Tag Archive for santigold

Nikki Lynette

Dubbed the Queen of Englewood by Lupe Fiasco himself, there’s no doubt Nikki Lynette’s got Chi-town clout. But even Lupe knows that big talent finds its way past city limits. To date, Lynette’s opened for KRS 1, Gym Class Heroes and The Game, played SXSW and CMJ Music Festival and had her songs placed in ads for McDonald’s and Marlboro. Her allure lies in her chameleonic tastes, artfully blended into “cool music for fun, cool people.” With musical interests as diverse as Pink Floyd and OutKast, the singer/rapper/songwriter/producer leads listeners on a colorblind, genreless dance juggernaut through hip hop, rock and Motown. “Loveless” is a campy preachfest that leans and bobs to tribal street rhythms. “Need a Man” is a vintage jitterbug, sung straight and flirty, whereas the electro-grind of “Don’t Say No,” with its tachycardia beats is more forward-thinking. But it’s “Now That I’m Fine” that will really get the pulses racing. Hand claps and electric guitar plus Tony Basil’s “Hey Mickey” equals an insistent, grrrl power anthem that will keep the masses moving. Fans of Missy Elliott, Santigold, even Roger Waters will find something to dig. Long live the Queen.

The Good

David Byrne

David Byrne uses Philippine dictator as inspiration for new album
Rarely have the words “Imelda Marcos” and “good” been used in a sentence together, but we’re going to take a shot at it. David Byrne’s new concept album, Here Lies Love, is inspired by shoe fetishist/dictator Imelda Marcos, and it sounds GOOD. Byrne co-wrote the album with Fatboy Slim, and recruited a different female vocalist for each track. Among them are Santigold, Roisin Murphy, Sharon Jones, Alice Russell and Tori Amos. The album drops in early April. Read more about it here.

The Bad

Better than Nickelback?

Nickelback’s sour response to Facebook pickle group
If you spend any time on Facebook, you’ve probably seen news feeds for the group “Can this pickle get more fans than Nickelback?” The answer is yes. As of Wednesday, the pickle had 1,488,589 fans whereas the band had a mere 1,422,807. Well, singer Chad Kroeger didn’t like that one bit, and left a tart comment that read, “You’re page will be closing in 2 weeks.” Coral Anne, the creator of the pickle group, replied, “I still whooped your ass, Chad!” Yeah, no one likes a pickle puss, CHAD.

Whitney Houston

The Ugly

Whitney Houston angers Aussies with Brisbane performance
A “croaky” and “disoriented” Whitney Houston received dismal reviews for her performance at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Monday. According to multiple critics and fans, the 46-year-old singer appeared out of breath throughout the concert, coughing through some numbers and turning the epic high point of “I Will Always Love You” into a breathless coo. Houston has a handful of dates left in Australia before she heads over to Europe for more boos shows.

Miscellany

• New Britney Spears album on the way
• Kanye West “Coldest Winter” video beyond cool
• Interpol to tour with U2
• Wilco, Broken Social Scene, Sun Kil Moon to play 2010 Olympics
• New M.I.A. album possibly arriving in June

The Good

All the colors of the rainbow set to perform at this month’s GRAMMYs

P!nk: Tickled

The list of artists slated to perform at the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards on January 31 reads like a box of crayons: P!nk, Green Day, Black Eyed Peas, Zac Brown and the always-technicolor Lady Gaga, who was added to the schedule this week. If the committee adds Yellowcard and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, well, color us happy.

Kelly Clarkson joins Twitter, the masses follow

Don’t be jealous, but Kelly Clarkson just joined Twitter two days ago and she already has more followers than you. See for yourself.

Michael Cera stars in new Islands video

Hip to be Square: Michael Cera

You may not know who Islands are, but you probably know Michael Cera, who played the adorable geek on “Arrested Development,” the adorable geek in “Juno” and the adorable geek in “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.” Cera tries out a new character (adorable druggie) in the new Islands video for “No You Don’t.” In it, Cera pops some pills, jogs aimlessly, unsuccessfully climbs a tree and gets hugged by Elvis — not to ruin the ending. Watch it here.

The Bad

Katy Perry is off the market (again)

Thank You India: Brand and Perry

Katy Perry engaged to Travis McCoy? That’s so 2009. Katy Perry engaged to Russell Brand — totally 2010! The American pop singer and her British beau announced their engagement this week following a romantic trip to India. (2011 prediction: Katy Perry and The Situation.)

The Ugly

Freaky Fruit
New Peaches video for “Relax” off her upcoming album “I Feel Cream.” Enough said.

Miscellany

• New Of Montreal album to feature Solange Knowles
• Beyoncé performs for Qadaffi’s son
• Mariah Carey hits the bar, then the mic
• Santigold and Lupe Fiasco to climb Kilimanjaro
• Pete Wentz and Mark Hoppus record track for Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland”

What does it say when Architecture in Helsinki asks you to tour with them? You’ve got indie cred. When Jay-Z and Kanye West come knocking? Street cred. When Coldplay and Björk want you on the bill? Global cred.

Suffice it to say that Santigold is up to her ears in credibility. The artist (real name: Santi White) blazed onto the scene like a technicolor dance party in 2008 as Santogold, later modifying her moniker. Mixing new wave with dance punk and dub, Santigold’s genre-bending music captured the imagination of audiophiles everywhere, and landed her in a triumvirate of rock ingénues alongside Karen O and M.I.A. Before supreme hipsterdom came knocking, Santigold was making a name for herself as a songwriter and producer, with credits on work by Spank Rock, GZA, Ashlee Simpson and Lily Allen. After enlisting the help of friends such as Freq Nasty, Diplo, Radioclit, M.I.A. and Chuck Treece from Bad Brains, Santigold released her self-titled debut on Downtown/Lizard King and became the new “It” chick, winning praise from Rolling Stone and Spin.

We caught up with Santigold to see how her U.S. tour was going. Here’s what she said.

Best show so far?
Sacramento. It was the second show of the tour, the first time we ironed out all the kinks and the show went smoothly, and therefore the first moment I felt relaxed about the new show. The sound was good, the crowd was great and I liked my outfit.

One thing you have to have on the road?
My own pillow, and a nice pair of slippers. Comfort is really important to me when I’m on the road because touring in general is so uncomfortable. It’s really rough, and I’m always having to worry about my voice, and taking care of myself. My pillow ensures that I can get a good sleep even on the crappiest bed, and my slippers make me feel cozy. It’s like bringing home with me.

If you’re playing DJ on the bus, what do you put on?
I have a bunch of mixed up playlists that I always play. They are how I wish the radio would be, just great songs of all different kinds, back to back.

Moment you look forward to the most at each show?
My favorite moment is the last song of the show, during the encore. The crowd is the most hype and I bring out Amanda Blank and Spank Rock if he’s there with us, and we have fun like it’s our own little after-party up on stage. It’s more playful than the rest of the show.

Current favorite song to play live?
I like playing the new song I did with Major Lazer called “Hold The Line.”

Favorite way to kill time on the road?
Watching movies.

Any show you’re especially looking forward to?
New York. I can’t wait!!

For more information on Santigold, click here. If you like what you hear, check out these likeminded OurStage artists: