Music video by Miley Cyrus performing Party In The USA.
Video Rating: 4 / 5
Official video for OK Go’s “This Too Shall Pass” off of the New Album “Of the Blue Colour of the Sky”. The video was filmed live and features the Notre Dame marching band. Directed by Brian L. Perkins and OK Go. Get it at iTunes bit.ly
From the new album “Of the Blue Colour of the Sky” available at www.okgo.net OK Go on Tour www.okgo.net Directed by James Frost, OK Go and Syyn Labs. Produced by Shirley Moyers. The official video for the recorded version of “This Too Shall Pass” off of the album “Of the Blue Colour of the Sky”. The video was filmed in a two story warehouse, in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA. The “machine” was designed and built by the band, along with members of Syyn Labs ( syynlabs.com ) over the course of several months. There is an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at the warehouse here: www.okgo.net OK Go thanks State Farm for making this video possible.
Video Rating: 4 / 5
Music video by Willow performing Whip My Hair. (C) 2010 Roc Nation, LLC.
Track-by-track: Quiet Company–Songs For Staying In EP
28 May
by Nina Chantanapumma
Maybe it’s due to the circles I run in around Denton, but has anyone noticed how serious the music seems to be here? Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing that can be compared to a band that has mastered their craft of honest, heart-jerking lyrics and careful instrumentation so well that it leaves me breathless and in awe. But music doesn’t always have to break your heart, folks. It doesn’t have to drag your soul through the darkness at 60 bpm. It can remind you that love is a beautiful thing, something worth celebrating, and a great reason to sing. Enter the newest release from Austin-based Quiet Company, Songs For Staying In. Described as “a 27-minute celebration of love and … sex,” this should be a quick and fun track-by-track review.
1. “How Do You Do It?”
I listened to this track as I was walking to work one early morning, dragging and moping. This song managed to put a kick in my step within a few minutes. The fanfare chorus will remain joyfully stuck in your head for a good while. And how can you not smile at the line, “Oh, you never leave my head, so let’s never leave the bed”?
2. “Things You Already Know”
Another upbeat pop gem, a promise to a lover. Or, rather, the lover. I think what I love about this song is that it seems like a perfectly good wedding vow, a song you’d sing in front of all your loved ones as you say your “I do”s until the last verse: So when the sun goes down and the lights go off, well, you and I will frame up the scene to be completely pornographic because life is always better when you’re fairly obscene, and I’m gonna love you ’til I die.
3. “Hold My Head Above the Water”
In case you do need a bit of seriousness, this track should deliver. A duet between lead singer, Taylor Muse, and his wife, Leah, this tune consists of a few simple lines, simple instrumentation and, in turn, reflects the idea that love can be simple and intimate.
4. “Jezebel”
It was a questionable choice to include this breakup song amidst a collection of sugary sweet love songs, but I think it works. Although he proclaims his dismay throughout the song, the break of “come back to me” is an interesting twist. Also interesting? The second name of this song: “A Song About My Friend And That Whore He Dated”. You can’t say this band doesn’t have a sense of humor.
5. “If You Want” – Not as catchy as the others but hey, slow dance time!
6. “The Biblical Sense of the Word” – The album ends with one last slow dance, one last fanfare. “We make our lives worth living when we love each other” could not be more truthful and once the last piano chord fades out, you really can’t help but smile and feel loved yourself.
Ironically, Songs For Staying In is an album worthy for going out, popping in your car stereo and blasting as summer rolls into town. It might even make you want to hug someone.
Be sure to catch Quiet Company for their CD release, at Hailey’s this Saturday, with Holy Fiction, Goldilocks and the Rock and Curvette. Doors are at 9 p.m. and tickets are $6 for those over 21 or $9 for those under 21.
Review: Sundress–Fever EP
26 May
Editor’s note: This review is the first of what we hope will be many by Judson Valdez (whom you may know as frontman for Baruch the Scribe).
By Judson Valdez
I must admit that I haven’t always been a fan of This Old house/ Odyssey/Sundress. During early listens, I thought the band’s songs were all too similar and a little melodramatic at times. But since I’ve attended their shows over the past couple of months, they have won me over (understatement). I’ve found myself awaiting recordings from this band more than any other local act in recent months, yet also a little worried about what they would sound like.
To be honest, I have been very disappointed in the material that has come out of Denton’s thriving music scene over the past year or so and lately I’ve been a little nervous about listening to most of the new records coming out around town in fear of lessening my interest in so many great live acts. But this is not the place to go into that, so I’ll continue with a review of an album that I can confidently say satisfied my urge for good local music.
The Fever EP plays well throughout and kept my attention from beginning to end. “Dream Curl” is a strong opener and a good display of what’s to come. Ryan McAdams’ catchy yet intricate picking patterns mixed with Kennan Talley’s light, sweeping lead parts keep the song moving for the whole four-and-a-half minutes and showcase the relaxed yet strong feel of the album to come.
“Stellas”, track five, brings a different sound to the mix, with a more upbeat and, dare I say, grunge feel. The final track, “Fever”, only takes the whole EP up one more notch for me. The driving thuds of both the kick drum and bass are the perfect set-up for McAdams’ clear vocals. The track ends up being led by Talley’s piercing guitar line toward the end of the song in a gripping and epic finale to the EP.
The Sundress boys have definitely changed my earlier opinion of their sound as I found myself completely absorbed and re-absorbed in every track on the album. My only criticism of this album is that I would have loved to hear a mastered version of it. There are several moments on the album when the bass and drums are a bit lost in the mix and decent mastering could have taken care of that. Drew McCary’s bass lines are, personally, my favorite part of listening to these songs and I hate to hear them improperly mixed on such a good EP.
Ultimately, though, I can easily say that the Fever EP has restored my faith in local music recordings and given me hope for the long string of music to come.
Track of the Day: DJ Car Stereo (Wars)- Whoa Dude
12 May
(Note: Due to the sheer number of submissions we receive, there is no way we can give each and every album the attention (and word count) they deserve, but we can devote time to at least one song from each. So we started this feature to give worthy bands, and their music a spot to shine. We hope this helps you discover new and exciting acts, and as always if you enjoy the music please make an attempt to support the artists by either attending a show, or buying a record.)
DJ Car Stereo (Wars) first came to national prominence when he was tapped to make a mix of the bands playing 2008?s ACL festival. He followed up with the release of the excellent The Bandit, an album we’ve talked about before, and one of the better mash-up pieces done in the wake of the Girl Talk revolution. After appearing at Lollapalooza, SXSW and Fun Fun Fun Fest (a rain-soaked set that featured CSW igniting a soaked crowd of concert goers, and performing one of the better parts of the fest) CSW is back with a new (free) album, Explains It All, that’s made up of most of his set material from the past year, and full of Nickelodeon titles.
DJ Car Stereo (Wars)- Whoa Dude
Verdict: I’m not going to try to name all the samples used. I honestly don’t think anyone could. I do however think the samples and songs used flow seamlessly with each other, and the track/album is going to make its way onto the speakers at more than a few parties this spring. Really. you can’t give a DJ a bigger compliment.
Download the album here.
(Note: Due to the sheer number of submissions we receive there is no way we can give each and every album the attention (and word count) they deserve, but we can devote time to at least one song from each. So we started this feature to give worthy bands, and their music, a spot to shine. We hope this helps you discover new and exciting acts, and as always if you enjoy the music please make an attempt to support the artist by either attending a show or buying a record.)
By Jesseca Bagherpour
Mouth’s Cradle are a couple of students at Syracuse University (hey … don’t we know someone who went there?) who call their music “hip-pop”. They count Elvis Costello, Björk (see band name), ABBA, Joanna Newsom, Wu-Tang and Common among their influences. Brandon Linn, one half of the duo, passed along a few tracks from their new record, The Next Big Thing, for our perusal.
Frankly, their music annoys me more than anything I’ve heard in a long time. That’s including Ke$ha (I hate writing her name that way, but I hate errors more). There was only one song I could listen to in its entirety. But it happened to be an infectious pop tune that I find completely irresistible, despite its similarity to something by Matt and Kim or The Ting Tings.
