This Good Life

Pointless Music Rant

You can't know where you are going unless you know where you've been.  If I apply this adage to the last few years of popular music, I understand why I haven't listened to music on terrestrial radio in over 4 years.  An article popped up at the end of April that puts the last few years into perspective.  A band called Gym Class Heroes found themselves at #1 on the CHR/Top 40 list with their track, "Cupid's Chokehold/Breakfast In America."  The CHR/Top 40 List is a panel of radio stations from all over the US that tracks the national airplay of songs.  So, being #1 on this list means that "Cupid's Chokehold/Breakfast In America" is the most played song on radio in the US.  Now, being #1 isn't what made the article so special, but rather, Gym Class Heroes is the first band to be #1 for 4 consecutive weeks since Green Day in 2005.  This was during the American Idiot album, when Green Day was all the rage.

Gym Class Heroes first came to my attention when I listened to their album The Papercut Chronicles, a work I found to be quite uninteresting, unmemorable, and full of music that was trying hard to be "edgy".  Apparently, GCH was "found" by the guys in Fall Out Boy (don't even get me started on this one), and signed to Decaydance Records the label of Pete Wentz, bass player for Fall Out Boy.  Gym Class Heroes went on after that album to be an artist connected with the soundtrack for One Tree Hill, a teenage emo-soap opera, which only has one, albeit slightly less attractive, redeeming quality: Moira Kelly.  Gym Class Heroes also partnered with Sunkist, and used their remake of "Good Vibrations" to sell sodas.  You can hear this remake here.

I know I'm throwing a lot of random information at you, but I'm trying to establish a foundation for what is the most popular song in the last 2 years by a band that is only known to kids 17 and under who have a penchant for eyeliner and anime, and who's parents totally don't understand them.   Aside from the fact that the band just isn't very interesting, has just become a marketing gimmick, wrecked one of the greatest Beach Boys songs ever, and associates themselves with the most irrelevant band of the last 5 years, the song that rocketed them to the top of the charts, "Cupid's Chokehold/Breakfast In America", is a cover of a Supertramp song.  Oh, they added their own verse, which is why there is a slash in the middle.  The catchy chorus in the song is pulled from "Breakfast In America" by Supertramp which was released in 1979. 

So, out of all the bands in the last two years, the one that most caught the ears and imagination of the public, and then kept their attention for 4 long weeks, was a song that was written 28 years ago.  That's what we get.  And frankly, that's all you are going to get for a long time.  The 2005 chart toppers, Green Day, while the rock-darlings of the day, had just released their most predictable, generic album ever.  It wasn't bad, but not very good.  Years from now, no one will be listening to the American Idiot album, but Dookie will still be found over and over by new listeners.  But that's what we have now.  Music that is written for, marketed to, and eaten up by a group that has no solid opinions or identity:  Teenagers.  Teenagers gave us the life changing music of Tiffany, Menudo, Ace of Base, Brittney Spears, and now Fall Out Boy and Gym Class Heroes.  Just because you add distortion and tattoos doesn't change the fact that you are singing to an audience who measure their importance in this world by how many wrist bands they own and whether they got lots of signatures in their yearbook.  There is truly amazing music going on, with sharp, well written lyrics of substance, strong musical roots and form, and remarkable artistry on instruments, but mainstream has completely been usurped.  It used to be that great songs from decades earlier were plucked up by corporations to sell pizza and bubblegum, but its so much easier to simply make the music the commercial.  Why wait for bands to become classic?  You can get some hipsters in ironic t-shirts to record an old song, tie the album release to some products and TV show, pay a radio station to put it into heavy rotation, and shazam!, you can sell all of your products at every mall in the US.

