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Archives / 2009 / January

  • Ben Kweller goes country

    Jan 31 2009 3:46 PM

    On his new album, Changing Horses, indie singer-songwriter Ben Kweller goes country. Due out Tuesday, the disc commences with “Gypsy Rose,” a twangy, harmonica-driven tune that sounds like something Wilco or Son Volt might have recorded. Kweller’s nasally voice is perfectly suited to the material as he croons “I got no friend/I got no keys/and I got no kin.” Backed by an extensive ensemble of studio musicians, Kweller moved back to his Texas home state earlier this year and now lives in Austin. But he wanted to go country before that, writing several of the tunes while he was still living in Brooklyn. The album’s a terrific piece of work, too.

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    Tags: Reviews

  • Bruce and the "Quick Buck"

    Jan 30 2009 5:41 PM

    Right now Bruce Springsteen is taking a lot of grief for playing the Super Bowl.  He should—his participation condones one of the most overindulgent American institutions.  I hope Super Bowl overkill and petulance isn't what Springsteen means when he speaks of  “The American Promise," but now you can't be sure.

    But that’s Springsteen’s choice—it’s his call if his integrity has a price (hey, U2's had a price).  What is more problematic is Springsteen’s business strategy on his latest greatest hits package: it was released exclusively only through Wal-Mart. 

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    Tags: News

  • With tongue planted firmly in cheek, "Xanadu" an unexpected "roller disco" delight

    Jan 30 2009 12:00 PM

    To anyone born after 1980, the movie "Xanadu" doesn't likely register on their radar, while those who actually lived through it have since filed it in the "camp classic" category. The post-"Grease" Olivia Newton-John teamed up with Gene Kelly to tell a tale of a young artist hoping to open a "roller disco" who gains inspiration from several muses on a mural. But when one of those portraits he draws pops to life, it puts the already over the top tale into romantic overdrive.

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    Tags: News, Reviews

  • Coraline is worthwhile with or without 3-D

    Jan 30 2009 11:14 AM

    Went to a screening today of Coraline, the new animated movie based on a Neil Gaiman graphic novel that opens next Friday, Feb. 6. In it, the ubiquitous Dakota Fanning provides the voice of Coraline, a girl who discovers that a secret door in her new home, a rural house in the middle of nowhere, leads to an alternate universe of sorts.

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    2 Comments

    Tags: Reviews

  • Hear/Say's coolest contest to date: Write an essay on Black History Month and you could win a Sony PS3!

    Jan 28 2009 3:00 AM

    This very website regularly offers a slew of autographed CDs, instruments and posters from musicians and celebrities, though with Black History Month right around the corner, there's an even more exciting prize prospect, coupled with some socially conscious dialogue. Long story short, you could win a Sony PS3 by submitting an essay that tackles the following topic: “How has the political and social environment affected the music of certain eras, and how does this directly or indirectly influence you?”

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    3 Comments

    Tags: News

  • Taken isn't your typical vigilante movie

    Jan 27 2009 1:26 PM

    Just saw an early screening of the thriller Taken, which opens wide this Friday. In it, Liam Neeson plays Byran Miller, a former spy of sorts who calls himself a “preventor.” While he’s retired from his days of staging US-backed coups in the Middle East because he wants to re-connect with his 17-year-old daughter Kim (Maggie Grace), he’s still got the skills to take down a veritable army of Armenian bad guys who abduct his daughter while she’s vacationing in Paris.

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    1 Comment

    Tags: Reviews

  • High fives to Fall Out Boy for action packed openers

    Jan 26 2009 7:39 AM

    When Fall Out Boy announced its latest tour would hit arenas, it sent skepticism through the touring industry, particularly given the rough economy and uncertainly in sales across the board. Though the pop/punk foursome has never had trouble moving seats before this grim cloud enveloped the concert climate, having the same results circa 2009 would require additional effort, particularly on the packaging and promotion ends.

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    Tags: Concerts, News

  • Planet Money Bullish on Music

    Jan 25 2009 6:54 PM

    I only took a few economic classes in college, so NPR’s Planet Money has become indispensable to my understanding (however limited) to the current financial crisis.  The website and podcast started last year, right around the time of the sub-prime mortgage problems; Planet Money’s audience increased significantly when a show detailing the financial crisis aired on This American Life in October 2008 (stream available at http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio_episode.aspx?episode=365 ).

    Planet Money present economic issues of the day with the assumption the listener is intelligent but has a limited understanding of economic theory.  Their explanations of the issues are thorough, deliberate and—unusual for such a currently gloomy topic—often entertaining.

    But what concerns us here are the musical picks for the show by its editor, Laura Conaway. 

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    1 Comment

    Tags: Reviews

  • Leathermouth is all bark, no bite

    Jan 24 2009 10:22 AM

    I’m not one of those My Chemical Romance haters. Sure, its last album, 2006’s Welcome to the Black Parade, was rather pretentious as it attempted to be a concept album at a time when the concept album thing has been done to death. Still, I think the guys pulled it off, thanks in part to dynamic singer Gerard Way, whose vocals have nearly as much range as the late, great Freddie Mercury. But as much as I think MyChem is legitimate and not just an overnight screamo sensation, I can’t same the same for Leathermouth, guitarist Frank Iero’s side project.

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    2 Comments

    Tags: Reviews

  • Calling all indie rockers and music lovers: Union U opens new coffehouse venue

    Jan 22 2009 9:42 PM

    Not only has Jackson, Tennessee's Union University successfully rebuilt after a devistating tornado touched down on campus last year, but it also opened a brand new venue in the form of Barefoot Joes. The intimate coffehouse has already hosted the applauded indie rock likes of Denison Witmer, Matthew Perryman Jones, Katie Herzig and Bill Mallonee with the calendar beefing up for the spring semester.

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    4 Comments

    Tags: Concerts, News

  • Is U2's new single worth the wait? "Get On Your Boots" mediocre at best

    Jan 21 2009 9:34 AM

    Five years is ages in between studio CDs, though U2's had no shortage of products between 2004's How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb and the forthcoming No Line On the Horizon. But countless concert DVDs, CD remasters and compilations have only built anticipation for new tunes, particularly its latest single "Get On Your Boots" (released as a stream on U2.com) earlier this week.

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    Tags: Gossip, News, Reviews

  • Duncan Sheik wallows on Whisper

    Jan 21 2009 7:13 AM

    There was a moment in the ’90s when singer-songwriter Duncan Sheik was on a roll and notched the massive hit “Barely Breathing,” a tune that pre-dated sensitive singer-songwriters such as James Blunt and Damien Rice. The song was a massive hit of the make out song variety. Since then, Sheik’s gotten more somber and serious, turning to the theater for inspiration.

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    3 Comments

    Tags: Reviews

  • Washington D.C.'s Black Cat hosts double header of inaugural ball alternatives with Anti-Flag, Ted Leo

    Jan 19 2009 12:33 PM

    With all eyes looking towards Washington D.C. for President Barack Obama's inaguration on Tuesday, countless concerts are popping up all across the area. Though heavy hitters like Garth Brooks and Aretha Franklin have been tapped for massive extravaganzas, those with more alternative tastes can look to the Black Cat club for two diverse bills of politically conscious performers.

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    2 Comments

    Tags: Concerts, News

  • Andrew Bird's Noble Effort

    Jan 18 2009 2:27 PM

    I saw singer-songwriter Andrew Bird open for Ani DiFranco a couple of years back and was impressed by the man’s ability to whistle. It sounded so perfect, I swore what I was hearing was canned whistling. Yet Bird is a trained whistler and has found ways to incorporate it into his music. He opens his fifth album, Noble Beast, which comes out Tuesday, Jan. 20, with a bit of whistling. It fits nicely with the tune’s hushed vocals. And mid-song, while a string section takes over, he whistles evocatively along with it. There’s more to the album than just whistling, too. The album includes a bit of everything, including folk narratives (“Masterswarm”) and complex Radiohead-like atmospheric rockers (“Not a Robot, But A Ghost”).

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    1 Comment

    Tags: Reviews

  • A fictional family that's already familiar: Nickel Creek meets Switchfoot

    Jan 16 2009 11:30 AM

    To those who are merely casual followers of either act, the paths of surf-rockers Switchfoot and the more organic-oriented Nickel Creek wouldn't seem to ever cross. But considering both bands rose to fame in San Diego and its members have been longtime friends, it was only inevitable that a collaboration would come into play at some point. Though members have popped onto stage with one another before, a conscious writing streak developed between Switchfoot's singer Jon Foreman and Nickel Creek's multi-instumentalist Sean Watkins after their respective troupes played a festival bill alongside R.E.M. and Wilco.

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    3 Comments

    Tags: Concerts, News, Reviews

  • A Notorious soundtrack for a B.I.G star (even if Lil' Kim is livid)

    Jan 13 2009 8:42 PM

    With Friday right around the corner, all eyes in the rap/hip-hop world are on the Notorious B.I.G. as the posthumous movie in his name hits the silver screen. Thus far buzz has been brewing for the Notorious soundtrack (released Tuesday on Bad Boy) considering it compiles several of the late great's biggest hits ("Juicy," "Hypnotize," "Warning"), alongside three previously unreleased demos ("Microphone Murderer," "Guaranteed Raw" and "Love No Ho"). Several of the genre's top stars also guest on the album, including Faith Evans, Bone Thungs-n-Harmony and Santogold.

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    Tags: Gossip, News, Reviews

  • Brendan Fraser on his new movie Inkheart

    Jan 13 2009 10:26 AM

    Brendan Fraser was born to play the role of Mortimer “Mo” Folchart, the lead character in the new fantasy adventure flick Inkheart. Really, he was. German scribe Cornelia Funke, author of the book upon which the film is based, created the character with Fraser in mind.

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    Tags: Interviews

  • Up the Empire's Doug Keith spreads his solo wings

    Jan 8 2009 7:37 AM

    He may have first found traction with New York rock trio Up the Empire, but singer/songwriter Doug Keith is about the spread his solo wings. Here's To Outliving Me hits streets January 13 on The Cougar Label, chroncling eleven endearing indie pop songs under the direction of engineeer Jim Bentley (Jennifer O'Connor). Outside of ear pleasing melodies, warm acoustics and occaional moments of shoegazing simplicity, the project boasts lyrics inspired by Keith's move from Brooklyn to Manhattan.

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    Tags: Concerts, News, Reviews

  • AC/DC Larger Than Life on Tour

    Jan 6 2009 7:30 AM

    [caption id="attachment_687" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="AC/DC rocking fans in Cleveland!"]AC/DC rocking fans in Cleveland![/caption]

    AC/DC was my first concert (without parents in tow)... in 1979! Seeing them last night in Cleveland 30 years later brings back that care free, larger than life, rock of the 70's lifestyle. Even if you haven't been a follower of the band or the genre, you probably know AC/DC's hits "Back in Black", "Hells Bells" and "You Shook Me All Night Long", just to name a few, which haven't aged a bit, even if the band has slightly. Those songs, along with the new ones from the Black Ice CD, can still get you up on your feet and dancing all night long! And that's just the half of it!

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    5 Comments

    Tags: Concerts

  • Sugar Mountain Is Sweet

    Jan 6 2009 3:22 AM

    I wasn't all that excited when I saw another release by the Neil Young Archives, Sugar Mountain: Live at the Canterbury Club 1968.  Over the last few years the Archives have had several live releases (Live at Massey Hall 1971, Live at the Fillmore East 1970) and the performances were beginning to sound repetitive. Did we really need another version of "The Needle and the Damage Done?"

    My surprise: Sugar Mountain is surprisingly fresh in its performance yet endearing as a period piece. 

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    1 Comment

    Tags: Reviews

  • Counting Crows kick off seventh season of "Soundstage"

    Jan 5 2009 10:59 AM

    Since the famed 1970s series "Soundstage" was revived at the top of this decade, its since reached the seventh season mark, which kicks off with Counting Crows on Thursday, January 8. The program finds artists across all genres filmed in the intimate setting of a PBS studio in Chicago with Adam Duritz and company's current collection fitting perfectly in those confines. Tunes from the group's newest CD  Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings make up the bulk of the set list, showcasing the singer's unforgettable warble and emotional lyrics.

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    2 Comments

    Tags: Concerts, News

  • Avett Brothers preview new material at New Year's Eve show

    Jan 4 2009 7:33 PM

    By Jeremy Hills

    Over the past 7 years, the Avett Brothers have concocted an infectious brand of bluegrass, old tyme country, punk rock, honky tonk and ragtime music. This New Year’s Eve, Charlotte North Carolina's Belk Theatre played host as the band, along with family & friends showcased its unique musical Witches Brew in front of a sold out crowd of 2,000. The brothers Scott and Seth, along with bassist Bob Crawford and cellist Joe Kwon took the stage around 11:30 p.m. following almost two hours of music from openers Jason Webley, Paleface and songstress Jessica Lea Mayfield and her band.

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    1 Comment

    Tags: Reviews

  • Lil Wayne vs. T-Pain: Battle of the rap titans on tour

    Jan 1 2009 9:14 AM

    Over any genre, rapper Lil Wayne ruled the sales game in 2008, scoring an astounding one million album sales of Tha Carter III in just a week, breaking 50 Cent's lofty record from 2005. No wonder why he's packing plenty of production while headlining the I Am Music Tour, playing to arenas all across America with a lengthy list of guest stars. Just below the platinum selling superstar is T-Pain, who may be his duet partner on the smash single "Got Money," but is quickly becoming a heated competitor.

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    5 Comments

    Tags: Concerts, News, Reviews