Left off the Dial

Must Watch Music

2010-05-01T12:47:00.001-07:00

MTV long ago devolved into a collective of reality/scripted half hour showcases for spoiled teenage girls, pregnant teenage girls, and incredibly overpriviliged women who behave like girls. That's a bit general, but the point is that even though MTV long ago stopped caring about music videos, they do still exist. They're no longer marketing tools - no one really plays them on national television anymore. We instead buy them on iTunes and watch them on our iToys.

As the music industry continues its shape-shifting, it feels like there's no longer a pressure to deliver a certain type of video to promote an artist or album That music videos have been pushed to the back of modern-day pop culture's collective consciousness is a good thing. There is freedom. Not a liberation provided by the seemingly endless possibilities offered by the technology of our times, but an artistic uprising more interested in presenting a vision, no matter how controversial or twisted.

Regardless of what the idea of a music video means in 2010, there are plenty of great ones floating in the cyber ether. I've got a few of my current faves below in case you're interested.

MIA - Born Free

It's cinematic, controversial, intense, and a little shocking. It's MIA. "Born Free" is from her upcoming third album which should be out June 29, 2010.

The Morning Benders - Promises

Way too young Bonnie and Clyde clip is beautifully stylized. The same can be said for this song and the rest of the Morning Benders' latest album, Big Echo.

"Promises"

the morning benders | MySpace Music Videos

MGMT - Flash Delerium

Umm...so yeah, this is a big ol' slice of WTF from our friends Andrew and Ben. They are the nucleus of MGMT, a band that suprisingly broke through to the mainstream the last couple years, but have stayed true to their disturbingly twisted visions to make the music they want to make, not what will sell a bunch of records. It's called art and this video is absolutely artisitic. Or something

Return of the Rock!

2009-11-23T13:01:00.000-08:00

And the supergroup. And the power trio. And unfulfilled expectations.

Honestly, I didn't set my expectations too high for Them Crooked Vultures. I had every reason to, but have been burned so many times by the seemingly random amassing of individual personalities, so great in their original guises, for the sake of creating a 'supergroup.' Whether driven by ego or just the need to 'branch out' from their day jobs, supergroups rarely deliver the goods or live up to the precedent set by the true SUPERGROUPS throughout rock music history.

Classic Rock is the bedrock of the supergroup nomenclature, historically speaking. Cream, Blind Faith, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, and Bad Company were all successful, both commercially and in the eyes of fans.

The last 20 years have seen a few collectives worthy of the title 'supergroup'. The "Grunge" era produced Mad Season and Temple of the Dog, both bands pulling from the cream of the Seattle sound's then-contemporary crop. Members of Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and Screaming Trees came together to pay tribute to a fallen comrade who left this world far too soon to the rockstar cliche heroin overdose (Temple of the Dog, a one-time only tribute to Mother Love Bone's Andrew Wood) and to dive even deeper into the smack-fueled darkness of another mercurial Seattle figure (Mad Season and Alice in Chains vocalist, Layne Staley, another victim of heroin's grip, though many years after Mad Season made magic with Above.) There was A Perfect Circle featuring members of Tool, Nine Inch Nails, and Smashing Pumpkins, which essentially was the voice of Tool doing similarly dark, but equally adventurous musical explorations.

Then there was Velvet Revolver. The vocal force of Stone Temple Pilots laid over the guitar and rhythm section of Guns N Roses. It was new and exciting for about a week and the love affair (for me at least) was over. This was kind of expected. As good as the music in G'nR was at times, it was Axl's voice/antics/ego that overshadowed the band far more often than should have been allowed. Stone Temple Pilots was the opposite creature. The band was very tight, at times adventurous and inventive; anchored by, but never eclipsed by Scott Weiland's vocals. Sure, Weiland got mad press for his heroin holidazed behavior, but not before the band delivered the goods for their first couple albums.

As much as I wanted to like Velvet Revolver and didn't, I equally wanted to love Audioslave. Unfortunately, I ended up loathing them more than Velvet Revolver. The vocals of Soundgarden meets the guitar of Rage Against the Machine equals dream pairing in my books. The results were depressingly stale; at their best never even fully recalling Cornell or Morello's worst days in their 90's "Rock God" jobs. It all sounded so very predictable; merely an empty corpse of what should have been a new lease on life. Yes, both Velvet Revolver and Audioslave moved a shitload of units and played to audiences hungry for their heroes, but when history is revealed, these two bands will just be the bands that came after G'nR, Soundgarden, STP, and RATM. Four of the best bands of the late 80s to mid 90s. Magic doesn't often happen twice.

Magic rarely happens once, if at all. For it to hit twice, you would need some pretty supreme talent. Someone like Dave Grohl, drummer for Nirvana and head Foo. You'd need someone like Josh Homme, a decent enough guitarist and vocalist who almost single handedly (along with Grohl's Foo Fighters) kept ROCK alive this decade. Queens of the Stone Age had their moment in 2003 when Songs for the Deaf unleashed the instant classic, "No One Knows" on an unsuspecting audience. Well, those not familiar with QOTSA's previous output at least. Since then, Homme continued his never-ending desert trek, making music equally rocking and unfocused. And you sure as hell would need the bass player / keyboardist for Led Zeppelin, John Paul Jones, who has avoided limelight since Led Zeppelin upped the ante for what hard rock could be some 40 years ago. Yeah, you would definitely need Jonesy.

Well, the Gods have spoken and these three dynamic forces have combined to create a real supergroup. My expectations were met and exceeded with every listen of TCV's eponymous debut.

The first two minutes of lead track, "No One Loves Me & Neither Do I," hint at potential greatness. Tease is actually a better term. But then the song slams into gear and the album is off and running replete with narcotic riffage ala Homme and some of the tightest grooves this year from what I consider a dream rhythm section in Jones and Grohl.

"Mind Eraser, No Chaser" and "New Fang" follow up with more heaviness and are doing something right as both are in the Mixtape's top five currently. "Scumbag Blues" is the sonic love child of Cream and Led Zeppelin; Homme aping the vocal style of the former's Jack Bruce while Jones throws down an organ solo that could be dubbed "Re-Trampled Under Foot."

"Interlude with Ludes" is classic Homme, all desert woozy and dripping with an especially demented sexuality reminiscent of his best QOTSA material. "Gunman" is a textbook lock and load groove fest and every other song on this killer collection sounds like it will hold up well 10 years from now. I personally hope these guys are on album five by then.

RIP Ken Ober

2009-11-16T19:36:00.000-08:00

Children of the 80s, game show fans, pop culture fanatics...today is a sad day. No one knows why Ken Ober passed away at 52 today and it really doesn't matter.

What does is that he has died and thankfully, left a lasting impression on those of us lucky enough to witness Remote Control, MTV's first game show in an age where reality shows were relegated to the likes of 60 Minutes and 20/20. Ober was awesome as was the show.

A Girls Album to Remember.

2009-11-10T13:27:00.000-08:00

The album is Album and Girls are actually two guys - Christopher Owens and Chet White. There is a crazy back story that is almost too unreal to be true (check it out in the glowing review that prompted me to buy it). More important and impressive than that is the music - a pastiche of sounds siphoning the spirit of a time most Girls fans' parents probably weren't alive for into a modern-day lo-fi aesthete that renders freshness and urgency to .

The obvious vocal points of reference are Elvis Costello and Buddy Holly. Several of Album's best moments feature Owens' earnest attempt at combining the two legends' vocal tones into an entirely new creation. Opener, "Lust for Life", is all Costello circa "Peace, Love, and Understanding," while "Big Bad Mean Motherfucker" shreds like Buddy Holly trading in the horned-rims for a surfboard and a mohawk. That is to say, it's rockabilly gone punk with a dash of sun. The Holly vibe returns on "Summertime," some of the best five minutes and forty seconds I've spent listening to music this year.

"Morning Light" ditches the punkabilly vibe for a two-and-a-half minute suckerpunch of shoegaze - Jesus and Mary Chain and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club fans will approve - before spinning around 180 with the beautifully spacious instrumental, "Curls."

The centerpiece of Album is without a doubt, "Hellhole Ratrace," a seven-minute slow burner of a track that begins with acoustic sparseness before layering on feedback, bass, and handclaps until you forget that Owen's has been essentially singing the same vocal refrain the entire song. It's cathartic, yet restrained; unforgettable, but subtlety so.

For the initial listens, Album works as a collection of styles. "Morning Light's" fuzzed-out bliss. "Lust for Life" and "Laura's" Costello-leaning tendencies. "Headache's" lounge croon. You get the picture. After about a dozen spins, the idea of styles begins to fade, replaced by a brilliant collection of songs that won't leave your head and an album that, for me, is easily the best debut of the year.

Fucking Blasphemy

2009-09-08T15:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry. Really no other way to put it. I'm all for Guitar Hero and Rock Band introducing a new generation of music lovers to some great songs and legendary musical figures of the past. I'm all for technology (for the most part) being the mechanism that brings about such an education. But re-introduce the past, don't re-imagine it. I've played video games for enough years to truly appreciate unlockable characters, levels, and powers. Kurt Cobain singing Bon Jovi = bad enough. Kurt Cobain approximating Flavor Flav's "Yeah Boy!!!" in "Bring the Noise"? That's just downright ridiculous. Courtney Love, you selfish bitch, you have eclipsed Yoko Ono as the worst "rock and roll wife or ex-wife" ever. I understand providing a future for Frances Bean, but selling out her dead father? Unacceptable. The fact that Grohl and Noveselic most likely had to sign off on this too makes me scratch my head til it bleeds.

Mos Def's Michael Jackson tribute in Portland

2009-08-30T19:10:00.001-07:00

Yesterday would have been Michael Jackson's 51st birthday. Mos Def graced Portland with a nice little MJ tribute complete with moonwalking at his Roseland Theater performance last night. I was down on the floor watching Mos own the stage when he broke into "Billie Jean." It was a nice surprise. Mos did a bit of "Rock With You" as well last night. What struck me is how these exquisitely crafted songs hold up 25-30 years later. They sound as good today as they did when MJ earned his self-proclaimed "King of Pop" title. As for the rest of Mos Def's performance, it was bangin'. The dude is entertainer personified.

Them Crooked Vultures performances from Lowlands Festival

2009-08-26T18:38:00.000-07:00

“Caligulove”

"New Fang"

Pure bliss. More as it is appears.

