South - You Are Here

South is also out with a new album, entitled You Are Here.

With their last album, Adventures in the Underground Journey to the Stars, South departed from the string arrangements that played so heavily into With the Tides. Well, there is no return of strings, but the ability of Joel Cadbury, Jamie McDonald, and Brett Shaw to come together and make large alternative rock soundscapes has not escaped them.

Below is the video for their single from the album, entitled "Better Things."

Blondfire - My Someday

Blondfire is out with their new album, My Someday . If you had heard their debut EP, Don't Whisper Lies, then this will come to you as a natural progression of that sound, which mixes electronic synths with standard pop rock accompaniment.

Bruce and Erica Driscoll (brother and sister) have an ability to arrange music that takes you back in frame of mind while providing you with the feeling of a new sound. They have also released two other EPs between Don't Whisper Lies and My Someday, and the only track to make the transition to the new album is the obvious single, "L-L-Love." However, don't let that deter you from their other EPs, especially their iTunes acoustic EP.

Here is hoping that their fans will not have to wait as long before they come out with their next album.

Below is the iTunes acoustic EP version of "L-L-Love."

The Black Keys - Attack and Release

The Black Keys released their latest (fifth) studio album entitled, Attack and Release. Their latest creation has been produced by Danger Mouse, and let me be the first to say that his production hand is evident.

While the change in sound is not bad, nor is it an about face as to how Dan Auerbach and Pat Carney create and play music, the production value of Attack and Release shows. Some songs even have bass accompaniment, which if we can remember, only happened once on their prior four releases combined.

However, Dan and Pat still are the Black Keys, and there is nothing that can replace Dan's vocals, guitar, and Pat's drums. When you play this album, there is no doubt that you are listening to The Black Keys.

The real question is if their production collaboration with Danger Mouse will be done again in future releases. If so, or if not, you will still be able to find many tracks to adore on Attack and Release.

Here is the video for a track they seem to be pushing as their single, "Strange Times."

The B-52s - Funplex

The B-52s are out with a new studio album, Funplex; their first album with new material since 1992.

Funplex was produced by Steve Osborne, and it was a great choice considering that the band wanted a bit more modern sound with programming involved. I was simply amazed when I first listened to Funplex, how the B-52s were able to keep up and not remain dated as many will probably try to in their reviews.

The album is meant to be fun, and it is. All tracks are up tempo, and rarely leave one without a smile.

Check out the music video, for "Funplex."

Mike Doughty - Golden Delicious

Mike Doughty is out with a new album: Golden Delicious. So far as I can see, it is a natural progression from what he has always been doing without the band backing of Soul Coughing.

Before I go on any further, I think it is imortant for us to realize that fans who attached themselves to Mike Doughty during his Soul Coughing days mistook a lot of the sound the band did collaberatively, as Doughty's sound personally. While Doughty's influence within the band were heavy, Doughty kept the sound of Soul Coughing to the band of Soul Coughing. This is evidenced by his demo of Skittish, which was during his tenure at Soul Coughing, but was a departure from the sound of Soul Coughing. However, with that said, people still hold onto those sounds as Mike explains here:

So the surprise which is no surprise is all the people saying that it's OK, but nowhere as good as Haughty Melodic. I joke about this all the time, but it's so bafflingly true: everything I put out, there's a general reaction of, Well, it's not as good as his genius ______, which he put out two years ago.

So all the terrible stuff I read about Skittish--why did he make that awful mistake of leaving the Soul C sound for the acoustic thing?--has turned into, Why did he leave the acoustic sound for the Dan Wilson vibe

With that being prefaced, Golden Delicious is a fine record on its own. "27 Jennifers" is the obvious single, but there are other tracks that I hold onto personally as I do with any other album, especially the track "Luminous Girl."

Here is the video for "27 Jennifers."

Hot Chip - Made in the Dark

Hot Chip has done most of the work in explaining their latest album in the You Tube video below.

In my view, this album is even more eclectic than their prior two releases. And since this was the desired goal of their album; mission accomplished.

If you are looking for an electronic album that is rife full of syncopation and dissonant tones, mingled with catchy riffs, Made in the Dark might just have everything you are looking for.

Connected

For those who read Economic Principals by David Warsh, every so often Warsh will show in his pieces an ability to construct the semantic connections that show how relevant something can be. I will be honest and say that it is a fancy way of playing the “Degrees of Separation” game.

In order to retain and gain some sort of relevancy with my friends, and acquaintances whom I think should want me to be great friends with them (that’s a joke), I will try and do the same sort of semantic construct that David Warsh does, but instead of economics professors or old newspaper firms, I will be using bands and individual music artists (hey, it’s the weekend). I imagine that this exercise will feel a lot like the lyrics to LCD Soundsystem’s “Losing My Edge.” In fact, as the lyrics of the song go, I will also be stating this knowledge as a show of my relevancy. Whether this attempt at musical elitism will pass or fail however, I think is a matter for Picthfork, or my good friend, Will, to decide (again, joking here).

