Photos/Review: Roger Waters performing The Wall @ Yankee Stadium

Roger Waters @ Yankee Stadium - July 7, 2012

Photos: James M. Graham / Review: Debbie Chou & James M. Graham

The first chord of The Wall at Yankee Stadium will stay in my mind for as long as I live. Mind you, I only saw the film for the first time one week ago. "In The Flesh" has to be one of the best opening tracks of all time. Cue fireworks. Jaw drops and stays open for the remainder of the song.

I was probably five years old when I first saw the video for "Another Brick In The Wall." Mean teachers, students in a meat grinder, and rioting in the classroom meant nothing to me. And then I experienced public school in Taiwan. Let's just say I wish those teachers would leave us kids alone. The children in the choir was something I looked forward to seeing the most. It was a delight to see them in black t-shirts bouncing from side to side, clapping their hands, and air-punching the inflated "teacher" that was at least ten times bigger than they were.

Photos/Review: Crossing Brooklyn Ferry Festival @ BAM (Twin Shadow, Sharon Van Etten, The Walkmen)

Crossing Brooklyn Ferry (Day One) @ Brooklyn Academy of Music
Photos: Mariel Marrelli / Review: Debbie Chou

2011 was musically a very good year for me. My friend Jay Sharp introduced me to Twin Shadow and I immediately became obsessed, being the 1980’s music lover that I am. However, I missed every opportunity to see them perform in NYC. I met the critically acclaimed Sharon Van Etten at SXSW after her final song “Love More” made me cry. She consoled me with a sincere, gracious hug. Magic Sundae Radio started off the year with The Walkmen's “In The New Year” on their podcast, giving me hope and joy for the year ahead. Although The Walkmen have been around for several years, I finally got around to listening to all of their albums.

Imagine my excitement when Aaron and Bryce Dessner announced Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, a three-day festival at Brooklyn Academy of Music featuring Twin Shadow, Sharon Van Etten, and The Walkmen on the first night. To make the event more special, I decided it would be a great birthday gift for our Mariel Marrelli.

iMeowww Presents... Gang of Fur

Holy shit it's been a while since we posted a new iMeowww track. I may be partial to the whole project, but I think it's safe to say that this latest offering, a cover of Gang of Four's classic "Damaged Goods," just may be the best one yet. According to iMeowww (aka Debbie Chou), "And quite a gang it is. We have old cats, fighting cats, mating cats, and a kitten choir." Awesome.

Listen to the weirdness below, and don't play it too loud at work. That is, unless you want your coworkers to think you're batshit insane. And go ahead and "Like" iMeowww on Facebook while you're at it. Some weird shit over there as well. Enjoy!

iMeowww presents... Mission of Purma

Well here we are with iMeowww's latest single, "Mission of Purma" (get it?), a cover of Mission of Burma's classic track "This Is Not A Photograph." And of course, it's a weird one. Expanding on the usual palette of meows, hisses and purrs, this song comes complete with an all out cat brawl. After all, what better way to emulate Roger Miller's unique guitar solos than with the sound of cats killing each other? Take a listen below, and may god have mercy on your kitty soul...

iMeowww Presents...Mission of Purma by Debzies

iMeowww Presents... Just Like Heavin'

If you thought iMeowww was short on ideas for new songs, you thought wrong. In fact, there's a good chance Ms. Debbie Chou will continue to release a new iMeowww song each and every week for the foreseeable future, culminating in the inevitable full length album of cover songs done entirely in meows, presumably titled I Like To Meow Songs, Okay?

Oh, and I've seen Debbie's notepad... she has at least ten more of these up her sleeve.

For now, enjoy the third iMeowww offering, "Just Like Heavin'"--which of course is a cover of The Cure's "Just Like Heaven"--complete with totally inaccurate cover art (trying to incorporate a cat into one of The Cure's album covers is not as easy as you think). Enjoy!

iMeowww Presents...Just Like Heavin' (with iHiss & iChirrrp) by Debzies

iMeowww presents... Dear Purrdence

As if last week’s iMeowww offering wasn’t enough of an exercise in pure psychopathic behavior, FN contributor Debbie Chou is back with another cover for her bat-shit insane side project. As stated on her soundcloud page, “iMeowww returns from her kitty crib and covers The Beatles’ “Dear Prudence.” Unfortunately, iPurr’s tracks got deleted because her purring was too soft.”

Insanity.

Listen below…

iMeowww Presents...Dear Purrdence (featuring iHiss) by Debzies

iMeowww Presents... Neuteral Mew Hotel

In case you weren't aware, we are a strange bunch that run this here blog. Case in point, I present you with iMeowww's first musical offering, a cover of Neutral Milk Hotel's "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea" done entirely in meows by our very own Debbie Chou. I suggest you play this at work as loudly as possible, cementing everyone's opinion that you are, in fact, a raging lunatic. Enjoy!

iMeow Presents... Neuteral Mew Hotel by Debzies

Photos: Ladytron @ Terminal 5

Ladytron @ Terminal 5 - October 8, 2011
Photos: Debbie Chou

Liverpudlian electropop band Ladytron have returned with a fifth studio album Gravity The Seducer, and have been on tour since September in support of its release. On Saturday, the band played New York City's Terminal 5 along with the Brooklyn-based VHS or Beta. According to Debbie (who took the photos), both bands were great. Below, check out a set of photos of both bands, and listen to selections from Gravity The Seducer below...

Photos/Review: Cat Power @ Webster Hall

Cat Power @ Webster Hall - August 26, 2011
Photos: Chris / Review: Debbie Chou

Those who follow Cat Power know that she is notorious for her erratic onstage behavior. When I saw her solo performance in Taipei during the summer of 2004, she would cut her songs short and drunkenly ramble to the audience. But at Webster Hall on Friday night, she shined with the support of the Dirty Delta Blues Band both musically and emotionally. Chan Marshall was free to sway onstage and freed from the spotlight (I mean that literally—Chris could barely get good shots of her due to dim stage lighting). The first set consisted of mostly newer songs. A few of them were laid-back and bluesy, “Settin’ On A Ruin” was a surprisingly upbeat dance tune, yet all of them heartbreaking with her sultry, soulful voice.

Fans of Marshall also know that she is a sorceress at covering songs, including her own. She closed the first set with an almost unrecognizable version of “The Greatest.” Mallets and an organ drone replaced the drumsticks and piano chords on the recording we are familiar with. It started serenely and then slowly built up to an explosive climax.

After a looped electric sitar-like drone during a brief intermission, the band returned to the stage and opened with a slow, minor three-chord progression. I immediately guessed it was either “Bela Lugosi Is Dead” or “Blue Monday” but I was wrong—it was ironically The Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog.” Chan requested the house lights to be turned on before she closed with “I Don’t Blame You,” which was no longer a piano tune in a minor key. It became a rather uplifting, two-chord blues ballad that ended with a full on jam by the amazing Dirty Delta Blues Band.

Her signature bangs were swept to the side. She curtsied and bowed to her cheering fans. There was no bantering or mid-song interruption coming from Chan Marshall; only gratitude, flashing smiles, and a heartfelt performance.

--

Check out a set of photos below, as well as some YouTube videos of the performance shot by slideonethis...

Photos/Review: Lætitia Sadier (Stereolab, Monade) @ Le Poisson Rouge

Lætitia Sadier @ Le Poisson Rouge, June 13th, 2011
Photos & Review by Debbie Chou

Take away all the instruments in Stereolab and Monade, leaving just the lead vocals with a light electric guitar and you will get a mesmerizing solo performance by Lætitia Sadier. I was surprised to see she did not have a live band at le Poisson Rouge yesterday evening. But after hearing her play solo, I was convinced that her album The Trip would have still captured her fans if it were solely done on vocals and guitar.

She gave a brief description of what each song was about. If the song were in French, you would believe every word she is singing even if you didn’t understand a word of it. She sang about divorce in “Fluid Sand.” “Wash and Dance,” a song from her Monade days, consists of "angry lyrics that can be aimed toward Sarkozy, Berlusconi, and Obama." The song ends with a frustrated shout. Another Monade tune “Invitation” is an invitation to connect with one another, because nowadays “to connect is a revolutionary act.” She closed the set with her cover of Wendy & Bonnie’s “By the Sea.”

