Pop & Hiss

The L.A. Times music blog

Category: Todd Martens

Trent Reznor on finding the right notes for the 'Social Network' score: 'I saw a story about a guy who needs to prove himself'

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There was no shortage of critical accolades heaped upon the score to "The Social Network," yet the work was far from conventional. In other words, the composition from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, which is heavy on electronic atmospheres and forgoes the use of an orchestra, was not typical Academy Awards fare. 

Reznor, of Nine Inch Nails fame, and his frequent collaborator Ross stood out in an Oscar field that contained film composer veterans. Among the pair's competitors Sunday night at the Academy Awards were Hans Zimmer, whose booming work in "Inception" was hard to ignore; A.R. Rahman, who brought a Western-leaning rock 'n' roll slickness to "127 Hours"; and Alexandre Desplat, who used an orchestra with minimalist grace in "The King's Speech." 

Once an early favorite for best picture, David Fincher's legal drama "The Social Network," which takes its inspiration from the battle over Facebook and focuses on the company's enigmatic young leader Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), is action-less and heavy on the dialogue.

Reznor and Ross spoke with Pop & Hiss about composing the music for the film in late 2010. Now that the pair are Oscar winners ("To be standing up here in this company is humbling and flattering beyond words," Reznor said from the stage), Pop & Hiss presents the full, unedited transcript of the interview.

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Electric Daisy leaving L.A. for Las Vegas; 'Good riddance,' says Coliseum commissioner

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The ongoing brouhaha between Los Angeles politicos and promoters of dance-focused concerts has seemingly resulted in one of the nation's largest electronic music festivals leaving Los Angeles for Las Vegas. Insomniac Inc.'s two-day Electric Daisy Carnival, which last June drew between 80,000 and 100,000 people per day to the L.A. Memorial Coliseum and adjoining Exposition Park, is leaving the Coliseum for Vegas after Insomniac's 13 years working with the L.A. venue.

Insomniac had previously announced that Electric Daisy would be held June 24 and 25 in Los Angeles, and it looked to be on track to return to the Coliseum. Yet controversy has followed the event for the last eight months. After last year's concert, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors established a task force to take a closer look at DJ-focused concerts, and Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky at the time called for a "rave moratorium."

Late Thursday, however, Insomniac announced that an official agreement was still not inked, and Electric Daisy would be staged the same weekend in Las Vegas. 

"Without an executed contract in place at this time, it has become impossible to guarantee to all of the fans and talent that EDC can be produced at this venue this year," read a statement attributed to Insomniac Chief Executive Pasquale Rotella. "We are grateful for all of the events we have been able to produce at the Coliseum and Sports Arena over the years."

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72 Hours: Local Natives, Death among the weekend's top gigs

A weekly Pop & Hiss look at some of the weekend's top shows, which is a little rock-heavy this week. If you prefer something a bit more dancey, we also have you covered. 

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Friday

Sic Alps @ the Smell. San Francisco's Sic Alps can sound a little chintzy. Haphazard and washed out, the Sic Alps key into the long-standing garage rock tradition of blown-out instrumentation and washed-out vocals. Song titles such as "Wasted at Church" don't leave much to the imagination, but while the Sic Alps can be rough around the edges, these Bay Area boys are harmless. This is rudimentary rock 'n' roll at its most downbeat, where the instrumental hiss obscures, but rarely roars. It's loudness with a frown. The Smell, 247 S. Main St. Admission is $5. -- Todd Martens

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Forget the awards -- Mumford & Sons, Bieber, Lady Antebellum among Grammy sales winners

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With just nine trophies handed out on its live CBS telecast, the actual award portion of the Grammy Awards is something of a subplot. Drama was provided by the likes of Esperanza Spalding and the Arcade Fire, who were each surprise winners, but it was Grammy-less U.K. folk-rockers Mumford & Sons who, as expected, experienced the largest post-Grammy sales gain. 

Mumford & Sons went 0-2 in its nominated categories, but had a showcase performance with legend Bob Dylan. There were no outlandish costumes or larger-than-life set pieces, but the stripped-down approach suited Mumford & Sons just fine, and the group's "Sigh No More" held its No. 2 post on the U.S. pop chart.

"Sigh No More" sold 133,000 copies this week, according to Nielsen SoundScan, giving the group its best-ever sales week on the tally. In its 48 weeks of release, "Sigh No More" has sold about 948,000 copies. What's more, the song the band performed on the telecast, "The Cave," sold 120,000 downloads in the week after the Grammys, a 205% sales increase that gives the cut a total of 407,000 copies sold. 

In addition to Dylan, Mumford & Sons were joined by roots act the Avett Brothers. The latter's "I and Love and You" benefited as well, albeit on a much smaller scale. Sales ofthe album were up 67% to 15,000 copies, giving it a total of 31,000 copies sold. 

