Archive for August, 2005
jamie on August 29th, 2005
Me? Hardly. But I am getting old…
This weekend was really good. Chelsea won, the sun at the pool was hot, dinner w/ friends and I’ve found my new second home- Fado, where I will be at 7 a.m. every Saturday for the next 10 months- except holidays, like next weekend. Why don’t they play football matches on american holidays? I don’t get it.
Anyways, it’s a bank holiday in the UK today, so Radio1 is in holiday mode. Therefore, I’m listening to a user playlist of “Essential 90’s Alternative” on Rhapsody today (check my profile home for the last tracks spun). This is so nostalgic- I can (almost) still remember my frist day of Uni at Indiana…
Looking fo rnew msic tomorrow:
The Coral, Death Cab For Cutie, Ok Go, and Eric Clapton
Slim pickin’s after that…anyone know of anything GREAT coming out this fall? I’m looking at scheduled releases through November, and don’t see anythign I’m all that excited about. New Outkast, The Hard 10 is now listed as “sometime in 2006″, apparently being pushed back so that the duo can finish up their film My Life In Idlewild. Soundtrack to that due out sometime this fall, probably with the film- should be interesting.
jamie on August 25th, 2005
After all the hype, Kayne West’s second album is due to hit stores next week. I got an illicit audition of the disc this morning, and while it’s a good listen, I have to say that I don’t hear anything particularly genius in it. I mean, how hard was it to sample Curtis Mayfield’s Move On Up? When he’s not sampling overly obvious sould classics, his production is solid work, but again- not the genius stuff that he claims he can produce. The guest list for this album is pretty impressive, featuring rap royalty like Jay-Z, Common, The Game, and Nas, and vocals from Brandy, Jamie Foxx (doing his impression of Ray Charles), and Adam Levine (from Maroon 5- who also appears on the Ying Yang Twins’ album U.S.A., released earlier this year). The much-hyped Levine collaboration, Heard ‘Em Say, really could have been an incredible, but the smooth jazz-and-piano feel is broken by a Moog-y bassline (perhaps in tribute to the recently deceased Moog?) seems to grind against the grain of the song. West also dropped the ball with his other guests: Common, The Game, and the incredible Nas. All three have more rapping talent in them than West could ever hope to, yet he tends to bury them in overbearing production. He should have taken a clue from Memphis Bleek, and just given them entire tracks to work on. Diamonds From Sierra Leone and Gold Digger are already radio hits, and I’m sure we’ll hear Heard ‘Em Say on the radio soon enough. The album will no doubt sell millions of copies, but it is a typical sophomore effort- laking in the quality that made his debut such a hit, and hopefully a learning step into a terrific thrid release.
jamie on August 24th, 2005
Rhapsody seems to be a bit behind with new releases, so it’s a New Music Wednesday today….
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BRMC from here on out) are a raunchy, rockin’ band from San Francisco that do the whole brit-rocker thing better than some brit-rockers…except this album isn’t very raunchy, or rockin’, or brit-rock even. It’s more acoustic blues and shuffle, and brooding. And in that, it’s cool. Diversity is awesome, expecially when everybody wants to sound like whomever seems to be most popular at the moment. Breaking from this can be contrived sometimes though- trying to be different just to be different (most experimental or “art” rock bands fall into this deplorable category). BRMC, however, manage to change gears and show that this is just another side to an already accomplish outfit. While it probably won’t please die-hard fans of their earlier work, this is a solid album, full of well-written songs. It’s only a diversion of styles for the band. So, if you’re tired of Coldplay, Colplay wannabes and Blink182 copycat number 300, give Howl a listen- the change of pace will do you good.
jamie on August 23rd, 2005
While running at the gym last night, I caught a bit of “Tommy Lee Goes To College” on one of the personal TV’s. Normally, I would have immediately shut the thing off- but this clip showed Tommy Lee playing tennors with the marching band drum line. This grabbed my attention- I wondered “could Tommy Lee actually cut it with a drum line?”. So I watched (and ran). The episode progressed to show Tommy trying out in front of band staff, being granted a provisional spot with the line, and finally being allowed to take the field during a game.
Tommy Lee is a drummer, but there are some HUGE differences between wailing away on a drum kit, and marching with a set of tennors. But, hell, any drummer that can keep up a monster solo while his kit is rotating upside-down should be able to ahndle walking and playing- right? The toughest part, I would imagine, would be learning to play the charts. Rudimental drumming is completely different that keeping a beat.
One thing I had to keep in mind about all this was that reality television is more like television than reality: what you see is not necessarily the way things happened. If a show says it took twelve hours to accomplish something, chances are it took two days. I have no doubt that the whole band gig was pre-aranged with the department of bands- probably a one-time arrangement (I really doubt if Tommy Lee would be able to keep up with the practice schedule for a full season). The footage from Tommy’s “audition” was pathetic. Had it actually been an audition, he would have been sent packing (unless Nebraska’s line is really hurting for tennor players). It also seemed that the tennor parts for Tommy’s show were “dumbed down”- written so that they’d be easier for him to be able to play. I also have no doubt that there were probably more than the one late-night instructional session with a real drummer that was shown in the episode.
I read that Nebraska administrators were afraid that the show would paint their school as a bunch of hicks. Rather, the show seems just to make fun of Tommy Lee. It just shows what kind of special treatment can be bought with a little fame (infamy) and some reality-TV cameras. The upside to all this is that maybe the exposure will boost enrollment in band programs, and percussion programs. But if everyone that wants to play tennors thinks they can get through an audition with a little tappity-tappity, well, they’ve got a sad surprise in store.
Now Listeneing to:
David Gray in the Live Lounge w/ Jo Whiley on BBC Radio1
(covering The Killers…. so cool)
jamie on August 16th, 2005
I saw the trailer for Undiscovered last night. Undiscovered is a romantic comedy about a struggling musician who meets a model on a subway train…hmm, didn’t take a genius to pair Blunt’s You’re Beautiful with that one, did it? The song, however, doesn’t seem to be on the soundtrack listing.
The film co-stars Ashlee Simpson- if you thought her big sister was dumb, try listening to her interview on Jay Leno last night. I had to turn the channel after just one line out of her mouth. I remember her role on Seventh Heaven, (yes, I’ve been known to watch the WB) as a sweet, nicey-nice, girl-next-door type that wouldn’t give it up for Simon Camden. Apparently, she can at least learn her lines well enough to hide her utter stupidity. I also hear that she wants to do SNL again. Cue the DAT player…
jamie on August 14th, 2005
Flying to Chicago Wednesday quickly went pear shaped as rainstorms delayed my flight by over 4 hours, threatening to leave me stuck at Midway until 6 in the morning, waiting for the car rental desks to reopen. Fortunately, I made it with just ten minutes to spare. Thursday was good- got a lot of work done, then met up with friends from Chicago for dinner and a show at the House of Blues. Glen Phillips was awesome (if only a short set), and Marc Broussard really got the crowd going. Bartenders at HOB blues are really nice.
My cameraphone actually took a good picture- but it’s from behind the stage, so enjoy Glen Phillips’ back as he sings:
The Barclay’s Premiership opened the season this weekend, and thanks to an unexpected lack of work, I was able to watch it from Ginger’s Ale House. Special thanks to Sheila for being so great to an out-of-towner!
Chelsea didn’t play until Sunday, and I had promised myself I’d make it to Fado or The Brewhouse to watch the match, but do to circumstances, I ended up getting play-by-play on my mobile. Apparently 90 minutes wasn’t enough time for the Blues to beat EPL newcomers Wigan Athletic, and they waited for injury time to score the only goal of the match. Three points is three points. Still, Chelsea is now in 6th place after goal difference. That should be the lowest position of the season.
The return trip from Chicago was blessed by an availability on an earlier flight, and an empty seat next to me on the flight. After that, everything went downhill fast. Having decided to take public transport to the airport on Wednesday, I had to take the train from the airport to Lindbergh, then a bus back to my street. The train was full of sweaty Falcons fans after a pre-season game at the Dome, and the A/C was off- and the bus kept breaking down on the way to Sandy Springs. I arrived at my apartment after 12 am, to find a notice that someone had been mugged at gunpoint at the entrance gate I had just walked by at midnight. Wonderful.
But, the bad news wasn’t to end there…oh no. Once inside, I went to check my email, and find that storms earlier in the day have killed my cable modem. Comcast’s solution: “You can bring it to your local office to swap it out, or we can schedule you a daytime appointment”. Sometimes, I hate myself for ever working for the Cable demons.
And finally- after missing my alarm- I’ve arrived back at work, and a working Internet connection to find over 1200 emails in my work account. The next three hours will be spent sorting this out.
