Transmission Tapes

After some vague clues and emoticons* Chris Roberts' score for Jared D. Weiss' film Transmission is finally available on limited edition cassette tape (only 50 copies!) Buy it here!

Each purchase comes with a tape, immediate download of the album, and exclusive access to the film before its festival premiere dates!

You can even receive a free postcard personalized by me with your order while supplies last.

And here's a fun fact: this is the first Otherworldy Mystics tape that was completely designed by me, as I not only made all of the packaging design (made to look like a prop within the world of the film) but I also designed the company logo.

* (88[| + ^..^> + [O..] = [•-•]

Transmission

Via my personal blog:

This is a gif from my thesis film, Transmission.

It's about the four-eyed creature you see above, Quad-Clops, and his dog, 2D, after they find a radio in the barren post-apocalyptic wasteland that is their home, and their journey to find new life.

The short film was completely hand-animated by me in Flash over the course of six months, though I've been developing the story for a couple years. Music for the film was recorded by Chris Roberts, and we're working on putting it out on an extremely limited edition set of tapes through Otherworldly Mystics if anyone's interested.

The film will be premiering at SVA's Dusty Film Festival on May 7th at the SVA Theater on 333 W23rd St in New York City, and after that I'm going to look into submitting it to festivals before putting it publicly online. But I may find a way to make it available to those that really want to see it.

Stay tuned!

This is basically what made me leave VFH behind a year or so ago, so I figured now's about time you knew why.

The King of Limbs

Very big thanks to Nick for informing about this, cause I was just looking at Radiohead's website yesterday out of curiosity and saw nothing...

The King of Limbs - Pre-Order

Yeah, that's a new Radiohead album. And despite it only being announced today, get this, it will be released this Saturday, the 19th of February. Well, this Saturday to download in MP3 and WAV formats only, for $9 or $14 depending on your preferred format. The King of Limbs won't see a physical CD release until March 28th, and that's for the UK only as of now.

You can also pre-order a special "newspaper" edition, for release in May 2011; which includes two clear 10" vinyl records, a CD, and "Many large sheets of artwork, 625 tiny pieces of artwork and a full-colour piece of oxo-degradeable plastic to hold it all together." This also includes a digital download, again in MP3 or WAV, so that you won't have to wait to hear the new music.

So, for us cheapos, we can't name out own price like we could with In Rainbows, but hey.. NEW RADIOHEAD! I can't say I've listened to Radiohead too much since playing the hell out of the last album in 2007, and those couple of singles they gave out in 2009, but I'm pretty excited. As of now there's no mention of what the tracks on the album will be titled, or how many tracks there will even be. We'll find out on Saturday!

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Continuing on my "Week of Catching Up" here's the first of two album reviews for the week, Arcade Fire's third and latest album, The Suburbs, which released earlier this month without me realizing until a few days later. Regardless, the albums here, it's been here the whole month, so how's it holding up after all this time? Read on to find out, you may actually like this review!

In short, really well actually. With the first two Arcade Fire albums (I came into the band's music kind of late) I really liked them at first, and would listen to both together a lot, but after a while of listening to other things, I found them hard to get back into. When I got The Suburbs, I was really into it and already charted up play counts that surpass both of the band's first two albums combined, and I think that says a lot. Since then, however, I've spent a lot of this month listening to Anamanaguchi and Talking Heads, and didn't get back into this album until I decided to finally review it today, and it's still holding up just fine.

What's more interesting about the play-count feat though, is that this album is an hour long, as opposed to the just over 45 minute lengths of both 2004's Funeral and 2007's Neon Bible; that means I've done more listening of this hour-long album in the past month than I have of the previous 90 minutes in the past year. Instead of my usual album rundown, I'm just going to post a few highlights in track order, so, some tracks may be skipped.

The titular track and album opener, "The Suburbs," starts out this concept album perfectly, giving you a sense of a dramatic suburban tour, really setting the mood for the rest of the album, and is now one of my favorite tracks from the band. "Ready To Start" continues with this vibe, while "Modern Man" feels like something of Funeral. Passing on a few tracks, I found "City With No Children" to sound like a Bruce Springsteen song, except you know, appealing... And then you have a rock heavy track like "Month of May" which sounds like something the White Stripes would come up with if they had more than just Jack and Meg, not that that's bad or anything.

Unlike a lot of albums I've listened to, I found that The Suburbs didn't die out near the end of the album. If anything, it dies down mid-way after "Month of May" and then quickly brings itself together in the wonderful "We Used To Wait" after two slower tracks. But my favorite track comes after "Sprawl I," you guessed it, "Sprawl II," which sounds like a mix of "Haiti" off of Funeral and "Heart of Glass" by Blondie; actually, it sounds a lot like Blondie, and for whatever reason hearing new 80's style synth-pop sounds really appealing in the context of this album, and for that I love it, and it's the longest track too, which is a plus when it sounds this good.

