Category: Pop (Page 45 of 216)

Me, Myself, and iPod 4/21/10: Little Boots’ money shot

April 21, 2010 /

esd ipod

Why is this week’s installment of “Me, Myself and iPod” subtitled ‘Money Shot,’ you ask? Because last week’s column produced the largest number of downloads this site has ever seen, and I’m still not sure if that is a testament to Amanda Palmer’s fiercely loyal fan base, or if it’s because I used the words ‘blowjob queen’ in the title. Either way, I’m not messing with success. Plus, this week’s headliner, um, makes me tingly.

Little Boots – Remedy (SPEAK Remix)
SPEAK makes their second appearance in the three weeks of this column’s existence (they covered Daft Punk’s “Digital Love” in MMI’s debut) by tackling one of the best songs from Little Boots’ album Hands. The mix is a bit of a Frankensong, as the music track doesn’t really mesh with Boots’ vocals, but I’d love to hear someone take the chords in the verse and write a song around that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to watch her “New in Town” video. Sweet Jesus, is she hot.

Slow Club – Giving Up on Love
This cute boy/girl song also has a great video, but it’s a different kind of great than the Little Boots clip. MacKenzie Crook, a.k.a. Gareth from the UK version of “The Office,” lip syncs the song on a ferris wheel in a one-take clip. As for the song, think the Raveonettes, only poppier.

Eyes Set to Kill – All You Ever Knew
We’re still trying to wrap our heads around this one. The instrumentation in the intro brings to mind Primus, but the male vocals are pure Cookie Monster screamo. And then, this lovely female voice appears in the chorus, and the body that voice comes from, that of Alexia Rodriguez, is equally lovely. Odd, melodic, and thrashy. New record Broken Frames out in June.

See Green – Goldmine
Courtenay Green first caught my eye roughly a year ago when she released the video for her song “Beyond Therapy.” The song was all right – truth be told, I was a bigger fan of the old-fashioned video – but armed with a new band name and an updated, more muscular sound, Green appears to be ready for her close-up. Her Violet EP comes out May 4. Haven’t heard it yet, but you can bet that this song has officially whet my appetite.

Minus the Bear – My Time
Truth be told, my eyes rolled whenever I saw this band’s name. I’m a stickler for band names, and believe that it tells you next to everything you need to know about a band. Upon seeing Minus the Bear, I thought, “pretentious twits.” Wrong. This nifty little synth-friendly rocker fits nicely next to Jupiter One’s recent material, resurrecting the open frontier that was the late ’70s and early ’80s rock scene.

We Have Band – Honey Trap
Look for these guys to burn up the blogosphere. Armed with a drum machine straight off of the Human League’s Dare, this song will appeal to anyone who dug Calvin Harris’ “Merrymaking at My Place.”

The Love Language – Heart to Tell
Jangle pop! Who wants jangle pop? Merge’s latest act blends super-catchy ’60s-style melodies with more contemporary percussion riffs (think “Hollaback Girl”). New album Libraries comes out July 13. Please let the rest of it sound like this.

Elogy – London
The press release compares this trio to Coldplay, Muse, and Thirty Seconds to Mars. I definitely hear the first band, don’t really hear the second band, and am going to try to forget that I ever saw them compared to the third band. If Coldplay made a drum ‘n bass-type record, or at the very least something a little more glitchy (think Everything but the Girl’s Walking Wounded), it would probably sound like this.

Gadi Mirhazi & Soul Clap – Beautiful Thang
Time for a little Deep House Dish. The sampling in the beginning is a little annoying, but then this “Trans Europe Express”-type keyboard settles in, and it’s all smooth sailing from there.

Jeremy Messersmith – Violet!
It was not at all surprising to discover that Dan Wilson is a fan of fellow Minneapolis pop boy Jeremy Messersmith. Armed with a chorus Burt Bacharach and the Red Button would kill for, this tuns is sure to have the Audities set buzzing.

Talking to Walls – Came to You
The press release for this New Haven quartet compared them to the Cure, but to my ears, they’re closer to the Call. Big, earnest, anthemic.

'60s, Alternative, Artists, Dance, Downloads, Electronica, Hipster, Me Myself and iPod, Metal, Pop, Power Pop, Rock, Steal This Song

Kate Nash: My Best Friend Is You

April 19, 2010 /


RIYL: Lily Allen, The Pigeon Detectives, Regina Spektor

It’s got to be annoying to win a Brit Award for your debut album, only to draw a hundred unfavorable comparisons to Lily Allen in the process. Of course, among the current batch of pop chanteuses, Allen’s no slouch, but just because Kate Nash is young and boasts an adorable British accent, that doesn’t mean she deserves to be lumped in with her – or anyone else.

Now three years removed from her debut – and the ripe old age of 22 – Nash has re-emerged with My Best Friend Is You, which bends over backwards, and every other which way, to build a case for Nash as a sharply eclectic songwriter who’s equally at home channeling the Shirelles and Rosie Thomas. In other words, the album is a mess, and although it seems safe to assume Nash planned it that way, that doesn’t make Best Friend any more of an engaging listen.

