the ordering of noise into codes

Top CDs of 2006

2006-12-28T18:33:00.000-04:00

What it comes down to is this: what do I want to listen to at the end of the day?

Three of my top five CDs belong to female artists, five of my top ten are from Canada (four from Toronto), and I am seeing my favorite CD performed in about 10 days, which makes me excited.

My favorite CDs had less complicated orchestration and focsed more on solid melodies and songwriting than in previous years. I found good things about everything I listened to this year, but on a whole it did not produce many memorable gems.

My honourable (and otherwise) mentions:

CDs I liked upon initial listen but did not get a chance to listen enough to:
Beirut – Gulag Orkestar (the first three tracks are a real exhausting romp through Eastern Europe, but after that it’s pretty good)
Beirut – Lon Gisland EP
Danielson – Ships
Thom Yorke – The Eraser

and in alphabetical order...

The Appleseed Cast – Peregrine
standout tracks: Woodland Hunter (Part I), Song 3, Here We Are

This is what we get after a break up and coming back together (with a new drummer). There are some really good songs on here with interesting structure and instrumentation. I love the end of the "Woodland Hunter (Part I)" where the programmed drum overtakes the continuing guitar part. I like the take on disjointed keyboards, guitars, and drums on “Mountain Halo” which sounds like, well, the Appleseed Cast ran through an old computer.

This CD blends part of the band’s original feeling with their take on writing with a more pop sensibility. It’s pretty good. I can’t tell whether I’ve moved on, or if the songs are merely above average. "Here We Are" sounds like it belongs on Low Level Owl (a good thing). There are a handful of tracks that are too forgetful though. I like the CD and its sentiment though.

Chin Up Chin Up – This Harness Can’t Ride Anything
standout tracks: Landlocked Lifeguards, Stolen Mountains, Trophies for Hire

I thought it was strange that the best three songs were stuck at the end of the CD (listed above). These songs featured the strongest melodies and most creative instrumentation, blending the usual rhythmic guitar picking, the bass playing a melody feud with the keyboard when the vocals drop out, and things such as drum machine, delay and feedback guitar swells, vibraphone, bells, and harmonica.

While recording the band’s first CD, the bass player was killed by in a hit and run by a drunk driver, and the band decided to keep playing after this unfortunate incident, and the lyrics and music reflect the healing and understanding of this tragedy, most notably on “Stolen Mountains”: “We both drove home from Benton Harbor, Michigan with snow covered headlights…No one had much to say. I wish we would have said more, but we never knew that you wouldn’t be here soon.”

The Early November – The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path
standout songs: Decoration, Driving South, Never Coming Back

An incredible ambitious three disc project, with the first two disc telling the father and mother’s side of the story, and the third disc blending spoken word therapy sessions with additional songs developing the story. I’ve never heard anything like it. The songs are all good, but unfortunately it’s not the thing you want to listen to over and over. The songs are well written and you can listen to the lyrics the whole way through and hear the entire story unfold. The sum is greater than the parts when it comes to this release. A good pop/rock project that took several years to make. My hats off to Ace Enders and his vision, but the songs aren’t compelling enough to make me want to listen to them over and over.

The Elected – Sun, Sun, Sun
standout songs: Not Going Home, Would You Come With Me, Desiree

I didn’t listen to this CD enough this year. I liked it everytime I listened to it. It’s got that rock/country/pop/folk vibe to it that Blake does so well. This CD is certainly as good as the first CD, Me First. A lot of the electronic parts were taken out and now the songs are much stronger.

Guster – Ganging Up On The Sun
standout songs: Lightning Rod, Satellite

Another high quality CD from Guster. Completely above average songwriting, lyrics, melodies, and instrumentation. Excellent rock/pop songs that you sing along to, where you find some part each time that you haven’t heard before. The first two songs are superb, especially "Lightning Rod", which is gentle and strong, wrapping beautiful melodies around moving guitar and a bit of percussion and organ – this is what Guster does best.

One for the Team – Good Boys Don’t Make Noise
standout songs: Good Boys Don’t Make Noise, I Promised I’d Grow up

Good rock/pop from Minneapolis in the vein of Death Cab for Cutie with a more rocking vibe.

Peter Bjorn and John – Writer’s Block
Standout songs: Young Folks, Detects on My Affection

I didn’t listen to this as much as I meant to this fall, but there are some standout songs. Overall, the minimalism to the songs got to me, as I wished there were more to hold my attention beyond the melodies. Sounds similar to the Shout Out Louds.

Rx Bandits - ...And the Battle Begun
standout tracks: Untitled, …And the Battle Begun, In Her Drawer

Most disappointing CD of 2006, which is because I have high expectations of them. While the vocals for the band continue to progress (there are some awesome three part harmonies all over), the music of the band just doesn’t match. The odd key and rhythm changes sound way too forced. I found them terribly distracting. Ever since Rich Balling left after Progress, the horns parts have taken a nose dive and became way too intricate and/or non-existant. The band always did reggae the best, and that also left that off this CD. My favorite track ("Untitled") is the one they recorded live in one take without practicing and it’s only vocals.

So Many Dynamos – Flashlights
standout songs: Search Party, Progress, How High the Moon

I have to say: I liked their first full length better. However, this CD pushes the boundaries of angular guitar pop (with lots of odd rhythmic changes that sound natural, unlike the jarring changes the Rx Bandits force upon our ears). The bands holds their influences on their sleeve still (The Dismemberment Plan, Les Savy Fav) but on this CD they sound more like themselves. I feel like they lost more of their melodic sensibility on this CD, but it’s pretty decent. “Search Party” is a really nice song – I love the breakdown in the midsection with the horns into the big ending.

Patrick Watson – Close to Paradise
standout songs: Close to Paradise, Daydreamer, Sleeping Beauty

Canadian piano pop, somewhat in the vein of Coldplay or the Flaming Lips, but with a bit of experimental noise thrown in for good measure. Emily discovered this late in the year (thanks, CBC) and we both became fans.

10. The Stills – Without Feathers
standout songs: Oh Shoplifter, Helicopters, It Takes Time

I listened to this CD a lot this late spring/early summer, partly because no other decent CDs were released in the spring, partly because this CD is really good. The band moved away from their darker dance-type rockers to a more organic rock sound, but kept the same thick harmonies and interesting pop songwriting (and added a lot of piano). All the songs are quite good but it doesn’t have that standout song or two that take to the next level.

9. Final Fantasy – He Poos Clouds
standout songs: This Lamb Sells Condos, He Poos Clouds, The Arctic Circle
video for "He Poos Clouds"

Emily and I listened to this CD on Sundays throughout the entire fall. Mellow, with sharp jabs of strings, jangly piano, and shouted vocals poking through the lining, it just felt right hearing Owen Pallet recite the line “his massive genitals” in "This Lamb Sells Condos", between the dreariest fall on record in Toronto, our usual Sunday breakfast of bacon & eggs, reading the Saturday newspaper, and mildly paying attention to a football game on TV.

While I felt his previous release had more standout songs, the songs on this CD are creative and solid all the way through, despite containing demanding melodies.

8. Rainer Maria – Catastrophe Keeps Us Together
standout songs: Already Lost, Terrified, I’ll Make You Mine
video for "Catastrophe"

"Already Lost" is my favorite song of 2006. It tells such a sad story and the song creates this soaring open, thick yet empty space that I think will resonate with all listeners. I love it when the guitar really kicks in at about 1:21. I was sad to hear the band decided toss in the towel, but really, I don’t think their fan base grew much with their last two CDs, which is a shame. Rainer Maria are one of the few bands I don’t consider musicians – I consider them artists. I know that sounds pretentious, but really, this CD is excellent.

7. Brand New – The Devil and God Are Raging Inside of Me
standout songs: Jesus Christ, Archers, Millstone

This CD is like a string of dreary weeks in the spring, offering a rare glimpse of the sun on the occasional morning, and one just waits for a sign of summer, but it never comes. This CD definitely sheds the pop/punk status the band garnered as it falls much more into the modern rock category. Jesse Lacey continues to write a much higher level than his peers, placing himself as one of the more potent lyricists in rock today. In the song “Jesus Christ”:

I know you're coming in the night like a thief
But I’ve had some time, O Lord, to hone my lying technique
I know you think that I’m someone you can trust
But I’m scared I’ll get scared and I swear I’ll try to nail you back up
So do you think that we could work out a sign
So I’ll know it's you and that it's over so I won't even try.

Using their major label recording budget (oh. my. Listen to that perfectly distorted guitar at 2:44 in "Millstone"), the band uses its quiet and loud moments as best they can. I am a bit disappointed in the mastering of the CD, as the quiets can often be too quiet and the louds too loud.

This CD is this ranked this highly based on the strength of three absolutely incredible songs, but then after that, there are few good songs. While the four songs in the middle have their individual moments - "Welcome to Bangkok", "Not the Sun", "Luca", and "Untitled" – they are the weakest songs on the CD, and the CD hurts because of this.

6. Rock Plaza Central – Are We Not Horses?
standout songs: My Children Be Joyful, We’ve Got To Be Glad For, When We Go, How We Go (Part II)

This CD grows on me more and more each time I listen to it. The vocals are a bit disconcerting at first, but I’m continually drawn in. The CD draws comparisons to Neutral Milk Hotel because of the odd vocals and instrumentation. Lots of solid songwriting and melodies, horns, bells, and more vaguely creepy vocal parts. I always hear something new everytime I listen to it, and I like it more and more. I love the interweaving horns at the end of “When We Go, How We Go (Part II)”.

5. Lily Allen – Alright, Still
standout songs: Smile, Littlest Things, LDN
video for "LDN"

Of course I love the ska backbeat, but Lily offers more than just a pretty face and big hooks. Lily Allen gives us non-superficial tight, pop songs from the female perspective, something that is sorely missing from pop music. The songs are smart, unapologetic and get in your head. There are only a couple of weak tracks, one of which I know she absolutely hates (it’s the one that sounds nothing like the rest of the CD and also happens to be music played for some commercial for the CW network). I’m excited to hear what she does next.

4. Regina Spektor – Begin to Hope
standout songs: Fidelity, Better, Samson
video for "Fidelity"

The first three songs on this CD are so, so good. Beautiful and fragile, yet strong. The piano with the vocals in the beginning of “Samson” showcase this the best. This CD is an improvement on Soviet Kitsch, keeping in the same genre of piano driven pop songs, but Regina has moved on and matured as a songwriter. The CD lags in the middle a little bit, but all the songs are strong and unique and tell a great story. I don’t know why she isn’t more well known than she already is. People need to hear these songs.

