M83's Anthony Gonzalez
Photo: MTV News

The name of the electronic act M83 may refer to a galaxy some 15 million light years away, but from the sound of their latest release, Saturdays = Youth, you'd be forgiven for thinking the number in the group's name refers to year 1983.

"I think that the '80s was certainly one of the most important periods of music so far. I love so many bands from this period that I thought it was a good idea to treat it with respect," said French musician Anthony Gonzalez, who effectively is M83. Gonzalez spoke to MTV News near the end of his recent U.S. tour, and made no bones about the fact that the album, released in April, was meant as an homage to that decade when hair was bigger and life — and synthesizers — were simpler. "To do that, we tried to work only with instruments from the '80s," he said. "We worked only with analog keyboards, analog synths; we didn't use any computers. The idea was to have a very '80s sound, but modern as well."

And not just any '80s sound, mind you. While previous M83 records, like 2003's Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts, invited descriptions like "electro-shoegaze" and comparisons to the recently reunited My Bloody Valentine, with Saturdays = Youth, Gonzalez veered headlong into the synth-pop realm of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and music from the films of that master of Reagan-era teen travails, John Hughes. Gonzalez, who has long drawn musical inspiration from cinema, admits he's "always been nostalgic," and although he spent his own adolescence in the 1990s, those quintessentially '80s exercises in coming-of-age like "The Breakfast Club" and "Pretty in Pink" proved hugely inspirational to him. "I have so many good memories of when I was a kid, watching those movies. When you are 13 or 14 it's like you are discovering a new world. There is something about being a teenager that I really love."

No kidding: Until now, M83's best known song was probably "Teen Angst" from 2005's Before the Dawn Heals Us, while the new record, awash in swirling synths, features such dreamy odes to adolescence as "Highway of Endless Dreams" and "We Own the Sky," and tells the tale of a "Graveyard Girl," one of those goth chicks who Gonzalez, like many of us, knew and loved — a girl who "worships Satan" but "dreams of a sister like Molly Ringwald." There's also a Ringwald look-alike among the pretty young things on the album cover, along with, in Gonzalez's words, "a boy who looks like Kurt Cobain" and a kid in a skeleton suit "like Donnie Darko."

But surely he realizes the teen years are, in fact, painful ones for many people? "Yeah, some people tell me that," he conceded. "But it was one of the best periods of my life. You experience so many things for the first time — your first sex, so many things. It can be scary, but for me it was just about fun. So that's the reason I did this album. I just wanted to re-create the feeling of my teenage years."

Gonzalez also says he wanted to challenge himself on this — his "shiniest" record to date — to write pop songs, something he calls "really difficult," and likens to a filmmaker trying his hand at comedy. He also hoped to get more confident vocally, singing more than on past M83 records, which were mostly instrumental affairs. Lending a hand in the latter department was Morgan Kibby, singer with the Los Angeles band the Romanovs and a part-time actress; she has what Gonzalez calls "a Kate Bush-type voice."

Despite the fact that this pop path (which follows a full-on ambient record, last year's Digital Shades Vol. 1) may have initially thrown longtime fans, Gonzalez says he doesn't consider the new sound a "betrayal" — instead, it's a new direction, one that is still true to himself. "And I think if you are always doing the same thing over and over, it's going to get boring. Repetition is death for me." And he just may be picking up new fans: The album's sales are outpacing M83's previous releases.

So let's score another one for France! For many years, the French have been about as successful exporting pop music to America as they have been exporting cars here (when was the last time you saw a Renault or Citroen dealership?). But in the past year alone, we've seen breakthroughs for Justice, the Teenagers, and now another success for M83.

All Gonzalez needs now is a little recognition in his homeland. "It's always been more difficult in France," he explains. "But with bands like Daft Punk or Air, they were first really famous in America and then after that they came back to France and had lots of success. So, maybe it will be the same thing for me."

See more of my interview with Anthony Gonzalez of M83 right here.

• John Norris Interviews...M83

• M83

Backstreet Boy Nick Carter (file)
Photo: Jive

Nick Carter's movie "The Hollow" has finally found a home. A modern update of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," "The Hollow" follows the great-great-grandson of Ichabod Crane, who is unaware of his lineage and unknowingly stirs the vengeful spirit of the Headless Horseman (Carter plays the menacing Brody). The film, which also stars former Dream singer Melissa Schuman, Eileen Brennan, Stacy Keach and Judge Reinhold, will air on ABC Family on October 28. ...

Two weeks after they drop their next LP, eMOTIVe, on November 2, A Perfect Circle will release the DVD/CD set aMOTION, which features a live performance and a remix album. ... The White Stripes are planning to release a DVD of their recent performance in Blackpool, England. "Under Blackpool Lights," which sees the band performing "Seven Nation Army," "The Hardest Button to Button" and other songs from its latest album, Elephant, is due October 26. ... Conor Oberst has announced the titles of his two upcoming releases under the Bright Eyes moniker: I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn. Both albums will be released on the same day sometime in mid-to-late January. ... The filmmakers who created "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" are bringing a new version of their parking-lot series, this time focusing on Michael Jackson fans, to Trio. "Parking Lot: Michael Jackson" premieres on September 13 at 9 p.m. ET. ...

McFarlane Toys is set to release a limited-edition deluxe set of Mötley Crüe figures this November. The set features the Crüe rocking out on a stage, complete with Shout at the Devil-era pentagrams on Tommy Lee's double bass drums. ... And Slash is about to become a McFarlane figure, too. The Velvet Revolver/ former Guns N' Roses guitarist will be featured with his top hat and leather jacket while playing guitar. "It's extremely flattering and humbling to be immortalized in plastic," Slash said in a statement Wednesday (September 1). The Slash figure will be available at mass retailers in July. ...

