by Chuck Eddy
This column's collection of unjustly forgotten music includes country from Russia, mambo from Germany, atmospheric extreme metal from Sweden, doo-wop from the Bronx, free jazz from Syracuse ... and all sorts of stuff from jolly old England.
Continue reading "Fallen Through the Cracks: Be Bop Deluxe to Pete Berwick" »
Song: Children of the Revolution
Album: Classic Hits
Artist: T.Rex
Selected by: Nick Dedina
Date: July 3, 2008
Mark Bolan can be faulted for sticking to his glam-rock formula (strong, stripped-down guitar riff, catchy drum part, dandified vocals), but you have to admit that it was a heck of a formula. Dig those stabbing strings that come swooping down between the guitars – it’s like Led Zep getting a Philly-soul makeover.
by Angela Bruno
Allá – multi-instrumentalist and mastermind Jorge Ledezma, brother and found-soundsmith Angel and chanteuse Lupe Martinez – are kraut-centric Latin psych-poppers bent on a musical and cultural revolution. Jorge, a longtime kraut aficionado who cut his teeth with the now-defunct Chicago band Defender, became a part of legendary Can frontman Damo Suzuki's network of jam-session fiends after meeting in 2001, fanning Jorge's creative fire.
Allá's debut labor of love, Es Tiempo, took four and half years, an ever-evolving troupe of musicians, studio time in Sweden and about $50K out of Jorge's own pocket (!!!) to complete. Pointing to inspirations as varied as Café Tacuba, a Beatles-esque experimentation and Marvin Gaye's message, Allá's hypnotic blend of kraut and Os Mutantes-brand tropicalia is anchored by an anvil of an agenda. Under the pastiche and stardust, the ethereal Es Tiempo honors the band's Mexican roots. With song titles like “El Movimiento” ["The Movement"] and lyrics like “no duermas mas” ["stop sleeping"], Allá’s message is subtle yet palpable.
“‘El Movimiento,’ that’s the old rally cry from the Chicano movement," says Jorge. "We wrap it in a cool psychedelic package and it’s poppy and it’s cute and a little scary at times – but it’s there.” Here, Jorge talks about Allá's evolution, his meticulous-meets-mayhem production tactics, and what the hell really happened in all those years between conception and fruition.
Song: Hook It Up
Album: Identified
Artist: Vanessa Hudgens
Selected by: Rachel Devitt
Date: July 2, 2008
The latest Disney star to prove that a tweentastic TV gig and controversy over some not-so-PG photos do not a career define, Vanessa Hudgens expands her demographic with this sexy, fun-loving track off her sophomore album Identified.
by Chuck Eddy
So the latest “foxy-librarian coffeehouse folk” hopeful, as Rob Harvilla dubbed the recent spate of Ingrid/Feist/Yael/Colbie/Sara snooze in the Village Voice recently, would seem to be one Charlotte Sometimes—a sing-songy, frequently vibrato-dependent, Jersey-born lounge-shemo chick who shares her name with a 1969 children’s book, a 1981 Cure dirge, and a 2002 indie film, all of which fans enjoy describing as “haunting fantasies.” She’s Vans-Warped-Touring this summer, and her single “How I Could Just Kill A Man” comes complete with a look-ma-I’m-quoting-Cypress-Hill chorus. “Sounds like Twisted Sister Meets Mister Mister,” her MySpace page claims; sadly, a lie. Waves & The Both of Us, assisted by a low list price, is bubbling under some or other chart as we speak. If a licensing deal didn’t happen yet, it should soon. Good for Charlotte (no pop-punk pun intended); I just wish it was happening to Megan McCauley instead.
Continue reading "Charlotte Sometimes, Or Megan McCauley All The Time?" »
Song: Grapevine Fires
Album: Narrow Stairs
Artist: Death Cab For Cutie
Selected by: Nick Dedina
Date: July 1, 2008
This little beauty from the latest Death Cab album matches scenes from a consuming North Western fire with the wonder of watching the world fall apart with your loved ones by your side. It’s strange how pop music can sync up with current events -- while the Midwest is plagued by too much water, the West Coast is in a serious draught. Through it all, Death Cab’s Ben Gibbard comfortingly sings even as you get the feeling that the entire world may be engulfed in flames.
