Casey Spooner | |
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 Casey Spooner in 2018 | |
| Born | Casey David Spooner February 2, 1970 |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, artist |
Casey David Spooner (born February 2, 1970) is an American musician and artist. [2] He resides in Paris, Los Angeles, and New York City. [3]
Spooner was born in Athens, Georgia. [1] He attended University of Georgia and later went on to study at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. [4]
Spooner has contributed and worked on shows with Doorika, a performance arts collective based in Chicago and New York City.
Casey joined experimental New York performance ensemble The Wooster Group in 2007, taking on the role of Ophelia's brother Laertes in their production of Hamlet (which featured two Fischerspooner songs that were composed for the show).
In 2009, Spooner did a DJ tour before the album “Entertainment” came out. He was also performing with the Wooster Group during this time. [5]
In January 2010, Spooner distributed his first solo work online, "Faye Dunaway", as a preview of a 2010 solo album entitled Adult Contemporary. The album, according to words by Spooner on Twitter, was recorded directly after finishing Entertainment, and was scheduled for release in 2010.
In 2011, Spooner was the opening act for Scissor Sisters on the band's North American tour. [6]
Spooner released a solo single in 2020 titled "I Love My Problems." [7]
Spooner announced SPOONERHOLLYWOOD in 2021. The multimedia project consists of music, performance, film, and political commentary. [8] He made a Ned Stresen-Reuter directed music video for a Julian Stetter-produced song called Blood is Blood. The video was available online as an NFT. The logo was created by Gareth Hague and the package includes photographs by Jun Lu. [9]
Spooner wrote much of the soundtrack to the 2004 movie D.E.B.S.
In 2012, he co-directed the independent film Dust with Adam Dugas. The film included Warhol Superstar Holly Woodlawn, artist Jaimie Warren, musician and painter Cody Critcheloe, designer Peggy Noland, and more. [10] [11]
Spooner, with electroclash and performance troupe Fischerspooner, produced two books with Italian based publisher Damiani Editore: Egos (2014) and New Truth (2015). New Truth explored the connection between pop culture and visual art and was edited by Meredith Mowder with text by Klaus Biesenbach, Gavin Brown and Jeffrey Deitch, amongst others. [12]
Spooner exhibited and produced a catalogue in 2017 called "SIR: character studies, promotional materials, self actualization and contemporary photography 2013 – 2018" at Mumok. [13] The exhibition included a photographic series by Yuki James which showcased Spooner, friends, collaborators, acquaintances, and anonymous men from the internet in various sexual regalia and leather-and-chains bondage. [14] At the close of the exhibition, Spooner performed “Deinstall/Dismantle/Destroy”, destroying the imagery at the exhibition and making new works from paintings and collages. [15]
Spooner announced a presidential bid for the 2020 United States presidential election, on 4 July in 2019. [1] [16] He created a line of clothing and art objects to promote his campaign. [17]
In 2021, he was the subject for artist Robert Knoke's “FANTASIES OF A HOMOSEXUAL PRESIDENT; POINTING A FINGER AT THE DOUBLE STANDARDS OF THE PATRIARCHY,” at the CultureEdit Gallery in Los Angeles, CA. [18] [2]
Spooner met Warren Fischer in 1998 while attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the two would go on to form the musical duo group Fischerspooner. The group worked in performance, photography, and immersive enterprises such as museum exhibitions and musical acts. [19] Spooner primarily wrote songs and performed vocals for the group while the classically trained Fischer composed the songs. The group grew to over 20 performers, most of whom were dancers and collaborative guest vocalists, and activated numerous spaces like concert halls, clubs, construction sites, art galleries, and more. [20] "We started as a performance art piece about entertainment that ultimately became legitimate entertainment," said Casey Spooner, when talking about the group's origins in an April 2009 interview. [21]
In 2002, the duo appeared on the cult-status television show Top of the Pops. [14]
Fischerspooner's debut album, #1, has been released on several record labels, including International DJ Gigolo, Ministry of Sound and Capitol Records, and includes their hit singles "Sweetness", "Emerge", and a cover of Wire's "the 15th". In the final months of 2004, Fischerspooner opened up their FS Studios in New York City to the public for a few hours once a week, allowing people to meet the band and production team, as well as preview new video, music and dance projects that they were working on.
