The Wonderful World of Starr

Upcoming Shows - April, May, June Edition

2006-04-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

At this point, this list of shows is just for my personal reference, though it's a nicely condensed version of all the good bands coming to town.

Wilco - Sunday, April 23rd, Charlottesville Pavilion
Islands (former members of The Unicorns) - Tuesday, April 25th, Black Cat, $12
The Strokes - Wednesday, April 26th, DAR Constitution Hall, $29
They Might Be Giants - Wednesday, April 26th, 930 Club, $25
Elf Power - Thursday, April 27th, Iota, $12
Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra - Friday, April 28th, 930 Club, $15
Phoenix - Saturday, May 6th, 930 Club, $15
The Concretes - Sunday, May 7th, 930 Club, $15
Mogwai - Wednesday, May 10th, 930 Club, $18
Tom Verlaine - Monday, May 15th, 930 Club, $25
Art Brut - Sunday, May 16th, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville), $10
Pretty Girls Make Graves (w/Giant Drag) - Monday, May 15th, Black Cat, $13
Liars - Thursday, May 18th, Black Cat, $10
Depeche Mode - Sunday, May 21st, Nissan Pavilion
The Walkmen - Thursday, May 25th, 930 Club, $15
Prefuse 73 (w/Edan) - Thursday, June 1st, 930 Club
The Twilight Singers (feat. Greg Dulli) - Friday, June 2nd, 930 Club
Tapes N' Tapes - Thursday, June 8th, Fletcher's (Baltimore), $10
!!! - Friday, June 9th, Black Cat, $13
Devendra Banhart (w/Magic Numbers) - Saturday, June 10th, Sonar (Baltimore), $25
Eels (w/Smoosh) - Sunday, June 11th, 930 Club
Nine Inch Nails (w/Bauhaus & TV on the Radio) - Tuesday, June 13th, Nissan Pavilion
Cat Power - Wednesday, June 14th, 930 Club
Dungen - Wednesday, June 14th, Black Cat, $13
Echo & the Bunnymen - Monday, June 26th, Black Cat, $20
Kokono No. 1 - Friday, July 21st, Black Cat, $15
Diplo - Sunday, July 23rd, Black Cat, $13

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones

2006-03-22T12:52:00.000-08:00

Oh New York City, I remember your glory days. Back in 2001 you were hailed as the "in" scene for music with The Strokes, The Rapture, Liars and so many others who were supposed to be the "next big thing". Well since those days that we remember so fondly, the Strokes essentially re-released their debut album before releasing an incredibly mediocre third album that didn't appear to have any direction at all. The Rapture released a spectacular album before deciding that they were going to apparently need five years to record the follow-up. And the Liars fired their rhythm section and released an album of noise before jetting off to Germany to become a freak-folk band. So much for the great NYC Rock Revolution of 2001, we've lost them all . . . or have we?

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs took an very different path than most of the other bands of that time. They were an extremely new band as 2001 was emerging, and instead of rushing out a debut album to jump on the bandwagon, they waited, releasing only two EPs worth of material in 2001-2002. They subsequently signed to Interscope and finally released their debut album, Fever to Tell, in April of 2003. The album initially was a bit of a flop as much of the band's hype from the early-NYC days had faded and the garage sound that filled most of the album was old-hat by then, but then something special happened. Nearly a year after the album's release, their label made one last push to make the Yeah Yeah Yeahs the stars they were supposed to be and released "Maps," an extremely unlikely slow, fuzzy song, as a single, and miraculously, it stuck. The next thing they knew, the Yeahs were appearing on the MTV Movie Awards and touring their debut all over again to a whole new audience. So what would they do for an encore? Well, after taking a well-deserved break, the Yeahs hit the studio last year to begin recording what would eventually be Show Your Bones, and my god, have they struck gold this time around.

The change in the band's sound is apparent 6 seconds into the new album as opening track "Gold Lion" starts up with, (gasp), an acoustic guitar. The song builds up and around the 1:15 mark, you find yourself in disbelief staring at the album cover going, "Is this really the same Yeah Yeah Yeahs? I mean, that does sound like Karen O singing, but they seem so much. . . better, more mature, more complete." The recording quality here is on a completely different planet than the hissy, garagey sound that dominated most of Fever to Tell. Plus, there's just so much going on in each song. On FtT, a song sounded complex if there was anything more than one guitar, drums and Karen's vocals. Now acoustic and electric guitars appear in the same song, pianos come in and out of the mix and a song without keyboards or synthesized atmospherics sounds too simple.

Just take "Way Out" as an example, it opens with acoustic guitar and keyboards going side by side giving the song of a bit of a country twang, but halfway through, Nick Zinner blasts through the speakers with one of his wild, crunchy solos, and the song takes on a whole new feel as 80s-style synthesizers appear in the background for the second verse. By the end, there are at least three guitars plus keyboards all playing together, and while it may not sound like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs of old, it is fucking brilliant.

Track #3, "Fancy," then pulls a bit of a trick on you. It starts out sounding like it could have come right of of the debut, except there's a creepy-sounding organ coming in and out of the mix. You start to think maybe the first two songs were just an anomaly, and that this really is just the same band. But then halfway through the second guitar comes in again, and then it all disappears as Karen sings "We rip for three days" repeatedly over a pulsing synthesizer. When the rest of the band kicks back in, it sounds almost Middle Eastern. The song again fades out into a quiet piano before it returns to the sound it started with, but even though it sounds like the old Yeah Yeah Yeahs, after that ride, you know this band is forever changed.

"Cheated Hearts" makes for an excellent centerpiece to the album and has "hit single" written all over it. It's one of the album's more straightforward songs, sticking largely with the simple two guitars and drums (and the occasional keyboard), and though it lacks a traditional chorus, its quiet-loud-quiet dynamic and handclaps make up for it. After the wonderful "Dudley" and the Show Your Bones' only real miss, "Mysteries," the album slows down a bit with the heavily acoustic "Sweets," "Warrior" and "Turn Into." Each has its own unique feel, however and each goes off in a different direction as the song nears its close. The album's closer, "Deja Vu" gets back to rocking with a pretty standard Yeahs' sounding verse, but on the chorus, Karen O almost sounds like Debbie Harry as she croons "It's Deeeeejaaaaa Vuuuuuu." The final 20 seconds perfectly sum up the band's new thick and developed sound as Nick Zinner solos overtop of another guitar and a synthesizer.

A few years ago, an album like this from a group like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs would've been greeted by puzzled looks all around, but with the way indie rock has permeated its way into the general public, the average listener is much more prepared for this in 2006. With the whole 80s brit-rock, Duran Duran/New Order/Gang of Four retread fading out, it's time for a new band to carry the indie rock-as-mainstream torch. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but I think this is the album that could vault the Yeah Yeah Yeahs into that territory. They're not the niche band that Franz Ferdinand or The Killers are, they are extremely talented musicians who were willing to take a huge risk by not retracing the steps of their first album to create an amazing sophomore release. Who knows what they'll give us next.

(My goal was to get this review out before Pitchfork got their review up, my predicted Pitchfork review score: 8.3)

Also, you can stream the new album from nme.com here: http://www.nme.com/artists/yeah-yeah-yeahs/media/163

Upcoming Shows - March, April, May Edition

2006-03-01T10:37:00.000-08:00

The Pogues - Friday, March 10th, 930 Club (Sold Out)
James Blunt (w/The Boy Least Likely To) - Monday, March 13th (Sold Out)
The National - Wednesday, March 15th, Black Cat, $12
Silver Jews - Thursday, March 16th, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville), (Sold Out)
Matt Pond PA - Saturday, March 18th, 930 Club, $10
The Go! Team - Sunday, March 19th, Black Cat, $12
Animal Collective - Tuesday, March 21st, Black Cat, $13
Stereolab - Tuesday, March 21st, 930 Club, $18
Jenny Lewis (of Rilo Kiley) - Thursday, March 23rd, Birchmere
The Magic Numbers (w/The Elected) - Thursday, March 23rd, 930 Club, $15
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Friday, March 24th, Black Cat, (Sold Out)
Annie - Sunday, March 26th, Black Cat, $12
Arctic Monkeys - Monday, March 27th, 930 Club, (Sold Out)
stellastarr* & Editors - Wednesday, March 29th, 930 Club, $15
The Books - Wednesday, March 29th, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville), $12 adv/$15 at door Magnolia Electric Co/Destroyer - Wednesday, March 29th, Black Cat, $12
South - Thursday, March 30th, 930 Club, $15
The Orb - Friday, March 31st, 930 Club, $25
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Monday, April 3rd, 930 Club, (Sold Out)
Dinosaur Jr. - Wednesday, April 5th, 930 Club, $30
Art Brut - Sunday, April 9th, Black Cat, $12
Neko Case - Sunday, April 9th, 930 Club, $15
Ghostface Killah - Monday, April 10th, 930 Club, $20 (late show)
Blackalicious - Tuesday, April 11th, 930 Club, $18
Death Cab for Cutie and Franz Ferdinand - Tuesday, April 11th, DAR Constitution Hall, (Sold Out)
Wolf Parade - Wednesday, April 12th, Black Cat (Sold Out)
Gogol Bordello - Thursday, April 13th, 930 Club, $15
Ladytron - Friday, April 14th, 930 Club, $15
Islands (former members of The Unicorns) - Tuesday, April 25th, Black Cat, $12
The Strokes - Wednesday, April 26th, DAR Constitution Hall, $29
Pretty Girls Make Graves (w/Giant Drag) - Monday, May 15th, Black Cat, $13
Liars - Thursday, May 18th, Black Cat, $10

At the moment I've got tickets to Belle & Sebastian/New Pornographers, The National, The Go! Team, Stereolab, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Art Brut and Wolf Parade. That may be enough for the time being, but I could probably be convinced to hit up one or two more of these shows.

Album Release Dates

2006-02-02T12:42:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd update the album release dates post with all the new stuff that's been announced lately. I also though I could add in some news here. First off, the new Morrissey album has been pushed back from March 21st to April 4th, but here is the album cover to tide you all over:

In other news, Grandaddy's Just Like the Fambly Cat will sadly be their last, as they have decided to break up. There won't even be a tour following the album release.

Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit - February 7th, 2006
Outkast - Idlewild - February 14th, 2006
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am That's What I Am Not - February 21st, 2006
Destroyer - Rubies - February 21st, 2006
Mogwai - Mr. Beast - March 7th, 2006
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood - March 7th, 2006
Loose Fur - Born Again in the U.S.A. - March 21st, 2006
Liars - Drum's Not Dead - March 21st, 2006 (February 20th in the UK)
Islands (former members of The Unicorns) - Return to the Sea - March 21st, 2006
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones - March 28th, 2006
Morrissey - Ringleader of the Tormentors - April 4th, 2006
Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics - April 4th, 2006
Grandaddy - Just Like the Fambly Cat - April 4th, 2006
Pretty Girls Make Graves - Elan Vital - April 11th, 2006
Tortoise - R, R, C - April 11th, 2006
Built to Spill - You in Reverse - April 11th, 2006
Secret Machines - Ten Silver Drops - April 18th, 2006
The Streets - The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living - April 25th, 2006 (April 11th in the UK)
The Futureheads - New Album - late April
Mission of Burma - Obliterati - May 9th, 2006
Radiohead - New Album - Spring/Summer, 2006
The Shins - New Album - Summer, 2006

My Indie Valentine

2006-01-31T12:36:00.000-08:00

What's this, two posts in one day? Crazy you say? Well, this one actually benefits me and is quite important. This Saturday, February 4th at the Satellite Ballroom in Charlottesville, How Soon Is Now? Productions (Ian and I) will be hosting our third Brit Pop and Indie Rock Dance Party. As you can see from the title of this post, the theme is Valentine's Day, done indie-rock style. On the screen we'll be showing John Hughes movies and I promise the music will make you dance your ass off. I don't want to reveal too much, but the music for this party has been prepared quite carefully and may contain an occasional 80s synth-pop hit to go along with the normal helping of brit-pop and indie rock. It'll only cost you $5 at the door, and then you get to drink $2 PBRs all night long (what other bar has $2 beers, seriously?). So come on over, listen to some amazing music, watch some awesome movies (without sound of course), lounge in the fabulous couches and dance, dance, dance.

Coachella 2006 Lineup Announced

2006-01-31T11:59:00.000-08:00

The lineup for this year's Coachella Festival was announced today and though it's not as strong as the lineups of the last two years, it is still quite good. Highlights are as follows:

Saturday, April 29th
Depeche Mode
Franz Ferdinand
Sigur Ros
Common
My Morning Jacket
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Ladytron
Cat Power
Animal Collective
Devendra Banhart
The Walkmen
The Juan Maclean
Deerhoof
Editors
Stellastarr

Sunday, April 30th
Tool
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Bloc Party
Scissor Sisters
Mogwai
TV on the Radio
Sleater-Kinney
Phoenix
Wolf Parade
The Go! Team
Metric
Art Brut
Dungen
The Magic Numbers
Imogen Heap

If you'd like to see last year's full lineup, check it out here: http://mattstarr.blogspot.com/2005/04/coachella-breakdown.html

Unfortunately, I do not think I will be able to attend this year due to a trip to Europe in June, but I feel like there is one thing missing from this year's lineup: there aren't any big reunions or unique performances this time around. Last year we had reunions from Bauhaus and Gang of Four, not to mention several groups who made Coachella one of, if not their only US dates like New Order, The Prodigy and Black Star. Two years ago was the massive Pixies reunion plus Radiohead's only US date of the last three years. This time around, many of the bands are either currently on tour or were on tour in the last year. The only band who is at all unique is Tool, who likely have a new album coming out and will tour it following the Coachella performance. There were rumors of a Smashing Pumpkins reunion as well as Massive Attack and Portishead, but none of them came to fruition. It's a good lineup, but even if I wasn't going to Europe, I'm not sure that it's one that I'd spend all that money to go see this year.

New Shows/Full Upcoming Concert List

2006-01-24T08:15:00.000-08:00

All shows in green are new additions to the concert list, shows in red are sold out.

Robert Pollard (formerly of Guided By Voices) - Saturday, January 28th, 930 Club, $15
Colin Meloy (of The Decemberists) - Saturday, January 28th, Birchmere, $17.50
Deerhoof - Saturday, January 28th, Black Cat, $10
The Hold Steady - Wednesday, February 1st, Black Cat, $10
Low - Saturday, February 4th, Black Cat, $13
RJD2 - Saturday, February 4th, 930 Club, $15
How Soon Is Now? Productions Presents: My Indie Valentine A Brit Pop and Indie Rock Dance Party - Saturday, February 4th, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville), $5
Feist - Tuesday, February 7th, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville), $12 adv/$15 at door
Feist - Wednesday, February 8th, Black Cat, $13
Nada Surf (w/Rogue Wave) - Thursday, February 9th, Starr Hill (Charlottesville)
Fiery Furnaces - Saturday, February 11th, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville), $15
Supergrass - Sunday, February 12th, 930 Club, $20
Wu Tang Clan - Monday, February 13th, 930 Club, (Sold Out)
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (w/ Elefant) - Monday, February 20th, 930 Club
Stars (w/Magnet) - Friday, February 24th, Black Cat, $12
Of Montreal - Wednesday, March 1st, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville), $10 adv/$12 at door
Mogwai - Saturday, March 4th, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville), $14 adv/$17 at door
The Wedding Present - Sunday, March 5th, Black Cat, $15
Belle & Sebastian/New Pornographers - Sunday, March 5th, 930 Club (Sold Out)
Belle & Sebastian/New Pornographers - Monday, March 6th, 930 Club (Sold Out)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Wednesday, March 8th, 930 Club (Sold Out)
Queen - Thursday, March 9th, MCI Center
Metric - Thursday, March 9th, 930 Club (Early Show)
The Pogues - Thursday, March 9th, 930 Club (Late Show) (Sold Out)
The Pogues - Friday, March 10th, 930 Club (Sold Out)
The National - Wednesday, March 15th, Black Cat, $12
Silver Jews - Thursday, March 16th, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville), $16 adv/$18 at door Animal Collective - Tuesday, March 21st, Black Cat, $13
Stereolab - Tuesday, March 21st, 930 Club, $18
Jenny Lewis (of Rilo Kiley) - Thursday, March 23rd, Birchmere
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Friday, March 24th, Black Cat, (Solt Out)
Arctic Monkeys - Monday, March 27th, 930 Club, $15
The Books - Wednesday, March 29th, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville), $12 adv/$15 at door
Magnolia Electric Co/Destroyer - Wednesday, March 29th, Black Cat, $12
Art Brut - Sunday, April 9th, Black Cat, $12

In case anyone is interested, I currently have tickets for The Hold Steady, Stars, Belle & Sebastian/New Pornographers and Wu-Tang Clan. If anyone would like to join me at any of these shows, please let me know. I am also planning on going to see The National and Art Brut as well as maybe Stereolab, maybe Arctic Monkeys or both.

The Smiths: A Retrospective

2006-01-20T08:48:00.000-08:00

The Smiths are a band that is frequently name-checked in the indie rock scene, but I have a feeling that many of the people who are constantly referencing them have never actually heard more than a few songs. One of the great strengths of The Smiths is that their entire catalogue is extremely solid and there is very little filler on any of their albums. This is definitely one advantage of only being together for 5 years, offering no time to fade into mediocrity, but I digress. I wanted to give everyone out there a brief rundown of all The Smiths albums, especially for those who wish to discover them but have no idea where to start. There are tons of compilations out there and many of them are just modified versions of other compilations, so I will do my best here to break down the albums and let you know what you need to learn everything there is to know about The Smiths' music.

Absolutely Essential

The Queen Is Dead - This is the third studio album that the Smiths released and where everything they've been tinkering with over the first few years of their careers comes together perfectly. Not only does it contain three of the bands biggest hits ("Bigmouth Strikes Again," "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side," "There Is a Light that Never Goes Out"), but also has the finest non-singles tracks of any of their albums. "Cemetry Gates" and "Frankly Mr. Shankly" could've been huge hits had they been released on their own, and the title track is one of the darkest, most intense songs that Morrissey and Johnny Marr ever wrote. The album only slips up at one point, when "I Know Its Over" and "Never Had No One Ever" come back to back. They are both excellent songs in their own right, but putting the only two slow songs back to back early in the album might stop people from progressing into the album's second half. That is such a minor flaw, however, and should not deter you. This is one of my all-time favorite albums, I promise you will not be disappointed if you go out and buy it right now.