When Lætitia sings, the entire room is silent and all eyes are fixated on her. There is nothing pretentious about her pitch-perfect voice over her warm guitar chords. Her voice is haunting when low, angelic when high, and along with her sense of humor, it leaves us wanting more.

Check out a full set of photos below the jump.

Mixtape: Spring 2004

By Debbie Chou

I made a mix during my senior year at University of Hartford. This was before podcasts were around and iPods were still chunky. It was just my discman and me, roaming the campus everyday, with the CD of this mix on repeat and sometimes on shuffle. This was during my final semester so I had a lot on my mind—completing works for my composition recital, competing in the regional semi-finals with my a cappella group, asking myself if there is a future with this guy I was seeing, wondering what the fuck I was going to do after I graduate. Those were bittersweet times but it was my best semester.

I graduated, then I had to pack everything and take down the photos from my wall one last time. I had that room all to myself for the entire school year. Boy, if those walls could talk… Anyway, my family helped me pack. They knew I could be slow and inefficient sometimes so they were being a little pushy. The truth was I was dragging my feet because I was too sad. Our family friend drove up from Queens in his van and took my parents and myself to his house where my boxes and suitcases would be stored for the entire summer. I would then spend the next two months in Taipei before I returned to New York for my summer job. After that, Lori and I would go apartment hunting while we submitted our resumes to whoever was hiring. That was all I knew: the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. Ah, the unknown.

As we drove away from my dorm, I put my headphones on and listened to my mix once again. The opening track that gave me confidence and energy every morning now made me feel anxious and…well…FUCKING NOSTALGIC. Wow, four years go by so fast. I had great times there. Senior year rocked. Where am I going to live in New York City? What jobs can I get? What funds do I have? When am I going to see my boyfriend again? What can I do with my music? And so on. If only I could go back in time and tell myself that everything will be OK, but I think deep down I knew that already.

This is the exact order of the mix with fewer gaps. None of these songs were popular hits in 2004, so this is nostalgia within nostalgia. Yes, there are two U2 tracks. Yes, there are three songs by The Cure. Welcome to my life in West Hartford, Connecticut. I hope you enjoy this mix as much as I enjoyed my spring of 2004.

Reviews from the Attic: Stereolab - Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night

by Debbie Chou

I dated this guy in college who introduced me to everything I needed to know about indie music, free jazz, and avant garde. He was into Sonic Youth, Joy Division, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, John Cage, Steve Reich… you name it. In fact, if we were still on speaking terms, he would be a frequent contributor to Fucking Nostalgic. But that’s a different story...

Stereolab was one of his favorite bands. It was my second year as a composition student and I was hungry for new music or anything that seemed new to me. I purchased Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night and my ears fell in love.

The album opens with “Fuses.” A funky Afro-Cuban beat under frantic horns, steady vibraphones over a changing rhythm, topped with Lætitia Sadier’s soft voice (reminiscent of Astrud Gilberto) and the back-up vocals of Mary Hansen (may she rest in peace). The beauty of “Blips Drips and Strips,” as well as the entire album, is its minimalism. You forget how repetitive the melodies are because there are constant changes everywhere, and because the vocals do not serve as the purpose of a main melody. They are instruments themselves, with every “dee-da dee” and “da da da.” The vibraphones, under John McEntire’s direction, are my favorite element in the entire album.

Reviews from the Attic: Björk - Homogenic

Björk Homogenic [One Little Indian]
Released: September 22nd, 1997

by Debbie Chou

You will rarely find an album beautifully combined with strings and electronic beats like Björk’s Homogenic. Later in her career, albums like Vespertine was choir-centric; Medulla was a cappella; Volta was extremely heavy on the beats. I consider Homogenic to be her last symphonically constructed album. It is in the same category as Radiohead’s OK Computer—you find something new each time you listen to it. Without the beats in these songs, we would have a well-crafted collection of modern chamber music. Enter programmers Mark Bell and Howie B to Björk’s vision and we have one of the best electronic albums of all time.