1) French for "deadly woman" whom tries to achieve her hidden purpose by using feminine wiles such as beauty, charm and sexual allure. She is an archetype of literature, art and Top 40 CHR radio.
Her ability to seduce with auto-tune and hypnotize her victim with big fat bass is seen as being literally supernatural, hence a femme fatale is still described as having power akin to an enchantress, vampire or pop superstar.
2) The name of Britney Spears 7th studio album
3) A matrix point to fuel the gathering of twelve leading ladies of Electronica to contribute tracks for a 2005 compilation entitled FEMMES FATALES
4) A heavily searched phrase on Google for the next few days/weeks/months leading to an unexpected and uncanny opportunity to bring some deserved attention to the aforementioned FEMMES FATALES compilation.
I did A&R and Licensing for FEMMES FATALES and although Britney Spears will sell more digital copies of FEMME FATALE in the first five minutes on iTunes than the comp has sold in six years, it should be noted that both albums are meticulously produced to appeal to the candy-coated club crowd.
Like fine wines from similar vines, try pairing the two releases in a conveniently titled 'Femmes Fatales' playlist that bookends tracks from each.
Pair Britney Spears "Hold It Against Me" with Andrea Burns "100 Stories," before taking a guzzle of Colette's "Feelin' Hypnotized" and chasing it with Britney's "Seal It With A Kiss".
Bind bad girl anthems "Criminal" from Femme Fatale and "Beautiful Liar" from Femmes Fatales and stitch 'em together with "In My Eyes" by DJ Keri and "Trip To Your Heart" by Ms. Britney.
And when DJ Mea from Lords of Acid amps up your late night bumpin' with "Red Light Go," your playlist will have a ready and willing dance floor partner in the guise of Brit's "I Wanna Go".
Easy as apple pie. Warm it up with a dash of volume and it's even tastier.
5) Each one of the (drop dead) beautiful women pictured throughout
(DJ Keri)
(DJ Mea)
(Colette)
(Dena Carman)
(Celeste Lear)
(Colleen Kelly)
(Eve Falcon)
(Andrea Burns)
(Jes)
FEMMES FATALES The 12 Leading Ladies Of Electronica 1. Mea Fisher - Red Light Go 2. Layla - Waiting For You 3. Andrea Burns - 100 Stories (Noel Sanger Remix) 4. Colette - Feelin' Hypnotized (Blackliquid Remix) 5. Dena Carman - Beautiful Liar 6. DJ Keri - In My Eyes 7. Angelique - I Couldn't Believe 8. Jes - Everything With You (D:Fuse Mix) 9. Colleen Kelly - Remember Me (Interstate Mix) 10. Celeste Lear - Letter From A Train 11. Eve Falcon - Know It All 12. Jan Johnston - Transparent (Interstate Remix) 13. Andrea Burns - 100 Stories (Josh Harris Vocal Club Mix) 14. Andrea Burns - 100 Stories (Shadow People Dub) BRITNEY SPEARS FEMME FATALE 1. Till The World Ends (Produced by Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Billboard) 2. Hold It Against Me (Produced by Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Billboard) 3. Inside Out (Produced by Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Billboard) 4. I Wanna Go (Produced by Max Martin and Shellback) 5. How I Roll (Produced by Bloodshy, Henrik Jonback and Magnus) 6. (Drop Dead) Beautiful ft. Sabi (Benny Blanco, Ammo, JMIKE & Billboard) 7. Seal It With A Kiss (Produced by Dr. Luke, Max Martin & Dream Machine) 8. Big Fat Bass featuring will.i.am (Produced by will.i.am) 9. Trouble For Me (Produced by Fraser T Smith) 10. Trip To Your Heart (Produced by Bloodshy, Henrik Jonback and Magnus) 11. Gasoline (Produced by Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco) 12. Criminal (Produced by Max Martin and Shellback) 13. Up N' Down (Produced by Max Martin) 14. He About To Lose Me (Produced by Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins) 15. Selfish (Produced by Stargate and Sandy Vee) 16. Don't Keep Me Waiting (Produced by Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins)
With a musical apéritif of seeing Avril Lavigne play the intimate Jimmy Kimmel Live Lounge the night before the start of 25th annual SXSW Music Conference, I embarked to Austin for my eleventh consecutive year of soaking up the pomp and circumstance of an extravagant auditory procession like no other.
SXSW is my own personal March madness replete with four things I've come to expect over a frenzied flurry of 96 hours. I will have BBQ and Tex mex to eat, ingest many decibels at their peak, walk many miles before I sleep, and many, many people I will meet.
With over 2000 artists performing over the course of four days at hundreds of locations, it's a complete and utter over-saturation of the senses. Much like a blackjack bender in Vegas, the hours whisk by and at times, amidst the hot sun, the cold beer, the chaos of people and the cacophony of pandering, one gets lost in the tsunami of it all but, lo and behold, magic moments do transpire and lasting memories are created.
1. KERLI @ Pure Volume House (Buzznet party) Before fashion-forward icons Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj stormed the public consciousness, a young Estonian singer named Kerli Koiv was crafting her own visionary avant-garde conceptualizations before releasing her first album in the summer of 2008. Having only seen Kerli perform a few songs during an Alice In Wonderland Hot Topic event at Hollywood & Highland last year (she contributed two songs to the soundtrack), I was looking forward to the inaugural performance of her CyberBaroque World of Wonder during the Buzznet 'Kiss Me Deadly' party.
Led by an entourage decked out in all-white that included a guitar player and a keyboardist, the current LA-based singer fancifully mused her way through a collection of slick club-ready cuts playing fan favorites "Walking On Air" and "Bulletproof" from her Love Is Dead debut while also premiering "Army Of Love," "Bubblegum," "Speed Limit," "When You Cry," and "K-I-S-S-I-N-G" from her forthcoming release.
Enhanced by playful choreography of giant glow-in-the-dark teddy bears, lit spinning umbrellas and ballerinas doling out lollipops and lemon drops, the joyousness of Kerli's self-anointed "Bubble Goth" provided a satisfying rush of sugar pop.
However, aside from the fervent appreciation of an abundance of VIP superfans (aka "Moonchildren") in costumed regalia, the rented warehouse space that housed pure volume was lacking volume; that of bodies. And that fact is what made it even more special. It reminded me of the half empty rooms where I watched Deadmau5, Paramore, Flyleaf, Lissie, Norah Jones and others perform during SXSW before attaining global fame.
So when Ms. Koiv belted out the poignant "Supergirl" to close her entertaining set, a sly grin crept across my mug as I made a mental note...I was here. Godspeed to her superstardom.
2. THE PRETTY RECKLESS @ ACL Live (Perez Hilton Party) Game changer as a new rock n' roll superstar is lathering up the limelight. If you're not already familiar, say Hello to 17-year old Taylor Michel Momsen (of Gossip Girl fame). Imagine a larger-than-life persona that laces up the swagger of Courtney Love, the commanding presence of Ziggy Stardust, the sexual ooze of a young Mick Jagger and pours it all into a pitcher of Blondie on the rocks. The result? A molotov cocktail that always three seconds from being lit. Light Me Up.
(Taylor Momsen)
3. VERSAEMERGE @ Emo’s (AP Tour) Seeing one of my favorite new bands play a shortened set in the middle of a dog day afternoon sounds like a recipe for mild disappointment but Sierra and the boys cranked up the energy as they rifled through songs from their debut album Fixed At Zero. Having toured nearly non-stop for the better part of a year, the band is focused and determined and Ms. Kusterbeck is really coming into her own at being the ringleader and the mastress of ceremony.
4. AFROJACK/CALVIN HARRIS @ The Parish Due to time constraints, I only was able to catch the last half of Afrojack's set (he was a new discovery for me) and the first half of Calvin's set (whom I was hearing for the first time). Bummed that I missed out on the rest but what I did catch was a fever for the flavor of a bass purveyor. The tracks dropped hot as bodies were bumpin' with low-end pumpin' causin' a whole lotta rumblin'.
(Calvin Harris)
5. BENNY BENASSI @ The Phoenix As a longtime fan of Benny's electro-heavy remixes and his worldwide smash "Satisfaction," it was my first opportunity to the Italian maestro in full effect. With an influx of green laser beams aimed at spinning disco balls and twirling bodies on the dance floor, on tables and anything that could be stood upon, I might as well have been in Ibiza. With a 90-minute set chock full of peak-hour booming intensity sure to appeal to those that were chemically enhanced, it definitely reached another level, but regardless of one's state of mind, one's behind was sure to grind and have a good time.
6. GOLD PANDA @ Mohawk Gold Panda (aka Derwin Panda), one of the hottest producers in the UK, played a few times during the festival but I was only able to catch his official showcase at Mohawk. Unfortunately, they had him in the small room by the back bar rather than on the patio which he could have easily packed out as well. Fortunately, those that were lucky enough to cram into the back room were treated to a bunch of mind-melting tracks from his laptop arsenal and a few choice cuts from his debut full-length Lucky Shiner. I stood parallel to the panda from the adjoining bar and had a direct bird's eye view of his constant tweaks of the mixer. It was genius!
