Archive | August, 2010

I Am Still Most Certainly “Home”

13 Aug

Edward Sharpe is Alex Ebert. The Magnetic Zeros are his band. I am borderline obsessed with their energetic, effervescent, pop supertrack, characterized by loud “heys,” a spiritual trumpet, a whistling inception, and a love-filled, at times unscripted dialogue with chocolate candy and pay phone calls, all wrapped up tightly with a body-rocking, unmistakeable beat. It is track six on their debut full-length album, Up From Below. Yeah, so, basically the song is a refreshing piece of energy-fused modern music. It portrays talent and a form of musical eclecticism that I, personally, have not seen in a while. I can go on for a while. How about a listen? Here is them performing on Letterman:

Check out an organic acoustic version: http://www.novafm.com.au/Video_Edward-Sharpe-and-the-Magnetic-Zeros-Home-acoustic_101308

See what I mean? Well, this is all the brain child of Alex Ebert whose alter-ego is Edward Sharpe, a character he formed after breaking up with his girlfriend, moving out of his house, and breaking away from a 12-step program as to, “live in a more honest reaction to the truth of the moment, not be bound to certain behaviors by fear-based dogma.” Alright, all the power to you my man. Edward Sharpe? A messianic book character who was, “sent down to Earth to kinda heal and save mankind, but he kept getting distracted by girls and falling in love.”

The real-life Edward Sharpe became distracted by singer Jade Castrinos. He met her outside a cafe in Los Angeles and she proved not to be much of a distraction. Combining with several musicians they formed the band and started touring the country in a big white bus. Thus the story of Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros. The production of “Home” is the by-product of spirituality, love and youth. And, yeah, it’s pretty awesome!

Top 100 Lyricist #67: Robert Smith (The Cure)

12 Aug

Did you know that Robert Smith of the Cure can play guitar, bass, flute, trumpet and violin? Yes, the 51-year-old rocker is not just a pioneer of New Wave rock, but, he is also an accomplished multi-instrumentalist. I think many overlook Robert Smith’s ability. A constant member of the The Cure since their start in 1976, Smith ensconced into the lead vocals and principal song writing role a long time ago and has shown consistent success. His melancholic, somewhat depressing, style of song writing compared with his stage dress has been looked at as an early style of “Goth,” everything. But, don’t tell that to Smith.

“It’s so pitiful when ‘goth’ is still tagged onto the name The Cure,” he said about the relationship.

The Cure’s modus operandi may seem quite “Goth,” but, like most predecessors of style, it does not mean that they are actually what they created. Smith is actually an incredibly talented musician whose gloomy, punk performance style is infectious. He is also a particularly cogent lyricist. Hence, his spot as #67 on our lengthy top 100 lyricist list.

The above video is of The Cure’s “Killing An Arab,” a frenetic punk allusion. Smith, a sucker for good literature (well, I mean who isn’t), displays his ode to “The Stranger,” the existential classic by Albert Camus, in this song. Here are some lyrics to abate your insatiable lyric appetite.

“Standing on a beach
With a gun in my hand
Staring at the sea
Staring at the sand
Staring down the barrel
At the arab on the ground
See his open mouth
But hear no sound

I’m alive
I’m dead
I’m the stranger
Killing an arab”

Here, Smith places us on the beach with Meursault, the protagonist of “The Stranger,” after he has killed the Arab. Do you want a reason for why he did it? Well, I am sorry that I can’t provide you with one. Still, an excellent read and a true existential masterpiece. English major 101. Give me an e-mail and we can discuss the contents. I have only written two essays on Camus’ novel. Well, we are not supposed to be talking about literature here. This is just supposed to be the poetry of song writing. It is a great lyric in that it portrays the utter crisis that Meursault finds himself in, unknowing and rather uncaring.

On to the next lyric…one of my favorite Smith lyric.

“The most perfect of songs, few words, little music.” Smith said this about “Accuracy” and he is absolutely right. It is short and, well, not so sweet. But, its surrealist lyric is most definitely a thing of beauty.

“We sit in the same room
Side by side
I give you the wrong lines
Feed you

Look into my eyes
We both smile
I could kill you
Without trying

That’s accuracy
Practice all day for accuracy

Mirror mirror on the wall…”

This is the entire lyric. Could it be a lyric exploring a concupiscent attraction? A, sort of, surreal look into fatal longing and pin-point seduction. The odd archery of love. It is brief, but, it invokes numerous questions, and, good lyrics do that. For that, Smith has worked himself 33 spots in on our descending list.

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Honoring Jerry Garcia — Singing the Mets?

11 Aug

Jerry Garcia’s trenchant guitar, smooth and accurate, is still a fantastic example today of what great guitar is supposed to sound like. August 9th saw the 15th anniversary of his passing, and, while it is most shocking that we have already been without such a respected musician for so many years, as Spinner.com’s tribute describes, the delicate sound of his electric has not quite left us yet.

Benjy Eisen finishes up his “Jerry Garcia Remembered” article with the line, “Look: Every guitarist dies. But, perhaps with Jerry Garcia more than most, his voice continues to shine a light on the lives of so many of his fans, while his guitar continues to make a sound.”

How true is this? It stays true to the musician that was Jerry Garcia. Firstly, it was quite hard to shut up his guitar. Secondly, it was equally as hard to not like him. Garcia’s personality was infectious and he had the utmost respect for his devoted fan base. Devoted may be an understatement.

The music world most definitely misses Jerry, but, pop on Workingman’s Dead and Jerry Garcia is telling you the story of “Casey Jones,” and his guitar is as audible and wonderful as ever. He may be gone but, like a true good artist, he will never be forgotten.

Check out Spinner’s Article:   http://www.spinner.com/2010/08/04/jerry-garcia-dead-15-year-anniversary/

Julian Casablancas at Citi Field watching the Mets

For your information, Julian Casablancas, vocalist and chief songwriter for The Strokes, is a big New York Mets fans. No wonder he wrote a song called, “I Can’t Win.” Seriously Julian, I feel that way too with the Mets. Anyway, apparently Casablancas wants to combine his love for music with his love for the Metsies.

He tells Rolling Stone magazine, “My next thing is I want to write the new TV theme song for the Mets. I’m totally serious – I have some ideas, I have to see if they like it.”

A Strokes twist to “Meet the Mets?” Stay tuned.

Woke Up This Morning Feeling…Not So Fine

10 Aug
Replace “not so fine” with “fine” and you have a Carole King/Gerry Goffin composition made known by Herman’s Hermits. Keep the “not so fine” and you have me on this Tuesday morning: tired, achy and indisposed.
And, it just sucks. Excuse my down attitude, but, I hate being under the weather. I want to be above the weather at all times. So, today, I am taking the day off from the internship and staying in my house. But, that does not mean that I can’t complain to my faithful internet public. Yes, you get my full suffering wrath. I haven’t felt poorly in a while. Now that I do feel sick, though, I am showing a distinct bias towards songs about being…well…sick. And, whenever there are multiple songs about a specific subject do you know what that smells like? Fresh baked cookies? No. A brand-spankin’ new poll. Oh Yeah! Perhaps Cross Canadian Ragweed says it best in their song “Sick and Tired.” The line, “Sick and tired of being sick and tired” just explains it all doesn’t it.  So, in this poll I am looking for the best lyric that mentions the word sick in relation to now feeling 100 %.  Below I am going to give you some song lyrics that stand out to me and I am looking forward to your opinion. Like usual there may be other lines that you like better and I am looking forward to what you all think is that classic “sick” line.

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The Weepies and Guster are Touring and Releasing

9 Aug

So, I leave for 10 days and news of an upcoming Weepies’ tour and Guster tour – both celebrating albums that I have portrayed my excitement for on this blog – hits the computer. Yeah, I see how it is, wait until I can’t write about it to release this information. That being said, The Weepies and Guster are done with the studio and are almost ready to pack up the instruments and please some crowds. The Weepies, their first album and tour since the birth of singer-songwriter’s Deb Talan and Steve Tannen’s child, and Guster, their first album since I was still in High School in 2006. This is the last time I saw them in concert as well. The pool of recent music information is making me gasp for air. Let’s get some album previews before I drown in it.

Boy do the Weepies love their animals

The Weepies

Album: By My Thrill

Release Date: August 31

Tour Dates:

Sun. Oct 10 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
Wed. Oct 13 – San Diego, CA @ Winston’s
Thurs. Oct 14 – San Juan Capistrano, CA @ The Coach House

Fri. Oct 15 – Visalia, CA @ Fox Theatre

Sat. Oct 16 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
Sun. Oct 17 – Chico, CA @ El Rey Theatre
Tues. Oct 19 – Eugene, OR @ John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts
Wed. Oct 20 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater
Thurs. Oct 21 – Seattle, WA @ City Arts Music Festival (The Crocodile)
Fri. Oct 22 – Boise, ID @ The Bouquet
Sat. Oct 23 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room
Sun. Oct 24 – Englewood, CO @ The Gothic Theatre
Tues. Oct 26 – Iowa City, IA @ The Englert Theatre
Wed. Oct 27 – Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center
Thurs. Oct 28 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
Sat. Oct 30 – Evanston, IL @ SPACE
Mon. Nov 1 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Ladies Literary Club
Tues. Nov 2 – Ann Arbor, MI @ The Ark
Wed. Nov 3 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
Fri. Nov 5 – Philadelphia, PA @ World Café Live
Sat. Nov 6 – Londonderry, NH @ Tupelo Music Hall
Sun. Nov 7 – Boston, MA @ Royale Nightclub
Mon. Nov 8 – Fairfield, CT @ FTC Stage One
Wed. Nov 10 – New York, NY @ Hiro Ballroom
Thurs. Nov 11 – Falls Church, VA @ The State Theatre
Fri. Nov 12 – Norfolk, VA @ The Attucks Theater
Sun. Nov 14 – Charleston, WV @ Mountain Stage
Mon. Nov 15 – Annapolis, MD @ Rams Head On Stage
Wed. Nov 17 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Fri. Nov 19 – Dallas, TX @ Lakewood Theatre
Sat. Nov 20 – Austin, TX @ Momo’s
Tues. Nov 23 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room

Exclusive Song:

Excited?:

Oh yeah. Fans have been waiting for this release for two years. Be My Thrill has already produced two songs that have been successes on the internet. The song above is infectious like all Weepies material. It does not seem like they have lost a beat and the full Fall tour will prove to be exciting, fun, and happy.

It’s all so easy and wonderful for Guster

Guster

Album: Easy Wonderful

Release Date: October 5

Tour Dates:

10/01/10 – Nashville, TN @ War Memorial Auditorium
10/02/10 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte
10/08/10 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
10/09/10 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
10/10/10 – Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room
10/12/10 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
10/13/10 – Kansas City, MO @ Beaumont Club
10/15/10 – Madison, WI @ Overture Center for the Arts – Capitol
10/16/10 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
10/22/10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
10/23/10 – Washington, DC @ DAR Constitution Hall
10/25/10 – Ithaca, NY @ State Theatre
10/27/10 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre
10/28/10 – Burlington, VT @ Flynn Center
10/29/10 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
10/30/10 – Providence, RI @ Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel

Exclusive Song:

Excited?

Classic Guster and I can’t wait. The song is awesome. It is harmonious and easy and wonderful. Guster has not released an album in four years and I don’t see this being a flop. If the first song reflects the entire album, this will be a huge success and a great Fall tour


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