Mix n Mash

Wow…

So, it’s been almost a year. A lot of things have changed. Some have not.

On a list of things that have not changed: I still love to write and don’t do enough of it. I’m sitting here, listening to music, and having a beer. On a list of things that have changed: SOME NEW MUSIC. Let’s go.

Mashups. These are my new love right now. I pride myself on my knowledge of musical vocabulary and wordsmithery, but these are just something you’ll have to listen to for yourself. Turn it up. Enjoy it.

The White Panda – Versus

The Hood Internet – Mix Tape Volume Five

Girl Talk – All Day

I know I’ve said it a million times before, but I’m gonna try to get back into a regular flow with at least ONE of the things I write. This seems to be the easiest…even though I haven’t said much of anything today. We’ll see…

Cheers.

Well well well…

So, it’s starting to look like I’m writing every two months or so. I apologize. I wish I had a legitimate reason, but I’m just straight-up lazy. I’ve been a bit troubled with, well, everything recently, so I figured it’s about time to crank out another installment of your favorite blog. [It's okay, I know it isn't your favorite blog. It isn't my favorite, either] This one’s gonna be a bit short as far as actual commentary goes…

Albert Hammond Jr, of Strokes fame, has some simple, but very enjoyable solo work. Bright Young Thing and 101 from his first album, Yours to Keep

Two Door Cinema Club. They’re dance-y. They’re indie-y. They’re Irish. They’re catchy as hell, that’s what they are.

In a similar vein, I’ve listened to the Neon Trees album…dozens of times by now. They seemed to have really popped up out of nowhere and now their stuff is everywhere. Yeah, you’ve probably heard their stuff on the radio, Animal and 1983. It’s kinda generic, but enjoyable.

I didn’t realize it until recently, but Tonystark’s Trailer, which I originally encountered in 411vm #37 probably 10 years ago, had drastically influenced my own music. That’s kinda all there is to say.

Oh, and there may or may not be a leak on the Tron: Legacy soundtrack. Go find it. It’s pretty awesome. I mean, it’s Tron and Daft Punk; what could go wrong?

Get Ready

…because there’s a whole bunch of new [and not-so-new] stuff coming your way. I spent a lot of time travelling this last week, leaving me lots of time with me and my iPod sitting in planes, on busses, and in airport terminals with lots of time to kill. What better to do than explore new material?

I haven’t been able to put down Fang Island’s mostly-instrumental self-titled album since I downloaded it. Daisy is a great track. It’s catchy as hell, upbeat, and accompanied by a silly music video.

The Illinois deserves a listen. I have yet to figure out what is going musically from 0:30 to 0:45, but I like it. I feel like there’s some poly-rhythmic stuff going on, but I just can’t quite put my finger on it. Perhaps I’m over-thinking it. Anyway, try Welcome Wagon on for size while you’re at it.

Need something relaxing with a solid beat that wont put you to sleep? Try on some Broken Bells. High Road is real nice and has some interesting sounds going on, Vaporize earns extra points for a trumpet solo, and The Ghost Inside I could just listen to all day. Enjoy.

I’ve started to notice that I really dig lead singers of bands who aren’t from the US, and Frightened Rabbit fits the bill well. They are a Scottish indie folk band that was suggested to me before I took off to SLC for the weekend. From cover-to-cover, their whole album, The Midnight Organ Fight, is truly a great collection of tracks. The wordsmithing craft has really been perfected by Scott Hutchison. The Modern Leper is a great way to start off this album. Also, there’s something about the way I Feel Better is mixed that I really enjoy. Perhaps it’s because things get pretty thick, but every track is always distinguishable. [isn't that how it should be, though?]. Listen to this album. Do it.

Last week, CAKE dropped a link to a track off their new album this weekend; give it a listen. It’s quite reminiscent of old CAKE. Many of you know I’m a long-time CAKE fan, so I’m thoroughly please with this news. Showroom of Compassion will be out in January of ’11.

