BOMB TRACK THURSDAY! ( Part Order Of The Phoenix)

                                                 























 IT'S BACK FOOLS!!!!







This fun little feature that I use to do, that I'm really excited to start doing again. Technically as of this writing, there is still *checks clock* 10 more minutes of Thursday left. I'm going to work with that. But basically, new music is put out ever week. Like a stupid, crazy amount. I listen to this crazy stupid amount, and boil it down to the 10 or so interesting ones of the week. Check it! This week on Bomb Track Thursday's, Trump sucks but makes for great inspiration, Beyonce's sister has got her some pipes, Franz Ferdinand are still a thing, and David Bowie once penned a musical before he died. Yeah, 2016 sucked.





Thao Nguyen - "Before You Vote"
Experimental Folk

  In response to the sheer, terrifying possibility that  Donald Trump could wind up being the leader of the free world, (despite having zero political experience, and being a horrifying voting prospect to anyone who isn't a straight white guy who makes over $250,000 a year) , a pop up project of sorts called '30 Days and 30 Songs', cropped up. The idea? Get as many musicians as possible to pen their own decidedly anti-Trump songs.

   As of now 11 songs have been released. Currently there are no plans in place to cobble all the songs together upon the conclusion of the project into an album of sorts, but it's certainty a possibility. The most recent offering this week is a straight forward, freak-folk jam by Thao Nguyen of Thao Nguyen and the Get Down. It's the sort of tune that minces no words. But in case you weren't sure, the lyrics "He doesn't care about you/He doesn't care about me/He just want's his terrible reality show back on NBC', should erase all doubt. It's a minor departure form the sort of tinkling, "indie pop meets folk"  sound Nguyen normally dabbles in with The Get Down. Think much more minimalist and much more claustrophobic sounding, thanks to the eerie drone undercutting the emotionally charged lyrics.






Eminem - "Campaign Speech"
Rap/Slam Poetry

  Two thought are probably running through your head right now. 1) "Holy shit, I know right?" Eminem has done two thing this week; turn 44. And put out his first bit of new material in two years. And 2) "Slam Poetry?" well...yeah. Okay look there's really no way to mince words about this. This is a hook-less, drone with Eminem spitting rhymes over it for about 7 minutes too long. I couldn't think of anything to refer it to BUT slam poetry. Now how you feel about that will determine weather or not you'd like to kill about 7 minutes listening to Slim Shady wax vaguely about politics. But if you're like the rest of us, you're better off just pretending this didn't happen. There's gonna be more Eminem at some point. That's all you need to know.







Le Tigre - "I'm With Her"
Dance Rock/New Wave

  When it rains, it pours political opinions. And Le-Tigere have thrown their hat in the ring to make there opinions on the election  of 2016 very clear. (psst! In case the song title isn't enough of a give away, the want you to vote for Hillary Clinton very much). But in all the hubbub (and the amazing video featuring the band rocking the HELL out of some Hillary-esque power pants suits), the fact that this is the first Le Tigre song in about a decade, kinda gets lost on you. So I'll say it again. THIS IS THE FIRST NEW LE TIGRE SONG IN A DECADE. Holy shit you guys, tis be true. Le Tigre are getting back together and they have reunited through a mutual love  of Hillary Clinton (and probably a very equally as strong hatred of Donald Trump).

  As for the song itself, it's got the frenzied energy of a tight, hooky dance groove, paired with Le Tigre's trademark group song-songy, vocals. And the enjoyable (if a bit too on the nose) lyrics, beneath the catchy beats. aren't too shabby either. As an added bonus though, it can also accidentally remind you of this other, dancy pro-candidate song, and subsequently better times.


 




Solange fet. Common - "Cranes In The Sky - Remix"
Neo Soul

Observations: Beyonce has a sister! And she'd totally be happy if you knew her, you know? Observation 2). She has the pull to get Common to open up on the remix of her song "Cranes In The Sky". In another world, Solange Knowles is an incredible R&B singer and is loved by millions worldwide. But in this world she will always be Beyonce's sister. And the fact that her voice sounds uncannily like her more famous sibling's, is hard to un-hear. That being said "Crane In The Sky" was already a great song, and the addition of Common for the intro only makes it better. And if the remix draws just a little more attention to her tragically underrated album, A Seat At The Table (September 30, 2016), then it will all be worth it. Solange's arrangements really are lovely mixes of dreamy soul, meets her strong, crooning vocal performance.

The Men - "Crime"
Noise Rock/Punk

The first new tune by the Men since....well last month. But these sounds form what will be there first new album since 2014. The Men have fully embraced a return of sorts to their earlier, balls-to-the wall, approach to making music from their debut back in 2010; unapologetic, riffy, noise rock. A minor departure from their steadily growing "homage to classic rock on acid" sound they were working on. But "Crime" is a short jolt of adrenaline, and definitely a sign of things to come for the upcoming album.




Franz Ferdinand - "Demagogue"
Dance Rock/Post-Punk Revival

Well isn't this a happy accident? Apologize for the mislead there. Franz Ferdinand as it turns out, don't have plans for a new album short of saying, "we have plans for a new album?" Oh and guitarist Nick McCarthy (as far as I know, no relation) isn't in the band anymore. This has been your Franz Ferdinand minute. Keeping all seven of you die hards informed. "Demagogue" it turns out, was penned by the band to be part of that whole 30 Days, 30 Songs project, and I didn't actually catch it right away until I heard the lyrics. I mean it's entirely possible that the line  "Those pussy grabbing fingers won't let go of me now",  is a complete coincidence, but your guess is as good as mine.


