Category — rock

Spice up your mid-summer doldrums with these two awesome records …

Beck

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Beck’s new album Modern Guilt, produced with Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton!

The new album contains 10 new songs, and with the exception of last year’s Grammy-nominated, digital-only single “Timebomb”, Modern Guilt is the first new material Beck has written since the prolific stretch that produced 2005’s platinum Guero and 2006’s universally acclaimed The Information.

Modern Guilt is a tightly assembled group of songs that range in lyrical tone from introspection and social commentary to off the cuff wordplay and lighthearted humor. Musically, the album’s ten tracks vacillate between economy and experimentation, hybrid and pop classicism, while consistently manifesting Beck and Danger Mouse’s shared interest in psych-rock, folk, electronic minimalism and orchestration.

Beck is about to embark on a tour of the UK and Europe, followed by a number of US headline and festival appearances, culminating in Beck’s biggest hometown headline show to date, September 20, 2008 at the Hollywood Bowl.

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Fleet Foxes

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It’s now twenty years since grunge emerged from then culturally isolated Seattle and Fleet Foxes, the eponymous debut album from the city’s latest heroes, demonstrates just how much American independent rock has mutated in that time. The five young members of Fleet Foxes make up a very different sort of rock band, describing their own music as “baroque harmonic pop jams”. Even that understates the depths of the quintet’s effortless vocal harmonies and gently woozy, folky feel. Of their contemporaries only the enigmatic Midlake and My Morning Jacket at their most fragile come close, but neither could have cooked up the Beach Boys spiritual of “White Winter Hymnal” or its more powerful companion piece “Ragged Wood”. In fact Fleet Foxes happily admit to aspiring to an earlier tradition–not just obvious antecedents like the Byrds, the Association, Neil Young and, especially, David Crosby’s famously unfocussed solo album If Only I Could Remember My Name but ancient English folk songs and their later American descendents. All were hunted and gathered from the internet–songwriters Robin Pecknold and Skye Skjelset are barely in their twenties. Add a host of unlikely instruments and the results are stunning, the complete antithesis of mainstream stadium indie that has followed Arcade Fire. Still, the cover features a Bruegel painting of peasants that might have graced any Black Sabbath sleeve. In that way at least Fleet Foxes salute a local tradition. -—Steve Jelbert

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I’ve tallied all the votes from the memories in my brain and the results are in … the award for MOST EPIC SONG OF THE 1990s goes to…….

Jane’s Addiction for “Three Days”!

• “Three Days” by Jane’s Addiction at iTunes
• Download “Three Days” from Amazon.com

Actually the entire “Ritual de lo Habitual” album is perfect, I hope you own it! If not, go get it!

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By far Jane’s Addiction’s best album, Ritual De Lo Habitual is chock full of songs that are both catchy and experimental. The singles “Stop” and “Been Caught Stealing” are good examples; “No One’s Leaving” has a nice funk edge with some busy guitar work, and “Ain’t No Right” and “Obvious” are strong as well. The album finishes strongly with “Of Course” and “Classic Girl”. Jane’s Addiction’s funk-punk-rock mix is appealing, and never more so than on this album.

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It was cool that Simon mentioned Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah rendition on American Idol.

It’s really hard to believe that Jeff’s been gone for almost 11 years … what a great loss … so much potential. Well, at least we’ve got Grace and the other great recordings that he did around that time.
Jeff Buckley

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Five CD box set comprising EPs released around the world at the time of the Grace album & subsequent tour, 2 of these have never been released commercially & are real collector’s items selling for high prices on internet auction sites. They feature alternative versions from the album plus many non-album tracks, live versions & remixes. Mary Guilbert, Jeff’s mother, is providing liner notes, together with contributions from the other 3 band members. There are also rare or unseen photos included on the inner slipcase. 19 tracks - 14 non-album tracks/versions, over 2.5 hours of playing time. The titles are - Live From The Bataclan, the Grace EP (Australian Tour), Last Goodbye (Japanese EP), So Real (Dutch Promo) & Peyote Radio Theatre (Promo). Paper sleeves housed in an elegant slipcase. Columbia. 2002.

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And the original near-perfect record in it’s original form. At many points in this record you’d swear he’s calling for his untimely demise that would unfortunately happen only three years later

Jeff Buckley

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Resembling at times a soft-sung Robert Plant, Buckley was an intuitive vocalist capable of dizzying arabesques and choir-boy sweetness. He is joined here by a tight band for 10 tracks highlighting his stylistic range–Pearl Jam bluesy on “Eternal Life,” impossibly serene on Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” art-school noisy on “So Real,” Led Zep daring on “Mojo Pin.” Unorthodox, this was the debut of ‘94. –Jeff Bateman

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Chez (recently canned from CNN) wrote about what a great year 1992 was for music.

I couldn’t agree more. 1991,92,93 was unbelievable. Maybe my brain is skewed because those were formative end-of-high-school beginning-of-college years for me. Either way … I love a ton of these records.

