Beck y sus amiguetes Devendra Banhart, MGMT y Andrew Stockdale de Wolfmother, participan de la segunda entrega de Record Club, proyectó que inició el músico norteamericano en 2008. La idea: versionar temas de grandes bandas, con colaboraciones de otros músicos (de ahí la presencia de estos invitados de lujo), todo sólo en un día. De estas sesiones relámpago se filmaron videos, y audio.

La primera entrega tuvo a su cargo las versiones de Velvet Underground and Nico. Salió normal. Ahora, con Songs of Leonard Cohen, segundo experimento del Record Club, realmente dieron en el clavo.

El disco ya está disponible para su descarga y se pueden ver los videos de los covers en la página de Beck, y, por supuesto, en YouTube, madre de todo lo audiovisual. Y es más: la primera entrega del tercer encuentro de Record Club (Beck más nombres como Wilco y Feist reversionando el disco de Spike Spencer, Oar) salió el 12 de este mes.

Les dejo entonces un temazo, tanto hecho por Leonard Cohen como por su heredero Beck. A ver cuál les gusta más.

This one will be on the inf. cathegory cause,  Wolfmother is too much! Check this one out! I thought after the breakup of the original lineup, Andrew Stockdale wouldn’t be able to rise from the ashes, but … this time… he excelled. Enjoy!

Well by now, you should be rolling around helplessly, and that’s a good thing, am I right? Yum Yum food, right? Well, you are so helpless, I would assume, that the only joy you could possibly get today would be from playing records, right? Well, have I got a treat for you!!! Listen to these records! Yes, do it!

Switchfoot – Hello Hurricane – ***1/2 – It always amazes me that Switchfoot has this endless supply of hooks and choruses that pull you into the song, and keep you engaged. There are several songs here that are sure to become staples of thier live sets. It’s great. The only complaint might be that they seem to discuss the same topics over and over, and have the same TYPE of songs, but they are still catchy!!

Relient K – Forget & Not Slow Down – *** – Another winner from Relient K. Maybe not as hooky as previous releases, but good nonetheless. This album feels a bit more self contained, with all the intros and outros, songs kind of blending into one another. It really showcases Relient K’s ability to create these kind of epic, multi-tiered songs. Cool!

Wolfmother – Cosmic Egg – **1/2 – Eh… I don’t know about this one. I liked their first record, but got a bit tired of it after a while. This is basically retreading the same ground, but with less catchy hooks overall. I think they would have needed to step it up a bit to get me back, and this didn’t do it for me.

Mike Lombardo Trio – The Fordham Sessions – *** – Pretty good album of piano-pop songs that can’t resist being compared to Ben Folds, but once you take that out of the equation, there is still solid songwriting and well thought out lyrical material. Definitely a standout for this genre.

Bryan Scary and the Shredding Tears – Mad Valentines EP – ***1/2 – A fantastic taste of the power and genius of this guy. His album last year was wonderful, and this EP is just as good. Check it out!

Well by now, you should be rolling around helplessly, and that’s a good thing, am I right? Yum Yum food, right? Well, you are so helpless, I would assume, that the only joy you could possibly get today would be from playing records, right? Well, have I got a treat for you!!! Listen to these records! Yes, do it!

Switchfoot – Hello Hurricane – ***1/2 – It always amazes me that Switchfoot has this endless supply of hooks and choruses that pull you into the song, and keep you engaged. There are several songs here that are sure to become staples of thier live sets. It’s great. The only complaint might be that they seem to discuss the same topics over and over, and have the same TYPE of songs, but they are still catchy!!

Relient K – Forget & Not Slow Down – *** – Another winner from Relient K. Maybe not as hooky as previous releases, but good nonetheless. This album feels a bit more self contained, with all the intros and outros, songs kind of blending into one another. It really showcases Relient K’s ability to create these kind of epic, multi-tiered songs. Cool!

Wolfmother – Cosmic Egg – **1/2 – Eh… I don’t know about this one. I liked their first record, but got a bit tired of it after a while. This is basically retreading the same ground, but with less catchy hooks overall. I think they would have needed to step it up a bit to get me back, and this didn’t do it for me.

Mike Lombardo Trio – The Fordham Sessions – *** – Pretty good album of piano-pop songs that can’t resist being compared to Ben Folds, but once you take that out of the equation, there is still solid songwriting and well thought out lyrical material. Definitely a standout for this genre.

Bryan Scary and the Shredding Tears – Mad Valentines EP – ***1/2 – A fantastic taste of the power and genius of this guy. His album last year was wonderful, and this EP is just as good. Check it out!

Annyira bejövős az anyag, hogy jóformán 0-24-ben megy. Egy kis rosta azért kellett. Ezek a dalok viszont kiadnak egy tökéletes albumot:

1. California Queen
2. New Moon Rising
3. Sundial
4. In The Morning
5. 10,000 Feet
6. Cosmic Egg
7. Cosmonaut
8. Pilgrim
9. Eyes Open

This experiment was conducted after writing half of my 15 page term paper for my Rhetoric of Los Angeles class in which I deconstructed the movie Clueless for both its ambivalence towards Hollywood-ized wealth and debunking mechanisms including Josh and Cher Horowitz, herself. I took a break to attend the Wolfmother show at the Wiltern and (stupidly) smoked a joint between sets with randoms in the patio. The resulting “review” was written on a laptop in my car after I had a panic attack thinking that I was in the crowd at a fictional Guitar Hero “concert” and had to leave. It’s a little more personal than how I normally like to write, but I thought I’d keep it unedited in the spirit of Richard Meltzer, et al. The last part about Slash was added today, after I realized that Slash showed up about 20 minutes after I left:

