We All Want Someone To Shout For

Thanks to Kickin’ The Peantuts, some demo’s of songs off of Lily Allens new album “It’s Not You, It’s Me” are out there. The album is scheduled to come out on Febuary 29th, 2009. The tracklisting for “It’s Not You, It’s Me” is the following via Lily’s website:

[MP3] : Lily Allen – The Fear
[MP3] : Lily Allen – I Could Say
[MP3] : Lily Allen – Fuck You
[MP3] : Lily Allen – Who’d've Known
[MP3] : Lily Allen – Everyone’s At It

I just read that the rising buzz band The Muslims have decided to change their name to The Soft Pack. They announced the following news via their myspace page for the muslims:

WE HAVE CHANGED THE NAME OF OUR GROUP TO “THE SOFT PACK”. Working on new material and firing on all four cylinders, we feel strongly about this one. It’s a new chapter in our lives and hopefully yours. Stay tuned to The Soft Pack page (www.myspace.com/thesoftpack), as we will be posting new videos, music, and junk in the coming weeks. We are pumped. Have a great Thanksgiving and keep it loose. Your buddies, The Soft Pack

I don’t know how I feel about this, I really digged their name. I would be more accepting if their new name was even more badass, but The Soft Pack just isn’t doing it for me. Hmmm, I guess we will just have to see if the music talks for them. Visit the myspace for the Soft Pack.

[MP3] : The Soft Pack – Bright Side
[MP3] : The Soft Pack – Parasites

Hey guys I was asked by Luis from Pretty Much Amazing to write a review for Coldplay’s new EP “Prospekt’s March” for his site. Well my review is finally up, you can check it out right here. Some people think the review is a bit generous, but I felt that there was enough decent material on it to push it over 6. Even the last songs that I disliked aren’t TERRIBLE….it’s just that Coldplay could have done a bit better. I am one of the 8 or so guest bloggers on PMA so there should be more articles up soon, I will keep you updated!!

[MP3] : Coldplay – Life in Technicolor II
[MP3] : Coldplay – Glass Of Water
[MP3] : Coldplay – Lost (Feat. Jay-Z)

Purchase Prospekt’s March [EP] | Myspace

I would like to wish you and all your loved ones a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy seeing all your close family members while enjoying some great food! Enjoy your day, cherish all that you have and be thankful. Here are some songs to remind you what Turkey Day is really for!

[MP3] : The National – Mr. November
[MP3] : TV On The Radio – Family Tree
[MP3] : The Shins – Young Pilgrims
[MP3] : Ben Folds – You To Thank
[MP3] : Kaiser Chiefs – Thank You Very Much

Confusion:
I guess that’s where we disagree. Because I think we do (need intense genre-stretching to keep music interesting). I don’t think music is interesting when everyone is working within the same boundaries. It gets interesting when someone decides to step out of those boundaries. I mean I love all kinds of music down to the simplistic blues of Robert Johnson in the 30s. But if someone came out with an album like that today, it would not be great. It was great because it was different.
-I could’ve used more vocoder on the new Killers, especially by Flowers.

Luis:
Wouldn’t you just end up facing loads of disappointment, then? Nothing
THIS big ever happens within a genre (having a juggernaut like Kanye
switch everything up) often.

Well, as far as Pretty Much Amazing is concerned, Kanye West’s 808s
and Heartbreak is a great album. Definitely in 2008′s Top 10. I’m done
talking about it! Lol

JP:
Yea, Flowers could’ve used vocoder his voice at times seemed out of tune.

Confusion:
Haha sorry I just like to argue about music. No, I’m not disappointed. I love music and I constantly find artists that push the boundaries, even if in much less obvious ways than 808s. I’m done talking about it too. I think it’s a great album for Kanye and a great album for hip hop.

Luis:

I like BFlo’s vocals! Even when theyre breaking up, pitchy, etc. It’s
a style, believe it or not. Alicia Keys tried it out a lot on her
newest album and many people weren’t feeling it. But i did!

Brandon Flowers’ vocal delivery has been this way since Sam’s Town. It
makes it feel/sound 100x more personal. I wouldn’t want it any other
way.

Kickinthepeanuts:

here are my two cents about “808s and Heartbreak” : I don’t think Kanye was interested in redefining anything other than himself with this record; he didn’t set out to revolutionize hip-hop or rap. The album is personal, and I’d like to think he made it for himself (if he was that interested in specifically creating an album his fans would gorge themselves with, he easily could have, and would not have released Love Lockdown as his first single!!)

