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"Take This Life" is the roll-out single and video from In Flames' wildly anticipated new album, "Come Clarity." The "Take This Life" video was produced and directed by long time In Flames collaborator Patric Ullaeus (for Revolver Film Company) and features the band (Bjorn Gelotte - Guitars, Daniel Svensson - Drums, Peter Iwers - Bass, Jesper Stromblad - Guitars and Anders Friden - Vocals) performing against the backdrop of New York City's Times Square as an evolving storyline unfolds. In addition to his video work with In Flames, Ullaeus is known for directing the Lacuna Coil hit videos "Heaven's a Lie" and "Swamped". In Flames has been one of the leaders of the underground metal movement for over 10 years. With over 1,000,000 records sold worldwide and coming off a successful tour as part of OZZFEST 2005, where they shared the festival's main stage with Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and others, the time is ripe for this Swedish quintet to continue their ascent. The band's recent success, as well as that of their counterparts -- including Killswitch Engage (whom they co-headlined with in 2004), Shadows Fall and Lamb of God -- has paved the wave for metal bands to break through to the mainstream.
Brendan Benson: "Cold Hands, Warm Heart"
Brendan Benson is a band. Sure, it?s also the man?s name. But as he wrote the songs that would become his dazzling new CD THE ALTERNATIVE TO LOVE, he never stopped imagining the two guitarists trading licks, the back-up singer adding harmonies, the bass drum booming through his spine -- never mind that he does all that stuff himself. Brendan Benson is a one-man band, but, he says, "band is the operative word." He's neither a singer-songwriter (though of course his music is impeccably constructed and observed) nor a simple pop musician (though every note he's ever played is catchy as all get-out), and even "cult artist" doesn't cut it anymore, given the way fans, critics and DJs in both the U.S. and U.K. embraced 2002's Lapalco. Three years later, you could even say THE ALTERNATIVE TO LOVE is long-awaited. And from the revved-up guitar chug of ?Spit It Out? to the Wall of Sound swoon of ?The Pledge? to the haunted piano tones of ?Biggest Fan,? it doesn't disappoint, offering up a dozen shimmering examples of dynamic rock'n'roll that's both joyous and bittersweet ?as you might expect from someone whose publishing company is called Glad Sad Music. Benson flies solo in the studio so he can work whenever inspiration hits, with "collaborators" who are always on the same creative wavelength. "It's childish," he admits. "It's hard for me to hand the sticks over, or sit there and listen to someone else and not just say, 'do it like this.'" But that's the way the Michigan/Louisiana native has always recorded, going back to his teenage years overdubbing one track at a time on a regular home stereo. Those bedroom sessions, and some recording in L.A. with producer Ethan Johns and Jellyfish's Jason Falkner, eventually evolved into Benson's mythological debut One Mississippi. But when that 1996 Virgin release (reissued by StarTime in 2003) left him as another critical success story on the verge of getting dropped, he retreated to Detroit's Belle Isle neighborhood, using what was left of his second-album advance to fill a big old house with vintage recording equipment and well-used instruments. It was there he made Lapalco, which the Times of London dubbed "an album of such radiant beauty and wrist-slashing introspection that it puts all other pretenders to the Beatles/Beach Boys mantle firmly in their place." Entertainment Weekly, NME, Details and Mojo ("some records are so perfect they make you worry") also fell in love with it. THE ALTERNATIVE TO LOVE feels like the precisely calibrated offspring of its predecessors ? brighter than Lapalco, not quite as big a sugar-rush as Mississippi. "It's a nice kind of blend of the two," Benson says. Despite his professed allergy to singer-songwriter syndrome, Benson has been doing more acoustic gigs the past few years, which played into the songwriting process. And while the songs are mostly about love, heartbreak, and connection, the context isn't always romance ? Bensons also draws on harder life experience, like being abandoned by his father, and the death of his grandfather who raised him. "A lot of times it might sound like I'm singing about a girl, but it just might be about someone or