To start, we’ll leap from the line with The Breeders, whom are probably best known for their album Last Splash, which contained the single “Cannonball.” The Breeders have had lineup changes galore, however, Kim Deal has been the main catalyst of the group and its leader. Now, while Kim herself is famous – even The Dandy Warhols wrote a song about her called “Cool as Kim Deal” – I will go with Tanya Donelly, who apart from having a solo career (I always dug the track “Night You Saved My Life”), was in the group Belly.

Belly was another alternative rock band in the early 90s, which by the way, my favorite track of theirs is “Feed the Tree” from their 1993 album, Star. Donelly left Belly in 1996, after which the band disassembled, as well. Fast forward to 2005, and Tonya Donnelly was working with Mark Eitzel. Eitzel has released many albums with the band American Music Club, as well as some solo albums, his latest being Candy Ass in 2005, which contained one of my favorite tracks, “Make Sure They Hear.” Prior to Eitzel’s 2005 release, in 1998 he worked on an album with the assistance of James McNew from Yo La Tengo.

Yo La Tengo once did a music video for “Sugarcube” that featured comedian, David Cross (you may remember him from the show, Arrested Development). David Cross also worked in a music video with another of my favorite bands, The Black Keys. In 2003, The Black Keys toured with one of my favorite Washington based indie rock bands, Sleater Kinney. Sleater Kinney once toured with the Blues Explosion and were mistaken as groupies, when obviously, in fact, they were one of the acts to perform on stage.

By the way, The Blues Explosion and Sleater Kinney had somewhat similar formats: two guitars, drums, and no bass player.

The Blues Explosion through all their years of releasing albums worked with many people. In their 1998 album, Acme, the track “Blue Green Olga” featured backing vocals from Jon Spencer’s wife, Cristina Martinez, as well as Jill Cunniff, from Luscious Jackson. For those who weren’t living under a rock in the 1990s, we can remember that Luscious Jackson had many hits and transcended a genre or two during their tenure.

And what will finally bring us back to the beginning is that Vivian Trimble, of Luscious Jackson, left the group in 2001 to do an album with Josephine Wiggs, of…you guessed it, The Breeders.

Back to economics and politics next week, enjoy the weekend.

Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

Spoon’s 6^th LP, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, came out recently, and once again we have an album with and eclectic sound that Spoon has become known for.

For any music critic who tries to argue that they’re becoming stagnant, I think it’s time that we all realized Spoon’s albums have always been an eclectic sound. So, just because the band still tries to offer the same amount of differences, we shouldn’t overlook the differences. This, to me, is Spoon’s finest album.

My favorite track: Finer Feelings

Goodbye

No, this isn’t my farewell to my very faithful friends who read this blog, but rather another music review; this time for Ulrich Schnauss’ latest album, Goodbye. Don’t look for any change in musical direction as opposed to Schnauss’ last two albums as he continues further on into the electronic genre of shoegaze and ambience.

While most people tend to completely disavow of the electronic genre as some mindless bit of formulaic noise, Schnauss has continuously been able to put together tracks and compositions that are both deep and emotionally moving. There is nothing baseless in this album, or any of those he did prior.

My favorite track: Stars

Cinco de Mowo

Mocean Worker’s (a.k.a. Adam Dorn) fifth album sees a continuation of the jazz and big band breaks that were in Enter the Mowo, as well as the continuation of the Mowo moniker that Dorn has fallen in love with.

Just like his fourth album, there’s very few things to not like, so long as you have a taste for all things jazz and electronic music that in no way resembles anything close to the progressive house, or trance genres people associate with the umbrella genre. This is another one of those albums where I dare you to listen to it and not smile.

My favorite track: Olé Baby.

Night of the Furies

I have to say that I dig the latest album by The Rosebuds, Night of the Furies. Like the duos two prior albums, Night of the Furies varies in tempo, but it also has a unifying theme around relationships.

Ivan actually blogged at one point that:

Some real drums sound like machines (!!!) and some machines sound like machines.

So, needless to say, there is more of a “synth feel” to this album than prior, but when you listen to their albums in succession, you can feel the progression. My favorite tracks just to name two are: Cemetery Lawns and Get Up Get Out.

Car Songs

New York Times blogger, Micheline Maynard, writes about songs to listen to in the car, or rather that are car specific. She mentions “92 Subaru” by Fountains of Wayne, one of my favorite songs of late.

I wonder how many people out there have their own lists of songs that are car specific. By the way, I hope your life isn’t as bad as to find Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel” absolutely necessary to listen to. If your life is in such dire straits, I recommend turning the radio off and putting yourself in the company of your best friends.

Just a few off the top of my head:

• Fountains of Wayne – 92 Subaru (you could also pick Survival Car)
• BT – Ride
• Gary Numan – Cars
• The Beach Boys – I Get Around (also, many other songs to pick from The Beach Boys)
• Cake – Stickshifts and Safteybelts (a few others by Cake that are car specific or use cars as metaphors)

Music Review: Traffic and Weather

It never ceases to amaze me how both Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood can so consistently craft together such wonderful pop songs.

