What's the Deal: w/ SHE & HIM?

By Mister Promo | December 31, 2014

Okay, so before I go in on explaining what the deal is with She & Him, I want to first share with you something I find very interesting. It's kind of a funny story. I was speaking with my business partner, Rock-It, about the direction, in which this post would go. I mentioned how I would write about each singer's foreground and background. Then I mentioned how, I don't know, Him heard She singing for the first time in the movie "Elf" and found it amazing. So Him retrieved the info to She, called She to then form She & Him. I, in fact, seemed to be on the right track with that one. LoL! Here's how.

Zooey Deschanel (She) & M. Ward (Him) actually met on the film set of "The Go-Getter" which starred Zooey. They were introduced by the director of the film, Martin Hayes. Martin's intention was for the two to perform a duet for the closing credits of the film. The two performed very well together and the rest is brilliance.

In 2006 She & Him was formed. In 2008 they would release their first album, "She & Him  Volume 1". In 2010 "She & Him Volume 2". In 2011 "A Very She & Him Christmas". In 2013 "She & Him Volume 3. Finally in 2014 "She & Him Classics they would release their first album, "She & Him  Volume 1". In 2010 "She & Him Volume 2". In 2011 "A Very She & Him Christmas". In 2013 "She & Him Volume 3. Finally in 2014 "She & Him Classics".

She & Him Classics

Solid Review for She & Him Classics:

(According to PitchPork)

By Evan Minsker on November 19, 2014

Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward released their latest She & Him album Classics — featuring 13 covers of classic songs — on December 2 via Columbia. Today, they've shared the video for their version of Dusty Springfield's "Stay Awhile". It features Deschanel dancing with an invisible partner and Ward playing an invisible guitar while sitting on an invisible stool.

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(According to Amazon)
By Steve Vrana HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER on December 3, 2014

The bulk of these songs were first popularized between the 1930's and the 1950's; however, there are a few more recent covers. Here's the breakdown:

1. "Stars Fell on Alabama" This jazz standard from 1934 was popularized by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.
2. "Oh No, Not My Baby" Written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, this was a modest hit for Maxine Brown in 1964.
3. "It's Not for Me to Say" This was Johnny Mathis' second single in 1957 and his first million-seller.
4. "Stay Awhile" A minor hit for Dusty Springfield in 1964, this song was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. (Nice guitar work from M. Ward here.)
5. "This Girl's in Love with You" Another Bacharach-David tune that was a No. 1 smash for Herb Alpert in 1968. (Zooey changes the gender of the song, of course, and the arrangement speeds things up a bit from the original, shortening the original by a full minute. More nice guitar work from M. Ward on this one.)
6. "Time after Time" Not to be confused with the hit by Cyndi Lauper, this was written by the great Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne in 1947 and recorded the same year by Frank Sinatra.
7. "She" At age 50, Charles Aznavour was already in his third decade as an entertainer when he wrote and recorded this tender ballad in 1974.
8. "Teach Me Tonight" Another Sammy Cahn tune--this time working with Gene dePaul--also recorded by Frank Sinatra.
9. "It's Always You" This tune from 1940 was recorded by Sinatra when he was with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.
10. "Unchained Melody" This song hit the Top 10 by three different artists in 1955, but this arrangement is based more on the 1965 Righteous Brothers version that reached No. 4 in 1965.
11. "I'll Never Be Free" First popularized by Ella Fitzgerald with Louis Jordan in 1950.
12. "Would You Like to Take a Walk" This is the oldest song on this collection having first appeared in the Broadway musical "Sweet and Low" in 1930. It was later popularized by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. (I confess, I first heard the song on an old Bugs Bunny cartoon.)
13. "We'll Meet Again" This sentimental song was recorded by British singer Vera Lynn during the early years of World War II and provides a fitting close to this album.

These performances may not make you forget the originals, but if you enjoyed She & Him's previous albums you will want to add this to your collection. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED [Running time - 39:13]

Hope you Enjoy this As much As i Am.

Top 10 Christmas Songs

The Top 10 Christmas Songs 

According to the Rock-It Scientist

By The Rock-It Scientist | December 11th, 2014

Twas 14 days before Christmas and all through the house,  The Rock-It was jamming while studying Carl Friedrich Gauss.  It is Christmas time and we wouldn't be a good lil' music blog without presenting our playlist for Christmas.  Mister Promo and I fought over the best songs to put in this top 10, it is so hard to narrow it down but I think I finally got it. Without any further delay, here's our top 10.  If you have a different opinion of the list, leave a comment below.

