jamie on June 30th, 2005
I was up at my parents’ place in Michigan this past weekend for my father’s retirement party - so there was lots of picture taking going on (”okay, now take one with my camera…”). I’m not usually very photogenic, and as the pic below (my dad and all his kids) testifies- my big hair doesn’t help things much. I’m actually shorter than either of my brothers. I think it’s time for a hair cut…
jamie on June 28th, 2005
It’s been a heckuva long weekend, and I’m almost too tired to write blogs, but I figured I should either do real work, or write a blog entry. You know the outcome of that decision…
A few new releases this week:
First, The Ying Yang Twins - U.S.A. (United States of Atlanta)
Being that I live in the ATL, it’s always cool to have local talent tearing up the airwaves with sick singles like Wait (The Whisper Song). The sotto-voce crunk (ha! can I actually combine italian music terms with the word “crunk”? Guess I just did) piece is a great taste of the best of what USA has to offer. What it doesn’t display, however, is how the album misses. A proliferation of “skits” appear on the album, most of which are poorly written sociopolitcal bits that are poorly executed. The music tracks are a little hit-n-miss as well. With great tracks like Wait, Long Time and Badd (ft. Mike Jones), you also get crap like Bedroom Boom and Hoes which are weakly produced and not even entertaining. Tossed into the list, presumably just to add another guest to the list, is the very out-of-place Adam Levine of Moroon 5 (admitedly, the combination sorta works, but truly anyone could have done Levine’s part on this track). Anyways, it’s the new digital age, and we have the power to pick-and-choose the tracks we want, so I’ll do just that, and leave the rest.
Pat McGee Band - Save Me (Bonus Tracks)
Save Me is probably the strongest release (commercially) for the Virginia natives. Maybe that’s why it’s been re-issued with bonus acoustic versions of some of the album tracks (not a terribly original marketing scheme if you ask me). Tracks are mostly upbeat and positive, but the melodies and hooks tend to blend away into anonymity. The same seems to go for McGee’s vocals. The band’s live shows have created forthem an enormous fan base that keeps them in record contracts, but can’t seem to break them into the true mainstream. I liked Annabel (both versions), but mostly because it’s my neice’s name too.
David Meade - Whever You Are
Mead had a single on R&R’s “Going for Ads” last week, so I checked it out, and was pleasently surprised. Wherever You Are is called a mini-album on Mead’s website, and might be considered an EP, but it’s 6 tracks that have their beginings before Mead’s previous release Indiana, but got shelved during another record-label-mega-conglomerate merger. The result is a subtly different side to the singer/songrwriter than presented in Indiana. Hold On stands out as the more radio-friendly of the 6 tracks, but a consistency of melodic lines and interesting lyrics populate the album in whole.
NEW SINGLES:
The Coral - In The Morning: Almost unbearably catchy, the the progression of this song is quick to fix itself in your head. The steel-drum riff might get to your nerves after hearing a few dozen times, but the catchy hook is so easy to sing along with, and the pleasant up tempo feel of the rhythm guitar and drums are almost sure to give you at least a little warm-fuzzy glow listening to it.
Disturbed - Guarded: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” doesn’t apply to music- Disturbed emo-filled rapcore seems not to have changed even the slightest in five years. Guarded is basically action movie soundtrack fodder, or The Sickness, part II.
Kano - Nite Nite: Saving the best for last- Brit rapper Kano dropped his debut album Home Sweet Home last week in the UK (hopefully, it will appear on import shelves the US soon, if not on the mainstream shelves). While not an official single, Zane Lowe has been playing the late addition Nite Nite on his show since Kano himself dropped by the BBC Radio 1 studios mid-week last week. As if the latin beat Remember Me wasn’t enough, Kano has teamed up with Mike Skinner to produce (and appear on) the track. While Skinner’s vocal style may have turned off most US listeners, his production work is unmistakably incredible- with Kano spitting, this track is just amazing!
jamie on June 23rd, 2005
I can’t believe it, but I actually got a personal reply from Zane Lowe today! So I sent the original email almost a month ago- I’m sure the guy’s INBOX is chock full of crappy emails jus tlike mine, but that’s freakin’ cool that he actually goes through it all. Anyways, made my day.
Other happenings this week:
My car’s broke. I thought I heard something a little funky two moths ago and brought it to a mechanic. He said it was just a little vibration from the muffler guard- turns out it was my water pump breaking apart. Hopefully, it’s still covered under VW warranty.
I leave for my parents place Saturday afternoon, and won’t be back until late Monday. Woo-hoo. I am looking forward to using my ear monitors on the trip… peace and quiet on a flight? Oh yeah!
Still don’t have time to write about new music, but here’s the week’s new releases in brief:
Billy Corgan: C
Engineers: B
Transplants: B
John Hiatt: B-
jamie on June 20th, 2005
Summer marks the beginning of my busy season, with lots of work to get done, and as always, lots of sun to absorb and beer to drink. Therefore, I’ve been letting the usic blog thing get a little behind. It doesn’t help that msic has been lacking lately. I mentioned the Foos, but didn’t get a chance to write about Embrace (which is GREAT, don’t wait for me to render my windbag opinion of it, just go get it!), and instead of a new Stevie Wonder album, I got a new stevie Wonder single. The new Outkast was rumored to have come out this month, but other than several references to a June 10th release date (which make no sense at all, as June 10th was a Friday, and June 10 will not be on a Tuesday until 2008), I’ve been able to find nothing else about. Maybe the pressure to produce another Speakerboxx/The Love Below was too great…
Anyways, tomorrow is supposed to hold new Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins/Zwan), Engineers, Master P, ODB, Transplants, and John Hiatt. Hopefully, I’ll finish debugging the app I’m curently (supposed to be) working on, fix the two midlets I screwed up last week, update a website, and put together a graphic design proposal, I’ll have time to listen to some of the new stuff….sheesh, when did summer stop being vacation time?
jamie on June 13th, 2005
New Foo Fighters- out tomorrow, but you can hear it on Rhapsody, and I think MySpace too, today! I’m only half way through the first disc, but EVERY track has been simply wicked. Grohl kicks it off so classic- screamin’ his head off. This is going straight to my iPod, where I can listen on repeat for the rest of the summer. The question will be: Should one mix the electric and acoustic discs in an iPod playlist, or keep them separate? Discuss…
jamie on June 10th, 2005
TGIF…though, the weekend’s rainy forcast puts a damper on my plans for poolside lounging with beer and my iPod. In preparation for the weekend, rain or shine, I’ve pulled a list of singles from Radio & Records’ Going for Ads..read on, oh bored reader…
World Leader Pretend - Bang Theory
Bing, raunchy drums, sharp guitars, stings and piano,a nd the lead vocal sounds like Neil Diamond crossed with Bono. Hey, I know nothing of this band, I’m just calling it like I hear it. Don’t get me wrong, this is cool stuff! It reminds me a lot of The Verve’s Bitter Sweet Symphony, and anyone listening to popular music this century can tell you what a hit that was- so I’m sure we’ll be hearing more from these guys soon.
Tori Amos - Sweet The Sting
Tori Amos gets a little R&B and very sultry on this track. Lack of a major piano sound in the mix is a little different too. There a certain axiety to this track, in the lyrics and the creeping bass line paired to the simple hand percusssion. This probably won’t become any major Tori Amos fan’s favorite track, but it’s a classic example of Amos’ songwriting and performing skills.
Little Barrie - Burned Out
Wow, a list of singles, and only ONE Brit entry… are the tides turning? Anyways, Little Barry is a Brit trio with a low-fi like Jet with pocket-sized amplifiers. It’s kind of a catchy tune, but I don’t see it becoming a huge hit (sorry guys). It’s just like that sometimes.
The Click Five - Just The Girl
Who are these guys? They sound like a boyband with guitars (think Rooster or Busted). The song is a typically boy-band “song about a girl” with terribly catchy hook. Reminds me of Evan And Jarron’s Crazy For This Girl. 10-13 year-old girls will probably be singing along to this song all summer long.
Donavon Frankenreiter - Free
Maybe you’ve never heard of Donavon Frankenreiter, but you’ve probably heard of Jack Johnson, who pairs with D.F. (I’m not typing that one again) for this gangly little acoustic guitar ditty. Reminds me of a hippy peacefest singalong song, but it’s catchy. D.F. and J.J. have voices so similar, it’s hard to distinguish them.
Fatty Koo - Bounce
Minimalistic beat-making is cool…casio-based beatmaking sucks ass. The production on this track is blippy-bleepy in a bad way, and the vocal “skills” of this 6-piece American Idol rejects outfit is non-existant. Avoid at all costs.
Missy Eliott - Loose Control
I’ve heard this one a lot on Radio 1 recently, and every time I hear it, my body automatically starts pulsing to it’s rhythm. It’s just an infectious groove. Ascending synth bits in that GOOD bleepy way compliment the deep bass pumping under Missy Elliot’s self-assured (to put it mildly) lyrics. Fat Man Scoop lends a nice growl, and Ciara lends her sweet sotto-voce. Sure to be a summer hit in the clubs.
Pras - Haven’t Found
Former Fugees producer, Pras gives the U2 classic a reworking. I really hate this kind of thing- take a classif track, sample a few bits, change some lyrics, release to a new generation, make big bucks- but this one’s nowhere near as bad as what P. Diddy might have done to it, given the chance. In fact, it’s not at all that bad- the hook is there, and the guitar riff is sampled, but used sparingly. Pras’ spitting is smooth, and there is power to his voice. If I hear it too much, I’ll learn to dislike it, but for now it gets a thumbs up- well 3/4 of the way up.
Daniel Powter - Bad Day
This piano-lead track has a catchy little hook that lets you know that things will work out, even if your woman just left you, taking your truck and your dog (no, it’s not a country song). I’m going to put this in my iPod now, and in two weeks, I’ll either love it or hate it. I’ll let you know (if I even remember).
The Duke - Show You The Way
This track, from a 2003 album called My Kung Fu Is Good wins the award for the best album title this week. It’s a rock ballad in the vein of Chad Kroger, Creed, and Three Doors Down (yeah, I know that lumping those together will piss someone off, but I don’t care). Wel produced, and not all bad, but it doesn’t stand out either.
jamie on June 7th, 2005
First, a rant…
I tried iTunes for a while, but it kept crashing my computer, worked when it wnated to, and cost me a fortune. So I joined Napster, which was better, but still had problems. Next cam Rhapsody…and I was in love. But last Friday Rhapsody started bugging out on my work computer. So, after emailing support (there is NO telephone support, which for a service is bullshit), I reinstalled Rhapsody- only to find that the Beta version is the only currently available version for installation. The Beta version uses a new user interface (presumably made to resemble iTunes- only mostly black) which is graphics-intesive (read: eats up memory, slows things down) and poorly organized. They try to add album suggestions, which would be a good idea if the algorhythm they used didn’t suggest things like Avril Lavigne. What in my listening history mkaes them think I’d want to listen to Avril Lavigne? It’s just wasting valuable appication desktop space. Anyways, if anybody from Rhapsody’s listening (I doubt they are): Beta3 sucks ass, go back to the old version- Rhapsody is a music service, so there’s not much use for flashy graphics and confusing user interfaces that don’t add anything to the listening experience. Rant over.
Okay, today is Tuesday, and as such there are new albums available for the world to consume ravenously. Albums like Get Behind Me Satan (read below) from the White Stripes - forever on to be known as GBMS. The year’s most awaited (and over-hyped) album is X&Y from Coldplay. Those Brit Dreamy-pop-rockers churned out another masterpiece lithium-replacement for all those who are tired of music that actually makes you feel something. Yes, I know it’s a completely non-objective thing to write about Coldplay, but with few exceptions (those really overplayed singles Yellowand The Scientist) just give me the blahs. It’s good background music, for hte most part. Likewise, X&Y will have it’s share of singles that will get used in trailers for HBO dramas. Speed Of Sound has already been force-fed to use via every radio format that doesn’t include hourly updates on Brit and Kev’s marital status (and some that do). If the US takes the UK’s cue, Fix You will most likely be the next single. starts with Chris Martin singing in a crumbly falsetto that waivers in and out of tune (what is it with singing badly on albums these days- Jack White does it frequently on GBMS, and now Martin follows. If this continues, we all may as well start listening to Yodellers). After the band joins him, Fix Youactually becomes a nice song, but by then, it’s nearly over. Fix You is track number 4- after that, my brain lapsed into a coma, and the rest of the album pretty much floated by in my sub-conscience…
In realms of non-coma-inducing music, there are two natable releases today for anyone who hasn’t been swept up by the X&Yhype…
Missy Higgins - The Sound Of White
The Australian version of this album has been available in some places in the US (mostly in the “import” bins) for a while, but this is the US release that will (hopefully) put her in the spotlight here- as she is so deserving. In her native Australia, Higgins is a platinum-selling artist- her single Scar (co-written by Better Than Ezra’s Kevin Griffin) debuted at #1 on the Australian single charts, and spent ten weeks in that position. In the US, the The Sound Of White has already had exposure through the use of All For Believing to promote the NBC mini-series Revelations (which was a flop, but it got the song in the heads of millions). Highlights of The Sound Of White are Scar, Ten Days, The Special Two and All For Believing, but the whole album is gold.
Raul Midon - State Of Mind
Another amazingly talented artist being shunned by the Coldplay hype this week is Raul Midon. Live, Midon plays guitar with such an amazing touch- filling in gaps usually left empty by a solo singer/songwriter. On record, he’s equally amazing. Adding to the effect are guest appearances by Stevie Wonder and Jason Mraz. I’m already head over heals for the Midon/Mraz duet Keep On Hoping. If you’ve tired of being put to sleep by X&Y, give Midon a try.
jamie on June 6th, 2005
Jack White sounds like shit. I think that’s why so many people love him- he’s more like you or I was in a high school garage band, except he’s gone full-out rock star with it. While I’m not going to be adding more than a couple tracks from Get Behind Me Satan to my iPod, that’s what’s most interesting about the album. Let me try to explain…The music industry needs to change- digital media is kickin’ its ass, and it’s struggling to keep hold of it’s old premises. It used to be that if you heard a song you liked, you’d go out and buy the album for $15-$20, but today, comsumers have a variety of options in music-buying: they can still buy the whole album from traditional outlets, or they can cherry pick the tracks they like via digital music services like Rhapsody, Napster, Yahoo! Music, or (bleh, gag, cough) iTunes for less than a buck a piece. This ability to buy “only the hits” means that artists no longer need to produce a full album of great tracks (not that they always did, or even felt the need to) to be succesful. Rather, they can experiment with style, genre and form more freely- this is the chosen path of Get Behind Me Satan. The Stripes (or Jack White, if you please) blend genres, jump styles, and generally meander all over the musical roadmap. Screamers like Blue Orchid, in a traditional guitar-riff style, will please fans of previous Stripes’ work, while the marimba-laden The Nurse may break as a hit wth the AAA market. They might even score with country yokels- er, listeners- with tracks like I’m Lonely (But I Ain’t That Lonely) (yep, it’s just like it sounds- just add piano). My point is: this can be considered smart production from a multi-talented songwriter, or purely trying score on as many fronts as commercially possible (see: selling out), but it’s the way things are headed. So, this isn’t really a review, because there’s no point in trying to describe the album without going track-by-track. Go get yourself on a digital service, and take the tracks you like.
jamie on June 3rd, 2005
I hate it when I find music, but forget to label it. While ‘cleaning out’ my hard drive today, I came across five files, simply called ‘track1.mp3′, ‘track2.mp3′, etc. Upon playing them, I found that they wree actually quite good, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out who they are. So, for now, they will remain the unknown clips…
jamie on June 1st, 2005
Woo-hoo! Months of waiting, and the BTE is finaly out (except- with the holiday, I forgot what day it was, and didn’t realize until late latst night that it was a new music Tuesday)! I remember when I first heard Closer, that it didn’t click with me right away. Today, it’s probably my all-time favorite album to play for singin’-and-drivin’. So when I say that I’m not immediately in love with Before The Robots really doesn’t mean all that much. In fact, on only my second listen, I’m starting to like it more already. That being said, Before The Robots is a darker, more cynical album than Closer. BTE returns maybe a bit to the days of Friction, Baby with dark, hauntingly melodic tracks like Daylight, Overcome, and A Southern Thing. Tracks like A Lifetime, Juicy and Burned bring up the mood of the album considerably. Hollow is one of those sing-along-at-the-top-of-your-lungs tracks that Closer was so ripe with. In the end, I have to admint that it would be very hard for me to not like a BTE album. The songwriting talent of Kevin Griffin is so pure- the heart-on-your-sleeve lyrics and pop-infused rock progressions (G-D-Em-C is the key to most BTE hits) is a formula that works.
Uncategorized