3. The Decemberists – The Crane Wife
standout songs: O Valencia!, Sons & Daughters, The Crane Wife 3
video for "O Valencia!"

This CD would have been the best CD of 2006 for me. Except there are three tracks on this CD which absolutely kill it – "The Island", "The Perfect Crime #2", and "When the War Came". These songs are the songs that deviate the most from the usual Decemberists sound, and they all really suck. C’mon now – less Pink Floyd wannabe crap and more organic songs with sing along melodies. In an effort to be more positive, I will say that the rest of the CD is beautiful and pretty much flawless. Colin Meloy tells great stories and has the talented band to back them up.

2. Tokyo Police Club – A Lesson in Crime
standout tracks: Citizens of Tomorrow, Cheer It On, Nature of the Experiment
video for "Nature of the Experiment"

I think the band initially comes off as Canada’s high school-aged answer to Bloc Party, but the more you listen, the more you hear the nuances that make this band so compelling. Most notably, all of the pieces of the band fit together so well – the drums fills when it needs to fill, the bass keeps the rhythm as the guitar goes though exciting riffs, the keyboard adds the texture, and the vocals blink between innocent melodies to group shouts. I also find the production of the CD rather gritty and original. Now if they could only write a song that cracked the three-minute mark…

1. Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton – Knives Don’t Have Your Back
standout songs: Our Hell, Doctor Blind, The Lottery, Detective Daughter
video for "Doctor Blind"

The first snow in the city just started and it’s 7:00 pm. You have a hat, but don’t need gloves yet, because it’s just not that cold yet. You’re walking to your car or bus or subway stop and you just had the longest day, but suddenly you feel pretty pleased about the snow falling and are looking forward to staying home, making yourself a gin & tonic and just looking out the window for a while at the thick snow and the blinking streetlights around the corner.

Emily Haines captures a feeling and mood and takes it to its core. This CD is consistent and awesome with its excellent vocals, gentle melodies, melancholic piano, and layers of drums, strings, and electronic blips. I love it from start to end. There is not a bad track in the bunch. Lyrically, Emily Haines looks at the difficulties facing a young woman in the 21st century – looking at the past wave of feminism and trying to understand how to take those advances and make them her own.

This is the amazing CD I thought Fiona Apple was going to make last year, but didn’t.

The Early November/Rx Bandits

2006-07-13T21:26:00.000-04:00

I like the new Early November triple disc more than the new Rx Bandits CD.

The Early November

The TEN CD is a grand project. The third disc (The Path) serves as a kind of therapeutic rock musical. The story lines on all three discs are cohesive and well-thought out, as is the music. I think the first disc (The Mechanic) captures the essence of the times, in terms of "smart" pop/punk (as opposed to Fall Out Boy) and the 2nd disc (the Mother) has a more timeless pop/rock quality to it. "Decoration" is an excellent song - the pop/punk song of the year.

Rx Bandits

The new RxB CD is weird. It feels like it has no melodies, but there are three part harmonies all over the place. Now, there are songs that sound really good and parts of songs that sound amazing, but as a whole, it's too prog-y. I liked it when they ventured more towards the pop end of the spectrum (Rich, why did you ever quit?). I wasn't expecting Progress part II. I got over that with the last album. There are more vague political references than straight ahead finger pointing. There are enough strong spots on the CD, but still. Too many jarring key changes and arrhymic (Is that a word? It looks funny.) transitions that kick the flows of songs right in the shins. Anyway, I still recommend it. I still love this band.

Jose Gonzalez

2006-06-12T20:51:00.000-04:00

Thought provoking and tender, Jose Gonzalez plays with conviction at a slightly lower decibel level than you may be used to. All of this from an an Argentinian Swede playing classical guitar and his voice.

There's not a track on Veneer that I skip. It's solid through and through. The vocals may remind you of James Mercer of The Shins. There's a certain airiness that that stills radiates a deep emotion in his voice.

I recommend "Heartbeats" and "Crosses."

Jose Gonzalez on Myspace

Controlling the Famous

2006-05-10T12:51:00.000-04:00

http://www.myspace.com/controllingthefamous

Did you ever wish that No Knife sounded much poppier, even though it might mean losing a slight bit of that angular edge except that you would gain more cohesive melodies?

Yeah, Controlling the Famous is it. excellent stuff.

Eagle*Seagull

2006-02-07T23:13:00.000-04:00

Your Beauty Is a Knife I Turn My Throat On
Photograph
Death Could Be at the Door

I just heard this band and my ears dropped the extraneous noise it was holding and zeroed in on what was coming out of the speakers.

A seven piece straight out of Lincoln, Nebraska - Eagle*Seagull

The vocals immediately make you think of Robert Smith, Win Butler, and then Isaac Brock. The music also sounds like their respective bands. It's not derivative though - it is its own thing. Bright, yet brooding. Sad, but optimistic in some odd way. Loose, but controlled.

It features great instrumentation without that feeling that they raided the miscellaneous closet in the recording studio. With seven members they are able to create a very thick sound, but will cut it back for the correct effect.

"Photograph" is currently my favorite of these three. It's epic and gorgeous and really works the uptempo feel to its favor in the first half of the song. And then the vocals leading the end are just the right way to end the song.

Angels & Airwaves

2006-02-04T12:03:00.000-04:00

Angels & Airwaves - The Adventure Final

Tom Delonge listens to The Joshua Tree. A lot. Then he listened to his own S/T release. And wrote a song.

It's not bad. It's not going to change the music scape, but surely he'll sell a ton of records to kids who don't know that U2 had a career before whatever their last single was.

Hello Blue

2006-01-21T00:23:00.000-04:00

Hello Blue - Celebrate

I meant to pick up this CD when I was back at my parents house in Minneapolis this past summer, but didn't end up buying it until I returned there again after Christmas. I really wish I had picked it up earlier, because it has found its way into the car stereo as soon as I got home on the 31st and it hasn't left. I have been listening to Minneapolis's Hello Blue and their CD What It Takes To Wake Up the entire time.

This CD is now firmly in my top 10 for 2005. Number 8 or 9, at least.

This track is a good representation of what the rest of the CD offers: excellent indie rock, with a little shoegazer tossed in for good measure. It kind of has a Sunny Day Real Estate feel to it or Static Prevails era Jimmy Eat World. This song actually wouldn't have sounded out of place on the Bloc Party CD actually, especially the guitar work in the second half of the song. The production quality has that great home studio charm to it, but what if this were slicked up in a big time studio like the Silent Alarm? I'd like to hear that, but I think I like it the way it is.

The song opens with the band raiding the percussion closet before it gets down to business. fun. The slightly dissonant open guitar chords cascade in and the song takes off with the words "Celebrate", which also happens to be the only decipherable word besides the question everyone has been trying to figure out, "Why do all the good things/happen to such bad people?". These guys manage to stretch out one short sentence into a long verse, favoring chord structure over rhythm (while the guitars, accompanied by the drums, texture the song rhythmically), creating a nice unique effect.

The band uses the studio well with layers of vocals dropping in and out over each other, creating a nice surrounding effect. The controlled chaos of the drums, bass, and guitar underneath these vocals is just awesome - the ride cymbal just barely keeps it all from falling apart.

The second half of the song goes into instrumental territory and not a drop of energy is lost, as the end of each section is broken apart and then pushed forward by the drums, creating a very groovy effect. And at the end like finding a second toy in a cracker jack box comes the layers of feedback, which everyone loves.

Hear more Hello Blue on their myspace page.

Top CDs of 2005

2006-01-02T20:43:00.000-04:00

No tunes to download here, you'll just have to find them on the artists's websites or buy the music.

Now before we get to the top 10.....

Best CD of 2005 That I Tried Hard To Like But Found Boring
Spoon - Gimme Fiction (Merge)

I listened to it once. Strike one. I thought I’d sit and really concentrate on it. Strike two. People who love all the bands I love loved this CD, so why didn’t I? Strike three. I gave it three good tries, but it really did nothing for me.

Best CD of 2005 That Should Have Been Awesome But Wasn’t
Longwave – There’s A Fire (MBG/Red Ink)

What a let down. I feel like I went into a high school amateur art gallery where there is no rhyme or reason to the pieces chosen to be put on display. There are some glimpses of something good in a couple of the works, but ultimately there wasn’t much there. It all felt tossed together at the last minute. What happened to all that spacy guitar shit that you used to do? I liked that and it made longwave sound like longwave.

Best CDs of 2005 That I Know/Think I’ll Like But Haven’t Fully Listened To Yet
Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine (Sony)
Wilco – Kicking Television (Nonesuch)
Rogue Wave – Descended Like Vultures (Sub Pop)
The Constantines – Tournament of Hearts (Sub Pop)
The Most Serene Republic – Underwater Cinematographer (Arts & Crafts)

Best CD of 2005 That Was Released on an Indie in 2003, Re-released on a Major in 2004, and Again on a Major as an Enhanced CD in 2005
(tied for 7 in top 10 list) Regina Spektor – Soviet Kitsch (Sire)
This is the street-wise punk version of Fiona Apple, with a few sugary sprinkles on top. Very folky, very poppy, and lots of sweeping piano to go along with those sweet, memorable vocals. “Us” is just a flat out awesome song. Regina is a little snarky, a little sincere, and a little ironic. She blends the best of all of these attributes to make a cool CD.

Best CDs That I Heard in 2005 That Were Released in 2004 (okay, I guess even my #1 choice falls into this category)
(tied for 3 in top 10 list) Stars – Set Yourself On Fire (Arts & Crafts)
This came out in Canada in 2004, but its official release date in the United States was in 2005. My CD copy says copyright 2004 on it. Ah well. Onto the music. Amazing pop/rock with male/female vocals. The first three songs “Your Ex-lover is Dead”, “Set Yourself on Fire” and “Ageless Beauty” knocks you right out with touching subtle power, sweeping you right on the floor with the grand, big guitars, lush melodies, touching strings, and tweaking keyboards. No song on the CD really sounds alike, and so the CD moves you like you are going through the best movie soundtrack ever. This CD is a more complete version and a step ahead of their previous release, Heart. Here’s to hoping their next output is even better.

