R.I.P. Gerard Smith, Bassist of TV on the Radio

I know this has nothing to do with fashion, but TV on the Radio might be my favorite band of this decade, so I am incredibly saddened to say that bassist Gerard Smith passed away this morning from lung cancer. He was only 36 years old.


The band has canceled four upcoming tour shows in wake of the tragedy.


The band announced on its website in March that Smith was taking time off to be treated for cancer.

"Gerard is fortunate enough to have health insurance and is receiving excellent medical care," the announcement read. "Already we have seen dramatic results. Combine that with Gerard's legendarily willful disposition and it might just be cancer that has the problem. We appreciate your concern and support for Gerard and his family."

This is a terrible tragedy for music. While I realize many people have died from lung cancer who never have picked up a cigarette in their lives, I'm assuming that Smith was a smoker. I have seen TV on the Radio in concert a few times and remembered some of them smoking on stage. As someone who has struggled with smoking, I understand how hard it can be to quit. While I only ever considered myself a "social smoker," I know how easy it is to reach for a cigarette when you crave smoking at certain times (drinking, with coffee, driving, etc).  If Smith never smoked in his life, please correct me of my ignorance. Who knows, is 36 too young for smoking-related lung cancer to manifest itself? Any contributions would be appreciated.

RIP Gerard Smith. Your musicianship has inspired me in an incredible way. If you aren't familiar with Smith's work, I would highly advise you to pick up my favorite album of the past several years, "Dear Science" (2008) or their newest album, "Nine Types of Light." "Return to Cookie Mountain" (2006) was incredible also.


Here's the music video for my favorite song, "Wolf Like Me."

I Have a Man Crush on Jack White

By: Zack Conner

Who's the hardest working man in show business?  Well James Brown is dead, so I'm bestowing that title on Jack White.

Since 1997, White has founded three critically acclaimed bands (The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and The Dead Weather), recorded with legends like Wanda Jackson and Loretta Lynn, founded a recording label and studio (Third Man Records), and even collaborated with Jay-Z.  In short, the man keeps busy.

 

 Above: With Jay-Z. Photo by Philip Andelman. 

But for me, his musical talent is not the only reason why I can comfortably say I would go gay for Jack White. It’s his style that is the other main contributor to my creepy love obsession for him.

 

   Photo: Dean Chalkley

With every band, and even every album, Jack transforms his style and persona into something wonderfully unique. There’s the classic red and white candy striper image with The White Stripes; the Rockabilly king in rugged jeans and Elvis sideburns for The Raconteurs; and the dark, mysterious, leather-clad ruffian for The Dead Weather. 

 

Above: With Meg for the Elephant album 

Jack's image has evolved multiple times during his White Stripes career alone.  As a breakout star of the underground punk rock scene in Detroit, his uniform consisted of white t-shirts and red pants, but he soon graduated to cowboy themed attire, like the jumpsuit he sported for the Elephant album photoshoot. 

 

 Above: With Meg White for Icky Thump

On Get Behind Me Satan, Jack brought out his stylish inner devil, and on Icky Thump, he was a combo of bedazzled western star and 1920s newsie, a kooky creation only he could have come up with.  

 Above: On stage with The Raconteurs

Even the instruments that Jack chooses are eccentric. Jack’s favorite guitars include a plastic 1965 JB Airline guitar and a beat up 1950s Kay, which he got as payment for moving a friend into his house. The pure energy that he can exude from these two cheap guitars (even though the airline guitar now sells for $1,000) is astonishing. 

 

 Above: Promo shoot with The Dead Weather

My love for Jack White is one that is rare. To me, Jack personifies everything that is different and unique in the world. His style of music, fashion, and even his humor are all fantastically peculiar and so well-expressed.

Above: With Meg White for Get Behind Me Satan

He is obsessed with the number three (he likes to be referred to as Jack White III), he took the last name of his ex-wife, Meg White, still swears that she is his sister, and even had his child (Scarlett Teresa White) take that last name rather than Jack’s real name, Gillis. He is so out there that it constantly has me wondering “What in the hell is Jack White going to do next?”

 

 

 Above: With wife Karen Elson at the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute Gala
 

The best part about Jack White is how unaffected he is of his own fame. White is never in the spotlight, you won’t see him on Entertainment Tonight, and even though he is worth over $30 million, he drives a Toyota Camry. Many could argue that his supermodel wife, Karen Elson, is more popular in the fashion world than Jack is in music. I don’t remember the last time one of Jack’s bands was #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100.

And that's the difference between Jack White and other rock stars; he doesn't make music for the fame or fortune.  He makes music because it's part of his soul.

