Britpop. I live it. I love it. We don't really have a shortage of it here in New York, but there's nothing like being just bathed in all the latest and greatest while staying in London. It pours from the radio, comes across in cafes, and is painted on billboards across town.

#1 on the scene these days is The Kooks - a foursome from Brighton, none of whom top the ripe old age of 19 but who've already achieved triple platinum in the U.K. Stateside their popularity is wavering - probably due to the fact that their music wavers between pop, rock, ballads, with splashes of reggae and funk thrown in. They've got influences from The Kinks, The Strokes, and true peers Arctic Monkeys. One of the singles off their debut album, Inside In/Inside Out, "Naive," has the same flavor as Razorlight's latest single "In The Morning - melodic, catchy, pop. But just as they can sell - their album is triple platinum - they've got songs on Inside In/Inside Out that explore their range. Ballads like "Seaside" and mini-post-punk anthems like "Eddie's Gun." Some folks (i.e. Pitchfork) find this range disjointed and difficult to follow, but for The Kooks, this is what gives them their edge. According to lead singer Luke Pritchard,

"Bands tend to do one thing and then stick to it. With The Kooks we plan to do the opposite. When there's so much music to explore, why limit yourself?"

I'm with Luke - the young irreverence, hope, and screeching energy that echoes from The Kooks is contagious. I love the way their music vacillates, excites, and explores. And at just 19 and under they have a ways to go... The key will likely be if they can make it to their next album.

The Kooks are currently on a very quick US tour - visiting New York this Saturday night at Northsix in Brooklyn and then to California before starting a big European tour.

The Kooks Homepage
MySpace

Round the world and back...

Hello friends!

Boy, it has been a long time since I've posted and it feels good to quite good to be back here. I've not been neglecting you all though, I promise. I just took a 10 day jaunt across the pond to Europe for a bit of sightseeing, drinking, and general over-indulgence that comes with a real holiday.

Luckily though I took time to explore the music scene via locals, music stores and magazines and I've returned with some recommendations, the first of which being Scottish band The Fratellis.

This Green Day meets The Futureheads meets The Libertines threesome hails from Glasgow and have been burning up the charts in the U.K. Their first single released in April and their album, Costello Music, is currently #2 on the charts there. From this band you can expect 3 minute manifestos of Clash-esque short and upbeat chords, lyrics that shake your head and make you want to dance. Guitarist Jon Fratelli can hold some nice solos, but he's not meant to be the next Jimi Hendrix, and there are no grandiose notions of that here. These guys are out to make even the most stubborn of toe-tappers throw their hands up in excitement.

Unfortunately they haven't yet released any music in the U.S. but keep on the lookout via their website and myspace page for more info on these guys - especially any upcoming live shows.

www.thefratellis.com
http://www.myspace.com/littlebabyfratelli

Something old, something new

In today's NY Times there's an article about private-press albums, the reissuing of old songs from *very* little known artists that are now being sold through the internet and small labels. The Times suggests that the growth of these private-press albums (mostly over the internet) is directly related to the current overwhelming availability of music on the internet - artists are now capable of uploading entire collections onto the web for the world to hear via MySpace, etc. Consequently, serious collectors have to quench their insatiable thirst for new music by hunting for the rare recordings of artists no one has ever heard of: artists who made one LP at 1,000 copies they gave away exclusively to friends and families. The private-press labels then reissue them as compilations or solo albums.

This article brought up two points of discussion for me:
1) How the internet truly is breathing a new life into the music industry, they just don't really know or understand it yet.
2) I was reminded of the satisfaction one has in discovering artists of the past and just how much they've influenced my favorite bands of today.

Point #1: The music industry (amongst other content industries) continues to grapple with monetizing a move from hardware to software. For a long time there's been the sense that once recordings are released into the atmosphere the artists (and more importantly the labels) lose control over them and consequently are unable to make money off of them. The truth of the matter though is that the internet gives fans and collectors an infinite Virgin megastore at their fingertips. And what's better, there are more tools to growing and influencing your music collection on the web than there ever could be in a brick and mortar store. The "if you like", "other listeners also bought" and similar such programs open up listeners eyes and ears to the endless spider web of musicians that he or she might find themselves in love with - almost a democratization of the encyclopedia of musical recordings out there: now anyone can have them, not just obsessive compulsive collectors.

