released in Britain. It was another hit for Astley, reaching #10 on the U.S Billboard Hot 100, and #2 in Canada. During the period between his debut release and his fifth single, Astley outsold every other artist in the world.[18] In the UK, he was in the Top 40 every week for the first 6 months of his career.[2]
A fire in the PWL studios destroyed much of Astley's new material,[2] causing a delay in the release of his second album. Hold Me In Your Arms was eventually released in January 1989, containing five singles, and reached #8 in the UK and #19 in the US.
Rick Astley was presented by Stock Aitken Waterman as a boy next door type act. After leaving PWL, Astley changed his image to a more mature and moody musician.
Astley's relationship with British media, deteriorated significantly after the release of Whenever You Need Somebody, with the media calling him a 'puppet' of Stock Aitken Waterman.[11] This was despite Astley writing five of his new album's tracks. The negative press inevitably affected the sales of his singles.[19] The first single from the album to be released was "She Wants To Dance With Me", a number penned by Astley himself. It was another successful single reaching #6 in both the UK and US charts. "Take Me to Your Heart" was the next single to be released from the album. It reached #8 in the UK and was not released in the US. The Astley written ballad "Hold Me in Your Arms" reached #10 in the UK and was also not released in North America. The next two singles released from the album were intended for the North American market. "Giving Up On Love" and a cover of The Temptations song "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" charted #38 and #89 in the US respectively.
In December 1989, Astley set off on his first world tour, touring 15 countries including the UK, US, Australia, and Japan.[2] By the end of the tour, Astley was tiring of the negative press, and wanted to explore alternate paths as a musician. Thus, he left his producers Stock Aitken Waterman, with RCA records buying out his contract with PWL.
1990s
By 1990, Astley had parted company with Stock, Aitken, and Waterman. He also decided to leave his synth-pop days behind him, moving towards his passion, soul. This shift in musical genre lead him to change his image too, ditching the boy next door look, presenting himself as a mature and passionate musician. His third album, Free, was released in 1991 containing collaborations with Elton John.[11] The album contained three singles, and reached #9 in the UK and #31 in the US.
He achieved one more major success with the 1991 ballad "Cry for Help", which reached #7 in both the UK and the US. This would place Astley in The Guinness Book of Records, as he became the first male solo to have his first eight singles to all chart in the UK Top 10. This record still stands to this day.[2] The other two singles from Free were not as successful. "Move Right Out" reached #58 in the UK and #81 in the US; and "Never Knew Love" reached #70 in the UK and did not chart in the US. Free would mark the end of Astley's successful period, and "Cry For Help" would be the last Astley single to make the Top 10 in either the UK or US (as of May 2010).
In 1991 the RIAA certified that two million copies of Whenever You Need Somebody had been sold in the US.
His next album, Body and Soul, was released in 1993, and was largely an Adult Contemporary album. By the time the album was released, Astley decided to retire from the music industry. As a result, the album did not get a lot of promotion,[2] not charting in the UK but managing to make the Billboard 200, peaking at #182. The two singles, "The Ones You Love" and "Hopelessly", performed very well on the US adult contemporary chart, peaking at #19 and #4 respectively. "The Ones You Love" peaked at #48 in the UK but did not chart in the US. "Hopelessly" also crossed over and peaked at #28 on the US Billboard 100, staying in the US top 40 for five weeks, and #33 in the UK. It was named as one of the most performed songs at the 1994 BMI Awards,[20] and is one of the few songs to achieve BMI 'Million-Air' status.[21]
After 1993, Astley decided to retire from the music industry at the young age of 27 deciding that family life was more important. During Astley's time out of the music business, he helped raise his daughter Emilie, born in 1992. Thus, for much of the 1990s and early 2000s, Astley remained largely out of the spotlight. One notable musical appearance by Astley during retirement was as a backing singer on The Lion King soundtrack in 1994.[8]
2000s
Almost 10 years after Body and Soul, Astley finally returned to the music world and released Keep It Turned On in 2002. The album featured the single "Sleeping", which became a minor club hit, thanks to a set of remixes from U.S. house producer Todd Terry. Keep It Turned On was only released in Continental Europe.
A compilation album, Greatest Hits was released in 2002, and reached 16 on the UK Albums Chart. It sold over 100,000 copies and was certified Gold by the BPI.
In 2003, he managed to chart at #10 in the UK as a songwriter with "Shakespeare's (Way With) Words" performed by short lived boyband One True Voice.
In 2004, Astley toured for the first time in 14 years, which lead him to a record contract with Sony BMG.[2]
In March 2005, Astley released the album Portrait in which he covered many classic standards such as "Vincent",[22] "Nature Boy" and "Close to You". Both Astley and Sony BMG were unhappy with the end result so the album was poorly promoted,[2] yet managed to reach 26 on the UK Albums Chart.
In early 2006, Astley withdrew unexpectedly from appearing on the BBC TV celebrity/pro duets show Just the Two of Us after committing to do so. Astley's withdrawal was due to his wife Lene Bausager being nominated for the 2006 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for the Sean Ellis film Cashback, where she was the main producer. Astley would have missed a crucial part of the show by attending the awards ceremony and so withdrew before the show began.[23]
Astley performing in Denmark '09
In April 2008, the album "The Ultimate Collection: Rick Astley" was released by Sony BMG and by early May it had reached #17 on the UK Top 40 Albums Chart.[24]
In September 2008, Rick was nominated for the 'Best Act Ever' award at the MTV Europe Music Awards[6] The push to make Astley the winner of the award continued after the announcement, as well as efforts to encourage MTV to personally invite Astley to the awards ceremony.[25] On 10 October, Astley's website confirmed that an invitation to the awards had been received.[26] On 7 November, following a massive internet campaign by fans, Rick won the award in Liverpool, but was not there in person to receive it. Perez Hilton collected the prize on his behalf.[27] On the back of this, "Never Gonna Give You Up" returned to the UK charts, over 21 years after it was released, peaking at #73 during the Christmas period.
During the late 2000s, Astley continued touring across the globe, touring with various other 80s acts, such as Boy George and Belinda Carlisle in the Here and Now Tour.[2] In April 2009, he wrote an article for Time Magazine about moot.[28]
2010s
Astley was a special guest throughout Peter Kay's new tour, The Tour That Doesn't Tour Tour...Now On Tour, from 27 April to 22 May 2010. To mark the occasion, Rick Astley released a new single "Lights Out", which was released on 7 June 2010.[29] This was Astley's first release in the UK Singles Chart in 17 years. It was well received by radio peaking #15 on the UK Airplay Charts, but failed to become a commercial hit, reaching only #97 on the UK Singles Chart. His next single is "Goodbye But Not The End", which is to be released later in the year. It was unveiled on The Michael Ball Show on ITV.[30]
During the summer 2010, Astley became a radio DJ for London's Magic FM.[31]
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Heartbreak Warfare - John Mayer
yes.. kinda gay but its a good song i think
john mayer is kinda very same with all of his gay ass songs.. w/e
Artist Overview: Turbonegro
Turbonegro (Turboneger in Norway) was a Norwegian punk rock band that was initially active from 1989 to 1998, and later reformed in 2002. Their style combines glam rock, punk rock and hard rock into a style the band describes as "deathpunk".
