Bang!

While I feel like I am constantly telling you to, “go see this band!” If Bang Camaro ever plays near you and you don’t go, I will duct tape headphones to your ear playing Creed on repeat. Formed in the city by the dirty water (AKA Boston), their uniqueness spawns from the chaos that is there vocals, if you want to call it that. The bands forming members are shredding metal heads and rather than taking a back seat to some glam rocked singer, they put the singer in the back of the stage, behind the drummer, 12 of them… So here is your layout: two leads out front wailing away, standing on the monitors, bassist chillin on the side and drummer in the center. They then take their buddies from college or even from opening bands and have them do the vocals chorus style. It makes for an AWESOME show.

Hook – Push Push Lady Lightning
Line – Bang Camaro
Sinker – Swallow The Razor

Their second album is good, doesn’t offer anything new, which is good!

Videos are just to illustrate what the shows are like...

Madcon: Norse Hip-Hop?

I apologize for not being up to date with this stuff, crazy work schedule this month. Fun stories though: watched former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White do a hand-stand, found a place in Chicago that makes amazing crab cakes, and met 1980's rockstar Eddie Money... and in case you were wondering, the guy can still rock. But I also happened upon this great band that you all need to listen to.

Their name is Madcon and they're from Norway. I'm not sure how stacked the Norwegian music scene is, but apparently these guys are sitting at the top of it. If you've been watching HBO recently, you might recognize their single "Beggin'" which has been featured in their summer advertising and is how I first heard them. The song is infectious.

Wikipedia says the band has been around since '92, so something tells me there is more to the band's discography than the 4-song EP. But if you're looking for some chill summer hip-hop, I suggest checking it out. As for the whole Norway thing, I honestly thought it was Will.I.Am when I first heard it, so I will go ahead and assume that all Viking Hip-Hop sounds like this.

BEGGIN' VIDEO

Where's the music???

No ipod or hard drive, and my internent is broken...the joys of moving. The sad part is that it has been about 3 weeks.

What surprised me, though, was how cut-off from music I feel without those things; all I have is...the radio!

We all know how much songs on the radio can suck, but there have been a few good ones recently, thanks to Frisco's 105.3, as good of a modern rock station as I have ever come across (although there are TONS of commercials).

Anyways, here are a few good ones pulled off the airwaves:

Manchester Orchestra - Friends

Perfect for a summer day with the windows down

Anberlin - The Feel Good Drag

Not the biggest fan of this band, but this song rocks

Metric - Help I'm Alive

Dear Rob, sorry they are on the radio

Rise Against - Savior

Favorite of the newest album. Sorry for the cheese-faced vid

Order of the...

During my trip down south (to NY) last weekend, my ears had the pleasure of happening upon this band. They are still new to me and I have yet to explore their previous albums (’04, ’06) which were released abroad, but so far so good. It is a pretty easy listen and a solid album all around, good for pressing play and walking away from your stereo, not worrying about ruining your hook up session with a weird spoken interlude or some experimental track. Phoenix hails from France but sounds a lot like a fusion of The Shins and The Sounds (maybe some vampire too...). Did I mention that I cant distinguish between their live and studio recordings...

Pheonix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009)

Hook: 1901
FUN REMIX
Line: Listomania
Sinker: Girlfriend

Tribute to Summer

After a 4 week hiatus... My apologies. Hopefully I can bring you some music most of you are familiar with but always takes me to a good place. Driving back and forth between to Boston this weekend I realized how absolutely gorgeous the weather was. Bright sunshine, blue skies, cold beer and even some birds chirping. There is one band that always puts me in a good mood and takes me to the carefree days of summer. Memories of this band often take me to blurry nights on the shores of lake Michigan smoking Phillies and some beers. Although not incredibly complex musically, this band never ceases to put a smile on my face. I do prefer their older stuff so I'm going to take it back to high school when I first heard them. For a tribute to summer O.A.R.

