Americana-folk putting banjo and mandolin center stage with uplifting choruses? How could anyone resist? Plus I detected some subtle waltz-y pulses on some songs, going in indie wistful territory, as well as a few whipped Cash rhythms for everyone’s joy
‘The idea was to write super-pop dance music written and performed by girls,’ Johansson says in a press release. ‘I love Grimes. And I love the Bangles. And I love the Go-Go’s. I wanted it to be like those bands: ultra pop but also a little ironic, a little in on the joke.
His memoir, the book “American Sniper” is based upon, had to retract the claim that he beat Jesse Ventura up. Why would he have lied about that? Wasn’t 100s of killings enough, did he also have to LIE ABOUT beating up professional wrestlers? How violent is violent enough?
It’s a good rock album, straightforward, 90sish but not grunge, sounds like what it is, smart lyrics, straightforward. Nothing as great as “Spin The Bottle” but the first two songs are huge inclusions for the Hatfield songbook.
Give Steve Strange this: he was the definition of THE FACE and also a real music guy who moved from lead singer of ultimate New Wave band Visage to promoting DJ concerts. He died of a heart attack last week at the age of 55.
Thunder are a really good mainstream UK style hard rock band, been around over 20 years, and are in a league with the best out there. They’re opening for ZZ Top in London and that sounds like a concert to be missed under no circumstances. Meanwhile, my buddy Johnny McElhone’s (I knew him when he managed Ramona) band Texas is back on the charts.
Give young Eddie something, he sure has staying power, Is this eight months in the charts now? Plus he has a coupla more where that comes from, “”Even My Dad Does Sometimes” is patiently awaiting its close up. Meanwhile, I don’t see the charm on the Ellie track. Sounds awful lame to these ears. Her photography is another question…
What Liam does here, is take an anthem and give the singing a detacment, he sings it out but he doesnt give himself, the result is a godlike distance from the childhood memory. The title is great as well -it is not just our neighborhood or our kids, it is the way we do it – A+
The music was explosive to bombastic with a dose of distortion and their big sprawling sound, served by layered vibrating guitars, a Korg organ and Andrew Mills’ deep vocals, had a very muscular foot-tapping side. They were going from dark anthems with steady drumming and ascending repeats to post-punk dance-floor numbers, installing a powerful mood
“I’d like to tell her what, I’m really feeling but…” when I made my peace with my Mom, I did it without really mentioning the past. She was 80 years old and I didn’t have the stomach for it. What difference does it make? But I wish I could have told her about watching her sleeping, sitting quietly by, watching over her. How much I had loved her. I guess it wouldn’t really matter, would it?
A definite sign of the times, we won’t be able to get your CD with your favorite coffee anymore! Yeap, Starbucks will stop selling CDs at the end of next
I am what I hate in other people’s attitudes about music when it comes to movies… I just think the new movies ain’t got the same soul. But music I know, and a look at this awful awful list and only one thing is certain: the rest of the nominees can’t lick Campbell’s boots.
A very busy week, and the ones I am most excited about I have already heard (and they’re both good), The Pop Group and Screaming Females, but if not them then there is still quite a few goodies: Gang Of Four, Big Sean, Emile Haynie, who had a really good single with Lana Del Rey earlier this year,… Dan Deacon? Decisions, decisions… Gang Of Four!
“If somebody puts that on the table, I’ll pack my bags in the morning and say, “How many gigs do you want?”. The thing that slightly annoys me is – and I know I’m the only one doing interviews – people assume it’s up to me. Let’s say I get up tomorrow morning, have a stretch, and say to my wife, “How about this Oasis thing?” It’s not up to me”
The second most anticipated concert of the year, right after D’Angelo, is this killer reunion: the all girl masters Sleater Kinney. I followed em through much of their career (I got bored circa The Woods), and saw both Wild flag and the Corin Tucker Backer (the latter at Mercury Lounge where Tucker sold her own tee shirts) and I love the new album and always loved them live. So I am more than excited to catch em on Thursday (they are also playing Friday). Yes, even at Terminal Five.