I'm really not just some old guy talking about how much cooler music was in my day.  I'm talking about cooler music now.  I guess I should be glad that bands I like stay "smaller".  I don't want to see a Decemberists song used to sell tacos.  There has always been disposable music that was vapid and soulless and sold millions of copies.  That will never go away.  Payola is alive and well and companies will always use teens to sell their products.  As I mentioned before, teens have no solid opinions or identities, which makes them perfect for selling a new product.

My call to you, dear reader, is simple.  If you haven't already, then stop listening music radio.  Seriously, just stop.  Listen to public radio and learn something, or, if you must, listen to talk radio.  At least the blow-hard jackassery on those shows don't include music.  Go out and buy some albums recommended on this blog, and visit sites like Pitchfork to learn about what is really going on in music.  Rage against the dying of the light.  And if you meet anyone who mentions Gym Class Heroes and is over the age of 17, break their eyeliner in half for me.  That'll give them something to be EMOtional about.

4 READERS!!! Ah ah ah!

I had someone find my blog through my last Wakarusa entry (as you can see in the comments), and went over to check out her blog.  While perusing her writing, there was a nice little meme list she had posted.  Since memes are worthless without being distributed, and since I haven't had any inspiration to write in the last few days, I thought I would cop out and just steal material for my blog entry.  Many thanks Erica!

BTW, feel free to post in the comments and fill the list out yourself, or link to your own blog.  I need to be better at making blog friends, so maybe this will help.  'Cause my long ass rants and encyclopedic life entries don't seem to pull 'em in.

List 10 musical artists you like, in no specific order (do this before reading the questions below).

1.  The Decemberists
2.  Okkervil River
3.  Mates of State
4.  Arcade Fire
5.  Spinto Band
6.  Jude
7.  Sigur Ros
8.  Kaiser Chiefs
9.  Hot Hot Heat
10.  The Dears

What is your favorite song by 9:  "Picking It Up" - Elevator
What was the first song you heard by 6: "Rick James" - No One is Really Beautiful
What is your favorite song by 7: "Staralfur" - Ágætis Byrjun
How did you get into 10:  Not really sure.  Likely stumbled across them illegally, by dl'ing.  Gang of Losers is a kick ass album though.
What is your favorite song by 5: "Direct to Helmet" - Nice and Nicely Done
How long have you been listening to 1:  Since 2005.  Learned about them before going to ACL.  Missed their set.  Got really into them after that festival, and saw them live last year.
What is your favorite song by 4:  "Rebellion (Lies)" - Funeral
Have you seen 3 live: Yes, last year at Sons of Hermann Hall in Dallas, TX.  Freaking incredible show.  Top 5 shows of all time.
What is your favorite song by 1:  "Eli the Barrow Boy" - Picaresque  I really shouldn't have to pick a favorite with this band.  Like picking favorite flowers.
Do you have any merchandise by 9:  Nope, but my wife has a t-shirt from the concert.
What is your favorite song by 2:  "Black" - Black Sheep Boy
Which song makes you sad by 5:  None.  Can't be sad listening to Spinto Band.
What is your favorite song by 3:   "Beautiful Dreamer" - Bring It Back
List all of the band members in 4:  Win Butler, Regine Chassagne, Richard Reed Parry, William Butler, Tim Kingsbury, Sarah Neufelf and Jeremy Gara.  (Thanks Wikipedia!)
What is your favorite song by 8:  "I Predict a Riot" - Employment
What do you NOT like about 7:  They only played once in my city, and sold out in 15 minutes or something silly like that.  Stupid band, not letting me see them live.
What is your favorite song by 6:   "I Do" - No One Is Really Beautiful
Have you visited 1’s official website:  Of course.  The lyrics themselves are worth hours of reading message boards.
What is your favorite song by 10:  "Hate then Love" - Gang of Losers
Which of these bands have you added on your Myspace: Mates of State, Decemerists, Spinto, Sigur Ros, and Okkervil River.

The Super 120s - My New Music

I have been working on new material over the last several months, and trying to learn my home recording software at the same time.  The result is that I have lots of ideas in rough form, so the time has come to start posting the early versions online.

