Archive | March, 2012

The First Round Continues – March 1966 Madness – 2 vs. 15, 3 vs. 14, 4 vs. 13

15 Mar

Thus begins the true first round of March Madness: 1966 Album Edition. If you are new to the game, let me do a quick sentence reminder of what this is. Over the next few weeks we are going to do a March Madness-style poll game that will narrow down the best album released in 1966 in a time span concurrent with the NCAA March Madness tournaments. Easy enough. All you have to do is vote and have fun. A few days I go I did the premiere post of this year’s competition that saw the #1 seed Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys vs. Buffalo Springfield by Buffalo Springfield. Both good albums, of course, but I think Neil Young would even vote for Pet Sounds, though. It seems that the majority of readers agree. Pet Sounds is winning 5 to 2 currently. Buffalo Springfieldis putting up a deserved fight, though. It is an excellent album featuring some musical superstars. Vote for The Beach Boys or Buffalo Springfield here

Keep voting! Remember, the only way this works is if we receive a whole bunch of votes. Let me thank John Phillips over at http://joebeans2002.wordpress.com/ for re-blogging the first March Madness poll. Do check out his blogs. I am grateful to all of you if you spread this along to others. Let’s make this years March Madness even more exciting than last’s.

On to the match-ups!

#2 seed: Revolver by The Beatles vs. #15 seed:The Young Rascalsby The Young Rascals

 

The Beatles were on last year’s 1967 list twice. They occupy a #2 seed this time around. The Beatles are Duke. They must have been a pretty good band. It is actually striking just how industrious and talented the fab four actually were. Many consider Revolver to be their first deep dive into musical diversity and psychedelics (and it makes sense considering their next two releases). It features hits like “Eleanor Rigbey,” “Got to Get You Into My Life,” and “And Your Bird Can Sing.” It goes up against the debut album from the Young Rascals. The album features their versions of “Mustang Sally,” “In The Midnight Hour,” and a little-known song named “Good Lovin” that went on to be one of the Young Rascals most beloved songs. Is this an easy match-up for Revolver? I think Revolver has too many strengths to lose. It is multi-faceted and classic. Up to you all, though!

#3 seed: Blonde on Blonde by Bob Dylan vs. #14 seed: A Quick One by The Who

  

Blonde on Blonde was released a year after Highway 61 Revisited which is my favorite Dylan album. It is nowhere near a slouch though. Many consider Blonde on Blonde to be Dylan’s most advanced album. The opening track is “Rainy Day Women #12 & #35!” The album also features “Just Like a Woman” and “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again.” It is bluesy and folky and if it wasn’t for the fact that two of the best albums ever released ever were ahead of it, it may be a #1 seed. It goes up against a Who album that is no Spring chicken – even though it was the second album released by the band. The album, which originally was called Happy Jack because of the title’s lewd aspirations, features a few great pieces, but mainly a band that would develop into one of the best of the generation. This may be closer than you think.

#4 Seed: Freak Out  by The Mothers of Invention vs. #13 Seed: The Soul Album by Otis Redding

This is a good battle between two bands that seem like they are absolutely nothing alike, but are more alike than it seems. The Mothers, led by Frank Zappa’s keen musical nature, blended doo-wop, blues, and rock, that together formed the experimental rock collage the album was. The Soul Album (features bluesy soul – obviously) was Otis Redding and members of Booker T & The MG’s (STAX Records house band). The album just couldn’t be bad. Will we have a 13-4 upset?

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Jermaine Jones Disqualified from American Idol

14 Mar

So here is the skinny. Jermaine Jones, the deep-voiced loveable giant in the top 12 of American Idol, was reportdely disqualified from the show for undisclosed criminal charges in 2011. According to TMZ (per Yahoo), Jermaine was “charged with public nuisance and obstruction of justice stemming from a fight at at a Howard Johnson Hotel in New Jersey, and was later charged after a separate incident for hindering apprehension and giving false information to avoid self-discovery. He was also supposedly arrested for having four outstanding warrants (three for driving on a suspended license, one for disorderly conduct with an open container). Jermaine allegedly gave fake names to the police in both cases.” 

Check out the Yahoo article here for more information. Like I said, this is just a report, though Jermaine’s American Idol assigned Twitter feed has vanished and reliable sources are stating that this shocker will be revealed in a highly emotional Idol.

Lyndsey Parker made a great point in her Yahoo article. It has been echoed by several loyal Idol watchers. This all seems way too “reality” television to us. Think of Survivor and Big Brother. That is “reality” television. While both shows play it off that they have no large impact on the participants, everyone knows this is a complete lie. A show only survives if it has viewers and viewers are quite vocal. Talent competitions, like American Idol, have hopefully been without manipulation because the producers put the viewership in charge. That’s what makes these shows better, in my opinion.

BUT…when an individual is disqualified, well, things change. Here is my (and everyone elses) question. You’re telling me that they didn’t know about Jermaine’s past (AT ALL) throughout. It’s not like he committed a crime in 2004. This was LAST YEAR! Did he commit the crime in between trying out and going to Hollywood? The producers of American Idol are not stupid. They do background checks. This would have come up (you would think). Okay, fine, let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they didn’t find out until they did another round of testing for the live top 24. But surely then (before putting an apparently violent dude prone to outbursts) on live television, they would have found out). And, there my viewers, is the conspiracy.

Remember, Jermaine was the shocking judges choice – a rare 13th individual in the usual top 12. He was beloved by fans – an imposing offensive lineman (the gentle giant) in the midst of other singers. His croon was elegant and candid. Did American Idol play up Jermaine’s persona just to reveal that he is getting kicked off the show. AND, apparently they have the outburst (which Jermaine understandably had – unless they filled him in on the plan and told him to act for an undisclosed amount of cash and publicity). It will air tonight on American Idol. Can’t you just hear Ryan Seacrest saying it? This, in my opinion, is an example of “reality” television. It is as fake as the Kim Kardashian wedding. It will be extravagant and the producers of the show are crossing their fingers it will assist the spotty show ratings.

It’s not like I was going to miss the show anyway, but, I will be watching. But, come on, I know they are lying through their teeth.

Tags: , , , ,

March Madness is Back! 16 vs. 1 and an Introduction – Welcome to 1966

13 Mar

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...1966

One year ago yesterday, I excitedly posted about an idea I had to celebrate March Madness. 16 albums. One year. One winner. What was the best album released in one of the greatest years for music – 1967. We did it like a region of the March Madness bracket. 16 vs. 1, 15 vs. 2, 14 vs. 3 and et cetera until we got down to our final match where the 1-seed, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, took home the grand prize. You can read the finale post here. The entire Music Court event was extremely fun. Do you know why? Because you all voted and made it awesome. We had several votes per poll and therefore received close battles and true blowouts (which you will also see during the March Madness tournament itself. And guess what?

We are doing it again! We are traveling back in time one year and exploring what was the best album released in 1966. Did you know that Texas Western won the NCAA men’s tournament that year. It was actually a very memorable tournament. The all-black starting five of Texas Western defeated an all-white starting five for Kentucky in the championship game and continued to open up possibilities of black athletes everywhere.

During the same year two bands from California released two influential albums. One was released by a couple of simple surfer boys turned complex musical composers – their 11th album. The other, a debut, featured protest, protest, and protest. Before we get to a preview of round #1 let’s go over some of the rules. Yes, I am copying this from my post last year!

I have ranked 16 albums from 1 (meaning the best) to 16 (meaning the 16th best on our list). Yes, 1-16 will have tremendous albums and your favorite may not be included. Many albums were released in 1966 and it is very hard to choose the best (1-16) but I am trying. There is no genre discrimination. If I feel that the album was the best, it will be on our list.

The tournament will see four match-ups in the form of polls two days a week. So, today, below, you see the one seed vs. the sixteen seed. It is a little taste of the tourny. Tomorrow we will do three more match-ups. You vote for your favorite. You have until the end of the first round (March 21 ) to vote. After the first round I will tally the votes and we will move onto the elite eight and then the final four and then the finals. Here are the rough dates of when everything will be posted.

March 14 (Tomorrow: 2 vs. 15, 3 vs. 14, 4 vs. 13)

March 19: (5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, 8 vs. 9)

March 23: Elite Eight (First two matches)

March 26: Elite Eight (Last two matches) Voting for Elite Eight ends April 2

April 2: Final Four – Voting for Final Four ends April 9

April 9: Finals – Voting ends April 15 and winner is crowned.

REMEMBER: THIS WILL ONLY WORK IF YOU ALL VOTE!!! Keep track of the schedule and VOTE VOTE VOTE!

ROUND 1 Preview

#1: Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys vs. #16: Buffalo Springfield by Buffalo Springfield

It is not an easy choice. While Pet Sounds is widely considered as one of the most impactful psychedelic explorations ever (ranked #2 of 500 albums in Rolling Stone’s Top Albums Ever), Buffalo Springfield’s eponymous first album did feature Neil Young and Stephen Stills rocking out together for the first time (even though they were unhappy with the release). So will we have a rare first round upset or will Michigan State beat LIU (oh I mean Pet Sounds vs. Buffalo Springfield). It’s time to make your voices heard. Vote!

Tags: , , ,

Some Thoughts on Last Night’s Idol

9 Mar

And next week they play Mozart!

Let’s start with this. No matter what featured genres/artists the producers of American Idol make the contestants perform, the Idol singers have to find a way to tackle the material. Yes, I understand the point is to push an artist and, in a sense, musically deracinate them, but, let’s be real, a vocal chameleon (while novel) is quite rare. Last year’s winner Scotty Mccreery is a country singer with a deep croon. The guy is never going to sing a Stevie Wonder song. Why make him? Honestly, it doesn’t help the show. And it doesn’t really matter – Scotty won despite singing country versions of every category each week. All it does is crowd the two hours of television with sub-par performances that make me change the channel to the Knicks game (to watch another sub-par performance, but that’s another story).

What do the Idol powers at be make our contestants perform on the Top 13 night? Boys: Stevie Wonder. Girls: Whitney Houston. Okay, have fun. Really? How is this fair? You might as well ask them to perform karaoke because most of them inevitably will. This challenge was easier for the boys. Stevie Wonder has an excellent voice and is a true performer, but it is just easier to manipulate his songs. But Whitney Houston? What is the first rule of idol for girls? Never sing Whitney Houston in an audition. Why? She was one of the most powerful female vocalists ever. You are immediately compared with her and you lose that battle all of the time. For the girls, Whitney Houston night just separated the good balladeers from the bad ones. Jessica Sanchez did this:

And, well, others had trouble. Sanchez succeeded because she has a Houston-style voice. That’s clear. Shannon Magrane, for example, crashed. Her voice was just not good enough to hit Whitney’s level. It wasn’t just karaoke, it was bad karaoke. And a few girls followed suit. The boys really only featured one awful, uninspired performance. That came from Jeremy.

In my review of the top 13 I predicted that Jeremy would be out first. This was about as easy to predict as my 7:29 train. While it occasionally is delayed, it almost always is on the tracks waiting for me when I arrive in the morning. And even though American Idol took an X-Factor turn and had the lowest vote getters from the boys and girl face the scrutiny of the esteemed judges panel (I say that in slight jest), it was obvious that Jeremy would see the exit. By the way, you can take a look at my entire Idol review here.

Here is what irks me about this all. Jeremy, while being a sweet guy, did not deserve a top 13 spot. It was obvious he would be eliminated first (and I guarantee he was the lowest vote getter overall). The only reason he got in was because of Jennifer Lopez who is proving time and time again that she is a biased judge who expressed favoritism. Steven Tyler likes all of them. Randy Jackson tries to be the bad guy, but he often misplaces his criticism. The judges are no good. Hence why I believe Jimmy Iovine should be a judge (taking Randy’s spot – he has run his course). While he lacks Simon’s snarky arrogance, Iovine provides accurate criticism.

All in all, America got it right again. This show also proved who the next singers out are. If I had to predict it, I’d say the next singers ousted will be (in this order), Shannon, Elise, Jermaine, Erika, Josh, Hollie. That will leave us with a top six of Jessica, Colton, Deandre (yes I know I originally chose Josh), Phil, HeeJun, Skylar. I then see the end of HeeJun and Deandre. Top four: Jessica, Colton, Phil, Skylar (nice even 2 girls and 2 boys spread). I stay with my final two prediction of Jessica and Colton, but if it was Phil and Skylar (or any combination of these four), I would neither be surprised nor upset.

I want to know what you think. Comment below or tweet at me!

Tags: , , , , , ,

Having FUN with the Jukebox – Anthemic Indie

8 Mar

That's one FUN Jukebox

Whenever I think of a jukebox I think of “Happy Days.” This may be because I often watched re-runs of the show on late-night Nickelodeon when I was a kid. Now, though, I think of Jukebox the Ghost, a Washington D.C. spawned Indie pop band whose music partly sparks today’s post.

Yesterday, I profiled Giles, Giles and Fripp, and used their uniqueness to coin a genre of music (that really just combined a few genres together). I was inspired to do the same today. Jukebox the Ghost is just one example of a type of pop music that has become user-friendly in the music world. And I love it. Why? It requires actual talent. When someone says they are into Indie music they pretty much cast out a gargantuan net in a small pond. The genre “Indie” encompasses so many musical fish that two bands at the opposite end of the Indie spectrum may sound nothing alike. So, like all genres, we sub-categorize. Indie pop is still rather broad. Today we will discuss Theatrical Indie pop.

Theatrical Indie pop is the result of talented musicians creating highly infectious music that, while simple, is actually quite difficult to pull off. The music kind of feels like it can fit on a Broadway stage. The part about the talented musicians cannot be discounted. So you want to create Theatrical Indie pop music? You need an excellent singer with a high register, a skilled drummer, and a rhythm-sensitive guitarist. When all elements are fused together you get magic like this:

Jukebox the Ghost is Ben Thornewill (vocals & piano), Tommy Siegel (vocals & guitar) and Jesse Kristin (drums). They have become well known mainly because of their jocular rhythms, effervescent beats and personalities, and unadulterated musical happiness. It doesn’t hurt that since 2006 they have toured extensively. The band has released two albums since 2008 and expect another one in June. They work hard. They have also been noticed by acts like Ben Folds and Barenaked Ladies – they opened for both – and currently they are opening for Jack’s Mannequin on their Winter Tour.

Jukebox the Ghost

“Hold it In” is off of the band’s first album. Simply, the song moves. The drums are friendly and the quirky keyboard is also amiable. The guitar rhythm follows wonderfully. Thornewill’s voice is perfect for this music. It is powerful and fits his elegant piano well. The chorus is where we see the “anthem” come out. Thornewill’s voice becomes almost schizophrenic (funny if you know their last album!) and it is paired with rhythmic clapping and single-word harmonies. The song continues similarly with even a neat guitar solo and it ends with a combination of all elements (and Thornewill’s effortless falsetto).

You may have noticed my capitalization of the letters in FUN. That is the name of the band I am featuring next. How convenient! Fun is a similar story. The New York based trio was formed by vocalist Nate Ruess, formerly of the Format. Ruess, like Thornewill, has a powerful, anthemic-like voice which features tremendous range and a true likeability. After The Format broke up, Ruess roused Andrew Dost (who plays everything and is in Anathallo) and guitarist Jack Antonoff (of Steel Train). They came together and thus far have also released two albums (the latest released just recently). The song that everyone knows is this:

This is the clearest example of Theatrical Indie pop. The song begins with Ruess singing over a basic keyboard riff that is contrasted with a loud drum march. And “by the time the bar closes and you feel like falling down, I’ll carry you home” BOOM! The song explodes (like the video) in this vocal anthem. You just feel like singing out the words immediately. There is some electronic stimulation, but this is mainly sparked by the band. The listener is hit with a guitar teetering on heavy. This combines with constant keys mixed with Ruess’ voice that can bring down walls. There is a reason why Glee covered this song. There is actually this Glee-like harmony that backs Janelle Monáe’s vocal solo and the pre-last chorus explosion. In a way it feels like you just sat through a Broadway show. And that’s the wonder of the genre, indeed.

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →