All Posts Labeled: ‘2008 Releases’Minty Fresh Beats Releases Jaydiohead
Mashups as a whole annoy the hell out of me. But I’m somewhat impressed/intrigued by Minty Fresh Beats effort to combine Radiohead instrumentals with Jay-Z rhymes. For those Radiohead fans out there, don’t worry, it’s not just obvious samples - Minty Fresh gives some love to “Gagging Order,” a Kid A b-side. Download the Jaydiohead project. Check out Minty Fresh Beats’ myspace page. MP3:Top 15 Albums of 2008
After screaming matches, insults and a fist fight or two, the dust has settled and the Stranger Dance staff stands before you united with our humble list of the Top 15 Albums of 2008. We’ve also listed our personal top ten lists below. As always, please let us know how foolish we were (both collectively and individually) for leaving your favorite band’s album off in favor of our dreck. For fun, you can also check out our favorite albums of 2007 and see how they hold up a year later. Without further ado, here are our final picks for the finest records of the year. (Drum roll, please…) Killing Time with KEXP’s Live Music Vault
If you have a few hours to kill and a hankering for good live music, I’d highly recommend heading over to KEXP’s Web site and checking out its live music archive. The Seattle-based independent radio station has been a Web pioneer since the early days of the Internet and does simply fantastic work, both in its radio broadcast and Web content. One of the hidden nuggets is the “Live Video of the Week” on KEXP’s blog, showcasing live performances from the station’s Seattle or New York studios. It’s really great stuff from a huge variety of bands, including Fujiya & Miyagi, Mates of State, Okkervil River, Nada Surf and tons more. One that caught my attention was a band from New Zealand called Bang Bang Eche! Bang Bang Eche! – “Four to the Floor”Dig a bit deeper into the KEXP archives, and there’s a virtual cornucopia of live podcasts and performances from the “Live at CMJ” series (including a stellar 2007 performance by Band of Horses) and the station’s live performance archives. It’s easy to get lost for a while. ‘Chinese Democracy’ Available to StreamWe weren’t impressed by the first single, but Guns n’ Roses has made all of their new album, Chinese Democracy, available to stream from their MySpace page. Forgive me if I remain skeptical. The Bay Bridged: Volume 2
Fellow San Francisco music ‘zine, The Bay Bridged, just released their second compilation featuring exclusive new tracks from Bay Area musicians such as Rogue Wave, Two Sheds and Okay. I particularly like “Lightning” by Birds & Batteries. Purchase it here. Loquat Album Release Party at BotH
I’m a little bored with the electro-pop indie scene. Sampled midi-drums? Arpeggiated synth-strings? No, thank you. Still, there are always exceptions, and bands like The Sea and Cake, Cut Copy and San Francisco’s own, Loquat, make great records regardless of their “indie-electronica” classification. Mayer Hawthorne & the County: “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out”
Stones Throw’s newest artist, Mayer Hawthorne, just released his first single “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out.” It’s fresh, in an old-school kinda way… Plus, for you vinyl fiends, the heart-shaped print is just what you need when swooning over a breakup. MP3:Mayer Hawthorne & the County - “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out”Wilco Debut New Song on The Colbert ReportLast night Wilco unveiled the new song “Wilco the Song” on the Colbert Report. Awesome performance. Metallica Returns To Form, Makes Blogger’s Ears Bleed
The most stunning thing about Death Magnetic, Metallica’s first release in five years (and one could argue 20 years – more on that later) is the sudden redirection of the band’s sound. A lot has been written about Metallica’s return to Ride the Lightning-era speed and ferocity, but honestly, until you listen to Death Magnetic, it’s hard to really understand how many years they turned back the clock. The band allows roughly 45 seconds at the beginning of the album to prepare before delivering a crushing punch to the face with the opening blasts of “That Was Just Your Life” and doesn’t let up for another 74 minutes. Death Magnetic is more than just a return to Metallica’s roots, the band sounds like it’s having fun for the first time in a while. They’ve given up melody for speed, angst for fury and verse-chorus-verse pop construction for almost calculus-level precision and 8-minute songs. Herein lies the rub. Folks who found out about Metallica through “Enter Sandman” and fell in love with “The Unforgiven” will absolutely hate this album; those who are Master of Puppets and …And Justice for All fans will love it. I fall firmly in the second camp. For somebody who had completely written the band off as irrelevant after the release of Metallica (aka The Black Album), Death Magnetic is a colossal, unexpected and totally welcome end around. My general rule with music is that I’ll give any band a fighting chance if their music is passionate, and I never got that with the pop version of Metallica. Here it’s a bit more than passion: Fire, fury, insanity, intensity. It’s undoubtedly Metallica’s best album since …And Justice for All, and, if it holds up over time, may be their best ever. Metallica – “The Day That Never Comes”Well … That’s Not At All Interesting
Well, the day is finally upon us … or will be tomorrow Nov. 25 (Ed note: I’m an idiot). Guns ‘N Roses Chinese Democracy goes on sale at midnight in a month or so, but the band has posted the first single “Chinese Democracy” off the long-awaited album on its iMeem page. And, as you can guess – and as we theorized earlier – the song sucks. Well, not so much that it sucks, but that it’s totally generic and boring. As Cousin Chris pointed out, “It’s like them trying to sound like bands who were trying to sound like old Guns ‘N Roses.” Exactly. And, it seems like Axl can’t hit that higher octave anymore, even though it’s, you know, his signature sound. Fifteen years for this? Anyway, take a listen for yourself and tell us what you think. Guns ‘n Roses - “Chinese Democracy” |