Early years (1989–1994)
Turbonegro first came together in Oslo, Norway during the winter of 1988/89. The line up was Thomas Seltzer aka Happy-Tom, Vegard Heskestad, Pål Bottger Kjærnes, Rune Grønn, Pål Erik Carlin and Tor-Kristian "TK" Jensen. Thomas and Vegard had formerly shared times in a band called De Dype – a noisy and subversive ensemble equipped with a certain amount of Butthole Surfers inspiration. Apparently early Turbonegro continued their conceptional styles. Their first show was at Ungdomshuset in Copenhagen, Denmark in March 1989. By April, Turbonegro played their first show in their hometown of Oslo. In the following weeks they recorded songs for their debut single Route Zero and the Turboloid 12" EP. Both records were released by Thomas Seltzer's own label, Straitjacket Records, which he started in 1983 to release his first band's, Akutt Innleggelse, EP. This first session was recorded at Nesodden Musikkverksted by Christian Calmeyer. Thomas played bass and drums on Route Zero. An initial pressing of 50 copies came with an exclusive demo tape called Computech featuring a cover of The Stooges' 1970. The early pre-deathpunk Turbonegro sound featured here offers fairly tormented and distorted noise rock (some contemporary reviews compare to a Halo of Flies or early Mudhoney type-of-sound). Turboloid was the second and last release by the original line up. Drummer Carlos Churasco left to play guitar for Anal Babes. Route Zero was reissued by Sympathy For The Record Industry in 1990 with two songs from the Turboloid EP. In September of that year, they left Norway to tour the U.S. for 3 weeks. Rune was beat up in a quarrel with some crackheads in front of a hotel in Minneapolis a few hours after their arrival and remained in the hospital. The band forged on without him but the tour was a disaster. Three weeks later, Turbonegro returned to Oslo.
In the winter of 1990 Thomas Seltzer reformed Turbonegro with Pål and Rune. Norwegian punk veteran Harald Fossberg who had acquired fame in the late 70's with Norwegian punk pioneers Hærverk was recruited as the new singer and in the subsequent months Bengt 'Bingo' Calmeyer joined them on bass guitar. In the summer of 1991 the reformed lineup released the Vaya Con Satan 7" in the US being followed in early 1992 by their debut album Hot Cars and Spent Contraceptives on up-coming local label Big Ball Records. Both the single and the CD give an early introduction to the deathpunk sound – Turbo's self acclaimed very own genre. Actually the musical pre-settings are already anticipating later Ass Cobra era – dark death driven punk rock with occasional excursions into hardcore and metal as well as a certain tendency to disruptive and sarcastic lyrics. Swedish broadcasting DJ Lars Aldman once described their sound as "Radio Birdman meets Venom in an institution for sexually abused retards" and Danish Moshable magazine remarked back then: "One great big hunk of an album that simply barfs up the best in Scandinavian punk rock - and then slam it into overdrive. So fucking punk that it will tear you a new asshole - and then some!"
In December 1992 Turbonegro set up for an after all quite ruinous tour outside of Norway: having had money left from a grant they went for one gig confirmed in Ålborg, Denmark then heading south to Hamburg, Germany where they stranded in a desperate and finally unsuccessful search for an opportunity to play. After 5 days the band ran out of money but their efforts were not a complete waste as contacts were made with Gravy Train Agency, who organized several tours for Turbonegro outside of Scandinavia in later years, as well as people from Crypt Records. In late March 1993 Harald played his last show with Turbonegro at Sentrum Scene in Oslo. He quit due to health reasons and was replaced by Hans Erik Husby aka Hank von Helvete who would be their best known and remaining vocalist. With the new singer a decision was made to rename the band Stierkampf (the German word for ’bullfight’). They opened up for Poison Idea in Oslo and Denmark as well as The Ramones in August 1993 at the Oslo Rock Festival. The only release as Stierkampf was the Grunge Whore EP on Sympathy for the Record Industry. All songs on this release would resurface on their next album with the exception of "Six Pack". Their second album "Never is Forever" (1994) was recorded by Christian Calmeyer at Nesodden Musikkverksted and was self-released (limited to 1200 copies) with a friend at Oslo Musikk Distribusjon. In their own words announced as "a tribute to Blue Öyster Cult" it is an attempt to dissociate from the Lo-Fi aesthetics of the garage scene: "When the rest of the punk oriented world tried hard to be lo-fi and 'real', Turbonegro as usual went the opposite way, creating a miniature suburban deathpunk opera. Seldom have pop culture, darkness and desperation blended so well." With the release of this album followed their first full European Tour. The tour was nick-named "Nihil Jung" and had 17 shows in Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands.
By the winter of 1994/95 Turbonegro was back to the old name but with a new look referred to as the 'Al Jolson schtick', though it didn't last long. Happy-Tom summed it up best with the following anecdote: "so there we were backstage with our black faces and wigs and little hats, smoking pot with our all-time heroes the Bad Brains, and the absurdity just didn't cross our minds. I mean, those guys didn't mention it, they were probably just embarrassed on our behalf."
[edit] New look and new sound, rise to success (1995–1997)
The gag was long gone by May 1995 when they debuted the denim and moustache look. Happy-Tom stated "We feel that denim out-rocks leather at all levels. Leather is for empty, little people. Denim is for us big guys! And the kids love it!" With a new look came a new sound. Christian Calmeyer, their engineer at the time, said, "we decided to make things more raw, trying to convey the power of the live performance, if not the sound." The first recordings of the new and improved Turbonegro showed up on the Denim Demon and Bad Mongo singles in spring '95. That summer Turbonegro left for their second attempt at a US tour 'NAMBLIN in the 90's'. They played only eleven shows and in the words of Happy-Tom "at least we didn't get the shit kicked out of us like we did the last time we were in the USA". In fall '95 Bingo and Pal left the band putting Turbonegro on hold. Pal wanted to travel while Bingo didn't like the new musical direction, "less Slayer, more rock'n'roll." Thomas at the same time was suffering from some stress injury to his arms after the US tour – thus agreements were made to put the band on ice for a while.
Also that year Anthony Martin started his new label Boomba Records so he could release Turbonegro's third album Ass Cobra. It did not come out until the spring of 1996 and by September they were touring Europe again with a new line up. Anders Gerner from Angst was added as the new drummer, so Thomas went back to playing bass. Pal was replaced by Knut Schreiner, who Thomas had played with in The Vikings. Knut aka Euroboy was a priceless addition to the band in the reshaping of their sound. The Prince Of The Rodeo 7" was Euroboy's recording debut with Turbonegro and a taste of the greatness to come. Also at this time Pal returned from traveling in Thailand to open his famous 'Pamparius' pizza parlor outside of Oslo in Kolbotn. He decided to rejoin the band as the keyboard player and "dancer". Pal's return would be the final touch in the latest incarnation of the band. The new look, sound and album irritated and fascinated the European underground; people were starting to pay attention to Turbonegro.
In December and January, Turbonegro continued spreading the deathpunk seeds on a tour with a further 14 dates in Spain, Portugal, France, Germany and Denmark. The insignia of their stage performance – the bulging denim, Hanky's routine to stick a lit Roman candle up his ass, Happy-Tom's sailor hat, Euroboy's lissom and sultry guitar choreography & Hanky's attempts in addressing the audience in their broken native tongue – sort of became the Turbo trademark for the upcoming boom.
In spring 1997, Turbonegro had yet another line up change. Christer Engen, aka Chris Summers, from Big Bang took over on drums and they were ready to tour Europe again. This time out they were opening up with a modified version of a Grand Funk song ("We are a Norwegian band"). Hank was wearing Alice Cooper like make up and lighting Roman candles in his ass (referred to as "assrockets"), they were just warming up to their final and greatest album Apocalypse Dudes. Musicwise – as later will be proved on Apocalypse Dudes – it became obvious that they had meanwhile made a move into mid-70's punk & glam territory – in the spirit of proto punk pioneers á la The Dictators, The Ramones or late Iggy & The Stooges – plus a bit of New York Dolls' travesty thrown in. As Euroboy explains: "When I came into the band, that added a ’70s rock’n’roll feel that wasn’t there before...Turbonegro was just as dirty, but they were certainly more punk rock-driven than (before). We brought the Rolling Stones into the Ramones." [5] Now it was time to take the new and improved Turbonegro back across the Atlantic with the 'Summer of Head' US tour. They were more warmly received this time around but still played only a few shows that were plagued with problems. Nonetheless, after years of stumbling through line up changes, name changes and various shticks, they had finally found themselves.