Louder Than Bombs - What is most confusing about The Smiths is that they did not include many of their best songs on their studio albums. They released several single-only songs which not only were some of the band's finest, but also contained some brilliant B-sides. Louder Than Bombs collects all of the Smiths non-album singles, as well as most of the B-sides that accompanied them (the only glaring omissions are "Jeane" and "Handsome Devil"). What's amazing is that if you don't know which songs are singles and which are B-sides, it is nearly impossible to distinguish which is which. Songs like "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" and "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Baby" sound perfect alongside hits like "Panic" and "William, It Was Really Nothing." There are countless compilations out there, but if you buy just one, this is the one to get, as if you buy this and all the studio albums, you will have nearly every song that The Smiths committed to record.

Also Essential

The Smiths - The Smiths' self-titled debut is not nearly as heralded as The Queen Is Dead, but it is damn close to being just as good. "This Charming Man" and "Hand In Glove" will always be the centerpieces of this album, but several of the surrounding tracks are equally as incredible. "Reel Around The Fountain," at nearly six minutes, is an interesting choice for an opener, given that it's one of the album's tamest songs, yet it works perfectly as Morrissey draws you in slowly with lyrics like "You can pin and mount me like a butterfly" and "You're the bees' knees but so am I," and by the end you can't wait to hear what's coming next. "Pretty Girls Make Graves" (taken from a line in Kerouac's The Dharma Bums) uses a wonderfully bouncy bass line coupled with Morrissey's now trademark moans and ambiguous lyrics to make a wonderfully catchy and danceable yet dark song. This album also features what I feel is perhaps The Smiths' most underrated song, "Still Ill" which features some fabulous lyrics like "There are brighter sides to life and I should know because I've seen them, but not very often," and an awesome chugging breakdown to close it out.

Definitely Worth Buying

Strangeways, Here We Come - This album was recorded as the band was falling apart and we can definitely see Morrissey taking the lead songwriting role here as many of the songs sound similar to material from his early solo career. However, this is not a bad thing and this is still very much a Smiths album. Opener "A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours" might use a greater variety of instruments than your average Smiths song (most notably an organ and a xylophone), but Morrissey's growl at the start of each chorus makes this one another classic. "Girlfriend in a Coma" is a fantastically catchy pop gem and "Stop Me if You Think You've Heard this One Before" is a excellent danceable tune in the vein of some of the earlier singles. Where this album falters is in a few of the slower songs, "Death of a Disco Dancer" and "Paint a Vulgar Picture" just don't have the same appeal as earlier tunes like "Asleep" and "Half A Person." One slow song does hit the mark though, "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me," perhaps the band's strangest choice for a single, is an amazing song in which Morrissey sings about what he knows best, self-deprecation. It is difficult to know if Johnny Marr left the band because Morrissey was pushing his ideas harder this time around or if Morrissey pushed his ideas because Johnny was on the verge of leaving, but this album has a much more elaborate sound with more string sections and complex arrangements than anything they'd done before.

Meat Is Murder - It's difficult to say that any Smiths album is "the worst," but if I had to choose one, this is the one I would choose. It does contain the Smiths' most recognizable song, "How Soon Is Now?" but the song sounds out of place, considerably darker and more atmospheric than anything else on the album. Songs like "The Headmaster Ritual" and "Rusholme Ruffians" keep this album entertaining, but besides "How Soon Is Now?" the only other great song on Meat Is Murder is "I Want the One I Can't Have." Johnny's classic jangly guitar is in full effect here and I can just imagine Morrissey flailing around in frustration as he performs this song live. This album also features one of my personal favorites, "Barbarism Begins at Home," where the only chorus is Morrissey barking. It's not necessarily a classic, but definitely worth hearing. The closing song, "Meat Is Murder," however, is perhaps the worst song that the band ever wrote. It opens up with the sound of saws and cows wailing in pain, and features some of the most ridiculous lyrics I've ever heard, like "the meat in your mouth as you savor the flavor of murder." Mmmmm, delicious murder.

Other Stuff
Rank - I actually do not own this album, but I have heard it in its entirety. It is a live album recorded at London's National Ballroom towards the end of The Smiths' existence, in late 1986. It contains one new song, "The Draize Train," but feels somewhat short for a live album(apparently there are a number of songs that were recorded that same night that did not make it onto the album). There is nothing especially mindblowing here, but this is an album worth getting, especially for those who want alternate versions of their favorite songs. This is definitely not a place to start and should only be purchased by long-time fans of the band.

Hatful of Hollow - This is essentially an earlier version of Louder Than Bombs that gathered up all the band's singles and B-sides through 1984. Instead of the singles from later years, it contains several BBC Session versions of songs from the debut album, which do not add a whole lot. What is significant here is that there are two B-sides not available on Louder Than Bombs. "Accept Yourself" is nothing special, but "Handsome Devil" is an amazing song that should've been included on later compilations. It is not worth buying this album solely for that song, but if you can burn a copy from someone else, it's worth having it in your collection.

The World Won't Listen - When Louder Than Bombs was released in the US, the UK got The World Won't Listen. Because Hatful of Hollow had already been released, this compilation gathers up most of the Smiths singles and B-sides post-1984. It contains several album tracks that were also released as singles, and if you already own all the studio albums and Louder Than Bombs, there is no reason to buy this album. The only new song it contains is an instrumental entitled "Money Changes Everything" which is nice to have, but definitely not worth the price of this album.

The Singles - This is exactly what it sounds like, a compilation of all the band's singles, no B-sides included. This is a very bare-bones compilation, but if you're looking for a place to start and don't want to plop down the money for both The Queen Is Dead and Louder Than Bombs, then this is not a bad purchase. It contains nothing new, and if you own LTB and all of the studio albums, this album becomes obsolete. If you've never heard the band before and aren't sure if you'll like them, you could do worse than this album.

The Best Of The Smiths Vol. 1 & 2/The Very Best Of The Smiths - These albums are not really worth buying as they contain nothing new and all seem rather arbitrary in the songs they include. None of them present the songs in any sort of sensical order either. If you want just one album to encompass The Smiths' career, The Singles is a much better place to start.

New Albums from Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Loose Fur; Art Brut Comes to Town

2006-01-13T06:46:00.000-08:00

It has been almost three years since the Yeah Yeah Yeahs released their full length debut (crazy how time flies), but they're finally going to release the long-awaited follow up, and no, it's not a concept album about Karen O's cat called Coco Beware (as previously reported). The new album, entitled Show Your Bones, will hit stores on March 28th, a week after the first single, "Gold Lion," is released. I really have no idea what to expect from the album, but I do know that it was produced by Squeak E. Clean (real name: Sam Spiegel), who is the brother of Karen O's boyfriend, director Spike Jonze.

In other news, Jeff Tweedy, Glenn Kotche and Jim O'Rourke, who have collaborated several times in the past, on Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born, on Jim O'Rourke's Insignificance, and on a lesser-known album released in 2003 under the name Loose Fur, are again busy in the studio. The Loose Fur album is the only one of that bunch that is not an amazing album, but hey, every trio of musical geniuses is allowed a mulligan right? Well they are releasing another album under the Loose Fur moniker entitled Born Again in the U.S.A. on March 21st. For those who may not know, it was actually Jim O'Rourke who introduced Jeff Tweedy to Glenn Kotche back before the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot sessions began. Tweedy was so fascinated with him that he started bringing him to the studio and having him play some drum parts for the album. Needless to say, this did not sit well with Wilco's drummer at the time, Ken Coomer (who had been with the group since the Uncle Tupelo days), and he subsequently left the group, leaving Kotche as Wilco's drummer. Oh, and a little more background info, Jim O'Rourke is known mostly as a producer, but was also a member of Sonic Youth for a few years and has released several solo albums that run the gamut from rock to avant-garde classical. With all this talent coming together the new Loose Fur album has to be good, right?

Lastly, a band who released one of my favorite albums of 2005 (though it did not make the list because I bought it after the list was already finished), Art Brut is coming to the Black Cat on Sunday, April 9th. Their debut album Bang Bang Rock and Roll is absolutely fantastic and sounds something along the lines of what would happen if Jarvis Cocker fronted The Buzzcocks. The lyrics are some of the funniest I've heard in years and the songs are rather catchy, definitely worth checking out if you haven't already.

Oh, one last little note. Both Belle & Sebastian/New Pornographers shows sold out in a matter of minutes, so let the war on craigslist begin.

Arctic Monkeys/Radiohead/Futureheads News

2006-01-10T12:26:00.000-08:00

Alright, a few bits of news to report here. First off, Britain's new "it" band, The Arctic Monkeys are coming to town in March. They'll be playing the 930 Club on Monday, March 27th. Their single "I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor" is available now on iTunes and is quite catchy. They're labelmates with Franz Ferdinand, but their sound is a bit grimier and punkier. Of course, I've heard only one song, so I have no idea what their album will sound like. The debut in question, Whatever People Say I Am That's What I Am Not, will be available in the US on February 21st, but it comes out in England on January 23rd, so it may be available on iTunes at that point.

Also, Radiohead was recently turned down in an attempt to play at a new Frank Gehry-designed pavilion inside Chicago's Millenium Park. Why is this significant? Because there were proposed dates for these shows, June 19th and 20th. This means Radiohead is most definitely coming to the US, and we've got a good idea of the time period.

And in even more news on music from across the pond, The Futureheads have just finished recording their second album and plan to mix it over the next three weeks. If all goes according to plan, the album will hit stores in late April and they will be touring the US sometime this Spring or Summer. Unfortunately there will not be any Kate Bush covers this time around (damn!), but singer/guitarist Barry Hyde claims that "it's quite a brave statement of an album." Interesting, yet bold move coming off a very successful debut, but I like these guys and they've got some talent so they might be able to pull it off.

Update To Belle & Sebastian/New Pornographers Tour

2006-01-06T06:49:00.000-08:00

Tour dates are out, and this tour is stopping for not just one, but two dates at the 930 Club. Given the strength of this bill, I'd expect the show to sell out immediately so I'm giving you all a heads up on how to get your tickets. According to the Belle & Sebastian website, they will be playing Sunday, March 5th and Monday, March 6th and tickets will be going on sale next Thursday (January 12th) at 10 AM at www.tickets.com. Also of note, it appears that Belle & Sebastian will be the headliner for this tour while The New Pornographers will be opening, so expect a shorter set from the Pornographers this time around.

First Post of 2006

2006-01-04T08:31:00.000-08:00

Nothing much to say music-wise today, but I figured I'd come on briefly and discuss plans for the upcoming year. I should be posting more often, so expect more album and concert reviews as well as random thoughts that I may have about the state of music at that particular time. I'm also hoping to be able to start streaming music through the site, so that readers can hear the music that I'm talking about instead of just having to read my sad attempts to describe it. I'm also working on starting a new blog, howsoonisnowproductions.blogspot.com, which will document the progress of the dance parties we've been putting on at the Satellite Ballroom in Charlottesville. I'm hoping to branch out and start DJing at some more venues, hopefully closer to DC. The blog will contain playlists and announcements of upcoming events.

In other news, the new Strokes album is not very good, a bit disappointing, but their time seems to have kinda passed anyway. The Strokes were something that we desperately needed in 2001, but four and a half years later, there are thousands of other bands that sound just like them and they have not done enough since to separate themselves from those other groups. First Impressions of Earth is not a bad album, but it's just very average, a few good songs but nothing groundbreaking, but I don't really expect The Strokes to be breaking new ground these days. Suffice it to say, they're just not relevant anymore. So I would like to thank The Strokes for one amazing album (Is This It?) and one pretty good one (Room on Fire), but the holiday is over. Thanks for the memories guys, I'll always thank you for bringing rock back into the popular music lexicon.

There are some other new albums coming out in the next few months, hopefully these will not be as disappointing:

Love Is All - Nine Times That Same Song - January 24th, 2006
Tortoise & Bonnie Prince Billy - The Brave and the Bold - January 24th, 2006
Jenny Lewis (of Rilo Kiley) - Rabbit Fur Coat - January 24th, 2006
Cat Power - The Greatest - January 24th, 2006
Robert Pollard (of Guided By Voices) - From a Compound Eye - January 24th, 2006
Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit - February 7th, 2006
Liars - Drum's Not Dead - February 21st, 2006
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am That's What I Am Not - February 21st, 2006
Mogwai - Mr. Beast - March 7th, 2006
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood - March 7th, 2006
Morrissey - Ringleader of the Tormentors - March 21st, 2006
Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics - April 4th, 2006
Grandaddy - Just Like the Fambly Cat - April 4th, 2006
Tortoise - R, R, C - April 11th, 2006
Radiohead - New Album - Spring/Summer, 2006
The Shins - New Album - Summer, 2006

Belle and Sebastian/New Pornographers to Tour, Radiohead Coming to US this Summer

2005-12-28T07:06:00.000-08:00

Two quick bits of news to report here. First off, the word from both the New Pornographers' (http://www.thenewpornographers.com/) and Belle and Sebastian's (http://www.belleandsebastian.com/) websites report that the two bands will be joining together for a US tour sometime this winter. Given that Belle and Sebastian has dates booked through February 10th in England, I have a feeling that the tour likely won't start until after that. There is no word on whether or not there will be a DC date, but this may be a show worth travelling for. For those who may not know, Belle and Sebastian have a new album coming out on February 7th entitled The Life Pursuit, their first full album of new material since 2003's Dear Catastrophe Waitress.

In other, more vague news, (from www.ateaseweb.com) Radiohead's new album looks like it's being pushed back at least into the Spring, as they're heading back into the studio in February to continue work. They are not working with longtime producer Nigel Godrich, who has produced every Radiohead album from The Bends on, this time around, and are instead working with Mark "Spike" Stent, who has worked with Madonna and Bjork in the past. Guitarist Ed O'Brien said that the band will be touring the UK and Europe in May and plan to come to the US this summer. Once again, no dates have been announced, but if they are anywhere on the east coast, I will be there.

2005 Recap, Part 3, Albums of the Year

2005-12-20T14:03:00.000-08:00

Here we go, the coup de gras of year-end recaps, the top 10 albums. I had a lot of trouble this year and there were a lot of excellent albums that got left off, but I like what I've come up with, and I hope you do too.

1) The Decemberists - Picaresque - I'd never been a big fan of the Decemberists in the past as I'd always felt like there was something missing in their music. Certain songs would hit, but so many of them seemed incomplete. Well, apparently they read my mind and filled in all the pieces because this is a complete and brilliant album. The band's sound has gradually evolved over the last few years peaking with Picaresque. It's got it all: catchy pop songs ("The Sporting Life," "Sixteen Military Wives"), heartwrenching ballads ("On The Bus Mall," "Of Angels and Angles") and an amazing epic ("Mariner's Revenge Song") that brings it all home. Colin Meloy's lyrics have always been the strong point of The Decemberists and adding them to a collection of songs so strong makes this an impossible album to beat this year.

2) The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema - I've found that it's pretty rare these days that one of my favorite bands actually releases an album that lives up to my expectations, but to exceed them and blow them out of the water is a phenomenon that occurs only once every few years. The New Pornographers made two albums of delicious pop diddies (Mass Romantic, The Electric Version), but with this album they added the one element that had been noticeably absent from those two, emotion. In the past, the band seemed to be exactly what they were, a collection of musicians who would get together every couple of years to have fun and write some catchy tunes. Well, this time around they sound like a real band and all the pieces gel just right. Now don't get me wrong, the pop is still there on the title track and songs like "Use It" and "Sing Me Spanish Techno," but never before have the New Pornographers been able to give me chills like they do on "The Bleeding Heart Show." And having Neko Case sing the ballads, including the unbelievable "These Are the Fables," instead of the decided pop hits was a brilliant change of pace move by my boy Carl Newman.

3) Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary

4) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - I'm not sure exactly what these guys were doing putting such an atrocious song as "Clap Your Hands"at the start of the album, but I beg you all, just skip to the next track and you'll understand what the buzz behind these guys is all about. Every song after that, from the "true" opener "Let The Cool Goddess Rust Away" to one of the year's best songs "The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth," to "In This Home On Ice" at the end of the album, is sheer indie pop brilliance. The influences are clear, Talking Heads, David Bowie, Neutral Milk Hotel, etc., but these guys write such catchy and off-beat songs that it doesn't matter. My only concern is that Alec Ounsworth's head gets too big before the next album comes around and the band implodes on itself, but for the moment, feel free to get up, dance and, ahem, clap your hands.

5) The National - Alligator

6) The Clientele - Strange Geometry

7) M.I.A. - Arular

8) M83 - Before the Dawn Heals Us - 2003's Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts had some excellent moments and set a dark, intense mood, but at times I felt a distance between myself and the music. Two years later, after losing partner Nicolas Fromageau, Anthony Gonzalez returns with an album that builds on his previous work, adding more guitars, more sonic layers and a newfound pop sensability that makes this album much easier to digest. The mood is still dark, but there are more vocal samples smattered throughout the album which keep things interesting, plus "Don't Save Us From the Flames" and "Teen Angst" are amazing singles which stand out, yet don't take away from their surrounding tracks. The electronic My Bloody Valentine comparisons are still valid and I can't wait to see where Gonzalez goes next.

9) Sufjan Stevens - Illinois - There is one reason that this album is not higher on this list than it currently is, and that is that Sufjan needs to learn that sometimes less is more. This album runs through a bevy of emotions and broadens his range much farther than he's ever gone for the first sixteen tracks. Then, right around track 17, this album starts into a distinct tailspin and there is nothing in those last six songs that even touches what the first sixteen brought. That is not to say that I don't like this album, because I do, it is fantastic. Songs like "Casimir Pulaski Day" and "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." tug on your heartstrings while "Chicago" and "Come On! Feel The Illinoise!" are exceptional pop songs. My favorite song though, is "Decatur," a simple tune featuring Sufjan singing over a banjo, acoustic guitar and accordion in which he includes every possible word that remotely rhymes with Decatur (alligator, operator, aviator, debater, emancipator, congratulate her, etc.).

10 (tie) Stars - Set Yourself on Fire & Vitalic - OK Cowboy

2005 Recap, Part 2, Disappointments and Surprises

2005-12-19T11:42:00.000-08:00

I feel like this year, more than any other, I was disappointed by a number of albums that I was really looking forward to, so I thought a section about disappointments would make a worthy addition to my Year in Review series of posts.

