What the hell are you listening to?...2008 Edition

[Ksyrup]

Their older stuff I can't get into - the vocals are really bad. That's why City of Evil was such a pleasant surprise. Great album. A bit too long and probably could stand to lose 1 or 2 tracks, but it's great.

[Pyser]

flight of the knife is on my friends record label (black and greene). so good call

[Ksyrup]

I've been listing to that (Bryan Scary) and Protest the Hero non-stop the last week or so.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Their older stuff I can't get into - the vocals are really bad. That's why City of Evil was such a pleasant surprise. Great album. A bit too long and probably could stand to lose 1 or 2 tracks, but it's great.

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it before, but it's because the lead singer blew out his vocal chords doing all the screaming that he wsa forced to switch his style. Worked out perfectly for City of Evil, but looks like that pop success went to their heads. Maybe they'll recover, but I doubt they'll be anything more than formulaic from this point on.

The old vocals can be really bad most of the time, but there are occasional songs like Second Heartbeat that are still worth it for the music. I mean, if you can listen to PtH for most of a week, you can probably enjoy that one.

Also, not sure if they were mentioned in the 2007 thread, but I finally got around to Within Temptation's The Heart of Everything and Nightwish's Dark Passion Play. Nightwish is always listed as the standard-bearer, but other than their sublime Crimson Tide instrumental, their stuff hasn't clicked with me. Within Temptation on the other hand has always been worth it between the epic scope and angellic voice. Same pattern re-asserted itself for these two, with WT in constant rotation on the playlists and nightwish virtually non-existent. I will give Nightwish this much - somewhat knowing the history of the band (they were known for having an operatically-trained woman fronting themand recently parted ways, I guess not very amicably) Bye Bye Beautiful is a pretty powerful F You to open their new career.

[Young Drachma]

Far-Less: Turn To The Bright

This is their 2004 release, their other album was A Toast To Bad Taste which came out late last year (or early this year), which I've mentioned before. They're on Tooth and Nail records, so basically it's screamo...but musically they're better than average. On their most recent release, they've stepped their game up and changed their sound away from the screamo to some degree. But on Turn To The Bright, it's good maybe because it's not anything you've heard on the radio (since they are mainstream) and has a feel to it that harkens back to the mid-90s alternative scene in its execution.

I have no idea what that really means, but..it just reminds me of music I heard when I was going to high school. It's not offensive to the ears and if you find yourself into the lighter metal fare of the mainstream, these guys are worth checking out.

[Young Drachma]

Jenny Owen Youngs doing a cover of Nelly's Hot in Herrre... it's hipster irony and I think if they were gonna make a video of it, they could've gone a little further. But oh well. She's talented though. She has a track of her own called "Fuck Was I" talking about love. She's clever, smart and seems to clearly not take herself too seriously.

[CamEdwards]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I've been listing to that (Bryan Scary) and Protest the Hero non-stop the last week or so.

I really need to pick that up. I've been in a non-musical mood lately.

[samifan24]

Collin Herring's new song "Punches"...great alt-country for fans of Whiskeytown, Ryan Adams, etc.

[Ksyrup]

Good week for leaks. New King's X, Roger Manning (released in March, but only in Japan), and 2 tracks from the new Opeth crossed my PC this week.

That Opeth is going to be an easy pick for Album of the Year for me. The clean vocals are all over these two tracks, very little growly vocals (although I'm sure they're all over the other tracks), and it's just some mind-blowing stuff. Harmonies over blast beats? You bet. A funky breakdown section somewhat resembling 70s prog circus music? Yep. Akerfeldt's vocals have never sounded better. I am STOKED for this album to come out.

[thesloppy]

I do love me some 'clean' Opeth.

[Young Drachma]

I love Opeth. New stuff from them excites me.

[thesloppy]

There are so many bands that could do with cleaning up their vocals (Mastodon always comes to mind immediately), and I hope Opeth can continue to help kinda push people in that direction, though even they can't give up on the cookie monster completely.

[samifan24]

I'm really enjoying the new Weepies album, "Hideaway," which comes out tomorrow. You can stream the whole album this week at their iLike page.

[Butter]

Portishead's new album is finally almost here.

After listening for a couple of days, it gets a 9/10 from me. It's not all top notch, but it gets some extra for finally just being released. Some of it is classic Portishead, some is a fair departure from their regular sound. But it still sounds fresh. To me, anyway.

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Portishead's new album is finally almost here.

After listening for a couple of days, it gets a 9/10 from me. It's not all top notch, but it gets some extra for finally just being released. Some of it is classic Portishead, some is a fair departure from their regular sound. But it still sounds fresh. To me, anyway.

Wow, I had no idea! I'll definitely have to check this out.