This theory is nothing new, and in fact it is what's fueling the rapid growth of information sites like Wikipedia. I recently read an interview with Wiki founder Jimmy Wales in Good Magazine (a great new mag, btw) in which he was quoted as saying "One of the biggest problems of the digital divide is the cost of access to information... We seek to make that cost as close to zero as possible." Now, there's no way that's a possibility for the music industry as the artists need to live, but there is a sort of barrier to embracing the fact that this democratization of recordings and musical information is a good, ne great, thing for the music industry.

Point #2: This point was actually fueled earlier this week by the Built to Spill show I saw at Warsaw in Brooklyn. Sitting in the crowd and looking at the remarkably varied ages of the concert-goes I was reminded that a band like BtS has been around for about 15 years, and listening to Doug March's hauntingly captivating voice and guitar riffs it was nearly impossible not to think of bands at the height of their popularity - i.e. Death Cab for Cutie, Modest Mouse - were directly influenced by BtS.

Despite what some critics might fault as an inability of artists to create anything new (is everything we listen to really just a recycled version of something of the past) I love to hear influences of past musicians in my new favorites. Just like The Rapture sings on their new album, "everybody's got a little piece of someone they hide" it's fascinating to realize that contemporary artists like Jenny Lewis probably listened to Eels and carried that twangy, soulful, singer-songwriter theme through her writing in Rilo Kiley and in her own band. And to hear Guided By Voices' disjointed sometimes Ramones-esque and more often Pixie-ish 2 minute songs pop up as softer versions in Dirty on Purposes' albums - well, it's just enjoyable for me.

Hold Up...

Tomorrow is the launch of The Hold Steady's newest album, Boys and Girls in America. I've posted about these guys before, but the lead up to this album has been hilariously overpromoted that I thought I'd do a quick round up for everyone.

Quickly to summarize, The Hold Steady is a Twin Cities band that prides themselves on being local, American, and very accessible. They write songs about actually people that you probably know, situations you've most likely been in if you grew up in any suburban town, and lead singer Craig Finn weaves in real and fabricated US cities into many of his songs.

Pitchfork has long been obsessed with The Hold Steady, and boldly gave the new album a 9.4 today. For me, they've been a bit of an acquired taste - in theory I love what they're all about, beer, small bars, and real life situations, but in practice Craig Finn's yelling of his lyrics can become somewhat grating.

That being said, Boys and Girls of America (currently available for streaming on Vagrant here) is very "listenable." If you liked The Hold Steady already, you'll love it, and if you thought songs like "MilkcrateMosh" and "You're Little Hoodrat Friend" got old quickly you might just enjoy the softer beats and melodies in Boys and Girls.

What I've found funniest about The Hold Steady though is watching the blogosphere just snowball them into the atmosphere. As I mentioned, Pitchfork has been championing them forever and last week Idolator picked up on their bias and poked some fun at them by polling readers on what grade Pitchfork would rate Boys and Girls (10, 9.9, etc). Pitchfork shot back with the exclusive first listen to the full album stream of Boys and Girls and a little ribbing of Idolator while they were at it (this kind of rivalry I predict will be entertaining for no less than 3 months).

Then this Saturday I open up my paper to see an enormous 2,300 word essay about none other than The Hold Steady, complete with an interactive map of the states and cities they've written about/been influenced by and audio clips.

Regardless of what I ultimately think of The Hold Steady, I back these guys for producing their own type of music and keeping to their motto of being a local band as well as letting the hype work in their favor. Anyone who says they've sold out doesn't appreciate the fact that they've produced a major commodity: unique music amongst a scene of repurposed chords, and they should be able to make some cash out of that. More power to 'em!

Below a round up of some recent coverage of The Hold Steady:

NYTimes Arts Section
Pitchfork - Review of Boys and Girls In America
Idolator commentary on Pitchfork's Coverage of The Hold Steady
Boys and Girls Streaming Music

Vegas Mash Up

There's been a lot of hype lately about two bands from Las Vegas, one just on the rise (Panic! At the Disco) and the other trying to maintain their fame of a couple of years ago (The Killers). Everything I've read about these bands has mentioned the feuding and controversy between the two, so in the tradition of blogospheric bullying I thought I'd do a celebrity/band death match right here: Panic! vs The Killers. Who's the better band and why? BRING IT!

Musical Recordings: The Killers (but just by a hair)
There's no denying that Hot Fuss, the debut album by The Killers, was a success for a reason. Having sold over 3 million copies The Killers have successfully brought back brit-synth-pop from the 80s and 90s, and in a better way that many bands from back then (see Flock of Seagulls) could never do: they made the music really good. The songs each have a smooth blending of synthetic keyboard sounds, strong guitars and an infusion of actual rock n' roll to create real keepers like Midnight Show, All These Things That I've Done and Mr. Brightside.