This makes the official announcement of my new project:

Super 120s
                http://www.myspace.com/super120s

This is a myspace page where I will post my work, write about what I'm doing with the songs, and hopefully connect with people who want to be involved with the project.

So stop by, give a listen.

The Decemberists @ Gypsy Tea Room, Dallas Texas (10/25/06)

As anyone who has read my album reviews knows, I am a huge fan of The Decemberists.  Unfortunately, I have never had a chance to see them live.  I don't get out to live shows as often as I like, but when I found out a month ago that The Decemberists where coming to town, I knew seeing this show would be a requirement for a happy and healthy life.  I caught the end of their show at Austin City Limits Festival in 2005, and missing that show was the only regret I had from that festival.  Since no one I know is familiar with The Decemberists music unless I introduced them, I didn't bother getting tickets ahead of time.  The show was at Gypsy Tea Room, and they have a capacity of 700+ according to their site, so I just planned on showing up early to get tickets and see the opening band.  My wife is a fan as well and wanted to see the show, but she was taking a trip to go horseback riding with a friend of hers, so it was unlikely she would go.  I made arrangements with my friend Wyatt also, but at the last minute a business trip put him in Houston the night of the show.

The day of the show came, and it looked like I'd probably go by myself.  Kris wanted to go, but had alot to do to get ready for her trip.  We debated it for some time, and by 5pm as I was leaving work, hadn't quite decided.  I got home and received a phone call from my sister.  It turns out she and my mom had been trying to reach me, because a co-worker of theirs, Brian, had given my mom a ticket to The Decemberists show for me.  Brian is very into music from what I hear, and planned on going to the show, but couldn't at the last minute.  So, I drove out to Rowlett to pick up the ticket from my parent's house.  By the time I got home, Kris had decided she simply couldn't go, so I would go to the show by myself.  Not a problem for me.  I'd never been to a concert alone before, but listening to music is kind of an isolated thing by default, especially at a large loud venue where you can't talk to the people around you.

So, at 8pm I headed out the door with my ticket and some money for a t-shirt and beers.  I arrived Gypsy Tea Room at about 8:30, and found out that the show was sold out!  Signs had been posted letting patrons know this, and there were groups people wandering around aimlessly, hoping that someone had extra tickets.  Unfortunately, no one did.  The entire night I saw maybe 4 or 5 extra tickets show up, and when anyone announced them, they were mobbed like by kids in corduroy begging for the ticket.  And speaking of kids, I was also surprised by the age of the crowd.  Not because they were young, because they were, but because I came to the realization that I was the old guy at the concert.  By myself.

The concert was non-smoking, at the request of the artists, so I had a cigarette outside and then pushed into the club with a coveted wrist band.  The opening band was an act called Lavender Diamond.  This was a 4 piece band (maybe 5, I was at the back of the room) fronted by a young girl who had a very unique approach to fronting a rock band.  She wore a 50's summer dress, and giggled alot in a "tee-hee" kind of way.  Played it up coy and uncool.  When she danced, she swayed with big exaggerated motions, like a 5 year old spinning in the backyard, and she clapped with very deliberate squareness.  The music was fine, but nothing amazing.  Her voice was like a simple Edie Brickell (her looks too), but you could only hear her voice on the first song, then faintly for the rest of the show.  The sound for Lavender Diamonds was atrocious.  The band was good, with organ, guitar and drums.  The drummer played with big mallets, probably homemade, and pounded away, providing a tribal drone while the band played 60's-esque hippie pop, repeating the same melody and chords over and over throughout the song.  Lavender Diamond did their thing, and it wasn't bad, but I don't know how they got a touring gig with one of the greatest bands on the road.

The Decemberists came up next, and by this time the place was packed.  I had a spot on the left hand side where I could see Colin Meloy (lead singer), Chris Funk (tons of instruments), and an unknown 6th member of the band who I later found out was Petra Haden (violin, vocals, glockenspiel).  I could also occasionally see Nate Query on bass and cello, but often my view was blocked.

The lights dimmed and a recording came over the PA.  It was a man making some requests of the audience.  Be nice to each other, and start by introducing yourself to your neighbor, which most people, including myself, obeyed.  After some hand shaking, recorded requests of how to enjoy the show, and a poetic introduction, The Decemberists came out to roaring applause.  I tried to remember the set list, and have most of the songs listed below, but the order may be slightly off, and I might have missed one song.  Here is the rough set list, from memory:

The Crane Wife 3
The Island
We Both Go Down Together
The Engine Driver
The Perfect Crime #2
Male Junky Prostitute (impromptu riff)
The Legionnaire's Lament
O Valencia!
The Soldiering Life
Shankill Butchers
Song For Myla Goldberg
16 Military Wives
The Crane Wife 1 & 2
Sons And Daughters

The Culling Of The Fold (Encore)
I Was Meant For The Stage (Encore)

It was a wonderful show, which is what I expected from such an amazing band.  They replicated the songs from the albums perfectly, and even improved several by picking up tempos a bit, changing strums, etc.  The 12+ minutes of "The Island" was a crowd favorite, and on "16 Military Wives" Colin arranged a sing along with the crowd.  He did that a few times actually, but I was singing along on every song, so I can't remember exactly which ones he pulled the crowd into.  Out of the three songs that are my favorites ("The Apology Song", "Grace Cathedral Hill", "Shankill Butchers"), they only played "Shankill Butchers", but I was more than happy with the set list.  There was a great moment for me early on in the set.  I really wanted them to play "The Apology Song", which was on the very first EP.  The song starts with the lyric, "I'm really sorry Steven...", so when Colin stepped up to the mic and sang several long, "iiiiiiiii'm...iiiiiii'm", I threw my hands up the air in excitement.  The "iii'm" was actually followed up by the words, "...a Legionnaire", for "Legionnaire's Lament".  For a moment I dropped my hands in disappointment, only to realize that I love that song too, and threw them back up again.  My least favorite song played that evening was "The Perfect Crime #2", but that's a bit like picking your least favorite star in the sky.  "The Perfect Crime #2" was a nice moment for me as a musician, because it showed that despite their amazing talent, The Decemberists are like any other band, and make mistakes.  The tempo was really cooking, and the tempo was a bit fluid, pushing forward and pulling back.  Sometimes songs just get away from you.

I left the concert at about midnight, with The Crane Wife on vinyl as my souvenir.  For those of you who missed the show, better not miss the next one.  The Decemberists are the real deal, and will be a major influence on the music scene of this decade.  And Brian, I owe you one for that ticket.

Album Review: The Decemberists - The Crane Wife

The Crane Wife - The Decemberists
Released - October, 2006

I learned about the Decemberists last summer when I was studying up on Austin City Limits Festival bands.  I got Castaways and Cutouts and their first EP,5 Songs, but only had time to listen to a few songs before the festival.  We only ended up catching the end of their set at ACL, which has become one of my biggest concert regrets.  After the festival, I started listening to their albums, and they have quickly become one of my favorite bands of all times.  The singer/songwriter, Colin Meloy's lyrics and vocals are magical and sincere, and I never get tired of listening to him.  The Decemberists released three full-length albums on the Kill Rock Stars label, a "small" label who's artists also include(d) Elliott Smith, Sleater-Kinney, and Bikini Kill.

The Crane Wife, (named after a Japanese story) is the fourth album for the Decemberists, and is their first major label release since signing with Capitol Records.  Any time an amazing indie band gets picked up by a major, I am excited and concerned.  I have a desire to see the bands I love do well, and that means getting their music out to as many people as possible, but at the same time, with a major label often comes restrictions on creativity, and demands for a "friendly" product.  The Decemberists have very fun, catchy songs, but at the same time, I want to hear the uncensored Colin Meloy, with out record producers getting in the way.