Ahhh...Humbug

2009-08-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

The quick back story. Arctic Monkeys blew away the UK with their 2006 debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. WPSIATWIN became the fastest-selling debut album in British music history, breaking the mark previously held by Oasis's Definitely Maybe. The album also won the 2006 Mercury Prize. The Monkeys blew up and even "Bet U Look Good on the Dance Floor" was a minor US hit. The critics loved them, across-the-ponders went nuts for them, and the American listening public for the most part didn't care.

Just 15 months after they released their debut, Arctic Monkeys dropped Favourite Worst Nightmare, the band's sophomore release. In the UK, the record's first day sales of 85,000 outsold the rest of the Top 20 combined. The album was clearly a step forward from what was one of the best debut albums of the last 30 years. FWN capitalized on the band's ability to go from aggressively, well-constructed full-on rock jams to quiet, moody ballads, all the while becoming a tighter and more intelligent musical unit.

Next Tuesday, Aug 25, Arctic Monkeys release their third full-length album, Humbug. I've been listening to it for a few weeks and I must say, I'm impressed. It took a while to really embrace the album as a whole, but the band continues to grow musically and stay true to their specific vision. This is a band that won't go away until it's ready. Teaming with their previous producer, James Ford (aka Simian Mobile Disco) and bringing main Queen of the Stone Age, Josh Homme, into the fold resulted in a darker, wiser, and even tighter group than before.

Humbug succeeds as a musical statement of where the band is now and where they might be going. "Dance Little Liar," "Pretty Visitors," and "Potion Approaching" all bump and grind with QOTSA inspired riffage and Alex Turner's witty songwriting. "Cornerstone"is an instant classic - Turner's typical tale of dark bars and darker women, but with the wisdom and maturity that spending three years as Britain's saviours of rock can instill in both songcraft and songwriting. "Dangerous Animals" should fail on principle alone; there hasn't been a good "spell-along" song since Toni Basil's "Mickey" back in the early 80s. The song doesn't fail, but instead, is packed with Turner's snotty sneer and fiery drumming courtesy of modern-day percussive God, Matt Helders. The rest of the album toys with heavy psychedelic tinged guitars, tightly-constructed rhythms, and succeeds in creating a new sound that the band wears well.

The album shows the Monkeys maturing and making music on their own terms. Humbug is the product of a band experimenting with new sounds, both confidently and defiantly. The hooks may not be overtly present, but as cliche as it sounds, the album does sound better the more time you spend with it. This is a band hell-bent creating music on their own terms. I, for one, have spent a lot of time with Humbug these past few weeks and am already anticipating their next album.

Them Crooked Vultures: More to drool over

2009-08-19T14:30:00.001-07:00

I'm slowly swaying from my original stance of cautiously optimistic to Mega Fanboy status.
This could be something special if and when it drops. A tour has been announced so an album seems logical. More will appear here as it becomes available.

File Under: Tease

2009-08-12T08:39:00.000-07:00

Them Crooked Vultures. John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl, and Josh Homme together making music. Potential for greatness. The inevitable high expectations. And now, a tease of what can be.

Superfriends Unite!

2009-08-05T13:10:00.001-07:00

The term 'supergroup' is getting tossed around as easily as a five-year old in a mosh pit. Supergroup used to mean something. Cream...that's a supergroup. Asia, not as much, but still had some power back in the day. Try to resist "Heat of the Moment" all these years later. I dare you. Then there's the Pearl Jam / Soundgarden collabo Temple of the Dog. That is a supergroup for this generation if there ever was one.

The problem with supergroups is that the cumulative talent rarely fails to deliver the expected goods. Whether it's a case overthinking or disparate elements that look good on paper never achieving cohesiveness in the studio or on stage, supergroups are rarely anything more than a one-off side project fueled by a desire to branch out (read: be spontaneously creative and infuse life into a dying career) that results in bland and predictable output. See Audioslave as an example of all the above.

This year has seen a couple of supergroups that failed to deliver the goods.

Chickenfoot (Sammy Hagar, former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, Red Hot Chili Pepper time-keeper Chad Smith, and some guitar player named Joe Satriani). The sum is not greater than the parts. I loved all these guys in their former incarnations at one time or another. Sammy...I got nothin' but love for you buddy, but it's time to stick to Tequila makin'. The cha-ching of cash registers has got to better than the thud you hear when the window of opportunity - and for Sammy it was a BIG window - closes.

Tinted Windows - All growed up Taylor Hansen (no more MmmBop for him), Fountains of Wayne leader (and all around pop song God) Adam Schlesinger, former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, and Cheap Trick drummer Bun. E. Carlos. I expected great things from this band, but aside from a song or two, the shimmery summer pop vibes I'd hoped for were lost amidst sub-par songs. Too much cheese is never a good thing, even when we're talking about straight-up pop music.

So here we are. Another supergroup is upon us. This one is called Them Crooked Vultures. I want to get excited. I really do.

Dave Grohl - some think he's become douchey - I say he's one of the best rock drummers of our time. Sure, the Foo Fighters' records are becoming boring, but the dude still has a little of "it" in him I think.

Josh Homme - some think he's always been douchey - I say he brings a killer aesthetic and some pretty kick-ass riffage to the table. Not to mention the fact both these guys can sing.

I was blessed to see the one-time-only Queens of the Stone Age with Dave Grohl tour supporting Songs For the Deaf. I stood but ten feet away from the side of the stage and witnessed Grohl's thunderous drumming and Homme's 'cool as fuck' axe slinging from the best seat in the house. Chemistry. You can't fake it. It has to happen. And with these two, it happens in abundance.

And certainly not the least of the These Crooked Vultures triangle is Led Zeppelin bassist/keyboardist, John Paul Jones. If anyone says he's douchey, I will not just kick their ass, but I will cover it with gas and set the thing on fire. 'Nuff said.

Jonesy, Grohl and Josh...hmmm. Potential, yes. Optimism flowing through my veins, not quite. I've been burned by the 'Supergroup' before and I'm more than guarded about this one. I want it to be amazing. The pieces are in place. Time will tell if These Crooked Vultures will break the mold and restore a little dignity to the term, well...you know the term by now.

MCA talks about cancer surgery and the support he's received.

2009-08-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

As a supporter/worshiper of the Beastie Boys from the very beginning, it brought a smile to my face to read the following in my email this morning:

aug 5 2009

hey all,

hope you are doing well.

so i'm about a week and a half out of surgery now and rapidly recovering from it. i haven't taken any of the pain meds, which supposedly speeds along the healing process, or should i say, taking them slows it down. anyway, i spent 1 night at the hospital after the surgery. the hospital was too crazy to get any rest so i headed home to relax, have home cooked food and hang out with the family.

i'm pretty well detoxed from the anesthesia that they pumped me up with to keep me under for all that time. that took several days to get out of my system. my neck and jaw are still pretty stiff from the surgery, but it gets better everyday. had the stitches out this past monday... so things are moving along.

but no sooner am i on the mend from this first torture than are they lining up the next one. the next line of treatment will be radiation. that involves blasting you with some kind of beam for a few minutes a day, 5 days a week, for about 7 weeks. that will start in a few weeks...

saw the jay-z cover of no sleep, and the coldplay one of fight for your right from APW on youtube. good shit. and i heard karen o wore a "get well MCA" armband, and that q-tip gave a shout out too..... very kind of them.

just wanted to thank them and everyone else who sent positive thoughts my way. i do think that all of the well wishes have contributed to the fact that my treatment and recovery are going well.

much love back at all of you!

adam

----------------------
Jay Z covering "No Sleep Til Brooklyn" at All Points West

Jack White - Coming soon in 7" and 480" varieties.

2009-08-05T09:05:00.000-07:00

Jack White is reportedly working. If you weren't sitting down, I apologize. It's pretty bone-rattling news. Mr. Ubiquitous, not content with his rotating rock trifecta of the White Stripes, Raconteurs, and Dead Weather is now releasing solo material. "Fly Farm Blues" will be released Aug 11 on White's own Third Man Records in digital format only. No extra tracks. No fancy vinyl collectors packaging. Just Jack. Just a song. Because he can.

White recorded the song during the filming of It Might Get Loud, a little tale of three guitar Gods and their individual takes on what the guitar means to them. And then they jam the shit out of each other's music. Jack White. The Edge. Jimmy Page. Cross-generational guitar Gods ready for your silver screen consumption. The film opens in LA and NY Aug 14 and then trickles out to the rest of America over the next two months. Full release schedule here. Trailer is below.

New Muse: United States of Eurasia

2009-07-28T14:57:00.000-07:00

I see a little silhouette of a man. Scaramoosh Scaramoosh....

This is certainly a WTF moment if I ever heard one, but Muse is generally ambitious so this shouldn't come as too much of a surprise.

Their fifth album, The Resistance, is scheduled to be released Sept. 15.

They Still Make Videos: Arctic Monkeys' "Crying Lightning"

2009-07-27T19:48:00.000-07:00

The haters are out in full force on this one. Pitchfork called it "awkward." The Mensa-ready YouTube reviewer population either don't get it or don't care. Maybe the words are justified. The video for the number one song on this week's Mixtape is as cheesy as they come: a fake ocean tossing around a fake boat while the band probably fake play their instruments. It doesn't matter.

The video doesn't need to support Alex Turner's narrative about the mysterious game at the heart of his from-love-to-hate tale of female-fueled frustration. Turner's always been a good lyricist, at times great. Gobstopper and pic-a-mints aside, "Crying Lightning" is proof that Turner is continuing to improve his tale weaving skills. I think the band made the right call by putting their playing up front - until the 100 foot spirit representations of the band members rise from the water.

The video isn't an instant classic. It certainly doesn't approach the bar that the band's "Fluorescent Adolescent" set a couple years back. But it doesn't matter. The song and writing are another positive step forward for the best band to come out of England since Oasis. Yeah. I said it. The video is just the work of a band confident enough to do what they want, how they want, with little regard for conventional wisdom.

Draw your own conclusions below.

Beastie Boy Adam Yauch (MCA) announces he has cancer.

2009-07-21T11:55:00.000-07:00

Sad, though relatively hopeful, news from Beastie Boy Adam Yauch.

I was shocked, as I'm sure everyone was, to hear this. Yauch is one-third of what I consider to be one of the best musical acts of all-time (and genre) and certainly a personal favorite. May the surgery be successful in eradicating the cancer he has recently announced he has. Godspeed MCA!!!

Amazing What Can Happen in a Couple Weeks

2009-07-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

Wow. It's been a while since I last posted. Long stretches of work in the "real world" have not afforded me the time nor the energy to respond to the wonderful world of music news and releases. So it's time for a little catch up in a feature I like to call: "Short and Sweet"

News:

Michael Jackson

This was kind of a big deal. Talented icon and legend with questionable lifestyle choices dies, the media collectively belly up to the "teet" of opportunity and suck the issue dry like the leeches many of them are. Expected and sad, both the death and its coverage.