Panic! doesn't slump on this front as their debut album A Fever You Can't Sweat Out is feverish and addictive with high pitched lyrics and guitar riffs. The songs are from the heart and increadibly easy to love, but you can get a sense of ingenuity in them - and for good reason since not a single Panic! member is 21 years old yet. The album doesn't have the kind of arc that Hot Fuss does - taking you from one song to another with a melody distinctly different from the last song but still connected. Like I said before though, these guys are young (with a capital Y) and have a ways to go, with a lot of potential.

The one thing not going in The Killers' favor here is their upcoming second album, Sam's Town. I've only heard songs from this LP when I saw them this weekend at the Virgin Fest, and they were no great shakes. Basically Hot Fuss but with less synthasizer (they've been touting it as a departure from British synth-rock). I hate to say it but I'm predicting a sophmore slump here, and that's why The Killers eek this category out by just a hair.

Live Performance: Panic! At The Disco
So, full disclosure here is that I've never seen Panic! live, but from everything I've read and seen on TV I feel like this is an easy category for judgement. Panic! pulls from their Vegas roots in a major way for their live performances. They've got burlesque dancers, serious costumes, face paint, and some wild antics that include lap dances on stage. You just can't deny that would make for an incredible show.

The Killers, meanwhile, I've seen twice live, and both times they fell flat. Lead singer Brandon Flowers looks like he's always trying to catch a glance of himself in the mirror and doesn't do anything to get the crowd riled up. And now The Killers are all wearing old western outfits and accompanying facial hair as part of the Sam's Town theme, which basically just makes Flowers look creepy and the drummer look just like Jason Lee. Riiiight.

Icing on the cake: Panic! is touring with Bloc Party this fall and has previously toured with Dresden Dolls, giving them immediate street cred.

Front Men: Panic! At the Disco
This is basically a no brainer. Brendon Urie from Panic!, even at only 19, puts Flowers to shame, if only in modesty. If you can forgive Urie his one slip up on MTV when he expressed frustration at the band's fame being propelled by the guys' "heartthrob status" (they are here to make music, not girls swoon!) Panic! has weathered quite a bit of sh*t talking, from none other than Flowers himself who said that they, as part of emo in general, were "dangerous." The Panic! guys have taken it all in stride, accepting their newfound fans and fame with what seems like a honeymoon bliss, and basically letting the bullsh*t pass them by.

Flowers, on the other hand, has been talking more smack than Donald Trump lately. He's made comments like "I have no idea who Shed Seven are. If we sounded like them they would have sold 3 million records and we probably would have heard of them." (to NME) than should be said by a band who's only had one successful album. Not to mention he's been touting Sam's Town as bascially the second coming, saying it will "be the best album in the past twenty years" and comparing it to "Born to Run" and Springsteen. Pretty bold claims, and if you ask me Flowers might be writing checks his band can't cash...

Album and Song Names: Panic!
When it comes to album names, Panic! wins this one hands down. Fever You Can't Sweat Out is catchy and it obviously relates to the music beneath the cover. And it's impossible not to smirk at the songs beneath the album cover, including "Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" and "There's a Reason These Tables Have Numbers Honey, You Just Haven't Thought of it Yet."

Lyrics: The Killers:
This one I've got to give to The Killers, since "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" is truly worthy of it's popularity. It's poignant without hitting you in the face, and I can really appreciate that since many bands write lyrics that are either incomprehensible or just too far out to get a sense of what they really mean. In this category, Flowers has an edge.

Overall winner: Panic!
While they're greener than most bands and have yet to legally buy a drink, I'm going to stake my claim with Panic! and say that in the Vegas Mash Up they win TKO.

And another thing...

I was originally going to resist posting about the Virgin Festival that I attended this weekend, but due to some other pieces I've read since the Saturday shows I feel like I need to do just a quick roundup of stats and looming questions...

1) The Scissor Sisters are the best band ever. Music for Robots agrees (http://music.for-robots.com), even if Pitchfork only gave them a 7.3 for Ta-Dah. Plus Jake Shears thinks that the "powers that be in the U.S." are conspiring against him, according to an interview in Billboard (via NME.com). And that might be one conspiracy theory I'm on board with...

http://www.nme.com/news/scissor-sisters/24443

2) The Killers were sporting way too much facial hair, and the drummer really looked like Jason Lee from My Name Is Earl (some random person even commented on my flickr page about it - what?!?!)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/poodle6005/251910542/

3) The Raconteurs are apparently a somewhat devisive band... I loved them.

