2007 releases to look for:
Confirmed:
Bloc Party: A Weekend In The City 2/6
Lucinda Williams: West 2/13
Magic Numbers: Those The Brokes 2/20
Arcade Fire: Neon Bible 3/6
Ry Cooder: My Name Is Buddy 3/6
Son Volt: The Search 3/6
Andrew Bird: Armchair Apocrypha 3/20
Low: Drums And Guns 3/20
Kaiser Chiefs: Yours Truly, Angry Mob 3/27
Timbaland: Shock Value 3/27
Ozomatli: Don't Mess With the Dragon 4/3
Bright Eyes: Cassadaga 4/20
Wilco: Sky Blue Sky 5/15
Expected:
Animal Collective: [Title TBA] Fall 2007
Arctic Monkeys [Title TBA] Spring 2007
India.Arie: Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics 2007
Devendra Banhart [Title TBA] Summer 2007
Beastie Boys [Title TBA] 2007 - 2008
Bjork [Title TBA] Spring 2007
Blur [Title TBA] 2007
Coldplay [Title TBA] Late 2007
Peter Gabriel [Title TBA] 2007
Iron & Wine [Title TBA] August 2007
Annie Lennox [Title TBA] 2007
Okkervil River [Title TBA] 2007
The Postal Service [Title TBA] 2007
Queens Of The Stone Age [Title TBA] 2007
Radiohead [Title TBA] 2007
Spoon: Stroke Their Brains Spring 2007
Wolf Parade [Title TBA] Summer/Fall 2007
Wu-Tang Clan: 8 Diagram Summer 2007
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Monday, January 29, 2007
Band Spotlight: Gomez
I first heard about Gomez a couple of years ago when someone mentioned on the Wilco message board http://forums.viachicago.org/ that they had covered a couple of Wilco songs during one of their shows. Well, if these guys are covering Wilco they can't be all that bad huh? I picked up their latest album How We Operate last year and thoroughly enjoyed it, although I felt it was bit inconsistent. Still, it was enough to get me to check out their first album Bring It On, which was released in 1998 (yes, they've been around that long). Wow, what a fantastic album. I am now on a mission to hear everything they've put out. The band is from Southport, England and consists of five members, three of which sing lead vocals. The variety of the vocal styles echo the variety of their musical sound. Sometimes bluesy, sometimes reggae-tinged, with a "jam-band" feel, albeit without the extended jams. One of the vocalists has a sound reminiscent of Eddie Vedder, adding a gritty element to their gorgeous melodies. I'll be seeing them at the Mystic Theater in Petaluma, CA on Feb. 19 and I'll be sure to post a concert review soon after. Check out this live concert on NPR or watch/listen to some tracks on MySpace or their official website.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
New albums now streaming on MySpace
You can hear 10 tracks from The Shins new album Wincing the Night Away (released Jan 23, 2007) at http://www.myspace.com/theshins
Advance tracks from the much-anticipated sophomore album from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. The album is called Some Loud Thunder, to be released on January 30 and you can hear the tracks at http://www.myspace.com/clapyourhandssayyeah
Arcade Fire has made available one track, "Black Mirror", from their upcoming release Neon Bible (to be released March 6, 2007), at http://www.myspace.com/arcadefireofficial
Advance tracks from the much-anticipated sophomore album from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. The album is called Some Loud Thunder, to be released on January 30 and you can hear the tracks at http://www.myspace.com/clapyourhandssayyeah
Arcade Fire has made available one track, "Black Mirror", from their upcoming release Neon Bible (to be released March 6, 2007), at http://www.myspace.com/arcadefireofficial
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Top albums of 2006
Well, I've finally done it. I've made a blog about music. I hope that you enjoy reading and experiencing it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I welcome any and all feedback, suggestions, comments and criticisms. If there is anything you want more information about, feel free to drop me a line. I will be posting album reviews, live concert reviews, interesting music links, tips on software, and anything else that I think the world (ok my own little world) should know about. Now on to the good stuff.