Teen sensation Justin Bieber, who lost his best new artist bid to jazz bassist Spalding, had the No. 1 album this week, as his "Never Say Never: The Remixes" bowed in the pole position with 161,000 copies sold. Bieber was a Grammy performer, but the Grammy impact is harder to pinpoint for the 2010 breakout star.

Bieber hype continued to be fed with not only the release of the remix effort, but his 3-D film “Never Say Never” as well, which tallied more than $50 million in the U.S. in two weeks. Bieber chart dominance extends well beyond his No. 1 album. His "My World 2.0" is at No. 8 this week (2.4 million sold to date) and the softer, gentler side of Bieber is a hit as well, as "My Worlds Acoustic" is at No. 18 (526,000 sold to date).

Other highlights from this week's sales chart:

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Radiohead releases 'King of Limbs' earlier than expected, unveils new video

Limbs On Monday, Radiohead did music writers the world over a favor, announcing that a new album would be released in days, and therefore bringing to an abrupt halt numerous day-after-Grammys so-called "think-pieces," as the globe rushed Radiohead stories/items to the Web.

"The King of Limbs," the band announced, would be released on Saturday, available in digital formats and what the band dubbed a "newspaper format," which included vinyl pressings, a compact disc and 625 "tiny pieces" of artwork, to be shipped in May. 

Yet those who had planned to spend Saturday morning with "The King of Limbs" can now devote the final business day of the week to the album instead. "With everything ready on their website, the band decided to bring forward the release rather than wait until the previously announced date of Saturday, Feb. 19  to deliver the music," read a statement from the act's publicity firm, Nasty Little Man.

It's not uncommon for an act to rush an album out once it has leaked, but simply posting it because everything is "ready" is still something of a rarity. The band, of course, had a slightly more cryptic reasoning: "It's Friday... It's almost the weekend... It's a full moon...."

It took this writer three tries to load the Radiohead site without a Web timeout message, but "The King of Limbs" was downloaded safely and quickly within five minutes of first visiting the site this A.M. While you wait for the download, Radiohead also posted a video for the glitchy-rhythmic track "Lotus Flower," which had been a regular in the band's sets for some time now. It is embedded above.

Pop & Hiss will, of course, be reviewing "The King of Limbs," in the near future.

-- Todd Martens


72 Hours: Ted Leo, Gang of Four, Admiral Radley lead this weekend's show lineup

A weekly(-ish) look at some of this weekend's top gigs around Los Angeles.

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Friday

Twin @ the Smell. A quiet headliner at downtown's Smell, but one still worth a look. Hailing from Winnipeg, Canada, and largely the moniker of David Fort, who also plays with Canadian group Absent Sound, Twin's folk is full of hurried acoustic guitar lines and spooky backing harmonies that conjure lonely nights in mountainous lands and a life of hard living. Yet Fort takes a matter-of-fact approach toward tragedy, urging listeners -- and the objects of his affection -- not to do the same. The Smell, 247 S. Main St. Admission is $5. -- Todd Martens

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'I've never experienced death that closely': Dum Dum Girls work through tragedy, move beyond lo-fi

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If all had gone according to plan, the Dum Dum Girls would have been gearing up to release album No. 2 right about now and not a four-song EP. Yet what should have been a celebratory 2010 for the vintage-cool California rock quartet was instead one marked by extreme highs and lows.

On March 1, Sub Pop will release "He Gets Me High," one cover and three songs written by lead Dum Dum Girl Dee Dee as she was on the brink of knowingly entering one of the more difficult periods of her life. 

"I was on the verge of really hectic tours, and my home life was getting really, really [screwed] up," said Dee Dee. "These songs just kind of fell out of me. They were pretty untouched by everything I knew was about to happen, so I was really into latching onto them."

Heading into 2010, the Dum Dum Girls, who will perform a free show Thursday  at the Mondrian Hotel's Skybar, were often mentioned hand-in-hand with Best Coast as one of L.A.'s most promising talents. With a retro, girl group-inspired home-recorded sound,the Dum Dum Girls struck a sleek, rebel-without-a-cause vibe, and a deal with Seattle's vaunted indie Sub Pop was a chance Dee Dee (real name: Kristin Gundred) couldn't pass up.

Yet it came with a level of guilt that only a few could understand, as Dee Dee's mother had just been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. She passed away in October. "It was completely out of nowhere," Dee Dee said. "It was really hard to figure out how to balance the opportunity of having a record out on Sub Pop and wanting to tour, and then feeling really awful for not staying home and just quitting music for the year. Our next record, as much as I really love the songs, is definitely a dark record."

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Grammy Awards: The Pop & Hiss choose-your-own Grammy-performance adventure

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And now we know what a vocal battle between Justin Bieber and Jaden Smith looks like. At long last, we have witnessed what happens when Muse is paired with some sprightly rioters. And never again shall we wonder just how much Christina Aguilera can exaggerate an Aretha Franklin tune. 

