RobertSpuhler.com

O Holy Night

(I know - I've posted about it before. But it's December and I'm feeling sappy. So there.)

AMNYUncut: Anjulie

By Robert Spuhler 

She's toured with ex-boy bander Jesse McCartney, rapper Shwayze and is currently on the road with R&B maestro Raphael Saadiq. Her first single, “Boom,” hit the top of the Billboard Dance charts, but her album was released on Hear Music, the Starbucks-owned label most famous for releasing Paul McCartney's latest record. 

Canadian-born singer-songwriter Anjulie makes music hard to categorize. 

Industry Rule #4,080

One of the most heartening parts of my writing gig with am New York is getting to cover smaller bands that the paper deems ready to break. I love it for two reasons: Smaller bands tend to be extremely happy that anyone wants to talk with them and are therefore better interviews, and I hate dealing with major labels.

Let Me In The Sounds...U2, Pasadena, 10/25/09

It seems fitting that U2, after spending most of the decade embracing its role as “the biggest band in the world,” would look to expand into space.

Jarvis Cocker and the Curse of the One Hit (The Wiltern, July 27th)

In the spring of 1999, Young MC was the opening act of a concert at American University. Midway through his set, and reacting to the - to be polite - apathetic response of the crowd, he blurted out, "C'mon, y'all, I can't play 'Bust a Move' seven times."

"Say You Wanna Get In" - Metric, The Wiltern, 6/8/09

When interviewing Emily Haines a few weeks ago, she mentioned to me (somewhere in between my bouts of the vapors), jokingly, that she thought she'd make an excellent "dancehall diva."

In a way, it seemed a bit laughable – not because she doesn't have the pipes for it, but because the woman who once sang "worldwide, air-tight, no one has a face left to blame" seems to have a lot more to offer than catchy hooks.

On June 8, I went to see Metric at the Wiltern, on tour to support "Fantasies," the band's new (and best yet) album. Needless to say, she's nowhere near mindless hook territory. But what was interesting was that, in front of a sold-out crowd in a venue larger than any the band has headlined in Los Angeles, the beats per minute never slowed down. From the breakdown at the end of opener "Twilight Galaxy" all the way until a slightly ballad-ized version of "Live It Out" to end the night, every track was a dance track.

The crowd ate it up, no doubt. But as someone who remembers a lightly attended shows at the Troubadour in 2003, for instance, I missed the peaks and valleys of the older shows. I missed "Calculation Theme." I missed "Love is a Place." I missed "Blindness" - one of only two songs from the new album that went unplayed (the other, "Collect Call," is also slower).

This is what happens when a band grows. To some - not all, but some - of the people in that audience, Metric is that band that was on Grey's Anatomy. Or that band with the hot lead singer. And those people wanted to dance. Hard to fault the band for that.

I'm incredibly happy for them - the band deserves every accolade it gets at this point, and has certainly worked hard enough to merit this level of success. But there's definitely a selfish kid in me who misses his secret.

And don't get me wrong - when the tour comes back, I'll be there again. Because they still put on a hell of a live show.

Like an Old Friend

...real updates soon, I promise. But for now, enjoy Broken Social Scene:

In Love, In Fear, In Hate, In Tears - James, House of Blues Anaheim, 10/5/08

There seems to be a certain self-assuredness that comes with age. The longing for acceptance subsides slightly, at least to the outside eye, as an awareness of who one is takes over.

I am speaking, of course, of James.

It's All Gonna Break - Broken Social Scene at Sunset Junction

Few modern bands sum up the spirit of community quite like Broken Social Scene. Whether it is because of the communal nature in how the band records music (there are 17 members credited in the liner notes for the self-titled album) or the constantly rotating touring lineups, BSS is mostly about the group and not any of the individuals.

One Blink For Yes - Los Campesinos!, 6/7/08

Here's a brief history of my experience in music: I played piano for a short span of years as a child, until I started to think that it would interfere with the preparations for my clearly-can't-miss NBA career. In fifth grade, I played trumpet for a grand total of two weeks. In college, I tried to take voice class, only to be told at the first class that I was nearly tone-deaf and, at that time, a lost cause. So I can’t tell you whether or not Los Campesinos! is a talented band because, to be frank, I have no earthly idea.

Here's what I can tell you: The Welsh seven-piece band is probably the most fun band I've ever seen in concert.