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As heard in the recent Samsung Behold commercial, “Silly Boy” is a wonderful slice of retro blues rock that hearkens back to classic T.Rex or The Small Faces and which features a simple but catchy riff with plenty of punch. More »
Tags: songs from commercials, the blue van
As hard as it is not to get excited about a Weezer album for anyone who has heard “The Blue Album” and Pinkerton, “The Red Album” does little to live up to that hype; while some of the songs (“The Greatest Man That Ever Lived”) are more interesting than anything they’ve done since, the humor and irony – if it can be called that – in the lyrics fall flat (especially notable in “Troublemaker”, “Pork And Beans”, and “Heart Songs”) and don’t have the same corny-cool quality Weezer is known for…the album as a whole is nearly as disappointing as their recent albums and makes one wonder if Weezer can ever create anything anywhere near the level of their early efforts again. More »
Tags: jacknife lee, rick rubin, rivers cuomo, weezer
808s & Heartbreak is certainly indulgent and the fans and critics are going to tear Kanye West to pieces for it, but the music itself is sound: a collection of emotionally aching tunes built on top of chilly, minimalist beats and mechanical effects, a brave, interesting, and refreshingly focused departure in a music industry where ‘change’ and ‘experimentation’ are four-letter words.
Tags: 808s & Heartbreak, kanye west, Kid Cudi, Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy
Prototypical post-rock; The Wick and the Fire is a decent collection of instrumental tracks that never quite reach the status of interesting and come nowhere near provocative, but if the listener appreciates it for what it is, that is, melodic instrumental music with a gaping lack of substance, it could be an enjoyable listen (if not an appropriate soundtrack for a generic TV teen drama). More »
By melding anthemic riffing and growling vocals with sophisticated noise rock and melodic sensibilities that sound almost . . . pop-ish (almost), Fucked Up has done something pretty damn interesting: they’ve allowed the fierce intelligence of hardcore punk to finally become a part of its sound and not just its lyrics.
Tags: fucked up, the chemistry of common life
If you can get past some of the downright painful lines about how toothpaste keeps your mouth clean, “Brand New Day” is a wonderfully catchy singalong that most people will recognize from a recent Target commercial, and although the corny lyrics will make you wish you could change the channel, overall it’s a very hip and fun pop tune. More »
Tags: lindsey ray, songs from commercials, tim myers