Family (Blended) – Chance The Rapper – This is the Vic Mensa remix, and it is so good, “It still warms my heart to hear my Grandma pray” is one thing, “My sister says she likes my rap because it sounds good” is one thing, “I’m gonna stay in the land where my fam-o stays” something else again. Chance and Vic are like no one outthere. Big time hip hop guys doing it differently – A
They stepped back just two years for “Come Unto Me” and leader and lead singer Raul Malo took his band to a place where Latin American rhythms and guitars met rockabilly but only as an ingredient of the song. It had the sax and trumpet like an unconscious echo of the ghost of Tito Puentes
currently see a trend, people imagine their pop stars like flawless goddesses and at the least imperfection revealed there is an internet drama,… and in both cases it was not a reaction from the stars but a reaction from the fans themselves!
There is always something magical about seeing musicians in cartoon, it’s funny and cute and Carrie, Corin and Janet have never looked so powerful at what they are doing. They make the Burgers crew bounce, kick and jump to the riotous tune, ‘A New Wave’, which is of course one song off Sleater Kinney’s latest release ‘No Cities to Love’
I’m working on it every day, man. I guarantee it’s going to be something dope. If you don’t want a musician being creative, don’t get The Free Weezy Album.”
Yeah, I haunt the first listen on NPR and seriously hit pay dirt from time to time. This week I have The Pop Group and Screaming Females new albums on heavy rotation. I might listen to these guys more than when the album is actually released.
What interests me today is the best named album of the year, All My Favorite Singers Are Willie Nelson by Astral Swans which, if it is half as good as its name, should kill. Astral Swans is Canadian Matthew Swan, and his “You Can carry A Sickness” is first rate (sounds like extreme loner to me but…)
It is a toss up between Flo Rida on Kelly and Michael and Little Big Town on ellen, I like em both though I like Flo better, especially when he is just popping out which is the majority of the time. Though the one time I saw him live I was a little disappointed. I love Little Big Town as well, their last album was excellent. But no, Flo wins the week…
Mountain Of Love (Live) – From New Year’s Eve 1975 and look at this: he was 26 years old at the same and the King of every move in the rock and roll yearbook, this Johnny Rivers cover is proof, a blast of joy and fresh air which ignotes with a call for the Big Man – Terrific – A
We don’t want Matt to change, we want him to continue. Too good to be a regional phenom, too old fashioned to find an easy way out of Omaha. If Matt does what he does till he does it, that’s gonna do just fine.
What she did was terrible, especially to Conor, she singlehandedly blew his last album to smitherines: you can’t be a sensitive songwriter and a rapist: it is one of those either or situations. But still, it is just a horrible, pathetic and sad story.
Ames took to robbin’ banks, and had some close calls, nearly at the end of a hang man’s rope. But as the song opens, Tom is “trapped in an alley in Abilene with all but four shells spent”, and with the end near and that’s when he asks God for a little bit of luck and doesn’t get it. But before that he yelps with joy at the memory of a close call.
For one week (Feb. 16-22), I’m going to listen to nothing but the entire Nickelback catalogue on a loop in an effort to raise $10,000* to build a well. Please considering giving and making this dream a reality**.
Definitely Drake’s week, but that Lord Huron may well be a case of lightning striking, because it is just a terrific little rockabilly track that begins and ends like a sweet ambient call. A masterful song. Otherwise both Kate and Letts choices were a little random, both albums have a lot of great songs.
Burning For No One – The Cribs – Yorkshire boys playing typical UK rock, and have been for a coupla decades and they do what they do quite well, the lick is sturdy and yet ot clingy and the verbal hook is sticky and quite smart – B+
When [bands] did try to get, in quotes, ‘arty,’ it was worse than stupid rock & roll. What I mean by ‘stupid,’ I mean, like, the Doors.’… ‘I never liked the Beatles, I thought they were garbage. If you say, ‘Who did you like?’ I liked nobody.’
The song is their usual earth-shaking, head-banging, ear-bleeding party, as I said, they have an excellent recipe and they keep delivering new and improved versions of their powerful formula. ‘Acetate’ is a grungy distortion with massive dissonance
Warsaw is not my idea of a terrific pace to see a band -who wants to deal with Brooklyn? It says here take the L Train to Bedford Ave but then what? Still, I did it for Roulette (which ended up being two blocks away from the Barclay center) so I guess I’m stuck doing it here.
I’ve always liked Ed, he is like a miracle of science, a guy who quite literally did it his way and yet managed to get away with singer songwriter angst and pop moves I’ve never seen him perform poorly. So consider this an absolute must see.