Whose Chariot? Can't find a good version to embed so here is the URL
My Favorite OAR song by far
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4kYxXYM1t8

Hey Girl


Wonderful Day

Other Good Ones..
Delicate Few, night shift, I Feel Home

You down with CC? Yeah, you know me.

I sent this band to Alex a while ago when the album was still just three promo songs. He didn’t get it then and I think that story hasn’t changed. For some reason I really like the group and the album grows on you nicely (a prime example of Hook, Line and Sinker). Crystal Castles is another offering from our neighbors to the north and features a duo of Ethan Kath (all the funky electronic shit) and Alice Glass (all the funky distorted vocal shit). Their sound is nothing ground breaking, typical hipster electronic. Heavy sampling from 16 bit video games and handmade mics. What sets them apart is that I actually like listening to them and the album isn’t too far out there. So put your weird vest away and throw you man-summer-scarf in the trash and snuggle up to some Crystal Castles.

Hook: Crimewave – Crystal Castles
(Creepy Live Vid of Crimewave)
Line (1): Untrust Us – Crystal Castles
Line (2): Black Panther – Crystal Castles
Sinker: Air War – Crystal Castles

A Long Time Coming

When it comes to music, I have the attention span of a 12 year old boy with a Nintendo paddle in hand. I listen to an album on repeat until I can't stand the thought of it anymore, and then hate myself for ruining something I loved so much. There are very few musicians that have kept my attention over the years, but some have stood the test of time:

• The New Radicals, who wrote one album that even Joni Michell loved;
• Metric, who Robby thieved from me in an earlier post;
• And Imogen Heap, who I stole from Robby nearly 5 years ago.

Imogen Heap is an odd duck, but her music is some of the most aesthetically interesting around. A Grammy nominated artist, Heap is most well known for her work as part of the band Frou Frou, but the English born songstress has released two solo albums that are worthy of serious respect.

Heap's debut album, i Megaphone (an anagram of "Imogen Heap") was released in 1998 and garnered critical acclaim. However, when her record company sold to Universal she was one of the artists dropped, leaving her without a record contract.

I fall into the group of people who thinks this was kind of an OK thing to have happened. Frankly, though I like the album, I believe strongly that Heap really found her musical-self while performing as part of Frou Frou. The duo put out several hit singles including "Just For Now", "Let Go" and "Holden Out for a Hero" but most importantly, Heap took on the heavy electronic sound she refined in her second solo project, Speak For Yourself.

Described by Heap as, "more Madonna than Guns N' Roses, more Donnie Darko than Dirty Dancing...left of center, electronically sprinkled magic dust over orchestral strings, harps and things, with great lyrics," Speak for Yourself is one of the most enchanting albums to have appeared in the past decade. "Hide and Seek" is a favorite of most, whether they know the artist or not:

Its been nearly 5 years, but finally, Imogen Heap has released the first single of off her August-expected album Elipse.

The first single, "First Train Home" is a lot of the same, but its what Heap does best so you can't fault her for that. I'm hoping to see some musical growth on this album, but until its out, here are a few songs to get you going:

The Knux

I'm in the mood to bring up something a little more fun this week. Something you can throw on at your next party or play over your car stereo and feel cooler than you really are. The Knux, short for knuckle heads, consists of brothers Kentrell "Krispy Kream" and Alvin "Rah Almillio" Lindsey. This duo, currently living in LA after being forced out of their native New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, have gained popularity since they released their debut album, Remind Me In 3 Days..., last year, so they may be somewhat old news to you, but I want to make sure no one is missing out on them.