What I love about this album, is that it really works as an album. What I find with a lot of records nowadays is that there's never a universal thing that holds them together; you have a few great tracks, and then some boring throwaway material. But with The Suburbs, I find that I really prefer listening to it as a whole on loop, as opposed to being shuffled with the rest of the Arcade Fire tracks. And by having the track rundown that fades in the middle, as opposed to starting strong and dying out at the end, makes it that much more appealing to listen to as a whole because you're not just going through waiting for the good parts, as the album supports itself from beginning to end. If you've never listened to Arcade Fire before, nows a great time to start.

Overall Score: 9.7/10

Now, here's the thing, I agree that like most things, everyone has there own tastes and not one single thing can be considered perfect. And when it comes to music there's definitely a lot more debate in that department. But, in this one instance, I'm going finally award the first VFH Seal of Approval to an album because it's just that good, and just that much better from the band's previous albums. (And this is almost still the month the album was released in...) Now, what happens when they release another album that's "better"? You ask? Well, judging by the three year gaps between each album, I guess I'll have to worry about that then, and who knows if we'll still be online by that time. For now, I'll enjoy this wonderful record.

Note: The album actually has eight different cover art variations, the one pictured is just the one I happen to have.

Green Day: Rock Band Review

Rock Band and Green Day junkies rejoice, because the newest addition to our ever-growing arsenal of songs is here: Green Day: Rock Band, the second band-centric Rock Band game since The Beatles: Rock Band. But, how does this game stack up to the previous Rock Band games?

If you are a Green Day fan, then this is hands-down a must buy. The game comes with 47 songs (all of which are Green Day, suck on that Activision!), three entire albums: 1994's Dookie, 2004's American Idiot, and 2009's 21st Century Breakdown (counting the six tracks already available as DLC), along with eight of their older hits from other albums thrown into the mix; nothing off 39/Smooth or Kerplunk however. However, if you're not a Green Day fan, then I suggest renting the game and at least giving it a shot, you may be surprised at what you find.

Now, I myself am a big fan of Green Day, and I found myself loving every minute of this game. The graphics and animations actually seem to be a step up from Rock Band 2, thanks mostly in part to the band actually being motion-captured (which obviously could not be done with The Beatles) and Harmonix did a wonderful job making it seem like you are at an actual Green Day concert.

Oh, how you've changed... Green Day, not the gameplay.

In terms of game play, I found that the guitar and bass are rather repetitive, but I found myself enjoying the songs so much that I never got sick of playing. Singing is... well, it's singing, if your familiar with the songs then you will, without a doubt, enjoy it; and the three-part harmonies from The Beatles: Rock Band return here. But, if you're not a big Green Day fan, but you love playing drums, then you are in luck, for the drums are the definite strong point of the game. I've listened to Green Day for years, but it never really hit me just how good of a drummer Tre Cool is until I played some of these songs. I don't see myself getting bored of ANY of these songs anytime soon, they give just enough challenge to satisfy your every drumming need. Constantly changing beat, tons of drum rolls, and he even presents possibly the hardest drum solos in Rock Band yet (seriously, they are insane!).

All in all, I would have to say that Green Day: Rock Band is a must buy for Green Day fans, and it is certainly worth a rent for the average Rock Band/Guitar Hero player, maybe you'll even find a new found love for some good old fashion punk rock.

Overall Score: 8.5/10

Green Day: Rock Band is available in both regular $60 version and a $70 PLUS version which includes a voucher to export the songs to Rock Band and Rock Band 2 (eventually Rock Band 3 as well) and includes the 6 21st Century Breakdown DLC tracks. This review was based on the PLUS version for Xbox 360, which is basically just like the regular edition, but PS3 and Wii versions should play the same (minus the visuals on the latter) .

Star Wars/Adidas 2010 World Cup Ad

To create something cool for the 2010 World Cup (and promote their new line of clothing to an extent I suppose), Lucasfilm and Adidas put together this neat little video mash-up of the famous Cantina scene from Star Wars (a.k.a. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope), but with famous (or should I say semi-famous) athletes, actors, and musicians.

Among the inclusions are Daft Punk, ex-Oasis member Noel Gallagher, Ian Brown (of the Stone Roses), Snoop Dogg, David Beckham, and the annoying voiced Jay Baruchel (She's Out of My League, How to Train Your Dragon). Apparently there's a couple others in there as well, but I don't recognize them.

