Elton John releases his best album in a long long long time, and Drake and Kings Of Leon keep on doing what they always do, with no small amount of success. Bassist Kevin Jenkins drops a real good soul album and Icona Pop owed us more than five new songs. But we will take it.
As I write, I am planning to check out Yuck as part of the CMJ fest after loving their debut album and once you get past that there is Joan Jett with (hopefully) more of the same
The Last Thing On My Mind – Tom Paxton – A folk great at the very top of his skills, composes a brilliant love song that’ll live forever – A+
Folk isn’t the most exciting of visual life forms and though Willie Watson was a revelation, I still didn’t learn much from the proceedings. Except that the Folk music revival has stalled and that Tom Paxton wasn’t there, is awesome, and I plan to catch him next time he plays.
Quite good rock fodder filled with moderately swinging rockers and hooks a-plenty, which might not improve on first single “Supersoaker” but don’t leave it in the lurch either. Clanging guitars, would be anthems, real anthems, and catchy little singalongs, they should be able to tour behind this for at least a year – ALBUM OF THE WEEK – B+
I wonder, will Jessie J, once it is released Stateside, kill us here and put her into Ellie Goulding territory, a place I always figured she should be.
Two killer songs here, the new Jessie J and the new to me Ben Pearce. Compare this to the US charts and what do you notice? None of those lousy fake cowboys from Australia and therfore a much much better chart.
Still Into You – Paramore – Perhaps their finest song, an astounding, very addictive piece of power pop that held their pretty damn good anyway current album together – A
On a glorious Saturday afternoon drifting into Saturday evening, 60,000 New Yorkers became “Global Citizens”. Well helping the poor is one thing and music is something else entirely and I for one, actually, will be happy to dismiss the entire enterprise for you.
All of the caveats you can imagine, doesn’t change that that is Lala singing “Da Do Ron Ron”, Charlie singing “Sweets For My Sweet” and yes, the real, the indominatable Ben E. singing “Spanish Harlem”. These are immortal pop tracks.
Except for Nirvana, every song here was released in the past week or two, and of all ten songs 6 are mainstream as mainstream can be, so what this proves is that bubbling under the surface of Billboard charts
Blondie at Highline were just incredible, you could feel Debbie’s star power tingling and X? And John Doe performing “Look How We Are”? Worth the price of admission in itself. Both bands on the same bill is a real thrill, so get thrilled at Roseland on Friday October 4th
S.O.S. In Bel Air – Phoenix – The catchiest song off their last album and neither song nor album has lit the world on fire, but that doesn’t mean this catchy electronic pop rock shouldn’t have done better – B+
Last year I had a real good time and this year, well, this year I have no idea what to expect but I hope to get more of the same. For me, a working stiff, lunch gigs are where it is at, and the KEXP Radio shows seem like a smart move.
This isn’t state of the art, Timberland is a little out of time for one thing, but it functions as a a 22 song dance suite with the occassional song jutting out. It has scope but not depth and I admire it and enjoy it.
Spanking Charlene a band that makes you wonder whether the first word is an adjective or a verb. Spanking Charlene are such a great , tasty vicious bunch of rockers, undoubtedly it is an adjective. Plus, Charlene is a bad ass, I am sure if anybody gets spanked it’s the fans
Who else could have written “Hey Mama” and “Robocop” and then, in 2013 come back with the impenetrable brilliance of “New Slave”? It doesn’t take me to point this out to you, now, does it?
It is screening at Tribeca Screen 2 on November 8th at 6pm along with other other shorts and tickets go on sale October 7th, 2013 here. I’ll be there for sure so why don’t you pick up a ticket and see us there. it will be an experience you won’t quickly forget.
Lefsetz is like the guy who explains the score after the game is over. He lacks the slightest ounce of prescience when it comes to pop music until after the fact, which isn’t prescience at all. He is really clever once there is nothing to be clever about.
This is not to excuse Bono for being a tax cheat, this has more to do with how to explain how Capitalism stopped functioning.
I’m guessing it won’t be good but I am hoping it will be ordinary, not slit yr wrists awful. Hell, if he can still write a good song from time to time anything is possible.
The two songs Kevin performed at the Doncker Bands Blue Note gig last week were highlights and on October 1st (a Tuesday), the Triad gig spotlighting the new album should be amazing.
Girl Josephine – Fats Domino – It was always feels like of all the first graduates of rock and roll, Fats gets relegated to the also rans. Here is proof again he was anything but, just wait for the horn on the bridge – A
Effortlessly out of fashion, with a straight up pop band behind him, keyboards, drums, bass, guitar and piano played by Lionel himself, and a minimal to non-existent stage set, Lionel brought a knife to a gun fight and got slaughtered.
I wonder what the poor bastards who went to this concert had done to deserve it? Was it bad karma from a past life. It must have been a form of hell, sitting through the Indigo Girls to reach Lisa Loeb, it is like is there no exist?