Julian Casablancas

Strokes lead singer joins everyone else from the band in pursuing a side project. Casablancas' first solo album, Phrazes For The Young, is set to be released this fall. The last couple times we've heard from Casablancas, he was collaborating with NERD and Santogold for last year's Mixtape number one, "My Drive Thru" and singing about a "Boombox" with the Lonely Island dudes. If and when the Strokes finally get around to recording a new record, will anyone still care?

Albums

Bitte Orca / Dirty Projectors

A collection of well-crafted songs, heavy on musicality and experimentation yet incredibly accessible. Nine songs that meld together for a complete listening experience in the way albums used to provide.

The Ecstatic / Mos Def

Best hip-hop album I've heard in a long time. Masterful sequencing of 16 gems - each its own showcase of melody, beats, and lyricism - leads to new discoveries with each repeated listen (and there have been many.)

The Phenomenal Handclap Band

Another full-album experience with nary a clunker, though there are slow spots - TPHB could stand to learn a thing or two from the effective brevity of Mos Def's Ecstatic tracks. Overall, a delicious bouillabaisse of rock, soul, funk, and dance elements, high on musicality and creativity. Forward-thinking and throwbacky at the same time.

Horehound / The Dead Weather

Really, is there anything Jack White can't do? Returning to the drums and letting Kills' singer Alison Mosshart handle the vocals, White and TDW come across like a White Stripes album produced by the Devil himself.

Videos:

Kids (MGMT) and Poker Face (Lady GaGa) / Weezer

Weezer completely rule again!!! Too bad it's not with their own material. It's been a while, Rivers.

Black River Killer / Blitzen Trapper

Portland folkster/freakster act writes song about killing, enlists locals to wear masks, and makes a video worthy of a great "story song."

And now for something completely different:

Skipper Dan / "Weird" Al Yankovic

The pre-eminent parodist of my, yours, and everyone else's generation puts pen to paper for an all-original creation, ostensibly to prove he still can. It's a downer of a tale that many can relate with - substitute your job for the Jungle Cruise ride - played out in a poppy, upbeat song that works in a contrarian way, much the same way Al's career has.

Rest In Peace

2009-06-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days. That rare day in history where the passing of a singular figure impacts on a global scale. Only a select few carry this kind of weight. They must be internationally recognized and have contributed to, not only their specific field, but to the fiber of culture; of humanity. Presidents, a handful of politicians, religious figureheads, and celebrities are the primary members of this elite circle. And only a fraction of their population truly can make the world a collective water cooler in their passing. Elvis Presley, President John F. Kennedy, Mother Theresa, Bob Hope...those are the names that come to mind. Today, Michael Jackson was added to that list.

Eccentricities and controversies aside, however hard it may be, Michael Jackson's artistic contributions were significant to the evolution of popular music and is what he should be remembered and recognized for. Michael Jackson, the musician, eclipses Michael Jackson, the train wreck. The number of artists responsible for permanently altering the face of popular music can be counted on one hand. Elvis, The Beatles, The Beach Boys. Michael Jackson is on that hand. That is undeniable.

Jackson was one of the first child stars to become a successful solo star as an adult. Successful might be an understatement. 1979's Off The Wall was the first album to spawn four top-ten singles. 1982's Thriller, well, it was the game changer. Seven top-ten singles. A record-breaking eight Grammys. The album resulted in a global mania for Jackson as well music videos that exponentially raised the bar for that specific medium. The album is one of, if not the, biggest selling of all-time depending on who you talk to. It's a landmark for popular music, R&B music, and Jackson's absolute creative high point. 1987's Bad produced a record five number one singles. That record still holds over 20 years later.

Those are the numbers and they don't lie. In addition to the awards and sales figures, millions of rabid fans worshipped Jackson unlike any celebrity since The Beatles. This is all known. It's a bit long-winded of me to publish it all here. It's that important to me though. This man is a legend. Period.

Personally, Michael Jackson profoundly impacted me. How could he not? I was a child of the Eighties. You had to be Amish to not be affected by Michael in the Eighties.

His moonwalk on Motown's 25th Anniversary TV special made me take break dancing classes and spend countless hours on the kitchen floor in my socks emulating one of the most influential dance moves ever.

I recorded, and subsequently watched, all videos from Thriller. Repeatedly. Especially the landmark video for "Thriller" itself. And the long-form Making of Thriller video. And the Motown performance.

I couldn't tell you what color my bedroom walls were as a child when Thriller came out. (I was only twelve years-0ld mind you) The paint was camouflaged by more than 100 pictures of Michael Jackson from various music publications. I don't reveal that fact about myself. Ever. Today is different. I'm proud I was so affected by the man and his music. He was ridiculously talented and when he (and Quincy Jones) harnessed his brilliance, there was no one on the planet that could touch him.

As a lover of music, as someone who has been interested in songs and their associated mundane facts since I was five, I sit here and type a post I couldn't ignore. (I just started a new job and time for this blog has dwindled the past week.) Jackson's passing is too important to ignore.

I'm impacted as many around the world are. Tears are falling from my eyes as I finish this. The last time I cried for a public figure's passing was John Lennon in 1980. I was nine. I cried when my third-grade teacher told the class he had been killed. I cry today for the untimely passing of Michael Jackson. For the passing of a brilliant artist that transcended labels like musician or superstar. Even "icon" doesn't really do Jackson justice. I cry a little for my own childhood memories that Jackson soundtracked. And for his three children left without a father.

Rest in peace.

First Impressions: Wilco, The Mars Volta, The Phenomenal Handclap Band

2009-06-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

"You Never Know" / Wilco

Jeff Tweedy and company are back with the first song off their new album - Wilco, The Album. Tweedy sings "I don't care anymore" to the perpetual generational ramblings proclaiming the end of the world is nigh. Instead, the band channel George Harrison - hell, the song sounds like a Travelling Wilburys' jam session minus the other four guys- with the result being the logical continuation of Sky Blue Sky's laid-back, summery vibe.

Tetrahedron / The Mars Volta

This is the album that will finally break The Mars Volta to the masses!!! No more muddled progged-out sonic experimentation, just straight forward, concisely written rock songs that are destined for future Guitar Hero and Rock Band installations. What you just read is exactly how a review of Tetrahedron would have started had it come out on April 1st. As it's nearing the official start of summer, the first two sentences come about two-and-a-half months too late.

All things considered, The Mars Volta actually have mellowed out a bit. There are still moments of speed-noodling and headache-inducing lyricism, but Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Cedric Bixler, and their interstellar assortment of musicians do gain a bit of focus on Tetrahedron - none of the songs run over nine minutes. "Teflon" sounds like a single waiting to drop and first single, "Since We've Been Wrong," is one of several slowed down, borderline emotional songs on the album.

Tetrahedron won't likely convert the uninitiated to the band, but should appease its faithful fanbase until their next output - quite possibly before the end of the year as the uber-prolific Rodriguez-Lopez tends to release "solo" albums featuring other band members several times a year.

You'll Disappear / The Phenomenal Handclap Band

Close your eyes and imagine polyester and mirror balls. Let the music transport you back to the Seventies where Disco was king, Donna Summer was queen, and the Village People were on top of the world. Thankfully, "You'll Disappear" is a jam that emulates the spirit of disco and not the dated sound of the once-dominant genre. And yes, the song is full of feel-good hand claps the band's moniker suggests. Expect to see this one on this Friday's Mixtape for sure.

Visual Cues

2009-06-17T08:19:00.001-07:00

Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective

Merriweather Post Pavilion has been trumpeted about the past five months as one of the best albums of the year. And it is. And it will be in another six months when the lists are made. The album's most accessible track is being released July 7 with three new remixes. That may convert the few non-believers to the Animal Collective camp. If that doesn't do the trick, there's always the single's new video, featuring people in bubbles and enough technicolor trippiness to induce flashbacks to that one time you went camping and had the "special" stuffed mushrooms.

Sacred Trickster / Sonic Youth

The video for Sonic Youth's first single from The Eternal cribs from Gillo Pontecorvo's 1965 cinematic masterpiece, The Battle of Algiers. Check out the following two parts from the movie here and here and you'll see what I mean. It's an updated version, overtly inspired by the film's use of femme fatales and handbags, though the outcome is Smurftastically tweaked.

The '59 Sound / The Gaslight Anthem

A new (ish) video for an old song. Earnest, yet rocking, in its 'Boardwalk sentimentality' and Springsteen-esque narrative, "The '59 Sound" ended up at #9 on The Mixtape's Top 100 of 2008. The Gaslight Anthem has released a second video for the title track of their 2008 sophomore album - the one eMusic dubbed the best album of the year. The new clip is a performance-only take on the original narrative/perfomance combination video released last summer. The new version lets the band kick out the jams in someone's living room and, without any conceptual images, lets the lyrics do their work.

Rock Tacos, Trent Reznor's Twitter Days Are Done, and The 90's Live On.

2009-06-12T14:14:00.000-07:00

Rock Tacos

As previously reported here, former Shins drummer Jesse Sandoval has indeed opened up Nuevo Mexico, his rumored taco cart, in downtown Portland, OR at SW 3rd and Stark. You can check out the full details here at the best website dedicated to the Portland food cart scene. I will be getting myself a sopapilla there soon. Lest you think this is some random career move, Sandoval grew up around food carts and worked with his mother and grandmother at theirs before being part of James Mercer's backing band.

Reznor Sets His Little Bird Free

Trent Reznor, famously the force behind Nine Inch Nails and a leading proponent of online interaction between artist and fan, is officially a Twitter Quitter. In a detailed post in the official NIN forum, Reznor explains his relationship with the internet and his desire to take a step back from it. He also attacks a sub-culture of overweight female stalkers, sarcastically instructs how to best cut one's self, and speaks briefly about being in love. It would appear that Reznor subscribes to the "less talk, more rock," which for NIN fans is very good news.

Still Going...

As was discussed in today's Mixtape, the nostalgia wave for the Nineties is in bloom (hence, the Nirvana reference). It looks like some bands of that era refuse to let anything - death, writer's block, sibling squabbles - get in the way of flying the freak flag for that decade.

The Black Crowes will be releasing two albums this fall. Fans who buy the all-new material album, Before The Frost... will get a download code for a free copy of mostly-new material album, ...Until the Freeze as a "thank you" for being a loyal Black Crowes fan according to the band.