We're only a month into 2007 so it's not too late for another one of those ubiquitous "Best of..." lists. Of course the albums on the list must be picked from albums I have actually listened to. There are quite a few critically-acclaimed albums that I haven't heard (yet). Those albums (not for consideration) include:
Bob Dylan: Modern Times
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Stadium Arcadium
Cat Power: The Greatest
Yo La Tengo: I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
The Roots: Game Theory
The Knife: Silent Shout
Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
J Dilla: Donuts
Beirut: Gulag Orkestar
Band of Horses: Everything All the Time
TV on the Radio: Return to Cookie Mountain (I've heard a lot of good things about this one)
JJ Cale & Eric Clapton: The Road to Escondido
Destroyer: Destroyer's Rubies
Bruce Springsteen: We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
Built to Spill: You in Reverse
Belle & Sebastian: The Life Pursuit
Drive-By Truckers: A Blessing and a Curse
Los Lobos: The Town and the City
Clipse: Hell Hath No Fury
Scott Walker: The Drift
Ali Farke Toure: Savane
Tom Ze: Estudando o Pagode
Ok, now, drumroll please... My top 5 albums of 2006!
5. Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
You can always count on the Brits to spit out a great new band at least once a year. Last year it was the Arctic Monkeys. Their sound is post-punk, but with a musicianship that puts them into progressive territory. The track "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" is irresistible.
4. The Hold Steady: Boys and Girls in America
Nothing really groundbreaking here. This is retro-rock, 70s-style. Bruce Springsteen, AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, Rush, all the 70s rock influences are here. But boy is this album a lot of fun. What really makes this album Top 5 is the consistency. Pretty much every song has something to offer. Most will leave you humming or whistling for the rest of the day. Check out the video for 'Chips Ahoy'. Yes, that is actually Craig Finn, the leader and principal songwriter of the band.
3. Thom Yorke - The Eraser
Well, if we can't have a new Radiohead album, at least Thom Yorke eases our withdrawal symptoms. With a spare sound, a bit of electronic programming, and a handful of Radiohead studio castoffs, Yorke has made a leaner, meaner, Radiohead-ish album. Could this guy make a bad album? I don't think so.
Harrowdown Hill Video
2. Joanna Newsom - YS
There was a lot of buzz around this when it was released in November. I promptly went online and listened to some samples from the record and my initial reaction was "Harp, strings, mellow...it's ok." It seemed more appropriate for an elevator than as cutting-edge indie rock. I really wasn't that interested. Flash to December and I'm going through all of those year-end "best of" lists and the one album which seemed to be consistently placed in every list was, you guessed it, Joanna Newsom's "Ys". Well, I had to give it a second listen and after downloading the album I set to task. After the first listen or two I was still not impressed. It was a pleasant, sweet musical experience, but it didn't grab me. Keep in mind, this isn't your run-of-the-mill stuff. No verse, verse, chorus, verse here. The music is free and flowing, serving the lyrics rather than establishing a musical hook. Still, I found myself humming snippets of melodies to myself. But it wasn't until I went and took a look at her lyrics that I realized this was truly something special. The music, in the context of the words, became magical. The lyrics are beautiful, poetic, and the music complement the lyrics with just enough repetition to add cohesion and interest to the songs. This is one of those albums that just gets better and better with each listen. Now I'm finding that it is, indeed, one of the most rewarding listening experiences of 2006.
Listen to this song* while reading the lyrics here. Hopefully you'll see what I mean.
*You'll need RealPlayer for this
1. Califone: Roots & Crowns
Califone's sound consists of almost every musical element I am currently interested in; a strong melodic and lyrical foundation, driving rhythms, and that extra little bit of weirdness which keeps the disc spinning. Those are the elements that make "Indie" and "Alt-Country" so interesting (e.g. Wilco, My Morning Jacket etc..). These guys have it all going on here and this has proven to be my most listened to disc in 2006. The fact that I am still not sick of it makes it worthy of being #1.
