All posts by G. Gordon Gritty

Music

CD Review: Man on the Moon: The End of Day

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Rapper: Kid Cudi
Label: Dream On
Release: 2009

Act I: The End of Day
1. “In My Dreams” – 8.7
2. “Soundtrack 2 My Life” – 9.1
3. “Simple As” – 9.5

Act II: Rise of the Night Terrors
4. “Solo Dolo” – 9.4
5. “Heart of a Lion” – 9.2
6. “My World” – 9.5

Act III: Taking a Trip
7. “Day N’ Nite” – 9.6
8. “Sky Might Fall” – 9.0
9. “Enter Galactic” – 8.4

Act IV: Stuck
10. “Alive” – 9.8
11. “Cudi Zone” – 9.3
12. “Make Her Say” – 8.8
13. “Pursuit of Happiness” – 9.7

Act V: A New Beginning
14. “Hyyerr” – 8.9
15. “Up Up & Away” – 9.6

Comments: Woah! That’s right I just decided to review a rap album. This album is more than just rap though. There’s a lot of electro, a lot of psychedelia, and a lot of mainstream hip hop. Cudi does not lack talent. He might just be the top rapper out there today. Emile, who produced four tracks, is really sharp on those tracks. Kanye West failed to meet my expectations, but still is decent on this. The two jams that feature Ratatat are the best in my opinion. Really really awesome. The last track is awesome too.

Final Grade: 9.2

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CD Review: Here We Go Magic

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Band: Here We Go Magic
Release: 2009

1. “Only Pieces” – 8.2
2. “Fangela” – 8.7
3. “Ahab” –8.3
4. “Tunnelvision” – 9.2
5. “Ghost List” – 8.3
6. “I Just Want To See You Underwater” – 8.4
7. “Babyohbabyijustcantstanditanymore” – 6.4
8. “Nat’s Alien” – 7.2
9. “Everything’s Big” – 8.9

Comments: Freak folk can, on any given day, be a genre of its own. Here We Go Magic escape what is traditional folk and produce songs that embody major elements of modern epoch psych-folk (slightly think Grizzly Bear) YET still maintain a strangely post-punk sound (in some areas), which is similar to the Walkmen, if only the Walkmen took acid. The sort of problem, if you want to call it that, is that if Animal Collective made these songs they’d be better. Music snobbery right there. Anyway, songs that are completely instrumentals of thunder and ocean waves can, in fact, be decent. And then there are songs that are completely instrumentals of alien noises that can, in fact, be awfully obnoxious. Could I stand watching this band two nights in a row for thirty minutes or more? Yes. Maybe I will grow more of an appreciation of them. Maybe I won’t and I’ll just make it through because I know that one of my favorite bands of all time will follow.

Final Grade: 8.2

Here We Go Magic open along with the Dig for the Walkmen on September 18 and 19 at the Middle East Downstairs.

Music, News

Black Lips Are “Assholes”…Really?

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Exclaim News
You can add the music festival All Tomorrow’s Parties to the list of “Things the Black Lips Have Been Kicked Out Of.” In a recent interview with the Village Voice [via Brooklyn Vegan], ATP organizer Barry Hogan said that “the Black Lips will never play again — they’re assholes. They broke into a chalet and started stealing stuff.”

Fellow organizer Deborah Kee Higgins agreed, stating: “We have a ‘No Assholes’ policy. You can play once because we don’t know you’re an asshole, but you can’t play twice.”

Harsh words, to be sure, but we’re guessing that the Atlanta punks aren’t losing any sleep over it. After all, the group had to flee the Indian police earlier this year after being accused of indecent exposure following a raucous gig in Chennai. Compared to the wrath of the Tamil authorities, the words of two foul-mouthed promoters probably don’t seem like such a big deal.

Black Lips don’t need ATP.

Music, News

King Khan + GZA

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N+I.W.A (Niggaz plus Indian with Attitude)

Spinner.com
 While rumours have been swirling about the possibility of a formal collaboration between the pair for sometime, Khan is finally ready to confirm that it looks like the union is going ahead. Don’t expect The Shrines’ eccentric frontman to pass himself off as the first Indian-Canadian member of Wu-Tang Clan just yet though. “The whole thing is really surreal,” he says, clearly still trying to wrap his head around the amazing turn of events.

The union marks the second time that GZA has reached out to the garage rock community for musical input. Khan’s rambunctious Almighty Defender bandmates, Black Lips, first performed along side the famed hip-hoper at SXSW this past March and subsequently recorded ‘The Drop I Hold’ with the urban pioneer. Continue reading King Khan + GZA →

News, Politics, sports

Curt Schilling To Senate?

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Associated Press
BOSTON — Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling said Thursday the chances of him running to replace Democrat Edward M. Kennedy in the U.S. Senate are “slim to none” but he will not rule it out.

The three-time World Series champion said he retired from baseball in March to spare his family the downside of the public spotlight. He has also invested millions in his fledgling video-gaming business, 38 Studios.

Yet the 42-year-old told a Boston radio station that Massachusetts is in “desperate” need of fresh political blood.

“This state, next to Illinois, is probably looked on as one of the most corrupt, laughable political scenes in the nation, and it should be just the opposite,” he said during one of his regular appearances on WEEI-AM, a sports radio station. “I think there’s so much broke here, that the fixing piece, I don’t think you’d have to look very hard to pick up the pieces of debris and start to reform and fix it.”

While Schilling has never run for or held political office, he said it’s an asset because he’s unencumbered by special interest connections.

“Slim to none” people! Stop the hype.

Music

CD Review: Everything Goes Wrong

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Band: Vivian Girls
Label: In The Red Records
Release: 2009

1. “Walking Alone At Night” – 9.0
2. “I Have No Fun” – 9.3
3. “Can’t Get Over You” – 9.1
4. “The Desert” – 9.6
5. “Tension” – 9.0
6. “Survival” – 9.5
7. “The End” – 9.4
8. “When I’m Gone” – 9.2
9. “Out For The Sun” – 9.5
10. “I’m Not Asleep” – 9.7
11. “Double Vision” – 9.6
12. “You’re My Guy” – 9.3
13. “Before I Start To Cry” – 9.7

Comment: The Vivian Girls are comparable to Jay Reatard, if Jay was female and noisier/punker. Well, kind of. The VG’s simple song structure and composition is something that’s becoming more and more common in garage and noise punk. VGs are more polished than their counterparts Mika Miko, though perhaps not as distinctively catchy. This album will go down as extremely note-worthy in looking back at ’09.

Final Grade: 9.4

* Green = My Favorite Tracks

Entertainment, Music

Black Eyed Peas = Retarded

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“I Gotta Feeling” translates in proper English to “I Got To Feeling,” which, by the way, makes no fucking sense at all. And oh yeah a fourth grader could probably compose lyrics better than this piece of shit.

K. Peace out for tonight. Thanks to our good ole Radiohead adventure buddy Ray from Cover Me for pointing this out.