 

Ted Leo - "Heroes" (David Bowie cover)
Indie Rock

 Ted Leo of Ted Leo and The Pharmacists has put out an enjoyable cover of David Bowie's "Heroes", through the record label, Spare The Rock And Spoil The Child, as part of a compilation album of kid friendly Bowie covers called Let All The Children Boogie: A Tribute To David Bowie.  When you're putting together a  covers project to introduce the little 'uns to the music of David Bowie, you could definitely do worse then tapping multi-instrumentalist/"damn that voice!" extraordinaire Ted Leo.  Let All The Children Boogie  is available online now for pre-order through the label's website. And as and added bonus, the proceeds go to It Gets Better, an organization dedicated to helping LGBTQIA youth.




https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/10/premiere-ted-leos-cover-of-bowies-heroes-from-fort.html




The Megaphonic Thrift - "Hendene
Noise/Shoegaze

A noise rock outfit from Bergan, Norway (who are also most certainly guilty of blanatly making their own Wikipedia page),The Megaphonic Thrift have popped into our lives again with this lovely new single from their upcoming album, Få meg til verden i tide (have I mentioned they're form Norway?) due out November 11th. It's dark, moody tune that somehow manages to still have this haunting beauty to it. In other words, just in time for winter. Which I just assume is, all the time in Norway.








Artifical Pleasure - "I'll Make It Worth Your While"
Dance Rock


New band alert! How new are we talking? Try "they haven't even formerly played their first live show yet" new. I have been aware of Artificial Pleasure for exactly 3 hours and I'm already convinced they will be the greatest band ever. Or they will releases just this one song, and then nothing else of any note. Either way, "I'll Make It Worth Your While" is totally worth the listen. especially if you've been holding off on that house cleaning and really really wanted to dance to "Fame" era David Bowie if it where fronted by Peter Gabriel.






Michael C. Hall (lyrics by David Bowie) - "Killing A Little Time" (original cast recording from Lazarus)


There's no joke here. 2016 took away one of the greatest musicians ever in David Bowie. And the fact that we don't have the Thin White Duke to kick around anymore is a goddamned shame. Bowie was an eclectic, evolving man. And the final project in his long studded career is no exception. While Blackstar is by all accounts, technically the last David Bowie album, he was busily penning a whole damn Off-Broadway Musical (because of course David Bowie could write a musical) Lazarus. This week, two other songs from that musical have been released as singles ("When I Met You" and "No Plan" eventually to be released on the 21st of October on the original-cast recording of Lazarus.

 

Schmoyoho (ft. Weird Al) - "Bad Hombres, Nasty Women"

Comedy Pop

Okay this on is a cheat. But god help me do I love this video. And anything featuring Weird Al on is worth adding to your day.

Drugdealer - The End Of Comedy

Drugdealer

The End Of Comedy

(Weird World)

September 9th, 2016

Grade: C+

Verdict:  A collection of  a best of 60’s lite rock, meets a best of 60’s psych pop, meets a west-coast underground music scene staffed version of Hee Haw, meets too much studio production.

If anything can be said of Michael Collins, it’s that he is the living personification of where that special place where the adage “write what you know”,  meets “if at first you don’t succeed..”The former referring to his compulsion to write songs exclusively about, on, or inspired by drugs. The later referring to the fact that the Baltimore-born musician has been in and out of several acts since 2009.

Collins first broke out onto the music scene with his psychedelia-inspired, chillwave project,  Run DMT; and even managed to eek two albums out of it before being served a cease-and-desist from a similarly named EDM group with presumably far better lawyers. He then went on to release The Brado Story under his new stage-name, Salvia Plath, in 2013; a project in which he learned how to actually play multiple instruments and record a pleasant, if basic, psychedelic folk album. He even had a stint where he simply requested that all his friends  send him their poems of varying quality to be transcribed into songs for a one-off album called One Hit Wonders, that he released under his own name in 2012. Point being,  Mr. Collins has shown an  uncanny ability to false-start his way through a music career, and shows now signs of stopping. Which is all fine and dandy as long as you don’t get to attached to his projects.

Drugdealer is Collins latest offering in his string of re-re-rebirths, and by far his most ambitious yet; displaying his growth from a quirky, perpetual stoned sample-dabbler, to a full blown musician. And on The End Of Comedy, Collins displays a  new willingness to harmonize his psychedelic influences with some of his more less than conventional influences. In this case, 60’s adult contemporary and 70’s AM Gold, with just a touch of plastic-soul tinged disco.  The result is a strange, though not entirely unpleasant sounding pop record.

For better or worse, Comedy, plays like a best of 60’s lite rock, meets a best of 60’s psych pop, meets a west-coast underground music scene staffed version of Hee Haw, meets a little too much studio production. The fact that a collection of so many contrasting styles with an even looser collection of musicians (Ariel Pink, Weyes Blood, Sheer Agony, and Danny James) sounds half as good as it does, is a testament to Collins masterfully done arrangements. As different as everything sounds from track to track, and nothing ever sounds like it clashes.

