That is all.
That Google blog search should provide a working link if you're into that sort of thing. Don't tell W3b Sh3riff.
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Monday, February 8, 2010
The new Hot Chip album is t0ta11y aw3s0m3
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Heard while out last night: Tuxedomoon's "No Tears"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z-DC66THOU
It came out in 1978 and sounds like a classic post-punk track. It was totally new to me when I first heard it at local watering hole The Bikini Lounge while out last night.
2009 Top 10 Singles Match-Up #8
Derrick's choice: Vampire Weekend "Cousins" vs. Eric's choice: Peter Doherty - "Last of the English Roses"
I'm not sure there's any defense for my choice of "Last of the English Roses," the only stand-out tune from Doherty's solo debut (not counting Babyshambles). It doesn't hold a candle to the better halves of the Libertines' and Babyshambles' discographies, but it's a minimalist stab at classic mid-90s Britpop (a genre I barely understand and marginally appreciate). I deliberately chose video clips that show Doherty in full-on strung-out mode.
Vampire Weekend's "Cousins" barely counts as a 2009 release (it debuted in December, but appears on January's Contra. On an album full of top-notch tunes, "Cousins" is the one the band apparently flipped a coin to choose as its first single (because the album is excellent start-to-finish).
Let the mocking of Pete ensue, Doc.
2009 Top 10 Singles Match-Up #9
For the #9 spot...
Eric's choice: Franz Ferdinand - "Live Alone" vs. Derrick's choice: Phoenix "1901"
Well, I think it's pretty clear which song is superior. "1901" is one of the top songs of the last decade, as well as a top contender for single of the year last year. Both Derrick and I prefer "Lizstomania," (as this list will show later on in our countdown), but "1901" ranks with that song and "Long Distance Call" as one of Phoenix's best singles.
Now, in defense of Franz Ferdinand... "Live Alone" wasn't a single off of Franz's underrated Tonight, but on an album full of hook-y tunes, "Live Alone" rocked memorably with a palpable tinge of sadness. I couldn't find a very good live version on youtube, but when I saw them in Phoenix, AZ, the song bounced cathartically along. Unfortunately, it was greeted with puzzlement by an audience of Green Day fans (Franz opened for them on their last North American tour; not an ideal pairing).
Lay it on thick for Phoenix, Doc.
2009 Top 10 Singles Match-Up #10
For the #10 spot on our top 10 singles of 2009...
Eric's choice: Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - "To All the Lights in the Windows" vs. Derrick's choice: Autokratz - "Stay the Same"
(Apologies for the image accompanying "Stay the Same" on youtube. That was the best link I could find for the original song (not a remix) that didn't involve watching an ad.)
So, one side, we have indie-folkster Conor Oberst's most Bright Eyes-like song from the last Mystic Valley Band record, Outer South. On the other, we have London electronica duo Autokratz's third single, "Stay the Same." As for Oberst, the live version found here is not great in terms of video quality, but it certainly matches, if not exceeds, the studio version in performance quality. A superbly-performed song about heartbreak that's satisfyingly hummable. Key lyric:
But I'm going to do what I can for you, I will make a pleaTo all the lights in the windows, the puddles in the streetsAnd all the lovers that you've been teasing from your balconyMay they carry you far from my memory
It's worthwhile to keep in mind that this pick represents one of my favorite songs of 2009, though, I admit, it perhaps isn't one of the best songs of the year. It isn't particularly groundbreaking (in fact, it's almost Conor-by-numbers), but in many years' time, when we're looking back at Oberst's entire discography, I think this song will stand as one of his best (and most accessible/memorable/cover-able). Your move, Doc. (He'll post his response in the comments.)
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Shocking Pinks - Emily
One of my favorite songs/videos/bands of all time (not embeddable for some reason) . . . Shocking Pinks - Emily
Sunday, November 29, 2009
My Top 10 Anticipated Releases
1. The Strokes - TBA
They're back in the studio in January, so maybe they'll be able to release an LP before the fifth anniversary of their last passes. Given the quality of their members' solo albums and the passage of time since Is This It, it's a testament to The Strokes' lasting influence that so many are so anxious for something new from the whole band.
2. Hot Chip - One Life Stand (has it really been almost two years since their perfect last album?)
3. LCD Soundsystem - TBA
4. Los Campesinos - Romance Is Boring
It's apparently going to be less frenetic and more mature than their prior output, which is to be expected now that most of the band is out of their adolescent years. I'm biased on this one, as I once had a blast in an intimate indie mosh pit with the band and two hundred other fans.
5. The Hold Steady - TBA (whatever they release, it had better be less overwrought than Stay Positive)
6. Interpol - TBA
Will anyone but hardcore fans care after Our Love To Admire flopped and Paul Banks' solo debut was mostly solid? I'm afraid Interpol's alt-rock chart-topping days may be over, and they may be headed for a Sonic Youth or Yo La Tengo-type future: solid live following and steady sales, but no meaningful mainstream presence. Basically, NPR reviewers and listeners could be their most loyal demographic. (This is a problem for all of the early '00s "return to rock" bands, except for NY's most polished and Detroit's most prolific.)
7. Liars - Sisterworld
Their last, self-titled LP was disappointing after the solemn, dreamy Drum's Not Dead. Hopefully they'll get their Thom Yorke-tipped mojo back for their new release.
8. Spoon - Transference
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga was over-hyped, never delivering the band the top-of-the-pops push it deserved and that critics expected, so maybe they'll just worry themselves with making an album with more than a few great songs this time.
9. Vampire Weekend - Cousins (Because mall clothing shops desperately need new, safe indie hits to play in-store and on their TV commercials.)
10. The Rolling Stones - TBA (No one's really clamoring for it, but isn't it time for some plastic to peddle prior to another tour, even if it's mediocre like the last?)
Albums I am not anticipating:
MGMT - Congratulations
Their debut swung for the indie crossover hit fences and flied out. The problem was it had only three classic tracks, two of which were actually leftovers from their first EP, plus seven forgettable acoustic guitar ditties given the full Lips treatment by David Friedman. Still, radio and festival audiences ate them up.
U2 - TBA
U2 thought No Line on the Horizon would spawn several chart-topping hits while their follow-up, made up of longer, ambient outtakes from those same sessions, would be more artsy and "difficult." Now that No Line flopped due to an inexcusable lack of editing, U2 are left wondering whether to go ahead with their planned release of those guaranteed-to-fail outtakes, or to start from scratch. If history is any guide, starting from scratch means another five-year wait for new material. So maybe they should just dump the old material on a now-suspecting public, if only to provide new tracks to spice up another tour.
They're back in the studio in January, so maybe they'll be able to release an LP before the fifth anniversary of their last passes. Given the quality of their members' solo albums and the passage of time since Is This It, it's a testament to The Strokes' lasting influence that so many are so anxious for something new from the whole band.
2. Hot Chip - One Life Stand (has it really been almost two years since their perfect last album?)
3. LCD Soundsystem - TBA
4. Los Campesinos - Romance Is Boring
It's apparently going to be less frenetic and more mature than their prior output, which is to be expected now that most of the band is out of their adolescent years. I'm biased on this one, as I once had a blast in an intimate indie mosh pit with the band and two hundred other fans.
5. The Hold Steady - TBA (whatever they release, it had better be less overwrought than Stay Positive)
6. Interpol - TBA
Will anyone but hardcore fans care after Our Love To Admire flopped and Paul Banks' solo debut was mostly solid? I'm afraid Interpol's alt-rock chart-topping days may be over, and they may be headed for a Sonic Youth or Yo La Tengo-type future: solid live following and steady sales, but no meaningful mainstream presence. Basically, NPR reviewers and listeners could be their most loyal demographic. (This is a problem for all of the early '00s "return to rock" bands, except for NY's most polished and Detroit's most prolific.)
7. Liars - Sisterworld
Their last, self-titled LP was disappointing after the solemn, dreamy Drum's Not Dead. Hopefully they'll get their Thom Yorke-tipped mojo back for their new release.
8. Spoon - Transference
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga was over-hyped, never delivering the band the top-of-the-pops push it deserved and that critics expected, so maybe they'll just worry themselves with making an album with more than a few great songs this time.
9. Vampire Weekend - Cousins (Because mall clothing shops desperately need new, safe indie hits to play in-store and on their TV commercials.)
10. The Rolling Stones - TBA (No one's really clamoring for it, but isn't it time for some plastic to peddle prior to another tour, even if it's mediocre like the last?)
Albums I am not anticipating:
MGMT - Congratulations
Their debut swung for the indie crossover hit fences and flied out. The problem was it had only three classic tracks, two of which were actually leftovers from their first EP, plus seven forgettable acoustic guitar ditties given the full Lips treatment by David Friedman. Still, radio and festival audiences ate them up.
U2 - TBA
U2 thought No Line on the Horizon would spawn several chart-topping hits while their follow-up, made up of longer, ambient outtakes from those same sessions, would be more artsy and "difficult." Now that No Line flopped due to an inexcusable lack of editing, U2 are left wondering whether to go ahead with their planned release of those guaranteed-to-fail outtakes, or to start from scratch. If history is any guide, starting from scratch means another five-year wait for new material. So maybe they should just dump the old material on a now-suspecting public, if only to provide new tracks to spice up another tour.
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