I have more stuff to write about, but I think I’ll save that for my next installment, which should be later this week.

PS: If you don’t have any, go pick up old Nirvana and Soundgarden albums. Do I really have to say anything else? You wont be disappointed.

Could it be?

Yes, yes it is. I’ve returned with another installment of your favorite blog.

My apologies in advance, Grooveshark hasn’t been cooperating in the best way this morning. [Yeah, it's 2:45am; morning]

Arcade Fire dropped a new album, The Suburbs, since we last talked. The Arcade Fire sound that I loved back on Funeral seems to have faded. This isn’t to say that I don’t thoroughly enjoy their new album; it just doesn’t have that distinctive style that their previous albums have had. Chances are that you’ve heard Modern Man and Ready to Start already, so I’ll just glance over those. You must also listen to Empty Room and Sprawl II [Mountains Beyond Mountains]. They return to a bit of old Arcade Fire feel, at least vocally.

Also, I’ve rediscovered Bloc Party recently. Intimacy is new since I last listened to them. Previously, I only had Silent Alarm on hand, which is also good. Their newest album is quite diverse in musical styling. Ares kind of has a feeling of rock-meets-hiphop, but took a swim in a pool full of heavily effected guitar and synth parts before it hit the record. Trojan Horse is another good one. I think I really only like the song for the guitar solo section after 2:00. Oh well. Listen to One Month Off, too. It’s dance-y and has as catchy chorus. Also, bonus points for a key change.

Straylight Run released their self-titled album back in ’04. I was in a different place then, musically. However, there’s still a few tracks from that album that I still enjoy. You should listen to Mistakes We Knew We Were Making and The Tension and the Terror.

I really want to say something about the new Black Keys album, Brothers, but I haven’t listened to the whole thing yet, and I’m damn tired now at 3:15am. Next time, perhaps?

Jets to Brazil. I know I’ve mentioned them more than once, but Orange Rhyming Dictionary is one of my favorite albums in the last 10 years or so. Sweet Avenue and Sea Anemone have caught my attention recently as favorites. I don’t know quite what it is that draws me to these particular tracks. There’s not a song on this album I don’t enjoy. Jets to Brazil don’t make music anymore, but you should definitely buy this one.

I know I say this every time, but I’m really going to try not to take too much of a break this time.

I swear.

Cheers.

Herp Derp

Fair warning: I’m not quite sure what this post will turn out to be, but we’ll see. I kinda just need to write to get it out of my system.

I’ve been enjoying some acoustic stuff. Someone mentioned I should check out City and Colour, who are fronted by, and named after, Dallas Green [a city, and a color], who also fronts the post-hardcore band Alexisonfire [Alexisonfire - This Could Be Anywhere in the World]. Anyway, C&C have some more folk-y, acoustic tones to soothe your ears after listening to that [not that it's bad, I just don't imagine most of you find post-hardcore soothing]. I recommend you take a listen to Waiting…, Sleeping Sickness, and Comin’ Home. I like City and Colour; they give me a chance to take a break from the usual speeding punk guitar and drums, and screamy, abrasive vocals and slip into the warm bath that might be City and Colour. [There's totally nothing wrong with guys taking a bath.]

Halifax has some interesting stuff. I started listening to them back when they released A Writer’s Reference with tracks like Broken Glass Syndrome and Scarlett Letter pt. 2 whose lyrics you’d expect to find in a [insert generic emo band here] song on both occasions. They changed things up a bit on their next album, The Inevitability of a Strange World. Our Revolution and Hey Italy.

Someone who I don’t think I’ve mentioned yet, but very well may have, is Hey Mercedes. I haven’t picked up or even listened to a Hey Mercedes album since…probably 2008…but Quality Revenge at Last came up while I was at work today and I thought they were worth mentioning. Playing Your Song and Lashing Out are also worth listening to. Check ‘em out.