But damn, if some of his tendencies from his earlier work don’t find a way to creep in, exposing some of the weaknesses of the whole thing. Paradoxically,  The End Of Comedy ends up somehow sounding both overproduced and underdeveloped at the same time.Taken as a whole, it comes across as nice little throwback pop record, sprinkled in with some delightful idiosyncrasies and homages. At times almost more fitting as an easy listening score to a film, set simultaneously in the seediest and classiest club in LA. But broken down song by song, the cracks show some unfinished ideas paired with some questionable production choices.

All the vocal performance sound unnecessarily layered and buried in this annoying echoey, drowny fuzz. It’s a technique that works to try and smooth out the weaker singers on the album (see: everyone not named Weyes Blood). But on the track featuring her ( the seriously cool, Carole King-esque, jazzy croony, “The End Of Comedy”) her remarkable voice sounds half as strong as it could be; all but buried beneath the production.

Michael Collin’s gift for tasteful arrangements is the real star here though, in spite of his overly involved  studio tinkering.. “Suddenly”, again featuring Weyes Blood (the true MVP of the album), effortless morphs from a gentle piano tune with shades of Lit FM, to a blue-eyed soul late 60’s 4x4 disco thumper. “It’s Only Rainy Where You Stand”, starts as a paint-by-numbers Beatles-lit, guitar jingle. But then gradually morphs into a full blown orchestral string arrangement by the end, really elevating an otherwise simple song. “Theme For Alessandro” hints at what this album could have been with just a little more focus and commitment to just one particular direction that never really gets a chance to go anywhere. It’s a simple, hauntingly beautiful, jazzy instrumental with a whining sax and some ambient street noise in the background that brings it all together. In fact it, along with “Comedy Outro” and “Far Rockaway Theme”, are the only instrumentals on the album; and by far the only songs not affected by the weird production choices on an otherwise busy sounding album.

That’s not to say this mishmash of AM Gold top 40 hits, psych, and for at least one song (The Neil Young-inspired “Sea Of Nothing”), solid guitar soloing, can’t work.But with the majority of the songs sounding like simple, half-finished ideas, what's left is a perfectly enjoyable but perfectly forgettable collection of easy listening pop, devoid of substance. The lyrical content is nothing to write home about (unless you’re one of those poor souls who still enjoys choruses consisting of nothing but a never ending chain of “la la la’s”.  In which case you’ll enjoy the otherwise decent “My Life”), and the melodies are decent but nothing warranting a second listen through.

At its whole, The End Of Comedy, is certainly a step forward for Michael Collins, and a hint of things to come should he decide to stick it out with the Drugdealer moniker. But somehow it ends up tapping into the most damnable thing about the very easy listening music of the decade he was trying to pay homage too; it’s nice enough to not warrant touching that dial. But not anything you’re exactly going to remember either.

Revisiting Radiohead (For The Fist Time!) Chapter 0: Don't Call It A Comeback! I Kind Almost Was Never Here!

First things first. HEY!

   Oh man I don't even know where to start. You? You person reading this blog? Who may have even been reading this thing when I first started writing? Welcome the fuck back! And..wow. I mean you know..there have  been like a lot of other things worth waiting for? That new Avengers movie was pretty solid right? The new-new I phone? Superbowls? 2 of them? Oooh remember how much fun it was to get all excited about that show you started watching that went into hiatus? And then came RIGHT THE FUCK BACK and blew your mind? (Rick and Morty fans, you know what I'm talking about) Don't even get me started on the music side of things. Deep house is top 40 chart topping now! CHART TOPPING! In the time since I've last written here no less then 1,546 bands have been brought into existence, broken up, reunited, teased a new album, ultimately never followed through, and broke up again!  You know, probably. I actually have no way of verifying that. But it seems like the sorta of thing that could be true, doesn't it?



Anyway, ol' Nirvana Of Sound is going to be back on the wagon of doing what I do best; drinking and shouting nonsense in the form of typing concerning my opinions on music.  All jokes aside, it's been a rough patch of time. A patch of time that has stretched through some dazzling highs (graduation, moving away to Atlanta, moving in with friends, getting a sweet ass car) and some soul crushing lows (failing to be hired from my internship upon graduation, having a falling out that ultimately end in me never talking to said friends again, being charged out the ass for insurance because I got a speeding ticket that ONE TIME.). But through all the patches, warm fuzzy ones, and soggy miserable ones alike, music has been that one constant in my life.
  Happy or sad, money in my pocket or broke as fuck, music's been their sound tracking my whole existence. I'm happiest when I get to share that love I have with others; either in the form of one of my classic "talking-out-my-ass" opinions, or raving about one sweet local talent I caught at a dive bar in Atlanta for $5 cover. I don't see this love going away anytime soon. And for anyone out there that's reading this or has enjoyed this in the past, give yourself a big ol' fucking hug for me will you? Because while I'm not going to lie and say you're the reason I do this (pretty sure it's a combination of passion and boredom that gets me to do this), you are part of the reason I care. Think of it this way; if you're surfing the internet for any and all things music, trying to find something and somehow you've worked your way all the way down the rabbit hole to find THIS blog? Well hot damn. You ARE someone who loves music. And you're always welcome here.




