Posts Tagged ‘freezepop’

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More new models for music

March 5, 2009

freezepop-premium

Adding to our collection of new models for music, here are a pair of subscription models for premium content:

iTunes has finally figured out that they can do better than just give you a digital album for $10. Depeche Mode is the first band to offer the new iTunes pass: for $18.99, you get a download of their new album, Sounds of the Universe, together with a bunch of bonus tracks, remixes and videos over the course of the next few months. At the moment, the new single, “Wrong,” is available for download, and there is also a remix of “Oh Well” exclusively for pass subscribers.

In a similar vein, Freezepop offers their ‘Premium Updates‘ subscription. For $2.99/month, you not only get access to exclusive songs and videos, but you also get updates including, ‘wacky hijinks,’ ‘what we ate for dinner,’ ‘exciting tour stories,’ and ‘pictures of our pets.’ It seems like a good combination of relationship-building and revenue generation – I wonder how it’s working out?

MP3: Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus (Dsico feat. Adrian Roberts Cover)

Posted in future of music | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments »

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Freezepop on NPR, and weekend posts

January 16, 2009

freezepop

Over the course of last weekend, Justin at Anti-Gravity Bunny complained about music blogs not posting on weekends, and my friend Matt at Sub Ubi teasingly gloated that he  scooped me about z=z fave Freezepop being on NPR (and Matt alludes to why).

If you’re actually interested in my non-z=z activities and why I don’t post on weekends, you can always follow me on Twitter or try my Flickr photostream.

MP3: Freezepop – Pop Music is Not a Crime (buy)

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Coverage: Buffetlibre’s Rewinded and Rewind2

January 12, 2009

rewind-v-0

Guest blogger Scott writes:

Buffetlibre has just released the second half of their epic compilation of new artists (many of whom I’ve never heard of) covering 70s, 80s, and 90s (but mostly 80s) songs. I had a few tracks from the first half, but hadn’t sat down and dug through it carefully. This release gave me the opportunity to really look at both parts. There’s the odd dance remix track and a lot of more tribute-y tracks that don’t distinguish themselves from the original to any great extent, but I’ve found a few real gems. I won’t offer too much commentary here, because part of the enjoyment for me was plowing through the list and stumbling across covers of songs I haven’t thought about in at least a decade. For those who might prefer a faster approach than song-by-song, there’s a single (large) downloadable archive with all the files in the right-hand sidebar on the front page. The sidebar claims that they have a similar downloadable archive for Part 1 on their MySpace page, but I couldn’t find it.

MP3: Freezepop – Only You (Yaz/Yazoo cover)

Posted in Coverage | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment »

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Video interview: Freezepop

December 12, 2008


[embedded video; if you can’t watch it, click here]

Speaking of Freezepop, the above is a short interview they did for WePC.com (it’s an Asus/Intel vaguely astroturf-y ‘community-building’ site). The video is pretty much worth watching just for the Duke’s barely-restrained sarcastic understatement as he explains the relationship between the band and music videogames and what being a musician was like in the bad old days.

For a different facet of Freezepop, check out this webcomic.

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Threesome: Stalker-iffic love songs

December 12, 2008


[embedded YouTube video; if you can’t watch it, click here]

Here are three songs that are frequently construed as love songs, but are really creepy stalker anthems;  this follows up on a conversation with Nick in this comment thread.

The video above is for the Freezepop song “Stakeout,” which is actually a stalker song. But really, how creepy could being stalked by Liz Enthusiasm (who also did the cool animation) be?

Incidentally, if you happen to be in the Boston area, Freezepop are playing tonight (Friday, December 12th) at the Middle East Downstairs, along with fellow z=z faves The Bon Savants.

If you have a favorite stalker-slash-love song, please share it in the comments!

MP3: Death Cab for Cutie – I Will Possess Your Heart [amazon]

MP3: Proclaimers – I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) [amazon]

MP3: The Police – Every Breath You Take [amazon]

Posted in Threesome | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments »

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Threesome: Theme songs

November 13, 2008

"We Are The Pipettes" cover

One of my friends tweeted something about how all bands should have theme songs, along the lines of “Hey Hey We’re the Monkees,” which got me thinking. The pure theme songs that came immediately to mind were “We Are The Pipettes,” and both “Freezepop Forever” and “Parlez-Vous Freezepop?” (the existence of both a French and an English theme song for Freezepop warms my Canadian heart).  But surely Hallelujah the Hills’ eponymous fight song should count, and then what about They Might Be Giants?

I’m sure there’s more band songs that I can’t think of offhand. Please feel free to share your favourites in the comments.

MP3: The Pipettes – We Are The Pipettes (more Pipettes, Pipettes on z=z, buy)

MP3: Freezepop – Parlez-Vous Freezepop? (more Freezepop, Freezepop on z=z, buy)

MP3: Hallelujah the Hills – Hallelujah the Hills (more HtH, HtH on z=z, buy)

Posted in Threesome | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments »

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The forgotten pioneers of electronica

September 30, 2008

I’ve been fairly obsessed with the Freezepop song “Melon Ball Bounce,” a cover version of the 1963 Sprite jingle by electronic music artist Raymond Scott. And after a childhood watching Doctor Who, I still think that its theme music, created by Delia Derbyshire (pictured above), remains the coolest, creepiest musical intro ever. It turns out that I’m not alone. A recent article in the Guardian discussed the resurgence of interest in ‘library music’ – early electronic music experiments, in the service of advertising and TV soundtracks, from the 1960s and ’70s. Most of this music was never intended for release to the public, and it’s accordingly quite rare. However, the Glo Spot label has begun to reissue some releases (they are still pretty hard to get, it looks like – they seem to be sold out everywhere).

MP3: Orbital – Dr ? (Doctor Who theme)

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Listen local: Freezepop

March 28, 2008

Freezepop

Freezepop is the band that dragged synthpop out of the 80s and into the 21st century. Their third full-length release, Futurefuturefutureperfect, is as perfect a piece of danceable electronic songwriting as you’ve ever heard. But they are really at their best live; I saw them a few weeks ago, in front of a full house at the Middle East, and it was the most fun I’ve had at a concert in ages. The show featured duelling keytars, a shark-encased microphone, and generally playful behaviour from the band, especially the aptly-pseudonymed Liz Enthusiasm. They did a brilliant live version of “Melon Ball Bounce,” a jingle that Raymond Scott wrote for Sprite (which they recorded as a bonus track on Fashion Impression Function). One of the highlights was the Duke of Pannekoeken‘s virtuosic theremin performance on ‘Frontload.’ Sadly, the Duke (Kasson Crooker) has severely curtailed his touring with the band; his day job is keeping him pretty busy.

website myspace emusic

MP3: Freezepop – Frontload

Posted in Listen local | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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Play local: Harmonix

January 20, 2008

xkcd.com

An excellent xkcd.com shoutout to Cambridge, MA game developers Harmonix, creators of Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Scroll down to the ‘bonus songs’ in Rock Band to see songs by Harmonix employee ‘side projects,’ local bands like Bang Camaro and Freezepop.

Posted in Listen local | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments »