Category Archives: Music

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

EP Review: Fall Be Kind

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Band: Animal Collective
Label: Domino
Release: December 18, 2009

1. “Graze” – 9.0 – Forget about the droning space psychedelia that the first few minutes bring…3:35 and on is what’s up.

2. “What Would I Want Sky?” – 9.6 – The long introduction isn’t so hot. 3:09 and on is what’s up. I get a “feel-good” vibe that’s sort of cold and fitting for this time of the year as opposed to the other kind of “feel-good” like in “Summertime Clothes.”

3. “Bleeding” – 8.2 – Initially, I’m not really digging it. I like the flow, but there isn’t anything outstanding.

4. “On A Highway” – 8.9 – The kind of song that you don’t want to introduce to prospective listeners. Any elements of pop have been toned back drastically. The ending brings the song together, but should have happened earlier.

5. “I Think I Can” – 8.3 -This one doesn’t do much for me until about the 5:11 mark. From there, the multiple vocal tracking is funny and sounds fine.

Comments: Oopsie doopsie another really early leak from the Collective. The last time an AC leak came, it turned out to be an instant classic wrought with premature “best album ever made” status. This EP is a let down for me. It doesn’t ride the Merriweather Post Pavillion coattails, which is sad, but I’m pretty sure they’ve had these tracks sitting around for a while and just wanted to release them in some form.

Grade: 8.8

Entertainment, Lists, Music

Glen’s Best LPs of 2000s

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The Top 10 will be named on December 31, 2009. These LPs all are 9.7+ caliber, to give you a rough outline.

Animal Collective
– Strawberry Jam (2007)
– Merriweather Post Pavillion (2009)

Arcade Fire
– Funeral (2004)

Arctic Monkeys
– Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I Am Not (2006)
– Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007)
–  Humbug (2009)

Beirut
– Gulag Orkestar (2006)

Black Lips
– Good Bad Not Evil (2007)
– Los Valienteles Del Mundo Nuevo (2007)

Bright  Eyes
– I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning (2005)

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
– Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (2005)

Death From Above 1979
– You’re A Woman, I’m A Machine (2004)

Grizzly Bear
– Yellow House (2006)

Jay Reatard
– Blood Visions (2006)

The King  Khan & BBQ Show
– The King Khan & BBQ Show LP (2004)
– What’s For Dinner? (2006)
– Invisible Girl (2009)

King Khan & The Shrines
– The Supreme Genius of King Khan & His Shrines (2008)

The Libertines
– Up the Bracket (2002)

The Lovely Feathers
– Hind Hind Legs (2006)

No Age
– Weirdo Rippers (2006)
– Nouns (2008)

Panda Bear
– Person Pitch (2007)

Peter Bjorn and John
– Writer’s  Block (2006)

Radiohead
– Kid A (2000)
– In Rainbows (2007)

The Raveonettes
– Lust Lust Lust (2007)

Rogue Wave
– Out of the Shadow (2003)

The Strokes
– Is This It? (2001)

Tapes ‘n Tapes
– The Loon (2005)

Uninhabitable Mansions
– Nature Is A Taker (2009)

Vampire Weekend
– Vampire Weekend (2008)

The Walkmen
– Bows and Arrows (2004)
– A Hundred Miles Off (2006)
– You and Me (2008)

Wolf Parade
– Apologies to the Queen Mary (2005)

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

EP Review: The Fame Monster

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Band: Lady Gaga
Label: Interscope
Release: November 18, 2009

1. “Bad Romance” – 7.3 – This is okay. The “ra ra” makes it okay. The chorus is the worst part.
2. “Alejandro” – 4.6 – Basic dance song with Spanish inclinations.
3. “Monster” – 5.8 – Boring. There is a decent background beat, but the main one is redundant.
4. “Speechless” – 6.1 –  Dumb, Queen (the band) imitation.
5. “Dance in the Dark” – 5.3 – Watered down sort of like Monster.
6. “Telephone” – 6.3 – Silly concept.
7. “So Happy I Could Die” – 5.0 – There’s only so much Lady can do to change it up.
8. “Teeth” – 3.9 – Terrible. One of the worst songs of the year. Yup.

