I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it....
I know I was just complaining about not liking music anymore but luckily a couple of AWESOME Cds have brought me back to life. (Well, a couple of awesome CDs and the OUTSTANDING, raucous Thermals show that I went to last week--as did David Cross!!--where their live version of "God and Country" was more powerful than anything I've ever heard a political pundit say. Plus, I plan to be Mrs. Hutch Harris sometime soon. Goddamn that man is dreamy!!)
Anyway, the first great new CD I got is the new Hot Hot Heat. Run, don’t walk to buy it when it comes out April 5th. I’d write more about it but I’m hoping to review it for work so I’ve got to save my choice turns of phrase for the writing that actually pays the bills. Suffice to say it is awash in keyboards and Steve Bays dramatic yelp. The single (“Goodnight, Goodnight”) is available on iTunes currently. GO GET IT! It is a caffeine-jittery, rhythm-shifting bitter pop gem.
Also the Death from Above 1979 album is AWESOME—heavy but druggy. And when they play Bowery Ballroom next month they are playing with controller.controller, the Canadians I’ve been yapping about for a year. (Think the fractured dance punk of Wire’s poppier stuff but fronted by Xene Cervenka.)
It pretty much goes without saying that the new Bloc Party album is great. It is nice to finally have more than 4 of their songs! I love how they manage to be political and interesting without being pedantic. Plus, frankly they could be singing garbeldy gook for all I care with the shit eating basslines and angular, disco punk. Plus, not to be the PC police, but—like TV on the Radio—they are a multi-racial band and that is so exciting to me. We need more people of color in rock music to save us from whiny white boys. After all, rock music, by definition, is a style INVENTED by people of color. Who says that the only black musicians are in rap and jazz? Or that the only Asian musicians play in symphonies. That is such bullshit. Plus, the ever-whitening world of rock is not only BORING, but it hasn’t boded well for the quality and diversity of the music. I’m just saying....
Lastly, (but certainly not least) is the MC Lars EP. All of you rock girls who were saddened by the marriage of Julian Casablancas, the ugly mustache of Jack White, or the posse of nubile teenagers that follow Conor Oberst around—Lars is your new rockstar wannabe boyfriend. Seriously. Aside from being devistatingly, slacker-y cute his EP is funniest, freshest album I’ve heard since Sesame Street Disco when I was 5. (Hey, don’t discount songs like, “Me Lost Me Cookie at the Disco,” by Cookie Monster. That song was bananas!) His seven song EP has more cute puns than Carrie Bradshaw (but is infinitely smarter) and he is not just a clever lyricist. The backing music (which, depending on the track, falls somewhere between Atom and His Package and the Faint) is totally rock/synth music (except for the one track that uses the balls-out rock sample of “Rock You Like A Hurricane) and his flow reminds me of MC Pee Pants (my most favoritist incarnation of MC Chris).
I wish I could sit here and just type out all of the lyrics to all seven songs but I am lazy, plus I’m sure that would violate some sort of copyright law. They must be heard to be believed. One track (Signing Emo) is about an A&R man trying to sign the next big thing and is interspersed with a song-within-a-song by his emo band du jour. One song is a rap boast (the aforementioned “Hurricane Fresh”) but in a totally nerdy, emo way. He says things like: “I rhyme white but so what? I like James Brown and Beyonce’s butt. Whatever your race, I’ll Friendster you and rent two Spike Lee NetFlix too.” He has another song about loving England—which, I obviously TOTALLY get—but it also reads as an appologia on Americanisms. (Though it ends with the line “The US isn’t perfect, but you don’t have to remind us.”) I especially like the opening lines: “Cops without guns and the NME. Should I watch the BBC or should I watch the BBC?” Ha ha! There is another great track about college where he actually sings a little Avril Lavigne hommage. But the stand out hit will clearly be “iGeneration” about being “more than a walking demographic.” And no, in case you were wondering, I don’t feel weird listening to a song about how we are just a generation that they sell iPods to, on my freakin’ iPod!
Anyway, the first great new CD I got is the new Hot Hot Heat. Run, don’t walk to buy it when it comes out April 5th. I’d write more about it but I’m hoping to review it for work so I’ve got to save my choice turns of phrase for the writing that actually pays the bills. Suffice to say it is awash in keyboards and Steve Bays dramatic yelp. The single (“Goodnight, Goodnight”) is available on iTunes currently. GO GET IT! It is a caffeine-jittery, rhythm-shifting bitter pop gem.
Also the Death from Above 1979 album is AWESOME—heavy but druggy. And when they play Bowery Ballroom next month they are playing with controller.controller, the Canadians I’ve been yapping about for a year. (Think the fractured dance punk of Wire’s poppier stuff but fronted by Xene Cervenka.)
It pretty much goes without saying that the new Bloc Party album is great. It is nice to finally have more than 4 of their songs! I love how they manage to be political and interesting without being pedantic. Plus, frankly they could be singing garbeldy gook for all I care with the shit eating basslines and angular, disco punk. Plus, not to be the PC police, but—like TV on the Radio—they are a multi-racial band and that is so exciting to me. We need more people of color in rock music to save us from whiny white boys. After all, rock music, by definition, is a style INVENTED by people of color. Who says that the only black musicians are in rap and jazz? Or that the only Asian musicians play in symphonies. That is such bullshit. Plus, the ever-whitening world of rock is not only BORING, but it hasn’t boded well for the quality and diversity of the music. I’m just saying....
Lastly, (but certainly not least) is the MC Lars EP. All of you rock girls who were saddened by the marriage of Julian Casablancas, the ugly mustache of Jack White, or the posse of nubile teenagers that follow Conor Oberst around—Lars is your new rockstar wannabe boyfriend. Seriously. Aside from being devistatingly, slacker-y cute his EP is funniest, freshest album I’ve heard since Sesame Street Disco when I was 5. (Hey, don’t discount songs like, “Me Lost Me Cookie at the Disco,” by Cookie Monster. That song was bananas!) His seven song EP has more cute puns than Carrie Bradshaw (but is infinitely smarter) and he is not just a clever lyricist. The backing music (which, depending on the track, falls somewhere between Atom and His Package and the Faint) is totally rock/synth music (except for the one track that uses the balls-out rock sample of “Rock You Like A Hurricane) and his flow reminds me of MC Pee Pants (my most favoritist incarnation of MC Chris).
I wish I could sit here and just type out all of the lyrics to all seven songs but I am lazy, plus I’m sure that would violate some sort of copyright law. They must be heard to be believed. One track (Signing Emo) is about an A&R man trying to sign the next big thing and is interspersed with a song-within-a-song by his emo band du jour. One song is a rap boast (the aforementioned “Hurricane Fresh”) but in a totally nerdy, emo way. He says things like: “I rhyme white but so what? I like James Brown and Beyonce’s butt. Whatever your race, I’ll Friendster you and rent two Spike Lee NetFlix too.” He has another song about loving England—which, I obviously TOTALLY get—but it also reads as an appologia on Americanisms. (Though it ends with the line “The US isn’t perfect, but you don’t have to remind us.”) I especially like the opening lines: “Cops without guns and the NME. Should I watch the BBC or should I watch the BBC?” Ha ha! There is another great track about college where he actually sings a little Avril Lavigne hommage. But the stand out hit will clearly be “iGeneration” about being “more than a walking demographic.” And no, in case you were wondering, I don’t feel weird listening to a song about how we are just a generation that they sell iPods to, on my freakin’ iPod!
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