Just out of the army, back in the charts, this is Presley, not an album artist, best album: it has the breadth of masterpiece, blues, pop, rock and roll, hits and deep cuts, It sprawls its way on to the charts and Presley, in an alternative universe, was using this as a gate to a future and not a goal post.
I’ve been tracking the charts for years now and this is beyond a reasonable doubt the worst list of albums in some 160 weeks
This week, the album charts are a disgrace BUT that could change overseven days, meanwhile the singles chart are a lively mess of pop and dance vying for your attention in a fight to the death.
This is a swirl of modern blues, poppier than her earlier stuff? Well, certainly faster than we’re used to, the arrangement includes what sounds like a drum machine, and, wow, back up singers. Trixie has already left Four Corners in her review mirror – B+
If I could go back in time a coupla days I wouldn’t buy a ticket, the moment has passed and the place to see Robin now is third on the bill at Jingle Ball, three songs and out. But since I was buying before I was seeing, I guess it is now a must see…
Whitley stakes his claim to the blues he derives his power from, he taps into the primal instinct but takes it from the reverse, and merges forward like a shaman. With his blonde visage he is like a vengeful angel, unti, you realize the devil on her trail might be him.
We go to hell; Richard trashes the East Village Eye, “Leonard is sloppy, he doesn’t do what he promises he will.” We go to punk: “I said all I wanted to say about my contribution to punk in the ‘Slum Journal’ piece. I have nothing left to add.” We get caught in time: “I have to leave for a rehearsal in an hour, but we can talk again if you like.” We are lost in perceptions: “Ask me a question… That isn’t a question.”
I’ve written about musicians I’ve never seen but wish I had but that isn’t this article! This is about musicians I didn’t see on specific tours or even concerts that I wish I’d caught. I mean more than wish, like dream of having been to
He is playing a residency at Birdland’s this December and I am going at 830p on Christmas Eve. I am trying to track down rock nyc’s fave cabaret artist Jack Phillips to see if he wants to join me. Ask him to give me a call if you see him.
Hellhound On My Trail – Robert Johnson – The legend starts here with Johnson pursued by a Hell Hound and wailing his blues. Recorded in 1937, it sounds really fresh today, weary but fresh – A+
Impressive renewal of their smart and sexy guitar rock; the voice took awhile to get use to but by now they seem to have releaxed into their position of rock elder statesmen on this cool old fashioned rocker – B+
Rarely does album do what it sets out to with the pinpoint concentration, Locked And Loaded is a triumph in a genre that bores me sick.If I liked the genre this would be an album of the year, as it is it is an impressive modern rock album
Built for rock and roll radio with a rhythm section right out of Wyman-Watts songbook, a vocalist in Pat who is like a pub rock denizen from way back and one addictive shot of rock and roll after another through 15 songs of glorious dance music, on 14th And Nowhere.
Solange’s 45 minute opening set was perfection and made me an immediate believer all over again, the very next day David Bronson brought The Long Lost to life and Shemekia Copeland killed it with humor and joy. Did I mention Solange was sizzling?
If Sting, Willie Nelson, or Metallica are even vaguely bearable I’ll be happily surprised. The one here is Icona Pop, and Kings Of Leon are first runners up
Hard To Handle – The Black Crowes – The apex of the Southern boogie boy’s coolness came with this Otis Redding cover which they whitened while shaking it up – A
It is like a 70s pro-rock placed underneath an early 1970s singer-songwriter and at Fonatana in February, the singer songwriter won out and on Saturday night the prog rock artist weirdo won out and on both nights the audience won out.
“Will I ever forgive myself?” asks Mike Hranica and this is the second album of theirs that defies harcore or Christian category to emerge as one of the most overwhelming, loud and sometimes even lovely experiences you will hear this year – ALBUM OF THE WEEK – A
The horror, the horror. Jason Derulo is pretty good but Christina Perri is unbearable, I had to turn her moldy old ballad off, And what of Avicii and One Republic, two terrible terrible, no actually, that implies a passion I can’t hear, two dull as dishwater performers
Interestingly enough, this is the return of the rock band, it opens with Arctic Monkeys (whose album will be at # 7 on the US Charts next week) and ends with Placebo, and the Manics at # 2, garage blues rockers the Temperance Movement at # 9.
On A Carousel – The Hollies – This is the sound of the timeless clang of pure pop for now people in the heat of the UK Invasion. Immaculate harmonies, melodies, lyrics and Nash’s first lead singing on the A Side of a single- A+
Friday night was a professional and pleasant 90 minutes by a band who can’t figure quite how to merge their concepts of God and men into a full bloodied rock show.
Nash can’t seem able to evoke anything at all. It just lies their on the page waiting for Thoth (the god of writers pop pickers) to breathe some life on the sucker. He is a good guy but he can’t write.
Sure, you’ll be a 100 miles away and sure you will have to sit through the dreaded Alicia Keys and almost as dreaded John Mayer to get there, but IT IS LITTLE STEVIE WONDER
Her best track in a couple of years, is all archy robotic tweaks and bleeps and for a woman with no personality, she brings a ton of personality to it – A-
