A New Semester. (And I Love Norwegians.)
When you get to where you wanna go
And you know the things you wanna know
You’re smiling.(1)
- Robbie Williams mashed up in Norwegian Recycling – In This Velvet [↩]
Archived entries for Music
Asian Male Seeks Female Rock Vocalist.
It’s not a secret that I have a thing for girls who can sing and play instruments.
Preferably both but hey — not that picky. I don’t mean just random girls or one of my talented friends, she has to be a rock star and at least semi-famous but she does not have to be at all physically attractive and I don’t have to know anything about her as a person. All I need to know is that she has a great voice and plays something and that’s plus 8 points. And 8 points is pretty high on my scale.(1) Continue reading…
Footnotes:- And while we’re being honest here, she doesn’t have to be a “she”. I may have a man crush on Ben Gibbard, Colin Meloy, and possibly more. [↩]
Panic loses exclamation point. Grows up?
Ok ok… I admit it… I listen to Panic at the Disco (previously known as “Panic! at the Disco”). It’s a guilty pleasure and I’m not proud of it, but I have to say that their new album is surprisingly good.
It’s been three years since their platinum album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, and three years can feel like an eternity in this industry. It’s no wonder then that they start their album with a song that cheerfully exclaims:
Oh, how it’s been so long
We’re so sorry we’ve been gone
We were busy writing songs for… you!You don’t have to worry
‘Cause we’re still the same
Band.
Contemplated for weeks. Decided it’s OK.
After weeks of listening to Sigur Ros’ new album, Med sud I eyrum vid spilum endalaust (which translates to “With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly”), I’ve decided I’m ready to take a stance.
For the uninitiated, Sigur Ros is an Icelandic band known for lush, thick songs that could pass for compositional epics. (Also, more recently, they were named as being “Friends of the United Nations.”) It’s hard to descibe exactly what they sound like but if you could imagine a mix between Coldplay and Snow Patrol singing in a language you can’t possibly understand and in a smoother falsetto than anything Chris Martin could ever conjure up with a string quartet backing them up and then make them more dynamic than 99% of the bands you’ve been listening to (think of some kid playing with the volume button on your radio except more refined and planned) and drench all of that into a bucket of reverb, you would kind of get something close to Sigur Ros.
Coldplay releases album. EMI hits jackpot.
After giving the new Coldplay album, Vida La Viva Or Death And His Friends, a thorough (if a bit low-128kb/s-quality) listen, I’ve come to conclude that this album is going to be on the iPods of little pop kids everywhere within a matter of weeks.
Despite the (pretty accurate) accusations that Coldplay is just a less talented Travis or how they seem to really like to steal hooks and lines from Radiohead and U2 or that this may be the stupidest album title ever conceived, the one thing you have to give Coldplay is that they’ve got their formula down to a science…
NYC Update: Part 2
Hopefulness is tantamount to hopelessness
And I accept that it’s time for a change but not in
Places like this with people like these
Los Campesinos! at Bowery Ballroom.
I finally got to see a concert at a New York City venue! AND it was Los Campesinos! at Bowery Ballroom.
Los Campesinos is a weird band. Really weird. Not particularly talented (save maybe the lead guitarist), the seven-member group has just recently put out their debut album (Hold On Now, Youngster) but unlike other not particularly talented bands, they don’t make up for it by singing songs people can relate to or writing well put together power pop sessions or emo ballads. No, sir. Los Campesinos! makes up for it by being really excited.
The Uber-Hipster, Super Scene Band Still Rocks.
After giving Death Cab’s new album, Narrow Stairs, a couple of listens, this is what you need to know: You’ll either hate it or you’ll love it but either way you’re going to want to listen to it.
The album itself lacks the cohesiveness and smooth qualities that Transatlanticism and The Photo Album had, but when seen as a collection of songs, it is quite possibly their best yet. (That said, I did get a prerelease so the song orders might be different on the real version due out on May 13th.)
Die-hard fans who are still nostalgic of the good old Transatlanticism days will undoubtedly have their criticisms. Ben Gibbard’s voice sparkles with studio polish (or maybe vocal lessons), but they’ve turned in the overly-produced tracks of Plans and resorted to heavy bass lines, drum beats, and synth effects. The album will give off an aura of jamais vu to the obsessed (such as myself) who were expecting something they’ve heard before only to find the album completely different from previous DCFC works.