[Young Drachma]

Estelle -- Shine has been billed as the 2nd coming of Lauryn Hill (before she went 'crazy'...) and I hesitate to make such comparisons. That said, it sounds good. It's frentic hip-hop soul, but she sings and unlike a lot of the starlets appointed by the media, she actually has talent and seems to understand how to put together an entire song. (Rather than Ashanti or those who can't seem to do anything beyond a hook and a bunch of arpeggios)

Haven't gone through it more than once yet, but it sounds promising. And the comparisons to Lauryn Hill are apt, because there isn't anything else out there that it really sounds like it, even down to the Caribbean influenced tracks like Come Over

[samifan24]

So, who's listening to the new Flight of the Conchords album which came out today? I've heard a couple of tracks already and they sound pretty good.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by samifan24

So, who's listening to the new Flight of the Conchords album which came out today? I've heard a couple of tracks already and they sound pretty good.

I loaded it to my Zune this morning, but haven't listened to it yet. I plan to check it out though, the early buzz has been really favourable.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

I loaded it to my Zune this morning, but haven't listened to it yet. I plan to check it out though, the early buzz has been really favourable.

Excellent spelling.

[Young Drachma]

I wrote a review of the new Atmosphere album today. (When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold). It's worth checking out. Atmosphere was once called by MSNBC the "hip-hop group for people who don't like hip-hop." I'm not sure it's true, but...they're worth checking out.

Also, I'm going to throw it back and mention again that if you never heard The Appleseed Cast's 2006 album Peregrine that you ought to check it out.

[Young Drachma]

Link

Jay-Z's track he made 'dissing' DeShawn Stevenson of the Wizards...called "Blow The Whistle." Imagine if your bud was a star and could make tracks to people who dissed you?

[korme]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

Link

Jay-Z's track he made 'dissing' DeShawn Stevenson of the Wizards...called "Blow The Whistle." Imagine if your bud was a star and could make tracks to people who dissed you?

And the response by Proverb http://www.zshare.net/audio/11202282f72613f0/

[Young Drachma]

Who the hell is Proverb? Seriously, the don comes after you and you send Proverb?

[Mac Howard]

I'm green with envy. Having a thirteen year old daughter, Hannah Montana tends to get a lot of play in this house

[korme]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

Who the hell is Proverb? Seriously, the don comes after you and you send Proverb?

I know, he doesn't even have a wikipedia page.

But I think I like it better, only because the beat is better (which is ripped from P.S.A. anyway), and that isn't even the reason for supposedly enjoying those songs

[Young Drachma]

The Roots released "Rising Down" today. It's hot, but it's the tracks that were already released before and haven't heard the other ear fodder yet.

[cthomer5000]

All in a similiar vein:

Not too nuts about the newwest Portishead. I'll give it some more listens, but it did not grab me on the first 2 listens.

Quite enjoying the newest M83 album Saturdays=Youth. A little lighter in sound than the last two proper albums. I suppose it's ambient electronic. Here's the link to the first single (Graveyard Girl), in which I can easily hear the My Bloddy Valentine influence. It's not all that typical of the rest of the album, but it is good.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=gY8iy8S0S4w



Cannot wait for the new Ladytron. Their last album, Witching Houris probably in my top 50 of all-time.

[Young Drachma]

The debut album from Santogold is out. You should check it out, because it's pretty freakin' sweet. It's basically 80s influenced, frentic zanyness with no real definition. But I love it.

[Scoobz0202]

Has anybody heard the new Mudcrutch album?

Awesome.

Pure Awesomeness.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

The debut album from Santogold is out. You should check it out, because it's pretty freakin' sweet. It's basically 80s influenced, frentic zanyness with no real definition. But I love it.

I've been waiting for this one. Heard lots of good things.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

Quite enjoying the newest M83 album Saturdays=Youth.

I fired this up for the first time today and was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. Good recommend.

[Scoobz0202]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Has anybody heard the new Mudcrutch album?

Awesome.

Pure Awesomeness.

I thought we had a little bit more Tom Petty fans in here

[Young Drachma]

The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of Understatement is out today. It's good stuff from the EP I heard. Brit Rock with a modern flair.

[perez24]

Head East Live!!!!

[Young Drachma]

Snoop Dogg released a track called My Medicine with Everlast on guitar. It's pretty..interesting.

[BishopMVP]

Flobots - No Handlebars

That single has my vote for being the Paper Planes of 2008. Left-wing politically conscious rappers who have one single that transcends everything and blows up. Rest of their album wasn't as good, but had some decent stuff.

Also on the single song list, I just re-heard the mash-up of Jay-Z's Dirt Off Your Shoulder and The Verve's Bittersweet Symphony. That was a pretty terrible movement overall, but it works beautifully on that song.

[Young Drachma]

You can listen to Scarlett Johanssen's album of Tom Waits covers on imeem if you login/register.

[Young Drachma]

Sorry, I should've posted them all in one thread.