Now, enough of the angst! Let us begin that ol' Radiohead revistation (a word?) I cleverly teased in the title, shall we? Why yes, there is a point to all of this rambling.  Long story short; upon my latest move to a cheap neighborhood in Atlanta (into a house that I've been told is no way haunted despite the fact that the list of past occupants is in the tens, and none of them have lasted beyond 6 months),
   I made the discovery in the not-at-all-creepy as fuck basement, of an entire treasure trove of forgotten goodies of tenners past. Part of the trove of said goodies was a complete box set of Radiohead; all of their albums from Pablo Honey to 2003's Hail To The Thief, nestled right between a tower of used textbooks, and a VHS copy of Friday. Who says no good can ever come of rummaging through other people's stuff? After a touch celebration and hastily tearing the plastic off, the thought occurred to me that save for one or two songs, I had never really actively listened to Radiohead before.





As far as Radiohead's concerned, I was aware enough about them and the undeniable impact they had in music. And I was also aware of the influence that they continued to have on any and all moody groups of guys or gals who wanted to pick up guitars and start a band. I did know and like that "Creep" song  that was all the rage (aka, everyone's first Radiohead song). Knew that Ok Computer was a frequent guest on damn near everyone's top 10 greatest "whatever's" list, and a safe choice to bring up on a first date if the discussion of music every came up (and I felt it was still waaay too early to confess to liking Coldplay's "Yellow").
    But I had never really given them much more of a critical thought before. And honestly I was a little afraid to for awhile. Radiohead was more or less THE band. The one unifying thing that most people could safely agree to liking. Radiohead shared that place in music discussion that was usually reserved for The Beatles and Michael Jackson; if you said they sucked, you were just trolling for attention. But as someone who's only other to expose to Radiohead was listening to my old roommate playing a track off Kid A in the car, I was worried that for all the hype, I might find them to be frightfully boring to me at the end of the day. It would be Blazing Saddles all over again. (Funny story about taking film recommendations from friend's after you give them the criteria of "the funniest goddamned thing ever", that I'll get into someday).

Single handily ruining most of my college friendships since 2009

  I had never actually listened to anything by the band besides that odd track, which later on I found out to be "Everything In It's Right Place." I just had to take the band's greatness on faith and on second hand accounts. All while passive-aggressively running my mouth off at every given opportunity that Thom Yorke must be an asshole. (Why yes, I did take it rather personal when he said they'd stop playing "Creep" live). Partly because of my attachment to that early Radiohead sound and my unwillingness to accept that the band had obviously moved away from it,but definitely more then a little of it was me just being salty at the possibility that maybe I'd never be able to genuinely like Radiohead.
  I really wanted to give the band another chance; because for all my shit talking about Thom Yorke and his side projects being about as exciting as shopping for office supplies, I really did believe that his band couldn't' have had an impact on so many musicians that I loved and respected if there wasn't something special there. And hey, failing that there was always just tuning in to catch Jonny Greenwood's wailing wall of solid guitar work. For a child raised on a weird combination of grunge and Oasis, I could always count on it to be the catnip to my ears if this whole project was a bust.

 

  So, because I had never actually listened through any Raiohead albums before, I thought it'd be an interesting experiment to give Radiohead's iconic discography a straight listen through and chart down my thoughts and feelings about each album. Really lay out all their work and see just how much Radiohead evolved their sound over the years to morph into that living legend that are now. It's  easy to forget with how often they gets cited by an upcoming band as an influence, that there ever was a time when Radiohead was a stumbling band, unsure of themselves. But damn if they didn't somehow pull it off.
    Looking back, their success almost seems like a predestined thing. Most bands that find their way to some iota of success and acclaim have to either settle for being that great cult classic s who wind up never getting their proper due till years after the dust has already settled (ala The Velvet Underground); or becoming that popular phenomena that's winds up loved by all but eventually admitted by no one to being actively listed to (looking right at you, U2, Will be getting to you one day). Radiohead  found a way to wear both hats, Embraced by critics and popular consensus alike; pantheon of rock n' roll and yet still loved by the same hipsters who would't be caught dead listening to something their parents liked, .



Radiohead's rise and their gradually evolution from just a noisy, moody alternative Brit band of the week, to the incredibly influential artists and rock critic darlings they are today, is a story worth telling. And nothing gives fresher perspective on a rise to fame quite like time. That and a touch of completely willful ignorance, courtesy of yours truly.
    From the angst ridden, pretty-boy days of Pablo Honey, to the "whatever-the hell-you-wanna-call days" of King Of Limbs" ; We're hitting it all baby! No punches shall be spared, and no awful ideas in my brain shall go unwritten.  And who knows? Maybe this passion project might end with all of us learning something, and me finally getting into the hang of keeping a damn blog updated on a regular basis. It could also end with Thom York key scratching the lyrics "Creep" onto my car. My life, I've learned, can be funny that way.

