LER Test

First Attempt At...

2009-09-18T17:01:00.001-07:00

Making a t shirt screen.

LOL it was pretty messy but hey, it was my
first try.

I'll get better, hopefully, and finally be able to
personally make you some shirts.

I'll keep you posted

Test for the sake of running a giant test

2009-07-25T15:34:00.001-07:00

Burn Burn - Our Lady Peace

2009-07-25T15:30:00.001-07:00

When I Hit The Ground - Ace En...

2009-06-20T02:44:00.000-07:00

PLAYER WIDGET:

Papa Roach - Metamorphosis

2009-06-19T00:10:00.000-07:00

Label: DGC/Interscope
Rating: 5 Guns

Buy On:

Written By: Jim Markunas

"Holy F%&$!!!" is the only phrase I can think of to describe "Metamorphosis," Papa Roach's 5th Major label offering, and followup to 2006's "Paramour Sessions." Having abandoned their metal roots for a more dangerous, biker-bar sound, Papa Roach have crowned themselves the new kings of dangerous; one-upping fellow rock bands like Avenged Sevenfold and Buckcherry.

Papa Roach made a promise to pummel their listeners with full-on rock, opening with the instrumental "Days of War," and delivered, ripping immediately into the altruistic-yet-in-your-face, "Change or Die.
Street-single "Hollywood Whore" follows third, and showcases the classic Papa Roach sound found on "Love.Hate.Tragedy" and "Getting Away With Murder." The song is obviously about stereotypical Hollywood party girls, but the juxtoposition of Jacoby's angry and bitterly comical lyrics take the old story to another level of rock; as does the anti-love song "I Almost Told You That I Loved You."

Current single, "Lifeline" channels classic rock, and sounds a bit like U2 on meth (see video below). P. Roach's guitar player Jerry Horton shows his stuff on this track, proving once and for all that Nu-Metal bands can play a guitar solo if they want to!

"Had Enough," in addition to protesting this nation's war-mongering spirit, in a way re-vamps "Forever," the middle single from "Paramour Sessions," but throws in a little bit of the Deftones' and Interpol's cerebral brand of rock.

"Live This down" just plain kicks ass. Enough said.

The last half of "Metamorphosis" becomes experimental and rock-opera-esq (not a criticism). Each song from track 8-12 fits into a running theme, showcases Papa Roach's versatility, and channels the pomp of glam rock.

I don't usually pester people to buy albums (afterall, I am a journalist), but... Everyone out there HAS to buy this album. Please click the links in this review to get "Metamorphosis" off iTunes and/or Amazon.

Papa Roach - "Lifeline" (Video)

Papa Roach - Metamorphosis

2009-04-28T15:13:00.000-07:00

Label: DGC/Interscope
Rating: 5 Guns

Buy On:

Written By: Jim Markunas

"Holy F%&$!!!" is the only phrase I can think of to describe "Metamorphosis," Papa Roach's 5th Major label offering, and followup to 2006's "Paramour Sessions." Having abandoned their metal roots for a more dangerous, biker-bar sound, Papa Roach have crowned themselves the new kings of dangerous; one-upping fellow rock bands like Avenged Sevenfold and Buckcherry.

Papa Roach made a promise to pummel their listeners with full-on rock, opening with the instrumental "Days of War," and delivered, ripping immediately into the altruistic-yet-in-your-face, "Change or Die."

Street-single "Hollywood Whore" follows third, and showcases the classic Papa Roach sound found on "Love.Hate.Tragedy" and "Getting Away With Murder." The song is obviously about stereotypical Hollywood party girls, but the juxtoposition of Jacoby's angry and bitterly comical lyrics take the old story to another level of rock; as does the anti-love song "I Almost Told You That I Loved You."

Current single, "Lifeline" channels classic rock, and sounds a bit like U2 on meth (see video below). P. Roach's guitar player Jerry Horton shows his stuff on this track, proving once and for all that Nu-Metal bands can play a guitar solo if they want to!

"Had Enough," in addition to protesting this nation's war-mongering spirit, in a way re-vamps "Forever," the middle single from "Paramour Sessions," but throws in a little bit of the Deftones' and Interpol's cerebral brand of rock.

"Live This down" just plain kicks ass. Enough said.

The last half of "Metamorphosis" becomes experimental and rock-opera-esq (not a criticism). Each song from track 8-12 fits into a running theme, showcases Papa Roach's versatility, and channels the pomp of glam rock.

I don't usually pester people to buy albums (afterall, I am a journalist), but... Everyone out there HAS to buy this album. Please click the links in this review to get "Metamorphosis" off iTunes and/or Amazon.

Papa Roach - "Lifeline" (Video)

Swine Flu Linked to Terrorists

2009-04-28T14:47:00.000-07:00

A Fox News Scientific Report that aired Sunday identifies the looming swine flu pandemic as the latest attempt by terrorists to destroy the United States and its allies. The unfolding plot, according to Chief Science Correspondent, Aloysius Divine, underscores the deadly effects of the Obama administration’s ever softening stance toward terrorism.

“There is now incontrovertible proof,” concludes Divine, “Of a possible link between swine flu and terrorist cells. Is it mere coincidence that terrorists are launching their most emboldened attack just as the Obama administration shows signs of opening an investigation against terrorism’s most implacable foes in the Bush administration?”

In an exclusive interview with former Vice President Dick Cheney, Mr. Cheney insists that the looming pandemic vindicates Bush administration policies.

“While everyone was whining and urging us to take action during our time in office about phony issues like climate change, terrorists were busy developing a new strain of flu that will cause millions of deaths. This proves that terrorism remains the only real threat to the survival of the United States.”

In keeping with Fox News’s commitment to fair and balanced reporting, Leonard “Mad Dog” Trotsky, self-appointed spokesperson for a coalition of centrist and left-of-centrist groups, speaking from a locked down unit of a psychiatric ward in New York City, insists that former Vice President Dick Cheney himself is the actual cause of the new strain of swine flu.

“The virulence of this strain of flu and its ability to pass from swine to humans points directly to Vice President Cheney who, after years of wallowing with pigs, and his well documented propensity for causing untold suffering and deaths, is the most likely missing link between infected swine and humans,” Trotsky claims.

The former Vice President vigorously refutes the assertion, decrying Trotsky’s guilt by loose association as “un-American.”

“A looming global pandemic of these proportions,” Mr. Cheney says, “Is clearly the work of terrorists and their enablers and calls for an immediate roundup of anyone who might in any way, wittingly or unwittingly, be aiding and abetting them.”

Cheney calls for the immediate incarceration of the entire United States Justice Department and the Executive Branch of the United States government, while there is still time to save our country. Cheney also proposes a fair test to determine whether he or Trotsky are right.

“Let’s set up some extended periods of waterboarding and other truth determination techniques to separate out the innocent from the terrorists,” he says, “The guilty will eventually confess, and the information we extract from them will enable us to develop an effective vaccine. And the innocent who survive the test, after physical and mental rehabilitation and a few decades of close surveillance, can eventually return to normal lives in a much safer America.”

Mr. Cheney calls for the massive truth determination techniques to begin immediately.

“It worked at Salem and it will work here, today,” he says, “The time bomb is ticking, and we cannot afford to divert our attention from terrorism for another moment.”

3 Reasons Why The Pirate Bay Trial Was A Loss For The Music Industry

2009-04-27T14:46:00.000-07:00

Written By: Jim Markunas

"So let me get this straight. The Pirate Bay shuts down and suddenly all its users go legit, stop trading and start buying the wares of the entertainment companies." - Bob Lefsetz

The music industry is the only industry in the world that is willing to take civil and legal action against its own consumers. Think about that for a moment... When was the last time GM or Apple Computer put you in jail?

Although piracy is wrong on a lot of levels, it simply cannot be stopped in a cost effective and/or mutually beneficial manner.

Here's why the Pirate Bay prosecution was yet another colossal failure for the music industry even though its being touted as a "victory."

1. "You'll Never Get Her Back on the Farm Once She's Been to Gay Paree"

The cat's been out of the bag for a while... As a consumer, you simply don't have to pay for music. Every song ever released is available on the internet for free in MP3 form. As an industry, we must come to the horrible realization (and really realize it) that most people aren't willing to pay $18.99 for something that they can get for free.

The music industry will never be able to get consumers to pay for music now that it's been free for the last 9 years. Sure... some albums sell, but those days are numbered.

2. Alienating One's Target Market is the Surest Way NOT to Sell a Product or Idea

People view record labels and music industry professionals as greedy and dishonest. This is a fact. It's brought on partly because of the way we've done business in the last 70 years, but mostly because we've resorted to suing college students, jailing talented computer programmers, and strong-arming universities across the US.

As an industry, we suck! We'll have to learn to "un-suck" in order to get things moving again. If we can win back public trust, we can turn a profit once more.

3. Touting Pirate Bay as a "Victory" Buys Into The Outdated Business Model of "Selling Records"

Yes, music industry, it was great when we had a physical product and people paid us handsomely for it, but those days are going the way of the dinosaur - If we don't start to explore new income streams as an industry we're going to be extinct faster than the dodo.

Suing pirates in a "whack-a-mole" fashion not only costs labels millions of dollars in legal fees and damages the reputation of the music biz as a whole, but also points our Tyrannosaurus Rex-like, single-pointed focus in a direction that's failing - towards the old business model!

If the music business' old business model was working, we wouldn't have to sue pirates, because we'd be too rich to care.

I hereby proclaim the album dead! Now what??

OBLIGATORY PLUG: Let's become too rich to care! Let's make filesharing work for the business instead of against it. E-mail me for an interview, and we can discuss how to make the music business work without selling records.

Jim Markunas is a music industry futurist and editor-in-chief of Chicks With Guns Magazine. Jim has a decade of new media and music industry experience, he's run highly successful new media campaigns and has worked with James Brown, Miles Davis, The Walt Disney Company, Truckee Brothers, Mick Fleetwood, and Minty Fresh Records. Currently Jim's focus is monetization strategies for record labels and digital business development.

Find Jim Online:
Twitter - Linkedin - Facebook - Website - E-mail Jim

8 Questions With a Famous Star - On Padma’s Carl’s JR Ad

2009-04-27T14:36:00.000-07:00

Written By: Drew Madden

When my editor called me and gave me this assignment, I was exited. Jimmy the Tool was finally coming through. I was getting the interview I always wanted. Padma Lakshmi, best known as a former model-turned-judge on TV’s Top Chef recently did a controversial TV commercial for Carl’s JR.

So I thought to myself who will I be interviewing? Who was this Famous Star? Could it be Padma Lakshi herself? I hope my wife doesn’t get jealous! Could it be Paris Hilton? She had the last controversial Carl’s JR commercial. All Jimmy the Tool would tell me was a place and time to meet him and this Famous Star.

So I did my research watching Padma’s video at least a hundred times. I spent time studying her culinary moves. I was disappointed to find that her award winning book “Easy Exotic” was a cookbook, and I suppose at that point I should have expected that her book “Tangy Tart, Hot and Sweet” is likewise a cookbook. I suddenly felt like the man in the old twilight zone episode finding the book “To Serve Man.”

I prepared questions for Padma and for Paris. My favorite question I prepared is for Paris, and it is the question that still burns in my mind. Since she trademarked her catch phrase “That’s Hot”, do I owe her a nickel for writing it?

So the interview time came and I must say I was disappointed - as you can see by the picture above.

DM: What did you think of Padma’s ad?

“Really I was astonished…I mean I was always Padma’s first choice. How did she end up with The Western?!? I mean really! How do you let yourself be won over by onion rings and BBQ sauce when we all know what really matters is beef and cheese.”

DM: You seem upset. In your mind you would have been a better choice?

“Fuck yeah! I mean did you see how that burger treated her!?! She’s a lady and he’s all dripping his sauce all over her that’s so inappropriate.”

DM: What is your greatest regret?

“Not offering more choices, I mean come on I am meat and cheese. These guys come and steal my thunder based on toppings…I mean WTF!?!”

DM: How would you solve the financial crisis?

“Simple! Sit everyone down for a burger and if you didn’t help cause it, you get fries and a drink too. Then we just talk it out.”

DM: Do you believe in God?

“Yeah I do. I really don’t believe there would be sesame seeds on my bun without someone out there.”

DM: How do you define right and wrong?
“Simple burgers=right, chicken sandwiches=wrong. There are just some lines you don’t cross.”

DM: What is the most important thing in this world to you?

“My Patty, I work hard to take care of it. You know make sure I’m all beef and char-broiled.”

DM: If you had one thing you could tell the kids out there, what would it be?

“Stay true to yourself. You can cover yourself in fancy sauces or bacon, but under the bun we’re all just meat and cheese. Remember that and you will always make the right decisions.

Whirled News - Obama Applauds Spanish Inaction on War Crimes

2009-04-27T14:31:00.000-07:00

Candido Conde-Pumpido, Spain's Attorney General, announced today that he would not support his country’s investigation against United States officials for war crimes.

“The original decision to investigate United States officials such as George Bush, Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzalez for the war crime of ordering and condoning torture was not in full possession of certain facts which present extenuating circumstances,” he said, “Subsequent investigation found that the supposed victims were Muslim infidels.”

Conde-Pumpido cited precedents in Spanish law supporting his position that dated back to the Inquisition and have continued through Generalissimo Franco and to recent treatment of Basque separatists.

“Torture is not always torture,” said Conde-Pumpido, “It is occasionally an instrument of salvation for both the potential victims and the perpetrators. Indeed, under certain circumstances, torture may be seen as an extreme instrument of mercy.”

President Obama, who has announced he will not seek prosecution of CIA operatives who tortured, welcomed the Spanish decision.

“This sure takes heat off my ass,” he said.

To further cool passions, the President, even as he authorized releasing memos that detailed the Bush administration’s methods of, and quasi-legal rationales for, torture, announced that he would not seek legal action against CIA torturers and their psychologist aides.

“Presidents must make the difficult decisions to exercise moral leadership,” he said, “And if you remember what happened to President Kennedy when he angered the CIA, it’s clear that were I to condone legal action against certain CIA operatives, I wouldn’t be around long enough to exercise moral leadership on the issues that matter to most Americans. What kind of example would that set for Sasha and Malia?”

Meanwhile, former Vice President Cheney also applauded the Spanish decision.

“Today, the Spanish government has taken steps which make us much safer,” he said.

The upbeat press conference, however, was marred by an unfortunate accident when a reporter who asked who the Vice President meant by “us,” was killed in an automobile crash on his way back from the press conference. Upon learning of the accident, the former Vice-President said, “Mrs. Cheney and I sincerely regret the loss of a life, even that of a reporter who asks questions.”

Retailers Shun The Music Industry?

2009-04-17T13:55:00.000-07:00

Written By: Jim Markunas

Photo Credit: Stephen St. John

"February 20, 2010, is the day the CD dies."

That's what Tunecore president, Jeff Price was quoted as saying in an interview with the SF Examiner.

The quote goes on to say, "This is going to be the last year where there's any form of significant revenue generated from CD sales. The majors are going to be able to keep Walmart and Borders and Best Buy and Barnes & Noble into stocking inventory through this last Christmas season, but after that, the floor space is going to shrink significantly, and CDs are gonna go.'"

There you have it! There's speculation that after the 2009 Christmas season, retailers may drop physical music merchandise (i.e., CDs) completely.

What does that mean for us as an industry?

CDs will eventually go the way of vinyl. They'll be collector's items at indie stores around the world. However, there's two fundamental problems:

1. Vinyl sales alone can't finance a whole industry, and the same will soon be true regarding compact discs.

2. In the not-so-distant future, all music will be free. Yes... this means traditional music sales will generate little to no revenue.

Taking these two factors into consideration, it's important for the music industry to explore alternate sources of revenue. The internet is a vast space with limitless financial possibilities. There are literally millions of ways to generate revenue online, and there's no reason we can't start to use a few of these fresh new revenue streams as an industry.

Key point to remember: Everything can be monetized on the internet if digital space is leveraged efficiently.

OBLIGATORY PLUG: If you like my style, and think I can benefit your company shoot me an e-mail to set up an interview.

Death Of Modern Rock - REVOLUTION - April 2009

2009-04-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

REVOLUTION | Various Artists Rapster Records (!K7 Label Group) Release date: June 9, 2009
www.k7.com

Written By: Mario R. Martin

Welcome to the first installment of “The Death of Modern Rock” for 2009. While 2008 saw a monthly column, your fearless scribe has not been moved to put pen to paper lately. It’s been due to a terrible economy, the rise of a California sales tax (8.25% wasn’t high enough, so Los Angelenos are now paying 9.25% on purchases) and the overall turmoil the country has been in since late last year.

Needless to say, there’s been little to celebrate. And even less on the music front. We’re watching record labels falter. We’re witnessing the crash of our favorite music stores. We’re even watching conglomerates fizzle. And we’re hearing nothing but shit on the radio. Yours truly has been buying less of the new, and more of the old, stocking up on David Bowie, Roxy Music, Joy Division, Depeche Mode, etc. Honestly, even my beloved Jane’s Addiction is turning out a new box set of old material I already have, but it’s still a priority!

Recently, a CD came across my desk from one of my favorite labels, !K7. I tossed it into the pile of CDs and DVDs I get and put it out of my mind. Nate at !K7 dropped me a line to follow up on the release (like a good publicist should do!) and asked me what I thought of this CD entitled REVOLUTION. I do love the label and I promised to listen that day as I shuffled to LAX and back. The result? The best !K7 has released since Thievery Corporation’s DJ-Kicks record…minus the bossanova.

I have a theory: the best way, and most fair, to judge music is to listen to it while you are driving, preferably loud. I couldn’t stop listening to it. It was the most relevant and beautiful thing I’d heard in such a long time. Okay, let’s start from the beginning…

REVOLUTION is a various artist release. There’s a great deal of Cuban influence on the release and even more back-story. I’d like to take a bit of a different turn though. Let’s get educated on the process first. Take six producers at the top of their respective games and toss in instrumentation from Latin, dub, hip-hop, etc. Toss in some of the best voices (namely Roisin Murphy who brings haunting vocals to any effort) and you’ve got yourself a perfect amalgamation of sound ready to heat up the approaching summer.

Most notable in this mix is probably Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim). While we haven’t heard much from him in recent days, he’s like an old friend you lose touch with, yet you have hours of material to catch up on. Next is Guy Sigsworth who is best known for working with Bjork, Madonna and Alanis Morrissette. Marius De Vries can be connected to the likes of the Sugarcubes, while Rich File has lent his genius to James Lavelle’s U.N.K.L.E. project. Poet Name Life brings on the Black Eyed Peas vibe while Cameron McVey and Stan Kybert team up again after having brought about their skills to Massive Attack, All Saints and Neneh Cherry (by the way, what ever happened to All Saints?!). Those are the players. They are the genius in this recipe.

With credentials like that, you’re bound to find something you love in this record. Now, do you remember when bossanova was all the rage? Every artist utilized the bossanova sound freely until it gave way to the ill fated ‘swing’ sound. Regardless, take the kitsch of swing, the danceability of Latin, subtract the unnecessary over-popularity of “Buena Vista Social Club” and you’ve got yourself a banger.

REVOLUTION has Cuban influences, and Cuban is the new Latin. This release just became the most necessary to hit shelves. When all else fails and every sound that’s called music these days turns its back on listeners, REVOLUTION is here to fill and bridge the gaps between the obvious and surreal, aurally pleasing and sensually teasing your every sense.

Whirled News - North Korean Satellite Launched

2009-04-14T23:22:00.000-07:00

With the recovery by American ships in the Pacific Ocean of the failed North Korean satellite launch, new details have emerged about the secret North Korean project.

“Retrieval of the satellite was easier than expected,” said an American official, “We had expected that it would sink pretty quickly down to the ocean floor, but it was actually bobbing on the surface.”

Experts surmised that the flotation qualities were due to the satellite’s unique construction.

“It seems to be a volleyball with metal hair curlers and rabbit ear television antennas glued to the surface,” said one unnamed official, “It’s really quite remarkable. Our next step is to conduct a spectrographic analysis to analyze what kind of space age bonding agent they used so that the hair curlers and antennas would remain adhered to the volleyball during the high winds and g-force present during takeoff.”

North Korean officials meanwhile insisted that the launch was a success, despite the fact that the rocket failed to deliver the satellite into orbit.

“This glorious achievement of Kim Jong Il heralds the dawn of a new era,” said a North Korean spokesperson, “Even as we speak the satellite is still traveling, and by the time it reaches America it will have traveled farther in one direction than any satellite any nation has ever launched.”

The international uproar over the launch meanwhile continued.

“This does for President Obama what the invasion of Grenada did for Reagan and the invasion of Panama did for Bush,” crowed one aide, “By taking the toughest possible position against a pathetically weak adversary, we can appear strong enough to temporarily shut up viewers of Fox News. This is pure red meat for the meat-heads.”

