Music Can Be Funny

I sometimes like to look around to try and find humor in music. If you pay close enough attention music can be pretty hilarious....




....whether it's meant to be......






...or not.






The first video is a group called Hurra Torpedo covering Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart". I think they're Norwegian or something, so that might help to explain the video.


The second video is one of the most pretentious things I've ever seen. The guy playing guitar is Michael Angelo Batio. It's a bit long (at a little over 6 minutes) but it's worth the time.


The third and final video is DragonForce with "Through the Fire and Flames". I'm pretty sure these guys are a serious band. Yeah, they can shred but, they might go a bit overboard. Watch for the solo-off mid video.

I'd like to thank my friend Andre for initially showing me these videos.

The Dillinger Escape Plan is Fucking Insane

Well, they are live at least. I've personally never seen them live. I had the opportunity to see them for free before I was super into them, but I was too lazy to leave my house. Now I realize what a mistake that was. Anyway, if these videos don't make you want to see them live, I don't know if anything will.

This first video is them playing "Sugar Coated Sour" at a Virgin Megastore in 2005. It's super intense. The sound quality isn't spectacular, but the video itself is well worth the watch.



This next live video is for the song "We Are the Storm", which is actually one of my personal favorite Dillinger Escape Plan songs. Their singer doesn't quite hit the high vocal part of the song. That could be attributed to how he said he barfed before the song starts though.
The video is actually from the same in-store performance as the first video. However, the view is different. The audio isn't top notch again this time. You can hear the guitar better, but from where the guy is standing you hear way more of the rhythm guitarist.





Next up is 'everyone's favorite DEP song'..."43% Burnt". This gem was filmed at Hellfest way back in 2002. The audio on this one is probably the worst out of all of these, but the visuals are pretty intense.





This is if you'd like to see a better version of "43% Burnt". It was taped by the same person who taped "We Are the Storm".




I really hope they finish their new album in time for the supposed September release. Here are a couple 'teasers'.


Teaser #1





Teaser #2 Watch out for the subliminal messaging.






I just checked their myspace for news on their new album. Apparently they start recording this Friday, June 1st. I also found this picture. This is if you're not completely convinced yet that their singer is insane.

Review - Silversun Pickups

Silversun Pickups
Carnavas
Dangerbird
2006




Grade: C+

I think I remember hearing comparisons to the Smashing Pumpkins as far as Silversun Pickups music goes, and I definitely agree. This band loves the 90’s and lets it show. This album didn’t have too much that is going to make me want to come back and put it on again, though there are a good three songs I’d probably want to hear again. I’ve actually listened to those three songs again since I first listened to the album. The singer does a sing to yell kind of thing that reminds me of Jim from Sparta at times. At other times he sounds like he’s trying to sing like a girl, or that could be the woman in the band, it’s hard to tell. The songs on this album are all decently long with the shortest clocking in at 4 minutes. Some songs get better as they progress, but I think as a whole the album struggles to create a vibe for itself and sell you on an entire album listen. Meaning this isn’t an album that’s one that’s better when you listen to the entire album all the way through every time. I’d definitely recommend giving this album a listen though and deciding on your own.

For fans of Smashing Pumpkins, Abandoned Pools, and Sparta (maybe).

Review - Maserati

Maserati
Inventions For the New Season
Temporary Residence
2007




Grade: B+

A lot of instrumental albums tend to just become background noise for other things because you don’t sit there and try to decipher lyrics or sing along. This album is completely instrumental yet carries enough in it’s arrangements to keep your attention.

Maserati features members of !!! (Chk Chk Chk) and Turing Machine. Sometimes the presence of a Turing Machine member can be a little too obvious as is the case on track 5. It doesn’t make for a bad experience while listening, it just sounds obvious to me.

Some parts can be a little repetitive at points, but as I previously stated the arrangements are done well enough to not bore you to tears. They actually serve to interest you in what could actually happen next in the song. I’m also very glad that the songs that were building didn’t build into absolutely nothing like the Cluster album did.

