I am enough of a pop fan to give big props to DeRulo and Pharrell, two of the best albums of the years may only have girls on the mind but who doesn’t only have girls on the mind and if all you want is to give props to the playas, do it this well and you’ll get no kick from me.
Almost Was Good Enough – Bro.Stephens And Jim James – This is one of the best songs of the year, a melodic piece of deep depression dressed up like a dirge with an astounding guitar reslessling its way through it till it feed backs out and enters the solo – A
You could win tickets by listening to Alt 98.7 all day. Great! Another opportunity for unemployed people who can listen to the radio all day long and spend the whole day hooked on the busy tone of their smart phone. This is nothing new, a lot of ‘secret show’ giveaways work this way
Dated and old using ‘slam’ as its hook shows these guys are too old for new music. They’re out of touch. First off who the hell says ‘slam’ anymore anyway?
As attentive readers know, the theme of this piece is great songs by different artists that share the same title. In the first article on this subject, we learned to “Walk Like a Man” with The Four Season and Bruce Springsteen (but forgot Grand Funk), we observed “Love Is All Around” from the Troggs and Joan Jett, and we were infatuated with “Starry Eyes” by The Records and Roky Erickson.
The video helps of course, to take the edge off of it all but it not only is simply bad- its confusing. Since your brain can clearly point out the two songs it almost feels like you have too many windows open on your computer. There is no binding factor.
“You can reach that level without turning into that. Like Nirvana played bigger shit than that and it’s probably a different show every night. You don’t have to take that route, you can get that level of success with those size venues, that sort of thing, but still treat is as a spontaneous show at a small club.”
If you write all day every day you are a writer and if you are anything like me there is no greater reward in life. I write more than I do anything else, I write significantly more than I read or speak, anything except listen to music.
The Love Bug – George Jones – Wayne Kemp, country journeyman, wrote it and George Jones got it right; a smashing, lighthearted romp with love is a disease undertones riddling into the perfect lick. Jones vocal is a masterclass in Williams generation country singing.
Text Me In The Morning – Neon Trees – This defines the bands main problem, they have life and they have an idea, but they don’t have a strong and they miss out on the execution – C+
TICKET INFO FOR THE NYC SHOW We can exclusively reveal that tickets for Coldplay’s 05 May show at the Beacon Theatre in New York, USA will go on sale at 10am ET on Wednesday, 23 April from here
Jason Molina, the late singer songwriter, completely passed me by at the time, but he was something special if this sprawling somewhat epic album. A benefit covers album by alt and indie bands headed by Jim James, whose two tracks are outstanding. The title track and the other, with Bro. Stephen, the breathtaking “Almost Was Good Enough”. But there is a lot more as well, not least the other members of his band, Memorial Electric Co. ALBUM OF THE WEEK – A-
Losing the vocal forces us to only endure the visual aspect of this collaboration from hell. The Black Lips are nothing more than a bar band. Non-descript , drum guitar bass for the bland set.
“This year the theme is more obvious than in all the years prior. Being that The Ramones were born in 1974, this year we’ll be celebrating not only the birthday of Jeff Hyman, we’ll be celebrating the birth of Joey Ramone, as well.”
Let’s see: How do you most often listen to music? 49% the radio? I had a hard time to believe this one, and this revealed right away the age of the people who answered this survey, what about 50s-60s old guys and gals?
It was all so celebratory and sad at the same time. Funky horns, full choirs, guest stars and friends, performer heavy stage, howling, rocking beats, along beautiful synth hooks and back beats, banks of computers, overflowing stage, singers and musicians crowding each other
If you like the off balanced experimental soft machine without the machine sound that Wyatt has been playing for years, Watt continues the concept though he remains completely true to his own vision of it
Wayans and girlfriend Megan (Jaime Pressly) plus her two children (Ashley Rickards, Steele Stebbins) move to a haunted house with a creepy doll a la Twilight Zone has a sexual relationship with Damon (no really, very yucky)
Story Of The Rockers – Gene Vincent – Lennon called the Beatles four Gene Vincents and here is one reason why, an ode to the progenitors of rock and roll and Gene snarls and roughens up all the way from Bill Hailey to the Beach Boys and ending with… Otis Redding! – B
Our good friend, the very wonderful Media Contact sin Hom-Gogolak of the City Parks Foundation’s Summer Stage is out on maternity leave till the end of May! Over the past four seasons, Sin has hooked us up every single time and we have taken great pride and pleasure in reviewing the many shows we’ve seen.
I went to three record stores on Record Store Day and drove by two others and, from what I saw, I can tell it was a total success! After visiting Record Parlour for a performance by Alexandra and the Starlight band, I headed up to Amoeba a few blocks away
Chrissie has been an icon and one of the handful of women with earned respect in the entire rock world. She has held it together with bad ass appeal and beauty of conviction. Every girl should aspire to be her, no one holds a candle to her.
Their childhood calls back to them and they want to return to it, like a rug that stops the door for slamming. What’s wrong with the guy? Why this upsetting, heartbroken song after song after song? Some girl?
If their style was classic rock and blues, with a large dose of soul, or even a gospelic twist assured by the vocals of their back up singer, their attitude was a powerhouse. They seemed to be well aware they were playing the real thing
Consider Rock of Ages the inspiration for the latest thought headed to Broadway. That infamous dance show “Soul Train” could be chuggin down the great white way sooner than you think.