For the first song off the eagerly anticipated new Brian Wilson album No Pier Pressure (best pun ever), Brian hooks up with two Beach Boys for a minor though not unpleasant Wilson circa Imagination type work. It swings like the mid-70s, mostly because of David Marks subte guitar (his solo is lovely and lowkey). Al Jardine adds his voice of the harmonies – B+
A pretty good top ten though it takes so log for things to shake up on the charts that “Style” feels like a seismatic chage. “Style” is also ot “Blank Space” -it seems tot ake seriously what “Blank Space” funned at: all heavy glances and playing patty fingers in the Holy Water?
Ex’s & Ohs – Elle King – A rockabilly groover with a very smart line of patter that manages to live up to its, “Always gonna come, but they never wanna leave” Elle claims as she takes stock og her love life and finds it quite succesful – B+
I mean I truly have this fear of missing out all the time, and everyone has a DVR right? I ended up seeing 14 bands, which is quite a lot for the same afternoon/evening, and I will try to remember about all of them… Thanks god or whatever, I took notes!
Supposing a trumpet grew up being played by school kids and rank amateurs. What if the trumpet had dreams of one day being played by Miles Davis? Dig, relax your staid brain activity, go with the thought. So this lonely trumpet is put in the back of the closet for years but to get him through each lonely day, the trumpet dreams of Miles lovingly fingering his keys
Suicide is the end of a persons story at the place they decided to end it, and murder is an interruption of a life just about randomly. It matters how people die, it matters how an artist dies. Would Sylvia Path read the way she reads if she didn’t kill herself?
‘One of my dreams was to be the head creative director of the Gap. I’d like to be the Steve Jobs of the Gap.’ Some ambitious thought there, although the Gap? Really Kanye? That generic, right-in-the-middle-of-the-road brand? I know what you are gonna say, these sentences are taken out of context, but really, does the context matter with Kanye?
What stands out here is what stood out before: the lack of the slamdunk. No one day blows your mind. Saturday is a dog, Friday is the best, and Suday? Do you really wanna hang around to catch the Black Keys… I dunno…
Helling and belling across an an arena, AC/DC are the essence of a huge rock band, a towering power swinging on hells belles from the roof. I will be sorry if I miss em. Brian Johnson is a stellar lead singer, he dictates his pace and he is a joy to watch at any time and he isn’t the only leader of the band
When I saw this guy open for Kanye iw as less than impressed whatever, and I guess it is weird calling a song this in your face subtle, but at least subtleties of rhyme, of tempo, is lost on stage. On this extremely vicious hit back at blacks who didn’t like him questioning Fergusson, Lamar makes his point and then some: emancipation of a real nigga, he claims at the end. I buy it – A
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros lead singer, produced by Marcus Mumford, so it could be twee folkieness and veers close from time to time, but the songs are very very strong and the production is sweet and clean. An addictive, talented album, alll the more surprising if you’re used to a steady diet of Edward Sharpe – ALBUM OF THE WEEK -A-
Does he realize how stupid and sexist he appears when he tweets stuff like this? For some reason, people think they can be total dick on Twitter or Facebook, because I am sure he would have never said this to the woman in person, but his reaction is so immature… and may be he realized it and sort of apologized two days later on TwitLonger
Meaning, yeah, we used to play her a lot in the 80s, but she is definitively too old now, despite what a Radio 1 spokesman said: ‘Tracks are chosen on musical merit, and while around 40 per cent of the country’s 15 to 29-year-olds tune into Radio 1 each week, an artist’s age is never a factor.’
It has some of the innocence of a Jonathan Richman and by innocence I am claiming what feels like a lack of knowledge of wrongdoing, an unknowledge of misogyny and ill treatment of a woman. The story of a platonic love affair is unlike what you expect from anybody, let alone any rapper
“Skylight”is a hard rock ballad in the verses which explodes into an anthemic instrumental with a sterling guitar solo on the break and a kitchen sink expanded power source chorus.
Perhaps she wasn’t completely aware the tremendous love and affection pop fans have for her, how her songs have gone from generation to generation. There is something about these songs that are unlike any one else, she had a unique voice as a songwriter and as a person -the melody of intense feelings.
