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Apple tries something new with Depeche Mode, Google gangs up on Microsoft in the EU, your cell phone may replace your doctor, and how to stop stalking your ex online.
David Gahan, Kevin Drew, Richard Hawley
Depeche Mode frontman David Gahan, Broken Social Scene's Kevin Drew, and soulful British crooner Richard Hawley are the Download Music crew's picks this week on Crossfade TV.
The Somnambulants: "Take It On"
Stylistically, The Somnambulants are even more driven by cinematic influence, as evidenced in their lyrical imagery and spacious production. Joseph White built the first Somnambulants songs from music soundtrack pieces composed during his tenure as a film student. In fact, their name was taken from the somnambulist character Cesare - in the 1920 German film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Its fitting, therefore, that the title track from their previous album, Evacuation, appeared in the soundtrack for the Oscar-nominated film Half Nelson (Lakeshore Records).
Stateless are one of Leeds' most exciting bands, currently on course to explode all over the music world. The band fuses a conventional band set-up of vocals (Chris James), bass (Justin Percival) and drums (David Levin) with the electronic mesh of turntables (Kidkanevil) and live programming (Rod). Stateless recently finished recording their self-titled debut album with producer Jim Abbiss (Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian), who passed on some tracks to the mighty DJ Shadow. Immediately a fan, Shadow enlisted Chris to co write and sing on two songs on his new album The Outsider. Check out Stateless on http://music.download.com/stateless
Over the past decade Placebo have slowly but surely grown into one of the biggest and best rock bands on the globe. Meds is Placebo?s first studio album since 2003?s Sleeping With Ghosts, which went Top 10 in the UK, sold 1.4 million copies worldwide and firmly re-established the band's foothold in the USA. In that time Placebo have gone from strength to strength selling out arena dates all over the world including the 18,000 capacity Bercy in Paris (comparable in size to Madison Square Garden). Like other darkly romantic acts that speak directly to the scorched human soul - The Cure, Depeche Mode, Morrissey, REM - theirs has been a steady, cultish global explosion. But when Brian Molko, Stefan Olsdal and Steve Hewitt sold out Wembley Arena in 2004 during a triumphant homecoming jaunt to promote that year?s Singles package Once More With Feeling, with Robert Smith as special guest, the lid was blown on rock?s worst kept secret: for ten years Placebo had been creeping up on superstardom, now here they were taking their place on the podium. Placebo have taken the world, now they?re coming for you. Be blissfully afraid.
the three boys would like to tell similar stories to their upcoming debut album "lovers", as well as tales about how the band was founded amidst a near-fatal plane crash. but they maintain that the albumtitle is just the result of a graphical typo which turned "cover" into "lovers". so it has become a tribute to their friends. the album includes the voices of frenk lebel (play the tracks of), gustav, and chris corner (sneaker pimps/iamx). the path back to classic instrumentals is led by john norman (radian) and silber "prinz" otto, two geezers from the karate joe posse. what began as an act three years ago has turned into an explosive experience with impulsive lyrics and performances. watch out for the tourdates.
Crave U.K. meets Asimo at CES 2007
At CES 2007, Chris Stevens from our CNET U.K. Crave team meets Asimo, a fully mobile, human-like robot made of plastic and metal.
Ask most serious bands about the recording process, and if they dont compare it to giving birth, they'll likely tell you that making an album is akin to psychotherapy. But lets be real here: How many of those bands actually take the album-as-therapy idea literally? For Atlanta quintet Norma Jean, who for all intents and purposes should be some of the most content dudes in underground music right now, the recording sessions for their third album, Redeemer, packed group therapy, boot camp and endurance test into one gnarly package. Produced by Ross Robinson (At The Drive-in, From First To Last, Sepultura), Redeemer is at once the heaviest and most personal album in this bands arsenaland thats saying something: With their 2002 Solid State Records debut, Bless The Martyr And Kiss The Child, Norma Jean established themselves as one of the noisiest and most adventurous young bands in metal today. With the 2005 follow-up, O God, The Aftermath, drummer Daniel Davison, bassist Jake Schultz, and guitarists Chris Day and Scottie Henry welcomed new vocalist and Arkansas native Cory Brandan to their lineup and took their artful, technical noise to the proverbial next level, earning critical acclaim and a 2006 Grammy nomination (for Asterik Studios awe-inspiring artwork) in the process, and embarking on a grueling tour schedule that most recently found them on Ozzfest 2006s second stage. And now, with a new, expanded edition of Aftermath in stores, the obvious question follows: When you still have past glories to coast on, why make a new album at all? Basically, we had too much material brewing inside us, and we wanted to get it out, says Davison, laughing. We probably couldve waited to record until after we cut back on what we had, but when the opportunity to work with Ross came up, it just felt like, Man, being in the studio with this guy is something Ive wanted to do since I was 12 years old; Im gonna do anything I can to make this happen now. After practicing, in Davisons recollection, pretty much ever day, for about 50 days solid, and going through rigorous pre-production at home in Atlanta, the band decamped with Robinson to Radio Star Studios in the tiny mountain town of Weed, California, to start work on Redeemer. Though some of the songs were still works-in-progress (as Brandans recalls it, Songs were changing up until 20 minutes before we tracked them) the lyrics, again written collaboratively by Brandan, Henry and Davison, really took shape once the band got into the studio. Wed rehearse a song till we felt we had it worked out, and then wed bring in Ross and sit down for another hour or two just to discuss it, Brandan says. He had us all in there as a group, talking about each songwhat the lyrics were about, where they came from, what the song meant to us personally and spiritually. It was really intense; so much stuff came out during those sessions, and in the end, it was really unifying for us as a band. While rehearsals took place in a beautiful, open-stage environment inside the studio, tracking itself was another storyall part of the intense process that would eventually shape the songs. I tracked my drums under the stage, Davison remembers, laughing. Wed get done talking about the song, and then wed head down below the stage into, like, this little dungeon. It was really small, and the drums were set up with mikes all over them; there were hot water pipes, ventilation, everywhereit was really intense. We could barely stand up because the ceiling was so low, but Ross was there the whole time, coaching us and keeping us in that mindset. Just one listen to Redeemer confirms the ferocity of the bands performances. From the discordant breakdowns and jarring time changes of The End Of All Things Will Be Televised to the newfound melodic intensity of Blueprints For Future Homes, the album packs some of Norma Jeans most unhinged, soul-baring playing into the span of 11 songs. And though the weird angles and difficult guitar figures that comprised Aftermath are still prevalent, that albums refined, very-much-studio feel has given way to raw atmospheres in which you can practically see the sweat running onto the instruments. Brandan, whos already proved himself a formidable vocalist, fully comes into his own on Redeemer with a style that veers between unhinged screaming and down-on-his-knees melodic belting. As has been the case with Norma Jeans previous albums, fans will interpret Redeemers title in a number of ways: Theres the obvious (its their shortest album title ever); the semi-obvious (the band members are Christian; the albums called Redeemeryou follow?); and the not-so-obvious (look up Redeemer in Websters Dictionary for even more possibilities). All of these, says Davison, are valid readings, but as before, its better just to listen to the whole album before settling on an opinion about what it all means. We just wanted a title that was short and simple, but also really powerful, Davison explains. Redeemer was the most powerful word we could think of, and obviously, for us, being a spiritual band, it takes on special meaning. Brandan agrees. We didnt call it Redeemer and then try to make the lyrics work around that [idea], he says. Theres some really personal stuff on this record, and even though Im seeing in hindsight that the title ties into some of that, Ive always thought its best just to let people come up with their own ideas about the songs, rather than say, This is our concept; this is what the records about. No matter how you interpret it, one things for sure: Slide it into your player, and you will feel Redeemer more than any other Norma Jean album. Emotional, spiritual, visceral, physicalthis isnt just the third album Norma Jean wanted to make; its the career-defining statement they had to.
SF IndieFest trailer: "December Ends"
After his mother tragically dies, Chris' father falls apart and Chris turns to running drugs for pot dealer Hayden to make the rent payments. When he meets Audrey, Hayden's girlfriend who has been away at art school, he instantly falls for her.
Hayden expands his business into the cocaine trade, but he can't put his past addiction behind him and most of it goes up his own nose. One night he ODs and ends up unconscious in the hospital. Audrey and Chris spend that same night together.
With Hayden in the hospital, Chris's cousin and best friend Brian begins supplying his customers. When Hayden recovers and learns what Brian is doing, he demands a meeting. The meeting quickly turns into a fight and when Brian goes for his gun, Hayden grabs it and beats him over the head with it until he's unconscious. He then leaves Brian there, bleeding in the cold. Brian does not survive the night.
When Chris learns Hayden killed Brian, he knows he has to take revenge for his cousin's death and protect Audrey from a dangerous man. He goes to the New Year's Eve party where Hayden is dealing and looks for him. Audrey comes to the party as well, hoping to stop Chris. When she bursts into the room where a rival dealer is teaching Hayden a lesson, Hayden reaches for his gun and fires.
Chris hears the shots and runs to the room. Seeing only a bloody and frantic Hayden shaking Audrey, he raises his gun and does what he came to do.
Click here for more trailers, interviews, and videos from the 8th Annual SF IndieFest.
A one-time tennis pro, Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) was used to falling just short in his life. But when he befriends Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode) and marries his sister, Chloe (Emily Mortimer), the doors are opened to the kind of money and success that Chris has once only dreamed of. Chris should have settled for happiness, but he is torn by his attraction to Tom's impossibly beautiful and sensual fiance, Nola (Scarlett Johansson). The attraction turns to an obsession that forces Chris to make a critical choice. Now everything in his life hinges on if Chris falls short again...and whether or not his luck runs out. "Match Point" is a drama about ambition, the seduction of wealth, love, and sexual passion. Perhaps most importantly, however, the story reveals the huge part luck plays in events, refuting the comforting misconception that more of life is under our control than really is.
This movie was nominated for an Academy Award. Click here to see videos of other Oscar nominees on Download.com.
