Last night Panic at the Disco returned to the district in its third week of the US tour promoting the new album, "Pretty. Odd." Fans were left satisfied, but also, confused. Where were the cages? And the whips, and burlesque dancers? This is not the Panic! At the Disco of yesterday. Having dropped the exclamation point, and seemingly all the opulence that went with it, today's Panic has exchanged its lyrical and visual verbosity for something much more simple, at times even dangerously straddling the line between rock and folk-rock. Tambourines? Flower-covered microphones? What happened?
In some interviews, the band claims to have simply "grown up" since the release of its first album, but could the fact that all of them –excluding frontman Brendan Urie—acquired girlfriends since "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out" account for the lack of that certain sense of sexual frustration so predominant on the first disc? Maybe.
While the jeans are still tight, coattails and eyeliner have been replaced with hippie vests and paisley; lyrics juxtaposing lingerie and rosary beads ousted by talk of birds, the moon, and the sky. And oh yeah, acoustic guitar. It's almost as if the opulence of their last tour reached such great heights that there was nowhere left to go but down; the sheer insanity of it imploded and was reborn in the most transcendentalist way.
It was interesting to see how the band's formerly trademark lyrical clutter translated to their new stripped-down style. Hearing tunes off the old album sounded so different that at times it was like listening to cover songs; less-emo, less riff-laden, less desperate (but in that good way) than the originals.
Today, they excel in multiple-part harmonies, rhythm uninhibited by tongue-tied text, and Urie even dabbles in some surprisingly excellent falsetto. The performance was good –full of energy and crowd-pleasing tunes – but it did leave something to be desired for fans of the original, angst-ridden group. Secure with their lady friends and mega corporate sponsorship (it was the Honda Civic tour, after all), maybe Panic doesn't have anything left to panic about.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
"We Were Made in the Dark" - Hot Chip
Download the title track off Hot Chip's upcoming record, "Made in the Dark," here:
http://www.emirecords.co.uk/hot-chip/downloads/jan08/
It's an interesting departure from their more electronic stuff; if you didn't know better you'd swear they were just a run-of-the-mill sappy alt rock band. It's because the simplicity of this tune contrasts so sharply with their ordinary stuff that it actually makes it MORE intriguing (whereas, if this was just one of many ballads on somebody else's album, we probably wouldn't care about it so much).
For more, see:
myspace.com/hotchip
www.hotchip.co.uk
http://www.emirecords.co.uk/hot-chip/downloads/jan08/
It's an interesting departure from their more electronic stuff; if you didn't know better you'd swear they were just a run-of-the-mill sappy alt rock band. It's because the simplicity of this tune contrasts so sharply with their ordinary stuff that it actually makes it MORE intriguing (whereas, if this was just one of many ballads on somebody else's album, we probably wouldn't care about it so much).
For more, see:
myspace.com/hotchip
www.hotchip.co.uk
"The Steps Between Us Are Starting to Show" - As Tall As Lions
Some current listenings:
1. Jack Penate
We all know by now that I have a thing for Brit rock, and this guy is my latest favorite. His album "Matinee" should be coming out soon, but until then you can listen to most of it on his Myspace page. He reminds me of a more uptempo Kooks; maybe a Luke Pritchard on Ritalin. "Have I Been a Fool" and "Got My Favourite" are great off the new record, but also check out "You Send Me," because, as has been certified time and again, I'm definitely a fool for covers.
2. As Tall as Lions: I was reading a review of some band last night that was essentially a bad review, but said that the band was at least not as bad as "the hysterical corpse-fucking of Jeff Buckley by As Tall as Lions." Obviously, this made me WANT to check out As Tall as Lions to see if they really did remind me of Jeff Buckley, because even if they are ripping him off, I didn't think I'd mind. I don't. Listen to "Into the Flood" and think of Jeff.
3. Alexi Murdoch: I admit, I really did NOT like "Orange Sky." Maybe because it was completely over played in every imaginable indie movie and TV show? I'm not sure. I had completely written him off, but then heard a snippet of "Breathe" on TV. It actually kind of rules, and so does "Love you More," even though it doesn't have very meaningful lyrics.
1. Jack Penate
We all know by now that I have a thing for Brit rock, and this guy is my latest favorite. His album "Matinee" should be coming out soon, but until then you can listen to most of it on his Myspace page. He reminds me of a more uptempo Kooks; maybe a Luke Pritchard on Ritalin. "Have I Been a Fool" and "Got My Favourite" are great off the new record, but also check out "You Send Me," because, as has been certified time and again, I'm definitely a fool for covers.
2. As Tall as Lions: I was reading a review of some band last night that was essentially a bad review, but said that the band was at least not as bad as "the hysterical corpse-fucking of Jeff Buckley by As Tall as Lions." Obviously, this made me WANT to check out As Tall as Lions to see if they really did remind me of Jeff Buckley, because even if they are ripping him off, I didn't think I'd mind. I don't. Listen to "Into the Flood" and think of Jeff.
3. Alexi Murdoch: I admit, I really did NOT like "Orange Sky." Maybe because it was completely over played in every imaginable indie movie and TV show? I'm not sure. I had completely written him off, but then heard a snippet of "Breathe" on TV. It actually kind of rules, and so does "Love you More," even though it doesn't have very meaningful lyrics.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
"Oo It Feels Good To Be Free" - Breakin' Up, Rilo Kiley
Historically, I've always been a little indifferent to Rilo Kiley. I had some vague sense of the front woman being the sassy redhead from "Troup Beverly Hills" and other than that would dismiss them with a wave of a hand and the justification that they were some sort of folky alternative band too girly for my taste. Not so, it seems!
Their latest record, Under the Blacklight, is scheduled for release on August 21st and if I were you I would go ahead and order my advance copy right now.
Sure, some of the lyrics are about dudes and sex and relationships, but perhaps in a less sappy and more relatable way than I first imagined. "It's not as if New York City burned down to the ground once you drove away," reasons Lewis on "Breakin' Up." It's a fairly simple lyric and obvious conclusion, but hey, it's comforting in a strange way. People move, bands break up, songs get old. But something newly awesome always comes around.
"The Moneymaker" is one of the edgier cuts. As the video makes it clear, it's about people who, uh, DO IT for money. She craftily blurs the vowelage between "ohh" and "oww" and the result is one catchy chorus.
I even got into “Dejalo,” the random Latin track. “I’ve got a mind if you want to waste it, I’ve got a man if you want to fake it.” Ha.
In honor of summer, and feeling good about being free, some other tunes on rotation now:
“Holy” – Eagle Seagull
“C-C (You Set the Fire in Me) – Tom Vek
“Playhouses” (Live) – TV on the Radio
“When Doves Cry” – The Be Good Tanyas
Their latest record, Under the Blacklight, is scheduled for release on August 21st and if I were you I would go ahead and order my advance copy right now.
Sure, some of the lyrics are about dudes and sex and relationships, but perhaps in a less sappy and more relatable way than I first imagined. "It's not as if New York City burned down to the ground once you drove away," reasons Lewis on "Breakin' Up." It's a fairly simple lyric and obvious conclusion, but hey, it's comforting in a strange way. People move, bands break up, songs get old. But something newly awesome always comes around.
"The Moneymaker" is one of the edgier cuts. As the video makes it clear, it's about people who, uh, DO IT for money. She craftily blurs the vowelage between "ohh" and "oww" and the result is one catchy chorus.
I even got into “Dejalo,” the random Latin track. “I’ve got a mind if you want to waste it, I’ve got a man if you want to fake it.” Ha.
In honor of summer, and feeling good about being free, some other tunes on rotation now:
“Holy” – Eagle Seagull
“C-C (You Set the Fire in Me) – Tom Vek
“Playhouses” (Live) – TV on the Radio
“When Doves Cry” – The Be Good Tanyas
Monday, July 23, 2007
Ode to Summer Soundtracks
The first time I really fell in love with a musician was Jack Johnson in June 2002. It was the last month of my senior year of high school, and for a community service organization a group of friends and I were on our way to Friendship House, a halfway home in Laguna Beach where we’d occasionally cook meals for the residents. We cranked up Brushfire Fairytales as we wound down Pacific Coast Highway with the windows down and the salty early evening breeze blowing horizontally between us. At the beachfront property (of course even the homeless shelter in Laguna Beach is a step above most homes in middle America), I remember putting on Jack while we made lasagna and set the table. Mostly I couldn’t be without him for more than an hour, but I didn’t realize what a positive impact it would have on the residents of the house. These were people who spent all day overcoming addictions and trying to get back on their feet and this was something that brought them a little bit of happiness. I can still picture them gathering in the dining room around the CD player and asking what was playing.
Although I was kind of late in the game, I think this is the first time I really started becoming classifiably obsessed with particular artists. Other kids had grown up with fathers who listened to the Beatles or Bob Dylan and were decidedly further along in the development of music taste. Having grown up on show tunes and—my father’s favorite—Andean flutes, I think I got a slow start.
The summer after my freshman year in college, I lived next door to a hipstery girl much cooler than I who changed my outlook on lots of things. She introduced me to things like online social networking (Friendster?), getting drunk and this “small” band called Kings of Convenience that featured her Norwegian boyfriend’s brother. This same girl, as it turns out, also gave Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump his first kiss. (It was on the beach under the stars; no wonder he became so emo.)
That summer was all about Kings of Convenience for me. Nobody had heard of them, but I started to realize it made them THAT much cooler. There were my band!
The obsession only became worse from there. Summer after sophomore year was marked by Ryan Adams, Rocky Votolato and the One AM radio. Not coincidentally this is also the summer I discovered the power of a good makeout playlist.
Finally, before senior year and living as an intern in New York City, I discovered my love for Tegan & Sara. I bought all their albums and read everything I could get my hands on. I simply couldn’t get enough of the twins and saw them every chance I got. My friends finally got too sick of seeing the same show to keep up with me and I was reduced to seeing them alone at Webster Hall. I was one of the tallest people in the crowd that night.
Finally, more than two years after So Jealous, their new album The Con is released tomorrow.
The Con will delight hardcore T&S fans; it’s heavy with their signature twin harmonies and acoustic tales of love gone awry. Those looking for something brashly original from the duo will be disappointed, unless you count the drum machine on “Are You Ten Years Ago.” What you get on The Con is just more of the quirky sound at which Tegan & Sara excel. Their voices are somehow both abrasive and addicting; something like the awesome pain of a loose tooth and definitely what sets them apart from the pack. This is part of what I love about them and the consistency of their sound, and I guess when you start off touring with Neil Young there can’t be much motivation to break new ground. Clearly, they’re doing something right. (Random trivia: their first album was produced by Hawksley Workman, check out his strange and beautiful “Your Beauty Must Be Rubbing Off”).
Happily, Tegan & Sara will once again be in heavy rotation for a summer. The album’s namesake track is a favorite, as is “Call it Off” with lyrics like “Maybe I would have been something you’d be good at.” Wo, the letters that should have included that line!
Although I was kind of late in the game, I think this is the first time I really started becoming classifiably obsessed with particular artists. Other kids had grown up with fathers who listened to the Beatles or Bob Dylan and were decidedly further along in the development of music taste. Having grown up on show tunes and—my father’s favorite—Andean flutes, I think I got a slow start.
The summer after my freshman year in college, I lived next door to a hipstery girl much cooler than I who changed my outlook on lots of things. She introduced me to things like online social networking (Friendster?), getting drunk and this “small” band called Kings of Convenience that featured her Norwegian boyfriend’s brother. This same girl, as it turns out, also gave Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump his first kiss. (It was on the beach under the stars; no wonder he became so emo.)
That summer was all about Kings of Convenience for me. Nobody had heard of them, but I started to realize it made them THAT much cooler. There were my band!
The obsession only became worse from there. Summer after sophomore year was marked by Ryan Adams, Rocky Votolato and the One AM radio. Not coincidentally this is also the summer I discovered the power of a good makeout playlist.
Finally, before senior year and living as an intern in New York City, I discovered my love for Tegan & Sara. I bought all their albums and read everything I could get my hands on. I simply couldn’t get enough of the twins and saw them every chance I got. My friends finally got too sick of seeing the same show to keep up with me and I was reduced to seeing them alone at Webster Hall. I was one of the tallest people in the crowd that night.
Finally, more than two years after So Jealous, their new album The Con is released tomorrow.
The Con will delight hardcore T&S fans; it’s heavy with their signature twin harmonies and acoustic tales of love gone awry. Those looking for something brashly original from the duo will be disappointed, unless you count the drum machine on “Are You Ten Years Ago.” What you get on The Con is just more of the quirky sound at which Tegan & Sara excel. Their voices are somehow both abrasive and addicting; something like the awesome pain of a loose tooth and definitely what sets them apart from the pack. This is part of what I love about them and the consistency of their sound, and I guess when you start off touring with Neil Young there can’t be much motivation to break new ground. Clearly, they’re doing something right. (Random trivia: their first album was produced by Hawksley Workman, check out his strange and beautiful “Your Beauty Must Be Rubbing Off”).
Happily, Tegan & Sara will once again be in heavy rotation for a summer. The album’s namesake track is a favorite, as is “Call it Off” with lyrics like “Maybe I would have been something you’d be good at.” Wo, the letters that should have included that line!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
"Music is My Hot, Hot Sex" - CSS
Lot's of great music news to catch up on!
First of all, as I type this, those sneaky Smashing Pumpkins are playing a sold-out show at the 9:30 Club - it makes me sick thinking of all those lucky jerks smugly sipping down bud light while other, way more crazed and desperate people such as myself are sitting at home, high on want and low on cash. And on album release day too!
Oh well. Let's close our eyes and crank up some of the new stuff and pretend we're there- check out "That's the Way (My Love Is)" and "Starz." Oh, it hurts so good!
Also out today, new material from DJ Mark Ronson. "Stop Me" has been a favorite for a while, but I'm now also digging the cover of "Toxic" and Lily Allen's "Oh My God" as well.
Of course today we also get the bonus track version of Spoon's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, and Interpol's Our Love to Admire. For the slightly emo, Stars come out with the appropriately titled In Our Bedroom After the War. I liked them a lot in college for when I would get real depressed and think about making out a lot. I imagine they still serve that same purpose.
Somebody please lock me in a room with some speakers and a solid sub!
Other stuff to check out today:
"The Con," single - Tegan and Sara
"In the Colors," single - Ben Harper
First of all, as I type this, those sneaky Smashing Pumpkins are playing a sold-out show at the 9:30 Club - it makes me sick thinking of all those lucky jerks smugly sipping down bud light while other, way more crazed and desperate people such as myself are sitting at home, high on want and low on cash. And on album release day too!
Oh well. Let's close our eyes and crank up some of the new stuff and pretend we're there- check out "That's the Way (My Love Is)" and "Starz." Oh, it hurts so good!
Also out today, new material from DJ Mark Ronson. "Stop Me" has been a favorite for a while, but I'm now also digging the cover of "Toxic" and Lily Allen's "Oh My God" as well.
Of course today we also get the bonus track version of Spoon's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, and Interpol's Our Love to Admire. For the slightly emo, Stars come out with the appropriately titled In Our Bedroom After the War. I liked them a lot in college for when I would get real depressed and think about making out a lot. I imagine they still serve that same purpose.
Somebody please lock me in a room with some speakers and a solid sub!
Other stuff to check out today:
"The Con," single - Tegan and Sara
"In the Colors," single - Ben Harper
Saturday, June 23, 2007
"Come Together" - The Beatles
"Live From Abbey Road," a new 12-part series on Sundance Channel, will feature a variety of artists being interviewed and performing three tracks each at the famous studio. Episodes will include footage of The Kooks, Snow Patrol, Amos Lee, James Morrison, Ray Lamontagne, Gnarls Barkley and many more. I caught the episode with John Mayer and Richard Ashcroft -- it's cool to feel like you are right there in the studio with them, and it totally made me go download "Break the Night With Colour." Ooh-ooh I don't wanna know your secrets...
http://www.livefromabbeyroad.com/
http://www.livefromabbeyroad.com/
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