The crowd appeared to be 75% dudes and 25% weird-ass chicks with their dudes. The opening band was fronted by a badass-looking Sheryl Crow-meets-Kim Gordon guitar player whose vocals were so deep it took me two songs to realize it wasn’t coming from the guy on the slide guitar. Maybe it was her muscles or the fact that she wasn’t on a bass, but I half expected her to be the one shredding. Realizing the riffage came from the meek-looking guy in the corner blew the whole “maybe I can be okay with arena rock for the next 10 minutes” moment I accidentally fell into. And then the guy behind me came back with his second beer and started breathing the first one on me, banging his Metal Mullisha baseball hat into my head and telling Lauren and I that our excitement was killing him. Stoked when the Heartless Bastards stopped (what a great unintentional pun), I took the opportunity to go to the bathroom, which was downstairs and to the right. For some reason there was a bar in the bathroom lobby and it reminded me of the carts right outside the bathrooms at Disneyland that sell fruits and pickles in a bag (you must know someone who bought those monstrous things). The line was horrendous and I wished I didn’t have to stare at drunk people emerge from the bathroom to realize they’d just made enough room to pack another one in and the dolled up housewives talking about their children’s shitting habits was making me sick, too, so I went back upstairs to the smoking area. For the remainder of halftime I smoked a cigarette with a guy dressed like a legitimate postmodern hippie and his friends from San Francisco who I blunty told that I wet the bed until I was 8 and a half. We talked about psychedelics and my term paper on Clueless (the only thing that’s actually truth here) then I returned to the cavernous old thee-aye-ter just in time to be moted by an effeminate dude who was 6 feet tall. He moved me behind him because his “bro” was in front of me and no way was I going to separate them tonight (!). Anyway, the view sucked because it didn’t exist and the guy next to me kept talking about how the asshole tall guy in front of me is such an asshole so I went back to the bathroom and sat with Lauren. The band thundered upstairs like the apocalypse was upon us, but, no, it was just Wolfmother, sounding like Led Zepplin on Guitar Hero. Back inside, I found another shitty view behind another tall guy (remember the ratio?) and halfheartedly headbanged with the rest of the crowd for a few songs before their actual Guitar Hero song came on and them my comparison all made sense. One of the white boy afros on stage soloed for about a 9000-note Shred-Streak(TM) and subsided only when the drunk girls to the right of me had their squeal-full. Another tall guy moved in on the left and not that he was blocking my view, but I was really beginning to reassess my fondness of altitudeinally advanced men. The pot kicked in from halftime and I thought about losing my necklace in this weird crowd of people and then about having a bag full of half-written term paper stored on a half-ex boyfriend’s laptop in my car that was parked on an unlit Koreatown street and my anxiety went through the roof. I felt like I was in the wrong place and the wrong time was about to happen, so I bid adieu and just left. When I got to my ride, the doors were unlocked. Creepy or a sign, I couldn’t tell. I really didn’t care if I saw Wolfmother—I’d rather listen to the CD than watch Myspace fans and UCR graduates mix together in a listless throb-pit only to be awakened by a Slash cameo during the encore. Way harsh, Tai? Whatever, I’m Audi.

 

 

November 24, 2009
The Wiltern, LA

Wolfmother: they don't just play

One of my friends asked me what I was doing tonight. When I told him I was going to see Wolfmother, he responded, “Wolfmother? I don’t know what that is, but I wanna go.”  And that’s why I’m friends with that guy – he knows a good thing when he hears it.

Wolfmother is a good thing.

The last time I saw Wolfmother it was during Voodoo Experience 2009, in New Orleans, Halloween weekend.  They were one of only three bands that exceeded my expectations during that festival.  The last time I was at The Wiltern was to see Nine Inch Nails’ last performance ever and the room still feels charged from that event.  The last time I saw a live show was 3 weeks ago, before I left on an Arctic expedition.

Wolfmother audience

Maybe it’s due to my long holiday away from live music . . .  Or perhaps it’s just the fact that Wolfmother is an outstanding band, but that was one hell of a show.  The audience was among the best I’ve seen in LA – clapping, stomping, jumping throughout every song.  If they weren’t already standing, the audience would have given a standing ovation after every song.  There were times it looked as if the band was thinking, “Wait – is this our encore?” during the thunderous applause and cheering that followed every song.  No, no. . . that’s just your third song, but you played it like it was an encore and the audience responded with the same level of enthusiasm.  Wolfmother played every song as if it were their banner hit – a larger than life, extremely energetic and passionate performance start to finish.

Wolfmother played every song as if it were an encore performance

I wonder if Wolfmother knows this was the best show they’ve ever played. I wonder if, from the band’s perspective, this was an exceptional show. . . or have they all been this good?  Andrew Stockdale’s voice, guitar solos, and dynamic stage presence took the show to another level.  At one point, Ian Peres was playing keyboards with his right hand and bass with his left hand, simultaneously.  At another point, Peres was playing keyboards and his feet weren’t touching the ground at all.  Peres frequently needed to untangle himself from the cable he’d gotten caught up in while tearing around the stage.

Andrew Stockdale and Slash

Wolfmother weren’t the only ones tearing around the stage.  During the encore Stockdale invited Slash out to play “By The Sword.”  Whatever the audience was doing before Slash hit the stage, they turned up 300 notches when he did take the stage.

This was the last show of Wolfmother’s U.S.  tour.  Wolfmother doesn’t just get up there and play — they GET UP THERE AND PLAY!

And the fans continued screaming and cheering as they traversed the parking garage, on the way to their cars.

On Saurday, November 14th, I had one of the greatest nights of my life! I saw thenewno2 and Wolfmother at the State Theater! YAY!!! They were so amazing!

thenewno2 is one of my favoritest bands of all time! There are only two people in the band; Dhani Harrison and Oli Hecks. Dhani is George Harrison’s son. But they add, like, three people when they tour. Yeah! thenewno2 is a blues-elecro alternative band. My favorite song by them is Another John Doe. And the video is pretty wicked too! Check it out! Actually, all the videos that they have are wicked. So check ALL of them out!

I’ve heard off the band Wolfmother and heard three of their songs, but ever since that fatefull day, I can’t stop listening to them! I even went out and bought their first CD! And it’s amazing! Andrew Shockdale is one of the coolest people ever. He’s the singer and lead guitar player for Wolfmother. He went into the crowd twice and people kept giving him drinks when he was on stage! How awesome is that? Now I need a time machine to go back to that night…

The Wiltern

Wenn sich Bands auflösen ist das meistens schade. Wenn es so eine Band wie die Australier von Wolfmother erwischt, möchte man jedoch in Tränen ausbrechen. Frontmann Andrew Stockdale sieht das ähnlich und begräbt wegen so einer Auflösung bestimmt nicht seinen Traum vom Rock’n’Roll. Nach der Trennung 2008, scharte der Sänger mit der markanten Frisur drei neue Musiker um sich. Ergebnis dieser Neubesetzung ist das neue Album „Cosmic Egg“.

Schon der erste Song „California Queen“ macht klar dass Stockdale die Hosen in der Band an hat. Denn auch auf „Cosmic Egg“ wird wieder fleißig der Charme des Classic Rock versprüht.
Der Opener fackelt nicht lange und prescht mit zunehmendem Tempo bereits nach guten 40 Sekunden durch die Refraingerade, während der Hörer schon nach 30 Sekunden im Rock’n’Roll Himmel angekommen ist. Die Australier legen vom Start weg ein hohes Tempo vor, das im Albumverlauf nur selten einbricht.
„New Moon Rising“ gibt sich ähnlich unkompliziert und macht sich daran seinen Quasivorgänger „Woman“ vom Debütalbum zu beerben. Schweißtreibende Gitarrensoli inklusive.
Ein waschechtes Monsterküken schlüpft mit dem übergroßen „Sundial“ aus dem kosmischen Ei. Wolfmother bombardieren den Hörer mit breitbeinigen Riffs: Hier darf heftig mit dem Kopf genickt und die Luftgitarre ausgepackt werden.
Die bereits angerissenen Erholstationen hören auf die Namen „In The Morning“ und „Far Away“. Ersteres tritt nicht mehr direkt in den Magen sondern viel eher gegen das Schienbein, letzteres ist noch etwas zu hart um es auf den nächsten Kuschelrock-Sampler zu schaffen – eine Powerballade samt klischeehaftem Pianoausklang.
Der dazugehörige Text kann getrost als zweckmäßig bezeichnet werden, aber auch die restlichen Titeln tummeln sich da auf ähnlichem Niveau. Wolfmother legen ihr Augenmerk klar auf treibende Rocksongs, was auch ganz vorzüglich funktioniert. Ob stampfend wie beim passend betitelten „10.000 Feet“ oder Haken schlagend beim verwinkelten „In The Castle“.
Mit „Violence Of The Sun“ schließt das Album und versetzt nochmal ins Staunen: Was ruhig beginnt und mit kurzen Riffs gewürzt wird, schwingt sich gegen Ende in epische Höhen auf. Vor dem geistigen Auge sieht man förmlich die tiefrote Sonne langsam hinter dem Ayers Rock untergehen, wenn Stockdales Stimme immer mehr in einer Wand aus Gitarren und polternden Klaviertönen verschwindet.

Wolfmother zeigen sich auf ihrem zweiten Werk erfreulich kompromisslos. „Besser gut kopiert, als schlecht selbst gemacht“ wäre übertrieben, aber die Parallelen zu Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath und Konsorten sind nicht zu überhören. Macht aber auch gar nichts, denn Wolfmother adaptieren deren Sound mit einem Gefühl der Unbesiegbarkeit ohne dabei peinlich zu wirken. Wie wichtig Andrew Stockdales Quäkstimme für Wolfmother ist, verdeutlicht das Gestammel nach der Frage wer denn die Songs besser vertonen könnte. Jede andere Stimme würde schlicht und ergreifend nicht zum Flair passen. So fügt sich alles zu einem großen Gesamtbild zusammen, welches konsequent in Richtung Retro gebürstet ist.

Was 2008 mit der Trennung sein vermeintliches Ende fand wird im Jahre 2009 effektvoll fortgesetzt: Kompromissloser Classic Rock im neuzeitlichen Gewand. Und das Beste daran: Es funktioniert ausgezeichnet. Eine weitere Trennung können sich die Australier aber bitte sparen.

Fazit: 8/10

Tracklist:
01. California Queen
02. New Moon Rising
03. White Feather
04. Sundial
05. In The Morning
06. 10.000 Feet
07. Cosmic Egg
08. Far Away
09. Pilgrim
10. In The Castle
11. Phoenix
12. Violence Of The Sun

Ogni anno me ne vengo fuori con una compilation estiva per i miei conoscenti, una sorta di tradizione che continua dai tempi del liceo. Le compilation sono piccole creature d’amore, veri e propri omaggi a quegli artisti la cui musica diventa, giorno dopo giorno, ascolto dopo ascolto, la colonna sonora delle nostre vite.

Grazie a queta pratica (fare compilation, cassette, cd o anche semplici playlist) attraverso gli anni ho fatto conoscere moltissimi artisti a svariate persone, che poi si sono trovate anche a comprare dischi o ad andare ai concerti di questi musicisti. Di nuovo la domanda sorge spontanea; quanto realmente danneggia un musicista la cultura del file-sharing?

E comunque bisogna sempre guardare avanti, come ci dice Chris in questo brillante intervento su youtube. La grande opportunitá per gli artisti di slegarsi dalle logiche di mercato e dalle regole imposte dall’industria discografica sta proprio nel trovare alternative alla vendita del prodotto/disco.

Anche i Radiohead, che in una recente intervista affermavano che non avrebbero piú rilasciato un disco, non hanno annunciato la loro fine ma un nuovo inizio, come poi ha spiegato Colin Greenwood in un susseguente intervento. Gli artisti devono pensare le loro opere all’interno delle nuove culture tecnologiche e sociali. Il formato cd é ormai obsoleto. Un musicista oggi ha l’opportunitá di presentare i propri lavori sotto moltissime nuove forme, grazie soprattutto a internet.

Questa qui sotto é la mia compilation proposta per l’inverno. La tracklist é un semplice consiglio d’ascolto, ma guarda caso sono riuscito a trovarla da qualche parte in rete, perció se vi va di scaricarla, accomodatevi: http://is.gd/52rS9

Buon ascolto a tutti!!

THE COLONY COMPILATION
Winter 2010

01 – BIG ELF – Money is pure evil
02 – WOLFMOTHER – New Moon Rising
03 – PORCUPINE TREE – Time Flies
04 – DIABLO SWING ORCHESTRA – Balrog Boogie
05 – JOHN ZORN – Miller’s Crake
06 – THE MARS VOLTA – Copernicus
07 – PINK MARTINI – And Then You’re Gone
08 – THE DEAR HUNTER – The Poison Woman
09 – NORAH JONES – Even Though
10 – TRANSATLANTIC – The wind blew them all away
11 – JULLIETTE LEWIS – Fantasy Bar
12 – TORI AMOS – Snow Angel
13 – BEARDFISH – Destined_solitaire
14 – ALICE – Island

Picture by Willoclick

FONTE: http://colonyofslippermen.wordpress.com/

We at DeadBeatz embrace music from all corners of the globe, but recently the music that is being produced from this island deserves special recognition. Yes, if you haven’t already guessed its ‘The Land Down Under’! For many generations Australia has been producing world class acts like ACDC, INSX, Powderfinger, Midnight Oil, (the list goes on…) to today’s contemporary bands like Hilltop Hoods, Pnau, The Presets, Empire of the Sun, Wolfmother, (ok I’m getting sick of typing bands, you get the picture!). If you haven’t been living under a rock for the last 60 years you would have heard at least one of these bands (if not all!). Though it’s not just the big names that this continent is known for in the international industry, it’s the local talent that drives the countries musical ambition.

There is one national radio station that has made it their business for discovering new music, and has continued to do so for over 30 years. So far they have revealed over 100 artists from all over the country and launched the careers of artists like Missy Higgins, Killing Heidi and Grinspoon. Due to their new website called Triple J Unearthed, this ‘unearthing’ has accelerated, with bands featuring their songs and profiles for the public to enjoy. Below are a few of our favourite songs that we have chosen.

Stay tuned for further posts, as the supply of talent is endless!

Come Around – Tim & Jean 10/10

Colour Between the Lines – Sleep Decade 9/10

Addicted – ButterBOX 10/10

Hangin’ On a Wire – Ikarii 10/10

Spread the Beatz!

___________________________________________________________________________________

Hű, nagyon közel vagyok ahhoz, hogy megvegyem ezt az albumot. Teljesen véletlenül akadtam a New Moon Rising klipbe kb két hete, gondoltam adok egy esélyt a lemeznek. Hát, úgy néz ki bejön.

Ez a borító pedig külön is tízpontos.

I am lucky enough to be invited to lots of interesting events from the most rocking concerts to fringe to freak flag waving nights of hedonism. Sometimes, though it may be a bit off topic for me, I am offered a curiosity I just can’t pass up on.

My friend, Harmon Leon, is the brilliant and warped mind behind Strike TV’s Infiltrator and Freedom Haters. As you might remember, I wrote an essay on the Hollywood dream for his book American Dream. I also played his tacky girlfriend in a brilliant Infiltrator piece on gun control which you can read about here.

From time to time Harmon and I will chat about what projects we are working on or events we are covering:

ME: I’m going to interview Wolfmother this weekend. How about you?

HARMON: Oh, I’m going to Vegas to join ‘Hookers for Jesus’ for the weekend.

Say wha? Well, no offense to the Cosmic Egg dudes but that kinda trumps my rock journo dealio. No question.

So when Harmon had to preach to sinners and hand out bibles in casinos with former ladies of the night, I gladly stepped in for him when he couldn’t be in LA for the 2009 PUA World Summit. That’s PUA, as in: Pick Up Artist. A whole hotel convention ball room filled with pick up artists running their ‘game’ on girls and spreading the word on how to land birds. Um, yeah. I have to go.

With Harmon’s best wishes and a little Hooker Jesus prayer, I tarted myself up in my tiger dress and went to the Renaissance hotel.  I thought about this move and knew I had two options. Wear three multi-media Cosby sweaters and glasses and make it easy for them to talk to me as an asexual journalist…or basically go dressed as a blow up doll personified and see if they can contain themselves long enough to make a slimeless impression on the world. Yes, I knew I was throwing myself to the wolves, but it’s what we embedded journalists do. We put ourselves in harms way for the story. I braced myself for the onslaught of Drakkar Noir.

I checked in as Harmon’s replacement – he being a columnist for Penthouse, and whipped out my little flip camera. I was a bit concerned I was going to be shunned – I thought I would be seen as the enemy seeing as I had ovaries and all, but I was greeted with open arms, a gift bag filled with k-y jelly and condoms, and lots of pick up lines. Someone thought their game was going to work and work fast.

I met with the PUA summit founder Vince Kelvin and he introduced me to a few of the speakers, Hypnotica, Speer, Mehow and Sexual Chocolate who all proceeded to tell me that they were NOT like Mystery and the OLD game. That was about trying to trick a woman into bed. Boo to that. The real purpose of this weekend’s conference was to help men become better men so that they could be better for us women.

Wow, that’s like just what I wanted to hear. Because I’d be a bit turned off if they were trying to pick me up or trying to just get me into bed. But I can really get behind a bunch of guys who are trying to improve their lives and be better for me. I guess I had this whole ‘pick up artist’ and ‘game’ scene wrong. Mea culpa.

True, the tables of ‘Cassanova Crew’ tees, Affliction and Ed Hardy clothes racks, and flyers promising to be part of the ‘pussy pounding posse’ didn’t quite match what they were telling me. But when I brought this up to them, I was told that all the merch was just promotional to get the guys in the door. Once the dudes were in the door, that’s when the real healing and transformation began. It was set up that way. For us women. For women all over the world.

It was very educational. From learning about how to loosen a girl up, to discovering that the holy spirit is actually spunk – I can only imagine the knowledge passed on to the guys who went through the whole weekend master class.

I’ve included some clips of my conversations below complete with bits of NLP, subliminal anchoring via touch and speech patterns, and blatant inappropriate flirting. And yes, I did get asked out on a couple dates. They seemed really nice. I think they’d like me even if I was wearing a big ole Cosby sweater. Should I go?

"Is that him trying to grow a moustache for Movember?"

It seems like all bands go through a few basic stages of their careers. There’s the early stage, usually before they make it big, where their entire repertoire is filled with covers of their favourite songs, and songs very much inspired by the songs they’ve covered. Then they hit on something reasonably original and run with it, which it what will get them really noticed. Then in the later stages, they run out of original ideas, and end up repeating what they’ve done before, or go back to the early stage of riffing on other bands’ ideas.

With Wolfmother’s first album, they didn’t seem to need to any further than the first stage to get noticed. They didn’t do anything particularly interesting with it, but they did what they did do very well. They sounded like teenage boys messing about in a garage, working out how they could rip off classic rock gods such as Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, and most notably, fellow Australians AC/DC. But you didn’t mind, because it was all done with a sense of fun, almost ironically, and rather than feeling unoriginal, it felt like a massive tribute to the work of rock gods of yesteryear.

Sadly, Cosmic Egg just doesn’t feel the same. Wolfmother have moved out of the first stage of being a band that they fit in so comfortably. But in doing this, they’ve missed the second stage originality completely and gone straight to the slight staleness of stage three, obviously trying to recapture what they had with their self-titled debut release. I don’t want to be too harsh though; Cosmic Egg has been (to use a reviewer cliché) a difficult second album for the band. Two of the three original members left the band, leaving only the lead singer. This may actually explain for the lack of ideas, or at very least where the new inspiration came from for Cosmic Egg.

Here’s the thing, where their fist album reeked of classic rock, this one actually seems to borrow heavily from grunge rockers Audioslave. Oh, the Wolfmother sound is still there, and there are still nods to some classic bands like The Rolling Stones and again Led Zeppelin, but they no longer are the only influence. Distorted Bass leads the charge on this impression, but it’s also a case of the vocal styling on a lot of the songs. At times vocalist Stockdale drops his classic rock wail, and takes on more of a grunge sensibility, which just seems out of place with the Wolfmother image.

Cosmic Egg is a pretty average album. It’s not bad by any stretch of the word, but you feel it has shown you all it’s got by track 5, and the rest of it just feels dull and not as worth your time. If you are a Wolfmother fan, you should still enjoy it, just don’t expect it to have the same youthful exuberance as their first album did. Sadly, these mediums of the rock world seem to have chosen the wrong bands to channel this time.

6.5/10

Standout Tracks:

Sundial

New Moon Rising

California Queen

Seriously? We don’t look anything like Led Zeppelin!?!?

Well…I’m getting all geared up for my end of the year reviews and Top 10 favorites, so I haven’t been spending as much time checking out the new tunes that are buried deep in the hidden cracks of ITunes. However I have picked up some good songs here & there and I always check out the new releases. Here is what I have found in the last couple of weeks…

Norah Jones – “Even Though” (adult contemporary)
I’m not a huge fan of Jones’, however there is something smooth about this track. And you can’t deny that she has varied up her sound a bit on her latest album. I like the subtle guitar in this song and it’s easy on the ears.

John Mayer – “Heartbreak Warfare” (adult contemporary)
This album is listed as “rock”, but I don’t know how anybody could ever say that Mayer is a rocker. Sure…he can play a decent guitar, but overall? He’s easy listening chick music. That being said, I don’t mind me some Mayer when I’m in a easy-going frame of mind and I kinda liked his “Room For Squares” album. This album? I dunno…but this track is catchy even if it is maybe :30 too long.

The Crash That Took Me – “Tragic Sense Of Life” (alternative)
This is an AWESOME track from a band with a really odd name. Don’t know anything about them other than that this track is cool and poppy. I dig it.

Wolfmother – “White Feather” (rock)
Here is a band that is unafraid of showing their rock roots! Seriously…close your eyes and listen and you hear Led Zeppelin. And it is awesome! Oh…and by the way…we need MORE cowbell!!!

People Under The Stairs – “Trippin’ At The Disco” (rap)
Picking up where Jurassic 5 left off, this band is one of my favorite rap bands. Very old school and catchy as hell. Guaranteed to have you shakin’ your butt while you’re hanging in your cubicle…

Train – “Hey Soul Sister” (pop)
My wife likes this track. It’s getting a lot of airplay around here so I downloaded it for her. It’s easy enough on the ears and decent pop. Check it out of it’s your thing!

Aesop Rock – “None Shall Pass” (electronic/dance)
Going back a couple of years but I heard this track over the sound system at Pac Sun and had to download it! Yeah…I’m a bit late to the party but this track is AWESOME in a workout mix. Another guaranteed booty shaker!

Adam Lambert – “For Your Entertainment” (pop)
I totally thought THIS one was gonna be a flop but it is pretty damn catchy and, while overproduced a bit, shows that Lambert might very well be the latest hit maker from the American Idol line. I really like this track and I can’t wait to see what else he has lined up!

Kris Allen – “Before We Come Undone” (pop)
The 2009 American Idol winner released his new album this week and, like the Lambert track, sounds a little overproduced (which is an AI debut album trait), but for his style, vocal ability & his audience, I think he’s put together a decent collection of pop tunes here. Just listening to the snippets, they all sound decent enough. But this is the track I downloaded and it’s good pop stuff with a little rockin’ edge. Check it out!

Rakim – “Won’t Be Long” (rap)
This guy has been around forever (remember Eric B & Rakim?) and deserves your attention. Critics love him and he has a great flow. Anyway…this track is excellent and will work great in a spinning mix. Could I be smelling a hit? Dunno…

Puddle Of Mudd – “Spaceship” (rock)
Coming off sounding like a Nirvana wanna-be band (which they might be, I honestly don’t listen to them), I heard this song on the radio and decided to download it. After repeated listenings I realize it has it’s place on rock radio but it’s not something I’ll be listening to in January. But for now…I got it in my workout playlist!

Impulse Buy Of The Week: Blacklist – “Midnight Of The Century” (alternative)
I was gonna download the new album by Them Crooked Vultures, but after listening to the snippets I didn’t think it was anything to write home about. So I searched around and came upon this band. Although the sound definitely isn’t new (think The Cult, Peter Murphy, any other number of 80’s alt bands), I thought they sounded worth downloading. If you’re in the mood, it’s like a trip back through time. For me, it put me right back in college, spinning albums for my college station at 1am in the morning. Good stuff and the entire album is pretty consistent. Not gonna break down any walls but not bad for a band I’d never heard of. $10 well spent…

And that’s all I got…

Last night I went to my first rock show in Salt Lake City since moving to Utah. A few weeks ago I found out that thenewno2 was finally touring outside of California and almost immediately scooped up a ticket. thenewno2 is a band led by Dhani Harrison, son of my man George Harrison. He was the last Beatle/Beatle spawn I needed to see to complete the quartet. So that was my first taste of EPIC last night.

(As a side note, I bought two tickets, and couldn’t find anyone to use the second. I’m not doing that again. If the trend of not-going-to-shows-with-Amanda-Mae-despite-the-awesome-time-she-has continues as it has since I left Charleston, fine. But I’m not wasting my money anymore.)

I was pleased to be among the first people in line. Just like the good ole days. This also meant I was front row inside the venue, right at the barricade. (My position shifted from Stage Jonny to Stage Jay and back, for those who know what I’m talking about.) I made friends with the guys next to me, who told me about the incredible Les Claypool shows they’ve been to at The Depot, and how one of them wailed on some other dude for spitting in his face. They warned me that being at the barricade could be hazardous, which I didn’t pay much mind to. I also found out they were Mormon. Let me tell you, there’s nothing more entertaining to me that hardcore metal fans who happen to be Mormon.