Overall the album seems to be successful in creating a mood, which is rather important in instrumental albums. I’d recommend picking this one up once it comes out. This album will especially appeal to fans of the aforementioned Turing Machine or more mellow instrumental outfits such as Explosions in the Sky or Do Make Say Think.

Review - Circa Survive

Circa Survive
On Letting Go
Equal Vision
2007



Grade: F +



Former singer of Saosin’s 'new' band. I would probably go on to say that Saosin is one of the better screamo bands I’ve heard. Not that that’s really saying much, screamo‘s pretty lame. OK, really lame.

I’ve heard this bands previous album. This album pretty much sounds exactly the same. Granted I haven’t heard the other album in a long time I think if you played one and then the other I wouldn’t have any clue as to which album the tracks belong to. Maybe they figured “if it’s not broke don’t fix it.” Now, allow me to go into an analogy on that idea that might not make any sense (hopefully it will). If you’re trying to win an auto race and you’re race car goes a top speed of 10 miles an hour, you should probably modify things so you can actually compete in the race. Circa Survive is like that race car with a top speed of 10 miles an hour. (Author’s Note: Did I seriously make an analogy to auto racing? I absolutely despise auto racing.)

To their credit I ‘ll say that this album is pretty catchy at some points, but it‘s still not selling me on it‘s sound and making me want to ever listen to it again. The singer is definitely in a one-on-one battle against the singer of Coheed and Cambria in the category of male singer in an emo band who sounds more like a chick.

Despite it’s catchiness at some points, throughout most of the album I found myself to be rather bored. It didn’t make me want to kill myself while listening to it though so I guess that’s a plus for them. They should’ve let me write one of the stickers that’s undoubtedly on the front of their album saying how cool they are. It could have said “Circa Survive’s new sophomore album….it won’t make you want to kill yourself!!”

If you like bands like Coheed and Cambria, Taking Back Sunday, Saosin or you love the channel Fuse then this band is for you.

Worst Album Cover of the Year So Far ?

This is the cover of Perry Farrell's Satellite Party (if that wasn't obvious enough from the huge ass picture which says it right on it). This is an awful album cover. I would definitely not want to party with Perry Ferrell. I might have nightmares from this.

If you think there was/is a worse album cover to come out this year I would like to know what you think it is. Seriously, comment or e-mail me your suggestions. Interaction people, interaction.

Has Kanye "Fallen Off" ?

I just watched the video for the new Kanye West single. The first single off of his upcoming album "Graduation" which is due out mid-September. I must say the song is very boring with an uneventful beat and uninspired lyrics. The video's also really boring. So boring in fact that I almost fell asleep while watching it. Does this single say anything about the kind of album that "Graduation" is going to be? Let's all hope not. Either he made a really poor decision with choosing his single or this album has no track that can equate to the success of"Gold Digger".

You can watch the video for yourself and see what you think here.

You Like That?

I was just talking to a friend a little while ago when he told me he had to 'Jet'. That reminded me of the band Jet and how they're one of those phenomena where they still exist as a band (I think, I'd really rather not check) yet no one I know or have met likes them. That thought also reminded me of this video...it's an early Human Giant video.




It's a decent video. It's honestly kind of weak until the Sufjan Stevens part. I think the end makes up for it though.

Battles Again?!

OK,OK. This is it for a while, i swear. I just wanted to let you know that Battles new album Mirrored is available to stream in its entirety on their myspace here.

Battles Live

So, I was originally going to post an entire hour long set from the empty bottle in Chicago that someone taped and posted on youtube, but I decided against it. Instead I'm posting two great live videos from two different shows. Both of these tracks are on previous ep's, not the album that was released today. Enjoy

If you're not a Battles fan then I'm sorry for bumming you out with the Battles-heavy post day/days.



"SZ2"



"Tras"

Review - Battles

Battles
Mirrored
Warp
2007



Grade: A

Battles are a (mostly) instrumental “math-rock” band featuring Ian Williams of Don Caballero fame and John Stanier of Helmet and Tomahawk fame. They seem to have a love for high things from highly worn guitars and high crash cymbals (see previous posts video) to high pitched processed vocals (only really on "Atlas") and high scoring reviews.

