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Tag: Stockholm

  • Chrissie Hynde Swings Back Behind New Album, Odd to Be ‘Solo’

    Chrissie Hynde has pretty much been The Pretenders for decades. She is the voice of such classic tracks as “Middle of the Road,” “Brass in Pocket,” and “Don’t Get Me Wrong.” So for Chrissie Hynde to do something that could be termed a “solo” album seemed odd to even her. It’s kind of like Tom Petty doing solo albums, when you know good and well he’ll still bring along at least half The Heartbreakers for the ride.

    “It’s a goddam awful phrase [solo album]. I never wanted to be solo, and I said a thousand times I never would, so it gives me a cold chill to see my name out there on its own,” Hynde said back in June when the album was about to drop.

    But drop it did. The album is called Stockholm, and Hynde has been touring behind it. Recently she hit Akron, Ohio. That was a bit of a homecoming for Hynde, who was born in Akron in 1951 and graduated from Firestone High School there. Although she lives in London, and has for 40 years, she keeps an apartment in Akron.

    At the concert, she called Akron “the city that spit me out.”

    Chuck Yarborough of the Cleveland Plain Dealer describes Hynde as someone who “could kick my behind.”

    Hynde has done songs about Akron, including “My City Was Gone” with The Pretenders.

    I went back to Ohio
    But my pretty countryside
    Had been paved down the middle
    By a government that had no pride
    The farms of Ohio
    Had been replaced by shopping malls
    And Muzak filled the air
    From Seneca to Cuyahoga falls
    Said … way to go Ohio

    The people of Akron take the criticism in stride. They know that things are getting paved over. But they don’t see Hynde as an outsider, despite the 40 years of primary residence elsewhere.

    At one point, Hynde even tried to get a chain of vegan restaurants going in Akron and other cities in Ohio. Apparently that didn’t work out well.

    Post by Chrissie Hynde.

  • Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders: New Album

    Chrissie Hynde, best known for her years as the front woman of The Pretenders, is back on tour and has a new album to boot. Recently appearing in Akron, Ohio–the city that she says ‘spit her out,’ Hynde performed a 22-song set that featured many of The Pretenders’ classics. Fans loved hearing “Don’t Lose Faith in Me,” “Biker,” “Talk of the Town,” “Kid,” “Night in My Veins,” and more. Earlier shows have found her in Nashville and Charlotte as she introduces her new album all around the U.S.

    Diehard fans know this, but so-so fans might not: Chrissie Hynde, who has been part of the music scene since 1975, has never released a solo album–until now. The 63-year-old is back on tour to promote Stockholm, and she doesn’t disappoint whatsoever. In the tradition of her Pretenders material, Hynde’s songs in this new album speak to the depths of listener’s souls. Big on reform, her lyrics address a number of important issues. Tracks from Stockholm, including “In a Miracle,” “Live in the Movies,” “You or No One,” as well as others, aren’t that different from songs by The Pretenders. Since Hynde was their front woman, that shouldn’t shock anyone–and will no doubt help boost record sales.

    “Adding the Blue” is destined to be a fan favorite.

    From Akron, Hynde headed to Chicago. On Wednesday night, November 19th, she will debut Stockholm in Austin, Texas. During a recent interview with the Austin Chronicle, she admitted that seeing her name solo on the marquee makes her a bit uncomfortable.

    “I have to admit the first couple of times I saw my name on the marquee it made me very uncomfortable. But then I think, “Don’t take it so personally.” It just is what it is,” she said.

    She mentioned, too, that the only living member of The Pretenders–besides her–is Martin Chambers. Has she ruled out a reunion of sorts?

    “The only living Pretender is Martin Chambers, who would be happy to come out, and I love working with him. That’s a possibility, I guess,” she said.

    Chrissie Hynde was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame back in 2005, and is certainly deserving of the accolade. Is it possible that at 63 she will have a brand new hit album under her belt? Check out Stockholm and see for yourself whether you prefer The Pretenders crooner solo, or think she should contact Chambers and do some collaborative work. It’s likely you’ll simply love her–and won’t find a huge difference between the old and the new.

  • Chrissie Hynde, of The Pretenders Fame, Goes Solo

    Next Tuesday, Chrissie Hynde, formerly of The Pretenders, will release her first solo album of her career, entitled “Stockholm”. And while Hynde’s name may be the only one on the front cover, this album was definitely not composed solo.

    “It’s a goddam awful phrase [solo album]. I never wanted to be solo, and I said a thousand times I never would, so it gives me a cold chill to see my name out there on its own,” opined Hynde.

    Despite her personal opinion on going solo, that is exactly what Hynde has decided to do after nearly 30 years of work with The Pretenders.

    Hynde’s musical journey first started in 1973 after she decided to move to England to work for the weekly music magazine, NME. While working her supposed dream job, Hynde began playing with all sorts of rock bands across London, the most notable being The Clash and The Damned. It wasn’t long before one of Hynde’s albums caught the attention of a music producer, and thus The Pretenders were formed.

    The success of the initial band was in question almost immediately, though, as two of the band’s original members succumbed to drug overdoses in the early ’80’s. Not letting anything prevent her from achieving her dreams, Hynde continued The Pretenders by populating the band with multiple different members and pieces over the years, constantly adapting to her changing circumstances.

    “Stockholm” is a continuation of this evolving and adapting model.

    To produce said album, Hynde partnered with Bjorn Yttling, formerly of the band Peter, Bjorn, and John. Surprisingly, Hynde had no idea who Bjorn was before she decided to work with him on this album.

    “I didn’t know the guy. I didn’t know what band he was in. My attitude is: You never know until you try it. But I’m never going to go through someone’s back catalog. I met him for a coffee and when I had some time I went to Stockholm.”

    Hynde took the same blank-slate approach toward composing the songs for her new album: “I had made a conscious decision to go in empty. I’ve never written a song out of a notebook. I’ve filled hundreds and I’ve never used any of them.” Hynde went on to explain that Bjorn “played me a few bars or a riff or a top-line melody and then I went crazy.”

    Part of Hynde’s going crazy involved inviting two of her more famous friends to collaborate on the album with her – tennis great John McEnroe and music legend Neil Young.

    “By the time we were recording it, I’d grown to really like messing with Bjorn, so I thought I’d just ring Neil and ask if he’d play on it. I know him, but it’s not something I’d normally do. You know, you don’t call God and ask him for a favour.”

    While Hynde would love to do a tour to support her new album release, she has enough experience to realize her limitations: “Who’s going to want to see a vintage artist play 45 minutes of new material?”

    Considering the mixed reviews Hynde’s album is receiving, she is perhaps more wise than she knows.

    One can purchase one’s own copy of “Stockholm” when it hits shelves next Tuesday, June 9th.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo-M48rEDEs

    Image via YouTube

  • This 3D Printer Plays And Prints Music

    This 3D Printer Plays And Prints Music

    3D printers can be used for a lot of things, but a music player never seemed like one of them. One inventor at Art Hack Day 2013 in Stockholm proved that assumption wrong with his own unique 3D printer that doubled as a music player.

    What’s interesting about this particular 3D printer is that it not only plays music, but it prints the music as well. As it’s playing the music, the printer is also creating the “sound-form” of the music as its visualized by a computer program. During the event, the printer played and printed six songs, including the Imperial March and Carmen: Habanera.

    Here’s the printer playing and printing Carmen:

    You may be asking yourself, “What’s the point?” The point is that it’s really awesome.

    If you want to try out 3D printed music for yourself, you can grab the source code here.

    [h/t: 3ders]