something entirely different," he says. If Lapalco brought to mind certain dark-night-of-the-soul records from the late '60s and early '70s, Benson has found himself listening to things like Calexico, the Cars and the Pretenders lately. But if you were to hit him with that old standby of a question, "what are your influences?" he could give a unique answer. "A lot of times I'll record or write a song because I've got a new amp, or someone?s left a guitar at my house, or I?ve acquired a new microphone. I just have a real fascination with the sound of things." He even traded in some of the stuff that figured on Lapalco -- THE ALTERNATIVE TO LOVE was recorded on relatively newer stuff, digital as well as analog. "I don?t have a lot of conceits when it comes to recording music like, 'no computers were used in the making of this record,'" he says. ?Computers make things easier. But drums and acoustic guitars, I believe, sound notably better on tape." The record's intricate sonic imprint also stems from Tchad Blake's mixes. The producer/engineer, best known for his work with Mitchell Froom (Los Lobos, Latin Playboys, Elvis Costello, Crowded House) is a longtime fave of Benson's. "Oh my god, my hero," he says. "We just talked a few times on the phone. I said, do whatever you do, make it sound good! And he did. Some tracks, he kind of produced retroactively. When I heard them with headphones on I was laughing uncontrollably. I was so pleased." THE ALTERNATIVE TO LOVE is a headphone record among other things, from the Spectoresque bombast of "The Pledge" to the mind-bending harmony and call/responses of the title track. Other highlights include the amiably wobbly "Cold Hands Warm Heart," which is already a live favorite, and the album-ender "Between Us," which lays the raw emotion of a woman's post break-up answering machine message over an almost-psychedelic anthem. Then there's the deceptively sing-song "What I'm Looking For," which offers up a worldview ? about art, life and love -- in just 18 words: Well I don't know what I'm looking for but I know that I just wanna look some more. "That's pretty much it," Benson says. "That's me." Which is not to say he lacks focus. If anything, he's too focused -- exclusively on rock'n'roll. When he's not doing his own stuff he's producing other bands (including V2 labelmates Blanche and the next record by Cincinnati garage-rockers the Greenhornes) and he and Motown compadre Jack White are working on a duo record." I could happily spend the rest of my days doing something with music," Benson says. "If I'm not working on music, anxiety sets in. Maybe it's not so healthy-to stay locked away in a studio?you've gotta live a life to write a song. But in Letters to a Young Poet, Rilke said if you were in jail, cut off from the world, with nothing but a view of the sky from a small window, you'd still have your memories to write about. I love that."
Brendan Benson is a band. Sure, it?s also the man?s name. But as he wrote the songs that would become his dazzling new CD THE ALTERNATIVE TO LOVE, he never stopped imagining the two guitarists trading licks, the back-up singer adding harmonies, the bass drum booming through his spine -- never mind that he does all that stuff himself. Brendan Benson is a one-man band, but, he says, "band is the operative word." He's neither a singer-songwriter (though of course his music is impeccably constructed and observed) nor a simple pop musician (though every note he's ever played is catchy as all get-out), and even "cult artist" doesn't cut it anymore, given the way fans, critics and DJs in both the U.S. and U.K. embraced 2002's Lapalco. Three years later, you could even say THE ALTERNATIVE TO LOVE is long-awaited. And from the revved-up guitar chug of ?Spit It Out? to the Wall of Sound swoon of ?The Pledge? to the haunted piano tones of ?Biggest Fan,? it doesn't disappoint, offering up a dozen shimmering examples of dynamic rock'n'roll that's both joyous and bittersweet ?as you might expect from someone whose publishing company is called Glad Sad Music. Benson flies solo in the studio so he can work whenever inspiration hits, with "collaborators" who are always on the same creative wavelength. "It's childish," he admits. "It's hard for me to hand the sticks over, or sit there and listen to someone else and not just say, 'do it like this.'" But that's the way the Michigan/Louisiana native has always recorded, going back to his teenage years overdubbing one track at a time