What the hell are you listening to?...2007 Edition

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Julio Riddols

Dude. It's even more impressive. But don't just take it from me, read the book! Er.. Buy the CD! If you ask me, the single is one of the worst tracks on the cd too.. I don't know who chose it. I would have chosen "If You Keep Losing Sleep"

Is it out in the US? Looks like it is an import at this point.

Damn, between this and the new Jason Falkner I have to get, I'm looking at over $60 for 2 freaking CDs!

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

Two words:

ICKY THUMP

I need to get this as well. Just finished buying tickets to their show here. Really excited for that!

[Julio Riddols]

It looks like it is only an import right now.

Weird, but then again, according to what I have read, Diorama only sold 77,000 copies in the U.S. Thats completely mindblowing to me.

I guess if you want to hear it, you can on their website, or their myspace page. I think they have the full album available for listening on there.

[Ksyrup]

Sounds great so far. If You Keep Losing Sleep is brilliant. Man, this guy is turning into a great songwriter. Have you heard the electronica album he did called The Dissociatives? Great stuff, too.

[Easy Mac]

Voxtrot - Voxtrot: Imagine if The Strokes were better musicians and Julian Casablancas's voice was better and you could understand him... and he was extraordinarily verbose. That's what you have here, and it works damn well. This will end up on most places best of 2007. (and just for reference, The first two Strokes albums are in my rotation of albums, so that should let you know how much I liked the Voxtrot album)

!!! - Myth Takes: A fun album, disco-punk, though I prefer the term dance-punk. Its a slightly less techno, more funky LCD Soundsystem type album.

The Field - From Here We Go Sublime: The top rated album on Metacritic... just not my type of music. I thought I learned my lesson with The Knife's Silent Shout, but this just reinforced it.

[Lorena]

Shadows Fall's "Threads of Life"

[Ksyrup]

New Rush is quite good. I'm pleasantly surprised.

I'm trying to get my hands on the new Rufus Wainwright, too.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Dodgerchick

Shadows Fall's "Threads of Life"

Something about this band I just can't get into. Not sure why. On the surface, I should be all over them. I bought the last album on that basis and have barely listened to it. But I applaud the choice anyway.

[Ksyrup]

Another one I forgot I bought last week:

Dimmu Borgir - In Sorte Diaboli
More and more, I've gotten into cookie monster vocals, and this is one of the bands I'm really getting into. Excellent, brutally heavy black metal combined with symphony. A bit of clean vocals mixed in, but mostly screaming/croaking. I have to be in the mood for it and itcan be a bit overwhelming, but the music is just too good to ignore it simply because of the vocals.

[Lorena]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Something about this band I just can't get into. Not sure why. On the surface, I should be all over them. I bought the last album on that basis and have barely listened to it. But I applaud the choice anyway.

I heard the song "Redemption" on KNAC.com and loved it and just bought the whole album. It's pretty decent, but I'm looking to buy Hellyeah's "Hellyeah" sometime next week.

I know what you mean, I should be all over them too but... eh.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse: Its a bit like a rockier (as in rock-like) Arcade Fire. Strangely, I enjoyed it more than the Arcade Fire though.

This album is very good. I found it to be more like a cross between Jesus & Mary Chain and The Raveonettes, but slower. Hard music to compare to anything, and that's usually not a bad thing.

But you're high if you think this album is better than Neon Bible.

[Ksyrup]

New Dream Theater leaked. It's pretty good, better after one listen than I thought the last couple of of albums were. Here's a clip of them performing one of the new songs in the studio:

[Lorena]

Has anyone heard the new Linkin Park? Please don't tell me they went emo on me.

[Ksyrup]

Not a band I listen to, but I heard they dropped most of the "yeah, uh" rapping crap. I guess nu metal's out, so they're going with the flow. The title of the new album is too much of a rip-off of Iron Maiden for me to take it seriously.

