Candy Beans by Joe Coscarelli

Just to recap: I have moved on

2009-07-14T14:29:00.002-03:00

"Big ups, to all my h8rs" -- ME, ELSEWHERE, MORE

2008-08-04T17:18:00.002-03:00

1988: Morrissey: Viva Hate
1989: The Cure: Disintegration
1990: Cocteau Twins: Heaven or Las Vegas
1991: My Bloody Valentine: Loveless
1992: R.E.M.: Automatic For The People
1993: Liz Phair: Exile in Guyville
1994: Nas: Illmatic
1995: Oasis: (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
1996: Weezer: Pinkerton
1997: Third Eye Blind: Third Eye Blind
1998: Neutral Milk Hotel: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
1999: Sigur Rós: Ágætis byrjun
2000: Ryan Adams: Heartbreaker
2001: Against Me!: Reinventing Axl Rose
2002: Broken Social Scene: You Forgot It In People
2003: Jay-Z: The Black Album
2004: Rilo Kiley: More Adventurous
2005: The National: Alligator
2006: Brand New: The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
2007: Lil Wayne: Da Drought 3
2008: Lil Wayne: Tha Carter III / No Age: Nouns

"Me and Mariah go back like babies and pacifiers."

2008-06-30T17:21:00.003-03:00

Tilly and the Wall - O

Tilly and the Wall have never been shy about getting a little bit feisty. On their debut album Wild Like Children they famously – among their die-hards, anyway – chanted "I wanna fuck it up and I feel so alive," in an ode to those high school kids who dress in drag and can't stop touching each other. And so 'Night of the Living Dead' became the group's rousing anthem – an entire teenage experience colored by nostalgia and packed into a tight four minutes – but their fascination with naive experimentation, both in pushing the boundaries of authority and of a more sexual nature, didn't end there. Instead of "maturing" and becoming jaded, the band's sophomore album, Bottoms of Barrels, paired the passion of green youth with the expanding of sonic boundaries, perfected on the latin-flavored, Almódovar-biting 'Bad Education', a song packed with more cross-dressing and more urgent humping. Kids grow up so fast these days. READ THE REST

"I do what I do." -- NYU-LOCAL LAUNCH

2008-04-08T03:26:00.004-03:00

NYU-Local is a beta-go. Entertainment is also a work in progress. Check back often.

"Fifty ways to get lost."

2008-04-04T21:04:00.001-03:00

"I hate myself for hating them."

2008-03-25T12:36:00.004-03:00

For those with a savvy eye, and who might be quick to point a finger, I'd like it to be on record that this review was turned in before M. Hogan 's was even published on the 'fork. Because of site problems at WB, mine was just posted.

Los Campesinos!
Hold On Now, Youngster...

Los Campesinos!, the scrappy septet of ragtag record store regulars from Wales, have not crafted a weighty, serious record in Hold On Now, Youngster... but the questions it raises are of a personal variety and take a high level of self-awareness to confront. Ask yourself if you have the stomach for this, and be honest; it will save you some time and save us your bitching. Do you finish the sour sugar at the end of a bag candies or do your teeth shiver at the thought? Let this answer guide you. READ THE REST

Please do.

Los Campesinos! Don't Tell Me To Do the Math(s)

"Your little hoodrat friend makes me sick." -- REVIEW ROUND-UP

2008-02-24T12:29:00.005-03:00

Remember me? I've been writing reviews. In order of preference:

Born Ruffians
Red, Yellow, and Blue

What if Born Ruffians, the hyper-active Canadian four-piece, founded their own nation? A question bordering on inane, sure, but let us just conceptualize. If the band's music is any indication, things in this land might be rather anarchic. In this fantasy world a neurotic leadership would attempt to quell a population of equally high-strung, overmedicated wanderers ('Barnacle Goose'), basket cases ('I Need A Life') and dream-chasers ('Hedonistic Me'). Still, the higher-ups would be painfully unfit for the job, their primary concern being the flag's aesthetics ('Red, Yellow, and Blue'). There would be an insatiable thirst for nothing in particular ('Red Elephant'), but the revolutionary spirit would run deep, expressed in a series of public demonstrations in which vandalism would play no small part. Granted, this is all purely speculation – with the only certainty the national colours – but that is one world that could be imagined and illustrated on Red, Yellow, and Blue through pop-rock nuggets and waltzes, vigorous gang chants, and unsophisticated but endearing charm. READ THE REST

But more importantly, get the album. ^^^^^

Jason Collett
Here's to Being Here

The quest for the next Bob Dylan has always been inherently paradoxical. After all, the reason you'd even want another is because the first was never defined, never fully understood, and never pinned down. The man and the myth – so arduously defined in last year's Todd Haynes "biopic" I'm Not There – remains as elusive a legend as pop music has ever had, culturally camouflaged and bouncing between fake idol and true prophet, sometimes playing both simultaneously. Still, bits of Dylan's legacy can be found in Conor Oberst's wide-eyed idealism and sharp tongue, M. Ward's rustic timelessness, Elvis Perkins' quirky and winding wordplay, and here noteworthy, Jason Collett's vocal timbre. READ THE REST

Last and least...

Lightspeed Champion
Falling Off the Lavender Bridge

Far too few music fans worry about the effects of the Indie Rock Machine. While McDonalds and Starbucks permeate every last inch of the globe, consumers cower in fear of the looming corporate shadow. Of course, they still line up for their decaf-double-tall-mint-non-fat mocha, but most will feel that itch of conscience about the big business invasion they're supporting. Are we paying for consistency or blindly backing homogeneity? Your answer depends largely on a semantic battle – a slight disparity in connotation. Apply this to music. What happens when an indie rock superpower starts drifting into monolith territory? What happens when your favorite midwestern basement startup-turned-empire colours the debut from a British near-sensation? READ THE REST

Born Ruffians This Sentence Will Save/Ruin Your Life

Jason Collett Roll On Oblivion

Lightspeed Champion Everyone I Know Is Listening To Crunk

"You should tip her."

2008-01-19T14:54:00.000-03:00

SPIN.com Artist of the Day

Hello, Blue Roses

Who? The love child of two multi-talented, multi-tasking eclectics, Hello, Blue Roses pairs visual artist/vocalist/flautist Sydney Vermont with her scraggly-haired sweetheart, artsy singer/songwriter Dan Bejar (Destroyer, New Pornographers, Swan Lake), to make up this charming duo. Their intimacy beget a distinctive and engrossing debut album, complete with the awww-inspiring title, The Portrait Is Finished And I Have Failed to Capture Your Beauty... due Jan. 22 via the Locust label.

What's the Deal? Like a Sonny & Cher for the hippest sectors of the Great White North, these Vancouverites are anything but frigid, delivering 14 warm embers of by-the-fire folk fitted for the lovelorn literati. Written by Vermont and arranged by Bejar, the set sounds pristine and nearly regal -- Vermont's chandelier-shaking falsetto ever-climbing as on the autonomous lead track "Hello Blue Roses" and Bejar's compositional majesty unleashing glimmering galactic synths on "Shadow Falls" or his signature '70s-gone-bare wailing riffs riding acoustic strums during "Coming Through Imposture." Elsewhere, the almost-medieval "Come Darkness" conjures frills and flowing dresses in a flute-filled reverie while their cover of Kevin Ayers' "Hymn" demonstrates a couple's premonition in a winding acoustic duet, each idiosyncratic voice rising, falling, and breaking in harmony.

Fun Fact: "My art usually comes out of books of fiction, and tends towards women," Vermont tells SPIN.com. In fact, the band takes its name from the Tennessee Williams play, The Glass Menagerie, in which the tragic female lead Laura explains her affliction as pluerosis, misunderstood by her great love Jim as "Blue Roses." JOSEPH COSCARELLI

Now Hear This
Hello, Blue Roses - "Shadows Fall" DOWNLOAD MP3

On the Web:
Hello, Blue Roses at MySpace

via SPIN.com

"Do I have to spell it out for you?" -- GLOSSARY OF TERMS FROM THE ALBUM-OTY

2007-12-31T02:33:00.005-03:00

Da Drought 3 is my favorite album of the year. And when forced to single out the one aspect of the two-disc mixtape that kept me coming back constantly, I have to point toward the hundreds of references in Wayne's lyrics. Nearly all of the album's metaphors are used for bragging, many are obscene or inappropriate but hardly any are completely random. Weezy is extremely deliberate in his moments of pop culture reference and the more I heard the songs, the more I learned about his personality. Subtly, they reveal his genius.In "Seat Down Low," after a particularly regional reference, Wayne stops rapping and explains how you'd have to be from New Orleans to understand what he's talking about. But geography isn't the only limitation to his style of wordplay -- piling obscure sports reference on to fashion slang next to gun talk mixed with '80s movies and food, it's a seemingly scattered combination of rather small niches. It's frustrating for many and straight over even more heads. But unlike Cam'ron -- whose looney namedrops make sense only in his own mind -- Wayne's precision, when examined closely, is commendable. To me, the entire tape was a game of Trivial Pursuit: Pop Culture Edition, or an extended riddle. I couldn't get enough, so I started jotting down some of the smarter ones. I left out the numerous rapper shout-outs, some obvious branding (alcohol, for instance), and stuck mainly to the proper nouns, which forced me to leave out many of Drought 3's most clever lines ("I've got the hardest bars/Call me the warden"). But if Lil Wayne left you scratching your head at any line this year, let this be your guide. Without further ado, I bring you...

Da Drought 3 For Dummies: The Lil Wayne Learner
A Multimedia Glossary of Terms

1, 2, 3, etc.

1825 Tulane
Song: "Seat Down Low"
Line: "I'm so New Orleans like 1825 Tulane"
Meaning: Referencing his birthplace, Wayne invokes a famous local commercial for a furniture store, Rosenberg's, and their ubiquitous jingle known far and wide by Louisiana residents:

Rosenberg's, Rosenberg's, you've got a lot to gain. Rosenberg's, Rosenberg's, eighteen twenty-five... Tulane.

A

Amil
Song: "Swizzy"
Line: "Make that chick rock/Get my Amil on"
Meaning: Roc-a-Fella female artist best known for a guest appearance on Jay-Z's "Can I Get a…" Wayne cleverly plays with his ability to make a female dance, or "rock," and puns with Amil's label, the Roc.

B

Baker, Anita
Song: "Upgrade U"
Line: "Seat way back listenin' to Anita Baker/Right here by myself smokin' weed by the acre"
Meaning: A world famous R&B singer; an instance of Wayne showing off his impeccable taste

Bathing Ape
Song: "Dipset 2"
Line: "Gorillas turn into Bathing Apes when I make it rain"
Meaning: Asian designer Nigo's clothing line, aka Bape; extremely popular in the urban community due to a push by Pharrel Williams, the Clipse, or Lil Wayne, depending on who you believe. Sharp punchline -- get it? -- wet monkeys...Bishop Don Juan
Song: "Put Some Keys on That"
Line: "And I got more green than the Bishop Don Juan"
Meaning: A pimp, hip-hop artist and fashion designer reveered in the rap community; notable for his green outfits and perfect for a money-boasting line.Bodyguard, The
Song: "Swizzy"
Line: "I just be chillin' in the Phantom/Listenin' to opera/Gun is my bodyguard/Call it Kevin Costner"
Meaning: 1992 film starring Kevin Costner as a bodyguard to a pop star portrayed by Whitney Houston. Possibly coincidentally, the movie is sold as a two-pack with another film, The Phantom of the Opera. If Wayne constructed the line this way on purpose he really is the Martian he claims he is. Unreal.

Bonnie and Clyde
Song: "Dipset 2"
Line: "Riding shotty/A bad bitch/Clyde and Bonnie"
Meaning: Infamous outlaws and subjects of a 1967 film starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, with Bonnie as an archetype for the rap-approved ride-or-die chick.

Brown, Cole
Song: "Put Some Keys on That"
Line: "And I'm Cole/Not dude off Martin"
Meaning: One of two best-friend characters to Martin Lawrence's lead on his 1990s FOX TV show Martin. Toying with cole/cold (as he does with Keisha on his much maligned "Barry Bonds" guest spot), Wayne pulls off one of the most obscure references on the album.Bryant, Kobe
Song: "Dough Is What I Got"
Line: "I must be Lebron James if he Jordan/No, I want rings for my performance/I'm more Kobe Bryant of an artist/Same coach, same game, been startin'/Same triangle offense"
Meaning: NBA player often hailed as the next greatest -- Michael Jordan = Jay-Z. He is a 3-time world champion (rings) with the LA Lakers and coach Phil Jackson, best known for his "triangle offense."

Buffalo Bills
Song: "Swizzy"
Line: "I'm cold/Yeah, I get my Buffalo Bill on"
Meaning: NFL team in upstate New York known for snowy games and "cold feet" in the Super Bowl, winning four consecutive AFC titles and a grand total of zero championships.Bunyan, Paul
Song: "Walk It Out"
Line: "Stayin on my toes you can call me Paul Bunyan"
Meaning: Mythical lumberjack, known for his towering height and his blue ox, Babe.
C

Campbell, Earl/Campbell's Soup
Song: "Get High Rule the World"
Line: "Campbell's Soup on the wrist/Just call me Earl"
Meaning: Calling attention to his gaudy jewelry using both a hall-of-fame NFL running back (from his hometown New Orleans Saints, no less) and America's favorite mmm, mmm good winter antidote.

Carruth, Rae
Song: "New Cash Money"
Line: "I'm killin' these niggas/Young Wayne Carruth"
Meaning: One of the more brutal punchlines, Rae Carruth is the NFL player currently imprisoned for conspiracy to commit murder after having his pregnant girlfriend killed in 1999. Carruth gathered some candy bars and bottles to pee in and hid in a trunk. Classy.

Carson, Sonny*
Song: "Black Republicans"
Line: "A black activist like Sonny Carson"
Meaning: A former gang member turned social servant, not unlike Malcom X, whose life and autobiography, The Education of Sonny Carson, was made into a film.

Claiborne, Liz
Song: "Get High Rule the World"
Line: "I'm straight from Claiborne/Just ask Liz"
Meaning: Another sly double entendre, Weezy refers to both the fashion designer/brand and either the parish/city or prominent street in Louisiana.

Cobain, Kurt/"Smells Like Teen Spirit"
Song: "Dipset 2"
Line: "Smellin' teen spirit/Like Kurt Cobain was here"
Meaning: A reference to the 1990s grunge rocker and Nirvana lead singer and the group's biggest hit; also a nod to the song from which this beat was taken, partner-in-rhyme Juelz Santana's "Dipset (Santana's Town)" in which JS spits, "The whole Byrd Gang's in here/Like Kurt Cobain was here/Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah."

Commission, The
Song: "Dough Is What I Got"
Line: "The only down South rapper coulda been in The Firm/Or The Commission/Or Wu-Tang"
Meaning: Though Southern rap is often slighted for being gimmicky and full of one hit wonders, Wayne asserts his dominance by comparing himself to three classic NYC rap groups: The Firm (including Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ and more), The Commission (featuring Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Charli Baltimore, Puff Daddy, etc.), and Wu-Tang (RZA, GZA, Ghostface Killah, et al.).

Contra*
Song: "Black Republicans"
Line: "Tote big guns like I'm still playin' Contra"
Meaning: A classic shoot-'em-up arcade game.Costner, Kevin
Song: "Swizzy"
Line: "I just be chillin' in the Phantom/Listenin' to opera/Gun is my bodyguard/Call it Kevin Costner"
Meaning: see Bodyguard, The

Creed, Apollo/Rocky
Song: "Upgrade U"
Line: "I’m a champion/Where's the fucking Rocky theme/Rest in peace Apollo Creed/I'm a monster/Everyday is Halloween"
Meaning: The reigning Heavyweight Champion of the world in the first of Stallone's Rocky series, Creed meets his untimely death against Dolph Lundgren's Soviet fighter Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. (See below).

Creatine
Song: "Upgrade U"
Line: "Big stacks/My pockets on Creatine"
Meaning: A commonly used performance enhancing dietary supplement, in this case used to indicate big money in Weezy's pockets.

D

Dampier, Eric
Song: "Swizzy"
Line: "I ball and you're just Eric Dampier, dawg"
Meaning: While Wayne embodies Lebron, Jordan and Kobe all at once, Dampier is the representation of a painfully average NBA player. In the clip below he's the one getting dunked over.

Duncan, Tim
Song: "Put Some Keys on That"
Line: "And I might do the Spurs/Sittin' on them Tim Duncans"
Meaning: Another NBA player, Duncan is the San Antonio Spurs star power forward -- a big man who wears the number 21, here used as a reference to giant rims (21 inches, to be exact) on a car.Dunkin' Donuts
Song: "Put Some Keys on That"
Line: "And in the Lambourghini I do Donuts like Dunkin"
Meaning: A popular North American doughnut franchise made into a metaphor for reckless driving.
E
Energizer Bunny
Song: "Back On My Grizzy"
Line: "Like the Energizer Bunny with a battery pack/Boy, that drummer keep drumming like brrat-at-tat-tat"
Meaning: Popular ad campaign for Energizer batteries.

Favre, Brett
Song: "Get High Rule the World"
Line: "More like Brett Favre/Just like Brett Favre"
Meaning: NFL player and Green Bay Packers quarterback, Favre is well-known for his consistency including a consecutive games played streak currently at 253 regular season games (and going, and going, and going...).

F

Fergalicious*
Song: "Black Republicans"
Line: "I get em high/Higher than turbulences/White Phantom/Lookin So Fergalicious"
Meaning: Fergalicious definition make them boys go loco:

Firm, The
Song: "Dough Is What I Got"
Line: "The only down South rapper coulda been in The Firm/Or The Commission/Or Wu-Tang"
Meaning: see Commission, The

Funyun
Song: "Walk It Out"
Line: "Yellow diamond ring lookin' like a little Funyun/Stayin on my toes you can call me Paul Bunyon"
Meaning: A chip-type snack, onion flavored in a ring shape.
G

Gervin, George
Song: "Swizzy"
Line: "George Gervin/I'ma get my chill on"
Meaning: A former NBA player nicknamed the Iceman for his level head.

Gill, Johnny
Song: "Swizzy"
Line: "In the New Edition/Yeah, I get my Johnny Gill on"
Meaning: Though Wayne is referring a new model of a car, he pulls out the name Johnny Gill, who was a member of the 1980s R&B boy band New Edition after the departure of Bobby Brown.

Gillie Da Kid
Song: "Live from 504"
Line: "I swim with the big/So I don't have time to deal with Willie Da Squid"
Meaning: A little swipe at a rival; Gillie claimed to have written some of Lil Wayne's earlier lyrics in a series of YouTube attacks and magazine interviews. Wayne riffs on his name and sea creatures with a cocky diss claiming that the two are not even in the same league.

Gladys Knight & the Pips
Song: "King Kong"
Line: "And I let him sing like Gladys Knight & the Pips"
Meaning: Apparently, when unleashed, Wayne's weapons sing like this historical southern soul act.

Godzilla
Song: "King Kong"
Line: "Godzilla, King Kong/And if I have to park/I will open up my trunk and it will be Jurassic Park" Meaning: Where the original "King Kong" track refers to a massive speaker system ("If you hear me 'fore you see me"), Wayne twists the cut to describe his guns in all their movie monster glory.Gore, Frank
Song: "Get High Rule the World"
Line: "Make your so-called soliders run just like Gore/Yeah, Frank that is from San Francis"
Meaning: Gore is an NFL running back for the San Francisco 49ers, not to be confused with Al Gore, who is also known for running.

Gremlins, The
Song: "Sky's the Limit"
Line: "Relying on rap, but in the kitchen I'm a chemist/And when I was 5, my favorite movie was The Gremlins/Ain't got shit to do with this, but I just thought that I should mention"
Meaning: In one of the more free-associative lines on the record, Wayne interrupts a drug tale with a childhood flashback, referencing this 1984 film about mischievous monsters. Trailer below.

Grier, Pam
Song: "Swizzy"
Line: "My girl get her Pam Grier on"
Meaning: Wayne's women allegedly all look like this beautiful actress.Gucci
Song: "Swizzy"
Line: "Fresh!/A bunch of little G's on my kicks"
Meaning: An upscale brand and in this case, sneaker reference.Gushers
Song: "Walk It Out"
Line: "Explode in a bitch mouth like a Gusher"
Meaning: A fairly disgusting and graphic sexual reference to this delicious candy snack.

H

Hall, Dante
Song: "Dipset"
Line: "I'm like Dante Hall/I just throw up the X"
Meaning: An NFL player nicknamed X-Man or X-factor, as well a reference to the drug Ecstacy.Harding, Tonya
Song: "Put Some Keys on That"
Line: "Yeah excuse me, pardon/I break down a bitch like Tonya Harding"
Meaning: Harding is a notorious ice skater charged with conspiring to have her chief competitor, Nancy Kerrigan, hit on the knee with a crowbar. Later, in the Olympics, Harding placed eighth while Kerrigan healed and earned a silver medal.

Hardy, Ed
Song: "Dipset"
Line: "In California poppin'/Ed Hardy rockin'"
Meaning: Hardy is a California-based tattoo artist turned clothing line turned energy drink (?!).
Harry and the Hendersons
Song: "King Kong"
Line: "Married to the Benjamins/Battle all my enemies/Riding with Big Foot/Harry and the Hendersons"
Meaning: By naming this 1987 John Lithgow film, Wayne continues his reference to guns as monsters but makes in downright silly. Completely absurd -- one of the top 5 lines on the mixtape. Hilarious clip:

Hearns, Tom
Song: "Don't Stop, Won't Stop"
Line: "And I knock this shit out like Tom Hearns"
Meaning: Hearns is a 7-time world champion professional boxer.

Hilfiger, Tommy
Song: "Dipset"
Line: "This ain't no Tommy Hilfiger/This that Polo, ho/We be the biggest group alive that get that solo dough"
Meaning: Tommy Hilfiger is a clothing designer who makes apparel not quite as nice as that made by Ralph Lauren, including his signature Polo brand.

Hill, Stephen
Song: "Swizzy"
Line: "Black Entertainment/Yeah, I get my Stephen Hill on"
Meaning: Hill is an executive at the television channel Black Entertainment Television."Hot In Herre"
Song: "Get High Rule the World"
Line: "And I know this old but I'm really "Hot in Herre"'
Meaning: Wayne is so hyper-self-aware in his references that he even slights himself for dropping the title line from this 2002 Nelly hit.

Hoya
Song: "Upgrade U"
Line: "Yes, I'm a dog/I'm a Hoya homie/I'm a boss/Ya man's just an employer, mami"
Meaning: In this swipe at Jay-Z over his girlfriend's beat, Wayne compares himself to the bulldog mascot for Georgetown University athletics.Hughes, Langston
Song: "Put Some Keys on That"
Line: "Listen how my words are poetic like Langston/Dreads down my back like I come straight from Kingston"
Meaning: Hughes was an African-American writer and poet during the Harlem Renaissance.

Hussein, Saddam
Song: "Back On My Grizzy"
Line: "My game goes Saddam Hussein/I missile launch"
Meaning: This mention of the former Iraqi dictator seems a bit misguided; apparently Wayne bought into WMDs, too.

I

J
James, Lebron
Song: "Dough Is What I Got"
Line: "I must be Lebron James if he Jordan"
Meaning: see Bryant, Kobe

"Jesus Walks"
Song: "Intro"
Line: "Come from da land dat Jesus walk through/Sacrifice me life man I bleed for me own crew"
Meaning: In conjuring both this Kanye West song and the Lord and Savior himself, Wayne calls himself martyr and insists his level of loyalty would carry toward crucification. Oh, and it just so happens to be at the time when Mims' "This Is Why I'm Hot" takes a little foray West...

Johnson, Avery
Song: "Upgrade U"
Line: "It's a new game/And I'm the coach like Avery"
Meaning: Johnson is a former NBA player and currently the coach of the Dallas Mavericks.

Jolie, Angelina
Song: "Upgrade U"
Line: "Need a bitch with some lips like Angelin/-A Jolie/Holy God flow"
Meaning: Superstar actress well-known for her full lips. The magic here is the little hanging syllable trick, generally used flawlessly by Andre 3000.Jones, Toccara*
Song: "Black Republicans"
Line: "My pockets stay chubby like Toccara/Or should I say fat like The Parkers?"
Meaning: Toccara is a popular model in the hip-hop community known for her thick body -- I guess Juelz likes 'em a bit smaller.Jordan, Michael
Song: "Upgrade U"/"Put Some Keys On That"
Line: "Young Carter darlin', understand I am Michael Jordan ballin'" ….. "Two niggas can't guard me/You lookin' at Jordan"
Meaning: Generally considered the greatest basketball player of all time; a six-time NBA champ.

Jurassic Park
Song: "King Kong"
Line: "Godzilla, King Kong/And if I have to park/I will open up my trunk and it will be Jurassic Park"
Meaning: Take it as a threat -- mess with Wayne and the chaos will be unleashed like the Michael Crichton book turned Spielberg dinosaur film.

K

King Kong
Song: "King Kong"
Line: "(I got King Kong in the trunk)/And I feed him banana clips"
Meaning: see GodzillaKing, Stephen
Song: "We Takin' Over"
Line: "I'm a king/You ask Stephen if I'm lyin'"
Meaning: Child's play for Wayne -- a quick little mention of the world-renowned horror author.

Klumps, The
Song: "Put Some Keys on That"
Line: "Pockets just fat like the Klumps and Norbit"
Meaning: Another big money reference, this time at the expense of two awful Eddie Murphy movies with obese leads in which Murphy plays multiple characters: 2000's Nutty Professor II: The Klumps and this year's Norbit. Remember when this man was funny? Wayne was still in short pants. L

Laimbeer, Bill
Song: "Swizzy"
Line: "I'm dirty/I get my Bill Laimbeer on"
Meaning: A former NBA player known for his dirty play. On the left:
Largent, Steve
Song: "Dough Is What I Got"
Line: "She better catch like she's Steve Largent"
Meaning: Wayne in his zone: sex & sports. Largent is a hall-of-famer as a former NFL wide receiver with the Seattle Seahawks.Lee, Spike
Song: "Put Some Keys on That"
Line: "From the side like Spike at the Garden"
Meaning: The film director is known for his courtside seats at Madison Square Garden and consistent support of the New York Knicks.

"Let It Burn"
Song: "Walk It Out"
Line: "Only if I say that she can 'Touch It' like Busta/But she might touch you and 'Let It Burn' like Usher"
Meaning: WFB molds a couplet using this 2004 Usher song and a 2006 Busta Rhymes single to describe his power over women and their subsequent power over "you."

Lincoln, Abraham (also: Ulysses S. Grant, Andrew Jackson, Benjamin Franklin)
Song: "Dipset 2"
Line: "The bank is here/Lincolns here/Grant is here/Jackson's here/Franklin's here/Them dead muthfuckas"
Meaning: Lincoln, along with the other U.S. historical figures, all appear on currency.

Liu Kang
Song: "Dough Is What I Got"
Line: "Tryna tell you I can kick it like Liu Kang nigga/Got the Sub-Zero flow how you want me, ma/Nigga get over here like Scorpion"
Meaning: A character from the popular video game and movie series Mortal Kombat, Liu Kang is known for his kicking techniques. See below:

Loch Ness monster
Song: "Live from 504"
Line: "Flow sick, so sick need a doc, yes/A creature, monster like the Loch Ness"
Meaning: This mythical creature is purported to live in Scotland's Loch Ness and is also the subject of a recent film titled Water Horse.

M

"Macarena"
Song: "Boom"
Line: "One named Mac/One named Nina/They hit you/Make you do the 'Macarena'"
Meaning: A 1990s dance craze by Los Del Rio. You know this one, I just wanted an excuse to post the video. Mac and Nina refer to guns, a MAC-10 submachine gun and a 9 millimeter, respectively.

Maloof family
Song: "Blooded"
Line: "And I own my team/I'm like a Maloof"
Meaning: Wayne is the man in charge of his "team" -- Cash Money Records -- as are the extremely wealthy Lebonese family the Maloofs, who own the NBA's Sacramento Kings.

Manning, Peyton
Song: "Put Some Keys on That"
Line: "Peyton Manning flow/I just go/No huddle"
Meaning: Manning is an NFL quarterback for the Indiannapolis Colts. Where most QBs meet with their team before each play, Manning is known for running a no huddle offense. Wayne compares this to most MCs writing down their rhymes, where he claims to go off the top of his head.

Martin
Song: "Get High Rule the World"/"Dough Is What I Got"
Line: "An extravagent crib/I'm on the toilet watchin' Martin just laughin' and shit" … "I'm "What's Up?" like Martin"
Meaning: see Brown, Cole. This must be Wayne's favorite show.

McNabb, Donovan
Song: "Black Republicans"
Line: "Fly like an eagle but no I'm not Donovan/Boy you better go eat some soup with ya mom and them"
Meaning: McNabb is an NFL quarterback most notably of the Philadelphia Eagles who appeared in commercials with his mother for Campbell's Chunky Soup.

Ming, Yao
Song: "Get High Rule the World"
Line: "And I don't mean basketball when I say I don't know Yao"
Meaning: Ming is a Chinese basketball player.

MySpace Tom
Song: "N.O. Nigga"
Line: "Tell ya bitch stop sendin' them pictures to my Sidekick/And quit Instant Messaging my IM/Myspace Tom/Bitches actin' like I'm him"
Meaning: On a technology kick Wayne references the MySpace founder and everyone's first online friend.
N

Norbit
Song: "Put Some Keys on That"
Line: "Pockets just fat like the Klumps and Norbit"
Meaning: see Klumps, The

O

Obama, Barack*
Song: "Black Republicans"
Line: "I'm feelin' like a Black Republican -- nah, I can't call it that / More like a black Democrat, runnin' em out of office / Young Baracka Obama I'm all for it"
Meaning: An allusion to the post-2006 Congressional election and Juelz Santana's presidential endorsement for the Illinois senator?

O'Neal, Shaquille
Song: "Get High Rule the World"
Line: "I never miss a game/No Shaq O'Neal"
Meaning: A world-champion NBA center notorious for missing many games due to "injury."

Orbit
Song: "Put Some Keys on That"
Line: "And bitch I'm fresh like a pack of Orbitz"
Meaning: Gum, see below:

P

Parkers, The*
Song: "Black Republicans"
Line: "My pockets stay chubby like Toccara/Or should I say fat like The Parkers?"
Meaning: A UPN spin-off of the Brandy's show Moesha starring Mo'Nique Imes and Countess Vaughn as the overweight leads.
Peanuts/Charlie Brown
Song: "Walk It Out"
Line: "I'm just tryna get my Peanuts/I'm like Charlie Brown"
Meaning: A money-oriented punchline using Charles Shultz's historic comic strip and doomed lead character.
Polident
Song: "Black Republicans"
Line: "Bet I get all in her mouth like Polident"
Meaning: Another vulgar reference to oral sex (see Gushers), Polident is a denture cleaner.

Polo (by Ralph Lauren)
Song: "Dipset"
Line: "This ain't no Tommy Hilfiger/This that Polo, ho/We be the biggest group alive that get that solo dough"
Meaning: see Hilfiger, Tommy

Pop-Tarts
Song: "Boom"
Line: "They know I keep that toaster/You can be my Pop Tart"
Meaning: Besides sports, food is clearly Wayne's forte. Here, he uses this toastable breakfast snack as a come on just after comparing his gun to a toaster.

Popeye
Song: "Blooded"
Line: "Popeye flow/Ya'll niggas Sweet Pea"
Meaning: A reference to the popular cartoon, Wayne's flow is Popeye, or the strongest, while everyone else is Sweet Pea -- the small, helpless baby who is always in tears.

"Poppin"
Song: "N.O. Nigga"
Line: "My shit poppin' like I'm Chris"
Meaning: A 2006 Chris Brown single featuring Lil Wayne on the track's remix. A little self promotion never hurt anybody.

Q

R

Rapunzel
Song: "Intro"
Line: "Dreadlocks swing down me back like Rapunzel"
Meaning: Wayne compares the length of his hair to the Brothers Grimm fairy tale in which Prince Charming rescued Rapunzel from her high tower by climbing up her beautiful, flowing hair.
Rawlings/"Ballin"
Song: "Seat Down Low"
Line: "I be with Jim Jones and we be 'Ballin'/Ballin', yea baby/We ballin' like Rawlings and Spaulding"
Meaning: Quoting the Jim Jones mega-hit, Wayne also drops two of the most well-known makers of athletic balls, Rawlings and Spaulding.

Red Hots
Song: "Swizzy"
Line: "Ya'll sweeter than a box of Red Hots"
Meaning: More food. This time, a cinnamon candy.

Rock of Gibraltar*
Song: "Black Republicans"
Line: "The Rock of Gibraltar has now fallen/On ya"
Meaning: The Rock of Gibraltar is a mythical reference to the Pillar of Hercules and refers to a limestone promontory in southwest Europe. I'd imagine if it fell on you, you'd be crushed.
Rolling Stones, The
Song: "Dipset"
Line: "I'm Rolling like the Stones"
Meaning: Everyone's favorite immortal rock band and another nod to the drug ecstasy.

Romo, Tony
Song: "Back On My Grizzy"
Line: "You niggas act like Tony Romo/No homo"
Meaning: Dallas Cowboys NFL quarterback who choked unbelievably bad in a playoff game against Seattle. Observe:

S

Sanders, Deion
Song: "Back On My Grizzy"
Line: "You know I'm gonna score like Deion after picks"
Meaning: Former NFL cornerback known for scoring touchdowns off of interceptions. Highlights:

Scorpion
Song: "Dough Is What I Got"
Line: "Tryna tell you I can kick it like Liu Kang nigga/Got the Sub-Zero flow how you want me ma/Nigga get over here like Scorpion"
Meaning: Another Mortal Kombat character remembered for his signature move and catch-phrase, "Get over here!"

Seal
Song: "Swizzy"
Line: "Only talk to models/Yeah, I get my Seal on"
Meaning: Singer and husband of model Heidi Klum.
Skittles
Song: "I'm Blooded"
Line: "Skittles on my wrist/Yeah nigga the bright pack"
Meaning: A brightly colored candy similar to Wayne's jewelry.

Spaulding
Song: "Seat Down Low"
Line: "I be with Jim Jones and we be 'Ballin'/Ballin', yea baby/We ballin' like Rawlings and Spaulding"
Meaning: see Rawlings

Sub-Zero
Song: "Dough Is What I Got"
Line: "Tryna tell you I can kick it like Liu Kang nigga/Got the Sub-Zero flow how you want me ma/Nigga get over here like Scorpion"
Meaning: The third Mortal Kombat character in the line, Sub-Zero is cool like Wayne's flow.

Sullivan, Ed
Song: "Black Republicans"
Line: "Been had they cake/They late like Ed Sullivan"
Meaning: The deceased host of The Ed Sullivan Show, a popular variety show in the 1950s and 60s.

Sweet Pea
Song: "Blooded"
Line: "Popeye flow/Ya'll niggas Sweet Pea"
Meaning: See Popeye.

T

Tarzan
Song: "Dough Is What I Got"
Line: "You can be my Jane/I'm your Tarzan"
Meaning: Quite romantic by rap standards, Tarzan is the King of the Jungle and Jane, his queen.

Till, Emmett
Song: "Swizzy"
Line: "Beatin' up your block/Yeah, I get my Emmett Till on"
Meaning: One of Wayne's most historical and insensitive lines, Till was an African-American teenager beat to death in Mississippi in 1955, helping to spark the Civil Rights movement.

Toronto Maple Leafs
Song: "Upgrade U"
Line: "Put a motherfucker on some ice like the Maple Leafs/That's a hockey team/And I ain't know no hockey team"
Meaning: An NHL professional hockey Team; see "Sportscenter" from Dedication 2.

"Touch It"
Song: "Walk It Out"
Line: "Only if I that she can "Touch It" like Busta/But she might touch you and "Let It Burn" like Usher"
Meaning: A 2006 Busta Rhymes song; see "Let It Burn" -- Video for the remix below:

U

V

Vokal
Song: "Get High Rule the World"
Line: "I like a bitch with an apple bottom like Vokal"
Meaning: Rapper Nelly's clothing brand featuring a line of Apple Bottom jeans. Let's also not forget the short-lived reality show hosted by Nelly which sought to find the perfect ass to model the pants.

Vonage
Song: "Dough Is What I Got"
Line: "I hit niggas in the head like Vonage"
Meaning: A cell phone ad campaign in which people are clocked in the head by flying boxes, spawning innumerable YouTube parodies.

W

Wayne, Dwayne
Song: "Sky's the Limit"
Line: "My world is different like Dwyane Wayne"
Meaning: Like Cole Brown (see Brown, Cole), this obscure television reference cements Wayne as a pop-culture genius (edit: even if Lifetime plays the re-runs). A Different World followed college students, including one Dwayne Wayne, in their effort to get an education.
Wayne's World
Song: "Get High Rule the World"
Line: "Party time, excellent/Yeah, Wayne's World"
Meaning: A Mike Myers and Dana Carvey SNL skit turned movie featuring a signature line: "Party time! Excellent!"

Where's Waldo?
Song: "President"
Line: "I'm somwhere in the house and it's like Where's Waldo?"
Meaning: Wayne's house is so big that he gets lost like the children's book series in which you must find Waldo in large, crowded pictures.

Williams, Jason
Song: "Swizzy"
Line: "Keep a shotgun/Yeah, I get my Jason Will- on"
Meaning: Another cold-blooded punchline, Jason Williams is a former NBA player charged with manslaughter after killing his chauffer with a shotgun.

Wonder, Stevie
Song: "Upgrade U"
Line: "They cannot see me/They are like Stevie"
Meaning: Not unlike his verse on DJ Khaled's "Holla At Me" ("Ms. Stevie Wonder/She ain't lookin' at ya'll"), Wayne is talking about the classic blind musician.

Wu-Tang Clan
Song: "Dough Is What I Got"
Line: "The only down South rapper coulda been in The Firm/Or The Commission/Or Wu-Tang nigga"
Meaning: see Commission, The

X

Y

Z

If you can think of any that I missed and should be included, please feel free to let me know.

Happy New Year to all.

Lil Wayne Swizzy (remix)
Lil Wayne Dipset 2
Lil Wayne Gossip
Lil Wayne I'm Me

"The party's over. The CD's skipping. It's the same hook repeating. Grows more grating with each passing second..." -- ALMOST EVERYTHING-OTY

2007-12-31T01:50:00.000-03:00

Here is my Writer's Poll as submitted to Wireless Bollinger:

Album of the Year

1. Lil Wayne - Da Drought 3
2. The National - Boxer
3. St. Vincent - Marry Me
4. Jay-Z - American Gangster
5. Kanye West - Graduation
6. Tegan and Sara - The Con
7. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
8. Pharoahe Monche - Desire
9. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
10. MIA - Kala

I realize it's highly controversial to pick a mixtape as my favorite album of the year, but put simply, there's nothing I enjoyed more in 2007. As good as Boxer and Marry Me are, Wayne took it to levels I didn't even know existed with his wordplay, references and most importantly, his unbridled enthusiasm and enjoyment for his art. His work ethic is unmatched, his excitement is contagious and for me, he's all around undeniable.

My #11-20 picks include near misses like Vampire Weekend, Feist, Marissa Nadler, Jens Lekman, Bright Eyes, Elvis Perkins, and Kevin Drew.

Gig of the Year?

1. Girl Talk - 9th February, 2007 - Studio B, New York, NY
2. Kevin Drew / Broken Social Scene - 14th November, 2007 - Webster Hall, New York NY
3. The Mountain Goats - 2nd October, 2007 - Studio B, New York NY

Three fan favorite filled encores from John Darnielle; Kevin Drew featuring Spiral Stairs (of Pavement) and Emily Haines (of BSS and Metric) for nearly two and a half hours breezing through Spirit If... and treating us to the Scene's greatest hits; Girl Talk in a packed dance club = pure insanity. 'Nuff said.

Song of the Year

1. LCD Soundsystem - 'All My Friends'
2. UGK ft. OutKast - 'International Players Anthem (I Choose You)'
3. Jens Lekman - 'A Postcard to Nina'

A truly epic and affecting song, James Murphy is a master of bottling nostalgia in a way that feels neither contrived nor conventional. While Andre 3000's opening verse in 'International Players Anthem' was one of the most joyous pop moments, never leaving me anything but elated, 'All My Friends' made me yearn for things I didn't even know I was missing.

Artist/Band of the Year

Lil Wayne

The artist of the year was Lil Wayne, without question. With innumerable mixtapes, guest appearances and random mp3s he became an omnipresent force in rap music. More importantly, he embraced the internet age -- he managed all of this without releasing an album, but through a constant stream of downloadable, shareable music all the while insisting that the only thing that mattered was people hearing it. Hear it they did and minds were blown as he reinvented the rap metaphor, manipulated his froggy voice in countless ways and built a mythic persona for himself.

Best Local album - New York

Without counting Animal Collective or the National, who occasionally call NYC home, I'll go with A Place to Bury Strangers' self-titled debut. A New York City band through and through with a terrifying roar, making shoegaze scary by devouring the pretty parts, gnashing them up and spitting them back out.

Disappointing Album of the Year

The Shins - Wincing the Night Away

What are you looking forward to in 2008?

The explosion of Vampire Weekend and/or Born Ruffians, hopefully both. Dr. Dre's Detox and G'n'R's Chinese Democracy, but most of all Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III.

mp3
Main Drag All My Friends (LCD Soundsystem cover)

"The dashboard melted but we still have the radio." -- THE BEST THREE (3) SUCCESSIVE TRACKS- OTY (No Contest)

2007-12-23T16:41:00.000-03:00

#1 R. Kelly - "I'm A Flirt (Remix)" > "Same Girl" > "Real Talk"

Even after these three untouchable moments of pop-music genius, it's hard to say R. Kelly is having the best year ever. Despite a pretty successful string of singles and guest appearances that really did remind everyone that he is the King of R&B (no T-Pain), the man is still in a lot of trouble. His previously delayed trial, in which he faces charges of child pornography, is finally getting under way. Unfortunately, no one told Kells and he missed an appearance, prompting a judge to issue a warrant for his arrest. So the Law isn't exactly happy with him and supposedly we're going to see a real trial. All of this on top of the departure of his longtime publicist (worst job ever?) who said, " "I ended my relationship with Kelly because there are some lines you just don't cross," prompting more rumors about his dalliances with young girls -- daughters, even -- of those close to him. Hmmm.

But STILL, this three-track streak of genius is enough to make an otherwise outrageous record/existence something worth talking about. With the release of the year's best hip-hopera, Trapped In The Closet 13-22, R. Kelly solidified himself as the most self-aware persona that exists in pop culture in which people continue to think "he doesn't get it." I think he does. K. Sanneh of the New York Times wrote of Trapped, "Many of its biggest fans seem to think they're laughing at Mr. Kelly not with him, as if the whole thing were some sort of glorious, terrible mistake." But while we may not be laughing at him anymore, it's clear he has become a caricature of himself, so overblown, egotistical and sexed-up, that it's nearly impossible to draw the line between straight-faced braggadocio and tongue-in-cheek pranksterisms.

The "Flirt" remix transcends all of it as soon as those first piano chords and R.'s canned stutter hit. Probably the only T-Pain appearance that doesn't grate after the 1,011th play, "Flirt" is a bragger's anthem and is responsible for the best punch-line of the year not authored by a certain Weezy F. Baby: She be callin' me Daddy / And I be callin' her Mommy / She be callin' you Kelly / When yo' name is Tommy. Another classic R. Kelly remix where no one had any idea an original version existed.

"Same Girl" and "Real Talk," meanwhile, play on the whole conversation-as-song conceit Kells has been running with for a few years now. But where normally the element of dementia is played up by the fact that Kelly either sings back and forth to himself or plays every character, in "Same Girl" he somehow convinced Usher -- a pretty low-key guy as far as R&B personalities go -- to play his foil. The song is sort of an update of Joe's "Stutter" on 'roids where two men find out their sleeping with the ... get this ... same girl (!) and chaos ensues. It was surreal to hear this track on the radio and I couldn't believe there wasn't a twist ending involving identical twins.

The rest is after the jump, as well as two mp3s.

"Real Talk" speaks for itself:

Oh yeah, and "Speedin" is too great. Ricky Ross in '08.

Rick Ross ft. R. Kelly Speedin
Rick Ross ft. Flo Rida Street Money

"I get no respect." -- THE MOST UNDERRATED OVERRATED RECORD-OTY (aka MOST INCORRECTLY RANKED)

2007-12-21T19:56:00.000-03:00

#1 The National- Boxer

For a minute, this is the record that I thought beat backlash. When it first hit, everyone was singing its praises, even those who prematurely shot it down as a disappointment after Alligator -- for them, a step below "nearly perfect" is still "pretty damn great." Maybe it was the echo-chamber effect of the internet finally wearing off but the haters finally came out usually with a one word retort like "boring." Fine, put Person Pitch on again and have a ball.

Bottom line: this is the finest proper full-length of the year, and the only record behind my real number one, which I admit is my fake number one and probably shouldn't count at all (more on that soon). But year-end list time has basically came and went and The National were promptly shoved to the side. They're that girl you brought to prom because her mother was friends with your mother but after the photo-op, you ditched to get drunk and try your luck with some dirty floozy. Little did you know, that first girl -- the one who wasn't quite so "exciting" -- she's the one to whom you should've given the ring. This record belongs in single digits.

I wrote an acceptance speech for their number 18 finish at Tiny Mix Tapes.

18. The National - Boxer
[Beggars Banquet]
by Joseph Coscarelli

On 2005’s Alligator, The National’s Matt Berninger told Karen, "Fuck me and make me a drink," solidifying himself as the Clive Owen of this indie rock shit. Masculine, but with a tragic streak, sounding like he might as soon reach back and hit you as break down and cry — as if he had any other option with that godlike baritone. Whereas Berninger then had black birds circling his bed, 2007 found bluebirds on his shoulder, but only in words. Boxer dipped into the morose like fiction –- each tinge of gut-churning guilt and unsteady nostalgia welcomed in its beauty. Berninger sounded worn; sage and tense, bordering on batty, dapper but dampened, slurring lines about "prison for jerks" on "Guest Room," but still managing to woo anyone with a pulse on "Slow Show." Opener "Fake Empire" began Boxer with flawless execution — the closest thing we have to revving up with "Thunder Road" — and when we heard it, we knew it was a sweet-talker, not to be fully trusted, with a horn section so debonair and triumphant in its final coda that you forget the first two minutes stomped on your heart. In the summer, it was easy to call Boxer a quintessential record for New York City-type nights, but now it’s winter, our bones are cold and we can just stop at ’essential.’ from HERE.

The National Karen

"Working that 9-5 and staying cute like you do." -- THE TOP THIRTEEN (13) ALBUM COVERS-OTY

2007-12-18T17:35:00.000-03:00

Inspired by THIS. 2007 extravaganza coming Thursday 12/20 at TinyMixTapes.

#13

Okkervil River- The Stage Names

#12
Justice- †

#11Blonde Redhead- 23

#10Sunset Rubdown- Random Spirit Lover

#9KT Tunstall- Drastic Fantastic

#8Wiley- Playtime Is Over

#6 Angels of Light- We Are Him

#5Panda Bear- Person Pitch

#4Sir Richard Bishop- While My Guitar Violently Bleeds

#3Elegi- Sistereis

#2Yeasayer- All Hour Cymbals

#1 Paul Duncan- Above the Trees

"I don't wanna fuss and fight no more." -- THE SONG-OTY ON A PISS POOR ALBUM

2007-12-17T16:56:00.000-03:00

#1 "Silver Lining" by Rilo Kiley

If people listened to albums the way they used to -- by wrestling with plastic wrap for 4-and-a-half minutes before prying the disc out, popping it into a car stereo and leafing through the CD booklet while the first sounds ring -- I would've thought Rilo Kiley's Under the Blacklight was the Album of the Year for exactly 3 minutes and 36 seconds. Now, of course, this isn't how things work anymore so by the time I heard "Silver Lining" I had already suffered through the overlong, oversexed, mini-movie for first single "The Moneymaker." Expectations instantly lowered.

Somewhere deep down I still hoped the faux-'70s slutty romp guitar cheese of "The Moneymaker" stuck out on the album like a sore single but RK really fucking like Fleetwood Mac (guys, just cover "Dreams'). Problem is, where Stevie Nicks was allegedly so coked up that she had a personal assistant to administer her drugs through other means because her nose was so royally fried, (" Some of y'all nose hairs is burnt.") Jenny Lewis remains too damn wholesome (see below). Point being, the whole album feels fake. Contrived, pre-packaged, cheap.

But whereas the stretch of Blacklight beginning with "Dejalo" (the worst Spanish I've ever heard) and pretty much continuing through the album's final track make me want to either die/kill/listen to "'97 Bonnie and Clyde" to release some rage vicariously (with "15" and "Smoke Detector" as the most egregious offenders), "Silver Lining" is absolutely perfect pop music. The elementary boom-clap-boom-clap beat feels full and exciting and the long ringing three-chord piano base resonates beautifully. The sing-songy guitar riff is dreamy but not gaudy, working melodically in a similar style to the one in the third verse of "It's a Hit" -- the first track on the band's last album More Adventurous. Lewis, though, is the highlight (do we still say "duh"?) and sounds confident, affectionate and flat-out in control. The harmonies in the hook are gigantic, full-bodied and classic. The entire chorus just shimmers. Solely because of this song I feel better about Rilo Kiley's future in music than I did before Blacklight even though I think that collectively it's an awful collection of casual trash.

I said what amounts to the same thing when I reviewed the band's New York City show in September:

But the radiant 'Silver Lining' -- Blacklight's shining beacon -- in a spirited and harmonious rendering, glistened with the hope that Rilo Kiley's song-writing, along with their performance and professionalism, is still on the rise. With their crisp live show as an indicator, if not with Under the Blacklight, someday soon they'll have the hits they covet.

You can READ THE REST of the review, too, if you please.

Oh, and the video for the song is great as well. Blake Sennet is scary short. After the jump.

mp3
Rilo Kiley Silver Lining

"I'm trying your monogamy in increments of 1, 2, 3." -- THE CUTEST CROOKED SMILE-OTY (ever?)

2007-12-16T01:15:00.000-03:00

#1 Ellen Page

I saw Juno. but... Caveat emptor: it was free, so yeah, that may have colored my thoughts.

Overall, it was pretty enjoyable if you're not looking for it to change your life (see below) and more importantly, pretty low on the chick-flick scale -- a legitimate concern as the pregnancy developed. But be warned, all of the reviews (mainly the ones that matter) that mention how contrived the beginning feels are accurate -- stick it out, it gets much better. 3.5/5
This bullshit, though, is unacceptable:

Diablo Cody crams so many unlikely gluts of verbiage into so many sterile, undeveloped characters that the whole production is the ultimate act of masturbatory puppetry.

Seriously? Maybe Mr. Film Freak was using literary device, but if we want to talk about "masturbatory puppetry" and "gluts of verbiage" let's all read that review aloud together. This movie is getting strawman-ed left and right because obviously it's an easy target. Hip this and hip that... I get it, I really do. Selling kitsch and quirk to blank-mind masses can be frustrating, and we're turning into "Generation Urban Outfitters" (yo, DS) for a reason.

And yes, the characters occasionally speak like Rory and Lorelai. Congratulations! You're a hack!

That said, I trust that enough people of age that care about things of this nature have the self-awareness and understanding of how the world works to a) not get fooled by the film's "indie cool" and b) to be able to enjoy it in spite of its missteps.

If you want to skip it on moral grounds -- "They're pre-packaging indie culture and selling it back to kids who don't have any of their own.." -- then okay. And if you want to see it to shit on it, it's certainly not hard (see above review). But if you just want a cute (yeah, what?) movie with some good performances, it's damn enjoyable. See AO Scott (linked above):

“Juno” ... respects the idiosyncrasies of its characters rather than exaggerating them or holding them up for ridicule. And like Juno herself, the film outgrows its own mannerisms and defenses, evolving from a coy, knowing farce into a heartfelt, serious comedy.

More importantly though, Kimya Dawson's music was used in a way that could have been so ham-fisted, but turned out to be just plain endearing if you have a beating heart. Each track is sincere, playful, insecure, naive, etc. Adolescence in song form. Be a good person and buy some Moldy Peaches for the teen in your life this holiday season. IT'S GOOD FOR THE KIDS. Life changing? Maybe, maybe not.... but Jesus, at least Diablo Cody lets you decide.

The Shins. You know 'em?

mp3
The Moldy Peaches Nothing Came Out
The Moldy Peaches Anyone But You
Type rest of the post here

"I'm not unfaithful but I'll stray." -- THE ALBUM-OTY I SHOULD'VE (and ONCE) HATED

2007-12-10T17:39:00.001-03:00

#1 TEGAN & SARA - The Con

Aly & AJ and t.A.T.U. are two groups of young women (girls?) that, to me, were all but equal to T&S before 2007. Sure, Rock God Jack White only chose to cover one song from their collective catalogs (Answer: T&S's "Walking With a Ghost" from 2004's So Jealous) but let's be serious, lesbian Canadian twins with acoustic guitars aka card-carrying Ani Difranco fanclubbers? They put out a new album, I put it on, and it bled -- one track into another. Lackluster, zzzzz. Where are the hooks? But by the time Wireless B. editor Justin Pearsall wrote on the year's "sleepers," I was windtalking. I wrote:

“I approached The Con with a bit of undeserved cynicism with regards to their substance. Sure I'd hummed along with 'Walking With A Ghost', 'I Know I Know I Know' and of course, the ubiquitous 'You Wouldn't Like Me' from their last album So Jealous, but I just never put much stock into their skill as songwriters – Canadian twins just sounds like a fun gimmick. When I first heard the new record it was accessible and slick, but to the point of being slippery, in one ear and out the other. I had trouble discerning tracks and was content to let it slide by as background music. Then, out of nowhere, I unknowingly took the bait, leaving myself happily infected. The hooks on this record come rapid-fire; I can't even imagine how I initially missed them. The girls' sugary sweet voices never let up, constantly taking their harmonies to new levels of contagiousness. It's revealed itself as some of the best pop songwriting I've heard in a long time and positioned itself atop my most listened to albums of the year.”

And shit, whatdoyouknow? I still love it. Now, my mother and sister ride around in the car singing along (it's the only album I've purchased this year -- yeah, I paid $0.00 for R-head, but so did you). I also saw them motormouth through a live set. Then, I interviewed Sara Quinn. This was the result:
On her recent trip to New York City to perform at the city's Webster Hall venue, Sara Quin was spotted. A well-intentioned (if uninformed) young girl, around 13-years-old by Quin's estimation, lassoed in one-half of the sisterly duo with a baldly exclaimed fact. "You're that singer that was on MTV," the child asserted. She was indeed correct.

Named MTV's Artist of the Week earlier this year after the release of their fifth LP The Con, the network revealed Tegan and Sara to an entirely new demographic. But perhaps "revealed" is too euphemistic. Commercial segments were shown between and after every show on the network, sandwiching the twins' infectious acousti-pop between episodes of Real World: Sydney and Pageant Place, among handfuls of other reality programming. READ THE REST

mp3
Tegan and Sara I Was Married
The White Stripes Walking With a Ghost

"Umbrella" after the jump...

"I'm bubblin' like soda foam."

2007-12-05T22:05:00.000-03:00

A place-holder. Year-end festivities start soon. Yezzur.

mp3 R. Kelly Fiesta (remix)

Type rest of the post here

"And I'ma let karma catch up to Jaz-O, whoa."

2007-12-04T17:33:00.000-03:00

Part II of this little recap. F.F. Coppola made the rules. II > I.

Here's a nice little New Pornos write-up; Newman is a cordial dude. The K.Drew piece, though, is one of my favorites almost solely based on the gem that he dropped at the end. I included the whole thing after the jump. Trust a recommendation, I dare you.

The New PornographersSpeaking on his band's website The New Pornographers' frontman Carl "A.C." Newman addressed the subject matter of the title track to the group's new album Challengers, noting the song's "convoluted subtext." He continued, referencing a quote by author Albert Camus that he found in the lyrics to a Scott Walker album:

"Work is nothing but the slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great images in whose presence his heart first opened."

But catching up with Wireless Bollinger from a tour stop in New Orleans, Louisiana, Newman was candid, his clarity startling. READ THE REST
Bonus Live Review: The doorman at Webster Hall was perturbed. He had just been informed that the show was over and soon hundreds of satisfied fans would be pouring passed him and back on to the rainy street. "Are you sure that's it or are they going to do it again?" he shot back crossly over walkie-talkie. The night's headliners, Canadian don't-call-'em-a-supergroup The New Pornographers, had just finished their last of two encores, fitting finales for a star-studded night. READ THE REST

Kevin DrewThe Broken Social Scene tag strikes fear in the heart of venues and their sound technicians; stages quake under the weight of its ten-plus musicians. The moniker also implies a level of grandiosity where an individual song's layers may include dozens of tracks until the sonic haze sounds thick, busy, distorted, and garbled – but chaotically beautiful. And so for the group's co-founder (and mouthpiece), Kevin Drew, when it came time to do something on his own, it really wasn't on his own at all.

The New Pornographers Entering White Cecilia
Kevin Drew Cocaine Skin

"Once I went as far as I could and felt satisfied, I could feel the longing of what I knew so well which was my friends from Social Scene. As we had more people come into the studio, it was hard not to have everyone there in the end. I love watching and listening to people play on songs I have written." Drew said, in reference to the 20-plus guest musicians on his new album.

As Drew continues, he insists that the process did not go against any distinct yearnings for individuality. "I wasn't trying to prove I could do anything on my own," he said. "I was just trying to guide something from myself with people I like to create with."

Born from this collaborative love was Spirit If…, a marathon 14-song collection that never strays too far from the signature Social Scene scope (vast and crowded), but with a hint of autonomy from the Kevin Drew side of things. Where BSS records feature tracks lead by everyone from Drew's co-founder Brendan Canning to Andrew Whiteman (aka Apostle of Hustle), Amy Millan (of Stars), Emily Haines (of Metric), and the ubiquitous Leslie Feist, Spirit is dominated by Drew's dreamy whisper and frenzied howl, often in the same song. Helmed by long-time collaborators Ohad Benchitrit (of Do Make Say Think) and Charles Spearin, it was this project's core which lead Drew to the thin-ice that is a solo album.