"Yeah? Well YOU'RE  a creep! And YOU'RE a weirdo! And..what the he- *key breaks*"

BOMB TRACK THURSDAY! (Episode - The Revenge)

Bomb track Thursday! BOMB TRACK THURSDAY! It's like regular Thurusdaassssy! Only with traaaaaaacks! *music fades out* Ah, yes I have missed thee. For those who are new to the game, I go around on the internet scouring for fresh downloads and put them all on here as a virtual sound menu of sorts. Go on, take a bite. You won't get fat I promise. And for everyone else who's been missing these, I'm hoping that now that I finally got my Albums You Might Have Missed edition for August 12th up, I can finally get caught up and get back to a regularly scheduled program around here. Thanks for being patient :) And now without further ado..B-b-BOMB TRACKS!


A$AP Ferg - "Reynolds" (fet. Danny Brown): Hailing from the A$AP Mob (known for kick starting the career of the more prolific A$AP Rocky) , Ferg proves he's no slouch when it comes to serving up his own dope lines. The lackadaisical delivery paired up with the lazy summery beat and guest verses by Danny Brown (who effects a dead ringer Cypress Hill impression), all just come together to make this feel like a perfect slice of forgotten 90's. (Hip Hop)


Body/Head - "Actress": Former Pixies bassists has returned with a brand new band a a popping new track for their upcoming debut, Coming Apart (due out September 13 on Matador). KG's voice and bass take the forefront on this minimalist experiment, sounding decidedly more avante garde then anything she's done before. Her bass plods along beneath an eerie guitar whine, with chanting and pipped in sonic dissonance. (No Wave/Nosie Rock)

Cage The Elephant - "Come A Little Closer": New track from the boys from Bowling Green from their upcoming album, Melophobia due out 10/8 through RCA. While their early album had them ridding to the top of the charts with a decidedly more "southern rock meets garage revile" sound, this song is no "Ain't No rest For The Wicked". "Come A Little Closer" is less on the heavy and more on the angst, and sounds more like a continuation of that  post-punk sound they were chasing on Thank You, Happy Birthday. It's a depressing, haunting melody held down by tight drumming under a more chaotic style of guitar. (Post Punk Revival)

Crystal Stilts - "Future Folklore": New cut from Crystal Stilts third upcoming album, Nature Noir, due out September 17th through Scared Bones. "Future Folklore" is probably the best way to describe the song, which pays equal homage to early American psychedelic folk and the Crystal Stilts minimalist approach to garage rock revival. . (Garage Rock Revival/Folk)

Drumgasam - Drumgasam: What do you get when you place Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron, Wild Flag drummer Janet Weiss, and Death Grips drummer Zach Hill on the same album? A better question would be, what would you get if you had an album that was simply NOTHING BUT those three drummers drumming. You'd get what could be described as nothing else but a Drumgasam, thus making the band name and the name of their first album, perfectly sensible. The entire albums is available for streaming on Spin.com, and suffice to say it sounds like nothing else you can imagine. Unless you're good at imaging what 3 proficient drummers would sound like if they were invited to the world's most awesome drum circle. . (Experiemntnal)

Forest Swords - Engravings: Forest Swords is the stage name of Liverpool native Matthew Barnes, who set the blogosphere alight with his relatively quite release, Dagger Paths, back in 2010. On his first full length, available for streaming through Pitchfork and due out August 26 through Tri Angle Records, he hones in those same composer skills that made his EP such a underground treasure. It's difficult to lump him in with other EDM musicians because he blends in a number of influences ranging, from post rock to film scores, complete with creative sampling, to create a very different sounding album. (Experimental/R&B/Post Rock)

Of Montreal - "She Ain't Speaking Now": New Of Montreal, sounds like the Athens outfit simply chasing their Flaming Lips influences at first. It starts off as a light psychedelic pop tune, before catching the listener by surprise with the crunch of bluesy guitar riffs. Of Montreal switch back and forth between playful psch pop and foot stampin swamp rock and somehow make it work. "Speaking Now" is off Lousy With Sylvianbrair due out 10/8 through Polyvinal. (Pyshdeilc Pop/Garage Rock)

Parquet Courts - "You Got Me Wondering Now": After being the DIY heroes of the 2012 with the surprise success of their debut album Light Up Gold, it's great to here Parquet Courts weren't merely one hit wonders. Beneath the lackadaisical chaos that is their beer soaked, fuzz drenched, lo-fi garage rampaging, lie some pretty damn crafty musicians. "You Got Me Wondering Now" is the teaser from their upcoming EP Tally All The Things That You Broke, due out 10/8 through What's Your Rapture. The song itself sounds like what would have happened if Stephen Malkmus from Pavement took over the vocal duties for The Stooges. (Gargare Punk)

Phoneix - "Trying To Be Cool" (fet. R. Kelly): "Trying To Be Cool" is the track from Phoenix's Bankrupt! album from earlier this year. And by all accounts it was just perfect the way it was; a seriously cool bit of modern disco with a tight-club ready swing in the choruses. So, how to make it better? Why not add R. Kelly to contribute some of his own guest verses? Say what you will about R. Kelly, the man has cool to spare when he sings and he brings "Cool" to a whole new level of it. (Nu-Disco/R&B)

