Tag: Eat Sleep Drink Music (Page 11 of 31)

Me, Myself, and iPod 7/28/10: Bayside High stole my record collection

July 28, 2010 /

esd ipod

Have a ton of stuff to do before heading off to Lolla next week, so this will be a short one.

Pete Yorn – Precious Stone
New track from Pete’s upcoming, Frank Black-produced album Self Titled. Sounds like Pete, but rawer, which is just what I was expecting.

Ex Norwegian – Jet Lag
Having reached out to me on MySpace a while back, these guys are quickly becoming a favorite around these parts. At the risk of tagging them as a throwback band – to the ’90s, no less – their sound is definitely not of this time. Big, ringing choruses, slightly dirty bass lines, horn-kissed verses…this would have been a #1 modern rock hit in 1995.

White Car – No Better
Holy Wax Trax, Batman. This Chicago industrial outfit has just made a track that will have fans of “Everyday Is Halloween” running for their Doc Martens.

Team Bayside High – No Sleeves Attached DJ Mix
In truth, this is not the most mind-blowing DJ mix you’ve ever heard. In fact, it’s pretty raw and basic, and when the drums kick in at the end of “Song 2,” I couldn’t help but wince a little. But I like their choice of songs, since they spend most of the time mixing rock songs, and I like the melding of rock and dance. Putting “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in here was a stretch (they had to speed it up to the point where it sounds unnatural), but we’ll still check out their DJ set at Lolla, schedule permitting.

Alternative, Artists, CD Reviews, Dance, Downloads, Electronica, Industrial, Me Myself and iPod, Rock

Kevin Hart: Seriously Funny

July 22, 2010 /


RIYL: “Def Comedy Jam”, Mo’Nique, “Soul Plane”

If you’re a fan of stand-up comedy, you’d probably be right not to expect comedic gold from someone who starred in “Soul Plane” alongside Snoop Dogg and Tom Arnold. However, low expectations can actually be beneficial, and Hart’s latest CD, Seriously Funny, manages to be reasonably funny – certainly funnier than any sober viewing of “Soul Plane” or just about anything else in the diminutive comic’s film catalog.

Over the course of an hour-long show taped at the Allen theater in Cleveland (aired as a special on Comedy Central and also available on DVD), Hart spins fairly standard but still moderately amusing yarns about married life (the sex gets boring), having children (parenting is hard), relationships and coming to terms with his own lack of toughness. The biggest laughs come from a bit in which he watches his father get beaten up and an extended sequence in which he explains how to storm out of a domestic argument correctly. His style of comedy isn’t especially original – stand-ups have been mining these topics since the dawn of creation, but Hart strikes a decent balance between the familiar and the slightly racy. His jokes are mildly profane on occasion, but won’t cause jaws to drop like much of the stand-up work of legends ranging from George Carlin to Eddie Murphy or even new jacks like Aziz Ansari. If you’ve watched a couple episodes of “Def Comedy Jam,” it’s very likely that you’ve heard some permutation of these jokes before.

The issue with comedy albums is always the fact that some of the jokes are inevitably visual, and thus fall flat in recorded audio form. That’s occasionally the case here. However, despite the hindrance of not actually being able to see Hart, it’s a credit to him that a good chunk of his jokes still fly. Seriously Funny doesn’t totally live up to its title, but it’s good enough that we can easily picture him starring in a family sitcom a la D.L. Hughley or Damon Wayans someday. (Comedy Central 2010)

Kevin Hart MySpace page

CD Reviews, Comedy

M.I.A.: Maya

July 22, 2010 /


RIYL: Missy Elliott, Rihanna, steaming hot messes

I guess you have to hand it to Maya “M.I.A.” Arulpragasam for not taking the sound of her breakthrough pop hit “Paper Planes” and repeating it 12 times over the course of her new album (which we are calling Maya from here on out, because trying to type those symbols out is annoying as hell). Although “Planes” wasn’t the most obvious candidate for pop ubiquity, it was certainly one of M.I.A.’s more accessible tunes, buoyed by a chanted kids’ chorus (offset by gunfire as it was) and a Clash sample. Unfortunately, 12 slight variations on “Paper Planes” might have actually been an improvement over what we wind up with on the Sri Lankan-born Brit’s just-released third effort. Maya is a fairly dissonant, disjointed affair on which M.I.A. practically plays a secondary role to the production.

M.I.A’s signature sound-featuring elements from various kinds of world music, as well as some more traditional electronic sub-genres, gets a slight makeover here. Tracks like “Born Free” (of controversial “video featuring redheads getting slaughtered” fame) and “Meds & Feds” have a more abrasive, rock-oriented sound. Taking the opposite tack, closing number “Space” has a more ethereal feel. Chalk this expansion up to M.I.A. working outside of her usual producers Diplo and Switch for a few songs and expanding her musical palette. However, the points she gains for opening her sound up are quickly squandered when you realize how crappy the songs are.

Most artists who tackle sociopolitical themes in their music have voices powerful enough to get the points they’re trying to make across. On Maya, M.I.A.’s vocals are buried under the production, and while the music is certainly chaotic and abrasive, her lyrical message (whatever it is) is completely obscured. Profundity has never been M.I.A.’s strong point, but too many songs on this album seem to consist of random chanting. Strangely, the album’s most affecting (or at least most listenable) songs are the ones where she seems to be gunning for Top 40 radio. Tracks like the reggae-scented “It Takes a Muscle” and the abrasive but melodic “Tell Me Why” could very easily compete on the charts with songs by Rihanna, the performer M.I.A. sounds most comparable to when singing instead of rapping.