2/2/11 Update: Sad news indeed! The White Stripes have announced their breakup! 

Vote: The Hautest Music Video

My first true loves in my life are fashion and music, so when they intersect, it's sheer perfection (in my personal opinion).

Musicians can be the best outlet for designers to showcase their most avant garde designs and get them the publicity they need to survive in the cutthroat industry.

Marketing minded musicians understand that in order to kill at their art, they have to wear it too, so they compete to become fashion's most risk taking mannequins. Some start fashion crazes and influence A-list designers while others remain outsiders of the fashion world, citing the overused "I don't care about clothes" excuse.

The candidates for the Hautest Music Video are trendsetting goddesses that continually stay on the forefront of fashion as designers' muses and arm candy. These videos showcase their ability to reinvent themselves just when we thought we penned down their individual styles.

Each of the following videos can be broken down trend by trend. Vote on your fashion favorite. If I didn't mention your favorite fashionable music video, let me know! I'll feature it next time.

The Hautest Music Video - Karen O

Karen O wears trends light years before anyone else catches on, but since the Yeah Yeah Yeahs aren't completely mainstream, she never gets the credit she deserves. In "Heads Will Roll," she showcases a bundle of haute new looks like:

1. Big, structured sleeves
2. See through lucite
3. Metallic leathers
4. Two-toned tights
5. Werewolves (Twilight, anyone?)
6. A bowl cut (Who can say that Agyness Deyn copied them?)
7. Glitter
8. Bright lipstick

The Hautest Music Video - Madonna

Madonna has always been and always will be a fashion chameleon. Her style has gone from goth to punk to sophisticated and back again in a matter of months and the pop diva won't slow down anytime soon. Whether you love her or hate her the woman always stays on top of the trends, including in her newest video where she combines many of this season's hottest ones like:

1. Over the knee boots
2. Structured shoulders
3. Rock n' roll rhinestones
4. Studded fingerless gloves

The Hautest Music Video - Lady GaGa

There's no question that Lady GaGa has strange sartorial taste, but no one can deny that she has been shaking up the fashion world in every sense of the term. The spring 2010 runways were filled with GaGa inspired designs -from masks to pantsless bodysuits to vinyl - and she even performed at Marc Jacobs' fashion show after party, dressed up in a head to toe red lace bodysuit and over the top headgear.

"Paparazzi" is a bizarre video, but artistically it is a feast for the eyes. Some of the trends I see popping up from this GaGalicious video:

1. Back seamed tights
2. Patent leather bondage
3. Bra tops
4. Net face coverings
5. Metal plated clothes
6. No pants look
7. Knuckle rings
8. Fingerless gloves
9. Killing your boyfriend?

The Hautest Music Video: Rihanna

Rihanna is the diva du jour of the fashion scene and judging from her multiple appearances at fashion week in Paris, New York and Milan, she clearly takes her style seriously. Her edgy boy meets girl look has inspired a load of knock offs, and I predict this video will continue her reign as a stylesetter for the musical set. Some of those notable trends in the "We Run This" video include:

1. Bright red orange lipstick
2. Lace face covering
3. Over the knee boots
4. Exposed garters
5. Messy, rock n roll hair
6. Shield style, pyramid studded sunglasses
7. Bodysuit/No pant look
8. Fur vest
9. Serious hardware accents (around her waist in the fur look)

Get it Girl Talk

Within mere moments of going on sale, Girl Talk concert tickets were sold out for last Friday's show at Jake's Nightclub in Bloomington. I stuck reminder post-it notes all over my room months in advance about the date tickets would go on sale, but being the scatterbrained blond that I am, I forgot anyway. Lucky for me, my boyfriend, Joel, likes surprising me, and lucky for me, he didn't mind paying the extra cash for a sold out show. And lucky for me, he didn't mind his momentary deafness after hearing my animal-like shrieking upon being presented with the tickets.
And what a show it was. Little did I know that Girl Talk (real name Gregg Gillis) likes to invite the front row of people at his concerts on stage, so I was ecstatic when Joel and I managed to scramble up on the stage and squash in right behind him. I wasn't sure what a Girl Talk show would be like, since his music is essentially remixes of hundreds of samples of other artists' songs, but Gillis' energy and creativity in his mashups totally shattered any former doubts I had in his performance potential.