Kate_Nash_06

It’s got its moments, to be sure – the album kicks off with the sparkling one-two punch of “Paris” and “Kiss That Grrrl,” both of which emphasize Nash’s way with jaunty pop hooks and sunny melodies; the latter, in fact, is one of the best things she’s done, thanks in part to Bernard Butler’s Phil Spector production. “Don’t You Want to Share the Guilt?” unspools a breezy blend of chimes, acoustic guitars, and a plaintive electric lead, framing a portrait of a relationship in decline with Nash’s trademark bittersweet lyrics.

Toward the end of “Guilt,” though, Nash launches into a babbling stream of spoken-word nonsense, and you can sense the screws coming loose at the joints, and things fall apart completely with “I Just Love You More,” which sounds like the Breeders getting high with the Cure and forgetting to turn off the recorder. Blink and the album does a sharp U-turn back into catchy pop territory for the first single, “Do-Wah-Doo,” and then there’s “Take Me to a Higher Place,” which kicks off with a Dexys flourish, and then…well, you get the idea. Nash is as brave and restless as any young artist, bristling with ideas and eager to share them all. Her willingness to go out on a cracked limb with her sophomore release is commendable, but listening to stuff like the borderline atonal “I’ve Got a Secret,” or the inane “I Hate Seagulls,” it’s hard not to wish Nash’s label still had a strong A&R person or two – someone who could have kept Best Friend‘s weaker bits in the vaults, where they belong. During “Mansion Song,” Nash spits out, “I want to be fucked and then rolled over.” Once Best Friend meets its fate in the marketplace, she might get her wish in more ways than she intended. (Geffen 2010)

Kate Nash MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop

Original Cast Recording: American Idiot

April 15, 2010 /


RIYL: Green Day, “Rent,” “Glee”

Here’s the God’s honest truth about the Broadway cast recording of “American Idiot” – it’s neither as good nor as bad as you’ve heard it is. These kinds of projects serve as a knives-out snarkfest for the more weak-willed music critics, who are then assaulted by the band’s faithful followers in the comment sections. Don’t take sides; they’re both right, and they’re both wrong.

The album features Green Day’s landmark 2004 album American Idiot in its entirety – they even included some B-sides from the Idiot sessions – along with a few tracks from the band’s 2009 album 21st Century Breakdown. The backing tracks are by and large Green Day’s original recordings, though “Last of the American Girls” starts off with a knowing wink to “Eleanor Rigby.” This makes for some smooth transitions from CD to the stage, though “Jesus of Suburbia” sports one of the most jarriing key changes you’ll ever hear when it’s the female lead’s turn to sing.

Perhaps the most shocking thing about American Idiot is the fact that Green Day’s original recordings of these songs are in many ways more musical than the musical versions. Stacked vocals are stripped away for the purpose of building to the big choral effect, though they don’t do that big choral effect nearly enough. Indeed, many songs are frankly undersung. The songs are already larger than life; the Broadway versions of them should be massive, like Godzilla-destroying-Manhattan big. The title track pulls a nifty layered vocal build-up during the break, and “Whatsername” capitalizes on the song’s soft-LOUD arrangement to make for a triumphant finale. “21 Guns” is the album’s showstopping moment, with the most theatrical arrangement and a vocal to match. The album could use more moments like them. “Wake Me Up When September Ends” has the pretty string touches, but for a musical about a post-9/11 landscape, that song of all songs should have been sung to the heavens.

The band were unquestionably treading a slippery slope in adapting their music for the stage, and they must have felt pressure to keep the spirit of the originals intact. Ironically, American Idiot could have benefited from a little more tinkering. It’s great to hear a Broadway score rock like this, but it would have been better to see them fully embrace what people love about Broadway in the first place. (Reprise 2010)

Click to buy American Idiot from Amazon

Alternative, Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop, Punk, Rock, Vocal

Me, Myself, and iPod 4/14/10: Amanda Palmer, the blowjob queen

April 14, 2010 /

esd ipod

Big, big, big selection of free downloads this week. Let’s get to it, before any more songs show up.

Teenage Fanclub – Baby Lee
If your first impulse when you saw the words ‘Teenage Fanclub’ was to say something snarky like “They’re still making records?” – or worse, “Who’s Teenage Fanclub?” – may we suggest keeping your fool mouth shut and giving this tune a listen. They’re not as in love with the feedback as they were in their Bandwagonesque days, but this golden slice of sunny guitar pop has medicinal powers that those Jamba Juice energy boosts can only dream of.