Those that know me well, or at all really, can tell you that I really like to dance. Although that is very true, I generally keep my rap/hip hop listening to the party/club scene and don't put it on when hanging out at home. The Knux, however, provide a definite exception. They lend themselves well to repeatable listening for many reasons: (1) their flow is similar to that of Outkast and De La Soul, (2) they break out of the norm by layering their tracks with electric guitars and a thick bass (which the guys play themselves), and (3) they drop witty lyrics that include references to Elvis Costello, Orville Redenbacher, Chuck Taylors, and the 80s and 90s professional wrestlers Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka and Rick Steiner, among others. Although they also use ample references to guns, hos, and ice, they are generally far more intelligent than those of their keepin' it gangsta counterparts. They are trading in the street cred for fun and it works.

When looking for standout tracks on the album, you have to start with the party favorites "Bang! Bang!" and "Cappuccino". If you've heard anything by them, it was probably one of these two songs. If you decide to dig deeper into the album though, I suggest you check out the more ominous "Life In a Cage", the ode to bathroom lovemaking ("Powder Room"), the absolutely filthy "Parking Lot", and the "Cappuccino" remix (to the tune of Crazy Town's "Butterfly"). I'm definitely looking forward to throwing on my oversized gold chain and setting the fields of Grant Park ablaze with my footworkin' when they perform on the opening afternoon of Lollapalooza.

The embedding of their youtube videos has been disabled, and I can't get the links to work for some reason, so check out these websites (the first one is for the "Bang! Bang!" video and the second is for their myspace page):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPlWs3oQpXE
http://www.myspace.com/theknux

TH's BOA: 1

For the weeks where I can’t find something new for you, I present… Trigger Happy’s Box O’ Ammo. Essentially it will be a band that I have liked for a while that may not be super popular, but you have probably heard of them before. It will have a high play count in my iTunes and might inspire you to dust off their old CD you used to listen to.

Saves The Day has a lot in common with New Found Glory and the recently popular Autotune (see Ne-Yo, On A Boat, TI….); initially it is catchy and fun but after a while it starts grinding on your soul. Thankfully Saves The Day has enough albums and variation over their career that you can get by, but only if you shuffle them up. If you really care about their history Wiki it… on to the tunes. Most of the videos suck, so I hosted the songs on my website, shhh. Just right click, save as...

First out of the box, Saves The Day:

Hook: Firefly – Stay What You Are (2001)
Line: The End – Sound The Alarm (2006) (example of variation)
Line(2): Driving In The Dark – In Reverie (2003)
Sinker: Can’t Stay The Same – Under The Boards (2007)

Oh Crap this video is weird

Momma Knows Best

My musical taste has undeniably been shaped by my mother; I know the words to every Joni Mitchell song and I was convinced as a child that Paul McCartney would never age. Rather, Paul would wait for me to turn 18, at which point we would elope and have beautiful, musically gifted babies.

I've finally recovered from the realization that Paul is, in fact, a total geezer -- but I still vehemently believe that my mother has near-perfect taste in music. Behold Lori's latest musical suggestion:

Fleet Foxes are a five-piece Seattle-based band comprised of Robin Pecknold, Skyler Skjelset, J. Tillman, Casey Wescott and Christian Wargo. The band gained critical acclaim with both their second EP, Sun Giant, and their full length debut Fleeting Foxes. Reviewers comment on their use of "refined lyrics and vocal harmonies" and the band describe their music as "baroque harmonic pop jams."

What really appeals to me about Fleet Foxes is that they appear to draw from a variety of influences, which is reflected in their music. While listening to Mykonos I was suprised by how much the band reminded me of The Shins. However, at approximately 2:11, the band throws in a full-on Neil Young tribute. Of course, listen to Tiger Mountain Peasant Song and you might think for a minute that you've come across something from Rufus Wainwright's private, less obnoxious, recordings.

The band appeared at Glastonbury this summer where they played two new, yet to be released tracks. While I'm keeping an eye out for the latest, here are a few of my current favorites:

Smooth Criminal

Every music site has to have it: the token MJ tribute.

I don't know how many of you caught the full-length feature film "Moonwalker" starring MJ, but there's one particular sequence that's amazing, so much so that it spawned an entire video game on Sega (yeah, I've beaten it, and it's okay to be jealous) where players would guide MJ through various levels themed after his songs with the object (ironically) being to rescue about a dozen underage girls.