If you loved “Paper Planes” and you’re expecting an album of copycat songs, you’ll be disappointed. If you’re a fan of M.I.A.’s politics and you’re looking for some Public Enemy-style rabble rousing, you’ll be disappointed. While it’s great that M.I.A. looked superstardom in the eye and didn’t sell out, the least she could have done in the wake of her success was make a good album. “Maya” ultimately turns out to be as messy as trying to type out the symbols that spell out her name on the album cover. (XL/Interscope Records 2010)

M.I.A. MySpace page

CD Reviews, Hip Hop, Pop, R&B

Me, Myself, and iPod 7/21/10: Elefants with guitars, robots with out holes

July 21, 2010 /

esd ipod

Hesta Prynn – Can We Go Wrong
Formerly of “female Beastie Boys” Northern State – and the author of this great couplet: “If you got a sweat suit and you’re dripping in diamonds / Tell me, are you a rapper, or a mom from Long Island?” – the girl her mom calls Julie Potash goes the indie pop route on her debut EP of the same name as this song.

Yacht – Nausea
Their 2009 song “Afterlife” beat every other synth-pinking wannabe act all to hell, and as they prepare to make their next record, they’ve recorded an X song, just in case we didn’t already know that they get the ’80s in ways that most other bands only dare to dream.

Diego Garcia – You Were Never There
Forsaking the full-blown glam of his previous day job Elefant for something closer to his heritage, Garcia delivers a gorgeous acoustic gem that sounds like a modern-day “Walk Away Renee.” Man, we hope the rest of his first full-length album, due next year, is on par with this.

PVT – Window
We will confess to being new to the band formerly known as Pivot, but if their new material has the drive and flair of this song, we’re in.

Radio FreQ – Where You Been
New York ’80s synth pop with a bit more…fabulousness, if you catch our drift. And look, more silly capitalization. We get it, Eq, blah blah blah, but still, enough already. Just spell the damn name in a manner that doesn’t give people splitting headaches. And while we’re on the subject of band names…

Shit Robot – I Found Love (TBD Remix)
Naming your band is a lot harder than people think. It’s your invisible handshake, the first impression that makes people decide whether or not they wish to get to know you better. The name needs to be something catchy but not annoying, and no matter what kind of music you play, the name should still maintain a sense of accessibility.

Which is why we laughed out loud when we learned that someone concluded that the best possible name for his band was Shit Robot. Well played, sir.

'60s, Adult Contemporary, Alternative, Artists, CD Reviews, Dance, Downloads, Hip Hop, Hipster, Me Myself and iPod, Pop, Rock, Steal This Song

Stone River Boys: Love on the Dial

July 19, 2010 /


RIYL: The Vaughan Brothers, Southern Culture on the Skids, Hacienda Brothers, Los Lobos

Guitarist Dave Gonzalez (Hacienda Brothers) and singer Mike Barfield, the core of Austin’s Stone River Boys, came together in 2008 when Gonzalez recruited musicians for a benefit tour to help raise money for his ailing Hacienda Brothers bandmate, singer Chris Gaffney. Gaffney was battling cancer and Gonzalez recruited musicians from Austin’s fertile talent pool, including Barfield, nicknamed “the Tyrant of Texas Funk.” Sadly, Gaffney succumbed to the disease, but the tour continued with proceeds being sent to Gaffney’s widow. Along the way, Gonzalez and Barfield began writing songs and eventually started laying down tracks while on the road. The good karma from the Stone River Boys’ noble gesture is evident as their debut album, Love on the Dial, is one of the most lively collections of music you’ll hear this season. Perfect for barbecues and games of cornhole; or just hanging out with your baby trying to stay cool (or heat things up) on a hot summer night.

A cover of Stephen Bruton’s “Bluebonnet Blues” propels the album forward like a sturdy old Ford and sets the tone of an album that crosses traditional country music with Texas blues and ’60s soul music for a hybrid  the Boys like to call country funk. The sound is best exemplified in “Can I Change It,” which blends a Steve Cropper guitar lick with a steel guitar playing like a horn section, and “The Struggle,” which brings to mind the Fabulous Thunderbirds in their ’80s heyday.

Elsewhere, the band adopts more traditional country sounds, such as “Lovers Prison” and the lovely “40 Acres,” a heartfelt lament of times gone by. The highlight of the record may be their cover of the Gerry Goffin/Carole King classic, “Take a Giant Step.” Fusing country, soul and a surf guitar twang, they create a magical, dreamlike song, something you’d expect to hear from Chris Isaak or Los Lobos.

The combination of Barfield’s voice and Gonzalez’s guitar playing have created  unique group. Barfield sings with bravado and a sincerity that seems lacking in so much of the slick country music that gets radio airplay. Meanwhile, Gonzalez’s guitar slinging is sharp and economical. When he needs to, he can put on a display of fast fingerwork, but he is such a fine musician that he knows when the song calls for fireworks and when it requires something more subdued. (Cow Island 2010)

Stone River Boys MySpace Page
Click to buy Love on the Dial at Amazon

Americana, Blues, CD Reviews, Country, Funk, Soul

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