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Everyone’s favorite virtual cartoon band will release no more studio albums. NME reported that lead singer Damon Albarn has confirmed that a film score will be all that is left of Gorillaz. Why do the good bands have to go so soon? Two studio albums and two remix albums are not enough. All of the four Gorillaz albums have a sound of their own; eclectic to the end. Continue reading “Gorillaz are no more”
Anyone up for a French house DJ duo? No, I’m not talking about Daft Punk; I’m talking about Justice. Of the entire artist lineup being pushed by Ed Banger Records right now, Justice is getting the best and most press attention (guess I’m feeding the flame.) Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay are the current heroes of French house music, and let me explain why.The biggest thing going for them right now is the fact that they sound nothing like any other music out right now. Unfortunately, their sound is probably fairly easy to replicate, but as long as they can innovate and keep evolving their music, they have a solid chance at reigning as house kings pretty soon. So what is this sound that they are pioneering? In my opinion, it is a blending of heavily distorted samples, sick chopped beats, and an amazing balance between repetition and progression through a song. Another comparison to Daft Punk: they are geniuses when it comes to choosing the right samples to sample.Many of you might have recently read/heard of the samples that Daft Punk has used to make their songs. While Daft Punk does credit the artists taken from, after listening to each song and the sample taken from the song, it is fairly disappointing how heavily Daft Punk does rely on these samples. I do not believe that Justice will fall victim to this type of backlash due to the fact that their songs have so much more to them than repetitive samples. Smart.An interesting fact: Justice hasn’t released an LP yet! So far, we only have compilation albums put out by Ed Banger and a single EP from Justice. Their debut album is set to be released in June 2007.At Coachella, it is unfortunate that they will not be playing at night (just rumors right now, no set-list yet.) From what I have seen on YouTube, they have amazingly energetic shows with great lighting. I love it.update: Justice will be playing at 8:30pm, which conflicts with many other bands I want to see…
Let me point out firstly how odd I find it that Circa Survive is even playing at Coachella (a post-hardcore band amongst the indie/electro-nation?) That said, I really do live Circa Survive and don’t have a problem with them playing.The Circa Survive arises some odd feelings in me, so I will first go over the history that I know of. The band started after the lead singer, Anthony Green, left a little band named Saosin (where he was also the lead singer.) He left on very odd terms. At an airport, while he was waiting for his next flight to go meet the guys of Saosin, he called to let them know that he had a change of heart decided that he didn’t belong anymore. Saosin has since moved on to singer Cove Reber.Leaving the drama behind, Anthony Green is what made/makes both bands what they were/are (but Cove was a good replacement.) His voice is very powerful and ethereal simutaneously; it really is amazing to listen to. He can hit notes that other punk singers only dream of being able to hit without tearing apart their vocal chords. His singing style is fairly agressive, meaning that he does scream… but only once in a while. He is not a scream singer in any way shape or form. To put is simply, I love Green’s voice.Circa Survive has released only one studio album to date, but a new LP is due very soon. Their sound is very open and ambient. The guitar ruffs aren’t choppy; they fade off into the distance being overlapped by the oncoming riffs. The vocals do the same. Their song construction is anything but conventional. While most songs do have the verse/chord progression, the many variant Circa takes on this makes for a nice change of pace. It will be very interesting to see where the new LP takes Circa. It might launch them to where Saosin is now, above Saosin, or it could mark the end of a fairly new group.Sorry for the constant Saosin comparisons, but Saosin is one of my favorite bands right now…
Peaches will rock you so hard that every concert you go to afterwards is just cakewalk. Peaches is the hardest girl in electroclash, no, make that the entire universe. Just listen to her music, and while it might be kinda hard not to be offended, you will soon realize that you have never heard anything like it before.Before I get to her lyrics, let’s tackle her beats first. Drum machines run when they hear her name. Her sound is comprised of drum machine patters, guitar riffs, and distorted synths layered all over each other. It’s repetitive and grabbing at the same time.Now on to her lyrics. Sexist? Erotic? Nonsense? Genius. The sex that she screams makes wil.i.am’s music sound like the words of God. The persona of Peaches is gender confused, and this is blatantly obvious in the lyrics of songs such as “Tent In Your Pants” and “Boys Wanna Be Her”.
How do you do that cool dance?Baby don’t split those hot pantsI got these moves that we can do to and singI don’t look too good in pinkI used to slash myself upI like to play it toughCuts, bruises, blood oozes, bones breaking roughYou gotta handle that stuff
Oh, and did I mention that that song is a collab with Iggy Pop?! Because it is…With lyrics as repetitive as her drum machine beats, it’s no wonder that her cult following of fans knows every single word in her songs and screams them at the top of their lungs at every show. Energy is guaranteed. But please, be aware that the explicitness of her lyrics outdo even Marilyn Manson.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been a staple in my music collection from as far back as I can remember (not of my own volition in the beginning.) Their great amalgam of funk metal, punk, rap, and pop makes a sound unique from anything around them throughout their current 24 year career. While their first two records didn’t do too much regarding chart success, from Mothers Milk on, success has followed them wherever they go.I want to spend the most time on album #5: Blood Sugar Sex Magic. My favorite album, and judging from chart success, may other’s as well. Having been produced by Rick Rubin, it almost seems obvious that it would be an amazing record, and having sold 12 million copies worldwide, there is no doubt that this is one of the greatest rock albums (of all time). This album is pure energy and fun. Heavy bass emphasis puts funk at the forefront of the record with Anthony Kiedis’ rap sharp and powerful lyricism. “Give it Away” and “Under the Bridge” are two amazing singles that showcase the creativity put into every song on the record.Moving on to the following albums, Californication was an even larger chart success than its predecessors with singles like “Californication”, “Scar Tissue”, and “Parallel Universe”. To date, it has sold 15 million copies. Californiation allowed RHCP to basically clean up at the 2000 MTV VMAs (and win a few Grammys at the same time.) Skipping past By the Way, which is another great record, we arrive at Stadium Arcadium.So much hype surrounded this album that I didn’t think that it could live up to what it was supposed to be, and in my opinion, it didn’t. There is no denying that the amount of awards that Stadium Arcadium has garnered speaks volumes about its success as a pop album, but I feel that RHCP left their sound behind them and replaced it with some cotton candy and bubblegum. I don’t feel that it’s a bad album, I just hope that they play more than Stadium Arcadium at Coachella…
Many people have called David Bowie a chameleon, but he is nothing compared to Björk. She has gone through many transformations both physically (how she looks) and sonically (how her music sounds) since her solo debut in 1993 with Debut. Being from ReykjavÃk, Iceland, her accent and tonal voice goes against nearly all of western culture’s pop sounds. Here is the progression of her sound though each successive album:
So that basically wraps up Björk as an ever changing artist. Just go look at some pictures of her, and you will realize what I mean when I say that she is a chameleon. She is truely a musical genius who has remained relevant through the fickle tastes of pop culture that are constantly changing.
Anyone remember one of the biggest political bands of all time? Rage Against the Machine left the scene in 2000 due to Zach de la Rocha’s (lead singer) announcement that he didn’t feel that he could stay honest to himself and be in the band. After the breakup, the rest of the band (Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk) joined together with former Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell to form Audioslave (which recently broke up.) Forgetting their complicated history, Rage is reuniting to play at Coachella and three more shows as a part of the Rock the Bells concert in New York and Northern/Southern California later this year.Rage plays amazing funk metal infused with very politically charged lyrics. Everyone of their albums is sure to punch you in the face and leave you on the floor bleeding. Tom Morello’s strong guitar sounds go hand in hand with de la Rocha’s emphatic style of writing and execution. Another characteristic of Rage’s music (common to funk metal) is the way that they push the bass to the front many times. It’s very heavy music with a message.I have been in love with Rage for about five or six years now. Yes, this means that I wasn’t into them while they were a band (I was only in 3rd/4th grade when they broke up), but their music hasn’t diminished in meaning as time has passed. If you want to check out what they sound like, I recommend checking out the songs Calm Like a Bomb, Bullet in the Head, and Killing in the Name. If you don’t like those, oh well, those are just my favorite songs. Read more to see the video for Sleep Now in the Fire. Rage Against the Machine will be the headliner for Sunday of Coachella.
Why is it that this spoof/cover/mockery of the Black Eyed Pea’s My Humps by Alanis Morissette far better than the original? Yes, the YouTube video that has garnered over 4 million views so far is very funny. But as Adam Polselli points out, it’s the song that really shines here.
The fact that she has completely redone the song, and not just dubbed over the music, emphasizes the stupidity of the lyrics. Watching/hearing this cover makes you wonder how the original version was able to peak at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Leave it to Miss Ironic to shove the materialistic nature of our society in our faces…
It is official: EMI is going to offer its library of music on iTunes without DRM. For those who don’t know, DRM is what prevents you from doing whatever you like with your music (ie. using something other than an iPod). DRM stands for Digital Rights Managements. DRM is applied to every file you buy in iTunes, every song you download in Rhapsody, basically it’s everywhere. It’s also crippling your free usage of what you pay for.
After Steve Jobs’ blaming the record industry for DRM saying that he’s all for DRM-free music, but not taking any personal responsibility for the problem, the major record label EMI has published a press release stating that it will be offering higher quality, DRM-free music on the iTunes Music Store. Here is a great summary of the points made today (by Gizmodo): Continue reading “EMI takes first steps for DRM-free music on iTunes”
It really isn’t fair. Chopped up samples that have been distorted and modulated to no end shouldn’t sound this good. Honestly, they shouldn’t be able to get away with this. Enough of the complaining, the point is: Justice hits you hard… in the face. From the moment you press play, you get a noise that makes you wish that you had bought another stereo with just a few more watts; you can’t ever get the bass heavy enough or the volume loud enough.
So, what genre does this three track EP fall into? My personal analysis is that it is a fusion of some kind of electro-clash, industrial, and house. It seems that every synth/sample has been run through some kind of distorting filter that makes it scream with fury, every drum line kicks a little more than anything before, and that repetition is the name of the game. As with many of the artists signed to the Ed Banger record label, Daft Punk seems an obvious comparison. Both are original, progressive, a duo, French, and insanely popular.
Whether this quick claim to fame through an EP is founded in any way is yet to be seen. But please don’t get me wrong; even with only 3 tracks, Justice won’t be leaving my playlists anytime soon.