Month: January 2009 (Page 6 of 6)

Rivers Cuomo: Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo

January 9, 2009 /

Someone in a popular men’s print magazine recently said something horrible about the latest Weezer album, something to the effect of, “If Rivers Cuomo burned down a hospital, it wouldn’t be the worst thing he did in 2008.” As harsh as that may sound, that critic probably hadn’t heard Cuomo’s latest batch of home recordings, sharply titled Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo. Cuomo is one of those songwriters that you might call prolific, and he’s been known to literally use computer formulas to create those songs. The problem is that whatever formulas he’s using are not very good, and if his “best” stuff is being released on the Weezer albums, why would anyone want to hear this schlock? Okay, it’s not all schlock – tracks like “I Was Scared” and “My Brain Is Working Overtime” sound like classic Weezer. But that’s two tracks out of 19. Everything else ranges from bad to downright painful, especially “Please Remember” and “Can’t Stop Partying,” on which Cuomo’s raw, pitchy vocals effectively marry nails and chalkboard. And he sounds like a whiny emo kid from 1999 on “My Day is Coming.” So before we all start hating Weezer, whether we were fans of the band before, let’s hope Mr. Cuomo goes on a long vacation, or does something else newsworthy so we can forget about these awful home recordings. He doesn’t have to burn down a hospital, but robbing a hot dog cart wouldn’t be a bad idea. (DGC Records/Interscope)

Rivers Cuomo MySpace Page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Emo, Pop, Power Pop, Punk, Rock

Peter Buffett: Imaginary Kingdom

January 9, 2009 /

Few musicians have carved a career as strange and wonderful as that of financial guru Warren Buffett’s second son Peter. After decades of electronic-based instrumental albums and Native American-themed works – one of which landed in “Dances with Wolves” – Buffett didn’t sing a note into a microphone until 2006, at which point he clearly caught the bug. Imaginary Kingdom is his third vocal album in as many years, and while it shares the one-man-show aspect of his other work – one could call Buffett a forefather of bedroom pop – the sum is more than one man jamming with himself. The rhythm section is simple, yes, but warm, something most self-made records lack. Aqualung’s Matt Hales surely wishes he had written “Set Me Free,” and Joseph Arthur could slip “Can I (Again)” into his set without anyone batting an eye. It’s all perfectly pleasant, though he creates a disconnect whenever he runs his vocals through what sounds like an Autotuner (“Ready”). He clearly loves playing with his machines, but what makes Imaginary Kingdom so endearing is its human element. He may be late to the pop game, but better late than never. (BeSide Records 2008)

Peter Buffett MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Electronica, Pop

Apple changes iTunes pricing

January 6, 2009 /

I’m surprised it took so long to make this change.

Under Apple’s new pricing plan that will take effect in April, Mr. Schiller said songs will cost 69 cents, 99 cents or $1.29. He said the “vast majority” of the songs will cost 69 cents, though people familiar with the matter said the most sought-after songs — which generate most of the sales on the service — will likely cost $1.29 as both Apple and the major record labels try to boost revenue growth. Wholesale prices charged by the record labels are likely to change to reflect the new price points; spokespeople for Apple and major record labels declined to discuss their agreements.

Apple also said it is dropping digital rights management, or copy protection, from eight million songs in its catalog effective immediately, and from the remaining two million in its catalog by the end of March.

Apple’s DRM has made it complicated for iTunes customers to use competitors’ products, like SanDisk Corp. music players or Microsoft Corp.’s Zune. Among the limits imposed by the software locks, it is difficult or impossible to play songs purchased from the iTunes Store on devices other than the iPod or iPhone.

For those of us who have loaded up on iTunes songs over the years, we can pay 30 cents a song to upgrade previously purchased songs in their iTunes library to a DRM-free version. Frankly, this sucks. We hould get the new versions for free.

News

A Chat with Sammy Hagar

January 2, 2009 /

It used to be that “55” was the number most associated with Sammy Hagar, but wrap your head around this figure: the Red Rocker is now 61 years old. Not that it’s stopped him from rocking and / or rolling, you understand. Hagar has just released a new album, Cosmic Universal Fashion, and he’s making the press rounds to promote it, which is how Bullz-Eye came to speak with him.

Bullz-Eye asked Hagar about life as an elder statesman of rock, his thoughts about Van Halen, and playing in a new band with Chad Smith and Joe Satriani, and he offered up stories of being denied the right to change the lyrics to a Beastie Boys song, of how he screams to prepare for shows, and how he once tried and failed to win over an audience when opening for KISS.

“The worst experience I ever had was opening for Kiss. For some reason, it just didn’t work. I got booed off the damn stage. I had to bust my guitar up and say ‘fuck you’ to people and I left…and it was Madison Square Garden! But it was their first hometown gig after they made it ,and they came back and played Madison Square Garden for four nights for the first time. And I was on the bill and I played first, and I said to the guys, ‘Bye-bye! You guys can do this on your own; you don’t need me as a whipping boy.’”

Check out the chat here, or by clicking on the below image:

Artists, External Music, Interviews, News

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