"Ohad let me puke all over the place with my ideas and content," said Drew. "It was becoming clear through the subjects and the chords that it was headed in a solo direction for me and it became my home for a while." Thus, the individuality of the record comes from a far more philosophical place. "In this home I started to be able to do whatever I wanted and had no obligations to anyone except my own honesty."

In all, the process really was not so different from what Drew has been directing since he started Broken Social Scene with bassist/vocalist Brendan Canning with the 2001 release of the then-duo's largely instrumental album Feel Good Lost. "After Feel Good Lost was finished, we attempted to learn songs for a show but we ended up writing new songs and started singing anthems," recalled Drew.

From there, the numbers grew and the Scene became a wide-reaching web, as musicians with their own projects were often happily trapped in a giant co-operative Canadian musical collective. But after two more LPs, 2002's flawless You Forgot It In People and 2005's massive Broken Social Scene, the band hinted at an indefinite hiatus, and Drew was quoted as saying, "We've lost that thing that we had at the beginning where we tried to challenge each other."

During the interim, the members' individual works – far from vanity projects to begin with – starting reaching unforeseen heights. The international success of Feist's The Reminder, and her presence from Starbucks shops to iPod adverts, is only one example of the success of the Arts & Crafts (the label Drew co-founded in 2002) alum world-wide. When asked about competition between main projects, side projects and collectives, Drew sounded his most unsteady, diverting from his usual mantra-spitting positivity.

"We used to challenge each other – on a musical level," he said. "Now the people have chosen who the bands are they love and we’re just trying to make sure that we follow our own path."

So Spirit If… -- a record about "believing in the beauty of a belief again and not about the fear of being crushed every time we walk outside" -- was his version of a big bandage. "It was more about making music again as friends. What this record, in my mind, was going to do was keep us together – as it felt like we were falling apart."

The album, his life preserver for a huge sinking ship, bears the tag "Broken Social Scene presents…" – a testament to a hope of putting it all back together again. Canning's own solo record, the supposed next installment in the series, is labeled a "a John Denver/Sonic Youth album" by Drew, and he sounds optimistic about the future of the collection. "We wanted a new outlet for more music that can't fit under the band’s name but also wanted to stay within the brand that we had worked so hard creating," said Drew on the choice to include the group's name. "We wanted to stay with our fans."

But with the series just getting started, Drew remains wary of become solely a brand, and no longer a band. Astoundingly articulate and brutally honest, Drew's raw words carry the most weight – nostalgic for yesterday and hopeful for tomorrow:

"I want to get back to the way it was in general. I want to be able to sit with friends again at the dinner table and be short $150 when the bill arrives, because someone never thinks of the tax and tip. I want to be able to be on stage and close my eyes and know I’m surrounded by these people I love and admire. I want the success of all their bands to never truly be as successful as when we play music together but then at the same time, I just want everyone to be happy." PUBLISHED HERE

"The girl can't help it."

2007-12-03T04:01:00.000-03:00

My post-CMJ hangover was more like a terminal illness. But I Magic Johnson-ed and now allow me to re-introduce myself. Please catch up with some Wireless Bollinger cover stories.

Animal Collective

In a Right-Click-Save-As world, a scene actively concerned with the next day's buzz band, Animal Collective strain for artistic permanence, almost fighting the foundation on which they are built. True, for the group it has been much more of a slow burn; the embers of Campfire Songs fanned to form the flame of Sung Tongs, which burned wildly into the Feels period – highlights from a storied discography for an ever-evolving group. But even with the timeframe extended, the dot-com world caught on. While mainstream rock acts such as U2 can still fill arenas 30 years later, the booming indie-rock scene has refreshed Andy Warhol's 15 minutes of fame into a more accurate 15 seconds, or even 15 blog posts, only to have acts fade into obscurity. And yet Animal Collective remain a favorite band for the internet age, sedating restlessly eager fans with hypnotizing, high-octane evolution and a bit of humanity in a technologically cold world. READ THE REST

Andrew Bird

On the first track, 'Fiery Crash', from Andrew Bird's latest full-length, Armchair Apocrypha, he sings ominously the words from the song's title: "you've got to envision the fiery crash". Curiously enough, in speaking with Wireless Bollinger, Bird spoke those same words with reference to his own live show. Nearly quoting his own lyrics, Bird spoke of the frenzy he works himself into before he takes the stage. To him, the anticipation is a necessary pessimism. To the observer, though, the performance from this poised gentleman of a violinist and songwriter is much more like a smooth, airy glide than the burning wreckage of his own imagery. READ THE REST

Animal Collective Derek (live)

Andrew Bird A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left (Fingerlings 3)

Type rest of the post here

For the Pink Palace in the sky... -- Bands Twenty-One (21) to Twenty-Seven (27); Day 5

2007-10-24T03:07:00.001-03:00

At 11 PM Saturday night, over 120 hours since I first began my CMJ journey, I stood on a Manhattan subway platform, patiently waiting for the L train. "So, would you do it again next year?" a friend asked. "Ask me again in a month," I told her, unable to muster a reasonable answer between the shrill pitch of the buzzing in my ears and spinning of my head. By this point, I no longer remembered what the inside of my eyelids looked like, I had forgotten the sound of silence, and I probably couldn't even tell you my name were it not printed on the all-access badge in my back pocket -- the laminated card that had come to replace my identity and soul. But I was revitalized by Indian food and coasting on adrenaline. Oh, and triumph.

Believe it or not, the impending train was to take me on my victory lap. To the winner's circle. An encore, if you will. Matt & Kim -- my 27th New York City band during the five days of 2007's annual College Music Journal Marathon. But first, a recap of the final six.

There's nothing like a little bit of home field advantage so in the afternoon I headed over to the Deli's unofficial CMJ party at Fontana's for a generous helping of hometown bands, planning to catch a few acts before parading up the Bowery for my last few bands. Who would've thought I wouldn't be able to tear myself away from the dark ambiance of Fontana's downstairs stage and the blooming NYC acts that graced it? The rundown...

Six to go. Radio America took the stage with some stunning three-part harmonies, the likes of which I haven't seen from an all male group since the last time I caught the Beach Boys live. But really, these boys had more of an E Street Band or Aerosmith vibe than the breezy sway of Endless Summer. Young, strapping fellows, Radio America probably have cool fathers because they know their classic rock. With the reverence of the Hold Steady and a little punk rock kick, the scorching dueling guitar solos were straight up face-melting.

One down, five to go. The Velocet somehow made 80s post-punk ballsy, like if Robert Smith could toss a pigskin. The guitars didn't so much wander as attack and the creeping rasp to Michael Davidson's voice had a ferociousness that's missing from a lot of the lemme-whisper-you-my-secrets "rock" of today.

Four to the floor. The next band was like a spoonful of Robitussin without Poppins and her goddamn sugar -- that garbage is for kids. Undersea Explosion, on the other hand, are men. Rapping on a cowbell, their lead singer didn't play with dance-punk irony, instead looking like he really wanted to make a dent in the thing. Behind him was a vigorous distorted bass and hints of some Sonic Youth discordance, but more apparent was a sludgy grit like the desert rock of Queens of the Stone Age.

Twenty-three plus 1 = Anthem In. The thing with this band is that by the time they got to their last song, "Down," I started to wish they just would've played it 6 times over, filling their whole set. A&R is asleep at the wheel on this one because with its disco beat high-hats and lyrics about the "dancefloor" there is no way this song is anything but a chart-topper. It's not even that their other songs are no good, but with something as contagious as "Dance," your job is done.

By this point I could pretty much taste it but when Bella Watt took the stage they exuded a freshness only a young band could. A male and female vocal trade-off topped atypical grooves spiked with psychedelia and the result was sufficiently hypnotizing, building a measured, spacey atmosphere. The haunting hymnal that was their last song teased some truly poignant moments to come in this band's career.

I couldn't have asked for a better 26th band than Sikamor Rooney. As I crossed the finish line, they whizzed by me, seemingly unaware the race was over. Their rapid-fire country punk sneered and spat with disregard like an unchained beast with rock star swagger. Scathing and snotty like the Black Lips with some of the retro sass of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, the trio barn-burned through grimy numbers like the Iggy Pop-ish "Dirty Dog" noticeably drunk even though it was only 5:30. Their final song couldn't have been a better finale with a more perfect title, wrapping up my marathon with three fateful, self-explanatory letters that sum it all up: "N. Y. C."

Later that night, for shits and giggles and to flaunt my stamina, I headed to the Music Hall of Williamsburg for final bow, a curtain call. DIY hipster lovebirds Matt & Kim are sweeter than chocolate covered cotton candy and though I came out of there with three cavities, not once did I stop smiling. Seriously, though, my cheeks were sore. Kim punishes the skins at a mile a minute while Matt pounds on screaming synth keys, taking breaks only to tell us in the crowd how "fucking awesome" we all were and to read passages from his favorite book, Letters to E.T. Best stage banter? Without a doubt. Happiest crowd surfers? Mmhmm. A storybook ending to my CMJ epic? I think Matt & Kim and everyone else in the Music Hall said it best: YEA YEAH YEA YEAH YEA YEAH YEA YEAH YEA YEAH YEA YEAH YEA YEAH. - Joe Coscarelli

via The Deli Magazine which has collected my entire 5 day journey HERE

mp3 Matt & Kim Yea Yeah

"You think it's tough now, come to Africa." -- Bands Nineteen (19) to Twenty (20); Day 4

2007-10-21T22:24:00.000-03:00

Sasha Frere-Jones, the pop critic at The New Yorker, recently wrote a controversial� article (among music nerds) titled "A Paler Shade of White" with the subtitle "How indie rock lost its soul." The piece's basic argument is that the new era of independent rock music has rid itself of any black influence including syncopated rhythms and other elements of soul and blues music. Frere-Jones slights indie behemoths like The Arcade Fire for their "end-of-the-world" style that eventually grates and falls flat because it's just too white. His argument has holes like cheese of the Swiss variety, but he argues vehemently with no trepidation in making grand claims (see: "You could argue that Dr. Dre and Snoop were the most important pop musicians since Bob Dylan and the Beatles."). Point being, let's hope Frere-Jones skipped CMJ this year.

Things this week have been blindingly white. Sure you've got your Q-Tips, your Devin the Dudes and your Cool Kids, but you've also got every skinny white boy and his six-string playing a version of the same "college rock" that dominated campus radio when people actually listened to campus radio. There are groups who pull it off, managing a fresh spin, and I've seen a few of them this week but the problem is that the bands who don't make it harder to enjoy the bands that do, inundating the listener with stale homogeneity. So on Friday night I switched it up.

I had also been promiscuous. Jumping from venue to venue was starting to feel empty and I was getting a reputation, so on this night, I settled in at the Filmore New York at Irving Plaza to take in the Afropunk showcase. The night was a marathon in itself, taking me past 1:30 AM with little in the way of New York City acts, but a thirst for some diversity prevailed. READ THE REST

mp3 Santogold ft. Spank Rock Shuv It

"Ball 'til I fall." -- Bands Nine (9) to Eighteen (18); Day 3

2007-10-21T22:06:00.000-03:00

I'm absolutely killing the game right now. Please call me Genghis Khan the way I conquered. From the early morn' to the early morn' I watched bands. In record stores, empty rooms, packed clubs and apartments. They played on high stages, low stages, the floor, the couch, and in chairs. They broke strings, sticks, light fixtures and hearts. And then they broke my will. Almost.

Thursday. Thirteen hours of live music. Ten NYC bands. Many more from places that don't matter nearly as much. The stalwarts, the amateurs, the boys, the men, the girls, the women, the ear-splitting, the soothing and The Next Big Huge Thing. Let me take you there.

My first stop was breakfast -- scrambled eggs and sausage -- hoping to provide myself the sustenance I needed to suceed. Then, Vampire Weekend�scored breakfast at Other Music. As in, "got it for free" (we all did). And as in, "provided the music for." Say what you will about their preppy quirk, pop-kitsch lyrics and subsequent short shelf-life. Will our children know who Lil John is? Probably not. So what. Fact is, these boys are near-perfect. Beyond the fact that the songs are infectious and clever, the band is flawless. Smack in the middle of a silent record store every sound better be squeaky-clean, circular guitar licks and Casio whirrs included. And it was. After the show, the band was traveling to the UK to open for The Shins. In a few months it could very well be the other way around.

The remainder of the daylight hours were spent patrolling the LES, centered around the Gothamist House at The White Rabbit. Here, New York City represented hard and often. For instance... Once upon a time there was a boy named Thurston. He fell in sloppy slacker love with Kim and they formed an eternal bond (and band), and so there was Sonic Youth. This is a guitar-rock fairytale that The Muggabears know very well with '90s worship present in every sludgy note. Three piece. Female bassist. Assault of the tremolo bar. Remember Sister and Murray Street? So do The Muggabears - check out this mp3. READ THE REST

"I like everything better when I make it." -- Bands Five (5) to Eight (8); Day 2

2007-10-19T19:30:00.000-03:00

It's 3 AM and my head is ringing like Mike Tyson just boxed my ears. The thing is, it's not that recurring dream where Oscar De La Hoya dresses up in women's clothes and I'm a heavyweight champion (as opposed to real life where I'm only a featherweight champion). But let me back up.

Rolling on 4 hours of sleep when an early evening lull hit, I crashed for a power-nap, setting an alarm for 6:45 PM. The time came and in a sleepy haze I decided I had a few more minutes to rest before I would book it to Brooklyn. The next time I opened by eyes it was 9:45. Jay Garrick style, I was in Greenpoint in time for The Vandelles (picture) and the greater part of a CMJ showcase at Europa. Initially, I was the least hip person in the room as I was the only one to approach the stage -- guess I just didn't get the memo.

While the self-proclaimed "loudest band in New York City" were killing time in Williamsburg until their night-cap, undoubtedly reciting their Best New Music 'fork review to one another from memory, Brooklyn's The Vandelles were doing all they could to usurp the title by fuzzy coup. While A Place To Bury Strangers ride aggro-shoegaze revival, The Vandelles skip the gazing all together and just pulverize ears, burying their Dandy Warhols psych-rock in a deep, dark place.

The rhythm section, wo-manned by two unassuming, comely females, was a true force -- bass dipped in a hot vat of distortion and drums clawing and clamoring to be heard. You know the scene in Kill Bill where Uma Thurman is buried alive, forced to karate-chop her way through wood and tightly packed dirt? In that adrena-frezy, she'd play the drums like the chick from The Vandelles. Three-quarters through the set, the sound guy chimed in: "You're gonna have to turn that down." READ THE REST

A Place To Bury Strangers Missing You

"Wocka Wocka Wocka!" Day 1 -- Bands One (1) to Four (4); Day 1

2007-10-17T14:26:00.000-03:00

This year a monolithic pairing between NYU and CMJ finds the Marathon's headquarters at the historic Puck Building. Think of it as a sort of indie-rock Death Star -- the center of the CMJ universe. Amidst promotional booths and piles of free swag sits the Day Stage, home to performances throughout the week. People mulled around with gift bags and free mags, Mountain Dew and energy drinks flowing like water. Dirty beards and thick-rimmed glasses were countless. On your marks, get set ...

The first stride in my marathon was Takka Takka's 1:00 PM Day Stage set. The boys from Brooklyn didn't so much kick things off as ease them in, their bright clean guitars weaving tight patches, always calming and clear. Pavement had riffs like this but they felt dirty, loose and sorta zany -- Takka Takka's intertwining grooves are polished and fine. The five-pieces' clarity was ideal for the daylight hour, sunlight shining in spears through the building's windows. Any brooding that might find itself at home in a dark, dingy club or bar was absent, replaced by laid-back, shuffling percussion and melodic bass-lines. The highlight, though, was the spirited facial expressions, winces and grimaces from the band's rhythm (and 3rd!) guitarist while providing smooth vocal harmonies. Entertaining, yes, but wholly unwarranted. An embodiment of effortlessness, Takka Takka don't toy with pain nor strain.

mp3 Takka Takka We Feel Safer At Night

My night in Alphabet City ran as smoothly as a three-wheeled wagon. Marred by my own inexperience, I tripped and ate a little mud (to 'run' with this marathon metaphor). Day 1 saw me miss three scheduled bands (sorry guys!) to be replaced along the way. Hear you me -- I will make up the ground I lost. READ THE REST

"I feel fine."

2007-10-15T21:47:00.000-03:00

by Joseph Coscarelli

The CMJ 2007 Music Marathon & Film Festival lasts from October 16th-October 20th, five days of the world's best up and coming bands and filmmakers in rapid-fire succession. Running the CMJ Marathon in the name of The Deli Magazine consists of braving the elements -- long lines, big crowds, pricey drinks, etc -- and seeing twenty-six (yes, 26) New York City bands in this five day period.

Five straight days can feel like an eternity.

Legend has it that one Marathon runner swore off alcohol. But not prior to running, as part of some fascist training regiment that champions purity and protein shakes. No -- this is a different breed of race. After the CMJ Marathon, where the 26 performances replace 26 physical miles, with his wallet bled dry and liver soaked with booze, the only viable option was abstaining from drinks altogether. Get on the wagon.

Burnt out and dried up might be the only way to come out of this. Pheidippides, the Greek soldier from whose exploits the term "marathon" comes, was not so lucky. Upon arriving in Athens after his run, he collapsed dead from exhaustion.

And yet it's all so alluring. Imagine sprinting stage to stage, bolting venue to venue and dashing from party to showcase. The experience -- a form of binge-drinking for the show-going set -- is not exactly glamorous but there's something mythical about the urgency of it all.

Like a correspondent from the front lines, ducking bombs and dodging bullets in the form of power-chords and drum fills, it will be my job to bring the action to you, the sane music fan, while you pace yourself, see a few shows and enjoy what you miss through capsulized recaps and innumerable photoblogs.

Maybe I'm a glutton for over-exertion, constantly stretching myself too thin. Or maybe I just revel in a good challenge. Whatever the case, I'm charging into this year's Marathon (featuring NYC acts like Professor Murder, O'Death, Aa and many, many more) head on, with reckless abandon. If I come out on the other side hating alcohol, or worse, live shows, the suffering will be worthwhile if only for the stories I will tell.
Tuesday 10/16
1. Takka Takka - 1:00 PM - Puck Building Day Stage

2. Swati - 7:00 PM - Mo' Pitkins New Arrivals Showcase

3. Rachael Sage - 7:30 PM - Mo' Pitkins New Arrivals Showcase

4. The Felice Brothers - 8:30 PM - Southpaw

5. AA Bondy - 9:30 PM - Southpaw

6. Dean and Britta - 10:00 PM - Bowery Ballroom

7. The Rosewood Thieves - 11:30 PM - Southpaw

Wednesday 10/17
8. Excellent - 7:30 PM - Europa

9. Freshkills - 8:30 PM - Europa

10. The Vandelles - 9:30 PM - Europa

11. Bloody Social - 10:30 PM - Europa

12. Theo and the Skyscrapers - 11:30 PM - Europa

Thursday 10/18
13. The Jaguar Club - 6:00 PM - Indaba Loft

14. The Epochs - 8:30 PM - Blender Theater at Gramercy

15. Orba Squara - 9:00 PM - Southpaw (iPhone song!!!)

16. Pela - 11:00 PM - Bowery Ballroom

17. Elk City - 11:30 PM - Joe's Pub

18. Camphor - 12:30 PM - Joe's Pub

Friday 10/19
19. The Muggabears - 2:15 PM - Gothamist House

20. The Jealous Girlfriends - 3:00 PM - Gothamist House

21. The Big Sleep - 3:45 PM - Gothamist House

22. Sam Champion - 6:45 PM - Gothamist House

23. Santogold - 8:50 PM - Filmore at Irving Plaza

24. Earl Greyhound - 9:40 PM - Filmore at Irving Plaza

Saturday 10/20
25. Nous Non Plus - 7:00 PM - Indaba Loft

26. Matt & Kim - 11:00 PM - Music Hall of Williamsburg

Stay tuned for full blog coverage HERE.