on a regular home stereo. Those bedroom sessions, and some recording in L.A. with producer Ethan Johns and Jellyfish's Jason Falkner, eventually evolved into Benson's mythological debut One Mississippi. But when that 1996 Virgin release (reissued by StarTime in 2003) left him as another critical success story on the verge of getting dropped, he retreated to Detroit's Belle Isle neighborhood, using what was left of his second-album advance to fill a big old house with vintage recording equipment and well-used instruments. It was there he made Lapalco, which the Times of London dubbed "an album of such radiant beauty and wrist-slashing introspection that it puts all other pretenders to the Beatles/Beach Boys mantle firmly in their place." Entertainment Weekly, NME, Details and Mojo ("some records are so perfect they make you worry") also fell in love with it. THE ALTERNATIVE TO LOVE feels like the precisely calibrated offspring of its predecessors ? brighter than Lapalco, not quite as big a sugar-rush as Mississippi. "It's a nice kind of blend of the two," Benson says. Despite his professed allergy to singer-songwriter syndrome, Benson has been doing more acoustic gigs the past few years, which played into the songwriting process. And while the songs are mostly about love, heartbreak, and connection, the context isn't always romance ? Bensons also draws on harder life experience, like being abandoned by his father, and the death of his grandfather who raised him. "A lot of times it might sound like I'm singing about a girl, but it just might be about someone or something entirely different," he says. If Lapalco brought to mind certain dark-night-of-the-soul records from the late '60s and early '70s, Benson has found himself listening to things like Calexico, the Cars and the Pretenders lately. But if you were to hit him with that old standby of a question, "what are your influences?" he could give a unique answer. "A lot of times I'll record or write a song because I've got a new amp, or someone?s left a guitar at my house, or I?ve acquired a new microphone. I just have a real fascination with the sound of things." He even traded in some of the stuff that figured on Lapalco -- THE ALTERNATIVE TO LOVE was recorded on relatively newer stuff, digital as well as analog. "I don?t have a lot of conceits when it comes to recording music like, 'no computers were used in the making of this record,'" he says. ?Computers make things easier. But drums and acoustic guitars, I believe, sound notably better on tape." The record's intricate sonic imprint also stems from Tchad Blake's mixes. The producer/engineer, best known for his work with Mitchell Froom (Los Lobos, Latin Playboys, Elvis Costello, Crowded House) is a longtime fave of Benson's. "Oh my god, my hero," he says. "We just talked a few times on the phone. I said, do whatever you do, make it sound good! And he did. Some tracks, he kind of produced retroactively. When I heard them with headphones on I was laughing uncontrollably. I was so pleased." THE ALTERNATIVE TO LOVE is a headphone record among other things, from the Spectoresque bombast of "The Pledge" to the mind-bending harmony and call/responses of the title track. Other highlights include the amiably wobbly "Cold Hands Warm Heart," which is already a live favorite, and the album-ender "Between Us," which lays the raw emotion of a woman's post break-up answering machine message over an almost-psychedelic anthem. Then there's the deceptively sing-song "What I'm Looking For," which offers up a worldview ? about art, life and love -- in just 18 words: Well I don't know what I'm looking for but I know that I just wanna look some more. "That's pretty much it," Benson says. "That's me." Which is not to say he lacks focus. If anything, he's too focused -- exclusively on rock'n'roll. When he's not doing his own stuff he's producing other bands (including V2 labelmates Blanche and the next record by Cincinnati garage-rockers the Greenhornes) and he and Motown compadre Jack White are working on a duo record." I could happily spend the rest of my days doing something with music," Benson says. "If I'm not working on music, anxiety sets in. Maybe it's not so healthy-to stay locked away in a studio?you've gotta live a life to write a song. But in Letters to a Young Poet, Rilke said if you were in jail, cut off from the world, with nothing but a view of the sky from a small window, you'd still have your memories to write about. I love that."