Disappointments:

1) Daft Punk - Human After All - 2001's Discovery is one of my all-time favorite albums, 1997's Homework was one of the first electronic albums I ever bought and is the only one from that era that I still listen to regularly, so my expectations were rather high for the long-awaited third album this year. Suffice it to say, I was shocked when I finally heard it. For an album that was four years in the making, it sounded surprisingly rushed and unfinished, plus many of the songs sounded like rehashes of Daft Punk songs from years' past. My anger is not as strong as it was when I first reviewed this album, so I'm going to give them a mulligan here. Daft Punk revealed that they actually were "human after all" (teehee) by making a very mediocre album, but I expect all the negative press will whip their butts back into shape and get them to make their next album so good that we all forget this ever happened.

2) Weezer - Make Believe - Now, maybe I'm in the minority here, but I really liked Maladroit and when I heard some of the demos that were being considered as possible songs for this album, I got really excited. Unfortunately, two years on and off in the studio combined with Rivers heading back to Harvard derailed this album, making it Weezer's worst-to-date by a longshot. Maybe I've just grown out of them, but this does not like the same band who recorded brilliant back-to-back albums in the mid-90s. I think Weezer's time in the sun may be over, Rivers just has nothing new to contribute as a songwriter and what is he writing just keeps getting worse and worse. They should stop now before they forever taint their legacy.

3) Coldplay - X&Y - I loved Coldplay back in 2000 when Parachutes came out and continued to love them through A Rush of Blood to the Head, but I started to worry a bit when I noticed that Rush didn't have nearly the same staying power as Parachutes did. I found myself tiring of the album very quickly and not really ever feeling the desire to put it on the old stereo. X&Y continue Coldplay's decline, and yet somehow they've gotten even more famous than they were before because of it. I'm not going to go off on a Coldplay rant, because they're not an awful band, they're just extremely overrated. This album had some highpoints like "Talk," "Fix You" and the meant-for-Johnny Cash "Kingdom Come," but so much of it sounded like retreads of old Coldplay songs (see "Speed of Sound") and there weren't any songs that had the power of "Clocks" or the emotion of "Don't Panic." I'm sure Coldplay will continue to release mediocre albums for many years and maintain their popularity, but this is probably the last one that I buy.

4) Beck - Guero - Beck makes this list for a combined disappointing album/live performance. His short, unspired concert at the Patriot Center this fall was one of the only shows I saw this year where I felt like I just didn't get my money's worth, and Guero was maybe the worst of Beck's career to date. Until now Beck had made a career of redefining himself (disco on Midnite Vultures, acoustic ballads on Sea Change) a la David Bowie, but on this one, he seemed to want to make an album that summed everything to date up into a nice little package. Unfortunately, at least in my humble opinion, he failed quite miserably. Guero really is a pretty decent album, but it just is not nearly up to the standard that Beck has shown us he can produce albums at. Also, the surprise of "what will the next album be like?" has always kept me on my toes, and frankly, I found myself a little bored with this one. Been there, done that, c'mon Beck, get back in there and give us something new, and hopefully you haven't hit the wall like Bowie did in the early 80s.

Pleasant Surprise

Return to "Goodness" - Exciter, ULTRA, Heathen Chemistry, Republic, Get Ready. What do those five albums have in common? They can all be found in your local record store's used bin. I swear, go check right now, they'll all be in there, and they're also the last few albums from Depeche Mode, Oasis and New Order. All three bands released albums this year that proved that they can still, in fact, write good songs and play good music. None will likely ever return to the hey-days of their careers, but given where they were at one time or another, it'd be almost impossible to ask of them. Playing the Angel, Don't Believe The Truth and Waiting For the Sirens' Call at least gave me hope that old favorites can still give me some good tunes that remind me of the old days instead of covering my ears and begging for those days.

2005 Recap, Part 1, Concerts of the Year

2005-12-14T10:25:00.000-08:00

I'm going to begin my recap of the year in music with my favorite concerts of 2005. I went to about 30 shows or so, so I feel like I can make a pretty good determination of what was good and what wasn't. Hey, I'm only one man, and one man who works 40 hours a week no less, I can't see them all, but hopefully this list will be comprehensive enough for you guys.

1) M.I.A. at Coachella - In each year of my Coachella experience there has been one performance where I've felt as if I was witnessing something truly special. Last year it was the Pixies, and this year it was a little Sri Lankan girl by way of England named M.I.A. Now, I know I probably didn't need to introduce her, but you must remember, this was the end of April, and her album had only recently been released in the US, not to mention that this was only her second show in the United States, EVER. The crowd had no idea what to expect, but they were out en masse for a mid-afternoon show in one of the side tents, and I could feel the anticipation growing as we waited for M.I.A. to take the stage. When she did, the crowd went absolutely insane and she fed off the energy, sending her performance through the roof. The mutual love between M.I.A. and the crowd created one of the best concert environments I've ever been a part of, and it took only a few songs for me to understand that I was watching a superstar being born before my eyes. (to read more about the performance see my Coachella wrap-up in the May, 2005 archives of the blog)

2) The Decemberists at the 930 Club (October 2nd) - When The Decemberists came to town in the Spring, I hesitated about going and by the time I'd made my decision to go, the show had sold out. When they came back a few months later, I had had some time to digest their new album, Picaresque, a bit more, as well as delve further into their back catalogue and had become a full fledged Decemberists fan. (something I couldn't have said in the Spring) They opened the show by playing their five-part opus The Tain in its entirety, complete with acting out scenes and instrument-switching galore. They continued on playing note-perfect renditions of Picaresque songs as well as throwing in a few songs from older albums here and there. The regular set closer, "The Mariner's Revenge Song" was absolutely brilliant with the audience being asked to participate by screaming like they were being eaten by a whale. Multi-instrumentalist Chris Funk ran around the stage with working giant wooden whale head as the audience went crazy. What made this show so spectacular wasn't just the excellent music or the performance aspect of the show, but the band's energy and excitement to be performing for us. Colin Meloy had repeated looks in his eyes that almost said, "I can't believe I get paid to do this." Some people may love bombastic rock stars, but when artists have this humble attitude towards peforming, it makes me feel like I'm witnessing something personal and it brings the audience closer.

3) Depeche Mode at the Patriot Center (December 9th) - I'm just going to throw this out there right now, there is no better frontman in music right now than Dave Gahan. Even at the age of 43, the man has just as much, if not more, energy than he had in Depeche Mode's late 80s hey-day, and he still has the body to take off his shirt and get the girls screaming when shakes his ass. Though they may have played one or two too many songs from the new album (not that it's bad, there were just countless old songs I wanted to hear that didn't get played), everything they did looked and sounded spectacular. Their elaborate stage set featuring a giant robot, several screens and futuristic looking keyboard stands was about as visually pleasing as any I've ever seen. But in the end it came down to the music and the energy. By the time they launched into a blistering version of "I Feel You," (a song I was convinced I didn't like until right then) the crowd was putty in Gahan's hands and anything he asked for was given to him by the crowd with pure joy, from handclaps to singing to swinging their arms from side to side. After that, the hits just kept on coming, climaxing in a version of "Everything Counts" that seemed to be right off the 101 live album and had the crowd going wild. I would've liked them to play for another hour or two, but I guess leaving a show wanting to hear more isn't the worst feeling in the world. I wasn't sure what Depeche Mode would be like after all these years, but damn, they definitely still have it.

4) Sigur Ros at Strathmore Music Center (September 11th) - I think anything I had to say about this show I said in my review of it back in September which you can read here: http://mattstarr.blogspot.com/2005/09/finally-real-update.html
Let me reiterate, this was an intense experience, one I definitely recommend having if you get the chance. (That is, of course, saying that you like Sigur Ros, if not, you might not enjoy the show nearly as much)

5) LCD Soundsystem & M.I.A. at the 930 Club (June 12th) - Now, I hesitated before putting M.I.A. on here twice, but the strength of this double bill was just too hard to ignore. Between when this show was scheduled and when it actually occurred, I think M.I.A. may have actually eclipsed LCD Soundsystem in popularity, but they kept to the plan and M.I.A. remained the opening act. The crowd for her wasn't quite as intense as at Coachella, especially early on as the late-comers were still filing into the venue, but about halfway through, the audience started to get their collective bounce on and the energy level in the 930 Club skyrocketed. I almost felt bad for LCD Soundsystem having to follow up such an intense performance, but James Murphy and company were more than up to the task. They only played about 9 or 10 songs, but each one veered off into some sort of dance-punk tangent, kinda like a jam band, only much much cooler and with music you can actually dance to and don't need drugs to enjoy. Murphy went wild when he wasn't singing, shaking his bevy of tambourines, banging on a small drum set and playing whatever other instruments were untended at any particular moment. I'm not going to go off on any sort of emotional tangent here, because I was never brought to the verge of tears at any moment, but dammit, I had some serious fun and danced my fucking ass off.

I Promise, I'm Going to Update More Often

2005-12-14T06:49:00.000-08:00

I'm going to begin this with a list of upcoming shows, after that there should be plenty of new stuff to read in the coming days, so stay tuned.

Prefuse 73 - Friday, December 30th, Black Cat, $15
Supersystem w/Ris Paul Ric - Saturday, January 7th, Black Cat, $9
The Travis Morrison Hellfighters - Tuesday, January 10th, Black Cat, $7
Unlimited Sunshine Tour (featuring Cake, Teegan & Sara and Gogol Bordello) - Saturday, January 21st, 930 Club (Sold Out)
Robert Pollard (formerly of Guided By Voices) - Saturday, January 28th, 930 Club, $15
Colin Meloy (of The Decemberists) - Saturday, January 28th, Birchmere, $17.50
Deerhoof - Saturday, January 28th, Black Cat, $10
The Hold Steady - Wednesday, February 1st, Black Cat, $10
Low - Saturday, February 4th, Black Cat, $13
RJD2 - Saturday, February 4th, 930 Club, $15
Brit Pop & Indie Rock Valentine's Day (presented by How Soon Is Now? Productions (which is me and Ian)) - Saturday, February 4th, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville), $5
Feist - Tuesday, February 7th, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville), $12 adv/$15 at door
Feist - Wednesday, February 8th, Black Cat, $13
Nada Surf (w/Rogue Wave) - Thursday, February 9th, Starr Hill (Charlottesville)
Fiery Furnaces - Saturday, February 11th, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville)
Supergrass - Sunday, February 12th, 930 Club, $20
Wu Tang Clan - Monday, February 13th, 930 Club, $50
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (w/ Elefant) - Monday, February 20th, 930 Club
Stars - Friday, February 24th, Black Cat, $12
Of Montreal - Wednesday, March 1st, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville), $10 adv/$12 at door
Mogwai - Saturday, March 4th, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville),
Queen - Thursday, March 9th, MCI Center
Metric - Thursday, March 9th, 930 Club (Early Show)
The Pogues - Thursday, March 9th, 930 Club (Late Show) (Sold Out)
The Pogues - Friday, March 10th, 930 Club (Sold Out)
Silver Jews - Thursday, March 16th, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville), $16 adv/$18 at door
Animal Collective - Tuesday, March 21st, Black Cat, $13
Stereolab - Tuesday, March 21st, 930 Club
The Books - Wednesday, March 29th, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville), $12 adv/$15 at door

2005-11-09T14:02:00.000-08:00

Alright, most of the shows I'd had up have passed and some new ones have been announced. We're getting into that late fall/early winter concert lull, but there are a few decent shows coming up.

The Black Keys - Saturday, November 12th, 930 Club, $15
Ris Paul Ric (formerly of Q and not U) - Monday, November 14th, Black Cat, $7
Okkervil River(w/Charles Bissell of The Wrens) - Monday, November 14th, Iota, $10
LCD Soundsystem (w/The Juan Maclean) - Tuesday, November 15th, Sonar, $20
Andrew Bird (w/Head of Femur) - Thursday, November 17th, Black Cat, $13
De La Soul - Thursday, November 17th, Sonar, $20
Bright Eyes (w/ Feist and the Magic Numbers) - Friday, November 18th, Constitution Hall, $25
Echo and the Bunnymen - Friday, November 18th, Black Cat (Sold Out)
Hot Hot Heat (w/We Are Scientists) - Saturday, November 19th, Sonar, $18
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Tuesday, November 22nd, Ottobar
Mos Def & Talib Kweli - Friday, November 25th, 930 Club, $40
The Dandy Warhols - Sunday, November 27th, 930 Club, $25
Iron & Wine/Calexico - Wednesday, November 30th, 930 Club, $18
Mark Gardener (of Ride) - Friday, December 2nd, Iota, $12
Rogue Wave - Saturday, December 3rd, Black Cat, $12
X - Monday, December 5th, 930 Club, $25
American Analog Set - Tuesday, December 6th, Black Cat, $10
Depeche Mode - Friday, December 9th, Patriot Center
Colin Meloy (of The Decemberists) - Saturday, January 28th, Birchmere

Best of the 70s

2005-10-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

So I've been listening to a lot of music from the 70s lately and using many "Best Of" lists to sift through all the music released in that decade. Two lists that are quite comprehensive and well-compiled are pitchforkmedia.com's list (http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/top/70s/) which combines popular music with more obscure stuff that is much less obvious, and Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums of All Time (http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/5938174?rnd=1129926547225&has-player=false) which, as Rolling Stone is known to do, sticks with mostly more popular music. Now, I decided that I would attempt to combine these two lists and make a full-on Best of the 70s list that both Rolling Stone and pitchfork readers alike can enjoy. The criteria was simple: I broke Rolling Stone's list into just albums from the 70s, then removed the compilations and greatest hits albums and made a Rolling Stone Top 100 of the 70s list. I then compared the two lists and any album that was on both lists made it onto the final copy. The album's placement on this list is based on the average of the placements on the two other lists, so without further ado, here is the list:

1) The Clash – London Calling
2) Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks
3) Rolling Stones – Exile on Main Street
4) The Who – Who’s Next
5) Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV
6) Stevie Wonder – Innervisions
7) Ramones – Ramones
8) Sly and the Family Stone – There’s a Riot Going On
9) Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
10) Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On
11) Television – Marquee Moon
12) Miles Davis – Bitches Brew
13) Velvet Underground – Loaded
14) The Beatles – Let It Be
15) Pink Floyd – The Wall
16) John Lennon – Plastic Ono Band
17) Sex Pistols – Nevermind the Bollocks
18) Michael Jackson – Off The Wall
19) The Clash – The Clash
20) T. Rex – Electric Warrior
21) Saturday Night Fever – Original Soundtrack
22) Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon
23) Elvis Costello – This Year’s Model
24) The Stooges – Funhouse
25) David Bowie – Low
26) David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust
27) Joni Mitchell – Blue
28) Kraftwerk – Trans-Europe Express
29) Ramones – Rocket to Russia
30) Elvis Costello – My Aim Is True
31) Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here
32) David Bowie – Hunky Dory
33) Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti
34) Neil Young – After the Gold Rush
35) Blondie – Parallel Lines
36) The Stooges – Raw Power
37) Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy
38) The Harder They Come – Original Soundtrack
39) Nick Drake – Bryter Later
40) Creedence Clearwater Revival – Cosmo’s Factory

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at the Black Cat

2005-10-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

So DCist already covered most of the territory that I would have in this post: http://www.dcist.com/archives/2005/10/19/clap_your_hands_saymeh.php#more

But I wanted to take a second to voice my own opinion. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah made a great album, and did it without a record contract, a very impressive feat that is earning them a lot more money than your average indie band. However, even if they are proud of themselves, that doesn't excuse them from barely showing up at the Black Cat last night to play an uninspired set that disappointed most everyone attending the sold out show. The show kicked off with some promise before singer Alec Ounsworth decided that he could stop caring about 5 songs in. He mumbled words, didn't finish lines and frankly didn't seem to care that all these people had some out to see his band perform. Clearly he thought rather highly of his songs to attempt to release them without a label, but now that he's tasted success, his ego seems to be growing to epic proportions. He's got all the makings of a primadonna who could sabotage his band before they even finish recording their second album. As for the rest of the band, except for guitarist/keyboardist Robbie Guertin, they didn't have an iota of energy. Guertin bounced around, but it appeared the rest of the band was judging him the entire time as brothers Lee and Tyler Sargent stayed stonefaced and looked bored off their asses.

A memo to Ounsworth and Co.: You guys write and record excellent music, but you are not THE SHIT quite yet. Just showing up at a venue is not enough to warrant the thousands of dollars you guys are earning each show. Find yourself a rehearsal space, work on your stage presence, don't look so pissed off that you have the greatest job in the world and get in sync with one another. Come back to me in a year and if you've fixed these things, you may have a future. Otherwise this band is doomed to failure, and sooner rather than later.

I'm the DJ?

2005-10-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

Well last Friday, sitting in traffic going to and from the Coldplay concert at Nissan Pavilion (I will never go to a concert there ever again), Ian and I started brainstorming an idea for a Smiths/Cure Dance Party in Charlottesville. We thought that with the lack of things to do in Charlottesville, especially for the under-21 crowd, that putting on something different like this could really succeed. Well Ian mentioned that he happened to know the owner of the Satellite Ballroom, a new venue in Charlottesville that hosts mostly indie rock shows, and that he'd shoot him an email when he got home.

Well, to our surprise, on Tuesday, Ian received an email that read as follows:
ian, i love the idea. what night do you want? i'd like it to be something easy to remember like the 1st X of the month or last X of the month or something like that. let me know and i'll get you a date today. best,peter

Well, we were a bit shocked that he just jumped on the idea so quickly, but damn, we took it. Unfortunately, things hit a couple of speed bumps, namely that it looks like the Dance Party is going to have to be 21+ given the alcohol laws in Virginia, but really, I think we'll survive. I mean, we're hosting a fucking DANCE PARTY!!! So here are the details for all interested:

How Soon Is Now Productions Presents
The Smiths vs. The Cure Dance Party, Saturday November 5th
Satellite Ballroom, Charlottesville
21+

Oh, I neglected to mention, I will be DJing this event, so this will be the first official live performance for DJ Starrscream. It's a bit scary to think that this is in 4 weeks and I don't even have all my equipment yet, but I should be alright, right?