(tied for 4 in top 10 list) Chin Up Chin Up – We Never Should Have Lived Like Skyscrapers (Flameshovel)
This came out in late 2004 on an obscure Chicago based record label, so forgive me for not hearing it before last year’s end. Using melodic rhythmic guitar picking as a focal point in every song allows the band to create multiple storylines in each song. The rhythm section makes the songs really groove. This sounds like The Appleseed Cast if they wrote 3 minute pop songs. The keyboard parts in “Collide the Tide” absolutely rule and the bass/drum/keyboard trio section in “I Hope for Tumbleweeds” was one of my favorite musical moments I’ve heard this past year.

Best Record Label of 2005
Arts & Crafts

You keep putting out the hits and I’ll keep buying. Hot damn.

and now for the top 10.....

10. Biirdie – Morning Kills the Dark (Pop Up)
Did you ever wish your favorite band would just keep putting out different versions of the same album? You know, maybe just once, for the fans and not worry about “pushing yourself” and “moving boundaries”? This sounds like the delayed flight version of a Rilo Kiley’s Take Offs and Landings. The band even wrote a song about Jenny Lewis (“Open Letter to Jenny”). The band is also from L.A. and certainly is in the former child actor scene, and probably knows Jenny fairly well (bassist Kala Savage is Fred and Ben’s sister). It can be a little too much, but the songs are really pretty good for a debut full length.

9. ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Worlds Apart (Interscope)
The intro and opening track (“Ode to Isis”/”Will You Smile Again?) make an awesome use of an aggressive and fiery 5/4 to give a real penetrating impending feel of doom. The first 5 songs and the last couple on this CD are absolutely excellent, mixing somber moods and critical rock anthems. Unfortunately, the middle of the CD falls apart so much that you have to drag yourself through those awful tracks a few times to reassure yourself that you aren’t missing something.

8. Death Cab For Cutie – Plans (Atlantic)
Upon initial listen, this CD seemed so bland. It didn’t offer any song that captivated you immediately, like Transatlanticism did. They continued with their same light-rain-on-my-parade-with-a- hint-of-sunshine-dripping-on-me feel of indie rock. The drums and bass provide the foundation for the layered bricks and mortar of guitars, keyboards, and vocals to drop onto. The more I listened to this, the more I noticed the nuance of the brick work, and often found myself admiring the foundation, noticing that it, too, offered more than the standard concrete shaped in a rectangle with a completed basement. This CD sounds more methodical than their previous releases. “Soul Meets Body” is deliberate and systematic, but the band brilliantly moves the song from verse to chorus and all the rest with such ease that it sounds natural. DCFC is honing in on something bigger. This CD is for those who wanted Transatlanticism part II. DCFC plan on moving from their modest digs for something more.

7. Shout Out Louds – Howl Howl Gaff Gaff (Capitol)
The opening track “The Comeback” alone puts this CD in the top 10. It gets hooked in your brain and it won’t get out. And the chorus of the song is instrumental. It is amazing feat for a pop song. That interplay between the keyboard and guitar is just awesome. Fortunately, the rest of the CD has that same sort of interplay of loose and controlled freedom between all the instruments. This CD sounds like vintage American rock and roll in an alternate universe. It feels organic. You feel a renewed spirit listening to this.

6. The American Analog Set – Set Free (Arts & Crafts)
I was a bit put off by this CD because it felt like the entire CD stayed at one volume and the songs all lacked that increase and decrease in intensity. That ebb and flow of dynamics. AmAnSet works on a principal of a lot of repetition and groove. I needed to dig a lot harder to find that, but it was worth it. “Cool Kids Keep” makes great digs at hipsters and the CD then moves into a beautiful four and a half minutes of “She’s Half”, featuring layers of cashmere soft vocals accented with a loose grind of tambourine and guitar.

5. Final Fantasy – Has a Good Home (Blocks Recording Club)
Owen Pallet found his home with his violin and looping pedal. Most of the CD revolves around his soft, yet firm vocal styling over layers upon layers of different violin parts, with drums, keyboards, horns, and other instruments thrown in for good measure. The CD tends to lag near the end with too many songs, but it is thoroughly enjoyable. I’m interested to the next incarnation of Final Fantasy, which features a string quartet with Owen on harpsichord. Is neo-classical pop music the new indie rock?

4. The Decemberists – Picaresque (Kill Rock Stars)
I had listened to the band’s previous releases when they had come out and thought the songs were okay. There were a few good ones, but nothing that really hit me. I didn’t bother listening to this CD until late this summer because I figured it would be the same thing. I had seen the video for “16 Military Wives” and really enjoyed the video (and the song). So I gave the CD a good shot and was really knocked over. Two songs that sound like drunken epic pirate shanties, excellent instrumentation, excellent stories, and hooks everywhere - indie-be-damned. If this CD had been released on a major, we would have had 3-4 singles (“16 Military Wives”, “We Both Go Down Together”, “On the Bus Mall” and “The Sporting Life” released in that order) and a few Grammy nominations to boot.

3. Broken Social Scene – S/T (Arts & Crafts)
I have such mixed feelings about this CD. They could have not buried the vocals under a blender of noisy guitars and washed out drums, but they did because it was more arty that way. Would the CD have looked at radically differently if they had made it even remotely slicker on a few songs? (I’m looking at you “Ibi Dreams of Pavement” and you, “Superconnected”). Why didn’t the fast version of “Major Label Debut” go on the album instead of the bonus EP? They say they didn’t do these things because they didn’t want to sacrifice the art. But did the sacrifice it more by trying to be more artsy? These songs rock and roll in their own indie rock way, with countless influences and band members and countless noise feeds and guitar hooks. They also make you wonder what the hell is actually happening under all that white noise. I like this CD so much because it makes me think and really makes me try to understand why the band chose to mix these songs the way they did. While I like the CD for what it is, I like it more for making me wonder what it could be. Maybe I’ll figure it all out someday.

2. Sufjan Stevens – Illinois (Asthmatic Kitty)
This CD moves and takes you to all emotions with it. Sufjan and his Melodymakers raided the elementary school music room (melodica, guitar, recorder, bells) and while many of the songs are easily put off as simple, there are layers upon layers of parts and messages. What makes the CD incredible is its grandness and expansiveness. The songs go as long as they need be, and are allowed the freedom to breathe. “John Wayne Gacy, Jr’ is a haunting song without the final two lines, where Sufjan declares that even he can be truly as dark as Gacy himself, causing you to question all that you have done. If Sufjan isn’t a saint, who is? This CD is truly exhausting. By the time you finish “Casimir Pulaski Day” it feels like the CD should be finished. Despite these things, Illinois has lasting power. I know I will be listening to this 10, 20, 30 years from now and it will sound fresh and exciting and distinctly precious.

1. Bloc Party – Silent Alarm (Vice)
Combine equally slightly spacy, angular, and straight ahead rock guitar playing with a tight syncopated bass, perfectly complimentary and exciting drum work, half spitting and half very melodic vocal stylings, and a blue collar ethic and you have Silent Alarm. Each instrument knows when to take the lead and when to take a step back to let the others lead without missing a beat. Bloc Party can write a good fucking song. In fact, they can write fourteen.

From the beginning to the end, this CD is moving and you can’t help but move along too, regardless of whether you like the songs. It is a difficult album to dislike, and most people fall into one of two camps: the indifferent and the loving.

While the band tends to get the Gang of Four write off, there is so much more here.

The opening track, “Like Eating Glass” sets the tone immediately as the drums drop the controlled frantic shuffle feel over the layered guitars. It takes the bass almost a minute and a half to make its presence known with its slinky countermelody to the vocals. The second verse adds even more guitars to mix. It never feels like too much, though. Then as the chorus erupts, the band cuts back and breaks it down to a tight, simple drum beat and anthem-like vocals – “Like drinking poison / like eating glass.”

The band does an exceptional job with their quieter songs, and here the crisp, intimate production is highlighted. Listen to the bass drum and snare drum taps at the beginning of “Blue Light.” Doesn’t it sound like you are sitting right next to the drums at the band’s practice space?

“This Modern Love” shows off the band’s songwriting craft as the song never repeats itself and just evolves both musically and lyrically. The story that the music is telling coincides with the confessional lyrics that singer/guitarist Kele Okereke sings. As the song builds in noise and complexity it never loses its beautiful gentle feeling that is introduced in the guitar two string guitar plucking in the introduction.

The absolute highlight of the CD has to be the last minute and a half of the third track, “Positive Tension.” The song evolves into something absolutely fierce. The guitars take over with an audio riff assault with Kele pleading, “Why’d you have to get so hysterical?” As soon as he asks, “Why’d you have to get so fucking useless?” the lead guitar outdoes itself again with just the perfect melody to compliment the pounding drums that will make even the most jaded scene-star nod along and perhaps feel the urge to air guitar.

Where does Bloc Party go from here? This band has the talent and creative energy to do great things. They believe in their art and they believe they are a band of the people. What else do you need? (originally written for 30music)

Top Songs of 2005

2005-12-10T14:42:00.000-04:00

I starting making a winter mix CD and decided I might as well make my top songs of 2005 CD. I finished my top 10 CDs of 2005 list as well as other categories for CDs a week or two ago, but I haven't started any of the write up on it yet. I should get that done by Christmas.

Here's the list with a bonus EP to boot. This covers most everything that I listened to in 2005. It's got a few 2004 tunes, but what the hell. They're good songs.

These tracks are in no particular order in terms of best song of the year. They're all awesome in their own way.

Side A
1. The Constantines – Draw Us Lines
2. Stars – Ageless Beauty
3. Kelly Clarkson – Since U Been Gone
4. Death Cab For Cutie – Soul Meets Body
5. Broken Social Scene – Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day)
6. The American Analog Set – Born on the Cusp
7. Steel Train - Better Love
8. The Decemberists – On the Bus Mall
9. Bloc Party – This Modern Love
10. Regina Spektor - Us

Side B
11. The Shout Out Louds – The Comeback
12. ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead – Worlds Apart
13. My Chemical Romance – Helena
14. Bomb the Music Industry – Does Your Face Hurt? No? ‘Cause it’s Killing Me!!!
15. Longwave – There’s A Fire
16. Pinback - Blood’s On Fire
17. Biirdie – I Got You (On My Mind)
18. Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine
19. Sufjan Stevens – Chicago
20. Final Fantasy – The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead

Bonus EP
1. The Most Serene Republic – Content Was Always My Favorite Color
2. Chin Up Chin Up – Collide the Tide
3. Small Towns Burn a Little Slower – Wake Up
4. The Cardinal Sin – Where We Shine
5. Somerset – House of Knives
6. Polar State – We Broke Bread
7. Bear vs Shark – 5,6 Kids
8. Copeland – Hold Nothing Back

The Constantines

2005-12-05T23:17:00.000-04:00

The Constantines - Draw Us Lines

Shine a Light did nothing for me. It was okay I guess, but the vocals irritated me like a dirty mosquito bite and I couldn't get into it.