This past weekend, thousands of Brits (and citizens of various other kingdoms, fiefdoms and republics, for sure) gathered at the Vale of Avalon to watch some of their favorite artists pull musical swords from the stone at the annual Glastonbury Festival. Typically, the main talking point before, during and after the festival is the weather, as past Glastos have left audiences to fend for themselves against torrential rains and ensuing fields of mud. But this year, organizers of England's premiere summer music festival booked Jay-Z to headline Saturday night, and the choice set off a different kind of storm: one of debate, disses and drama.
by Chuck Eddy
When somebody tells you a new dance-pop album (or really, maybe a new anything album) is mind-blowing because it “mixes up lots of different genres,” take their claim with a grain of salt. Not that mixing genres is bad; it’s just that that’s what dance-pop has always done – usually without making a big whoopdydoo of it. This year, for instance, the self-titled debut by Philly-to-Brooklyn hipster heroine Santogold will inevitably finish the year near the top of critics’ polls. Which is fine, because it’s a pretty good record. But it’s no more “eclectic” than the significantly more lively and songful self-titled debut by suburban L.A. Mexican-American quinceañera-pop duo Prima J, which will struggle to get reviewed in any magazine not targeted at Latin teen girls.
Song: C'est Pas De L'Amour
Album: Extraordinary Rendition
Artist: Rupa and the April Fishes
Selected by: Sarah Bardeen
Date: June 30, 2008
San Francisco's Rupa has the carnival thing down cold -- plus she can sing in French, English and Spanish, which makes her a darling of the town's multilingual underground. Throw your beer stein into the fireplace and join the chorus!
(photo by Jeremy Stanifer)
I could throw in a lot of burly Pacific Northwest lumberjack jokes or overgrown face fuzz and flannel/plaid/paisley-wearing cracks here, but that all seems a little too obvious for the Fleet Foxes. The scene at San Francisco’s Bottom of the Hill last night was indeed fairly scruffy -- the exception being guitarist Christian Wargo, whose clean-cut, skinny jeans-with-vest hipster style gets the most live-review flack according to his bandmates. The mostly hirsute quintet stole the attention of even the most girly chicks and modish boys in the crowd, using “Chill out, dude” poise and a humbled presence, but also nimble guitars, deft mandolin plucks, maraca shakes, tambourines, crashing cymbals and gospel-inspired a capella.
by Chuck Eddy
Today sees the release of the new Angeline Jolie film Wanted, a non-stop, CGI-affected thriller about a secret coven of assassins and their brand new recruit ... or something. The film is not only an opportunity for people who like to see Angelina Jolie curve bullets and show of her various expressionistic, vaguely Celtic tattoos, it's also a chance for folks to hear Danny Elfman's film score -- and, for the first time in a while, a new rock tune from the former Oingo Boingo frontman, "The Little Things." And being generous people -- and not assassins -- Rhapsody wants to give it to you for free.
Song: Digital Bath
Album: White Pony
Artist: Deftones
Selected by: Stephanie Benson
Date: June 27, 2008
Okay, so the meaning of the song may be just a tad disturbing: "digital bath" refers to electrocution. But its intrigue is equivalent to that of a great horror flick. As a menacing drone swells into wicked beats and Chino Moreno's cathartic wails scream out, "I feel like more!" beware of a sudden spike in blood pressure and fear of who or what may be behind you.
Rhapsody's Ones to Watch artist for June, the Ting Tings’ De Martino gives us an inside look at the nearly instant phenomenon with a track-by-track synopsis of the making of We Started Nothing. He goes in-depth about the woes of being a signed band, why you should avoid buying the Chinese version of their album, and why they want to prove they "started nothing."
by Chuck Eddy
Montgomery Gentry is my favorite band (not just country -- rock, too) of the decade. I keep waiting for them to put out a lousy album, but after six, they haven’t come close. And the gap between the one I like most (2001’s Carrying On) and one I like least (1999’s Tattoos and Scars) isn’t really all that great. Their new Back When I Knew It All falls somewhere in the middle, which by definition makes it one of the better albums I’ve heard this year. Here are some thoughts on its songs ...
Continue reading "Montgomery Gentry's Long Line of Winners" »
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