New School Classic Rock
May 5, 2009 by Ryan
Here’s some new tunes I’ve been mildly obsessed with recently. Obsessed? What would you call it when two of the three are Jack White projects?
Lo-fi sound. Actually instruments! Talented musicians!
Love it.
Some have coined this genre Garage Rock Revival. I would almost call it Classic Rock Revival! Just listen to the third song…classic rock all the way!
The Dead Weather
The Dead Weather is comprised of Alison Mosshart (The Kills), Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age), Jack Lawrence (The Raconteurs and The Greenhornes) and Jack White (The White Stripes and The Raconteurs)!
The band was formed and is based out of Nashville, which proves more than just country comes from out of “The Music City” and maybe that Jack White is spending all of his time there!
Kings of Leon
Maybe it’s an overstatement, but I think that “Only by the Night” might be the best album I’ve heard in the last year (that’s saying something with Viva la Vida)!
There’s something about Caleb Followill’s voice that gets me! It’s unique. It’s something in his phrasing, how he lets his notes escape almost too fast. This song, totally makes me think of a movie scene of some intense encounter of a guy and a girl giving in to the romantic tension they’ve built up. Woah!? I know! Did I just write that? Sorry, that’s what it really brings to mind!
The Raconteurs
“Although they deny that this is a side-project, the Raconteurs are a gang of musicians who are also involved in other bands” - Michele K-Tel
I know I posted a YouTube video, but for this song close your eyes! Wait for it…wait for the vocals…Okay, who does that sound like? Hello! Robert Plant? At least a little Led Zeppelin? I know a lot of people wrote off Jack White as a just part of the “The Band” thing that happened a while back, but I really think he’s one of the most talented musicians out there!
What do you think? You can call me crazy, it’s cool.
What are you listening to?
The Flobots: Best Hip Hop I’ve Heard in a While
May 27, 2008 by Ryan
It’s sad but hip hop sucks right now.
I haven’t listened to a hip hop station in years! No one flows anymore, it’s basically one catchy phrase repeated to death. Last time I listened to hip hop radio I heard one song that was actually good, but it ended up being Nas’ Hip Hop is Dead.
It’s sad but the best hip hop I’ve heard in years is from a predominantly white group from Denver, Colorado! If you haven’t heard their single Handlebars, here’s a live performance on Last Call with Carson Daly. My wife watched this with me and she said, “They’re kinda intense!” To their credit, unlike most rap, they sound as good or better live than their radio single. Finally, a song I am motivated to learn all the lyrics like Warren G’s Regulators, Outkast’s Bombs Over Baghdad, or the Beastie Boys’ Paul Revere.
Their newest album reminds me of a jazz version of Rage Against the Machine. Yeah, jazz. They have a trumpet player and a female violinist (awesome)! And like Rage, they are political, so they might run contrary to your political views. If you want to hear some good music (and you’re secure in your political stance), check out the Flobots.
Discover New Music with TheSixtyOne.com
January 3, 2008 by Ryan
Just real quick…I ran across this website on Digg last night and spent a good hour messing with it:
Tons of cool music. Here are a few I liked:
It has a very cool interface (Digg-style voting, very quick music play, music continues to play while you surf).
Check it out!
New Bands I’m Diggin’
December 29, 2007 by Ryan
Again and again we’re seeing why we don’t need record companies. Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” shows that even big bands can release albums on their own over the internet. I recently ran across the Doritos Contest where they are going to give some band a big break and let them play the Super Bowl Halftime based off of internet voting. Actually, to be more accurate I ran across this post from TechCrunch, “Digg May Land Digg Girl Record Contract”. Which led me to Kina Grannis and the video to the right. The “Digg Song” that she did gained her lots of notoriety but she is definitely a much better artist than just a gimmick song.
After voting for Kina on the Doritos thing, I decided to listen to the 10 other finalists. All were pretty good, I imagine they had to be to get to be finalist, but a couple did stand out:
- Dominic Castillo & the Rock Savants: I’ll be voting for them in the contest as well. The song is a great “funny duet,” to quote them.
- Landon Austin: Great voice. He’s probably so popular right now at school!
- Barra Libre: I have to admit, I was going to skip over this one because of the spanish name…really stupid. Very cool, big band/almost ska feeling song. Definitely, listen to this one too!
I know that I’ve posted about it before but I still haven’t gotten over Paramore! I found on MTV the live performance that turned me on to them here and included one of the songs here.
Two, Three, Four!
After looking around MTV.com for that Paramore show I also ran into Flyleaf. Their single is catchy, particularly the chorus, enough to check them out.
Is that the Smashing Pumpkins? No, this is…
November 1, 2007 by Ryan
My Paramore post got me thinking about the music I’ve been listening to recently. And while this is a little old, I still want to bring it up.
I was listening to a local station X96 on my way home from work when the DJ introduced this new song and my first thought was, “Is this the Smashing Pumpkins?” Because I had heard they were coming back. As it turns out, it was Silversun Pickups. I ended up buying their album and love it!
Then I finally hear the new Smashing Pumpkins song, and my first thought was, “This is the Smashing Pumpkins!?”
Seriously, it didn’t sound anything like I would expect. I was thinking that the Silversun Pickups’ album sounds more like the Smashing Pumpkins than the Smashing Pumpkins do! Tarantula eventually grew on me, but it still cracks me up how Well Thought Out Twinkles is so early-Pumpkins sounding.
Chick Rock that Rocks!
October 31, 2007 by Ryan
So it’s 3:30am and I’m up because I’m feeling like crap. I was flipping through the channels, trying to avoid the “paid programming” if you know what I mean, and I see: Paramore Live on MTV. I’ve been hearing their song Misery Business on the radio for a while now and really dig it. That girl has a great voice!
And how long as it been since a band with a chick singer has actually rocked? Everyone’s guilty pleasure, Kelly Clarkson? Maybe one song. Evanescence? Yeah, but that’s more opera meets metal. I’m talking like Joan Jett chick rock. Pink? Please! It’d say the last was Gwen. She put on some pretty good shows back in the early No Doubt days.
What was cool too was this lead singer, Hayley Williams, wasn’t all skanky! Just up there having fun. She has this great edge to her voice without sounding like a whiny girl. The band wore matching black and red, which I think is awesome…a little like The Hives. I love bands with great stage presence. For me, jumps and kicks and headbobs are all part of conveying the energy to the crowd.
Take a few minutes and watch the video. I think I’m going to have to buy the album or go see them live or something! Here’s to hoping they don’t get MTVified!