4) Richard Branson himself was there. I wonder what he thought of The Clap...?

http://www.nme.com/news/the-killers/24442

Singer/Songwriter Love

As the cold weather moves in it seems that we're all starting to slow down a bit. To me, the summer is always a time to run from destination to destination, party to party, living out of suitcases and a mess of tickets. But when the hot weather finally starts to fade and you need to wear a jacket for the first time in a long while your weekends and evenings slow down and suddenly a night cozied up in the couch sounds just about right.

To equip all of you with the sountrack for your days of fall and winter, I present two extremely talented singer/songwriters: Cat Power and Greg Laswell.

Many of you might've heard about Cat Power - she's nothing new to the scene. Having recorded her first album in 1994 and worked with an array of artists including Liz Phair, Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth, Eddie Vedder. Dave Grohl, and most recently Al Green's guitarist Teenie Hodges. A product of a restless childhood and a musician father, Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall) has an erratic history with music. According to her wikipedia site, she's retreated from music several times, shunning the recording life. But she's also always come back, compelled by songs she's written in short fits fueled by emotional experiences. Her songs are delicate, full of pianos, raspy voices and sad lyrics reflects - and as far as I can tell a loneliness and tenderness without the anger you might think would accompany the kind of life she's lived. They are wistful and longing, infusing some heavy jazz and blues influences when appropriate (horns, backup singers and all), while easily flipping back to alt-country-indie rock with strong guitars and choppy singing. It all works though. I can't vouch for Marshall's live performances, and have heard that the stage might be the place that Marshall acts out her erratic personality and background. But I will vouch for her recorded music, and reccomend her most recent album (yes, the entire thing), The Greatest.

www.myspace.com/catpower
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Power

Another singer/songwriter on my list these days is Greg Laswell. Funnily enough, there is just not that much information on Mr. Laswell currently, but I do know that he is from San Diego, writes incredible beautiful songs about women and love and all that other good stuff, and also writes about the things he learns on tour. I've taken the liberty of reposting the 20 things Greg Laswell learned on tour because I find them pretty freaking funny (my favorites are 15, 16, and 18). As for his music, I was turned on to him from a Paste magazine sampler of his single "Sing Theresa Says" - a gripping and soulful song that weaves string, guitars, a surprisingly fast beat and a melody that rises and tumbles like a set of rolling hills. It's good.

Check out Greg's myspace page at:
www.myspace.com/greglaswell

Greg's 20 things he learned on tour:

"20 Things I've Learned on Tour

1. buying new clothes is like doing laundry
2. when you buy a harmonium you should first think how you are going to fly it home
3. some guy over at mapquest.com is laughing his ass off
4. driving a car in new york city is like a ride at six flags magic mountain
5. when i get a picture of my dog sent to me, it does not help matters
6. if a joke works one night, then say it again the next night... and then the next
7. lonely people are everywhere
8. don't "keep going for a little longer" when your gas tank is almost empty
9. the main difference between the hyatt regency and a howard johnson is the bed
10. ...and the sheets
11. ...and the smell
12. morning radio shows physically hurt
13. mexican food outside of san diego tastes like hamburgers
14. you can't do much better than a nice dinner in new york city
15. that snack wrap at mcdonalds is kind of good
16. 3 hours later is not as good
17. the absolute best time to visit the washington monument, lincoln memorial and veteran memorial is at 2 o'clock in the morning when there is not another person in sight
18. if i have a few drinks, it does not mean that i am no longer lactose intolerant
19. my next album will be full of songs i wrote on the road
20. and lastly, some guy over at mapquest.com is laughing his ass off"

Desperately Seeking...

For the past few months (read: days, hours) I've been searching for the best way to post MP3s at MOR for everyone to sample the music that I write about.

I think I'm rather close to the best solution for everyone, but in my research I did come across this little application called g2p which is open to everyone on the web and fantastic.

g2p (www.g2p.org) that essentially hacks Google to find all the mp3s available on a particular artist or song. It is a great idea and sure to be sued in a very short time. In the meanwhile it's incredibly useful for all of us searching for a quick sampling of an artist's work.

It is also great for finding random mixes and covers, including:

Hot Chip remix of Scissor Sisters' Take Your Momma (so weird - I just can't turn away)

http://www.slyblue.com/trgaw/Scissor%20Sisters%20--%20Take%20Your%20Mama%20Out%20%28Hot%20Chip%20Remix%29.mp3

And a random remix of The Rapture's Sister Savoir

http://download.compartiresbueno.net/musica/wired/The%20Rapture%20-%20Sister%20Saviour%20(Blackstrobe%20Remix).mp3

No Sleep Till Oct 4

Whoa people, whoa.