Amanda Palmer – Do You Swear to Tell the Truth the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth So Help Your Black Ass
“When I was seventeen, I was a blowjob queen, picking up tips from the masters / I was so busy perfecting my art, I was clueless to what they were after / Now I’m still a blowjob queen, far more selectively / I don’t make love now to make people love me / But I don’t mind sharing my gift with the planet / We’re all gonna die, and a blowjob’s fantastic.” Note to self: arrange a meeting with Amanda Palmer.

Olney Clark – Tea and Thunderstorms
The orchestral pop market has been positively flooded with sensitive minstrels…really, really sensitive minstrels, if you know what we mean. (Most of them are sissies, all right?) This track from Olney Clark, a duo comprised of a Scot and a Yank, gets the balance just right. And better yet, it’s available in Amazon’s download store, even though the album is still only available as an import. Better move fast, though: those imports tend to get delisted pretty quickly.

Kate Miller-Heidke – Politics in Space
Take the drum beat from Johnny Cash’s “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” and give it to KT Tunstall’s well-read older sister, and this is what it would sound like. Love those lower register background vocals, and the stinging indictment, “The ’60s were 50 years ago, you know.” True, dat.

Emanuel and the Fear – Dear Friends
ELO, kiddies. And unlike Cheap Trick, we mean the pun in that first sentence, because any Lynnephiles will instantly take to this nifty piece of baroque pop.

Charlie Faye – Whirlwind
We will readily admit to approaching modern-day country with a healthy dose of skepticism; that country-pop stuff feels like a wolf in sheep’s clothing to us, which is why we’re happy to see someone like Charlie Faye come along. Her voice is weathered (yes, Charlie is a girl) but not whiskey-soaked, and she’s mounting a rather ambitious tour where she’ll spend a month in each city, form a band, play a show, and then move on to the next stop. We still haven’t heard her debut album Wilson St., but if it’s anything like “Whirlwind,” we’re sure going to check it out.

Echo & the Bunnymen – Proxy
As much as we love when the band takes the occasional detour into mellow groove territory like 1999’s What Are You Going to Do with Your Life, they’re at their best when they reach for the rafters. This song, from their album The Fountain, doesn’t scale the frenzied heights of songs like “Do It Clean,” but good luck getting that piano riff out of your head.

Codeiene Velvet Club – Hollywood
This swinging side project of Fratellis frontman Jon Fratelli is still in power rotation. A boy/girl album of songs that recall ’60s-era Hollywood, this shows that the Fratellis’ last album may not have hit the mark, but don’t write them off yet. Indeed, Codeine Velvet Club might be Fratelli’s finest moment yet.

Ex Norwegian – Fresh Pit
This Miami trio casually sent us a friend request on MySpace last week, and proceeded to knock our guitar pop socks off. We asked if they would send us their last album (they’re currently working on a new one), they did, and we were amazed at the band’s versatility. This tune should pacify those jonesing for Band of Horses’ upcoming album.

Deer Tick – Twenty Miles
Is it just us, or did about a dozen Deer bands hit the scene at the exact same time? Whatever the timing, there will be no mistaking Deer Tick from the rest of the pack after hearing this track from their upcoming album The Black Dirt Sessions. Singer John McCauley sounds like David Gray crossed with James Hetfield, and the band’s blend of Southern Gothic will have Joseph Arthur pissing with envy. Good stuff, this.

'60s, Adult Contemporary, Alternative, Americana, Artists, CD Reviews, Country, Downloads, Gothic, Me Myself and iPod, Melodramatic, Pop, Power Pop, Rock, Steal This Song

Rogue Wave: Permalight

April 9, 2010 /


RIYL: Nada Surf, Death Cab For Cutie, The Shins

Fans of alternative pop/rock band Rogue Wave know that their music can be somewhat of an acquired taste, just like the Shins or Death Cab for Cutie. But therein lies a big reason for their success. The music won’t instantly grow on you nor make you instantly tired of it. Instead, Zach Rogue (who has a soft tenor a la Josh Rouse) and his band mates make the kind of music that should have staying power on your master play list. Rogue Wave’s latest, Permalight, is a departure from previous work, though it’s not exactly easy to pinpoint just why. Maybe it’s because Rogue suffered a couple of slipped discs in his neck in late 2008, which rendered him unable to move and scared him into believing he had a life-threatening illness. Eventually the swelling went down, and he regained enough feeling in his hand to be able to play the guitar. Many of the songs on Permalight are noticeably bouncier and happier than what one would expect from Rogue Wave, but the quality of songwriting is definitely still there.

Rogue_Wave_01

If you like upbeat alt-pop, you’ll find the jangly “Solitary Gun” or “Stars and Stripes” to your liking. But if you favor the darker side of what made you love Rogue Wave, “Sleepwalker” or the acoustic driven “Fear Itself” will suit you more. Then there is the total oddity of the title track or the robotic “We Will Make a Song Destroy,” which shows Rogue Wave becoming more experimental. One thing is for sure, though; many of us are glad that Rogue is okay and that Rogue Wave is still making music. (Brushfire/Universal 2010)

Rogue Wave MySpace page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock

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