So I'm pretty stoked for "Congratulations", but I'm reading a lot of negative listener reviews out there basically shitting on it. They seem to all be pissed that its not Oracular Spectacular part 2. No, there's no "Kids", no "Time To Pretend", and definitely no "Electric Feel", but get over it! Artists (especially MGMT and the like) are allowed to progress and develop new sounds and arrangements. Its what makes music so interesting! I am a huge fan of this album. It gets better and better with each listen. I have never seen MGMT live, but I am more inclined to do so now more than ever. They're a trippy, talented pair and I 'congratulate' them. Wow...that was clever haha.
"Fang Island is a self-proclaimed “Healing & Easy Listening / Visual” band from “Philayorkadence” in the United States of America. Fang Island makes music that they describe as 'everyone high-fiving everyone.'" - Last.fm Haha this is such a great description for this band. Seriously, I just gave Fang Island's self titled album a listen here at work and it easily took the place of my routine post-lunch cup of coffee. So much energy in each addictive track. Its like listening to 8 different genres rolled into one; post-punk, elecronic, classic rock, instrumental, metal, alt. rock, etc. etc. This is definitely a favorite for 2010. Check the full album out below.
I've seen these guys before at Virgin Free Fest back a few years back. A really talented bunch of songwriters from Athens, Georgia. Feel good southern rock, reminiscent of the vibe The Hold Steady creates, another favorite of mine.
Generally favorable review from (the increasingly un-reputable) RollingStone.com: "Athens, Georgia, band the Whigs build arena-size tunes out of some very unarena influences — including the Replacements, Pixies, My Morning Jacket and Spoon. The band's third disc is the sharpest distillation of its neo-college rock yet, with Animal Collective producer Ben H. Allen's arty, wall-of-sound approach brightening singer-guitarist Parker Gispert's underdog anthems while rarely slowing them down. "I Am for Real" sets echo-chamber guitar grind to a disco throb; "Someone's Daughter" is a riff-monster stomp worthy of Billy Squier; and "I Don't Even Care About the One I Love" suggests the Whigs have got a great record of R.E.M. answer-songs in them, if the local bars ever stop producing hardhearted girls to shout about." - John Dolan R.S.
The self titled full length debut from The Soft Pack (formally "The Muslims") was released earlier this month. I had heard their stuff before and was definitely looking forward to giving their 10 track LP a listen. Simplistic in its ways, but consitently upbeat and fun. Fast tempos make for a quick enjoyable listen. Surf rock inspired guitar riffs blend well with verby rythms. Singer/guitarist Matt Lamkin sounds somewhat emotionless on some tracks, but it works very well with their overall melodic yet punky sound. I detect a bit of Strokes influence on a number of tracks. Expect to hear a lot more from this foursome from San Diego in the near future.
You should sign up (free) for LaLa if you haven't already. Best site out there for streaming tunes!
Check out "C'Mon", "Answer to Yourself", & "Tides of Time".
Sunday night, House of Blues, Boston. Jam packed with what seemed to be only 16 - 21 year olds...plus 25 yr old me. Vans shoes, skinny jeans, and stupid swoop haircuts galore. However, I'm not here to rip apart the emo/pop punk sub-culture of today. I'm posting to provide my take on two bands in particular who are both responsible for contributing to the soundtrack of my youth (aka the good old days). Those bands of course being Saves The Day & New Found Glory.
Saves the Day played first. I was jacked up on the dieselest sized Red Bull (splash of vodka) and memories of blasting Can't Slow Down and Through Being Cool every day in high school. I previewed their setlist and it was legit so I knew this was going to be sick. They took the stage and I immediately had some issues. You see, STD has undergone numerous band member updates over the years, and with each restructure, I cringe a bit. This was the worst. There is now only one original member of Saves the Day remaining; singer/guitairst Chris Conley. I will hand it to the foursome though. They sounded great! If you closed your eyes you wouldn't be able to tell if you were listening to the new lineup or the original 5 piece from back in the day. However, they definitely could have been louder, and the crowd seemed to not give a shit about them. Everyone was just standing, emotionless. Clearly all there for the headliner; NFG. I was bummed out a bit. It just lacked the feel of originality and everything I love/loved about this band. I made the comment "it's like a Saves the Day cover band featuring Chris Conley. Anyhow, I'm glad I saw them. Excellent set list (great mix of old shit and new).