CMJ stars I'll be skipping:
mp3s
M.I.A. Paper Planes ft. Bun B and Rich Boy
Justice Phantom pt. II

"Like bloodsuckers do."

2007-10-15T21:34:00.000-03:00

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You've heard it all. Overdetermined. Blah Blah. What's one more?

At Wireless Bollinger, we did it four (4) times. In an experiment intended to produce varying opinions, I think how it turned out says something special: We've all been brainwashed.

Check out the four-part feature HERE.

Mine went something like this:

Radiohead
In Rainbows

To slight Radiohead over 10 years after their artistic and critical ascendance would not only be flagrantly contrarian, but also embarrassingly belated. The time for backlash has come and gone and it is no secret which side prevailed. Though periodically forgetting their role, Radiohead are one of the last vestiges of the Great Rock Band, concerned with the album, the art form and continuous progression, all in the truest sense.
That said, I've never been much of a fan.

Call me shamefully shallow, needy or even elitist, but Radiohead fail to invoke that special brand of intimacy. There has always been something far too egalitarian about it all. Bootlegs, b-sides and discussion boards aside, the thought of the harmony between meatheads cranking 'Creep' in their SUVs, vacuous teenagers feigning personal depth with 'Fake Plastic Trees' and obsessives scouring OK Computer for a coherent narrative has never sat well with me.

With the release of In Rainbows, the populous prevails again. By flipping the script, shredding the recording industry blueprint, and turning marketing norms on their collective ear (no advanced copies were distributed for reviewing), Radiohead has leveled the playing field. But they've also stripped the musical experience of individuality.

By releasing the album suddenly for download, the band has assured the singularity of the listening experience. There was no car ride home with plastic wrap thrown to the passengers seat or no anticipation for the first glimpse of the postman. Instead, we all enjoyed the same click, save, add new files, update device, et cetera, et cetera. Rumors have figures at 1.2 million downloads in the first two days. That is terrifying. Their scope is too broad, power too far reaching and range frightening -- a bit too Orwellian, too computerized. Fitter, happier. READ THE REST Radiohead Paperbag Writer

"Some days, they last longer than others."

2007-10-04T03:09:00.000-03:00

As you may already know, the first single from the new Wu-Tang Clan album, 8 Diagrams, is their take on George Harrison's legendary Beatles song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." The track, "The Heart Gently Weeps", does not in fact contain a sample of the song, but instead is, as the Wu notes, an "interpolation" of the classic White Album track.

The song finds Harrison's son Dhani and John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers sharing guitar duties while the serene voice of Erykah Badu blesses the hook. I can only imagine that Frusciante plays the Clapton role handling the song's lead, but whatever the case, the result is so much more than I could've hoped for.

Sacrilege and the Beatles catalog go way back (Elton's "Lucy In the Sky"?; no thanks) but the butchering is fresh with the recent release of the much maligned Across The Universe. Bono doing "I Am The Walrus" is one thing, but when paired with rap music, many consider the canon to be in danger. We've heard Lil Wayne mess around with "Help!" and of course, Danger Mouse's The Grey Album, both of which are actually quite enjoyable but somehow the concept remains unsettling. But where Dangermouse's take on "Weeps" straps the piano-line with a glitch-y drumbeat and tops it with Hov's amped "What More Can I Say" verses, the Wu took an entirely different approach.

"The Heart Gently Weeps" is a low-key, woozy affair -- a far cry from the confrontational "Watch Your Mouth", the first taste from 8 Diagrams -- and aside from the shrill, treble-y lead, the song is content to glide along with a subtle groove. Slow drums and a languid organ flow with measured restraint while the melodic guitar line claws from the background with a static distortion. Badu's chorus takes liberties with the song's lyrics and feels light and hazy, a perfect compliment to the ire brought in nearly every Wu verse, even on a less menacing song like this one.
The highlight, not surprisingly, is Ghost's drug/street narrative which is surely less frenetic than say, "Shaky Dog", but (almost-)equally captivating. The song's mid-verse sing-song detour that borrows from the original's bridge is also an endearing quirk. The remaining verses are passable, standard Wu fare, in this case, a completely forgivable offense as the group shows themselves as unafraid to take the backseat, content to coast on the beat's atmosphere and warm familiarity.

God knows Mr. Tom Breihan will probably post about this tomorrow, but I figured I'd get my thoughts down before reading anyone else's. Anyway, enjoy.

Wu-Tang Clan The Heart Gently Weeps (via Loud.com)
Jay-Z and DJ Danger Mouse What More Can I Say
Lil Wayne Help!

"Mayonnaise colored Benz..."

2007-10-02T19:05:00.000-03:00

My Battles feature from the summer issue of The Deli Magazine has been posted online, so if you haven't picked up the issue or aren't in the city, you can check it out. Battles are one of the year's greatest independent success stories largely because, as I see it, they've broke through without even hinting toward the brand of indie-rock that seems almost tailor-made for use in commercials. They're being embraced by a scene where they don't quite fit and I like the idea. Here's what I wrote:
Battles
War of the Worlds

"And now, fought with the terrible weapons of super-science, menacing all mankind and every creature on the Earth comes the War of the Worlds."

Yet, imagine this force of futuristic sci-fi sonic manipulation as used for good instead of evil. Picture a stage in which it is futile to discern whether the men control the machines or the machines control the men. As if, tangled in the sinews of winding wire, the humans are helpless amidst the sound wave battlefield. The blasts and squeaks weave with elasticity leaving just enough breathing room for each sound to register and the result is an eruption of rumbling engine noises driven by shattering percussion and accented with pointed shredding of strings and keys.
Each section builds like a movement of intergalactic warfare culminating in warped screeches and chants -- fragments of what earthlings might call "vocals" -- so doctored, distorted and altered that they meld effortlessly with the electronic explosions. And yet, snap out of the peculiar, mechanistic trance to find there is a distinctively human quality to it all.

The experimental manipulations at the hands of four New York City musicians is oddly assuring. In a 21st century world of Orwellian proportions, amid gadgets and artificial intelligence, Man prevails if only in their complete mastery of machine. What sounds like the apparatus takeover is actually the human touch -- ambitious instrumentalists, free of samples, creating each and every sound live, in an effort to conquer your ears and mind.

Battles has truly triumphed, and I'll be damned if they don't win the war to boot. The weapons are stockpiled; ex-Helment drummer John Stanier punishes the set while ex-Don Cabellero guitarist Ian Williams and ex-Lynx guitarist Dave Konopka melt faces above Stanier's wild tribal pounding. And then, there's Tyondai Braxton in a mess of keyboards, looking like he hijacked an electrical truck, creating live vocal loops and Daft Punk-ing them into a buzzing heap of pitch-shifts and vocoder.

After two astonishingly good EPs, the band has unleashed their long-awaited full length, Mirrored, upon the globe and brought along their manic live show for good measure. Impossible to ignore, the band was even profiled by The New York Times, proof that Battles' progressive soundtrack to electronic friction is a war of worlds worth fighting for. Tyondai Braxton waged his own battle, against a bad cell phone connection in the flatlands of Texas, to share his band's story with The Deli. READ THE INTERVIEW

Battles Ddiamondd

"Go ahead and switch the style up..."

2007-10-01T14:17:00.000-03:00

Do you ever feel like you're constantly playing catch-up?

Well...
SPANKIN' NEW SUFJAN STEVENS!!!
Not exactly... but now that I have your attention, let me introduce Clare Muldaur. She recently put out an album under the name Clare and the Reasons called The Movie on Frog Stand Records. And yes, it features Mr. Stevens on the great, jazzy "Nothing/Nowhere" and some string arrangements by Van Dyke Parks, recently known as the genius behind the string-schmaltz of Ys from everyone's favorite indie-heartthrob harpist. But it's also filled with quirky, lovey-dovey storytelling and the languid, smooth female vibrato of Clare herself.
The album is truly one of the year's hidden gems and I can't imagine why it has not yet crept into the current consciousness. It's a wonderful, light little record and comes highly recommended. The Voice was a bit more lukewarm but I did my own write up over at Wireless Bollinger, part of which is right here:

Clare & The Reasons
The Movie

The mystery behind the ever-arbitrary hype machine, about who and what will garner internet buzz, meets a conundrum in the case of Clare Muldaur. More and more frequently musicians sell out their first handfuls of show or gain a following on the strength of an EP or even scattered demos, yet as the release of Muldaur's The Movie (credited to Clare & The Reasons) approaches, mum's the word. Let us call her Brooklyn's best kept secret.

As the underground so successfully becomes the over-ground thanks to hot shot bloggers and the magic of technological networking, there remains a few shortcuts to world wide (web) celebrity, each failing to ignite our potential heroine in limbo. The lineage is there – Clare's father Geoff Muldaur is a celebrated blues singer and producer from the folk revival in the Northeastern states. Next, consider the record's guests, including the inescapable Sufjan Stevens and composer Van Dyke Parks (recently of Joanna Newsom's Ys fame, not to mention his sidekick role to Brian Wilson). Couple innate hipster nepotism with some famous friends and you might expect the biggest internet sensation since Ms. Newsom or even Mr. Stevens himself. And yet somehow, the music world sleeps on it. READ THE REST

Clare & The Reasons Alphabet City

Crank That (Ridiculously Inconvenient Eyewear)

2007-09-17T14:19:00.000-03:00

Exhibit A:
Kanye West- Stronger: Think of it as Venetian blinds for your eyeballs.

Exhibit B:
R. Kelly- I'm A Flirt: Blinged out bug-eyes.

Exhibit C:
Soulja Boy- Crank That (Soulja Boy): Like over-excited soccer moms with paint pens and a mini-van, or 'Just Married'.

mp3s
ABX Crank That Pogo (Soulja Boy vs. Digitalism mash-up)
via The Hood Internet
Clipse Flashing Lights (Benzi Refix) [Kanye West]

"She said it grieves me so to see you in such pain."

2007-08-20T18:45:00.000-03:00

The new issue of the Deli is out and around Manhattan and Brooklyn as we speak. Pick it up and enjoy a copy. It features Parts and Labor on the cover (who put out a great album this year), along with an article on the decline of the Lower East Side and an interview I conducted with Battles.This is my piece from the previous issue, which has now been put online. Nic Offer was highly entertaining and said some outrageous things about their punk nature and dorky fans.

!!! (Chk Chk Chk): Post-Punk Punctuation

Nic Offer once told the world, "Giuliani's got his rules but we ain't no fools, let's break them," in response to the mayor's Orwellian style, Footloose-revival. This rebellious rhetoric is exactly the sort of gospel that the New York die-hards crave. As the frontman for the New York by-way-of Sacramento band !!! (pronounced, chk chk chk, or any other percussive onomatopoeia) Offer has his mutinous catch-phrases down to a science, serving as the ideal commander on the S.S. Groove. If !!! were indeed a ship, it'd be a jarring ride, as the band's pulsing groove-infused dance punk would surely rock the boat. The band's policies, as staunchly pro-dance, speak volumes about their ever-expaning legacy as purveyors of this high-octane breed of punk.

Along with bands like The Rapture, Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem, !!! have pioneered a resurgence of hip-shaking in live music, proving a complacency in the state of indie-rock and effectively doing something about it. In the topsy-turvy world in which we live, there is something to be said about deftly picking your battles. Amidst political unrest and apocalyptic foreshadowings, !!! stick to what they now, speaking out against serenity and immobility and championing those who made New York City what it is, the seedy underbelly of sweaty freaks with a hop in their step. READ THE INTERVIEW...

!!! Must Be The Moon

Bringing It Back: Retro 1987

2007-08-20T02:35:00.000-03:00

These are two absolutely amazing records that I've gotten the opportunity to review as if it was the year of their release. It's fun to do, I love the albums and I actually like the way these turned out (The Smiths, especially). Read them if you love these albums, read them if you've missed 'em, and then, if that's the case, please do yourself a favor and check them out.

The Smiths
Strangeways, Here We Come
Remarking on death, Winston Churchill famously stated,"I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter." And with all the musing on death The Smiths' lyricist and lead vocalist Morrissey has done throughout the band's truncated career, one has to imagine that the hands responsible for molding such a messianic, conflicted figure as Steven Patrick Morrissey will indeed have those deft hands full when the two meet again. Additionally, on the subject, it seems as if The Smiths as a creative entity have indeed met their collective Maker, a premature demise with little more to blame than the ego-based clashes of two respective geniuses, Morrissey and Smiths' guitarist Johnny Marr. One month before the release of Strangeways, Here We Come, Marr announced his exit from the group sending their shaky structure crumbling to the ground. Let us then assume prophetic foresight, for only bubbling turmoil and impending doom can be attributed the weight of Strangeways, The Smiths' most morose, fatalistic and cohesive work. READ MORE...

Sonic Youth
Sister
As the transformation approaches completion do not be frightened of things to come. A venture toward the unknown may very well come full circle, leaving off in an all the more familiar place. Through Confusion we saw light with the help of our Idols, but it did not pacify our uncertainties about change, and ultimately Death. The new Moon Rising meant a new day was to be born and EVOLve they did. Finally, emerging from the tunnel to bask in the light is a band fully representative of the American underground not content to idle in the pits of noise that spawned them, instead ripping to the surface, proudly flaunting a tried and true alternative bent but with their aim dead set on tradition. On Sister, Sonic Youth is a rock band but these are not your father's Stones. A head-busting racket without being "noise", tangential without losing focus and brutal but never menacing – this is structure unchained and without a cage. READ MORE...

The Smiths Death Of A Disco Dancer
Sonic Youth Tuff Gnarl

"Meet me at the wrecking ball."

2007-08-20T02:12:00.000-03:00

Tilly and the Wall: A Spoonful of Sunshine

La Mala Educación, Spanish film auteur Pedro Almodóvar's foray into religion, abuse and transsexuality, finds actor Gael García Bernal playing multiple roles, both male and female. And where Almodóvar's most lauded films typically deal in feminist themes and dynamic heroines, a male cast and sexual quirks allowed the female mystique to be examined through a new, albeit controversial lens. Tilly and the Wall's song of the same name ('Bad Education') explores similar scenes of steamy sex and transgender insecurities, a ripe coming-of-age for a band obsessed with youthful exuberance but never quite reaching this level of sexed up, latin-flavored audacity.

Tilly and the Wall bassist and singer Kianna Alarid remembers the song, written by male-lead/guitarist Derek Presnall, but stresses the coincidental nature of it all. Call it a cosmic connection: "I don't believe he'd ever heard of [the film] until much later. I don't know if any of us have ever seen it still! It's one of many examples of parallel ideas happening all over the world at the same time. You notice it everywhere if you pay attention. Everything is put out into the ether and travels around free to be picked up by sensitive minds." READ MORE...

Tilly and the Wall Bad Education

"I went to a professional, he asked me some questions and sent me to a doctor."

2007-07-31T19:00:00.000-03:00

Van Morrison Caravan

The National Fake Empire

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Down Boy

Bonus:
Panda Bear Bonfire of the Vanities (from the Take Pills vinyl single)

"The sun is always setting just a little further west."

2007-07-23T16:25:00.000-03:00

Okkervil River have steadily become one of my favorite bands with a steady stream of spectacular content, mastering the balance between quality and quantity. They put on a spirited live show where their version of folk-punk really shines largely courtesy of their charismatic front man and songwriter, Will Sheff. Aside from his howling and leg kicks in the band's most electrified songs (it's easy to mistake them for a straight up rock band when they really get going), Sheff can also write a fragile ballad in the tradition of his folk idols like Van Morrison and John Prine. Sheff is also a critic (both music and film) so I hold him on a pretty high pedestal in terms of musicians who are the total package. Last week I got to talk to Sheff on the phone and lets just say I wasn't let down. The man is articulate, intelligent and most of all humble. We got to talk a lot of the band's new record, The Stage Names, which I've loved from the start but gets better with every listen. When the record comes out on August 7th, I beg you to pick up a copy. Here's a little bit of my cover-story feature on Sheff and the band:

After completing his masterpiece, 2005's Black Sheep Boy, in rural Indiana, Okkervil River front man and songwriter Will Sheff decided he needed a change of scenery if he was going to tackle the task of a writing a worthy follow-up to the majestic and mythical LP. And where better to bunker down than Brooklyn, New York, where like-minded buzz bands The National and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah crafted their similarly anticipated, post-break out albums as fickle fans braced for a let down. But on his pilgrimage, Sheff encountered a bit of metaphysical inspiration courtesy of American poet John Berryman.

"On a whim I decided to stop in Minnesota to visit the Washington Avenue Bridge [the site of Berryman's 1972 suicide]. I had a really profound experience standing there trying to imaginatively leap, and get into Berryman's brain at the moment. There's a lot to say about standing in the last place a person stood while alive," says Sheff on the phone from a Brooklyn bar. "I love John Berryman and I was reading him a lot while I was doing Black Sheep Boy. I think Berryman influenced how I wrote that album in some sort of weird way." Read more...

Sheff provided a lot of insight about the record and his songwriting and I hope some of that came through in the piece. Also, if anyone is interested I do have our entire interview transcribed and I'd be happy to let anyone read it.

This is the last song on the album, "John Allyn Smith Sails" about John Berryman and we ended up talking a lot about this, much of which ended up in the article.

And for any huge Okkervil fans, here's a really lo-fi live recording of Will playing album opener "Our Life Is Not A Movie or Maybe" solo. Good for obsessives, but again, the sound quality is not the best.

Okkervil River Our Life Is Not A Movie or Maybe (Will Sheff solo)

and the studio version...
Okkervil River Our Life Is Not A Movie or Maybe

Pre-order The Stage Names and receive access to a free album download

"You know who it is."

2007-07-23T15:28:00.000-03:00

Lately I've been...

Let's call it summer vacation. Anyway, it's over.

The High Strung
Get the Guests
Buy it

Problem is, you've heard this all before. A band with a familiar sound comes to a certain precipice, whether it be on their debut or four albums into their career, where a long fall to mediocrity is only one slip away. But more often than not, the slip isn't even required. Instead, the band – maybe once on sure footing and comfortable in its close associations with other acts – stands by too idly as the ground under them, their foundation, crumbles beneath their feet. To become too comfortable in a style frequently tread is all but a death-wish; instead of garnering emotion from a listener, the sounds hardly elicit a stir and rather than ambition, we hear apathy. And it stings all the more sharply, -- no, rather, the dull ache intensifies -- when it's easy to assume that apathetic re-treading was far from the band's modus operandi. Instead, by walking again the beaten path, one may cross the dangerous distinction between a warm, inviting reverence to influence and flat out bringing nothing new to the table. Read more...