Video: 'Spider's House'
Honorable Mention:
Grizzly Bear: Yellow House
The Black Keys: Chulahoma
Gnarls Barkley: St. Elsewhere
My Brightest Diamond: Bring Me the Workhorse
Tom Waits: Orphans
Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs: Show Your Bones
Frank Black: Fast Man Raider Man
Jolie Holland: Springtime Can Kill You
M. Ward: Post-War
Gomez: How We Operate
We're only a month into 2007 so it's not too late for another one of those ubiquitous "Best of..." lists. Of course the albums on the list must be picked from albums I have actually listened to. There are quite a few critically-acclaimed albums that I haven't heard (yet). Those albums (not for consideration) include:
Bob Dylan: Modern Times
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Stadium Arcadium
Cat Power: The Greatest
Yo La Tengo: I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
The Roots: Game Theory
The Knife: Silent Shout
Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
J Dilla: Donuts
Beirut: Gulag Orkestar
Band of Horses: Everything All the Time
TV on the Radio: Return to Cookie Mountain (I've heard a lot of good things about this one)
JJ Cale & Eric Clapton: The Road to Escondido
Destroyer: Destroyer's Rubies
Bruce Springsteen: We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
Built to Spill: You in Reverse
Belle & Sebastian: The Life Pursuit
Drive-By Truckers: A Blessing and a Curse
Los Lobos: The Town and the City
Clipse: Hell Hath No Fury
Scott Walker: The Drift
Ali Farke Toure: Savane
Tom Ze: Estudando o Pagode
Ok, now, drumroll please... My top 5 albums of 2006!
5. Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm NotYou can always count on the Brits to spit out a great new band at least once a year. Last year it was the Arctic Monkeys. Their sound is post-punk, but with a musicianship that puts them into progressive territory. The track "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" is irresistible.
4. The Hold Steady: Boys and Girls in America
Nothing really groundbreaking here. This is retro-rock, 70s-style. Bruce Springsteen, AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, Rush, all the 70s rock influences are here. But boy is this album a lot of fun. What really makes this album Top 5 is the consistency. Pretty much every song has something to offer. Most will leave you humming or whistling for the rest of the day. Check out the video for 'Chips Ahoy'. Yes, that is actually Craig Finn, the leader and principal songwriter of the band.
3. Thom Yorke - The Eraser
Well, if we can't have a new Radiohead album, at least Thom Yorke eases our withdrawal symptoms. With a spare sound, a bit of electronic programming, and a handful of Radiohead studio castoffs, Yorke has made a leaner, meaner, Radiohead-ish album. Could this guy make a bad album? I don't think so.
Harrowdown Hill Video
2. Joanna Newsom - YS
There was a lot of buzz around this when it was released in November. I promptly went online and listened to some samples from the record and my initial reaction was "Harp, strings, mellow...it's ok." It seemed more appropriate for an elevator than as cutting-edge indie rock. I really wasn't that interested. Flash to December and I'm going through all of those year-end "best of" lists and the one album which seemed to be consistently placed in every list was, you guessed it, Joanna Newsom's "Ys". Well, I had to give it a second listen and after downloading the album I set to task. After the first listen or two I was still not impressed. It was a pleasant, sweet musical experience, but it didn't grab me. Keep in mind, this isn't your run-of-the-mill stuff. No verse, verse, chorus, verse here. The music is free and flowing, serving the lyrics rather than establishing a musical hook. Still, I found myself humming snippets of melodies to myself. But it wasn't until I went and took a look at her lyrics that I realized this was truly something special. The music, in the context of the words, became magical. The lyrics are beautiful, poetic, and the music complement the lyrics with just enough repetition to add cohesion and interest to the songs. This is one of those albums that just gets better and better with each listen. Now I'm finding that it is, indeed, one of the most rewarding listening experiences of 2006.
Listen to this song* while reading the lyrics here. Hopefully you'll see what I mean.
*You'll need RealPlayer for this
1. Califone: Roots & CrownsCalifone's sound consists of almost every musical element I am currently interested in; a strong melodic and lyrical foundation, driving rhythms, and that extra little bit of weirdness which keeps the disc spinning. Those are the elements that make "Indie" and "Alt-Country" so interesting (e.g. Wilco, My Morning Jacket etc..). These guys have it all going on here and this has proven to be my most listened to disc in 2006. The fact that I am still not sick of it makes it worthy of being #1.
Video: 'Spider's House'
Honorable Mention:
Grizzly Bear: Yellow House
The Black Keys: Chulahoma
Gnarls Barkley: St. Elsewhere
My Brightest Diamond: Bring Me the Workhorse
Tom Waits: Orphans
Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs: Show Your Bones
Frank Black: Fast Man Raider Man
Jolie Holland: Springtime Can Kill You
M. Ward: Post-War
Gomez: How We Operate
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