[edit] The Apocalypse trilogy part one, popularity boom and disbanding (1998)
In the autumn of 1997, their next album Apocalypse Dudes – the first part of the so-called Apocalypse trilogy – was recorded at Endless Sound studios in Oslo with producer Pål Klaastad. When Happy-Tom was asked if their new sound and album has anything to do with Euroboy's entry into the band, he replied, "Yep, he's a genius, and so is our new drummer Chris Summers, The Prince of Drummers. We released the punk album of the millennium with Ass Cobra, and didn't want to make an Ass Cobra part two plus we spent two years writing new stuff, so as to make sure that every song is a hit, so we ended up making the rock album of the next millennium." The album was released in March 1998 by Boomba Records. However it was released in Norway exclusively by Virgin. It is regarded as their best and most successful album amongst many fans and critics alike. Moshable magazine commented: "Apocalypse Dudes is the perfect mix of classic 70's US punk / rock'n'roll like Dictators, Heartbreakers & Ramones... every tune on this release is fucking brilliant". Jello Biafra was quoted as saying, "the new Turbonegro record is possibly the most important European record ever."
Turbonegro supported the album playing 24 sold out shows throughout Europe, by fall returning for yet another 16 European dates on the 'Darkness Forever' tour. The tour was for long their last, and ultimately the end of Turbonegro. According to Happy-Tom "Turbonegro broke up in the waiting room of a psychiatric emergency ward in Milan, Italy." Hank's mental indisposition became a real problem thus the remainder of the tour was cancelled. They bid their farewell December 18, 1998 at Mars in their hometown of Oslo. The last song performed on stage before they broke up, was the final encore "I Am In Love With The Destructive Girls" – so "Yeah-Yeah! Yeah-Yeah!" were about the last words uttered.
[edit] On hiatus (1999–2002)
On the threshold of what was by many expected to be a major breakthrough for the band, Turbonegro withdrew from the music business and appeared unlikely to ever return. While there were several reasons, Hank von Helvete's drug addiction made it impossible for him to continue. Leaving the band to undergo treatment for heroin dependency as well as his struggle with depression, Hank von Helvete returned to his childhood town in northern Norway. There he worked at a radio station and as a guide at a whaling museum. Another issue was that the band was stuck in an oppressive record deal with Boomba. The arrangement saw very little money directed to the band and cancelling the tour with Nashville Pussy after only half the dates only added to the financial problems.
In 1999 Bitzcore Records out of Hamburg bought the contracts from Boomba and began to reissue Turbonegro's entire back-catalogue of albums. 1999 also saw the release of a posthumous live album entitled Darkness Forever!. It captures selections from two shows in Hamburg and Oslo, documenting Turbonegro's larger-than-life stage antics. Their appreciation among contemporary artists from diverse musical genres as rock, pop, punk and even black metal is displayed on Alpha Motherfuckers, a tribute album to Turbonegro that was compiled and in the works over a span of two years and until released by Bitzcore in May 2001. The line-up includes among others Queens of the Stone Age, Nashville Pussy, Therapy?, HIM, Bela B. & Denim Girl aka German technopop star Blümchen. During these four years, the band members would rarely speak, however the momentum from their previous albums (most especially Ass Cobra and Apocalypse Dudes) would continue to grow as more and more music fans would turn to their music. Unbeknownst to the band, Turbonegro was becoming a cult phenomenon. Fan clubs were established all over the world (see Turbojugend).
The immense following and the tribute album revealed a huge interest that, by audience numbers, was never received back in the day when they had quit. When Turbonegro were approached by the organizers of the Norwegian Quart Festival about a possible participation in 2002, Turbonegro agreed. What was initially meant to be a one-off affair to offer an opportunity to the many newly recruited fans to witness a Turbonegro performance, finally resulted in the band's reunion. Apart from the tremendous response at the festival shows Turbonegro had also realized that they were in better shape and much more determined than ever before.
[edit] Reforming: new albums, new tours and even greater fame (2003–2009)
Shortly after the Bizarre Festival the band proclaimed that they signed a record deal for two new albums with Burning Heart Records, an independent record company from Sweden with a long tradition in the punk & hardcore sector. Burning Heart also licensed Turbonegro's most successful albums Ass Cobra and Apocalypse Dudes from Bitzcore and reissued them as digipak CDs with additional video footage from the recent Res-erection show at Quart. Turbonegro appeared in an episode of Viva La Bam during Season 1. The band ends up playing their concert at Bam's West Chester home. Their single, "All My Friends Are Dead", was also used in some episodes of the show.
The band released the highly anticipated album, the second part of the Apocalypse trilogy, Scandinavian Leather in 2003, complete with artwork of a skull Ouroboros from legendary Revolver-designer Klaus Voorman. A US tour with Queens Of The Stone Age proved that the American Turbojugend contingent had grown completely out of control, and almost 150 shows later, Turbonegro finished the Scandinavian Leather campaign by selling out the House of Blues in Los Angeles two days in a row in December 2004.
Live at Koko in London, November 2005.
While Scandinavian Leather was recorded at their own Crystal Canyon Studio in Oslo, Turbonegro decided to bring in Steven Shane McDonald as co-producer for Party Animals. McDonald played bass and sang in Hawthorne, California band Redd Kross from the age of 11, and "Standing in front of Poseur" from the bands 1979 debut EP is still a punk rock classic. Redd Kross transformed from being an archetypical L.A.-punk band to taking in influences from the glam and stadium rock of the seventies, not unlike what Turbonegro has done through their career. In recent years McDonald has worked with artists such as Beck and The White Stripes. On Party Animals, he's done his best to keep the bubblegum intact in the stadium rock and the sharp edged punk rock. This follow-up to 2003’s Scandinavian Leather and the last offering in the Apocalypse trilogy was released throughout Europe on the 9th of May (Norway 2 May). It continued and brought to perfection the '70s and '80s glam metal and hard rock influenced party-oriented deathpunk sound that was first introduced on Apocalypse Dudes. Party Animals was followed by intense touring throughout Europe – and in October they visited the US. A collection of remixes and rarities also appeared in 2005 as Small Feces.
Turbonegro are on tour again in 2006 with mostly European locations. They keep reinvading the world with their deathpunk sound; probably the best summary of the band is by Happy-Tom: "Most rock 'n' roll bands start as a riot but end up as a parody. We started up as a parody but ended up as a revolution."
On March 8, 2007 the new single "Do You Do You Dig Destruction" was released in Norway. The single is from the album, Retox. The album was released on June 13, 2007.
On July 10, 2007 Turbonegro was one of the warm-up bands, alongside HIM, at Metallica's headlining concert at Valle Hovin Stadium in Oslo, Norway.
The band will tour Europe late summer in 2007, including an appearance at Download Festival and playing 10 intimate gigs in the United Kingdom.
The Turbonegro official site was completely redesigned for the new album release, the new site debuted on June 11, 2007.
On October 27, 2007, Rune Rebellion played his last live show with Turbonegro in Stavanger, and subsequently left the band. He stated "The decision was made this Summer, realizing I hadn't had time off at all from work or touring for three years." Despite his departure from the position of rhythm guitar, he is still closely collaborating with the band by running their label, Scandinavian Leather Recordings and managing their itinerary.
On March 3, 2008, it was announced that Chris Summers had been asked to leave the band. Chris had already been gone from the band for 6 months due to a broken foot. On the band's website, they cited that "personal problems and a focus on other projects, we have been forced to ask drummer Chris Summers to resign from Turbonegro." Chris' replacement was announced to be Vikings drummer Thomas Dahl, who had been filling in for Chris since he broke his foot.
In early 2008, guitarist Euroboy also announced that he and Happy-Tom are working on a new album tentatively titled Tumours.[6] They continued their Retox album tour throughout 2008 and 2009, and on August 7, 2008 Turbonegro celebrated the 10-year anniversary of Apocalypse Dudes by performing the entire album at the Øya Festival in Oslo, Norway.
After the band finished their Retox world tour, the band announced through the Turbojugend-Forum that the band has gone on hiatus for an unknown amount of time.[7]
[edit] Hank leaves the band (2010)
On July 9, 2010, it was announced in Norwegian newspapers that Hank has left the band[8]. Bassist Happy-Tom says this is the end for Turbonegro as a band. Hanks says the reason he left the band was his new lifestyle as a sober family man[citation needed]. According to Jess Margera on Ckyalliance.com the band has officially broken up.
[edit] Musical style
Their lyrics often attack political correctness; for example, the cover of the single "Bad Mongo" depicts Adolf Hitler as mentally retarded, and in the song "Hobbit Motherfuckers", they complain that there is "not enough suffering" and "not enough natural selection". Their genre of punk has been self-described as deathpunk. The band stated their music superseded existing genres, so they dubbed it deathpunk as a way to avoid being pigeon-holed into musical groupings they felt they were above. Lyrics referencing the genre choice include ("gimme deathpunk baby, and I like it", from the song "Get it on"). Being a fun project with common predecessors (Sex Pistols wearing swastikas, etc.), Turbonegro have been praised by some as playing the most up-to-date form of punk, and refusing to be categorized being nowhere as clearly expressed as in this anarchic blend of humour, shock and sexuality.
In the Turbonegro – The Movie DVD extras, Happy Tom utters that early on, festival goers expected TRBNGR to be gothic metal or black metal in the vein of other Norwegian bands. The band is notorious for their on-stage gimmicks. An early version of the band wore blackface and wigs on-stage in an effort to challenge those watching their shows. On The Reserection DVD the band states that early on they were often driven away from shows they were to play because they weren't edgy enough or didn't fit the look that the crowd wanted. As a result, the on-stage schticks started to become as much of the Turbonegro experience as the music. Following several tours in black-face, the band started an odd-ball theme of tight denim pants, nautically themed stage props and homosexual innuendo, stylistically similar to the characters of Tom of Finland. A tongue-in-cheek joke, the homosexual/transvestite stage presence found its way into the band's music, including songs such as "Prince of the Rodeo" and "Rendezvous with Anus" which are both thinly veiled references to anal intercourse. Levis jeans endorsements soon followed from the stage antics, and the trucker cut jacket soon became standard fare amongst fans.
Widely acclaimed as the band's first break out album Ass Cobra (1996), Jello Biafra would later comment that it was one of the best punk albums of the '90s. Following Ass Cobra was Turbonegro's most critically acclaimed release Apocalypse Dudes (1998). Apocalypse Dudes' introduced a combination of '70s arena rock, irreverent lyrics, and punk stylings which brought the band a level of notoriety that they had not achieved at any other point in their history.
Initially the band had two running ideas for band names: Nazipenis and Turbonegro. They were advised that a band named Nazipenis would never sell records, so they chose Turbonegro as an arguably more consumer-friendly choice. The band's name raised some eyebrows, and for that reason their first releases were sometimes branded TRBNGR, perhaps to preclude backlash against what some consider to be a racist name. However, the band's stated motivations are anti-racist, trying to change the attitude of racism and nationalism perceived as prevalent in parts of Scandinavia. Founding member Thomas Seltzer once said, "A turbonegro is a large, well-equipped, armed black male in a fast car, out for vengeance. We are his prophets."[9]
The original name ended up as a name of the band's tribute band, Nazipenis.
According to lead guitarist Euroboy, the band name also has a peculiar origin. "I think Pål saw it spray-painted on a brick wall in a tube-station in a suburb of Oslo back in the day. It's actually two Latin words, it means fast and black and we thought that was a cool name for a band. Because our music is very fast and very dark. And also, it's a name for a colour. In the car-industry, it's the name for the paint, for the darkest paint. If you want to paint your car black, the most black colour of all is Turbonegro." [10]
Early years (1989–1994)
Turbonegro first came together in Oslo, Norway during the winter of 1988/89. The line up was Thomas Seltzer aka Happy-Tom, Vegard Heskestad, Pål Bottger Kjærnes, Rune Grønn, Pål Erik Carlin and Tor-Kristian "TK" Jensen. Thomas and Vegard had formerly shared times in a band called De Dype – a noisy and subversive ensemble equipped with a certain amount of Butthole Surfers inspiration. Apparently early Turbonegro continued their conceptional styles. Their first show was at Ungdomshuset in Copenhagen, Denmark in March 1989. By April, Turbonegro played their first show in their hometown of Oslo. In the following weeks they recorded songs for their debut single Route Zero and the Turboloid 12" EP. Both records were released by Thomas Seltzer's own label, Straitjacket Records, which he started in 1983 to release his first band's, Akutt Innleggelse, EP. This first session was recorded at Nesodden Musikkverksted by Christian Calmeyer. Thomas played bass and drums on Route Zero. An initial pressing of 50 copies came with an exclusive demo tape called Computech featuring a cover of The Stooges' 1970. The early pre-deathpunk Turbonegro sound featured here offers fairly tormented and distorted noise rock (some contemporary reviews compare to a Halo of Flies or early Mudhoney type-of-sound). Turboloid was the second and last release by the original line up. Drummer Carlos Churasco left to play guitar for Anal Babes. Route Zero was reissued by Sympathy For The Record Industry in 1990 with two songs from the Turboloid EP. In September of that year, they left Norway to tour the U.S. for 3 weeks. Rune was beat up in a quarrel with some crackheads in front of a hotel in Minneapolis a few hours after their arrival and remained in the hospital. The band forged on without him but the tour was a disaster. Three weeks later, Turbonegro returned to Oslo.
In the winter of 1990 Thomas Seltzer reformed Turbonegro with Pål and Rune. Norwegian punk veteran Harald Fossberg who had acquired fame in the late 70's with Norwegian punk pioneers Hærverk was recruited as the new singer and in the subsequent months Bengt 'Bingo' Calmeyer joined them on bass guitar. In the summer of 1991 the reformed lineup released the Vaya Con Satan 7" in the US being followed in early 1992 by their debut album Hot Cars and Spent Contraceptives on up-coming local label Big Ball Records. Both the single and the CD give an early introduction to the deathpunk sound – Turbo's self acclaimed very own genre. Actually the musical pre-settings are already anticipating later Ass Cobra era – dark death driven punk rock with occasional excursions into hardcore and metal as well as a certain tendency to disruptive and sarcastic lyrics. Swedish broadcasting DJ Lars Aldman once described their sound as "Radio Birdman meets Venom in an institution for sexually abused retards" and Danish Moshable magazine remarked back then: "One great big hunk of an album that simply barfs up the best in Scandinavian punk rock - and then slam it into overdrive. So fucking punk that it will tear you a new asshole - and then some!"
In December 1992 Turbonegro set up for an after all quite ruinous tour outside of Norway: having had money left from a grant they went for one gig confirmed in Ålborg, Denmark then heading south to Hamburg, Germany where they stranded in a desperate and finally unsuccessful search for an opportunity to play. After 5 days the band ran out of money but their efforts were not a complete waste as contacts were made with Gravy Train Agency, who organized several tours for Turbonegro outside of Scandinavia in later years, as well as people from Crypt Records. In late March 1993 Harald played his last show with Turbonegro at Sentrum Scene in Oslo. He quit due to health reasons and was replaced by Hans Erik Husby aka Hank von Helvete who would be their best known and remaining vocalist. With the new singer a decision was made to rename the band Stierkampf (the German word for ’bullfight’). They opened up for Poison Idea in Oslo and Denmark as well as The Ramones in August 1993 at the Oslo Rock Festival. The only release as Stierkampf was the Grunge Whore EP on Sympathy for the Record Industry. All songs on this release would resurface on their next album with the exception of "Six Pack". Their second album "Never is Forever" (1994) was recorded by Christian Calmeyer at Nesodden Musikkverksted and was self-released (limited to 1200 copies) with a friend at Oslo Musikk Distribusjon. In their own words announced as "a tribute to Blue Öyster Cult" it is an attempt to dissociate from the Lo-Fi aesthetics of the garage scene: "When the rest of the punk oriented world tried hard to be lo-fi and 'real', Turbonegro as usual went the opposite way, creating a miniature suburban deathpunk opera. Seldom have pop culture, darkness and desperation blended so well." With the release of this album followed their first full European Tour. The tour was nick-named "Nihil Jung" and had 17 shows in Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands.
By the winter of 1994/95 Turbonegro was back to the old name but with a new look referred to as the 'Al Jolson schtick', though it didn't last long. Happy-Tom summed it up best with the following anecdote: "so there we were backstage with our black faces and wigs and little hats, smoking pot with our all-time heroes the Bad Brains, and the absurdity just didn't cross our minds. I mean, those guys didn't mention it, they were probably just embarrassed on our behalf."
[edit] New look and new sound, rise to success (1995–1997)
The gag was long gone by May 1995 when they debuted the denim and moustache look. Happy-Tom stated "We feel that denim out-rocks leather at all levels. Leather is for empty, little people. Denim is for us big guys! And the kids love it!" With a new look came a new sound. Christian Calmeyer, their engineer at the time, said, "we decided to make things more raw, trying to convey the power of the live performance, if not the sound." The first recordings of the new and improved Turbonegro showed up on the Denim Demon and Bad Mongo singles in spring '95. That summer Turbonegro left for their second attempt at a US tour 'NAMBLIN in the 90's'. They played only eleven shows and in the words of Happy-Tom "at least we didn't get the shit kicked out of us like we did the last time we were in the USA". In fall '95 Bingo and Pal left the band putting Turbonegro on hold. Pal wanted to travel while Bingo didn't like the new musical direction, "less Slayer, more rock'n'roll." Thomas at the same time was suffering from some stress injury to his arms after the US tour – thus agreements were made to put the band on ice for a while.
Also that year Anthony Martin started his new label Boomba Records so he could release Turbonegro's third album Ass Cobra. It did not come out until the spring of 1996 and by September they were touring Europe again with a new line up. Anders Gerner from Angst was added as the new drummer, so Thomas went back to playing bass. Pal was replaced by Knut Schreiner, who Thomas had played with in The Vikings. Knut aka Euroboy was a priceless addition to the band in the reshaping of their sound. The Prince Of The Rodeo 7" was Euroboy's recording debut with Turbonegro and a taste of the greatness to come. Also at this time Pal returned from traveling in Thailand to open his famous 'Pamparius' pizza parlor outside of Oslo in Kolbotn. He decided to rejoin the band as the keyboard player and "dancer". Pal's return would be the final touch in the latest incarnation of the band. The new look, sound and album irritated and fascinated the European underground; people were starting to pay attention to Turbonegro.
In December and January, Turbonegro continued spreading the deathpunk seeds on a tour with a further 14 dates in Spain, Portugal, France, Germany and Denmark. The insignia of their stage performance – the bulging denim, Hanky's routine to stick a lit Roman candle up his ass, Happy-Tom's sailor hat, Euroboy's lissom and sultry guitar choreography & Hanky's attempts in addressing the audience in their broken native tongue – sort of became the Turbo trademark for the upcoming boom.
In spring 1997, Turbonegro had yet another line up change. Christer Engen, aka Chris Summers, from Big Bang took over on drums and they were ready to tour Europe again. This time out they were opening up with a modified version of a Grand Funk song ("We are a Norwegian band"). Hank was wearing Alice Cooper like make up and lighting Roman candles in his ass (referred to as "assrockets"), they were just warming up to their final and greatest album Apocalypse Dudes. Musicwise – as later will be proved on Apocalypse Dudes – it became obvious that they had meanwhile made a move into mid-70's punk & glam territory – in the spirit of proto punk pioneers á la The Dictators, The Ramones or late Iggy & The Stooges – plus a bit of New York Dolls' travesty thrown in. As Euroboy explains: "When I came into the band, that added a ’70s rock’n’roll feel that wasn’t there before...Turbonegro was just as dirty, but they were certainly more punk rock-driven than (before). We brought the Rolling Stones into the Ramones." [5] Now it was time to take the new and improved Turbonegro back across the Atlantic with the 'Summer of Head' US tour. They were more warmly received this time around but still played only a few shows that were plagued with problems. Nonetheless, after years of stumbling through line up changes, name changes and various shticks, they had finally found themselves.
[edit] The Apocalypse trilogy part one, popularity boom and disbanding (1998)
In the autumn of 1997, their next album Apocalypse Dudes – the first part of the so-called Apocalypse trilogy – was recorded at Endless Sound studios in Oslo with producer Pål Klaastad. When Happy-Tom was asked if their new sound and album has anything to do with Euroboy's entry into the band, he replied, "Yep, he's a genius, and so is our new drummer Chris Summers, The Prince of Drummers. We released the punk album of the millennium with Ass Cobra, and didn't want to make an Ass Cobra part two plus we spent two years writing new stuff, so as to make sure that every song is a hit, so we ended up making the rock album of the next millennium." The album was released in March 1998 by Boomba Records. However it was released in Norway exclusively by Virgin. It is regarded as their best and most successful album amongst many fans and critics alike. Moshable magazine commented: "Apocalypse Dudes is the perfect mix of classic 70's US punk / rock'n'roll like Dictators, Heartbreakers & Ramones... every tune on this release is fucking brilliant". Jello Biafra was quoted as saying, "the new Turbonegro record is possibly the most important European record ever."
Turbonegro supported the album playing 24 sold out shows throughout Europe, by fall returning for yet another 16 European dates on the 'Darkness Forever' tour. The tour was for long their last, and ultimately the end of Turbonegro. According to Happy-Tom "Turbonegro broke up in the waiting room of a psychiatric emergency ward in Milan, Italy." Hank's mental indisposition became a real problem thus the remainder of the tour was cancelled. They bid their farewell December 18, 1998 at Mars in their hometown of Oslo. The last song performed on stage before they broke up, was the final encore "I Am In Love With The Destructive Girls" – so "Yeah-Yeah! Yeah-Yeah!" were about the last words uttered.
[edit] On hiatus (1999–2002)
On the threshold of what was by many expected to be a major breakthrough for the band, Turbonegro withdrew from the music business and appeared unlikely to ever return. While there were several reasons, Hank von Helvete's drug addiction made it impossible for him to continue. Leaving the band to undergo treatment for heroin dependency as well as his struggle with depression, Hank von Helvete returned to his childhood town in northern Norway. There he worked at a radio station and as a guide at a whaling museum. Another issue was that the band was stuck in an oppressive record deal with Boomba. The arrangement saw very little money directed to the band and cancelling the tour with Nashville Pussy after only half the dates only added to the financial problems.
In 1999 Bitzcore Records out of Hamburg bought the contracts from Boomba and began to reissue Turbonegro's entire back-catalogue of albums. 1999 also saw the release of a posthumous live album entitled Darkness Forever!. It captures selections from two shows in Hamburg and Oslo, documenting Turbonegro's larger-than-life stage antics. Their appreciation among contemporary artists from diverse musical genres as rock, pop, punk and even black metal is displayed on Alpha Motherfuckers, a tribute album to Turbonegro that was compiled and in the works over a span of two years and until released by Bitzcore in May 2001. The line-up includes among others Queens of the Stone Age, Nashville Pussy, Therapy?, HIM, Bela B. & Denim Girl aka German technopop star Blümchen. During these four years, the band members would rarely speak, however the momentum from their previous albums (most especially Ass Cobra and Apocalypse Dudes) would continue to grow as more and more music fans would turn to their music. Unbeknownst to the band, Turbonegro was becoming a cult phenomenon. Fan clubs were established all over the world (see Turbojugend).
The immense following and the tribute album revealed a huge interest that, by audience numbers, was never received back in the day when they had quit. When Turbonegro were approached by the organizers of the Norwegian Quart Festival about a possible participation in 2002, Turbonegro agreed. What was initially meant to be a one-off affair to offer an opportunity to the many newly recruited fans to witness a Turbonegro performance, finally resulted in the band's reunion. Apart from the tremendous response at the festival shows Turbonegro had also realized that they were in better shape and much more determined than ever before.
[edit] Reforming: new albums, new tours and even greater fame (2003–2009)
Shortly after the Bizarre Festival the band proclaimed that they signed a record deal for two new albums with Burning Heart Records, an independent record company from Sweden with a long tradition in the punk & hardcore sector. Burning Heart also licensed Turbonegro's most successful albums Ass Cobra and Apocalypse Dudes from Bitzcore and reissued them as digipak CDs with additional video footage from the recent Res-erection show at Quart. Turbonegro appeared in an episode of Viva La Bam during Season 1. The band ends up playing their concert at Bam's West Chester home. Their single, "All My Friends Are Dead", was also used in some episodes of the show.
The band released the highly anticipated album, the second part of the Apocalypse trilogy, Scandinavian Leather in 2003, complete with artwork of a skull Ouroboros from legendary Revolver-designer Klaus Voorman. A US tour with Queens Of The Stone Age proved that the American Turbojugend contingent had grown completely out of control, and almost 150 shows later, Turbonegro finished the Scandinavian Leather campaign by selling out the House of Blues in Los Angeles two days in a row in December 2004.
Live at Koko in London, November 2005.
While Scandinavian Leather was recorded at their own Crystal Canyon Studio in Oslo, Turbonegro decided to bring in Steven Shane McDonald as co-producer for Party Animals. McDonald played bass and sang in Hawthorne, California band Redd Kross from the age of 11, and "Standing in front of Poseur" from the bands 1979 debut EP is still a punk rock classic. Redd Kross transformed from being an archetypical L.A.-punk band to taking in influences from the glam and stadium rock of the seventies, not unlike what Turbonegro has done through their career. In recent years McDonald has worked with artists such as Beck and The White Stripes. On Party Animals, he's done his best to keep the bubblegum intact in the stadium rock and the sharp edged punk rock. This follow-up to 2003’s Scandinavian Leather and the last offering in the Apocalypse trilogy was released throughout Europe on the 9th of May (Norway 2 May). It continued and brought to perfection the '70s and '80s glam metal and hard rock influenced party-oriented deathpunk sound that was first introduced on Apocalypse Dudes. Party Animals was followed by intense touring throughout Europe – and in October they visited the US. A collection of remixes and rarities also appeared in 2005 as Small Feces.
Turbonegro are on tour again in 2006 with mostly European locations. They keep reinvading the world with their deathpunk sound; probably the best summary of the band is by Happy-Tom: "Most rock 'n' roll bands start as a riot but end up as a parody. We started up as a parody but ended up as a revolution."
On March 8, 2007 the new single "Do You Do You Dig Destruction" was released in Norway. The single is from the album, Retox. The album was released on June 13, 2007.
On July 10, 2007 Turbonegro was one of the warm-up bands, alongside HIM, at Metallica's headlining concert at Valle Hovin Stadium in Oslo, Norway.
The band will tour Europe late summer in 2007, including an appearance at Download Festival and playing 10 intimate gigs in the United Kingdom.
The Turbonegro official site was completely redesigned for the new album release, the new site debuted on June 11, 2007.
On October 27, 2007, Rune Rebellion played his last live show with Turbonegro in Stavanger, and subsequently left the band. He stated "The decision was made this Summer, realizing I hadn't had time off at all from work or touring for three years." Despite his departure from the position of rhythm guitar, he is still closely collaborating with the band by running their label, Scandinavian Leather Recordings and managing their itinerary.
On March 3, 2008, it was announced that Chris Summers had been asked to leave the band. Chris had already been gone from the band for 6 months due to a broken foot. On the band's website, they cited that "personal problems and a focus on other projects, we have been forced to ask drummer Chris Summers to resign from Turbonegro." Chris' replacement was announced to be Vikings drummer Thomas Dahl, who had been filling in for Chris since he broke his foot.
In early 2008, guitarist Euroboy also announced that he and Happy-Tom are working on a new album tentatively titled Tumours.[6] They continued their Retox album tour throughout 2008 and 2009, and on August 7, 2008 Turbonegro celebrated the 10-year anniversary of Apocalypse Dudes by performing the entire album at the Øya Festival in Oslo, Norway.
After the band finished their Retox world tour, the band announced through the Turbojugend-Forum that the band has gone on hiatus for an unknown amount of time.[7]
[edit] Hank leaves the band (2010)
On July 9, 2010, it was announced in Norwegian newspapers that Hank has left the band[8]. Bassist Happy-Tom says this is the end for Turbonegro as a band. Hanks says the reason he left the band was his new lifestyle as a sober family man[citation needed]. According to Jess Margera on Ckyalliance.com the band has officially broken up.
[edit] Musical style
Their lyrics often attack political correctness; for example, the cover of the single "Bad Mongo" depicts Adolf Hitler as mentally retarded, and in the song "Hobbit Motherfuckers", they complain that there is "not enough suffering" and "not enough natural selection". Their genre of punk has been self-described as deathpunk. The band stated their music superseded existing genres, so they dubbed it deathpunk as a way to avoid being pigeon-holed into musical groupings they felt they were above. Lyrics referencing the genre choice include ("gimme deathpunk baby, and I like it", from the song "Get it on"). Being a fun project with common predecessors (Sex Pistols wearing swastikas, etc.), Turbonegro have been praised by some as playing the most up-to-date form of punk, and refusing to be categorized being nowhere as clearly expressed as in this anarchic blend of humour, shock and sexuality.
In the Turbonegro – The Movie DVD extras, Happy Tom utters that early on, festival goers expected TRBNGR to be gothic metal or black metal in the vein of other Norwegian bands. The band is notorious for their on-stage gimmicks. An early version of the band wore blackface and wigs on-stage in an effort to challenge those watching their shows. On The Reserection DVD the band states that early on they were often driven away from shows they were to play because they weren't edgy enough or didn't fit the look that the crowd wanted. As a result, the on-stage schticks started to become as much of the Turbonegro experience as the music. Following several tours in black-face, the band started an odd-ball theme of tight denim pants, nautically themed stage props and homosexual innuendo, stylistically similar to the characters of Tom of Finland. A tongue-in-cheek joke, the homosexual/transvestite stage presence found its way into the band's music, including songs such as "Prince of the Rodeo" and "Rendezvous with Anus" which are both thinly veiled references to anal intercourse. Levis jeans endorsements soon followed from the stage antics, and the trucker cut jacket soon became standard fare amongst fans.
Widely acclaimed as the band's first break out album Ass Cobra (1996), Jello Biafra would later comment that it was one of the best punk albums of the '90s. Following Ass Cobra was Turbonegro's most critically acclaimed release Apocalypse Dudes (1998). Apocalypse Dudes' introduced a combination of '70s arena rock, irreverent lyrics, and punk stylings which brought the band a level of notoriety that they had not achieved at any other point in their history.
Initially the band had two running ideas for band names: Nazipenis and Turbonegro. They were advised that a band named Nazipenis would never sell records, so they chose Turbonegro as an arguably more consumer-friendly choice. The band's name raised some eyebrows, and for that reason their first releases were sometimes branded TRBNGR, perhaps to preclude backlash against what some consider to be a racist name. However, the band's stated motivations are anti-racist, trying to change the attitude of racism and nationalism perceived as prevalent in parts of Scandinavia. Founding member Thomas Seltzer once said, "A turbonegro is a large, well-equipped, armed black male in a fast car, out for vengeance. We are his prophets."[9]
The original name ended up as a name of the band's tribute band, Nazipenis.
According to lead guitarist Euroboy, the band name also has a peculiar origin. "I think Pål saw it spray-painted on a brick wall in a tube-station in a suburb of Oslo back in the day. It's actually two Latin words, it means fast and black and we thought that was a cool name for a band. Because our music is very fast and very dark. And also, it's a name for a colour. In the car-industry, it's the name for the paint, for the darkest paint. If you want to paint your car black, the most black colour of all is Turbonegro." [10]
Turbonegro - High On The Crime
kinda sounds like rock n roll soldiers.
they're from some European country. their band name sounds funny.
they dress in funny costumes.
their songs are very werid.
but great stuff nonetheless.
check out more of them
good shit.
rock n roll soldiers- the anthem
these guys are sick.
they support a classical, new rock feel with just a good rock n roll feel. not punk just good ol rock n roll
check out the song Funny little feeling by these guys. its golden.
Rolling Stones - Wild Horses
rolling stones make good music.
I think these oldies are a must have for any vinyl record collector.
if you dont have a record player, get one. music tastes so much better on them.
Artist Overview: Two Door Cinema Club
Two Door Cinema Club are an electropop/indie rock band from Bangor and Donaghadee, Northern Ireland formed in 2007. They are signed to French record label Kitsuné Music, through which they released their debut album Tourist History on 1 March 2010.
Trimble and Halliday first met whilst attending Bangor Grammar School. They met Baird when he was trying to get with girls they knew.[1] The band's name came about after one of the members mispronounced the name of local cinema Tudor Cinema, and this stuck.[2] In 2007, Two Door Cinema Club was formed, and following an increased interest in their music on their MySpace page, they gave up their university places and began work on studio material. An EP "Four Words To Stand On" was released in January 2009 and was positively received by critics. A number of music blogs featured articles about the band and their popularity increased In July 2009, Two Door Cinema Club began recording their debut album at Eastcote Studios in London with Eliot James. In September, the band began mixing the record with Phillipe Zdar at Motorbass, his studio in Paris.
In December 2009, Two Door Cinema Club were featured in the BBC's Sound Of 2010 Poll, which was decided by 165 British "tastemakers"[3].
In January 2010, Two Door Cinema Club announced the track listing and details of their debut album in an interview with NME.[4] It was released on 26 February 2010 in the Republic of Ireland and on 1 March 2010 in the UK. The album, entitled Tourist History, was released in the USA on 27 April 2010. The album was preceded by the singles "Something Good Can Work", "I Can Talk" and "Undercover Martyn" which both featured on television advertisements for Vodafone and Meteor.
members:
* Alex Trimble - Lead vocals, Guitar, Synths, Beats
* Sam Halliday - Guitar, Vocals
* Kevin Baird - Bass, Vocals
All information from wikiepdia
Trimble and Halliday first met whilst attending Bangor Grammar School. They met Baird when he was trying to get with girls they knew.[1] The band's name came about after one of the members mispronounced the name of local cinema Tudor Cinema, and this stuck.[2] In 2007, Two Door Cinema Club was formed, and following an increased interest in their music on their MySpace page, they gave up their university places and began work on studio material. An EP "Four Words To Stand On" was released in January 2009 and was positively received by critics. A number of music blogs featured articles about the band and their popularity increased In July 2009, Two Door Cinema Club began recording their debut album at Eastcote Studios in London with Eliot James. In September, the band began mixing the record with Phillipe Zdar at Motorbass, his studio in Paris.
In December 2009, Two Door Cinema Club were featured in the BBC's Sound Of 2010 Poll, which was decided by 165 British "tastemakers"[3].
In January 2010, Two Door Cinema Club announced the track listing and details of their debut album in an interview with NME.[4] It was released on 26 February 2010 in the Republic of Ireland and on 1 March 2010 in the UK. The album, entitled Tourist History, was released in the USA on 27 April 2010. The album was preceded by the singles "Something Good Can Work", "I Can Talk" and "Undercover Martyn" which both featured on television advertisements for Vodafone and Meteor.
members:
* Alex Trimble - Lead vocals, Guitar, Synths, Beats
* Sam Halliday - Guitar, Vocals
* Kevin Baird - Bass, Vocals
All information from wikiepdia
Artist Overview: Steve Aoki
I have decided to create a blog post that look into the artists' history and personal/creative life.
From wiki:
Steve Aoki (born November 30, 1977) is an American electro house musician, record producer and the founder of Dim Mak Records.
Steve Aoki was born in Miami and grew up in Newport Beach, California. He is the third child of Rocky Aoki and Chizuru Kobayashi.[1] His father was a former Japanese Olympic wrestler who also founded the restaurant chain Benihana. He has two older siblings, sister Kana (who is now known as "Grace"), and brother Kevin (owner of Doraku Sushi restaurant). He also has three half-siblings, all of whom are younger: half-brother Kyle and half-sisters Echo, and Devon, the model. As a child, Steve lived with his grandfather[citation needed], his mother, and his two older siblings.
Aoki attended the University of California, Santa Barbara and graduated with two B.A.s; one in Women's Studies and the other in Sociology. In college, he produced do-it-yourself records and ran underground concerts out of his Biko room in the Santa Barbara Student Housing Cooperative , which was located in Isla Vista, a section of residential land adjacent to UCSB. As a concert venue, the apartment became known as The Pickle Patch[2][3]. By his early 20s, Aoki had built his own record label, which he named Dim Mak after his childhood hero, Bruce Lee[4]. He has also been in numerous bands, including This Machine Kills, which released an album on Ebullition Records, Esperanza, and The Fire Next Time.
His father, Rocky, once said that he had 'three kids from three different women at exactly the same time'. He found out about the third child with the third woman when he was sued for paternity. In 2005, Rocky sued four of his children (Grace, Kevin, Kyle, and Echo) for an alleged attempt to take control of the companies he founded, which, at the time, had an estimated value between US $60 million and $100 million. Steve and his younger half-sister, Devon, were not named in the suit.[5]
Aoki founded his own label, Dim Mak Records, in 1996. The label has released music by other electro house artists such as MSTRKRFT, The Bloody Beetroots, Klaxons, Scanners, Whitey, Mystery Jets and Mustard Pimp. Aoki is also a club promoter and DJ. He has also teamed up with Blake Miller of the LA -based band Moving Units to produce remixes. The duo of Miller and Aoki work under the moniker Weird Science.
Aoki's debut album, Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles was released in January 2008 [6]. He also had an Essential Mix that aired on BBC Radio 1 on August 2, 2008.10
He has remixed many artists and bands, including Drake, Lenny Kravitz, Bloc Party, Snoop Dogg, Robin Thicke, S.P.A., Kid Cudi, Chester French and Peaches.
He remixed the track "When The Wind Blows" that features on the UK edition of The All-American Rejects' 2008 album When The World Comes Down.
On November 10, 2009 he released a remix for Drake's song "Forever". The song features Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wanye, and Eminem. The track made it to the top of Hype Machine's chart in December 2009.[7]
In March 2010 Aoki released "I'm In The House", a collaboration with Zuper Blahq—alter-ego of Black Eyed Peas singer will.i.am. The song charted at #29 in the UK Singles Chart in its first week of release.
Producer-songwriter Lucas Secon confirmed in a May 2010 interview with HitQuarters that he and Rivers Cuomo had recently worked with Aoki on a single.[8]
The Dim Mak Collection clothing line was launched in 2006.[9] A new fashion range designed by Steve and his sister Devon Aoki is coming out in 2009. They've partnered with the founders/owners of Ksubi, George Garrow and Dan Single to release this range together. "We've been putting it together for two years, from the very early stages." Aoki told.[10] Also with Dan Single and George Garrow, Ksubi will be partnering up and creating a Dim Mak sunglass line that will drop in 2009 as well.
Aoki and friend Greger, the owner of WeSC, came up with the idea together to do the "Aoki headphones." They used different shades of green, because that was Aoki's favorite color at the time.[11] Each season Aoki plans to design new headphones for WeSC. Aoki also is endorsed by KR3W Apparel and Supra Footwear, where he develops and designs an entire range of clothing and shoes for both companies under his name.
Aoki is a co-owner in a Korean BBQ restaurant Shin alongside Danny Masterson, Julian Casablancas from The Strokes, Mark Ronson, Laura Prepon, Jerry Butler, among others. He also co-owned a management company called Deckstar with DJ AM along with their managers and Paul Rosenberg. Underneath the Deckstar Management division, Dim Mak management has been formed to manage some of the label's artists and other DJs.
In November 2009 created his own magazine titled "Aoki" through a celebrity magazine publishing company called MYMAG.[12]
ignore all the numbers in the brakets, they're just all from Wikipedia
From wiki:
Steve Aoki (born November 30, 1977) is an American electro house musician, record producer and the founder of Dim Mak Records.
Steve Aoki was born in Miami and grew up in Newport Beach, California. He is the third child of Rocky Aoki and Chizuru Kobayashi.[1] His father was a former Japanese Olympic wrestler who also founded the restaurant chain Benihana. He has two older siblings, sister Kana (who is now known as "Grace"), and brother Kevin (owner of Doraku Sushi restaurant). He also has three half-siblings, all of whom are younger: half-brother Kyle and half-sisters Echo, and Devon, the model. As a child, Steve lived with his grandfather[citation needed], his mother, and his two older siblings.
Aoki attended the University of California, Santa Barbara and graduated with two B.A.s; one in Women's Studies and the other in Sociology. In college, he produced do-it-yourself records and ran underground concerts out of his Biko room in the Santa Barbara Student Housing Cooperative , which was located in Isla Vista, a section of residential land adjacent to UCSB. As a concert venue, the apartment became known as The Pickle Patch[2][3]. By his early 20s, Aoki had built his own record label, which he named Dim Mak after his childhood hero, Bruce Lee[4]. He has also been in numerous bands, including This Machine Kills, which released an album on Ebullition Records, Esperanza, and The Fire Next Time.
His father, Rocky, once said that he had 'three kids from three different women at exactly the same time'. He found out about the third child with the third woman when he was sued for paternity. In 2005, Rocky sued four of his children (Grace, Kevin, Kyle, and Echo) for an alleged attempt to take control of the companies he founded, which, at the time, had an estimated value between US $60 million and $100 million. Steve and his younger half-sister, Devon, were not named in the suit.[5]
Aoki founded his own label, Dim Mak Records, in 1996. The label has released music by other electro house artists such as MSTRKRFT, The Bloody Beetroots, Klaxons, Scanners, Whitey, Mystery Jets and Mustard Pimp. Aoki is also a club promoter and DJ. He has also teamed up with Blake Miller of the LA -based band Moving Units to produce remixes. The duo of Miller and Aoki work under the moniker Weird Science.
Aoki's debut album, Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles was released in January 2008 [6]. He also had an Essential Mix that aired on BBC Radio 1 on August 2, 2008.10
He has remixed many artists and bands, including Drake, Lenny Kravitz, Bloc Party, Snoop Dogg, Robin Thicke, S.P.A., Kid Cudi, Chester French and Peaches.
He remixed the track "When The Wind Blows" that features on the UK edition of The All-American Rejects' 2008 album When The World Comes Down.
On November 10, 2009 he released a remix for Drake's song "Forever". The song features Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wanye, and Eminem. The track made it to the top of Hype Machine's chart in December 2009.[7]
In March 2010 Aoki released "I'm In The House", a collaboration with Zuper Blahq—alter-ego of Black Eyed Peas singer will.i.am. The song charted at #29 in the UK Singles Chart in its first week of release.
Producer-songwriter Lucas Secon confirmed in a May 2010 interview with HitQuarters that he and Rivers Cuomo had recently worked with Aoki on a single.[8]
The Dim Mak Collection clothing line was launched in 2006.[9] A new fashion range designed by Steve and his sister Devon Aoki is coming out in 2009. They've partnered with the founders/owners of Ksubi, George Garrow and Dan Single to release this range together. "We've been putting it together for two years, from the very early stages." Aoki told.[10] Also with Dan Single and George Garrow, Ksubi will be partnering up and creating a Dim Mak sunglass line that will drop in 2009 as well.
Aoki and friend Greger, the owner of WeSC, came up with the idea together to do the "Aoki headphones." They used different shades of green, because that was Aoki's favorite color at the time.[11] Each season Aoki plans to design new headphones for WeSC. Aoki also is endorsed by KR3W Apparel and Supra Footwear, where he develops and designs an entire range of clothing and shoes for both companies under his name.
Aoki is a co-owner in a Korean BBQ restaurant Shin alongside Danny Masterson, Julian Casablancas from The Strokes, Mark Ronson, Laura Prepon, Jerry Butler, among others. He also co-owned a management company called Deckstar with DJ AM along with their managers and Paul Rosenberg. Underneath the Deckstar Management division, Dim Mak management has been formed to manage some of the label's artists and other DJs.
In November 2009 created his own magazine titled "Aoki" through a celebrity magazine publishing company called MYMAG.[12]
ignore all the numbers in the brakets, they're just all from Wikipedia
Bill Withers - Ain't No Sunshine
one of my all time favourite song.
kinda jazz soul type of deal
very classy
black guys sure know how to make good music.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Mt Eden Dubstep - Sierra Leone
DUBSTEP
its a genre of music i came across today
very club music, electro, deep bass, heavy beats, zomg i love it
Flight Of The Conchords - the most beautiful girl in the room
makes you laugh.
this comic duo definitely knows how to make a crowd laugh.
they're from new zealand..
i am defiantly into funny songs.
N.A.S.A - Gifted (Steve Aoki Remix)
steve aoki's electro remix of nasa's gifted.
so good it makes me hungry.
The Kooks - Naive
the kooks is one of my favorite indie bands. their British rock influenced vocals are just enough to make the whole thing work. check out more of em!
We Are Scientists - Inaction
these guys are great.
one of the first bands i listened to when i got the indie rock fever..
check out more of their stuff..
the actual song comes on like 45 seconds in.. i think..
Ratatat - Loud Pipes
holy shit.
ratatat is one of the best out there..
in terms of electro, experimental music type thing..
they use a lot of synths and still keep that rock band appeal
you'll definitely enjoy a little bit o ratatat
Two Door Cinema Club - Undercover Martyn
another indie. i like indie rock.
dont really know why. makes me happy. good feeling. happy thoughts. rock and roll.
make sure you check out the passion pit's remix of it. its golden
Kanye West - POWER
rap and hiphop belongs to kanye. well maybe not anymore since he did that remix of runaway love with justin bieber.. fag.
anyway
not to be a hater. good song good feel. i don't know what else to say. this song had a lot of ancient roman empire, ancient egyptian, etc.. influence. kanye did his research with the power that was associated with dictators and emperors/Pharaohs of these time.. he defiantly did a good ass job
Axis of Awesome - 4 Four Chord Song
funny song
i don't know what else to add to it.
they do acoustic guitar slash keyboards slash some other shit i dont remember..
but the singer is super fat. but super funny
Phoenix - Lisztomania
do you want me to comment on these?
i dont think you need any descriptions on music. just listen to it.
first.
this is a blog that i have created to share music.
i have no idea what kind of music yet.. it'll be very diverse. whatever im feeling. that's why its called music for the homeless... because it's music so diverse and random that the homeless are left with it. do you get it? because i sure don't. i'll let the music speak my words.
i have no idea what kind of music yet.. it'll be very diverse. whatever im feeling. that's why its called music for the homeless... because it's music so diverse and random that the homeless are left with it. do you get it? because i sure don't. i'll let the music speak my words.
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