The Crane Wife has all the benefits of a big studio project, (amazing sound quality, perfect mixes, tons of instruments), but none of this ever interferes with what is the greatest set of songs Colin Meloy has ever put together.  The album is open and fresh, with wonderful melodies and the delightful and smart lyrics we have come to expect from Meloy.  The song, "The Island: Come and See/The Landlord's Daughter/You'll Never Feel the Drowning" times in at 12:42, but it never feels boring or long, as it is a medley of three songs, expertly tied together, soaring to gleeful, raging heights.  Another personal favorite of mine is "Shankill Butchers", an ominous fairytale song that pulls the listener into 19th century foggy cobbled streets, lit by gas lamps, where men with knives roam the street looking for naughty children who don't go to bed.

The Decemberists always push the listener to be involved and pushes the envelope of popular music, and this time around they haven't held back, if anything asking even more of the listener, but giving more of themselves.  The Crane Wife will be a top 10 album on all critic's lists this year, and has established The Decemberists as a truly great band, capable of making music that is smart, artistic, and enjoyable.  These are true entertainers, who dazzle and sparkle, but have substance behind everything.

Rating: 10 of 10
Key Tracks:  "The Island: Come and See/The Landlord's Daughter/You'll Never Feel the Drowning", "The Crane Wife 3", "Shankill Butchers"

Okkervil River @ Sons Of Herman Hall - 08/18/06

These guys have been a favorite band of mine since I first heard their Black Sheep Boy album in January of this year. I found out about Okkervil River when they did an interview on National Public Radio. This should give you an idea of their audience.  Well, they came to town last Friday night for a show, and Kris, myself, Alisa (sister) and Earl (boyfriend of sister) all headed out to listen.

The show was at Sons of Herman Hall. The only information we had were: Doors at 8pm, $10. Pretty cheap for a show. We arrived at 8pm, and there was actually a small line of about 15 indie geeks just like us waiting. Rather than wait in line, we went into the downstairs bar for some beers and shuffleboard. I figured there would only be about 150 people at the show, but slowly the hallway was filling up. Even though doors to Sons of Herman opened at 8pm, we didn’t actually get upstairs until about 9:30 or so. The upstair stage is very intimate. Wood floors and ceilings, folding tables and chairs on the sides, and a very small stage. The stage was jam-packed with equipment, and I wondered how they were going to get all of the Okkervil River guys up there.

The opening act was The Dust Congress, which is a solo act (and apparently a political blogger as well). A very tall guy with a very long beard was seated with acoustic guitar, bass drum, and high hat. He kept a nice basic beat going while he played and sang. It was very cool…for two songs. Unfortunately, it got really old really quick. All of the beats were pretty much the same, and while he had a great voice, he just sang long sustained, slightly strained notes in every song, similar to the singer in Victory At Sea (if you know that band). There was nothing to discern one song from the other. They lyrics may have been great, but you couldn’t hear them. All in all, the act has potential, but it just was too low key and boring to keep the audiences attention. I will give credit to the audience though. They were very supportive, and people sat up front and gave their attention to him the entire act. Very rare for an audience, and I think it speaks to their openness to new music.  (I did check out the music on myspace, and its much better than the live show.  You should check it out.)

The second band was Pleasant Grove, a local band that has been playing around town for awhile. They were introduced by the MC as the best band playing in Dallas, and they were opening for Okkervil River so I was expecting some pretty big stuff. Unfortunately, it was another unfortunately. Now, they weren’t bad by any means. They were a pseudo-country indie sound, with Telecasters and Fender Rhodes. They knew how to play, and I really liked the lead singers voice. The unfortunate part was that they were a very low energy sound, and a no-energy show. One of the most boring bands that I’ve had the opportunity to watch. They really looked like they were bored out of their minds to be there. Slow paced songs, boring stage show, and kind of self absorbed with their ‘tween song banter. They never once said thanks to Okkervil River for having us, or something to that effect. It was like this was just so small for them. Anyhow, on stage attitude affected my enjoyment of the show. There were two good songs, the first, and the last, and the stuff in between was just not-terrible.