I think this album is a brilliant showcase of his production talent, like Luis has been saying, and while he really doesn’t have a fantastic singing voice live, his musicianship is unquestionable (listen to the instrumentals that lie behind these tracks… even without vocals, these tracks would be insane!) I agree with the sentiment that just because it’s different and new, doesn’t necessarily make it worth our time: what makes it worth our time is Kanye’s ability to pull off something so different so successfully. I agree that this is a pop album, chuck full of pop songs; but the pop genre, as I firmly believe, is a legitimate one, and this album is case in point. It’s so aesthetically pleasing, and that’s worth something.

My theory behind the auto-tune: One, Kanye just couldn’t have pulled this record off without it, he’s just not that good at singing. Two, though, the process of using auto-tune on something this intimate and vulnerable (as opposed to, say Bartender or Buy U A Drink) somehow increases the music’s emotional intensity. On 808s, Kanye effectively gives birth to a robot persona, and grants it the ability to feel human emotion, heartbreak. I think it is the paradox of a robot with human emotion that gives the album some of it’s power.

I love the album. Lyrically I’m not sure he does love and heartbreak justice, but that is quickly overshadowed by the music.

Confusion:
I just want to say one more thing. I don’t think Kanye set out to redefine anything or revolutionize everything, but I do think it will have a big impact on hip-hop. Almost like Obama being president. Even if he is only doing it for himself as a personal goal, it will inevitably have a huge impacts on a lot of things and people.

WAWSTSF:
Anyway my opinion on 808′s is that it is a important album for hip-hop/all of music. He has taken a big risk and not playing it safe. He is pouring all he has into this album. The songs are important to his life, and it really shows. The autotuner was a brave thing to just jump to with a whole album. But Kanye did it to add texture to his songs, representing his feelings. It may not change hip hop but it will be seen as an important album. Why? Because he wasn’t afraid to take risks, he did something different and succeded. This album will grow on people over time, and it may become his most adored album yet. In one way or another we can all connect to what Kanye is saying. He all have been through heartbreak. That is why this album may just be that special.

The Roundtables Final Thoughts:

Confusion:
808s: Definitely lived up to my expectations. I’m not sure how well it will do on the year end lists. Seems like some people love it and some hate it, but I think it will definitely grow on people with time. I already love the album, but I think my favorite songs will probably change around a lot.

D&A: I’m a little disappointed. I hope it grows on me. Right now I’m still enjoying “Spaceman” and “Human” far more than anything else on the album. I don’t think this will be #1 on many end of the year lists, but it should fall in the top 50.

Kanye: 8.5 , Killers : 6.5

Kanye West – 808s & Heartbreak

I like that Kanye West decided to do something completely different for his new album. He stepped away from his usual sampling for beats and rapping and decided to use auto-tune. The concept of the album isn’t something new but it is different than the rest of the other hip-hop releases this year.

7/10

The Killers – Day & Age

The Killers have brought back some of the things that they were missing from their second album. They have brought back melodies and abandoned the Americana influences of “Sam’s Town”. Brandon Flower’s vocals may sound out-of-tune but they mae the listner feel as though he were directly talking to them. This is the best album that the Killer’s have put out to date.

Hey there all you loyal readers!! We have almost hit the 4 month mark here! It is safe to assume that it is as good of a time as any to introduce a new feature!! It is called “A Roundtable Discussion”. In this feature I will invite guest bloggers to chat together about the hottest new music releases! The goal is to have other bloggers put their thoughts together about albums and get a good discussion going giving the ultimate opinion on an album. I asked some of the best bloggers out there to take part in this to get the finest opinions on some of the most discussed albums of the year. There may be some heated arguments and fights, but its all for arguments sake.

In this week’s roundtable discussion we discussed the new albums from Kanye West and The Killers. The guest bloggers featured in this discussion are Luis from Pretty Much Amazing!, Confusion from Pigeons and Planes, JP from JP’s Blog, and Patrick from Kickin the Peanuts.

The debates got heated at various points, bringing out some hard faught debates. Read part one below:

Grizzly Bear are one of the most promising bands making music right now. Yellow House is a gorgous album that will stand as one of the most cherished albums of this decade. We are still waiting to see how amazing their follow up to “Yellow House” will be. They put on dreamy live performances and absolutely impressed me live at All Points West. Now Ed Droste has given me another reason to adore him and his band. The band runs their own blog, with most of the posts coming from Ed. The other day Ed posted the Animal Collective brilliant new song “Brother Sport” just like I did (and I spelt it wrong..oops). Similar to me, Ed got a message from the web sheriff asking me to take it down.

