epic fail: cinespace

First negative review to date: Midnight Juggernauts.

I have to start by saying I had high hopes for this band. I like what I have heard from them- funk driven bass lines, dance beats, and electro-rock jams. However, last night at Cinespace, they just weren't working.

Maybe I expected too much from my night because I had been home sick all day. Maybe the overpriced and underspiked drinks put me and my wallet in a bad mood. Maybe I was turned off because I couldn't talk to my friends for a minute without an ego-inflated wannabe actor slurring some poor attempt at a pickup line in our direction. Maybe the bouncers shoving between people and shining flashlights in our faces made me feel like I was on the cusp of being thrown out of a high school dance for wearing too little clothing or dancing too dirty with a guy.

Regardless of the many biases I could have had while listening to Midnight Juggernauts, the fact remains that they were awful. The sound was muddled and disjointed, the musicians were sloppy, and the music was ill-fitting on an electro-night at Cinespace. I really did feel like I was watching my little brother's high school group playing at battle of the bands- I wanted to like it, but I didn't. And since my baby bro wasn't waiting for congratulations after the show, I don't have to pretend like it was the best thing I've ever heard.

My friends and I spent the night on another dance floor, as did most of the people there. We listened to a DJ spin top 40 and accessible electro for baby-ears. Overall, we could have put together a better night ourselves, and spent less money doing it.

WTF mate?

You be the judge: Here's a video from last night that one of the brave few onlookers posted.

gnarls barkley head

Happy Friday!

To kick off the weekend, enjoy some of this glorious cover action: Gnarls Barkley playin' Radiohead's Reckoner. Sweet, sweet cover. Cee-Lo's booming vocals bring this song to a whole new level.

Have a rad weekend. Make those two days count.

beirut > huffington post

I would love to see Beirut play live. Their founder/leader Zach Condon is uniquely inspired and has produced equally unique and inspiring music. His albums Gulag Orkestar, The Flying Cup Club, and March of the Zapotec are accomplished, well thought out pieces of musical artistry- refreshing, beautiful, and engaging.

This is why I want to slap someone from the Huffington Post in the face. A recent article covering his show at the Guggenheim completely missed the point of his music, calling it contrived and a "cannibalization of all the styles of the past". I'm sorry, but what the what? How does anyone get off ripping on someone for experimenting with different musical genres?

I'm going to be extremely short here, though I could rant for hours, but this is the bottom line: People listen to music because it sounds good. Music that sounds good is doing its job as music. Music does not need to have any greater purpose behind its existence and acceptance among audiences, although often it does. Beirut's music succeeds because it resonates with people who appreciate MUSIC. It is pleasing to the ear. It is well composed. It is filled with a veritable buffet of instruments not often messed around with in most mainstream rock bands, like the flugelhorn, ukelele, cello, mandolin, glockenspiel, accordion, organ, baritone sax, trumpet, trombone, and euphonium. It also achieves its goal of combining Eastern European folk music and Western popular music into one seamless, seemingly natural sound.

The problem with the writer of the Huffington article was that he attacked an artist for experimentation. He claimed that the reasons people listen to Beirut are because of its obscurity, nostalgia, and ability to let people peer into a window to a place people would rather not visit (a reference to the Balkan-folk music that Condon regularly cites as an influence). Because of this, they deem his music contrived. I take issue with someone criticizing music, or any art form, based on the audience in lieu of the musician or work itself. This is not how we should look at art. Instead, we should admire the aspirations of artists who feel inspired enough to create something unique and thought-provoking; something beautiful, something new.

So, listen to his music. Because it sounds good.

hard summer is on

Just bought my Hard Summer tix. That is all. So ready for this. Can't wait to report back with details...

in defense of neon bible

In response to the comment I had on my Arcade Fire posting from yesterday, I felt the need to sort of defend the album Neon Bible. It was a fantastic album that had the misfortune of following Funeral, one of the most lauded albums of the last decade. However, I would argue that while Arcade Fire's talents were presented in Funeral, they were confirmed in Neon Bible. Funeral presented listeners with a distinct, elegantly sublime sound, and Neon Bible's lofty, ecclesiastical contents continued in the same tradition. The album's sound is at times triumphant and jubilant, and at others, has the brooding, bittersweet sound of melancholia that forces you to pause in reflection. This, for me, has come to be Arcade Fire's signature- a sort of evocation of romantic gloom, sweet sadness, and pensive joy.

J'espere que vous aimez le concert a emporter...

arcade fire: the suburbs

Who's super stoked for Arcade Fire's new album?

Me. Me. Me. I am. I've been waiting for this ever since I basically wore out my ipod playing Funeral and Neon Bible on repeat. Excuse me, ever since I still wear out my ipod playing them on repeat. This album is going to be massive if they stay true to what they're good at: being epic. 8 album covers is a good start.

Not only are fans praying on their neon bibles in anticipation, but it also won't hurt that the band reached a whole new fan base after "Wake Up" was featured as, basically, the theme for the movie Where The Wild Things Are last year. Even the 8 year old I used to babysit requested I play their albums in the car on the way to and from school.

The band is set to release their album on August 3rd and you can pre-order it on their website.

They also released two tracks to the public a short while ago and you can download them here.

Quotubular: Spike Jonze told Ain't It Cool News he wrote the Where The Wild Things Are script while listening to Funeral: "[The] record is thematically very connected to the film". AND before shooting, he apparently cut a mood piece soundtracked by "Wake Up" to inspire his crew. Dope.

random music thought: doo-wop

I've been thinking a lot recently about what music genre is ready to make its comeback, and I've settled on doo-wop. It makes sense, and to be honest, I just really want to see it happen. It's so old school cool that it would be a shame if it didn't make its way onto albums again soon.

I feel like for my generation, one of ironic-mustache wearing, cardigan sweater loving, skinny jeans obsessed hipsters, there is a totally compulsive need to look back at what worked in the past for inspiration. I'm not saying this is a bad thing at all; on the contrary, I think it's pretty sweet that we are trying to do that whole learn from history thing. If you look at music now, we've got the new disco in electronica, the new new-wave in... new-wave, punk is back, and experimental psychedelic rock, blues, folk, and gypsy have come to define most of the indie music that is successful now. I think the only thing left to cover now is doo-wop.

The sweet, soulful sound of doo-wop. Think of it as the a cappella version of electronica.

Doo this: TV On The Radio- Mr. Grieves (Pixies cover)

Splendid interview with TV On The Radio's lead singer Tunde Adebimpe:

"Splendid: 'What about the doo-wop? Is that something that's in your background? An old love?'

Tunde: 'I don't know. I think half of it is just not being able to play an instrument. The other half is that I have a big affection for really old music. Knowing that you can do something without banks and banks and banks of technology is really important to me.'"