This December 15th and 16th, “Not The Messiah (He’s A very Naughty Boy”)” -a spoof of Handel, will be performed at Carrnegie Hall, and if you have to be Christian this is the way to do it. Idle has claimed ” “If our [Life of] Brian was by Matthew then this is by John (but more John Lennon and John Du Prez).
I Am A River – Foo Fighters – Look, Grohl is rich and famous and well loved, nice family, sweet natured, best drummer of his generation, pals around with rock greats… but he can’t write rock songs and that’s that – D
Hungover – Brandy Clark – Robert Christgau rates her very high indeed and while I don’t, it might be worth noting that the first time I heard of Miranda Lambert was in an XGau column (the first time I heard of Bright Eyes, Old 87’s and Jenny Lewis among any others), so I went back and listened again. Not bad – B+
He was performing as the Andrew Duhon Trio at the Hotel Café on Friday night in Los Angeles, and his powerful and warm voice immediately conquered the place and the audience. He is a guy with a strong presence, although not overwhelming, and his acoustic sound captivated me
It sounds like nothing else out there, neither of the time nor apart of it, it is a major rocker’s statement about redemption but Hudson is too hard headed to just say it: it weaves horror to extentuate the joy, it juxtaposes the terror of life so you can embrace the dream true love
Yeah Kelly is from the 80s (91 so not exactly…), and I wanted to put Dolly’s “In The Meantime” but he is already a Dolly fan, plus no Miranda (except with Pistol Annies) because I already recommended Platinum. Lyn Bowtell is a family member so i didn’t include her… (ps: if I felt like it I could just make em all Dement)
Tickets went on sale for Governors Ball 2015, $615 for three days VIP pass from June 5th to June 8th and worth every penny. I spent the last half of 2014 using the festival as a reference for band after band after band I wrote about since June.
No center of gravity here, Pink Floyds outtakes album at the top, George Ezra’s singer songwriter at the bottom, Tay in the middle. Yeah and Foo at # 2 setting up next weeks Taylor dethroning from the top spot on the US charts.
“When we started singing, getting a number number one seemed an impossible dream, so to see this group of unlikely choristers at the top of the charts today is amazing. I’m so grateful to the British public for getting behind it. “
Nothing Left To Do (Let’s Make This Christmas Blue) – The Both – Aimee Mann takes the lead, ted Leo adds hushed background vocals, the organ owns the track, the melody is lovely and the song is almost perfect Mann 101 – A-
Known for prominent guitar leads and stressed vocals, Knuckle Puck have recognized the conventions of a modern Pop-Punk band and fit it to their own, unique sound. Each track on this EP shows Knuckle Puck as a maturing band, ready to take their craft to the next level
As there were a lot of people with guitars on stage, moving around all the time, or constantly exchanging their roles behind guitars drums and lap steel, the result looked like an orchestrated chaos
I firmly believe that anybody willing to call the head of the record label he is consulting for a fucking idiot is not corrupted by Spotify.
‘It has everything – creation, betrayal, lust, poetry, prophecy, sacrifice. It doesn’t really matter what religion you are or if you have no religion, those stories are still relevant to what people go through in their lives and they’re also beautifully written passages”
Hmmm, the new new McCartney tribute album looks major to my untrained ears, Savages are back and with a japanese acid punk band from the UK (giving the word “pardon” whole new vistas of meaning, a new Ariel Pink, a new Bryan Ferry which I’ve heard and I like, and Ariel Pink who has never done it for me but there is a first time for every thing, all possibilities. But I expect the new One Direction to be masterful, the songs I’ve heard have been great and anticipation is sky high
U2 are gonna spend the week on Jimmy Fallon, pushing the product no doubt. An album Songs Of Innocence, that is probably the best of the century and still not that great. In Rolling Stone, U2 make the case that they work and rework songs (deep into the ground) because they care so much. Unfortunately, any spontaneity whatsoever is completely destroyed by the years and years of work. Still, five days on Fallon, some of it should be worth the while.
The question is what is is David Bronson’s upcoming release Questions. Now, the answer is the one concert this week you just don’t dare miss, And the question is what is Bronson at Rockwood on Friday. With guest stars including the great guitarist Carlos Alomar and his full band behind, it will be powerful stuff no doubt. I just hope Bronson doesn’t short change Questions just because it isn’t released yet!
Numb – Nick Jonas and Angel Haze – At the start of the year, Angel Haze released a terrific album and the good will does her well on this state of the art dance track by the former teen idol, trying to revive his career with this tight beats heavy dance track – B
Seriously, why has pop culture focused so much on this part of the human anatomy lately? Is it the influence of some degenerated products of hip hop culture such as J-Lo, Iggy Azalea, Nicki Minaj and Miley Cyrus?
As Costello notes on one of these songs, poverty is a different sort of enlistment but anyhow, three songs about war and all A Plusses
None of that excuses the brutal stupidity of Bruce springsteen, Dave Grohl (who doesn’t have a brain, Bruce lends him one) and Zac Brown covering “Fortunate Son”. The more I think about fortunate son, the more crappy it hits me as
So, yes, I’m going, no I’m not sure but I do know this: you can’t really scalp tickets to City Winery. I tried to for David Crosby and missed, so I am better off buying the ticket and worrying about it later
At least we will get her for one day this winter and in a nice room, the Beacon is glorious. My hope is Laura will take one look at the Rockefeller center christmas tree and start singing “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here” and move.
