Audio post reblogged from yvynyl with 59 notes - Played 13,428 times
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]Letting Up Despite Great Faults - Teenage Tide
I suppose some days just tend to bring out a particular genre more than others. Let’s call this ‘pop-shoegaze Wednesday’. These Los Angeleans write songs as sweet as blood orange flavored lollipops and as hazy as the golden hour sun on the Santa Monica pier.
Pre-order the Paper Crush EP out in August on Old Flame Records.
Source: SoundCloud / lettingup
On the turntable right now. This is my first listen to it. I got it cuz it was half off and my friend said its an amazing album. So far it’s fantastic.
Audio post reblogged from Head Underwater with 67 notes - Played 620 times
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]Real Estate - It’s Real
Saw these dudes just the other night here in DC just slayin’. Laying down the jams that scream of good times. Also, to be frank Real Estate is one of my top 5 favorite bands. This new jam comes off their upcoming record set to be released this October. Hearing many of these new songs this past Sunday, October can’t come soon enough. Granted I am in no hurry for the summer to end but I am in a hurry for this album.
You can download this for the basement price of your email address from Domino Records.
This is a fantastic song.
Source: headunderwater
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An ode to the 70s (or present day)
I’ve noticed that as I have grown older and expanded my music taste that I increasingly wish to have been born in the 1970s. Think about it. This is when rock exploded and took control. Of course there were all the original greats in the 50s and 60s like Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Buddy Holly but I’m talking about when life was all about going to the record store and picking up the latest Zeppelin record or as my dad claimed to have done with his friends, just sitting around listening to Pink Floyd.
The music in the seventies can honestly be represented by a record. You ride the groove up and down as time continues on until it’s time to flip the album. For that whole time you soak it all in. Close your eyes and go with the flow.
Unfortunately, the record has to end but it will always be remembered.
This is how I feel at this point in time. Here’s the issue. I missed the seventies by quite a few years. Of course, I envy my parents as well as many others for the experiences they had during those years. As a person that listens to 90% music from the seventies it’s a bit depressing knowing that I will never get to be part of that decade. There’s been plenty of rehashings of the classic rock image such as these guys… http://www.crawdaddy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/the_darkness.jpg. We’ve moved on to bands like these morons… http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QjjMlgSalPE/TMV6lWDWTVI/AAAAAAAAAus/ng3Z3lN4cJo/s1600/humanclay.jpg. No, I can not take you higher. Stop asking.
I’ll refrain from any mentioning of Lil Wayne. You get the point.
It’s just that there’s a raw truth held in the poetry of not just the lyrics but also the music of bands from the era. It’s unreal. You know an album is fantastic when you can lie down and lose yourself in it. You don’t need anything else going on like facebook or your phone. Just music. For me that could be anything from Houses of the Holy by Zep, London Calling by the Clash, or Animals by Pink Floyd to name just three.
None of these bands are functioning still today let alone making as high caliber records as they once did. Does this mean all hope is lost for our generation and further on in finding a new breed of quality music?
Absolutely not.
Some of my favorite bands put out incredible albums in every decade following the seventies. The Smashing Pumpkins released Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness in the 90s as did Pavement with Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. My favorite band of all time though, Circa Survive, has released all their material in the last ten years and it’s mind blowing.
It gives me that high that I’m sure my parents got listening to bands from the seventies. This feeling goes unrivaled by anything else. The important thing to remember here is that music doesn’t need a time frame in which it can be good or awful. There’s always at least a handful of bands that possess the power the forefathers of rock and roll had. They want to share their connections and experiences with the audience as badly as say Jim Morrison, Robert Plant, and David Bowie did.
They’re playing. But are we listening?