Maybe I’m starting to crack, or maybe there’s something to this song:
Mouth’s Cradle–Honey From a Stone
Verdict: There’s definitely something to this song. It’s a near-perfect mesh of genres–with layers of hip hop lead vocals, girl group harmonies and instrumentals, and electronic beats–and it’s sweet enough to give you a toothache. I want to hear more songs like this from Mouth’s Cradle, rather than the grating, tongue-in-cheek rap they seem so fond of. But they do have potential. And calling their debut album The Next Big Thing may not be too far-fetched. The album has been featured on iTunes “What’s Hot” in pop and has a five-star rating from fans (granted, the 82 people who rated it could all be friends). At the very least, I see some one-hit wonder potential, or even a commercial or two. Then they could afford … oh, I don’t know … better album art, perhaps.
Mining My Inheritance 5: Paul McCartney & Wings “Band on the Run”
20 Apr
(Recently while on a trip to South Texas, I discovered my father’s long lost record collection, in what one would call less the desirable shape. In an effort to better understand my father’s taste, and my musical upbringing,I have decided to listen to each album that’s salvageable while at the same time tracking down the history of the album, and writing my own thoughts on it. This should take a while, as there are at least 150 albums, and I plan on only doing 2 a week. Please join as I work my way through my musical inheritance.)
History: With his fifth album since leaving the Beatles (and third with his band Wings), Paul McCartney was riding a high from both his previous album, Red Rose Speedway, hitting number 1 and his hit theme for the James Bond film Live and Let Die. Using the success as leverage, McCartney and wife Linda requested their record company (Apple Records) allow them to travel to Lagos, Nigeria to record the album. Upon the album’s release in 1973, critical reaction was positive, with Rolling Stone hailing it as the best output by any of the ex-Beatles to that point. A financial success, the album went #1 in the US on three separate occasions and was the number 1 selling album in Britain that year. McCartney and co. won a Grammy, and the album was placed on Rolling Stone’s “Top 500 Albums of All Time” list.
Also, its iconic album cover, which featured Kelly Lynch, James Coburn, Christopher Lee, Clement Freud and an assortment of other celebrities, would go on to be parodied over and over in pop culture.
Paul McCartney & Wings- Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five
Thoughts: To be brutally honest, I had always thought of Paul McCartney as the douchebag Beatle, even having numerous conversations about the subject with friends who mostly agreed that the man was/is a brilliant musical talent, without whom most of the great rock of the the 20th Century would never exist, but is still and always will be a douchebag. I have always felt the one exception to this notion was the supremely awesome five minutes that is the “Band on the Run” single, a song I have long harbored a love for. So when sitting down to listen to the full album, I approached it with a fairly open mind.
The album opens strong, with the title track being nothing but five minutes of pure awesomeness. The heady 70s rocker describes a group’s escape from imprisonment through a multi-part structure that’s filled with at least four tempo changes and more than a few great moments of guitar work, and leads to a chorus that’s so damn catchy that merely humming it in the company of others can lead to it sticking in their heads for days on end. Immediately following is the fuzz-filled ode to McCartney’s dog, “Jet“–a track that’s pretty damn great if you ignore the needless horns and the fact that it inspired a pretty terrible Australian band to name themselves after it.
The album takes a tonal shift as the very soft “Bluebird” follows the opening rockers. Honestly, it’s a bit boring and, to quote Buster Bluth, made it all tired in here. Seriously, I want to build a time machine so I can take away the saxophone they used. Luckily the following track, “Mrs. Vanderbilt“, is a pretty strong little rocker, with a great lead bass hook that further shows McCartney’s greatness … except that damn saxophone pops up yet again. The side A closer, “Let Me Roll It“, was supposedly a dig at John Lennon, as it apes his signature reverbed vocals, adds organ, a choir and an unnaturally aggressive guitar riff for a McCartney song. It works. Really, it’s pretty damn great, proving yet again that Paul is best playing second banana.
I’d like to think “Mamunia” reflects the band’s time in Lagos, with its chanting style and tribal-like drums, as it seems the lyric/title comes from the Arabic word for “safe haven”. ”No Words” doesn’t really inspire a response from me other than thinking they must have been working on the album and thought, “We need a love song”. The very 70s rockish “Helen Wheels” is more interesting for the fact that McCartney could write a throwaway song about his Land Rover and it could go top 10 than for the music itself, though it’s a pretty fun ride if you’re not being too pretentious.
“Picasso’s Last Words (Drink to Me)” took a bit to win me over, but the sample of “Jet” and the rather grand orchestral parts that lead to a bit of ballroom singalong, back to the orchestral, and finally a tribal chant of “ho, hey, ho” that features Ginger Baker on a pair of shakers. It’s damn near schizophrenic, and I love it. The album ends with the great “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five“, a pulsating rocker that’s all driving keys and bass that eventually leads to a grandiose ending that has the band being backed by a full orchestra, and ending the whole thing by calling back to the title track, closing with the chorus. Seriously, who knew McCartney was so into prog rock.
All in all it’s one of the great pop albums, despite all the random bits of saxophone.
BONUS Track of the Day: The Flowers of God–A Challenged Sound
12 Mar
By Jesseca Bagherpour
When my friend Andy Young, who’s played drums for Lift to Experience, Ed Harcourt, Josh T. Pearson and many others, told me he had been recording an entire album on his own, under the moniker The Flowers of God, I was intrigued but skeptical. It took a lot of balls and confidence for him to decide to write and record an entire album’s worth of songs all on his own. But would it be any good?
When he gave me a link to his new music, my misgivings melted away and I was immediately impressed. Andy handled nearly every aspect of the album, from writing the lyrics and music to covering vocals, guitar and (of course) drums. He is The Flowers of God. On top of that, this is his first attempt at being a singer/songwriter/guitar player.
I’m a sucker for any band that can replicate the cool 60s-rock sound and The Flowers of God is chock full of that (with an emphasis on The Velvet Underground), with some cool, layered vocals (all Andy’s) to boot. In fact, I was so taken with how cool the music is that I eagerly volunteered to become a tambourine player/backup singer when he decides to form a band (I don’t play any “real” instruments, but I’ve got rhythm and have a knack for harmonies … but this isn’t about me). And Jaime and I realized we needed to post something about this band ASAP.
Here’s what Andy had to say about The Flowers of God:
I demoed two songs at my house in Oak Cliff about a week ago and re-recorded everything at Pearl Street Studios a few days after that with Kelly Upshaw from The Hope Trust. Kelly was kind enough to play the bass parts I’m not good enough to play, and to bear with me while I made bass noises at him trying to explain what I was attempting on the demos. We’ve recorded two songs so far and I have several more that we plan on getting done sometime before the end of April. It’s maybe that it starts as an EP or maybe since the process feels very easy that an LP will happen just as quickly.
Really I just sat down one day last week and said, “Today, for once in my life, I will finish a song” … and to my surprise I did. After I got that first one out of the way a few more came just as quickly. I guess I just finally decided that I had something to say, even if it was about parts of my life I’m not particularly proud of. Or things that I struggle with.
The name is actually what I wanted to call the backing band for the new Josh T. Pearson record, but we have other plans for that, so I just had to use it for myself as it seemed to get such a reaction (good and bad) from people when I mentioned it.
I’m not so much thinking about playing live at the moment as finishing the recordings. When that’s done I’ll assemble a crack team of people like me that can almost play, and we’ll see what happens.
And here’s a taste of the music (it’s still a rough mix, so we can only offer it to you streaming right now):
The Flowers of God–A Challenged Sound
I had another track all picked out to feature when I found this gem from Secret Cities, the newest addition to the Western Vinyl roster, hiding among scores of other emails. I have listened to it countless times and it’s hard for me to formulate an intelligent comment. All I keep thinking is “Holy shit! This is awesome!”
But I’ll try to expand on that.
It reminds me of something that would play in an 80s dance club, but it’s far deeper and more sophisticated than that. The dance beat is unstoppable, but the vocals are haunting and the song is ingeniously layered. It gives me a voracious appetite for Secret Cities’ music.
Secret Cities–Pink Graffiti Part 1
Verdict: Holy shit! This is awesome!