Uncommon Music - Sorting Music

2009-04-14T23:16:00.000-07:00

Written By: Nichole Wagner

My dad had all his albums arranged more or less alphabetically. A tattered red spiral notebook had a semi-complete listing for easy reference. Simple, yet remarkably effective for his 2,000 piece collection.

However, we live at opposite ends of the obsessive-compulsive spectrum. I need categories, sub-categories and sorting devices. With the digitization of music and the advent of iTunes, my music collection consists of over 600 artists, 3,000 records and some 260,000 songs. There's also nearly 2,500 physical CDs, several hundred vinyls and a hodge-podge of 8 tracks, 45s and cassettes. All this music requires a better organization method.

You'd think that taking a hint from record shops would be a good start. Start with genres and go from there. It would be great, except for making the decision of where a particular piece of music fits. What, besides drums, exactly separates bluegrass from country? What makes folk rock different from alt-country? And isn't there a fatal flaw in making categories so large that it encompasses Patsy Cline and Taylor Swift? Under the umbrella of "country" one could have country rock, country blues, country gospel, Nashville-style country, traditional country, pop county, folk country, Canadian country… you get the picture.

And what about the artists that fall bend their genres. For example, Bonnie Raitt started with the blues, swung through rock and landed somewhere in the sea of pop. Jenny Lewis' solo work would probably fit more neatly in the land of country but Rilo Kiley is something loosely referred to as "alternative" or perhaps "indie rock." There are too many categories, even for my tastes. So much for that idea.

Then I tried sorting by general geographical regions. Texas, East Coast, California, Southern California, Northwest & Canada, UK, Tennessee and Mountains.

It made for some strange bedfellows. Cyndi Lauper and Bruce Springsteen dominated the East Coast. Tennessee needed to be divided into Memphis, Nashville and a Nashville-outskirts to catch the country outlaws. Texas can be divided into two subgroups - natives like Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett and Joe Ely and transplants such as Shawn Colvin, Patty Griffin and Asleep at the Wheel. California becomes a dumping ground for any other artist that doesn't easily fall into another category and couldn't realistically fit in a category with the SoCal sounds of Jackson Browne, the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt. Groups like the Pretenders ended up in the UK file though Chrissie Hynde is technically from Ohio. Another failed approach.

Moving along to loose associations. Starting with the artists I had the most CDs of: Emmylou Harris, Fleetwood Mac, and the Beatles. Emmylou is closely related to Gillian Welch, Dolly Parton and Patty Griffin. Drawing out the spiderwebs futher brings Nanci Griffith, Loretta Lynn and Bonnie Raitt into the fold. Fleetwood Mac can easily be grouped with the Eagles, Warren Zevon, Jackson Browne, and Tom Petty. But having first heard Nanci Griffith when she opened for Jackson Browne and I heard about Jackson Browne long before I was listening to Fleetwood Mac there was already a problem. It got bigger when I took into account the artists like Tegan and Sara, Brandi Carlile and Grace Potter & the Nocturnals - all of which I discovered in happy accidents.

I’ve known people to sort their albums by label, decade, year, producer and just about every other device under the sun. They’re all ineffective. It’s looking more and more like Dad had it right.

15 Days on the road with the By All Means Necessary

2009-03-17T16:57:00.000-07:00

Buy On:

Written By: Drew Madden
Photo Credit: Aaron Fallon

BAMN or By All Means Necessary is one of the new breed of Indie artists coming out of the LA Anti -Music scene, and I struck out on the road with them going from LA to Denver. Playing in front of packed houses, half empty clubs and everything in between, I got to witness firsthand what it takes to make it in a music scene falling apart at the hands of an industry that is a shell of its former self, the trials and tribulations of trying to work a dream into a day job , and what happens when a band and tour support are stuffed into a tin can called the Free Willy Wonka for months on end smelling like sweat, urine, beer, and Axe body spray.

This will not be the story of the surprise influence of REO Speed wagon, or a tale that tells of inner torment leading to eventual rehab like every True Hollywood story of every band created twenty years ago. This is the story of what four talented musicians have done to create a band with new voice and a stage show that will move you. This is the story of how By All Means Necessary makes it on the road and how four people from all across the country came to LA with a strongest most relevant sound that the city of angels has seen in years.

This winter rocked BAMN. After five years as front man. Matt was walking away. Some say it was the grind of the road, others say it was a new baby at home, and your author predicted that BAMN was done, but I was wrong about that, about everything. Zo, Chris, and Greg, the remaining members of BAMN, were getting some much needed R&R at The Playboy Mansion when they saw a gorgeous young singer opening for Skid Row’s Sebastian Bach. Desiree blew them away.

BAMN asked her to try out for the band, gave her a few songs to learn, and set a date for the audition. On that fateful day, bandaged and broken, she strode into BAMN’s LA studio ready to rock. After surviving a near fatal car accident, Desiree was intent on not letting anything get in between her dreams of rock stardom and her future band. Desiree sung through the pain, and blew them away once again. Desiree is more than just a great singer. She is an accomplished songwriter. The merge of her sound with BAMN’s created something greater than the whole of its parts. The new BAMN was ready to hit the road.

BAMN’s Sleep When you’re Dead tour starts at ten am. That’s the crack of dawn in rocker world. My instructions were clear. I was given a 19” x 13” x 11” space for storage, a really really small bunk, a strict warning that all personal items were to be out of common areas when awake, and a long list of necessary items that reminded me a little of summer camp. The most disturbing thing on that list was baby wipes preferably cucumber melon scented. Lastly I was given a stern warning that there was one offense for which there was no forgiveness…crapping on the bus.
First let me tell you a little bit about The Free Willy Wonka.

This 1994 Ford Fourwinds thirty foot RV sleeps seven, five of them comfortably. It was originally the tour vehicle for the US Bombs. While it is infinitely superior to a fourteen passenger van, it is roughly the equivalent of you and your five friends working from home in your 160 square foot one bedroom apartment, oh and there’s no shower. Where the shower used to be is my luxurious two square foot storage area. The smell is really something special to be experienced. Remember you and your five friends have no shower, a lot of beer, a really small budget, the AC only works when they use an extension cord to connect the power directly, and even the finest urinary marksmen have trouble hitting the toilet of a carpeted bathroom travelling 65 miles an hour and oh- you're half drunk on Jack Daniels.

Before tour I’m picturing one guy writing songs in the corner, beers all around, maybe a drunk girl wondering what the hell she was going to tell her mother when she gets dropped off in the next city, and after a great show it would all end in a giant pool party at a lesbian’s house with a slip and slide loaded with lube- but it didn’t happen that way, at least not all at once.
So we jump on the road, and no one grabs a beer. What the hell kind of tour was this going to be? First things first, Greg, the drummer, is known by another name…Chef Boy RV. He immediately is reorganizing cabinets and planning the week’s meals. Zo, the bass player, is driving. The merch girl is peeling stickers from old promo hand outs and putting new ones on. Chris and Desiree are checking on promoters, booking, and most of all doing last minute promotions. It turns out that using social networking sites like MySpace is how this band makes it work. This will take a little explaining.

BAMN is unsigned. They don’t use the term Indie in the stylistic sense. They have pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps utilizing the tools found on the internet to create their own network. Most bands get started using financing from an indie label. BAMN is self financed. No corporation owns their music. BAMN pays for their RV, finances tour after tour, and records at venues like the Legendary Sunset Sound where the likes of Metallica and Prince record. They pay for this with cd’s, t-shirts, ringtones, and six bucks you paid at the door.

BAMN did it all themselves. They have over forty thousand MySpace fans. To give you an idea of what that equates to in terms of popularity you need to understand that My Morning Jacket and The Bravery have seventy five thousand fans. Me First and The Gimme Gimmes have sixty thousand.

So you see a lot of things on the road, and my job is to pick what would interest you most. So did I witness a remorseful drunk girl who hopped on the bus in one city get off it in another city wondering aloud “What am I going to tell my mother?” Yes, I did. Did I watch the creative process as they fleshed out songs from little ideas? Yes I did. Did I go to a pool party at a lesbian’s house at two AM where they set up a slip and slide that was wet down with lube instead of water? Yes I did, but by far my favorite story came on the night of Greg’s birthday.
Birthdays on the road are funny things. The band gets off stage, and usually beelines for the bar. The first round of shots came from a fan, and it was just Greg and the fan. By the fifth round it’s over ten people. Round seven came in about 10 min, and that’s when the bartender went to slow Greg down. Greg replied. “Are you my mother or my fuckin bartender? Give me the goddamn shot!”

The next hour or two are a little hazy, but I remember we were back on the bus, a quickly receding bottle of Buffalo Trace in hand, when someone decided we needed to go swimming. How we ended up at the elementary school pool I think I’ll never know. There was a ten foot high fence with spikes bent outward to keep you from climbing over, that I’m sure was responsible for half of the unidentified drunken injuries the next day, but not the worst one. Greg climbed the life guard tower to make his own high jump. Here I need to tell you that it was not set in cement, but rather a free standing structure.

Greg claims the third rung broke when the tower went over. Everyone else thinks the only thing that broke was his head on the cement. I think it was Zo who first noticed the bloody trail in the water. Chris anointed himself drunken doctor, and assessed the situation as minor. The next day the vomit and the blood soaked pillow told the story Greg couldn’t remember, but we had a show to get to so it was another day before Greg got his head properly treated.

The road is a party, but it’s a lot smellier and a lot more work than I thought. Those nights of partying are well earned. It takes a lot to make it doing it on your own, and that is precisely what By All Means Necessary is doing. Now I know what you’re thinking…what the hell was with those cucumber melon baby wipes?

Remember that shower that was converted into storage? It turns out that the biggest challenge on the road is finding a place to shower. So a four day stretch without a shower is common. The baby wipes are your shower, and the bus bathroom is far from the ideal locale. Your perfect choice is a local corporate chain coffee shop. You can lock the door, and they usually have a hook to hang your clothes. So one day I’m in Salt Lake City, and I am ripe. I need a real shower, but there is no time. I check the venue, but it reminds me of a scene out of "Trainspotting." I quickly assess the situation, and the only public restroom I can find is in a Sears dept store- not at all ideal.

I enter the restroom disappointed to find no locks and no hot water. By this time my shame was a thing of the past. So I’m working through my clean routine standing at the bank of sinks, and at this point am naked except for a pair of flip flops and a smile when in walks a Mormon Nordic Cowboy. He takes one look at me and heads for a stall. As you can imagine he left quite quickly, and without washing his hands. I’m quite sure the cowboy went to the bar that night to tell his friends of the bizarre acts of gay perversion he witnessed at the Sears that day.

Being on the road was a lot of fun but the best part was going out every night and seeing some incredible music. BAMN’s sound is current and relevant today. They are a breath of fresh air. In a music scene cannibalizing itself for safe investment, they dare to be unique and it pays off in spades. Go see By All Means Necessary and support real indie music, and if you like it…please let them shower at your house. ..They smell bad.

Music News

2009-03-17T16:52:00.000-07:00

Written By: White Chicks On Rap

Snoop Dogg To Release A New Album Through MTV

Snoop Dogg has signed a multi-rights deal with MTV to distribute, market and promote his upcoming album “Malice In Wonderland”. The album will be released later this year and will feature Pharrell, composer Lalo Schifrin, and Dr. Dre.

Nas Recording With Damian Marley

Nas is recording with reggae star Damian Marley for a project that might be released in the spring. It is not clear which label will release it as both artists are signed to two different labels.

Nas is working with Dr. Dre for the Detox album and he hopes to tour this summer.

Lil’ Kim Not Happy With Notorious Movie

Lil’ Kim has expressed her anger at the biography movie Notorious, which shows the life and death of rapper The Notorious B.I.G.

The film was produced by P. Diddy and B.I.G.’s mother Voletta Wallace and based on the biography “Unbelievable: The Life, Death And Afterlife Of The Notorious B.I.G. by Cheo Hedari Coker.

Lil’ Kim said that the film portrays her as a bitch and a home wrecker and that she had a relationship with B.I.G. to advance her own rap career. Kim said that "I'm very disappointed in Faith (Evans- B.I.G’s widow). There's nothing Faith or Ms. Wallace could do to stop me from repping B.I.G. all day. I'm gonna always do that...It's time for Ms. Wallace to be exposed".

Faith Evans responded with "I try my best not to think about it; It's kinda sad. I got four kids, and I definitely don't have time for this type of shit. It's just sad. This is not my movie. I didn't write the script. Any characters in the film had to agree for their life rights to be in the movie. I don't think I would have signed anything had I felt I was not portrayed properly. I think she had the opportunity to do that. I could be mistaken. I wasn't there.”

Violette Wallace said that the film was about her son and that it is not the Lil’ Kim story and that if she does not like how she was portrayed, it is her problem.

In other Lil’ Kim news, she will be one of the contestants of this season’s Dancing With The Stars.

Death Row’s Assets Auctioned

The assets of Death Row Records, which include master recordings of Tupac, Snoop and Dr. Dre were auctioned for $18 million to WIDEawake, a Canadian development company. The company does not have distribution in the US and it has not been determined who the company will partner with to distribute the catalog.

Lara Lavi who represents WIDEawake said that they have ideas about what to do with the catalog and that “we're very respectful of Death Row's legacy and when the time is right we'll announce that."

Death Row filed for Chapter 11 protection in April 2006 and in July 2006, a CA judge ordered a bankruptcy trustee to take over the label.

Warner Music Group and Koch Entertainment originally put bids on Death Row (some estimates say the bids were up to $25 million), but because of Death Rows inadequate accounting and record keeping made it impossible to determine the label’s true value, they pulled out of the auction.

Cypress Hill Finishing New Studio Album

Cypress Hill is finishing recording their first album in five years and hope to have it out for a Fall 2009 release. The album is in the mixing stages. The untitled album will feature Everlast, Evidence and The Alchemist as guests.

The group has spent the last five years working on their own solo projects. B-Real has been working on “Smoke N Mirrors” which features Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Buckshot, Damian Marley, Too $hort, Kurupt, Sen Dog and B-Real's protege Young De.

DMX Charged With Assault

DMX, who is serving a 90 day jail sentence for felony theft, drug possession and misdemeanor animal cruelty, has been recharged with assault after he threw a tray of food at a detention officer.

This recent charge of assault is not DMX’s first time he has gotten into trouble while in jail. He threatened to fight the guards. According to the guards, DMX started cursing and threatened to “assault somebody to get some respect”. While in lockdown, DMX is on a diet of bread and water.

Uncommon Music - SXSW 2009 and Beyond

2009-03-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

Written By: Nichole Wagner

It's that time of year again and the music portion of SXSW kicks off this Wednesday.

Even without a badge, there's loads of free or nearly free shows to enjoy if you're in Austin this week. KGSR has shows at Auditorium Shores on Lady Bird Lake, and the morning broadcast from the lobby of the Four Seasons.

Numerous artists are playing side shows around the city and there's the annual Million Musician March for Peace on the 21st.

But, if you're sitting out for this year's festivities there's still plenty to be excited about in the musical world.

Lineups for the Telluride Bluegrass Festival have been released and with artists like Jenny Lewis, Conor Oberst, Elvis Costello, David Byrne, Three Girls & Their Buddy (Shawn Colvin, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin and Buddy Miller) and Todd Snider as well as perennial favorites like Sam Bush, John Cowan and Tim O'Brien it very well may be the best TBF in years.

Bonnaroo and Coachella lineups are also out and Thirsty Ear in Santa Fe has been moved from the perpetually rainy Labor Day weekend to the hopefully more sunny month of June.

On the album front, only months after Peace Queer, Todd Snider will release The Excitement Plan in June. According to YepRoc Records, Loretta Lynn makes a guest appearance on one of the tracks. Yes, the Coal Miner's Daughter singing on a Todd Snider album.

Slaid Cleaves, Po'Girl, Scott Miller the Greencards and Jill Sobule all have new records coming out within the next few months and Patty Griffin's gospel album reportedly will hit shelves the 19th of May. Brandi Carlile is also apparently planning a release for sometime in the near future.

Whirled News - Economic Crisis May Have Reached Turning Point

2009-03-17T16:40:00.000-07:00

As the economy worsens, the Obama administration has changed the name of Vice President Joe Biden’s Middle-Class Task Force to the Middle-Class Expeditionary Force.

“We suspect there are still some middle-class folks left in this country, and I’m charging Joe Biden with finding out where they are,” said President Obama, “If we can locate the last remaining middle-class folks, we’ll try to save a few of them so our grandchildren will at least know what they looked like.”

Government economists worried however that the Expeditionary Force might be too late, and that middle-class people have transmogrified into lower-class people.

“If so,” said new White House Assistant Treasury Secretary Wally Street, “It’s probably too late to do anything for them. If you’ll recall from the last presidential campaign, no candidate ever said anything about the lower-class at all. It’s not like we can suddenly manufacture programs out of nothing. We can only do that with housing values and securities.”

In other economic news, government economists predicted that the Down Jones has finally stopped its decline.

“We believe the Dow has touched bottom and is now in the crapper but eventually we’ll be flush again,” said Street.

Music News

2009-03-17T16:37:00.000-07:00

Written By: White chicks On Rap

C-Murder To Remain In Jail

A Louisiana judge ordered Corey Miller, better known as rapper C-Murder, to remain in jail for allegedly breaking the rules of his house arrest.

Authorities said that they lost the signal from Corey’s monitor device, but Corey’s attorney said that the rapper was at home sleeping and that the device malfunctioned.

The rapper is scheduled for trial on April 20th on a second-degree murder charge in connection with the 2002 death of 16-year-old Steve Thomas during a fight at a nightclub.

Since the rapper’s arrest, he changed his name to C-Miller and has written a novel and released a CD.

Tupac’s Mother Counter-Suing Film Company Morgan Creek

Amaru Entertainment (the company set up by Tupac’s mother Afeni Shakur) is counter-suing film company Morgan Creek, who is alleged with trying to sabotage the company from partnering with another studio to release a bio on Tupac.

Amaru released this statement about the suit, "Instead of negotiating in good faith with Amaru, they sought to obtain the rights by concocting a non-existent 'agreement' and engaging in heavy-handed threats, coercion and intimidation to interfere with and ultimately destroy the film project."

Last month, Morgan Creek filed a suite in Los Angeles Superior Court claiming that Amaru backed out of a deal to sell Tupac’s life rights for biopic. Morgan Creek said that they received a final term sheet in December and an agreement was about to be reached, but in January, Amaru pulled out.

Amaru is seeking a court declaration saying that there was never a deal with Morgan Creek, but that Amaru was speaking to several film companies about creating a biopic.

Whirled News - Difficulties Revealed with Barbara Bush Heart Transplant

2009-03-17T16:31:00.000-07:00

As former First Society Maven Barbara Bush continued to recover from her heart surgery, doctors revealed for the first time that they encountered a surprise during surgery.

“We cracked open her chest and were amazed to find out that she already had a heart,” said Dr. Frank N. Stein, head neurosurgeon of Houston Methodist Hospital, “We immediately checked her wrist band to make sure this was the same lady who had raised George and Neil, and who had said that the Katrina evacuees were enjoying living in emergency shelters in Houston.”

Despite that surprise, surgeons reported Ms. Bush was doing well.

“Because we used the aorta from a pig, Ms. Bush is experiencing no difficulties with rejection,” said Stein, “The only problems we’re encountering since the transplant is that Ms. Bush has been insisting she wants to spend the rest of her life snuffling around the back yard of the family compound in Kennebunkport and spending three days a week on Wall Street.”

Uncommon Music - Gurf Morlix - Last Exit To Happyland

2009-03-17T16:13:00.000-07:00

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Written By: Nichole Wagner

Gurf Morlix is the musical equivalent of a Swiss Army knife. He produces, writes, sings and plays just about every instrument known to man.

If his name doesn’t ring any bells, there’s a good chance that you haven’t been looking through the liner notes of your favorite albums by Slaid Cleaves, Mary Gauthier, Ray Wylie Hubbard and of course Lucinda Williams.

His latest album, Last Exit to Happyland calls on the skills of a few musical friends but easily stands on its own as a thoughtfully created piece of work.

The album, filled with songs about people “headed for the reckoning day,” opens with the tune “One More Second” before moving to the first of two New Orleans inspired songs.

“Walking To New Orleans” is the story of a Big Easy resident arriving home to the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. The other is “Drums of New Orleans,” to which Ruthie Foster adds her sublime wailing.

“Music You Mighta Made” is a tribute to Morlix’s buddy and Austin folk legend, Blaze Foley with mutual friend Barbara K of Timbuk3 providing supporting vocals.

Ian McLagan and his late wife Kim (who passed away in a car accident in 2006) also get a heartfelt nod in “Voice of Midnight” which features Patty Griffin.