A bandmate put this CD in his car stereo with the doors open and back open and cranked the volume while we were waiting to load in our gear at the venue. We talked a bit, but mostly listened. It took me until the middle of the song. They hadn't changed chords at all. One fucking chord the entire song.

Yet the song moved and went somewhere. I felt moved. It felt like the song was pushing away this mountain over a hole I was stuck in, and I was gripping at the moving earth above me - vines, loose dirt, mud, clay, dripping sweat, with anxiety like I was going to be buried alive sucking air like it might be my last. The pounding drums just kept moving the mountain while the grisled, yet calming vocals of Bryan Webb echoed and resonated with me, letting me know that I had many more breathes ahead. This song is so physical it feels like its going to slowly crash into itself, but the vocals keep the song from grinding itself to a complete halt, burned and smoked.

I didn't know how much mountain was there until near the end when I could feel the song letting out its sigh of relief, as the pounding drums collapsed, the last "Draw Us Lines" is uttered, and I crane my neck out of the hole looking at that massive mountain beside me. This song changed me. Not a lot, but enough to make note.

I may give Tournament of Hearts and The Sonstantines a chance, especially with an opener like this.

Final Fantasy

2005-11-16T00:14:00.000-04:00

Final Fantasy - This Modern Love (Bloc Party cover)

This is making its way around various blogs, but is worth posting again for others to see and hear a song writeen by and then performed by two bands who have CDs that are definately cracking the top 10 of the year for me.

The original Bloc Party version "This Modern Love" is already an awesome 4 minute epic modern ballad (maybe a classic someday), so it is hard to top. Owen Pallet takes the song and turns it into his own, looping string part after string part like he does is own songs. He breathes new life into a song that was already very much alive. He makes it sound like a Final Fantasy song. A really good Final Fantasy song.

People laugh in the beginning, as he plucks away the notes, obviously giving the song away. But these people are quickly silenced. I can't think of anyone else who could cover this as well.

Enjoy.

Polar State

2005-10-29T00:13:00.000-04:00

Polar State - We Broke Bread

The opening drums set the tone for the song - kind of light, kind of heavy. The fluttering keyboard part that is echoed by the the guitar gives two very lush like hot velvet tones that wouldn't sound too far removed from being sandwiched between the new Postal Service song and a Keane demo on the next The OC soundtrack.

What makes this track really work is how each instrument comes in and takes its place in the song, knowing when to take the front, and knowing when to drop into the back. Every instrument has the melody at some point, and the baton is often pass so quickly you don't even realize it.

The air-y vocals play well against the heavy rounded out bass, both instruments playing off each other quite well in the verses. Picking up where the other left off, the two are never battling for position, but still abrasive enough to push the song into the next section.

As the song progresses, you can pick up all of the melodies just enough to sing the "Don't know, Don't know Hows" and to hum along to all of the instrumental sections which take equal precedence to the vocal sections. Coming off like a big sigh at the end of an emotionally draining day or last day of school lets drive around aimless with the windows down, this song straddles both kinds of feelings.

This band wouldn't work if any of its members weren't in the band. You can hear it - and that is cool.

Shout Out Louds

2005-09-06T22:03:00.000-04:00

Shout Out Louds - The Comeback

This song is all about tones and tonal quality.

Opening: The keyboard sounds just like the Nintendo blips from the race opening to RC Pro-Am.

Something crazy like 4 or 5 guitars are in this opening (and song), all with very different and distinct tonals qualities. The simple kind of air-y/kind of heavy keyboard part juxtaposed over the moving guitar melody works as the song's chorus, which is fairly rare for many pop songs - it is word-less. It is also one massive hook that just sticks in your ears and into your head and pretty soon you are bleeding that melody. Mixing equal amounts of a real bojangly feel and a stiff white-collar teenage bop by the books hook makes sets propels the song into the verse where if the vocals can't keep up, the brilliance of the opening riff will be lost.

A Swedish guy singing in English. Perfect. The tone in his voice sounds like the tone of the lyrics - matter-of-fact, sympathetic, and compromising with a logical thought process - "I'm a reasonable man/but I can't believe what's on your mind."

The rhythm section holds down the fort. The drums have a real dry feel to them, but not chapped or blistered. More like a dry fall air.

The guitar in the solo brings out a more wet tonal feel which takes many of the same feeling as the vocals give. Not drenched, just a little drizzle over the song.

This leads us into the final chorus where it all comes together. Note the added eighth note upper neck guitar part raining over the top of the vocals along with the keyboard harmony part which leaves you somewhere between feeling utterly satisfied and painfully teased.

A few "who-hoo-hoos" and this would sound dangerously like a lost The Rentals single. Maybe that's what makes this song so good - it brings back memories of the past, but takes us somewhere else, in its own creative way.

View the music video.

Stars

2005-08-24T22:03:00.000-04:00

Stars - Ageless Beauty

Taken from their 2004 pop/rock opus Set Yourself on Fire, "Ageless Beauty" is a track that has that something that you can never quite pinpoint.

Is it that driving, steady hi-hat that goes into the syncopated beat of the chorus (a supremely wicked set of 4 measures of 3/4 time with one measure of 4/4 tacked on the end for good measure) without missing a beat?

Is it that slinking bass that holds all the different parts of the chorus intact?

Is that that simple yet sure keyboard part perfectly matched with the guitar in the opening riff?

Is it the angelic vocals hovering over it all? What is she singing about anyway? Does it matter?

The opening of this song reminds me of waking up on a Saturday morning after sleeping in with the shine coming in through the blinds on your face and then you go and look outside and you know it will be in the mid-70s mostly sunny and you just know you are going to have a good day. Everything is going to go your way and you know it. You're going to have good meals, have great conversations, and spend a lot of time with loved ones doing the things you always wished you had time on the weekend to do that you enjoy.

This song gives me that hope and feeling.

Somerset

2005-08-09T22:01:00.000-04:00

Somerset - More Than Answers

Layers of guitars open with the pounding beat. Each instrument adds its own flourishes to underlying beat. A vocal pause gives a nice contrast of rebuilding instantly after it took 20 seconds to build it up.

The song straddles the dark/sunnyside of pop and while it is emotionally charged, the song avoids all the pitfalls of traditional emo/punk. There's no whining here. There's no objectifying of women. There is progression and resolution. We're not here to wallow, but rather to understand and learn using the theme of letting go in order for something to come back. With a switch of a word here and there, the chorus is allowed to keep its structure and makes sense throughout the lyrical progression. This is songwriting.

Musically the chorus leads the song and story. It's well crafted pop because you are able to sing along by the end of the song (see previous entry: Kelly Clarkson).

The song's only possible miscue (which I believe has to have been done intentionally) is the ending, which will probably only be caught by a few people. It is a direct rip off of "The Slightest Idea" by Hey Mercedes, who seem to be a very strong influence throughout all of "More Than Answers" and Pandora. The end of "The Slightest Idea" is a palm muted guitar playing minimal chords with vocals over it, and then ends with a single snare rimshot. Sounds familiar.

In fact, even the album art seems to be very similar to Everynight Fire Works. The song titles are written in the vertical binder of the jewel case. Underneath the CD is an image that plays with the circle that holds the CD in place. The bands name on the CD is in the very inner circle. Okay, beyond that the comparison falls apart.

Good song. Good art. Buy the album. See Somerset live. Support my former bandmate and friends.

Retrospective: The Impossibles

2005-07-18T22:10:00.000-04:00

The Impossibles never got the respect or recognition they deserved. They were one of the few 3rd Wave ska bands that actually contributed something to the larger musical community and had their own distinctive voice among all the the RBF clones. Here they are, from their first release to their last.

The Impossibles - Widowmaker

Anthologycame out as the band was breaking up. Compiling just about everything the band had released, Widowmaker is a good introduction to the band's early sound. Complete with the classic third wave style of ska verse-distorted chorus, the Impossibles still make it sound like only them. The diary cribbed lyrics could come off as being so high school (yeah, they wrote the song while in high school), but there is enough sincerity and common themes there that don't alienate anyone listening to the song. The seamless transition between the ska groove and the chorus that would make Rivers Cuomo proud as the Impossibles show their versatility.

The Impossibles - Enter/Return

After the band broke up thinking they needed to move onto other things in life, the eventually came back to their senses and back together. They opened their new CD Return with the obviously titled "Enter/Return".

Telling their story in their own words including the hopes, worries, and expectations, the song is obviously The Impossibles, but obviously the band is completely different. Ska became as cool as moonboots in July (well, pre-Napoleon Dynamite) and the Impossibles and most of the rest of us moved on. This song is just rocking from the first feedback fade in.

The Impossibles had a knack for fitting this one certain chord into just about every one of their songs (sorry, I'm getting all music theory on your asses). It's inbetween the 5 and 6 chord from the root. So If the root were C Major, then the chord would be G# Major. The manage to fit this in about 90% of their songs in one way or another. It was a part of their sound, along with the self deprecating/reflecting lyrics, the powerful dueling vocals, a knack for original and memorable melodies, and thus the mega sing-along choruses.

The Impossibles - Oxygen

The Impossibles hit their peak on 4_song_brick_bomb. This is a band that bettered itself with each release. This release also finally featured the band with decent production, as the songs were lacking the hollow guitars or overfuzzed guitars that while endearing, plaugued their earlier releases.

"Oxygen" is full of melodic bass parts and poppy vocals without the ridiculous production. Each instrument assumes the lead when necessary and gracefully bows out when its turn is over. The songwriting takes a leap forward, with lyrics becoming more complex and introspective, telling the melancholy story of distance makes the heart grow fonder.

The Impossibles achilles heel was always the mediocrity of their drummer. On brick_bomb the drumming has improved, but the band was albe to take the drummer's best skills and use them to his best potential, which unfortunately was never quite where the band needed them. Also, the band ends the song with its favorite chord maneuver, that chord between the 5 and 6.

The Impossibles - Starslight (yousendit)

The Impossibles recorded their cover of At The Drive-in's "Starslight" sometime during the brick_bomb sessions. I do believe this version of the song is better than the original. While ATDI used acoustic guitars and their wails to produce a chilling effect, the Impossibles went all Cher on us with the creamy analog keyboard vocals (the effect was not produced by a vocodor; rather, they turned up the autotune all the way. crazy!) and Rory matched the rapidfire intense spell that the countervocal produced.

Slow down. We can, we will (we will)...

The Cardinal Sin

2005-07-06T19:14:00.000-04:00

The Cardinal Sin - Where We Shine

All Alkaline Trio comparisons aside (lyrically: drinking, loss, regret. musically: "dark" mid-tempo rocker), this song is more of a late 90s pop/punk throwback with regretful lyrics that are emotional without the baggage of a bad emo song. The band is comprised of members of defunct Minneapolis bands Cadillac Blindside, Song of Zarathusta, and The Crush. All of these bands have great histories and each band member brings something of their own and from their old bands personality to The Cardinal Sin.

I've had the melody of the chorus of this song stuck in my head for days - "This is the hardest thing I think I've ever done/You were the one I thought Would always be there." The words alone sound cliche but that tone in the James Russell's voice captures the feeling of a drunken remark of a loss of trust just perfectly. I believe him.

While The Cardinal Sin may not be doing anything remarkable in the originality department, by focusing on good, interesting songwriting, they are bringing class back to a genre that has lost its luster.

Check out their EP. The Replacements cover is excellent.

Longwave

2005-06-07T23:12:00.000-04:00

Longwave - There's a Fire

Longwave is back after losing a couple of members and gaining a couple more. Their Life of the Party EP, released last summer, seemed like a collection of odd b-sides that neither was satiating or compelling, but decent nonetheless.

This track from their upcoming full length, (a full band version from the same track on the EP) is pretty much a straight ahead pop rocker designed for radio play. The song has the thick and static spacy guitar part combined with chord picking that is reminiscent of songs from The Strangest Things along with the melodies that are perfectly dropped into the chord structure of the song.

Upon first listen, I was actually kind of disappointed. The song felt too structured and choppy between each section. But then I started to hear the accents between the drums and the guitars in the verses and the beauty of of that memorable melody. As a pop song, it's actually works in the song's favor having the distinct sections.

I can't slam it for its mixing or producing because, well, John Leckie did it. And he's good at what he does. He has produced/mixed/engineered fine albums such as George Harrison's All Things Must Pass, John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, and Radiohead's The Bends.

Okay, lyrics. Usually the last thing I listen to in a song. Lyrically, each verse tells a cohesive story and by the end you can sing along to the "There's a fire" part of the song. So it accomplished its goal as a pop song. not bad. This track keeps growing on me.

I'm really looking forward to this full length.

Chin Up Chin Up

2005-05-25T22:26:00.000-04:00

Chin Up Chin Up - We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers

Finger picking good art-pop from Chicago. The band draws its audio sensibilities from Modest Mouse and The Appleseed Cast, mostly in the guitars, which drop between jerky picking to sustained chords creating a sweet combination of two different distinct sounds.

The song has a real narrative feel to it. The vocals seem secondary to the melodies of the guitars, bass, keyboard, (and even the drums) that tend to get handed off like a torch from phrase to phrase and measure to measure. Layers and layers go in and out of each other. It sounds like an instrumental with vocals added as an afterthought.

The speak-sing vocals crossed witht he jangly quasi group vocals lend themselves well to the feel of the song.

There's something slightly sad about this song, although there really is no reason for it. A band member's tragic death weighs in on the song (and the rest of the CD for that matter) that actually pulled the band members closer together. This song is excellent in toeing the line between this energetic feeling and the feeling of despair holding it back. While the song was written before the accident, the feeling rings throughout the recording.

We should all the glad and proud for Chin Up Chin Up keeping playing. There's a lot more gems to come out of them (like this song), I'm sure.

The New Amsterdams

2005-05-11T21:25:00.000-04:00

The New Amsterdams - We Can All Get Along With Dinosaurs (demo)

What happens after you've sold hundreds of thousands of CDs, have a couple of kids, decide that the band has run its course, and then have the urge to write but you're tired of writing songs of heartbreak?

Find a new audience.

Matt Pryor didn't have to look any further than the two little ones hanging onto his legs.

Musically, this song isn't dumbed down for kids. It sounds like, well, The New Amsterdams. Acoustic guitar and thick melodies and harmonies with easy going bass and drums. I respect that.

Lyrically, well....there's nothing like subversive song lyrics for kids. This song gets my vote for best pro-gay-marraige song for kids. I can't think of a better way to explain this to kids.

"One man whose voice was loud said dinos are bound to trample his house. They should be told to leave here. One dinosaur did speak he started to say 'don't push us away because we don't have any intention of wrecking your home. We'd like a place of our own.'"

Two more demos:

When I Get to Eleven

Pizza and Chocolate Milk

Bomb the Music Industry!

2005-05-05T23:34:00.000-04:00

Bomb the Music Industry - DOES YOUR FACE HURT? NO? 'CAUSE IT'S KILLING ME!

do it yourself socialism and fuck (with) the riaa. I think I like this "band". Check out their website for more of their manifesto.

Musically the song sounds like Lars Frederickson and Travis Morrison started a angular punk-ska band in 1998. fucking. sweet.

This collective has fairly lofty goals, and I think a lot of people would like to be a part of it. A lot of people would rather do away with it. This song takes Say Anything's Admit It!!! one step further and executes it as it was meant to be - this song is for all the people who don't exactly fit in anywhere in the musical scene spectrum. It is the punk spirit in every sense that has really been lost for a long fucking time. I feel like there is hope. I feel energized. This song does it.

It's an excellent home demo recording that captures the DIY spirit with its dichotomy of loose/tight audio sensation.

Lyrics included below so you can make sense of the vocals, which unfortunately get lost in mix at times.

Take a look at your haircut. You're killing me.
Take a look at your glasses. You're killing me.
Placement of the piercings. You're killing me.
Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight.
Take a look at your ripped jeans. You're killing me.
Take a look at your Converse. You're killing me.
Get a shirt that fits you. You're killing me.
Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight.

US: Someone the other day was telling me about marketing and how it is so important for a band to sell a t-shirt. I told him that the money goes right back into the same thing and now we're just a breeding ground for more and more consumers. And sellout, shmellout, it's not about that. But I didn't have a problem when I had no cash. Now we perpetuate this need to sell x units every night and if we don't meet our quota, man, we're gonna get into another fight.

THEM: Williamsburg has got the lights turned low and a moron with a laptop is calling this poetry. A singer with a thrift amp brags "Vintage Circuitry". I saw him on the cover of Bop or Seventeen crooning "I'm so lonely/Life is empty/Where's my coke and fucking money?" Tonight at the bar I got a good look at the enemy. He said "My job's looking good and someone else can write the songs for me."

Soon we'll be in the clear
When we get out of here
Where style is function
And our egos make us fight.
For now we'll live in fear.
We're not sexy enough for this atmosphere.
Someone blow it up tonight.
Please blow it up tonight.

Now we're cloning sheep.
Writing garbage in their diaries.
Reading their AP. Watching Fuse TV.
Kill it, c'est la vie.
Fashion show = your scene.
Bomb the industry.
Then run away or watch the blast.
I'm getting out, man, kiss my ass.
I'm going nowhere, nowhere fast.
I'm going nowhere nowhere nowhere.

Coldplay

2005-04-22T23:14:00.000-04:00

Coldplay - Speed of Sound (link leads to site to DL. courtesy of Nervous Acid)

Dear Coldplay,

Thanks. You have mastered the art of non-offensive-even-my-parents-will-like-it pop/rock. You have mastered the spacy synth/guitar parts and the syncopated drums/eighth note hi-hat verses and big tom-tom choruses (but not too big), You have mastered the guitar lead part and sometimes get crazy and switch it over to piano. We all love it, because you remind of us of U2, but much cooler and less full of yourself.

The lyrics straddle that fine line between specific and non-specific and everyone can relate, from kids to grandparents, who would probably like your songs too. Thanks.

You'll probably win another Grammy for X&Y. Critics will find absolutely nothing wrong with it. Except that it sounds a little too much like yourself.

You are becoming a parody of yourself. Grow up. Be musicians. Dare to challenge yourself and write something else besides different versions of "Yellow", "In My Place", and "Clocks". Please. You are better than this.

"Birds came flying from the underground, if you could see it then you'd understand." Thanks for those words of wisdom Chris. It's allright, I'll still enjoy your CD, I'll keep waiting for you and your band to evolve into something more like I know you can do.

Best regards,

me

Weezer

2005-03-19T16:18:00.000-04:00

Weezer - Beverly Hills

It sounds like a B-side from the blue album crossed with Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar on Me". Actually, this song is "Pour Some Sugar on Me". whatever.

10 ways this song could work and be really awesome:

1. Non-boring chord progression
2. Matt Sharp
3. Losing the stupid girls saying "Gimme Gimme" in the chorus and entering Matt Sharp being goofy
4. Matt Sharp
5. That embarrassing cringe worthy guitar solo in the middle of the song
6. Matt Sharp
7. Singing something more interesting than "Beverly Hills That's Where I Want to Be"
8. Matt Sharp
9. Losing the embarrassing guitar noodle at the end of the song.
10. Matt Sharp

Rivers, I give you credit for writing a song that addresses class differences and American idealism. The lyrics are decent. Not great, not bad, but decent. Musically, this is mediocre and boring. Maybe I'll give you a hint of credit for doing that on purpose. But only a hint. You really were missing you old partner in crime on this song.

The Get Up Kids

2005-03-12T23:36:00.000-04:00

The first time I had heard of them was in the fall of 1998. My friend Matt and I wanted to get some vodka, so I called a guy who lived in the freshman dorm at the U of M named Jim. He had tried out to play guitar for the old band, but for various reasons didn't play more than two practices.

It was my first time into any University dorm, so I was kind of nervous to begin with. Matt waited outside in the car while I went in and called Jim. We meandered down halls, up staircases, down staircases. I felt so damn lost. Finally we got to his room. We talked a bit and money and alcohol exhanged hands. There was some music on in the background, and I asked him what he was listening to.

The Get Up Kids.

He told me I should get their CD. I said I would, but I was really just worried sick that the arm of my Columbia jacket would look funny with a liter of Karkov vodka in it. Plus, I was knee deep in Reel Big Fish at the time, and if it didn't have a shit load of horns with a shit load of power chords, I really didn't give a fuck about it.

