Archive for January, 2008

Sir Salvatore

Published by
billy
at January 31, 2008 in sir salvatore, shoegaze, indie, music and mp3. 6 Comments

They sound their best when they hit the shoegaze button the hardest, but that’s not to say that they ever sound bad. This little quartet out of San Francisco consists of Tim Botsford, David Lean, Alejandro Soini, Eric Szyslowski, and dash of self deprecating humour {which I guess makes them a quintet, but who’s arguing semantics?}. This is their sophomore effort, Continental Breakfast (iTunes), and I reckon their sound would tighten up and improve if they were to undertake a proper full length. If this little slice of four and a half songs that comes in just under fifteen minutes is any sort of indicator of Sir Salvatore’s musical aptitude I’d be willing to shell out some dough for a full length {of course I won’t have to, cause as a pretentious non-famous blogger I’ll convince someone to email it to me for free. At least that’s what you’re all thinking}.

mp3 : Sir Salvatore - Ambalina
mp3 : Sir Salvatore - Townies

I really like both of these songs, my only complaint being that Townies is cut far too short. These two tracks serve as the book ends for the five song EP and they do a nice job of encapsulating the indie efforts of Sir Salvatore. {In other news I’ve been watching far too much House lately which is probably influencing my writing style as of late. Oops}

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Plastic Operator

Published by
billy
at January 30, 2008 in plastic operator, electronic, indie, music and mp3. 2 Comments

For most bands, listing Jean-Michel Jarre, Akufen, The Pet Shop Boys, Vangelis and The Postal Service as your influences might be a bit pretentious. Not so for the dynamic duo that is Plastic Operator. Hailing half from Montreal and half from Antwerp, Mathieu Gendreau and Pieter Van Dessel respectively, this little electronic pop band puts forth a might effort on their debut full length entitled Different Places (iTunes). Mixing drum kit, synth, and various other electronic efforts {including some wicked synth fuzz on the vocals} they succeed in creating a sound that is both modern, retro, fresh, and comfortable. They avoid the trap of so many of their counterparts as they provide a genuinely fresh submission into a world crowded with copy cat electropop acts.

Whatever your opinion, it is rare that you see this musical maturity on a debut full length album. And that rarity makes this disc all that more refreshing. There is not a single dark or disappointing moment from start to end and the album contains enough changes to keep you interested even after repeat listening.

mp3 : Plastic Operator - The Pleasure is Mine
mp3 : Plastic Operator - Home 0207

on tour
Feb 01 - Barcelona - Razzmatazz Club
Feb 08 - Meerbeke - Het Uur
Feb 09 - Antwerp - Petrol Club
March 28 - Opwijk - NIJDROP

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Siberian

Published by
billy
at January 29, 2008 in siberian, indie, music and mp3. 3 Comments

What would happen if you Dr. Frankensteined together pieces of The Killers, Muse, and Pete Yorn. And not the parts that get repetitive or annoying, just the good stuff. For instance let’s only take the wall of guitar {almost an eighties synth sound} from The Killers, the driving melodies of Muse, and the clever songwriting and strong vocals of Pete Yorn.  Oh, and just for good measure throw in your favorite song by The Walkmen.  We’ll put them in a blender, hit it with a jolt of 1.21 gigawatts of electricity, and send the outcome back to the future.

Well what we would be left with after this little experiment amounts to an extremely strong debut album from the Seattle based outfit labeled Siberian. The album, entitled With Me (iTunes), is solid from start to finish and reflects a song writing maturity and musical ability not usually found on a debut album. The three tracks here are an excellent cross section of the sound Siberian puts out and if they continue down this path they might be one of the few bands this decade that turn a profit on their album sales.

mp3 : Siberian - Belgian Beer and Catholic Girls
mp3 : Siberian - Airship
mp3 : Siberian - Georg Bendemann

Originally I thought their sound was going to be tweedy and sophmoric, due largely to the title of the lead off track, but after a quick listen I was immediately in love with this little band that could. There’s something here intangible that keeps me listening through the album time after time. A good staying power.

on tour
Feb 01 - Bellingham, WA - Underground Coffee House
Feb 29 - Redmond WA - Old Firehouse

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BOTM vol 04

Published by
billy
at January 28, 2008 in fest, evangelicals, sleepless nights, battle royale, m ward, zooey deschanel, wale, white stripes, robbers on high street, death cab for cutie, justice, radiohead, remix, music, regina spektor, cover, magnetic fields, best of the month, botm and mp3. 5 Comments

Well it’s not quite the end of the month, but in my life it feels close enough. Here are a collection of the best tracks I found this month on the interwebs. Thanks again to all the anonymous donors, blogs, and aggregators for providing us all with some awesome music. If you’re just stumbling upon this blog for the first time take a second and check out all the other Best of the Month posts here, check in on the Best of the Remix project here, or take a peek at what I considered the best albums of 2007 here. For you regular readers and subscribers I will be doing BOTM a little differently from now on. In the past I was told that my blog stood out, to some, because I seemed to actually care about the music instead of just dumping random files to drive traffic to my site. As this truly is the case, although site traffic doesn’t hurt, I will actually be writing a bit about each of these tracks as opposed to previous iterations of BOTM where I just dumped the tracks.

All the tracks in one zip file : here {zshare = left click}

mp3 : Death Cab for Cutie - World Shut Your Mouth (Julian Cope Cover)
To be honest this isn’t my favorite Death Cab track of all time. In fact I wouldn’t even put it in my favorite twenty songs by Gibbard and company, but I had never heard it before and it’s always nice to hear Ben Gibbard’s perfect voice over a driving song. Not to mention the repeated phrase “world shut your mouth” is sometimes what I’m thinking.

mp3 : Evangelicals - Skelton Man
The first ten times or so I heard this track I didn’t know what to think. What I think it proves though is that I’m a sucker for the indie sound {by indie I mean Belle and Sebastien meets Flaming Lips} when it’s used in a song that builds and builds and builds until it is a fuzzy sonic shower of joy. Even with the confusion apparent in the first ninety seconds of the song {specifically from 57 seconds to 1:27 in the track} I still really enjoy this band.

mp3 : Feist - The Limit To Your Love
There should never be a limit to your love, but it’s not often the case as we mere humans are flawed, selfish creatures who battle jealousy and greed, neediness and trust issues. In a perfect world there would be no limit to your love, but then we wouldn’t have this melancholic song by Feist to comfort bruised egos, tattered hearts, and romantic dramedies for years to come.

mp3 : M Ward (feat Zooey Deschanel) - When I Get To The Border
This is what happens when you cross one of my favorite new musical acts with undeniably my favorite new actress. And I like it. I probably would have given a kidney to sit in on this recording session, but instead I’ll just give them a little slice of this blog. Congratulations to both of you, this is a fine song.

mp3 : Radiohead - 4 Minute Warning
Here’s a band whom I will always love. They’ll be top shelf music for me until my ears cease to function {and even then, just the energy of their live shows would get me to see them in concert}. This song hails from the extended series of In Rainbows {not the pay what you want edition} and to be honest I wish I would’ve shelled out the eighty plus dollars for the rest of the collection.

mp3 : Radiohead - Up on the Ladder (93 Fee East Acoustic Version)
Another rare recording by the Brit’s here. I think Thom Yorke could sing over the worst noise core music you’ve ever heard and I would still like it.

mp3 : Regina Spektor - My Dear Acquaintance (A Happy New Year)
Has it really already been four full weeks since new year’s eve? It feels like just yesterday we were sipping champagne and reminiscing about how wicked awesome 07 was {I went to Everest}. This track starts out a bit odd with crowd noise and the sound of a chopper flying by. Then there appears to be gunfire about midway through the song. If that background noise was beefed up a bit I would say this a modern day take on Simon and Garfunkel’s 7 O’Clock News (Silent Night).

mp3 : Robbers on High Street - Seasons Greetings
It’s a feel good song that is quite dated {now that it’s a month past the holidays}, but it’s still a solid holiday song. Who says you can’t enjoy the holiday cheer all year long? I know I miss it already.

mp3 : Sleepless Nights - Arabian Nights
Sleepless Nights easily qualifies as one of my favorite new bands. I’d put them up there alongside Lightspeed Champion, Wakey!Wakey!, and Siberian in terms of bands I’m most excited about right now. This song is gorgeous. From the slow methodical beginning to the clean guitar riff that drives the song along there is a not a moment of this song that I don’t love. Just wait for the falsetto “ooh ooh oh!”

mp3 : The Battle Royale - Let’s Leave
Taking a break from their danceabilly style {I just made that genre up} The Battle Royale take a turn at a pure folk track on this song hailing from their debut Wake Up, Thunderbabe. The entire album is quite awesome and I love how diverse they sound from track to track. Half of the album is really solid dance pop with a mix of acoustic folk thrown in while some of the tracks are absolute pure new folk {nu folk, alt folk, post folk, whatever-you-want-to-call-it folk}.

mp3 : The Magnetic Fields - Zombie Boy
I really don’t know what Stephen Merritt was thinking when he decided to release an entire album filled with every type of distortion known to man. I really don’t like the new sound, to be honest, I miss the old purity and playfullness of ukulele, mandolin, and cello. I guess using the title of your album, Distortion, as a concept for the entire album is an undertaking worth hearing, even if just once or twice.

mp3 : The White Stripes - Jimmy The Exploder
This is an old track from Jack and Meg and I think it shows off the beauty found only in simplicity. Lately they’ve been experimenting a bit with new instruments and arrangements, which I like, but I hope the joy of two instruments isn’t lost. For all aspiring musicians this track stands as a testament to the joy that can be found in the simplest of tunes.

mp3 : Wale and Justice - W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E.
Although the start of this track is Wale expounding on how he invented the trend of tight jeans and graphic sneaks {think Kanye West’s style of arrongance} this track is really brilliant. Easily the best remix, use, mix, whateve, of the Justice track D.A.N.C.E. ever. By the way, Wale reminds me a lot of Kanye in almost every way {musically, flow, style, clothing, attitude, self assuredness, etc.} and I think that’s a good thing {as Kanye indisputably epitomizes the creativity of present day hip hop}. And honestly, who’s ever used that much Saved by the Bell material to slam people before? He really is a word surgeon.

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Sleepless Nights

Published by
billy
at January 25, 2008 in album, sleepless nights, indie, music and mp3. 3 Comments

Although these boys hail from beautiful Halifax Nova Scotia I would easily place their debut full length disc alongside the stalwart acts of the western American pop rock music; Death Cab for Cutie, the Long Winters, and Band of Horses. From the opening note of track one, Allyson Got Robbed, to the swirling delerious end of the album’s closing track, Breathe Deep Tornado, there is not a moment on Turn Into Vapour that will only leave you wanting more. Although the term shoegaze is bandied about a bit much I do believe these boys take the best parts of that genre and turn them into a weapon of mass musical bliss. Take a listen to these two tracks here and you’ll be a convert immediately.

mp3 : Sleepless Nights - Got Caught
mp3 : Sleepless Nights - Amounts To Nothing

The album, available at CD Baby, is a sparkling debut and I would definitely recommend putting it into your collection in some form. All eight tracks are gems and they range from the driving pulse of Got Caught, to a melancholic rocker Kids on Fire, to the eight minute sprawling landscape of Breathe Deep Tornado. Trust me good reader you will not be disappointed. I know I wasn’t. And if you’d rather catch them on tour, and you are somewhere in East Central Canada, then feel free to stop by these fine venues.

Jan 26 in Peterborough at The Spill
Jan 27 in Toronto at Sneaky Dee’s (Wavelength)
Jan 28 in Toronto at Lee’s Palace
Jan 29 in Hamilton at The Casbah
Jan 31 in Windsor at Avalon
Feb 01 in Bayfield at Black Dog
Feb 07 in Moncton at The Paramount
Feb 09 in Halifax at The Attic

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Joseph Arthur

Published by
billy
at January 23, 2008 in joseph arthur, rock, indie, music and mp3. 5 Comments

I was first introduced to Joseph Arthur through a rather eclectic roommate I had in university because this friend of mine admired the paintings that Mr. Arthur made. I must admit I wasn’t particularly thrilled when shown the artwork {although I do admire a lot of his work}, but I was immediatley blown away by the other endeavor of Joseph Arthur, that being the creation of music that will stand the test of time. Regardless of how much fame he achieves, or fails to achieve, I believe the cannon of Joseph Arthur works will live on long after he has stopped producing new songs {which probably won’t happen until after he passes away considering he’s currently in a little competition to be the most prolific singer songwriter of his generation with Ryan Adams}.

So today I sat at home, without having to suffer through a day job, and as I watched the snow blow through the neighborhood where I live I was reminded once again of this old album from 2004 entitled Our Shadows Will Remain (iTunes) which I always thought referenced the way that if an atomic bomb went off we might disappear, but our shadows would remain. And seeing as how I’m concerned with Global Warming, and I frequently theorize about the effects of a Global Winter {brought on by nuclear warfare or careless stewardship of resources}, my twisted brain was reminded of Joseph Arthur as I sat watching the snow drift and swirl, much like his melodic brand of music. As such, these three tracks hail from that album.

mp3 : Joseph Arthur - Echo Park
mp3 : Joseph Arthur - Puppets
mp3 : Joseph Arthur - A Smile That Explodes

Now due to a rather insatiable curiousity and the aforementioned lack of a real job I sauntered amongst the interwebs, looking at Mr. Arthurs website, checking out the new MOMAR, reading up in wiki, and finally stumbling upon the fact that just two days ago Stereogum debuted a song from Joseph Arthurs upcoming EP entitled Could We Survive which is set to be released on March 18 of this year. Following that release will come three more EP’s, roughly one a month, before a proper full length entitled All You Need Is Nothing drops on August 5. Until all that wonderfully prolific goodness hits the shelves you can satisfy yourself with this song that was premiered by the good folks over at Stereogum.

mp3 : Joseph Arthur - Rages of Babylon

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The Who

Published by
billy
at January 22, 2008 in the who, rock, music and mp3. 2 Comments

Sometimes I am appalled at the state of music ignorance the kids these days have about them. Driving through town the other day a classic rock radio station happened to be playing a song by The Who and my younger brother immediately changed it saying that he didn’t really like that type of music, even though he had never listened to the entire song. Needless to say this shocked me to my core. I’m tired of people complaining about the state of pop music, hearing them go on and on about how music has lost its creative edge, or how there’s nothing fulfilling in songs about apple bottom jeans or cyclones. While some of those arguments may be true they ring hollow from mouths who have never sung along to bands like The Kinks, The Who, BTO, Queen, Fleetwood Mac, Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, or Styx. {not that those bands are an all inclusive list, but you get my point}

I thought I would post a few tracks by the legendary Brit band The Who in hopes that a few download hungry and misinformed youth out there might take a listen and hear some true musical genius. All three of these tracks come from the album Greatest Hits of The Who (iTunes) and it would be a genuine benefit to the listener to hear the entire album {or even their entire discography}.

mp3 : The Who - Baba O’Riley
mp3 : The Who - My Generation
mp3 : The Who - Who Are You (Single Edit Version)

I would like to point out, as this is the first lesson I’m teaching in Music History here at TWF, that Baba O’Riley is the correct name for this particular song although many friends and fans have incorrectly given it the title of Teenage Wasteland throughout the years. It is also, and quite easily, one of the greatest rock songs ever recorded in the history of the world. The song My Generation has been incorrectly given to bands ranging from Aerosmith to the Rolling Stones {and everyone inbetween} although it has always been a classic staple of The Who. And to close out the trifecta of The Who classics there stands the simple and eternal question of Who Are You. Who are you anyway?