But the sweaty, fist pumping, head-banging atmosphere and Girl Talk's life-of-the-party energy weren't even the best parts of the show. We managed to sneak past security after the concert and meet Gillis and were both astonished to find that he was as conversational and personable as a dear friend might be, far from my expectations about how an internationally-known musical sensation might act toward his lowly fans. If the rumors were true, his extreme friendliness might be attributed to a certain man-made substance, but it still made me giddy when he told us we were a good-looking couple. Not that I didn't already know it.

All photos: Joel Langebartels

Weekend Beat

Margot and the Nuclear So & So's; photo from the official Margot Web site

The round up of the most promising shows this weekend.

This weekend, two of my favorite musical acts are coming to town - Margot and the Nuclear So & So's, an Indy-native octet, and TV on the Radio, a Brooklyn-based experimental rock group. Bonus: If you can't make Margot on Friday night at the Murat, check them out at the Buskirk-Chumley in Bloomington on Saturday.

Who: TV on the Radio
What: Visionary, space-age rock
When: Sunday, 10/19
Where: The Vogue Nightclub
6259 N. College Ave., Indianapolis
How Much: $22 day of, $12 in advance
Download: "Staring at the Sun," "Wolf Like Me," "Shout Me Out" Tickets: Get them at The Vogue Nightclub's box office or online at ticketmaster.com

Who: Margot and the Nuclear So & So's
What: Bohemian, indie folk-pop
When: Friday 10/17
Where: Murat Shrine Arabian Room
502 N. New Jersey St., Indianapolis
How Much: $17
Sounds Like: Bohemian, indie folk-pop
Download: "Broadripple is Burning," "My Baby (Shoots her mouth off)," "Quiet as a Mouse"
Tickets: You can get them at The Vogue Nightclub's box office, Luna Music, or online at brownpapertickets.com

When: Saturday, 10/18
Where: Buskirk-Chumley Theatre
114 E. Kirkwood Ave., Bloomington
How Much: $15 day of, $12 in advance
Tickets: Call 1(812) 323-3020, or go to the Buskirk's box office

September's Hot List

TV On The Radio; Photo by Ludis Mergens

My top ten favorite music releases this month.

1. TV on the Radio - "DLZ" The Brooklyn-based experimental rock outfit’s newest LP boasts a diverse, eccentric group of songs, including "DLZ," a sinister sounding piece that starts off borderline eerie and eventually escalates into a haunting taunt accompanied by TV’s usual mash up of every bizarre sound under the sun.
   
2. Kings of Leon - "Cold Desert" Kings of Leon front man Caleb Followill’s powerful voice was made for this kind of epically beautiful track, which he claims was inspired by the painkillers he took after a fight with his brother Nathan, the band’s drummer.
   
3. Ne-Yo- "Lie to Me" Ne-Yo convincingly plays the role of a wronged lover in this powerful ballad, and shows off his pipes in the process. If he keeps releasing more songs like this one, he’ll soon be crowning himself rightful king of current R&B.
   
4. Cold War Kids - "Relief" Nathan Willett’s anguished falsetto voice perfectly accompanies the fuzzy, reverb-heavy guitars on this number bleakly addressing disaster victims by SoCal’s most noirish quartet.
   
5. Metallica - "Unforgiven 3" The kings of thrash have finally returned, and it’s nice to see they haven’t softened up in their old age. This track is more listenable than your average Metallica song due to its melodic, non-spastic riff, but the outstanding guitar solo, hard vocals, and downtrodden lyrics are all still there.
   
6. Shugo Tokumaru - "Parachute" The fact that most of this song is sung in Japanese is irrelevant because it’s so fun and ethereal; the lyrics’ meaning is merely an afterthought. Tokumaru’s efforts at producing are precocious (he created the entire album himself at home), but the music is never taken too seriously. Refreshing.
   
7. Jack White feat. Alicia Keys - "Another Way to Die" Jack White and 007. Two exclusive personas, yet both are a super presence on the new “Quantum of Solace” theme song for the upcoming Bond film. Maybe it’s that Jack White lets the strings, horns, and piano take center stage on the adventurous track over his steal-the-show guitar tricks, but whatever it is, it works, and it’s so Bond.
   
8. Brian Wilson - "Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl" Wilson takes a trip down Beach Boy memory lane in this sunny yet wistful ode to California loving. Wilson has struggled with problems in the past, but this song proves his strongest recollections are his fondest ones.
   
9. The Subways - "I Won't Let You Down" Tight drums, an anthemic chorus, and a climactic, screaming ending all contribute to this song’s success as a hit with a tendency to get stuck in your head.
   
10. Terrence Howard - "War" The actor shows off his performance skills in this theatric, horn-heavy, dance hall number with a roaring chorus, but the message behind it is no joke.
    