I didn't think much about the Get Up Kids until I ran into Jim again outside of Folwell Hall near Dinkytown in the fall of 1999. I had just started University. I asked Jim what he was up to. He said he was going to pick up the new Get Up Kids CD. Cool. He told me again I should check them out.

On one of those rare occasions, I would buy a CD without ever hearing a song by the band.

I didn't listen to it until I got back into my dorm room. I put in Something to Write Home About in my aiwa minisystem and I do believe my jaw dropped.

The pure energy and the rhythm of the drums completely caught me off guard.

I will always remember hearing "Holiday" for the first time. Then I heard the vocals. I thought they sounded like shit.

Slowly after a few songs I decided the vocals weren't so bad. I could get used to them. Every song felt totally brand new, inventive, creative...like I was taking my first artistic breaths. Every chord progression sounded new. Every melody felt so familiar and so strange at the same time. The drum fills were certainly something no punk drummer would ever think of.

I think my favorite song after several listens was "Ten Minutes". That song just pulled you in. The whole thing is one massive singalong with energy. Total energy.

Slowly I began to collect more of the bands catalog. I got the The Red Letter Day EP for Christmas the following year and bought Four Minute Mile soon after. I collected the bands earlier songs via Audiogalaxy.

By the time Eudora came around, it felt like an eternity since anything had been released since STWHA. It was only two years, but it felt like forever. I had listened to everything the band had ever released over and over....I was dying for something new. "Up on the Roof" tided me over fine.

By then, the musical landscape had changed tons. The Get Up Kids were part of the third wave of emo, whether they wanted to be or not. It just was how it was. As was and still is with most bands, The Get Up Kids refused to acknowledge their hand in the emo business - they wanted nothing to do with it.

So the band left their midwest roots to go out east some bigtime producer and came home with On A Wire. At this point in my music listening lifetime, I was starting to branch out. I was prepared for something different. Of course, most everyone wanted STWHA part II, but we all knew it would never come. The band got sick of heavy power chords with octaves on the second guitar and a big half time chorus to finish each song.

You pop in the CD and you get "Overdue". Shuffling drums, understated vocals, and lead guitar lines that weren't octaves. It's a bit different from popping in a CD and getting "Holiday". It sets a different mood. The rest of the CD is pretty good. It has a couple of throw away tracks, but those can be overlooked. I tried hard to like this CD, and in the end, I did (minus "Grunge Pig" and "High as the Moon". What the fuck were they thinking? Worst TGUK songs ever).

By the time Guilt Show came around, my interest in The Get Up Kids had waned, but I still wanted the CD.

The opener, "Man of Conviction" is probably the fastest song they've ever written - their take on punk. It gave the CD that burst of energy immediately that their previous CD lacked. The rest of the songs sound nothing like the first one, but that's allright. We, as listeners, finally got to that same point and it all makes sense now. The rest of the CD is excellent. The songs utilize the best traits of all the musicians in the band and it feels cohesive. The songs deal with adult themes that most 18-24 year olds aren't dealing with (divorce), but the band manages to make the feelings universally understandable.

I was fortunate to see the band open their tour for this CD and see them in the middle of the tour as well. The band sounded tight, but you could just see in their eyes and body language that they were ready to move on. You could tell that they enjoyed the band and still were all good friends and enjoyed playing together, but that it was going to be time to move on.

The band will be missed. It was a good run. Keep making music.

Modest M....err....Kidz Bop

2005-03-07T23:07:00.000-04:00

Kidz Bop - Float On (yousendit. expires 3/14/05)

You know you're a Rockstar when....

Steel Train

2005-03-06T23:55:00.000-04:00

Steel Train - Better Love (yousendit. expires 3/13/05)

If you dated Scarlett Johansson, would you call her out in a song? Would you explain how/why you broke up? Would that make you feel better?

Sure, why the hell not. We don't get to hear her side of the story, but do we really need to? We scrutinize celebrities based on their roles and the stupid things we hear about in the news away.

"This girl, she had it kind of sweet 'til fame wept her off her feet....Hey Scarlett, you're not the same."

After Scarlett is called out as a "hollow pearl" (I'm guessing they broke up during the filming of The Girl with a Pearl Earring), you know can just imagine how the whole relationship played itself out in the end.

The song has a nice retro-country retro feel to it. The subject matter lends itself well to the feel of the song...plus it lets the listener think about what it would be like to date a moviestar before they became famous, and then what it feels like to watch them from a distance, without you. heartbreaking.

Kelly Clarkson

2005-02-27T15:26:00.000-04:00

Kelly Clarkson - Since U Been Gone (yousendit. expires 3/6/05)

Yep, I'll admit it. This song is awesome. I can't stop listening to it. Let's break it down.

Now, I doubt Kelly Clarkson wrote or arranged the song, so the credit goes to to those people. Anyone with a decent singing voice could have sung this song, but Miss Clarkson does a fine job with her 318 vocal overdubs in the chorus. The lyrics are so-so, but it's a pop song, so we'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

A nice, simple guitar opening, with the electronic drums leading way for the vocals. The stripped down approach works well as the quiet part to the chorus' loud part. Although we haven't heard the loud chorus yet, we know it will be, since well, this is a fucking pop song and that melody in the chorus will be punded over our heads and stuck there for days.

The guitar notes alternate between an G and an E. The note B is constant throughout the chords. When the E moves to an F at the end of the phrase, it creates dissonance with the B note, which, when put in conjunction with the lyrics, is a musical signal that while there is momentary disharmony in the relationship, it too will be resolved, just like the chord will resolve itself when the F moves to the G.

In the middle of the first verse, the keyboard drops on on the quarter note pulse to mark the build up to the chorus. Very shortly, the "Since You Been Gone" vocal overdubs kick in over the rhythm section pause.

The mark and beauty of a good melody is the "less is more" mantra. Here, the main melody consists of basically 2 notes and one basic rhythm. These two notes are then expanded as necessary, including the lush harmonies. The chords underneath essentially are structured so that their movement echoes the movement of the two notes in the melody. Thus neither the chords nor the melody are competing with each other and work in a mutually happy relationship.

The second verse adds another layer of keyboard as well as other electronic blips to give it more texture. Based in the strength of the verse melody in the beginning, the listener, while still paying attention to the melody can also listen to what else is going on the background.

The second chorus is the same as the first. This is kind of like brand recognition. The listener is introduced to the melody in the first chorus, and so when the second chorus comes along, they should at the last be able to hum along to the two note root of the chorus.

The middle section is meant to break down the the earlier parts of the song. Here, the melody stays in the same range as the earlier vocals. The drums keep the same steady pace. This keeps the energy level high. If the drums were to drop off at the beginning of the mid section, it might signal an extended middle section, as it would take longer for the song to build up the energy to come into the chorus again. Lyrically this section ties together what is said in the verses and chorus and puts drives the point home.

As the vocals end, the guitar immediately takes the lead and plays the chorus riff, while the other instruments come back and help reinforce the riff. This quick transfer from the vocals to the guitar signals to the listener that the chorus is coming up next.

After two choruses, the listener should now be able to sing the words and the melody to the chorus of the song. So now that the final chorus comes in, there are additional vocal parts added before and after the main melodies. The reason this was added at the end is because the listener is used to the melody and again they can listen to what else is happening in the background of the song while still keeping the focus on the main melody.

The outro, or coda, brings back the original electronic looped drum part, so the song is able to come full circle. This section is generally quieter to give the listener a break after the loud chorus. The title of the song and opening of the chorus "Sing You Been Gone" are repeated (branding the song, yet again), so that the listener remembers (in case they forgot) the song.

Overall, the song should appeal to a very wide variety of people. The heavy vocals should appeal to anyone who likes pop music. The electronic drum beat, while it is a rock beat, is dancable, so that generally appeals to someone to something with a heavy drum beat - dance music, hip hop, etc. The chorus contains distorted guitars so that appeals to those who like anything rock related.

This is a near perfect pop song.

Animal Collective

2005-02-26T00:42:00.000-04:00

Animal Collective - College (yousendit file. expires 3/4/05)

Maybe if I heard this song when I was 17 it would have swayed my life in a different direction. Probably not.

It's the shortest song on Sung Tongs, but I always think about the song after I hear it. It stays with me. Maybe it's the simplicity of the song. Or the complexity of the subject. Or that it's pretty funny. Or that it's very serious. Maybe it's the background noise that sounds like someone pissing on the side of the toilet bowl. Maybe I wish I could arrange the song for a high school choir to sing at their spring concert just to see the odd looks on parent's faces as the song finishes.

Snowden

2005-02-09T22:24:00.000-04:00

Snowden - Victim Card

From Athens, GA to New York and back to Atlanta, Snowden have been getting a buzz around these parts for a while now (as well as elsewhere in the US and the blogosphere).

Fuzzed out guitars and dreamy drum beats give the vocals room to breathe and go their own way. I'll be honest: I've only heard about 3 My Bloody Valentine songs, but this song really reminds me of MBV. Take that with a grain of salt.

I love how this song just lulls and sedates you and you just got lost in the sounds. Maybe its the tempo. Maybe its the soft sung vocals. Maybe its the drums which keep the volume level of the song just above consciousness and just below awareness. No parts in this song are overdone. The song may be understated, but nothing is underdone.

Final Fantasy

2005-02-06T01:15:00.000-04:00

Final Fantasy - The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead (yousendit. link expires 2/12/05)

Since I'm moving to Toronto at some point I feel I should start covering some music from there. I should cover some Minneapolis rock in here too. Maybe I'll deconstruct my friends' music. Wouldn't they love that.

On to Final Fantasy. I saw them (err...him) open for The Arcade Fire a couple of weeks ago. I thought his music was good, but got old by the end of the set. I would have bought a CD after the show, but there were too many people in packed against the merch table. Anyway, the songs were cool in that the layers just built opon themselves and I really enjoyed hearing that. But after the third song, it got too predicatable.

Thank god his recorded work adds a few other bits and pieces.

The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead takes one chord progression and drops all it can into it. Layer upon layer of violin, and keyboards and vocals thrown in for good measure. The vocals are a bit timid in their approach and are a little low in the mix, but that's allright. Things get fun when he drops the 32nd notes on the violin and then layers the harmony 32nd notes on top. That's my kind of thing.

