Category: External Music (Page 20 of 50)

Steal This Song: Carlon, “Cantaloupe”

September 2, 2008 / David Medsker

Holy “Jesus Was a Crossmaker,” Batman.

New Jersey: It’s not just for bar bands anymore. This quartet does the best Hollies impression we’ve heard in ages, good enough to blow away anything by Band of Horses, to whom the band is favorably compared in their press release. Now, we like that Band of Horses album as much as the next guy, but there isn’t anything on Cease to Begin that comes close to matching the beauty of “Cantaloupe.” Is it just us, or does everyone else hear Christopher Walken’s voice when they see the word ‘cantaloupe’? Blame it on too many viewings of “True Romance.”

The band’s full-length debut, Johari Window, comes out September 30. We can’t wait to hear the rest of it.

Carlon – Cantaloupe

Americana, Artists, CD QuickTakes, Downloads, External Music, Songs

Steal This Song: Jem, “On Top of the World”

August 17, 2008 / David Medsker

Ooooh, her music is so dreamy. And she’s not hard on the eyes, either.

The press release for Jem’s upcoming album Down to Earth threatens that it will be a disturbingly eclectic affair, using choirs, banjos, Latin beats and even Cut Chemist doing his thing. Her blog-approved song “On Top of the World,” however, is all about the blissed-out pop. Not that there is anything wrong with that. St. Etienne’s best-of receives near-daily play at Chez Medsker, so this sounds just fine to me. I will reserve judgment on the “funky banjo” track until I hear it, though.

Jem – On Top of the World

Artists, Downloads, External Music, Pop, Songs, Soul

Steal This Song: ism, “Sacred Cows”

June 19, 2008 / David Medsker

Anyone who needs a temporary fix to tide them over until Muse drops their next album (rumored to be slated for late fall), this should do the trick. In fact, New York quartet ism are a little too good at the, um, Museisms, to the point where they have little identity of their own to speak of. The title track of their upcoming album, Urgency, takes elements of three Muse songs – “Time Is Running Out,” “Apocalypse Please,” and “Butterflies and Hurricanes” – and rolls them into one. They’re not awful – they just need to figure out who they really are. If there is one takeaway moment from the album, it’s this. And we’re giving it away for free download. Dig in, Museies.

Ism – Sacred Cows (Radio Edit)

Alternative, Artists, Downloads, External Music, Rock, Songs

Seen Your Video: Muse, “Time Is Running Out (Live)”

April 4, 2008 / David Medsker

Every music writer is a whore on some level, and I am a shameless, “2 Girls 1 Cup” skeezer when it comes to Muse. Look at the crowd. Who gets crowds fired up like that anymore? And the thing is, you should see them when the band plays “Knights of Cydonia.” Fucking incredible, that.

“Time Is Running Out”

Alternative, External Music, Rock, Seen Your Video, Songs, Videos

Seen Your Video: Bad Dudes, “Eat Drugs”

March 28, 2008 / David Medsker

Frankly, I’m surprised no one thought of this before. The LA math rockers Bad Dudes assembled one hilarious clip for their song “Eat Drugs” from vintage rock videos from the ‘70s and ‘80s. And for whatever reason, they included Information Society’s Kurt Harland on roller skates. Some bits are more of a stretch than others, but the Devo part is uncanny. Bravo, gents. This’ll get people talking about your band.

External Music, Rock, Seen Your Video, Songs, Videos