Gwen Stefani says she's been dealing with writer's block in preparing a new No Doubt album in the latest Elle magazine, but the band marches, on playing shows across the US and Canada this summer.

In a final Nineties music-related story, the drug overdose death of lead singer Layne Staley in 2005 effectively shut down Alice In Chains' career. Until now. The band says they will release their first album of new material in over a decade on September 29. Black Gives Way To Blue, the first full-length studio release for AIC since the band's self-titled 1995 release, will feature new lead vocalist, William DuVall.

Wall of Sound meet Walls of Concrete

2009-06-11T14:47:00.000-07:00

Phil Spector, as he appeared in court not so long ago. The sometimes legendary producer, sometimes murderer and his man-fro was recently sentenced to a 19-year prison sentence for the second-degree murder of actress Lana Clarkson.

Here's Spector's mug shot. It's either amazing what stress can do to the hairline or amazing a man would rock a wig like that. Either way, dude is in the clink until he dies most likely.

It's a bit ironic the man responsible for "Be My Baby" is about to be someone's prison bitch. And also, plain sad.

Dear eMusic: I Tuned Out

2009-06-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

Rule number one in a slumping economy: Don't raise prices for your product when you are already lagging behind your primary competitor.

This is what eMusic recently announced they would be doing in the third quarter of 2009. The decidedly indie-leaning digital music store (also known as "Not iTunes") has seemingly shot themselves in the foot by announcing that their customers will soon be getting less and paying more for the tunes they covet.

Here's how the price change will affect each service tier:

Basic-tier subscription ($11.99)

The price stays constant, but the songs don't remain the same.
Now: 30 tracks/month ($.40/song)
Later: 24 tracks/month ($.50/song)

According to a piece ran in the LA Times, existing customers will be grandfathered into the old 30 song ($.40 each) a month plan for the basic-tier plan.

Middle-tier subscription:

Now: $14.99 gets you 50 tracks/month ($.30 /song)
Later: $15.89 gets you 35 tracks/month ($.45 /song)

Premium subscription ($11.99)

Now: $19.99 gets you 75 tracks/month ($.27 /song)
Later: $20.79 gets you 50 tracks/month ($.42 /song)

Gun meets foot...check. Not content with this move alone, eMusic then reloaded said gun, aimed at its other foot and shot it with the news that they had struck a deal with Sony Records, meaning you'll be able to download music released more than two-years ago from labels like Arista, Columbia, Epic, and others under the Sony umbrella.

How is this bad you may ask? eMusic acquires access to tons of catalog material via Sony and will potentially position themselves to a much greater customer base. This is a move that positions the self-proclaimed second-largest digital music store to expand their selection beyond their predominantly indie song library. It makes perfect business sense, but eMusic has built its reputation by being the indie-music lover's personal oasis. It's been their defining feature, yet they appear content to not only change their pricing structure in the face of economic difficulties, but simultaneously deflate their own cred amongst their loyal subscribers.

eMusic has consistently been a more affordable online music retail option and appealed to the indie niche, actually forshadowing the rise of independent music labels and artists the last half-decade. While I don't fault a business for changing with the times and doing what's necessary to remain relevant in an ever-changing business model, I do hope that they make one more change, this one for the positive. One almost needs a sherpa to navigate the sloppy layout and non-intuitive interface that is eMusic's site. Put your money where your code is eMusic and tighten things up. It may be your only hope for remaining number two.

Three Strange Vids

2009-06-08T11:35:00.000-07:00

Ahh...the video. That seemingly forgotten art form that once captivated a nation and propelled a cable channel to unprecedented stratospheres of notoriety. The paradigm of music delivery has shifted over the years, rendering a once-great marketing tool and artistic medium nearly irrelevant.

Though iTunes has all but replaced record stores and MTV is nothing more than a vehicle for a plethora of shows scraping societal dung from the bottom of the proverbial barrel, it's worth noting that bands do still make videos and some even put a little thought and creativity into their product.

Below are three recent artistic representations of great songs.

Disclaimer: Watching these videos may disturb and delight, possibly causing you to wet yourself. You've been warned.

Heads Will Roll / Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Karen O = most amazing female rock figure alive right now. Usually a magnetic presence on screen or in person, Miss O happily shares face time with what can best be described as the hypothetical love child of John Travolta circa Saturday Night Fever and the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. I smell a new dance craze brewing here.

Kids / MGMT

A great song from a great band's first full-length (and also great) album that has legs longer than Bar Rafaeli. This is the song that won't die. If we can learn anything from this clip, it's that Joanna Newsom can act as well as sing and that we really need to listen when our children tell us they're scared of monsters.

Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear

A gorgeous song from one of the best bands on the planet right now. Lush and airy like the voices in Brian Wilson's head, Grizzly Bear's "Two Weeks" is approaching the top of the Mixtape and leading the breakout year for the Brooklyn band as they support their third album, "Veckatimest." You can go here to see the guys perform "Two Weeks" sans their inner light.

Christmas in June

2009-06-02T09:58:00.001-07:00

With the first half of the year nearly over, a quick glance in the rearview reveals some fine albums that will be contending for best of 2009 in another six months. Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest, Yeah Yeah Yeahs' It's Blitz, Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion, The Decemberists' The Hazards of Love, and Silversun Pickups' Swoon are standouts of the past five months.

The past is just that though. It's time to look ahead as we always do here. Within the last few days, a ton of new info about bands we love has made its way on the web. Here's a quick rundown with a little sampling of what's to come for the last seven months of the first decade of the next 100 years.

Arctic Monkeys

They exploded in 2006 with their record shattering debut, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, and led a UK indie rock onslaught that included Bloc Party, The Kooks, The Rakes, Elbow, and Hard Fi. Alex Turner and the Monkeys returned with 2007's Favourite Worst Nightmare, a very worthy follow up that advanced the sound of WPSIATWIN's more aggressive tracks ("Brianstorm," "Teddy Picker," and "Old Yellow Bricks") while pulling back at the right moments ("505" and "Do Me a Favour").

Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age and James Ford of Simian Mobile Disco produced the new, untitled Arctic Monkeys disc due August 25. Below is the tracklist and an acoustic version of new song, "Fire & The Thud."

01. My Propeller
02. Crying Lightning
03. Dangerous Animals
04. Secret Door
05. Potion Approaching
06. Fire & The Thud
07. Cornerstone
08. Dance Little Liar
09. Pretty Visitors
10. The Jeweller’s Hands

Fire & The Thud (acoustic)

The Mars Volta

Everyone's favorite (or not so much) band of prog-rockin', space-jammin', musical visionaries return for another round of musical complexity and polarization with their new album, Octahedron, due June 23. Below is the album's track list and first single with the alarmingly simple (for these guys) title of "Since We've Been Wrong."

01. Since We've Been Wrong
02. Teflon
03. Halo of Nembutals
04. With Twilight as My Guide
05. Cotopaxi
06. Desperate Graves
07. Copernicus
08. Luciforms

"Since We've Been Wrong"

courtesy of i guess i'm floating

The Beatles

Yes, The Beatles. You may have heard of them. They're sort of the most important band in the history of rock and roll. That statement is debatable obviously, but John, Paul, George, and Ringo's contributions to the world of music cannot be argued. Now, the Fab Four will become video game stars September 9, 2009, with the release of The Beatles Rock Band (and effectively boost the band's catalog sales while introducing them to a whole new generation of fans).

While it was widely known that The Beatles Rock Band would appear on shelves in September, E3 kicked off yesterday with a trailer for the game that you can see below. The game follows the band from their modest beginnings through to the bitter end on top of the Abbey Road studios via 45 playable songs that touch on the band's iconic periods and showcase the musical strokes of genius which define The Beatles' indelible career.

Frightened Rabbit sits on bench, new song pours out.

2009-06-02T09:21:00.000-07:00

Scott Hutchinson, an acoustic guitar, and a presumably new song titled "Swim Until You Can't See Land" appear courtesy of Off The Beaten Tracks. Last year, Frightened Rabbit's Midnight Organ Fight stole our hearts. Now Hutchinson is making us swoon again with a tease of what new Frightened Rabbit material may sound like. Spoiler alert: it sounds like old FR - a very good thing.

Dr. (Dre) Pepper presents Detox

2009-06-01T08:44:00.000-07:00

Well...sort of. The obvious parallels here are Axl Rose (who also goes by Guns 'N Roses) took 17 years between Use Your Illusions 1 & 2 and Chinese Democracy...the latter finally was released last year despite being overshadowed by expectations and the band's legacy. Dr. Dre hasn't released a new album since 1999 so his oft-rumored, oft-mentioned Detox may or may not see the light of release this year. It was supposed to come out several times the last few years, strengthening the record and producer/rapper Dre's own mythology.

Another set of parallels officially exist today. Dr. Pepper infamously offered a free Dr. Pepper to everyone if Guns 'N Rose's Chinese Democracy was released by the end of 2008. The egg Axl sat on for 13 years finally hatched and the soda company did indeed offer a free can coupon via its website November 23, 2008 - Chinese Democracy's release date. Axl instantly demanded an apology from Dr. Pepper for the publicity stunt which the rocker believed diminished the importance of the album's release and sent his lawyers out to do the dirty work. What a curmudgeon.

Fast forward six months and Dr. Dre and Dr. Pepper have hooked up to give us all a little taste (pun clearly intended) of what a beat from Detox may or may not sound like. Billboard reports that the beat in the commercial is taken from a Detox track called, "Shit Popped Off."

Here is the commercial via Billboard. Drink a 40 of Dr. Pepper and discuss.

Wilco: The recently deceased ex-member, Beastie Boys' New Album News, New Releases

2009-05-26T10:50:00.001-07:00

Jay Bennet, former Wilco multi-instrumentalist died at age 45 over the past weekend. He was an instrumental force behind the band's 1994-2001 output, notably Being There, Summerteeth, and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Wilco main dude Jeff Tweedy responded to Bennet's death on the band's website:

We are all deeply saddened by this tragedy. We will miss Jay as we remember him -- as a truly unique and gifted human being and one who made welcome and significant contributions to the band's songs and evolution. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends in this very difficult time.
-Jeff Tweedy.

-----------------------------

The Beastie Boys descended on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night and announced their new album, Hot Sauce Committee, would be dropping this September. The boys then dropped a performance of "So Whatcha' Want" with Fallon house band, The Roots. MCA looked hungover from a kegger in 1987, but for a bunch of grey-haired old-school pioneers, they sounded pretty good (and the Roots were money as usual).