Ford and Lopatin - Channel Pressure review
So I found a streaming of this album. Time to give it a listen. here’s the link to stream it: http://soundcloud.com/factmag/sets/ford-lopatin/s-vHRwJ
1. Scumsoft - interesting intro to the album, basically someone scrolling through the airwaves.
2. Channel Pressure - This song really has no specified direction that it goes, which I absolutely love. It’s just this huge sonic landscape swirling around your head. I absolutely love this because each sound pushes and pulls each other in a different way.
3. Emergency Room - This is definitely an homage to Kraftwerk. There is such an incredible drive to the bass from the very beginning. Whereas the last track was like a bomb going off, this track fits each synthesizer intricately into place with each other. The chorus is super catchy. The tone of the voice (raspy, high male) fits the song perfectly.
4. Rock Center - What?
5. Too Much Midi (Please Forgive Me) - I don’t really catch what they are trying to say with the lyrics here. For those of you who don’t know what midi is, it’s how people record synthesizers and and drum software in recording software. I give them credit on the super distorted guitars. They add a nice color to the electronic feel of the song. The lead synth they use is a bit cheesy for my tastes. The track would have sounded better without it.
6. New Planet - This has the most interesting beat so far out of all the tracks. The edits that went into it are exact and match well. This is a super artsy song and I love it. It adds a nice touch to the album. It sounds like there’s a midi controlled acoustic guitar that under normal circumstances would sound awful but for some reason it makes this song stand out as unique. The feel of this song is more on the serene side. I love it.
7. The Voices - Duran Duran, straight up. Ooo there’s some nice acoustic guitar in the background. Props for that. I don’t like how they keep using the same edit for the chorus though. It gets repetitive. Not my favorite track.
8. Joey Rogers - This is the catchiest song on the album so far. It hooked me right from the start. It’s a mellow jam. Play it at chill apartment parties! The key to this song being so awesome is the subtle use of everything. At the end there’s a synth that sounds exactly like the one used in one of the levels of donkey kong country on super nintendo. Definitely a plus.
9. Dead Jammer - This is like your token underwater track haha. Honestly, there is not much to be said about this track. It’s just really mellow. Not spectacular but not bad.
10. Break Inside - This is actually a bit of a hip hop track. The electronic drums and the vocals definitely give it that feeling. I actually don’t like the drums. This track is a bit obscure for the album I think. It’s certainly interesting, just not my taste.
11. Surrender - To be honest, I’m getting bored listening to this track. It’s lackluster and the weak point of the album. I could have definitely gone without it. It’s pretty much just the same beat over and over again and the singer continuously saying “I surrender”.
12. Green Fields - This is basically used as a transition. It works. Simple enough.
13. World of Regret - Dude, this song is fantastic. My favorite on the album. This gets the award for being sick. I love the vocals as they slide up and down sounding robotic. They employ a slight Kraftwerk sound with one particular synth and that mixed with the robot voices sorta makes me think of a factory, but one where much fun is to be had haha.
14. G’s Dream - This is a better version of the intro. For some reason I love it. The static adds a nice touch.
So general consensus: Overall this album is really really good. The choice of sounds for each song is amazing. Ford and Lopatin definitely get an A+ for unique choice of particular tones. I feel like the album can get a little too artsy and crazy. I totally get why they chose to do this, but I think the album would have been significantly better if they stuck to more solid parts. Best Song: World of Regret. Worst Song: Surrender.
Overall rating out of ten: 8.0
I would highly suggest these guys if you are into Daft Punk, Animal Collective, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, or Kraftwerk.
Link reblogged from Dear Darkness with 10 notes
Dear Darkness....: I'VE BEEN RANTING ABOUT THIS ALL DAY, WELL ALL YEAR WELL FOR THE LAST 5 YEARS AT LEAST BUT HEY LETS RANT SOME MORE →
I am fucking sick to death of music journalism. Journalism being a word I use very loosely because its insulting to actual journalists.
I hate the way magazines and sites quote from other interviews, either from months ago (and circumstances have changed since) or they select a quote which fits..
I totally understand this guy. I could pretty much care less about the personal lives of musicians. I’m more into the music. Sometimes the personal lives actually ruin the music for me.