(Gold Panda)
7. KIDS OF 88 @ ACL Live (Perez Hilton party) Being partial to years ending in '88 and having just received their Just A Little Bit Ep a few days before I departed, I was looking forward to checking out Kids Of 88, a New Zealand New Wave music duo consisting of Jordan Arts and Sam McCarthy.
With their youthful energy, stylish looks and hook-laden dance rock ditties, KO88 made an immediate connection with the throng of people gathered at the luxurious new ACL Live venue that adjoins the W Austin hotel. By the end of their thirty-minute set, it was as if a tenured arena rock band was playing to a packed room of only their fans as the newly converted were instantly in sing-song synch during the mid-tempo "Everybody Knows" from their Sugarpills LP. It was spontaneous combustion on the Auckland express!
8. THE JOY FORMIDABLE @ Buffalo Billiards Being only familiar with "Whirring," this was yet another showcase that I wanted to pop in and out of. A few epic jams later as we were being inundated with a heady mix of early-90's spacey alt-rock anchored by a persistent "Dave Grohl style" of dominating the drums, it was a reminder that a truly great band is seldom captured in their full glory while housed in the confines of a studio. And damn if there isn't something pre-ordained when it comes to trios. 3 is the magic number!
9. BRIAN WRIGHT @ Belmont (Sugar Hill/Relix party) A completely new discovery for me. Having worked at Sugar Hill Records, I was told by two former co-workers the day before that it was a can't miss showcase. Grain of salt intact, I ambled over to Brian's early afternoon showcase to chat with the fine folks from Relix and to catch a few songs. I stayed for the entire rip-roaring set. Palpable. His new album House On Fire hits March 29th.
10. PIÑATA PROTEST @ Karma Lounge Yet another on-the-fly recommendation from the band's music video director the day before had me curious...could Tejano music injected with a sizeable dose of punk rock be a recipe for impromptu boot-scootin-boogie?? Sí señor!
And, thus, the majesty of SXSW flourished again as a band from San Antonio I knew relatively nothing about made my Top 10. Viva la musica de Tejas!
Other SXSW showcase highlights included SHIROCK @ Esther's Follies, Low Limit @ Mohawk, Antonia Bennett @ The Driskill, One Eyed Doll @ Texas Rock Fest, The Parlotones @ Moonshine, Native June @ Momo's, Vampires Everywhere! @ Emo's, Lovebettie @ Fuel, The O's @ Stephen F Austin's, Brooke Fraser @ Rusty Spurs, DJ Mia Moretti and violinist Caitlin Moe @ the Perez Hilton party & the nightly New Orleans-style second-line at 2AM on 6th street by the Extra! Action Marching Band.
Random dots of a cosmic lot:
1. Groggily waiting one morning for the elevator to open at the W Austin. Doors open and Mr. Duff McKagan is holding court with his manager. I walked in and six floors of conversation later, a moment in time became sublime.
2. Standing at the stage on the patio of Barbarella at 1:15AM on Saturday morning and I get shoved out of the way from behind. Turn to my left and Kerli (teddy bear in tow) is barging through me to step onto the stage to play her official showcase.
3. Shoving part deaux. Standing center stage at the Texas Rock Fest when I get jostled out of the way from behind. Turn to my right and it's Kimberly Freeman returning from the bathroom to take the stage as none other than One Eyed Doll
4. My buddy Erv, who runs Idol Records, casually introduced me to a guy named Jaret at the Texas Grammy Block Party at The Four Seasons. We're shootin' the shit for about 15 minutes and Jaret mentions that his band will be playing the massive Auditorium Shores Stage the next night. It was none other than Jaret Reddick, lead singer of Bowling For Soup. Nice guy.
Austin food highlights: Aji + Uni @ Kenichi, Spicy Deviled Eggs @ Lambert's Downtown, Spicy brown chicken tortilla soup at Manuel's, Pepperoni pizza @ Hoboken Pie & a combo platter of a Pancake-wrapped sausage on a stick w/ creole mustard and the innards of a breakfast Taco ensconced in a bacon Waffle cone (which I paired delectably with dark roast java from Halcyon Coffee) @ Before The Cone food truck outside of the Austin Convention Center.
CONCERT FOR GEORGE, the legendary tribute concert in honor of GEORGE HARRISON, will be released for the first time ever on Blu-ray on March 22.