-------------------------------

New and notable releases this week:

Rose City / Viva Voce iTunes

Portland, OR husband/wife duo release new album named after nickname of city where they live. Oh yeah, they also write well-crafted melodies and tear it up live.

Veckatimest / Grizzly Bear iTunes

Indie buzz band's latest effort which veers from near-perfect chamber pop songs to flat-0ut perfect chamber pop songs. One of the finest releases of the year.

Time Turns Elastic (single) / Phish iTunes

The first song in the second set of Phish's career.

Satellite Skin (single) / Modest Mouse iTunes

The first release for Isaac Brock and company in a couple years and a sneak peek at their August EP release, No One's First and You're Next.

The High End of Low / Marilyn Manson iTunes

Can we even call MM shock rock anymore? Does anyone still care?

Green Day Tops Album Chart, Pisses Off Wal-Mart

2009-05-21T17:39:00.000-07:00

As the pre-eminent power-pop-punk trio watch their latest album , 21st Century Breakdown, top the Billboard album chart, it's revealed that they did it without the help of the biggest chain-store in the known universe. Wal-Mart reportedly wanted Green Day to clean up some language and content on the now #1 album before they would put it on their shelves. In the good old spirit of punk-rock, the Berkeley, CA band gave a symbolic middle finger to corporate bully tactics by refusing to clean up the album's language and content. And who needs Wal-Mart anyway? Green Day sold about 215,000 copies of 21st Century Breakdown since its release last Friday.

On a very related note, 21st Century Breakdown is an excellent album from start to finish. Loaded with punk-rock blasts, anthemic shout-alongs, and songs that get stuck in your head for days, Green Day prove once again that it's possible to produce artistic statements accessible to all walks of life. They also have consciously decided to neither burn our or fade away, instead producing some of the best work of their career almost twenty years into it.

In Case You Were Sleeping: Sugar

2009-05-18T10:47:00.000-07:00

I admit it. I came late to the Bob Mould party. I was too young and far too engrossed in the glut of heavy metal and mainstream pop that was my personal soundtrack to the eighties, to know anything about Hüsker Dü. My umlaut-rocking band of choice 25 years ago was Mötley Crüe and much like my culinary diet, my musical diet wasn't ready for such delicacies as Zen Arcade back then. But as I graduated from Chef Boyardee to restaurant-quality cannelloni, I eventually progressed from the Crüe to the Dü.

Bob Mould, along with bassist Greg Norton and drummer Grant Hart, comprised Hüsker Dü, a Minneapolis band hell-bent on bringing the noise and laying the groundwork for an alternative scene to emulate. The band, significant for hiding melodies under layers of guitar and breakneck beats on which Mould's scream/singing called home, broke up in 1987.

Mould took a pronounced 180 degree turn on his first solo record, the largely acoustic Workbook, released in 1989. Another solo album followed. Black Sheets of Rain was released in 1991 and featured more of the electric energy that was a trademark of Mould's Hüsker Dü days. It proved a precursor to Mould's next band proper, Sugar, which released its debut, Copper Blue, in 1992.

Copper Blue was the product of a man who found himself releasing an album that fit in with the musical landscape of the time - a landscape that was made possible in part by Hüsker Dü's contributions a decade earlier. The album flowed effortlessly from the opening chords of its full-throttle first track, "The Act We Act," to the "arcadey" keyboard outro of "Man on the Moon." Between these bookends lay an impressive 45 minute career-retrospect carved from the granite slabs of Dü-noise and the melodic moments of Mould's two prior solo efforts.

"If I Can't Change Your Mind" and "Hoover Dam" wouldn't have sounded out of place in stripped-down form on Workbook. Both songs showcase Mould's melodic sensibility, Though often buried behind fuzzed-out guitars, they somehow sound comfortable in their sludgy pop skin. "Helpless," the essence of noise-pop perfection circa early 90s, should have been a huge hit, but as is the case with nearly all of Mould's output, it was appreciated on an insider level and overlooked by the masses.

Digging under the noisy layers of "Slick" and "A Good Idea" reveals some of Mould's darkest moments on Copper Blue. The former dropping the chorus of, "They said the road was slick. I said I've been feeling sick. My head went through the mirror. Why did they send you here?" and the latter spinning a skewed tale of a lover drowning his blissfully complicit girlfriend. Perhaps an aural acting out of the frustrations felt by Mould after being incorrectly diagnosed with AIDS in

Copper Blue, along with the far-noisier follow-up EP, Beaster, and second full-length, File Under: Easy Listening, comprised the entire Sugar oeuvre (save for the requisite b-sides collection titled, "Besides"). While Beaster and FUEL were both great records, it's Copper Blue that remains Sugar's zenith and one of Mould's finer vehicles for his unique marriage of melody and noise that many bands have emulated for nearly three decades, its songs still sounding as fresh today as they did 17 years ago.

Guess Who's Back?

2009-05-14T13:52:00.001-07:00

He's Shady. He's Marshall. He's Eminem and he's fresh from a five-year absence which saw our hero/nemesis do a stint in rehab for painkiller addiction. Like so many artists, Em is at his best when he has conflict to serve as muse for a demented mind and tortured soul that's more than happy to bear all through his rhymes.

The most refreshing thing about Slim's new album, Relapse, is the profound absence of songs dedicated to killing Kim or featuring his daughter. Hell, Kim isn't mentioned and references to his daughter, Hailie, are kept to a minimum. Instead, Em goes the pills and kills route, injecting his twisted humor into lines both phonetically and mentally twisted as he slips between addict and attacker.

Honestly, I didn't expect much from Em at this point in his career. Especially after hearing the lead singles, "We Made You" and "Crack a Bottle," both of which sounded like half-assed b-sides. Though there's nothing on Relapse that qualifies as an instant classic ala "Just Don't Give a Fuck" or "The Real Slim Shady," the majority of the album proves that 2004's Encore wasn't the last gasp of a brilliant talent free-falling toward mediocrity.

The album's best songs aren't its singles. Tracks like "Stay Wide Awake" and "Same Song and Dance" revisit Em's alter-ego Slim Shady's homicidal ways, painting him as a Hannibal-esque serial killer on the former and a celebutant-obsessed kidnapper on the latter. Like the best of Eminem's past work, his nimble word play trumps the source material.

"Beautiful" is not a Christina Aguilera remake, but instead an auto-biographical ballad that many critics are calling the best song on the disc. It's an epic that aims for understanding, a breath of fresh air on an otherwise dark album. "Underground" closes the album with Eminem killing off a laundry list of serial killers while sounding the most on top of his game since 2000's The Marshall Mathers LP.

The main complaint with Rehab is the choruses, which are often not on the same level as the verses they support. "Bagpipes From Baghdad" is the best example of a chorus not doing it's song the justice it deserves, but for the majority of the album's tracks, it's a minor gripe considering the fluidity with which Em delivers his disturbing diatribes on sex, drugs and death.

He's still self-effacing and self-loathing. Dr. Dre spits a verse or two and handles most of the production duties again. Christopher Reeves, Mariah Carey, and Britney Spears still remain targets. The album's formula even remains the same - dark and sinister rhymes co-existing with danceable club thumpers and skits featuring the usual suspects - Paul, Steve, and Ken Kaniff are all back. But, the most impressive constant on Relapse is Eminem sounding like he's got something to prove after being away for a half-decade. It's not the best album of his storied career, but Shady's back in a big way.

Shins Drummer One Day, Taco Slinger the Next

2009-05-13T14:15:00.000-07:00

Recently dismissed Shins drummer, Jesse Sandoval, already has a new gig lined up. Sandoval will be opening Nuevo Mexico, a taco cart in downtown Portland, OR. Catch the whole story at Pitchfork.

James Mercer, head Shin who canned Sandoval along with longtime keyboardist Marty Crandall earlier this month, might want to stick with McDonalds - the band lent "New Slang" to the fast-food giant's ad campaign earlier this decade.

Animal Collective on Letterman

2009-05-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

Animal Collective performed "Summertime Clothes" last night on Letterman and it was nothing short of amazing. AC's album, Merriweather Post Pavilion, has been critically gushed over and declared a front-runner for album of the year when it was released just 20 days into the year. This clips shows why they are also one of the best live acts out there.

It's News to You: Shins and Beastie Boys

2009-05-06T13:05:00.000-07:00

The Shins have resurfaced!!! After a period of hibernation, James Mercer spewed forth on a bunch of Shins-related items including lineup changes, a shift in musical direction for the band, working with Modest Mouse, and his upcoming film role alongside Sleater Kinney's Carrie Brownstein.
Read the article here. (via Pitchfork)

-------------------------------------

The boys the boys the beatsy beatsy boys are back. By now we all know that the Beasties never go away, they just take reallllly long breaks. Stereogum is reporting that new Beastie Boys tracks, "Lee Majors Come Again" and "B Boys In The Cut" were released via a bonus 7" that came with the recent re-issue of the Boys' third album, Check Your Head. Initial listens reveal that the Beastie Boys have revisited their pre-Licensed to Ill punk days. Repeated listens reveal that it's just another chapter in a storied career hell-bent on delivering the goods in the Beasties' unique way. More info can be found here. Through a YouTube non-video, you too can taste the new flavor.

Ya Heard? Peaches, Gossip, Empire of the Sun

2009-05-05T10:22:00.000-07:00

Talk to Me / Peaches

Ahhh...Peaches. The girl you most definitely wouldn't take home to meet your parents is back with another album full of sexually-charged beats and lyrics. Her latest, I Feel Cream, loses the guitar-based dance rock of Impeach My Bush and focuses on the dance floor. First single, "Talk to Me," places emphasis on Peaches' ability to sing, something that's often been overshadowed by her sex-centric lyrics.

Never before has Peaches sounded better in song, her voice commanding the attention and overriding all you thought you knew about her. She's blunt. She's crass. She's downright wicked at times. On "Talk to Me," she sings her ass off on top of a Soulwax track that will make you want to dance until you lose yours. It's the realization of a near-decade's worth of potential that's been hinted at on her previous three albums, but only now has finally proven worth the wait.

Heavy Cross / The Gossip

Portland, OR trio toils in obscurity for years, releases album that breaks through and makes them huge (well, in the UK at least) and returns with "Heavy Cross," the first single off Music for Men, the album that should wake us misguided Americans up to the minimalist funk/rock and soulful wailing of lead Gossiper, Beth Ditto.

