In spite of the fact that Foo Fighters’ new album encompasses four tenets that imply passive forms of solitude, there isn’t much in the way of passivity in Grace’s dozen tracks—although they do express another reaction to loneliness. Dave Grohl has not sung this hard in years—particularly on faster numbers like “The Pretender” and “Let It Die” that have a propensity to start slow and quiet before exploding—and often resort to the simpler melodies of the band’s first album that...
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly why, but something about Devendra Banhart’s music in general—but certainly the 16 tracks that comprise Thunder Canyon specifically—always sounds incredibly old. Is it the combination of sleepy tempos and reverb-soaked vocals on songs like “So Long Old Bean” and “Seahorse?” The inclusion of samba rhythms (not heard much in pop songs for decades) in the corners of Latin-flavored tracks like “Samba Vexillographica?” Who knows really, but Banhart knows...
Radiohead comes out on Wednesday, and no matter how much you decide to buy it for (and we here at GC think you should actually purchase it for some amount of money), you'll probably pay less than if you bought it at your local Wal-Mart. So what to do with that extra coin? Well, if you are feeling both musically inclined and socially responsible, save up for a copy of Causes 1. The record—which hits courtesy the Waxploitation label on...
Yet another shock to the music industry came today when Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails announced that he is dropping out of the mainstream music industry, choosing rather to go it alone than to stick it through with longtime label Interscope. Reznor made the announcement via his website saying: "Hello everyone. I've waited a LONG time to be able to make the following announcement: as of right now Nine Inch Nails is a totally free agent, free of...
I’m reminded of the classic Married with Children episode: episode 0622 titled “The Good-Bye Girl.” Situated in front of his television set and encased between two wooden barricades was the alpha male himself, Al Bundy. Imagining his very own Parisian getaway, Bundy had it all: suitcase to his left, a glass of red wine to the right and most of all, a blue beret up on top. It seemed Bundy was having the time of his life, and a French...
The Dirty Vegas’ head honcho, Steve Smith, has recently announced the release of his debut solo album, This Town. Seemingly taking cues from the online popularity of the acoustic version of “Days Go By”, Smith’s solo album includes a number of more personal tunes that seamlessly blend folk, electronica, and rock styles together. Furthermore, the album features a large number of guest stars including, The Magnetic Fields' Claudia Gonson, Executioner Rob Swift, and even the voice of actor John Savage....
NegativlandOur Favorite Things CD & DVD(Seeland) It’s been over twenty years now since Negativland first took on the responsibility of subverting every audio medium in the world and tipping every sacred cow in sight. There have been lawsuits. There have been feuds. There has been outrage; and it has all occurred to the expressed glee of both the band and those people intelligent enough to get the joke. Initially appearing as an anonymous brain trust primarily concerned with issuing the...
Anyone that has ever gone through anger and aggression therapy will recognize the sound on Scout Niblett’s fourth record in contrast with the one prior. Last time, on Kidnapped By Neptune, Niblett came unglued as she railed against a lover that had spurned her and fell on the floor and screamed and pounded on the walls, cried her eyes out, came undone and got her shit together. The next step in the progression after that fury is lamentation and introspection—which...
It’s almost unbearable to think about being in a room with the challenge of making something better than the Sony Bravia commercial that featured zillions of super balls bouncing oh-so-softly down the black-diamond streets of San Francisco. A follow-up to that one was created last year called “Paint,” which required over 18,000 gallons of paint, 1,700 detonators, 455 mortars, 622 bottle bombs, 65 camera positions and a crew of 200 people to turn a building in Glasgow into a Las...
Is it possible to walk into a crowd of 20,000 people and feel completely isolated? Conductors of crowd studies would probably say yes, although I don't think it takes very long for mob mentality to overrun our circuit protectors and bring us flush up against our brothers and sisters in the heat of the moment. In this case, the moment being one where LCD Soundsystem and Arcade Fire perform at the oft-disregarded, impersonal amphitheater in the Silicon Valley, and bring...