1) Black Lips
2) Jay Reatard
3) King Khan
4) Mark Sultan
5) No Age
6) Box Elders
7) Hunx and His Punx
8) Walkmen (for Glen)
9) Animal Collective
10) Bradford Cox
11) Harlem
12) Nobunny
13) Girls
14) Pains of Being Pure At Heart
15) Almigthy Defenders
16) Wavves
We feature many artists here, some far more than others, but these very few guys hold the highly prestigious title of “honorary klaymers,” even if they don’t know it.
Chris
I’m taking a vacation as recommended by The Young Veins. They ordered me to a nice get-a-way. Hopefully, everyone likes the new theme?
Rapper: Drake
Release: 6/2010
Label: Young Money Entertainment [Universal Records]
1. “Fireworks” – B-
2. “Karaoke” – B-
3. “The Resistance” – B
4. “Over” – B
5. “Show Me a Good Time” – C
6. “Up All Night” – B
7. “Fancy” – C+
8. “Shut It Down” – B-
9. “Unforgettable” – C
10. “Light Up” – C
11. “Miss Me” – B
12. “Cece’s Interlude” – C-
13. “Find Your Love” – C+
14. “Thank Me Now” – C-
Comments: Aubrey Drake Graham was a nobody without Little Wayne. Little Wayne got a hold of a few of Aubrey’s raps and was like “yo, I want to make this guy big. I want to sign him to my label and a take cut of his income!” Aubrey was like “all right, Dwayne, that’s fine, but I’m not going to make this for commercial purposes.” At any rate, Aubrey was able to get in touch with a shit load of high profile hip-hop players like Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Timbaland, Jay-Z, and Young Jeezy. to appear, in some capacity, on the album. That’s all nice and all, but does Aubrey know how to tell a story? Yes. He does that at length. “Over” is incredibly Lil Wayne like. It’s more explosive than any of the previous tracks and, for that reason, has more appeal. The chorus is not traditionally annoying, but it’s not anything special. There’s really not much else to say about anything else. I don’t think Drake could have struck out much more on such an anticipated, ultra-hyped album. Most of the songs on here are just average rap songs, lacking solid beats or decent flow. Little Wayne Weezy single-handedly saves “Miss Me.” Drizzy is just weak, ‘yo. “That’s nasty. Yes, my name is Weezy, but I’m not asthmatic.” Damn, Weezy, keep doing your thing. You drop some great lines.
Grade: C+ (78)
Teen Creeps!!!
Band: The Young Veins
Release: 6/2010
Label: One Haven Music
1. “Cape Town” – A
2. “Change” – A-
3. “Dangerous Blues” – B+
4. “Defiance” – B+
5. “Everyone But You” – B
6. “Heart of Mine” – B+
7. “Lie to the Truth” – B
8. “Maybe I Will, Maybe I Won’t” – A-
9. “Take A Vacation!” – A
10. “The Other Girl” – A+
11. “Young Veins (Die Tonight)” – A
Comments: So you’d probably expect a spin-off full-length from former members of Panic! At The Disco to suck. Well, I personally can’t say that I know what Panic! sounds like, but I’m sure it’s something not too good. Probably something unlike this. Well, this group takes on a self-proclaimed ’60s sound — reminiscent of what was considered pop and “garage” back then. Fair enough. Sure, this album isn’t original at all. Sure, it gets progressively worse from tracks 1-5, but utterly amazing towards the end. Besides some of the negative points of discussion, though, this is really good. I’ve read people hating on this, but with what justification? If you are a lover of the kind of music that got this band inspired, why pass hatred to these innocent victims? Pretty much the entire album is catchy. Check out, though, if I request you must “Take A Vacation!” and “Cape Town.”
Grade: A- (90)
Band: Ariel Pink
Release: 6/2010
Label: 4AD
1. “Hot Body Rub” – C-
2. “Bright Blue Skies” – B
3. “L’Estat” – B-
4. “Fright Night (Never More)” – C+
5. “Round and Round” – B
6. “Beverly Kills” – C+
7. “Butt-House Blondies” – C+
8. “Little Wig” – B-
9. “Can’t Hear My Eyes” – C-
10. “Reminiscences” – C-
11. “Menopause Man” – C
12. “Revolution’s a Lie” – B
Comments: Lounge music meets oldies! How cool is that? Not really that cool, huh? I’d call Ariel a similar artist to the more high profile (and more polished) MGMT. The problem with Ariel’s Before Today is the same problem with MGMT’s Congraulations. There is hardly any fucking direction. There are speed ups and speed downs. Heaviness and laziness. Of course, all these elements are present all over the place. Consistency? Screw that! Psychedelic pop be damned! Pop?! “Round and Round,” my whole household mistook this for an ’80s pop tune. This record is so damn strange! Maybe it’s the lo-fi element that really makes this thing sound like a lost-and-now-found cassette. If Ariel wanted to create twelve novelty songs, he succeeded. He succeeded so much. I like to say this is one of those albums I didn’t want to hate at all, but after listening to it…shit it sucks. Sucks in a terribly average way.
Grade: C+ (77)
Arcade Fire
August 1, 2010
Bank of America Pavilion [Boston, MA]
Poor Chris will be gone. I’ll be gone, too, most likely. I probably won’t be around since I’m projected to leave for NYC on this day for the Black Lips Temptress cruise gig. Maybe AF fanatic Matt will be in attendance?
Band: Tokyo Police Club
Release: 6/2010
Label: Mom+Pop
1. “Favourite Food” – B+
2. “Favourite Colour” – A-
3. “Breakneck Speed” – B–
4. “Wait Up (Boots of Danger)” – B
5. “Bambi – C+
6. “End of a Spark” – B-
7. “Hands Reversed” – B
8. “Gone” – B
9. “Big Difference” – B–
10. “Not Sick” – B
11. “Frankenstein” – A-
Comments: Tokyo Police Club is back with this, their second full length album. The band’s debut Elephant Shell contained a few quirky personal favorites like the semi-punk “In A Cave,” the epically poppy “Juno,” the post-punk-to-the-brim “Citizens of Tomorrow” and “Shoulders & Arms,” and probably the band’s best (and most critically acclaimed) tune “Your English Is Good.” So after such a memorable sub-30 minute record, is a repeat in store? My first impression of this album is: vocalist Dave Monks is best handled in small chunks. He defines the band’s sound for the most part. Lucky for me, I think his voice is pretty tolerable, but over-thinking it…quite annoying. He never really got old on Elephant Shell, yet he is the same Dave Monks on here. He still has a way with words. He hasn’t lost that. Another thing I just thought of: if you’ve never liked this band, you never will. Nope, not on this album. That’s how divisive they are. There aren’t many great songs (if any) on here. It’s too bad. Most of it is average or just barely good.
Grade: B (84)
Not too focus solely on his death, because he led an incredible life, but here are two videos I just discovered on Jay’s passing. The first being Anthony Fantano of the Needle Drop and the second being Fox News, which I didn’t know his death ever reached the big news stories as it should have, albeit Memphis Fox News.
and
Chris
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 