Fountains of Wayne’s latest release Traffic and Weather - continues on their tradition of proper pop-rock song crafting. Once again, like their previous albums, they manage to fit in a great mix of songs that differ in tempo and message.

I find it difficult to listen to their music and not feel good. My personal favorite is their second track, “92 Subaru.” As a Subaru owner myself I can’t help but identify with the song. The link for the album above will also allow you to listen to samples of the album, just like Amazon.

Being a MySpace Musician

It’s hard to take this article very seriously. It’s about an unsigned MySpace music artist named Tila Tequila (can you tell that’s not her real name?).

I mention it because I hark back to my previous post on MySpace. This “recording artist” has 1.7 million friends, and yet her single on iTunes:

Sold 14,000 99-cent downloads in its first week -- a figure that doesn't even equal 1 percent of Tequila's MySpace friends.

Another reason why I don’t think MySpace will last for a long time unless it comes up with something new is that not much of its content is genuine. And when it is genuine, it’s mostly just gossip that does nothing for anyone. Simply put, MySpace lacks an ability to be serious overall, and the brand will require some invigoration in the future if wants to remain viable.

As for Tequila’s music career:

There are other hurdles, too, says Craig Marks, editor of Blender magazine. "Her problem is that she's just not that good. As a test case, I'm not sure she's going to measure up because I don't think she has the skill."

Strictly speaking economically, for Tila Tequila, this venture of hers has had a huge payoff. She’s signed with a prominent publicist, represented by United Artist Talent Agency, and an artist management firm. And obviously if I’m even mentioning her, then the buzz being generated for her must be working. I will disclose this though: I have yet to go to her MySpace page, or even hear a snippet of her song on iTunes.

In the end, my favorite quote from the Washington Post article was in regards as to how staff writer J. Freedom du Lac described Tequila’s single:

An abrasive, expletive-laced rap-rock revenge fantasy

Only on MySpace…

Milli Vanilli

In case you didn’t know already, we may be seeing a movie sometime in the future about Milli Vanilli.

BT touring with Thomas Dolby

BT is one of my favorite musical artists. And he's touring with Thomas Dolby performing from This Binary Universe.

I would normally put up a review, but This Binary Universe is just so different from anything I have ever heard before. To put it bluntly, it's a modern electronic composition. If you can catch the tour, I highly recommend it.

Jude: Redemption

Jude released Redemption in the US through CD Baby earlier this month. Relative to his prior albums, it’s a mix of sounds from earlier years that provides Jude with another fresh start.



The album shows the release of tracks that Jude had exercised in his live shows for years now, but chose not to release on Sarah. Those tracks include: “All I Want to Do,” “Love, Love, Love,” “Run to My Room,” “End of My Rainbow,” “Your Eyes,” and “Fly Again.”



In regards to his previous release (Sarah), the album has more upbeat tunes and electric guitars, but still attains a much more charming and down to earth feeling then King of Yesterday. Simply put, Redemption is Jude in his finest form.

Lost iPod

Is this your iPod? David Berlind is doing something cool on his blog, and I’m using my blog (and the two people who read it) to help out.

If this isn't a test for how the blogosphere can get things done, I'm not sure what is. As a part of this test, if you happen to read this blog entry and you have a blog, please spread the word and let's see if the viral nature of the blogosphere can help this iPod find its owner.

If any of this means something to you and you've recently lost your iPod, contact me at david.berlind@cnet.com. The photos on this device clearly have some sentimental value. So, it would be great if we (the blogosphere) can help it find its way home. Of course, you'll need to prove to me that it's yours which shouldn't be too difficult.

Did They?

I was just “wowed” last night watching a commercial. Now, if I have you wondering what cool commercial this was, I need to tell you that the commercial was not that cool. It was for the 2006 Mercury Milan; a car that itself I’m not sure is even all that “wow” worthy.

However, the song that they used for the commercial was from the band, Morningwood. The song in particular was “The Nth Degree.” Now, thankfully, they used the right part of the song and edited the right parts because otherwise the commercial would allowed for the song to continue to spell out (if you haven’t listened to the song, to literally spell out) “M-O-R-N-I-N-G-W-O-O-D.”

Now, mind you, I personally love the song, and I really dig the band since I saw them open for Kasabian and The Music a year go. I also don’t mind the song being used in the commercial. Even if they let all the wrong words flow, I’d still be okay with it, but they’d probably have to give the commercial a PG rating, but it could still be shown with Girls Gone Wild commercials. Nevertheless, I still can’t believe they actually used the song. Now, whenever I see a Mercury Milan, I’m going to think about Morningwood, and I can’t guarantee that it will always be about the band of same name.

The Format

You might see that many blogs near the southeastern PA region will be making posts today about The Format, as they played the TLA last night.

If you check out my last.fm page, you can obviously see that they’re a favorite of mine. The show was a complete joy to be a part of, and if you go to their website I’m sure you’ll be able to hear some of their tunes.

Picture taken from Wikipedia

P.S. As every few months I drive the route to Philly, I still pray for the safety of everyone who travels on I-95, especially those on a daily basis; it takes a bit of courage.