Ok, this is out of place, but...

So i just watched the trailer for "The Men Who Stare At Goats" and it. looks. awesome. it's totally a parody of every "government investigates paranormals and creates super team" movie ever made, as well as having totally off the wall actors playing just as off the wall characters. While watching the trailer, I did NOT RECOGNIZE ONE ACTOR until their names were thrown up at the end. So yeah, i said nothing of importance in this post but just GO FUCKING WATCH THE TRAILER IT IS GONNA BE SOOOO AWESOME *gurgle gurgle foaming at the mouth*

Armistice=mediocre. Rather like my Mac/cheese this afternoon.

Hello all. I don’t understand what the fuss is over the new MUTEMATH (yes I spell it all caps I like it better that way. Learn to cope.) album that came out middle of last week. I went and bought it when it came out because Chris from Underoath (one of the only corporate bands I respect anymore) posted a rabidly raving review of it. I don’t think I would have picked it up so early otherwise, I’m not really that much of a fan of MUTEMATH. I own the albums/EPs but they don’t really float my boat. So Armistice is cool, yeah, but it’s making me crazy, I’m so on the fence about it that my butt is sore.

On one hand, it makes one part of me want to just throw back my head, arms out, and do the v4vendetta yell on a rainy rooftop, but at the same time I feel like I finally understand the meaning of the word ‘meh.’ Something about this album can’t be captured by words; in some ways I feel as though I should be hella evangelizing this entire album, standing on street corners:

“ma’am…ma’am! can I just have two minutes of your time…sir, sir! you look lost I can help you…no? hey ! Can I speak with you? It’ll be brief. Thanks. Have you heard this album yet? No! Good, well here’s a copy. Listen to it, please, no obligation, but I tell you, it changed my understanding of what music is I swear. Oh bless you, bless you. Tell your friends”

but then sometimes I just feel like I’m listening to J-tlake falsetto the shit out of some repeated, painfully cheesy ‘unrequited love’ lyric over the top of an altfuzz indie beat album produced by a decomposing Paul Rothchild, mastered poorly, and then cut into Thomas Jefferson’s wax cylinder recording machine. Yeah, sometimes it is that bad.

Oh, I almost forgot though. There is one song that I’m totally in love with off this inscrutably confounding track list. Spotlight totally captures what MUTEMATH was when I first downloaded Plan B as a free single on iTunes, back in the era I like to call the “There Is A Reasonable Chance That This Free Single Won’t Make You Want To Violently and/or Publically Kill Yourself And Your Neighbors’ Dogs” era of free singles. Anyway, we were speaking about Spotlight. There’s something about the presentation of the background harmonies that really appeals to the mixer in me, unless you listen, you don’t hear them, but DEAR SWEET UNREAL-BUT-EASY-TO-USE-AS-AN-EXPLITIVE JESUS do they add an intense amount of depth to the track, and they make it easy to sing along even if you can’t figure out what the words are. (I can’t, I’m no good at understanding Meany’s vocals.) To pick apart Spotlight some more, I turned up the bass, and it’s truly stunning. Check it out, when you can. One thing I’m not pleased with on this track; I’m really not that big a fan of the intro, it doesn’t mesh too well with what the rest of the song’s sound, but that’s a petty complaint.

Overall, that one track doesn’t pull the rest of the album out of my bin of records labeled ‘mediocre’ but it does at least put it closer towards the top of the pile.

If you haven’t figured out what I’m trying to say yet, I’ll tell you. I am a member of The Mixed-Opinion Party about this album, and I don’t like being undecided about something. (Being mixed-opinion is like being mixed-race but with less opportunity to become the president.) I think that Armistice is a good album, overall, but it’s best played in the background; it’s not something that I could actively listen to. It is actually decent to play in the background, though, when you’re doing something else (like writing this post.)

Final Opinion: Go buy/torrent these tracks, because I’m just one voice dissenting and I’ve been buried by all those “OMG Armistice totally rocked my socks off” discussions.

Happy listening.

SHOWBREAD released their newest album today, Fear of God. Give it a listen. If you're anything like me, you get worried after you discover a new, spectacularly good album. Yeah, this one is great, but what about the next, and the next, or the next? Can its creator make lightning strike again and again? I've wondered about this ever since I first found SHOWBREAD, but each and every time i have not been disappointed. FoG is no different, in fact I am enjoying this album more than the last few, it goes back to the roots of the band without emulating their earlier mistakes. Perfection, in my opinion. Happy listening. (inspired by QCJEPH)

Awesome possum. Win sauce. Other cliched hipster sayings.