I mentioned Refused back in November with Summerholiday vs Punk Routine, and had never actually branched out and listened to that entire album, The Shape of Punk to Come; it’s actually quite an eclectic collection of sounds, especially listening to tracks like Buitist Pome #5 and New Noise in context with the song I mentioned earlier and Refused Are Fuckin’ Dead…it’s quite interesting.

I know, loyal reader[s], in my previous entry I told you I’d try not to let so much time pass between writings. I lied. Sorry.

I’m Baaaack!

Hey look! It’s me! I swear, I haven’t died or slipped into a coma after being involved in a terrible car crash, I assure you. Lot’s of stuff I’m posting tonight, so….here we go:

Against Me!, while being a staple of my punk rock collection, bring something different to the table; a sweaty, sometimes folky, vocally-energized, ass kicking. Songs you must listen to, now: Pints of Guinness Make You Strong, Thrash Unreal, and Baby I’m an Anarchist; all from various Against Me! albums, and all amazing. I think writing anything about them might actually take away from their amazingness. [Mostly because I'm a crappy writer]

Now, I love me some Against Me!, but I have a bone to pick. White Crosses; I Was a Teenage Anarchist, in particular. What’s up with this crap? Over-produced pop-punk? If I wanted that, I’d listen to some Blink 182

Don’t you remember when you were young and you wanted to set the world on fire?

What’re you trying tell me, Tom Gabel? Is it not okay to be older and not happy with the way things are in the world? Is anarchy and revolution only for the young, stupid, and gullible?

Moving on…
Gogol Bordello, a gypsy punk band from NYC, has really caught my attention recently. Here‘s a neat interview with Gogol Bordello frontman, Eugene Hutz, for those of you who like to know more about the band. I’ve been enjoying their album Super Taranta! in its entirety. They throw so many different musical stylings together in each song, it’ll take a few listens to catch everything. Wonderlust King, Zina-Marina, and Supertheory of Supereverything are must-listens from this album.

I had heard them many years ago and probably thought “what the hell is this crap?”, but since digging up a Death From Above 1979 album the other day, I have discovered the Canadian dance-punk band’s awesomeness. Blood on our Hands, Dead Womb, and Turn It Out should be heard.

Since you last saw me, there’s been a new Holy Fuck album, Latin. [or at least, it has been leaked on the interwebs. If you can, get a hold of it.] It’s more of the same electronic, experimental, effect-induced, aural orgasm that their first album was. Links don’t exist on Grooveshark, yet, for obvious reasons.

That’ll do it for now. I’ll try not to go another month and a half without writing some crap of some sort.

Cheers.

Oh good lord…

This is something new. I was introduced to bluejuice today. Most of you are well aware that most of my music library consists of punk rock and indie rock. I’m a bit into hip-hop and rap. bluejuice kinda fills that gap between these musical styles. I can’t say it better myself, so here’s a straight rip from their Wikipedia page:

The musical style of bluejuice has variously been described as “punk-hop”, “downtempo hip hop, ska-tinged pop and pounding disco” and “too straight for funk, too groovy for indie rock and too sweaty for pop”

I’m just finishing my first listening of Problems, and I’m terribly impressed. The rhyming styles remind me of a mixture of Run DMC, Mos Def, and maybe some old Ludacris from time-to-time. It’s truly a diverse sound from track to track.

Vitriol is an awesome track with a great video. The first bit of the video will make you go “WTF is this shit?”, but I assure you it gets awesome.

The Reductionist is another great one with a strange but awesome video, including funky up-beat dance beats.

I’ll leave Broken Leg here, too. This takes a bit of a step away from the hip-hop style and more into the electro-dance-punk from Australia style. Lots of good stuff going on here.

Not a whole lot of their stuff is available to stream online that isn’t a live recording.

I’m kinda at a loss for words of how to really describe these guys. Hope you enjoy some of this.

Don’t worry; one of these days I’ll start actually writing about something….