Ed posted the message he got for all of us to read:

I haven’t fallen in love with an Animal Collective song so hard since Leaf House!

All hail “Brother Sport.”

Gorgeousness!

UPDATE (The Boss Has Spoken):

This is to inform you that, currently your relevant artist’s web-site is acting as the global-leak-source of the track, “Brother Sport”, by our aforementioned client,Animal Collective, which track is not due for release by Domino untilJanuary 2009 (please see http://www.grizzly-bear.net/media/brothersport.mp3 ). As such, both the individuals collectively trading / performing as “Grizzly Bear” and, indeed, yourself are personally liable to our said clients for all commercial and other losses arising from this blatant act of piracy.

In all of the circumstances, we must insist that you now A. removethis pirated file / track without further delay and that you also B. publish the following apology on the Home Page of the Grizzly Bear web-site :-

Animal Collective – Apology
Following contact from Web Sheriff, we can confirm that Grizzly Bear
has withdrawn its stream of unreleased material by the Domino Records artist Animal Collective :
Grizzly Bear wish to apologize to Animal Collective, Domino and Web Sheriff
for the disruption caused to their marketing and release plans by this leak.

This apology must be published for a minimum period of 7 days.

As you will appreciate, this is no laughing matter and, as such, should you refuse or otherwise fail to comply with the above request, we would ask you, in the alternative, to simply provide us with the details of the US attorneys, UK solicitors, French advocats and German advocats whom you would instruct in relation to the service of such multi-jurisdictional proceedings as shall ensue.

It is pretty cool to see Ed posting mp3′s just like yours truly here, but kind of scary to see them get a message like that and have to apologize. I guess no one is allowed to post these mp3s. Not even a guy who is in a band himself. Go figure…..

Cheers to Ed though!

[MP3] : Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks
[MP3] : Grizzly Bear – Knife

Annuals have just announced dates for a 2009 tour with Jessica Lea Mayfield and friends What Laura Says, who are signed to Annuals’ label, Terpsikhore. Their newest album “Such Fun” was a showcase of frontman Adam Baker’s “accomplished songcraft” with the bands “vast landscape of musical richness.” It is a solid album that got them the honor of being the November Artist To Watch for WXPN. If you haven’t heard the album, I recomend giving it a shot, and go check out a show! Dates and mp3 below!

Little Joy is the side project of Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti, his girlfriend Binki Shapiro, and Los Hermanos frontman Rodrigo Amarante. Yes it is another member of The Strokes doing something else while you are impatiently waiting for a new Strokes album. I know, I am dying to hear a new record from the Strokes. But in the meantime, don’t let Little Joy pass you by. I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I popped the album in…What I got was an absolute delight. It doesn’t sound anything like The Strokes, and that is a good thing for these guys.

Little Joy’s self titled debut presents a relaxed listen that I honestly needed. The album isn’t anything overdone or pretentious. It is a simple, straightforward album that is irresistible. It features fantastic songs like “The Next Time Around” where it is virtually impossible not to smile with delight. “Brand New Start” has a grand melody that begs you for a lazy singalong. You gotta wonder how much better this album would have sounded during the summer.

Moretti and the band don’t try to do anything too special or be anything that they are not. The album’s greatest advantage is that they are not trying too hard. It a smooth guitar album that will have you coming back to it far more often than you ever expected. Some songs are After one listen to “Don’t Watch Me Dancing” you will see why this works so good. The multi-instrumentation, shared vocals of all three bands members provide the band with the best sound possible. There is a fair share of upbeat songs to compliment the slower melodic songs that make up this album.

While The Strokes are off until 2009, we have Moretti and Hammond rocking out to the sun. And right now, it may just be what we need. This is an enjoyable album that you can listen to at anytime of day. Start now:

[MP3] : Little Joy – Brand New Start
[MP3] : Little Joy – Next Time Around
[MP3] : Little Joy – Don’t Watch Me Dancing

Myspace | Buy Little Joy’s Debut Album

Vampire Weekend’s amazing 2008 continues to look even brighter with another late night TV stop. This time it is at Conan to perform their next single, The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance.