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Crossfade TV this week checks out the latest hip-hop/funk/chop-rock smarts from Prefuse 73, new music from indie-rap duo Cool Kids, and the great new collaboration between bluegrass chanteuse Alison Krauss and Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant.
Natalie Walker. Urban Angel. Biography. Born and raised in Indiana, vocalist Natalie Walker is an artist whose lilting, melodic voice and lyrical reveries reflect a life journey of determination and self-discovery. With musical influences ranging from Alison Krauss to Portishead, Jewel to Lauryn Hill, Beth Orton to Bjork, the former lead singer of downtempo electronic group Daughter Darling now delivers her own unique, haunting sonic landscape that is at once organic, ethereal, elegant and entrancing. ?Creating music is my outlet,? says Natalie. ?I was born to sing. When I don?t, I feel empty. When I do, I feel fulfilled. It?s that simple.? Urban Angel, her solo album debut, was co-written by Natalie and two-man production team Stuhr. ?I worked with two really great producers out of Brooklyn, Dan Chen and Nate Greenberg. They?d send me the rough copy of a song and the music would just evoke emotion,? she explains. ?Its like fitting pieces of a puzzle together. When you?re in the studio recording its all very raw and real. I try to make a song new each time I sing it. I want it to be unforgettable. My producers are amazing. They forced me to develop my real voice. I?ve improved my vibrato and my tone. Stuhr delivered exactly what I asked of them. It couldn?t have happened more perfectly.?
The Go-Betweens: "Here Comes a City"
The Go-Betweens are the quintessential cult band. Throughout their hugely acclaimed career they have sustained an unparalleled artistic consistency which has year by year elevated them above their contemporaries, many of whom have lapsed in to unfortunate artistic decline whilst the unique songwriting partnership of Forster and McLennan garners more respect and acclaim with each new release. Even Princess Caroline of Monaco and the Premier of Australia have become fans with the latter distributing copies of their latest album in the American Senate! Thanks to a fervent fan base the group is now playing to larger audiences than it ever did in the eighties. Their last release, Bright Yellow Bright Orange, has proven to be one of their biggest sellers to date. The Go-Betweens were formed in 1978, when Grant McLennan and Robert Forster, two Queensland University students with a passion for films and the US punk scene, met and decided (in Grants words) ?to do The Factory in Brisbane?. Musical instincts prevailed and, encouraged by Robert, Grant took up the bass guitar. After playing together for no more than four months, the pair went into the studio to record two of Robert?s songs - ?Karen? and ?Lee Remick?. Pressing up 500 copies and distributing it themselves, they nearly ended up with a deal at Beserkley Records (US indie label and then home to Jonathan Richman) but Beserkley ran into financial difficulties. In fact, the Go-Betweens were dogged by label troubles through out their career. Rough Trade who eventually put out their debut LP Send Me a Lullaby in Europe, had to drop the band after their second album due to a lack of finance. Later, both Sire and Elektra who either had the band signed or were in the process of signing them had to let them go when both labels closed their UK offices. But the Go-Betweens always had a phenomenal drive that kept them going- returning again and again to Britain, as strangers and then as undervalued songwriters, in an effort to establish themselves on the world-wide music scene, self-financing singles, supporting the Birthday Party across Australia, recruiting more members as they went (drummer Lindy Morrison, bassist Robert Vickers and, later, violinist/oboist Amanda Brown, whom the band discovered playing a Forster song, ?Draining The Pool for You?, in a coffee bar) and on the last album, bassist John Willsteed. Their second album, Before Hollywood, was recorded in Eastbourne, autumn 1983 and sounds all the more wonderful for it. Four more albums followed: Spring Hill Fair, recorded in France on a major label budget, the more coherent Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express (for which Robert recorded all his vocals in one afternoon, his voice having been out of action for most of the sessions), the bright poppy Tallulah and finally, the more acoustic and reflective 16 Lovers Lane. The heavily played radio single ?Streets Of Your Town? followed, as did a support slot with REM. However, by this point the pressures of being together for twelve years were beginning to have visible effect and both Grant and Robert were pushing in different directions. Finally, the Go-Betweens decided to call it a day. The set up of the band, with two independent singer-songwriters was (and still is) an unusual one, but in this case it worked out perfectly. Robert?s edgy, dark and highly romantic compositions were offset perfectly by Grant?s lighter, more wistfully melodic and lyrically more expansive contributions. It?s hard to say however, what makes them both so special. Unlike a lot of bands the Go-Betweens just made albums of (admittedly highly accomplished) guitar-based pop songs. They didn?t do anything widely unusual or idiosyncratic, but what they did is beautiful and timeless. Maybe it is something to do with the interplay on two perspectives on what must be similar or concurrent events. Maybe its the underlying romanticism of all their records - that they appreciate the fact that love and life are battles but they are battles which must be fought and one should wear ones scars proudly. They also knew how to craft a subtle arrangement around an intelligent lyric and winsome melody. And that should be enough for anyone. After the split of the Go-Betweens, Robert Forster and Grant McLennan had vibrant solo careers. Both released four solo albums and Grant also released two albums with Steve Kilbey of the Church under the name of Jack Frost and one album with Ian Haig of Powderfinger under the name of F.O.C. Recent projects have included a biography written by David Nichols and published by Allen and Unwin in Australia, a Go-Betweens tribute album, an acclaimed compilation: Bellavista Terrace, and a collection of lost early recordings from 1978-79. Since the split, Grant and Robert have played together on several occasions acoustically including the Beggars Banquet birthday celebrations in Tower Records, in Piccadilly Circus London (August 1994) and most notably with a full band at the Les Inrockuptibles 10th anniversary show in Paris (23rd May 1996) and a run of six full band shows in June 1997, two in Dublin, one in Glasgow, two in London (Forum and Fleadh Festival) and the Roskilde Festival in Denmark. As a duo, Robert and Grant toured the world in 1999 to rave reviews, which prompted the pair to consider recording a new album together. Sitting in a Melbourne seaside hotel on the Australian leg of their tour, Forster and McLennan finally agreed to restart The Go-Betweens with a new album. The Friends Of Rachel Worth (2000) was the result. Ten new songs were recorded in Jackpot Studios in Portland, Oregon. The album was produced by the band with Janet Weiss from Sleater-Kinney on drums, Adele Pickvance (who has played with both Forster and McLennan in their solo careers) on bass, Sam Coombes (Quasi and Elliot Smith) on keyboards along with Carrie Brownstien and Corin Tucker from Sleater Kinney on guitar and backing vocals. The finished record stood proudly alongside anything in their canon and received unanimously rave reviews. The Go-Betweens toured the world with great success playing to the largest audiences of their career and culminating in a headline slot at Australia?s Big Day Out, and Robert and Grant were honoured by the Australian Performing Rights Association for writing one of the ten greatest Australian songs of all time with ?Cattle and Cane?. They completed their eighth studio album Bright Yellow Bright Orange in 2003, which was released to huge acclaim. The group toured again, including Japan for the first time and their UK dates were sold out with a rapturous response. Robert relocated to Brisbane, where Grant is based, and they spent the rest of 2003 and much of 2004 writing. Their work was interrupted only by a short trip to Europe, playing two shows to celebrate the re-release of the albums Liberty Belle & The Black Diamond Express, Tallulah and 16 Lovers Lane. Vicker Street in Dublin and London?s prestigious Barbican Theatre were both sold out. Whilst in London they met up with Mark Wallis, the producer of 16 Lovers Lane, and agreed to return in November to record their new album with Mark producing again. The album was completed in January 2005 and is entitled Oceans Apart. The release date is May 3, 2005 on Yep Roc Records with US tour dates to follow.
Cuts lets you make movie mashups
Cuts CEO Evan Krauss introduced his service at DemoFall 2006 in San Diego on Sept. 26, 2006. Cuts lets you take video content, such as a movie from a DVD or a TV show from iTunes, and edit it at will.
The classic tale of love and misunderstanding unfolds in class-conscious England near the close of the 18th century. The five Bennet sisters ? Lizzie (Keira Knightley), Jane (Rosamund Pike), Lydia (Jena Malone), Mary (Talulah Riley) and Kitty (Carey Mulligan) ? have been raised well aware of their mother's (two-time Academy Award nominee Brenda Blethyn) fixation on finding them husbands and securing set futures. The spirited and intelligent Lizzie, however, strives to live her life with a broader perspective, as encouraged by her doting father (Donald Sutherland).
When wealthy bachelor Mr. Bingley (Simon Woods) takes up residence in a nearby mansion, the Bennets are abuzz. Amongst the man's sophisticated circle of London friends and the influx of young militia officers, surely there will be no shortage of suitors for the Bennet sisters. Eldest daughter Jane, serene and beautiful, seems poised to win Mr. Bingley's heart. For her part, Lizzie meets with the handsome and, it would seem, snobbish Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen), and the battle of the sexes is joined.
Their encounters are frequent and spirited yet far from encouraging. Lizzie finds herself even less inclined to accept a marriage proposal from a distant cousin, Mr. Collins and, supported by her father, stuns her mother and Mr. Collins by declining. When the heretofore good-natured Mr. Bingley abruptly departs for London, devastating Jane, Lizzie holds Mr. Darcy culpable for contributing to the heartbreak. But a crisis involving youngest sister Lydia soon opens Lizzie's eyes to the true nature of her relationship with Mr. Darcy.
The ensuing rush of feelings leaves no one unchanged, and inspires the Bennets and everyone around them to reaffirm what is most important in life. Also starring Judi Dench.
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This movie was nominated for an Academy Award. Click here to see videos of other Oscar nominees on Download.com.
CES walking tours: Sands Convention Center
Join Tom Merritt on an audio tour of the Sands Convention Center at the Consumer Electronics Show.
Driven to Madness by a haunting of a Spirit.
Industry leaders at the Sand Hill Group's Software 2004 conference say the bill for sending work overseas may be higher than expected.
The worm alarm is being raised over a "critical" vulnerability in Windows, with even the U.S. Department of Homeland Security urging Windows users to patch up now. CNET's Joris Evers and Robert Vamosi discuss the matter in this week's Security Bites.
Security Bites: Windows worm watch is on
The worm alarm is being raised over a "critical" vulnerability in Windows, with even the U.S. Department of Homeland Security urging Windows users to patch up now. CNET's Joris Evers and Robert Vamosi discuss the matter in this week's Security Bites.