"Heavy Cross" sounds like much of the Gossip's past work - a quietly building start with a cooing Ditto that quickly morphs into a tight-ass guitar and percussion jam with Ditto's bottomless lungs working out a lifetime of frustrations. It's an aesthetic that plays to the band's less-is-more work ethic and showcases one of the finest (and most underrated) female vocalists around. The Brits have a love affair with Ditto and Co. Here's to America catching the fever this summer.

Walking On a Dream / Empire of the Sun

Take the vocal styling and lyrical melody of Tegan and Sara's "The Con," the blips and beeps of hellogoodbye's "Here In Your Arms," and a chorus that emits a laid-back, feel-good vibe circa 1977 and throw them in a blender. Hit puree. Pour into a chilled mug and you will then drink back the deliciousness of Empire of the Sun's "Walking On a Dream."

The verses are nagging in their similarity to the aforementioned Tegan and Sara jam and the song itself is a synth /drum machine concoction that's equally airy and driving, but in a old-school, new-wave kind of way. But it's ultimately the chorus that elevates the song to "Summer Breeze" levels of chillitude and saves the track from being another contemporary example of failed class of '82 new-wave.

Flaming Lips cover Madonna

2009-04-30T15:06:00.001-07:00

This is what every cover song should aspire to. The track appears on Covered: A Revolution in Sound, a (surprise!) covers collection celebrating Warner Bros. 50th anniversary.

War Child presents Heroes and Dark Was the Night both set the bar pretty high for compilations this year, but Wayne Coyne and the Lips' (along with Stardeath and White Dwarfs) re imagining of "Borderline" is worth the price of Covered... alone.

Tracklist after the video.

The Flaming Lips - Borderline
Video courtesy of Dailymotion.com

Covered: A Revolution in Sound

The Black Keys - "Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles" (Captain Beefheart)
Michelle Branch - "A Case of You" (Joni Mitchell)
Against Me! - "Here Comes a Regular" (the Replacements)
Missy Higgins - "More Than This" (Roxy Music)
James Otto - "Into the Mystic (Van Morrison)
Adam Sandler - "Like a Hurricane" (Neil Young)
Taking Back Sunday - "You Wreck Me" (Tom Petty)
Mastodon with Billy Gibbons - "Just Got Paid" (ZZ Top)
The Used - "Burning Down The House" (Talking Heads)
Avenged Sevenfold - "Paranoid" (Black Sabbath)
Disturbed - "Midlife Crisis" (Faith No More)
Flaming Lips with Stardeath and White Dwarfs - "Borderline" (Madonna)

Personal Space Be Damned!

2009-04-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

There are times in life when everything seems to make sense. Not often, but this is one of those times.

Three of the hottest indie properties around - No Age, Dan Deacon, and Deerhunter - are teaming up for a tour this summer. Not just any tour, but a round robin affair where all three bands are simultaneously on stage, alternating between songs. It's a fresh approach that, given a large enough stage, should make for a blissfully noisy evening. Tour dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

Round Robin Tourmates

Wilco: The Everything

2009-04-29T08:19:00.000-07:00

Unless this is an incredibly tardy April Fool's joke, Wilco's upcoming album will be brilliantly titled, Wilco (The Album) with it's lead-off track,"Wilco the Song." It's not known if Jeff Tweedy and co. are in the midst of an identity crisis or how their musical direction will be affected, but according to Rolling Stone, there's a little something for everyone on the album, due late June.

Wilco (The Album):

01 Wilco the Song
02 Deeper Down
03 One Wing
04 Bull Black Nova
05 You and I
06 You Never Know
07 Country Disappeared
08 Solitaire
09 I'll Fight
10 Sunny Feeling
11 Everlasting

Ya Heard? Kestrels

2009-04-27T09:24:00.000-07:00

While the usual name brands like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Decemberists, and Silversun Pickups have made the top five their home the past couple months, little Nova Scotia trio, Kestrels, have made themselves quite comfy in the upper reaches of the 'tape with their single, "Seaside."

Seaside. The waves of the ocean crashing on the shore, comforting in their consistency, yet constantly shifting in force and pattern, create a visual that invites reflection and mediation. Staring out past the whitecaps, it's as if the infinite hydro-scape is reminding us mere humans how insignificant we (and all of our thoughts and fears) truly are. Overwhelming in its vastness, yet somehow managing to reassure its worshipers that life and its problems are small and temporary enough to be overcome.

Kestrel's first taste of their first full-length Primary Colours, to be released this June, evokes the comfort of a time, not too long ago, when songs with melodies, guitar, and thought-provoking lyrics were the norm. Sounding like Superchunk's Mac McCaughan mellowed out at a beach bonfire as J. Mascis plays guitar, just out of the fire's light, "Seaside" evokes this sandy simplicity in its familiar, yet shifting sound-scapes. The track snakes through several rhythmic phases, always retaining a pop sensibility, before fading with the coda, "The sun the sun, it's changing." Indeed it is Kestrels, but yours is about to rise.

Take a listen for yourselves.

Kestrels - Seaside

Ya Heard? Green Day, Iran, and Billy Boy on Poison

2009-04-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

Know Your Enemy / Green Day

Billie Jo, Mike and Trey return after elevating their band to near-U2 status with 2005's American Idiot. The first single off their upcoming 21st Century Breakdown is all piss and eyeliner; a three-minute business-as-usual guitar blast of political innuendo not too far removed from American Idiot's title track. At least "American Idiot" felt inspired and flirted with melodic tendencies.

What KYE lacks in melody, it more than makes up for in repetitiveness. The title is sung over and over until you question whether Green Day themselves are the enemy they're preaching about.

I loved you for a long time Green Day, but if this is a sign of what's to come, I'm thinking maybe we're better off as friends.

Buddy / Iran

TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone has another band. Who knew? Iran was actually formed in 2000, before TVOTR, and recently released their third album, Dissolver. Fellow TV dude, guitarist/producer Dave Sitek manned the controls for the album and his musical bond with Malone is evident throughout the record. "Buddy" is a welcome listen for TVOTR fans enamored with Sitek's production aesthete and Malone's soothing timbre.

"Buddy" slinks out of the gate like a late night experiment from a blues bar's house band 20 minutes and a couple of beers after last call. The track then shifts into familiar territory: haunting backing vocals with rapid-fire guitar strumming and feedback dancing on top of the bluesy beat. "Buddy" shuffles along, slowly building steam, before Malone's screamed money shot, "I think you should stay where you are," explodes and then fades just as quickly, leaving the rest of the track and listener in its wake. All that's left is to hit repeat.

On My Way / Billy Boy on Poison

Chicka chicka chicka chicka chicka goes the guitar and this song has lift off. It's a guitar and drums orgy from the get go as booze-soaked vocals up the sleaze factor even more. There isn't any new ground being broken here, but like Jet's first album and selected Buckcherry songs, it's not about thinking out of the box as much as it is blowing it up.

"On My Way" could prove to be prophetic if the rest of BBoP's output has the same throwback-yet-timeless gritty groove that makes this song a scream-along blast and everything I had hoped the new Green Day song would be.

Cashing In

2009-04-02T15:22:00.001-07:00

I am not going to go on a rant about how record labels are pillaging their archives and re-releasing old product as newly enhanced material with a bevy of bonus tracks and extra collectibles before the compact disc fully surrenders to the digital age and takes its place in the grave next to 8-tracks and laserdiscs. No, I'm above that. Let the record companies do what they do best - make money. What pisses me off is when it's done with no regard to the original product.

Pearl Jam's Ten, along with Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger and Superunknown, Nirvana's Nevermind, and Alice in Chains' Facelift and Dirt, transcended their grunge (I'm still not a fan of that word) trappings and brought a heavier, stripped down style of music to the rest of the country. Seattle had already become a strong scene before Nevermind exploded, albeit on a much smaller scale, due to Sup Pop and its bands like Tad, Screaming Trees, and the aforementioned Soundgarden and Nirvana carving out a musical niche that would spark an uprising and the inevitable backlash. These bands' early albums were bucking the trend of popular music long before the great revolution of 1991 began; their sound as grey and murky as the weather of the city they called home. It's this sound that influenced Ten, and unfortunately, it's this sound that has become a victim of remastering for the sake of cashing in on nostalgia.

Paul's Boutique, the Beastie Boys' landmark sophomore release, while brilliantly creative in its use of samples, sounded like it was recorded in a closet. The newly re-released Paul's Boutique 20th Anniversary Remastered Edition, ultimately cashes in on the album's now-legendary status, but does so while improving on the original's main fault - perhaps due to the technology of the day or maybe the Dust Brothers meant for it to sound muddled all along - its audio quality. Sure, the re-released version will make plenty of people plenty of money - I hope some of that trickles down to Ad Rock, MCA, and Mike D - but it improves on the original. This is where Brendan O'Brien's remastering of Ten fails.

Placed in its original context, Ten broke form from the sludge of other Seattle bands with its arena-ready, classic rock vibe. Pearl Jam didn't strive to be Journey or Boston by any means, they merely shot for the fences while maintaining that early nineties motif of tortured-soul lyricism wrapped in reverb. Like the rest of grunge's oeuvre, Ten was meant to sound like it didn't give a damn about high-gloss production values or what the rest of the country was listening to. That it became a huge smash and enabled Pearl Jam to continue making records, hanging out with Neil Young, and fighting against Ticketmaster, I believe, was a coincidence despite myriad contrarian claims. Ten is a snapshot of the Seattle sound circa 1991, of a pronounced disinterest in musical trends, and most imporantly, an album borne from the desire to carry on in the face of adversity - namely Mother Love Bone's dissolution as a result of Andrew Wood's overdose death.

To remaster an album so perfectly constructed as Ten is an exercise in indulgence, not respect for the source material. O'Brien, one of the most successful producers of the last 20 years, brightens up the snare drum and cymbals and renders the rhythm guitars crisper than before, neutering Eddie Vedder's lyrics in the process. Where the original album featured (more often than not) Vedder's vocals at the forefront where they rightfully belonged while the music swirled behind him, the Legacy edition of Ten buries Vedder's earnest delivery, one of the selling points of the band to begin with, underneath the rest of the band, tampering with the original's impact and intention. The old saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The songs on Ten, while not all five star masterpieces, were some of the most moving examples of early nineties rock, inside or outside of grunge's scope. I'll save my money, go back and listen to the original (which I wore out on CD several times over), and revel in the greatness that was Pearl Jam's introduction to the world.