In 2005, Odyssey, the band's second album, was released. The album featured songs that were more structured and more accurately described as electropop than electroclash. "Odyssey was really about being on Capitol, which was this icon of classic American music, trying to embrace that cliché and find a way to embody it and infiltrate it and take it apart at the same time", says Spooner. [21]
Spooner and Fischer wrote a majority of the songs for the 2006 film Grandma's Boy. [22]
Entertainment was released in North America via the band's own label FS Studios on May 4, 2009, produced by Jeff Saltzman (The Killers, The Black Keys, The Sounds). An American and European Tour, known as Between Worlds, continued all through 2009. Like in other Fischerspooner's performances, Spooner was the main figure of the show.
The album Sir , executive-produced and co-written by Spooner's first boyfriend, Michael Stipe of R.E.M., and Boots, was released in February 2018. [23] [24] The song "Top Brazil" was released on January 19, 2018, along with an electro-pop music video which Billboard called "provocative." NPR interpreted the album as a retrospective collage of Reagan-era queer references framed in an undeniably contemporary style. Fischerspooner disbanded in 2019.
In November 2019, Spooner revealed that French music producer Mirwais and he had been working on a song, that was never released, for an unreleased Mirwais album. Mirwais later worked on the song with American singer Madonna, who contributed to additional lyrics and edits. Mirwais's song was included on Madonna's 2019 album Madame X under the title "God Control". Spooner said that he was unaware that this collaboration had happened until he heard that the song had been released. Spooner said that Mirwais had neglected to tell Madonna that Spooner had worked on the song, while Mirwais countered that he had indeed told Madonna that Mirwais and Spooner had worked together. Madonna's representative states that Mirwais did not tell her about Spooner's contributions. Spooner posted a demo of what became "God Control" on his Instagram as evidence that Madonna released the song without crediting and paying Spooner. Spooner says he has sought monetary compensation and a writing credit, citing French copyright law. Significant factors include: Mirwais is French and he originated the song; as well, Spooner lives in France, and was not aware of the song's release; the song should "not exist"; and that Spooner could conceivably obtain an injunction in a French court to stop further distribution of "God Control." Spooner admits that a court might be hesitant to give him an injunction due to the identity of the other parties involved. [25] [26] [27] [28]
Madonna Louise Ciccone is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting and visual presentation. Madonna's works, which incorporate social, political, sexual, and religious themes, have generated both controversy and critical acclaim. A cultural icon spanning both the 20th and 21st centuries, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame called her one of the most "well-documented figures of the modern age" in 2008. Various scholarly reviews, literature, and art works have been created about her along with an academic mini subdiscipline devoted to her called Madonna studies.
Fischerspooner was an electroclash duo and performance troupe formed in 1998 in New York City after meeting in school. The name is a combination of the founders' last names, Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner.
Mirwais Ahmadzaï, known mononymously as Mirwais, is a French electronic dance music record producer and songwriter. Born in Switzerland to an Afghan father and an Italian mother, Ahmadzaï was a member of the defunct 1980s group Taxi Girl. He met Madonna in the late 1990s, when he submitted a demo to her then record label, Maverick Records.
Music is the eighth studio album by American singer Madonna, released on September 18, 2000, by Maverick and Warner Bros. Records. Following the success of her previous album Ray of Light (1998), Madonna found herself in a music scene increasingly influenced by a younger generation of singers such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. This led her to seek a distinctive sound that would set her apart in the evolving musical landscape. Her collaborations with Mirwais Ahmadzaï and William Orbit resulted in a more experimental direction for the album. Music incorporates many different genres into its overall dance-pop and electronica vibe, taking influences from funk, house, rock, country and folk. With the album embracing a western motif, Madonna reimagined her image in the role of a cowgirl.