Paris Hilton is seeking to trademark her name, according to an application she filed in July with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which revealed that she has a logo she'd like to use in conjunction with any products she releases — a tiara with a monogrammed "P" on it. Her father had previously filed an application in May seeking a Paris Hilton trademark to use on fragrances and body-care products. Both trademark requests are pending review. ... Jewel is working on an animated series for Nickelodeon called "Punk Rock Angel Girl." She's currently developing it with playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who's written the adventures of the Fantastic Four for Marvel Comics as well as the comic-book adaptation for "Spider-Man 2." ...

As the Raveonettes were plugging away on their next album in a New York studio, the Danish duo were honored by a visit from former Velvet Underground drummer Moe Tucker, who recorded five tracks for the group's follow-up to last year's Chain Gang of Love. ... Following their stint on the Warped Tour, Bad Religion have lined up a fall tour with Rise Against that begins October 14 in Dallas. The band continues to support its latest album, The Empire Strikes First, which dropped in June. ...

Blondie are releasing a live album on both CD and DVD this fall. "Live by Request" was taped May 7 in New York for the "Live by Request" television program, and includes such songs as "One Way or Another," "Rip Her to Shreds," "Call Me," "Hanging on the Telephone" and "Rapture." The DVD will include four bonus performances that didn't air on the broadcast, including an acoustic take on "The Dream's Lost on Me." The CD and DVD are due out September 14. ... Aerosmith's Steven Tyler is the narrator of a new Talking Street walking tour called "Boston: City of Rebels and Dreamers." The walking tour includes the site of the Boston Massacre, Fenway Park and the Big Dig, and beginning this week, those interested in learning more about Beantown can dial their cell phones in order to access info on the sites narrated by hometown boy Tyler. ...

Galactically inspired M83 will make their maiden voyage to North America this fall. On September 13 in Philadelphia, the French electronic duo will begin a weeklong tour in support of their recently re-released debut record, Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts. The pair's as-yet-untitled follow-up album is due to land in January. ...

8.31.2004

Though Haylie Duff has the rights to the song, Paris Hilton is plunging forward with her plans to release "Screwed" as well. She told MTV News that she's cutting a more rock version of the track and is shooting a video for it with director David LaChapelle, for whom she threw a pre-VMA party in Miami's South Beach. Hilton also said she's been working with the Black Eyed Peas on some tracks for her forthcoming album. ...

Britney Spears and her mother, Lynne, have contributed a family recipe for seafood pasta to celebrity cookbook "Star Palate," which benefits the Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. "Both Britney and I are committed to doing whatever we can to help further research for this devastating disease, and were honored to support this project in a significant way," the singer's mother said in a statement. The book, which will hit shelves in October, will also include how-to's from Tori Amos, Anastacia, Billy Joel and Alice Cooper, as well as from noted chefs. ... Rancid bassist Matt Freeman is joining Social Distortion as a touring member, replacing longtime member John Maurer, who's left the band. Social Distortion's tour — with Tiger Army in tow — starts September 24 in Corpus Christi, Texas. ...

Sum 41, Fat Joe with Terror Squad, the Donnas and Fabolous are all slated to perform at the Gravity Games, which will be held over two nights in Cleveland on September 17-18. The Donnas and Sum 41 will play Friday, while Fabolous and Fat Joe will play Saturday. The Gravity Games will air on the Outdoor Life Network on September 20 at 9 p.m. ET. A highlight program on CBS will air on September 26. ... One of Ray Charles' many memorable concerts, this one with a full symphony, is being released on DVD. "Ray Charles Live - In Concert With the Edmonton Symphony" was shot in Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada in 1981 and features the late musician performing such songs as "Georgia on My Mind," "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "I Can See Clearly Now." It'll be out on September 21. ...

The Wu-Tang Clan will release their first greatest-hits album on October 26. Wu-Tang Clan's Greatest Hits will include 16 tracks from the group's four albums, including "C.R.E.A.M.," "Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing Ta F' Wit," "Triumph," and "It's Yourz," as well as three rare tracks. ... Moby, Chuck D, Lou Reed, Joan Osborne and a host of others took the stage on Monday night — otherwise known as the opening night of the Republican National Convention — at New York's Beacon Theatre for a concert in support of Planned Parenthood. ...

Duran Duran hope to tell their story in an upcoming tome called "Please, Please Tell Me Now." According to their book proposal, they would chronicle the group's adventures, such as "Nick Rhodes' little-disclosed relationship with Andy Warhol and his bloody bedroom games with Elizabeth Hurley through Simon LeBon's torrid affair and courtship of the model Yasmine to Andy Taylor's journey into the fleshpots of Ibiza." The book would be written in collaboration with rock journalist Stephen Davis. ... The reunited Tears for Fears are planning to release their first album since 1989's The Seeds of Love on September 14. Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith are calling the LP Everybody Loves a Happy Ending; songs include "Closest Thing to Heaven," "Call Me Mellow," "Who Killed Tangerine?" and "Last Days on Earth." ... John Lennon's 1975 album Rock 'n' Roll, which featured him covering songs by Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly, is being reissued on September 27. The new version includes four remastered versions of Lennon's rock covers, and new photography in the liner notes. …

• Nick Carter
• A Perfect Circle
• The White Stripes
• Mötley Crüe
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