YACTH - "Party At The NSA": This new YATCH song sounds like an old forgotten relic of 80's synthrock. The choruse is practically begging to have a post-ironc music video featuring the band dancing in a wasteland from Mad Max before bumping into those other guys who had to put on shades. All the bells and whistles, synths and computer modulators, are out on full force daring you to not dance. But its fun filled melody and retro goodness hides a pretty dark message if the song title didn't give it away, and it's one that the normally fun loving YATCH are serious about. The song was not released as a teaser for an upcoming album but as a download for sale in which all proceeds will go to "to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who will defend us all from living in a total surveillance state". (Synthpop/Synthrock)

Yuck - "Middle Sea": After having such a warmly received debut back in 2011 and a successful bit of touring, fans were dealt a sudden rough blow with the leaving of band founder and front man  Daniel Bloomberg back in April of this year. It seemed to be the kind of move that would kill a band dead just as it was starting to gain momentum, but Yuck still pushed forward, announcing a new album, Glow & Behold, due out September 30th. New singer "Max Bloom" doesn't quite have Bloomberg's youthful sounding wail, but manages to bring something new with his own daydream, dead-pan delivery. And those same sun soaked, Dinosaur Jr. riffs that made their debut so nostalgic show no signs of going anywhere anytime soon. (Noise Rock/Power Pop)

Album You (And Subsequently Me) Really REALLY Might Have Missed (August 12 - August 18)

If that nifty little hint provided by my weird wording of this week's edition of "Might Have Missed" didn't tip you off, I've been dare we say it, AWOL for the past couple of weeks (since mid July if my internet history's anything to go by). After cracking my laptop screen into what has to be something like a million pieces thanks to a faulty backpack strap, wet pavement, and what some would argue, the massive amount of negligence that comes from assuming a backpack that's over 6 years old will continue to function...I've been laptop-less for what feels like almost a month.

BUT! Extra shifts of dish washing, weeks of replacing blown tires, and the selling of one box of childhood memories (vauled at $10), has returned my laptop to me! Just in time to save myself from going completely mad :) One of my only links to grabbing any kind of music and doing any kind of writing has always been my laptop. The 20 minute computer rentals at the public library don't quite cut it. And after catching up on all the gratuitous amounts of porn music that I've missed out on, it please me to bring you the albums of last week that you (and most definitely me) might have missed.


Bloc Party

The Nextwave Sessions (EP)
(Frenckiss Records)
August 12, 2013


Didn't Bloc Party JUST get of hiatus? Did I just imagine all those shows they started doing about a year back, the rumors about a follow up to their comeback album Four, and all those interviews where they said they were "really excited" to be back together making music? Imagined or not, After a brief whole year of being back together and touring North America to tease new material for their EP, The Nextwave Sessions, Bloc Party has announced yet another indefinite hiatus. Odds are pretty good that it's safe to stop holding your breath for a comeback. But before they parted ways, they did live a pretty nice going away present in the for of 5 new songs. Rerecorded as part of a completely separate recording session from Four, Nextwave's hints at a new sound the lads of Bloc Party might have been perusing before shelving the whole thing. While "Ratchet" roars right out the gate with that oh so familiar and irresistible, groovy ball-room blitz the boys are usually know for, things take a decided turn for the more "R&B" flavored on the reaming tracks. "Obscene" has an slowed down, icy beat and features Kele Okereke doing his best Prince impression on the vocals. While "Montreal" opts to go for a more experimental atmospheric feel. There's no doubt this could be anything but Bloc Party on the cusp of trying something new, and while it's certainly something different then what the fans are use to, it's an actually pretty cool turn. At the very least, it sounds like the band wasn't content with merely re-recording "Helicopter" and "Hunting For Witches" for the rest of their career. However short that career in question turned out to be.



Don Cavalii 

Temperamental
(Everloving Inc)
August 13, 2013

Don Cavalii may very well be a textbook case for why you shouldn't give up. Long after most humans would surely have found something else to do that was less soul crushing, Don Cavalii has trucked on since the 80's in a number of rockabilly outfits, slowly expanding his repertoire to include power pop, swamp rock, blues, and a little bit of soul along the way. Finally finding the success he was long since overdue with his 2007 solo album, Cryland, Cavalii went on to enjoy the fruits of success for a bit, play in what has to be every hole-in the wall club ever, before returning for a follow up 5 years later. Anything worth doing well is worth taking your time on, is apparently his ethic. But the quality shows. Keeping up with that delicious, southern fried blend of swampy, poppy, garage tunes, Cavalii manages to successful integrate different sounds across different decades. From the funky grooves of the 70's on the title track, to the lazy guitar pop of the 60's on "Garden of Love", to gospel by the way of The Beatles on, "Gonna Love You". Time is nothing but a number to a man who's been at listening to and playing with more bands than I'll ever know.



Deltron 3030 

City Rising From The Ashes
(Bulk Recording Inc.)
August 13, 2013

A sticking point that I've always had with rap is the unwillingness to peruse more fantastical concepts on their albums. I mean real concept albums, in the sense of I dunno, say "this is the story of how I became the God Osiris and declared war on an alien planet in the far flung future 3030". Something like that. But lucky for me, my man Del The Funky Homosapien (better known to most as the ghost Del, who posses the drummer Russel in the fictional band Gorillaz, featured famously on their song "Clint Eastwood"), gets me and has returned with the project Deltron 3030 to record a brand spanking new follow up to their debut back in 2000. It's 13 years overdue but all is forgiven with this leaked EP debuting 3 new tracks from their upcoming Deltron Event II (due out in October), because the concept of said album is percsisley what I just described. Did I mention the title track of this EP features guest vocals by Mike Patton? And you still haven't downloaded it yet?