[Lorena]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Not a band I listen to, but I heard they dropped most of the "yeah, uh" rapping crap. I guess nu metal's out, so they're going with the flow. The title of the new album is too much of a rip-off of Iron Maiden for me to take it seriously.

Yeah their single "What I've Done" is really different than what I'm used to from them... it's really really mellow. I love Bennington screaming into the mike and Shinoda rapping so this will be different. I'll give it a shot... Linkin Park is easily one of my top 5 favorite bands so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Sounds great so far. If You Keep Losing Sleep is brilliant. Man, this guy is turning into a great songwriter. Have you heard the electronica album he did called The Dissociatives? Great stuff, too.

I enjoyed the Dissociatives CD. It was good.

[path12]

Anybody going to ACL? Lineup came out last week, Dylan headlining. Other bands I'm looking forward to seeing there: Arcade Fire, White Stripes, Muse, Devotchka, Wilco, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Ike Reilly Assassination, Arctic Monkeys, Spoon, etc etc.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Dodgerchick

Yeah their single "What I've Done" is really different than what I'm used to from them... it's really really mellow. I love Bennington screaming into the mike and Shinoda rapping so this will be different. I'll give it a shot... Linkin Park is easily one of my top 5 favorite bands so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

This doesn't sound too promising...although Rubin is involved, so you never know:


Linkin Park goes in a new direction


NEW YORK (AP) -- "Hands Held High," one of the most powerful songs on Linkin Park's new album, includes lyrics about bombs blowing up mosques, a bumbling leader, high gas prices and general world confusion -- an obvious missive against President Bush and the war in Iraq.

Or maybe not. Tell that interpretation to Mike Shinoda, the rapper/musician who writes most of the lyrics for the blockbuster band, and you'll get an earful on making assumptions about the group's most adventurous album to date, "Minutes to Midnight."

"We're not a political band. And I see some of the stuff that you're referring to ... as more social," says Shinoda, showing a glint of frustration as he and drummer Rob Bourdon sit in a studio, taking a break from rehearsals for upcoming shows.

"I tend to be drawn towards people, the interaction with people and how emotional events make you feel, and because we're all older, I think that we are more aware of those things," says Shinoda, 30. "This record ... it's aware of what's going on inside and aware to a large degree on what's going on outside ourselves." (Watch how the band emphasizes its strengths)

The lyrics on the album, out Tuesday, are not the only signs of the band's development since the release of 2003's multiplatinum "Meteora." Once the leaders of rap-rock fusion, you'll hear less of Shinoda's signature rhymes on this record (he does sing on one track). And while lead singer Chester Bennington's screams are still as piercing as ever, they're less likely to be supported by the kind of music that defined the band as nu-metal. Some songs sound very pop, with arrangements that could even be described as mellow and tender. (Read Entertainment Weekly's review.)

"We've taken a lot of risks on this record because of the stylistic changes that we've made," concedes the 31-year-old Bennington.

"The one thing that people will notice the most is that there's not a nu-metal feel, but a lot of what we do is very Linkin Park ... We felt like we had done something very unique."

"There's more maturity (but) I think it delivers the same emotional impact that they always have," says Mike Rich, senior vice president and general manager of AOL Entertainment, for which the band taped a raucous concert on Friday night.
Calling Rick Rubin

Doing something unique was an important goal for the band on "Minutes to Midnight."

The six-member group had sold 10 million copies of their 2000 debut, "Hybrid Theory," and then another four million with "Meteora." Both albums explored feelings of frustration and fury with a mix of rock, hip-hop and metal. (The band also sold millions with its remix album, "Reanimation," and its mash-up record with Jay-Z, "Collision Course" -- not including side projects such as Shinoda's successful group Fort Minor.)
To help with their evolution, the group enlisted Grammy-winning producer Rick Rubin.

They were longtime fans of Rubin, whose credits in the past year included Tom Petty, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Dixie Chicks and Slayer.

"He suggested that we forget about what we think Linkin Park is supposed to sound like and just write whatever type of music we were inspired by at the moment," says Bourdon, 28. "It was really freeing."

And many people will say "Minutes to Midnight" doesn't sound like Linkin Park.

"The songs we felt strongly about have more melodies," says Bennington. "and those are the songs that turned up on the record."

Then there's the content. Although Shinoda stresses that it's not a political album, the band references the nation's turmoil, from broken levees on "The Little Things Give You Away" to bitterness over leaders on "No More Sorrow."

"We've always just stuck true to the music that we felt like making," says Bourdon. "If we were to try and go make the trilogy album for us, it wouldn't have felt right to us, it would have been like we were trying to be something that we're not."

The band knows that some fans will want to hear a retread of their past sound. "We've gotten a lot of really positive response from fans, critics," says Bennington. "We've also gotten some feedback that's just like -- I think it's going to take a while for some people to wrap their heads around what we've done."

But the band hopes that once fans hear the music, they'll realize Linkin Park has changed for the better.

"We hope that a lot of our fans are on the same page, and if they're not on the same page, that's fine too, maybe they will be later, maybe not, but we'll still be playing this album, we'll still be playing the other albums," says Shinoda. "And whoever wants to come the show is invited."

[Ksyrup]

I bought an interesting mix of CDs today.

The new ones from Rufus Wainwright and Megadeth for me; Bon Jovi's greatest hits for my wife (it was the theme music from Deadliest Catch, and not AI, that inspired her to finally want this); and then I picked up a CD by some country band called Little Big Town that my secretary asked me to get for her while I was at Best Buy.

[Lorena]

I heard Linkin Park's "Minutes to Midnight" last night and it was alright. I realize they're going in a new direction but the reason I liked them was because of the rap/metal combo and this album had maybe 1 song that was like that. Chester can actually sing but I like him more when he's screaming... he sounds I dunno... sexier I guess.

I have to be in the right mood to listen to it. I definitely won't listen to it if I'm drinking cuz I'll probably end up depressed.

In the end, it's like a 6/10.

[Ksyrup]

New Megadeth is quite impressive. This is probably the album I was expecting/hoping for after Rust In Peace. I really liked the last one, too, but I think this one is even better. Almost makes me forget about the 10 years in between.

What's interesting about it is that Dave Mustaine has become a born-again Christian, and the song Never Walk Alone...A Call to Arms is about as openly Christian/religious as it could be (although if you just read the lyrics, you wouldn't expect the music to be as heavy as it is). And then there's the title track, United Abominations, which scathingly chastises the UN for its history of inaction, hypocrisy, and how the US is forced to do the UN's dirty work and pay a huge chunk of the UN's budget. Interesting topics in a genre where such topics are usually one-sided the other way.

I've gotten through about half of the new Rufus Wainwright and am loving that as well. I haven't listened to him much lately, but this one picks up where Want One and Two left off. A lot of orchestral stuff, and it seems like the piano is not the focal point (only 1 song so far has really been heavily piano-based). Good stuff.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I bought an interesting mix of CDs today.

The new ones from Rufus Wainwright and Megadeth for me; Bon Jovi's greatest hits for my wife (it was the theme music from Deadliest Catch, and not AI, that inspired her to finally want this); and then I picked up a CD by some country band called Little Big Town that my secretary asked me to get for her while I was at Best Buy.

Little Big Town = good

[Ksyrup]

Never heard them. My secretary said they remind her of a country Fleetwood Mac. So now I call them Dollywood Mac. She said they performed at some country music award show last night and won an award. If they're too much of a straight country band, I probably couldn't take it. If they're more of a Nickel Creek mixed style, they might be bearable. Probably depends on the amount of twang and how straight-forward country the music is.

[Draft Dodger]

I'm not a Fleetwood Mac buff like, at all, but I can see that. 2 guys, 2 girls, simple, catchy songs with an emphasis on harmonized vocals. Not twangy, but there's very little twang in modern country music.