Album Release Dates

2005-09-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

This Fall there are some awesome albums coming out from bands both new and old, just thought I'd put a semi-comprehensive list of releases in the coming weeks.

Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary, September 27th
Ryan Adams - Jacksonville City Nights, September 27th
Franz Ferdinand - You Can Have It So Much Better, October 4th
Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene, October 4th
My Morning Jacket - Z, October 4th
The Go! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike (US Version), October 4th
The Clientele - Strange Geometry, October 11th
Depeche Mode - Playing the Angel, October 18th
Boards of Canada - The Campfire Headphase, October 18th
Silver Jews - Tanglewood Numbers, October 18th
Fiery Furnaces - Rehearsing My Choir, October 25th
Wilco - Kicking Television: Live in Chicago, November 15th (new date)
Bright Eyes - Motion Sickness (Live), November 15th
Outkast - Idlewild, December 6th
The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth, January 3rd, 2006
Morrissey - Ringleader of the Tormentors, April, 2006

If I've missed anything, please add a comment onto the end of this post with forgotten albums.

Finally A Real Update

2005-09-20T13:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been posting only concert updates for so long that I guess I should write about a few that I've been to, since I finally have some downtime at work. Throughout this week I will be posting reviews of shows that I've attended over the last couple of weeks in no particular order.

I will begin with the Sigur Ros show at the Strathmore Music Center on September 11th, which you can listen to here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4834623 (thank you NPR for letting me relive this amazing show over and over again). For those who don't know, Sigur Ros' music is an interesting mix of ambient, shoegaze, alt-rock and classical music that seems nearly impossible to recreate live, but their ability to do so is exactly what made this such an unbelievable show. Singer/guitarist Jonsi Birgisson's voice is so otherworldly on record that you have to believe that it's run through computers forwards and backwards before it actually gets to your ears, but seeing/hearing the voice come directly from his mouth absolutely blew me away.

The show opened just as their new album Takk. . . does with the title-track intro leading into the album's first single, "Glosoli," while the band played behind a translucent curtain and spotlights behind them cast their oversized shadows onto it. As the song grew more intense the lights got brighter and moved faster and I got chills when the song hit its climax. Drums were pounded, guitars were shredded, but by the end of the song, I started to worry about the curtain making me feel disconnected from the band. Thankfully, this was only a concern for about a minute as the curtains parted after the song to reveal the band shifting around to different instruments in preparation for their next opus, which just happened to be one of my favorites, Agaetis Byrjun's "Ny Batteri." It was at this point that I was finally able to see that Jonsi's voice was indeed coming from a human, and as he played his guitar with a bow, I just sat back in complete bliss and let the music sink in. They continued onto an amazing version of "Svefn-G-Englar" which pushed me further into a world in which Sigur Ros could do no wrong, and then unbelievably, they took it to the next level. The next song, "Saeglopur," which I had never heard before, began very quietly with just a xylophone and piano as the string section (and opening act) Amina took the stage. The song builds with almost a pop-song structure for the first few minutes, then breaks down into strings, effects and vocals as it works its way back to the minimalism it began with. It has quickly become one of my favorite songs.

From there, the band continued playing songs from Agaetis Byrjun, ( ) and Takk. . ., but I was so entranced that it didn't matter what they played, I would've loved it anyway. I was only awakened as the band members started to leave the stage several songs later as drummer Orri Pall Dyrason manipulated sounds he'd recorded throughout the last song, playing snippets of vocals, piano other other instruments which slowly faded to silence. (a la Radiohead's classic show ender "Everything in its Right Place") They returned to play the epic "Popplagia" (aka Track 8 on ( )) and as the song reached its peak, the curtains began to close, and the band finished the show just as they had started it, with only shadows visible and bright lights shining in all directions. At this point, I found the curtain to be much more appropriate as they couldn't have just stopped playing and ended the show, the emotional connection with the audience was too strong. They needed to visually distance themselves first, signifying that the end was almost here. (Yes, that sounds cheesy, but it was definitely true) They came out afterwards for a bow, and what we all hoped was one more song, but the cheering was to no avail, only producing a second trip onto the stage for one last bow. Even without that last song, no one left disappointed, and I will champion Sigur Ros as one of the best live bands out there from here on out.

I'm Lazy

2005-08-23T06:42:00.000-07:00

So work has been busy lately and I haven't been able to actually put up a decent post, but here is a comprehensive list of all upcoming concerts. Go see some shows and when you return there will be new material for you to read. (Update: Depeche Mode and Kanye West added, second Death Cab show, Decemberists, Q and not U sold out)

Son Volt - Friday, October 21st, 930 Club, $20
Ambulance LTD - Saturday, October 22nd, Black Cat, $10 in advance/$12 at door
Death Cab for Cutie (w/Stars) - Sunday, October 23rd and Monday, October 24th, 930 Club (Both Days Sold Out)
Broken Social Scene - Wednesday, October 26th, 930 Club, $20
Ween - Thursday, October 27th, 930 Club (Sold Out)
Kanye West (w/Common) - Sunday, October 30th, Patriot Center, $48
Nine Inch Nails (w/Queens of the Stone Age and Death From Above 1979) – Wednesday, November 2nd, MCI Center, $45
Super Furry Animals (w/Caribou) - Tuesday, November 8th, 930 Club
The Black Keys - Saturday, November 12th, 930 Club, $15
Okkervil River(w/Charles Bissell of The Wrens) - Monday, November 14th, Iota, $10
LCD Soundsystem (w/The Juan Maclean) - Tuesday, November 15th, Sonar
Andrew Bird (w/Head of Femur) - Thursday, November 17th, Black Cat, $13
Bright Eyes - Friday, November 18th, Constitution Hall, $25
Echo and the Bunnymen - Friday, November 18th, Black Cat, $20
Mos Def & Talib Kweli - Friday, November 25th, 930 Club, $40
The Dandy Warhols - Sunday, November 27th, 930 Club, $25
Depeche Mode - Friday, December 9th, Patriot Center

The Concerts Don't Stop

2005-08-17T08:34:00.000-07:00

Even more shows have been announced, this fall schedule is getting ridiculous, but I love it.

Doves (w/Longwave) - Saturday, September 17th, Sonar (Baltimore)
Thievery Corporation, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Le Tigre and More - Saturday, September 24th, Operation Cease Fire on the Washington Monument Grounds, FREE!
Architecture in Helsinki - Friday, October 7th, Black Cat, $10
The Black Keys - Saturday, November 12th, 930 Club
LCD Soundsystem (w/The Juan Maclean) - Tuesday, November 15th, Sonar
Bright Eyes - Friday, November 18th, Constitution Hall
Echo and the Bunnymen - Friday, November 18th, Black Cat

Who Is This Guy?

2005-08-12T13:05:00.000-07:00

I just happened to be browsing the music sites and found this picture on rollingstone.com:

This guy's name is Gavin DeGraw and I don't know anything about his music, nor am I going to waste my time looking anything up about him, though I bet he sounds like Jason Mraz. All I know is that he's wearing the UVA frat-guy uniform to a t, and hence there's no possible way that he makes anything resembling decent music. Pink polo shirt, popped collar, lame necklace, hair just a little too long, is there anything worse? So Gavin DeGraw, before I come hunt you down, please go into a hole, slit your wrists and bleed out the evil inside; it'll save me the trouble. I don't ever want to see your face unless again unless it's on the obituary page.

Even More Upcoming Shows

2005-08-10T09:53:00.000-07:00

The fall schedule is shaping up to be amazing. I added Beck to my post from a few days ago, now we've got even more shows.

Deerhoof - Saturday, September 17th, Venue TBA
Dungen - Sunday, September 18th, Black Cat, $13
Rogue Wave - Monday, September 19th, Black Cat, $8
Brendan Benson - Thursday, September 29th, Black Cat, $12
Gang of Four - Wednesday, October 5th, Sonar (Baltimore)
Ambulance LTD - Saturday, October 22nd, Black Cat, $10 in advance/$12 at door
Death Cab for Cutie (w/Stars) - Sunday, October 23rd, 930 Club

Brian Jonestown Massacre at DC9

2005-08-08T10:42:00.000-07:00

Now, I'd like to start out by saying that I am in no way bashing the Brian Jonestown Massacre (I don't want Anton Newcombe to come hunt me down), but this show was just not an enjoyable experience. I'd never been to a show before at DC9, and unless, say, David Bowie were to play there, I don't really plan on going back. The venue is the upstairs part of a bar and features a stage less than a foot above the ground, ceilings that are definitely no higher than about 8 feet and a questionable air conditioning system. This is not exactly the best environment to host 200 or so Brian Jonestown Massacre fans on a 90+ degree summer day. When I got to the top of the stairs, I was shocked to see how small the place was. There isn't even a backstage area, so all the bands' gear was on the floor, taking up a good chunk of potential standing room.

Openers Innaway had a bit of a Radiohead feel, from their sound to the strange animations that played on the back wall throughout the set. I was very impressed by their music but my only complaint was that every song followed the same formula: quiet start, louder chorus, quiet 2nd verse, chorus, long instrumental section, end. Still, I think this is a band that we might not have heard the last of, they just need a bit more guidance in their songwriting to give them that final shove they need. The second band to play was The Quarter After who, after starting out very strong with a bit of a Paul Westerberg sound, deteriorated very quickly into mediocrity and became increasingly more difficult to handle as people packed into the upstairs preparing for the BJM. By the end of their set, it was beginning to feel a bit like a sauna in there and they chose to play their longest, most jamtastic song as their final number. If I hadn't been so drained, I would have seriously considered attempting to strangle the lead singer with his microphone cord so they would get off the damn stage.

So clearly I wasn't in the best of spirits at this point, and the venue got more and more packed as we waited about 45 minutes for the Brian Jonestown Massacre to take the stage. They were good, but I have to say that I was a bit disappointed. The BJM is known for its extremely eclectic style and constant changing of musical direction from album to album, but they seem to have chosen one style, for now at least, and run with it. Gone were the sitars I was expecting to hear, as was the giant band that followed (frontman) Anton Newcombe around the country in the film DiG! Instead, they were just a normal five-piece rock band playing normal rock songs. After I began to realize that things weren't going to be getting too crazy (the band looked just as tired as I felt in that place), I turned to my friend Taylor and suggested that it might be about time to leave. After all, my eyes were burning from cigarette smoke, I'd probably lost ten pounds from sweating, and I couldn't see the band at all (apparently BJM fans are all tall, I mean, I'm 6'3" and I couldn't see a damn thing). So after 45 minutes and about seven or eight songs, we walked out the doors of DC9 and got in my car to head home. It wasn't a bad experience, and the three bands were definitely worth the $10, but it's not one I'd like to do over again. If the BJM decide to play the Black Cat when they come back to DC, I will definitely be there though.

New Show Announcements

2005-08-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of new shows to add to the list:

Jim Yoshii Pile-Up w/Get Him Eat Him - Monday, August 22nd, Warehouse Next Door, $7
Xiu Xiu - Wednesday, August 31st, Warehouse Next Door
M.I.A. - Wednesday, September 21st, 930 Club, $20
Beck - Wednesday, October 5th, Patriot Center
Metric - Saturday, October 8th, 930 Club
Dead Can Dance - Monday, October 10th, Music Center at Strathmore, $55 and $75
Fiery Furnaces - Saturday, October 15th, Black Cat
Son Volt - Friday, October 21st, 930 Club

Best of 2005, So Far

2005-08-01T11:02:00.000-07:00

So far 2005 has not lived up to expectations, music-wise, as several artists released highly anticipated albums (by me at least), and none of them were that spectacular. Weezer and Daft Punk didn't even come close to what I know they have the ability to do, Coldplay and Beck both released mediocre albums that are probably the worst of their catalogues, and even though New Order and Oasis made their best albums in years, neither was a spectacular album that warrants more than a 7/10. Still, even though these albums didn't come through like I'd hoped, it doesn't mean there hasn't been some great music released this year. Here are the best albums I've found this year, in no particular order.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Once you get past the ridiculous name and the Tom Waits-with-a-pipe organ sounding first track, you'll find yourself face to face with the year's best album. They don't even have a record deal yet, but they're being hailed all over the place as the next big thing and the album is #3 on Billboard's internet sales chart, being sold exclusively through www.insound.com . If you'd like to take a listen, go to their website and download the three songs there at www.clapyourhandssayyeah.com . Their sound is a bit difficult to describe, but I'll do my best. They are clearly influenced by the Talking Heads, especially in singer Alec Ounsworth's David Byrne-esque delivery, but he occasionally channels a Pablo Honey-era Thom Yorke when he needs to get loud. Another way to describe them would be to possibly say that they're like the Arcade Fire without all the crazy instruments and incessantly catchy hooks, but that doesn't do them justice. They are just awesome and have sent another breath of fresh air into the lungs of rock, showing that it hasn't all been done before.

LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem - Now, it's probably unfair to include this album because part of what makes it so good is the inclusion of the bonus disc that features all of the band's singles that were released from 2002-2004, but I don't care, I'm doing it anyway. James Murphy, co-founder of DFA Records, and crew have come up with some amazing songs both new ("Daft Punk Is Playing at My House," "Tribulations," and "Movement") and old (both versions of "Yeah," "Beat Connection" and my personal favorite, "Losing My Edge"). The rest of the album, though not as good as the songs I've mentioned, is extremely solid and can keep a party moving. Disco-punk may not have taken off like many thought it would a few years ago, but it's still lurking somewhere, and this is it at its finest.

Spoon - Gimme Fiction - The knock on this album has consistenly been that Spoon hasn't evolved over the last few albums at the same rate that they had earlier in their career. Well, since I didn't discover Spoon until only a few months before this album came out, instead of more of the same, I see three great albums (Girls Can Tell, Kill the Moonlight, and this one) and a band that is slowly perfecting a unique sound. The songs here are pretty typical Spoon fare, though some are a little bigger in sound than what they've done in the past. Still, this is the same guitar, bass, piano and drums combo that has existed for years and frontman Britt Daniel is still writing great songs and putting his unique spin on things. Highlights include "The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine" and the awesomely catchy "Sister Jack."

The Decemberists - Picaresque - I never really could get into The Decemberists in the past, I even own Castaways and Cutouts, but this album takes their sound to a whole new level. From the opening track, "The Infanta," you know that you're hearing a band that has a come a long way over the last three years as drums pound and guitars blast while a string section plays lightly in the background, just teetering on the edge of explosion. Do not fret loyal Decemberists fans! Colin Meloy hasn't strayed too far from the formula that made the Decemberists who they are, he's just expanded on it, and you'll still find plenty of obscure literature references and acoustic guitars here as well (see "Eli, The Barrowboy"). The album climaxes with one of the year's best songs, the amazing "Sixteen Military Wives," sure to have you singing along in no time.

Other excellent albums of 2005:
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
M.I.A. - Arular
M83 - Before the Dawn Heals Us
Ryan Adams - Cold Roses
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Stars - Set Yourself on Fire
Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
United State of Electronica - U.S.E.

Other Upcoming Albums to Look Forward To:
The New Pornograhers - Twin Cinema, August 23rd
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl, August 23rd
Kanye West - Late Registration, August 30th
Sigur Ros - Takk. . . , September 13th
Big Star - In Space, September 27th
Ryan Adams - September, September 27th (amazingly enough, he will release yet another one before year's end called 29 which will come out in December)
Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better. . . With Franz Ferdinand, October 4th
Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene, October 4th
Depeche Mode - Playing the Angel, October 18th

Upcoming Shows

2005-07-22T12:10:00.000-07:00

I figured, since I don't have a lot to write about right now, I'll put up a list of upcoming shows that are of interest to me, and hopefully to all of you. All of these shows currently have tickets available and are on sale right now, unless they don't have a price next to them, in which case tickets haven't gone on sale yet.

Thievery Corporation – Saturday, July 30th, 930 Club SOLD OUT
Elvis Costello – Sunday, July 31st, Wolftrap, seats - $42, lawn - $25
Ben Folds (w/Rufus Wainwright) – Wednesday, August 3rd, Wolftrap, seats - $36, lawn - $25
Brian Jonestown Massacre (as featured in the film, DiG) - Thursday, August 4th, DC9, $10
The Doors of the 21st Century – Tuesday, August 9th, 930 Club, $55
Brian Wilson – Wednesday, August 10th, Wolftrap, seats - $38, lawn - $25
New York Dolls – Wednesday, August 10th, 930 Club, $35
Shout Out Louds – Wednesday, August 10th, Sonar (Baltimore), $10
Devo – Sunday, August 14th, 930 Club, $55
Of Montreal - Thursday, August 25th, The Ottobar (Baltimore), $10
Rilo Kiley - Thursday, September 8th, Sonar (Baltimore), $15
The Wrens – Friday, September 9th, Black Cat, $12
Sigur Ros – Sunday, September 11th, Strathmore Music Center, $40
Idlewild – Sunday, September 11th, Black Cat, $13
13 & God (The Notwist and Themselves) – Wednesday, September 21st, Black Cat, $13
Q and not U – Thursday, September 22nd and Friday, September 23rd, Black Cat, $10
The White Stripes (w/The Shins) – Tuesday, September 27th, Merriweather Post, seats - $40, lawn - $25
Sufjan Stevens – Tuesday, September 27th, 930 Club, $15
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Wednesday, September 28th, 930 Club
Oasis – Thursday, September 29th, Merriweather Post, only lawn available - $25
Coldplay (w/Rilo Kiley) – Friday, September 30th, Nissan Pavilion, seats - $46, lawn - $31
Electric Six – Saturday, October 1st, Black Cat, $12
Decemberists – Sunday, October 2nd, 930 Club
Nada Surf – Tuesday, October 4th, Black Cat, $13
The New Pornographers – Saturday, October 15th, 930 Club
Nine Inch Nails (w/Queens of the Stone Age) – Wednesday, November 2nd, MCI Center, $45

I currently have tickets to Sigur Ros, The White Stripes, Oasis and Coldplay, so I will see you there, and I will almost definitely be going to The Decemberists and New Pornographers when they go on sale. Unfortunately, this means I will have to miss both Idlewild (who I've never seen) and Sufjan Stevens (who I saw last winter). I'm especially upset about Sufjan playing the same day as The White Stripes, but the fact that The Shins are opening was too much to pass up, plus M Ward is playing with them as a nice little bonus.

Important Music?