This album makes me want to nod my head and shake my ass to its odd time signatures and processed vocals…and I cringe at the idea of me dancing. A band that was once completely instrumental has decided to add vocals on this, their first full length album. The vocals as mentioned before are usually heavily processed and rather indecipherable. There are a couple songs where the vocals sound like they aren't processed, but you can barely understand what he's singing, which doesn't bother me one bit. It sounds like the main idea for the vocal sections are just to add a different sound to the mix; they’re using voice as an instrument. Kind of like Thom Yorke does on some Radiohead songs. The drumming is very solid, sometimes understated. The guitar playing is great as well, and this album consists of a lot of keys and electronic samples which help to fill it out. If you’re a fan of math rock, experimental electronica, or are just looking for something new, then this album is for you. It was released today, so you can buy it before all of your friends and be the ‘cool one’ in the group.

Battles - "Atlas"

This is Battles video for their single "Atlas"off of their album Mirrored which was released today. I'd recommend picking it up. A Review for this album will be coming soon.




"Atlas"

Review - Grinderman

Grinderman
Grinderman
Anti
2007


Grade: A


I’m pretty sure a few people I know aren’t really digging Grinderman, and that’s cool. They’re not really for everyone. If you’re used to radio rock you’re probably not going to like them. Well, if you’re used to radio rock, you should really challenge your taste more with music that is different from all the bullshit that the Clear channel owned radio stations are spoon feeding you.

Grinderman is Nick Cave and few guys from his backing band The Bad Seeds with them rocking out on a few songs like Nick Cave did back in the day when he was in The Birthday Party.

Grinderman kicks everyone’s ass with this great debut album. Rock music that’s punk in the sense where you can tell that they don’t really give a shit what you think. Great songs, great lyrics, and some of the songs make you want to shake your ass, nothing wrong with that. I find myself wanting to listen to this album quite often lately. Definitely frontrunner's for the title of best new band of 2007.

Buy this album

Grinderman Live

So, i first discovered these videos on Buddyhead's Medication Blog. So I need to give credit where credit is due. Thanks to the guys over there for posting these on their site where I found them.

This is Grinderman, an awesome new band featuring Nick Cave on guitar and vocals and some of his band mates from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The first song is their first single off of their self-titled album. The song's Called "No Pussy Blues". The second song is another track off of their new album called "Honey Bee (Let's Fly to Mars)". They're both rocking songs and great live videos, Check them out!!



"No Pussy Blues"




"Honey Bee (Let's Fly to Mars)"



If you like this, look out for next review which is coming soon....hopefully later today.

Review / "We'll See About That" Review - The Stooges

To preface this, this review is a little bit of an original review and a little bit of my take on something I've read a review about. I heard the album in question before I read any reviews for it, but I didn't write about it at the time. Even still, this album had such an effect on me after hearing it that I remember how I felt about it quite well. From reading reviews and seeing what people think about it, I feel as though i should add my 2 cents.




The Stooges
The Weirdness
Virgin
2007



Grade: F -


This album is so fucking bad it makes me question how The Stooges got to this point. The Stooges are one of the greatest punk bands of all time. I might even go as far as saying they're my favorite punk band ever. Their first album was released 38 years ago and their last album 34. 34 years is a long time to fuck up your vibe, and boy did they fuck up their vibe HARD. I really wonder how they did it though. "The Stooges, "Fun House" and "Raw Power" are all such great albums(If you're reading this and you don't have those, get them now!!). I guess their ability to write great songs died with Dave Alexander (their original bass player).

A lot of the reviews I have read say how much this album is a pile of dog shit.... and i couldn't agree more. I almost want them to respond to the critical pressure they've been getting and try to write better songs for another album. But, I know better than that and know that they should just officially retire the band. Either that or try to build a time machine so they can fix their mess.

I wonder what was going through Steve Albini's head when he was recording this. Do you think he was like "yeah guys!! This is fucking great stuff!!" ? I also wonder if this album would have been any different if Jack White played bass on it instead of Mike Watt. I've never known Jack White to be associated with bullshit like this, so maybe it would have been better.