According to NME.com today:

"Beastie Boys to play intimate New York show
It's for a good cause
The Beastie Boys will take to the stage at New York's Hiro Ballroom for a rare intimate performance on October 4.

The show is to benefit Gimme Shelter, an organization that is working towards the ending of euthanasia of healthy animals by using adoption programmes and population birth control.

Among the list of acts appearing on the night will be Debbie Harry and guest MC, comedian Michael Showalter .

The Beastie Boys concert DVD 'Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That!' is currently being screened at various film festivals around the world."

Nothing is up on any of the sites but I'll continue to monitor. Tickets for Hiro are sold through TicketWeb, but nothing is up there at all.

The last time I saw Beastie Boys was their Intergalactic tour when Tribe Called Quest (pre-breakup and current QTip pseudo solo projects) opened up for them. Despite being 8000 miles away from the actual BB's it was a "I'll-keep-talking-about-this-concert-until-I'm-45-and-the-kids-look-at-me-funny-and-only-know-girlsgirlsgirls-as-a-hyper-electronica-remix" show. I.e. AMAZING. I don't care if they are midde-aged, I will still go see the crap out of them. Are they the Bob Dylan/Rolling Stones of our generation? Discuss...

Stay tuned for more info!! (www.nme.com)

Tinkering with the Electronics

After a quite prolonged period of worshipping British punk I'm back around to experimenting with several types of music, the latest of which has been a bit of DJ/hip-hop/electronica mixing.

I think probably the most fun of listening to and watching a DJ at work is to know the kind of skill it takes to pick out a series in any one song and combine it seamlessly with another. Not to mention the memory you need to file away the ridiculous library of songs with which you may - at some point - want to mix with another. Oh yeah, and the actual mental capacity you need to operate turntables. I once tried to use a (singular) turntable - it was wildly unsuccessful.

The above being said, Philadelphia DJ Girl-Talk (Greg Gills) is mind-blowingly good. His latest album - Night-Ripper - was released this year and samples (by my count) no less than 150 songs. And the best part is that his arsenal of music has no boundries. He samples everything from Dirty South hip-hop to Disco to Eminem to The Breeders and The Pixies - with no indication that any of these songs are artists belong anywhere than right at the center of Night Ripper.

Girl-Talk, despite the deceptive name, is anything but girly or frivilous. His songs are powerful and fun, making you at once both furrow your brow trying to figure out who he's sampling and at the same time nod your head to the beat (as well as in agreement with whatever way Gills is taking the rhythm).

If you like... Basement Jaxx, You'll like Girl-Talk

Girl-Talk will be opening up for Peeping Tom at Irving Plaza Sept 29th, and again on his own Nov 1 at a CMJ event.

www.myspace.com/girltalkmusic
Download: That's My DJ, Hold Up, Bounce That.

Also wanted to briefly mention some of the more electronic and instrumental folks I've been turned on to: London based Hot Chip and Brooklyn based Ratatat.

Both dropped albums this year and both are worth listening to. Hot Chip is a bit more dance-y, with repetive lyrics and short, upbeat rythms, while Ratatat is slower, a bit softer and perhaps more deliberate, sampling not just beats but a selection of string instruments as well.

Perhaps tellingly, Ratatat will be playing at the Guggenheim museum on Oct 6 (I think the Zaha Hadid exhibit will still be there - worth going on it's own!). Hot Chip will also be in NY on Nov 2 for CMJ.

If you like Goldfrapp/Flaming Lips, You'll Like Hot Chip and Ratatat

www.myspace.com/ratatatmusic
www.myspace.com/hotchip

Idolotry

This week blog-overloard Gawker media (I took that "overloard" term right from the mouths of every blogger on the payroll there) launched their new music site Idolator.

At first I was jealous (yes, I want that job).

Then I was cold (I don't need to read that site for info).

But then I was curious, and I read, and guess what? It's pretty effing good.

Some of the posts stretch a bit for the snarkiness but I generally think that the writing is funny and the commentary is worth a look.

My favorite weekly feature is "Pick of the Fork" in which readers guess which outrageous over-stylized sentence is used to review some album on Pitchfork that week. Truly ingenius - seriously those folks need to take it down a notch and actually enjoy music once in a while.

Check it out:

www.idolator.com
http://idolator.com/tunes/pick-of-the-fork/

Double Your Pleasure

Just a quick post to note that I got the new TV on the Radio Album and the new Rapture album today, and per the endless hype both are totally awesome.