We weren’t there to see these guys though, we were here to see Okkervil River. If you are reading this and haven’t listened to Black Sheep Boy, please, do yourself a favor and get the album immediately. You are truly missing out on one of the greatest albums of the year, possibly of the decade. I had huge expectations going into this show and I was not disappointed.  Okkervil River crowded six people onto the stage. Will Sheff is the front man, vocals and acoustic guitar, although, the guitar is usually heavily distorted. Since there are six guys, I’m not going to list them all by name, but that is not because they are less important, just due to brevity. Main piano player was up front, with a second synth player in the back who also played trumpet and a variety of percussion.  The lead guitar player also had a lap steel setup. The whole thing was rounded out by bass and drums. Almost everyone in the band sang and some point, and they frequently rotated keyboard players, guitar player would play tambourine, and even a mouth piano came out and was passed around.  Percussion instruments were tossed back and forth.  The show was like a carnival, upbeat, racous, and fun to watch. Will is a great front man. At the start of his show, he took of his glasses, set them on the floor, and proceed to bounce all over the stage. Other band members sang along, even when they weren’t on mic, and big smiles were all over the stage. They played their best songs from Black Sheep Boy, including my personal favorite, “A Stone”, as well as “For Real”, “The Latest Toughs”, and “Black”. There were a few from their first album, Don’t Fall In Love With Everyone You See, but there were about three I had never heard before. We found out towards the end of the show that they were playing brand new songs for the first time. It was a real treat to see new material. The show was just amazing, and the best show I have ever seen with only 250 – 300 people at a club. The crowd loved it so much that the applause brought Okkervil River back on stage for three more songs.

At the end of the show, I had a chance to say hello to Brian Cassidy, guitar player.   Okkervil River is now off to New Zealand and Australia before they come back for a show at ACL Festival in September. So, get the album, get your tickets to ACL, set up close to the stage, and be prepared to enjoy. I know we all did.

Album Review - Sunday Drive: Needle/Eye

needle/eye - ..::sunday drive::..
Released - April, 2006

A long overdue review of local band ..::sunday drive::..  Some background will be helpful to start out this review.  SD is from Dallas, and consists of Ryan Thomas Becker, Jeffrey Gruber, Clinton Hoyler and Grady Don Sandlin.  These names may pop up in other Dallas area bands, as these guys tend to express themselves in a variety of different projects.  For readers of this blog, Gruber's name probably sounds familiar, as he also plays in Pickle (the band I'm in), and played guitar on the album "This Good Life".  I got my hands on this CD at a release party in April, where Pickle opened up for SD.  Also, SD and Pickle are on the Special Session Recordings label, which is run by Gruber.  Got all of that?

So, now the review.  I have been listening to the album for about two months now.  I listened twice right after the show, and then spent the last month listening to it here and there.  I've had about 12 full listens so far, so I'm ready to review.  The difficulty is how to review and album of people you know.  If its good, you can't be too nice, or no one will believe you.  If it sucks, you can't be too mean, because you know these guys.  So, in this review, I assure you I will be totally objective, and will have at least two criticisms just to show I'm being thorough.

