The nice folks at Austinist have published a feature profiling Austin’s Kiyanna Project, the online video series I joined late last year. My pal Manny Benavides, who co-created Kiyanna Project, was quoted in the piece explaining part of what makes the project special:
At the crux of the project is what makes Kiyanna different – the story. Benavides explains, “From the very beginning, the story element was vital to this project. We wanted to get a sense of the artist’s personality and discover a little more about the song itself.” The group is passionate about the endeavor and seeks to show off more than just the band’s music through the different locations and story-telling aspect. They are also open to more artists, venues, and volunteer staff, so be sure to get in touch if you’re intrigued by the idea.
I was excited when Manny brought me on to do PR for Kiyanna Project, and I’m looking forward to watching and writing about their upcoming video sessions. Stay tuned.
Welcome to The Glorious ’90s, in which I take a quick look at the music, movies, TV shows and pop culture that helped make the ’90s, well, glorious.
The Velvet Goldmine soundtrack delivers a booming dose of fey-pop sweetness ready to candy-coat your earholes. The audio companion to director Todd Haynes’ strange and glittery 1998 indie drama features a string of classic ’70s glam rock standards from heroes of the era like Brian Eno, T. Rex, and Lou Reed. Glam giant David Bowie’s name is missing from the track list, but it’s clear the Starman’s spirit and swagger influenced almost every song choice here, including original compositions and covers by Shudder to Think, Teenage Fanclub, Pulp, and Placebo. The album is a love letter to the ’70s glam era, but it’s full of ’90s artists sounding all breathy and dramatic.
The film is loosely based on Bowie’s rise to fame in the ‘70s and his influence on the UK’s gender-bending glam kids. Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays Bowie clone Maxwell Demon as a talented, ambitious waif, and Ewan McGregor plays Kurt Wilde – a rabid but sentimental punk rocker who sounds like Iggy Pop and looks like Kurt Cobain. (McGregor even recorded vocals for a solid version of The Stooges’ “TV Eye,” track number five on the soundtrack.) Bruce Wayne himself, Christian Bale, is stoic and subtle as a journalist who grew up worshipping at the altar of his guitar-licking, bisexual rock gods. The movie – an uncompromising, visually electrifying and challenging work of cinema — received mixed reactions (I’ve seen it about 10 times, so it’s probably safe to say I like it), but most critics agreed – the best thing about Velvet Goldmine is the music.
Standout tracks performed by ’90s artists include the gorgeous, melancholy ballad “2HB” by Venus in Furs (aka Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood with David Gray, Bernard Butler and Andy Mackay from Roxy Music) Grant Lee Buffalo’s rollicking “The Whole Shebang,” and “Hot One,” a slow-building, irresistible come-on from Shudder to Think. The newer tracks mix well with the old school, like Reed’s immortal “Satellite of Love” and Eno’s “Needle in the Camel’s Eye.” Check out a few clips below.
I’ll admit it — my introduction to Paul Westerberg came with the Singles soundtrack. I heard the glorious na na na na’s of “Dyslexic Heart” and instantly fell in love. I later delved into the greatness of The Replacements (How could I not?), but one of my favorite Westerberg records is 1996′s Eventually.
I haven’t followed Westerberg’s career as closely as I should have post-Eventually, but I still go back to this album time and time again. It’s heartfelt, sad, and brutally earnest, but it makes room for bursts of pure joy and hard, loud grinding guitar riffs. The constant is Westerberg’s voice. He sounds damaged, raspy, romantic, and totally punk rock. It’s great. I highly recommend giving this one a spin. Sadly, people have decided to make it difficult to find a quality music video from Eventually to post here, so we’ll have to settle for an audio-only clip of “Angels Walk” below …
It feels like I’ve been waiting years to hear something new from Santigold, the insanely talented Brooklyn singer/songwriter/producer who owned my world with her self-titled 2008 debut album. Oh, wait, it has been years. Right.
Santigold, who used to go by Santogold, was nice enough to drop the video for her new single “Big Mouth” in my inbox today. Stream it above. It’s a strange and wonderful sloppy kiss of bright colors, jagged animation and super catchy tribal beats. Her next album, “Master of My Make Believe” should be out later this year. (I hope it’s sooner than later.) Now let’s get back to dancing!
I know this happened, and that happened, but so did this. And this. She’s great.
So, yeah, I’m on a Liz Phair kick right now. It’s all because I watched Walking and Talking (a wonderful film) again the other day. Remember that scene when Catherine Keener spies on “Ugly Guy” Kevin Corrigan while he’s walking down the street, and she tries to duck when he spots her? I love that scene. “Go West” plays in the background, and it made me crave some pre- “Why Can’t I” Liz Phair. I’m only human.
I was never a good student, but college offered me a few opportunities to express myself in front of other people at a time when it seemed like no one else was listening. I remember a speech class I took my sophomore year. The assignment was to write a persuasive speech – start out by stating your opinion on something that mattered to you and support that opinion with research and evidence. Some people did speeches on why Jesus was the one true God (this was Texas), or how a low carb diet was, like, the best diet ever (this was South Texas). I decided to do a persuasive speech about the thing that was blowing my mind at the time, which, of course, was how awesome Pearl Jam was.
This was my argument: Unlike many other bands on radio and MTV who followed a similar path to stardom and kept releasing the same dull, manufactured records over and over again, Pearl Jam refused to repeat itself. The band recognized the purity and soul of its music, and they never allowed their art to become superficial, forgettable product. Pearl Jam’s music evolved record after record as the band experimented and reached for new artistic heights. This was artistic integrity. Pearl Jam struggled to maintain its artistic credibility, and that mattered.
Kiyanna Project has posted a new video featuring Nurses performing “New Feelings.” Stream the video below, and click the jump link to read my press release about this exclusive performance.
Nurses – Exclusive Live Video Performance with Austin’s KiyannaProject.com.
I was already a fan of Wild Flag‘s curvy, come-hither grooves, but this video for “Romance” just sealed the deal — Wild Flag is, like, totally my favorite new band and stuff! Watch now:
This clip for “Electric Band” is also quite loveable.
I’ve officially joined Kiyanna Project, the Austin online film series that spotlights the best indie bands in the nation. Stream Kiyanna’s latest exclusive intimate performance from Love Inks below:
I'm Mike. Hi. I used to write for TV Squad. That was fun. Now I write for other sites, like Badass Digest. Also fun. Please send me your money-- I mean, thanks for visiting.