…and now for something a little different

From time to time, it’s nice to have a little change of scenery.

The Grouch; I love me some Simple Man and Every Day is Saturday. The Bay to LA is some of that new hip hop feel; lots of electronic beats and such.

People Under the Stairs have some really chill stuff. San Fransisco Knights is one of my favorites, and The LA Song really takes me back. But watch out, stuff like Swan Fever gets pretty funky and is a nice twist.

Jurassic 5 is one of my favorite groups. I first heard Jayou on one of the old Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games. You might have heard Work it Out on the radio a few years ago, with Dave Matthews [strange combination, I know]. I also have to mention Jurass Finish First and Lesson 6: The Lecture, which is a really intersting track. Highly recommended,

It’s not really my style, but what would a post like this be without The Next Episode? Snoop is a badass; that’s a fact.

Eh, not much commentary tonight; just listing stuff, I guess. I’m not terribly good at analyzing rap/hip-hop stuff yet. Maybe I’ll work on that…

Cheers.

PS: Yes, I changed the theme again. One of these days, I’ll decide on something I like; maybe when I move this to its own domain….*shrug*

Sure Happy It’s Thursday

Don’t you just hate being so busy you can’t take time to do the things you enjoy? Yeah, that’s where I’ve been. I’ve got some friendly recommendations [no, not recommendations that are your friends, rather recommendations that come from friends. I want to make that very clear. Though, I'm pretty sure these songs would want to be your friend. Okay, this has gone on long enough...]

Radio Moscow – What Ever Happened will rock your socks, I promise you this. Really reminds me of some classic blues, Cream-esque work, perhaps? I honestly can’t put my finger on it. If I think of it, I’ll be sure to edit this. But for now, just listen to it.

We Were Promised Jetpacks – Quiet Little Voices. The vocals take a bit to get used to, but the energy behind them provided by the upbeat drums, and energetic guitar parts make this song a great listen. Keep Warm might fall into that post-rocky/ambient feel for most of the song, but jumps back into the more typical rock feel after a great build and resolution.

Off With Their Heads is an awesome punk rock band from the great state of Minnesota. The Beijing Cocktail, and Sleeping in Carrie’s Car deserve a listen. They’ve really got that classic dirty punk rock feel, which is tough to come by these days.

I guess that’s about it. I’m out.

Cheers.

PS: Yes, I know it’s not Thursday, yet. SHIT is just so much more fun than TGIF.

It’s not you, it’s me.

I’m actually pretty unmotivated to write anything tonight, but I feel like I should all the….two or three of you that actually read my crap. So, for you, here’s new stuff that found its way into my library the last few days. This one wont be very verbose or descriptive, but whatever.

Sleeping People is a, by my guess, a post-rock experimental instrumental band. Nasty Potion has some very interesting stuff going on, rhythm-wise. Johnny Depp was the track I first heard from them. No, I have no idea what it has to do with Johnny Depp. Give it a listen.

Ghosts & Vodka. Good Luck With Your Multiple Personalities, and Is That a Person? have some cool stuff goin’ on.

Pendulum was a band that I had heard many people talk about, but never actually heard any of their music. I’m not big on techno stuff [which is what this is, kinda? Who knows, these days], but this was some good stuff. I’d recommend giving Out Here and The Terminal are some cool tracks.

Working for a Nuclear-Free City is some more electronic stuff. Troubled Son and Innocence are recommended tracks from their self-titled album.

The Wombats. Oh, The Wombats. I have but just met you, but I feel like I’ve known you forever, probably because they sound a lot like The Kooks, but with some extra energy thrown in. Let’s Dance to Joy Division, Kill the Director, Moving to New York, and Patricia the Stripper are all tracks that need to be heard by your ears tonight. In fact, just listen to the whole album, The Wombats Proudly Present..A Guide To Love, Loss and Desperation.

It’s nothing new at all, but Jets to Brazil’s Orange Rhyming Dictionary is a must.

That is all.