"American Life" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It is the title track from her ninth studio album American Life (2003), and was released digitally as the lead single from the album on March 24, 2003, by Maverick Records. It is a pop, techno and folk song written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï; the lyrics to "American Life" feature violent transitions and a political and religious view from Madonna. She questions the shallowness of modern life and the American Dream during the presidency of George W. Bush. Towards the end of the song, Madonna raps, naming the people who were working for her.
Confessions on a Dance Floor is the tenth studio album by American singer and songwriter Madonna. It was released on November 9, 2005, by Warner Bros. Records. A complete departure from her previous studio album American Life (2003), the album includes influences of 1970s disco and 1980s electropop, as well as 2000s club music. Initially, she began working with Mirwais Ahmadzaï for the album but later felt that their collaboration was not going in the direction she desired. Madonna took her collaboration with Stuart Price who was overseeing her documentary I'm Going to Tell You a Secret. The album was mainly recorded at Price's home-studio where Madonna spent most of her time during the recordings.
"Music" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna as the title track for her eighth studio album (2000). It was released as the lead single from the album to radio on August 1, 2000, by Maverick and Warner Bros. Records and commercially released on August 21. "Music" was inspired by a Sting concert Madonna attended and was written and produced by her with Mirwais Ahmadzaï. It is a electropop, disco, electro-funk and dance-pop song in a static key of G minor. Madonna's vocals are electronically manipulated in the track, with the lyrics having political and social undertones and reiterating the uniting power of music.
Odyssey is the second full-length album by electroclash duo and performance troupe Fischerspooner, released on April 5, 2005, in the United States, and on April 11 around the world. Despite being recognized as one of the more successful acts from the electroclash scene, Fischerspooner changed their musical direction, and created Odyssey as more of a synthpop record. The album features several guest contributors such as David Byrne, Linda Perry, Hole's guitarist Eric Erlandson, Mirwais and Susan Sontag. The songs "Natural Disaster," "Never Win," and "Happy" were featured in the 2006 film Grandma's Boy, and the last two songs were included on the soundtrack.
#1 is the first full-length album by electroclash duo Fischerspooner released in 2001. It originally received a limited run on International DeeJay Gigolo Records, and contained "The 15th", a cover of a Wire song from their album 154. #1 has been re-pressed several times with a different track listing. The title "Fucker" was also censored on subsequent releases, either as "!@*$%#", "*#!@¥¿", or "*#!@Y?".
"Impressive Instant" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 2000 studio album Music. Originally intended to be the fourth single of the album, the release was cancelled due to a disagreement between Madonna and her recording company. Finally Warner Bros. released it in the United States as a promotional single on September 18, 2001. Written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï, the track is bright and uplifting in its content and composition. It was the first song that Madonna and Ahmadzaï worked on and recorded. Ahmadzaï had to work separately on his laptop to generate the sound elements which Madonna wanted in the song, since it was difficult to generate the music in the recording studio. "Impressive Instant" has been described as a club-savvy acid techno, pop-trance, electropop and electro house stomper containing futuristic keyboard lines, with Madonna's vocals being distorted and robotic. Backed by laser noises and synths, the song's lyrics deal with love at first sight, and contains somewhat absurd, nonsensical lyrics.
"Bitch I'm Madonna" is a song by American singer Madonna from her thirteenth studio album, Rebel Heart (2015), featuring guest vocals from rapper Nicki Minaj. The artists co-wrote the song with MoZella, Toby Gad, Ariel Rechtshaid, Diplo, and Sophie. It was released as the third single from the album by Interscope Records on June 15, 2015, along with a number of remixes commissioned. Produced by Madonna and Diplo, it is an EDM song with lyrics about Madonna having continuous fun because she is Madonna.