The Slip
Eisenhower
Buy it

The prospect of a make-over leaves one anxious and excited about the reinvention looming and for better or worse, shows a healthy dose of proactive revision. Results may vary, hopefully toward progression and growth, less successfully resembling regression or more ambiguously in the form of a lateral jump. Intent must also be taken into account, especially in regards to bandwagon hopping; although Linkin Park's emo make-over did result in a platinum record, in terms of forging new ground, there's something still to be desired. In the case of the Boston, Massachusetts trio The Slip, Eisenhower represents a largely lateral maneuver from Phish-style progressive jamming toward a more easily digestible form of indie-rock. And while the aim is obvious and the prog-rock exploration is trimmed of its fatty excess, the album's cohesion is thrown askew by an unbalanced and unexciting jumble of poor poetry and an interminable lack of commitment to stylistic flow. Read more...

mp3s
M.I.A. Bird Flu (Diplo remix)
M.I.A. XR 2

"Overdone, overdrive, overlive, override."

2007-07-01T06:06:00.000-03:00

As soon as "Watch What You Say to Me" dropped, I knew I had to post on it, first because Hov actually sounds alive, which is a feat in itself. Apart from actually flowing, the Jigga Man managed to drop a little bit of knowledge on some young ones who might be getting ahead of themselves (*cough*). Nonetheless being as I am, I procrastinated on a post and Breihan beat me to it. No surprise there; and it's not even a race because frankly, we're not in the same league or playing the same game -- I shouldn't even bother. So I figured I'd sit with the track for a minute and I still found it worthy of mentioning. That said, the entire album has leaked by now and it's exactly the inconsistent mess everyone thought it would be, but the most important thing going on doesn't have anything to do with T.I. or T.I.P.

Anyone who has been paying attention knows that Wayne's been jabbing and gabbing like a child itching for attention. It's sort of like that teenager talking big game on his older brother/father/father-figure before stepping on the basketball court even though he knows he's going to get his rear end handed to him. And just like that situation, it's not necessarily about talent or hunger, it's just that this man was playing before you stood up. Besides a magazine interview which he later apologized for Wayne came hardest in his version of Beyonce's "Upgrade U" where he pulled the line "I'ma boss, your man is just an employer, mami," which came pretty blatant. Now of course this is still fairly reserved but there have been others and it's clearly a situation of buildup. Whether it was a nudge over B's beat or not that finally put him over the edge, Jay finally sounds mad as hell and he's not going to take it anymore -- at least not in complete silence.
In "Watch What You Say", Jay warns sternly, "I hear you baitin' me lately" and then promises "sooner or later I'll take you up on your offer and put you all in your place like I'm replacing your father," which is a pretty obvious reference to Birdman and the creepy Daddy complex Weezy has going on. Carter Sr. wraps it up by mentioning that his DNA is "in your music," which may or may not be a play on the Shawn Carter/Dwayne Carter thing. It all remains pretty subliminal and I'd say Wayne's far from getting Ether'd but with all of this bubbling, lets just say I'm more amped than ever for I Can't Feel My Face and Tha Carter III just to see how far W.F.B. is willing to take this. Jay acted his age, played disiplinarian and issued a firm warning shot, but at the same time I wonder if he has what it takes to take it to the next level. I'll part with a nice allusion from another Lil' Wayne rival, Gillie da Kid, and ask, "When did it become cool for Danielson to disrespect Mr. Miyagi?".

T.I. ft. Jay-Z Watch What You Say To Me

(mostly)UNRELATED:
But while I am making a hip-hop post, can everyone PLEASE explore the greatness that is The Hood Internet. They are single-handedly keeping mash-ups relevant and these are perfect for summer. Genius, ya dig? My favorite so far:

TV on the Radio / UGK I Was An International Player (ABX)

Oh, and yessir...

"I've been doin' my best to stay hater-free."

2007-06-30T17:18:00.000-03:00

Perhaps the highest profile leak of the still-young summer is that of one of the most stagnant, and dare I say, predictable bands we mess with. With Interpol, you know what you're getting: one part Joy Division, one part sharp suits, a brooding presence, looming atmospherics and some embarrassing lyrics. It's highly entertaining to witness the frenzy of backlash this band can garner by changing little to nothing from their mostly lauded debut, equal to, if not exceeding the fury that generates when a band "betrays" its roots or past fan-base. But Our Love To Admire still brings it, and I'm starting to find it gets better with each listen.

The nature of a band like Interpol is that people made up their minds by Antics, if not earlier. This is a hate-able band, no doubt. Carlos D is a Pete Wentz for the indie/goth set, and you'll be hard pressed to find someone defending Banks as a lyricist. But if you could take it two times, the third should really be no different. And if you're a Bright Lights-er through and through, Our Love isn't necessarily bringing you back. That said, spin this album a few more times -- push through it -- and I think you'll find something to latch onto, whether it's the ridiculousness behind "No I In Threesome", the "Where Is My Mind" riff of "Rest My Chemistry", or the one step outside the box on the closer "Lighthouse".
I'm loving that The National, everyone's favorite 'grower', released an album that was immediately realized and generally praised, but Interpol, the boys with no surprises, might've put out an album that has yet to reveal itself. Let's talk again at the end of the year.

For now, take some live National (The White Sessions live in France) and an Interpol b-side from way back (maybe my favorite song of theirs), to give these bands the attention they deserve but switch it up from the album cuts everyone has by now.

mp3s
The National Apartment Story (live)
The National Fake Empire (live)

Interpol Specialist
*edit* "Specialist" shouldn't skip anymore.

"All the sniffling indie kids.."

2007-06-27T03:31:00.000-03:00

Voxtrot @ Webster Hall - 15th June 2007(Credit)

Voxtrot are a textbook case of the music world in which we live; a band whose first and only full length was released less than one month ago but who had already garnered their share of mainstream press, acclaim and a loyal, widespread fan-base largely dependent on their coverage across the blogosphere and through downloadable music. On June 15th, three weeks from the day their eponymous debut hit shelves, the band played their largest New York City show at the palatial, but never cozy Webster Hall. Having graduating from Bushwick, Broolyn rooftops to Magnetic Field to Bowery Ballroom, it's fair to say the band has paid their tiny venue dues and having landed on one of the city's largest stages, lead singer Ramesh Srivastava wasn't shy to admit he was quite nervous about the night's festivities and not only because he had many family member's in the audience. Call it a combination of nerves and newness, but the band's most recent tunes fell almost entirely flat as did the front-man's banter throughout the night, largely focused on his Jerry Seinfeld-meets-Ian Curtis all black attire (with brown shoes, as he noted). Leaving him struggling with the crowd and barely getting by on his appeal and magazine smile, the entire show- crowd and band - was better off when the band shut up and stuck to the songs they know best. Read the rest...

Voxtrot Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, & Wives
Voxtrot Sway (demo version)

"Now we're movin', now we're taking control."

2007-06-27T03:12:00.001-03:00

Tilly and the Wall
Bottoms of Barrels
Team Love [2006] BUY ME

So I've sat with this album for almost a year and a half now, seen the band live twice and I still can't get over their smiles. The good vibes come in boatloads. They know what youth means but they can break hearts with the best of 'em -- there's nothing amateur here; they write like adults. I reviewed the album because it's finally getting an Australian release 1 year later. I should have an interview with them coming soon. I also posted one of my favorites from their pre-Wild Like Children days called "Shake Shake" along with a new CSS remix of what I like to think of as their Ode to Conor O.

Tilly and the Wall might just kill you with kindness. It'd be easy to say that the band sings and plays with a hop in their collective step if this hop wasn't so unimaginably consistent but this band is just skipping through life, all jump rope, hopscotch, and gumdrops under rainbows on sunny days, the peak of jubilation after the storm has cleared. Don't underestimate, though; beyond pearly-white smiles, innocent doe-eyes and family-friendly indie-folk are burning little embers of mischief and rebellion and even grief -- but mostly, an adolescent exuberance that manifests itself in snarl and four-letter words, like drinking with friends or sexy, small-town physical attraction. Tilly and the Wall secrete a sweaty but sensual bounce, a comprehension of youth and the sounds that should score it.

Oh, yeah -- this is "that tap-dance" band. No drum-kit, just heel-toe clicks and stomps, but I'll be damned if Jamie Pressnall does dance her way into your heart. No gimmicks to be found, because as it turns out, Pixie Stix don't make good drum sticks and the only hyper-happy percussive alternative was a pretty girl with quick feet. Read the rest...

Tilly and the Wall The Freest Man (CSS remix)
Tilly and the Wall Shake Shake

"On the playground where I spent most of my days.."

2007-06-27T02:55:00.000-03:00

Out of West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania comes the optimistically voracious and buoyant duo Taxi and Tables. But this isn't the latest East-meets-West buddy-cop flick, nor that new diner on the corner downtown. In actuality, Taxi and Tables are the song writing partnership responsible for your new favorite classic rock revivalists, Dr. Dog. The distinct single monikers, though, aren't a statement of grandeur like Madonna or Prince, flaunted on neon signs or pyrotechnic backdrops, but instead represent a much larger musical conceptualization – an upbeat dogma that counts at least three other T-alliterated character among its disciples.

"It's a fun clubhouse game to play that separates your identity from what you're doing in the band," says Taxi (or Scott McMicken, by the will of his parents). "Whatever is going on for Scott doesn't necessarily have to apply to Dr. Dog. I don't need my name to be associated with the things that I do." PLEASE READ THE REST...

Buy the disc

Dr. Dog Ain't It Strange
Dr. Dog Worst Trip

"You know we've got your back like chiroprac-tic."

2007-06-20T18:54:00.000-03:00

Jens Lekman is sincerity embodied. It'd be too easy to write off everything he does as quirky, ironic or just plain manipulative with his charm, but I can't manage to believe he's anything but real. And hilarious, not to mention endearing. I mean, I first fell in love with the guy's music while he was singing about maple leaves and vegan pancakes.

There was a (two-day) period where he allegedly quit music to work in a bingo-hall, but I guess that was just method-acting style songwriting for his newest single, "Friday Night at the Drive-In Bingo". The music, with its gentle piano, faint accordian and string reprieve, sounds like something you might hear at the dentist. But when Jens isn't oh, so silent, the vocals rely on his accented Moz-y croon. The pause on the title line is the stuff dreams are made of. And when the song does the speed up, double-time thing around 3 minutes only to slow back down just in time to drive home the chorus, I'm sold. Hit up SRVICE to hear it.

Jens Lekman (link removed)

"Forget me now."

2007-06-20T00:26:00.001-03:00

It's already an Arts & Crafts kind of day and I just realized that this mp3 never worked. So I wanted to try it again. I wrote about Los Campesinos! and specifically "You! Me! Dancing!":

"As if it wasn't cemented already, Arts & Crafts is my absolute favorite label. The EP from their newest signees Los Campesinos!, Sticking Fingers Into Sockets, has what is possibly the most accurate title in recent memory. This is sugary, electricfying, and hyper-active but it's impossible to listen to without smiling. The youth, exuberance and those accents. This is sort of an epic song for what it is but, like [Get Him Eat Him's] "2x2", it goes against the game plan for the recording as a whole, as the 5 other tracks put together are hardly longer than this song. One word: glockenspiel." Buy this EP.

I still can't stop listening. Here's the song (w/ a working link):

Los Campesinos You! Me! Dancing!

"And I don't care who he is or where he from."

2007-06-20T00:25:00.001-03:00

It's official. The Iron & Wine we used to know is long gone, but in the place of hushed sentimentalism are grooves and bongos and the same whisper/croon.

More after-dinner, less bed-time.

"I could dress in black and read Camus."

2007-06-19T15:03:00.000-03:00

The Deli's New CD of the Month: Battles- Mirrored

Battles' Mirrored is a sharp and aggressive sonic onslaught, like if the cold, hard machine-like feel of the 21st century was synthetically crystallized into sound. The tension between instruments has each pushing inward; the progressive riffage held up by the snapping elasticity of the bass, supported by the punishing drums. Every piece of this apocalyptic puzzle presses with such pressure that with one slip, the entire monument would collapse into experimental rubble. Yet the mathematic exactness of Battles' electricity finds warmth in a perpetual groove that rolls alongside dueling instrumentation. There are no traditional vocals on the album. Tyondai Braxton's larynx - as if hardwired through the city's power-lines - emerges here and there as a chopped and screwed vocoder cackle, like the loops of a mad scientist. When "Atlas" implodes with its counter-beat and affected, robotic whine, it's like War of the Worlds - but scarier. Meanwhile, the cardio workout of the drum-work might just throw us into an irregular heartbeat and leave our muscles sore just from listening. Around ex-Helmet drummer John Stanier, it's as if the rest of Battles reached bare-handed into an electrical box and ripped out fist-fulls of live wire showering sparks and buzzing with electrical current -- these are the machine-like, futuristic space-sounds of Mirrored -- like TV on the Radio for tech-heads and astronauts. - Joe Coscarelli

The Deli Magazine

Buy it

Battles Rainbow

"These English majors wanna be some super genius novelists."

2007-06-19T14:01:00.000-03:00

Scoop

"Tbtf" sounds like every radio session BSS has ever performed, from NPR to KVRX to Radio Alegre, etc. That is to say, it's soft and serene but as densely arranged as ever. These musicians have become unmistakable in my mind, and their signature sound is all over this track, and hopefully, all over Spirit If...

Kevin Drew Tbtf

Anticipation.

"Beat it up like a drum, call me Travis Barker."

2007-06-17T21:40:00.001-03:00

Jona Bechtolt is the kid armed with only quick clicking fingers and a laptop. But in a day and age where a world music drum circle erupts in seconds flat as a result of a built-in loop on your average home computer, point-and-click leads to band name, initiates music career, spawns albums. Not to say any bungling dolt is going to accidentally drop OK Computer 2.0, but high-horses be damned, bedrooms have become conducive to albums and you don't have to go by the name Steve Albini. The high-pressure, super speed tour de force, where Anton Newcombe bangs out Give It Back in one week single-handedly, while impressive, approaches commonplace in a world where stardom is kick-started with an unedited, 30-second blog flurry.

Bechtolt's capacity to be the one-man-band-man behind YACHT comes endorsed with references and accolades, including a stint as Khaela Maricich's tech-savvy Garfunkel in The Blow (Bechtolt recently resigned to focus on YACHT full-time). ...READ THE REST.

YACHT Platinum (ft. Bobby Birdman)
Mirah Make It Hot (Over remix)

"I once smiled at her 'til the shift-boss said get back to work."

2007-06-17T13:25:00.000-03:00

Kelly's a renegade. A maverick, even. But is this something Clive cooked up? An image? Or worse, did she just write a really bad album? You tell me.

Kelly Clarkson Judas
Kelly Clarkson Sober

"Listen, I've come to rock this boat."

2007-06-15T17:53:00.001-03:00

Disclaimer: Traditionally, I, too, am an r&b hater but as Status Ain't Hood has made articulately clear, there's a shake-up going on within the genre and if this is the new face and sound -- consider me a convert.

Rihanna's "Umbrella" is enjoying it's third straight week at number 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart and there is no shame involved with loving this song. Rihanna is 19 years old, but if this isn't the pinnacle of her recording career, then pop music has received some sort of godsend. One song this good per year and my appetite isn't only whetted, I'm stuffed.

The "rainy day" conceit isn't fresh, but the attention to detail has the entire song feeling like an impending thunder storm. The live kit drums strike and roll while the growl of distortion rests just under the song's surface, like a torrential down-pour in the distance. Travis Barker brought out the rock side in a recent remix with towering guitars sopping with fuzz but it doesn't need to be brash; "Umbrella" is subtly dark and foreboding. And even though 'Hov phones in his embarrassing verse, Rihanna takes him on her back and carries the track with a presence that's almost scary when you realize all the punches this girl's packing. "SOS" was one thing, but this is another league, in my mind. Tom Breihan likes the record, Good Girl Gone Bad, which I've yet to hear in it's entirety but he harps on her robotic, thin voice and doesn't love this particular song. I have to respectfully disagree; the song's banging and she executes the vocals flawlessly for what it is. Robotic is T-Pain, Akon and the rest of Rihanna's male counterparts.

The knockout blow, though, isn't massive or bombastic, but it is flooring -- and it's found in the form of repeated hooks and jabs. The entire pop appeal of the song (and the thing that makes it a windows-down, turn-it-up smash) is encapsulated by the title line's pronunciation. "You can stand under my umbrella," is dropped so perfectly it hurts. By the time she gets to the "-ella, -ella, eh, eh, eh" the hook becomes fatal.

stream
Rihanna Umbrella (Travis Barker Remix)

mp3
Rihanna ft. Jay Z Umbrella
Rihanna ft. Lil' Mama Umbrella (remix)

"You're not hopeless or helpless, and I hate to sound cold.."

2007-06-15T04:36:00.000-03:00

It's always good to hear from Karen O and her boys. So far, they've yet to disappoint me whether with their grimy, jagged side (Yeah Yeah Yeahs EP and Fever to Tell) or when they decided to step out of their comfort zone a bit on Show Your Bones. It was a largely overlooked record and frankly, I think it has been unfairly passed up. But who am I kidding, cred is not something they lack in any regard and people made up their minds long ago, largely with a positive result.

Myself, I'm always up for some spastic grrrl power (and I do prefer O at her most howling and out of control, though her coy whispers are becoming, as well). Brian Chase always provides solid percussion, and has a nonchalance that balances well with Karen and the moody snarl of Nick Zinner's skinny goth boy posturing (which works for him).

Sound of the City covered the YYYs recent video shoot in Brooklyn that found them in an intimate situation with a room full of females to shoot a video for "Down Boy" from the band's upcoming EP, Is Is. Yeah, I'm jealous. Read about it and you will be, too. The EP is great, packed with the swagger and bite that we've come to know and love. It's certainly not a change of pace, but when that pace is breakneck and still kicks our ass everytime, I can't imagine complaining."Down Boy" is something I imagine Karen O has to tell men frequently. The song starts as a spacey number, building atmosphere with effects and a clicking drum beat, but sure it enough it erupts and even finds a pretty compelling groove in the chorus before resorting back to the dark and brooding verse. With the right video, this spark could catch. "Kiss Kiss" has been a staple of the live show and is tightly packed with a nice little explosion. But Karen's chilling whisper at the end makes it.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Down Boy
Yeah Yeah Yeahs Kiss Kiss

"I got my swag."

2007-06-14T22:02:00.001-03:00

I realize that if you are into the interweb at all, you've come across your fair share of Justice write-ups and mp3s in the past couple weeks and even months. The story has been told: two French guys hook up with Busy P and the whole Ed Banger scene, work some remixes and finally put out their debut, †, which proceeds to rattle some dance music purists who don't roll with the new school of filter-based explosions that have maybe something in common with stadium rock. The record basically doesn't sound too far off from Jock Jams vol. 1 if Jock Jams had more Ecstasy and finesse, fusing hard rock and disco instead of testosterone and bad samples. But the ends are comparable -- this can bowl over stadiums and I can't hear the record without imagining clips of crowds exploded into cheers because that deafening roar, passed through a distorted filter is what Justice sounds like. Jess Harvill reviewed the album here and I thought it was spot on. Her album reviews are consistently becoming my favorite to read.

So despite the hype-wave, I feel a duty to post these songs for two reasons. Both of these tracks made the album and are even singles, but I came across them on the Ed Banger Records compilations vol. 1 & 2, respectively. And frankly, they just crush 'D.A.N.C.E.' into oblivion, even if that is the hooky cross-over that won't leave your head (which it is). The second reason is that while listening to my iPod on shuffle today, 'Waters of Nazareth' came on and smashed my head. It was so crushingly loud that I didn't know what had hit me and my brain started buzzing. I looked around, glass-eyed and people were starring at me because of the vibrations coming from my headphones. Turn it up, I dare you:

Justice Waters of Nazareth
Justice Phantom

"Eating up the scum is the hardest thing for me to do."

