Review: Razika

Program 91

by Razika

Impression:  Razika is a girl-group from Norway.  What drove me to listen to this album was the chipper sound of the opening track, "Youth."  I love ska already, but Razika has a lighter sound that reminds me of California -- not the beaches, but the skateparks.  The vocals are beautiful and they remind me a little of the British girl-group The Like, except that the singers have that delightful Northern European lilt -- sort of like Nena (who is from Germany--not quite Northern European but the accent is similar.)  Half the songs were in Norwegian, so they could be singing about blowing random guys behind the Walgreen's and I'd still be bobbing my head along with the music.  Lyrics-wise, the English ones were a little repetitive but I'm chalking that up to the message being lost in translation.  Occasionally, the sound reminds me a little of 1960s girl groups (like "Why Have We to Wait")and I don't think Razika would feel out of place in mini-dresses and go-go boots....as long as they could play they're instruments, of course.  Definitely worth a listen.

Songs I Enjoyed:  I'm loving the summer-y feel of "Above all,"  the beach carnival vibe of "Nytt Pa Nytt," and the acoustic sweetness of "Walk in the Park."

Sounds Like:  Neo ska mixed with girl-driven indie rock

Buy it at:  Amazon

Song du Jour

Guilt by Association

by Louis XIV

Another band I just found that I'm seriously digging right now.  Louis XIV (or Quatorze, which is easier than saying the roman numerals) has been around spouting off indie rock since 2003.  On this track, the vocals sound a lot like the White Stripes (in my opinion) but, as a whole, they sound similar to Hot Hot Heat, The Bravery, and even The Strokes at times.  I tried to find the official video through blogger--because it's awesome--but I couldn't find it in the linkage.  Basically, all the music parts where the band is playing to the camera look like they were filmed in like a super-huge tile shower and the party scenes were partly filmed in night vision so it looks really creepy.  I thought that was pretty unique and suggest you check it out on the actual youtube site.  Either way though, the song is awesome.

London's Burning

As much as I love the iconic Clash song, the situation in the U.K. is heartbreaking.  Historical buildings are being burned down, people's homes and cars are being destroyed, and hundreds upon thousands of dollars worth of goods have been looted or damaged.  Among the carnage is U.K. largest stockpile of independent music -- a warehouse in North London owned by Sony DADC.  The Sony spokesperson has said that although the number of albums destroyed is currently unknown (estimated at possibly 750,000), the smallest record labels will be hit the hardest because, for many, it was the only location where their archives were located.  Newer albums will be easy to reprint but for older stuff, it's likely that, if damaged, it's gone for good.  This is only one of the multitude of devastating images coming from London at this time.  You can read more at NPR. 

Leon Neal/APF/Getty Images

Song du Jour

Coin-Operated Boy

by The Dresden Dolls

Let's do something a little different today....Here we have The Dresden Dolls, one of my favorite bands.  They have what would be considered a dark cabaret style.  They are a hiatus,starting in 2008 (during which Amanda Palmer has been working/mentoring? with other dark cabaret groups, like Evelyn Evelyn) but they got back together briefly in 2010 to do a short reunion tour.  They aren't done forever, says Brian Viglione, but they'll return to work when it "feels right."  This song is off their 2001 album Dresden Dolls.  Great, poignant lyrics--favorite line:  Coin-Operated boy/ with a pretty coin-operated voice/saying that he loves me/and that he's thinking of me/straight and to the point/that is why I want a coin-operated boy.

I went on a search spree on last.fm last night, inspired by Rouge Fonce, the dark cabaret band I found last week.  Be prepared for a heavy dose of darkwave/dark cabaret/steampunk in the upcoming Weekly Haul.

Newsflash: Kanye West is still a dumb*ss

I often wonder why his publicists let him speak at all and then I realize....the stupid things Kanye West says and does are some of the greatest PR flubs of all time.  What would America -- specifically the E! Network -- do without them?!?  It would be madness!  Don't get me wrong -- I think Kanye is probably one of the best rappers out there....but that doesn't mean he has his sh*t together.

Over the weekend, Mr. West gave a speech at The Big Chill Music Fest across the pond.  For whatever reason, he said something to the effect that he felt he was like Hitler sometimes.  Pardon me, sir, but What the fuck?!  Out of all the misunderstood people in history (which I don't consider Hitler to be one...I think we understood him pretty well during his reign of terror), why would you choose one of the most evil people in recent history?  Nevermind that I don't see the comparison -- first of all, Kanye, you're black, which was a no-no in Hitler's book, if you didn't realize that.  Second, Hitler was charismatic and intelligent enough to get a whole f*cking country to follow him just by speaking.  Kanye opens his mouth and people are like "Ah....here it comes..."  And third, Hitler failed at his attempt to become a world-famous artist, which in part, contributed to the anger that fueled his deranged masterplan.  But, whatever my friend....if comparing yourself to The Fuhrer get you airtime, more power to you. 
The video is f*cking hilarious.  If you haven't checked out other Nerd Hitler videos (all of which use this scene), you need to...Funniest.  Hour.  Of.  Your.  Life.

Song du Jour

Rich Girls

by The Virgins

Since the stock market is in the toilet after the S&P downgrade of the US Credit rating, let's start today off with something a bit more cheerful than reality permits.  This track has bouncy, disco-esque beat that you can't help but dance.  I first heard it while shopping in Express and, as is my custom, I wrote down the lyrics so I could add it to my list.  Sadly, it's about the only track the Virgins are known for -- they only have one full album thus far.  Anyway, the lyrics are fantastically tongue-in-cheek--We walk around pretending we're all grown up/ Hey Rich Girls/ Can you tell me why you're so stuck up? -- it gets me every time.  The bridge is kind of random but hey, no one ever listened to disco for the f*cking lyrics.  Great song to strut down the street while wearing uber-tight pants and a satin button-down.  Not that I do that on a regular basis....it's more like an occasional weekend thing.  

Weekly Haul: August 7th Edition

Crosses EP

Pardon my french but.....F*****ck!!!  This week is an excellent haul!  Check this....I caught a holy grail of free downloads -- a full EP that just happens to be f*cking awesome.  Okay....perhaps holy grail is an overstatement but, believe me when I say that it's great and --Lucky You --it's still available for free download (Calm down, fellow music sluts....I'll reveal my source during the haul).  You'll notice a few repeats this week and this is because I'm trying out a new tactic.  The Boyfriend has this rule that if he likes three songs by an artist, he officially is a fan.  I'm not saying it's a good rule, but it does have some merit.  So, when it's possible, I'm trying to download at least two songs by an artist to get a feel for their sound and see if it warrants more of my attention.  Today is going to be a sizeable list because I'm just going to list all the songs I downloaded this week (only 15 -- 5 of which from the EP, which will be unceremoniously lumped together because I'm lazy).  Thanks and I hope you all find something you like!