Jagwar Ma 

Howlin'
(Mom + Pop Music)
Agust 13, 2013

The Tame Impala comparisons I figure are damn near unavoidable, even IF Jagwar Ma didn't also happen to come form them same continent of Australia. But what you have here is another psychedelic rock group ,hailing from Sydney as opposed to Perth, that manage to succeed in dragging out the sounds of funky British influences from decades past. But whilst Tame Impala were content to borrow the playbook from the Beatles and add their own weird noodling to it, Jagwar Ma seek the tap into the crazy "blink and you'll have missed it" decade of decadence that was Madchester on their debut album, Howlin'. Invoking the trippy dance rock sound of  Happy Mondays and the fuzzy haze of acid-house, Jagwar Ma bring something to music scene that frankly hasn't really been heard for about twenty years. And, provided you've never actually heard of Happy Mondays, it'll be new to you as well.


Moondoggies 

Adios, I'm A Ghost
(Hardly Art)
Agust 13, 2013

Seatle outfit, The Moondoggies have been enjoying their comfortable niche of paying homage to the LA band sound of the 60's; blending the harmonies of The Byrds, the country vibes of The Flying Burrito Brothers, and the swirling guitar rhythms of Buffalo Springfield, with exactly NO homages to "the fucking Eagles" (statistically speaking, you read that in the Dude's voice). Their third album, they show no signs of changing that formula too much here. Adios, I'm A Ghost finds the Moondoggies pushing themselves to have a more varied sounding, and subsequently longer album. The 6 minute long "A Lot To Give" features psych heavy swirls of guitar complete with keyboard. But "Red Eye" comes in as a jaunty, country-romp that channels the Grateful Dead at their most playful. There's even the incredibly depressing "Pride" , and "Back To The Beginning" that wouldn't have sounded out of place on Neil Young's After The Gold Rush. The mood across the album is an ever changing one, and the boys of Moondoggies manipulate it well.


Scott and Charlene's Wedding 

Any Port In A Storm
(Fire Records)

Scott and Charlene's Wedding is the awkward name of the music project by one Australasian Craig Dermody, who's since taken residence in New York City. (and by he sounds of the no less dozens of references, it's safe to say he's taken to it quite nicely) But clumsy name aside (evidently it comes from the name of an old sitcom), Dermody's Port In A Storm is a pleasantly, enjoyable slice of lo-fi garage rock goodness under the awkward band name. The album is not a thrashing one, and opts for a wall of playful guitar harmonies as opposed to fuzzy revereb drenching every note; but it's stronger for it. Rather then try to beat you over the head with overt aggressiveness, Any Port In The Storm eases you in with a pretty wall of guitars, simply drumming, and Dremody's sentimental croon. Think early garage rock meets the sonic melodies Pavement by way of Dinosaur Jr.

BOMB TRACK THURSDAY! (Episode - In 3D)

You know the drill. Pipping hot tracks that internet has served up for your listening pleasure. Also, this feel like the perfect platform to air out social grievances. The Lone Ranger is garbage, but thankfully not too terribly racist garbage as I had feared. Merely long, plodding, uninteresting, disjointed, poorly written garbage.


AlunaGeorge - "Bad Idea" (Relatively young, UK electro duo AlunaGeorgia, preimer a new track from their upcoming album, Body Musi,c out July 29th. George Resies provides the cool as ice, synth beats, while Aluna Francis serenades with that sweet as honey voice.) Electronic/Trip Hop


Beck - "I Won't Be Long" (These days Beck finds himself in the awesome position of being able to do whatever the hell he wants. For instance, where most artists would be testing the waters with a new single as per some record label obligation in order to build anticipation for an upcoming album, as far as I can tell, Beck has made no such announcement; other then hinting at a possible two albums in the future with no title or release date. And on top of that he's mum about whether this single is even on either of them. That being said, you'd be crazy to think he'd make a whole album sound like anyone song. Which is sort of a bummer, because "I Won't Be Long" is a nice ambient blending of a simple, hypnotic guitar line with some fuzzy dream pop synth layered over for good measure. But then, knowing Beck, he'll probaly find a way to surprise with something better anyway.) Alternative/Indie Rock/Dream Pop


Andrew Cedermark - Home Life (When Andrew Cedermark's not banging out almost interesting garage rock with his band Family Portrait, he's banging out almost interesting music while going solo. Andrew Cedermark's just still too new to the scene to have an established identity yet, and hasn't done enough to make himself stand out; other then play in a band that frankly, sounds like a family friendly garage rock band. The fact that his voice is dull as dirt is just more salt in the wounds. On the bright side, Home Life does display him sounding more interesting, using some slightly more creative sonic techniques beyond "hit these three chords while I wail over them". So there's that tentative step in the right direction. Also it's free till July 19th on NPR, so there's that to.) Lo-Fi


The Chills - "Molten Gold" (Early 80's power pop band from New Zealand, that was on the verge of making it but never quite did. At least in America. By all means they've always been very popular in their home country and have never not been popualr-ish. "Molten Gold" is the first new song The Chills have put out since 1996, in commemoration of their front man, Martin Phillipps's celebrating his 50th birthday. It's a light, breezy, summery bit of flawless sounding guitar pop.) Indie Pop