The mash-up is done pretty well, but if I was to start a sci-fi flame war right now, I'd say the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode, "Trials and Tribble-ations" was a way cooler use of new footage in old footage, and did it fourteen years ago. And there's Forest Gump.

I mean, Daft Punk looks awesome and extremely fitting in the Cantina, but who really wants to see a classic scene covered in product-placement and including Jay Baruchel in there like he's actually in the same realm of accomplishment as the rest of the people here are in their respective fields. Just saying, to use a pun, Star Wars is out of his league.

C'mon, "Celebrate Originality"? Really?!

Dennis Hopper: 1936 - 2010

Well, this sucks... much like last year's loss of Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, Billy Mays, and Michael Jackson all within days or weeks of each other, so seems to be the case this year. Famed and awesomely brilliant painter Frank Frazetta recently passed, as did metal legend Ronnie James Dio. And just one day after the death of former child star, Gary Coleman, an other great has passed. He was 74.

Dennis Hopper, most notable for directing and starring in the 1969 film, Easy Rider, and most infamous for portraying Bowser in the retched Super Mario Bros. movie, has died due to complications with prostate cancer. While it's been awhile since I've made an obituary post, and for the three recent passings I probably should have, Hopper's passing has the most for me to talk about personally.

For one, Easy Rider is a cinematic classic for its depiction of rebellion culture, and its influence lives on in many films today. Heck, the season one finale of The Venture Bros. perfectly mirrors the ending moments of the film! Hopper, who has been acting since 1955, has appeared in hundreds of films, some fantastic, and some a bit beneath his level of talent, but he was always great in everything did, and I always enjoyed seeing him on screen.

I think I'm going to have to play Gorillaz' "Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head" on loop for the rest of the night. For those that don't know, it's the track on Demon Days that Dennis Hopper provided narration on, and can even be seen recording in their documentary, Bananaz. He (and the others I mentioned) will truly be missed.

The Black Keys - Brothers

The Black Keys had a very busy year in 2009. After the release of 2008's Attack & Release, guitarist and lead singer, Dan Auerbach, went on to release a solo-album, Keep It Hid, which I finally got around to buying last month, and that was basically a Black Keys album with more layers to the tracks. Drummer, Patrick Carney, released an album with a new band, Drummer, named as such because he and the other four members were drummers in other bands, but I haven't head much from that project. And then there was The Black Keys' rap/rock side project, Blackroc, which released back in November, and I completely ignored that... But despite all that other work, Dan and Patrick are back with a new, true Black Keys album, Brothers, and it's time to see how it stacks up to their previous releases.

I was left a little sour after listening to Attack & Release, not that it was overly bad, because it wasn't and there are tracks on that album I like quite a lot, but because a lot of it didn't feel like The Black Keys I knew. Perhaps it was cause of Danger Mouse's producing, as I feel that all the albums he's ever produced have a very distinct sound to them, regardless of artist, but something wasn't the same. Instead of the distinctly two-man sound I was used to, there was a lot of layering of tracks, and what I had was something different and I was left unsure. But with Brothers, the band was returning to a self-produced album, so I was hopeful that the classic sound I loved was back.

Well, it's not, so it's about time I just accept the change. The first track, "Everlasting Light," starts out completely different than any other Black Keys track before it, with Auerbach singing in falsetto for the first time. It's a bit striking at first, but it sounds great after a few listens, and there's more of it later on. "Next Girl" brings with it some heavy, swampy blues, and it's definitely one of my favorite tracks on the album, but like most tracks on the album, the layering is very apparent, and it sounds a lot like something off Auerbach's Keep It Hid than any Black Keys material.

Following those two is the only Danger Mouse produced track, "Tighten Up," and despite my semi-distaste for Attack & Release, which I mostly blame on Danger Mouse, this is actually one of the best, catchiest tracks on the album; and it has whistles and organs in the mix, which is definitely one of Danger Mouse things... "Howling For You" follows up with a stadium-style drum beat, and "She's Long Gone" as well, both are decent tracks, but nothing that overly stands out. The very Crosby, Stills and Nash sounding, "Black Mud," follows up, and is the only instrumental track on the album, and the shortest, running at 2:09.

The falsetto-y voice from earlier returns in the next track, "The Only One," in another track that definitely sounds like at least 5 people are playing despite Auerbach and Carney being the only listed musicians. After that however, the albums starts to slow down, with both "Too Afraid To Love You" and "Ten Cent Pistol," which aren't anything special, but are definitely more embaceful of the blues than the band's traditional blues-rock. "Sinister Kid" is a real jam song, and honestly just sounds like street musicians to me, I don't know why, but I just wasn't feeling this one. "The Go Getter" and "I'm Not The One" continue of the slow, boring realm, and considering this is the band's longest album, I thing both of these tracks could have been omitted and we'd of been fine.

