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Llu's Reviews
Llu's Reviews:
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| Beth Orton | Northern State |
Wainwright, Orton, Rap, and Shows
by Lluvia Mulvaney-Stanak
Greetings Green Mountains! Allow me to introduce myself: this is DJ Llu the Burlington radio, 135 Pearl DJ and all around music lover. I have decided to give it a go at reviewing some CDs for OITM and let all of you queer music lovers out there know about some of the great music that is coming out this month, to brighten up the drabby November days.
First up, the return of the quietly queer Rufus Wainwright and his new album Want One. This third recording from Rufus comes after a year of "fighting personal demons" and coming close to the edge. If one were to believe the rumors of his drug addiction and bouts of depression then you could view this new album as a cleansing piece of work. On his website he is vague about the past year in between albums. He does remark that this new 14-track work was done made completely "straight." Tongue in cheek on many levels.
Boy fans of Rufus will be gaga, as he finally trimmed up his mane into a new short do. Music fans will appreciate the depth of this album and its melodic sounds, thoughtful lyrics and a real reflection on life, the universe and oneself. Pick this album up at a locally owned music store near you if you dig the mellow and the meaningful side of songwriting. If you are expecting more poppy emo-folk boy rock reminiscent of some of his past soundtrack hits like "Instant Pleasure," you will have to wait for his follow up to this album, due out this spring called Want Two.
Giving you some more: www.rufuswainwright.com
For the folky folk Ü there is a new Beth Orton cd in stores now. Entitled The Other Side of Daybreak, this record takes you back to the days when she used to hang out with the likes of William Orbit and other dj/producers who would drop a beat to her otherwise folky sound. ItÍs a little old school, a little hip hop and it even gets unplugged. This is multimedia folks, so stick it in the computer and check out Beth groovin to her hit "Concrete Sky." This is some of the best Orton songs, compiled and remixed onto one disc. Guaranteed to please Orton fans, and it might even snag a few new fans, who don't dig straight-up folk. Oh, and be sure to spin the first track, "Ooh Child," Beth Orton's fabulous cover of the 70s hit.
Giving you some more: www.beth-orton.co.uk
Two words: Northern State — the best thing to hit the rap world since the Beastie Boys, and they are even better, 'cause they are chicks. Three Long Island tough white-grrls rock the mic hard with satiric, well written prose on their debut album Dying in Stereo. This album was cut almost a year ago, but has been in your local store for only a few months.
Hesta Prynn, Guinea Love and DJ Sprout have been spitting out lyrics since 2000. All college graduates, these women have some stellar musical influences from the real old school De La Soul to Queen Latifah. Signed to an indie label, these MCs are up and coming and someone you should be supporting. They just finished the new Girlz Garage tour (www.girlzgarage.com) in October with other all-chick bands, Brassy, Lillix, the Start, and Lennon. This tour was a spin off from the famed punk summer tour, the Warped Tour. Grab the album for some fun, witty lyrics that will make you shout out loud with the N.S. gals.
Giving you some more: www.northernstate.net
Finally, let's catch a live show or two, shall we? November is so drab, it takes lots of happy lights, or at least a great live show to get that smile on your face. Here's what's hitting a venue/city near us and why you should make the trek and drop the cash for the tickets. Tegan & Sara rock the east coast (almost) on Saturday, November 8th at Cafe Campus, Montreal, QC. Go back a few issues in OITM to catch my last review on these twin lesbians from Canada. Folk rock at its poppiest. They usually hang out near their homebase out on the west coast of Canada, so check them out when they are relatively close, 'cause they don't stop by much: www.teganandsara.com for band info and www.admission.com for tickets, which are super cheap $14 a pop!
Ani Difranco: if you don't know about her, you are living under a rock. She's back. She's solo. She's righteous. And she's at the Flynn, Monday, November 10th. Leave your sing-along cd jackets at home, she hates it when the crowd chimes along. This time around you have to fork out about $30 a ticket to see this indie folk legend. www.righteousbabe.com
Melissa Ferrick. Make it a folk rock month, UVM brings this hard edge folksinger to campus on Saturday, November 22nd at 7PM. At the time of printing ticket prices were not available. www.melissaferrick.com
Lluvia Mulvaney-Stanak spins and grooves at various venues, and in her day job, she works at Outright Vermont.