Paint It Black
Nadine Workin' It!
Extra! Extra! Read all about it! The latest on Prince, Evanescence, Rolling Stones, Nadine and Koos Kombuis...
Author: Estelle Venter (estelle.vent@gmail.com)
Nadine Movin’ On Up
I remember a young teenage girl singing about her grandma on a Free State radio station. Sweet. Nauseating. And that was it; I dismissed her in 2 seconds. Her target market was clearly old tannies who feed you koeksisters and pinch your cheeks and I was definitely not one of those.
Now, a couple of years later, Nádine is proving a force to be reckoned with – an artist in her own right. Her voice has clearly developed much in these past years, and her music is no longer intended only for an Afrikaans market, but rather an international stage. Clearly, the market agrees, as Nádine has just been named the winner of the World Peace Song Festival by the Organisation Générale des Amateurs de l' Eurovision (Ogae) Italy. Her song “This Time I Know It’s For Real” beat off competition from the likes of Coldplay and Ladyhawke. This couldn’t have come at a better time as Nádine is preparing to launch her album: “This Time I Know” in Europe. This win positions her perfectly for a successful break into the European market. According to Nadine this award gave her “huge confidence” ahead of her album release in May. Says Nádine: “It is such an honour for me to know that this very special song has touched people, especially when you consider that the judges came from many different countries.”
The World Peace Song Festival sees countries from all over the world submit songs for a Eurovision style competition. 63 countries have participated in the 14 contests since 1996, with England, Italy, South Africa, France, Spain, the US and Wales taking part in every edition to date. Check out “This Time I know its For Real”.
Stones Roll Out Something Old, Something New
Collectors and fans of the man with the mouth (No, not Steven Tyler) rejoice! Mick Jagger and his English rock band: The Rolling Stones will reissue their 1972 release: Exile On Main Street with an added 10 never-heard-before tracks. The band have long resisted the release of archived material, but finally agreed for these gems to find their way to the shelves.
The 10 tracks were recorded in a mouldy, grim basement of a French villa (once used by the Gestapo) at the height of guitarist Keith Richard’s battle against heroin addiction and whilst Jagger’s marriage to his first wife, Bianca was still in the honeymoon phase. (According to him, anyway.) Bianca has said many times that her marriage was over on her wedding day!)What makes these tracks so extraordinary is the fact that even though the Rolling Stones is one of the most bootlegged bands in the world, no one has heard of 4 of the 10 tracks – the only 4 names which has been released so far. At the time of publication the names of the remaining 6 tracks were still unknown to the public.
The reissue will be complemented by a made-for-TV documentary, Stones In Exile, which features rare archival film footage and photos as well as fresh interviews. The album will be available in three configurations: the original 18-track release; an edition with the bonus tracks; and a package that also includes a vinyl version, a different 30-minute documentary DVD and a book. Some of the changes you can expect are overdubbed percussion and guitar and fresh lyrics for Following The River. Exile On Main Street (which has been re-released before – in 1994) will be available late May.
Electro Evanescence
Last week Amy Lee and her band started recording their upcoming third offering. According to an interview Lee had with Rolling Stone magazine the new album will be a “mix of sarcastic aggression” that will showcase a whole new sound and feel – a distinct electro influence. “A lot of bands I’ve always been inspired by are just coming into play a little more,” says Lee, citing the future-shock sounds of Depeche Mode, Massive Attack, Portishead, CSS, La Roux and MGMT. “There’s a lot of stuff that doesn’t sound like Evanescence, but the heart of the band of still there. This is a really, really, rhythmically driven record. So there’s tons of drum-programming fused with live drums; drums we’re renting a day at a time, like Japanese taiko drums.”
Lee is co-writing the album with producer, programmer and drummer: Will Hunt. The pair decided to start writing together after arranging “Sally’s Song,” Amy Lee’s addition to 2008’s Nightmare Revisited album. The album is also the band’s first with veteran producer Steve Lillywhite, who’s produced for the Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews Band and worked on eight U2 albums.
This yet-untitled album will be Evanescence’s first release since their 2006 Open Door album. We are extremely excited for this release: the normal Evanescence hard rock and Lee’ classical piano sound infused with electro and her newly acquired skill: the harp, should make for a fresh sound and a very entertaining album. Expect the album later this year.
Snippets
-
Afrikaans rebel, Koos Kombuis has just released his new version of the Vokkol song: “Die Groen Vokkol Song.” We’re all for tree-huggers, but when is this guy going to get over everything that is crap. The original Vokkol song commented on the state of our country, but instead of offering solutions it offered, well, vokkol. This track is pretty much the same. Vokkol on the same tune. Boo Hoo, Kosie!
-
Seether (previously known as Saron Gas) has lined up legendary producer Brendan O’Brien to record their upcoming album. O’Brien is known for his work with artists such as AC/DC, Rage Against The Machine and Velvet Revolver. This yet untitled album is the follow-up to the 2007 smash hit Finding Beauty In Negative Spaces.
-
Rapper Lil Wayne is preparing for a trip of a different kind. This trip will see him spending some time, not in the Bahamas or in Mediterranean, but a minimum of 8 months in a New York City jail – and that is only if he is a good boy. Yep, it doesn’t always pay to be bad-ass and walk around with an illegal firearm – especially not when you get locked up at the height of your career. Hope you get bitch-slapped, Lil.
-
English alternative rockers Muse have released the official music video for their chart topping single “Resistance.” The video gives fans a glimpse of their spectacular live performances for which they are known. The single comes from the band's fifth studio album titled, The Resistance, which has topped the charts in 19 countries. Pretty impressive!
-
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Universal Music will continue their 40-year relationship with a new long-term agreement for his Really Useful Group.
The first release under the new deal will be Andrew Lloyd Webber’s next musical “Love Never Dies”. Universal’s Polydor label will release the soundtrack album in March to coincide with the debut of the musical in London. -
Check out the new Prince track: “Cause and Effect” This track debuted on a radio station in Prince’s hometown of Minneapolis last week. For fans only. Can’t see him winning over any new fans with this tune.
Dear John
Our most awesomenesstest* find this month is a website called www.lettersofnote.com. This site showcase all sorts of letters notable either for the author or the content.
One such letter is a 1979 love letter written by a 14 year old Saul Hudson (better known as Slash from guns n Roses and Velvet Revolver) who had just been dumped by his girlfriend Michelle Young. She blamed the demise of their relationship on Slash’s obsession with his guitar. This obsession would later become the reason for his fame when he joins Guns n Roses.
Also check out a letter sent byIggy Pop to a fan, a letter by a newspaper editor to the FBI regarding a national security threat: Elvis (!), a very bitchy letter from Frank Sinatra to a journalist, and a Letter from a 20-year old David bowie to his first American fan.
* don’t send me emails to point out my mistake. I know it’s not a word. I am using it anyway, so deal with it, or read the Reader’s Digest in future.
Sources
www.news24.com; www.tonight.co.za; www.music-news.com; www.rollingstone.com; www.lettersofnote.com; www.yahoo.com; www.mio.co.za; www.theage.com.au; www.nytimes.com; www.wikipedia.org; www.mtv.com; www.vh1.com; www.youtube.com