AI Roundup and SIlversun Pickups

First, a little AI roundup.

Every time Adam opens his mouth, I expect cock dust to come streaming out, but instead am greeted by one of the most feral rock howls going. I am not sure what kind of Faustian deal this guy had to make to get those pipes, but I am sure his colon’s health will pay the price in the end. There is really no way this guy does not make it to the finals. Every week he destroys (I mean seriously butchers the shit out of) a classic, minus his take on Smokey Robinson and Tears for Fears, and it seems to fly. That is what happens when you have enough swagger to go out there and do whatever you want. I would not be shocked to see him drop a reggae version “Smells Like Teen Spririt”, or put a Christian rock spin on “Shout at the Devil”, it would be absolutely awful, but the dude has the balls to make it work. Whether you watch Idol or not, it is worth checking out the way he made a pure mockery of “Born to be Wild”, but ended up killing it because it sounds like he has an army of castrati in his throat.

This season is pretty impressive, because once you weed out Matt, Chris and Lil’, and they should be leaving 1-2-3 over the consecutive weeks, the talent pool is pretty balanced. Anoop is continually amazing, and gets better every week. I just doubt that his frat brothers have enough pull to out vote the millions of teenage girls that will push Adam and Allison to the finals. I guess when you figure all of the above into the equation, I am still voting for Danny Gokey. His wife died, or something.

On a completely different note: if you have seen a movie trailer or tv spot, or commercial over the past year or so, you have no doubt been assaulted ad nauseum by Silversun Pickup’s “Lazy Eye”. It has been pretty much inescapable. If you were thinking that their Smashing Pumpkins impersonation would go the way of Jonathan Melvion, guess what? You were wrong. Their second disc, Swoon, comes out this week and pretty much goes all Siamese Dream over their debut disc.

I emailed some friends earlier and said I can already feel the floor sagging under the weight of bouncing twentysomethings when these kids hit the Peel on their next tour. Check out this leadoff track, and especially note the ridiculous breakdown when the song hits the 2:55 mark.

Enjoy!!

Silversun Pickups - There's No Secrets This Year

Mondays with Merzbow, pt.2

So last week I posted the first installment of what could be a 50 week series, the entire 50 cd set called Merzbox. Judging from my counter, this was not much of a hit, which is a shame because this is some very exciting if just a wee touch challenging music. Perfect for relaxing or zoning out at your desk.

Unfortunately, week 2 might be even more of a stretch. It contains just one track, the 47 minute opus, " Balance Of Neurosis."


I will give the project a couple more weeks to see if it picks up any steam, but for this week load up and veg out.

Enjoy!

Drunk at the Pulpit, mixtape

After the two and a half weeks of non-stop rain that has been dumped on the ’07, this week’s mix is tailor made for soaking up the freshly rediscovered sun, loading up the grill and partaking in your favorite recreational beverage of choice (mine would be Makers and ginger, but think tonight is more suited to Stone IPA, which I highly recommend you check out).

There are a couple of artists on here with great new discs worth looking up. First is the smoking hot Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears from Austin, TX. These guys shake and shimmy with all the hot buttered, ferocious soul of a Memphis nightclub circa 1967 without all of the unpleasantness of police dogs and fire hoses. “Bitch, I Love You” sounds like The Woggles fronted by Little Richard. Also on here some new tracks from Page France leader Michael Nau’s alter ego Cotton Jones. Paranoid Cocoon, their new disc of psychedelia lite, should be filed in the corner section where Harpers Bizarre meets Grandaddy, and right behind some sweet bubblegum nuggs.

Random tracks on here include great new music from Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach, Jenny Lewis, Heartless Bastards and M. Ward.

Be sure to stick around long enough to check out the Two Gallants tracks. I had initially written these guys off as a Walkmen wannabe band, but after a good friend of mine convinced me to check them out live at a local in-store performance I was instantly hooked. Granted their newer material hits closer to lighter Saddle Creek fare, tracks like “Steady Rollin’” would be right at home being covered by Johnny Cash on his later American Recordings.

Sorry, no AI comments for this week. It pretty much played out as expected.

Enjoy!