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Posted on 09.03.07 by hardrockchick @ 10:01 pm
Having been fortunate enough to hear most of Kala’s Where Arular succeeded in being main room dance floor jams- hot, sweaty beats that draw the best moves from everyone, Kala is definitely the more grown up, been around the block, back room/VIP version. It’s darker and more seductive, with an aire of sadness. I remember walking the stacks of record stores, and coming across the ‘World Music’ section- which was basically a catch all for anything not American. Kala is truly world music- it’s African beats and Reggaeton, Australian Aboriginal beatbox kids and Bollywood, London Grimecore and J-Pop. And it outta be, considering she recorded it on practically every continent. The album contains amazing uses of aural metaphors- the gun shots and cash register combo is truly unbelievable on Paper Planes. Or how ’bout the psychedelic sounding usage of ‘Where is My Mind?’ by the Pixies in 20 Dollar? Phenomenal. Paper Planes 20 Dollar Kala somehow succeeds at making me want to tear up both the dance floor and world injustices. Quite the sophomore effort. Bookmark to:
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tracks face to face with M.I.A., I’d been not so patiently awaiting this album. It’s the kind of listening party I wish I could get for every record. Maybe I should work for a record company. Noooooo.|
Posted on 07.22.07 by hardrockchick @ 6:41 pm
Billy Corgan is trying really, really hard to redeem himself. He’s been quite the whipping boy for the press over the past few years, before he gave in and decided that a Pumpkin’s reunion is what we all needed. His full page ad antics just didn’t go over well. Being one of the few lucky holders of tickets to the upcoming Fillmore concert series that the newly ‘united’ Pumpkins are playing, I’ve been doing some thinking about where the Pumpkins fit in my band affinity list. I think I had 2 or 3 copies of Siamese Dream–I wore them out. Thirty-three holds a special place in my heart. But I think I just got pissed at them when they canceled a show I had tickets for in 1997, and didn’t really look back much after that. It seems that SP’s reunion has been met with the most mixed reviews of any reunited band as of yet. I reserve judgment until I see them next week, but, based on the new album, I have tepid feelings. Some of the songs almost get me there…Bleeding the Orchid, That’s the Way (my love is)…that is until I look at the name–is that an R&B song? I really wanted to like Doomsday Clock, Tarantula, and United States, but they were missing something (D’Arcy and Iha?). God and Country is pretty nice. The rest I could do without. And the business about their being 4 different versions of the CDs isn’t the best way to deal with album issues these days. Whatever damage has been done will not reverse the fact that I will get goosebumps when I hear the first few notes of Today. Rock on, Pumpkins. Bookmark to:
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Posted on 07.21.07 by hardrockchick @ 11:21 am
As many of you read, I had an exciting time seeing Velvet Revolver a couple of months ago. At this show, I got to hear 4 Libertad songs, and it was quite an introduction. Since I exist on a diet made up of a lot of indie bands, it can be a bit of sensory overload to hear a clean, produced album. It’s like watching HDTV, when your eyes can’t believe how clearly they’re seeing. Libertad is the perfect choice of titles for this effort. Their second album as Velvet Revolver, it frees them from some of the perceptions of the supergroup, patchwork identity of two bands meshed together. It also marks a more sober period in the drug and alcohol riddled pasts of Weiland and Slash. I won’t go so far as saying that sober bands suck in comparison to their chemically enhanced pasts…but they’re, you know, different. Libertad is missing a ballad of Fall to Pieces status (Gravedancer is nice, but doesn’t quite do it for me), and the grittiness of Do It For the Kids. The album is more consistent across the board- fast paced, high energy rock tracks that highlight Slash’s forever phenomenal guitar skills. I tend to listen to the first four tracks: Let It Roll, She Mine, Get Out the Door, and She Builds Quick Machines…and then skip to American Man. I expect I’ll like it better once I hear the other tracks live, since that’s how I work. I have to hear it in context. And, in related news, Slash will be an unlockable character in the next Guitar Hero. Sweet! Bookmark to:
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Posted on 07.06.07 by hardrockchick @ 9:46 am
The White Stripes are one of the most critically acclaimed rock bands around today. Detroit American rock with a Southern injection, The White Stripes can be found on a 15 year olds ipod as well as a 50 year olds. It’s timeless, simplistic, and maintains a teeter totter balance on catchy and edgy. I feel like The White Stripes may be in that enviable position where they can do no wrong. I like The White Stripes- don’t get me wrong. But I do feel like they are a bit overrated. The White Stripes are flourishing in a rock-starved world, where Jack White remains to be the last rock star. Where nearly every other band that can be classified as rock/something– indie rock, pop rock, electronic rock, industrial rock, goth rock….The White Stripes have no slash. They are just rock. ‘Icky Thump’ is the band’s sixth studio album, releasing as the band is about to celebrate their 10 year anniversary. This album comes after a lot of personal transitions for both Jack and Meg: both moved out of Detroit, Jack got married and has a baby and another on the way. In a sense, this album reflects a less self-centered view: the first single is The White Stripe’s first overtly political effort, dealing with immigration. The love songs are more tender, and the country and Spanish influences are more romantic (hence the promotional photos gracing every music magazine of them dressed in Mariachi costume). Icky Thump is a good road trip listen, but I don’t feel like there is a stand out track on the album that will repeat in your head all day long. Bookmark to:
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Posted on 06.22.07 by hardrockchick @ 10:21 am
Manson’s 6th studio album, Eat Me, Drink Me, is one of his best. Mr. Shock Rocker has matured from being an overtly outrageous spectacle with polarizing thematic elements, to songs that encapsulate the dark places that exist in everyone (almost). While many reviews have slammed this album for not being the typical Manson work, I feel that this is exactly what is inherently wrong with music journalism- if the writers aren’t getting more of the same, they don’t like it. Eat Me, Drink Me is not the work of an uninspired, scared to shock anymore man, but rather a change of pace colored by a period of heartbreak and a blossoming new relationship. These are what Manson love songs sound like. It is very apparent that the demise of his marriage with Dita Von Teese has influenced this album as much as the start of his relationship Evan Rachel Wood. Morose replaces anger in this album, making it a much more complex animal. Not to mention the influence of Lewis Carroll and Nabokov. While still classifiable as industrial rock- with the synths and the heavy drums, this album shows a heavy indie rock guitar influence. Listening to the riffs in The Red Carpet Grave, They Said Hell’s Not Hot, and, in particular, Heart Shaped Glasses, you can’t help but think of Modest Mouse or Spoon. Stand out tracks are If I Was Your Vampire, the single, Heart Shaped Glasses, Evidence, and You And Me And The Devil Makes 3. I’ll be seeing Manson and Slayer in August, so stay tuned for a live review. It will be my first Manson show…and I’ve been waiting 10 years for it since the last time he came close to where I lived mommy and daddy banned me from going. Nice Manson article in Spin here. Bookmark to:
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Posted on 04.17.07 by hardrockchick @ 11:30 pm
It’s difficult to review something that I feel so close to and also has had so much said about it. Rather, what I’ll do is recap the experience I’ve had as a semi-fanatic fan (fanatic by many standards, not in relation to fellow Spiral-ers). Since December, Spiral members have been counting down the days until this release. Having just been blessed with With Teeth and a year and a half long tour after a 5 year drought, we were all pretty satiated. But, like drug addicts, the announcement of Year Zero sent us straight into withdrawal-marking calendars and speculating on the next sound. In the meantime, we were left to chew on vague comments of ‘noisiness’ and ‘Public Enemy influences’. Europe got a long awaited tour that started in February. With the upcoming release of the DVD Beside You In Time, we were able to attend viewing parties and reminisce about the ‘good ol’ days’ when we were going to With Teeth tour shows every couple of months. I believe it was February 13th when it all started. This is the point where Year Zero morphed from an idea to an experience. Embedded codes in concert shirts, leaked tracks on thumb drives….it seemed like something out of a movie. The Game. It didn’t take long to become aware that we were involved in an ARG/Alternate Reality Game. At face value, it’s a creative promotion for the album. To us, it’s a well planned mindf#$k that was…is…both fun and scary. The fun part is that we uncover clues, get all sleuthy, and feel like Trent is giving us gifts. An amuse bouche of the aural variety. On the other hand, Trent became a spokesperson for the current state of affairs for his fanbase, bringing background murmurs of war news and power abuse to a state of relevancy. It’s no longer an album, it’s an icon. Year Zero is both a literal and metaphorical crux, a turning point. Year Zero’s story is that it’s the beginning of a new era, and the reality is that the Year Zero experience has marked the beginning of awareness for many Nine Inch Nails fans. If you are totally confused/captivated/concerned, visit wikipedia for the Cliff’s Notes version. Just like the multilayered NIN tracks, this experience has many layers as well. The whole experience has also served as a big eff you to the record industry. This is NIN’s last album with Interscope, and let’s just say that Trent made sure he got in the last word. Leaked tracks and streamed albums have caused a major RIAA uproar, not to mention the incompatibility in understanding the ARG experience by the ’suits’. As for my review of the actual album-I love it. OK, all but one song (’The Beginning of the End’…meh). ‘Capital G’, ‘Me, I’m Not’, and ‘In This Twilight’ are favorites. And, of course, the official video for Survivalism: I just can’t wait to hear them live! But, alas, Japan and Australia get them first. The Europe again. Then my patience runs out. Leaving you with the first piece of video we received for YZ: Bookmark to:
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