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BOTR vol 02

Published by
billy
at January 21, 2008 in chromeo, burial, justice, david guetta, digitalism, jackson 5, fatboy slim, gwen stefani, botr, kanye west, remix, music, justin timberlake, daft punk, best of the remix, killers and mp3. 4 Comments

Well it’s not the end of the month yet, but I decided that the Best of the Remix series shouldn’t have to wait a full month to be posted. Originally this series was going to parallel my BOTM {Best of the Month} series as a monthly publication of sorts. But seeing as how I have over thirty great remix tracks to share with you all, and the end of the month is still awhile off, I thought I would just start to do this BOTR series at random times whenever I feel like it. So here you have volume 2 of the Best of the Remix series here at The World Forgot. Enjoy the music.

All the tracks in one zip file : here {zshare = left click}

mp3 : Burial - Archangel (Leif Remix)
mp3 : Chromeo - Needy Girl (datA Remix)
mp3 : Daft Punk - One More Time (Krames Remix)
mp3 : Daft Punk - Television Rules The Nation (Roccanova Remix)
mp3 : David Guetta - Love Is Gone (Fred Rister & Joachim Garraud Radio Edit Remix)
mp3 : Digitalism vs. The Killers vs. Fatboy Slim - Idealistic Brightside Night
mp3 : Gwen Stefani - 4 In The Morning (Thin White Duke Mix)
mp3 : Jackson 5 - I Want You Back (Rogerseventytwo and the Walk Remix)
mp3 : Justice - D.A.N.C.E. (Benny Blanco Remix feat Mos Def & Spank Rock)
mp3 : Justice - D.A.N.C.E. (MSTRKRFT Remix)
mp3 : Justice - D.A.N.C.E. (Paste Back Remix)
mp3 : Justin Timberlake - Love Stoned (Justice Remix)
mp3 : Kanye West - The Good Life (S in the mauS Scuola Furano Remix)

To be honest I’m kinda sick of the ever present remixed versions of D.A.N.C.E., but I thought this was a good time to unload them (and all three of these versions are great). All the remaining tracks are quality and range from minimalism (Burial) to eighties synth (Chromeo) to standard pop remixes (Jackson 5, Justin Timberlake) to the totally abstract (Kanye West). Take what you want or download all the tracks in one spot from the zshare link above the mp3 links.

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The Battle Royale

Published by
billy
at January 18, 2008 in dance, battle royale, folk, indie, music and mp3. 0 Comments

Lately I have seen a rash of patients presenting with the general symptoms of excessive amounts of boredom appearing in the early stages of many a late evening party. After careful research I have determined this general malaise to be brought on by an overdose of bands who borrow acronyms from television technology and music tracks whose titles are often followed by a parenthetical phrase. Luckily a cure for this party sickness has been found in the form of a cheeky band from Minneapolis who refer to themselves as The Battle Royale. Their latest album, Wake Up, Thunderblade, is the perfect dose of dance pop and pure folk that is sure to cure any and all party killers from here until the afterlife. Careful with your dosages, though, as too much of The Battle Royale has been proven to provoke uncontrollably giddy dancing, chilling out, and relaxing all cool.

All nonsense aside I probably would have loved this band simply for entitling one of their tracks Hollercopter. I honestly laughed just reading that word out loud. Seriously, try saying Hollercopter in your best Schwarzenegger accent and you’ve got the beginning of a great party already.

mp3 : The Battle Royale - Hollercopter
mp3 : The Battle Royale - Wake Me Up

Although these two tracks present the more danceable version of The Battle Royale their album is rife with acoustic folk goodness as well. In some artists this clever dichotomy would be bashed and much maligned but with The Battle Royale it feels as if you’re really getting the best of both worlds.

