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.

Album Release Tuesday: Vox Humana Preview

Vox Humana

by Papertwin

Impression:  I'm not a big fan of techno and electronica. If I do listen to it, it tends to be lyric heavy and very pop-py (I know...that's barely even a description....it's been a long day). But, I approach life with the assumption that practically everything is an acquired taste and I'll try anything once - twice, thrice, maybe even 15 times! - until I like it or at least until I don't want to bash my brains in. It worked with sparkling mineral water and it even (sort of) worked with Maroon 5 -- now I wait about 25 to 30 seconds before I change the radio station, which, coincidentally, is the amount of time it takes me to decide if I want to deal with that shit for 3 to 5 minutes. Anyway, when I started listening to Vox Humana, I was concerned it was going to end up being a half hour plus of the same crap I could go to a nightclub to hear if I was really feeling masochistic. It was all synthesized beats and scales and I was all like "Oh noes!" But then the intro to "Alkaline" ended and the dream-like waves of sound began. The guy has a very mellow voice and the overall sound reminds me of a more energetic Walter Meego track mixed with New Wave punk a la Depeche Mode and The Cure. Not surprisingly, they list The Cure as one of their influence. I don't mind -- Who doesn't like The Cure? Am I right?! Anyway, their first EP provided excellent background music while I worked on a project for work. I would like to delve into the lyrics more because it sounded like there was more to them than just pretty words, but for right now, it's enough to get lost in the beats.

Songs I Enjoyed:  I loved "Sonar." I listened to the whole album (it's not very long) a couple of times to get a feel for the sound but I listened to this song probably like 6 or 7 times. I also enjoyed the mirrored vocals in "Whale" - while the lead singer sung the melody, a distorted track of what I assume was his voice was layered over top. I think the goal was to give the impression that it was part of a whale recording. Pretty much hit the mark -- it's super creepy but in a good way.

Sounds Like:  Dreamy synth-pop heavily influenced by early 80s punk

Buy it on:  June 17th, 2014

Song du Jour: Story of My Life

Same Mistakes

by The Echo Friendly

The Cast of "Girls"

Today's song I heard during the credits of HBO's "Girls" and it quite accurately simplifies how I'm feeling about pretty much my whole life.  For the record, I really didn't like Lena Dunham's character Hannah at first because she's just a tad (and I'm being generous) delusional and self-involved.  And then, as is my custom, I realized that I am Hannah, albeit 40lbs lighter and employed.  I'm having this sort of existentialist crisis right now and either no one noticed or no one cares.  Either way, I'm seriously freaking out.  I'm turning 25 this Friday and I am just now formulating a life plan but the thing is....I'm pretty sure it's way too late and I've completely blown my chance at becoming a functional, worthwhile adult.  About a week ago, I realized I made a huge mistake.  A colossal one, in fact and I realize that now but I'm still not sure why I'm paying so much for that.  I was young....I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up so I majored in Psychology.  I assumed alot of things that might've been true before the recession started.  That was naive -- I totally get that now.  And I really want to go forward with my life but I don't understand why so much backtracking has to be involved. 

 

 

And then, I start thinking back on past mistakes and people and I am amazed how many things I f*cked up and how many times I keep doing the same things, expecting different results.  Not just different results.  Better results.  According to Albert Einstein, that's insanity, which is a rather accurate description of the chaos that is going on inside my head.  But, I've decided that I have to make my own magic, even if it's uber scary, and thus, I'm giving myself a birthday present that I've put off way too long.  I'll explain in detail at a later time, mais bien sur, but while you're waiting, listen to this song. The style is what they call "dream pop," whatever the f*ck that means, but it's in the lyrics where I found relevance. It's off the "Love Panic" LP that The Echo Friendly will be releasing sometime in the near future. The video (which is after the jump) isn't anything particulary spectacular or visionary or whatever, but -- as I said -- it's about the song.

Call Me Crazy....

...But I think my local radio station may be blog stalking me.

Just humor me.  As a person who spews out my oh-so-witty thoughts with wild abandon onto the InterWebs--a "blogger" if I may--naturally, I have a (not-so) hidden reserve of narcissistic tendencies.  However, recent events have led me to believe that this accusation may not be solely based on my own admitted self-involvement.  Let me explain.

I recently noticed that aforementioned radio station has been playing songs that are oddly out of character.  Songs that have been featured (fairly) recently as Songs of the Day on my humble little corner of Cyberspace.  Now, it wouldn't seem unusual if K101 had actually been a decent radio station to begin with, but I think playing Gotye immediately after Selena Gomez' "I Love You Like A Love Song" seems highly suspicious....although, I must admit that the latter conglomeration of auto-tuned triteness is fast becoming my new favorite guilty pleasure.  Shhh....please don't tell anyone.  I beg of you.

Now, even I am not arrogant enough to believe something this preposterous without reason.  How would they even know about this small-time blog anyway?  Elementary, my dear Watson (which, FYI, wasn't actually said in the original Sherlock Holmes stories).  I, being a half-assed blog pimp extraordinaire, made sure my URL was smack-dab where they could see it--even though I usually try to keep my whereabouts a mystery (perhaps I'm not doing so well)-- in that e-mail that I sent to the radio station informing them that they've reached a new level of lame.  You all remember the smack in the face I recieved, don't you?  I do.  Those bastards.  But I digress.  Oh, and apparently one of the DJs follows me on twitter.  That could explain it, too. 

My point is that, if it is the case that the local DJs are stopping by for inspiration and song picks (because, let's face it, I'm better at this than they are) I would just like a little recognition because, due to the recent amount of airplay my picks have been getting, I clearly have a tasteful ear.  Perhaps help me out with a mention on air or some free blog pimping.  I'm not asking for a job (although if they asked me to DJ for an hour or two on my days off I wouldn't say 'no'.)  I just want my brilliance to be acknowledged.  And, some day, be monetarily compensated for it.  I'm looking at you K101.

Album Release Thursday.....

Because I was too lazy to do it Tuesday....Again, there is a whole bunch this week, so I'm going to be a slacker and just list them again.  Notable releases for this week include a new album by Ana Tijoux--if you remember, she was a song of the day a few months back and the Chilean rapper/singer has a whole host of songs for you to sink your teeth into;  Leonard Cohen is back being amazing--a special shout-out to my bestie Anabel, who also shares a soft spot for his soul-crushing bass;  Aretha Franklin's got a "best of" album for her fans;  and Standing Shadows--a band that twitter followed me and I have yet to share with you all--has a short EP out that I'm going to give a quick listen and review (Only 3 songs, so I encourage you to check them out as well.)  Yes, these are on the short list for a listen but there is a lot of awesomeness that came out this week.   As perusual, the asterisk(s) denote my heightened interest and the degree to which my curiousity has been stoked.

• Old Ideas by Leonard Cohen**
• Knew You Were Waiting by Aretha Franklin**
• More Beautiful Than Silence by K'naan *
• Out of Frequency by The Asteroids Galaxy Tour ***
• Nature Experiments by The Big Sleep*
• Golden Gate Groove: The Sound of Philadelphia 1973 by Various Artists
• La Bala by Ana Tijoux**
• Escort by Escort*
• 1966 by Karen Dalton
• Girls Who Look Like Me by Lightening Love**
• Jump Jump Dance by Jump Jump Dance**
• Like the Blood by Night Genes*
• WEEKENDS by pacificUV
• Clay Class by Prinzehorn Dance School*
• sami.the.great by sami.the.great***
• Strenghth to Survive by Soja*
• One by One by Standing Shadows***
• Headstock by The Few***
• Gone & Goner by TS & the Past Haunts*
• Easy Way Out by Virgin Forest**
• Love Lies by Kami Thompson**

Album Releases: October 18th

As y'all may have noticed, I've been really busy getting on the job search (just submitted my Teach for America application so Yay!) and helping out with family stuff.  As much as I like to listen through all the albums Spinner puts up, every week I go through and pick a few and then I can't find the time to give full attention/review that they deserve.  A majority of the time, I will have a free hour the next week and a whole crop of new albums will have replaced albums I wanted to review, so I have to change my plans.  I will still try to do this, but I think better idea is that, addition to my own thoughts on albums, I'll list the albums that are released every week -- and there are a bunch, believe me -- and you guys can decided for yourselves which ones you're interested in, especially if the option I choose to review isn't your scene.  Sound good?  Okily-dokily....is it weird that I have no clue if I spelt that correctly? Whatever....

Albums Released on October 18th, 2011

• One Pig by Matthew Herbert
• Staring at the X by Forest Fire -- Note:  I downloaded a free sample song--"Future Shadows"-- off this album, and it's definitely worth a listen. 
• The Drummer by Niki and the Dove
• Virginity EP by The Bleeding Knees Club
• Social Studies by Body Language*
• Salt for Salt by Brown Bird
• The Gift Horse by Brown Shoe
• Rapprocher by Class Actress*
• Sing in My Meadow by Cowboy Junkies
• Everybody Breaks by Garrett Pierce
• Gauntlet Hair by Gauntlet Hair
• Lily & the Parlour Tricks by Lily & the Parlour Tricks* -- Note: Rockabilly!!!
• Minefield EP by My Glorious
• Wild One by North Highlands
• Folly by Pree*
• He Thinks He's People by Rob Crow
• An Intolerant Disdain of Underlings by Sahy Uhns
• Room to Run by States
• The Place I Left Behind by The Deep Dark Woods
• Years of Living Dangerously by Turf War

The ones with asterisks are ones I'm interested in reviewing if I have time.  Some of are really short (the EPs, for example) so those might also be plausible for me to do as well. 

To have a free listen and decide whether to buy, you can check these all at Spinner.  They're usually up for a week although sometimes the site facilitators put up the new albums on Monday.  Happy Listening!!

Pardon Me but....YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS SONG

I was listening to 98.7 LAs Best Alternative while picking up my sister from her culinary class today and the DJ was pimping this track, saying it was his "favorite new song."  Assuming it would be the next thing he played, what I heard was "meh...it's aight" and continued about my business.  Then, I start hearing this track that is badass and -- true story -- even though I was still driving, I had to check who it was by.  Lo and behold, it was the song the host was pimping.  I stand corrected -- it is not "meh."  In fact, it's pretty damn awesome, so awesome that I felt the need to share it as soon as I got home.  Well, not as soon as -- I stopped to have some greek yogurt.  But I'm here now and you must listen.

Considering that 98.7 called it new music and it's an LA station, it's a safe bet that my friends in Middle America -- whose musical pain I empathize with deeply -- haven't heard it and possibly, haven't even heard of the band.  Well...you might've...apparently the track is featured on Madden 12, so in theory, my dad and his football lovin' friends probably heard it before I did.  Ironic, isn't it?  Anyway, usually I give a long-winded rant about the merits of the song -- the lyrics, the vocals, the blah blah blah -- but, this time, I'll spare you my incoherent ramblings and let you just enjoy it. 

Without much further ado, I give you -- "Colours" by Grouplove

Song du Jour: DEV

The Cure

by DEV

I can't remember where I found this track, so I apologize but I do think it warrants a listen, especially if you like rap.  Now, before we start, I am not even going to fool you into thinking I'm some kind of expert on rap.  I have some on my iPod and I'm familiar with old-school stuff but, make no mistakes, I do feel horribly under-qualified to write about it.  That being said, I would like to think I know a good rap when I hear it.  As I've said before, a well-written rap should be distinguishable from poetry only in that, when spoken, the rhythm and flow of the words becomes paramount.  Like with poetry, rhyming is nice but it's not a must, and unexpected rhymes throughout --like start-spark and parade-grave in "The Cure"-- that hints at phonetic similarity provides a smoother connection between lines rather than using a word just because it has the right ending. 

This song laments the devolution of the rap genre--positing that it has become more about the money and less about the art -- which I've noticed is becoming a recurring theme, especially among new artists.  The merit of this underlying theme,along with the perceived hints that public education is meant to contain creativity, is up for debate.  DEV also didn't use any cuss words in this rap, which always impresses me.  It's not that I'm against cussing -- my family will tell you have the most irreverently foul mouth possible -- I just feel that if you really have something important to say, you don't need them to get your point across.  Besides, it gives The Man a reason to censor you, which, make no mistake, they are hoping to do.  Personally, I think overall the lyrics come off as very intelligent, but that's something you can decide for yourself.  Just as a Note:  This artist is not well-known so if you search for him on Google, you are going to get a lot of hits for Dev from Far East Movement--even the last.fm page is confused.  Putting the name in all caps won't help and neither will putting in keywords like "rapper" and "the cure."  This, as you can imagine, was very frustrating so we're lucky to have video and an image this week.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have strange men in my house--they're here to texture my walls.  Wow...that sounded more like a sexual innuendo than I had planned.

The Weekly Haul: July 24, 2011

Hey Music Sluts,
You'll be happy to hear that this weeks list is alot more manageable, but on the flipside, I must admit that my downloads this week disappointed me greatly.  I'll explain my process for finding the Weekly Haul --

1. I go to my various sources and look for songs and artists that catch my attention.
2. If they have a preview, I give it a quick listen -- miniscule, 20 seconds max (I have quick ears).  If it still interests me I download.  (On sites that don't have a preview, I read through the artist bio and look for a "sounds like" reference so I know what I'm getting into)
3. I review the songs at least twice before I begin to write so I have an impression already formed.
4. While writing each little tidbit for the selected songs, I am listening to it, so it is fresh in my mind and so I can describe what I'm hearing accurately.

I will be the first to admit that I go into this wanting to like each and every song I listen to.  Unfortunately, that is not always the case.  It's not that the artist is terrible -- usually it's just the song that they've chosen to put out for free.  Either the vocals are off or the lyrics are kind of elementary or possibly (very rarely) the soundmixing doesn't do it justice.  Naturally, this process is subjective, so I highly recommend that you search for new music on your own as well as checking out my recommendations.  And then we could swap!  As I predicted, I did found some hometown bands I'm excited about and will, hopefully ::fingers crossed:: be checking them out live sometime in the near future.  Weekly Haul after the jump.

Check this Out: Blake Sennett and The Elected

If you don't know who Blake Sennett is....shame on you!!!  He was the guitarist for Rilo Kiley (I say was because they split after "Under the Blacklight" -- much to my dismay) and if that doesn't ring a bell, you might recognize him from his acting days as one of Harvey's goons--Joey "the Rat" Epstein -- on "Boy Meets World" among other things.  After the Rilo Kiley split, he kind of stepped away from the music industry to take stock.  And then he stepped back in and pumped out 2010s 'Bury Me in the Rings.'  If you love Rilo Kiley's indie sound, you should definitely check out Blake Sennett's other band, The Elected.  Read more at Spinner and check out the video below.

Weekly Haul: July 17

This weeks list of new music is going to be pretty long, due to...um....my overexuberant downloading behavior.  Usually, I download about 15-20 songs and out of that bunch, I may be really excited about 6 of them.  However, this week, I got really excited for some reason and just went apesh*t with the new music searches and ended up with 31 songs to review.  And it turns out that a good amount of them have me really intrigued....which, I'm not going to lie, is a good thing.  Part of the downsides of picking up any old song off the internet is that a fair portion of them aren't going to when my apetite.  In fact, in most cases, I find myself screaming "This is taking up how many megabytes on my external?!!!"  So, even though it's slightly more work to extol on the virtues of a truckload of excellent new music, I'm delighted--nay, privileged--to do it.  Some I have more to say about then others.  Take note. The Weekly Haul is after the jump.