Make way for NFG. I have to admit. I reverted to 16 year old Steve for thier set. New Found Glory played their self titled album in its entirety from start to finish. So sick. This record was adolescent gold back in high school. Clearly I'm going to lose my cool and jump around like a moron with the youngsters. They sounded great. Loud, fast, energetic; everything that makes GOOD pop punk so fun. Plus the members of the band are actually older than I am so I didn't feel like that big a douche. Anyhow, I didn't care about all that when I was in the thick of it. No, the embarrassment set in much later on the train ride home, where I found myself surrounded by sweaty inarticulate teenagers (who were just as sweaty as I mind you).
So, overall it was a great show. Saves the Day = 6.8 and NFG = 9.0. Time machine shows are always good...so long as I can get over the whole "I'm an old dude who shouldn't be here" feeling they so inevitably emote.
So first of all...BEST album cover of the year, hands down. Second; a truly excellent album! Surfer Blood's debut "Astro Coast" came out this January and I finally got around to giving it a thorough listen. What I found was 10 tracks of upbeat, echoing, surf rock inspired by such legends as Pavement, Weezer, and the Pixies. Listening to this album stimulates your imagination. You can actually make out the sound of the ocean bubbling as you are pinned down by waves crashing overhead (see "Take It Easy"). Killer guitar riffs paired with warm fuzzed out melodies promote memories of sunny days driving with the windows down, careless, and free. These talented bunch of dudes hailing from Florida managed to create a fantastic album and certainly a contender for numerous "Best of 2010" lists.
So am I the only one that thought The Who's half-time performance last night was really good? A lot of reviews I'm reading/hearing are extremely anti. However, it seems to be a generational thing. Older fans are making comments like "they're fossils" or "when I was a kid, The Who were actually sweet live" and "last night was just sad"...blah blah, shit like that. Well, I've had the chance to see The Who live at the Virgin Music Festival in Baltimore back in 2006, and it was phenomenal! Last night's performance reminded me of that experience, so maybe I was biased. Either way, I would like to think or at least hope that kids my age respected last night's performance; the way it sounded (tight) and the way it looked (enough f-ing lazers?!). I don't know. I was drunk, full, and stoked the Saints were only down 4 points at the half. Plus I absolutely love The Who. So even if the world disagrees, I still gave last night's show two very enthusiastic thumbs up!
::Setlist::
Pinball Wizard
Baba O'Riley
Who Are You
We're Not Gonna Take It!
Won't Get Fooled Again
I think this is what everyone was hoping to see last night --- Skip to 1:50.
First off, Britt Daniel's voice is and will always be awesome. With a tight band backing him, it's hard for Spoon not to deliver. That said, Transference is a great album and we can definitely hear hints of the same ol' Spoon, which is a GOOD thing. While many would agree it'd be difficult to top 2007s "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" (especially with it's countless gems; Cherry Bomb, The Underdog, Don't You Evah, etc.), Transference is truly a contender and a solid listen throughout. I suspect we'll see a lot of positive reviews on this album from the critics as well as the general indie/rock/alternative fan base. Spoon is on my "must see live" list, so I'll have to check out their tour dates and hope they make a stop in the Bean.
As per usual, here are a few choice tracks that I feel represent the album well and that I found myself listening to a number times over. Enjoy!
"The Mystery Zone" - Quintessential Spoon style. Excellent track.
"Written In Reverse" - This track reminds me of "I Turn My Camera On" a favorite off their 2005 "Gimme Fiction" album.
"Got Nuffin" - A quick, driving tempo paired with palm muted fuzz = the feeling like it's going to pop at any second. bravo.
Well I copped this HIGHLY anticipated record from Vampire Weekend a few days early from a source that shall remain nameless, and I'm more than stoked to give it a listen. Vampire has picked up right where they left off; blending feel good Paul Simon inspired indie pop with a variety of mellow flowing sounds to produce a 10 track 37minute compilation of sheer melodic joy. Okay, maybe I'm a bit biased because I dug their self-titled debut so much (2008), but give Contra a listen and ye shan't be disappointed. I was kind of hoping for more of a late Winter/early Spring release due to the undeniable upbeat sunny vibe Vampire creates, but there's no doubt I'll be playing this album throughout 2010.
Vamp start the record off right with the upbeat "Horchata"
Check out the funky-off beat fun of their single "Cousins"...pretty rad.