Patty, who also appears on two other tracks, “She’s A River” and “I Got Nothin’”, offsets Gurf’s gravel-filled growl perfectly.

Last Exit to Happyland will be released on Rootball Records on February 17.

Reality Check - Laura Warshauer's Compelling Secret Revealed

2009-03-04T15:08:00.000-08:00

First and foremost, singer-songwriter Laura Warshauer is a storyteller, examining loss, love and life through her music. The twenty something year old New Jersey native crafts sonic gems, combining pop melodies and flourishes of rock, while her lyrical sensibility hearkens back to songsmiths like Joni Mitchell and Fiona Apple.

Laura’s self-titled seven-song debut EP was recently released via Pink Chariot/Island Records. The disc features orchestral textures that perfectly compliment her warm, ethereal vocals. Warshauer describes her sound best, “There’s definitely a rock sensibility, but it’s really about grand melodies. I have a very classic pop structure in terms of my writing style, but lyrically, I offer a unique angle.”

The songs spoke loud and clear, and Laura’s talent caught the ear of Island Def Jam Chairman Antonio “L.A.” Reid. He received one of her demos, and had to go see her play. “He came to a Sunday night rehearsal, and his hands were in the air when he heard me. Afterwards, he said if you want it you have a home with Island Records.” Their partnership has set the stage for Laura’s EP this fall and her next full-length CD, Such A Lovely Place, produced by Rich Keller, due out in Spring 2009.

We caught up with Laura for a quick Q&A, and she told us everything that was on her mind!

CWG: LA Reid signed you to Island/Def Jam after one performance. Reid has guided many artists to great success. What advise has he given you as your career is starting?

The same advice that Lionel Richie recently gave me - "Just keep going!"

CWG: What have you learned busking in the subway?
You see what catches and holds people's attention. You learn about inhabiting any sort of environment and making it your own.
CWG: Your music has been described as a Joni Mitchell sound with a 60s influence. What is it about the 60's that inspires you?

Passion.

Music brought people together; it was (and is) both a catharsis and a refuge. Women were empowered, and songwriters created entire movements with the strength of their lyrics and delivery.

When I got signed by LA Reid, he said the raw passion of my stage performance made him feel like he was in the back in the 1960's.

CWG: You are apart of Musicians On Call (a group that plays for hospital patients). How did you get involved with the organization? How can others get involved?
I got involved at 16, after another songwriter heard me play and told me about the organization. As a volunteer, I get the privilege to play songs for pediatric cancer patients and their families at Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York City.

Singing at the hospital, you realize that something simple can be so powerful. To find out more please visit musiciansoncall.org

CWG: What can we expect from your album "Such A Lovely Place"?

Something classic yet modern with a sound that is all at once unique and familiar.

CWG: What are your goals for your career?

I want to rock stadiums and be doing that in 25 years.
CWG: What did you learn from recording your EP and how did you apply it to recording your album?

I learned about feeling and being free to create and see where it takes me. The possibilities are limitless, and it is empowering to embrace that reality and run with it.

CWG: You have been described as a storyteller, how do you come up with your songs?

Quite simply, I write songs about things that move me. I am constantly writing; Anything and everything can be a source of inspiration.

CWG: Is there an artist or producer you would like to work with and why?

U2. Their live shows are unlike anything I have ever experienced. They are magnetic; there is something almost other-worldy when those four musicians take the stage. If I could sing with Bono I would be thrilled.

CWG: Your live shows have been described as compelling. Are you looking forward to touring for the new album? What can we expect for your live shows?

I can't wait to tour. Being in the studio is amazing, but it is really on stage where the interaction between artist and audience enables the songs come to life in the way that they can and should.

From my live shows, expect the unexpected. It's about connecting with people; my voice, the songs, the presentation are simply the vehicles to convey emotion.

Like Laura? Check her out on Myspace.

Glistening Pleasure: The Kindness Kind, The Kindness Kind

2009-03-04T14:34:00.000-08:00

Label: Self-Released
Rating: 4 Guns

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Written By: Hilary Hughes

It’s been a long time since I’ve come across a sound as refreshing, uplifting and intriguing as that of The Kindness Kind, and their latest release couldn’t have come into my possession at a better time: This winter has been a frigid, merciless bitch here in Boston, and I’m in desperate need of some good vibes in whatever form they happen to come in.

The Kindness Kind may very well be my salvation: Alessandra Rose’s vocal prowess is undeniable, and her singing, coupled with the solid, carefully constructed band behind her, makes for a vibrant package that brilliantly showcases the raw talent of this jazzy, bluesy three-person powerhouse.

Though all seven of the tracks on the band’s latest self-titled release are currently playing on a loop on my iTunes, favorite selections include “On and Off Again”, “The Lusk Letter” and “Lotus”.

“On and Off Again” is, without a doubt, my favorite song on the album: There isn’t anything remarkably revolutionary about the chords or lyrics, but the combination of equal parts of the lilting piano lines, the modest guitar riffs, the bass drum-heavy beat and Rose’s velvet voice make for a compelling composition that definitely deserves a listen (or few.)

Ever the sucker for percussion-heavy tracks, I’m also a big fan of “The Lusk Letter”, where Rose trips up and down scales to keep up with the minor chords and moving beats provided by Charles Nelson and Nicholas Danielson. I like the meditative melancholy of “Lotus”: It’s a lovely contrast to the rest of the danceable, upbeat album, and the darker, moody tones speak to the band’s experience as a jazz outfit hailing from Seattle.

I’ve got a few more icy, murky days in store before the winter in Boston dissipates, but listening to The Kindness Kind on repeat has lifted my spirits drastically. It’s not just the mood-enhancing melodies and clever compositional qualities on their recent self-titled release that has me singing their praises: It’s their ability to blend beautiful vocals and innovative instrumental talents into a cohesive, consistently inviting sound that keeps me coming back for more of this sound that really is the Kindest on the ears of its Kind.

Like The Kindness Kind? You may also like: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Regina Spektor, Björk

Uncommon Music - Neko Case's Middle Cyclone

2009-03-04T14:24:00.000-08:00

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Written By: Nichole Wagner

Queen of ethereal alt-country, Neko Case has spent the last few years bouncing between her solo career and her part-time gig with the New Pornographers.

Her latest, Middle Cyclone, provides a whirlwind of poetry and floating vocals as only Neko can create.

She appears on the cover ready for battle: crouched atop a vintage car, sword-drawn, fiery red hair tucked behind her.

The album starts with "This Tornado Loves You," a slightly frenetic semi-love song and the warning-filled "The Next Time You Say Forever."

"People Gotta Lotta Nerve" is poppy and about as close to Neko ever gets to a dance tune with the reprise, “But I'm a man man man man man man man eater/But still you’re surprised ‘prised ‘prised when I eat ya.” It’s the perfect choice for the first single.

"Polar Nettles," "Vengeance is Sleeping" and "Magpie to the Morning" have the oozy, hypnotic sound of tracks off "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood" while "Red Tide" and "Fever" are delivered more directly.

Neko manages to take ownership of the two covers, Harry Nilsson’s "Don’t Forget Me" and The Sparks’ "Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth," both of which are executed with the highest level of individuality.

The album was made mostly in a barn on a farm in Vermont with help from her usual band of merry music makers including Kelly Hogan, Jon Rauhouse and various member of the Sadies, along with some new faces: M. Ward, Sarah Hammer and Garth Hudson.

The final track, which Neko has referred to as the “post album chill-out section” is the 32-minute long "Marais La Nuit" (loosely translated as the Marsh at Night) consisting of a looped tape of some near-by frogs is an interesting choice but easily skipped.

Music News

2009-03-04T14:20:00.000-08:00

Written By: White Chicks On Rap

Snoop Dogg Joins The Nation Of Islam

Snoop Dogg has joined the Nation Of Islam saying that he is "doing what's right and representing what's right, it's just about the way I live, and I live how I'm supposed to live as far as doing what's right and representing what's right - that's why I was here today." The announcement was made at The Nation Of Islam's Saviors' Day event in Chicago.

Kanye West Calls Out 50 Cent

Kanye recently performed on VH1’s Storytellers and he took a moment to call out 50 Cent.

The story goes that on 50’s underground song “Play This On The Radio”, 50 supposely calls Kayne a fag. 50 said that the song was not about Kanye and that he knows that Kanye is not a homosexual. 50 did make a comment about a picture taken of Kayne and his friends wearing spandex. “I seen the picture. It was so crazy. It was him and four or five other people. They had on some spandex, cheetah, leopard. That wasn't gay; that was interesting. Where I come from, you only see [those clothes on] gay people. Once he says gay people are his inspiration, it's understandable. I don't have anything against gay people, I just say what I think I'm seeing."

Kanye took the opportunity during Storytellers to do a freestyle during “Heartless” by saying "50 look at me now, singing on the ground with my pink shirt on, does this look gay to you?" (Kanye was wearing a gray suit with a pink shirt during the performance).

Kayne also expressed that he did not like the fact that people are profiting from his mother’s death by writing false books and articles.

Whirled News - Republicans Reveal Economic Stimulus, Healthcare Plans

2009-02-26T17:10:00.000-08:00

Reacting to criticism that they are offering only negativity and the same failed solutions to America’s economic and healthcare crises, Republicans today unveiled their own plan.

“This plan represents the forward-thinking of the Republican Party and its commitment to bettering the lives of millions of poor and working class Americans,” said a joint communiqué by Republican National Party Chairman Michael Steelhart and Republican Social Policy Chairman Robert Baron

“The Republican Healthcare for Everyone, Less Losers plan (HELLp) highlights freedom of choice for any type of health care, excluding murderous abortions,” said Steelhart. “In addition, it offers cost-savings and has an economic stimulus component.”

The cornerstone of the plan is the Cut-Cut provision, which grants anyone seeing a doctor for any injury or illness treatable by amputation, including infected hangnails or broken bones, the choice of conventional treatment for the usual higher medical charges given to people without health insurance, or outpatient amputation, which would be accompanied by a one time tax cut and either a free hook or a wooden leg, depending upon the limb.

“This plan incentivizes choosing the lower cost medical treatment by providing an economic stimulus, which will help the economy, and it controls costs by eliminating needless tests, expensive medications, and expensive disease chronicity. But at the same time it does not mandate treatment, thus respecting the traditional doctor-patient medical decision-making. If people want to pay for the higher price, non-amputation treatments and forego the extra cash incentive, they’re absolutely free to choose it,” said Baron.

Steelhart and Baron emphasized that the plan is a perfect example of Republican long-range planning.

“HELLp shows that rather than being the party of short-term planning and greed, the Republican Party has been preparing the way for comprehensive and universal healthcare reform for the last eight years,” said Baron, “By creating a growing number of uninsured and economically deprived, we have finally created a vast pool of eligible participants for HELLp. Not only will this enlist millions of people in the campaign to cut health care costs, but it will also ensure that they are eligible for tax cuts, which remains the only thing that will cure our current economic difficulties which have been caused by Democrats who have continually tried to water down our tax cur proposals with their biggovernmenttaxandspend ideas.”

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindall, who delivered last night’s rousing rebuttal to President Obama’s joint Congressional address, welcomed the new plan.

“I like this plan very much,” he said. “I think it is a very good plan, very good, in fact very, very nice. Within a few years of this plan, our city of New Orleans will look more like Calcutta.”

Asked whether he was alluding to streets filled with thousands of people with amputated limbs living in tin shacks and cardboard boxes, the Governor replied, “No, no. I am thinking of a caste system.”

Uncommon Music - The Truth According To Ruthie Foster

2009-02-25T17:34:00.000-08:00

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Written By: Nichole Wagner

With her sixth album, "The Truth According to Ruthie Foster," the native Texan serves up a batch of tunes all seeped in her delicious blend of soul, blues and folk.

Much like the 2007 release, "The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster," she gives various styles a whirl and solidly hits just about every mark.

The gentle acoustic guitar picking in "Joy on the Other Side" and the super funky rhythm running throughout "Truth!" make them two of the must-listen tracks.

"I Really Love You" and "Dues Paid in Full" do the best job of showcasing Ruthie’s stunning vocal abilities and range.

The opening track, "Stone Love" and the covers of "A Nickel and a Nail" and "(You Keep Me) Hangin’ On" all manage capture the sound of the 70s without becoming over-the-top in the nostalgia department.

The only place this album really falls apart is in the cover of Patty Griffin’s "When It Don’t Come Easy." The complaint is not that the song is particularly bad but how close it hovers to the original, leaving the listener to imagine how great it might have been.

"The Truth According to Ruthie Foster" hits store shelves tomorrow. If you’re in Austin, try to catch the launch show at Antone’s or check her website and extensive list of tour dates to see when she’ll be in your town.

Reality Check - Deezle Answers Our Burning Questions

2009-02-25T17:15:00.000-08:00

We caught up with famed producer, Deezle for a quick Q&A.

CWG: Tha Carter III was one of the most successful albums of 2008 and is nominated for 8 Grammys. As a producer, how does it feel to be a part of something so big? Has the success open the doors to work with other artists?

When I finally do take moments to stop and think about how big this thing is, or I meet people who I wouldn't even expect to know my name I realize even further that there is no way I could ever get just how big it really is!

But, when I Let go of trying to realize it from a global perspective and I simply take it in, I get an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment and happiness that so many people enjoyed our work and that we were able share the fruit of our passion with the world and they loved the taste of it.

It has so many doors that my team needs extra hands to turn all of the knobs, and that's exciting!

CWG: You are scoring a film for Jonathan Demme. How did that project come along? You have scored in the past for TV and film, how is that different or similar to producing for artists? Can you be more creative?

In the past Donald Harrison and I did some scoring work on a Jonathan Demme project, which came to me through Donald and his relationship with Jonathan.

For me the level of creativity does not change with the genre, but the creativity itself does take on different forms. But, in the end whether it's a recording artist, film, or television show the musical need is most important and needs to match the picture on the screen or the words of the artist.

CWG: How is your album “I Do This” coming along?

My album is 90% done, but the title will be different. It will feature me as an artist (singing and playing guitar) and producer as well as most of the artists in the Drum Major Music fold.

CWG: You lost a lot and had to move to Atlanta because of Hurricane Katrina . You said that the experience made you work harder and gave you some understanding. Now that you are back in New Orleans, what would you like others to know about the city?

I would like others to know that my city is still very much in the beginning of the rebuilding stages, but those who have seen and lent a hand are personally appreciated by me and the Drum Major Music family.

Furthermore, I would like send a huge thank you to Brad Pitt for insuring an influx of resources into our economy by choosing to shoot the Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons in New Orleans, and also for his work in the lower ninth ward. It is GREATLY appreciated Brad!

CWG: You have the DRUMAJOR label and brand. What are your goals for DRUMAJOR?

Our goals for the Drum Major Music brand are to first fully establish our philanthropic efforts in the community because the people have given so much to us it is only right that we make certain we give back in a way that will not only bring joy and happiness, but also give hope and opportunity to those who feel their dreams are out of reach.

Secondly we are committed to being on the cutting edge and remaining new and fresh in the creation of our products. As well as making sure our highs are the crispiest, our bass is the heaviest, and that our sonic quality is recognized and remains the standard in our industry.

CWG: What advice would you give to others who want to produce? What was the best advice someone gave you as you came into the industry?

I would say learn everyone's position in the scope of creating a record so you know how it feels to be in their shoes along with the capabilities and limitations of their position. Know the responsibility of the musicians, their instruments, and most importantly your own position.

Then, go for it, be creative and give it all you've got! The best advice I was given on producing was given to me by Donald Harrison saying to listen to the music and it will always tell you what it needs.

CWG: What inspires your beats?

My beats are inspired by God, family, and the basics of life.

CWG: Lollipop was the most downloaded ring tone for 2008; do you have it as your ringtone?
I have Lollipop on all of my computers, and both of my iPhones. Basically everywhere I can have it.

CWG: Where do you see your career going in the next year and beyond?

With 3 Grammy nominations, a great team in place with Julius Garcia and Mark Pitts at the helm and "D D D Deezle On The Beat" (LOL), Drum Major Music and my career as a producer is destined for the stars!!!

Whirled News - Economic Crisis Grows

2009-02-25T17:06:00.000-08:00

The New York Post issued an apology today for its cartoon linking a dead chimpanzee to President Barack Obama and his economic stimulus bill, saying it had no racist intentions and apologizing to any overly-sensitive Black people who may have drawn the wrong conclusions and mistakenly felt offended.

“Emotions are contagious,” the editorial said, “And as soon as one person becomes agitated, everybody around him starts baring their teeth, beating their breasts, jumping up and down and screeching.”

Meanwhile the stock market continued its decline, with the Down Jones average hitting a six-year low.

“Clearly the President is not yet getting the message that the financial community will not express confidence in any economic program that attempts to curtail our greed,” said one prominent Wall Street analyst.

Other analysts however saw cause for optimism in the continuing market downtown. “As soon as enough stocks fall below zero and slip into negative territory,” one said, “There’s another Bernie Madoff waiting to snatch them up and sell them to anyone who has any money left, and then we can begin to build another speculative bubble.”

Reports that President Obama had launched another bipartisan peacemaking initiative by meeting in his office for hours with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell proved unfounded. The rumor apparently began when someone mistakenly identified the head of a coho salmon on the President’s office wall as the Senator.

“The President continues to show absolutely no willingness to compromise,” said an aide to Senator McConnell, “As long as he insists on refusing to tie negotiation to capitulation, we have nothing to talk about. He continues to insist that the way out of this economic disaster is to try something new rather than to do more of our same strategies of tax cuts and government non-involvement. It was the Democrats’ insistence on blocking our tax cuts and their attempts to reinvigorate government that prevented our strategies from working in the first place and led to this economic disaster, and now he wants to continue on the same failed track.”

Reality Check - The hushpuppies Tell All

2009-02-24T16:49:00.000-08:00

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Download "Lost Organ"

CWG: What is it about 1960's music that inspires you?

It's more the feeling that people had at that time than the music itself that inspires us.

We also use old instruments so we can say that we love vintage sound. We come from Perpignan, where there was a huge 60's rock scene. It's our background but nowadays, we're more open then ever and found our inpiration in everything around us.

CWG: What do you think of the US music scene as compared to France or the rest of Europe?

It's really hard for us to be a rock band singing in English in France because it's not in the "French culture."

Most of the bands we like are from the US and British scenes. We tour quite a lot in Germany, Spain and more, but it's nothing beside the hope we put in a future tour in US.

CWG: What is it like to have your song "You're Gonna Say Yeah!" included on the Guitar Hero World Tour soundtrack?

It's really important for a band like HP, in that way we reach a lot of people who had never heard anything from us before. Especially for a French rock band. In addition we already found a label that is interested in the development of the band in the US.

CWG: Do you play Guitar Hero? If so, what's your favorite song to rock out to?

I don't... but Cyrille, our guitar player loves the game. He's quite good and I might say that his favourite song in that 4th version is "Back In Black" by AC/DC.

CWG: Do you find that since "You're Gonna Say Yeah!" was included on the Guitar Hero World Tour soundtrack that your audience has grown?

We can't say that the audience grown, we don't have huge connection to our website or myspace since the release of the game. But we see a lot of fan's video playing our song all around the world and that is really new!

CWG: What are your goals, musically, as a band?

We don't make plans, we're here today just because we like music and because we play together as friends for 15 years now. When we're making songs we're just following our mood and if one will touch people it's enough.

CWG: What was the inspiration of "Silence Is Golden?"

Well the title is speaking by itself, it's an ironic theme. It's different situations where people are choosing to stay quiet (because of the fear of being contested and put on marginal side), instead of taking their responsibilities and try to change things, which is much more dangerous.

CWG: Some have compared you to the Hives. What do you think of that comparison?

Good but reductive. We play garage and energics songs just as the Hives, but we also have a different side with darker and more psychedelic songs. Have you heard about the Beta Band??

CWG: Has a group you have released a lot of EP's. How is the recording process for an EP different for a LP?

Most of the time it's the same, we use album sessions to make EP's. Except once for our "Single " EP.

CWG: When you started you were doing covers, what is it like to write and record your own music?

The covers time was not so long, we start early to make our own music even if it was really bad. The recording came long after and that is an other thing.

Reality Check - Vistosso Bosses

2009-02-24T16:33:00.000-08:00

Vistoso Bosses are a new act from Atlanta on Interscope/Collipark. The group is made up of 17 years old Taylah P and Kelci, whose sound has been likened to a punkier version of TLC. Their influences include 80s freestyle, Miami bass, R&B and British indie pop. After 500,000 indie Myspace streams and hoards of You Tube girls lip-synching their song "Delirious" they were scooped up by Mr.Collipark himself, the same executive who found and produced Souljah Boy. They will release their album “Confetti” through Interscope this spring; the single, “Delirious” is making the rounds.