1. Mariah Carey - All I want for Christmas Is You
2. Donny Hathaway - This Christmas
3. Mariah Carey - Santa Claus is Coming to Town
4. Wham! -Last Christmas
5. Boyz II Men - Let it Snow
6. Bing Crosby - White Christmas
7. Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song
8. Frank Sinatra - Mistletoe and Holly
9. Burl Ives - A Holly Jolly Christmas
10. Brenda Lee -Rockin Around the Christmas Tree

For those on Spotify, we are going to add more to this list for our full list.

New Music:Death From Above 1979-

By The Rock-It Scientist | December 2nd 2014

As I'm checking out all these indie bands with my partner on our business burrito night, I've come across this band that have this awesome sound and I decided to check out more.  I've come to discover that I need to search harder for awesome music because how did I not catch this band before they broke up in 2006?  Well lucky for me, they reunited and released the song Train Wreck 1979 which has this, in your face guitar riff that sounds like a locomotive coming right for you and the drums pounding like your heart when seeing the locomotive comes closer.  Off of their September 2014  release, The Physical World Death From Above 1979 Is an album that I'm going to add to my collection.  DFA 1979 is on tour now, tonight they play the House of Blues, Boston and then they are from to Canada Eh!

Here are some Amazon Reviews:

By Jason Harrington "Trucker Hater Magazine"

This review is from: The Physical World (LP+MP3) (Vinyl)

Consistency has always been the strong suit of this duo, and The Physical World is no exception. When you put on a Death From Above album you pretty much know what to expect and it stays the course until the end. When they made their first album the concept was more natural, but now we get to hear the result of the artists knowing they nailed it the first time, and going back to respond to that in a very premeditated way, with overproduced results. They can obviously write a mean riff and ride it out, but when they stripped away the fuzz, it left the sound very raw. When they debuted on the scene, the musical climate was different, and they drew comparisons mostly to indie artists with driving beats and a raw rock feel, like White Stripes or groups from the dance-punk side of the spectrum. It's just not like that now. Now it's much harder to divide them from stoner-metal, on sound alone. They seem to teeter between a sort of safely cool Queens of the Stone Age, and a more pop-rock side that occasionally veers a bit too close to something like Thrice or Open Hand. Those groups are fine, and this is pretty much a great rock album if you ever liked Foo Fighters, but their punk rock side is given full Hot Topic treatment here, and the genre signifiers are just a bit dangerous. That if you look up "related artists" you get The Vines and At the Drive-in. Those are a lot better comparisons than Wolfmother or Finch, but I expect these guys to be on tour with Tame Impala, and that could go either way, much like my feelings while listening to this album. I might listen to it again, but I'm not in a rush.

By 

Michael Simmons

Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: The Physical World (Audio CD)

Few bands sounded like DFA1979 did in 2004, when they released the landmark You're A Woman, I'm A Machine. In 2014, even fewer do. DFA's frenetic energy and danceable rhythms have been sorely missed in a landscape marred by soulless pop and limp-wristed 'indie'.

If you're familiar with You're A Woman, and you probably are if you're here, you already know what to expect from them. And if you don't, you're in for a treat, because DFA brings all the groove of old school rock n' roll into a disgustingly dirty, back to basics sound (after all, there ARE only two members). On this second album, all of those traits are intact - though with an ever-so-catchier slant. The Physical World is a bit smoother around the edges than it's predecessor, but that's to be expected from a band well into their 30s, and their decision to use a producer this time around. However, it works wonderfully to their benefit, because all that energy and groove is more tightly focused into memorable songs. Some people will slight them for that, and that's fine, but songs like Trainwreck 1979 and Always On have refused to leave my head since the initial iTunes stream.

At just a little over 35 minutes, The Physical World comes and goes in a moment. One bad song on an album that short could very well sink it, but from start to finish, it's a consistent, straight forward listen that doesn't slow down (except for the slow-burning White Is Red, which features some excellently melodic bass playing). Too many bands mire themselves in the fatal disease of taking themselves too seriously - Death From Above know exactly how to have some fun.

Similar artist: Strokes, Queens of the Stone Age, White Stripes

Happy New Year!

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We think of you all daily!