Ximena Sariñana - Mediocre She is astounding. Cut from the same cloth as Julieta Venegas, but way more indie-jazz vein rather than alt/indie rock. Sorta like Nellie McKay but way better chops and cuter to boot and multilingual. Though after a second look, she sounds similar to Sia from Zero 7.



Here's a Ray Charles cover "You Don't Know Me"

Babasonicos - Mucho Argentine rockers come with standard fare. Haven't listened to the whole thing yet, but it sounds decent enough to play through. We'll see.

[samifan24]

Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs - I'm liking it a lot. Yes, indeed.

[Ksyrup]

It's very rare that I listen to joke music like Weird Al and stuff like that, but this new Zimmers Hole album When You Were Shouting At the Devil...We Were In League With Satan is friggin' hilarious. It's basically a parody of metal, like a Tenacious D of thrash/death metal. It's made up of 3/4 of the former Devin Townsend Band, including drummer Gene Hoglan, whose performance is almost worth it alone. They spoof it all - making sophmoric, testosterone-laced jokes about glam metal being gay, epic metal from bands like Manowar, the death/sex fascination a number of metal bands have... - and they pull it off with some really great songs that stand on their own. The vocalist is incredible - he does everything from death growls, to power metal, to falsetto that sounds like King Diamond. Quite impressive for a guy I've never heard of.

Definitely not for everyone, but this is a fun but still headbanging album. And the song titles are great!

We Rule the Fucking Land
Fista Corpse
Anonymous Esophogus
Hair Doesn't Grow on Steel
What's My Name...Evil!

[AlexB]

Does it Offend You, Yeah? You Have No Idea What You Are Getting Yourself Into
Los Campesinos - Hold On Now Youngster

The two best albums I have bought this year, without question.

And while I was typing this Sisters Of Mercy 'This Corrosion' came up on random play... has there ever been a single 10 minutes of better music? I don't think so.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Flobots - No Handlebars

That single has my vote for being the Paper Planes of 2008. Left-wing politically conscious rappers who have one single that transcends everything and blows up. Rest of their album wasn't as good, but had some decent stuff.

That track was dope. I checked it out after your suggestion and it took two listens to reel me in, but it did just that. Flow is way too backpacker esque for me to really get into the whole album, but on that track..it kills.

[korme]

DC have you heard the song Us Placers by CRS?

I wiki'd CRS and apparently it's a group that has been started consisting of Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, and Pharrell.

Needless to say I am very excited about that.

[Draft Dodger]

I've been listening a lot to Raconteurs' Consolers of the Lonely. I like a lot of songs on it, but that last song, Carolina Drama, is just all kinds of win. I end up switching between that one and the title track over and over again.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Shorty3281

DC have you heard the song Us Placers by CRS?

I wiki'd CRS and apparently it's a group that has been started consisting of Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, and Pharrell.

Needless to say I am very excited about that.

I heard it before, yeah. It's pretty cool from a crossover perspective and the only reason you'd hear Radiohead get played in the club. Should be a dope album and with N.E.R.D.'s album coming out this year too, should be a bonkers summer.

[Young Drachma]

I've run into Esperanza Spalding, by accident. She's 23. She started playing bass by accident when she was 15. Got her GED, ended up at Berklee College in Boston. By accident. She hated it there, but went from that to graduating in 3 years and being hired as an instructor. She's done sessions and tours with big names and she just released her US debut this week.

She's a tour de force.

[path12]

I find I'm at the point where I get songs rather than entire discs anymore (never thought that would happen).

Anyway along that line, 2080 by Yeasayer is teh awesome and that and Just a Dream by Great Northern are high on my listening priorities at the moment......

[Ksyrup]

Man, the new Opeth is seriously kicking my ass STILL, which is a good thing since it doesn't actually come out until next week. The 70s prog influences on this thing, and the strength of the clean vocals, are an absolute treat.

The new Scar Symmetry is out there and pretty strong, too. Death metal with a ton of 80s power metallish clean harmonic vocals. Good stuff.

Just got around to getting the new Pugwash, Eleven Modern Antiquities. Basically, XTC/Brian Wilson pop. This band is practically unheard of, but continues to release amazing music. Guest spots from Andy Partridge, Jason Falkner, Neil Hannon, and Michael Penn. Hard to find, but well worth it.

A very surprising album I'm enjoying right now is from Jordan Zevon (yep, Warren's kid). Very much on the power pop side of things. The Joke's On Me is a fantastic song, one of my favorites of the year. Reminds me of Falkner/Owsley at times.

[CamEdwards]

I finally picked up that Bryan Scary album... having a hard time getting into it believe it or not.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Man, the new Opeth is seriously kicking my ass STILL, which is a good thing since it doesn't actually come out until next week. The 70s prog influences on this thing, and the strength of the clean vocals, are an absolute treat.

+1

I really love the songs Burden and Coil. I've been listening to all of the tracks on youtube.