[Ksyrup]

I've been told by many a country fan that Garth Brooks, Toby Keith, et al, are light on twang.

Not to my ears.

I also include the intentional "crack or break" in the voice as part of the country vocal thing I can't stand. That's even more annoying that the false British accent of the pop punk bands.

[cthomer5000]

Really loving Field Music (band) - Tones Of Town (album). It came out in january, and I got it as a straight recommendation from someone knowing nothing about it. It's definitely in the realm of indie rock, but they sound like guys who definitely owned their share of Yes albums as well. The whole album really works together as one big piece, and after a few listens I was totally hooked.

Would definitely recommend for fans of The Shins, as well.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I also include the intentional "crack or break" in the voice as part of the country vocal thing I can't stand. That's even more annoying that the false British accent of the pop punk bands.

I can accept that for the most part. Except there is NOTHING more annoying than fake British accent from pop punk bands.

I didn't know Mustaine was born again. Didn't he also have some hand/arm trouble, or am I confusing him with someone else (not Yngwie)?

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

Really loving Field Music (band) - Tones Of Town (album). It came out in january, and I got it as a straight recommendation from someone knowing nothing about it. It's definitely in the realm of indie rock, but they sound like guys who definitely owned their share of Yes albums as well. The whole album really works together as one big piece, and after a few listens I was totally hooked.

Would definitely recommend for fans of The Shins, as well.

I've been extolling the virtues of this since I heard back in January. It's AWESOME and what's great is, it's not going to get overplayed by anybody radio related out here, so we can just enjoy it unfettered.

[Young Drachma]

Marco Polo -- Port Authority (Marco Polo is a Canadian, New York-based DJ. CD is full o' underground artists. It's pretty hot.)

Linkin Park -- Minutes to Midnight (Umm...no. Not very good. Not awful. But...far from good.)

Rufus Wainwright - Release The Stars

Wilco - Sky Blue Sky

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

I can accept that for the most part. Except there is NOTHING more annoying than fake British accent from pop punk bands.

I didn't know Mustaine was born again. Didn't he also have some hand/arm trouble, or am I confusing him with someone else (not Yngwie)?

Same guy. I didn't follow him all that closely, but I think the two things (hand issue and born-again stuff) were closely related, at least in a timing sense. Not sure what really changed for him. I know he had one or two close calls with drugs back in the day, but that was way before the spiritual conversion.

[Ksyrup]

From what I can see on Wiki and a couple of interviews, it appears to be sobriety-related.

[Draft Dodger]

just read the wiki on Mustaine. sheesh, what a dick

[Ksyrup]

Oh yeah, he's not a nice guy. Which is why his cover of No More Mr. Nice Guy for Shocker was ironically appropriate. For a long time, his band was a never-ending parade of new guitarists and drummers. And then he even had a fallling out with long-time bassist Dave Ellefson. And of course, the Metallica spat that pre-dated it all.

[Young Drachma]

Heartless Bastards -- All This Time

They're on the same label as The Black Keys. And they're good in their own right. Both worth checking out if you haven't heard them and looking for grimy, bluesy, rock music.

[MikeVic]

I can't get a few songs from Mika - Life in Cartoon Motion out of my head, so that's playing in my car sometimes. Currently splitting time between the new Nine Inch Nails, Finger 11, and Entourage Season 1 Soundtrack.

[Ksyrup]

You mean Mika? I borrowed that CD from a friend, but it just didn't doing anything for me. I can see the Freddie Mercury comparison, but I think there's too much Elton John and Bee Gees going on for me to like it.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

You mean Mika? I borrowed that CD from a friend, but it just didn't doing anything for me. I can see the Freddie Mercury comparison, but I think there's too much Elton John and Bee Gees going on for me to like it.

Yup, I meant Mika haha.

The songs and lyrics sound really fruity and at least two songs have homosexual lyrics (unless I'm misunderstanding them, and not that there's anything wrong with that... I just don't look for that in a song)... but the upbeat sound has them stuck in my head.