A hint of auto-tune is found here on "California English". Perhaps an influence of Rostam Batmanglij's side project Discovery? (see Tweed's Best of 2009 for a track from Discovery)
And, prob my favorite track (upon first listen) "Giving Up The Gun"
Also, fun Vamp fact..."The name Vampire Weekend comes from a movie that Ezra Koenig made in the summer of his freshman year at college." [Last.fm] You can watch the trailer on Youtube, or right here...
Although 2009 is not quite over, I felt it was a good time to post Metacritic's "30 Best-Reviewed Albums of the Year". I really like Metacritic's way of reviewing because they compile numerous reviews from various reputable publications and assign 1 average metascore. Metacritic's mathemtical approach is something I feel creates a seemingly unbiased and honest review. Anyhow, here are my "agree withs" from this list. Definitely check these out!
I love this time of year. Not only for the holiday cheer and whatnot, but for all of these "Best of..." compilations. They give music fans the opportunity to look back and reflect on what artists have given us this past year or, in this case, decade. I also like to see what I may have missed out on. Now, obviously there are going to be fanatical opinion based discrepancies with these lists, but after running through each of Rolling Stone's "100 Best" lists, I personally feel they represent some of the better and more memorable releases from various contemporary artists. I will be posting more and more "Best of" lists in the coming weeks, but I figured I'd kick it all off with the reputable legend, Rolling Stone.
"Them Crooked Vultures (abbreviated as TCV) is a hard rock music group that formed in Los Angeles, California in 2009. Comprised of drummer Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana), vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss) and bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin)" - [Last.fm]
Despite a challenging and somewhat hefty 1hr 6min run time, I finally got the opportunity to give this highly anticipated record from Them Crooked Vultures a listen this weekend. I mean, it's almost impossible not to be excited for an album where John Paul Jones and Dave Grohl come together to rock, right? Well, unfortunately, I was a little let down by this one. Granted, the hype was pretty intense, so it had a lot to live up to, but I still found it to be somewhat lacking. I'll admit, I was never a huge fan of Queens of the Stone Age, mostly because I find Josh Homme's voice to be eerily dark, cryptic, and generally unpleasant. So with Homme posing as the frontman of TCV, my pre-opinion was already negatively skewed. Anyhow, the other two legends of Them Crooked Vultures were where I was focusing my attention. Dave Grohl never ceases to amaze me. Grohl has to be one of the most talented and successful rock musicians of today (have to name drop Jack White as well here.) His drumming is tight, explosive, and powerful. It's also clear that even at age 63, John Paul Jones hasn't officially gotten ALL the Led out as he is found driving his innovative pulsing bass riffs throughout TCV's self titled debut.
Overall this ablum does rock and it is definitely unique, but I sense too much Queen's on this record. The "trippy rock" vibe is overwhelming; see "Interlude with Ludes". Jones and Grohl are what makes this supergroup for me. If they had Homme strictly on guitar and found another singer, then we'd be in business. I included a few gems from the record above.
Wolfmother's critically acclaimed self titled debut (2005) was one of the greatest rock albums I've heard in a long time. After hearing that due to "irreconcilable personal and musical differences," only the singer/guitarist, Andrew Stockdale, remained in the band, I honestly did not know what to think when Cosmic Egg was released in October 2009. Well, despite the band's reorganization, I was truly blown away once again with Wolfmother's ability to successfully blend generes of hard rock, metal, and superior song writing into one powerful album. Yet another "listen all the way through" worthy release from these Australian native rockers. "Sundial" (track above) is my one of my favorites off Cosmic Egg and I feel it is a good introduction for new listeners into the raw, energetic, rock power this band possesses. Enjoy.
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - "Glue Girls"
From the album "Pershing" - 2008
I heard this album this summer (2009) and immediately filed it under "Summer CD." It's got a happy, indie pop vibe to it, despite some of its more morose sounding lyrics; see "I Think I Wanna Die". Somehow these guys manage to provide the right amount of distortion to make it rock while still hanging onto that mellow indie sound that makes them so unique. I also dig what they did on their first album, Broom. I chose "Glue Girls" to share on Tweed because I played this track pretty much every day this summer and found its happy, care free, pop-rock tempo to be quite infectious. If you like this song I recommend "Boring Fountain" & "Modern Mystery" off of Pershing, and "Oregon Girl" found on Broom.
I started this blog in December 09 to essentially document my continuous exploration in music. My only intention is to share my adoration for music of all genres and hope that readers might discover something new that they will truly appreciate and enjoy.
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