Source: deardarkness
blowcat-deactivated20110910 asked: Bring Me Your Love
You got it. I think I can do it tomorrow.
Question with 1 note
blowcat-deactivated20110910 asked: Can you do a review on City and Colour, like tomorrow or something? and don't forget to mention that he's taken, by me. So people don't get the wrong idea or anything.
haha ya totally. which album
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First Post -Ramblings on the spirit of the show
Everyone knows that hardcore show where one profusely sweaty body is tossed into another profusely sweaty body. Ladies and gentlemen what are we left with here?
Profusely sweaty people. Or is there something more at work here in the minds of the diehard kids?
Now I’m not much of a hardcore music fan myself. I had my phase in high school of course between my freshman and sophomore year. There was the fascination with From First to Last, Hawthorne Heights, and the hometown heroes Dorian’s Decay from Chicago.
(Quick break to throw some vinyl on the turntable right now. Blue Sky Noise by Circa Survive if any of you are interested)
Those days were fun but I grew out of that phase as my music taste changed. Nowadays, a majority of the hardcore bands sound very similar. Come to think of it, most of them sounded the same back in high school. That’s besides the point though. The chord I’m trying to strike here (music pun definitely intended) is the essence of those shows. The adrenaline that pumps through a “scene” kid at these shows is phenomenal. Mosh pits either on a small scale at a local show or on a large one at Ozzfest for example are intense concentrations of pure teenage angst and energy.
I know that when I would get pissed off about something I tended to get the urge to go to a show and ram into a few guys myself. It was a form of relaxation for me and I loved every push and shove of it. Think about this. We’ve got teens in high school sitting through classes they don’t want to take, listening to teachers they hate, and wanting to experience life through experience. These are the same kids getting bombarded for being gay or “different”. I sure as hell know that people thought both of those things of me. Fact of the matter is that I wasn’t and still am not either. I’ve been happily taken to a wonderful girl for over two years and yes, I might have odd interests (e.g. Jurassic Park) but that doesn’t make me a weird person. The youth of America need an outlet. What better to freak their parents out and get a thrill than going to a show. It doesn’t even have to be a hardcore show. I’m talking about any concert here people!
Last Thanksgiving, I went to a Circa Survive show at the House of Blues in Chicago (awesome venue by the way). They started the set off with Strange Terrain, the opener on the aforementioned Blue Sky Noise. As the drums come in, the singer, Anthony Green, sprints out onstage and leaps into the outstretched arms of the audience. There’s documented evidence of this too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om8845zbFjA BAM! That was the best intro to any show I’ve been to and probably will ever be to. The confetti helped too. Throughout the rest of the show Anthony captivated the audience and held their attention. It was incredible seeing all these people united for one band. Their passion was clear and their energy was sharp. No doubt it was one of the most magical experiences I’ve ever witnessed.
With my own band in high school, Blank Page, we only played one actual show that happened to take place at our high school. Somehow we had a huge turnout and everyone loved us. I had people coming up to me a year afterward still telling me that we were their favorite band. To this day I rank that concert as one of the most important things that’s ever happened to me. Looking out over the crowd I could see how energetic they were. The excitement filled the air. My friends were enthralled and were bouncing around just having a good time. Some were even singing the words. I couldn’t believe it. They had a great time and that’s all I could really ask for.
Specific acts during a show don’t make it great. The band doesn’t always have to make it great either. It’s the people there. The people that go for the love of a show. Everyone there radiates off each other. This is where true personalities emerge. You see the stick skinny girls and solemn boys standing on the sides and in corners away from the action going on in the middle with the diehards. The diehards are living it up by falling over each other. The only difference between these two groups is how they express their admiration of the scene. The quiet ones are grateful for the music. The diehards are grateful for the physical force provided by the music that is now background for them. Of course there are the hybrids too. The gang’s all here and we’re all alright.