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Wakey!Wakey!

Published by
billy
at January 17, 2008 in wakey wakey, cover, indie, music and mp3. 1 Comment

To be honest, if all I could listen to this week was one album I would probably choose this series of covers put out by Wakey!Wakey! For the past few months my email has been graced with brilliant cover songs and the only thing about these tracks that makes me sad is that each week brings this series closer to the end. This week the ninth cover was released and it is a cover of a song that I have never heard before. The track is originally by Joie, also known as Dead Blonde Girlfriend, who apparently plays a fervent live show with an acoustic guitar. Once again Mike Grubbs imprints another solid song with his now trademark style and sound and creates something haunting, aching, and full of emotion. There’s just something about his voice, and the way that each line of these covers seems to speak directly to the heart of life, that I cannot get enough of.

mp3 : Wakey!Wakey! - Letters Home (Joie DBG Cover)

Once again, this is the ninth song in a ten song series called Wakey!Wakey! Wednesdays. If you would like to hear the rest of this brilliant series just click the link below labeled twf. I’m waiting with bated breath for the conclusion of this great cover album.
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Orba Squara

Published by
billy
at January 16, 2008 in iphone, commerical, orba squara, indie, music and mp3. 0 Comments

You may have never heard of this little band that could, but I can almost guarantee that you have heard one their songs. Or should I say one of Mitch Davis’ songs. You see, this little gem called Perfect Timing (This Morning) is the sound in the utterly ubiquitous iPhone commercials. So all of you out there who were asking {and emailing me} about what song was used in those commercials, this is it. It hails from the debut album of Orba Squara, Sunshyness (iTunes), and is actually a very difficult album to find any information on. All I can say is that this song sounds great and although I’m a fan of using television shows and adverts to get your band heard, I would have to say that the iPhone commercials hardly do this little gem justice.

mp3 : Orba Squara - Perfect Timing (This Morning)

Simply a great little song.

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Shwayze

Published by
billy
at January 15, 2008 in shwayze, hip hop, indie, music and mp3. 4 Comments

I get a ton of free music emailed to me on a daily basis. And to be honest most of it is utter trash. It’s unoriginal rubbish. Some however is simply brilliant. And then there are certain bands, sounds, or songs that don’t really fit into any of those categories. These musicians and artists somehow sound familiar while still sounding original. There always seems to be something about their music that is infectious and catchy while still having certain qualities that maybe hint at not being ready for prime time {but hey, neither was the original cast of SNL}.

Shwayze is just such a sound. At first listen they easily passed in and out of my head in just a few minutes as they were crammed in the middle of a largely folk {alt folk, new folk, post folk, indie folk, I was on a folk kick ok? style of playlist}. But to be fair I try to listen to each and every song that is mailed my way whether it comes via the old fashioned standard mail or the brand new interwebs. So today I finally got a chance to listen to Shwayze on their own, without the clutter of other music. And the verdict is that I like it. It’s good music that sounds like the type of sounds you’d like to hear in the background of a good chill out. At times acoustic, at times indie, and at times hip hop there are enough elements here that everyone can find something to chill with. Anyway, Shwayze is made up of Shwayze and Cisco {no not that Swayze and not that Sisqo} and they make some inventive music.

mp3 : Shwayze - Buzzin’
mp3 : Shwayze - Don’t Be Shy

There is still something that I cannot get out of my head while I listen to these two tracks. There is something so familiar about their sound and I swear that they’re triggering something from my days in high school {the latter parts of the nineties}, but I cannot place exactly who my brain thinks they sound like. Any good readers have an idea? Something in me wants to compare it to Diddy back when he was called Puff Daddy but played over an acoustic track. There are some of the same melodic elements that Diddy used in his tribute to Notorius B.I.G. as well as Diddy’s classic smooth vocals and loose rhyme schemes. Does any of that ring true with your ears? Just who do they remind you of?

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Jens Lekman

Published by
billy
at January 14, 2008 in retro, psychedelic, jens lekman, indie, music and mp3. 0 Comments

I’m not the biggest of fans of Jens Lekman. Granted I feel he’s done some great work and there are a few standout tracks on his albums, but for the most part his music sounds far to retro and far to psychedelic for my taste. Just listen to this track here from his album Night Falls Over Kortedala (iTunes) and tell me that it doesn’t sound like the opening theme for a Nick at Nite rerun marathon. Now that we all understand how I’m not a super fan of Jens {although he does have a great name} I would like to add that I really like his cover of Paul Simon’s You Can Call Me Al. It’s an era of music that coincides nicely with the present day sound of Jens Lekman. Almost like it was meant to be.

mp3 : Jens Lekman - Sipping On The Sweet Nectar
mp3 : Jens Lekman - You Can Call Me Al (Live Paul Simon Cover)

I love the line “he sees angels in the architecture.” Always have, always will.

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Wakey!Wakey!

Published by
billy
at January 11, 2008 in wakey wakey, cover, indie, music and mp3. 4 Comments

Mike Grubbs has undertaken a lot of styles, bands, genres, and challenges in his release of ten cover songs over the span of what has pushed over three months now. He started it as a way to promote the release of his first album {which was recorded live and is for sale over at his website} but I feel as if now he’s continuing the series as a way to give us all the gift of his incredible talent. Wakey!Wakey! posseses this intangible quality to take any song, as popular or obscure as it could be, and make it something undeniably original. And this weeks release is no different. This time around he chose to cover Alicia Keys’ song For No One and Mike did it in a way that might have suceeded in putting more emotion into an already wonderful song.

mp3 : Wakey!Wakey! - No One (Alicia Keys Cover)

I am seriously loving this series of cover songs and I hope you’re as enthralled as I am. If you’d like to listen to all previous tracks in this series just click the ‘twf’ link at the bottom of the post. His past efforts have included Neutral Milk Hotel, The Decemberists, Weezer, and Cyndi Lauper just to name a few.

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LOST, Radiohead, and Gossip Girl

Published by
billy
at January 10, 2008 in tv, lost, gossip girl and radiohead. 0 Comments

Hey, no awesome music, but I thought I should post these here seeing as how not everyone I know checks iTunes or other media sites on a daily basis.

First up, LOST. This is easily one of the best television shows I have ever seen and I’ve been looking forward to season 4 since the very last second of the end of season 3 {flash forward anyone?} Anyway, right now iTunes has a free download that includes a sneak peak and the upcoming season as well as a recap of what’s happened so far.

Apple iTunes

Second on the list, Radiohead. Most, if not all, of you already have their new album, but there is a bonus Podcast available on iTunes as well. Just thought I’d pass that on. Oh, you can also buy the album from Amazon, here.

Apple iTunes

Finally television shows. I assume a lot of the people that now come and bang on my little site during the week are Gossip Girl fans. Well you can buy all those episodes on iTunes or you can stream them over at the CW website, here. Also, for those of you looking to do a little more than just recap the last three seasons of LOST in a little slice you can purchase the seasons, in full, on both Amazon and iTunes {with Amazon being the cheaper of the two choices}. LOST season 1 (iTunes), LOST season 2 (iTunes), LOST season 3 (iTunes).  Cheers.

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One Republic

Published by
billy
at January 10, 2008 in sounds like, one republic, pop, music and mp3. 2 Comments

I only have one gripe with this band that can best be expressed with a rambling question; why on earth did you choose to spell your band’s name OneRepublic without a space between the two words? Is it supposed to be trendy or cool or fresh or new or hip or hipster or cool? Did I say cool already? Honestly, lead singer Ryan Tedder, why oh why did you choose to do this? And my conviction on this issue is so strong that I will refuse to spell it without a space. I simply cannot do it. I will boycott the use of a nonspaced name, but I will continue to listen to their music {as I’m sure a name change is pending}.

I guess there’s a problem when I listen to their music though. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to think of it. They sound like everything and everyone. They change styles {lyrically, vocally, musically, productionally = not a word yet} with ease from track to track and it usually leaves me guess as to what genre they will tackle next. The short list of who I think they sound like so much, at times it’s uncanny, is as follows: John Lennon, The Beatles, Jon McLaughlin, Radiohead, Switchfoot {the more secular version}, DC Talk {the less early white boy rap version}, Jars of Clay, The Fray, Keane, and definitely Muse. Honestly there are times when I listen to a few of the tracks that were not included on their debut release, Dreaming Out Loud (iTunes), that it scares me how much they fool my ears.

Take a listen here for yourself and see if you can follow what I mean.

mp3 : One Republic - Dreamin’ Out Loud

This is the track where I feel like there’s a bit of Beatles {in the opening of the song} that then gets mixed heavily with the anthemic bombast of songs in the vein of more recent releases by Switchfoot or DC Talk. But, when they stop short of going stratopheric just after the first chorus I’m reminded of the slow build and melancholic tone of Keane or The Fray.

mp3 : One Republic - Sleep

Reminds me a lot of Radiohead, especially on the beginning of each line as Ryan Tedder’s voice slowly slides into the note before soaring up to a delicate falsetto. Especially the line “so don’t go to sleep” right at the beginning of the chorus. Granted it might have the mastery or the brilliant layers of Radiohead’s work, but I feel there are distinct similarities here. At just under four minutes into the song Radiohead gets pushed into overdrive and a true and honest similarity to Muse emerges with the line “I wait for you, I stay for you.”

mp3 : One Republic - Too Easy

The opening of this track could easily be transposed to piano and sung by Jon McLaughlin on his debut major release, Indiana. From there it continues at a steady pace, heavy with acoustic flourishes and delicate falsetto. On a side note I feel as if this would be a great song for Wakey!Wakey! to cover.

Why these songs weren’t included on their album is beyond me as I feel they contain some of One Republic’s best work to date and would have rounded out their sound and image a little more than the twelve {plus the Timbaland remix} tracks they put on their album Dreaming Out Loud (iTunes). I’m assuming that these tracks were recorded for the 2005 release of the aforementioned album which they sent to college radio stations and used as a sort of promo album. I would also assume these tracks were cut from the mass market pressing of the disc in order to achieve what their execs thought would be the highest profitability.

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Oppenheimer

Published by
billy
at January 9, 2008 in oppenheimer, uk, indie, music and mp3. 0 Comments

Sounding at times like psychedelic pop geniuses The Flaming Lips and at other times like dance pop heroes The Postal Service and even at times like Belle and Sebastian, without ever really any of those trademark sounds, is the best way to describe what I hear when I listen to Oppenheimer. They haven’t ‘made it’ yet but that’s not for lack of trying their asses off. You should take a minute a read the ordeals that he has gone through to keep the band/music/dream that is Oppenheimer alive over in this post on his personal blog. It might be the best overview of what it takes to finally break even in the music scene and should be a must read for any aspiring artist.

mp3 : Oppenheimer - Saturday Looks Bad To Me
mp3 : Oppenheimer - This Is Not A Test

Both of these tracks are available on the Oppenheimer self titled debut, Oppenheimer (iTunes) which was released in June of 2006, and I’m excited to say that their new album is done and awaiting a proper release date. I also would like to add that I would love to hear a killer remix of the track Saturday Looks Bad To Me that could be called the Saturday Looks Fine Remix. Or something. I personally love the eclectic mix of sounds that Oppenheimer has found and I’m anticipating the sophomore effort.

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