Come the end of the album, the slack picks up. "Unknown Brother," a pure blues rock track, sound's like something off The Rubber Factory or Magic Potion, and despite some layering, sounds the closest to old Black Keys as you'll get here. Falsetto gets one last feature on the album, in the cover of "Never Gonna Give You Up," not the Rick-roll one, the Jerry Butler one made famous by Isaac Hayes. Despite it being completely different from anything else they've done before, I really liked the soul-full sound of Auerbach's voice on this track, and I wouldn't mind hearing more like this. The final track is the somber, but oh so fitting, "These Days," which works really well as a closing track, and really is the only acceptable long and slow inclusion on the album. The thing that hurts this album the most is the length, with 15 tracks and nearly an hour of music, it's the longest Black Keys' piece yet, and it just lasts too long for it's own good.

All in all, Brothers is a good album, it's not the album I would've liked to have heard when I first learned that the band was going to self-produce the albums like they did before Attack & Release, but at the same time I can somewhat embrace the band's evolution. Usually I'm very accepting of band's developing their sound, it's why I like bands like Radiohead and Blur so much, but for me The Black Keys sounded so so good when their first album released that I never wanted that sound to go away. It's still there, somewhere, but now there's just a lot more layers to it, and I'm probability just going to have to learn to like it.

Overall Score: 8.5/10

Fool's Day

Holy shit! That's really all I can say. After seven years, Blur have finally released a new single! While there's (sadly) no album behind the release of the new track, "Fool's Day," was released earlier today in a limited edition 7" vinyl single, limited to 1,000 pressings and only available in the UK in honor of Record Store Day.

But, because the powers that be and the band knew that such a limited pressing would lead to inferior pirated versions of the track, they've gone and released it for free on their website! All you have to do is give your name and e-mail and you can download an .mp3 or uncompressed .wav of the track.

I should warn you though, as of writing this, there seams to be something wrong with the .mp3 version. It cuts off at the 2:25 mark instead of going the full 3:27. So, your best bet for now is download the uncompressed .wav and then just convert it until there's a better solution.

As for how it sounds? Despite Damon Albarn's involvement in other bands since the 2003 release of Blur's Think Tank, "Fool's Day" still manages to sound undeniably like Blur, and not say, Gorillaz or The Good, The Bad, and The Queen. And what's even more great is that this is 4-piece Blur, and it's so so awesome to hear new music with Graham, Alex and Dave each adding their own signature part to Damon's unmistakable voice; the riff Graham plays to close the song out is worth it, even if the track is free.

I really can't express how awesome it is to hear new Blur. Seven years is a long time, and considering till just over a year ago the band wasn't even together, the fact that this song exists is almost unbelievable. Would I love to hear an entire new Blur album? Definitely! But if all we're left with is "Fool's Day," I'm still insanely satisfied.

Update for those not keen on downloading completely legal and free music, Parlophone has an embedable version:

She & Him - Volume Two

It's been two years since Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward first collaborated on the first She & Him album, Volume One, so it's not surprising that this new album is properly titled, Volume Two. With their emotionally driven folk/country/pop sound, it's certainly not the type of music we'd normally review here, but I really enjoyed the first album and just had to get the new one, so read on.

The sound of this album is very much like the first. It's heavy on acoustic guitars and piano, and Zooey's beautiful vocals, with Ward occasionally stepping in to sing as well. The album opener, "Thieves," is a surprisingly somber track, and seems more like a song you'd hear midway on album, but thankfully, the next track, "In The Sun," brightens up the mood. The track is very light-hearted, and is a really perfect spring-time track, it's hard to explain, but when you hear you'll know.

The album's third song, "Don't Look Back," is probably my most favorite from Volume Two, which is interesting because the third track on Volume One, "This Is Not A Test," was my favorite from that album. It's the type of song that if someone told me it was a 1960's pop song that time forgot, I'd probably believe them. That aspect continues on the NBRQ cover, "Ridin' In My Car," which sounds very much like the 1977 original, but with Zooey's voice (with M. Ward singing back up) it's pretty perfect. Both tracks are a really nice mix of Zooey's vocals and M. Ward's guitar playing, with both getting a nice share of equality.

Following those two is "Lingering Still" and "Me And You," which both slow down the pace and have much more of a classic country ballad sound than most of the tracks here, they're sincere, but I much prefer the lively She & Him tracks. "Gonna Get Along Without You Now," which follows, features a similar classic country sound, with Zooey on primary vocals with back singers as well, just unlike the previous two tracks, it's a bit more lively and relies less on the slide guitars.

Next are "Home" and "I'm Gonna Make It Better," both have a nice combination of the country sound with the pop sound of "In The Sun," and I really loved how Zooey provides her own back-up vocal lines on the former track, it works quite well in the overly sweet song. "Sing" returns to the country ballad sound, with the addition of violins and organs to reinforce that sound, it's not my favorite on the album, but it's not too bad.

The following track, "Over It Over Again," is another one of those 1960's pop sound tracks, and it's been stuck in my head ever since I started listening to the album yesterday. That's not to say it's bad, or more favored than "Don't Look Back," but the chorus is just really catchy, and it's one of the better tracks on the album.

Volume Two closes out with two very slow songs "Brand New Shoes" and "If You Can't Sleep," which both drop the backing band and leave Zooey and M. Ward with just a microphone and guitar; although the latter sounds much more like Zooey with backing singers hummers. Combined, they're a better ending than Volume One's lo-fi rendition of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," but I much preferred the rest of the album's sound.

Overall, Volume Two is a step above Volume One, it's not a huge step, but a step none the less. It's got the same number of tracks, though 10 minutes extra in length, but there's a better good song to not as good song ratio. I found for the most part, the songs have a very similar sound, and if you were listen to the songs from both albums on shuffle, it'd probably be hard to distinguish the tracks unless you already had a good memory of whats what. If you liked the first album, and want to hear more of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, you'll be pleased, but otherwise I don't see Volume Two winning over any new fans.

Overall Score: 8.3/10

Broken Bells - Broken Bells

Yes, yet another music review today! A new record! As I've reported before, Broken Bells is a new project from The Shins lead singer, James Mercer, and famed producer/musician Danger Mouse, billed this time by his real name, Brian Burton. While it may sound like a new Shins album at first, mainly in part to Mercer's fantastic vocals, you'll soon find that that Broken Bells sound much different, and the result is pretty fantastic, albeit a bit short.

The album opens up with "The High Road," a track that was actually released for free a couple months ago, so I've had plenty of listening time with this one. It sounds a bit like The Shins 2007's album Wincing the Night Away, particularly the track, "Sleep Lessons," but with much more of a beat to it. The following song, "Vaporize," once again, opens up in a very Shins-like sound, but soon the organs and drum beats come in, and it's here that you really hear the separation from The Shins. It's a hard to explain, but it really does sound like "what if Danger Mouse produced a Shins album and changed their sound completely".

"Your Head Is On Fire" continues with the Shins-in-space kind of sound this album has, even if a bulk of the track is just instrumental. "The Ghost Inside," is probably the most strikingly different track on the album, thanks to the use of falsetto voices and digital effects. The same goes for the next track, "Sailing to Nowhere," which even brings in a piano and orchestra, further distancing Broken Bells' sound from The Shins.

One of my favorite tracks on the album, "Trap Doors," comes next. I can't figure out why I like it so much, but the change in tone throughout the track is nice, and it's a beat you can snap your fingers to. The next song, "Citizen," is the albums longest, and slowest when it comes to pace. It's not bad, but in comparison to the other tracks, it might make you a bit sleepy. "October" continues on with the piano-rock-esque sound, but it definitely has a lot more life to it than the previous track, and is ultimately more enjoyable.

The ninth track, "Mongrel Heart," is nearly as long as "Citizen," but is much more upbeat and doesn't feel like as much of a drag. In fact, I'd consider it one the album's highlights, as it does a good job of capturing Broken Bells unique sound. And then it comes to the final track, "The Mall & Misery," which is very Shins-like again, mainly because of the vocal harmonies, but has enough of a heavy drum beat to make it feel different, and overall is just a great track.

Broken Bells, the album, is a really interesting collection of music. I came into it as both a fan of The Shins and Danger Mouse, and I got an album that really spoke two both aspects equally. But chances are, most people checking this album out are Shins fans only, having waited since 2007 for new material. They'll probably be pleased, but it should be clear that Broken Bells is not The Shins, just as The Postal Service was not Death Cab For Cutie, the voice might be similar, but the sound is all its own. As for Danger Mouse fans, it's definitely some of his best work, which is great because I wasn't to big on what he did with The Black Keys' last album; this more or less made up for that. I just only wish there were more tracks on this album, because 37 minutes is just too short for these guys to express themselves.