Holograms - "Meditations" (The teased single released by from the thrashy Swedish post-punk outfit. Their sophomore album, Forever, is due out on September 3rd through Captured Tracks.) Noise Rock/Post Punk


Torche - "Leather Feather" (Torche are the band that are probably best known for having the term "thunderpop" coined to describe them. They're sludgy, they';re poppy, they're aggressive, they're melodic, and they seem to be incapable of making a bad song. "Leather Feather" is a little more on the sludge metal side of things then some of their earlier work, and finds them channeling the aggressive riffs of The Jesus Lizard with the soloing of Tommy Iommi respectively. The track is a B-side to their song "Keep Up". Now both available for purchase as a single 7'') Sludge Metal/Stoner Metal

Really Pixies? Really? Did You Have To Go And Ruin An Average Song With An Awful Video?

Okay, so my initial repose to The Pixies releasing their first new song in over 9 years? Elation. Hyper elation. Elation so great it may have even been enough for me to shove out annoyingly naggy thoughts like "not really that great of a song" and "Kim Deal left the band for this?". Dammit, I was in the mood for Pixies and I was completely willing to overlook the fact that I wasn't in high school anymore, and hadn't really listened to the Pixies as religiously as I use to for...well about 9 years actually. "Bagboy" sounded pretty awesome and it hinted at a possible new Pixies album in the the future; The Pixie having missed the "everything old is cool again! I think the kids call it retro" bandwagon, that everyone from Soundgarden (semi-successful) to Alice In Chains (arguable successful), to Pavement (No new music for you! But an enjoyable short-lived reunion? Sure!) to The Offspring (the exact opposite of successful or enjoyable) had managed to jump onto a few years back.

Not that I mean that to sound bitter. With plenty of new acts since 2000 rising in prominence, filling the void those phenomenal late 80's early 90's groups left, those same groups returning for another shot at glory  through big name festival appearances and a couple of new tracks here and there, doesn't quite reek of desperation or the equivalent of the big kids returning to the playground to take back their ball. So by all means, I was thrilled to hear that the new Pixies track on their website. (it served as a nice bowl of ice cream to get over the heartache of Kim Deal announcing she'd was leaving the band just days prior).

What I'm not so thrilled with is the god awful video the band decided to put their seal of approval on. The video for "Bagboy" depicts an annoying asshat of a kid who NEVER wipes that shit eating grin of his face. Though, the fact that I found the kid off putting at first may have more to do with my irrational prejudices (such as classifying people's faces by how punchable they are. In his case it hovered somewhere between "very" and "desirably so") then anything else. Fair enough. What becomes troubling is that as the video proceeds to show this kid grabbing a credit card to make a grocery run for way to much milk, their's this slight bubbling feeling of dread that you can't quite shake. As if something's kinda wrong but you can't quite put your finger on what it is. That eerie feeling gets juxtaposed with the deliriously silly chorus and Francis's tongue-in-cheek vocal delivery. It's like he wants you to enjoy the song but something just feels off.

The video concludes with the boy vandalizing his own home with a combination of whipped cream, spilled milk and cheerios (which he bathes in at one point) and smashing objects to death with a baseball bat. So far, so very punk rock with a spot of ol' David Lynch.

Then you get to the last 5 seconds and TADAH! The revel is that that annoying little glasses wearing punk didn't own the home! The camera pans away as he leaves the home to revel the real owner to be a frightened black women, tied up on her bed. See, turns out he just broke into her house, presumably subdued her with violence before tying her up, stole her credit car, made a shit ton of purchases, vandalized her home, then rode off into the sunset on his bicycle without freeing her, with an air that implies he's done this before and to others. Oh, you silly kids you! What kind of  adventures will you think up next?

So yeah, for now damn reason. NO DAMN REASON the video decides to simultaneously offend African Americans, women, and African American women (all who actually do live in threat of this "charmingly" decapitated violence) with an ending that just drops of a black women being tied up to have her home and  sense of security vandalized by a young white man, like it's no big thing. It's just the careless of this that gets me worked up. I understand artistic creative and the whole artistic license thing. I get it. Really I do. But what was the point? What was the friggin point of just contributing another casual image of racial violence and violence against women in a rare double whammy? I can't shake the feeling that Kim Deal wouldn't have put her name anywhere near this abomination of video. Not on her watch.

Hey maybe I'm barking. But the videos bellow. Feel free to think whatever you'd like. But their was no reason this video couldn't have done anything, literally anything else. Oh and by the way Francis? Turns out, having an awful video helps your audience to take the first steps in realizing that your first new song in 9 years may not be as awesome as you think it is. And once the aging hipsters have stopped jerking you off and the new age hipsters have finished blogging your praises to high heaven (reminding you no doubt for the 50th time how influential you were), you can enjoy that quite lull that comes just before you realize you might not have it anymore. That the creative well may really be finally dry and Kim Deal leaving just confirmed it. And your instances on an awful video calculated to be "shocking" without giving a damn whom it might possibly be offensive to or what kind of message you might be sending, was just the first nail in the coffin.