Here’s his list of “the albums that were either released or broke wide open in 1992″

Absolute Classics I Can Vouch For, The First Several Are Among My All-Time Favorites

• U2 - Achtung Baby
• My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
• REM - Automatic for the People
• Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magick
• Smashing Pumpkins - Gish
• The Lemonheads - It’s a Shame About Ray
• Beastie Boys - Check Your Head
• Nirvana - Nevermind (duh)
• Faith No More - Angel Dust (me says an underrated masterpiece)
• Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine
• Dr. Dre - The Chronic (hells yeah)
• A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory
• Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend
• Ministry - Psalm 69
• Pixies - Trompe le Monde

Other Good Records I am familiar with

• Stone Temple Pilots - Core (me says, just OK)
• Nine Inch Nails - Broken (whoa)
• Alice in Chains - Dirt
• Pantera - A Vulgar Display of Power
• Singles - Original Soundtrack (kind of sums up this era)
• Living Colour - Time’s Up
• Tool - Opiate
• Cypress Hill - Cypress Hill (to be followed up with Black Sunday in 1993!)
• Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger (to be followed up with Superunknown in 1994!)
• Pearl Jam - Ten (THE album in ‘92, I can vividly remember walking around campus and hearing it blasting out of EVERY fraternity … personally I’ve heard this record enough, I’m kind of done with it)
• Guns N’ Roses - Use Your Illusion I Use Your Illusion II
• Toad the Wet Sprocket - Fear
• Seal - Seal
• Jesus Jones - Doubt

Records from His List That I Am Not So Familiar With

• Del tha Funkee Homosapien - I Wish my Brother George was Here
• Hole - Pretty on the Inside
• Sepultura - Arise
• Fugazi - Steady Diet of Nothing
• House of Pain - House of Pain (Obviously I am aware of the fun anthem “Jump Around”, but I am not familiar wit the album)
• Ice T - O.G. (Original Gangster)
• Mudhoney - Piece of Cake
• Death - Human
• Ice Cube - The Predator
• White Zombie - La Sexorcisto

So go out and get any of these that you don’t have! (at least the ones from the first chunk!)

Gorillaz

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45tunes.com says: “Demon Days” is one of the funnest records of the 2000’s.

Gorillaz Photos

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Buckethead

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45tunes.com says: Buckethead records can be hit or miss, there are great ones and there are other ones that are “not so much”. But the song “Pin Bones and Poultry” from “Somewhere Over the Slaughterhouse” is one of the funkiest, whackiest grooves ever. I’ve never really head much buzz about this tune, I don’t know if it is universally loved, but it should be.

If you don’t have anything by Buckethead, make sure you check out the sorta-supergroup album Praxis: Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis)

View More about Buckethead’s Song “Pin Bones and Poultry” from Somewhere Over the Slaughterhouse

The Lemonheads

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45tunes.com says:
Jingly-jangly pop perfection!

an amazon.com customer says:
all-time favorite feel-good album
Lemonheads-It’s a Shame About Ray (1992) My all-time favorite feel-good album, all songs are under four minutes long. The Boston-based band churns out the most catchy tunes I’ve ever heard. Singer/guitarist/lyricist Evan Dando’s songs have an air of innocence and wonderment that always leaves me feeling happy to be alive. Juliana Hatfield was a member of the band at this time, and Johnny Depp and Faye Dunaway starred in the video for album’s title track. “Rockin’ Stroll” is sung from the perspective of a baby in his stroller: “People’s knees and trunks of trees smile at me.” “My Drug Buddy” is about scoring some dope and just enjoying a female friend’s company. Lyrics like, “Thrilled to be in the same post-code as you…/Smile at me, I’ll hold you really tight/Follow you into bed,” are practically irresistible. And “Rudderless” must be one of the most catchiest songs ever made. I pop this cd in when I’m feeling low, and it never fails to cheer me up.

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Radiohead

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45tunes.com says:
“The Bends” is Radiohead’s first GREAT record (and they’ve had several more since then). Newer fans who’ve never heard “The Bends”, you’ve GOTTA get it!

amazon.com editorial review:
While Radiohead saw its stock rising in 1994, it wasn’t until 1995’s The Bends that it really became a blue chip band. And for good reason. The quintet honed its talent for bombastic Brit Rock, yet still preserved an edge of unpredictability. Even singles like the title track didn’t give in to the kind of swooning guitar clichés usually embraced by commercial radio. If the CD proved anything, it was that Radiohead could find solid ground between pop experimentation and the tradition of born-in-the-bone, balls-out rock. –Nick Heil

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The Beatles

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Revolver wouldn’t remain the Beatles’ most ambitious LP for long, but many fans–including this one–remember it as their best. An object lesson in fitting great songwriting into experimental production and genre play, this is also a record whose influence extends far beyond mere they-was-the-greatest cheerleading. Putting McCartney’s more traditionally melodic “Here, There and Everywhere” and “For No One” alongside Lennon’s direct-hit sneering (”Dr. Robert”) and dreamscapes (”I’m Only Sleeping,” “Tomorrow Never Knows”) and Harrison’s peaking wit (”Taxman”) was as conceptually brilliant as anything Sgt. Pepper attempted, and more subtly fulfilling. A must. –Rickey Wright

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Beastie Boys

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45tunes.com says: There’s something to love about all of the Beastie Boys records, but Ill Communication is nearly perfect. They strike the perfect balance between hip-hop and rock and roll, not to mention spices of funk and jazz. They are firing on all cylinders. The peak is the four song flow of “Bobo On The Corner” > “Root Down” > “Sabotage” > “Get It Together”.

Beastie Boys Photos

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