Whether you loved or hated the 53rd Grammy Awards, no doubt you have opinions on how to improve the performances. As such, Pop & Hiss fully supports the choose-your-own-adventure format, and the release of Jason Shiga's "Meanwhile" has us believing we're on the right path. 

So, here we go. You, reader, will play the role of a producer at the Grammy Awards. The nominations are announced in early December, giving you maybe a month or a month and a half to solidify the lineup. Your choose-your-own-adventure options below:

A) Let's book a teen star with a legend and try to connect the dots. 

B) Let's book one of the younger album of the year nominees and pair him/her with an idol.

C) Let's highlight a genre category, say jazz or bluegrass, and show the world what it's mising.

D) You know what -- let's just let an artist do his/her own thing, with minimal adornments and gimmicks. 

Choose wisely.

-- Todd Martens

Credits: Kanye West, top left (Reuters); Taylor Swift (Wireimage); Herbie Hancock (Getty Images); Jonas Brothers (Los Angeles Times)


Grammy Awards: Arcade Fire shocks Streisand, the universe, with Grammy win

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CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK: A night of bold moves and noisy risks at Grammys 

Wow. I think it's fair to say "wow." Here I was, all ready with the bile, ready to rip on the Grammys for giving the trophy to Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now" or a Lady Gaga EP. 

Yet no...the Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs" was named album of the year. Repeat. The Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs" was named album of the year.

We're going to say that one more time: THE ARCADE FIRE'S "THE SUBURBS" WAS NAMED ALUBM OF THE YEAR. 

The Grammys got a lot of things wrong tonight, and this was a total shock, considering the band lost the alternative album field. Even Barbra Streisand seemed to struggle in saying "The Suburbs."

Yet the act with the most complex, thoughtful and adventurous album actually won the Grammy for album of the year. When was the last time that happened? Maybe 2004, when OutKast won for "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below." 

But this shows a few things: One, that the Grammy Awards is finally recognizing independent music in its top categories. Two, a band that has sold 484,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, can actually compete with performers whose albums have all sold more than 1 million copies.

Performance-wise, the show was the usual Grammy mess, but for the first time in years, I can say the Grammys got the top prize and best new artist right. It's a step forward.

A shame, however, that they cut Arcade Fire off on the band's second song.

-- Todd Martens

Photo credit: Los Angeles Times


Grammy Awards: Eminem gets a best rap album Grammy, Streisand can still make you cry

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Eminem's "Recovery" took the award for rap album, and in accepting it Eminem noted the role Rihanna played, as "Love the Way You Lie" brought more attention to the album. "I wanted to thank Rihanna too, to helping propel the record to where it's at now," Eminem said. Then later added: "What up, Detroit? Stand up!"

As for MusiCares honoree Barbra Streisand, my colleague Ann Powers attend her tribute on Friday, and will soon have more to say on her, I imagine, so I'm off the hook. You should be happy with that, as I've always been a fan of Streisand's humor, and I will take Streisand over a bunch of people who pray to her altar (looking at you Manilow), but she sounded good, and if you grew up with "Evergreen (Love Theme from 'A Star Is Born')," then it meant more to you than me.

--Todd Martens

Photo credit: Los Angeles Times


Grammy Awards: Arcade Fire prove the Grammys aren't a complete waste of time

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Look at that! Oh my, oh my. So a band is allowed to perform without someone popping up from the middle of the stage? It's possible for a band to sing A FULL SONG without trotting out some kid or some veteran artist, who supposedly the Arcade Fire were influenced by?

And it not only worked, but it was also far and away the strongest performance of the night, in fact the ONLY non-tribute/non-MusiCares performance actually better than average? So that can happen?

So it is.....possible? Really? The Grammys can be -- gasp -- relevant? Huh. Weird. Never woulda thought so. 

Anyway, the act's take on "Month of May" was no frills, all epilepsy-enducing lights. I was hoping for "We Used to Wait," which shows off the way the band can build to an arena sing-along, but "Month of May" hits hard and fast, and it was the only moment of pure rock 'n' roll on this telecast.

Still, coulda done without the BMX biker dudes with cameras on their heads. Not really sure what was happening there.

As  for the inanity of giving the band an album of the year nomination and then not awarding them alternative album of the year, well, we covered that earlier. The Grammys are sure to muck up something.

-- Todd Martens

Photo credit: Los Angeles Times


Grammy Awards: Oops, I forgot to do a post on Katy Perry

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I could now, but it it's just going to be mean, as her "Not Like the Movies" misses the Land of Serious and goes straight to the World of Boredom. So ... just watch some previews for "The Mentalist." You should be watching it anyway. It's good. Trust.

-- Todd Martens

Photo: Los Angeles Times



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