Bully and The Weeknd

Led by singer/songwriter Alicia Bognanno, Nashville's Bully draws upon the sound of the '90s alternative era to create blistering two-minute anthems. Bully joins Jim and Greg for a discussion and live performance. Plus, the number one album from The Weeknd.
Music News
Miley Cyrus has gone from Disney star to Flaming Lips devotee. She and Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips have released a 23 song long free album called Miley Cyrus and Her Dead Petz. The album purportedly is a tribute to her dead pets as evidenced in a song like "Pablow the Blowfish." Jim thinks the record is nothing to write home about and is generally a waste of your time. Disagree? Call 888.859.1800.
EMI has stepped into the 21st century by doing something no other record label has done: allowing amnesty for samples. The company says the amnesty was put in place for "the aim of encouraging new sample requests from its broad catalogue as well as ensuring already existing samples are properly licensed." It'll allow samplers who used EMI samples in the past to declare their samples "without the fear of a royalty back claim." Too little too late or a big step forward, you decide.
Going Going Gone! We love a good rock auction here on Sound Opinions. Jim covers the auctioning off of rock inflatables by the English company Air Artists which includes inflatable Freddie Mercury and Brian May from Queen's 1986 The Magic tour; two life-size polystyrene and fiberglass casts used to make the inflatable Babylonian woman used on the Rolling Stones' Bridges to Babylon Tour; and the fiberglass train model used for AC/DC's Runaway Train concert. Also averrable for cold hard cash? A night's stay in the house that Bob Dylan and The Band wrote Music from Big Pink. Asking price per night - $650. Greg covers the auctioning off of the piano used to writeABBA's "Dancing Queen." ABBA cofounder Benny Andersson certified the piano and the asking price is $1.1 million. Finally The Beatles have their first recording contract up for auction. The band served as Tony Sheridan's backing band on the song "My Bonnie" recorded in Hamburg Germany. The asking price on this piece of Fab Four history is $150,000 just a little more than the $80 the band was paid to make the record in the first place.
Bully
Our guest this week is the alternative
Jim first saw Bully perform at SXSW this year in Austin and was blown away by their sonic power and emotional lyrics. A few weeks ago, Bully came into the studio and while unfortunately Greg couldn't be there, Jim had a great time talking to the members about their past professions, '90s nostalgia and their unique sound.
Beauty Behind the Madness The Weeknd

Canadian
Stuff Like That There Yo La Tengo

Yo La Tengo's live sets are famed for including covers of obscurities from the rock canon. Their 1990 album Fakebook was filled with surprising unplugged covers alongside acoustic reinterpretations of songs from the band's own catalog. Now on their fourteenth LP Stuff Like That There, the indie veterans are revisiting that concept. Greg admires the group's mission to direct listeners' attentions to neglected records they revere, both deep cuts from the distant past as well as songs by their underrated peers. But Greg wishes there was more variety in the hushed sound, so he gives the album a Try It. Jim has always loved the acoustic side of YLT since the band formed in his hometown of Hoboken, New Jersey. Jim finds the interplay of Georgia Hubley and Ira Kaplan's vocals to be lovely and is happy to see the return of guitarist Dave Schramm. It may be a surprise for fans of the noisier Yo La Tengo, but for Jim, Stuff Like That There is a Buy It.
Featured Songs
- Miley Cyrus, "The Floyd Song (Sunrise)," Miley Cyrus and her Dead Petz, Smiley Miley Inc., 2015
- Fatboy Slim, "Punk to Funk," Better Living Through Chemistry, Skint, 1996
- Pink Floyd, "Mother," The Wall, Harvest, 1979
- Bully, "Milkman," Milkman (Single), Columbia, 2014
- Ace of Base, "The Sign," The Sign, Arista, 1993
- Bully, "Brainfreeze (Live on Sound Opinions)," Feels Like, Columbia, 2015
- The Police, "Roxanne," Roxanne (Single), A&M, 1978
- Bully, "Reason," Feels Like, Columbia, 2015
- Hole, "Doll Parts," Live Through This, DGC, 1994
- Nirvana, "In Bloom," Nevermind, DGC, 1991
- Bully, "Trying (Live on Sound Opinions)," Feels Like, Columbia, 2015
- Bully, "Sharktooth," Feels Like, Columbia, 2015
- Bully, "I Remember (Live on Sound Opinions)," Feels Like, Columbia, 2015
- Bully, "Picture," Feels Like, Columbia, 2015
- Bully, "Bully (Live on Sound Opinions)," Feels Like, Columbia, 2015
- Bully, "Too Tough," Feels Like, Columbia, 2015
- The Weeknd, "Can't Feel My Face," Can't Feel My Face (Single), Republic, 2015
- The Weeknd, "In the Night," Beauty Behind the Madness, Republic, 2015
- Yo La Tengo, "Friday I'm in Love," Stuff Like That There, Matador, 2015
- Yo La Tengo, "I Can Feel the Ice Melting," Stuff Like That There, Matador, 2015
- Shelley Fabares, "Telephone (Won't You Ring)," Telephone (Won't You Ring) (Single), Colpix, 1962
- The Isley Brothers, "For the Love of You, Pts. 1 & 2," The Heat is On, Epic, 1975
- Seals & Crofts, "Get Closer," Get Closer, Warner Bros., 1976
- The Faces, "Ooh La La," Ooh La La, Warner Bros., 1973
- The Small Faces, "Tin Soldier (Live)," Here Comes the Nice Box Set, Snapper Classics, 2014
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