And as previously noted, TV on the Radio is here in NY on Oct 17 and 18 and The Rapture appears on Oct 30.

Albums available at itunes

www.myspace.com/tvontheradio
www.myspace.com/therapture

www.ohmyrockness.com for show info.

and finally - below is a bit of video from Phoenix concert

tomorrow - some new electronica hip-dance-pop!!!

Rising from the Ashes

So, for those of you who read this thing, you probably noticed a post a while back about the French band Phoenix and their cigarette smoking promotional appearance at the Bowery Ballroom.

The deal was that the only fans who could attend the show were those hooked up with the Camel smoking club - and the consensus was that was not so sweet.

Well, a few weeks ago I heard that Phoenix was making a regular appearance at Webster Hall tonight, and seeing as I think Consolation Prizes (their third album of new material) is one of the standout albums of the summer I decided to suck it up and check them out.

There were two interesting things to note about this show:

1) The band, especially lead singer Thomas Mars, hates lights.
2) They are way, way more rowdy and upbeat live than they are on their album.

Standing on the lift on the left side of Webster and despite the no lights thing, I could see the crowd - approximately 1,300 folks in all I think - eagerly throwing their hands up at their favorite songs. And the band - who probably weighed about 250 pounds *together* - was totally driving their excitement, asking for fans to bring "the loud."


But Consolation Prizes is not a loud album - it's melodic, and well composed, and catchy in the right ways - which is why I was pretty surprised to see the loud chords, heavy drums, and fired up fans jumping around. But I will say it was a pleasant surprise, and the peppering of "Mercis" throughout the concert endeared the band to me again. So despite the cig debacle, I'm back on board.

Visit www.wearephoenix.com for tour info, discography, etc.
www.myspace.com/wearephoenix for music

There's no "i" in Team

Hello friends -

This message is brought to you by Austin-based indie-outfit Sound Team. After hearing about them earlier this summer, I finally saw the 6-member band last Wednesday when they opened up for French Kicks, and I was in for a very pleasant surprise. The lineup for the evening - Oh No! Oh My!, The Subjects and Sound Team all leading up to French Kicks - was a little daunting, how to keep the crowds rowdy the whole time?!? The Subjects were fun and a bit experimental - but they are still finding their bearings amongst each other on stage and with their fans. In contrast, Sound Teams fans were there early and up front. Wild and cheering from the moment the guys stepped on stage, the band and fans had a palpable energy flying between them, and it only made the rest of us newbies that much more excited to dance.

Sound Team just released their first full length album - Movie Monster - this July. It was not a favorite of the Pitchfork staff, who gave it a measly 3.7. This is one instance where I disagree pretty strongly with the Pitchfork crew. I have officially put Movie Monster on repeat on my ipod and listen constantly. The composition of 2-3 intense keyboardists (depends on the song), tremendously strong bass lines, upbeat guitars and a great drummer pull together all the pieces to make some excellent music. The lyrics are sometime indescipherable (lead singer Matt Oliver has a bit of a Walkmen/Bob Dylan thing going on) but there are gems like in "No More Birthdays" about speeding it up to slow back down, and noting that trouble finds its way to you in "Back in Town". Their songs have tremendous arcs - building up to the chorus and rising to peaks that just make you open your mouth and lip synch on the street when you run into someone in your office and you wish you were perhaps just slightly more composed. Right.

But I really think the heart of this band lay in the fact that there are so many of them and yet they really all look like they are on the same page. Lead singer Matt Oliver does not in any way overwhelm the stage as some lead singers have a tendency to do, and Bill Baird's quiet presence on the stage is not what you would expect since he and Oliver are the primary songwriters for the big efforts Sound Team pours out.

Regardless of the hype/backlash, I think Sound Team is a great band - both in the studio and live - and I look forward to seeing them next time they come to New York. They are currently still on tour with the French Kicks and embark on a tour of Europe later this fall.

Download "No More Birthdays" "Shattered Glass" "Back in Town" "Movie Monster"

www.soundteam.net (you can stream all of Movie Monster here)
www.myspace.com/soundteam

Technorati Profile

New Music Bridgade

I'm hotly anticipating some new album releases coming up, and I thought I'd share with you guys some of my excitement...