Here we go.

COLOUR REVOLT is a Ghettotech band from Oxford, Missisippi. Similar to My Bloody Valentine/Mogwai in their dedication to depth of sound, the band works very well as a whole. The vocalist, however throws a wrench in the stereotype and sounds like he should be singing in a Pete Wentz band for fainting tweenage fangirls who love how "edgy" Hello Monday is. The band itself experiments a lot with homemade sonics/effects, and manages to pull off a rather low-key, Failure-esque guitar sound.
purevolume/colourrevolt

SHOWBREAD is raw rock at it's very best, basic, and harsh. Signed to Tooth & Nail Records and with too many band members to name, SB manages to somehow capture the energy that makes their genre good, translate it into wax, and then maintain it through even the crappiest sound system. There is nothing new about SB, their only downside is just how similar they sound to any other raw band at first listen, but with repetition the subtleties that make them SO different become apparent. Without a doubt, this the band that tops my list of "bands to see live before i become that creepy old dude at the rock show."
purevolume/showbread

MERCURY REV is CSNY crossed with Kermit the Frog as a mad DJ remixing Venetian Snares, all blended in a large bowl made of the Sounds of Space radio show, and with a level two cups of Wayne Coyne chewing out the Arcade Fire. So, yeah. and as pretentious as that sounds, it's all true; check it out.
myspace/mercuryrevmusic

ALSO: it would be worth your time checking out the NOT ALONE RECORD label from Denver. They have signed to them Children Collide, Dine Alone, Time & Distance, and District Lines to name a few. All bands on the label are worth some listening, are really poppy, and are a great alternative to the Wentz harem of $$$ makers. Also, most of the bands are on Purevolume. (T&D was just featured on the homepage today, actually.)
myspace/notalonerecords

Happy listening.

Newest post.

I've been really busy this last week. not a whole lot of time left over between sleeping and working so i've been listening to some super chill bands to wind down.

THE FIELD is an anglo/icelandic electrance-indie band who began releasing their albums on vinyl in April of 2006. They currently have two full size albums; "From Here We Go Sublime" and "Yesterday and Today" but there are multiple demos and singles floating around the wastenet, waiting to be found. The albums can be found on iTunes or TPB but the singles are harder to find, and really aren't as good. IMO don't bother, since THE FIELD's music is meant to be listened to as an entire album anyway. For samples of their music, visit:
myspace/thefieldsthlm

ROYKSOPP is a two piece electronika art rock band, and most albums are hit or miss for me, but you need to listen to JUNIOR. there has been no electronic album more addicting than JUNIOR since the Daft Punk live record. They also feature other artists of similar talent on almost every single track, so if you're looking around for others like ROYKSOPP they are a good place to start. For the full track list of JUNIOR, visit:
http://www.royksopp.com/music/junior

that's it for this posting, folks, but if you are interested in a more detailed track breakdown of either album, check
iamhipandsocanyou.blogspot.com
sometime soon, i'll try and post that for both sometime this weekend. Happy listening.

Alright, these are getting better. I think i've found my niche.

VENETIAN SNARES is a one-man band from Winnipeg, Canadia. He plays Jungle/Beatcore/Funk and is way too crazy to be uncool. If you can find it, look for the album "Calvacade of Glee and Dadaist Happy Hardcore Poms Poms." it's really amazing, if you're into that Artcore stuff.
myspace/venetiansnares
last.fm/music/Venetian+Snares



ORESKABAND is a sextet of 19-year-old japanese girls who have been playing ska since primary. They played Warped Tour '08 on all 46 dates, which is a first for any japanese band ever. they may be fairly big, but they get points for their skill and their ridiculousity.
myspace/oreskabandus
Purevolume/oreskaband
last.fm/music/Ore+Ska+Band



BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW needs no more definition than the name. Tobacco, the frontman, is decked out in a frayed gorilla costume and what looks like a bearded Bob Dylan mask, and what with their acid-caked posters and their furry-fans, they do not look like your daddy’s post-rock. They don't sound like it, either. In a watery and robotic voice, frontman Tobacco sings about heavenly bodies and forests and love while the rest of the group pumps out funky, heaving rhythms and blissful analog synthscapes.
myspace/blackmothsuperrainbow
last.fm/music/Black+Moth+Super+Rainbow
purevolume/blackmothsuperrainbow


(I swear to you, i won't ever blog about a band with over 500k listeners, at least intentionally.)

These bands are really mainstream, so this was a little bit of a fluke, it won't happen again.

alright, now that summer is almost over and i'm a little more motivated, here's some new music.

CAKE is a band from a while back. i don't know when and i don't really care. something like the 90's. They're good. They are sort of the beginning of synthrock, and everyone has heard short skirt/long jacket. yeah, that's them. If you can check out the album Comfort Eagle. It's a good starter.

BILLY TALENT is a punk band in its original form. Before Greenday and a whiney generation of tweens were seperated from their money by angsty teen music sung by 30 year old men, Billy Talent would have been lost in the noise. Now, they stand out above it. Both albums are good. Be careful listening to it in your car, however. It is running red light music.

CHIODOS is an indescribable band. They are a mixture, no, a perfect melding of wailing, soulful singing, gorgeous harmonies, and hardcore screamo. The Heartless Control Everything, Bone Palace Ballet are good albums, but my personal favorite is All's Well That Ends Well. IF YOU ONLY LISTEN TO ONE OF THESE BANDS, MAKE IT THIS ONE.

Still from my other archives. Obviously i won't be doing these this often.

Ok. I give up on trying to get one of these out regularly. But I've been listening to some music I figured I needed to share. I don't remember if I've posted some of these before...

THE APPRECIATION POST- is an electropop group that i'm sort of obsessed with right now. Amazing hooks and sweet synth solos. yeah, synth solos.
www.purevolume.com/theappreciationpost

BLUE FOUNDATION- Is another techno/trance group that shares resemblance to VNV NATION. They're a little softer, though. anyway, thanks chris for this one.
www.myspace.com/bluefoundation

ELLIOT SMITH- is sort of a simon/garfunkel/bright eyes knock off. he's good though, easier to get into sort of. and if you don't know who bright eyes is, you should check them out too.
I can't find a website, sorry. just search/torrent his "From a basement on the hill" album.

MADNESS- is a british mod ska band from a while back. they're really really cool. The original hardcore ska, not the No Doubt tish. check them out too. No website again, just youtube 'em. (and thanks to Kayte for this one)

over and out.

These posts are from my facebook group, Musicpagers, and they are almost painful to look at for me. I was such a pretentious prick back then.

Sorry everyone...what with the snow and all, I forgot to do this last week.

-ANIMAL COLLECTIVE is pretty mainstream, they are one of my favorite bands of all time...they do however sometime cross the line over into the realm of super obnoxiousness. They are musically geniusical, though, and are worth checking out.
www.myspace.com/animalcollectivelective>


-THEY CAME FROM THE STARS I SAW THEM is a group with a slight resemblance to Flipron, but possibly better. They're sort of an electrofunk band, with dabblings in all the other genres, though.
www.myspace.com/theycamefromthestarsisawthem



-MERIWETHER is an alternative rock band that is one of my favorites right now. They have amazing hooks/verses, yet the music isn't that complicated, so it's fun to listen to in the car.
And all the tracks on purevolume are downloadable.

purevolume.com/meriwether


-MOGWAI is indescribable, is without vocals, and is not for everyone. Just check them out.

So you want better music. That can be arranged.

LESS INDIE:
-Jupiter Sunrise played on the Warped Tour '05 and somehow didn't get the recognition they deserved. They really are a happy lot.
www.purevolume.com/jupitersunrise
www.myspace.com/jupitersunrise

-Anberlin is a good Rock/Alt/Powerpunk band. Not a whole lot special about them, but they sound good.
www.purevolume.com/anberlin

-Falling Up is a really reachable band...still not too special.
www.purevolume.com/fallingup

-Red Car Wire is like Blink-182, only a little immature.
www.purevolume.com/redcarwire


REALLY INDIE:
-Look for Silver Jews. Listen to "American Water," their best album. They're sort of happy hardcore.
www.myspace.com/silverjews

-Check out Deerhoof, they're really obscure. If you can get into them, they're pretty awesome.
www.myspace.com/deerhoof

-Flipron is a really cool electrofunk band from London. Book of Lies, Raindrops Keep Falling On The Dead, Gravity Calling, and Cerberus is as Cerberus Does are some good examples of songs.
www.myspace.com/flipron


HARDCORE:

-If you don't already know about Attack Attack! then you NEED to find them. They're really amazing. But disregard the "I kissed a girl" cover. It's good, but it isn't really their style.
www.myspace.com/attackattack