Ya Heard? War Child Heroes

2009-03-05T10:49:00.000-08:00

This week it's the all-covers edition courtesy of the recently released benefit compilation, War Child - Heroes Vol. 1. A little back story. The record supports War Child, a non-governmental organization aimed at helping children affected by war around the globe. This release follows a 2005 compilation, Help!: A Day in the Life from War Child UK, which itself was a tenth-anniversary celebration of War Child's original The Help Album, a 1995 charity compilation featuring Oasis, Radiohead, Sinead O'Connor, and Blur among others. Heroes differs from previous War Child releases with its mix of American and British artists. Other War Child discs were comprised exclusively of acts from across the pond. Heroes is also unique to the War Child musical legacy as it features only cover songs of past generations performed by artists of today. It's an eclectic and surprisingly cohesive record considering how cover songs generally don't do their original counterparts any favors. Heroes gleefully destroys this convention. Here are the highlights.

Sheena Is a Punk Rocker / Yeah Yeah Yeahs (covering The Ramones)

Modern-day New York art-punk takes on old-school NY punk legends, nailing the original's energy and spirit. Karen O matches Joey Ramone's sneer and sass while the other two Yeahs - drummer Brian Chase and guitarist Nick Zinner - remain loyal to the Ramone's garage noise aesthetic. It honors the original while sounding contemporary. Not an easy feat for any cover song.

Heroes / TV on the Radio (covering David Bowie)

It's been widely reported that Bowie hand-picked TVOTR to cover his 1977 masterpiece. Not surprising considering Ziggy himself sang backup on TVOTR's "Province" off the band's Return to Cookie Mountain and is admittedly a huge fan of the band. Kyp Malone handles vocal duty on the '09 version of Heroes, sounding like Bowie's vocal doppelganger, while guitarist David Sitek's production is right in line with the band's recent stellar Dear Science - the Mixtape's 2008 album of the year. The marriage of Malone's soulful vocal with the sonic storm of ice-cold drum machine and synths defiantly avoids the anthemic nature of the original, though hearing Malone singing, "I will be king and you, you will be queen" is goose bump-inducing sincerity that Bowie must be proud of.

Leopard-Skin Pill Box Hat / Beck (covering Bob Dylan)

Beck is arguably this generation's premiere genre-defying troubadour so it makes sense that his song of choice is from the stylistic blueprint that has served his career well. Beck speeds up Dylan's bluesy original with fuzzed-out guitars and an immediacy that updates the track nicely. Hell, this could be released as a single and do quite well.

Transmission / Hot Chip (covering Joy Division)

In another inspired casting, Hot Chip stretches their own boundaries a bit while retaining the icy-cold aesthete of Joy Division that has influenced many modern bands - Interpol and The Bravery among them. Alexis Taylor's vocals are a bit more round than Ian Curtis', but the music is similarly glacial to the original, which is the same contrast that makes so much of Hot Chip's own music work so well.

Running to Stand Still / Elbow (covering U2)

Again, rumor has it that Bono and the boys selected Elbow to cover one of the few songs on The Joshua Tree that wasn't released as a single. Guy Garvey's vocals are understated and warm, much like the majority of his Elbow output. This serves the track well considering Bono's original vocal delivery, as well as the song itself, is more quiet storm than the bombastic, cheap seat reaching arena howl that has become an endearing feature of U2's work. At times ethereal; at times swelling, Elbow practice the same musical restraint, their sonics threatening to color outside the lines ever so briefly before pulling back to match the subtle intensity of the original.

Atlantic City / The Hold Steady (covering Bruce Springsteen)

The only other band that I could see The Hold Steady covering is Thin Lizzy. Craig Finn and company have made a critically-lauded career out of telling stories replete with debauchery and dysfunctional characters that spend their days searching for the bottom of the bottle, all the while sounding like musical brethren of the Phil Lynott's band of Irish rockers.

The first minute of THS' "Atlantic City" evokes, surprise, the Boss himself standing on a stage in front of 50,ooo, quietly speak-singing another tale of darkness on the edge of town. What follows is an approximation of "Atlantic City" if the original featured the E Street Band in full force, not the spare arrangement featured on Springsteen's 1982 home-demo release of Nebraska. That's to say, THS roll right into a sax and guitar-driven reimagining of the track that at once sounds like a Jersey rave up and The Hold Steady's own woeful tales of miscreants.

When Finn sings, "Everything dies, baby, that's a fact, but maybe everything that dies some day comes back," it serves as War Child Heroes' thematic mantra. These songs haven't necessarily died, but more often than not, are reborn as today's musical heroes elevate the originals and remind this generation of the timeless influences that inform modern-day rock.

Ya Heard? - Spinnerette, Razorlight, Yeah Yeah Yeahs

2009-02-18T12:35:00.000-08:00

Ghetto Love / Spinnerette

Brody Dalle, she of The Distillers, has returned to the scene with a new band and a familiar sound. "Ghetto Love" is the title track of the band's first EP and I can't stop listening. Dalle has traded in the abrasiveness of her Distillers' vocals for a more restrained, yet still-menacing delivery. Just because she married Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme and had a child with him doesn't mean she's settled down. This chick still sounds like she wants to kick your ass. Hubby Homme's influence is felt all over the track. Big bottom bass and fuzzed out repetitive riffage are reminiscent of QOTSA's stellar self-titled. The guitar splatters are more latter-day Stone Age inspired than punk-minded. Bottom line: This song rocks in all the right ways. It will most definitely be making a splashy debut on next week's Mixtape.

Wire to Wire /Razorlight

Razorlight's latest release starts slow, all piano and earnest lyricism, before quickly building to a less-than-majestic payoff (these guys are not Coldplay) and just as soon as you find yourself embracing the song's attempt at anthemy, it goes right back to aping Toad The Wet Sprocket. Much like that band, the song fades away before you can find a way to wrap your arms around it. Not bad, just far from great.

Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Easily one of the most anticipated releases of 2009, YYY's next album, It's Blitz, will drop in April. The first single, "Zero," has just made its way online and is leaving fans and critics divided in its wake. It's not that different from past YYY tracks though. Nakedly expressive vocals from Karen O - check. Nick Zinner's rippin' guitar - check, sort of. Clubbin' beats and a remix-ready, synth-driven party vibe - WTF??? Ok, so it's a bit different. It's got spunk to spare and just might bust the band wide open. They're not going to threaten the Jonas Brothers' twee-pop deathgrip, but this song could find its way to mainstream radio. Despite the almost inevitable "true fan" backlash and ensuing degradation of quality that go hand-in-hand with a breakthrough of that magnitude, I secretly hope it happens. The Yeahs are good enough to avoid such clichéd outcomes and they deserve an audience as big as their sound. When Karen O says "get your leather on," you best listen.

What's Going On.

2009-01-29T11:31:00.000-08:00

Return of the Idol

Kelly Clarkson returns to the scene after her last album, My December, failed to deliver on the American Idol's first two releases. Way back in 2002, Miss Clarkson set the record for largest one-week jump on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Her debut single, "A Moment Like This" leaped from #52 to #1, only to be outdone by everyone from Maroon 5 to Britney Spears. Clarkson reclaims her record this week as her new single, "My Life Would Suck Without You" flies to number one after debuting last week at 97. It's bubblegum music, apropos considering that her latest image overhaul has her looking like like the poster child for candy-coated pop stars everywhere.

Don't Quit Your Day Job Weezy

Apparently the self-proclaimed "Greatest Rapper Alive" - who doesn't say that these days? - wants to be a rock star in addition to gazillion-selling rapper. Kanye proved he could do more than just rap with 808s and Heartbreak...why not Weezy? I'll tell you why: his first single, "Prom Queen" is nowhere close to 'Ye's "Love Lockdown" or "Heartless" in quality or likability. I admire Lil Wayne for his ambition, but damn dude, you are not Prince. I'm not talking "Purple Rain" Prince. I'm talking, Weezy isn't even "Under The Cherry Moon" Prince.

If Teleportation Were an Option...

I would be in San Francisco this weekend. Specifically at Sketchfest to witness the full reunion of The State, that little comedy troupe that had an MTV show for a bit in the nineties. For the first time in 14 years, all 11 members will be onstage together. First Obama gets elected, now this? When will the miracles cease? Hopefully not before MIA snags a Grammy. Rolling Stone posted a pretty amusing interview with the guys (and gal) of The State here. Now if you will excuse me, I'm going to call Doug, get $240 worth of pudding, and partake in a little monkey torture and ball-dipping. If you know, then you know. If not, what I just typed might get me arrested in some states, but not The State. And of course, this wouldn't be complete if I didn't beg MTV to release The State on DVD. Or Blu-Ray. Or Betamax. I guess iTunes will have to do for now.

Perfection

2009-01-17T10:36:00.000-08:00

It's rarely achieved in music and is a most subjective term, but when it happens, there's no doubt. I just watched the video for Smashing Pumpkin's "1979" and it feels, for lack of a better word, perfect. The frenetic, yet rhythmic camera work gives the video its pulse which directly mirrors the song's rubbery groove. The fact that Billy Corgan looks like an Addams Family extra doesn't diminish the video's narrative, which is as timeless as the song itself - kids hang out, drive around, cause chaos, and end up partying the night away. It's the essence of youth synced up perfectly to one of the Pumpkins' best songs. In short, perfection. A five-star merging of audio and visual; a rarity for the medium of music video.

On deck

2009-01-07T10:50:00.000-08:00

We are not even a week into the new year and it's already shaping up to be an interesting one musically speaking (not to take anything away from the White House warming party that's less than two weeks away.)

I'm incredibly pumped for the new Animal Collective record which has gotten amazing reviews and drops Jan 20.

The Beastie Boys are reissuing their second album (and all-around masterpiece), "Paul's Boutique," sometime this year. It's the 20th anniversary for the record which means several things. The Beastie Boys created an album that indeed stood the test of time. I'm getting old considering I used to listen to that album everyday as a High School senior. The Boys themselves are still doing their thing and doing it quite well. And most importantly, one of my favorite albums ever - and one of the thinest sounding - will be getting remastered which will hopefully do it sonic justice. It was a watershed moment for sampling in the music industry and remains a brilliantly executed, career-defining record for Ad Rock, MCA, and Mike D. I can't wait to get my hands on it again for the first time.

Led Zeppelin is seriously considering touring without Robert Plant. Hey boys, don't forget to wipe after you take a shit on the band's legacy. Seriously...this is wrong.

New U2 and Springsteen records in the first quarter of 09. I predict four Rolling Stone covers for each this year.

Finally, it appears that both Eminem and Dr. Dre will release their respective, long-awaited records this year. If Guns N Roses can release Chinese Democracy, anything can happen. Unfortunately the hype will probably outweigh the goods.