Check them out on MySpace:

Interview By: White Chicks On Rap

CWG: There aren't a lot of teenage artists out there. What's it like being young and on stage?

Kelci: Being young and on stage is a great feeling! As you said there aren’t a lot of Young people out there so we feel very blessed to be amongst the few! We love what we do. Our music is up on iTunes, its available as ringtones and soon our album, Confetti, will be in stores. Its so cool and makes us proud we did it all before graduation.
CWG: What can we expect from your album?

Taylah.p: You can expect a lot of things you didn't expect that's for sure! We had a lot of fun making this album. We work with a lot of great producers and song writers. Everybody was very understanding and they gave us - Kelci and myself - a lot of creative input. She and I had a lot freedom to just be us and experiment, very involved!

CWG: Getting 500,000 Myspace streams is great! How did you get on Myspace and how did you promote your group so people would go to Myspace?

Kelci: That's so funny!

Tay and I talk about that because we have been promoting since we became a group. Lol!

We had other Myspace pages and we were working so hard to get our name out. Getting people to come was the hardest. We had to just keep posting comments and trying our best to draw people in.

The night we got signed we instantly had people coming to our page. Lol!

CWG: You were a featured pick in Blender magazine. What is it like to get the kind of exposure?

Taylah.p: Being in Blender was crazzzy! We were like freaking out! It was really exciting. To get that kind of exposure for us is unbelievable.

We're still taking it all in, and with everything {happening} so fast, it just makes it more confusing. It feels so, so amazing to watch our dreams come true right in front of us.

CWG: Your group has been described as a punkier version of TLC. Are you fans of TLC?
Kelci: Yes, we actually are and it's an honor to be compared to them. We hope for the same great accomplishments.

At the same time we are trying to set our own path. We're just Vistoso that's it.

CWG: What are your musicial inspirations?

Taylah.p: We are inspired by everything! Not just music. Not just musicians. We don't really like to name specific people, but we are inspired from everything that surrounds us.

Also certain situations will inspired is to write a song or make a video. We get inspirations from just living!

CWG: Where you do you see yourself a year from now?

Kelci: Superstars! Everyone asks us that.

We're still fine-tuning, lol! We definitely want to still be as strong as we are together! Tay and I are SO close and that's one thing we never want to change no matter what!

CWG: You were scooped up by Mr. Collipark (the same producer who found Souljah Boy). What has he done for your career? What advise has he given you?

Taylah.p: Mr.collipark has done a lot for our career! He believed in us! He gave us a chance.

We have such a funny, weird relationship with him, Lol!

If we have an idea or opinion he always tries to keep an open mind and hear us out. He gives us a lot of good advice. We've learned a lot from him and I think he has learned a lot from us as well. He's slipped up a couple of times and said something "Vistoso." Also, if you watch our video, you can see him driving the school bus.

CWG: What advice have you been given you as your career is starting?

Kelci: Since we've began we heard so much.

So many people have been so protective and given us all the tools we'll need for now and the future. I think the thing that EVERYBODY has all been on the same page about is "don't ever let anybody come between us."

Our parents, managers, everyone at Interscope, have just been drilling it in that we're going to have a lot of people in our ear, but our friendship is important and we have to be strong. We know that, but you know when other things get involved anything can happen I guess.

CWG: Is there an artist or producer you would like to work with and why?

Taylah.p: Of course! There are so many people we loved to work with! At this moment the first that comes to mind is M.I.A! We love her and her style!

Reality Check - 5 Minutes With Propagandhi

2009-02-24T15:38:00.000-08:00

We caught up with Propagandhi's Todd Kowalksi via e-mail to discuss war, music and vegans!

CWG: You guys are a very philanthropic band, which is great! But I have to know... What's the difference between Peta and Peta2?

Peta2 is version of Peta geared for younger audiences. It is closer to the way we think it should be presented.

Sometimes Peta is just embarrassing. aha..

CWG: I have yet to hear the whole album (Can't wait until it comes out, by the way!) Politically, what kinds of issues are you guys tackling on "Supporting Caste?"

We're talking about the things that constantly go through our heads day in and day out. For me it's Refugee issues as well as things that are happening in our city and in my life.

Dealing with substance abuse in my family and downtown, always talking to and dealing with people who abuse solvent, alcohol etc... It' a harsh world out there. It can burn you down.

Chris has songs about Atheism, death, eating meat-eaters ad other good stuff!

It's all exciting! haha..

CWG: With that said, do Vegans taste better or worse than non-Vegans?

Meat-eaters would be way more fun to kill but would taste fucking awful because they'd be full of steroids and shit from their burgers, not to mention that's like eating a corpse within a corpse.... stinky filthy meat-freak. ha ha,,

CWG: What's the correlation between hockey and the Nazis?

The correlation is not between the sport of hockey and Nazis.

The idea of that song I that it's pathetic that you cannot watch hockey or go to a game without being lambasted with war imagery and war-geared propagnda.

From commentators spouting rhetoric to "soldiers" repelling down from the rafters. It's a society spewing old mindless propaganda that leads to real deaths in real countries.

War propaganda was perfected by the Nazis.

CWG: If you could change one thing about the world right now, what would it be and why?

I would make it illegal for countries to profit off of war in any way, that's including selling weapons, taking the spoils of war, or having mines in places that are victimized and destroyed by the result of these mines and companies.

CWG: What do you all do to kill time in between albums?

I like to draw, fight Jiu Jitsu, and I volunteer with people who come to Winnipeg as refugees from all over the world.

I'm also trying to earn how to use Photoshop. haha..

CWG: Any plans for a West Coast tour any time soon?

Yeah, we'll be coming there sometime soon, a few months. As I sit here I can't remember the month. July maybe?

See ya there, I hope! If we survive the next 1,000,000 shows before that!!

CWG: Whatever happened to Glen Lambert? I really liked that guy!

He was replaced by the returning Chris Hannah... He's a ray of happy-go-luckiness!

Yeah, Lambert was o.k. but also a fucking freak.

Catch Propagandhi on tour w/ Paint It Black
03/05 St. Petersburg, FL @ The State Theatre
03/06 Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ The Culture Room
03/07 Elkton, FL @ St. John's County Fairgrounds - HARVEST OF HOPE FESTIVAL
03/08 Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
03/10 Virginia Beach, VA @ Peabodys (w. New Hampshire State Motto)
03/11 Baltimore, MD @ The Ottobar (w. Ruiner)
03/12 New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
03/13 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg (w. Bridge and Tunnel)
03/14 Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero Theatre (w. Witch Hunt)
03/15 Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Club

Common - Universal Mind Control

2009-02-24T15:25:00.000-08:00

Label: G.O.O.D./Geffen
Rating: 2.5 Guns

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Written By: White Chicks On Rap

Common’s eighth album, is an echo of his 2002 album Electric Circus; a blend of electronica, rap and soul. Originally, the album was due to be released summer 2008 under the name, “Invincible Summer”. On making the album, Common said "I created this music for the summer time, it's about feeling good... this is the type of music I felt was missing from my body of work."

Even though the album was released during the winter, the summer club vibes from tracks like “Universal Mind Control”, “Sex 4 Suga” and “Punch Drunk Love” flow easily and makes you feel like you are partying on a warn summer night.

Common knows how to have a good time, but he also knows the time to be serious. The track “Changes” is a song of hope and a tribute to Obama.

Fans and critics are divided about this album, as they were about Electric Circus. Some feel that these albums are too experimental or that Common is above club tracks and rapping about sex. I can see where the fans and critics are coming from, but I think artists grow by experimenting and discussing different topics. Common is still discussing serious issues, but he also sees that there is room to talk about lighter subjects.

I like the fact that Common is bringing electronica back to rap as rap started by sampling electronica. The album is showing respect to what has come before and adding new layers for a new generation of hip hop fans.

Like Common? You may also like: Kanye West, Q-Tip, Erykah Badu

Not To Miss - Dave Navarro and J-Mello

2009-01-30T00:32:00.000-08:00

DAVE NAVARRO & J-MELLO TO PERFORM SUPER BOWL PARTY AT HULA BAY CLUB

Also Gearing Up For Mixtape Release "Rock Tape: The Exercise Volume 1"

Dave Navarro – famed rock guitarist (Jane's Addiction), television personality and radio host – will perform with J-Mello at the Rock-N-Babes Super Bowl Party on Saturday, January 31st at the Hula Bay Club in Tampa, Florida. In the past, the two have teamed up on numerous live shows and late February 2009 will mark the release of Rock Tape: The Exercise Volume 1 – the mixtape which includes a track Navarro and J-Mello collaborated on.

This mixtape, which recreates classic and current rock hits (Nirvana, Cobra Starship, Jane's Addiction and Paramore) infused with Mello’s signature style, is a taste of what's in store for the Spring 2009 release of Spoiled Riches: The Justin Smith Story – the full-length album two artists will drop in Spring 2009 via Moodswing360. Of working with Mello – MC and son of Kool and the Gang co-founder Charles Smith – on the album, Navarro says, "It is amazing to work with J because he is truly talented. His music is a hybrid of all the genres he loves…a little bit hip hop, a little bit rock, a little bit emo, but all in all, a true artist."

At the Rock-N-Babes Super Bowl Party this Saturday night, Navarro and Mello will their track from Rock Tape and a few collaborations off Rock-N-Babes Super Bowl PARTY marks their last performances together before J Mello hits the road with his touring band.

Produced by Mad Events Inc. and BrandIt Group, Rock-N-Babes Super Bowl party will also feature Playboy Playmates, Lindsey Vuolo, Shannon James and Amber Campisi, as well as Cyber Girl Erica Chevillar. The event will include celebrities and athletes in town to celebrate Super Bowl weekend such as 2007 Heisman Trophy Winner Tim Tebow.

Reality Check - Unique Busts It Out

2009-01-30T00:20:00.000-08:00

CWG: Tell us about the unique skills you bring to the music industry!

UNIQUE: Well, I'm just overall the dopest ever!

Nah I'm joking, but seriously...I'm a writer for one and I am very involved in the full process of creating my music but I also believe the gift that I have is being able to combine music that is good to your ears, has bump but then is good to your heart with a message.

CWG: What can we expect from your album?

UNIQUE: Something refreshing. The world can expect a boiling pot of dope music that says a lot about who Unique is but is also relatable to so many kinds of people.

I want it to transcend boundary lines of race, age and culture.

CWG: What was it like to be a featured artists on BET's "Blaze The Stage"? What is it like to get the kind of exposure?

UNIQUE: Anytime I'm given the chance to do what I love it is a rush of emotions...butterflies, nervousness, but then that switch goes off to Mr. Showtime and all I feel is excitement and confidence.

From coming from my living room, or talent shows or being featured on a small scale to these bigger opportunities is an accomplishment. I've done big arena shows as well in front of thousands of people so whenever I get the chance to showcase my talent for my fans whether it is one person or 10,000 I give it my all.

CWG: How would you describe yourself as an artist?

UNIQUE: I'm the kind of artist that you can see yourself in...not afraid to be myself and stand for something...one thats hungry and always reaching for the stars...whether it is my music, my style, my life goals.

I'm not coming trying to be in the "perfect" bubble. I'll give you 100% Unique at all times, flaws and all.

CWG: Does coming from Bed-Stuy influence your music?

UNIQUE: Definitely, I think New York as a whole influences my music, my style, that edge...all that I am. Overall, New York gives me my attitude...my "so whatness" but reality about things...and not in no cocky way but just that attitude you need to win when the odds are stacked against you.

CWG: What are your musicial inspirations?

UNIQUE: Anyone who has a distinct sound and made big waves in music. Artists like Michael Jackson, Brandy, Usher, Gwen Stefani, Beyonce...Kanye even, comes to mind for me. And I know a lot of them are from the new school but these artist were relevant to me growing up.

I saw them as really having an impact on Pop culture, whether it was their sound, style, stage performance, video concepts, overall package and thats what I aspire to do so one day a newer artist list me in his or her inspirations.

CWG: Where you do you see yourself a year from now?

UNIQUE: Geesh! A new man! LOL...

A year from now seems so far but so close. I would hope to have grown even more as an artist in every aspect. Singles on the radio, album in stores, face plastered on billboards and continuing to give back to my fans, my community and the world!

I'm trying to be here for a while, ya know...so I'm building my foundation now.

CWG: LA Reid signed you to Island/Def Jam. Reid has guided many artists to great success. What advise has he given you as your career is starting?

UNIQUE: First I got to definitely say it is an honor to be a part of his legacy.

There are so many artists that he's helped guide to super-stardom and I want to be another one to add to his plaque wall. He's made statements to me that hit home more than advice. Early in getting signed to Def Jam through my label Star Power Media, LA told me I have a good team behind me and everyone knows you can't really make it without that, so I took that to heart.

But one of my funniest moments with him was when we had an impromptu listening session and performance right there in his office and while pouring my heart out I ended up losing my kicks.

So when I sat down by his desk all winded I said "Wow, I can't believe I have my shoes off!" and he replied "This is your home, get comfortable."

I was speechless after that.

CWG: Is there an artist or producer you would like to work with and why?

UNIQUE: Um, I think it would be a dream come true to work with Beyonce on a collabo. I think she's an icon in the making.

As far as producers I'm open to anyone who's just as passionate as I am and willing to take chances with music.

Like Unique? Check him out on Myspace.

Artist To Watch - The Warlocks

2009-01-30T00:15:00.001-08:00

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The Warlocks are currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on their as yet untitlted sixth studio album and second release for Tee Pee Records. The record is set for a late spring/early summer release.

Lead guitarist/vocalist and cheif songwriter Bobby Hecksher describes the album as "A collection of songs- a mish mash in the key of life.written in modern psychedelica"

This new studio record follows up 2007's Heavy Deavy Skull Lover which the band did two major US and UK tours in support of including a 2008 US Summer tour with The Black Angels.

Uncommon Music - Jill Sobule

2009-01-26T00:58:00.000-08:00

Written By: Nichole Wagner

There's more to Jill Sobule’s music than her 90s MTV novelty hit. Yes, “I Kissed A Girl” was a hit and “Supermodel” was in the movie Clueless but quirky, often politically charged numbers fill her repitore.

Her songs bounce from tongue-in-cheek to serious and back again, sometimes getting the tones tangled along the way.

Her topic list includes the death penalty (Texas), George Bush (Put Him in the Hall of Fame), sexual exploitation (Tel Aviv), religion (The Rapture, Soldiers of Christ), and global warming (Manhattan in January).

There are also the personal matters of the unglamorous side of being a musician (Freshman), high school (Margaret, Cinnamon Park), and celebrities (Heroes, Where is Bobbie Gentry?).

In live sets she switches between her guitar, a 6-string “cheaters” banjo, and her laptop (for providing backing tracks) and picks fun covers such as All The Young Dudes, Hot in Here, or the occasional Neil Young or Warren Zevon song.

Her next album, California Years, entirely fan-funded through the website jillsnextrecord.com will be released in April.

Listeners can also download a full-length concert at jillsobule.com.

Uncommon Music - Mother Truckers - Let's All Go To Bed

2009-01-25T01:03:00.000-08:00

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Written By: Nichole Wagner

The Mother Truckers combine the songwriting and singing talents of Josh Zee and Teal Collins with a sound somewhat reminiscent of Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels if they had gone electric and been listening to Steve Earle.

Their latest album, “Let’s All Go To Bed,” opens with the explosive “Dynamite” and the rift-laden “Streets of Atlanta” before drifting into a more country sound on “Never Miss My Baby” and “Quite Night.”

While “I’m Coming Over” and “Can’t Sleep in Tucson” could easily find a home on just about any rock radio station, the cover of Billy Joe Shaver’s “When I Get My Wings” and the other gospel tune “Soul’s Journey Home” showcase Teal’s vocal range and abilities.

The title track jumps with a catchy chorus and a Johnny Cash-style train rhythm on the verses.

Featuring Teal on the ukulele, both “I’ll Meet You There” and a “”Tiger’s Eye” are a slight, but welcome departure from the rest of the guitar-laden album.

“Let’s All Go To Bed” is available on Funzalo Records and the video for “Dynamite” can be seen on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_dJ0dqq-l4).

Whirled News - Ticker Tape

2009-01-21T00:33:00.000-08:00

Less than 24 hours after the crash of USAir flight 1549, the first lawsuit was filed by passenger Claude McAuliffe, of Charlotte, NC.

“I never got my damn peanuts,” he said. “I saw a whole plastic bagful of ‘em back in the galley, so I know they were on the plane.”

The lawsuit was not the only sour note to creep in after the initial euphoria of the rescue wore off. Right wing talk radio shows condemned gay people’s behavior in the immediate aftermath of the forced landing.

“We can see the effects of years of tolerating homosexuals by what happened in New York City yesterday,” said one commentator, “That plane had hardly hit the water when we started hearing about fairies rushing up to it and grabbing people.”

Meanwhile, although divers failed to retrieve the plane’s black box because of thick mud at the bottom of the Hudson River, they did report finding traces of the Dow Jones.

Uncommon Music - Mary Beth D'Amico - Heaven, Hell, Sin and Redemption

2009-01-20T00:53:00.000-08:00

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Written By: Nichole Wagner

Reminiscent of Lucinda Willams crossed with perhaps Joni Mitchell and a touch of Kathleen Edwards, Marybeth D'Amico's first full-length album contains smart songs and woven tales that rise beyond the level of the average.

For example, A Love Story chronicles the courtship of two young people, both of whom have been raised in fundamentalist families, perhaps in New Zealand as Marybeth suggests . Where I Lay My Baby Down is the lament of a mother who has just buried her child but could just as easily be about any death.

On the more non-fictional side, Ohio is based on the tale of Kenny Richey, a man who was jailed on death row for 21 years for a crime he didn’t commit. Save Your Soul was inspired by the fallen Evangelical preacher, Pastor Ted.

Others such as The Journey, Oblivion and Back On My Feet are more open to interpretation dealing with the challenges we all face daily.

Recorded in Texas with help from Lloyd Maines, Richard Bowden, David Webb, Paul Pearcy and producer Bradley Kopp, Heaven, Hell, Sin and Redemption is available on both iTunes and at CDBaby.

Whirled News - Neocons Seek Protection as Endangered Species

2009-01-20T00:29:00.000-08:00

Showing their characteristic lack of irony, leading neoconservatives today sought emergency protection as an endangered species from the Environmental Protection Agency which they worked for years to destroy. “Our numbers have dropped rapidly since November,” said leading neocon spokesperson Mynah Camph, “and after January 20th, we’re threatened with the loss of our natural habitat.”

In addition to losing their habitat, neocons also listed other reasons threatening their existence, including possible prosecution for war crimes, and the unlikelihood that President Bush will be able to survive outside of the White House. “Cheney is tough enough to continue to shoot or eat his natural predators,” said the spokesperson, “but with Cheney too old to procreate, and his daughter unlikely to, that leaves a critically small pool of others left. And there is very real concern that George Bush is too stupid to survive on his own.”

Not all neocons agreed with the plea for EPA protection. “We don’t believe that government should be the first solution to any problem,” said neocon leader Will N. Hammer. “We think the solution is to destroy the government before you ask it for help.” Hammer advocated that instead of petitioning the EPA, neocons should merely march in and take the other half of the $750 billion bailout money. “The way that Wall Street made a nakedly greedy power grab for that money was outrageous,” said Hammer. “They stole our playbook and took the cash from right under our nose.”

The EPA reportedly offered to declare the projected George Bush library as a protected natural habitat for neocons, but Camph pointed out that declaring a library a natural habitat for neocons was like “sending the Cherokee Indians from their native swamps and forests into the arid Oklahoma desert to live.” In addition, Camph pointed out, the George Bush library is likely to be too small. “How can we cram all the neons into one small room?” she asked.

White Chicks On Rap - Coldplay - Prospekt’s March

2009-01-19T01:10:00.000-08:00

Label: Capitol
Rating: 3 Guns

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Written By: White Chicks On Rap

"Prospekt’s March" is an EP follow up to "Viva La Vida." While the latter is an excellent album, "Prospekt’s March" is good in its own right. The EP is mostly remixes, including a Jay-Z cameo on "Lost +," but there are new songs that are a nice bonus for any Coldplay fan.

"Life In Technicolor II" is a really treat for fans who enjoyed the instrumental track "Life In Technicolor" on "Viva La Vida."

"Life In Technicolor II" includes vocals and is 4:05 minutes long (almost double the length of the original track). The vocals add such a new dimension to an already great track.

New tracks include the 48 second instrumental "Postcards From Far Away," "Glass Of Water," "Rainy Day," "Prospekt’s March/Poppyfields" and "Now My Feet Won’t Touch The Ground. " The tracks feel like they could have stood next to any of the tracks on "Viva La Vida."