Overall Score: 9.3/10

Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

It's hard to believe that it's been nearly five years since the last true Gorillaz album, Demon Days. I say true because the Demon Days b-side/remix album, D-Sides, was released in 2007. Point being, a lot has happened for Damon Albarn since the release of that album; there was the aforementioned remix album, The Good, The Bad & The Queen, the Chinese opera and album collaboration with Jamie Hewlett, Monkey: Journey to the West, and this past summer's reunion with Blur. So it should come as no surprise that Plastic Beach is unlike Demon Days and Gorillaz before it.

As is my normal way of reviewing albums, I'm going to dissect Plastic Beach track by track, shall we? The album opens with a short "Orchestral Intro," much like Demon Days, this is just here to set the mood, as is the following track "Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach," which features Snoop Dogg of all people. It's not that the track is bad, but Snoop's parts feel very unneeded, as the parts without him are quite nice and relaxing. The nautical mood continues in the opening to the next track, "White Flag," which features two British rappers Bashy and Kano, it's an alright track, and start to what is a lot of rap on this album.

The next track, "Rhinestone Eyes" is the first soley-Gorillaz track on the album (aka, no guests), and is probably the closest thing to the material on Demon Days, but overall it's a real nice, slow dance track. The electro-beats flow well into the album's first single, "Stylo," featuring Mos Def and legendary soul singer Bobby Womack. Makes sense for this to be the first single after hearing the album, it's got a nice touch of Plastic Beach's rap sound without there being too much, and it's got enough Damon Albarn to keep the fans happy.

Speaking of rap, it returns in the De La Soul heavy, and extremely fun track, "Superfast Jellyfish," and which a name like that, how could it not be fun? The next track, "Empire Ants," features Swedish electronic band, Little Dragon, and is honestly one of the most beautiful tracks Damon Albarn has ever sung on. I hadn't heard of Little Dragon prior to this track, but I'm definitely going to give them a listen after hearing this one.

Following up that wonder is the electronica track "Glitter Freeze," featuring The Fall's Mark E. Smith, which sounds more like something for a modern re-imagining of 1984 than something for the beach, but hey, what can you do? Speaking of older guest stars from once famous bands, The Velvet Underground's Lou Reed appears on the next track, "Some Kind of Nature," and is certainly one of my favorite tracks on the album. There's something about Reed's aging voice that clashes with Albarn's voice and yet some how fits the sound so damn well, a must hear.

The next track, "On Meloncholy Hill," is only the second non-guest track on the album, and just like the previous track is one of the best on the album; it's a little mainstream in its sound, but damn if it isn't catchy. After that is another soley-Gorillaz track, "Broken," which was actually one of the first demos leaked from the album, and is probably the only track here that has a hint of the band's sound from their 2000 self-titled album. The next track, "Sweepstakes," is definitely my least favorite track on the album, mainly in part to its dub sound and way too much of Mos Def repeating himself, and the fact that it's the longest track, at 5:20, makes it even more annoying.

And them comes the title track, "Plastic Beach," which features The Clash's Mick Jones and Paul Simmon, the latter of which previously performed with Damon Albarn on The Good, The Bad & The Queen. The track certainly retains the right to be the title track, and its probably the catchiest Gorillaz track since, "19-2000," and if I had to listen to it on infinite loop for a week I'd be pretty pleased with that. Little Dragon returns on the next track, "To Binge," which brings back the slide guitar sound that makes the Plastic Beach name so much more fitting, and like the earlier Little Dragon track, this one also has Damon at his best.

Now we come to the end of the album, with Bobby Womack returning for a more major part on the track, "Cloud of Unknowing". I don't really have much to say on it, but it's a nice track. The album closer, "Pirate Jet," is a nice ending track, it's quite upbeat for a closer, which makes the album a really nice listen on loop, because it never sounds like it's coming to an end.

Overall, I'd have to say Plastic Beach is my most favorite Gorillaz album yet. Why? Well, while I did enjoy both previous albums, they'd usually have 1/3 of the album filled with songs I couldn't listen to repeatedly. I've found that I actually really like all but one track on this 16 track album, and it didn't take 15 listens for them to grow on me like it usually would. This is also the first Gorillaz album that doesn't sound like it was written for a fictional band, it sounds like Damon Albarn just experimenting with a ton of different musicians, and it sounds damn good. Definitely check this one out.

Overall Score: 9.5/10

The Black Keys reveal new album info!