Originally released in High Definition, the CONCERT FOR GEORGE 2-disc Blu-ray will include the complete concert on the first disc, with a second disc containing the original theatrical version featuring concert highlights, interviews with the performers, rehearsals, and behind-the-scenes footage. The second disc will also include a previously unreleased interview segment entitled “Drummers,” featuring Ringo Starr, Jim Keltner and Ray Cooper.
CONCERT FOR GEORGE has been certified 8 times platinum by the RIAA since its initial release as a 2DVD set in November 2003 and earned a 2004 Grammy® Award for Best Long Form Music Video.
On November 29, 2002, one year after the passing of George Harrison, Olivia Harrison and longtime friend Eric Clapton organized a performance tribute in his honor.
Held at London's Royal Albert Hall, the momentous evening featured George's songs, and music he loved, performed by a lineup that included Clapton, Jools Holland, Jeff Lynne, Paul McCartney, Monty Python, Tom Petty, Billy Preston, Ravi and Anoushka Shankar, Ringo Starr, Dhani Harrison and many more.
Directed by David Leland (whose credits include the feature Wish You Were Here, HBO’s Band Of Brothers and the Traveling Wilburys video “Handle With Care”), CONCERT FOR GEORGE captures stunning renditions of some of the most significant music of the 20th century, including “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (featuring Clapton on guitar, McCartney on piano and Starr on drums), “Taxman” (performed by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) and “The Inner Light” (covered by Jeff Lynne and Anoushka Shankar). Lynne, Harrison’s longtime friend and collaborator, produced the audio elements of the concert, while Clapton oversaw the entire proceedings as Musical Director.
CONCERT FOR GEORGE 1. Your Eyes - Anoushka Shankar 2. The Inner Light - Jeff Lynne & Anoushka Shankar 3. Arpan - Conducted by Anoushka Shankar 4. Sit On My Face – Monty Python 5. The Lumberjack Song – Monty Python with Tom Hanks 6. I Want To Tell You - Jeff Lynne 7. If I Needed Someone - Eric Clapton 8. Old Brown Shoe - Gary Brooker 9. Give Me Love - Jeff Lynne 10. Beware Of Darkness - Eric Clapton 11. Here Comes The Sun - Joe Brown 12. That’s The Way It Goes - Joe Brown 13. Horse To The Water – Sam Brown 14. Taxman - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 15. I Need You - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 16. Handle With Care - Tom Petty with Jeff Lynne & Dhani Harrison 17. Isn’t It A Pity - Billy Preston 18. Photograph - Ringo Starr 19. Honey Don’t - Ringo Starr 20. For You Blue - Paul McCartney 21. Something - Paul McCartney & Eric Clapton 22. All Things Must Pass - Paul McCartney 23. While My Guitar Gently Weeps - Paul McCartney & Eric Clapton 24. My Sweet Lord - Billy Preston 25. Wah Wah - Eric Clapton & Band 26. I’ll See You In My Dreams - Joe Brown
In celebration of the forthcoming GRATEFUL DEAD 72-disc collection, Europe '72: The Complete Recordings, Dead.net is offering an exclusive free download of the previously unreleased performance of Playing In The Band from the April 14, 1972 show in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Clocking in at over 11 minutes, the song was recorded at the Tivoli Koncertsal, which was the Dead’s first paying gig in front of foreign language crowd.
Grateful Dead slipped the shores of America and crossed the pond for its first-ever major European tour in April 1972. The legendary 22-show run spawned Europe ’72, a live triple album that remains one of the band’s best-selling and most beloved releases. A tour this momentous deserves a boxed set of historic proportions and Dead.net has stamped your passport to relive every note from the European tour with EUROPE ’72: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS—an individually numbered, limited edition 72-disc collection that includes over 70 hours of music featuring every show from what is arguably the Grateful Dead’s greatest tour.
(photo by James R Anderson)
GRATEFUL DEAD Europe 1972 Tour April 07 Wembley Empire Pool, Wembley April 08 Wembley Empire Pool, Wembley April 11 Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle April 14 Tivoli Koncertsal, Copenhagen April 16 Aarhus University, Aarhus April 17 Tivoli Koncertsal, Copenhagen April 21 Beat Club, Bremen April 24 Rheinhalle, Dusseldorf April 26 Jahrhundert Halle, Frankfurt April 29 Musikhalle, Hamburg May 03 Olympia Theatre, Paris May 04 Olympia Theatre, Paris May 07 Bickershaw Festival, Wigan May 10 Concertgebouw, Amsterdam May 11 Rotterdam Civic Hall, Rotterdam May 13 Lille Fairgrounds, Lille May 16 Theatre Hall, Luxembourg May 18 Kongressaal - Deutsches Museum, Munich May 23 Strand Lyceum, London May 24 Strand Lyceum, London May 25 Strand Lyceum, London May 26 Strand Lyceum, London
(Mastering engineer David Glasser working on 4/17/72; Copenhagen)
Celebrating the recent release of the deluxe edition of the critically acclaimed Everything Burns album, Nashville's SHIROCK descends upon Austin once again to showcase during the 25th go-round of the annual South By Southwest (SXSW) Music Conference.