I got the shivers when thenewno2 took the stage. This is the progeny of one of my idols! And he looks and sings just like his dad! Come to think of it, every member of his band looked like somebody else. His bassist looked like my friend Ash, his guitarist looked like Leon Russell, his keyboardist looked like Allen Ginsberg, and his drummer looked like Stanley Tucci in Undercover Blues. “My name is Muerte! My name means death!” And Dhani looked like George in the early 70s, but with skinny jeans and hi-tops. Oh, and a little shorter.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with the music. I’ve been following Dhani’s career for a few years now, and his music has evolved quite a bit in that time. It was kind of like the White Stripes but with more electro-pop thrown in. Dhani was even singing through a megaphone at one point. Not sure I would have liked it if I didn’t have the emotional connection, but just the same I really enjoyed myself. That was the closest I’ll ever get to seeing George Harrison perfrom in this life, so I milked it for all I could. They only played five or six songs, but I think they were well received.

The next band up was Heartless Bastards. Just the name alone garnered interest, as you can imagine. I wasn’t sure what to think once I found it was a female-fronted band – those can be really bad. But this chick had a fantastic voice and the energy on-stage was electric. Had I gone in totally blind to the music, HB would probably be my new favorite band at the end of the night. Didn’t end up getting their CD, but it’s on my list now.

Then the famed Wolfmother took the stage. And that’s when the crowd started to push me up against the barricade. Some drunk blonde chick and her friend pushed their way to the front and proceeded to thrash dance the rest of the night. I have the bruises to prove it. Some young dude was with them the whole time, too. Couldn’t tell if he was son, boyfriend, or beard. And he kept elbowing me, too! The crowd only intensified with each song. When you’re very literally stuck up at the barricade, there’s nothing to do but when-in-Rome it and headbang along with the rest of them.

Warching and listening to Wolfmother made me wonder if they’re like what a late 60s Led Zeppelin show must have been like. (I wonder if Miss Pamela Des Barres has seen them?) I did recognize some songs, like “Apple Tree” and “Woman” from their debut from a few years back, so that was nice. That Andrew Stockdale is one amazing performer with EPIC hair. One of the best Jew Fros I have ever seen, outside of that one guy from Second Shift. And even though I’m not the biggest metal enthusiast, and mosh pits are nit my forte, I had an absolute ball.

At the end of the night I bought thenewno2’s album, and got the guy who looked like my friend Ash and the guy who looked like Allen Ginsberg to sign it. I would have waited at the tour bus like a true groupie, but I had to open at work this morning, and had an hour’s drive home – alone. So I shall trust Fate that Dhani and I will cross paths again, and hopefully by that time I’ll have something more (and less creepy) to say than, “I’m your dad’s biggest fan and I think you’re hot.” Which is totally what I would have said.

Iron Man und Kashmir im Streit um ein kosmisches Ei. Nein, wir reden hier nicht von einem spinnerten Warner-CD-Comic für picklige Nerds, sondern von dem neuen Album von Mike Pattons erklärter Hass-Band Wolfmother. Wie schon auf dem selbsbetitelten Vorgänger  kramen die Australier die alten Leder- und Jeansjacken aus und holen derart authentisch die alten Sounds von Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath und Uriah Heep aus der Mottenkiste, dass einem schon vom Zuhören die Brusthaare sprießen.

„Cosmic egg“ würde sich hervorragend in der LP-Sammlung vom Rocker-Opa machen und das meine ich vollkommen unironisch. Wo einfach viel zu viele miese Dorfbands schon an einem simplen AC/DC-Riff scheitern und meistens auch gar nicht mehr tun, als deren Songs zu covern, haben Wolfmother ein doch beachtliches Material an Hits anzubieten. „In the morning“ würde, von einem jungen Robert Plant vorgetragen, komplett als Nummer von Led Zeppelin durchgehen und der Breitwandsound von Produzent Alan Moulder hätte auch schon damals alle vier Lautsprecher-Boxen in Anspruch genommen.

“Fette Produktion” schießt einem häufiger durch den Kopf, überhaupt fällt man beim Hören von „Cosmic egg“ in längst zurecht vergessene Rocker-Manierismen zurück, die man eigentlich wegen ihres lächerlichen Muckertums und dem breitbeinigen Machismus längst ad acta gelegt hat. Aber hat man sich nach dem letzten Kater nicht auch geschworen, nie wieder zu trinken? Also. Wolfmother sind ein klarer Fall für die unteren Körper-Regionen und wer auch nur einen Text aus dem Gaga-Sammelsurium auswendig behalten kann, muss schon einen recht seltsamen Fetisch für 08/15-Lyrics haben.

„Cosmic egg“ bietet 53 Minuten lang durchaus gute Classic-Rock -Unterhaltung, von einem Roland Emmerich Film erwartet man schließlich auch nur pubertäres Zerstörungskino für große Jungs und keinen Oscar.  Wer etwas Wert auf Anspruch legt, sollte dann allerdings noch zum Album von  Them Crooked Vultures greifen, die sogar das Led-Zep-Original John Paul Jones in ihren Reihen wissen.

Diese Rezension erschien zuerst bei Popcultures.de

Todo ano um filme independente rouba os holofotes. Aconteceu com Pequena Miss Sunshine, aconteceu com Juno. São aquelas pequenas joias que não contam necessariamente com os atores mais famosos do mundo, mas que tem uma história adorável para todos os públicos – e, de quebra, uma trilha sonora bem legal! Esse é o caso de (500) Dias Com Ela, que não é nem tão independente assim (20th Century Fox não é nenhuma produtora/distribuidora de fundo de quintal, né?), mas tem lá seus ares e conta com a mais nova queridinha dos amantes de indie: Zooey Deschanel (ela é o ‘She’ do She & Him – aparentemente a sra. Ben Gibbard gosta de pronomes, já que no título brasileiro, Zooey também é o ‘ela’ do título).