2007-06-14T17:27:00.001-03:00

There For Tomorrow Pages EP
Review at Orlando Weekly

"Forwards or backwards..."

2007-06-14T16:55:00.000-03:00

P4k has new múm, which is amazing news. Yesterday Was Dramatic - Today Is OK is an all-time favorite.

"Chevy grill lookin' like a set of new braces."

2007-06-14T01:11:00.000-03:00

Over at Wireless Bollinger they're doing a great '10 Bands to Watch' thing that isn't your typical Peter, Bjorn & Dan Deacon deal since it is based in Australia. Check it out and you might just find something you like. My contribution is on pop-rockers Belles Will Ring who have a bit of a Shins + Dandy Warhols thing going. The piece goes something like this:

"I’d say once the indie-disco 80’s hair cut phase this country is being plagued with disappears, something glorious will rise from the ashes," promises Belles' drummer Ivan Lisyak; a truly refreshing thought indeed. Read the whole thing if you're interested.

As the 40th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band has come and gone, the Beatles legacy remains nothing if not over-determined. As the praise may never grow stale for the group's musical pinnacle, the most notable aspect of the masterwork remains its innovation, eternally calling into question the merits of any act in the behemoth's towering shadow. However, like a shining beacon – a North Star of rock 'n' roll – the band's sound and collaborative genius remain benchmarks present in group dynamics and more patently, in the form of direct musical models. But in the modern, while blatant imitation is certainly a contemptible offense, there is something to be said for a healthy synthesis of precursory influence, never more respectful than on Dr. Dog's We All Belong. ...Read the rest.

And as promised, my review of the Calvin Johnson show.

Loop it.
I can't stop listening to...

Get Him Eat Him 2 x 2
The impact of this song is undeniable. It's such a rush out of the gate and is an instantly grabbing, brilliant way to begin the album, Arms Down, even if there is a stark contrast between the immediacy of this track and the more reverent remainder of the record. The vocal effects are subtle but vital and I've been on a bit of a vocoder kick but the production is flawless. There's something about a perfect burst in barely two-minutes that lends itself to at least 6 or 7 plays in a row.

Los Campesinos You! Me! Dancing!
As if it wasn't cemented already, Arts & Crafts is my absolute favorite label. The EP from their newest signees Los Campesinos!, Sticking Fingers Into Sockets, has what is possibly the most accurate title in recent memory. This is sugary, electricfying, and hyper-active but it's impossible to listen to without smiling. The youth, exuberance and those accents. This is sort of an epic song for what it is but, like 2x2, it goes against the game plan for the recording as a whole, as the 5 other tracks put together are hardly longer than this song. One word: glockenspiel.

Feist One, Two, Three, Four
I was pretty disappointed to miss Feist at Town Hall the past two nights but seeing her on Conan and knowing that she'll be at McCarren Pool on August 29th (w/ Kevin Drew!!) makes up for it.

*edit*: Conan video was taken down by NBC already, but here's the music video

"Lucky just to keep afloat."

2007-06-12T14:35:00.001-03:00

Massive day. You've got your trippy candidates for musicians of the year (between Person Pitch, Pullhair Rubeye, and so far, Strawberry Jam). You've got your rhythmic innovators -- so consistent of late that it's becoming frightening. And lastly, you've got your AM-slow-golden-hits, courtesy of my second favorite Canadian collective.

Animal Collective Peacebone
Liars Houseclouds
The New Pornographers Adventures in Solitude

Get 'em while they're hot.

The Monday Morning Quarterback

2007-06-11T00:17:00.000-03:00

Busy week last week?

All the rage.

Filter has word on Kevin Drew's solo album: Broken Social Scene presents Spirit If...

Icky Leak.

Same fate.

Doomed.
No one's safe.

The New Pornographers My Rights Versus Yours

"...the resurgent Yankees (30-31) ... winning for the ninth time in 11 games ... their longest winning streak since they won six straight last September."

Kells is a hot (and fascinating) topic. And Nelly Furtado had a big show that resulted in some really good writing.

Stream: Ryan Adams ft. Sheryl Crow Two

Muzak? Harpsichord Sounds? Synth Flute? Adult Contemporary?

2007-06-10T23:36:00.000-03:00

= Kanye West ft. John Mayer Bittersweet

An ode to the strain that domestic violence puts on an otherwise sweet relationship:
"Motherfucker, your mama's a bitch/ You know, domestic drama and shit/ All that attitude/ I'd never hit a girl but I'll shake the shit outta you"

seriously.

"It's raining (raining)."

2007-06-10T13:22:00.000-03:00

Birdman, Jr.

"I'm about to double up."

2007-06-09T15:46:00.000-03:00

Billboard has an article on Iron & Wine's new record, The Shepherd's Dog. A strong year of releases for sure, but this is one I had forgotten about. Sam Beam is so consistent that he often gets overlooked, but Woman King and the Calexico collaboration In the Reins were both great leaps forward, each beautiful and lush. I see his progression as very similar to that of the Mountain Goats, from lo-fi minimalist story-tellers to equally effective songwriters employing more pristine production and additional instrumentation.This is a cut from the soundtrack to the Scarlett Johansson movie In Good Company (a pinnacle of modern cinema). It's one of the most epic ballads I've ever heard but I feel like it has never gotten the praise it deserves. The version from the soundtrack has soaring harmonies but it also features an awkward acoustic bassline which has a melodic bounce to it that just counters everything that's soothing and heartbreaking about the song. This is a live recording from NPR's All Songs Considered that's bare and transfixing.

mp3
Iron & Wine The Trapeze Swinger

The Shepherd's Dog is out September 25th on Sub Pop.

"Eternal nothingness is fine if you happen to be dressed for it."

2007-06-04T17:07:00.000-03:00

(cobrasnake)

Christian Lorentzen recently wrote a piece for Time Out New York titled Why the hipster must die. The subtitle reads "A modest proposal to save New York cool" and I find the entire topic especially intriguing for a few reasons.

1) the "New York cool" is something I've always known about in myth - a romanticized notion I held as a kid - so being around it for a short while now, I'm starting to understand the dynamic.

2) hipster-dom has a pretty incestuous relationship with music scenes, especially here and especially 'indie-rock' (something pretty much ignored in the article, which makes me think I'm missing the point, but more on that later)

3) the people writing on hipsters always seem to be hipsters themselves, albeit of self-loathing/closeted nature
and most importantly,
4) I want to know what's next.

After name-dropping Vincent Gallo, Bright Eyes/the demise of LES, American Apparel, etc., the writer proceeds to make the argument that what NYC needs is a civil war between the Sweet (ironic) and Vicious (rebel w/o cause). But it's this whole 'underground becomes the overground' thing (Nirvana '91) that happens over and over again, and each time people pretend they're surprised/appalled but the fact that it gets a whole issue of TONY is a symptom in itself. But I don't want to argue the merits of the underground or anything like that for the simple reason that I don't get it.

When I said that I was surprised how blatantly overlooked the role of music was to the death of the hipster it's my attempt to reckon with what I don't understand. Never having been hip myself, the one thing I have any idea about it music. Not bars, or fashion, or real estate. So I try and bring it back to what I do know, only to realize hot shows (like PB&J a few months back) or parties like Motherfucker, etc. don't matter in terms of who's playing (ie, the reason I'd want to be a part of it) but just that they're playing at all. As if a laundry list of who you've shared a PBR with at the afterparty is just as (more) important than the merits of their last record. This just makes me think of Chris Ott recently commenting (and Marc Hogan responding) that people should "STOP TREATING MUSIC LIKE IT’S YOUR STICKER COLLECTION." But no one's read this far, and I want to talk about that another time.

Safe to say, I just don't get it and it's easy to blame that on youth. If you're me and not close with an editor or a phenom in and of yourself, then you're not yet to this stage in life- the middle ground between college and real life, where you do need a place (in the neighborhood of the moment) and to pay your rent, but you can go out every night because you don't have real responsibilities (god forbid).

So in the end it just leaves me wondering where my half (the latter half) of our generation will be when these people finally give up, stop bitching about gentrification and get real jobs which is unfortunately bound to happen. As much as Lorentzen wants to see it happen, I don't think we're the 'dangerous' ones that can bring merit back to 'cool'. If anything, I'm afraid we're all becoming so scared of the future that was the prospects get younger and younger (from the indie-yuppies as the oldest, back to the current crop of hipsters, down to me and further down the age ladder) we're all just getting safer and safer. Where a revival is in order, we drop the ball. Ashton killed trucker hats. London, stripes and us, cool.

Vampire Weekend Live @ Bowery Ballroom 6.02.07

2007-06-03T19:25:00.000-03:00

Blog posts on this band are beginning to accumulate and I have a feeling that they're only going to increase as the summer progresses. Playing Bowery is "movin' on up" in this city and the buzz continues to build...So I went to last night's show in order to check out White Rabbits, but it was the set before theirs that's truly worth noting. I saw Vampire Weekend a few months ago when they played a party for The Deli along with Apollo Sunshine. I was working the door, but I went in to check them out and I was thoroughly impressed. After the show they gave me their demo (Blue CD-R). The songs are catchy beyond belief and I was so impressed that I told some friends how they were the next big thing (despite the name; peep the Arctic Monkeys). In February I wrote that "with elements of Paul Simon's Graceland and vibes like an indie-rock version of Jimmy Buffet, the band brings a tangible comprehension of influence and will appeal to fans of Nick Diamonds' (er, Thorburn) projects, whether with Islands or the Unicorns." Turns out everyone with ears picked up on the Graceland homage and it turns out the boys (all Columbia grads) have a penchant for world music, specifically African guitar, but mostly I just hear Islands if they tried to make more "island"-sounding songs instead of expanding their band to 6 people and writing 9-minute epics.

After write-ups in Under the Radar, Rolling Stone and a few blogs with great foresight (Good Weather..., Stereogum, etc.) the group played Bowery for the first time last night. The show solidified everything you think about this band on first listen:
1) "This is ridiculously catchy. My little sister is going to love this but so is the guy at Other Music."
2) "Why in the fuck aren't these kids signed and being bled dry by a label that wants them to be the next Fall Out Boy. If 3rd wave emo can go plat, why can't world music?"
3) "I bet everyone will pogo up and down like idiots during 'Walcott' like it's 'Sk8er Boi'."The other thing last night's show reminded me of is how fickle people really are in this age where a new band 'breaks' onto the scene (read: Internet) every 20 minutes. The backlash on Vampire Weekend is going to be monumental. First, they play up the preppy, upper Manhattan vibe too much. It's in every interview/write-up and lead singer Ezra Koenig hams it up on-stage with his slim brown belt and white Dockers shorts to just above the knee. They're quirky and cutesy from their playful riffs to lyrics about Lil' Jon and reggaeton to Koenig's hiccuped high-notes. He somehow even managed to drop Duke University into between song banter. A bunch of Ivy Leaguers fetishizing African pop just isn't going to fly very long with the Brooklyn set, and I'm just surprised things are tranquil right now. Brace for impact, guys.

BUT, to be fair (and honest) there was absolutely zero of this at Bowery last night. Everyone was eating out of their hands with plenty of sing-a-longs, the biggest crowd of the night (dwarfing the headliners) and I overheard quite a few admittances of "Damn, these guys are pretty good," throughout the set. Their fans(& friends) are loyal, collected across the front rows for hand-claps, inside jokes and birthday cheers for a mutual friend. Each song shined (especially "Walcott" and "Oxford Comma") and if it wasn't a done deal before last night, these guys just hit the jackpot and should be announcing a very lucky label any day now.

Interweb Gossip

2007-06-02T21:58:00.000-03:00

My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl who saw Spencer Krug pass out at 31 Flavors last night right after he stormed out of band practice. Wolf Parade breaks up? Stay tuned. God knows, P4K'll have the scoop if it's legit.Viva Random Spirit Lover!

Golden Ghost / Woods / Julie Doiron / Calvin Johnson @ Don Pedro's 6.01.07

2007-06-02T20:59:00.000-03:00

Don Pedro's is an Ecuadorian restaurant which Todd P transforms into an all ages DIY show in a good sized performance space (albeit with no air conditioning). Despite the stuffiness of the room, the show was extremely pleasant with everyone in a great mood, just happy to be there.

Golden Ghost

A lo-fi project of Laura Goetz playing their first show as the band Golden Ghost. I was thoroughly impressed by their set of catchy little pop songs complete with tape loops, sound effects, group vocals and bare-bones guitar. Sounds like CocoRosie (Noah's Ark) or Jana Hunter with a little of the child-like voice of Joanna Newsom. They even covered Mariah Carey, Final Fantasy style.

Golden Ghost- I Go Out Anyway

Woods

Woods was a great duo, similarly lo-fi with their own set of tape loops. They were backed by a drummer who sometimes played bass, but it was their echoing harmonies and sneaky hooks that were both soothing and intriguing. Give them a listen, "Be Still" comes highly, highly recommended.

Julie Doiron

Julie is Canadian singer-songwriter who blew me away with charm. She has a voice which always sounds on the verge of going hoarse that occasionally sounded like Feist or smoky like Chan Marshall but with a bit less vocal polish. I just can't believe I didn't know of her before. Highlight: a cover of Pavement's "Shady Lane".

Julie Doiron- No More

Calvin Johnson

K Records head-honcho Calvin Johnson closed out the night with a strangely engaging set of crazy dances, offbeat monologues and some musical highlights from his extensive catalog. It was my first live experience with him and I'll have a much more extensive review of his portion of the show for Wireless Bollinger coming soon. Mostly, I just wanted to highlight the engaging, completely impressive cast of bands who opened the show.

*edit* - HERE's a full review of the show.

If you want a concert experience that doesn't feel like NYC, please go see a Don Pedro's show. And check out these bands.. they're worth a right-click.

Do's and Don'ts & Friends (Fatal Fame Vers.) vol. 1

2007-06-02T19:08:00.000-03:00

DON'T

=

or

uh oh.
Big Things Poppin'?; no.

New Issue at Wireless Bollinger

2007-05-27T23:37:00.000-03:00

The Blow
Poor Aim: Love Songs

Men are from Mars, women are from Venus, and I'm pretty sure The Blow's Khaela Maricich is from another galaxy (or at least Jupiter). Maricich first made a name for herself as a solo performer and member of Phil Elvrum's lo-fi masterwork The Microphones, but it’s with The Blow (her partnership with laptop guru and YACHT idea man Jona Bechtolt) that she has forged her role as a staple figure of indie female notoriety. Garnering their share of attention as a result of 2006's Paper Television, many were unaware of the spitfire heroine with seemingly unprecedented audacity that fronted The Blow. But it was on the band’s debut, limited edition, EP Poor Aim: Love Songs (originally released in 2004), that Maricich honed her electric persona by remaining so earnestly revealing that it became impossible not to commiserate when she was ailing or swagger when riding high. I've never met a girl like her, but through the record, she becomes an intimate companion. Gender aside, she is both candid and relatable for any victim of human interaction who might cringe at their social missteps or awkward blunders. Bold in her occasional inelegance and backed by Bechtolt's crafty electronic textures, the result is a balanced taste of uplifting, frisky numbers that lyrically reflect a sometimes clumsy personal discourse.

Spiced up for a K records re-issue, Poor Aim: Love Songs now contains a ‘remix’ section, including seven alternate versions on top of the six track, 17-minute burst and bustle of the original. Mostly minor embellishments, the subsequent re-imagining of the natural tracks do provide playful, if not entertaining, interpretations. Constructed by mostly Washington-based artists, friends and tour-mates, the remix portion is a friendly affair, as even Jonah and Khaela get in on the action, each redoing a track on their own. The YACHT remix of 'Hock It' conjures a rubber-band orchestra of loose drums, and loops the title line to create a recognisably different chorus from the blurty synths in the song's sexed-up verses. Successfully clubbed up, vocoder-ed vocal loops are a reoccurring theme on the album's second half, with each of the EP's stand out tracks receiving a similar chopped, spliced and screwed treatment. ...Read the rest.

2007-05-24T17:42:00.000-03:00

Sally Struthers and The Black Keys Team Up To Throw Live Music Fans A Proverbial Bone

I know you remember those late-night cable TV specials with Sally Struthers and the Christian Children’s Fund. For only cents a day, you could support a child’s health and overall well-being somewhere in Africa. Lately, as a music fan, I’ve felt like maybe I needed a sponsorship group, or at the very least a counseling group. In a day and age in which fans can end up paying for their favorite artist’s album with their entire paycheck, kidney, and first-born child, the musical panorama from a fan’s point of view is looking rather bleak. Flip me a quarter a day and I might be able to buy a major label release in a month or six. It wears on us as fans and most of all on our loyalty, to stores, bands, labels, and music in general...READ THE REST...

This (besides a good, free EP) is an example of the news stories I write every week for Tiny Mix Tapes which has been one of my favorite music websites for as long as I can remember. I've received the great opportunity to get involved with them and I highly recommend giving the site a chance if you're not familiar with it already. You might discover a great band (per day). All of my stories are collected here. Definitely check it out.

Retro Issue 1997

2007-05-21T14:48:00.000-03:00

Modest Mouse
The Lonesome Crowded West

The long-woven connection between Jesus Christ and rock 'n' roll appears as varied as it is storied. Through lyrics, myths, praise and persona, Christ's incorporation is unavoidable; as prevalent in the sounds of the secular, as in the hymns of the holy. We bequeath the role of prophet to our musical heroes in response to the boldness and poignancy of their words. Consider Jim Morrison, a mythically large creature, whose own belief in this fact contributed to his downfall. By buying into his own legend, Morrison deflated the mysticism by which he was surrounded.

The counterclaims are equally noteworthy, as the late ‘70s and early ‘80s saw Bob Dylan's rejection of the title, favoring Christian imagery and humbling the critical masses on albums like Slow Train Coming and Saved. For G.G. Allin, Christ was a namesake at the hands of his evangelical father and served as an antithesis to the manner in which he lived. Legend has it that Robert Johnson even sold his soul in spite of the Savior. But it is in Modest Mouse's front-man Isaac Brock that we see a departure from a tradition of mystical figures and martyrdom. Instead, in Brock we find a representation of the Messiah free of pretense, bare-faced and filled with cynicism – a sort of Christ complex for the Generation-X set – one that is burdened, dark and downright fed up. Read the rest...

Envelopes

2007-05-20T20:34:00.000-03:00

Tumblelog- ...short-form, mixed-media posts...

All in good fun.

Give it a look: Envelopes

Ratatat and Battles Live

2007-05-20T20:26:00.000-03:00

I've written two live reviews for Wireless Bollinger. The first is of Ratatat's recent show at Webster Hall and that can be seen here. The other is a review of an NYU-sponsored show featuring Dirty Projectors, O'Death, and Battles, and that can be read here, also on Wireless Bollinger.

Tris McCall & the New Jack Trippers / I'm Assuming You're All in Bands / Jersey Beat

2007-04-28T05:11:00.000-03:00

Tris McCall is a smart-aleck. Armed with wit and an electric harpsichord, "I'm Assuming..." takes aim at Brooklyn and the politics behind being in a band. McCall's pointed humor tackles gentrification and alcoholism over the blipping and buzzing of a Baldwin harpsichord, opting to exclude electric guitar from the entire album. Lyrical in-jokes about NYC will elicit laughs, but variance in mood and catchy rhymes will keep you listening. Vocally, McCall's style shifts between rapid delivery story-telling and more reserved melody of mid-temp electro-pop while bouncy numbers dominate the record riding drum beats both real and programmed. Recorded live and with an impressive cast of musicians, including Charles Bissell of the Wrens, the album is raw enough to sound authentic but with ideal production for eclectic instrumental layering. If Billy Joel plugged his piano in, co-opted some style and struggled in Williamsburg, he might've had half of the originality and experience that comes across in "I'm Assuming You're All In Bands." - Joseph Coscarelli

for THE DELI

David Bowie's High Line Festival

2007-04-28T05:09:00.000-03:00

Summer Music Festivals!!!

