Archive for February, 2010
Tom Green – lost Beastie Boy?
I have no idea when this first aired, but it was posted on YouTube all the way back in November 2006.
It’s a video of Tom Green hosting Xzibit on Green’s internet talk show.
And Green’s got some flow (but we all knew that from his days rapping about putting his bum on the Swedish). He actually sounds like he could pull of a pretty decent cover of “Sabotage.”
-Sam
More New She & Him
Whenever I’m about to write the band name “She & Him,” I always have to stop and ask myself whether they use the word “and” or the ampersand symbol (&). It’s the ampersand symbol, but it still gets me every time. Damn you, grammatical symbols!
Anyways, the important news about the band is that they’ve just released another new song from their upcoming album, Volume Two (or is it “II”? Frick!) which is set to be released on March 23.
The song, “Thieves,” is the album’s opening track. It’s got kind of a The Kinks-Roy Orbison mix vibe going on, but it’s not radically different from what you’ve heard on Volume One. Just another solid slab of heartsick folk rock. You gotta love the way Zooey Deschanel emotes on the line: “Two broken hearts don’t beat / any less”
-Sam
Team Coco thinks this is awesome
It’s almost March 1st, which means that in just a few short days late night television will suffer the return of Jay Leno to The Tonight Show.
As if it wasn’t abundantly clear that Leno is now widely despised, especially among the younger audience, now even his band leader, Kevin Eubanks, is leaving the show.
But even better than that slap in the face is this redone promo spot for Leno’s move back to late night. You might remember seeing the original promo sometime during the Winter Olympics coverage. That version featured the Beatles’ “Get Back.”
But really, there were so many better, more appropriate songs to use instead. Like Radiohead’s “Creep.” Magnifique!
Enjoy:
Click below for an additional awesome remix.
The record could be compared to a fine wine; it gets better with age. At first listen, the tunes were all strong and made a nice set. But the lyrics and melodies never left, bringing me back for more.
Butch Walker as a producer, and Butch Walker as a singer can be two very different people. As a producer, he can easily take a song and turn it into a pop frenzy. As a singer/songwriter, he seems to pay more attention to the opposite side of him; not caring what other people think, but just writing for his own enjoyment.
In I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart, Walker shows a sense of completeness. Elements from his producing style filter in and mesh eloquently with his songwriting talents. The song, Pretty Melody seems to be the most popular off the release, and rightly so. The smooth, flowery riffs drift wonderfully under Walker’s witty lyrics.
As a whole, the album is nothing less compared to the band’s earlier work. It takes a few tries for it to hook, but once it does, it’s a tight hold.
Raaaaaaaandy is Aaaaaaaangry!
If you’ve seen Parks and Recreation or any of his Comedy Central appearances, then you’re familiar with comedian Aziz Ansari.
And if you’re familiar with Aziz Ansari, then you probably know about his alter-ego “Raaaaaaaandy” (that’s Randy with eight A’s) who he created for the Judd Apatow movie Funny People and now is incorporated into his standup routine.
Well, Raaaaaaaandy has teamed up with TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek to make a hip-hop mixtape. The only problem? The guys who were supposed to contribute the verses haven’t come through yet (wink, wink, this is all part of the joke).
So take a listen as Raaaaaaaandy puts a hilarious verbal beatdown on hip-hop giants like Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, and Eminem.
-Sam
Muse Upset With Record Label
Chris Wolstenholme, bassist for Muse, is a bit upset with the band’s record label. Warner Music will no longer license Muse’s, and several other artists’, music on free streaming services such as Spotify.
Warner Music CEO, Edgar Bromfman, stated earlier this month, “free streaming services are clearly not positive for the industry.” Wait, but suing your fans and consumers is a positive for the industry?
Wolstenholme countered with, “it’s like taking your song off the radio, isn’t it? The corporations are setting rules on these things because they’re clutching at the straws. They’ve lost so much money on record sales because of the internet.” He then added, “as far as bands are concerned, you just want people to hear your music whichever way they can.”
And now my take? When our generation take hold of CEO positions, and the like, I wonder if things will be different? Will be understand the market a bit better because we’re currently living through it? I understand there needs to be money made to sustain these companies and artists, but I also understand that there has been change underway. Turning your back towards change isn’t the solution.
If you aren’t familiar with High on Fire’s previous work, you will likely know almost immediately whether or not their latest album, Snakes for the Divine, is for you. In fact, I can pinpoint the exact moment when you will make up your mind. The pivotal moment for the uninitiated comes precisely one minute and twenty seven seconds into the album’s first song “Snakes For The Divine.”
For that is when the listener first gets a taste of Matt Pike’s vocals.
Pike sounds a hell of lot like Motorhead’s Lemmy, which is to say he sounds like a giant drunk bullfrog in the middle of a steroids cycle. For a lot of people, it’s just too grating and distracting from the music. I get that. But I promise, if you can make it past the 1:27 mark of the first song, the vocals will grow on you as you hear how they melt into the songs like butter.
And there are some great metal songs here.
Time to strap on your “Rocket Skates”
Deftones are giving away their new song “Rocket Skates” as a free download. (Note: I was experiencing some difficulty trying to download the track from their site earlier, but I’m sure they’ll get it fixed.) The song is off their upcoming album, Diamond Eyes, which will be released on May 18.
And I must say, they sound good. Real good. This song is better than anything on Saturday Night Wrist. Is the song repetitive? Sure. But when you’re just locking into a dynamite sludgy Stephen Carpenter guitar riff, it’s fine to repeat yourself.
Go download it or listen to it on YouTube.
“Guns, Razors, Knivesss. . . WOO!”
-Sam
Too Much Lady GaGa?
Ever since the pop-artist, Lady GaGa hit radio and Top Ten lists, it seems like every other band has covered at least one song. Bands ranging from We The Kings, Of Mice And Men, even Daughtry have put their own spin on one of GaGa’s top hits. At first glance, the covers all sound similar and aren’t worth much of a listen (Unless, of course, you’re one of those hardcore fans that have every song ever by your favorite band). Sure, credit is given where credit is earned, and some artists show great creativity when they’re able to take a song, completely turn it around, and still make it sound good. But then again, what if that creativity was channeled into something more individual, and in the long run, productive?
It’s discouraging to see so many bands flocking to the same routine, blending in in a time when it’s preferred to stand out.