Isaac Hayes (1942-2008)

New Music Tuesday: August 12, 2008

Whoa, it's been awhile since we've updated. Hope everyone is having a fandamtastic summer. It was nice to take a vacation but now we're rolling up our sleeves and getting back to work covering the ins and outs of all that we consider relevant in music.*

We've got a few things for you today but for now let's kick things off with a New Music Tuesday.  

This weeks biggest release, for some, is probably the Jonas Brother's third LP, A Little Longer. Continuing the long standing tradition of mediocre but photogenic teeny bopper bands, the Disney created Jonas Brothers insist on making soundtrack music that appeals almost exclusively to the lucrative "tweener" market in which they and Miley Cyrus rule as Kings and Queen. 

A Little Longer will sell well, just as the brother's previous albums, but the real question is, how long before the bubble bursts and this albums title becomes ironic? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying these type of young pop stars are void of any musical integrity, I'm just heavily implying it. 

You've probably never heard of Pop Levi, or if you have, congrats on being way cooler than anyone else. The disco lite, electro-rock of Englishman Jonathan Pop Levi is slinky, funky, weird, and terrific. His second album, Never Never Love is out now and comes highly recommended by us, people you don't know.

Our gun is loaded with bullet points:

• Sick of Sarah - Sick of Sarah
• Funeral Mixtape - The Pack A.D.
• Bird's Eye View - Amy Kuney
• Look What You Made Me - Yung Berg

*this may seem selfish and smug but to be fair, it's our blog ya hippie

Vacation Time

Sorry for the lack of updates folks. We're all taking a short vacation but will return soon with more music news, release dates, and new artist features. Thanks for stopping by and reading.

New Music Tuesday: July 8, 2008

Seems we've moved beyond the mediocre batch of last Tuesday's releases and finally have some music worth talking about, so let's get to it.

Modern Guilt marks Beck's sixth album in ten years and his eighth overall. The new album sees him hooking up with producer extraordinaire Danger Mouse (Gnarls Barkley, Gorillaz, The Black Keys) and features a couple guest vocals from the always lovely Cat Power. The new creative forces help give Beck and Modern Guilt a much needed breath of fresh air and a feeling of contentment when it's all over. Less glitchy than The Information, think more of an uptempo Sea Change or a more refined Mutations. 

While a new Strokes album is on indefinite hold, Albert Hammond Jr. hasn't been waiting around with his hands in his pockets. Como Tel Llama?, the follow up to his charming and decidedly good debut Yours To Keep, is more focused and feels like Albert finally took the time to really expand his own sound outside of Strokes territory while remaining faithful to his influences. 

Here are some releases I didn't write about:

• Two Men With The Blues - Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis (could be interesting)
• I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind II - Killer Mike (If nothing else, you have to like him for the fact that his name isn't Killa' or Killah)
• Exit Strategy Of The Soul - Ron Sexsmith
• Used And Abused - Danger Radio
• Three Flights Fro Alto Nido - Greg Laswell
• Love Is Dead - Kerli
• The Stoop - Little Jackie
• Nude With Boots - Melvins

New Music Tuesday: July 1, 2008

Unfortunately all we have this week is a watered down helping of blah-ness. Well, I suppose that depends on who you are and your taste in music. Still, so totally uninspired by this week's releases am I (interesting phrasing no?), that I can't seem to muster the creative energy (read: I ran out of beer) usually focused on a couple of standouts; so we're going straight to the bullet points. Better luck next week.

• Where The Light Is: Live In Los Angeles - John Mayer
• Identified - Vanessa Hudgens
• T.O.S. (Terminate On Sight) - G-Unit
• Forgiven - Los Lonely Boys
• Agony & Irony - Alkaline Trio
• Join The Band - Little Feat
• The Bird and the Bee Sides - Relient K

Vadrum Meets Barber of Seville

Hell yes it's another drum video from Black T favorite Andrea Vadrucci!

New Music Tuesday: June 24, 2008

Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust isn't a random mashing of the keyboard, it's Iceland's minimalist rockers, Sigur Ros' fifth studio album. Translated "With A Buzz In Our Ears We Play Endlessly," the album is the first to feature the band singing in English. Gobbledigook is that song and the album's first single.

Amos Lee has teetered on the edge of mainstream success for his last two albums and while Blue Note isn't exactly the kind of label known for big sellers (exception, Norah Jones), he has managed to develop a devout underground folk following. Now he brings his gentle melodies back on Last Day At The Lodge. Listen is the first single released.

Just in time for summer, Philly's hip-hop blues bender G. Love returns along with his band Special Sauce on Superhero Brother. Though the group hasn't had a strong consistent album since 1997's Yeah It's That Easy, G. Love and co. don't seem to mind that one bit. Still sounding as loose as ever, Superhero Brother appears to be an album filled with the solid grooves that fans have been looking forward to for awhile.

The Rest:

• Saints of Los Angeles - Motley Crue
• Real Animal - Alejandro Escovedo
• Last 2 Walk - Three 6 Mafia
• Digi Snacks - RZA as Bobby Digital
• Big Blue Ball - Big Blue Ball (Peter Gabriel's new project)
• Lunada - Thalia
• Fire Songs - The Watson Twins
• Rotation - Cute Is What We Aim For
• Bulletproof - Reckless Kelly
• I, Flathead - Ry Cooder
• GNV FLA - Less Than Jake
• Firesight - Jessie Baylin

Josh Homme Will F*ck You Up

Here's a video of Josh Homme of the killer band Queens Of The Stone Age ripping a new asshole to a kid who threw something at him on stage during one of their shows. I'm not going to comment on the video except to say don't throw things at Josh Homme. 

WARNING: Extreme language ahead.

iTunes on top, Amazon plays catch up

Earlier this year, for the first time ever, Apple's iTunes music store surpassed Wal-Mart to become the number one music retailer in the US. According to an NPD Group report, during January and February, iTunes outsold online music stores like Rhapsody and Amazon.com as well as traditional brick and mortar stores such as Best Buy, Target, and Borders.

The battle for online seems to be heating however. Apple's closest digital competitor, Amazon.com, is currently number four in the US music market but has begun a new aggressive pricing structure for their DRM free music. Amazon has introduced special weekly promotions that put popular and high profile albums on sale for $ 3.99-5.99. But with the good comes the bad: taking the road iTunes refused to go down, Amazon is allowing labels to set a sliding price for their tracks. This means while most tracks will stay 89-99 cents, some tracks will cost more depending on the length of the track or popularity. It has yet to be seen if these either of these two marketing schemes from Amazon can take a bite out of Apple.

read more...

• RollingStone Magazine
• Apple press release
• ARS - The Art Of Technology

Paul McCartney Celebrates 66th

Happy Birthday to Sir Paul McCartney, a true legend and musical revolutionary.