Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Must See: "Just One of the Guys" Video

Just a few thoughts on the new video Jenny Lewis directed for a song off her upcoming album. The album in question will be called The Voyager and is slated for release July 29th, 2014, which also happens to be my parents anniversary. Coincidence? ....yeah...probably.....


My neuron misfires, in the order they occurred:
  1. OMG, Jenny Lewis! I LOVE HER!!! Oh, god, I miss Rilo Kiley.....
  2. Kristen Stewart went up a few notches in my book. Her range of facial expressions in this video alone surpasses anything she did in the whole Twilight Saga.
  3. Anne Hathaway looks gorgeous. Haters gonna hate....but shit, she makes short hair look hot. Almost makes me want to ditch my Rapunzel-esque locks. Well, that and 99 degree weather. Seriously. Fuck Texas.
  4. That suit. 
  5. That guitar. Where do you even fucking find one of those?! Is it even street legal?!
  6. Holy shit....is that the girl from 21 Jump Street? Yes. Yes it is. (Her name is Brie Larson. She also played Envy Adams in Scott Pilgrim vs The World in case you haven't seen 21 Jump Street. Seriously, you need to see 21 Jump Street. Fucking Hilarious.)
  7. Kristen Stewart is kind of hot as a guy. Is that just me?
  8. I really like this song. Story of my life when I was at school. Because, no matter how cool you are, girls are never considered "bros." Learned that lesson the hard way. Cool story, Jeopardy Kid.
  9. I am so excited Jenny Lewis is releasing a new album -- she's a great artist, solo or otherwise. 
I love it when famous people do seriously cool shit like dressing in drag for an indie music video. Quite frankly, I wished it would happen more often. Because that's what I would do if I were famous.

I'll shut up so y'all can watch the video.


Monday, July 14, 2014

Special Edition: Adam's Rant - Grimes New Song

You may remember from an earlier Adam's Rant (approximately 2 years ago -- again, sorry about the hiatus....I was seriously trying to get my shit together), I introduced you to Grimes on the premise that, since I like her dreamy dubstep, you must hear it, too. In case you didn't know, last month, Grimes released her first song in .... well, approximately 2 years (apparently, that's how long it takes to get your shit together). Well, roughly two weeks ago, I got the following message on the Facebook:

Clearly, Adam was distressed. Like ALL CAPS distressed. Oh my.

To be honest, I hadn't taken the time to listen to the new track, "Go" ft. Blood Diamonds. Sure, I shared it on social media and filed it away to listen to later. Later turned out to be over this past weekend.



First, let me just say -- and this may be to Adam's dismay -- I actually really liked it. But I do understand where he's coming from and he made valid points. No, it is not typical Grimes. The strange yet ethereal vocals a la Alex Winston mixed with Enya....are gone. Not that the vocals on "Go" are bad, it's just -- they're too pretty. I know that doesn't make sense so let me elaborate. If anyone has seen the new "Les Miserables" film, I'm just going to use that as an example. There are scores of people who could sing "I Dreamed A Dream" better than Anne Hathaway, but the fact that her voice broke in places made the song better. It is possible to sacrifice prettiness for raw feeling. It almost sounds like a different person at times. Of course, on the positive side, it does demonstrate her range and I'm not hating hearing her sing at full voice.

The actual music is cool but I feel like I've heard it before. It's very similar to Katy Perry's "Dark Horse" or, let's be honest, any R&B duet with a solo female artist--especially a soprano. Please don't get me started on Katy Perry. I will say only one thing about her -- she knows how to get on the fucking radio. And I would say that this song definitely was aiming for the radio.

As for the Rihanna comment.....Oh my god totally. Don't get me wrong...I like Rihanna. She has a unique voice -- but so does Grimes. I think it really underscores the sorry state of the mainstream music industry that they feel they need to latch on to the hottest artist of the day just to sell music. Then, in turn, new artists feel that in order to be noticed they need to emulate what's already out there. Culture doesn't evolve with this mindset. It just sort of festers until we get Justin Bieber.

But, although I deeply sympathize with Adam's disappointment, there is a silver lining. A bunch of people who have no idea who Grimes is may fall in love with the cozy familiarity of "Go," and then subsequently, her older stuff. I feel that this is a good thing.

Besides, it's only one song. I'll try to reserve full judgment until the album drops.

Oh, and Adam....If you do decide to put The Rumble Pack on the back burner and become a legendary dubstep artist, I will gladly man the vocoder.

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Rest in Punk, Tommy Ramone

It's a sad day, fellow Music Sluts.
Tom Erdelyi, aka Tommy Ramone, has died at the age of 65. He was the last surviving member of the original Ramones. He played the drums, essentially providing the heartbeat of the music we know as punk.


To this next generation, The Ramones are just a cool logo on a Hot Topic t-shirt. That punk is what Green Day does, that it's a throwback to the 90s. No....no....Children, the Ramones shaped what music became in the late 70s and early 80s. They are considered the first American punk rock band and any rocker worth their salt lists them as an influence. They boiled rock & roll down to its bare essentials and the genre was better for it.

So,Goodnight, Tommy Ramone. And thanks.