"Now My Feet Won’t Touch The Ground" has a demo feel to it. Chris Martin’s voice almost sounds tinny against the simplistic strumming of the guitar. It is different from the spacey, electronic heavy produced sounds of the other tracks (both on "Viva La Vida" and this EP).

Like Coldplay? You may also like: Snow Patrol, Keane, Radiohead, The Verve.

Uncommon Music - Scott Miller's "For Crying Out Loud"

2009-01-19T00:36:00.000-08:00

Written By: Nichole Wagner

Scott Miller’s latest recorded effort with the Commonwealth titled For Crying Out Loud, to be released next year brings finished versions of songs from the Appalachian Refugee demos that were sold in small batches earlier this year to help finance the making of a full album.

Some immediate standouts are Sin in Indiana which came from various names Scott found while traveling through the midwest and a belief that New Orleans is so crazy because all of the sin from the midwest gets dumped in the Mississippi and the uptempo Claire Marie.

Digging deeper reveals Double Indemnity and Let You Down, both written with Doug Lancio, whom Scott met while touring with Patty Griffin last summer. Doug contributed slide guitar and mandolin in addition to producing three of the tracks.

The heartfelt I’m Right Here, My Love was written in tribute to Scott’s in-laws after the passing of his wife’s father. It also spotlights a beautiful duet vocal from Patty.

The two covers, Wildcat Whistle by Brad Deaton of the Taoist Cowboys and Tom T. Hall’s I Can’t Dance blend in perfectly with the rest of the album, the later featuring backing vocals by Tim O’Brien.

The first thousand copies are being released early in an individually numbered limited edition run available from either the website or at live shows.

Whirled News - Bush to Deliver Farewell Speech to Nation

2009-01-19T00:24:00.000-08:00

President George Bush’s Press Secretary announced today that the President is contemplating delivering a farewell address to the nation early next month.

The plan gained immediate support. “You’ve got to keep your sense of history,” said a Chicago, IL high school history teacher. “It’s guaranteed to be the most famous self-serving speech since Nixon’s lachrymose Checkers speech, and we’ll be able to tell our grandchildren we saw it live.” Environmentalists also cheered the speech. “At least for about 40 minutes on one evening in January, his supporters won’t be out destroying the environment,” said a Greenpeace official. Wall Street and Vice President Cheney also expressed enthusiastic support, announcing that while the nation was glued to their televisions sets, bankers were going to loot the Treasury of its few remaining funds while the Vice President would lead a military coup and take over the government.

Other citizens expressed less support for the President delivering a farewell address. “It’s kind of like a rapist stopping at his victim’s bedroom door on his way out and saying, ‘Years from now you’ll look back and be glad for what I did to you,’” said one citizen. “It’s the first time I’ve been glad I lost my home and I‘m living in a homeless shelter with no television,” said another. “What a relief I don’t have health insurance and couldn’t afford to have a heart transplant,” said a dying Omaha, NE woman. “When you’re in the hospital you sometimes want to keep the TV turned off, but your roommate insists on turning it on.”

Music News

2009-01-02T00:47:00.000-08:00

Written By: White Chicks On Rap

Dr. Dre’s Son Died Of An Overdose

The LA coroner ruled that Andre Young Jr. (who died in August 2008) died from an overdose of heroin and morphine.

The death is ruled as an accidental overdose and the case is considered is closed.

Dr. Dre or Andre Young Jr.’s mother have commented on the ruling, but Dr. Dre’s representatives are asking for the public’s respect at this time.

No word if this affects the recording and/or release of Dr. Dre’s anticipated album Detox.

Lil Wayne Had The Most Successful Album Of 2008

Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III sold 2.88 million making it the most successful album of the year. In second place is Coldplay’s Viva La Vida which sold 2.15 million.

In 2008, there were 428.4 million albums sold, down 14.4% compared to 2007's 500.5 million. 2008 was the first year since SoundScan began tracking sales (which started in 1991) that the top album sold less then 3 million.

DMX Going To Jail

DMX will be sentenced to 90 days in an Arizona jail after he pleated guilty to drug, animal cruelty and theft charges. As part of the deal, DMX has agreed not to own any animals or process any firearms.

The prosecutor, Andrew Thomas said "I am pleased that this defendant will be held accountable for both his drug and animal cruelty offenses.” DMX or his attorney have not commented on the case.

Uncommon Music - Christmas Albums

2008-12-25T15:45:00.000-08:00

Written By: Nichole Wagner

Unlike most easy listening radio stations and large department stores, I don’t start the holiday music until about a week before Christmas. And it’s not that I don’t love Brenda Lee, but I can only take so much rocking around trees and decking the halls before the songs start to sound like week-old fallen snow. So turn off the radio and spend your holidays with something slightly different.

Cyndi Lauper - Merry Christmas, Have A Nice Life!
Perfect for tree decorating, cookie baking or anything else that you might be doing this season that could use a few extra dance steps. She gave the standards like Silent Night a face lift while leaving room for the more quirky Minnie and Santa and Christmas Conga.

John Prine - A John Prine Christmas
Day before Christmas and Fourth of July notwithstanding, John’s favorite holiday is Christmas as he shares in his litany of Christmas Credentials which include eating an ornament at age three, getting his first guitar, and getting married to his high school sweetheart the day after Christmas. His gift suggestions? A cuckoo clock or a snow globe. Or you could go with the six original tracks on this album.

Kate and Anna McGarrigle - The McGarrigle Christmas Hour
When your family includes Rufus and Martha Wainwright and you can call on friends like Emmylou Harris, Lily and Dane Lanken and Chaim Tannenbaum Christmas becomes a very musical time indeed. The semi-eclectic French Canadian duo invite listeners back into their home for another hour of beautiful tunes. The best songs are the Il Est Ne, Spotlight on Christmas, the cover of Jackon Browne’s The Rebel Jesus and Emmylou’s version of O Little Town of Bethlehem.

Asleep at the Wheel - Merry Texas Christmas, Y’all
Ray Benson and the gang swing through the holidays with songs like Jingle Bell Boogie, Merry Texas Christmas, Y’all and Christmas in Jail. There’s also the classics like Feliz Navidad featuring Tish Hinojosa and Pretty Paper with who else, Willie Nelson. Ray also narrates his own version of the poem T’was the Night Before Christmas with forlorn music deprived cowboys at the ranch that are rescued by busses, semis and ten limousines carrying the likes of Willie, Waylon, ZZ Top, Jerry Jeff Walker, Delbert McClinton, and the ghosts of Bob Wills, Tex Ritter, Buddy Holly, Janis Joplin and Stevie Ray Vaughn.

Jill Sobule - It’s The Thought That Counts
Always ready with the unconventional take on anything, Jill brought holiday music to a new place with this six song set that includes Robert Earl Keen’s Merry Christmas From The Family and Jesus Was A Dreidel Spinner (the later was replaced with the former on the 1995 release of You Sleigh Me, a compilation of alternative Christmas songs)

Some other various favorites:
Emmylou Harris - Light in the Stable
Gene Autry - The Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings
Johnny Cash - A Johnny Cash Christmas DVD
Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers - Once Upon a Christmas
Willie Nelson - Pretty Paper
Chris Issak - Chris Issak Christmas

And some holiday singles worth a listen:
Carolyn Wonderland - Blue Lights
Lyle Lovett - Christmas Morning
Bonnie Raitt with Charles Brown - Merry Christmas, Baby
Loudon Wainwright III - Suddenly It’s Christmas
Loretta Lynn - Country Christmas
The Pretenders - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas and 2000 Miles
Tom Waits - Christmas Card From A Hooker in Minneapolis and Ruby’s Arms (both of which mention Christmas though are not exactly what you’d call carols)

Death Of Modern Rock - December 2008

2008-12-16T00:31:00.000-08:00

Fall Out Boy? Naw, Jane’s Addiction!

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Written By: Mario R. Martin

This month’s column is a special one. It marks a full year of Chicks With Guns. It also marks a whole year of Death Of Modern Rock columns from yours truly. Throughout the year, I’ve harped and harped about knowing the past in order to see the future. Like in life, music is no different. Justin Timberlake is the new Michael Jackson. Britney Spears the new Madonna, and Alicia Keyes the new Diana Ross. History is cyclical and music is again, no different.

Whether it was complaining about kids not knowing old funk or soul music, rock music has some roots too. I won’t go too far back for those of you with short attention spans. I will take you back to the greatest era ever, the 1980s. By the mid 80s, a Los Angeles-based band started to gain traction. The buzz about them built up so much so that it spilled out to middle-America. That’s where I come in. In 1987, I was introduced to the greatest band of all time, Jane’s Addiction. The record was presented to me from a friend of mine whose older brother was into punk and metal. We’d sneak around and grab some cassettes of his to copy. Everything from Jane’s Addiction, Dag Nasty, Dead Kennedy’s, Love & Rockets and more was what my friends and I were consuming. It was a pure time. It was real. Getting out of school, skateboarding and listening to music was the only agenda, and nothing else mattered.

“Trip Away” – Jane’s Addiction – Jane’s Addiction (1987)

Jane’s Addiction’s first record was recorded live at the Roxy on the Sunset Strip. The album art depicted Perry Farrell with scars on his body and photos of the band looking just downright different. The true test was putting on the cassette and playing it. The opening features a barrage of drumming by Stephen Perkins that I thought was otherworldly. You could say the love affair began when I first heard that opening to “Trip Away.” Jane’s Addiction immediately and permanently became the soundtrack to my youth and adolescence, serving as inspiration and medication whenever anything went awry.

Now, when people ask me, “what’s your favorite band?” I quickly correct them and say that in my humble opinion, I feel music began and died with Jane’s Addiction. Peoples’ faces cringe as they offer other bands and artists they feel are better. I reply with a simple, “You’re entitled to your opinion, and I, mine.” Truth is, Jane’s Addiction has been able to change my outlook on music with just three records. Jane’s Addiction is the standard I hold others to as well. When the machine was rolling on so well, they decided to call it quits. Forget the reunion shows. Forget the lackluster last studio record. Forget that you hear a Jane’s Addiction song at the open of “Entourage.” 1987’s live record, 1988’s Nothing’s Shocking and 1990’s Ritual de lo Habitual changed the way I looked at music, and forever will.

Since 1987, a lot has happened. I was fortunate enough to catch all the original members perform at the NME Awards in Los Angeles for the first time in 17 years. The moment was truly magical. It’s been over 20 years since I first heard Jane’s Addiction, and I almost think the youth of today needs their music more than ever. I don’t take Jane’s Addiction’s music lightly. It is artistic and it speaks to the youth. Even hearing the records now helps me transcend time and feel the same feelings I had in the late 80s.

I often see or hear adolescents reference old music. I think it’s great. Hendrix, the Dead, the Beatles, Sabbath, Roxy Music, The Cure, you name it, it’s all important. The deeper one delves into oldies that our favorite bands reference, the more skewed the whole thing gets as we continue to pump the necessity of Zeppelin and the Who. At what point do adolescents start to unearth something more contemporary? Jane’s Addiction is all the aforementioned bands, except set in the 1980s. At what point with some 16 year-old put down Yellow Submarine or The White Album and pick up Jane’s Addiction? Frankly, I’m sick of it.

So, with all that said, happy holidays. Be sure to add any of the original records by Jane’s Addiction to your gift list. Stop thinking about what Fall Out Boy will turn out, because it will in fact be a steamy pile of shit. Hear what Jane’s Addiction has to offer, without the preconceived thoughts of “Been Caught Stealing” or “Superhero.” Go into thinking that it will be the first time you hear angels singing to you. The imagery and lyrics of Jane’s Addiction’s final record were enough for my concerned mother to take notice and FORBID me from hearing. Did it work? Of course not. ☺

White Chicks On Rap - Cat Power - Dark End Of The Street EP

2008-12-16T00:24:00.000-08:00

Label: Matador
Rating: 3 Guns

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Written By: White Chicks On Rap

Like a Christmas present for her fans, Cat Power has released an EP of songs that did not make it on 2008’s Jukebox album. Cat adds her deep soul to songs from Otis Redding, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Pogues, Aretha Franklin and Sandy Denny.

In these times of war, a bad economy and job loss, “Fortunate Son” still rings pretty true as it did in 1969. Cat’s version is very haunted, with what sounds like a faint wailing sound in the background.

“Who Knows Where The Times Goes” is another haunting song. Cat takes her time to stress each word in her performance.

My only problem with the album is that Cat’s cover of Space Oddity is not included. The song has gained attention in the new Lincoln MKS commercial and I think it is just a beautiful song. Hopefully, Cat will release it.

Unlike most cover albums, you can tell that Cat is a fan of the songs she singing. She strips the songs down and rebuilds them in her own vision and meaning and you do forget that you are listening to a cover.

Like Cat Power? You may also like: PJ Harvey, Lucinda Williams, Fiona Apple

Uncommon Music - Radio Shows

2008-12-16T00:14:00.000-08:00

Written By: Nichole Wagner

What do Bob Dylan, Alice Cooper and Tom Petty have in common?
Other than the obvious answers (they're all rock stars, they're all
men, they're all unconventionally sexy) they all have their own
radio shows.

There's something about getting inside these brilliant people's
slightly twisted minds while listening to some superb music that is
enlightening and quite amusing.

They've got their own brand of slightly-stoned humor and on
occasion there's some social commentary mixed in with the tidbits
that only they could share.

It doesn't seem like either Tom Petty or Bob Dylan would be prime
candidates for a radio show. After all, both have the reputation of
mumbling and rambling incoherently on-stage but somehow they
get it together when the "on-air" sign lights up.

Alice Cooper actually masquerades as a honest-to-goodness radio
DJ on his FM syndicated "Nights with Alice Cooper". There's the
obligatory stories and call-ins, quizzes and giveaways. There's a
good chance of learning random facts such as Alice's run for
president, love of golf or time on the road.
He's on weeknights, check your local listings at his show website.

If falling asleep with Alice in your ears isn't enough, you can wake
up with him too. Breakfast with Alice is on Sunday mornings.

Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour is on Wednesdays all-day on XMX
(Ch. 2). His themes are random and include shoes, days of the
week, baseball, coffee, cars, and jail. Each show, Dylan picks
songs and stories that match the theme. Fun stuff.

Tom takes a cue from Dylan for his XM show, Buried Treasure.
Basically, he dips into his record collection and bootleg archive and
spins things you've never heard and never will hear again. He
narrates his choices with wit and quirk. It's on all-day Thursdays
on XMX (Ch. 2).

If you're not exhausted after hours of Tom, Bob and Alice, Marty
Stuart and Bill Anderson also have XM shows.

Also, Roger McGuinn runs his Folk Den with MP3s and guitar tabs
for some great gems from the folk world.

Music News

2008-12-16T00:12:00.000-08:00

Written By: White Chicks On Rap

Update On Eminem’s New Album

Everyone else has been commenting on Eminem’s music plans and now the man himself is confirming a new album and book.

Eminem is in the studio with Dr. Dre working on Relapse. No release date has been given and Dr. Dre has put his own album Detox on the backburner so he can help Eminem and 50 Cent.

The track “Crack A Bottle” has been leaked to the internet which has upset Eminem because the track was not completed. The leaked track contains a dialogue between Dre and Eminem that Dre has not recorded yet, so you can only hear Eminem’s part.

Eminem also addresses the rumor that there will be a Stan Part 2. Producer Swizz Beats’ said that he submitted a track to Eminem that is a Stan Part 2, but Eminem said that he is not working with Swizz Beats and that the idea of doing a Stan Part 2 would be “corny” as Stan died in the first song. “I'm not writing a song as Stan's ghost.”

Before I Self Destruct To Be Release In February 2009

50 Cent and his record label have confirmed that “Before I Self Destruct” will now be released in February 2009 instead of December 2008. 50 is in the studio now with Eminem and Dr. Dre to put the finishing touches on the album. Eminem commented to Billboard that “I have a couple of tracks on there with him. It's sick."

Glistening Pleasure: Jesse Dee - Bittersweet Batch

2008-12-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

Label: 7not
Rating: 5 Guns (That’s right. FIVE.)

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Review By: Hilary Hughes

I’m just going to call it like it is: Jesse Dee’s sound is pure poetry. It’s not just the searing quality of his octave-leaping voice; it’s not the carefully constructed band complete with buttery background vocals and a vibrant horns section that supports Dee in his musical exploits; and it’s not the fact that I come from a biased place given that I’ve had the fortune of seeing him perform live every Sunday for the past few weeks.

It’s essentially a combination of all of these things that deliver a beautiful package encapsulated in his latest release, Bittersweet Batch, that have me listening in awe to this guy who’s going to be headlining sold out venues across the country in a matter of minutes.

Ever the sucker for good variation, I really love how Dee shakes it up by pairing soulful, intimate ballads (“Still here”, namely) with tracks that make you want to dance like a maniac (“Alright”, “Alive and Kickin’”). Dee, whose Boston roots have helped establish him as THE local act to watch, has a promising future if he keeps it up with the soulful sounds that incorporate blues, bluegrass, and good old-fashioned rock n’ roll.

Like Jesse Dee? You may also like: Jeff Buckley, Pete Francis, Braddigan, Jack Johnson

White Chicks On Rap - 808’s & Heartbreak by Kanye West

2008-12-15T23:50:00.000-08:00

Label: Rock-A-Fella/Def Jam
Rating: 4 Guns

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Written By: White Chicks On Rap

Kanye knows heartbreak…in the past year he lost his mother and broke up with his fiancé. Kanye’s forth album is his deepest yet…gone are days of the swagger, boasting about Louis Vuittons and his legendary status...now Kanye talks about loss and how material wealth does not equate to happiness.

The songs are sung in a cold robotic voice set against dark synth beats. Not typical for Kanye or any rap album.

The grief and loneness are so present in each song it is like a window into Kanye’s soul. In listening to the album it is like a therapy session…a man so broken, trying to rebuild his life.

Key tracks and lyrics are “Love Lockdown” (“I can't keep myself and still keep you too”), Pinocchio Story- a six minute freestyle track recorded live in Singapore (“There is no Gucci I could buy/There is no Louis Vuitton I could put on to get my heart out of this hell"), “Heartless” ("The coldest story ever told/Somewhere far along this road he lost his soul/How could you be so heartless"), “Welcome To Heartbreak” ( “My friend showed me pictures of his kids/And all I could show him was pictures of my cribs").

Personally, I believe this is Kanye’s best album because I can see him as a human instead of the image, instead of the swagger.

Like Kanye? You might like: Jay-Z, Q-Tip, Lupe Fiasco

Uncommon Music - Acting Musicians

2008-12-15T23:42:00.000-08:00

Written By: Nichole Wagner

Buck Owens may have sang it first, but musicians often dip their toes momentarily into the acting world. Some do it well, some don't and they come up with some really creative roles to play. I'm not talking about walk-ons where they play themselves but honest-to-goodness roles.

Tom Petty

Yes, I'm talking about Tom again. But there's so much to say about him. For instance, he's got a recurring voice role in "King of the Hill" as "Lucky," the fortunately unfortunate guy who lives off an injury settlement seen kneeling in the picture above. He fits in perfectly and it's absolutely hilarious.

To be fair, as much as I love Tom, his role in "The Postman" wasn't as great. Though his music videos usually rock, but that's another topic.

Dolly Parton

Wow. She's a BUSY lady, between all the music and charity she does she's got time to act.

Currently she's playing Miley's aunt on "Hannah Montana" and while this does come super close to qualifying as a walk-on there's enough basis for having the character be Dolly Parton that it counts. It is a show about a pop star.

Not into the Disney channel? No problem, Dolly's been on "Reba" as a real estate agent, and if I'm not mistaken she had a role on Bette Midler's sitcom.

And then there's the movies. She started as Doralee Rhodes, secretary and co-conspirator with Judy Bernly (Jane Fonda) and Violet Newstead (Lily Tomlin) in the boss-napping escapades in "9 to 5".

She played the brothel owner, Mona Stangley, in "The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas," she was Shirlee Kenyon, a wildly popular talk radio personality in "Straight Talk," and the hairdressing cut-up Truvey Jones in "Steel Magnolias."

I won't count the more true-to-life (as in she plays some sort of musician/singer) roles she had in "Rhinestone," "A Smokey Mountain Christmas," or "Unlikely Angel." Her cameo on "Beverly Hillbillies" also doesn't count, sorry.

Bette Midler

Like Dolly, Bette usually does the music for the films she's in. And like Dolly, she's incredibly talented and absolutely side-splittingly funny. Unlike Dolly, she doesn't portray herself or a character like herself very often.

She started a string of fantastic movies in 1979 with "The Rose," loosely based on Janis Joplin, and really I don't think anyone else at the time would have been capable of capturing that role, which excuses it from the aforementioned playing herself rule.