Needle/Eye saved me from my main fear of reviewing an album of people I know.  It is a very solid album, so I don't have to pretend it didn't suck.  SD has a very soulful, jam band feel, but they are by no means folksy or simplistic.  The musicianship is outstanding.  Great harmonies, solid beats, and impressive guitar work.  The first track, "Next Train", immediately brought to mind the Gin Blossoms, and I really like the Gin Blossoms.  The shimmering guitar opening on "Love Machine" has a Ween quality to it, and the progressions and rhythms throughout the album remind me alot of Toad the Wet Sprocket.  My favorite song on the album is probably "Another Year", just a wonderfully memorable and singable chorus, and smacks of the attitude and soul of The Black Crowes.  SD has a great sense of melody, and does a good job of creating choruses that make the entire album easy to enjoy on an first or second listen.  Vocals on the album are shared by Gruber and RTB, and while I now can usually tell who is singing, their voices compliment each other very well, and make for easy transitions from one track to the next.  If I didn't tell you there were two singers, you might not have noticed.  The quality of the recording is remarkable for a self-release.  The main thing I notice on Indie records is that the mix is never quite right (I even include my own albums in this category), but this is very warm and professional sounding.  Unfortunately, knowing SD and having seen them play live on many occasions, I still don't think the album catches the fullness and energy of their live show.  Also, there are sections in songs that break out of the songs structure for jams.  That's really fun live, but on the album, it's not as rewarding at times.  But capturing a live sound in a studio is the Holy Grail of all talented small time bands, so this is in no way a strike against the album as much as an encouragement to go see them live if you enjoy the album.  Their live show is that much better.  Not every song bowled me over, but even my less favorite tracks are still quite listenable, and at their worst, SD has more magic in them than 99% of the bands playing live in Dallas.  I don't find myself skipping anything.  My second criticism (I promised two didn't I?) is the CD artwork.  I don't think the cover art really fits the style of the music, and as such, the average person who knows nothing about SD will not get an idea of what they are like or be attracted to listen to the CD.  In the end, if the main complaints a person has is that they don't like the cover and need to go see ..::sunday drive::.. live, it means they have an album on their hands that should have no problem keeping people's attention.   This album never disappoints, and is guaranteed to spark interest in one of the gems of the Dallas scene.

Key Tracks:  "Another Year", "Next Train", "Fighting Living Lies"
Rating: 7.5 of 10

Album Review: The Light Footwork - One State, Two State

One State, Two State - The Light Footwork
Released - December, 2005

To review The Light Footwork, I need to spend a bit of time addressing the recently greatly overused genre-label of "Indie".  If you want to get straight to the review, just skip the next paragraph.  Also, I will apologize ahead of time for the copious use of the word Indie.  Its unavoidable. 

The Indie moniker is meant to encompass independent bands, meaning bands that have either no label, or a very minor independent label.  This originally was a definition of status, no sound.  If you were a band making your own records, doing your own promotion, and sold some records and made a name for yourself, you were an Indie band.  Doesn't matter if you played metal or pop.  Of course, like all labels, the Indie attitude also began to reflect a sound.  You were became Indie if you were making music that wasn't mainstream, much like "Alternative" music of the early 90's.  Now, you were basically Indie if you were stoned, made a record, and then acted like you didn't care if people bought the album.  Like the punk scene, Indie bands didn't want to be widely played or lose their Indie cred.  Of course, all bands want to sell records so they can continue to be a band, and next thing you know, Indie is a huge part of the music scene.   My only gripe is that with this popularity, most of the bands  being hailed as Indie  aren't independent  bands, and therefore don't deserve the moniker.  If you are being hailed as Indie in Rolling Stone, you are by default not Indie.  Indie has been so overused (much like in this review) that the label ceases to have any meaning.  It does the opposite of what a genre-label should do, which is help define a sound.

The Light Footwork are billed as a songwriting duo, but for their debut album, they were joined in the studio by members of Beulah, an band that has been actively grinding out albums since 1997.  The Light Footwork is a true Indie band, for better or worse, and need to be the basis for the definition of Indie from here on.  They have a slacker promoshot, complete with Indie standard-issue thrift store madras button-down.  You can buy TLF on Amazon.com, but there are no reviews or album art.  They are using outlets like CDBaby to sell the record.  One member is finishing up his Master's degree, so no touring is going on.  There is no label representation.  The cover of the album is childhood familiar and borderline copyright infringement.  All of this adds up to the definition of Indie, assuming they didn't put this look together on purpose.  Nothing Indie should be overly planned, or else you are trying too hard and just selling out.  So, if you want to improve your Indie street cred, get into this album.