What: The H&M High Line Festival curated by David Bowie
Where: From the Meatpacking District to West Chelsea to Hells Kitchen
When: May 9 to 19
How Much: Prices vary by act
More info: www.highlinefestival.com

Closer to CMJ and South by Southwest than Bonnaroo or Lollapalooza, the High Line Festival (sponsored by H&M) is a chance to wear the same clothes as everyone around you (H&M?) and check out some of the hottest b(r)ands around (like H&M). Curator David Bowie has conjured up an impressive showing of his disciples, gathering some of the hottest names in music, comedy, film, performance and visual art. I know, I know, there are no hot names in visual art, but - undoubtedly with promises of mountains of blow and a chance to meet Iman - Bowie has lured neon names like the red-hot Arcade Fire (with the National), the cultish Polyphonic Spree, the wacky Deerhoof, the reclusive Daniel Johnston, the psychedelic Secret Machines and France's Wham (a.k.a. AIR). Ricky Gervais, the man behind "The Office," promises to be extremely British, representing the comedy portion of the festival. Spread across the city's finest venues (including Radio City Music Hall, Theatre at MSG and Hammerstien Ballroom) and backed by live-music behemoth Live Nation, High Line might make your pockets considerably lighter, but I hear the summer line at H&M is a steal.

- Joseph Coscarelli

Arctic Monkeys / Favourite Worst Nightmare / Domino Records [2007]

2007-04-28T05:07:00.000-03:00

Last set of WSN album reviews for the semester.

Arctic Monkeys
Favourite Worst Nightmare
Choice cuts:
"The Bad Thing," "505," "Teddy Picker"

Instead of going the way of the Killers and reliving the nightmare that was "Sam's Town," the youthful Brits with the inane name rewrote a page of the Strokes' handbook and did it the "Room on Fire" way. The Strokes squeezed out two solid albums, getting by on little more than squealing riffs and a healthy dose of cool. On "Favourite Worst Nightmare," the Arctic Monkeys replicate the mischievous sensation of their wildly successful debut, spewing similar stories with charm, wit and small-town sex appeal.

Like less dysfunctional Libertines or a less jaded Pulp, Arctic Monkeys rep the UK with that same signature snarl. From the leading track, the breakneck speed of "Brianstorm," complete with its distorted vocal line, resonates like the Monkeys of well, last year. It's not broke, and they sure as hell don't need to fix it. Like "Riot Van" from their debut "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not," they even drop the drums for a track, giving way to the dreamy reverb of "Only Ones Who Know."

Most vital, though, is the snarky, accented sneer of Alex Turner. Those familiar with the band know he has two modes: his higher register of drunken ecstasy and the low end of a groggy hangover. Whichever he employs, Turner has a flair for character study, giving us Anglophiles voyeuristic insight into seedy Sheffield while maintaining universality. Last time, the band relented when the sun went down, but on "Nightmare," they force you to see your mistakes by the light of the morning sun. Small-town shit or big-city hustle, Turner knows the same blokes and birds as you, from the bruisers to the heartbreakers - and it's this realization that keeps us listening the second time around.

- Joseph Coscarelli

New Website: Wireless Bollinger

2007-04-19T03:27:00.000-03:00

Wireless Bollinger: Weekly rock webzine started late last year out of Australia

Landmark Review: My Blood Valentine's Loveless by Joseph Coscarelli

Coming Soon: Ratatat live review, Battles live review, Modest Mouse- Lonesome Crowded West (retro review)

Blonde Redhead / 23 / 4AD [2007]

2007-04-19T03:26:00.000-03:00

Blonde Redhead: WSN REVIEW
23
Choice cuts:
"Dr. Strangeluv," "Spring and by Summer Fall," "Heroine"

Avant-garde Blonde Redhead has retained its relevance for almost 15 years. By delicately shifting each album's dynamics, the band's canon is inarguably diverse, with the bass-driven "Fake Can Be Just as Good" and the synth-heavy "Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons." Blonde Redhead's latest effort, "23," takes the dreamy, orchestral route, with lush atmospherics and dense production.

Lead vocalist Kazu Makino is the band's linchpin. Her high-pitched, ghostly voice is layered for effect and weaves in and out of each song's thick noise. Like a subdued Björk, she guides the album's strongest tracks, including the epic "23," the rhythmic march of "Heroine" and the band's most accessible track to date, "Dr. Strangeluv." Makino's vocals are no longer abrasive and she rides a gentler melody, integrating soaring keyboards, chimes and cowbell. "Silently" sounds like it could be a rather straightforward Cranberries track from 1994, while Makino's husband, Amaedo Pace, assumes vocal duties for both "SW" and "Publisher," channeling Radiohead with startling accuracy.

The band's greatest strength is its malleability, playing chameleon to an array of influences including noise-rock, shoegaze, no-wave and psychedelia. While Blonde Redhead may never escape Sonic Youth comparisons, "23" exemplifies natural progression and is an acceptable addition to the band's increasingly grandiose back catalog.

- Joseph Coscarelli

Mook / The Eggs EP / Battle of the Bands Submissions

2007-04-19T03:23:00.000-03:00

Mook: Read about all the bands and vote HERE

Life, too often one beauty pageant after another, is best when a couple of goofy-looking, poorly dressed guys (a lá Pavement) can get their shit together and rock a little. Mook does exactly that. A spunky little four-piece, Mook displays an instrumental proficiency, but never sacrifices its indie-rock roots with a detour into prog. Instead, the start-and-stop influx of overdriven guitar and dirty organ provide the platform on which the vocals dominate. Descriptive, literate lyrics border on verbose but their sung/spoke delivery is sprinkled with carefully placed harmonies, making them sugary-sweet. Like Islands with less Paul Simon worship, the jazzy guitar work of Karate, handclaps and half-time, Mook's astute manipulation of influence give the band a familiar charm and a unique flair.

Their entry "The Eggs" EP is brimming with quirky potential and is instantly digestible thanks to the lively interplay between the keys and the six string. Their song "Quiet Sounds" is a hit, an attitude-infused foot-tapper that is not far off from the ever-so-hot pop-stomp of OK Go. Get these guys some treadmills and a choreographer and they're the next big thing.

- Joseph Coscarelli

CD of the Month: !!! Review on side bar of the Deli website

2007-04-06T17:26:00.000-03:00

New Deli CD of the Month (April): "Myth Takes" by !!! (chk chk chk)

Sweaty club fiends need subtlety in their dance music like they need conversation in their nightlife; they prefer to just bump and grind. On the contrary, indie music dorks would rather be barraged with sonic intricacies than beaten over the head with thick bass and disco beats that might just get their hips gyrating. Fortunately for the centrist in us all, dance-punk veterans !!! cover all the bases on Myth Takes, combining Funkadelic absurdity and noisy guitars, resting them like a blanket over their knack for pop music. Deep and spastic vocals provide back-up ammunition for a percussive gun show, adding to the wall of commotion including crashing cymbals, thumping bass, and wild tambourine. !!! find the groove like X marked the spot and cause an uproar in the process- both in your speakers and on the dance floor. Myth Takes is far more cohesive than the band's back-catalog; !!! has perfected pacing as hook-laden shout-a-longs link seamlessly with ass-shaking club bangers. Tracks like "Must Be The Moon" could provide the band's launching pad and hint that it may be only a matter of time before the band leaves their contemporaries in the dust. "Infinifold" even supplies the night's final song, a tinkering piano ballad for last call, when the sweaty hipsters can grab their special someone by their skinny jeans and (slow)dance the ironic blues away.

- by Joseph Coscarelli .

Jarvis Cocker / Jarvis / Rough Trade [2007]

2007-04-06T17:15:00.000-03:00

Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis
Choice cuts: "Disney Time," "Don't Let Him Waste Your Time," "I Will Kill Again"

Former Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker has taken his wry wit to the piano bench and crafted an expertly arranged condemnation of today's social landscape. "Jarvis" blends pessimism and bittersweet humor to produce a sardonic realism. Traditional pop arrangements of modest strings and guitar float gently around the anchor of keys.

In typical Cocker fashion, "Jarvis" is sex-infused lyrically, teetering between sensual sophistication and tawdry smut. The latter garners laughs when Cocker describes "some skinny bitch in some hot pants" on "Don't Let Him Waste Your Time." The song summons the feel-good stomp of "Instant Karma," coming off like John Lennon.

"Jarvis" is equal parts ballad and foot-tapping post-punk. "Black Magic" sounds like Spoon (which sounds like Pulp), before bursting into a Stones-y chorus ripe for a sing-a-long. "I Will Kill Again" perfects the disillusioned ballad: a portrait of a man in transition, considering the morality of pornography and expressing doubts about a new marriage.

Pessimistic uncertainty carries throughout the entire record. Cocker wrestles with internal demons (like fatherhood and celebrity) and the weight they carry. A lyricist first and foremost, Cocker isn't afraid to tackle the universal and it's timeliness, as he reminds us that indeed, "cunts are still running the world." Its eponymous title is a clear declaration. This is Jarvis' record and he proves he can stand on his own two feet, without the crutch of a band or a booming Britpop scene.
- Joseph Coscarelli

WSN Reviews

Smore or Fire feature- Everybody's Working for the Weekend

2007-04-06T17:11:00.000-03:00

Smoke or Fire

Timbaland / Shock Value / Interscope [2007]

2007-03-30T11:32:00.000-03:00

Timbaland
"Timbaland Presents: Shock Value"
Choice cuts: "Oh Timbaland," "Bounce," "2 Man Show"

Fresh off a mind-blowing 2006 for Timbaland productions (heard of Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado or The Pussycat Dolls?) "Shock Value" is a lesson in striking while the iron is hot. Tim's beats are scorching, as usual, with brazen synth, machine-gun high-hats and syncopated rhythms that pop and lock in traditional Timbaland fashion.

A who's who of now and then, "Shock Value" knows no genre boundaries. Guests include Fall Out Boy and Elton John, as well as muse Missy Elliot, Dr. Dre and JTim. A modern-day conductor with a low, rolling voice, Tim chooses where and when to shine the spotlight and usually succeeds in capturing the brightest moment, whether it be his own unique arrangements - like the handclaps and quick guitar lead on "Oh Timbaland" - or the contributions of his scene-stealing cohorts - as in the searing Missy verse on "Bounce."

What the new generation of "Promiscuous Girls" (most of whom are not yet of legal age) fails to realize is that Timbaland was churning out hits (remember Ginuwine?) when they were still decorating Barbie's Dream House. Presenting stop-and-go club bangers ("Release" is a "SexyBack" remix in disguise) with a pinch of the smooth ("Fantasy" and "Scream" recall Furtado's "Say It Right"), the result is a 17-track tutorial that could be called "How to Take Over the Radio ver. 2007."

- Joe Coscarelli

Go, Go, Go, Go

El-P / I'll Sleep When You're Dead / Def Jux [2007]

2007-03-27T01:14:00.000-03:00

El-P
"I'll Sleep When You're Dead"
Choice cuts:
"Tasmanian Pain Coaster," "Up All Night," "Drive"

"I'll Sleep When You're Dead" begins with David Lynch's tragic heroine, Laura Palmer, describing a fall in space, culminating with a burst into flames. The epic journey to follow is akin to this Lynchian, high-speed descent. The rhymes are convoluted yet insightful (El-P's flow is both wordy and witty), and they zip by at warp speed surrounded by space-age synthesizers and futuristic sound effects.

Apocalyptic themes promise a worldly downfall as El-P plays frenetic oracle over music more analogous to experimental rock than your little brother's bling-hop. Songs like "Tasmanian Pain Coaster" expand into progressive-electronic outros never fearing ambitious musical hooks. Lower in the mix are El-P's verses. They are crowded with ominous prophecy, frantic with description like a Tolkien novel. The verses favor detail in storytelling, like in "Habeas Corpses," the futuristic tale of robotic love on a prison ship.

El-P spits with the urgency most emcees reserve for diss tracks, as though his reputation is being eternally challenged. Certain the game doesn't get his "whole existence," El-P pronounces himself "a natural B-boy brainiac who'll smack you out your mittens" on "Smithereens." This chip-on-the-shoulder style results in searing verses to match his innovation and atmospheric production, producing a truly progressive rap album on which each song sounds like the soundtrack to a catastrophic, science-fiction car chase. �

- Joseph Coscarelli

Washington Square News

...

2007-03-09T21:24:00.001-03:00

I just realized that none of the links worked. They should all be fixed.

Albert Hammond Jr. / Yours to Keep / Rough Trade [2007]

2007-03-09T20:57:00.000-03:00

3 stars

Albert Hammond Jr., the bouncy-haired Stroke with the three-piece suits and smooth rhythm-guitar lines, crafts his first solo venture, a respectable combination of New York confidence in the form of distorted guitar hooks and SoCal cool.

Not straying from the familiar sound so closely associated with The Strokes, "In Transit" begins like something from "Is This It," intertwining guitar and metronome-like drums that build to a catchy chorus. "Yours to Keep" is at its best when Hammond strays from this nu-NYC sound of 4/4 garage-stomp, incorporating vocal influences from the classics, channeling John Lennon/Oasis and their knack for '60s brit-pop on "Blue Skies." "Bright Young Thing" has a simple melody reminiscent of Lou Reed on a happy day and Guided By Voices and Buddy Holly covers ("Postal Blowfish" and "Well... All Right," respectively) provide influential reference points.

An unassuming character, Hammond never raises his voice or the music's volume. Instead of being dominated by a parade of famous friends (guest appearances include Sean Lennon, Ben Kweller and Julian Casablancas), Hammond retains autonomy with smooth vocals and signature guitar riffs á la The Strokes. Hammond scratches the solo-album itch, neither forging ahead nor offending listeners with the typical indulgence and solo experimentation they tend to propagate.

- Joseph Coscarelli

Read it on WSN

Against Me! Feature Story

2007-03-06T01:48:00.000-03:00

AGAINST ME!

I have the full interview transcribed. Good read for any AM! fans. Email me.

Best Album Ever (WSN's weekly throwback review)

2007-03-06T01:47:00.000-03:00

Neutral Milk Hotel / In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

The curtain peals back to reveal Jeff Mangum's voice, double-layered for texture, riding a start-stop acoustic guitar rhythm. The hum of an accordion gently glides parallel to a story of a royal, albeit carnal, romance. So begins the journey of "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea."

The stage has been set for the musical three-ring circus to follow. Full of ragtag lyrical characters including a two-headed boy, Anne Frank and Jesus Christ, musical diversity is matched lyrically step for step as organ, flugelhorn, singing saw and zanzithophone diversify the wall of fuzz that exists at the album's chaotic core.

Mangum is ringleader, crooning and warbling his way through tales of ghosts and synthetic flying-machines, each track combining dizzying layers of instrumentation. Mangum and company have not sequenced a collection of songs, but have crafted an album in the truest sense of the word by cementing each song in a distinct context of characters over music that is both haunting and tuneful.

Most notable about "Aeroplane" is the distinction between creativity and pretension. Never eccentric for the sake of being so, every otherworldly sound builds melody and every abstract lyric piques curiosity.

Both seminal and overdetermined, "Aeroplane" is as much acoustic guitar as deafening fuzz and equal doses of impassioned howling.

Before the curtains close for good on the album and ultimately the band's career, Mangum's encore, "Two Headed Boy Part 2", will shatter your heart and make you long for the warmth of a parent or lover.

When Mangum's guitar is dropped and the studio door is heard closing, the only thing left to do is play it again.

Washington Square News Link

Do Make Say Think / You, You're A History in Rust / Constellation [2007]

2007-03-06T01:41:00.000-03:00

4 stars
Choice cuts: Bound to Be That Way/You, You're Awsome

With the cathartic energy of Explosions in the Sky and the grace of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Canada's Do Make Say Think elaborates on the blooming instrumental rock genre. The post-rock tag is confining as DMST expands its improvisational techniques with jazz influences, synthetic tones, loops and samples.

The guitar-bass-drum combination that makes up modern instrumental rock is rearranged on "You, You're a History in Rust," with cascading drums and crashing cymbals defining the album's lush atmosphere. Often guided by driving bass, guitar takes a backseat to a pounding and talented rhythm section.

Memorable guitar is not totally absent, though, leading songs like "The Universe!" with reckless abandon as overdriven riffs start and stop to create a pulsing buildup. Vocals are sparse but melody is not. Flute, strings, saxophone and trumpet create http://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifmelodic leads at the hands of the band's multi-instrumentalists, seen in the subtle violins on "Herstory of Glory."

Like early Broken Social Scene on steroids, "History" benefits from its singular vision of building tension to a breaking point, culminating in a beautiful release. Smooth pacing assures the album never drags and each harmonic deliverance builds tangentially to the next passage. The listener has to have an attention span, but patience is rewarded when the fog clears to reveal hooks in newfound clarity. Do Make Say Think compels one to endure escalation, but at each pinnacle's crescendo the talented musicians create grooves with a cinematic quality of growth through investment.

- Joseph Coscarelli

Washington Square News

Elvis Perkins / Ash Wednesday / XL Recordings [2007]

2007-02-23T17:45:00.000-03:00

4.5 Stars
Choice cuts: While You Were Sleeping, Sleep Sandwich, Ash Wednesday

Elvis Perkins plays traditional folk music with supplemental flourishes, lyrically and musically, that will not allow his heartbreaking ballads to be buried in the singer-songwriter stockpile. Premature comparisons to Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen supply lofty expectations for a debut album but Ash Wednesday's unfaltering authenticity allows Perkins to hold a candle the greats of yesterday.

Perkins' backing band, Dearland, provides expertly restrained additions in the form of sublime strings, delicate background vocals, and thick double-bass. However, it is Perkins' versatile voice through which homage is paid to folk-influences, and his keen ear for catchy melody around which the album revolves, anchored by heartbreaking and instinctive lyrics. Like a Jeff Buckley reincarnate, Perkins floods Ash Wednesday with sorrowful laments without sacrificing composure.

At its most cheery, gang vocals in "May Day!" or the Highway 61-shuffle of "All the Night Without Love" provide bouncy backdrops to melancholy lyrics. The remaining songs pair instrumental and thematic sorrow to create an album-long catharsis. Inspired by unimaginable tragedy (Perkins lost his father to AIDS and mother in the attacks of 9/11), Wednesday is candid in its words: "No one will survive Ash Wednesday alive/No soldier, no lover, no father, no mother."

Moments of abstract lyricism and vocal delivery recall Neutral Milk Hotel but it is moments of directness, like the flawless simplicity of The O.C.-approved "While You Were Sleeping", that make Ash Wednesday timeless as Perkins sings of family, tragedy and loss . Sticking to what he knows, Perkins shapes everything familiar about folk, from Dylan to Buckley and Mangum, into a fresh composite, so that when he promises, "Everyone will know who I am," you're inclined to believe him.

- Joseph Coscarelli

Here it is online at WSN.

Bound Stems [now online]

2007-02-21T11:28:00.000-03:00

Glorious Noise: Bound Stems: Link: Here