She plays Barbara Whiteman in Disney's first ever "R" rated release, "Down and Out In Beverly Hills," and that same year she was the "kidnapped by K-Mart" Barbara Stone in "Ruthless People."

In 1987 as Sandy Brozinsky, she and Shelley Long were chased by every government agency and a variety of other bad-guys in "Outrageous Fortunes" before playing Lily Tomlin's twin, Sadie Ratliff (and Lily Tomlin's twin, Sadie Shelton) in "Big Business" the next year. Of course, there's "Beaches," but as C.C. Bloom she essentially plays herself with a different name. However, this does not take away from the fact it's a funny then sad classic with one of those theme songs that everyone knows.

In the 90's her plan for eternal life was foiled by meddling children in "Hocus Pocus," she traveled overseas entertaining troops as Dixie Leonhard in "For The Boys" and she schemed with Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn in "First Wives Club." Finally, she's the dead Mona Dearly in "Drowning Mona" and writer Bobbie Markowitz who becomes an unlikely convert in the remake of "Stepford Wives."

Some honorable mentions:

Jenny Lewis

Child-star turned rocker without all the drama? Can it be? Yup, she managed.

She's got a ton of TV roles, she played Shelley Long's daughter in "Troop Beverly Hills," and she was Haley in "The Wizard."

Lyle Lovett

He's in the Texas Film Hall of Fame right alongside Kris Kristofferson, Matthew McConaughey and Sissy Spacek. Who knew? It was actually for his soundtracks, but he does act, kinda.

He had a small role on "Mad About You," was Sheriff Carl Tippett in "The Opposite of Sex," Wade in "Bastard Out of Carolina" and Detective DeLongpre in "The Player." He had a handful of small parts in films like "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "Cookie's Fortune."

Cyndi Lauper

She's not the world's most notable actress, but her accent and hair alone make her great. And she's got an Emmy in 1995 for her role as Marianne Lugasso on "Mad About You."

In her first real film, "Vibes" she played Sylvia Pickel, a crazy psychic hired to find a hidden treasure. If you get past the 80s special effects it's a funny movie. She was in "Life with Mikey" and "The Opportunists" and has a bunch of voice roles in kid's shows. They're pretty cute.

Patty Griffin

Yes, I had to mention her too. But with good reason. Her resume isn't as long as the other people on this list but there's hope with her role in "Baghdad, Texas" set to come out... well, soon. Maybe.

Until then, she's got one whole line as Sharon in "Elizabethtown" (though "Long Ride Home" and her version of "Moon River" are featured) and she played Nicole Baker in Matthew Barney's super weird art film, "Cremaster 2."

Finally, she has a starring role in the short film, "Signed First Edition" which is not only funny but it has a twist at the end.

Reality Check - 88 Keys Tells All

2008-11-23T23:01:00.000-08:00

Our White Chicks On Rap columnist caught up with buzz-worth hip-hop artist, 88 Keys.

Buy 88 Keys' "The Death Of Adam" on:

WCR: How does it feel to get such a positive vibe from the industry?

It's been amazing to get so much people seeing this project that I’ve labored on over the past 2 years…I tried to make something that would be fun, light hearted but still have you get down with the funkiness.

WCR: Kanye West begged to produce your debut album…how does that feel?
Kanye has been my best friend for about 8 years or so, I’ve always been doing my thing and he’s always been doing mine. Initially I didn’t want him to go near it because it was my baby for so long and I didn’t want to jeopardize our friendship but after a long talk it actually ended up being a cool thing to work together on.

WCR: How did you come up with the concept of "The Death Of Adam?"

It’s a really long story but I’ll tell you the condensed version….In different spurts I believe God always talks to you and tells you how to live and the album was one of those moments when I just had to listen. It started out as a collection of instrumentals I was making for an album that I was putting together, I ended up making one beat called “ There’s Pleasure In It” where the sample was so annoying but hot that I had to figure out a way to make sense out of it…and it kept repeating “pleasure” and after a while I thought about what gave me pleasure…money, cars & bling was too played out and family would’ve been cool but a little corny…so i zeroed in on the “va jay-jay” which made total sense, but at that point was just one song.

Meanwhile Dj Homicide of Sugar Ray and I would always hit each other online to keep in touch, and one day he hit me with a riddle saying “how many names do you know for ‘the punai’.”…I could only come up with the obvious 4 or 5…then he slapped me with 360 different names, one of the “the death of adam” which just looked pretty to me…I put 2 and 2 together and from then God spoke to me again and said…

“88-Keys you’re album should be about this…” and form then on I went about constructing the story.

WCR: How much of your life is injected to this album?

Adam is me, Adam is your brother , your father, the postman that always gives you the wrong mail…he’s every guy.

WCR: You list Q-Tip has an influence, what is it about Q-Tip that inspires you?

Q-Tip as well has been a major friend in my life since the beginning when I was starting out I gotta say his attention to detail, always being creative and never losing he is as an artist has inspired me to hold that at number one.

I’m really into people putting a lot of effort and taking time for the art work for their album. I wouldn’t say half, but that makes up a third of the album for me. I loved everything they came with. I loved the photos, Q-Tip’s rap style and his voice…He has so many rap styles on that one album that have been copied and duped by so many people, his flows and his patterns.

I started buying the singles on vinyl and singles back then had real remixes on there and b-sides and stuff like. I was listening to “When The Papes Come” and getting my mind blown away.

WCR: You released a mixtape called "Adam’s Case Files," which is a prequel to "The Death Of Adam," and now you have The Death Of Adam, in what direction do you think your second album is going to go?

Actually The Death of Adam came before Adam’s Case Files which was really more to get people hyped about the project I was working on at the time…it got so much buzz from online and underground fans that it actually pushed up the release for the death of adam. I have about 7 more conceptual albums that I have planned to release, but its all a secret! A magician never reveals his secrets right?

WCR: You have worked and produced for many hip-hop artists, what is it like now to be the artist? What made you want to go from a producer to a performer?

It’s amazing, to be creative and have no limits is what I’ve always wanted to strive for. Many times I would make something that I know was hot, but the artist couldn’t execute or couldn’t get my vision so we’d have to “compromise” or scrap it. Now the only person I have to “compromise” with is me…and we usually tend to get along, (laughs).

Only problem is that if it doesn’t come out hot, I can’t blame anyone...

WCR: Your sound separates you from a lot of hip-hop artists, what goes into your music to create a fresh, futuristic sound?

Really its cuz I’m just so fresh! Ha! (Laughs)

Actually its because I just try to listen to everything and have no bounds, from Lykee li to Portishead to Tribe Called Quest, I’m all about good music. So when I produce it I try to go left of what people expect…

White Chicks On Rap - Q-Tip - The Renaissance

2008-11-23T22:56:00.000-08:00

Label: Universal/Motown
Rating: 4 Guns

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Written By: White Chicks On Rap

I don’t care if you agree with me on this statement, but I believe that Q-Tip is one of the best rappers in the game. As a member of A Tribe Called Quest and as a guest and solo artist, Q-Tip has been on some of the greatest songs in hip-hop, electronica and pop since 1989.

Q-Tip has spent the last six years in label hell. In 2002, he tried to release Kamaal The Abstract (a follow up to his 1999 debut Amplified), but his label refused to it release it because it was seen as an non-commercial album.

With a new label, Q-Tip is back in full force. Q-Tip has always been a renaissance artist, so it is fitting that his return to the music scene is called The Renaissance.

On the opener “Johnny Is Dead”, Q lets you know what his purpose is…”it is up to me to bring back the hope” and he does not fail. Q still has his rapid fire deliver over jazzy and soul beats.

Guests on the album include Amanda Diva on ManWomanBoogie, D’Angelo on Believe, Norah Jones on Life Is Better and Raphael Saadiq on WeLove/WeFight.

On Dance On Glass, Q is rapping with no music for at least one minute. That is what hip-hop was. Standing on a corner with no music, freestyling.

It might have taken ten years for Q-Tip to return, but it was worth the wait.

Like Q-Tip? You may also like: A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Talib Kweli.

Death of Modern Rock - Dropping Bombs With The B-52s

2008-11-21T00:04:00.000-08:00

Written By: Mario R. Martin

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This month’s column is a bit different. I’m not going into a history lesson and I’m not going to tell you the band’s names. “Private Idaho” is one of those great 1980s songs that deserve to win an award for standing the test of time.

The frantic guitar in the opening of the track is intriguing, yet fun. The B-52s were a fun band and continued to exude joy in their following records. Nowhere has a song like “Private Idaho” been duplicated. Maybe the 80s were the best musical time period ever. Maybe the return of spandex, leg warmers and fluorescent colors isn’t so bad. I mean, the country was in a good place. So what if off the shoulder shirts are back. So what if skinny jeans or rolled jeans are making a comeback. So what is wrestling shoes are back. Who cares?! Fortunately we have a band like the B-52s to ring in that 1980s New Year over and over, wherever we are, just by pressing play.

“Private Idaho” might not be as readily available as “Love Shack” or “Roam” but it embodies that which the B-52s set out to do, and that’s party. “Underground like a wild potato,” might not be poetry, but it sure if fun to say and even more fun to listen to. Dig up a potato and rock out to some B-52s!

“Private Idaho” – B-52s – Wild Planet (1980)

Music News

2008-11-20T23:54:00.000-08:00

Written By: White Chicks On Rap

Is Lupe Fiasco Retiring?

There are rumors that rapper Lupe Fiasco will retire from hip-hop after he releases his third album “LupEND”.

Atlantic Records will not comment on the rumors, but some are citing a comment made by Lupe last December when he was asked about his future plans. “LupEND' -- that's going to be my last album's title. When you play a videogame, you can only put in three letters for your name and when the game's over, those three letters and 'END' pop up. My next record might be my last one."

Lupe told fans at a Halloween Chicago show that the “END” stands for “Everywhere, Nowhere & Down Here”.

No release date has been set for the album.

Early Release Dates For Ludacris, Kanye and The Killers

To capitalize on the Thanksgiving shopping weekend, Island Def Jam is moving up the album release dates for Ludacris, Kanye and The Killers.

Ludacris’ “Theater Of The Mind”, Kanye’s “808s & Heartbreak” and The Killers’ “Day & Age” will now be released on Monday, November 24th. All the albums will be available in physical and digital formats.

Kanye Arrested In The UK

Kanye West was arrested in London, England after hitting a paparazzo who was trying to get his picture coming out of a club. Kanye was leaving the Tup Tup club with 4 girls when a paparazzo started taking pictures. The paparazzo said that Kanye shoved him and tried to take the camera. The paparazzo was left a cut above his nose.

Fourth Anniversary Of Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Death

On the fourth anniversary of Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s death, his mother wrote a letter criticizing those who have wrongly profited off and spoke ill of the rapper. In the letter, the rapper’s mother accused Ol’ Dirty’s widow of taking loans and denying the rapper’s children the funds.

The mother also said that the widow is blocking the release of the Ol’ Dirty’s final album. Ol’ Dirty’s mother also said that she is angry about an unauthorized bio written by the rapper’s one time lawyer Robert Shapiro. She said the book is full of lies and that she will spend the rest of her life making sure that the public image of her son is upheld in a positive light.

White Chicks On Rap - John Legend - Evolver

2008-11-20T23:46:00.000-08:00

Label: Sony/BMG
Rating: 3 Guns

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Written By: White Chicks On Rap

John Legend’s third album opens with what I think is pretty much every guy’s vision of the perfect morning…birds chirping, a sunny day breaking, the sweet cooing of the words good morning and a girl in your bed. I think John is onto something, but I would substitute the girl for Keanu Reeves. Oh, if life was really like this…but I digress.

Love is definitely on John’s mind and in the lyrics. From meeting the right girl, taking the next step with a good friend or just hooking up with a girl you just met…John has a song to match your mood.

Evolver has some great guests like Andre 3000 on Green Light, Brandy on "Quickly" and Estelle on "No Other Love."

The production from Kanye, Will.I.Am, Trevor Horn and Devo Springsteen add diversity to the album. You will still find the traditional piano ballads (like "Everyone Knows" and "This Time"), but you will also find reggae ("No Other Love" and "Green Light") and funk ("Satisfaction").

Evolver is a true evolution for John as he continues to experiment with his sound and lyrics. His voice still resonates pure and warm as ever.

Like John Legend? You may also like: Robin Thicke, Anthony Hamilton.

Whirled News - Ticker Tape

2008-11-20T23:38:00.000-08:00

More details emerged about the meeting between President-elect Barack Obama and former opponent John McCain. “Barack kept him sitting there for a three-and-a-half hour, seemingly cordial conversation,” chucked a staff member. “By the end of hour two, McCain was shifting and squirming, and during the third hour you could see the dark stain growing on the front of his pants.”

In other news, concern mounted about the growing epidemic of hijacking in which huge oil tankers and other merchandise are being seized by pirates who then sell the shipments back, accumulating obscene wealth and building huge mansions. “Something must be done about the international corporations, traders and CEOs, before they drain away the world’s entire wealth into their own coffers,” warned an independent economist. Alarmed and outraged congressional leaders summoned the CEOs of Detroit’s Once Big Three automakers for a hearing yesterday. The three CEOs testified for nearly an hour before breaking for lunch and eating the identical lunch as CEOs from the nation’s largest banks at last week’s hearing. They walked into the visitors’ gallery and sunk their teeth into the necks of onlookers.

As the economic picture darkened, Obama’s transition team announced that the President-elect planned to roll out his new economic plan on day one of his presidency. “We’ve been looking at the economy that Obama’s going to inherit from President Bush, and we’re studying what we can do,” said a leader of the economic transition team. At yesterday’s meeting, the team watched the scene from Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush five times in a row where Chaplain eats a lavish meal consisting of an old boot. “We think there’s something there we can use,” the spokesperson said.

Uncommon Music - Concert Films

2008-11-20T23:32:00.000-08:00

Written By: Nichole Wagner

The live concert video is an art form, to capture a performance on tape without losing the energy and atmosphere of a show is next to impossible. Yet, once in awhile the stars align just so and the outstanding concert recording is born. Here are some favorites.

The Band - Last Waltz
Maybe the gold standard in concert videos, directed by Martin Scorsese, it was the last performance of The Band. The guest list alone makes it worth watching with names like Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Ringo Starr, Van Morrison, Ronnie Wood, and Muddy Waters. Emmylou Harris and The Staples Singers are in segments that were filmed separately from the main concert.

Nanci Griffith - One Fair Summer Evening
With Nanci at the peak of her onstage rambling, she shares stories about blue moons, Woolworth’s stores and anonymous tall blonde dictators who swipe red bricks from the streets of Houston.

Anderson Fair, where it was filmed is small enough to make the viewer feel like perhaps they could be sitting in the audience. The delightful lack of audience “reaction” shots adds to the effect.

Pretenders - Isle of View
While it is a little strange to see Chrissie Hynde and company sitting down in a more or less acoustic show, it also makes the songs more interesting and gives a new layer to seeing the Pretenders. And of course, she’s in top vocal form and the strings section on songs like “Criminal” and the cover of “Creep” are fun to listen to.

Tom Petty - Live at the Olympic
It’s a bit bouncy, in order to represent all of the Heartbreakers, but it still decently portrays the Tom concert experience. The songs are nearly entirely from The Last DJ, with the exception of a few hits at the end, like Mary Jane’s Last Dance, You Wreck Me, and I Need To Know. On the special features, catch “Fun in the Desert” which is essentially Tom being goofy and riding a motorcycle around the set of the Last DJ commercials.

Fleetwood Mac - In Concert (1982)
Yes, The Dance is a much more accessible film, but it lacks a certain amount of spontaneity. Yes, there are a few moments of true emotion but the overall feel is scripted. Not this concert from the Mirage tour, (though technically it was two shows spliced together, a fact that is glaringly obvious in Sisters of the Moon.) Some of the best moments include Mick Fleetwood’s facial expressions during his drum solos, the version of the often overlooked Blue Letter and the vocals from Stevie Nicks on Rhiannon.

Cyndi Lauper - At Last Live!
It’s almost disturbing how much energy this woman can put forth in a concert. She’s jumping all over the place and going into the audience and practically hanging from the rafters -- all while hitting all the notes in the songs. It’s not nearly as much fun as seeing her in person, but only because there’s a lot less storytelling on the DVD than at a live show. Luckily, those stories can all be found on the “Driving with Cyndi” extras.

Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
Of course, any movie with David Byrne involved is going to be a little unusual. This one has some neat elements, including the first few moments of the show with Byrne bringing out his boombox, the lack of audience shots and performer close-ups and the appearance of the “big suit” during Girlfriend is Better. It’s also a great reminder of all the songs you loved to hear but sometimes forget about.

Uncommon Music - Super Extended Albums

2008-11-13T23:40:00.000-08:00

Written By: Nichole Wagner

There is a plague afflicting the music industry...

The symptoms include:

* An overwhelming need to release an album in as many different variations as possible.

* He with the most adjectives at the end of the title apparently wins some sort of prize.

* Instead of the regular grouping of tracks, album cover and some liner notes, there’s an extended super-deluxe version somewhere or a USB-stick that gives the buyer super-exclusive access to top secret, from the bottom of the vault, we’d tell you what it is but we’d have to kill you material.

Without vinyl singles, artists need some way to get their babies that didn't make the 12 song cut out to the people. With illegal downloading (which is not a new concept, just a new method) the record companies need another way to line their pockets.

Whichever way you look at it, it's the most dedicated fans that are getting the short end of the deal as we end up buying multiple copies of the same album.

We pre-order an album from our local indie record store only to find out that if you pre-order the album from iTunes there is one more track. So you keep the first order so you can have a hard copy and order from iTunes to get the song.

But then you see that Barnes and Nobles has yet another version that has two more songs not on either the normal release or on the iTunes release.

Three weeks later, the record company decides to release a two disc extended version with video and demo tracks or another few songs or something called a "B-side" for a single that wasn't even released.

Now the dedicated fan has four copies of the same album, and has about five new songs and a music video. The record company has the profits from three more sales. Tricky.

This is how I ended up with seven copies of Patty Griffin’s “Children Running Through”, three of Fleetwood Mac’s “Say You Will” and why I’m currently mad at Lyle Lovett, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty. Well, actually I’m mad at Tom for a few reasons, but releasing an expanded “Highway Companion” is one of them.

However, there are the few artists out there that really do it right: take the New Pornographers and their “Challengers” album. Everyone bought the regular old album and then offered separately for approximately three bucks was two blank CD-Rs, a blank DVD-R and a snazzy slip-box that had room for the previously purchased regular old album.

It’s not instant gratification, but we’re still downloading happy new stuff months after the release. It’s like a little present straight from the band every few weeks. It’s enough to make one feel all warm and fuzzy. No one is left out because they didn’t want to buy the album multiple times with various “extra” tracks and no one is stuck with 15 copies that they have to copy to their computer and combine into one CD to put in their car. Less work, more music, happy listeners.

The Hushpuppies – Silence Is Golden

2008-11-13T23:29:00.000-08:00

Label: Minty Fresh
Rating: 3 Guns

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Written By: White Chicks On Rap

When I was given this album, I asked, "Who are The Hushpuppies?"

I was told, "All you have to know is that they are like a French version of The Hives."

While I agree that the Hushpuppies are a similar to The Hives, the reality is that the band not a copy of anyone.

The Hushpuppies are a five-piece band from France that are starting to make a name for themselves in the US thanks to their song “You’re Gonna Say Yeah” being included on “Guitar Hero: World Tour”.

“You’re Gonna Say Yeah” is one of the tracks off their album Silence Is Golden.

The album has a unique 60’s garage sound, reminiscent of early work of The Who or The Animals. Silence Is Golden has a great flow; the songs well-crafted and written.

There are pumped up songs like “You’re Gonna Say Yeah”, “Lost Organ” and “Bad Taste And Gold On The Doors” and slow songs “Love Bandit” and “Harmonium”.

Personally, my favorite track is “Harmonium” because it’s edgy, moody and reminds me of something that The Smiths would offer up.

I think The Hushpuppies are an interesting band and have a lot of promise…really the US is the last place for a band to break these days. The Hushpippies' 2005 debut album The Trap was a huge hit in France and 20 other countries; they've also toured Europe, Japan and Russia.

Like this band? You may also like: The Hives, The Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand.

The White Shoes & The Couples Company Rock Spaceland

2008-11-13T23:12:00.000-08:00

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Written By: White Chicks On Rap

Last Thursday, I had a wonderful opportunity to listen to an up-and-coming band from Indonesia called The White Shoes & The Couples Company. They've been touring in the US and made their first trip to Los Angeles, playing at world-famous venue, Spaceland.

Before the band took the stage, I had the chance to meet some of the band members (vocalist Sari, keyboardist Mela and bass player Ricky) backstage to talk about coming to the US, their influences, how they got their catchy name and their goals.