1) OH MAH GAW the new Scissor Sisters single is SO GOOD. It's been floating around the internet for a while and I know some folks have already heard it, not to mention they've been testing it on us concert-goers for a while now (I heard it at Coachella and again at the Siren Festival) but I can not get over how good it is. By the by, song title is "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" and although the lyrics are quite sad (no dancing for me today) the song is all about shaking, moving, getting up out of your seat and being silly. Literally, I almost just danced around my apartment. Well, maybe not, but CLOSE.

www.myspace.com/scissorsisters

2) I'm From Barcelona - self titled LP. This Swedish group (tricky name!) are on my list of what I'll probably play to my kids when I have kids (20 years from now, when I'm old) because their music is what Barney would sound like if he were hanging out in Washington Square Park looking slightly delirious with a grungy mullet, worn out Chuck Taylors and pants that are too short for him. Pretty good, even for a purple dinosaur...

www.myspace.com/imfrombarcelona (listen to Treehouse, We're From Barcelona)

(PS - I have no idea when this album is being released in the states but if I find out will let you know. Also if you have time check out the hilarious video)

3) The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls of America. Apparently this album is like the second coming for the indie world. Pitchfork has been totally busting a nut over it for a long time, and hopefully for good reason. The first single - "Chips Ahoy" - is strong, solid rock & roll. It sounds like it was the love child of Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, The Lemonheads, The Gin Blossoms and Blues Traveler - which, sh*t, I think is still pretty good. I mean hell, I grew up on that stuff and loved it - long live the flannel shirt!

Listen to "Chips Ahoy" at www.myspace.com/theholdsteady

Spank me!

So, as you can probably tell from the 39 other postings of MOR, I do not listen to a lot of hip-hop or rap. More than anything this is a reflection of my time constraints - I already spend approx. 10-12 hours a week listening, reading about, and going to see new music from the punk rock/alt rock/indie scenes that I've frequented for years. Trying to break into any sort of knowledge about the hip-hop and/or rap scene seems daunting and virtually impossible to do with any sort of knowledge.

That being said, I've been hearing rumblings about a Baltimore-based hip-hop band Spank Rock on my usual new music outlets for a while now, and when the opportunity to see them for free at McCarren park popped up I figured I'd take a ride on the L train and see what the hype is all about.

It. Was. Worth. It. Spank Rock totally threw me for a loop, had me dancing and up in the fray. They are fantastic performers mixing beats, lyrics and infused melodies that get the crowd dancing before they are even on the stage. MC Spank Rock (Naeem Juwan) is electric - energy pumping from his fists as he rocks ridiculously tight jeans, a stiff trucker's hat and reebok high tops. Meanwhile, Armani XXXchange (Alex Epton) is the driving force behind Spank Rock's mixing capabilities which sample hip-hop songs spanning from the 70s to today.

Especially exhilirating about their show was the way they mixed in their fans and supporting friends and family. Amanda Blank - another fantastic performer from Philly - got on stage to perform two songs with her backup. And for the final songs Spank Rock brought out their entire crew from backstage, only to one up themselves by bringing out M.I.A. to sing a song. Ridiculous.

I think part of the reason that Spank Rock is so successful at making music is their background spanning several musical categories. Naeem started out rapping when he was in 8th grade, but later became a punk rock fanatic. Meanwhile Alex studied music his entire life and attended the New England Conservatory of Music.

Regardless of their backgrounds, these guys have some serious musical abilities and are fantastic live. Anyone on the east coast who can get to see them while they are touring this fall I highly recommend it (they will be in NY in Sept and Oct).

www.myspace.com/spankrock

Download: Backyard Betty, Blow

Take Cover

So, I've noticed as of late an onslaught of bands covering one another's songs and I thought I'd throw up a post about it.

First and definitely most noteworthy is that Art Brut and We Are Scientists have covered "The Great Escape" and "Bang Band Rock & Roll" from each other's albums (TGE is a WAS song and BBR&R is Art Brut). This is just excellent for a host of reasons, the first being that WAS and Art Brut sound nothing alike so I'm sure they will bring unique viewpoints to each of the songs. According to NME.com, Art Brut has recorded the fast paced and exciting "Escape" as an homage to Lynard Skynard's "Free Bird" (Lynne, holla!). Meanwhile WAS aimed to sound like the Velvet Underground when recording "Bang Bang" in response to an Art Brut lyric declaring their dislike for the Velvet.
Look! WAS with no beards!

But this sh*t is about to really get interesting as the two bands embark on a tour together next month. Sadly, for whatever ridiculous reason NYC has not been made a part of that tour (Art Brut will perform at Warsaw in Oct but with The Spinto Band as opener). Regardless though these two covers are destined to get the crowds roaring for what are already sick live scenes.

I'd also like to take this moment to say how much I love that WAS is friends with like every band out there. Chris Cain of WAS (bassist) appeared in a video for still relatively unknown Scottish band the Cinematics (cross btw Mogwai and Interpol - not bad, download "Break"). And they are just blowing up in Europe - all their UK shows in Oct are sold out. Yay WAS!

Second random cover to note - the Polyphonic Spree is covering Nirvana's "Lithium" on their new EP (also courtesy NME.com). I've not really too much to say about this because, well, I have no idea how it's going to sound.

And finally, this doesn't have anything to do about covering one another's songs but I heard on an NME podcast that Alex and Nick from Franz Ferdinand were most excited to see Belle and Sebastian at the Carding festival in the UK last week.

So bands like each other, listen to each other, and cover each other. What's not to love about that? All artists must be best friends and hang out all the time! I can dream, right?

Operating on The Shins

Hello friends -

Some of you might think the title of this blog entry is merely cute but, ha ha!, it has two references. 1) The Shins show I saw Thursday night at McCarren park in Brooklyn, 2) a great article I read in the Times this week about operating room music.

First things first: the Shins. Last year I saw The Shins on Coney Island when they were the opening act for the White Stripes. Perhaps due to a somewhat unfortunate pairing of the two acts, the Stripes fans and Shins fans did not mesh well when the bands started playing, repelling each other like oil and water. making for a less than desireably concert experience. This time around I approached the concert with great anticipation, hoping that now that The Shins were the opening act I could really get into their live show.

The big lesson for me from these experiences: I need to manage my expectations a little better. The Shins are excellent musicians - their music is unique, well written, exquisitely played, attending to the detail of each note and roller coaster melodies, and their albums are ones that you often find yourself enjoying time after time, year after year. While perhaps not changing your life, The Shins can certainly improve your music collection.

Unfortunately, this musical prowess doesn't translate to their live show. Its a bit of a chicken and egg scenario: fans of The Shins aren't exactly the racuous folks who are going to be dancing and jumping around when they hear those first seconds of their favorite songs. But similarly The Shins aren't the kind of band who are going to get their audience riled up. They are silly, a bit irreverent, and definitely welcome with open arms in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, but that definitely doesn't translate to crowd surfing or contageous excitement. Instead, it results in what my friend called "about 5,500 toe tappers."

Anyways - this doesn't make them any less of an excellent band to listen to, and I am eagerly anticipating their next album, which, speaking of , NME reports this week is due out January, 2007. The album is titled "Wincing the Night Away" and include tracks called 'Sea Legs', 'Red Rabbits' and 'Phantom Limb.'

Shins homepage:
http://www.theshins.com/

Shins MySpace page:
http://www.myspace.com/theshins

On a total side note, I am fascinated by music in operating rooms. The NY Times did a cute/interesting article on it this week, covering not only the musical choices of various surgeons in the NorthEast but what the protocol is for who gets to choose the musical accompanyment in the OR. Just from having shared an office once in my life, the thought of being at the mercy of one person's musical tastes is brutal. At the same time though my dad's friend is the Chief of Medicine at a hospital in New Jersey and as a huge jazz and blues afficionado I can imagine he probably broadens the horizons of many an intern in his OR.

To read the entire article click here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/10/arts/music/10doct.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5070&en=7b1445a2ca3b639b&ex=1156651200

French Licks

On heavy rotation this week in my iPod has been the latest album from Brooklyn post-rock-alterna-punk-indie band French Kicks. Although these guys are not new on the circuit by any means (they've been touring since 2000 and released their first full length album "The Trial of the Century" in 2004) they are touring again this fall so I thought it might be a nice time to revisit.

The funny thing about The Kicks is that I have a hard time comparing them to any other band out there right now. Each of their songs has its own feel: it's own distinct melody, lyrics and innovative use of instruments and voice. The first single off their recent album "Two Thousand," So Far We Are, most certainly has a twinge of The Walkmen in it (these guys are buddies and probably influence each other a bit), but the most interesting part about the song is the way the Kicks are able to stop and start the music without losing the string. It's almost like giving the listener a little tug, but in an exciting instead of scary or annoying way.

The common thread throughout the album is the feeling that each song is at this great crossroads between synthetic rock and traditional crooning/melodic piano rock. It almost gives the Kicks the kind of range that Radiohead had on The Bends - they are definitely not as hard as RH, but you can tell that the Kicks are sitting on that edge of doing something completely new without turning away listeners. It's a hard line to toe, but they do it quite well, and leaves me with the feeling that they just have the talent to keep producing excellent albums.

The Kicks will be at Bowery Ballroom on Sept 6.

Listen to tracks from their album at:
www.myspace.com/frenchkicks

Official Website:
www.frenchkicks.com