The bonus is that you won't be disappointed.  This is an fun album with two songs that I have in my favorites list.  The lyrics are a mixture of nonsense and insightful comments.  Jay and Becca have great harmonies, and the change up between male and female vocals is a very nice touch.  I would compare this to Mates of State or a lighter version of The Pixies.  The songs are also very well arranged, and the instrumentation shows why it was necessary for the two songwriters to get a band put together.  Nice single-note melody work on the guitar, laid back tempos, and great chord changes.  My one complaint is that the vocals don't have super distinctive melodies, and the album tends to get repetitious in the end, as the later songs begin to blend together.  My hope is that this album gets TLF some interest from a small label where they can focus on writing new material, and perhaps expand their pallet a bit.  Of course, they can't get too big, or then I'll have to go through another laborious non-explanation of what is Indie.

Rating: 6.5 of 10
Key Tracks: "Pirate Karate", "Coastlines are Landmines", "Docomo"

Album Review: The Concretes - In Colour

In Colour - The Concretes
Released - April, 2006

I have been addicted to this album for almost two months now.  The Concretes are catchy pop rock with happy piano, glockenspiel, euphonium, violin and trumpet mixed in.   The album starts with the ultra-likable "On The Radio", and is relaxed and upbeat for the next 11 songs.  This is the second full-length album from The Concretes, an 8-person band from Sweden, who apparently had their first big break when their song "Say Something New" was featured on a Target commercial.  The most distinctive part of their sound is singer Victoria Bergsman.  Her voice is like a lazy Chrissie Hynde, light and mischievous as a pixie, and English with a slight accent just makes it more endearing.   The other members of the band don't stand out as much, but that's what makes this such a good band.  Everything is so tasteful and effortless, that you don't notice each individual part.  Its truly ensemble playing.  Little riffs, melodies and solos flit in an out, and on songs like "Fiction", swirl into an all out jam.  This is exactly what pop rock should be.  Slightly sweet, but not saccharine.  If you can't enjoy this music, you are trying too hard in life.   The Concretes will help you smile a bit more.

Rating: 9 of 10
Key Tracks: "The Chosen One", "Fiction", "On The Radio", "Greydays"

Album Review: The Black Angels - Passover

Passover - The Black Angels
Released - April, 2006

The Black Angels hail from Austin, TX, and are a 6-piece 60's psychedelic rock revival, who's motto is "Turn On, Tune In, Drone Out."  And drone rock is the best name you could put on this. The recording captures a big, spacious, echoing sound, with droning bass, minimalist guitar work, and organ.  The vocals are nice, like a male Grace Slick.  The guitar work is fairly weak.  No passion or melody, just fuzzy and square.  Reverb, delay, and sound effects doesn't make up for uninteresting guitar work.  It the right idea for the style, but boring execution.  The only thing that makes this band work for me is the drummer.  If it weren't for the great groove and feel of the percussion, the songs would just fall apart.  Another review I read compared this band to Brian Jonestown Massacre.  The quality of recording is much higher than any BJM albums, but BJM has a certain raw energy that this band just can't capture.  While I didn't dislike the album, I just didn't get involved in the album.  Any band can play in a style, but not all bands can do it with creativity.  The Black Angels aren't completely without merit.  I could see how this band would be great live, and the 6th member of the band is listed as a projectionist, suggesting that the drone rock is accompanied with psychedelic visuals.  Based on the outstanding cover art for Passover, that could be great in the right "mindset". 

Rating: 5.5 of 10
Key Tracks:  "Young Men Dead", "Manipulation"