If the sound wasn’t so crappy, this might have been my favorite on the entire enterprise. The first 12 tracks are real good with some much closer to being completed tracks. “Jelly Bean”, “Any Time” and “Down By The Station” may not be the major major “sign On The Cross” or “I’m Not There”… still, I don’t know em so it is more exciting.
Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson, bruno Mars – It starts like Chic before mainlining james brown and it is so good you might wanna kiss yourself. A great piece of funky disco – A
Hitchcock tells abstract stories of love and death and comets and flares and you have no idea what hes on about and you’re transported into a hazy world that’s just plain lovely and comforting despite being so fucking disturbing. I attribute this to his vocals.
“At its core I believe the issue is really about what a great country we have that a song like this can be performed in a setting like Concert for Valor.’
This is how I like Neil Young, mad at the entire human species, wearing an Earth shirt, and singing a protest song to save the planet… ‘Who’s Gonna Stand Up?
This Is The Love – Spandau Ballet – Simultaneously dated and pandering, its redeeming quality is Tony Hadley… again. The sax solo is sophisticated stuff but the song doesn’t stick – B
At the moment, ASCAP and BMI are fighting with Pandora. Every one is fighting with every one and the only thing I think we cann agree upon is that without a shadow of a doubt, whoever wins we will pay.
First, liner notes helped but I tried not to steal too much. next, the heart of the matter are blues vamps after blues vamps. Writer Rob O’Connor claims it is his favorite, for me? A masterpiece no doubt, but I’m not a big blues guy…
Heavy on the indie hip hop this week, the top slot and two others, and while Southern might not be the definition of indie, or alt for that matter, Big K.R.I.T. sounds like no one. The other two are edge and smart respectively.
Krill – Hail Mary Marron – Three years after their first album Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic join again with their first rate DJ Big Whiz who manufactures a bass beat to fuel this while the rappers divide and conquer the verses -B+
But I may fight for gay rights, especially if the dyke is more of a knockout than Janay Rice / Play nice? Bitch I’ll punch Lana Del Rey right in the face twice, like Ray Rice in broad daylight in the plain sight of the elevator surveillance / ’Til her head is banging on the railing, then celebrate with the Ravens.”
Taxpayers may wind up paying about $170,000 to cover expenses associated with Made in America’, the festival organized in Los Angeles by Jay Z this summer, in parallel with the one happening in Philadelphia… How is this possible? They even had promised us it would make money!
So now the first two CDs feel like working off the rust, country and folk covers while they get in a groove, and the 3rd and 4th CDs are the heart of the original material. The problem is, it is a litle too archivival. I’m not trying to pass my exams.
The guest stars don’t help, the studios make not a whit of difference, the playing is loud and boring, the middling rock is an affront to 1992. The only reason I didn’t give it a D- is because the album cover is great. It stinks. Grade: D
The one time I saw The Weeknd live, I was shocked at how lively he was, the poster boy for dark and moody new r&b once he hit the stage simply wasn’t any more. The one time I saw Ariana on stage, she was the pits. Put em together and you have a mediocre but popular song.
Here comes double platinum in Taylor’s rearview mirror, and we congratulate her, really but a special well done to Better Midler in at # 3 with a pretty good album, it’s the chart placing! Otherwise, jason pulled this albu off Spotify. The world yawns.
Whether Swift is weak or powerful, Lefsetz’s actions towards her have been horrible. It feels like bullying and nasty nasty bullying and now we know it is for someone who is, at the very least, indirectly making money off, which makes it very hard to stomach.
For a foreign band, at the smaller level that they are, Gnarwolves most definitely deserve more praise for their craft and should absolutely be headlining all of the big summer tours found in the American punk world.
Do you want to eat pink donuts while listening to Pink’s new album? Spend the evening at El Prado bar on November 11th,…Do you want to experience Ariel Pink as a DJ? Go to Gimme Gimme Records on November 13th.
Here we go, all basement tapes 75 all the time and I love it all but especially “You Ain’t Going Nowhere” take one and the stupendous mindbending “I’m Not There”. One of Dylan’s greatest.
We never wanted to embarrass a fan’,… does he imagine we are gonna believe this? Fans are never embarrassed about free music and I have never heard anyone complaining about a song showing up on a streaming service!
Lefsetz is biased, he feels biased, he seems to be a shill for Spotify and he certainly gets paid by them, why would he he doing his Rhino Playlist for free? So, he throws his considerable behind a party who is paying him
Flicker (Kanye West Rework) – Lorde – They seek him here, they seek him there, well here he is adding a heavy boom like a cannon behind Lorde’s chemically murmured “Yellow Flicker Beat”. – B+
I can’t recommend the VIP Three day pass, $615 if you go presale and worth every penny. But I’m an old guy who needs the amenities, if you’re a youngster the $285 (presale including everything) is a great deal. GA sold out last year and I bet VIP will as well (it did for certain days).
Give My Love To London – Marianne Faithfull – Her best album in years begins with a song co-written with Steve Earle and ends with a Leonard Cohen cover about aging and a vibrantly and beautiful Ute Lemper-y cover of a Sinatra classic. In between, she uses her many friends to her own ends and somewhere in the middle covers the Everly Brothers – ALBUM OF THE WEEK – A-
To all these young kids who occasionally give me the weird look, I want to say, okay kid, my generation (and even the one before) invented punk rock, what did yours exactly come up with? EDM may be? I rest my case… or may be I am showing my age once again.
Show me a show that opens with “Things Have Changed”, includes another movie soundtrack song, the excellent “Waitin’ For You”, has four songs that open albums, five songs off Tempest, (including the two best) and ends with a very early song and a Sinatra song that will be off his next release, and I’ll show you a set worth catching twice.