The sequence is about 10 minutes in length and features MJ in a warehouse moving around to Smooth Criminal. It is definitely worth your time, but if you only have a couple minutes, watch the last two of the video.





What a talent (and a weirdo). Rest in peace.

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This Only Happens in Movies

I was hanging out in this bar in Denmark with someone from my hostel and this Danish girl comes over. She is double-fisting, and obviously distraught. Her name is Lisa. Lisa'a fiancee just broke up with her that evening after they have been going out for 4 years, have been friends for 9, its two months before their wedding, it was for a model who happens to be Lisa's best friend from childhood...and he was cheating on her with him a couple months before this. You couldn't make that up if you wanted to.

In the middle of her story, though, she paused for a second and was like, "that's my brother!" And we were like, what? Because no one else was around us. But she meant playing over the speakers at the bar...her brother is a Danish rapper.

So, without further delay, I present to you Lisa's Brother, aka Trools, aka Suspekt, the "dirtiest rapper you will ever hear, I assure you...if only you two could understand it!!!"

Think Eminem in style.

Florence and the Machine

We've seen a number of young female singer/songwriters from England gain widespread popularity over the last few years, such as Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Kate Nash, but none of them were able to grab my attention like Florence Welch has. Welch and her backing band, performing together as Florence and the Machine, are set to release their debut album, Lungs, tomorrow. She already won the emerging talent Brit Award last December, so expectations are high. There's no doubt that Welch packs plenty of power and soul into her distinctive voice, but it's also packaged in songs with a little more rock and a little less pop (or jazz and excessive drug use) than her contemporaries. The first Florence and the Machine song I heard was "Kiss With a Fist", the first single from their 2008 EP A Lot of Love, a Lot of Blood. Although Welch's vocal abilities are showcased better on other tracks, I have to say that this one is still my favorite. The up-tempo garage rock stomp features a sultry delivery and lyrics that seem to be painting a picture of a wild bedroom scene.





Another catchy track from the EP is "Dog Days Are Over". It isn't as in your face as "Kiss With a Fist", but will make you want to join in on the hand claps placed over the ukulele before the drums and chorus kick in. At this point though, you'll want to stop, get out of the way, and let Florence put some power behind her voice. Note that I didn't include the actual video for this song below (embedding was disabled by request). If you're not scared of clowns, you should probably look that one up instead.





Also included on the EP is a bare bones cover of "Hospital Beds" by the Cold War Kids. The instruments and supporting vocals provide a nice background rhythm, but keep a pretty low profile throughout the song to let Florence showcase her talents. It's simple, but very passionate and leaves a lasting impression.





Let's hope that the rest of Lungs lives up to the quality of the songs previewed in the EP. With a voice like this though, I don't think she'll have much trouble delivering.

I really f'ing hate rompers

A few months back a friend of mine had two tickets to see some band I'd never heard of. I'm always game for new music and I hadn't seen the kid for a while so I decided to tag along. Luckily my friend has exquisite taste in music and as he said himself, "this band is about to hit it big." The second Ra Ra Riot stepped on stage I was excited: a) I have an inexplicable love of stringed instruments and b) I have an inconsolable jones for geek musicians...Rivers Cuomo...*shudder*and the guitarist definitely fits the bill. Needless to say, I haven't been able to stop listening to them since.

I know I'm not the only Ra Ra Riot fan, but for those of you haven't quite reached stalker status, here's the break down: Ra Ra Riot hails from Syracuse, New York, and consisting of vocalist Wes Miles, bassist Mathieu Santos, guitarist Milo Bonacci, cellist Alexandra Lawn, violinist Rebecca Zeller, and drummer Gabriel Duquette.

Now, before I go on to talk about the actual music, I need to get something off of my chest. I love to see a good band play live; I like it even better when a good band is even better live. Ra Ra Riot is energetic and captivating on stage. The whole band is enthusiastic and looks to be genuinely enjoying each other's company and the music they're making. That said, though I absolutely love the way Alexandra Lawn sways back and forth with her cello, I have to say-- dammit Alexandra I want you to be hotter. Don't get me wrong, the girl is sick on the cello and she's got a slammen' bod but jesus christ I don't want to see you dancing around in an f'ing romper.

Observe:

:

As you can see, not only are they impractical, they are named after an article of children's clothing. So please, I beg you, wear some normal clothes. I wont even bitch about a checked scarf and/or cons, just leave the romper at home.

Back to the music--

The band didn't form until 2006, but In 2007, they made their first appearance at South by Southwest. Despite a pretty horrific set back, the band's original drummer John Ryan Pike drowned in 2007, Ra Ra Riot released their debut album The Rhumb Line on Barsuk Records in 2008.

The band are currently on tour with Death Cab for Cutie & Cold War Kids until July 31, 2009 and have released a few new live video recordings and are tweeting occassionally @RaRaRiot.

My Suggestion

Get your hands on everything you can find; here's something to whet your appetit:

Has There Been Good Music Since 1980? Yes.

So I'm watching Real Time with Bill Maher because I pay for HBO and feel I have to watch it 24/7 to make it worth my money. Anyway, his guest is Billy Bob Thornton and he's talking about how he got in a discussion with a PA on his last movie set about the quality of rock music since 1980. His main point being that she couldn't list on a sheet of paper more than three bands that people will listen to 100 years from now and praise them as visionaries. But before 1980, he says he can rattle off a hundred.

Now, I went to a Beach Boys concert a couple years ago and a woman at the concert turned to us during the intermission (yes, the rock concert had an "intermission") and said something to the same tune. I told her the same thing I'd say to Billy Bob - you're ignorant.

Whether or not I like the bands, there are a lot of acts out there who I could see being remembered down the road.

Radiohead, R.E.M., U2
These are the three that anyone who remembers the era of vinyl will agree with, because they like their music. I agree these people will be on "oldies" radio down the road, if there is such a thing as radio anymore. But there are more bands from the 80s and 90s who won't be tossed aside.

Guns & Roses
Sure they couldn't handle a come back, but they owned the 80s... and "Sweet Child of Mine" will never get old. Ever.

Dave Matthews Band
As terrible as their last 5 albums have been, the band created a unique sound that bridged hippy jam and pop tunes. Plus, they consistently sell out outdoor venues every summer. To think they won't have a lasting impact is ridiculous.

Ben Folds Five
I have always been a fan. Dude can write some songs, that's for sure. And I could see him getting some additional success down the road.

The Clash
London Calling came out in December of '79, so I'm throwing them in the 80s category. And I'm using this as a main reason that Billy Bob Thornton is full of crap.

Green Day
Not only were they huge in the early 90s, they made a comeback and got huge again. You can't sit there and tell me people will forget about them.

Pearl Jam
I'm a big Pearl Jam fan, but that isn't the reason I included them. It's because they're a solid act with a huge catalog.

Nirvana
Our parents had the British invasion, we had grunge. To discount the importance of that is straight up bull shit.

Sublime
Their music has crossed boundaries from alternative to Top 40. I even hear "Santeria" on 101.9 The Mix, which is basically preset one here in Chicago for soccer moms.

Hip-Hop
I think older people who make these arguments ignore hip-hop because they don't like "that damn rap music". But people like Jay-Z, Snoop, Dre, Notorious, Tupac... they're all super popular musicians who will be listened to down the road because they're good. Fuck, even Kanye will have a spot. As much as you want to hate the guy, he has put out three albums worth listening to and one that uses a robot voice.


These are just a quick list of artists. But I'm sure we can brainstorm more and send a nasty letter to Thornton so he can stop talking so much shit. Because let's be honest, when it comes to good music - he can't really say much with that band of his.