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July 9, 2009Tarantino to woo Sharon Stone
May 27, 2009While Quentin Tarantino won the sympathy and the curse of the guests and participants of the Cannes Film Festival about him already popolzli new rumors. This time, Variety reports that reliable sources, he said, the two main icons of the 90’s – is Quentin and Sharon Stone – the first time, eventually meet on the set to good poshalit.
The company, they should make Michael Mads, Jessica Biel, Dennis Hopper and Lucy Liu. Joint venture will be called, not surprisingly, «Weekend».
In general, everything seems so plausible, so a story set out such that Tarantino was simply obliged to kupitsya. Old voyaka meets at hayvee fatal blonde with a broken machine, and agrees to fix it. And last night lover – Las vegassky Mafiosi. A hero, as we have said, knows how to fight. A blonde fatal. And the camera Tarantino presents?
Nevertheless, until the project is only at the level of rumor. Let’s wait for confirmation.
Little Steven harshes on lack of rock ‘n’ roll spirit
May 22, 2009
Steven Van Zandt may have had a sweet ass role on The Sopranos and DJd the awesome Underground Garage show, but now he just sounds old and irrelevant. Because he’s bitter and wants things to be all 1974 again, Little Steven put up a rant, “A Crisis of Craft,” (originally given as a speech at SXSW), on his website.
Pretty much, he wants young bands to play more covers because that’s how you truly learn how to write songs (??). He also says rock ‘n’ roll is cursed by the rise of the single and a push to make rock bands more pop accessible. He says all of this started, you guessed it, at the rise of MTV, like a century ago.
Ok Grandpa, I’ll listen to your old “Beatles” records right after we watch “M.A.S.H.” and talk about “Watergate.” Then I’ll go listen to the latest Kanye single and watch American Idol because that’s all I do. I’m young and ignorant blahblah.
Gregor Samsa: No longer just a horrific insect
May 22, 2009
Gregor Samsa is a rotating collective of musicians based out of Richmond, Virginia that specializes in a slow, minimal post-rock sound. The music often revolves around the hush-hush vocals of Champ Bennett and Nikki King, who provide grounding for the ethereal instrumentation, which incorporates clarinet, violin and vibraphone, among others.
I had always been a huge fan of the band’s song “Young and Old” from 2006’s 55:12, which starts quietly and builds to a gorgeous, violin-led climax. So, naturally, after hearing the live version of the track, which appears on this year’s Over Air, I was completely blown away. The end of the song is now filled with crushing, distorted guitars that work with the soaring violin to become one of the more beautiful songs I’ve heard in a long time.
And even when the band isn’t reaching for the stars with cathartic climaxes, they still excel in creating absorbing soundscapes. Even if you think you’d be turned off by slow, deliberately paced music, try it out. You’ll be hard pressed to find songs as purely emotional as these.
Gregor Samsa – “Young and Old / VPRO” [MP3] (from Over Air)
Gregor Samsa – “Jeroen Van Aken” [MP3] (from Rest)
Gregor Samsa – “Lessening” [MP3] (from 55:12)
Check out Gregor Samsa on MySpace.
Arrica Rose drops new EP, Pretend I’m Fur
May 22, 2009
Following up her highly successful previous album (with the dot dot dots), La La Lost, Arrica Rose is back on the indie folk scene with Pretend I’m Fur, a seven-song EP, released May 11, on pOprOck records. After the stunning, lo-fi La La Lost, Rose seems to take her songwriting up a notch in attitude, as more upbeat (yet just as heartfelt) tunes shine through on Pretend I’m Fur.
Rose mixes in soulful melodies with an air of delightful wandering pop as she works for a shimmering sound to appeal to listeners’ wider folk sensibilities. It’s not simple downtrodden “folk” – wistfulness is certainly on display despite such connotative song titles as “Tragedy,” “I’ll Love You Forever and Other Lies,” and “Say Goodbye.” But as has been the theme lately here on KR, artists like Arrica Rose somehow manage to demonstrate hope (see “Pillow on the Ground”) through their mostly melancholic lyricism. Thanks to Pretend I’m Fur, Rose’s poignant and impassioned singing has reeled me in, as I’m sure several of you will feel the same way.
Arrica Rose – “Be Still My Heart” [MP3] (from Pretend I’m Fur)
Arrica Rose & The …’s – “All My Metaphors” [MP3] (from La La Lost)
Tigers That Talked: “Black Heart Blue Eyes” [MP3]
May 22, 2009
There’s something about an obvious accent that makes a song much more endearing. One of my biggest pet peeves with the Rolling Stones is their lack of obvious accent (up for debate). This isn’t a problem for Leeds-based Tigers That Talked. Their latest single, “Black Heart Blue Eyes,” is out from their Black Heart Blue Eyes EP due June 8 and has accent! Oh yeah, it’s a great song too. Violins, guitars, it’s got the works.