Detalhes linguísticos à parte, quem faz o par com Zooey é Joseph Gordon-Levitt, que muitos da minha geração conhecem como o Tommy de 3rd Rock From The Sun, série com John Lithgow que o Sony reprisou. Hoje Joseph está crescido e é considerado um dos jovens atores mais promissores. Para completar o elenco, temos Clark Gregg, que dirigiu Choke e faz o ex-marido de The New Adventures of Old Christine, série da Warner. Digamos, então, que não estamos lidando com um bando de desconhecidos.

Não que isso importasse. A espinha dorsal do filme é a história, que não é de amor. Logo no início do filme, somos avisados de que não se trata do que se imagina, e sim de uma história sobre o amor. Há uma grande diferença, acredite. Tanto que nos vemos dentro de um conto às avessas: o rapaz é romântico, a moça não se apega. Mas, nessa história-que-não-é-de-amor, há momentos adoráveis, singelos, românticos, que não te deixam opção a não ser torcer pelo final feliz. Para que o casal tão improvável seja feliz para sempre.

Para saber se isso de fato acontece, você terá de conferir o filme. A questão que fica é: a história é bonitinha, os atores também, mas vale a pena ou é apenas hype? Será que o filme é tão bom quanto todo mundo diz?

Eu diria que sim. Não é todo filme que toca Regina Spektor, The Smiths, Doves, Spoon, The Clash, Wolfmother e Feist. E não é todo filme de amor sobre o amor que te prende até o final simplesmente porque se importa com aqueles personagens e quer saber o que acontece com eles – aliás, a maioria dos filmes do gênero é previsível. Um filme que te faz contemplar duas possibilidades distintas, sem conseguir prever o final, é uma raridade. Só isso faz valer o ingresso.

On inital reflection I can only think of the Minogue sisters and Jason Donovan. And admittedly you can’t say a bad word about Kylie (not because of her music, but because people will jump you). Deeper research, or about 15 minutes more research, brings AC/DC, Jet, Wolfmother and INXS into the mix. I’m not exactly dazzled by anything, although I did enjoy Wolfmother’s performance at T in the Park in 2006, but still, for 21.5 million people music seems to be the final interest. So stop concentrating on destroying us at sport and start to focus on music. One final point… Empire of the Sun, one/two/maybe three good songs, but not fully on the radar of brilliant music. I’ll keep looking.

Si hay algo mejor que los Killers, es un cover de Los Killers a dueto con Wolmother, covereando una canción de Los Animals. Don´t let me be misunderstood es un clásico del grupo británico, que fue parte de su primer LP editado en 1965. La canción tiene ese toque sesentero que invariablemente te pone a bailar o por lo menos a golpear el piesito contra el piso, incluso Tarantino usó un extraño cover tipo Locomía en le peli de Kill Bill. Ahora encontré esta curiosidad que fue captada durante el concierto del cuarteto de Las Vegas en Toronto y que coincidió con la visita de Wolfmother a la misma ciudad.

1 TEGAN AND SARA Sainthood Sire-Vapor-Warner Bros.
2 FLAMING LIPS Embryonic Warner Bros.
3 AVETT BROTHERS I And Love And You Columbia
4 NOAH AND THE WHALE The First Days Of Spring Interscope
5 WOLFMOTHER Cosmic Egg Interscope

6 HEADLIGHTS Wildlife Polyvinyl
7 WEEZER Raditude Interscope
8 MONSTERS OF FOLK Monsters Of Folk Shangri-La
9 BUILT TO SPILL There Is No Enemy warner
10 TOM WAITS Glitter And Doom Live Anti
11 RAVEONETTES In And Out Of Control Vice
12 BAD LIEUTENANT Never Cry Another Tear Original Signal
13 FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS I Told You I Was Freaky SUB POP
14 BOAT Setting The Paces Magic Marker
15 NORAH JONES The Fall Blue Note
16 GIRLS Album True Panther Sounds
17 XX The Xx XL-Young Turks
18 YO LA TENGO Popular Songs Matador
19 THAO WITH THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN Know Better Learn Faster Kill Rock Stars
20 KING KHAN AND BBQ SHOW Invisible Girl In The Red
21 GOV’T MULE By A Thread Evil Teen
22 SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO Temporary Pleasure Wichita
23 KITTY, DAISY AND LEWIS Kitty Daisy And Lewis Downtown
24 SYSTEMS OFFICER Underslept Temporary Residence
25 ETTES Do You Want Power Take Root
26 DEVENDRA BANHART What Will We Be Warner Bros.
27 JULIAN CASABLANCAS Phrazes For The Young RCA
28 JAMES HUSBAND A Parallax I Polyvinyl
29 CRIBS Ignore The Ignorant Warner Bros.
30 A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS Exploding Head Mute

ADDS
1 THEM CROOKED VULTURES Them Crooked Vultures Interscope
2 JEZABELS  She’s So Hard Self-Released
3 TIN HUEY Before Obscurity: The Bushflow Tapes Smog Veil
4 K-OS Yes! Last Gang
5 ARCTIC MONKEYS Humbug Domino