2005-07-13T12:33:00.000-07:00

Music criticism is a strange game. According to critics, there is a canon of albums out there that are widely considered to be "classic," though how this list was determined, I'm not sure. The impression I'm starting to get, however, is that if you don't like every single one of the albums on this list, then you are not allowed into the vaunted hall of music critics and therefore have no credibility when discussing music. Now I'm a music elitist, don't get me wrong, I will judge people based solely on their musical taste, but I am not about to tell someone that their opinion of the new Coldplay album doesn't mean anything because they don't think that The Beatles' Revolver is the greatest album of all time (which it quite possibly is). But this whole concept worries me because there are a number of bands and albums that are on this list that I don't like, and it's not for lack of effort, mind you, but I'm a little scared that my lack of interest in the following bands may keep me from ever being a viable rock critic.

The Rolling Stones - Okay, okay, let the boos come, I'll wait a second for them to stop. Alright, I don't dislike The Rolling Stones, and I'd even go as far as to say I really enjoy songs like "Painted Black" and "Ruby Tuesday," but for whatever reason, I can't sit down and listen to more than a couple Stones' songs at a time. My dad didn't listen to them much when I was growing up, so I don't have that association with childhood that I do with so many other musicians of that era (The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Simon and Garfunkel, The Doors, Bob Dylan, etc. . .), so I'm assuming that's part of it. But I think it all may have something to do with the fact that their songs are rooted in blues, which for whatever reason runs thin very quickly with me. I can listen to one blues song and love it, but the fifth one feels like is like that fifth slice of pizza, it doesn't go down as smoothly as the first four, and things go progressively downhill from there, and this also might have a hand in why I can't get into. . .

Led Zeppelin - Yes, IV is a great album, and I own it, but as I've been told by many a Zeppelin lover, there is a problem when your favorite Zep song is "D'yer Mak'er" as it is rooted in reggae when almost every other one of their songs is rooted in blues. The combination of the blues and crunchy, early heavy metal guitars just doesn't do it for me. I truly appreciate this band, but there's a difference between appreciation of a band and liking a band, namely that I don't ever want to listen to them, but I will discuss their originality and talent.

Can - Now, these guys aren't as widely hailed as Zeppelin or the Stones, and I won't get nearly as much shit for disliking them, but they are being praised all over the indie press these days for their unique sound. And I will admit, they are unique, but their songs remind of fingernails on a chalkboard and each one lasts about 10 minutes and makes me want to set off a firecracker inside my ear drum to make the noise stop. They've also been rather influential to a bunch of other bands that critics love and I don't, like Public Image Ltd. and The Fall. I've recently become convinced that Can knew exactly what they were doing and made strange, inaccessible music for critics to praise and no one else in their right minds to understand and now they just sit back and laugh at all the love they get from critics. I think this because they're German, and Germans are weird and would do something like that just for fun.

Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation is widely considered to be one of, if not THE, best albums of the last twenty years by the current group of 20 something rock critics. I think I'm missing something here. "Teen Age Riot" is a fantastic song, and a great way to start off an album, but, um, something is kinda missing on the rest of the album, one word, MELODY. I don't get it, they start off the album with a great pop song, and then dive into 65 minutes of abrasive guitars, long jams and very few choruses. I've tried many times to make it all the way through this album, and I think I have, though never in one sitting, and every time I half expect to come out of it thinking, "Hey, I got it this time, that album was awesome!" but instead I usually stop after a few songs and NEED to listen to The Smiths, and I mean need, like humans need water to live.

(This post was inspired by a section of Chuck Klosterman's book, Killing Yourself to Live, go buy it now, it is fantastic.)

Who Gives a Shit About Babyshambles?

2005-07-08T08:02:00.000-07:00

I'm going to go off on a bit of a rant here, so I am warning you all ahead of time. As an avid music fan, I tend to surf the mainstream music websites for music news as they are usually the first onto the scene. I've been hitting up nme.com lately because they cover the British bands a bit more heavily and also because they update earlier in the day than rollingstone.com or spin.com, but I'm starting to get fed up. I swear to fucking God, every day I go to their website, there is a story about Pete Doherty, formerly of The Libertines and currently lead singer of the band Babyshambles.

For those of you who don't know, Pete Doherty developed a heavy heroin addiction as The Libertines fame grew. While The Libertines were touring for their first album, Up the Ladder, he was holed up in rehab in London, from which he ran away to rob fellow bandmate Carl Barat's apartment to get money for drugs. Amazingly enough, he was not kicked out of the band, and he managed to sober up enough to record a second album which contained one of the best songs of 2004, "Can't Stand Me Now," which fittingly summed up the contentious relationship between Doherty and Barat to a t. His drug problem relapsed during some early touring, and the band again sent him to rehab, this time to a Buddhist-kinda place in Asia, but again, Doherty ran away, and Barat was forced to kick him out of the band, which inevitably led to the end of The Libertines.

Aren't you sick of this guy yet? Do you really care what happens to him now? Well apparently the lovely people of England aren't, because he won't fucking go away! So late last year, Doherty started up a new band called Babyshambles where he's in charge and no one can put him in his place. (if I were in this band, I would beat the shit out of him every single day, swear to God!) They released two singles, and have developed a reputation for showing up extremely late to their shows or sometimes not showing up at all. Pete's been arrested for robbery and blackmail (charges which were later dropped), and recently jumped on stage at another band's London show and destroyed equipment for no reason. They were booted from Oasis' tour for bailing on a performance a couple of days ago. But seriously, who the fuck cares?!?!?! The Libertines were an average band with a couple of good songs who were touted as the second coming of Jesus by the British press, and undeservedly so. Babyshambles music is shite, there's not better way to describe it, and yet somehow Pete Doherty is dating supermodel Kate Moss and his band gets more press than the rest of the bands in England combined. This guy is a fuck-up and a loser who makes sub par music and yet is praised for it day in and day out. Could this please stop? Would somebody please kick Pete Doherty to the curb? Or maybe just shoot him in fucking head and end all this? There are a lot of other new bands I'd like to hear about, and if I never heard the word Babyshambles again, my life would be the better for it.

Bands Reunited

2005-07-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

First off, I'm going to try to update this blog more often from here on out, hopefully twice a week at minimum.

On a completely unrelated note, I was hanging out at home on Saturday afternoon, flipping through the channels when I came across MTV/VH1's coverage of Live 8, which was actually quite good and non-MTVish. (By the way, I in no way advocate watching MTV except for Subterranean on MTV2, and okay, maybe the Real World: Austin, and damn, alright Laguna Beach is addictive as hell, but that is it, nothing else on MTV is worth watching). They were showing a couple songs from whatever band was on at the time, The Who, Stevie Wonder, Destiny's Child (I thought they broke up, but oh well), but one performance really caught my attention and almost brought me to tears. I had changed channels, and I flipped back to hear "Breathe" by one of my all-time favorite bands, Pink Floyd who were playing together with Roger Waters for the first time in over 20 years. They continued on to play "Money" and "Comfortably Numb" before Roger Waters addressed the crowd, saying how happy he was to be up there with the band again after all this time, and damn, he looked genuinely happy to be there. They then launched into a heartwrenching rendition of "Wish You Were Here," which got me all choked up and brought me back to being 17 all over again. I loved this music in high school, but I think I respect on a different level these days, it truly is timeless.

So with Pink Floyd apparently back together, hopefully long enough to tour the US, it got me thinking about what bands I'd like to see reunite that could feasibly do it (ie not have any key members who are no longer living like The Beatles or The Doors). After all, reunions are the new hotness, with Gang of Four, the Pixies and others reuniting after decades apart. Even the Smashing Pumpkins, who haven't been broken up 5 years are talking about getting back together, not that I'm complaining. Here are my top 5 bands that I would love to see live if they reunited, some of which I would give body parts to see.

1) The Smiths - Honestly it would just have to be Morrissey and Johnny Marr for me to be truly happy. Andy Rourke was an excellent bassist, but he's been quoted saying that he'll never play with Morrissey again, so I'm not sure we can expect him back. Still, seeing Morrissey, Marr and Mike Joyce on stage together playing Smiths's songs for 2 hours would be a mindblowing experience.

2) Pink Floyd - I've said pretty much everything I need to say up above, but until I hear otherwise, their Live 8 performance was just a one-time deal. Please Roger, Richard, David and Nick, listen up, tour the US, and more importantly come to DC, though I'll travel if I must.

3) Talking Heads - It's been 14 years since they disbanded, but their music is more relevant now than it's been since the early 80s. David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth are all still very much involved with music so it's not out of the realm of possibility. I feel like there still may be some animosity between the other band members and David Byrne, but come on guys, it's been a long time, bury the hatchet and entertain me.

4) Smashing Pumpkins - This one is not as dire as the top 3, as I saw them on the Mellon Collie tour back in 1996, but I would cough up a lot of money to see them again. Billy has said that a reunion is in the works, but he's crazy so I'll believe that when I see it. Plus, what does a reunion of the Pumpkins mean? Is it just he and Jimmy Chamberlin, or is it the whole band? Personally, I think I could settle for Billy and Jimmy playing Pumpkins songs, but I'd like to see D'Arcy and Iha join the fray as well.

5) The Verve - In the summer of 1998 The Verve came to Denver with opening act Massive Attack. At that point in time, The Verve were just the "Bittersweet Symphony" band to me, and I had no idea who Massive Attack were. Not a day goes by where I don't regret missing that show because The Verve broke up less than a year later and I don't think Massive Attack has played in the US since. This reunion makes total sense as Richard Ashcroft hasn't even come close to the success that the Verve had, and he needs Nick McCabe's guitar playing and songwriting. C'mon guys, Brit-rock is back, the time is now.

Coachella 2005 Blowout

2005-05-04T11:23:00.000-07:00

Well I just got back from Coachella last night, and my God was it amazing. We got a late start to the show on Saturday and hit some pretty intense traffic because of it, causing us to get there at 3, a little later than we'd hoped, but Sunday we got in right about 1 and caught an entire day of awesome music. I'm going to post all this info slowly, but I'll start out by making a list of all the bands that I got a chance to see. This list includes all bands that I stopped to see and heard at least one song from beginning to end, but it does not include bands that I just happened to hear in passing. Hopefully I'll get some descriptions and awards up in the next few days.

Saturday:
The Raveonettes - These guys were a huge surprise and I had not planned on watching them at all, but they were playing the main stage when we got in, and I was dying to hear some music. For whatever reason, I was convinced I didn't like them beforehand, but after seeing their live show, I'm beginning to wonder why that was. They played a mix of new and old songs and mixed in an excellent cover of the classic 60s song "My Boyfriend's Back," done up all in The Raveonettes style of course. My complaint had always been that all their songs sound the same, but live, each song definitely took on its own unique personality, it was an excellent way to start the festival.

M83 - They were yet another highlight early on Saturday. I was wondering how well their music would translate to a live show, but they did a fantastic job of it. Songs like "Teen Angst" and "Run Into Flowers" sounded more like rock anthems than they do on the albums, and that is definitely a good thing. Guitarist/keyboard player/programmer/singer Anthony Gonzalez walked to the microphone from time to time, but most of the vocals came from his synthesizer and he used all kinds of nifty effects to manipulate them. Also, their bassist danced the entire show and was absolutely hilarious.

Snow Patrol - I was wandering around trying to decide what to listen to next when I heard their big hit, "Run," so I decided to go check them out. The next two songs they played were absolutely awful and I walked away in disgust.

The Kills - These guys put on a great live show, but I just could not get into the music at all. Their sparse guitar and drum machine arrangements just didn't do it for me and I kept waiting for the songs to get to the next level, which they never did. Still, singer W jumped around the stage with reckless abandon and guitarist Hotel was throwing rockstar poses left and right, which was enough to keep me entertained for half of their set.

Razorlight - I have nothing especially positive or negative to say about these guys. They played some good old brit-rock and did it well, but it was nothing to write home about. Singer Johnny Borrell took off his shirt and climbed all over the stage supports, but I never really felt like I was drawn into their show.

Rilo Kiley - I was only able to catch the first four songs of their set because they were having some technical difficulties early on, but I still managed to hear two of my favorite songs of theirs', "It's a Hit" and "Portions for Foxes." Singer/guitarist Jenny Lewis was a much more intense performer than I'd expected, and their songs sounded very clean, but I had a decision to make and I decided to bail early and catch all of Wilco's set.

Wilco - Jeff Tweedy mentioned early in the set that he hated festivals, and after witnessing their set, I understand why. First of all, the crowd never really seemed to get into the music, which was a huge let down because every time I've seen Wilco in the past, the crowds have been awesome. Secondly, Wilco needs more than 50 minutes to put on a show, at least in my opinion. Their catalogue is so vast that they just can't showcase enough of their sound with only 10 or 11 songs. Still, what they did play was awesome and I had a good time despite the people around me, but I'd rather see Wilco as a headliner than in this scenario.

Weezer - I've seen Weezer 4 times in the past, so I know they can be hit or miss, but I really expected them to bring it for this show. Instead they were the first and only really big disappointment of the festival for me. They played an uninspired set that included no songs from either Pinkerton or Maladroit and way too much material from The Green Album. The hits from Blue made for some fun crowd singalongs and I enjoyed hearing the new songs (the new album sounds like it could be really good), but I expected more from one of my favorite bands.

Bauhaus - I have to admit, I like what I've heard of Bauhaus, but I've never really immersed myself in their music, so I had no idea what to expect from their live show, their first since 1998. When singer Peter Murphy came out for the opener "Bela Lugosi is Dead" hanging upside down six feet above the stage and sang the entire song like that, I knew I was in for a treat. Once again, the crowd had a difficult time getting into the show, but I absolutely loved it. Peter Murphy brandished a staff from time to time and sang some of the songs from platforms perched high above the stage. The songs I knew, "In The Flat Fields," "She's in Parties," were the highlights for me, and I've been inspired to delve further into Bauhaus' catalogue.

Coldplay - I saw Coldplay in the summer of 2003 and was extremely disappointed, so my expectations were low for their Coachella set, but they really blew me away this time around, despite the fact that they didn't play my favorite song, "Don't Panic." Sticking largely to material from the new album X&Y, which sounds like it's going to be fantastic, and A Rush of Blood to the Head, Coldplay brought an energy to the stage that I never imagined they would have. From the set opener, a new song that I don't know the name of, to the encores of "In My Place" and another new song, they held the crowd absolutely captivated for an hour and a half. When I first bought Parachutes back in 2000, I never imagined that Coldplay would be headlining such a massive festival 5 years later, but they have constantly exceeded everyone's expectations of what they could be. I'll always remember Chris Martin changing the words of "Yellow" to "and we were all at Coachella." Brilliant.

Sunday:
Shout Out Louds - These guys were probably the best band I saw that I'd never heard of before. They were nothing really out of the ordinary, but they played airy indie pop along the lines of Grandaddy, but with a little more oomph. It didn't hurt that the keyboardist was absolutely gorgeous and I couldn't take my eyes off her. I don't think I would've recognized the singer if he'd walked by me five minutes after the show. I haven't gotten the CD yet, but I'll be grabbing it soon enough.

Sloan - The Canadian indie-pop kings just didn't do it for me. I watched them for three or four songs before I figured out that I just wasn't going to get into them. I can't really describe it, but their songs were lacking something, and I just wasn't compelled to continue listening.

Subtle - I think I categorized these guys as hip-hop when I did my band-by-band breakdown, but hip-hop they were not. As for what they were, well I'm not sure if I could tell you that either. They were fronted by underground rapper Doseone, who has one of the strangest voices I've ever heard. It's a very high-pitched, nasal voice that seems like it should drive you insane, but somehow seems strangely appropriate for the music. He walked around the stage wearing a clock (a la Flava Flav) and one opera length glove (a la who the fuck knows) while he dismembered a toy baby, and I was drawn in by the oddness of it all. It all seemed very funny to me until he told this tragic story of a band member who had been paralyzed in a bus accident on their last tour, at which point, I couldn't stick around any longer. This was very serious to he and the rest of his band, and my finding humor in it was not appropriate, so I took off.

Gram Rabbit - Unfortunately, while I was watching Sloan and Subtle, I could've been watching these guys, who actually were okay to laugh at. I only caught about one and a half songs, but it was enough to know what these guys were all about. The singer was a buxom blonde wearing a one-piece lycra body suit and a rabbit mask. The guitarist and bassist wore similar masks, while a large, balding man handled the drum machine and other synthesized effects. There were also two female dancers wearing similar suits to the singer, but their mask covered their heads completely like Bugs Bunny at Six Flags would wear instead of just covering their faces like the singer's did. Their music was this interesting dance-rock along the lines of Electric Six, if I remember correctly, but that was fairly unimportant I think. What I will always remember was when the singer and her two dancers ended up in a pile on the stage in some sort of faux-orgy. I'll just say that I wasn't complaining.

The Perceptionists - There is nothing really incredibly positive or negative to say about these guys. They do pretty standard conscious hip-hop with some great lyrics, but it's nothing spectacular. What was spectacular was the length of rapper Mr. Lif's dreadlocks, WHOA!!!

M.I.A. - She was quite possibly the highlight of all of Coachella for me. She came out sporting a sequined blue and green jumpsuit with a ton of energy and a huge smile on her face. You could tell that she was excited to play for such a huge crowd, and the crowd fed off her energy and went crazy, causing her to have even more energy. It was an amazing effect and something I would like to see more often at concerts. She went through almost every song on Arular flawlessly while she bounced around the stage and danced during the breakdowns. By the end the entire crowd was moving and going insane. When she left the stage, the crowd chanted, "MIA, MIA!" until she came back and did an encore that you could tell was entirely unplanned. She even sang one song over the beat of Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin'" which was awesome. It's so rare to see a musician that is not only truly happy to be doing what he she is doing, but is also making sure that everyone around her knows how happy she is about it too. I'll remember this performance forever.

The Fiery Furnaces - I only caught them briefly for three or four songs, but I was pleasantly surprised. I've never been able to immerse myself in Blueberry Boat, but live the songs took on a new, more rocking life, which made them much more enjoyable. Unfortunately, their set ended about ten minutes after I got there, but at least now I know.

The Futureheads - "Hounds of Love" is a brilliant song, and it was made so much better live as the Brits divided the crowd in half and had each side sing one of the "Oh Oh" parts. All four of the band members were singing at once, and they, like MIA, all seemed genuinely happy to be there. They're a little short on material, as only about half of their album is really worthy of being played live, but they made up for it on the not-quite-as-good songs with their energy and their charming smiles. I'd see them again just for "Hounds of Love" and "Meantime."