I wish this album never happened.

Classic Review - Cluster

Cluster
Zuckerzeit
Universal
1974/2005


Grade: D



This is a reissue of a 1974 album. It has been remastered and repackaged.

This is an instrumental band that stems from obvious electronic influences. Their song structure is rather repetitive and may get to you fast if you're not normally into music without lyrics.
At the beginning of this album I thought it sounded like It’d be good. I think that’s most bands ideas when they choose the opening track for their album though. After the first track I found it rather hard to get into the whole vibe of the album. I kept feeling let down. The music made it seem like it was building toward something when it wasn’t. Maybe that was my fault for having expectations of the repetitive sections (which pretty much describe every song). But, to me they sounded as though they could have used a change in sounds throughout their songs, maybe even once in a while. The middle of the album got softer and kind of boring. Then the last track picked up a bit in pace, like they knew they might have put you to sleep and now they wanted to wake you up, if even just to piss you off.

This album makes me feel like I’m waiting for something that’s not coming. It’s the musical equivalent of blue balls. Well, maybe not THAT bad.

Reviews News

So, I'm planning on doing a few different 'types' of reviews on here..... Four to be exact. The four I have come up with are as follows. The first type will be "We'll see about that" were I will review an album that I have already previously read a favorable (or unfavorable review i suppose) of a certain album and want to expand on it with my thoughts and own interpretations. The second type will be a normal review of a new album that I haven't read anything on yet and am writing my unbiased opinion about. The third type will be a "Catch Up" review, where I will review an album that isn't that new and came out before I started this blog. The fourth and final type of review will be a "Classic Review" where I will share my thoughts on rather old albums held to a high regard.

Russian Circles

This is an instrumental band from Chicago that I completely love. This is a live show they played in Lawrence Kansas in July of 2006.




"Enter"







"Carpe"





"Micah"






"Death Rides A Horse"

Two Songs, Two Videos

This post contains two very different artists. The first is Amon Tobin, an electronic artist who if you don't know you need to check out. The second is Danielson, an indie band that if you don't really dig that much I won't be mad at you for.


So, this video is for Amon Tobin's song "4 Ton Mantis". The video is a little weird. People lose their skin while a gigantic mantis robot terrorizes a junkyard?





This is Danielson's video for "Did I Step on Your Trumpet?". The song is pretty catchy and the video is quite creative and quirky.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor

This is a fan made video that I think someone probably made for school for Godspeed You! Black Emperor's song "09-15-00" off of their album Yanqui U.X.O. Don't watch the video if you're tired because the song might make you fall asleep and the subtle imagery will probably give you bad dreams.

I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness

A video post again?!

So here's another band I dig and two of their videos i found. The first is an instrumental song and the video's animated, but very very cool. The second is a decent video, but definitely my favorite song by the band.





"The Owl"






"According to Plan"

More Videos

I decided to post a couple more videos by bands I really like. Tapes 'N Tapes album was in my opinion one of the best of 2006, and I will have to say that most likely Blonde Redhead's album will go down as one of the best of 2007.




This is Blonde Redhead's video for their song "23" the first single off of their album of the same name.






This is Tapes 'N Tapes video for their song "Cowbell" off of their album The Loon



I'm also posting that Tapes 'N Tapes video so Clell Tickle doesn't give me a Columbian necktie.

Weird Music Videos

OK. so seeing as how I just posted a pretty weird music video for a song I really like. I'm going to post a really weird video for a song I kind of like. This is Lightning Bolt's music video for their song "13 monsters". Lightning Bolt is a duo of just bass and drums. That's not a typo, they are just bass and drums. Check out more of their stuff and you'll find it hard to believe that the music is just a bass player and a drummer.

These Arms are Snakes

These Arms are Snakes - "Horse Girl"

This is one of my favorite bands. If you don't know them you should. The bass player used to be in Botch, hence the reason for the really good bass lines.



It's a bit of a weird video, but the song is great.

First Post

Remember this, anything is fair game.