Probably my most favorite band in recent years, the blues rock duo, The Black Keys, have released information regarding their upcoming sixth album, Brothers, set for release on May 18th. The release comes just a year after both their rap/rock project Blakroc released (which I've still yet to listen to) and singer, Dan Auerbach's solo album, Keep It Hid (which I've heard most of and enjoyed), released; which just shows how busy the duo have been. The track list for Brothers follows:

1. Everlasting Light
2. Next Girl
3. Tighten Up
4. Howlin' for You
5. She's Long Gone
6. Black Mud
7. The Only One
8. Too Afraid to Love You
9. Ten Cent Pistol
10. Sinister Kid
11. The Go Getter
12. I'm Not the One
13. Unknown Brother
14. Never Gonna Give You Up
15. These Days

At fifteen tracks this is the band's longest album yet, track-wise (they could be short tracks, after all). This is definitely one I'm looking forward to, especially after re-listening to their five previous album lately, as well as listening to The Black Keys Radio on Pandora for more bluesy goodness.

via Pitchfork

A Stitch In Time

Yup! It's time for another Smashing Pumkpins song! Here's the latest from Teargarden by Kaleidyscope:

Download "A Stitch In Time" Here

As usual, if you're not privy to downloading, you can stream the track from SmashingPumkins.com. The 3:33 length track is the shortest of the three tracks released so far, and is growing on me the least so far as well. The best way I could describe it is that it doesn't sound like Smashing Pumpkins at all... it honestly sounds more like The Cure with Billy Corgan on vocals. If that interests you, by all means download it and listen the hell out of it, it's FREE after all. I know I'll keep the track just to have a complete album, who knows, it may sound more fitting when the next track is inevitably released.

I'm aware that I said I wouldn't make a post after each track on this 44 track album is released. But if they're going to continue releasing almost two months apart then I might as well, not like there's much other content going on around here...

Plastic Beach

Everyone's favorite cartoon band is back! Yes, the Damon Albarn/Jamie Hewlett project, Gorillaz, is back with a new album, Plastic Beach, set for release on March 8th. And while it probably doesn't mean anything yet, here's the tracklisting:

1. 'Orchestral Intro'
2. 'Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach' (feat. Snoop Dogg)
3. 'White Flag (feat. Kano & Bashy)
4. 'Rhinestone Eyes'
5. 'Stylo' (feat. Bobby Womack and Mos Def)
6. 'Superfast Jellyfish' (feat. Gruff Rhys and De La Soul)
7. 'Empire Ants' (feat. Little Dragon)
8. 'Glitter Freeze' (feat. Mark E Smith)
9. 'Some Kind Of Nature' (feat. Lou Reed)
10. 'On Melancholy Hill'
11. 'Broken'
12. 'Sweepstakes' (feat. Mos Def & Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
13. 'Plastic Beach' (feat. Mick Jones & Paul Simonon)
14. 'To Binge' (feat. Little Dragon)
15. 'Cloud Of Unknowing' (feat. Bobby Womack)
16. 'Pirate Jet'

The first single from the album can be heard now on Gorillaz.com, and there's some instrumental promo videos available as well. Quite the large amount of guest acts on the album, no? Regardless, 'Stylo' sounds pretty good, it's not as... quirky (does that sound right?) as the band's lead singles from the last two albums, "Clint Eastwood" from their self titled debut and "Feel Good Inc." from Demon Days; but it still sounds like Gorillaz at least. Just good to hear Damon Albarn singing something new, that's my thought at least.

via NME

Widow Wake My Mind

Finally! After over a month, the Smashing Pumpkins have finally released the second track off of Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, "Widow Wake My Mind," which follows the phenomenal opening track "A Song For A Son".

This second track clocks in at four minutes and twenty-seven seconds, a minute and a half shy of "A Song For A Son"; not that I care about its length, it is free, but I figured I let weary downloaders know.

Curiously enough, "Widow Make My Mind" wasn't revealed on the band's official site like all the Teargarden tracks were announced to be. Instead the track was released via the band's newly re-designed MySpace page. But you can just use the direct download link below:

The track itself is a mixed bag, in my opinion. The opening, isn't that great, but the track has some pick up in the chorus. Overall, it's nothing exciting when compared to the first track, but hey, it's free. I'm just hoping we don't have to wait another month for the next track, because at this rate it's going to take forever to completely release this 44 track album.

Bernard Sumner answers my question!

I pooped a little... Joy Division/New Order/Bad Lieutenant guitarist (and frontman of the latter two bands) answered the second round of Q&A questions on Bad Lieutenant's website today, and guess whose question got answered? MINE!

Now, I wrote this question like... two months ago, and being a Blur fanboy I was a bit annoyed that Blur's bassist, Alex James, didn't get more than just a couple inclusions on some tracks, despite being a reason the band formed in the first place. Here's my question and the answer I got from Bernard Sumner:

"JDW: While I understand that Alex James only appears on a few tracks Never Cry Another Tear, and he wasn’t in the final band because of “distance issues,” but is there any chance of him getting a more central part in the future of Bad Lieutenant? It’s a shame that a talent like his gets over shadowed by fellow Blur-mates Damon and Graham, and it seemed when he finally got his own chance to shine, he was put in the backseat again.