YES!!! People unite for the Wolfies have returned from the canyons of L.A with a fusion of freaked out jamming, delicate melodies and gallant rock riffage that shall be known collectively as ?Wolfmother?. Myles Heskett, Chris Ross and Andrew Stockdale are the key holders to the future of all things Wolf ? together they write all their songs while contributing drums, bass/keyboards and guitar/vocals respectively. In their lives before Wolfmother, Myles worked in graphics, Chris in things digital and Andrew was a photographer so they all shared a passion for creative expression. After years of jamming in anonymity they finally stepped out in public during early 2004, playing shows and signing to Modular Recordings. Later that year the trio released an independent EP that caused ink to be spilled and fans to be won. Then after 6 months of nonstop Australian and overseas touring it was time to start creating a vast album with a deceptively simple title. Their partner in this conception was producer D. Sardy; catalyst for the likes of Dandy Warhols, Oasis, Autolux, Jet and Helmet. Chris, Andrew and Myles decamped to L.A. in May, 2005 and rented an abandoned Hollywood recording studio called Cherokee for their rehearsal space. In its heyday Cherokee hosted sessions like Pink Floyd?s ?The Wall? but most of its equipment has since been sold or stolen. Even so, from this barren place came lush things as freeform jams evolved into fully formed songs. The themes of the album also took shape in the City Of Angels; a city that thrives on chaos presenting many lyrical possibilities to Andrew Stockdale. The complexities of living in the metropolis also helped shape the escapist imagery of ?Wolfmother? ... simple philosophies for complex times.
R&B legend Rick James was one of the most influential black musicians of all time. As an artist, songwriter and producer, James provided the funky hits that resuscitated Motown Records in the late '70s. His Punk Funk sound updated the label's style and saw it through the mid-'80s. By 1981, Rick was at the peak of his commercial success with the platinum selling Street Songs album and the hit singles "Super Freak" and "Give It to Me Baby." The following year, Rick James & the Stone City Band took the stage in Essen, Germany to open the 10th Rockpalast-Festival. This 1982 performance was the first time James played in Europe, bringing his brand of American Punk Funk to a whole new audience. Together with the Stone City Band, James did not disappoint, burning up the stage with his trademark sound and special effects. Now for the first-time, this classic performance is available on DVD. Featuring classic hits like "You and I," "Mary Jane," and of course, "Super Freak," this is Rick James at his very best. Super Freak 1982 is not only a must-have collectors item but also a fitting tribute to an R&B legend. Track Listing: 1. Intro 2. Ghetto Life 3. Big Time 4. All Day All Night 5. Freaky 6. Fire It Up 7. Love Gun 8. Guitar Solo 9. Harp Bolo (Call Me Up) 10. Big Day 11. Standing On The Top 12. Mary Jane 13. Mary Jane March 14. You and I 15. Give It To Me Baby 16. Super Freak
R&B legend Rick James was one of the most influential black musicians of all time. As an artist, songwriter and producer, James provided the funky hits that resuscitated Motown Records in the late '70s. His Punk Funk sound updated the label's style and saw it through the mid-'80s. By 1981, Rick was at the peak of his commercial success with the platinum selling Street Songs album and the hit singles "Super Freak" and "Give It to Me Baby." The following year, Rick James & the Stone City Band took the stage in Essen, Germany to open the 10th Rockpalast-Festival. This 1982 performance was the first time James played in Europe, bringing his brand of American Punk Funk to a whole new audience. Together with the Stone City Band, James did not disappoint, burning up the stage with his trademark sound and special effects. Now for the first-time, this classic performance is available on DVD. Featuring classic hits like "You and I," "Mary Jane," and of course, "Super Freak," this is Rick James at his very best. Super Freak 1982 is not only a must-have collectors item but also a fitting tribute to an R&B legend. Track Listing: 1. Intro 2. Ghetto Life 3. Big Time 4. All Day All Night 5. Freaky 6. Fire It Up 7. Love Gun 8. Guitar Solo 9. Harp Bolo (Call Me Up) 10. Big Day 11. Standing On The Top 12. Mary Jane 13. Mary Jane March 14. You and I 15. Give It To Me Baby 16. Super Freak
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