OT: New Music?

fanatic · Post by **fanatic** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 1:51 pm

pk500 wrote:P.S.: Got Springsteen's new record, too. Solid, but seems a bit too much of a forced return to the "old Jersey sound" after the "Seeger Sessions." I liked "The Rising" -- the last record with the E Street Band -- more than this one, but it's not bad.

Take care,
PK

Can't wait to hear this one...Just picked up Bruce concert tickets for the Mrs. and I a few days ago!

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 1:57 pm

bdunn13 wrote:Does the Foo Fighters CD have copy protection built in? Do you see the CD-Audio logo on the case? If not, I will likely just download it instead of buy it.

I don't have the CD. It's not worth a purchase unless you're a big fan, IMO.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 4:08 pm

I'm digging the new KT Tunstall record ...

Take care,
PK

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:07 pm

New New Pornographers is a bit of a disappointment. Not a train wreck like the new Interpol record, just not nearly as catchy and energetic as the first three NP CDs.

I am seriously digging The National's Boxer. The new Spoon record is also getting a lot of play. Predictable choices, I know, but just because it's an obvious choice doesn't make it a bad one.

I also really dig that first single from the new Kanye disc. Heard that a few times in Vegas and can't get it out of my head.

sfz_T-car · Post by **sfz_T-car** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:15 pm

Band of Horses' new one Cease to Begin is worth a listen. They get extra credit for having a song entitled "Detlef Schrempf".

The jury is still out on Steve Earle's Washington Square Serenade. He seems to be happy, healthy and in love, which is great for him, and he's toned down the politics a bit which is good for most everybody else. The production by Dust Brother John King is a bit of a departure for Earle. It's not like Steve Goes to Paul's Boutique or anything, but the rhythms are definitely more up in the mix than the usual country singer songwriter album. I guess it's good that Earle is taking chances but I'm not sure yet if it's artistic growth or a gimmick.

EZSnappin · Post by **EZSnappin** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:15 pm

Not sure if anyone here is interested, but the new High On Fire album is, to my ears, their best so far. They've lost some of the stoner-rock touches for more balls-to-the-walls Motorhead action. Matt Pike's vocals also have a little touch of Lemmy to them. One of the best hard rock/metal albums I've heard this year. Plus the cover just screams "inside is much righteous badass noise":

sfz_T-car · Post by **sfz_T-car** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:21 pm

One of the benefits of having a teenage daughter is hearing mainstream urban music. Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad has more hooks than a bait shop--it's just impossible not to like it.

The new one from Chamillionaire is pretty solid for about 3/4s through. I like it better than Kanye's or the abysmal Curtis album.

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:38 pm

sfz_T-car wrote:One of the benefits of having a teenage daughter is hearing mainstream urban music. Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad has more hooks than a bait shop--it's just impossible not to like it.

The new one from Chamillionaire is pretty solid for about 3/4s through. I like it better than Kanye's or the abysmal Curtis album.

Agreed that Kayne's new one isn't nearly as entertaining as 'Registration'. Kind of a bummer actually.

Airdog · Post by **Airdog** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 6:18 pm

Brando70 wrote:I am seriously digging The National's Boxer. The new Spoon record is also getting a lot of play. Predictable choices, I know, but just because it's an obvious choice doesn't make it a bad one.

These are on steady repeat for me as well.

AJColossal · Post by **AJColossal** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:02 pm

greggsand wrote:
sfz_T-car wrote:One of the benefits of having a teenage daughter is hearing mainstream urban music. Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad has more hooks than a bait shop--it's just impossible not to like it.

The new one from Chamillionaire is pretty solid for about 3/4s through. I like it better than Kanye's or the abysmal Curtis album.
Agreed that Kayne's new one isn't nearly as entertaining as 'Registration'. Kind of a bummer actually.

The new Kanye might not be the masterpiece of Late Registration, but it's pretty damn good.

Other than Radiohead, I'm having a tough time thinking of a popular artist who's having a better run this decade.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:24 pm

Airdog wrote:
Brando70 wrote:I am seriously digging The National's Boxer. The new Spoon record is also getting a lot of play. Predictable choices, I know, but just because it's an obvious choice doesn't make it a bad one.
These are on steady repeat for me as well.

Me three.

"Cherry Bomb" by Spoon is the most infectious tune I've heard this year.

Take care,
PK

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 8:39 pm

AJColossal wrote:
greggsand wrote:
sfz_T-car wrote:One of the benefits of having a teenage daughter is hearing mainstream urban music. Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad has more hooks than a bait shop--it's just impossible not to like it.

The new one from Chamillionaire is pretty solid for about 3/4s through. I like it better than Kanye's or the abysmal Curtis album.
Agreed that Kayne's new one isn't nearly as entertaining as 'Registration'. Kind of a bummer actually.
The new Kanye might not be the masterpiece of Late Registration, but it's pretty damn good.

Other than Radiohead, I'm having a tough time thinking of a popular artist who's having a better run this decade.

Jack White's in that class as well (side-projects, producing, etc..).

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 9:20 pm

AJColossal wrote:Other than Radiohead, I'm having a tough time thinking of a popular artist who's having a better run this decade.

Of course I'm biased, but Wilco and Drive-By Truckers have released three and four albums, respectively, of superb quality since 2000. Especially DBT.

Take care,
PK

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 11:11 pm

pk500 wrote:
AJColossal wrote:Other than Radiohead, I'm having a tough time thinking of a popular artist who's having a better run this decade.
Of course I'm biased, but Wilco and Drive-By Truckers have released three and four albums, respectively, of superb quality since 2000. Especially DBT.

Take care,
PK

Never spent much time with Drive By T's (not my thing really), BUT the latest Wilco album has been polarizing among fans and press(could argue their last 2 albums actually) . Wilco's also been around a lot longer, so they can't all be awesome (though close).

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 12:50 am

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/n ... ick-watson

That's a good one....

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 10:22 am

I liked The Bends and OK Computer as much as the next guy, but what has Radiohead done THIS decade that's really stood out? Seems more like a lot of unfulfilled potential to me.

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 12:01 pm

GTHobbes wrote:I liked The Bends and OK Computer as much as the next guy, but what has Radiohead done THIS decade that's really stood out? Seems more like a lot of unfulfilled potential to me.

I think AJ's point was that Radiohead has that perfect mix of Critical Acclaim & Commercial Sales (same as Kanye). Given all the bubble gum that usually leads the sales charts, it quite an accomplishment. I'm not a big Radiohead guy either but it's impressive how they be as Arty as they want & still get great press & sell a ton of records. It's a rare thing indeed.

fanatic · Post by **fanatic** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 12:04 pm

GTHobbes wrote:I liked The Bends and OK Computer as much as the next guy, but what has Radiohead done THIS decade that's really stood out? Seems more like a lot of unfulfilled potential to me.

Yeah, as much as I've supported and listened to Radiohead over the past however many years, it's hard not to ignore the fact that every album I pray for a return to their guitar/rock roots.

No doubt that the amount of "Epic" songs have faded with their move to a more electronic sound. While these songs are still brilliantly crafted and still make for great listening, they lack the qualities that drew me to the band in the first place.

At least their progress (depending on how you look at it) wasn't due to selling out, losing their creative edge, etc...I think it's simply a matter or the band's vision diverging a bit from what a lot of their fans wanted. Because you can still feel their passion and talent shine through on each new album, it's hard to forgive them I guess.

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 1:26 pm

greggsand wrote:
GTHobbes wrote:I liked The Bends and OK Computer as much as the next guy, but what has Radiohead done THIS decade that's really stood out? Seems more like a lot of unfulfilled potential to me.
I think AJ's point was that Radiohead has that perfect mix of Critical Acclaim & Commercial Sales (same as Kanye). Given all the bubble gum that usually leads the sales charts, it quite an accomplishment. I'm not a big Radiohead guy either but it's impressive how they be as Arty as they want & still get great press & sell a ton of records. It's a rare thing indeed.

I agree with that somewhat, but then again, I don't think their sales this decade are really any different than Pearl Jam's, and certainly not on par with U2's:

"Radiohead's latest and sixth album, "Hail to the Thief", reached sales of 300,000 during its first week of retail availability, according to Billboard. Although the figures are only high enough to earn it the third spot on the Billboard 200, they are nevertheless higher than Radiohead's two preceding records in their first week: "Kid A"'s 207,000 copies entered at No. 1, while "Amnesiac" debuted at No. 3 with 231,000 copies."

http://www.zeropaid.com/news/3052/'Hail ... nce+copies

By going off in the electronic direction, Radiohead does remind me of 90's U2 in that respect. In both cases, that's pretty much when I got off the train. If Thom Yorke ever becomes the Fly, that's when I'll give away everything I have of theirs.

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 1:30 pm

good points GT (though Radiohead sells tons of records worldwide). The 'move', of course, would be for Radiohead to finally return to "guitar rock", people go wild, and radiohead rules the world.

Pearl Jam sells 300,000 albums these days? who knew?

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 2:14 pm

greggsand wrote: Pearl Jam sells 300,000 albums these days? who knew?

Looks like I overestimated by a little bit, but not a lot. According to this, first week sales of PJ's cd last year were 279,000. (Wikipedia says it has sold 1.6 million world-wide to date, for whatever that's worth.)

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/153145 ... tool.jhtml

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 10:38 pm

Add KT Tunstall's "Little Favours" to Spoon's "Cherry Bomb" as the catchiest ditties I've heard this year.

Very different songs in sound, but both catchy as hell.

Take care,
PK

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 11:04 pm

Going to see Dan Deacon & Girl Talk tonight. Wish me luck!

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 9:05 am

Am I crazy or is the new album by "Feist" (not sure if that is the womans name or a band) pretty incredible!?!?

She is the chick singing on that new iPod Nano commercial that kind of sounds like Bjork. I decided to preview the whole thing and I think I may have found a true gem here. Am I late to the party on this one or did she (they) come out of nowhere? It's a great recording and really neat songs.

Oh...and the new Iron & Wine is pretty neat and a bit different for them. A tad more upbeat and diverse.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 9:51 am

Spooky wrote:Am I crazy or is the new album by "Feist" (not sure if that is the womans name or a band) pretty incredible!?!?

She is the chick singing on that new iPod Nano commercial that kind of sounds like Bjork. I decided to preview the whole thing and I think I may have found a true gem here. Am I late to the party on this one or did she (they) come out of nowhere? It's a great recording and really neat songs.

You're right: Feist is excellent. You're a bit late to the party, as her 2004 breakthrough album, "Let It Die," received critical acclaim and solid sales. If you like "The Reminder," grab "Let It Die." I think the sounds on both records are pretty similar, and they're both excellent albums.

"Brandy Alexander" from "The Reminder" is one of my favorite tunes this year. I LOVE that song.

P.S.: Feist is her last name. She was born as Leslie Feist, from Calgary.

Take care,
PK