BS: I think that’s a matter of perception. I see all the musicians in Blur with equal standing really. Obviously, the singer is going to get a bit more attention because he is doing something different to the others, is usually the focal point for the band and is usually the biggest c***. The guitarist always looks a bit clever because he’s got so many strings and apparently knows what to do with them. The drummer is the backbone of the band and is the real underrated one. Mmm … Bass players … mmm …"

Besides being surprised that he actually answered my question, I'm a little amused/annoyed at how he dodged the question, seeming having nothing to say about bass players in the end. Thanks Barney. I guess I can consider that our first interview...

Visit Bad Lieutenant's website for the original article.

Soundgarden reunited?!

I just may have made the first crap in my pants of 2010... Because if this link I got via Pearl Jam's official Facebook page is anything to believe, Soundgarden in back!!!

The website in question is this new SoundgardenWorld.com, which states 'The 12 Year Break is Over and School is Back in Session. Knights of the Soundtable ride again!'. It then plays a video of "Get On The Snake," from the band's second album, Louder Than Love, originally released back in 1989.

What's this mean? I don't know, but the 12 year break clearly would suggest the twelve years since the band broke up in 1997 and went their separate ways. With lead singer Chris Cornell going solo, forming Audioslave with ex-Rage Against the Machine members, and then breaking that band up and going solo again with two abysmal records. While the band's drummer, Matt Cameron, found great success when he became drummer for fellow grunge band, Pearl Jam, and has been with them ever since. Ben Shepherd (bass) and Kim Thayil (guitar) also have had their musical endevours since the band's break-up, but I can't say I've heard any of it.

Regardless, as a big fan of grunge growing up, having liked Soundgarden the most, I'm really excited by this news. And it only makes sense, with fellow grunge bands like Pearl Jam, who haven't actually stopped recording and playing shows since their heyday, and Alice In Chains, who recently released their first album in 14 years, both finding new success.

At the same time I'm also nervous, as the Soundgarden records that were, and have been as is for the last 12+ years have been great when untouched. Reuniting may ruin that, especially since Chris Cornell's voice, and personality, aren't exactly what they used to be back in the grungy 90's. Then again, Alice In Chains got a completely new singer in the band, and they still sound just like they used to. As of writing this, I can't say if the reunion will just be some live shows and that's it (a la Rage Against the Machine and Blur), or if the reunion will also include a new album. When I find out, I'll make sure you do as well!

Update: Figured out a way to show you the new website's four new background images:

Interestingly enough, the photos, and the music video on the site are from early Soundgarden days, and not their more fruitful Badmotorfinger/Superunknown days. I mean, clearly when they reunite they'll have to play stuff from that era and later, but I just thought it was interesting that they chose to focus on the band's older imagery.

The High Road

Apparently I forgot to write about this 'band' first forming, sorry about that. But hopefully the prospect of a free download will remedy that. The Shins' frontman, James Mercer, and famed producer/musician Danger Mouse (called by his real name, Brian Burton, for this project) recently formed a band known as Broken Bells, and their first track, "The High Road," is now available for free by signing up for their newsletter. But act quick, because it will only be available for one day, then you'll have to buy it on iTunes or where ever you like to buy music.

Visit BrokenBells.com to sign up for the newsletter to get your free download, or if you're not one for giving out your e-mail, you can stream the track on the site, or visit their MySpace and hear it.

It's not a new Shins album, but it's good to hear Mercer singing again. And while a lot of people like to shun Danger Mouse, I, for the most part, like the albums he's worked on. So most likely I'll pick this album when it releases this March. Until then I'll have to just enjoy "The High Road."

A Song For A Son

Well, it may be a week late, but Smashing Pumpkins have released the first track from Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, which will eventually become a 44 track album sometime next year. But until then, you can get each track, completely free as they're released.

Having not liked the band's return sound from 2007's Zeitgeist, I must say, "A Song For A Son" sounds better than I expected it to. And considering Billy Corgan is the only original band member now, I suppose that says ... something. I can't say what, because I'm not sure, but if this free six minute track is anything to go by, I'm at least looking forward to the other 43 songs on this album.

Note, the original announcement said the first track would release around Halloween time, and it's clearly not Halloween now, so I'm curious how long it will be before the next track arrives. But in terms of reviews, I probably won't write a proper album review until all 44 tracks are released.

You can stream and download "A Song For A Son" at SmashingPumpkins.com or you can cut to the chase and just go to the direct download link. The .mp3 file, when imported into iTunes, will already have the album name, year, track number, and album artwork.