21st Century Breakdown is maybe the best awful album ever
May 22, 2009
I hesitated to review this album, but some things just need to happen.
There are times in the lives of some musicians when they try to transcend their old sounds to recreate their images, usually to appeal to a wider audience (many call it “selling out.” I don’t). Bands like the Rolling Stones did it tastefully. Smash Mouth did not. Now we get to sit back and see how Green Day handles the transition from nasty punk kids to epic arena rock stars.
If we mark the end of Green Day’s pop-punk rock career at the release of 2002’s B-Sides compilation, Shenanigans, we can consider 2004’s American Idiot the foundation of their new sound and 21st Century Breakdown the attempt at icing that lucrative musical cake. So did they pull it off? Have they finally stopped writing those childish songs about weed and masturbation in favor of sweeping, emotional/political epics??
Yes. Yes they have. The new album is nothing short of what you’d expect of Green Day’s follow-up to American Idiot. It’s well-made in the same sense that High School Musical 3 was well-made. If you just love a movie about dancing teens singing about things WAYYY beyond their 17 years of life experience, it’s incredible. So 21st Century Breakdown is kinda like that. Like High School Musical 3. Exactly like it.
The album kicks off with “21st Century Breakdown,” the confused three-part title track/suite. It’s a great way to start the album that is equally confused. Billie Joe Armstrong spends most of the time with faux-angry songs that shake a fist at authority and society with distorted power chords and yelling (awww they’re like a more sophisticated Good Charlotte!). But sometimes he favors piano because that’s classy, right?
So maybe the lyrics will be as epic as the music! On “East Jesus Nowhere,” Armstrong proclaims:
“A fire burns today / Of blasphemy and genocide / The sirens of decay / Will infiltrate the faith fanatics”
Yikes.Yiiiikes. High School creative writing class anybody? On the rest of the album he just sings about how awful the world is and how Republicans suck and youth is the best blahblah fight the system (Armstrong=37 years old; part of the system).
In a nutshell, 21st Century Breakdown is great if you want what the band is selling (sadness, anger, arena rock). If you loved American Idiot and that kind of thing, you will love 21st Century Breakdown. If you hated that album and are just begging for more songs about masturbation and weed, don’t waste your money. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go watch HSM3 with my Zac Efron cardboard cutout.
Green Day – “21st Century Breakdown” [MP3]
Mat Kearney to play Radio City Music Hall (and more)
May 21, 2009
In support of his newest album, City of Black & White, which just dropped yesterday (May 19,) Mat Kearney, he of melodic pop/rock, will be performing May 27 at Radio City Music Hall (unfortunately already sold out! But I’m sure if you look hard enough you could work something out…). Wow that was a long first sentence, sorry.
He kicked off the tour yesterday at D.C.’s Constitution Hall. Other venues and dates below – so check if he’s playing in your area and get yourself some tickets. If you like easily accessible pop, with a tinge of folk here and there from his Nashville base, you’ll enjoy Kearney. Although I’m sure many of you have heard him before. MP3s from City of Black & White down there somewhere.
May 2009
20 – Upper Darby, PA – Tower Theatre
21 – Boston, MA – Bank Of America Pavilion
23 – Toronto, Canada – Sound Academy
24 – Cleveland, OH – Time Warner Amphitheater
26 – Montclair, NJ – Welmont Theatre
27 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall SOLD OUT
June 2009
19 – Knoxville, TN – Bijou Theatre
20 – Birmingham, AL – City Stages Fest
21 – Charlotte, NC – Amos Southend
22 – Charleston, SC – The Music Farm
25 – Norfolk, VA – Club Norva
26 – Richmond, VA – The National
29 – Milwaukee, WI – Summerfest Festival
30 – Bloomington, IN – Bluebird Nightclub
July 2009
02 – Grand Rapids, MI – The Intersection
03 – Detroit, MI – Comerica Cityfest
05 – Duluth-superior, MN – Bayfront Festival Park
06 – Green Bay, WI – Meyer Theatre
07 – Madison, WI – The Majestic Theatre
09 – Des Moines, IA – Simon Estes Amphitheatre
10 – Minneapolis, MN – Basilica Block Party
11 – Kansas City, MO – Beaumont Club
13 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
15 – Memphis, TN – Minglewood Hall
16 – Columbia, MO – Blue Note
17 – Omaha, NE – The Slowdown
19 – Denver, CO – Mile High Festival
October 2009
07 – Victoria, Canada – Royal Theatre
Mat Kearney – “Closer To Love” [MP3]
Mat Kearney – “City Of Black & White” [MP3]
Purchase City of Black & White
Every time I listen to Shugo Tokumaru I want to hug a kitten
May 21, 2009
Because I spend so much time worshipping my bust of Chuck Norris and throwing darts at Iraq on my world map while blasting “America, Fuck Yeah” and eating a Big Mac, I sometimes forget how great a lot music outside of the states can be.
But I only needed to go as far as Japan (or MySpace, but I was scared of Mothra versus Godzilla battles, y’know?) to find Shugo Tokumaru, a prolific songwriter who writes ridiculously catchy acoustic pop tunes. Tokumaru combines his guitar with a massive assortment of music boxes, noisemakers and other gizmos to create a fun, almost childlike atmosphere on his tracks. And then there’s his breezy voice, which, coupled with the fact that he’s often singing in his native language, adds a cool dreaminess to the music. Even with unfortunate bits of twee here and there, the songs are still very much enjoyable.
He recently released a pretty great EP entitled Rum Hee, which you’re welcome to buy over here. It even comes with a bonus DVD! For now, though, some MP3s are below. If you don’t take a listen, I’ll groan at you angrily while eating nachos off my chest. Or maybe something even scarier. Seriously. I’ll do it.
Shugo Tokumaru – “Rum Hee” [MP3] (from Rum Hee)
Shugo Tokumaru – “Alaska” [MP3] (from Rum Hee)
Shugo Tokumaru – “Parachute” [MP3] (from Exit)
Check out Shugo Tokumaru on MySpace
Brainticket – Cottonwoodhill
May 21, 2009
Once again I would like to thank those of you who offered words of encouragement during my absence. December was a rough month for me, and a slow period for Digital Meltd0wn. I’m feeling much better now, and I plan to post as often as I can, yet I’m still stretched for time. If any of you are interested in being a regular contributor here, please send me a e-mail message or leave a comment here on the blog. Due to my limited time I will have to write short reviews, but I will compensate by including a professional review of each album to give you all a better idea of what to expect.
A warning was included on the inside cover of the original Cottonwoodhill album stating: “After Listening to this Record, your friends may not know you anymore” and “Only listen to this once a day. Your brain might be destroyed!” Once you listen to it the first time you should have no problem understanding why. Although Brainticket’s subsequent releases could be considered Krautrock, and display a far more docile side of Brainticket, Cottonwoodhill is a psychedelic monstrosity of the highest magnitude.
Brainticket originally formed in 1968, consisting of members from Swiss, German, and Italian descent. Although members came and went during their tenure together, their most popular lineup consisted of Joel Vandroogenbroeck (organ, flute), Ron Bryer (guitar), Werni Frohlich (bass), Cosimo Lampis (drums), Wolfgang Paap (tabla), Dawn Muir (vocals), Carole Muriel (vocals, zither) and Hellmuth Kolbe (potentiometers, generators, and sound effects).
Cottonwoodhill is one of the trippiest records ever made, capturing the intensity of the peak LSD experience far more successfully than any Timothy Leary recording, and even today, when many such documents from that era can sound silly and dated, Brainticket’s fascinating debut still holds hallucinogenic potency. The record has only two proper songs, “Black Sand” and “Places of Light,” with a side and a half of the album taken up by the three-part “Brainticket.” “Black Sand” opens the disc with a driving funk beat and powerful organ and guitar interplay, adding in vocals distorted beyond coherency. “Places of Light” begins in a slightly lighter vein as a flute leads the proceedings, a looser jazzier piece that throws in some of Dawn Muir’s odd spoken word vocals. Before one realizes what has happened, the piece has faded out and there is suddenly a crashing sound, car horns, and engines starting up. “Brainticket” is a bizarre roller coaster ride through weird sound effects and electronics, an endless organ riff, and Muir’s acid-rush ramblings from hushed whisper to urgent screams, as any coherency she had earlier becomes lost to mind-expanding visions. Rather than the laid-back mellow groove of some psychedelic music from this era, Cottonwoodhill has a hyper energy in the frenetic organ riff and Muir’s voice, like an acid trip out of control, while at times the various sound effects take over completely. – Allmusic
Year of Release: 1971
Label: Bellaphon
Genre: Psychedelic, Experimental, Krautrock
Bitrate: 192kbps
Track List:
1. Black Sand
2. Places of Light
3. Brainticket Part I
4. Brainticket Part I Conclusion
5. Brainticket Part II
Download: Brainticket – Cottonwoodhill
Download Size: 47MB
Download Size: 47MB
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