Gang of Four - Here is where all the bands I wanted to see had sets that were overlapping, so I did my best to catch as much of each band as I could. This was the first time Gang of Four was playing live with their original lineup in more than 20 years, and I thought there might be a little rust, but boy was I wrong. Singer Jon King's vocals had the same bite they have on the albums, and the band was so tight, I couldn't believe they'd been apart for a couple of months, let alone all those years. They stuck mostly to material from Entertainment! and Solid Gold, and put on a blistering show. Unfortunately, I missed their last three and a half songs, and apparently King destroying a microwave with a baseball bat as well. Still, I came away very impressed.

The Arcade Fire - I came sprinting over to the second stage just in time to catch the start of their set, and they opened up with "Wake Up" which was a fantastic way to begin the show. Everyone on stage was singing whether they had a microphone or not. Then, after switching up their instruments for the first of many times, they launched into a chaotic verison of "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)" that had band members donning motorcycle helmets, climbing the stage supports and banging on any object in sight with drumsticks. They then played "No Cars Go," a bit of a surprise since it's on the hard-to-find EP, before they finished up with almost all the songs off of Funeral including an amazing rendition of my personal favorite "Neighborhood #3 (Power's Out)." I had to run again during "Rebellion (Lies)" so I could be sure to catch all of New Order's set.

New Order
Nine Inch Nails
The Prodigy

Doves Cancel Coachella Appearance

2005-04-26T06:26:00.000-07:00

Dammit, first Cocteau Twins and now this?!?!?! FUCK!!!! Well, singer Jimi Goodwin is having problems with his throat and they've had to postpone all their tour dates in the next 3 weeks. Problem is, you can't postpone a Coachella appearance, you can only cancel it. I don't want to be blaming Goldenvoice here, as neither of these cancellations is their fault, but I really hope they come through with a nice addition or two at the last minute. Saturday's supporting cast is getting weaker by the minute, with only a few smaller acts that are necessary to see including Bloc Party, Spoon, M83, UNKLE and Rilo Kiley. Well, I guess I'll have to break out of my comfort zone and go see some bands that I don't know as much about. Hopefully MF Doom, The Kills, Mercury Rev, Sage Francis, Radio 4, Buck 65 and others can make up for this, but damn, this one really hurts.

I guess I should add that Wilco, Weezer, Coldplay, Bauhaus and The Chemical Brothers are also playing on Saturday, so I guess I can't be too upset, but I'm sure there will be at least one scheduling conflict between these bands.

Top 20 Albums of the 90s

2005-04-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

This originally was supposed to be a Top 10 list, but as I kept coming up with new albums, I knew there was no way the list could be kept to just 10 albums. I've included the year of the album's release as well as the year that I purchased the album. I will be adding explanations for each album, so this post will gradually be updated. So without further ado, here is the list (subject to change):

1) Radiohead – OK Computer (released 1997, purchased 1997) - This is the one album that I can point back to and say that it changed my entire musical life. In 1997, I was listening to a mix of punk, ska and post-grunge when I heard "Paranoid Android" on the radio and immediately knew it was something different. It wasn't until "Karma Police" was released as a single however, that I finally got around to buying the album. It became a favorite immediately and I listened to it nonstop for the first six months after I purchased it. It started to slip away, but when I saw Radiohead live in 2000, it jumped back into heavy rotation in my CD player and has never left. 2000 is also when I started to discover a whole new world of music, and I thank Radiohead for opening my eyes to that world.

2) Weezer – Weezer (The Blue Album) (released 1994, purchased 1994) - How often can an album remind you of both sitting on the bus in 7th grade and your sophomore year of college? Well, in my case only one, and this is it. This album is truly timeless, made up of ten of the best pop songs every assembled. Of course, everyone knows the hits, "Buddy Holly," "Say It Ain't So," and "Undone (The Sweater Song)," but the real standout is "Only In Dreams," by far Weezer's most ambitious song clocking in right at 8 minutes, nearly twice the length of any other song they've ever written. And feel free to call me a dork, but I swear "In The Garage" is about me when I was 12.

3) Radiohead – The Bends (released 1995, purchased 1997) - It took OK Computer to open my eyes to Radiohead, but once that happened, I immersed myself in them. I purchased The Bends mere weeks later, and loved it just as much. These albums have flip-flopped atop my favorite albums list for years, but OK Computer has withstood the test of time just slightly better. Still, this is an incredible album, and a bit more straightforward and accessible than its follow-up. If I was ever asked where to start with Radiohead, this is the album I'd recommend listening to.

4) Beck – Odelay (released 1996, purchased 1996) - This is yet another album that really changed my views on music. I distinctly remember hearing "Where It's At" for the first time when I returned to New Jersey the summer before my freshman year of high school and being blown away. I think I actually may have bought this album the day it was released, and I haven't ever really stopped listening to it. In the mid-90s, American music was struggling to find an identity in the aftermath of grunge, and though Beck did not start a trend with this album, he broke away from the post-grunge malaise and created something truly original.

5) Bjork – Homogenic (released 1997, purchased 2004) - Oddly enough, I discovered Bjork through Radiohead's Kid A because her 2001 album Vespertine was constantly being compared to it, turns out it didn't really sound anything like it, but that's beside the point. My Bjork discovery process was a slow one, and I bought her Greatest Hits album when it came out in 2003, but the real turning point came when I saw her live at Red Rocks in August of 2003. She was flat out incredible, and I finally got around to buying her other albums shortly thereafter. Homogenic is a little more laid back than her previous efforts, but every song is amazing, and it slowly builds towards a climax which explodes in "Pluto." Singles "Joga," "Hunter," "Bachelorette" and "All Is Full of Love" are all mind-blowing songs, but they don't overshadow some of her best non-single tracks like "Alarm Call" and "Unravel."

6) Air – Moon Safari (released 1998, purchased 2000) - I discovered Air through the soundtrack to the movie Virgin Suicides, and when I told a friend of mine that I'd been listening to it, he forced me to sit down and listen to Moon Safari, which completely blew me away. This is the ultimate make-out album, and changes tempos in all the right places if you know what I mean. It also works as an excellent album to listen to if you just feel like chilling out and drinking a glass of wine or zoning out. And even more importantly, there's something about this album that seems distinctly French, which keeps you from taking it too seriously, because, I mean, can we ever take the French seriously? They wear berets, BERETS!!!

7) Bjork – Post (released 1995, purchased 2003) - This album contains my favorite Bjork song, "Hyper-Ballad," and one of the best songs ever to sing along to in "It's Oh So Quiet," but as an album, it just doesn't gel in quite the same way that Homogenic does. That's not to knock this album at all however, because it is a masterpiece in its own right. From the driving opener, "Army of Me," to the gorgeous finale, "Headphones," Bjork takes us on a journey that covers a wide variety of musical styles all with her own personal touch. This is the album that established her as a bonafide star.

8) Wilco – Summerteeth (released 1999, purchased 2003)

9) R.E.M. – Automatic For The People (released 1992, purchased 2001)

10) The Flaming Lips – The Soft Bulletin (released 1999, purchased 2002)

11) Oasis – Definitely Maybe (released 1994, purchased 1996)

12) Pearl Jam – Ten (released 1991, purchased 1993)

13) The Dismemberment Plan – The Emergency & I (released 1999, purchased 2004)

14) Built to Spill – Keep It Like A Secret (released 1999, purchased 2004)

15) The Verve – Urban Hymns (released 1997, purchased 2000)

16) Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream (released 1993, purchased 1995)

17) Oasis – (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? (released 1995, purchased 1995)

18) Third Eye Blind – Third Eye Blind (released 1997, purchased 1997)

19) The Roots – Things Fall Apart (released 1999, purchased 2001)

20) Cocteau Twins – Heaven or Las Vegas (released 1990, purchased 2005)

Coachella Breakdown

2005-04-01T12:31:00.000-08:00

With only 4 weeks until the show, I've decided to break down the show and look into the groups I've never heard of. Here's the lineup with brief descriptions of each band (the ones you may not know). Must see bands are in italics. Color codes are as follows Blue = rock, Green = electronic, Red - hip-hop, Purple = other/world

Saturday, April 30th
Coldplay
Weezer
Bauhaus (80s goth-rock band reunited, fronted by Peter Murphy)
Chemical Brothers
Wilco
Keane (brit-rock with no guitars, only piano)
Snow Patrol (more average brit-rock)
Rilo Kiley (female fronted former-indie band, friends with Bright Eyes)
Cafe Tacuba (Mexican rock band)
Doves (brit-rock)
Sage Francis (white underground rapper)
Raveonettes (garage rock)
Bloc Party (awesome new post-punkish band from England)
Mercury Rev (trippy alt-rock band from the 90s)
Fantomas (Mike Patton from Faith No More's new band)
Hernan Cattaneo (techno DJ)
Spoon (awesome indie-rock)
Zap Mama (all female acapella group from Zaire)
DJ Peretz (Perry Ferrell of Jane's Addiction as a DJ)
Jamie Cullum (jazz/pop singer/songwriter)
M83 (interesting shoegaze/electronic music, Air meets My Bloody Valentine)
Ambulance LTD (indie rock)
Four Tet (experimental electronic music)
MF Doom (underground hip-hop MC, of Madvillain)
Josh Wink (techno DJ)
Amp Fiddler (live dance music)
Tiga (techno DJ)
The Kills (indie rock)
UNKLE (chill electronic music)
Secret Machines (psych-rock, kinda meh)
Boom Bip (underground hip-hop)
Swayzak (electronic duo)
DJ Marky (drum and bass DJ)
Immortal Technique (underground hip-hop)
Jean Grae (female underground hip-hop MC)
Razorlight (brit-rock, a la The Libertines)
Katie Melua (jazz singer from Republic of Georgia)
Radio 4 (dancy indie-rock)
Buck 65 (underground hip-hop MC)
Gratitude (emo)
Eisley (young indie rock band from Texas, used to be cool, now very emo)
The Sexy Magazines (?)
K-Os (underground hip-hop)

Sunday, May 1st
Nine Inch Nails
New Order (amazing, influential band from the 80s)
Bright Eyes
Gang of Four (post-punk band from late-70s, early 80s, recently reunited)
The Prodigy
Black Star (Mos Def & Talib Kweli)
The Faint (dancy indie rock)
Roni Size (drum n' bass)
Armin Van Buuren (techno DJ)
The Arcade Fire
Pinback (indie rock)
Roots Manuva (underground hip-hop)
DJ Krush (instrumental hip-hop)
Thrice (crap)
Junkie XL (techno DJ)
M.I.A. (Sri Lankan rapper/singer via London)
British Sea Power (British indie rock)
Dresden Dolls (interesting punk/burlesque)
Miss Kittin (techno DJ)
Fiery Furnaces (indie rock)
Ben Watt (chill electronic music)
Aesop Rock (underground hip hop)
The Perceptionists (underground hip-hop)
Jem (female singer)
Autolux (indie rock)
Donovan Frankenreiter (Jack Johnson-esque singer songwriter)
Sixtoo (underground hip-hop)
Tegan and Sara (female indie rock)
Stereophonics (brit-rock)
The Bravery (crappy dancy indie-rock)
Matthew Dear (techno DJ)
Diplo (underground hip-hop/DJ)
Subtle (undeground hip-hop)
Beans (undeground hip-hop)
Shout Out Louds (?)
The Futureheads (British indie rock)
Sloan (indie rock)
Kasabian (dark Brit-rock)
Blood Brothers (noise rock)
Matmos (chill electronic music)
Wolf Eyes (noise rock)
Gram Rabbit (indie rock)
Smokestacks (?)
The Locust (noise rock)
Zion I (?)

Another Interpol Show?

2005-03-26T13:02:00.000-08:00

Well, if you read this blog, it definitely looks like the only shows I go to are Interpol and Wilco shows, and that actually is about right for the last few months. Finally, however, the summer is coming and there should be many more concert reviews hitting this blog soon. For now, I saw Interpol last night at the 9:30 Club with Blonde Redhead, and again, they were amazing. Here's the setlist.

Next Exit
Slow Hands
Narc
Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down
Public Pervert
A Time to Be So Small
Not Even Jail
Hands Away
Evil
NYC
Take You on a Cruise (into)
PDA

Encore:
The Specialist
Obstacle 1
Roland

I was actually quite surprised about how much the setlist varied from when I saw them back in November, considering it was the same tour, but it was a very different show. I'd have to say the highlight was "Take You on a Cruise," which I've never seen them play live and still gives me chills every time I hear it. Right after the little breakdown, when Paul sang "I am a scavenger. . . " I almost completely lost it. And the song never ended, it just went directly into "PDA," where Interpol proved themselves to be the coolest band on earth. When Daniel does his solo, the rest of the band stops playing, then all come back with lit cigarettes to finish the song. All you could see were the shadows of Paul, Sam and Carlos with orange flames next to their faces, it looked sooooo awesome. Anyway, hearing them play "The Specialist" was quite a treat as I'm under the impression they do not play it very often, and I was worried about them ending with "Roland," but it worked very well as a song to close the night with.

Daft Punk - Human After All

2005-03-18T11:51:00.000-08:00

This is not going to be a full review, as I do not yet own the album, but I just streamed it off of NME's site, here's the link in case you're interested: http://www.nme.com/features/

Well, it pains me to say this, but it looks like the early reports were correct. As I sit here listening to "Technologic," I can only think of it as an inferior version of Discovery's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger." Never did I think that I'd ever be bored with a Daft Punk album, but that is exactly what I've just experienced. Gone are the lyrics and pop melodies that made Discovery such a perfect album , as are the innovative beats and the freshness that Homework brought us all the way back in 1997. The sound is more along the lines of Homework, as Human After All is largely made of instrumental tracks with repeated, computerized vocals, but frankly, it just sounds like it was shoddily done.

The album may be Daft Punk's weakest work to date, but it does have a couple of bright spots. Single "Robot Rock" follows the formula of "Around the World" with a catchy synth line driving the song and "Rock, Robot Rock" chanted over and over, but a song like this would not stand out on another Daft Punk album, it would just fit right in. "The Brainwasher" turns up the volume for a very aggressive 4 minutes, and the album closer, "Emotion" tries to make you forget about what you just heard. Unfortunately, I did forget, even listening to it through twice, I couldn't tell you the hooks to more than a couple of songs. It's very rare when I'm at a loss for words about an album, but this is one of those times, usually I'd just rant on and on here, but not today. I'm just so disappointed and I know this band can do so much better than this, there are two full albums worth of evidence. I hope this is just a little bump in the road, but my advice for Daft Punk would be to get in the studio now and not to come out until they have something brilliant to release, and it better be within the next year or so. If the follow up to Human After All takes the requisite four years a Daft Punk album typically takes, we may all forget the greatness that once was Daft Punk.

Argh! Cocteau Twins Reunion Halted

2005-03-16T09:07:00.000-08:00

This will be a quick one here. So I was perusing the Coachella message boards and found a press release saying that the Cocteau Twins would not be playing at Coachella after all due to singer Elizabeth Fraser's personal issues. I figured, hey, it's a message board, what do they know? But a few hours later, the same press release appeared on coachella.com and I knew it was for real. This is slightly annoying, given that I've paid $400 for my concert and plane tickets and was hoping to see every band that I was told I would see, but it's not all bad. I actually didn't start listening to the Cocteau Twins until after the Coachella lineup had been announced, so really, just the simple announcement that they were playing introduced me to an amazing band. So yes, it sucks that I won't get to see them live, and maybe, just maybe, they'll replace them with a comparable band, though I'm not holding out hope since no one replaced Wilco last year. I highly recommend all three Cocteau Twins albums that I now own, Treasure, Blue Bell Knoll and Heaven or Las Vegas. If you're looking for some excellent music to just sit back and chill out to, they may be just the band for you. (Convoluted post, yes, but I'm waiting for a file to transfer at work and had nothing better to do)

New Albums Coming Soon

2005-03-07T11:12:00.000-08:00

I've got some reviews in the works, and I'd like to reflect back on 2000 and 2001, but I thought I'd first comment on some new albums from some longtime favorites that will be hitting stores over the next few months. Lots of classic bands will be releasing new material this spring and summer, so here are my predictions for how these albums will turn out.

Daft Punk - Human After All (March 15th) - Early reports on this album are that it isn't as strong as 2001's Discovery and that it finds DP moving away from electronic music on some songs. Still, I will buy it and I'm sure I'll enjoy it, but from the buzz I'm hearing this might be the weakest Daft Punk release to date.

Beck - Guero (March 29th) - Honestly, does Beck ever release a bad album? I can't think of one, and I expect this album, which is a supposed return to the sound of Odelay, to fall right into place in the excellent Beck catalogue. I'm glad to see that Beck is rocking again, Sea Change was good, but sooooo sad.

New Order - Waiting for the Sirens' Call (April 12th) - I can't really say what I expect here, the band is more relevant now than they've been in 20 years, but can they make a great album so many years after their 80's masterpieces? I think it'll be another album like 2001's Get Ready, a solid effort, but not one to go down in history. Early word is that it's quite diverse with "something for everyone."

Weezer - Make Believe (May 10th) - According to many, Weezer hasn't made a great album since 1996's Pinkerton, but I happened to like Maladroit a lot. Regardless, it's been 3 years since we've had any new Weezer, and at the rate that Rivers Cuomo writes songs, he has to have written over 100 to choose from for this album. For that reason alone, I have a feeling that this album could be truly great, I think this Weezer album trumps the last two efforts and puts the Weez right back on the map.

Oasis - Don't Believe The Truth (May 31st) - Okay, now here's a band that really has fallen from grace, 2002's Heathen Chemistry was a forgettable joke of an album and their last great record was released ten years ago. So can Oasis get back on the horse? Honestly, I think Noel Gallagher has lost something as a songwriter (could drugs possibly be to blame here?), but they seem so determined to become a musical superpower once again that there is a chance that this album could be something special. It won't touch Morning Glory or Definitely Maybe, but it could be their best album since the mid-90s.

Coldplay - X&Y (June 7th) - This album recently was bumped from late March to June for unspecified reasons, but that is never a good sign. No one thought they could follow-up Parachutes, but 2002's Rush of Blood to the Head buried the "sophomore jinx" that everyone expected. Now they have to follow up a giant commercial success instead of just a great brit-pop album. I'm gonna go out on a limb and predict that Chris Martin crumbles under the pressure, it'll be the weakest Coldplay album yet.