The first couple of songs are definitely stuck in my head. The Grace Kelly one and the one with lyrics like: "sucking too hard on your lolipop."

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

You mean Mika? I borrowed that CD from a friend, but it just didn't doing anything for me. I can see the Freddie Mercury comparison, but I think there's too much Elton John and Bee Gees going on for me to like it.

Agreed. One of my friends here likes him because he's of Lebanese descent. But...all in all, he just annoys me mostly. Mika, I mean.

[Ksyrup]

I'll stick with Rufus for not-so-thinly-veiled homosexual references. He wears his heart between his legs.

[Lorena]

I've also been listening to The Queen of the Damned soundtrack and it's freaking awesome. My favorite is track #3 which shows a darker side of Chester Bennington (lead singer of Linkin Park), but you can't go wrong with any of them.

The CD is a little dark, gothy and kinda sexy but it's one of those that I never tire of.

Two thumbs way the hell up!

[Young Drachma]

Amantes Sunt Amentes - Panda
The Brick: Bodega Chronicles - Joell Ortiz

[Izulde]

2007's been about me getting hooked on Boa Kwon and melody. (with the period) thanks to last.fm

Last.fm is also getting me oddly addicted to Lacuna Coil for some reason.

[ISiddiqui]

Its been way too long but I FINALLY got "Me & Mr. Johnson" by Eric Clapton. Absolute brilliance.

Oh, and Icky Thump. Gotta love The White Stripes

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Last.fm is also getting me oddly addicted to Lacuna Coil for some reason.

As much as I love goth metal bands with female singers, I just cannot get into Lacuna Coil or Evanescence at ALL. It's very strange. I bought Comalies because I figured I would love it, and the only time I've dusted it of since the week I bought it was to burn my mom a copy. I guess I'm more a fan of the European style - lots of symphony and more o a heavy metal sound than alternative metal. I don't know. Whatever it is, the American bands don't have it!

Speaking of which, Amy Lee fired another 2 members of Evanescence last week. She's turning into the Axl Rose of goth.

[Ksyrup]

BTW, Chris Cornell is officially dead in my eyes. As if Audioslave wasn't mediocre enough, his new solo album is AWFUL. Despite the Audioslave debacle, I held out hope based on Euphoria Morning that he could do something worthwhile on his own, but, um, no. And a plodding, grungy cover of Billie Jean didn't help his case, either.

RIP Cornell. Where's my copy of Badmotorfinger? I need to console myself.

[Lorena]

Hey Ksyrup, do you have a favorite metal soundtrack? I saw a few that looked decent but wanted to hear which ones you like.

[Ksyrup]

If you mean for a movie, nope. I can't think of a single soundtrack I own. Actually, I think I still have the Singles soundtrack, but I only bought that for the Soundgarden song on there. Mostly, I find soundtracks to be a waste of money.

[Draft Dodger]

Rock Star soundtrack for the win.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Izulde

2007's been about me getting hooked on Boa Kwon and melody. (with the period) thanks to last.fm

Last.fm is also getting me oddly addicted to Lacuna Coil for some reason.

Lacuna Coil is awesome. Good addiction to have.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

As much as I love goth metal bands with female singers, I just cannot get into Lacuna Coil or Evanescence at ALL. It's very strange. I bought Comalies because I figured I would love it, and the only time I've dusted it of since the week I bought it was to burn my mom a copy. I guess I'm more a fan of the European style - lots of symphony and more o a heavy metal sound than alternative metal. I don't know. Whatever it is, the American bands don't have it!

Speaking of which, Amy Lee fired another 2 members of Evanescence last week. She's turning into the Axl Rose of goth.

Lacuna Coil are Italian, FYI. But if you didn't like Comalies, then I guess there isn't really liking them. In A Reverie is good though.

And they've changed their style a lot to match what Evanescence did, because well...their first album was a ripoff of Lacuna Coil pre 2003 or so.

At least, that's my take on it anyway.