All posts by G. Gordon Gritty

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

CD Review: God Willin’ & The Creek Don’t Rise [2010]

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Band: Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs
Release: 8/2010
Label: RCA

1. “Repo Man” – C
2. “New York City’s Killing Me” – C-
3. “God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise” – C-
4. “Beg Steal or Borrow” – C+
5. “Are We Really Through? – C-
6. “This Love Is Over” – C+
7. “Old Before Your Time” – C+
8. “For the Summer” – C-
9. “Like Rock & Roll” – C
10. “The Devil’s In The Jukebox” – C-

Comments: This guy. He’s the darling of today’s mainstream folk-pop community. A.K.A WERS Daytime. LaMontagne is bearable and — at times — good, but he hardly has any edge that differentiates him from (insert artist) that played at the (insert year) Newport Folk Festival. The problem with his music is that it’s not memorable. The title track ends before it begins! “Beg Steal” is pretty catchy, if not stereotypically structured. “All your friends in school/They used to be cool.” Yay, I can rhyme! At Ray’s best, he writes like Paul Weller. At his worst, he sounds like…oops, see my second sentence.

Grade: C- (73)

Bradford Cox, Deerhunter, Entertainment, Music

Deerhunter @ Royale … Again!

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Deerhunter can’t get enough of Boston!

Just days after playing a fantastic show (of which a review will be posted within DAYZ) at the Royale, a listing on the Royale website shows Deerhunter playing October 16, 2010 (Saturday)! Well, well, well, I kid you not! By that time around I’m hoping to know Halcyon Digest in and out.

Opening, of course, is Real Estate. You see, after a while of going to shows and stuff, you notice certain bands always in the fold. What do Real Estate, Deerhunter, Kurt Vile, and K-Holes have in common? You should know.

Black Lips, business, Entertainment

A Wild Man (Grows Up) – NY Times Article On Vice Founder

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SHANE SMITH, a founder of Vice, the streetwise, testosterone-fueled culture and fashion magazine, still chugs canned American beer. He still listens to Bad Brains. And he still favors tattered Vans skateboard shoes and black T-shirts. That much is the same.

Shane Smith, one of the founders of Vice magazine, on the Rocks Off concert boat with members of the band The Black Lips.

It is everything else that has changed.

READ THE REST!

Entertainment, Mark Sultan, Music

New Mark Sultan: “The Wind” — A Nolan Strong cover

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There’s this tribute record called Daddy Rockin’ Strong: A Tribute to Nolan Strong. Mark Sultan’s brilliant vocals are on display in a cover track called “The Wind.” It’s quite an R&B ditty. The Dirtbombs, too, made a great cover of “Daddy Rockin’ Strong.”

CHECK OUT BOTH TUNES:
http://www.myspace.com/nolanstrongtributealbum

Bradford Cox, Classic CD Review, Deerhunter, Entertainment, Music

Classic Review: Cryptograms [2007]

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Band: Deerhunter
Album: Cryptograms
Label: Kranky Records

1. “Intro” – (B-) – Reminds me of an atmospheric No Age number.
2. “Cryptograms” – (B+) – Not really my kind of Deerhunter tune, although it does have a lot of little hints of catchiness.
3. “White Ink” – (C) – Relaxing and probably great under the influence of some kind of drug, but as a stand alone track…boring.
4. “Lake Somerset” – (B) – Too chaotic for my liking, but still decent enough. If pure noise and subliminal hooks are your kind of thangs then God bless you.
5. “Providence” – (C) – See “White Ink” for this.
6. “Octet” – (B-) – Too long, but has a decent drumbeat.
7. “Red Ink” – (D) – Really, really, really pointless. Top of the line pointlessness.
8. “Spring Hall Convert” – (B+) – Mellow rock. Perhaps veers too much in the ambient direction.
9. “Strange Lights” – (B) – Similar in quality to the track before it.
10. “Hazel Street” – (A-) – Down to earth (woo hoo!). A fun adventure.
11. “Tape Hiss Orchid” – (D) – See, “Red Ink.” Thanks.
12. “Heatherwood” – (B+) – Pretty neat. Not a great closer, but it’s fun.

Final Comments: If you are sucker for ambiance and I mean AMBIANCE, this record is for you! If you like rock and roll and I mean ROCK AND ROLL, this record is probably not for you. For those suckers who like a delicate mix, it will probably be like flipping a quarter. TAILS, you like it. HEADS, you hate it. For me, unfortunately, this would probably fall somewhere in the middle or lower end of my favorite albums of a given year. In other words, this record isn’t very notable in Deerhunter’s discography let alone music. Period. I feel like I might be too harsh to a certain degree…I mean this isn’t an aimless record. Deerhunter is better than that.

Grade: B- (80)

Entertainment, Music, rant

Annoying Trends In Today’s Pop Music

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#1: Songs that compare drugs to emotions or status. Example: “Your love is like a drug” AND “The only drug I need is being with you.” Wow, can this get anymore annoying?!

#2: Male singers of cowardly pop songs. There’s not much worse than a man singing a hip-pop number, but this applies to basically every man on pop radio. I feel bad that they actually agree to do this.

Entertainment, Music, No Age, Nobunny

Song Reviews: No Age/Nobunny

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Band: No Age
Label: Sub Pop
7″: Glitter

“Glitter” (A/A-) – No Age has always liked themselves some samples and atmosphere. Weirdo Rippers was ripe with what critics have termed “experimental” sounds. Nouns had a fair share of these tunes as well, but was more “punk” oriented, espesically on the album’s very best tunes: “Teen Creeps,” “Eraser,” and “Ripped Knees” just to name a few. 2009’s Losing Feeling was a mix of atmospheric sounds and straight up rock, but pretty much involved a heavy appetite of samples on every song. If “Glitter” is any indication of the direction of Everything in Between, No Age is aiming at a continuance of their Losing Feeling vibe. I don’t think this recording does too much in terms of how great this song could be. The sample in the background can be a little much at some times, but actually I really like how everything comes together on the latter part of the song.

“Inflorescence” – (A) This one is neat. It reminds of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart kind of twee pop plus, of course, an extra sample or two. Good stuff.
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Band: Nobunny
Label: Goner Records
Album: First Blood

“Motorhead With Me” – (A+) – This one’s been kicking around for over a year and will make its LP debut on…this LP! It is chaotic powerpop/punk genius.

“Blow Dumb” – (A+) – What a stellar song this one is, too. Fucking A! It’s got cowbell, a stellar rhythym and high energy written all over it.