Final Grade: 5.5

Art, Entertainment, Femmes, Music

1 WEEK!

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Children of the KLYAM, in exactly one week Glen and I will be attending the Sonic Youth concert at the Wilbur Theatre! Yes, I know you’re envious. Well, to make you even more fucked in the head, totally outta your mind, crazy, a mere five days later we will witness the glorious Pixies, as the below post notes. And with opening acts like The Feelies and the one and only Jay Reatard, all time favorite shows could and should be expected!

P.S. Kim is sexy in that pic. Yeah, I know she’s like my mom’s age. So what? Excuse me for having blood pumping through my veins!

Chris

Entertainment, Music, News

Pixies Give New Meaning To Live Music

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Boston Herald – Associated Press
LOS ANGELES – With their sold-out European Doolittle Tour complete and a similar standing-room-only U.S. leg under way (which features a complete performance of their 1989 classic, “Doolittle,” each night), the Pixies are giving fans a unique opportunity to take the night’s performance home with them.

Starting on the first night of the group’s four-performance stand in New York City (Nov. 23), fans can purchase a CD of that night’s show about 10 minutes after the Pixies walk offstage. And for those attending shows before the 23rd, no need to fret – you can purchase recordings of earlier 2009 U.S. tour stops via the Web site doolittlelive.com.

Fans attending the Boston-bred Pixies’ homecoming shows Nov. 27 and 28 at Citi Wang Theatre will have the same opportunity.

Sounds pretty cool, not going to lie.

Art, Entertainment, Lists, Music

Top Bands I Want to See Live

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Yee Ha!

Like Glen’s list these artists I have not seen live yet or I am not scheduled to see. Another criteria is that they must be currently active in some way, shape, or form. If an artist appears in more than one group, then they are listed together, for the most part. Also, the artists featured are my favorites except where noted and they are enumerated in order of how high they rank as my favorites.

1) Rage Against the Machine/The Nightwatchman aka Tom Morello/ Street Sweeper Social Club (not a favorite)
2) Australian Pink Floyd (technically PF is the favorite and not this cover group)
3) Tool
4) The Who
5) Bad Brains
6) Leonard Cohen
7) Against Me!
8) The Pogues
9) Arcade Fire
10) Nick Cave
11) The Almighty Defenders/ The Spooks (not fave)
12) Simon & Garfunkel
13) David Bowie
14) Beach Boys
15) Alice in Chains
16) Anti-Flag
17) Glassjaw
18) Descendents
19) Wu-Tang Clan
20) Ween
21) Lou Reed
22) The Stooges/Iggy Pop
23) Daniel Johnston
24) Kimya Dawson
25) Faith No More
26) Jesus and Mary Chain
27) Janes Addiction
28) The Kinks
29) The Vaselines
30) Incubus
31) Primus
32) New York Dolls
33) Black Sabbath
34) The Buzzcocks
35) X
36) The Mabuses
37) The Smashing Pumpkins
38) R.E.M
39) Rolling Stones
40) Neil Young
41) George Jones
42) Mudhoney
43) Bjork
44) Alice Cooper
45) Pharcyde
46) Immortal Technique
47) KRS-One
48) KISS
49) Strange Boys
50) Wavves
51) Devo
52) Beastie Boys
53) Shellac (NF)
54) Mika Miko (NF)
55) Vivian Girls (NF)
56) Cypress Hill
57) Paul McCartney (how could I forget him!)
58) Tom Waits
59) Mewithoutyou
60) MC5
K, I’ll stop here. There are plenty more I could name. I’m not exactly sure how active some of these bands’ statuses are, but basically if they weren’t on hiatus or completely disbanded, or dead I allowed it.

Chris