Take any song out of Quack out of context and it will work as pretty fun dance, many of these racks were fun singles, but when you sit and listen it as an album you their jokiness because smugness
It is all very well for the Yanks to reel off 5 wins in row but whither the Knicks? No playoffs and check this out, owned by a Russian and in their second year have made the playoffs. Enough already Dolan, give the Knicks to J Lo along with the Fuse. She can’t do any worse.
Paolo Nutini is the male Amy Winehouse without the US breakthrough, though this excellent retro soul album should do the trick for him. Not sure when it is released Stateside but it is a goodie.
A chick soul singer from Australia, a chick pop singer from Sweden, Pharrell, Lengen and Aloe, and the rest is bass and drums.
Let Me Down Easy – Betty Lavette – I had my doubts about this soul icon till I saw her at Summerstage last year where I found myself completely impressed. This soulful r&b sounds classic to these ears – A-
‘I have 50 pieces that are on LPs that I have collaged on top of and printed new images. I have put all my favorite records in a record store installation in the space with two turntables. People can take any of my records, whether it’s rare, whether it’s signed, listen to it and hopefully put it back.’
There is nothing less macho than being that vague. Ace having an opinion is fabulous. Ace not getting to the point is lame. But this is over now. You wont hear anything more from KISS for a very long time.
More and more EDM DJs every year? EDM promoters have had some difficulties to find a venue around LA, and since the Los Angeles State Historic Park (home of Hard Summer and Insomniac) is currently closed for renovation, it is crucial for them to find a new venue, and that’s why the EDM promoters are all eyes for Grand Park.
It almost seemed as if the organizers were engaged in some kind of contest to see how many genres they could jam into one night. The songs bounced from opera (Ms. Fleming on “O Mio Babbino Caro” and “La Ci Darem La Mano,” aided by Sting) to jazz (Chris Botti on Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain”) to township jive (Paul Simon on “Graceland”).
Prince doesn’t use his falsetto but he does manage to go higher and lower and the same time (up for “Keep breaking me” and down for “down”), the band sound fabulous and sure it is better than the execrable Zooey duet. But I hope to never hear it again.
We should be headed in to the days of reruns soon-but until then late night TV is alive and well and …well awful. Foster The People and Neon Trees? Proving that we are too tired and too distracted to care what we watch anyway.
At 75 years of age, Peter Stampfel’s latest song, on cooler than we are Don Giovanni Records, “NSA Man” finds the former hippie violinist folkie as great as ever. The new album is gonna kill it, I promise and the opportunity to see him in the cramped Mercury Lounge on Thursday is a huge huge thrill.
“You know what? I am going to get serious for a minute. And I know we have to do this quickly because I know we don’t have a lot of time. That was actually my fifth step in AA at Betty Ford and someone, when I was moving, must have taken a photo of it so that’s a really personal thing.”
The Pains etc would get a lot further with me if they were either better or had a shorter name and Sebastian Bach? Keb Mo? Kelis? Eels? I am in wait and seek mode. Which leaves me with UK folkies To Kill A King, mostly because Cannibals With Cutlery is a great name for an album
Nas Is Like – Nas -Never a huge fan and post Illmatic even less so, but this track thrills me, the scratchy title chorus is addictive and the “half a man, half a mazing” is a mantra for the new age – A
“Hosanna, Hey Sanna, Sanna Sanna Ho, Sanna Hey Sanna Ho San-na! Hey JC, JC, won’t you smile at me? Sanna Ho Sanna Hey, Superstar!” The heart lifts.
It was the craziest crowd I’d seen in a really long time. The passion of the fans mixed with the energy and the thumping background music they had, it was intense and I was glad I wasn’t in the crowd because I would’ve been terrified
At Amoeba, with the only help of her acoustic guitar and strong smoky voice, she played most of the songs alone, songs such as ‘Little Black Train’, Give Me The Roses’ – a song about how she wants to live her life, she added, ‘give me the roses while I am alive’.
This matters because it goes to the heart of this young, working class, personal well past solipsism rock band. Campbell’s poetics are works of imagery not metaphor. His words are so very very subjective and they are real acts of dramatic license
Inspiration can come at odd times. On one of my recent trips to Rock NYC Headquarters, Helen Bach and I got into a wee bit of legal trouble. It’s a long story that started with us…um…borrowing all of the money in the petty cash fund
There are songs that can dash me into fury just by their opening notes. Seriously, if you play “Insane in The Membrane” or anything by Cypress Hill I will rip your lungs out and leave you for dead.
Coldplay is about to release a new album ‘Ghost Stories’ and a band like them usually embarks in a massive world tour, booking giant size arenas from Australia to Stockholm,… No such thing here, not even a festival headlining, just 6 dates in tiny places?
There is nothing they can do about; they can’t, or won’t, or it becomes fraught with difficulties and miscues, speak to their loved ones. “I love you daddy”, but where is daddy? What do the words mean to him?
I managed to miss a mid-February Amex presale and an on sale for a concert May 13at MHOW and only today actually noticed it at all. It was sold out maybe needless to add, she is one popular star right this minute in the indie firmaments.
Play “God Only Knows” At My Funeral – Fireworks – It doesn’t live up to its title, but, honestly what song could. Isn’t the name alone good enough. It is a beautiful smart pop punk masterpieces and one of the songs of the year – A