The blending of the outro is a beautiful thing too. While that droning chord progression rages on in the background, a new sweet violin harmony slinks in to lay the song down.

Pinback/Trail of Dead/The Current

2005-01-30T23:44:00.000-04:00

Pinback - Blood's On Fire (yousendit file. Click on the link, read the directions. Link only good until February 6).

On the way home from work the other day I listened to this song the whole way home. It is brilliant. Lyrically and musically it is the song equivalent to the feeling you get while watching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Heartwrenching and beautiful and you keep holding your breathe reaching out trying to help but you know it is hopeless. This song would not be out of place on a No Knife CD.

I love the end of the song:

"You're not outside. You're not inside. You're not anymore. Where did you go?
Here's to the pranks we never pulled. And never will."

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And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - Worlds Apart (yousendit file. link only good until February 6)

Okay, I never really listened to this band before this song. Pitchfork liked them enough to give their last full length a coveted 10.0. Is it the jangly feel or the slight British accent that is making me excited? Is it that the band slags MTV and then makes this song their single to be played on TRL? (Every reviewer seems to be quoting this line - I think they want the word cunt to be put into print for some reason: "Look at those cunts on MTV with cars and cribs and rings and shit. Is that what being a celebrity means?"). What do those animal noises mean at the end of song? Why do songs in 3/4 time sound like irish drinking tunes? Am I supposed to be sad or happy when this song ends?

Do I like it because this song makes me think? wow, what a concept.

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The Current

This makes me wish I were back in Minneapolis. It's a good thing the internet has progressed to a point where internet radio doesn't collapse all the damn time.

Jimmy Eat World (again)

2005-01-10T22:16:00.000-04:00

Click here to watch the video for "Work" by Jimmy Eat World (in Windows Media format)

Jimmy Eat World unseats Usher or whoever the hell else sits atop TRL and stays there until the video is retired. The lyrics to "Work" are quoted in yearbooks across the country and 1 in 5 schools use the chorus as its graduating class's motto/quote.

JEW never bullshitted about wanting fame and selling a lot CDs. That was the point. With their new CD, and now new video, they will acheive even greater fame, and much will be written about the band that is full of personality yet are just average boring dudes and how they came to sell millions of CDs. This video will push them over the edge.

It's so cliche and but it's all fucking true. Featuring teenagers spewing their holden caulfield rhetoric and showing them full of ennui, creativity, passion, and the obligatory angst seems too obvious.

Despite the initial cynical reaction of falseness and idiocy, upon closer look, this is pretty real. I remember when I worked at the video store with my best friend and stole videos. I remember that kiss by the door and then watching her leave and wondering if I would ever know the meaning of "relationship" or when I would have sex. I remember sitting in school and having no clue where I would be 5 years later. I remember feeling stifled by adults, but feeling kinda scared about venturing out on my own. I remember feeling like it would be forever until I would be free from the pains of schoolwork.

"Work" turns out as a rallying cry for teenagers across America. When I first heard the song, I knew that it was about high school, but I tried to deny it and I thought that was kind of dumb. But this song needs to be about high school, and all that bull shit that is being a teenager. It's just the way it is.

Not too shabby boys, not too shabby.

My Top Songs of 2004

2004-12-11T17:39:00.000-04:00

I'm too lazy to find links to DL these songs, or to make them myself. Besides, I've highlighted a number of these already.

1. Mates of State – Goods
2. Reeve Oliver – Inhale, Exhale
3. Jimmy Eat World – Work
4. Say Anything – Belt
5. Taking Back Sunday – Set Phasers to Stun
6. Muse – Time Is Running Out
7. Rilo Kiley – More Adventurous
8. The Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
9. So Many Dynamos – Let’s Laugh About It Later
10. Modest Mouse – Float On
11. The Get Up Kids – How Long Is Too Long
12. Small Towns Burn A Little Slower – Wait for Me, Abby Bernstein
13. Midtown – Waiting for the News
14. The Elected – Greetings in Braille
15. Franz Ferdinand – Take Me Out
16. Rogue Wave – Every Moment
17. Green Day – Jesus of Suburbia
18. Less Than Jake – National Anthem
19. Audio Karate – Jesus is Alive and Well (and living in Mexico)
20. Animal Collective – College

The Arcade Fire

2004-11-29T22:24:00.000-04:00

The Arcade Fire - Wake Up

Nicely distorted guitar. Simple drum fill. Choir-like "ohhs". Long tone key chords drop in and out. Strings play their role too in this existential rocker, rolling in and out of the "ohhs" and "ahhs".

This song is big. This song is lamenting. This song is waking up. This song could move faster, but it doesn't want to, and it doesn't need to.

"I guess we'll just have to adjust." This song is about changing and realizing that good is happening all around you, and to let it go (okay, that sounds kind of bohemian, but they are Canadian).

Musically, the songs kicks it up a notch with a key change in the middle signaling possible change happening. Then the song turns the corner. Just as the the song realizes its own mortality ("I can see where I'm going to be/when the reaper he reaches and touches my hand"), the drums turning to an uptempo bop feel signaling life after death. Or would that be death after death? Okay, so that sounds cheesy, but listening to the song, it sounds and feels right, and you can make your own decision about what the hell the lyrics mean.

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This song comes from the CD Funeral which will in all likelihood be placed in many critics' top 10 or top 83 releases of the year, including mine.

Rx Bandits

2004-11-03T13:53:00.000-04:00

This is the only song I feel like listening to today. I need some hope.

Rx Bandits - Overcome (The Recapitulation)

We've had.
We've had enough of the politicians
We've had enough of these politician's wars
All we need right now is love
We've had enough of these military scoreboards
What we need right now is love.

(Turn it up)
The future is held in the hands who write the textbooks,
Ignorance is bred when falsified thinking is taught
To the youth instead of past mistakes and mind elevation,
Like the graves that manifest destiny has created.
So we can build our capitalist consumer based economy,
To build, market, and sell commodities we don't need.
But we are trained to believe like celebrity imaging
Well I'm here to take my feelings back and I hope that you will be with me

I can't wait for that day when I hear us all screaming.
I can't wait for that day when I hear us all singing together,

(Come on)
I can't wait for the day when I hear us all screaming,
HERE COMES THE REVOLUTION.
When every race color and creed of militant human beings stand up
With fists together for substance and true meaning
Because right now we got our feet stuck in cement
We're too caught up in a material status quo punishment
And one thing is for sure and that's the sun will always set,
Darling you can bet our moon is quite the opposite
So baby take a axe to your makeup kit
Set ablaze the billboards and their advertisements
Love with all your hearts and never forget
How good it feels to be alive and strive for your desire
Just cause you can't see your cage doesn't mean that you are free
When there are laws against nature but its ok for you to be
Addicted to over the counter prescriptions
And magazines dictate all our human relations

I'm not buying, no I'm not giving in
To a culture that objectifies all of our women

I'm not buying, no I'm not consuming
The apathetic dribble on the news media’s chin

I'm not buying, no I'm not giving in
The lies that are sold through textbooks to children

I'm not buying, no I'm not consuming
Cause the positive will always overcome the negative right

And we stay inside, its right outside, we stand in line
We all enjoy the fences to keep it at bay
But I'm not giving in.

Mates of State

2004-10-30T23:20:00.000-04:00

Mates of State - Goods

Let's face it.....Mates of State's 3rd full length (Team Boo) just wasn't as good as their first two releases (My Solo Project and Our Constant Concern, respectively). I was disappointed. I hoped that the band would take their strengths of awesome vocals, catchy keyboard parts, and smooth drumming and well, make them stronger. Instead they made something that just didn't quite keep up with their earlier releases. It just languished in midtempos and boring keyboard parts.

Mates of State have returned with both a DVD and a new EP. This track comes off the EP and takes the band's aforementioned strengths and has fun with them.

The opening keyboards sound like they belong in a hockey arena, well, maybe at least NHL 95 for the Sega Genesis (you can make their heads bleed!). Then the drums kick in with that Cure sounding keyboard drop in, and that sold me right there. You can either sing along to Jason or Kori, and all is well. And you can't help but sing along. Mates of State are just like that. Of course its more fun if you have someone sitting next to you in the car to play off of.

This song is just fun. Did I mention that yet?

Reeve Oliver

2004-10-16T18:02:00.000-04:00

Reeve Oliver - Reevenge (click on link, then right click on "click here to download the file now")

There is something about this song that has me playing it over and over. It's nostalgia - for 1999-2000esque emo/punk. That looks ridiculous as I write it and think it, but this song would fit perfectly on a Vagrant Records compilation between Hey Mercedes and Saves the Day from that era (or on a No Knife CD). Now it would be terribly out of place on a label that has lost its focus (or sharpened it, if you figure Rich Egan wanted to make loads of money as his plan to being with).

Full of major second chords and a neat beat flip in the first riff of the song, Sean O'Donnell comes in at the verse and lets his tenor voice guide you through the song. He doesn't plead with you, or shove anything down your throat, he just wants to let you what's going on. The vocal echoes that drop in and out (thank you Mark Trombino for mixing this) really add to the feeling of looking back on an important event and thinking again about what revenge is, which are reflected sarcatically in the lyrics - " We all knew you can't go wrong/It's in this song/Every note/Every word /And you".

This full length Reeve Oliver CD really surprised me, and as it stands, it will land in my top ten for the year. The rest of the CD doesn't necessarily sound like this song, but there are some melodies that are just sticking my head like nothing else has this year.

Rilo Kiley

2004-10-10T20:34:00.000-04:00

Rilo Kiley - Such Great Heights (live 10/09/04 - Philadelphia)

Maybe it's my excitement of seeing RK and Death Cab For Cutie play on Tuesday, but this is just fun (and adds to the hope that DCFC could play this Postal Service cover with its original writer Ben Gibbard and Jenny Lewis singing together).

Blake strips this down to just its melody and simple guitar strumming, and what sounds like a keyboard set to "trumpet" while Jenny sings little bits of back-up. It takes the crowd the first few words to realize Blake isn't starting up the song "ripchord" which he has been opening up the encores with lately on RK's tour. The real singers are the crowd.

This song has also been recorded and released as a cover by Iron & Wine, on the "Such Great Heights" single and placed on the Garden State movie soundtrack. This Iron & Wine version takes the song in a more delicate direction and sounds great until after the first chorus, which is when you realize the song is going absolutely nowhere and is thereafter painfully redundant and monotonous.