I asked the band how it felt to be named by RollingStone “One of the best bands on Myspace” and “One of the most crushworthy bands of 2006” by Allmusic.com. Their response couldn't have been more humble:

"It's a a true honor," they said, "Especially since we're from Indonesia."

They said that many people are not familiar with Indonesian music and culture and the fact that people are taking the time to listen to their self-titled album is really an honor.

"We're enjoying the US and playing for our fans."

White Shoes & The Couples Company’s sound is a mix of traditional Indonesian music, jazz and pop; their lyrics mostly in the native Indonesian language.

I asked White Shoes who their influences are:

"The soundtracks of Indonesian 70’s cinema," they replied, "Because of the lush instruments and the visual stories the music creates. The lyrics are like literature and their sound helps push the stories forward. "

When I asked if the band would record more songs in English, they said that maybe they would, but that would be further down the line in their career.

I happened to notice that the whole band was decked out in white shoes. Naturally, I asked how they got their name.

White Shoes met at Art School near a shoe store that sold white Converse All-Stars. A lot of the students started wearing the shoes - including the band. When the band starting making music together they needed a name and a friend suggested "The White Shoes & The Couples Company." The rest is history.

When asked about their goals as a band, they said, "Ultimately, the goal is to keep doing what we're doing…recording."

White Shoes & The Couples Company are currently working on a second album and touring.

After our conversation, the band took the stage, and rocked the house for 45 minutes straight.

Sari (vocalist) has a beautiful sweet voice and her easy spirit carries out into the audience. She has a gentle presence on the stage which captivated the whole audience.

Although the lyrics weren't in English, the set was bubbly and catchy; I forgot I was listening to music in another language. The energy of the band was amazing, as the set closed with a 10 minute drum solo from John that brought the audience to roars and cheers of admiration.

The band may be heading back to Indonesia, but I know that they'll strike the U.S. again with more great music and live shows.

A Most Startling Revelation

2008-11-13T22:52:00.000-08:00

Written By: Dan “The Man” Sklut

“Mom? Dad? You wanted to see me?”

“Yes, son. Come on in.”

“What’s this all about?”

“Son, you’re 15. You’re almost a man now, so it’s time you knew the truth.”

“What are you talking about? Mom, what’s Dad talking about?”

“Robert, we still love you, very much.”

“I love you guys too, but seriously, what did you need to tell me?”

“Son, when you were born, there was an… accident.”

“An accident? What kind of accident?”

“Well, this is kind of hard for me to say, but… uh… I can’t do this. You tell him, Heidi.”

“What your father’s trying to say is that after you were born, we took you to get circumcised.”

“But I’m not circumcised.”

“Uh, let’s put it this way. Have you ever wondered why you have only one testicle?”

“You told me that was a birth defect!”

“It was a defect that happened after your birth, so in a way, it kind of was.”

“Your mother’s right, son. The surgeon that was supposed to slice your dingle, was so overworked that day, he mixed up your chart with one of a patient diagnosed with testicular cancer. And by the time we found out about it, the damage was done.”

“And you waited this long to tell me?”

“We didn’t know how you’d take it.”

“Total shock and anger aside, I’m having a hard time believing a doctor, a trained medical professional, could operate on a newborn baby instead of a fully grown man without realizing it.”

“He wasn’t exactly what you’d call a ‘doctor,’ per se.”

“Then what was he?”

“There’s actually a pretty funny story to that. Your mother and I brought you home from the hospital a few days after you were born. We were giving you your first bath, when we realized that you needed a circumcision. This was before my promotion, and we didn’t have that much money back then. We could barely afford the pregnancy, let alone the hospital bill. But you needed that bris badly, son. That dong of yours looked like a confused anteater.”

“Mom, is Dad telling the truth? And do I really need to know this?”

“Don’t interrupt your father, Robert. This is important. Go ahead, Mike.”

“Thank you, dear. Seriously, it was like someone took a bite out of a corndog. A tiny, tiny corndog! Ha, ha! Anyway, we were strapped for cash, and I had this friend from college, Larry, who dropped out of pre-med. He was super smart, though, and he knew a lot of medical shit. So, naturally, I called him up, and told him, ‘Larry, remember the cops and Cancun, and how I bailed you out? And you told me you owed me one? Well come on over, and bring your kit.’ He was pretty hung over that day, but that little bump of coke really perked him up. I guess we weren’t his only patients, though, and mistakes do happen, you know?”

“At any time did it occur to you that maybe you shouldn’t have left my surgery in the hands of an inexperienced drug addict?”

“What do you mean ‘drug addict?’ You do a little coke, maybe some speed, and a tiny shot of H to cool you down, and suddenly you’re a drug addict? Well, then, by your definition, your mother and I were drug addicts, too!”

“Where do you think he got the coke, anyway?”

“You can’t be serious, Mom. Did you really think it was healthy to be doing hard drugs right after giving birth?”

“I don’t know. Was it healthy to be doing hard drugs right during my pregnancy?”

“I didn’t just hear that!”

“I gotta tell ya, Robert, you’re taking this all really well. I’m almost proud of you, even. I’m not, but I’m like this close to feeling a little pride. Now would you like to know why you have no ears?”

“Was it because of the drugs?”

“No, we just cut them off.”

Music News

2008-11-05T23:59:00.000-08:00

Written By: White Chicks On Rap

Will.I.Am Releases A New Obama Track

A new track (“It’s A Good Day” ) will be released from Will.I.Am to celebrate Obama’s victory. The track was recorded a week before Election Day. This will be Will.I.Am’s third pro-Obama track. Will.I.Am has released “Yes We Can” and “We Are The Ones.”

Two More Tracks From 808s & Heartbreak Released

Two more tracks from Kanye West’s album 808s & Heartbreak have been released. “Heartless” is now on iTunes and “Anyway” (a collaboration with rapper Kid Cudi) has been leaked onto the internet. 808s & Heartbreak will be released on November 25th.

50 Cent: “Turn Shit Into Sugar”

For those struggling financially, 50 Cent has some advice…”Turn Shit Into Sugar”.

MTV and 50 Cent have partnered up for a new competition show called The Money And The Power. The show will be hosted by 50 Cent and will feature members of G-Unit. Fourteen wannabe entrepreneurs will complete for the chance to have 50 Cent invest $100,000 in their business plan. Last year, 50 Cent pulled in $150 million, making him the world’s richest rapper. The show starts on November 6th.

Uncommon Music - Ballad Of Sally Rose

2008-11-05T23:52:00.000-08:00

Written By: Nichole Wagner

One of the first concept albums in the country genre is Emmylou Harris’ “Ballad of Sally Rose,” from 1985. It is also possibly the most overlooked of her thirty-album career

With help from friends like Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Vince Gill and then-husband Paul Kennerly, Emmylou tells the sings of Sally Rose, the girl from South Dakota who leaves home to become a rock star. By the second song, Sally has made her way to Tupelo and has joined up with an unnamed male musician to “play Rhythm Guitar and sing the third.”

Despite her best intentions efforts, the third track finds Sally falling for the frontman and the gentle “Heart to Heart” cements the feelings.

The mystery musician perishes in a wreck along the highway in “Bad News” leaving Sally to pick up the pieces in “Timberline” and go on to shine with her “red-hot dynamite band” in “Long Tall Sally Rose.” Even with her success, she hasn’t forgotten the “White Line” that took her baby.

The last few tracks reiterate her longings with lines like “I stepped into the light you left behind / I stood there where all the world could see me shine / Oh I was on my way to you to make you mine / But I took the longest road that I could find.” She goes on to buy a radio station, KSOS, to carry his torch. The closing number, “Sweet Chariot” is aching with bitter acceptance of Sally’s loss.

If the entire story of girl meets rock star, joins him on tour only to have him meet his tragic and untimely end strikes you as oddly familiar, the not-so-subtle reference to Joshua Tree seems fitting. While Ms. Harris has never said that the narrative of Sally is a modification of her own history it does draw some parallels.

“The Ballad of Sally Rose” is a stand-out in Emmylou’s discography as the first album that she wrote or co-wrote (with Kennerley) all the tracks and as a great mix of upbeat tunes paired with ballads. While it is currently only available on vinyl or import CD a few tracks were included on the Songbird box set released last year.

White Chicks On Rap - Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns

2008-11-05T23:40:00.000-08:00

Label: Universal/Polydor
Rating: 3 Guns

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Written By: White Chicks On Rap

You may have not heard of Snow Patrol, but I am sure if you watch “Grey’s Anatomy”, you know one of their songs (“Chasing Cars”). That song may have introduced them to American audiences, but for UK audiences, Snow Patrol is one the best bands on the Britpop scene.

If you are not familiar with Snow Patrol, their albums are very epic. The vocals are distorted, the music and lyrics are dramatic and emotional and A Hundred Million Suns continues the tradition. The space theme of the album title carries into the songs “If There Is A Rocket Tie Me To It”, “The Planets Bend Between Us”, “Engine” and “The Lightening Strike”. I was very impressed with “The Lightening Strike”. The song is 16 minutes and has everything…choirs, orchestras, guitars all describing the end of the world. Trust me when I say, that you will be entertained for the full 16 minutes.

Gary Lightbody always writes lyrics that I have to listen to again and again because I can’t figure out the meaning. In “Engine”, Gary sings "Use me forever as rocket fuel/Love me like the silence of the turning earth." I will be pondering this line for weeks.

What I have always loved about Snow Patrol is their passion. Their passion just pours over every aspect of their music and they are unapologetic for expressing their emotions. A Hundred Million Suns is a beautiful album that shows the bands continued growth.

Like Snow Patrol? You may also like: Coldplay, Oasis, Keane, British Sea Power, Doves.

Glistening Pleasure - STATE RADIO: Taking the Country Back, One Venue at a Time

2008-10-30T01:05:00.000-07:00

Interview By: Hilary Hughes

With the last days of October closing in, politi-rock trio State Radio finds themselves on the final leg of their Take the Country Back tour.

Though the Boston-based musicians have been delivering impassioned sets to enthralled audiences at venues across the nation, State Radio’s presence offstage is what sets them apart from other acts as artists whose activism leaves an impression as lasting as the music they create.

As organizers of community service projects that coincide with cities on the Take the Country Back roster, Chad Stokes, Chuck Fay and Mike “Mad Dog” Najarian encourage their ever-expanding fan base through leading by example when it comes to inspiring change on both local and national scales.

When asked to describe the types of projects the band has completed throughout the course of Take the Country Back, Chad, State Radio’s frontman and guitarist, lists them off modestly: painting elementary schools in Philadelphia, protesting to raise awareness about the plea for the retrial of Troy Davis, speaking out against Joe Lieberman’s “war-hawkishness” in Hartford, and protesting alongside University of Vermont students to discourage the university’s involvement with corporations benefiting from the war in Iraq. State Radio joined several members of the music community, including ever-active Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, in playing and protesting at the Democratic National Convention back in the early days of the tour, where they marched alongside Iraqi Veterans Against the War.

“All of these soldiers came back really disenchanted with the war,” recalls Chuck, “And the idea was to get a message to the people, namely Barack Obama and all the other democrats who were there in town.”

(Video of State Radio’s performance at the DNC can be found on their Myspace page.)

Turning toward the future with Take the Country Back, State Radio, performing alongside several independent acts, including Zimbabwean quartet Bongo Love, are working tirelessly to deliver an inspiring, though solemn, message to their fans:

“Bongo Love is from Zimbabwe, where you get beat up or killed if you vote a certain way,” says Chad, “A bunch of their friends have been tortured because they voted for the wrong person. We’ve been using that to encourage people. Here in the States, we can vote without fearing for our lives, and it’s important that we take part in the democracy so that we can hold our government to a higher standard than it has been in eight years.”

For a band like State Radio, whose tireless activism calls for change on a global scale, their influence over their predominantly college-aged fan base could lead to a youth movement that’ll contribute to the election of the next president. When asked to speculate why young adults tend to gravitate towards State Radio’s sound, there’s a note of pride in Chad’s voice when he’s accounting for the crowds coming to their shows:

“I’d like to think it’s the content and that historically youth movements and protests,” he says. “It’s always the idealistic college kids who have the balls and sometimes the naïveté to push for what they feel is right, and the time.”

So, after protesting alongside impassioned rock stars and veterans working to be heard at the DNC, and after giving back to communities around the nation through their service projects and activism efforts, what’s the next project on State Radio’s agenda?

Chad, Chuck and Mad Dog are heading back to the studio to record their latest album, following 2007’s Year of the Crow and the first commercial release of the trio, Us Against the Crown. They may be recording in Boston, but the band’s eyes, like those of the rest of the nation, will be turned toward Washington on November 4th. It’s no secret that State Radio aren’t fans of the soon-to-be-former Commander in Chief: the lead-off track on Year of the Crow, Guantanamo, calls out Bush’s grandfather for robbing the grave of Geronimo as an Ivy-league secret society initiation, and the band is celebrating the close of the most disastrous double term presidency in history with an official “Bye-Bye Bush” event in D.C. come Christmastime.

As is evident with the addition of an Obama/State Radio t-shirt to the collection of official SR merchandise, Chad, Chuck and Mad Dog are all fiending for Obama, and half of the proceeds from t-shirt sales go directly to the Obama campaign. State Radio has been calling for social change since the release of their first EP, so it’s no surprise that they’re backing the candidate who’s campaign revolves around impending, necessary change:

“We want to elect someone who represents us, the people, and we feel like Barack Obama can do that.”

Uncommon Music - Unauthorized Autobiography? You Be The Judge!

2008-10-30T00:56:00.000-07:00

Written By: Nichole Wagner

From the unauthorized to the autobiography, books about musicians can be amazingly good reads while others are just a waste of trees. Of course there are several reasons for this varying degree of quality.

The artist may not want to talk to the author which often leads to a book filled with lots of rehashing of common knowledge and a few anecdotes from the kid who sat next to the kid the artist babysat when they were three. Because they know all about the artist's innermost thoughts and secrets.

THE AWFUL...

Gram Parsons - Hickory Wind (Ben Fong-Torres)
Really, they missed the point. And I hate to say that of Fong- Torres because he usually does a very good job. It's almost like the Grievous Angel DVD. It's really just a cleaned-up version of
Gram's life that reads like it's been through the PR censors more than twice while basically ignoring essential characters (Emmylou, Phil Kaufman) and skipping the juicy stories about insane wives and life on the road.

Stevie Nicks - Lady of the Stars (Edward Wincentsen)
It's not only ancient but even at the time it was written, it was inaccurate. It's predecessor, Rock's Mystical Lady is just as bad. From random speculations to stating the insanely obvious (she wears platform shoes and black chiffon AND she was a member of Fleetwood Mac... no... really?) Even the rumors are laughable. If you're going to gossip at least find something relevant... it's NOT that hard.

Linda Ronstadt - It's So Easy (Mark Bego)
Pure, unadulterated sugar-coated gossip. I doubt there's a single thing in this book that Linda hasn't freely spoken about at some point or another. For some reason it still glosses over relationships and scandals trying to make them seem like big news the author knows about but isn't at liberty to share. It's like a kid on the playground shouting "I know something you don't know!"

Really, I've found all of Bego's biographies (he has one on Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Billy Joel and so on) to be lacking.

THE NOT SO BAD...

Carter Family - Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone? (Charles Hirshberg and Mark Zwonitzer)
It's a little slow, but it does a great job giving insight to one of American music's royal families. All of A.P.'s little quirks are discussed in an endearing way and the scenes are set so that you
feel like you're sitting on the porch watching it all happen. Unfortunately it is a big story to tell in one book and it sort of unwinds in an awkward way. Still it's informative with lots of cute
stories and just about every country music star is represented in some way. Plus there's some great tales of the little Carters (June, Helen and Anita) growing up.

Fleetwood Mac - Storms: My Life with Lindsey Buckingham and Fleetwood Mac (Carol Ann Harris)
Really, this book only covers a short period of time, albeit a highly interesting period. Written by Lindsey's sometimes girlfriend during the Rumours sessions, there's enough details but it's
important to remember that everyone's minds were a little clouded back then. Some of it sounds dramatized and both Lindsey and Stevie get a good helping of not-so-sneaky criticisms. It's a semi-insider's view of a crazy time. Even with the slanted view it's interesting enough for a big fan to read and try to decode.

THE ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL...

Loretta Lynn - Coal Miner's Daughter and Still Woman Enough (Loretta Lynn)
Pull up a chair and enjoy some peanut butter fudge. These books literally feel like you're sitting down in the back of a bus or hanging out in the kitchen while Loretta tells you every story she
can think of about her life. From the Kentucky coal region, married at 12, a mother at 13 and a country music star at 26 she's not afraid to let down the barriers that many stars surround
themselves with. She tells of the embarrassing teenage years, of her difficult marriage to Doo, her mental breakdowns and addiction to pills and just about everything inbetween.

Dolly Parton - My Life and Other Unfinished Business (Dolly Parton)
Like Loretta, Dolly will say just about anything that pops into her head (though she does keep a lot more private than Loretta does). This book also proves that she's not the dumb blond she's
sometimes accused of being. However the absolute best thing about this book is that it's available in an audio format with Ms. Parton herself narrating.

Hard Core Troubadour: The Life and Near Death of Steve Earle (Lauren St. John)
Again, what makes this book so good is the truth, no matter how unflattering or unfortunate it may be is told. No tiptoeing or detouring around drugs, arrests and every other aspect of Steve's life. But because Steve and family contributed, it's not gossip but more in acceptance that everyone already knows that he's no Boy Scout.

Kinky Friedman - Texas Hold 'Em: How I Was Born in a Manger, Died in the Saddle, and Came Back as a Horny Toad (Kinky Friedman)
While not purely a musical biography, but it's close. Plus, it's funnier than a car full of clowns. There's a little bit of everything: music, politics, satire, religion and a good helping of Kinky's
escapades with the "Hillybilly Dali Lama," Willie Nelson.

Music News

2008-10-30T00:50:00.000-07:00

Written By: White Chicks On Rap

Emimem’s Official Return

The rumors are true…Emimem is releasing a new album called "Relapse."

Emimem confirmed the news during a radio interview while promoting his new book, “The Way I Am.” Em also took the time to introduce a new track called “I’m Having A Relapse.”

No release date has confirmed, but 50 Cent said that the album might be released before his album (“Before I Self Destruct”) on December 9th.

Naughty By Nature To Reunite For A New Album

After being recognized by VH1 has hip hop legends, Naughty By Nature are reuniting for a new album. The album is tentatively tilted “Anthem Inc.” and plans are to release the album independently as the group is shopping for distribution.

Lil’ Kim Sued

Brookland Media filed a $2.5 million suit against Lil’ Kim saying she has breached the contract by not delivering the required recordings.

Brookland Media says they have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on advances, equipment and recording sessions.

The lawsuit says the Kim tried to change the contract with Brookland Media and refused to record until the company gave into Kim terms. The company is asking the court to declare the contract valid and bar Kim from signing and recording with another company.
Kayne’s New Album To Release On November 25th

Kayne fans now only have to wait until November 25th instead of December 16th to get “808’s & Heartbreak.” Kayne made the announcement at a show in Los Angeles before performing “Heartless” which is scheduled to be the second single off the album.

Wu-Tang Documentary Coming To BET And DVD

“Wu: The Story Of The Wu-Tang Clan” will premiere on BET on November 13th, just five days before it is released on DVD.

The documentary will air on BET multiple times between November 13th-16th and in December. Wu-Tang is also scheduled to appear on BET’s “106 & Park” to discuss the documentary.

On November 18th, a greatest hits package containing songs from Wu-Tang and solo projects will be released.

Glistening Pleasure: Leopold And His Fiction, Ain’t No Surprise

2008-10-30T00:39:00.000-07:00

Label: Native Fiction
Rating: 3.5 Guns

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Review by: Hilary Hughes

Leopold And His Fiction has put out an album that elicits a response akin to post-coital bliss.

When I put Ain’t No Surprise on, my eyelids flutter under the weight of an impending heaviness, the steady snares and ambitious, distortion-free solos envelope me, and finally, after the record has run through its track list, I suddenly feel the need for a long, hard drag on somebody else’s cigarette.

I don’t mean to make the latest release from Leopold And His Fiction sound like auricular porn or anything, because there’s nothing sexually implied in the slightest. I just can’t remember the last time I listened through an album in its entirety and thought to myself, “This? This sound is pure sex.”

What I appreciate most about Ain’t No Surprise is the consistency behind each and every track, and the cohesive sound that incorporates the talents of each piece in the band. It doesn’t hurt that Daniel James’ boisterous vocals trip and soar over the high-notes on songs like “Come Back (Now That I’m Here),” either. The song can start off careful and slow, like “Tigerlily or Adanelina,” or it could flourish from the strong percussive presence on tracks like “Sun’s Only Promise” and Hawk Eyes.”