Frightened Rabbit "Midnight Organ Fight" review

2008-07-31T12:01:00.000-07:00

Frightened Rabbit
The Midnight Organ Fight

8.5 / 10

Love is hell. Vocalist and guitarist Scott Hutchinson of Frightened Rabbit knows this well. The Midnight Organ Fight, a collection of paradoxical songs that evince Hutchinson’s inability to afford therapy, is Frightened Rabbit’s follow-up to their 2006 debut, Sing The Greys. Hutchinson’s biting lyrics bristle with self doubt and desperation evoke the tenuous time following a breakup. The album comes off like a mixtape dropped on the doorstep of an ex-lover who has moved on in life. The band is rounded out by Hutchinson’s brother Grant on drums and Billy Kennedy on guitar.

If art is derived from pain then Hutchinson is the curator of Fight’s 14 song exhibit. “The Modern Leper” is the album’s upbeat opener and announces the blueprint for the next 48 minutes – impotently hopeful lyrics married with surging instrumentation flirting with, and sometimes achieving, transcendence.

“I Feel Better” is an anthemic epiphany exclaiming, “This is the last song I’ll write about you.” Fast forward seven songs to “Backwards Walk” and Hutchinson can’t quite embrace his newfound freedom. The song’s subject is a work in progress mirroring the actual song. It builds slowly, fostering expectations of a stadium-sized chorus that will swoop in and lift the song above its melancholy disposition. Instead the listener gets a sardonically or sincerely (or both) delivered “You’re the shit and I’m knee deep in it,” repeated over hypnotic hand claps and bass drums that stop just as they are gaining steam.

Failing to deliver on expectations might have landed Hutchinson in this predicament, but by representing this musically, the song is infused with an honesty and transparency that are cornerstones of The Midnight Organ Fight. The juxtaposition of naked lyrical expository and optimistic musicality renders Frightened Rabbit’s sophomore album a gorgeously complex descent into one man's hell.

Let's kill 'em all and ride the master of justice again.

2008-07-11T16:19:00.000-07:00

I’ve heard it all before. “We’re going back to our roots on this record.” “It’s going to be like our early stuff.” “The next album’s going to be our heaviest yet.”

These comments often fly out of the mouths of bands who have experienced recent decreases in record sales or are coming off of their “experimental” period. Metallica, for this purpose, is no different. They’ve been talking up their next album, Death Magnetic, saying that they’ve been employing the mindset from their 80’s days of defining thrash and creating epics.

Lead singer James Hetfield is reportedly writing all the lyrics, something that hasn’t happened in a long time, and the band’s recording with Rick Rubin. On paper, all of these facts add up to the usual pre-release anticipation and hype associated with an act of Metallica’s stature. They are living legends at this point in their career. Their catalog has defined a genre and elevated its respectability.

They say the new songs are all longer with more rhythm shifts and time changes ala their excellent 80’s material. They are saying a lot. I believe that despite the last decade and change of experimentation with varying levels of success, the band that changed heavy metal can rise to the occasion again. I’m cautiously optimistic. But optimistic nonetheless.

Girl Talk's Mash-up McNuggets

2008-07-03T08:08:00.000-07:00

Juxtaposition. A $10 word that is the crux of Girl Talk's latest (and for that matter every) album, Feed The Animals. Greg Gillis is Girl Talk - a downright polarizing artist - hellbent on taking his brilliant 2006's Night Ripper to the next level. Essentially the musical equivalent of George Dubya- you're either with him or against him - Gillis doesn't allow for middle ground with his art. That's because his “songs” are constructed from all that has come before him.

Gillis serves up a musical stew of others' lyrical snippets, beats, and music to create something familiar, yet wholly unique. Hip-hop and slightly tweaked, yet quickly recognizable guitar parts, are his meat and 'taters. Sticking with my gastronomic analogy, Gillis' unique placement of obscure and ubiquitous samples provide the broth that brings it all into a steaming hot bowlF of…well, that depends on interpretation. Detractors say it's derivative and akin to thievery. Supporters praise Gillis for creating postmodern sonic pastiches that stand on their own as original constructions. I lean with the latter, due to Gillis' inventive brilliance.

The concept of a mash-up - taking two songs and blenderizing them - is this decade's version of a cover song. Like most cover songs, a mash-up's noble intent is often not enough to prevent a horrid end product. Gillis takes mash-up's ideology a step further and then proceeds to clone it repeatedly in each "song". What the listener often gets is an alternately awkward and brilliant 25 sample pile-up that is the result of a four-decade excavation of pop, rock, hip-hop, soul and funk. Feed The Animals finds Gillis one step closer to perfecting this formula.

Outkast and UGK get busy over the Spencer Davis Group’s 41-year-old chugging bassline/organ intro of “Gimme Some Lovin’.” Unk’s unstoppable club jam of the last 18 months, “Walk It Out,” and Pete Townshend’s 25-year-old “Let My Love Open The Door” exchange greetings. Rapper T.I. and Sinead O’Connor bounce off each other while a Too Short line about fellatio assumes the roll of chorus. At least for 15 seconds. That’s just the album’s first track, “Play Your Part (pt 1)” - a primer for the 53 minute ADD fest to come.

Gillis has a knack for taking older favorites and slamming them up against the latest hits. The result is a series of memory lane strolls and “WTF?!?” moments that re-contextualize a few generations’ worth of musical nuggets. Avril Lavigne’s smash “Girlfriend” and the well from which it draws (Toni Basil’s “Mickey”) are snipped, clipped, and reshaped into a canvas for Dolla to rap, “Who The Fuck Is That?” over. This is just the first minute of “Shut The Club Down,” which eventually plucks Rod Stewart’s “Young Turks” from the back of pop music’s collective consciousness, re-imagining it as a backing track for Ahmad before Lil’ Jon crashes the party altogether. "WHAT! WHAT?!?"

Gillis has effectively bridged the gap between ubiquitous and obscure. There are tons of these head-scratching and booty-shaking moments on Feed The Animals, commanding multiple listens to absorb it all. Twisted Sister and

Girl Talk’s aural collages invite music fans regardless of age or genre loyalty. The truly initiated will discover new within the recognizable and never hear the familiar the same way again. There's a little something in this stew for everyone to love or hate.

Whether you call him a a genius or an easy target for copyright infringement lawyer, Gillis acknowledges every sample in his liner notes to avoid becoming the latter, yet never fully realizes the former. Instead, Gillis and his creations lie in the gray area. A place his audience and critics will not be spending a lot of time in. This particular blogger, however, has leased a timeshare in Gillis' musical scavenger hunt.

A cheat sheet of samples on Feed The Animals.

UPDATE:

A whole different level of referential bliss.

Personal note: Still playing Feed the Animals at least once a week.

Phish On?

2008-07-01T12:53:00.000-07:00

It appears internet rumblings about a Phish reunion have begun. It's about time. The band's legions of fans have long wondered if and when such a possibility, or even speculation about it, would arise. Keyboardist Page McConnell has said, "the prospect of Phish reuniting is something I consider very seriously, and I think about it a lot." Lead singer Trey Anastasio mentioned to Rolling Stone this past May, "At this point in time I would give my left nut to play that song five times in a row every day until I die. I certainly thought about that while I was in jail.” Anastasio was sentenced to probation on charges of possessing painkillers without a prescription the same day he interviewed with Rolling Stone and a couple weeks after accepting a lifetime achievement award with the rest of Phish at the Jammies.

It's been almost four years since the band formally disbanded or went on hiatus or whatever term you like. Nostalgia works in increasingly shorter waves than ever before. VH1's airing of "I Love The New Millennium" is evidence enough of that.

I've always believed that Phish was this musical Frankenstein (damn they rocked Edgar Winters' song live) that only needed a little time away from their legacy to fully appreciate it. Rumors that the band is working with producer Steve Lillywhite only adds fuel to the flames of Phish fans everywhere. Now it appears that a little monetary lubing is the only step left in getting the band and its fans off the couch and into the amphitheater. Take the band out of the freezer guys. Intermission is over and it's time for your career's second set.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before.

2008-06-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, I’m not getting any younger and as the years pass, I look to new acts to give me an occasional reminder of my youth. I expect a mainstream pop act to use a sample of a song I grew up singing along with every once in a while. It’s a wise business move if done properly. First, choose a timeless sample from a recognizable and respectable song regardless of era or genre. Preferably a small musical hook that isn’t the chorus. Rhianna’s sampling of Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” for her smash “SOS” is a great example of sample selection. Second, integrate said sample into a worthy original creation that resonates on its own. Though laughed at by many, MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This,” shot him to fame and eventual bankruptcy on the pilfering of Rick James’ “Superfreak.” While I wait for the next sample-based original song to hit, I have found myself discovering less blatant pieces of not-so-distant singles in modern songs. Please, somebody sample "Love My Way" by the Psychedelic Furs. Please?

Architecture in Helsinki’s new single “Do The Whirlwind” sounds like it was bought at Spoon-man, Britt Daniel's garage sale. AIH: How much for “I Turn My Camera On?” Spoon: Just take it. It's served its purpose. They took it home, applied a fuzzy gloss, and called it the . I can’t tell if it’s a sped-up and distorted sample of the original or AIH doing their best to ape it. Regardless, I’m sticking with the original on this one. I will no be doing the whirlwind anytime soon.

Pharrell and Chad Hugo, aka The Neptunes; aka friends of Shay; aka NERD returned recently with Seeing Sounds, their third album. (On a personal note, the album is so-so. They still have “it.” They just don’t always use “it.” Call me crazy, but I want another “Bobby James.”) “Kill Joy” drops percussion on 311’s “Homebrew” groove and tweaks it just enough to avoid sounding identical to the 14-year-old title track of my 1994 summer soundtrack. I knew every word of every song on Homebrew and believe me, there were a lot of words. “Kill Joy” is ok enough but I won’t be listening enough to memorize it.

Though not a sample, I couldn’t help but hear a melodic nod to Queen’s “Radio Ga Ga” in the new NERD (yes, them again), Santogold, and Julian Casablancas’ joint collabo for Converse, “My Drive Thru.” Pharrell and Chad don’t let the Ga Ga go but for a few seconds before pulling back into a Neptunes-slammer of a track, designed to make you move. For all the high-profile production they have done for others, their only song to break Billboard’s Hot 100 was 2004’s “She Wants To Move,” which hit 43. “Spaz” from Seeing Sounds will be the next. It’s on TV in the newest Microsoft Zune ad and should be blasting from a car near you. It is worth the $4.50 a gallon to cruise around with Shay singing “Spaz if you want to” over one of the best sounding songs of the year.