The song is excellent as its original indie-dance incarnation, but Rilo Kiley take it and put their own spin on it, making it sound like their own song, which is both a mark of an excellent band, and of an excellent song to be able to survive in another interpretation.

Jimmy Eat World

2004-09-26T22:54:00.000-04:00

Jimmy Eat World - Work

I couldn't stop myself from writing about this or sharing it. If this song is not 10 times bigger than "The Middle" I would be awfully surprised. I really hate "The Middle". This song, on the other hand, is absolutely amazing pop genius.

The song starts with an arpeggiated guitar setting the mood and a solid drum beat. As the rest of the band comes in, it's apparent that something is building. Normally bands will build up to the chorus and slam it over your head so hard it blisters by the end.

When the band gives you that half chorus before they go into the "oh-oh's", it is audio sugar. Audio chocolate. Whatever your preferable sweet is. You crave more of it. And more of it. It doesn't come too hard or too soft. Just perfect.

There is nothing about this song that is wrong, except that they use an ordinarily overused chord progression in the chorus (1-5-6-4 for those keeping score) and use it so well that it sounds like they shouldn't be allowed to do that.

The guitar solo is just right. The drums are just right. The little breaks the band makes here or there are just right. The vocal harmonies are dead on. The song is mixed like it needs to be. The lyrics are specific enough, yet vague enough for each listener to make their own decision about what the song is about or what it means to them. Did I mention the "Oh-oh's" yet? The less is more mantra fits speaks for them.

"Can we take a ride? And get out of this place while we still have time."

I think Jim Adkins acheived his idea of a perfect pop song. He did it for me.

Song of the year.

Bear Vs. Shark / Rogue Wave

2004-09-13T21:50:00.000-04:00

Bear Vs. Shark - Ma Jolie

Trip-le-et. Never before have we heard such excessive use of the musical triplelet. It's cool though, because Bear Vs. Shark lays down a sweet groove for the verse. The best part of this song is the bad ass drum fills that you two-handed slap your steering wheel to during the chorus of the song while those passersby look at you funny. That chorus also has the much overlooked yell/wail that seems out of control like the drumming. Luckily, the guitars and bass hold down the fort with some sweet harmonies that counter that control/out of control feeling the rest of the song has.

After all the air drumming has left you exhausted, we come to the end of the song where the band pulls it all together into a nice exhale. In general, the transitions in this song are absolutely horrendous (e.g. after chorus into 2nd verse, and after 2nd chorus into the outro), but they are so endearing. This song has that right mix of seriousness, self depreciation, and silliness that just hits the spot.

If I had heard this song in 2003 when it was released, it would have been in my top 5 for the year, no doubt.

Rogue Wave - Every Moment

Simon and Garfunkel decided to have a baby with Death Cab For Cutie and name it Rogue Wave. Sweet melodies drop inbetween acoustic riffing under the near march-like tom tom tolls, while strange synthesizers make their way in and out of the song, all of which seem to work together. There is no fat in this song (obviously -- it's only 2:14 long). The song moves from one section to the next only stopping for the vocal break or to move seamlessly between time signatures. It has that tight hook that just stays in your head that makes you remember crave for those two minutes again-- "I used to think about you and me forever".

Less Than Jake

2004-08-25T21:44:00.000-04:00

Less Than Jake - National Anthem

Now let's get this out of the way--I listened to Losing Streak by Less Than Jake from start to finish EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. for 18 months straight when I was in high school. This band has shaped me in more ways than I probably know, not only in how I view music and the music industry, but in how I write my own songs.

So, Less Than Jake released Hello Rockview after Losing Streak and I probably listened to HR almost as much. These two albums are easily in the top five 3rd wave CDs ever made filled with classic LTJ whoa-whoas until you become sick, huge blasting trombones and of course huge guitars and production quality . LTJ released some real crap since then. I mean, there have been a few decent songs that would have qualified filled in nicely on their previous albums, but overall, they've lost it.

Recently they put out B is for B-Sides which is a collection of songs recorded for Anthem. This collection is ended by one of the best songs LTJ has ever written.

Maybe I can finally relate to LTJ again, in particular this song. I mean, most of their songs deal with the usual teenage alienation, i-hate-jocks, let's go cruise around the city, or let's drink some beers kind of lyrics that really strike chords with youth and the working class. "National Anthem" takes these themes and internalizes them. I guess the closest thing it is like is "Al's War" (their best song ever) off of Hello Rockview.

Vinnie keeps his textbook boring as shit yet still tight drum part going throughout the whole song. The horns kick in to accent at just the right moments (except who mixed the sax so damn high over the t-bone?!) and at the end it all comes together with the trademark whoa-whoas.

"My American dream is to have it a little better than my parents ever had it. A little bit better than just a force of habit."

Rilo Kiley

2004-08-18T21:58:00.000-04:00

Rilo Kiley - I Never

Like George Gershwin's clarinet breaking the codes of jazz ripping the silence wide open at the beginning of Rhapsody in Blue, the voice of Jenny Lewis shakes the speakers with such blunt confidence and pure beautiful grace with the simple statement "I'm only a woman."

Straight out of a 1950s prom with a Sadie Hawkins theme, the song slinks with the bassline that decides to move at just the last second like a squirrel in the middle of the road. Acompanied by sweet and soaring strings, a jazzy vibraphone, and triplet heavy keyboards, Jenny Lewis is clearly the feature here. Her voice has that innocent yet almost broken, but still optimistic quality to it that is simply unmatched.

As the song expands into the midsection and into the final set of 6,023,583 "nevers", Jenny absolutely croons as she sways on "I-i-I-i-I-i-I-i" and you can't help but sigh and nod along and know exactly how she feels: "I never loved somebody the way I loved you."

My only complaint about the song is the false ending which kills a bit of the flow. For the love of God, SAVE IT FOR THE LIVE SHOW. The guitar harmonies are so perfect though. I guess I can't complain too much.

NO-EFF-EXXX

2004-08-12T01:02:00.000-04:00

NOFX - Franco Un-American (live on Conan 8/10/04) (link goes to a page where the video can be downloaded)

This was fucking historic. NOFX played their television debut, and will probably never play (live) again on TV. In anticipation of this, I wondered what exactly NOFX had planned up their sleeve for the performance. Was Fat Mike going to rip off his shirt mid performance to show us a sharpie-d chest bearing FUCK BUSH for the whole American late night TV watchign audience? What kind of obscenities would be censored by NBC? Did NBC really understand what the hell they were doing by giving NOFX the opportunity to raise hell for three minutes? I actually hoped they would have played their song Idiot Son of an Asshole, but they did pretty damn well anyway.

In the end, they succeeded my expectations, and had more fun with it. First off, the album version of Franco Un-American is pretty straight forward anti-conservatives, anti-Bush, blah blah. Second, the band all wore anti-Bush regalia. Fair enough. As the band rips through the song, you just knew they were going to whip something out by the end that would no doubt leave their mark.

Sure enough it starts with the censors bleeping out "fucking" out of the line "I eat no breath mints 'cause of fucking hoofed horses." And then Fat Mike pleads "Don't anybody vote for Nader."

As the band goes into the next section, the tension rises. The camera pans over to the face of Fat Mike singing into the microphone. "We all know George Bush is an imbicile." Allright it's starting to get more interesting. Now, as Fat Mike opens his eyes and sings the next line staring directly into the camera, you can see him get this sheer adolescent glee of breaking all the rules, and feeling absolutely thrilled to be doing so. And so he says, "He loves Dick but he hates homosexuals."

bwahahhaa. The producer for Conan is no doubt expressing his anger at NOFX at this point, thinking, this wasn't in the lyric sheet they handed me! GODDAMNIT. NBC is gonna be pissed. This fucking band will never be on TV again!

And that's exactly how NOFX wanted it.

As Fat Mike finishes the last chuckle of Franco Un-American, he puts his hand to his head and shakes it. What the hell did I just do? I'm so punk.

What is not seen on the video clip I have linked is where Conan, very, very nervously (and not trying to be funny at all) meanders onto the stage to meakly thank NOFX for playing. Then after the commercial break he thanks the guests again, and thanks NOFX for pleasing half the audience. I've never seen Conan act that way before. Historic, indeed.

The Close

2004-08-06T00:15:00.000-04:00

The Close - John Henry by Decision

Best local rock band in Atlanta in 2003 according to Creative Loafing .

The initial feel of the song kind of feels like you're setting yourself up for a duel. You know, walk 10 paces, turn and shoot. The first two minutes of this song rock you along with a nice groove and slight tension build, most notably in the drums and those upward swooping guitars at the ends of the phrases. You are taking your paces and counting, slowly watching your life pass through your mind...6,7,8.... Then, everything changes a little bit. The drums start to roll, you start to panic. Fuck the 10th pace. RUN LIKE HELL. All of a sudden it feels like everyone is after you. Finally you break free "and ride that traaaaa-ain!"

Say Anything/somanyD ynaM oS

2004-08-02T16:54:00.000-04:00

Say Anything - Alive with the Glory of Love

What happens when you smoke waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much weed and go crazy recording your album of songs when you turn 20? Max Bemis knows, and he's letting you know. This song sounds like it came from some sort of twisted emo musical. As the song starts, you really don't really know where the hell it could be going. Okay, a four part harmony in the beginning, that's kinda cool I guess. BOP BOP BOP. The infectious guitar rhythm gets you moving and soon enough the whole band frolics on in, oh yeaaaahhh. At first I thought the lyrics were ridiculous and terrible, but you know, but by the end of the song I wouldn't "let them take you" either (oh hell no), and so what if it's over the top a little bit? It's okay to be cheesy every once in a while.

So Many Dynamos - Laugh about it Later

So the Dismemberment Plan and The Postal Service decided to have a baby consisting of four members in the St. Louis area and called it So Many Dynamos. Laugh About it Later doesn't worry about putting its influences on its sleeve, because the band does it so damn well. The band lays down the groove early with a rolling snare drum and arpeggiating guitar. Soon, distortion pedals are kicked and indie kids everywhere can't help but drop their folding arms and sing along by the time the chorus rolls along: "Isn't this what you wanted? Why act so disappointed?" I swear the dual guitar harmony in the second verse was taken straight from "A Life of Possibilities" by the D Plan, but I guess I could be wrong. The song ends with the disco drum beat/shuffle that's all the rage these days complete with guitar feedback and nintendocore synth. Blue Oyster Cult would have wanted more cowbell in the end, but I guess it works out for the best.