Either way, a climax hits the ear on each track of Ain’t No Surprise, and maybe it’s this build up in 4/4 time delivering musical euphoria that has me thinking of Leopold And His Fiction along X-rated lines.

Like this band? You may also like: Basement Band, Cold War Kids, The Doors, Johnny Cash, The Strokes

Tour Dates ::
10.11 San Francsco, CA @ Hemolock Tavern (w/the dazzling strangers/candy apple/ EFS!!!!)
10.16 Portland, OR @ East End w/Candy Apple
10.17 Eugene, OR @ Awesome House (party)
10.22 Brooklyn, NY @ The Charleston (CMJ Show!)
10.24 Flagstaff, AZ @ The Monte Vista Hotel Cocktail Lounge
10.25 Tucson, AZ @ The Living Room (w/young mothers)
10.26 Phoenix, AZ @ Animal House (party)
10.27 Albuquerque, NM @ Burt’s Tiki Lounge
10.28 Amarillo, TX @ Golden Light Cantina
10.29 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
10.31 Ft. Worth @ The Moon Bar
11.01 Austin, TX @ Emo’s
11.03 San Antonio, TX @ The Mix
11.04 El Paso, TX @ The Percolator (w/Ralphenne)
11.06 San Diego, CA @ Chasers
11.07 West Hollywood, CA @ On The Rox

Tech-Fuckin-Ology

2008-10-30T00:32:00.000-07:00

Written By: Dan Sklut

The media has come a long way, baby…

From the printing press in the 1700s to the Associated Press in the present day, information has traveled far and wide in America, finding its way into eager and receptive minds everywhere. But no Founding Father could have ever imagined the ease with which we could one day communicate (save for Ben Franklin; that man was a visionary). This Age of Information in which we live provides society with more ways than ever to transmit and receive messages, entertainment, and other valuable data. People have newspapers, movies, televisions, books, magazines, internet, multimedia cell phones and music players, video games, faxes, and telegraphs readily at their disposal… so many ways to take in the media, in fact, that simply realizing how incredibly advanced we are is a mind-blowing revelation unto itself.

Some would praise these technological breakthroughs as a godsend; that argument could even be made based solely on the time-saving applications of said breakthroughs. When once it would take months or even years to get a simple letter across the country, it’s now as easy as pressing the “SEND” button on a computer and waiting a couple of seconds. We have the internet, the collective knowledge of the world, at our fingertips, able to gather volumes of research with a single graceful keystroke. Cellular telephones make it possible to talk to anyone, anywhere, at anytime, even 10,000 miles across the globe. These digital developments are so commonplace now that the generation that grew up with it is somehow jaded and blasé about it (one wonders how they would tolerate life without it).

On the surface, it may seem like all of this widespread proliferation of communication is the best thing to ever happen to the human race. After all, who doesn’t like instant gratification? However, mass-media technology is a double-edged sword. With its benefits come drawbacks that practically compromise the convenience of such carefree creature comforts. People are isolating themselves, drowning out the rest of the world by constantly listening to music on their portable players, sending text messages, talking on the phone, surfing the web, checking their email, and updating their “MySpaces” (so much so that if an extra-terrestrial totally ignorant of a human’s physiology were to land in the United States, it would probably assume earphones/earpieces, telephones, and the like to be natural human appendages). The easier it becomes to get closer and communicate, the farther we distance ourselves from everyone else.

These technophiles may enjoy watching their televisions or surfing their internets, but they do so at the cost of their precious time. Paradoxically, it seems that as our methods of delivery for our media get quicker, we spend more time preoccupied with them. Large fractions of our lives are wasted in such outwardly banal activities as staring at a flickering box for hours at a time, like flies stuck on a toffee. Man was not made to just sit around, staring. Use that leisure time to achieve something purposeful, people! Television alone has changed America’s primary diversion from meaningful pursuits, such as baseball and spelunking, to staring at glowing screens depicting someone else playing baseball and spelunking. Our nation has gone from active to passive.

It almost seems as if people are losing touch with reality the more they absorb this fantasy land depicted in the media. Modern television shows, movies, books, and basically any program or printed word portray a skewed version of our culture and world. They show a shattered reflection of our true selves as a society, hastily cobbled back together and glossed up with plenty of empty-headed materialism and shallow, self-serving “values” to go around, then dumbed-down and homogenized as the public sees fit to consume.

Even more distressing than the amount of time squandered on our little gadgets is the time spent between use, buying things. I’m speaking, of course, about the worst byproduct of the media ever: consumerism. Consumerism is the scourge of the planet, taking everything right and beautiful in the world and putting a big yellow price tag with some ugly corporate logo right in the middle of it. It cheapens art, reducing it to a commodity to be bought, sold, and judged based on its selling power and popular appeal. It diminishes individuality, encouraging everyone to look the same way, think the same way, shop the same way (frequently), and be good little obedient consumers.

But where does this horrible slave mentality come from? The media and its various advertisements and subliminal messages. Indulge me in a bit of paranoid conspiracy for a while: It follows that any media companies that have enough wealth and influence to reach millions of citizens on the television (or other ways) have ulterior motives at play, namely to gain more wealth and influence. They do that mostly by selling advertisements, the vile hellspawn of the mass media. Advertisements are omnipresent in our daily lives, from the shiny brand-name logo you see on the toothpaste tube every day to the commercials on the radio for that same toothpaste. Every logo, every label, every billboard, flyer, and commercial is painstakingly designed and detailed by top advertising professionals for one purpose and one purpose only: to get that company’s message in your head. The words may be different, but the theme is always the same. It’s “Give us your money. Buy more.”

What happens when you watch something? You become influenced by it. You take in those sights and sounds, and internalize them, regardless of whether you liked them or not. As long as a certain message is seen/heard and processed by the brain, there is no getting it out. Even when a show’s signals aren’t to buy something, people are still encouraged to obey the commands on a subconscious level. If a television program features an all-white cast, full of thin, “pretty” young people, and shows them acting happy and living well, that show’s going to convey the idea that a certain look and way of life is more acceptable than others, and respected more. Unrealistic body images, social “norms”, and lifestyles all stem from the media’s depiction of the false reality it’s trying to sell. Just look at how glamorized and glorified certain celebrities have become for their “clubbing” habits. Anyone with common sense could tell that’s no way to live, but the media says differently, celebrating unhealthy habits and excess under the guise of “success.”

So people eat up these lies like hogs at a chili cook-off , believing them to be true, and go on imitating what they see, regurgitating thoughts and opinions heard on TV the night before, since it’s easier than thinking for one’s self. I have known some people that actually base their entire personalities on what they’ve seen on television and think is funny and acceptable. This is especially true in children, who are extremely impressionable at such a young age. They perpetuate terrible qualities (terrible quality: an oxymoron if ever I’ve heard one) like greed and envy that only an advertiser would find desirable, then raise their children the same way. And thus the Cycle of Media Despair continues once more.

White Chicks On Rap - Solange Knowles - Sol-Angel & The Hadley St. Dreams

2008-10-21T16:39:00.000-07:00

Label: Geffen
Rating: 2.5 Guns

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Written By: White Chicks On Rap

Solange makes it clear that she doesn't want to be compared to her sister, Beyonce Knowles.

You might be able to pick up that vibe on the opening track “God Given Name.” You can’t mistake the lines "I'm not her and never will be.../Let my starlight shine on its own.”

Solange creates a Motown and 70’s funk/soul sound on "Hadley St. Dreams" with the help of producers Mark Ronson and producer legend Lamont Dozier, among others.

The album takes a very independent strong vibe such as on the track, “I Decided,” but also a personal vibe such as on the track , “Valentine’s Day,” which is about breaking up.

Solange’s voice is great, but at times doesn’t fit the song she’s trying to sing.

“Sol-Angel & The Hadley Street Dreams” is a good album. As Solange grows in this industry I think her talent will not be overshadowed by her sister’s fame.

Uncommon Music - The Whispertown 2000

2008-10-21T16:35:00.000-07:00

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Written By: Nichole Wagner

After years of playing in living rooms and clubs, The Whispertown 2000 is finally ready to make their grand debut with their first “real-deal” album, “Swim,” on Acony Records.

What sets their music apart from the thousands of other L.A.-based bands is the delightfully quirkiness quality of the lyrics and phrasing. Each song leaves the listener with a few memorable lines and a snippet of tune that they’ll carry around the rest of the day.

Though the album is full of acoustic guitar and harmonicas, they don’t attempt to be country crooners or traditional folkies. Instead, they plant their feet firmly in those jumbled genres of Americana and indie.

Lead-singer and guitarist Morgan Nagler is backed by Vanessa Corbala and brothers Casey and Tod Adrian Wisenbaker. The multi-talented artists swap roles often, bouncing between vocals, guitars, drums and a variety of percussion instruments during live sets.

Some of the best tracks from Swim contradict each other in style. There’s the bouncy song about the end of the world, “103” which starts the album before transitioning to the slightly depressive “Done with Love” and “Pushing Oars.” “Erase the Lines” and “Lock and Key” move along with memorable harmonies while “From the Start / Jamboree” jumps right back to the folk-country sound. The wistful ballad, “Atlantis,” features the backing talents of Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, and Jenny Lewis.

Equally catchy and charming is their previous album, “Livin’ In A Dream” which is available on iTunes and at their live shows.

Rise Against – “Appeal To Reason”

2008-10-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

Label: Interscope/DGC
Rating: 3.5 Guns

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Written By: Jim Markunas

Rise Against brilliantly thrusts Orange County-influenced hardcore punk back into the foreground with their second major-label offering, “Appeal To Reason.” Hailing from Chicago, IL, Rise Against is like a more serious Offspring, or the Anti-Flag that you can bring home to mom and dad.

A little less straight-up hardcore then debut album, “The Sufferer And The Witness,” new album, “Appeal To Reason” is a slight change in direction that suits the band perfectly.

“Collapse (Post-America)” leads with a bang, with punk-rock drums and heavily distorted guitars, and “Long Forgotten Sons” showcases the coolest guitar riff in rock music history. It’s impossible not to head-bang to these songs.

It’s hard not to like lead single “Re-Education (Through Labor)” which reminisces of Nirvana, and “The Dirt Whispered” which basks in the nostalgic emotional music of 2003.

“Kotov Syndrome,” “From Heads Unworthy,” and “The Strength To Go On,” flowing one into the next, are “Appeal To Reason’s” heavy-hitting punk-rock interlude. Cinematic as they are punk, these three songs will keep the repeat button on your CD player or iPod employed for at least a week.

Rise Against – “Audience Of One”

“Audience Of One” showcases Rise Against’s ability to write great songs fit for any arena.

“Hero Of War” puts the band’s diversity to test; Reminiscent of Bob Dylan in the 1960s.

Much like it begins, “Appeal To Reason” also ends with a bang. Album-closers, “Hairline Fracture” and “Whereabouts Unknown,” smashes listeners in the head with punk, dry lungs, and sing-along choruses.

All-in-all, the new Rise Against is definitely worth buying.

Much like Rage Against The Machine, Rise Against practices what they preach, printing their CD with vegetable ink on recycled paper. The album also contains a list of recommended pro-activist books and movies.

Like Rise against? You may also like: The Offspring, Rage Against The Machine, Anti-Flag, Pennywise

Uncommon Music - Todd Snider's Peace Queer

2008-10-16T16:21:00.000-07:00

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Written By: Nichole Wagner

Todd Snider’s new album, “Peace Queer” is a halfway hit. Luckily, especially since it’s available as a free download (until October 31), the good more than compensates for the bad.

The comic folkie shines with the first few tracks. “Mission Accomplished (You Gotta Have Faith)” uses Todd’s trademark lyrical wit in a parody of George Michael’s song “Faith.” “The Ballad of Cape Henry” documents the last battle of a wounded sailor with a catchy chorus and backing vocals by Patty Griffin.

Patty is also featured on the remake of CCR’s “Fortunate Son” has been stripped down to an arrangement that could have come straight from an antiwar protest circa 1970. The only problem is Todd’s version lacks all of the goosebump-causing conviction needed to make it a standout.

Stuck on the Corner (Prelude to a Heart Attack) is the rock song wedged between the bluesy “Dividing the Estate (A Heart Attack)” and the spoken word “Is This Thing Working?” which garners belly-laughs when done live but falls short on the recorded version. “Is This Thing On?” is the same story of a high school bully set to music.

The instrumental “Ponce of the Flaming Peace Queer” includes a message from Todd saying that while he shares his opinions, he doesn’t share them because they’re smart but “because they rhyme” and not to change the listener’s mind about anything but to ease his own mind about everything.

Even with the shortcomings of some songs, “Peace Queer” is worth a listen, especially for those than understand Todd’s slightly odd brand of humor. Download it at ToddSnider.net

White Chicks On Rap - Keane - Perfect Symmetry

2008-10-16T16:10:00.000-07:00

Label: Universal
Rating: 3 Guns

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Written By: White Chicks On Rap

Keane’s third album is really a perfect symmetry as it blends the piano drive sounds that Keane is known for and introducing a new element not heard yet on a Keane album- 80’s pop.

I am a huge fan of 80’s music (especially new wave and pop) and you can clearly hear the influence on the tracks Spiralling, Black Burning Heart and Better Than This. Just because the music bright, the lyrics are still very deep. On Spiralling, the line that stood out for me was “When we fall in love/We're just falling in love with ourselves." Better Than This has the best cold diss I’ve heard outside of a rap album. “Could have been something, but you're too late/And you weren't invited anyway."

Tracks like The Lovers Are Losing, Again And Again and Love Is The End keep carry on where the album Under The Iron Sea left off…more piano driven and introspective lyrics.

I admire that Keane has taken a chance and tried something new musically. The band has always been unfairly compared to Coldplay because both bands use pianos and write deep lyrics. I love both bands, but I can listen without comparing the two because these comparisons detract from the talent on display.

Personally, I think Under The Iron Sea is more of a classic, but Perfect Symmetry is an example of a band knowing where they came from, but still expanding out beyond the comfort zone. I believe this album stands well on it’s own and is very entertaining.

Like Keane? You may also like: Coldplay, The Verve, Snow Patrol.

minor keys - Pocket Knife

2008-10-16T15:55:00.000-07:00

Written By: Michael Elwood

This review ain’t no easy task, seeing as PocketKnife eschews notions of genre. These Brooklynites self-identify as an Indie/Pop/Rock outfit (on MySpace, anyway), but there’s no denying substantive elements of Electronica, Ska, Funk and Jazz in the group’s sound.

PocketKnife rocked Glasslands Gallery (located on Some Dark-Ass Road, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, the United States of America, Earth) on Tuesday, same night ______ rocked ______ in the second Presidential debate. ______ spanked ______ like an unruly schoolboy! ______ in ’08!

Being a trio, they’re a bit of an endangered species. Sure, you’ve got your Creams and your Nirvanas and your Husker Dus (wish I knew how to add umlauts) and your Rushes and your Police and whatnot, but successful trios are going the way of the dodo. I’ve got a feeling PocketKnife is gonna be around for awhile.

They played eight widely disparate tracks on Tuesday night. Some fast, some slow, some old (I’ve followed these guys for awhile), some new. Two standouts:

“Buy Back the Boat”—Drummer Robby Sinclair embraces negative space in this, one of their more fully realized tracks. His restrained, syncopated beat allows the song to breathe, fostering an atmosphere of tentative expectation. The other two fellas respond in full, breathing color and texture into an already sexy song with a smoky, step-down bassline (compliments of Jordan Brooks) and emotive vocal by Colin Killalea. Minimal as hell, nary a stray note. I’ve no idea what this song “means,” nor do I care. Colin’s mournful (yet oddly optimistic) phrasing over the outro—“we know/nothing is wrong”—nearly breaks my heart every time I hear it.

“Color Guard”—My personal fave. Robby ditches the sticks and manipulates an electronic kit/synth/turntable thing (clearly I’m an ignoramus), blanketing Colin’s rhythmic strummings with a futuro dance beat. Now’s as good a time as any to mention that PocketKnife makes great use of dissonance—their non-traditional approach to key and timing challenges the tired song structures we’re all acquainted with. Here, the beat crayons wildly outside the lines, offering a Floydian approach (think the bassline to “Money”) to dance rock. PocketKnife builds “Color Guard” well, complementing that opening sequence with an animated electric bass (Jordan gets funky) ’til the whole thing disintegrates into jubilant cacophony.

Words, of course, are no proper substitute for the real thing. Be sure to see ‘em live—they play all over New York. Listen here

OC Underground - Orange County's Chain Reaction

2008-10-16T15:49:00.000-07:00

Written By: Alan Oakes

Many, when they think of Orange County, think of beaches, Disneyland and spoiled rich kids that create MTV "reality" shows to show the world how truly spoiled and rich they really are. It's easy to forget that numerous musical acts over the years have called Orange County home. Social Distortion, No Doubt, Thrice, The Offspring and Zach de la Rocha of Rage against the Machine all grew up in the shade of the Orange Groves. Even though you'd be hard pressed to find an orange tree around here nowadays, the music still flourishes. Every music scene needs an epicenter, though. The New York punk scene had CBGB, the Los Angeles rock scene had The Whiskey A Go-Go, and the Seattle grunge scene had The Croc; for over 10 years Orange County has had Chain Reaction.

I was fortunate enough to be at the first show when Chain Reaction opened in 1997. During the mid to late 90's, the 3rd wave ska scene was in full force in Orange County and there were literally dozens of venues and shows everyday of the week. Bands like Reel Big Fish, Save Ferris, Home Grown and The Aquabats were being picked up by records labels and the over abundance of places to watch bands made it easy for bands to be heard. But that all started to change as the 90's drew to a close. Chain Reaction soon became the only place where the all-ages crowd could go to watch their local band rock out.

When the competition dried up, there were too many bands to house in one club and bands had to compete for a slot on the Chain Reaction stage. The prestige of the club grew almost overnight and it began to actually mean something when your band got to play there. Touring acts did not yet have the House of Blues at Downtown Disney, so they also started booking dates at Orange County's new hot spot. The club's owner, Tim Hill, began staple-gunning T-shirts of all the acts to grace his stage and not long after, every wall in the house was covered. Local and touring band t-shirts mingling with one another on the walls. It meant something to play there, but it really meant something when Tim asked to put your bands T-shirt on the wall. It was a new level of status for the local musician.

Chain Reaction has been home to numerous music scenes throughout it's reign. You could have an Indie show one night and Hardcore or Gutter-Punk show the next. It made it difficult to build an audience of loyal patrons that would show up to the club on a regular basis to check out new bands because the music genres were so segregated. Back in the day, you could walk in to The Whiskey A Go-Go on any given night and most likely see a group that interested you but unless you were extremely musically diverse, you had to check before hand what group of bands were performing at Chain Reaction. None the less, Chain fulfilled the need of each scene and each scene flourished. I speak in past-tense because things are a bit different nowadays. Not only in Orange County but also in Los Angeles (which is only 30 miles north).

In Hollywood, an enormous amount of rock legends have played on the world famous Whiskey stage since it's opening back in the 60's. Hendrix, Joplin, The Grateful Dead, The Doors, Zepplin just to name a few. To book you band at The Whiskey and walk the same stage that Jim Morrison did almost 40 years ago (I'm sure the stage has been rebuilt since then but you get my point) is more than just epic. Today, the legendary prestige and integrity of the Whiskey stage is nothing more than a faded memory. Your band doesn't have to be any good or even a band at all to perform there. As long as you have 50 friends you can sell tickets to and convince to show up, you can stand up on that stage by yourself and dry-humping the monitor for 30 minutes. It's a scheme of club promoters requiring a band to sell a pre-determined amount of tickets on their own and turn in the money before they take the stage. A term that musicians have dubbed "Play-To-Play" and it's an epidemic that has spread to every music scene including Orange County.

Chain Reaction has also fallen victim to this. A bands ability and competence has been replaced with the number of friends they have. I'm not going to play the role of the cynical music journalist and tell you that the Orange County music scene is dead because of this. I'm not a journalist to begin with but in my opinion, the music scene is far from dead. Stumbling across a new local act worth listening to has come to resemble searching for a needle in a haystack but has only made the search more rewarding. The same could be said about the internet. It doesn't discourage me in the least. There are still plenty of worthy bands here and you can still watch them on Chain Reaction's stage.

Chain Reaction has and will continue to play a vital role in the Orange County scene. It was never a club about a single coherent thought but more about a melting pot of diverse ideals. I've enjoyed many nights at the club and have seen more bands perform there than I can count. Many may feel that the scene is dead, bands are dead, the industry is dead but like everything else, music scenes travel in waves and I'm just sittin here looking forward to the next big set.