Every now and then I get into this mood where the “extended hook” is very pleasing to me. That’s one reason Teenage Fanclub gets me—they like to do this thing where they have one repeating chord progression at the end of a song that lasts for two minutes or more. This could be spawned out of pure laziness, but I couldn’t care less. Sometimes, it’s just what I need—one solidly repeating thing that sounds so cool, it could go on forever. This seems to be the modus operandi of Brooklyn’s dream pop darlings Here We Go Magic, and though they haven’t mastered it, they could be well on their way. Read the rest of this entry >>
Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category
Record Geek Heaven: Here We Go Magic “Pigeons”
Friday, August 27th, 2010Record Geek Heaven: The Henry Clay People “Somewhere on the Golden Coast”
Wednesday, August 25th, 2010There are a lot of bands around right now diving head first into the carefree, fist-pumping pool of classic rock, usually while dressed in T-shirts of their favorite punk bands. But while most would simply tread water after such an endeavor, The Henry Clay People thrash around stubbornly, like ducks fighting over soggy bread crumbs.
If it’s difficult to discern whether this is an insult or a compliment, maybe that’s because I’m not sure either. Read the rest of this entry >>
Download a Free Copy of New Steve Albini-Recorded Album!
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010A really cool band from Brooklyn called Grandfather just finished recording their debut full-length, titled “Why I’d Try”, at Electrical Audio with none other than the man himself, Steve Albini.
Actually, I had him at #4 on my list of The Top Ten Record Makers of Today, but once you get into the top four, everyone is so close in skill and brainpower they can all contend with each other. One thing is for sure–Albini remains unmatched in his ability to transfer the sound of a band in a room to tape with hardly any disturbance whatsoever.
Knowing this about Albini, and that Grandfather’s lead vocalist is also their drummer, I’m really excited about possibly getting to see them perform one day. They have that progressive style that Albini champions and boast huge, dissonant guitars and a pummeling rhythm section. But, Grandfather also seem to know the meaning of a pop hook.
The band has self-released “Why I’d Try” on CD and limited edition vinyl. Fortunately, they are offering the entire album as a free download as well (with artwork and everything–classy!). All of this can be found right here at their website. Any fan of Albini, or just good rock music, should check it out immediately.
Record Geek Heaven: The Top 10 Worst Neil Young Albums
Monday, August 9th, 2010Neil Young has released nearly 50 albums in his 50+ year career. So obviously, he has to have a good amount of crap in his catalog. Last week, I counted down what are, in my humble opinion, The Top Ten Best Neil Young Albums. This week, I’ll have a little fun with one of my favorite songwriters and poke a little at some of his biggest missteps. Read the rest of this entry >>
Record Geek Heaven: The Top Ten Best Neil Young Albums
Thursday, August 5th, 2010Neil Young is one of my three favorite songwriters of all time. He represents a lot of different moods and mental states in my opinion, but the one overall quality I love about Young is his stubbornness–no, obsessiveness–to be nothing but himself and what he wants to be at that given moment. Granted, this can make for horrible as well as amazing moments. For now, I’m focusing on the amazing ones–here are the Top 10 Best Neil Young Albums. Read the rest of this entry >>
Record Geek Heaven: Arcade Fire Poised for Great Takeover
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010Canada’s Arcade Fire—one of the world’s most beloved modern rock bands—put out their new album “The Suburbs” today on Merge Records. After a few strategically released mp3 downloads to stir the pot a bit, the band’s third album—the follow-up to two of the most talked –about releases of last decade—should be able to accomplish what “Neon Bible” just missed, and debut comfortably at no. 1 on the Billboard 200. Read the rest of this entry >>
Record Geek heaven: Sun Kil Moon “Admiral Fell Promises”
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010It seems Mark Kozelek wants us to believe he just breathes all of his songs—that they are effortless, sporadic chunks of creative masturbation he can toss off whenever he so pleases. This may explain the stitched-together nature of Sun Kil Moon’s fourth album, “Admiral Fell Promises”, and the stone-eyed, monotone delivery of its weighty themes. It could also have something to do with the fact that every song is stripped down to the key ingredients of Kozelek’s work—his voice and guitar.
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Record Geek Heaven: Power Pop on the Rise? We’ll See.
Sunday, June 27th, 2010It seems Power Pop might actually be undergoing a sort of resurgence. WhatwhatWHAAAT? How can this be? I mean, for something to have a resurgence, it must have been popular in the past at some point, right? OK, so maybe a different word is necessary. However you describe it, those old Beatle-esque jangle-pop sounds are coming back into music again, and I like it! Well, most of it. Read the rest of this entry >>
Spanish Chica Rapper loves KISS!
Sunday, June 27th, 2010Who says there are no more good music videos? Check out this hardcore Spanish rapper scantily dressed in KISS and fighting off the thugs that surround her ferrari. It is good to know that music all over the world sucks (and rules simultaneously) as much as it does at home. Seriously, this has to be one of the best videos I have seen in ages. It could stand alone on its artistic merit, but once the costumer came up with the KISS idea, platinum baby…Double Platinum.