"Crave" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna and American rapper Swae Lee, from the former's fourteenth studio Madame X (2019). The song was written by the two artists and Starrah, while production was handled by Madonna, Mike Dean, and Billboard. It was released by Interscope Records for digital download and streaming as the album's second single on May 10, 2019. The song has been noted as a pop, trap, and hip hop ballad inspired by Fado music, with the lyrics talking about desire and craving for someone who's running away. It was one of the first songs Madonna wrote for Madame X, but she put the work on hold when she began working with other musicians in Lisbon. When she revisited the song, Madonna came to the conclusion that a male voice was needed for inclusion and approached Swae Lee to sing with her, as she was a fan of his voice.
Madame X is the fourteenth studio album by American singer and songwriter Madonna. It was released on June 14, 2019, by Interscope Records, as Madonna's final album with the label. The record was creatively influenced by her expatriate life in Lisbon, Portugal, after Madonna relocated there in mid-2017 to put her son David Banda into a top football academy. Madonna co-wrote and co-produced the album with a number of musicians, including Mirwais, Mike Dean, Diplo, the Picard Brothers and Jason Evigan, during a process that lasted 18 months. Madame X also features guest appearances by artists Maluma, Quavo, Swae Lee and Anitta.
"Medellín" is a song by American singer Madonna and Colombian singer Maluma released as the lead single from Madonna's fourteenth studio album Madame X (2019). The song was produced by Madonna, Mirwais, who wrote it alongside Maluma and Edgar Barrera. It was released as the lead single from the album on April 17, 2019, by Interscope Records. The song is named after the city in Colombia, in which Maluma was born, and is a Latin pop track with elements of reggaeton and dance-pop. Lyrically, it finds Madonna and Maluma reflecting on past struggles while dreaming about a trip to Medellín.
"Dark Ballet" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her fourteenth studio album Madame X (2019). It was released on June 7, 2019 as the album's third promotional single. Written and produced by Madonna and longtime collaborator Mirwais, the song contains a sample from The Nutcracker (1892) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and was inspired by the historical figure Joan of Arc. It is an experimental pop and electro-gospel piano ballad, with the use of vocoder on her vocals and lyrics about rebelling against the patriarchy.
"Batuka" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Madonna for her fourteenth studio album, Madame X (2019). The song was written by Madonna and her son David Banda, alongside her longtime collaborator Mirwais, while produced by Madonna and the latter of the three. It features the Batukadeiras Orchestra, an all-women group that play drums on the song. It is a batuque song with influences of Afrobeat, featuring a call and response structure, and the lyrics of the song are about "overcoming adversity".
"I Don't Search I Find" is a song by American singer Madonna from her fourteenth studio album, Madame X (2019). The track was written and produced by Madonna, alongside Mirwais Ahmadzaï. It was released to Italian contemporary hit radio by Interscope Records as the fourth single from the album on May 22, 2020. Two EPs containing several remixes had previously been released to accompany the song. It is an EDM and house influenced track that takes inspiration from Madonna's previous works, including "Vogue" (1990), Erotica (1992) and Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005).
"God Control" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her fourteenth studio album, Madame X (2019). It was written by Madonna, longtime collaborator Mirwais, and American musician Casey Spooner. Madonna and Mirwais produced the song along with Mike Dean. Lyrically the song talks about gun control and also touches on the political climate of the United States at the time. It is an experimental pop, disco, hi-NRG and electropop song and features the Tiffin Children's Chorus repeating "We lost god control" all throughout. In the music video, we can see Madonna typing "we lost gun control" and not "god control" as the song title suggests.
Madame X is a 2021 documentary concert film starring American singer-songwriter Madonna, chronicling her Madame X Tour. Written and produced by Madonna herself, the film was shot in January 2020 when she held her concerts in Lisbon, Portugal at the Coliseu dos Recreios. The film was directed by Ricardo Gomes and SKNX.
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