Tomorrow will be a better day. Tomorrow brings us:
- The US release of Idlewild - Warnings/Promises
- 311 - Don’t Tread On Me
- Cowboy Junkies - Early 21st Century Blues
- Pras - Win, Lose or Draw
jamie on August 10th, 2005
So, Radio1 is now on Sirius- this means:
- No internet connection necessary
- Full-on digital stereo with no internet lag or Real Audio compression
- Another monthly bill
jamie on August 9th, 2005
Another slow week in new releases has left me with nothing else to muse upon but Kidz Bop 8…
I remember when I was young, and mom would take my sister and me to the Meijer store with her (for those of you not acquainted with Meijer stores- they’re like Super Wal-Mart, only they’re been around since, well, since like before I was born, which is long before the first Super Wal-Mart was ever built). In the middle of the Meijer, there was a kids’ center, where parents could drop their kids off to play while they shopped (yes, it was a different time). While we were playing, we had to endure the chime and pan-flute renditions of the day’s pop melodies over the store’s P.A. (which always seemed loudest at the kids’ center). Regardless of the quality of these Muzak renditions, or even whether Zanfir had ever attempted to do “Stairway to Heaven”, the damned songs got stuck in your head. I’m sure Sara and spent many a snowy car trip back from the Meijer store humming, singing, or whistling the Muzak tunes we picked up while mom was getting groceries and recycling aluminum cans (more references to a Michigander’s childhood). Now, before I get into any more parenthetical expositions, let me explain where this is going: as surely as Sam Walton visited a Meijer store and realized what a kick-ass concept it was, the folks that produce the Kidz Bop series realized that those same Muzak renditions that got stuck in their heads as kids could be used to teach kids to love music.
The Idea is simple: take modern pop songs and re-record it using hyper-enunciating vocalists to sing lead, and a choir of “kids” to sing along on the choruses and other key parts (”we gotta drop it like this” on Ciara’s 1, 2 Step for example). This is supposed to encourage kids to sing along, and develop those all-important musical and creative synapses. While I think the idea is sound, I have a quarrel with some of the musical choices- I mean, is there really a need to reinforce Ciara or Gwen Stefani on any kid? I think not.
While the actual entertainment value of the Kidz Bop series is debatable, the entertainment value is clear. Who could resist hits like Green Day’s Boulevard of Broken Dreams or Usher’s Caught Up, sung by kids? Sometimes, it’s as revolting as reality-tv, like the Kidz Bop version of Rich Girl, which in itself was a hip-hop version of the Fiddler on the Roof musical number, making it one more step in a downward spiral towards hell. Or how about the KB rendering of Lonely No More by Rob Thomas- a song so bad to begin with that it was laughable, but with a kids chorus, it’s truly comical. That wonderfully frenetic drum-loop from Amerie’s 1 Thing sounds like a tyco-toy drum set played by Barney himself in the hands of Kidz Bop producers. And the opening “Wooo!” is so full of kid-energy, it could replace that first cup o’ joe in the morning. Actually, the vocalist on that track sounds better than Amerie does on the original- as is often the case on Kidz Bop albums. The studio vocalists they find to reproduce the original songs often only sound marginally like the original artists, but often have singing voices that are far superior. Actually, it sounds like a lot of work has gone into the re-recording of this tracks- not for listening quality or accuracy to the originals, but for the educational purposes. The lyrics are well enunciated, alowing kids to hear and repeat the words more clearly. The melodies in some instances are sung in a more musical style, making it easier for children to find the pitch, and mimic. And when an original song may have been laden with complex rhythms or instruments that might make it hard for find the melody, the Kidz Bop arrangement is simplified (as in the Amerie instance).
While Kidz Bop is entertaining for adults, it only remains as entertaining the first couple of times through. After listening to On The Way Down (Kidz Bop 7) a hundred times in the car, I’m sure the fun of it would certainly wear off for any adult. But point here is the kids, right? Parents are supposed to sacrifice certain things, including their typical music choices while driving, for the sake of their kids. Of course, you could be listening to the TelleTubbies sing-along CD instead of Kidz Bop. I don’t actually have kids, so this is all merely speculative, but if Kidz Bop is still putting together CDs when (if) I do, I’ll be buying every new issue.
jamie on August 4th, 2005
It’s been another week since my last blog entry, I know- I’m a lazy bum. Not that there isn’t music to write about- there’s enough of that (there could always be MORE), but I’ve been wrapped up in other projects.
Anyone been watching RockStar:INXS? I typically loathe reality shows, but when the show is about more than putting a group of beautiful people with opposing personalities in a box to see who gets sleeps together first, I’ll watch. And this Rockstar gig is good. So far, each of the contestants has had their highlights and owlights, except for this Jordis Unger. Every time she takes the stage, I get chills. If she doesn’t end up in the band, I can’t wait to hear what she does next- if I had a label, I’d be waiting outside the studio every night trying to sign her.
Anyways, on to people who have actually released albums this week:
Tristan Prettyman - T W E N T Y T H R E E
I don’t knwo what the significance of the extra spaces in the album title are, but they’re a pain in the ass to type. So, 23 is the debut album from San Diego surfer and songstress Tristan Prettyman, who’s been on tour with now-boyfriend Jason Mraz for the past year. Her gentle folk-pop music is simple: an acoustic guitar, some steel guitar, and her smokey, gentle voice highlight the album. There is a warmth in this combo, lending itself to Prettyman’s earnest lyrics in their Ani DeFranco-like phrasings. She teams with Mraz on the album as well, producing the track Shy That Way, which shows of their compatible vocal stylings. Hopefully, this compatibility works in life as well as it does on the album. THe lead-off single Love Love Love is the most radio-ready on the album, infusing a little funk rhythm into her style. Album highlights are Breathe, Shy That Way, Love Love Love, and Smoke, though the entire album is excellent.
Michael Penn - Mr. Hollywood, Jr., 1947
Michael Penn’s music lies just left of Triple-A pop. In other words, Penn is a fantastic songwriter with a unique voice, but his music only lacks that little bit of super-catchy pop hooks and teenie-bopper lyricism that would make him a hit on the radio. Yes, he had a hit, once, in the 80’s (a song I still love). But today, he continues ot put out his music, sticing to his own style, and not trying to appease the masses (see Liz Phair, below). Mr. Hollywood is a collage of musical entries that ramble from jangle-pop, Beatles-styled Walter Reed to the almost Appalacian folk styled Mary Lynn. In all, the album shows off Penn’s artistry in a mostly-wonderful collection of musical entries. I say “mostly” because I could relaly do without some of the transitional pieces inserted throughout the album (The Transistor, 18 September) that while I’m sure serve some kind of theatrical purpose, don’t really entertain my ears.
Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten
This may be straight-up top-of-the-pops production, but it’s just infectious. The little sister of club fav Daniel Bedingfield has already sold over 1.5 million copies of Unwritten all over the world, and the single These Words is a chart-topper in at least a dozen countries. So now she’s set to take over America too, and I really don’t mind. It could come from someone far less sincere in her words, with a less appealing voice, and certainly couldn’t look as good. The album really hits with the singles- These Words has a simply irresistable groove and infectious hook, Single is fiercely independant like Pink and well-produced, and Unwritten is another solid radio-friendly track- but the rest of the album is pretty off-target. The slow R&B-styles I Bruise Easily just doesn’t do jsutice to the way she can sing it acoustically (I have that version, and am absolutely in love with it). The other album tracks attempt to bridge various styles, from reggae to grunge-rock to R&B unsuccesfully. Perhaps it’s just a freshman error of letting labels and producers have too much influence, and a sophomore effort will produce a more congruent result. My recommendation: download the singles, leave the rest on the CD store shelves.
Singles and stuff:
Liz Phair - Everything To Me
Phair hits the sweetspot again with Everything To Me, that is, IF you’re looking for a track to support the next L. Lo soundtrack, complete with strings for that dramatic “she’s leaving him, but her heart knows it’s the wrong choice” moment. “Dance-party-USA-teeny-bopper type of shit, right?” - that’s right, Warren (his name’s not Warren?). I don’t want the 90’s back, Liz, just some rock-n-roll music, thanks.
The Rolling Stones - Back Of My Hand & Rough Justice
I swear cryogenics is involved here, but I just can’t figure how. No matter, the Stones are coming out with new music. The first new music from them in Back Of My Hand is a classic example of Brit Blues, complete with steel guitar and harmonica. Rough Justice revives the classic Stones sound. 50-plus years of rockin’, and they can still pull out a rocker like this. This track reminds me so much of Brown Sugar, I found myself substituting lyrics. I’m sure this will be all over the radio airwaves this summer.
The Veronicas - 4Ever
Warren probably wouldn’t like the Veronicas either- but then again, what adolescent boy wouldn’t appreciate twin sisters that can rock? I can hear the potential in this song, but it stears to close to Avril-wannabe status to convice me. Being only 20, I’ll give them time to mature into the quality musicians I think they can be though.
Eric Clapton - One Track Mind
Wow, summer’s here, and all the classics want a revival. The thing about classics is that they need no revival- they’re CLASSIC. Anyways, Clapton puts forth another single from his upcoming release, and this one is as good as anythign the man creates. Bluesy as ever, with Clapton’s unique, smooth, soothing vocals, this track blends the experience of another 50 year career.
Craig David - All The Way
Smooth as ever, Brit crooner Carig David pumps out another smooth jam. All the Way falls into a beat pocket that stays just funky enough, to make it the perfect for cruising top-down. Now that the Brits have perfected imitating American R&B, when will we pick up Garage and Two-Step? Really, when?
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