SHIROCK @ SXSW Everything Burns @ the ShareSquare Day Party Esther’s Follies, 525 East 6th Street Friday, March 18th (2:15-3:00PM) Sponsors: ShareSquare and Earbits.com
“Literally, the complete package. Quality songs, vocals, and instrumentation. Imagine a filled-out rock band going after Jack's Mannequin hooks.” HM
“SHIROCK’s material sounds big, shiny and polished, taking prompts from stadium success stories like U2, Muse, James and Radiohead with a little bit of Jack's Mannequin and Tegan and Sara tossed into the mixture for good measure” Lithium Magazine
“A sound that's a unique blend of U2 with a smidgen of The Cure.” Birmingham News
“Like Muse does, SHIROCK goes for a massive, arena pop-rock sound that ebbs and flows with emotion, pulls the listener in and explodes with passion.” The Punk Site
SHIROCK Chuck Shirock - lead vocals, guitar Pap Shirock - lead vocals, keys Adam Gatchel – drums Kevin Whitsett – bass Evan Weatherford - lead guitar
Planet LA Records and a network of high-profile partners are gearing up for "The Abolitionist Tour” which aims to raise awareness for the global Not For Sale campaign to combat human trafficking and "Re-Abolish" slavery. Planet LA artists Djinn, Evolove and Native June will anchor the Southwest tour that includes a stop at the 25th Annual SXSW Music Conference in Austin on Friday, March 18 at Momo's on 6th Street from Noon to 6pm CST.
The SXSW event at Momo’s is hosted in partnership with Indie on Air, and will be broadcast live on the Internet by StageIt.com. Artists scheduled to perform at Momo's include Antonia Bennett, Big Kettledrum, Lovebettie, David Martinez Band, Danika Holmes, Red Wine Rewind, Remington as well as Planet LA bands Djinn, Evolove and Native June.
(Native June)
In conjunction, Planet LA Records will release a CD compilation entitled Songs for Freedom featuring artists performing at the event with all proceeds to benefit the Not For Sale campaign.
To preview/download free Mp3s from Songs For Freedom, click on each of the links below:
THE ABOLITIONIST TOUR ROAD TO AUSTIN 2011 March 05 - Cabana Club, Hollywood, CA March 11 - Palms Casino, Las Vegas, NV March 12 - Nile Theatre/Underground, Mesa, AZ March 15 - Mix Bar, San Antonio, TX March 16 - Red Shed Tavern, Austin, TX March 18 - Momo’s, Austin, TX March 19 - Whole Foods Gateway, Austin, TX March 19 - Armadillo Hall, Taylor, TX
Tour/SXSW showcase partners include Indie on Air, Not For Sale, Stage It, Music Box, Songsinc, Hello Music, 1888 Media, Blue Microphones Line 6, Schecter Guitar Research, TC Electronic, JakPrints, Honest Tea, KIND snacks and Whole Foods.
A FEMME FATALE IS:
Her ability to seduce with auto-tune and hypnotize her victim with big fat bass is seen as being literally supernatural, hence a femme fatale is still described as having power akin to an enchantress, vampire or pop superstar.
3) A matrix point to fuel the gathering of twelve leading ladies of Electronica to contribute tracks for a 2005 compilation entitled FEMMES FATALES 
4) A heavily searched phrase on Google for the next few days/weeks/months leading to an unexpected and uncanny opportunity to bring some deserved attention to the aforementioned FEMMES FATALES compilation. 
I did A&R and Licensing for FEMMES FATALES and although Britney Spears will sell more digital copies of FEMME FATALE in the first five minutes on iTunes than the comp has sold in six years, it should be noted that both albums are meticulously produced to appeal to the candy-coated club crowd.
Pair Britney Spears "Hold It Against Me" with Andrea Burns "100 Stories," before taking a guzzle of Colette's "Feelin' Hypnotized" and chasing it with Britney's "Seal It With A Kiss". 
And when DJ Mea from Lords of Acid amps up your late night bumpin' with "Red Light Go," your playlist will have a ready and willing dance floor partner in the guise of Brit's "I Wanna Go".
5) Each one of the (drop dead) beautiful women pictured throughout
BRITNEY SPEARS