Music of the Last Five Years

2005-03-04T07:38:00.000-08:00

So I posted my favorite albums of 2004 a few months back, and when pitchforkmedia.com released it's top 100 albums of the last 5 years, I started to think back to what my favorites were back then and what music from years past I still listen to today. Now, maybe it's because I've become a big indie dork over the last couple of years, but my tastes have changed as the years have gone on, so I'm going to compare what my top 5 albums from each year are now and compare that list to what my top 5 albums were back then. I'll stop explaining and just get right into it:
Top Albums of 2003 (back then):
1) Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
2) White Stripes - Elephant
3) The Strokes - Room on Fire
4) The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
5) The Postal Service - Give Up
Honorable Mention: The Darkness - Permission to Land

Top Albums of 2003 (now):
1) The Postal Service - Give Up
2) Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
3) The Rapture - Echoes
4) Sufjan Stevens - Greetings from Michican: The Great Lakes State
5) The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
Honorable Mention (three-way tie): The New Pornographers - Electric Version, The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart, The Wrens - The Meadowlands

See, that's how it works, as you can see, things have changed a bit. I was introduced to pitchfork in late 2003 and they introduced me to Sufjan Stevens and The Wrens. The White Stripes' Elephant just has not stood the test of time, nor has The Strokes' Room on Fire, and I don't know what I was ever thinking with The Darkness. The Postal Service were new to me at the end of '03 so I wasn't sure how they'd hold up, but I still love them as much now as I did then. Okay, enough of the explanation, ONWARD!!!

Top Albums of 2002 (back then):
1) Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head
2) Beck - Sea Change
3) Red Hot Chili Peppers - By The Way
4) The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
5) Andrew WK - I Get Wet
Honorable Mention - Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf

Top Albums of 2002 (now):
1) Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
2) Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
3) The Streets - Original Pirate Material
4) The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
5) The Notwist - Neon Golden

Once again pitchfork strikes, as I never would have heard of The Notwist without them. I bought Interpol's debut when it was released, but I don't think I was ready for it at the time, I stored it away and dug it back out in the summer of '03 where I fell in love with it. Original Pirate Material was like Give Up in '03, too new at the end of the year to know how I truly felt about it. Also, in the time between December '02 and now, Wilco has become my favorite band, and their masterpiece goes near the top of any list I'd ever make. As for the albums that slipped off the list, Beck's Sea Change just doesn't carry the gravity that it once did for me, and almost seems to drag a bit when I put it on today. The Chili Peppers decided to make about half the songs on By the Way singles, and since I was working at a radio station during that period, I heard every song about a billion times. A Rush of Blood to the Head is still a good album, but it has gone the way of Elephant and Room on Fire as just not sounding as new and fresh now as it once did. Andrew WK were my Darkness of '02, and QOTSA are still great but my tastes have moved away from them. Digging up my best-of from '01 and '00 is going to be a little tougher, so I'm going to take a break and post those in the coming days.

Coachella 2005 Lineup Announced

2005-01-31T07:10:00.000-08:00

Alright all, I went to the Coachella Festival last year out in the desert of Indio, CA and had an amazing time, and though this year's headliners may not be quite as good as last year's (Radiohead, Pixies, The Cure), the overall lineup looks to be damn close if not better. Here are the bands (well, the good ones at least):

Saturday, April 30th:

Coldplay
Weezer
Bauhaus
Cocteau Twins
Wilco
Chemical Brothers
Rilo Kiley
The Doves
Bloc Party
Mercury Rev
M83
Secret Machines
Ambulance LTD
MF Doom
Spoon
Radio 4
Razorlight
Buck 65
Eisley

Sunday, May 1st:

Nine Inch Nails
New Order
Gang of Four
Bright Eyes
Prodigy
The Arcade Fire
Black Star (Talib Kweli & Mos Def)
The Faint
The Fiery Furnaces
Stereophonics
British Sea Power
Autolux
The Futureheads
Kasabian
Matmos

I'm going for sure, who's with me? It'll be worth the trip, I promise.

The Dears - No Cities Left

2005-01-28T13:06:00.000-08:00

I can remember when it all started, it was the fall of 2001 and I had just turned the tender age of 20 when I discovered The Strokes, who I instantly fell in love with, as did thousands of other kids looking for something new in music. It turned out that "new" was just digging up the 70s garage-rock sound and playing it for a new generation, and even though I knew it, I didn't care, I wasn't around in the 70s and it all sounded new to me. The White Stripes were the only worthwhile act to emerge from that dark time that began not long after The Strokes tasted their first success. Major labels grabbed onto anything that sounded raw and any band with a name that started with "The." I'm not even going to start a list as 99% of those bands are not even worthy of being mentioned just a few years later.

One day, about a year after our story began, when the major labels were still caught up in who could be the first to sign whoever was hot that day, Matador records released an album that focused its influences in another place entirely. Interpol's Turn on the Bright Lights sounded incredibly fresh and new to me on its first listen, and it was unlike anything I'd ever heard before (hey, I still hadn't heard Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen or Gang of Four yet). As time passed, and other 80s influenced bands like The Rapture, !!!, The Stills and even Franz Ferdinand put out great music, I began to think that anything 80s-inspired had to be solid gold. I finally even went back to discover the bands that inspired this new movement and I couldn't get enough of it, that is, until one fateful day in May of 2004.

I had been reading about this new up and coming band called The Killers, and I couldn't wait to see them at Coachella after they'd been lumped in with this new batch of bands that I loved so much. I walked up to the stage inside one of the tents, expecting to be wowed, but three songs into the set, I couldn't help thinking to myself, "My God, these guys . . . SUCK." I didn't know what to do, my whole life had been turned upside down, here was a band inspired by 80s new-wave that just wasn't good, it went against everything I knew, that is, until I sat back and realized what had happened. The Killers were the first band of this group to be releasing their debut on a major label, and though it had taken much longer this time around, we were experiencing a rehash of the "The" band phenomena of two years earlier. So please, heed my warning, not every band being hyped by the press as the next Interpol is good, be wary of new bands like The Bravery and others who release their debuts on major labels without any indie cred behind them, they will likely turn out to be The Killers version 2.0.

Now you may ask how this relates to The Dears, who are not, in fact, on a major label, well it does somewhat, but I also have been looking for this opportunity to make that rant. The Dears' lead singer, Murray Lightburn, has been dubbed by the press as "the black, Canadian Morrissey," so it's pretty easy to figure out where this band's influences lie. One listen to "Don't Lose the Faith" lets you know exactly where these comparisons are coming from. The album begins quite strongly with "We Can Have It" which opens with Lightburn singing over a light keyboard backing. Two minutes in, the rest of the band joins in with a haunting guitar riff carrying the song to a stellar climax before the band fades out leaving Lightburn to finish the song alone. The next two songs, "Who Are You, Defenders of the Universe" and the first single "Lost in the Plot" are pure new-wave pop goodness. "Lost in the Plot" features an awesome breakdown where we find Lightburn crooning "Our love, don't mess with our love/Our love is so much stronger" over and over until his band builds up to an amazing release in the chorus. "The Second Part" is pretty standard Mozzer-slow song fare, and the aforementioned "Don't Lose the Faith" comes right back in afterwards to pick the pace right back up. But just as you start to get excited about this album, it takes a drastic turn for the worse and never quite recovers the momentum it had built over the first five songs.

Suddenly, we enter a whole new world where songs refuse to be shorter than 6 minutes, musical excesses dominate and choruses are either nonexistent or few and far between. For example, "Expect the Worst/'Cos She's a Tourist" incorporates a choir and a Pink Floydian second half complete with a full horn section that ends up coming off like Lightburn's musical masturbation. The album continues down this slippery slope over the next few songs until it levels off with "22: The Death of All Romance" where Lightburn and keyboardist Natalia Yanchak pull off a marvelous duet (and what can I say, I'm a sucker for the whole male/female vocal harmony thing). It then continues to slip and closes out with another Morrissey-inspired tune, the mediocre "No Cities Left."

I guess you can only take the love of an indie-rock icon so far before it becomes old hat, but oddly enough, The Dears are at their best when they try to emulate other bands and lose focus when they try to create their own sound. Perhaps it's a sign of things to come for music in 2005, capitalizing on the latest trend in music and ignoring a little thing called creativitiy. It's rather unfortunate that only a year ago, I was excited about all these new bands who were coming down the pipeline, where now, I've already started to grow jaded with this whole 80s-revival business. I guess that's partly why I've turned to bands like the Arcade Fire, who are exceedingly orginal, to console me.

Kings of Convenience - Riot on an Empty Street

2005-01-26T14:44:00.000-08:00

I had originally intended for this to be a three-album review using the theme of Scandanavia to tie together the Kings of Convience's Riot on an Empty Street, Erlend Oye's DJ Kicks, and Dungen's Ta Det Lugnt, but I forgot how slowly I write CD reviews, and it's taken me forever just to write one, so the wait would be a bit too extensive for me to get them all up. Instead, I'll review the Kings of Convenience today and hopefully get to the other two later in the week.

Kings of Convenience are a Norwegian duo who have been releasing albums since 2000, but Riot on an Empty Street is their first album in three years. During their hiatus, singer/guitarist Eirik Glambek Boe decided to put his music career on hold to finish his psychology degree while singer/guitarist Erlend Oye released an electronic-influenced solo album and ventured into life as a DJ. Their "comeback album," if you will, finds them picking up right where they left off back in 2001, but stronger than they've ever been before. The album’s beautiful opener, “Homesick,” has Boe and Oye harmonizing gorgeously over a slight acoustic guitar riff. The song is very much in the vein of Simon and Garfunkel, and is a bit of a deceptive start to the album, not revealing much, if anything, about what the rest of the album will contain. “Misread” adds strings, piano, and a more upbeat feel to the sound as we begin to see where the Kings of Convenience will be taking us over the next ten songs. “Cayman Islands” and “Stay Out of Trouble” don’t break any new ground, but on “Know How” we encounter the album’s first guitar solo and Leslie Feist of Broken Social Scene joins the Kings halfway through the song to create a breathtaking harmony with Boe. The song ends with drums and bass joining the fray foreshadowing what is to come over the next few songs.

“Sorry or Please” keeps the drums around, but keeps it mellow and features both a saxophone and a banjo in the song’s final breakdown. Next comes “Love Is No Big Truth,” which is exactly what the albums seems to have been building towards. Once again Boe and Oye are harmonizing, but this time the backbeat is almost danceable and two electric guitars change the sound up again. An amazing banjo solo closes out the song and we’re left wondering what could possibly be coming next. And what’s next is something amazing, the album’s best track, “I’d Rather Dance With You.” Boe and Oye trade off lines over some incredibly catchy strings and some fantastic interplay between the guitar and piano. The song is pure pop genius and the video (which can be seen on Itunes) makes it even better. I will always envision the hilarious Erlend Oye dancing around in his sweatpants whenever I hear this song, and, oh yes, that is a good thing.

Over the last few tracks, the album slows it back down again, and “Surprise Ice” establishes itself as the best of the slow songs. I get chills every time Erlend joins Eirik in the first chorus, and it doesn’t even matter that I have no clue what surprise ice is. And though the song is slow and features acoustic guitars as its only instruments, it doesn’t have the same Simon and Garfunkel sound that opened the album. Over the course of this album, the Kings of Convenience begin to find the identity that eluded them throughout their earlier recordings. They are not just two guys harmonizing over an acoustic guitar anymore, and the eclecticism that Riot on an Empty Street shows puts the band's immense talent to much better use. I’m interested to see if Erlend Oye’s electronic work will influence the KoC’s sound in the future, but at the moment, I’m perfectly contented to sit back, chill out, and listen to this incredible album.

Songs to Enjoy

2005-01-20T06:41:00.000-08:00

At the moment I'm working on a trio of Scandanavian album reviews that I'd like to put up as one post, but since I'm not done quite yet, here's a new list of songs and bands that are worth checking out that I've discovered or rediscovered over the last month or two. Check them out, they're hot. This also works as a mix CD if you choose to make it one.

LCD Soundsystem - "Yeah (Crass Version)"
Death from Above 1979 - "Romantic Rights"
Animal Collective - "Who Could Win a Rabbit"
Junior Boys - "Teach Me How to Fight"
Badly Drawn Boy - "Cause a Rockslide"
New Pornographers - "Letter From an Occupant"
Built to Spill - "Temporarily Blind"
The Crimea - "Baby Boom"
The Dears - "Who Are You, Defenders of the Universe"
The Libertines - "Can't Stand Me Now"
Q and Not U - "Wonderful People"
The Flaming Lips - "Lightning Strikes the Postman"
New Order - "The Perfect Kiss"
The Notwist - "Pilot"
Neutral Milk Hotel - "Holland, 1945"
The Magnetic Fields - "Long-Forgotten Fairytale"
The Wrens - "This Boy Is Exhausted"

More Music of '04

2005-01-07T08:16:00.000-08:00

Now when I posted my top 10 albums, I was really struggling to limit myself to 10, plus there were still a few weeks left in the year. Here are a couple of albums that either barely missed the cut, or that I've found in the weeks since that post.

Morrissey - You Are the Quarry - This album finished 11th on my list, but I felt it would be a crime not to mention it. This is the Mozzer's first album in 7 years, and it returns him to form after a couple of forgettable albums in the mid-90s (dare I say Maladjusted and Southpaw Grammar). This time around, Moz hits on American politics after many years living in the states ("America Is Not the World"), addresses his huge latino fan base ("First of the Gang to Die") and gives us some great Moz lyrics ("The World Is Full of Crashing Bores"). The singles are catchy, the slow songs strike the right nerve, and except for a couple of missteps, this is damn near a perfect Morrissey album.

Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans - I had a feeling this album would make it onto here somehow. I actually didn't get it until Christmas, but I loved Greetings from Michigan. . . so much that I was almost positive that I'd like this one just as much. It's a little more stripped down than his last album, but Sufjan does the slow acoustic songs as well, if not better than he does the more upbeat pop stuff. For those who are not familiar with Sufjan, he is essentially the most accessible member of the neo-folk scene that is emerging at the moment. He has a gorgeous voice, plays almost all the instruments on his album, and has a bit of an Elliot Smith feel, but way less fucked up lyrics. The dual acoustic guitars and banjo in "That Dress Looks Nice on You" will give you chills and the melody in "Sister" will get stuck in your head before you know it.

The Go! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike - Now pause a second before you continue, and imagine what a band with that name and an album with that title would sound like. Got it? Well, no it's time for imagination to meet reality, because I hope you all think like I do. The album opens with "Panther Dash," a perfect intro song that sounds like it could almost be played over the credits of some cheesy action show (okay, I stole that from pitchfork, but it's so true). We next hit "Ladyflash," an incredibly upbeat song featuring vocals from singer/rapper Ninja, which will get you up on your feet no matter where you are. From there the album continues on this pace, there are no slow songs, very few vocals, but it doesn't matter, you won't be able to stop listening. They're kinda along the lines of the Avalanches, but with more live instrumentation and less sampling. The best way to describe them is just to say that it's a perfect album to put on as you're headed out to a party or a bar, it just gets you ready to dance and have fun and puts a big smile on your face.

NEW YEAR'S EVE IN NYC!!!!!

2005-01-04T11:14:00.000-08:00

I apologize for the caps and exclamation points, but it was just one of those nights that truly deserved them. So way back in the beginning of November I saw that The Flaming Lips and Wilco would be playing a show together on New Year's Eve in NYC. Without anyone to go with or any sort of a plan, I decided to buy two tickets and worry about the little details later. Two months later a plan was in place that involved my friend Kam coming out to DC to visit then later heading up to New York for New Year's Eve. Hotels in the city were a bit too expensive, so we ended up getting a cheap one in Princeton, NJ (which happened to be quite close to the train station). We got to the city around 5 and had a little pre-concert drinking and pizza at Becky's friend's place, then headed down to MSG around 7. The place was empty when we got there, and it looked like all the pre-show warnings about long security lines were false because we were in our seats by 7:20. Fortunately enough, Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips entertained us by shooting streamers into the seats and taking pictures with fans (sadly, I didn't get one).
After about 40 minutes, Sleater-Kinney (a band that I'm not too familiar with) took the stage and played mostly (if not all) stuff from their upcoming album. I'd seen them before opening for Pearl Jam and didn't pay much attention, but they fucking rocked it this time around. They played without a bass player, just two guitars and a drummer, and the back-and-forth vocals by the two singers was awesome. Their voices are so different and create the perfect contrast. I was completely blown away and I'll be one of the first in line for their new album when it's released this spring.
About 15 minutes after Sleater-Kinney left the stage, it looked like the Flaming Lips were about ready to take the stage, and then the party really got started. Wayne Coyne and the band led the procession of people dressed in animal costumes, inflatable suns and strippers into position to prepare for what would be one of the biggest on-stage parties I've ever seen. As they played the intro music and the short film told us to prepare for the greatest night of our lives, I was literally shaking with excitement. And finally, the launched into "Race for the Prize" and everyone in Madison Square Garden went crazy. Hundreds of baloons were thrown into the crowd, everyone on stage was dancing, Wayne was swinging lights around and throwing confetti, crazy videos played behind the band and I couldn't stop smiling. The show continued on with singalongs to "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1" and "She Don't Use Jelly," Wayne wearing a strobe light during "Lightning Strikes the Postman" and donning some giant gloves during "The Gash," and even some political talk. By the end, my voice was almost gone and I was out of energy after dancing for the entire set, but I was determined to bounce back for Wilco.
I was really wondering how Wilco would match the energy of the Flaming Lips, but knowing how amazing they are live, I wasn't really worried. Jeff Tweedy came out onto the stage dressed in blue pajamas and the band kicked into the rockin' opener "Less Than You Think?" I think it was a joke, playing one of their softest songs following such a high energy set. In the middle of the song, I noticed that they had an extra guitarist on stage with them, and it was none other than producer/indie rock god Jim O'Rourke. They then launched immediately into "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" and the energy was maintained from there on out for the next two hours. Just before midnight, members of the other bands came out onto the stage as we did the old countdown, then they all sang "Auld Lang Syne" and "Happy Birthday" to Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche. Then the party really started. Tweedy, O' Rourke and bassist John Stirratt traded vocals back and forth through a series of cover songs, and the band seemed to be having as much fun up there was I was having in the crowd. They kicked back into the Wilco songs with the rarely-played "Heavy Metal Drummer" and closed the regular set with "I'm A Wheel," windmill guitars and all. The encore opened with Steven Drozd of The Flaming Lips and the drummer from Sleater-Kinney armed with cowbells, and the band jumped into an amazing cover of Blue Oyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) the Reaper." The show closed with another cover song that I wasn't familiar with, "Comment (If All Men Are Truly Brothers)" which had the crowd swaying back and forth. They left with the audience begging for more, but there was no such luck. It was an amazing night and definitely the best way anyone could ever spend a New Year's Eve.

Flaming Lips setlist:
Race for the Prize
Fight Test
The Gash
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1
War Pigs
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 2
Lightning Strikes the Postman
In the Morning of Magicians
She Don’t Use Jelly
Do You Realize?

Wilco setlist:
Less Than You Think
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
Hummingbird
Handshake Drugs
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
A Shot in the Arm
At Least That’s What You Said
Jesus Etc.
Theologians
Poor Places
Auld Lang Syne (with all the bands)
Happy Birthday (to Glenn Kotche)
Livin’ After Midnight (Judas Priest cover)
Love Will Keep Us Together (Captain & Tennille cover)
Political Science (Randy Newman cover)
I Shall Be Released (Bob Dylan cover)
Something in the Air (Thunderclap Newman cover)
Heavy Metal Drummer
Kingpin
I’m The Man Who Loves You
The Late Greats
I’m A Wheel
(Don’t Fear) The Reaper (Blue Oyster Cult cover)
Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mommy (Devo cover)
Comment (If All Men Are Truly Brothers) (Charles Wright cover)

Top 10 Albums of 2004

2004-12-16T13:20:00.000-08:00

As many of you may or may not know, I'm obsessed with lists, so I'm taking full advantage of the opportunity to make my own. These are my top 10 albums of the year based solely on my opinion at this exact moment. If I had made this list in June, Franz Ferdinand would have been right near the top, but instead, I've had enough of them and they've dropped off. And who knows, if I were to make this list two months from now, maybe Annie, who I can't get enough of at the moment, wouldn't make the list at all. But here it is in all its glory.

1) The Arcade Fire - Funeral - Many of the other albums on this list are albums by artists who released excellent albums this year, but they may not have been the artist's best album. The Arcade Fire have no previous work to compete against and came out of the gates blazing (no pun intended). Their debut blends indie-pop both light and dark, folk and all kinds of instruments you don't typically find on these types of albums (accordions?) seamlessly to create the year's finest album. Who cares if they don't have a "sound," they do it all, and it sounds amazing.

2) Wilco - A Ghost is Born - Wilco may have changed their sound drastically between Summerteeth and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but at least you could tell it was the same band. This album is filled with guitar-driven jams like "Spiders(Kidsmoke)" and folk-pop ditties like "Muzzle of Bees" that may not necessarily click on the first listen, but give it a chance and forget that this is the same band who sang "Heavy Metal Drummer" just two years ago. Hey, worst case scenario, you can always skip to the very-Wilco closer, "The Late Greats" if you need an old-school Wilco fix.

3) Interpol - Antics - Their 2002 debut Turn on the Bright Lights evoked memories of Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen and The Smiths, and though not as breathtaking, Antics picks up right where the first album left off. The mood may lighten a bit on "Slow Hands" and the album's weakest track "C'mere," but songs like "Take You on a Cruise" (my personal favorite) "Public Pervert" and "Not Even Jail" recall the Interpol we all know and love. And hey, who cares if you can even dance to a couple of the songs, is there anything wrong with that?

4) The Streets - A Grand Don't Come for Free - I'm always wary about concept albums, but when an artist can pull it off, it can be something special, and that is exactly what happens here. Not only is this an album of great individual songs that stand on their own like "Fit But You Know It," "Dry Your Eyes" and "Blinded by the Lights," it also has an element that I've never found on an album before, a seamless, easy to follow story. The album begins with Mike Skinner losing 1000 quid and meeting a girl, and by the end you're truly feeling the pain of "Dry Your Eyes" and "Empty Cans" right along with him. Call me cheesy, but I love this shit.

5) Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Love Bad News - I've heard many people call this Modest Mouse selling out, but comparing this album to 2000's The Moon and Antarctica, there's really not all that big of a difference, I just think the mainstream was a little more prepared this time around. It's true that the Isaace Brock has never written anything as poppy as "Float On" before, but the strange banjo-twinged "Bukowski" and the horn-drenched "The Devil's Workday" are as experimental as anything Modest Mouse has ever done. Try playing "Satin in a Coffin" on the radio and then tell me who's bowing to the mainstream. Friggin' great.

6) Air - Talkie Walkie - After stumbling a little through the early part of the 00s, Air have finally given us what we came to expect after releasing 1998's ultimate makeout album masterpiece Moon Safari. This time around Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel handle all the vocal duties instead of hiring female singers to do it for them, and honestly you can barely tell the difference. That is actually Dunckel singing "Surfing on a Rocket," I know it's hard to believe, but I've seen it live, it is the truth. So get out your champagne, your keytars and your women, Air is back.

7) The Legends - Up Against the Legends - Turn up that Jesus and Mary Chain-style fuzz in the background, get those multiple guitars going, and then throw in some handclaps? Wha? That's the best way to describe The Legends who manage to somehow blend the indie-pop sound of the New Pornographers (including male and female vocalists) with the early shoegaze sound of the late 80s to create something unique and extremely catchy. I guess there's nothing better to do in Sweden, but hell, I'm not complaining, bring it on, and hey, the Hives, take a lesson from your countrymates and pick the right decade to steal your sound from. GO 80s!!!

8) AC Newman - The Slow Wonder - Damn, I just used a New Pornographers reference in the last review, ah well, here we go again. New Pornographers' lead singer/guitarist/head songwriter Carl Newman gets a new band together to make some more fantastic pop gems. The songs do not have quite as thick of a sound as the Pornographers' 7-pronged attack, but Newman does the simpler stuff just as well. If you want some indie pop anthems, try "On the Table" or "Secretarial," but we've got ballads this time around too. "Come Crash" sounds like nothing out of Newman's past and a string section even emerges on "The Town Halo." This man can write some great songs, and he even told me in person that he'd sell out and work with the Neptunes if a major label came to him. I hope it happens so I can see his awkward, red-headed ass dance around, what a site that would be.

9) Annie - Anniemal - I remember when this album was first brought to my attention, I was extremely confused, it had been given an incredible review by a very reputable indie website, but as far as I could see, the cover looked like it could be the next Britney Spears' album. In an attempt to figure out what this was all about, I hunted it down and I now understand. Annie is a Norwegian pop star with an incredible, airy voice who has teamed up with Royksopp to create an album that is part dance, part pop, part chill out, but all awesome. If Americans had good taste, this is what we'd be hearing on the radio, but sadly, that may never happen. Instead, put on your headphones, throw on "Heartbeat," and pretend that you're not the only one of your friends who has heard this fantastic album

10) Bjork - Medulla - I have to admit right off the bat, this album doesn't even come close to Homogenic or Post, but then again, Bjork has almost set unrealistic expectations for herself based on her incredible back catalog. She reinvents herself once again this time around, going largely acapella with the aid of a choir, an Inuit throat-singer and a crew of human beatboxes. Some of the songs, like "Desired Constellation" and "Vokuro" put the emphasis on her beautiful voice and allow the listener to just sit back and fall into dream-land, while "Who Is It" and "Triumph of a Heart" are some of the best pop songs she's ever written. Still, I feel this album is dragged down by the very strange "Submarine" and the hard to listen to "Ancestors" that seem to stall the album during some of its strongest stretches.

Interpol Part 1

2004-11-12T14:02:00.000-08:00

So I've been extremely lazy and haven't posted at all. Work is almost over, so I can't do a full review today (hopefully I'll get that up early next week). But I caught Interpol at the 9:30 Club on Tuesday night and they were incredible, that's all for now. Here's the setlist (once again, no guarantees on the correct order, though I know the first four songs are right as are the last 3):

Next Exit
Evil
Say Hello to the Angels
Not Even Jail
Public Pervert
Hands Away
Slow Hands
Length of Love
NYC
Narc
PDA

Encore:
Leif Erikson
Obstacle 1

Wilco = Incredible Live

2004-09-29T10:56:00.000-07:00

If you ever get a chance to see a rock concert in the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, don't ask questions, just go. The venue, which is the home of the Baltmore Symphony Orchestra, is an acoustical masterpiece, complete with shifting panels over head, and nary a 90 degree angle on any of its walls. The sounds bounce off the walls and carry to the back with ease, only needing the speakers up front to transmit sound all over the immense concert hall.
Now, if you ever get a chance to see Wilco at this exquisite venue, you've experienced musical near-perfection. Combining Wilco, one of the most technically perfect bands in the world, with a venue that makes music sound even more flawless than it is, was incredible. Every one of Wilco's songs utilizes all six touring members, and at all times, I could hear each individual instrument if I chose to do so. Guitarist Haydn Johnston and frontman Jeff Tweedy shared lead guitar duties, and had incredible sounds blasting out of the amps all night, from the feedback solo at the end of "Less Than You Think" to the effects all throughout "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart." Here's the setlist (maybe not in the right order, but it's at least most of the songs they played):

Hell is Chrome
Handshake Drugs
Muzzle of Bees
Company in My Back
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
A Shot in the Arm
Hummingbird
Ashes of American Flags
War on War
Jesus Etc.
Theologians
I'm the Man Who Loves You
Less Than You Think
Via Chicago
At Least That's What You Said

Encore 1:
Wishful Thinking
Spiders (Kidsmoke)

Encore 2:
I'm a Wheel
The Late Greats
Kingpin
Passenger Side
California Stars
Be Not So Fearful

(I think that's it, Wilco is awesome, go listen to all of their albums right now, every time I do, I remember how amazing they are, all their albums rule, LONG LIVE WILCO)

Amazing Songs

2004-09-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

So, I've been listening to my IPod at work and hearing songs from CDs I own that I've either never heard before or never paid much attention to. Here's a mix of songs you've probably never heard that kick some serious ass. Download them and let me know what you think.

Bjork - "Triumph of a Heart"
The Clash - "Rudie Can't Fail"
The Cure - "Six Different Ways"
Dismemberment Plan - "Gyroscope"
The Hives - "Diabolic Scheme"
M83 - "Run Into Flowers"
My Bloody Valentine - "When You Sleep"
Polyphonic Spree - "Hanging Around the Day Part 2"
Rogue Wave - "Every Moment"
AC Newman - "Secretarial"
Frou Frou - "Let Go"
The Streets - "Weak Become Heroes"
Elliot Smith - "Baby Britain"
The Verve - "Weeping Willow"
Beck - "Hot Wax" (featuring one of the greatest interludes of all time "Who are you. . .")
Depeche Mode - "New Dress"/"Here is the House" (two of their best non-singles, both from Black Celebration showing very different sides of the band)
Modest Mouse - "Doin' the Cockroach" (this song is like the bridge between old Modest Mouse and new Modest Mouse, crazy, you can really hear their current incarnation beginning to form in this song)

Music Galore

2004-08-24T07:26:00.000-07:00

So, for those who don't already know, and happen to be reading this (I don't expect that to be many of you), I am a music addict. I buy CDs like they're crack, and I can't seem to go a week without buying at least one new one. In the last 10 days, I've bought 5. I know this seems like a problem, but really, they're all justified. The first of the five that I purchased was Psychocandy by The Jesus and Mary Chain. I'd been searching for this album for weeks, as it's import only, and when I finally came upon it, I felt like it was impossible to say no.
Second, later that night, I bought Rogue Wave's Out of the Shadow after seeing them open for AC Newman. This was not an impulse buy, it was simply an album that I'd been considering for a while and seeing them pushed me over the edge into must-buy territory.
After letting a week go by without any new CDs, I ventured down to Charlottesville this weekend and had to stop by Plan 9. I have newfound respect for stores like this as these days they are few and far between. I have not been able to find an independent music store in northern Virginia, and I wouldn't be surprised if one did not exist at all. But anyway, I felt compelled to support them, and went in planning to buy one, or maybe two CDs. After seeing the Polyphonic Spree last week, I had to buy their newest CD, and I knew it was just a matter of time before I bought Together We're Heavy, so I figured now was as good a time as ever. Walking to the register, I happened to see M83's Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts, an album that had made many critics' Best of 2003 lists, but had only been available as Import-Only until a few weeks ago. I had remembered being intrigued by these guys, and so I took it back to listen to it. After hearing the amazing My Bloody Valentine-meets-Air sound that these guys pull off so brilliantly, I had to buy it as well. Now the last one was something of an impulse buy, and that was Morrissey's Viva Hate, which I sought out to find the price of. When I found it at a reasonable $11.99, how could I say no? You tell me, because I couldn't, it was impossible.
And that, my friends, is how a junkie justifies his habit. To you, these purchases may seem extraneous and unnecessary, but to me, it's just a part of life. I can't live without new music all the time, but at some point, I really need to sit down and appreciate what I already have.

The Polyphonic Spree Take Over the World

2004-08-17T05:43:00.000-07:00

Last night, I experienced one of the best live performances I have ever seen, and that's saying quite a bit as I've been to close to 150 concerts in my life. To truly understand what was witnessed, you really must see The Polyphonic Spree yourself, but I will do what I can to make you understand. If you thought Bright Eyes or !!! had a lot of guys in their bands, you haven't seen anything yet, 10-15 band members, BAH, I spit in their general direction, try 25. Yes, you read that right, 25 band members all on stage at once, they include, a guitarist, a bassist, two drummers, an effects programmer, two keyboardists, a four piece horn section including trumpet, trombone, flute and french horn, a harpist, a violinist, a theramin player, a nine member choir, and singer/director Tim DeLaughter (I think I'm forgetting someone), all wearing different brightly colored robes, who combine to create a concert experience unlike any other. Their music has roots in the sound of the Flaming Lips, but with a thicker sound and a bit of gospel thrown in there for good measure. The took the stage one by one in line, slowly making their way to their respective places on the stage, and from the first notes, we all knew we were in for something special. The choir began pumping their fists to the beat, sound was coming from every direction at once, and they all seemed so ecstatic to be there. From that moment on, a smile was permanently etched onto my face and there was nothing I could do to get rid of it, save for running out of the venue. For the next hour and a half, Tim DeLaughter led his collective through songs about love and the sun while a banner hung behind them with one simple word emblazoned upon it in huge letters, "HOPE." There is just an amazing power that comes with 25 people all singing, dancing and having an extremely good time together on stage. I was sucked in from the very start, and I would have done anything that DeLaughter told me to do (hey, now I know how cults work). Before the encore, I was standing, cheering at the empty stage, when I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around expecting to see some guy trying to push his way to the front, but instead, to my surprise, I found a man with long curly hair in an orange robe leading a procession of 24 others to the stage for the encore. I cheered until my voice wouldn't let me cheer anymore as they slowly made their way past me, and onto the stage. Their closing numbers, "Soldier Girl" and their biggest hit "Light and Day/Reach for the Sun" sent the crowd into a frenzy, which was taken to the next level when DeLaughter casually mentioned that the performance had been taped for a possible DVD. After singing happy birthday to the theramin player (that's a lot of birthdays to remember), they exited the stage, but the crowd was not ready to leave quite yet. They cheered and cheered, but to no avail, as the house lights came up, and everyone began to file out of the show, truly feeling like they'd just experienced something amazing. On the walk to the car, Matt Brophy and I had to give each other a hug, it just seemed like the natural thing to do.

BOOYAKASHA!!!

2004-08-15T20:01:00.000-07:00

Before I head out for the night, I'd just like to enlighten everyone about one thing out there. If you feel like your Sunday nights just aren't full of enough laughs, check out the Ali G Show on HBO, Sunday nights at 10:30, it's the funniest shit you'll ever see.

AC Newman

2004-08-15T19:01:00.000-07:00

Well here we go, my first ever music-related post. So last night, I headed down to the always awesome Black Cat down in DC (if you've never been there, I highly recommend it) to see AC Newman and opening acts Rogue Wave and The Neins. For those who don't know, AC Newman is the latest project from Carl Newman, a former member of the Canadian band Zumpano, and present member of the Canadian supergroup the New Pornographers (other members include indie legends Dan Bejar and Neko Case). Though I'm not a huge fan of Case's solo work, and Bejar's is quite tough to find, Newman's solo work sounds quite similar to the New Pornographers' sound I love so much. His debut The Slow Wonder is a wonderful mix of indie-pop anthems and introspective, acoustic goodness, and is one of the best albums I've heard this year.
Now, with all that out of the way, I was sluggish in getting down to the club, and I had expected that a 10PM arrival would have caused me to miss the first band, The Neins. When we arrived the stage was full of roadies and band members alike getting everything ready to go. A few minutes later, a band I thought to be Rogue Wave, took the stage and blew me away with catchy hooks and hilarious lyrics. They had the small crowd dancing during the songs and cheering wildly in between, and at the very end of the set, the bassist thanked everyone and introduced the band as the Neins. I was shocked, but a rush of happiness ran over me as I now knew that there was a lot more music to follow than I expected.
After a very brief stage setup, Rogue Wave emerged as the crowd began to fill the club. Many of the show-goers were quite familiar with their music (I was not one of them), and I noticed people all around me singing along to every song. After only a few songs, I understood the fans' dedication. Singer-guitarist Zach Rogue blew threw 11 or 12 songs in about 45 minutes, each one better than the last, and by the time it was over, I hadn't nearly got enough, so I rushed to the merch table to buy their debut CD Out of the Shadow.
By the time I returned, AC Newman was almost ready to go, and Carl Newman, along with members of the Neins and others, kicked it off with my two favorite songs on the album "On the Table" and "Secretarial". He played his entire album (I think) with the utmost precision, and even included a cover by a band I've never heard of, Outrageous Cherry. During the encore, the guitarist from Rogue Wave came running on stage wearing only a pair of tighty-whiteys, grabbed a tambourine, and jumped around for the entire last song. But even with that image forever etched into my brain, I left the club with a big smile on my face. Three hours of some of the catchiest music out there right now will do that to you.

First Posting Ever

2004-08-15T18:29:00.000-07:00

Just getting things started up here, I'll put some more valuable information up in the coming days.