Honorable Mention:
Britney Spears - "Womanizer" It’s Britney bitch, and she’s back. This sexy dance number recalls the best of her more successful days, and is sure to soon be blasting the speakers at a club near you.
(Dis)honorable Mention:
Kanye West - "Love Lockdown" Dear Kanye, never sing again. And aren’t you a little slow to jump on the T.Pain voice alteration bandwagon? We know every song you rap on/produce/create turns to gold, but that doesn’t mean you have to completely stop
trying.

Songs chosen by Zack and Maggie Conner

April's Hot List

My top ten favorite music releases this month.

1. The Raconteurs - "Consolers of the Lonely" The title track for the group's new album takes listeners on a wild ride with a multitude of tempos and guitar riffs topped off by Jack White's familiar gritty wail.
   
2. Black Keys - "I Got Mine" Collaborating with Danger Mouse on their new album Attack and Release didn't completely change Black Keys' raw bluesy sound - especially still notable on this minimalist, garage-y track.
   
3. The Roots feat. Dice Raw, Peedi Crakk and DJ Jazzy Jeff - "Get Busy" ?uestlove's drumming and the background distortion on this hot release definitely make the song - further complimented by Black Thought's angry rapping style.
   
4. Estelle feat. Kanye West - "American Boy" This is what Jamiroquai would sound like if he were a woman. The single also features a memorable cameo from Mr. Kanye West and a danceable beat - a sure recipe for airplay.
   
5. Tokyo Police Club - "Your English is Good" TPC's energy bursts out the seams of this upbeat, smartly composed track. The drumming is tight and the chorus is motivational, shouting "Oh give us your vote if you know what's good for you."
   
6. Lil Wayne - "Lollipop" This single finally makes me understand why all the kids these days are so obsessed with a rapper who sounds like a dead ringer for Froggy from the Little Rascals. The superproduced tune is sexy, catchy and a tad slowed-down compared to Lil Wayne's usual creations (if a bit lyrically uninspiring).
   
7. Robyn - "Konichiwa Bitches" This YouTube fave is a bit of a departure from Robyn's "Show Me Love" days. It kind of sounds like a British Pokemon theme song with a dash of Mickey Avalon-ish sass for a naughty edge.
   
8. Phantom Planet - "Raise the Dead" This track is eerily familiar to Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance" in the beginning, but it quickly makes a left turn and finishes riotously as a great song that The Killers or The Strokes wished they would have made.
   
9. Kylie Minogue - "Nu-di-ty" While Kylie is no Mariah or Whitney, she definitely takes advantage of the abundance of producers at her beck and call and can always deliver us a spectacular, sexually-tinged techno track like this one.
   
10. Mudcrutch - "Crystal River" Tom Petty's pre-Heartbreakers band straight jams on this nine-minute country-rock track. The whole album is a winner, but I especially like the pretty other-worldliness that this particular song offers.
    

Be a Cool Kid this 4/20

Hip-hop has always been a music genre that I have celebrated. It’s danceable, bass-heavy, and head-boppable. But recently, it’s been next-to-impossible to find acts that have both catchy beats and smart lyrics – an artist is lucky to nail one or the other. On the beats side, we have stars like M.I.M.S. and Lil’ Mama. No one can deny that “This is Why I’m Hot” and “Lip Gloss” are feet-stomping, ass-shake inducing, sharply produced tracks, but all anyone has to do is read the song titles to realize how completely devoid these songs are of any lyrical creativity. On the opposite end of the spectrum, artists like Common and Talib Kweli, have an undeniable knack for thoughtful rhymes, but sometimes their songs can be a production snooze-fest (Don’t get too mad at me, I said sometimes). My point is, there has been an overall surplus of artists, but a definite shortage of talent coming out of the hip-hop factory as of late. Until the Cool Kids came along. Mikey, 19, and Chuck, 23, the Cool Kids' two members, boast the perfect recipe for hip-hop success: clever lyrics and a bass-heavy, of-the-moment, original sound. My favorite song is “One Two,” a spare but bumpin’ track that you just want to hypnotically break your neck to. On the single, Mikey boastfully claims they’re the “new black version of the Beastie Boys,” and for once, a hip-hop group actually can live up to its decidedly not-so-humble self-acclamations. Check out their retro BMX-worshipping beats this Sunday (yup, 4/20 for all you tree lovers) at the Vogue, and find out why Rolling Stone magazine named them one of ten artists to watch in 2007. Tickets are only $15. Click here for ticket info for the Cool Kids show at the Vogue.

Click here to view the Cool Kids MySpace page.