- Aqualaygualry in arcade fire - black wave/bad vibrations Today i watching overlay from here. this is wondeful film. Who are watching this?
- cattartiste in arcade fire - black wave/bad vibrations SplitVideo is a freeware virtual video clone and split video nick driver in behalf of connecting disparate applications to a single video...
- Peggus-interruptus in The Temper Trap Lovin’ The Temper Trap!
It’s an election year, so there are ostensibly two camps vying for your attention: 1) those that want you to vote for someone, and 2) those that just plain want you to vote. But the truth may not be that simple. Is there any mistaking what they’re really saying when the National Association of Evangelicals implores you to register? Well, no, because they’ll tell you outright that a vote for Obama is a vote for the Dark Lord, but that’s beside the point.
Anyway, there’s really no question of Wilco and Fleet Foxes political affiliations when they choose Bob Dylan’s ‘I Shall Be Released’ to urge fans to vote. They may be clandestinely pushing Obama here, and that’s fine… after all, if musicians were solidly behind the GOP like back in the day, they’d have gone w/ ‘Don’t Fear the Reaper’. Nevertheless, Wilco and Fleet Foxes played together in Oregon, covered one of the Bard’s choicest songs and have made it available for free download under the condition that you give your name, email address and a pledge to vote in the 2008 election.
Great song, regardless of who you choose to support, though not much can really improve on the Last Waltz. And hey, there are a couple of third party voters, or right-wing outcasts that are counted amongst the Jeff Tweedy faithful (like me, but I’m not telling you whether I’m the former or latter). Whatever your affiliations, Superstarcastic, in solidarity w/ Wilco and Fleet Foxes, urges you to vote, and while you’re at it enjoy some free tunes.
Best known for their cover of Alphaville’s ballad “Forever Young”, which was a minor indie hit due to its inclusion on a soundtrack to a teen soap opera that shall remain unmentioned, Youth Group is an Australian 4-piece that definitely deserves more credit in this country than “that band that they played on The OC.” Oops, I mentioned it. Anyway. They have a very melodic sound that channels the old Madchester bands - sometimes the singer Toby Martin sounds so much like Tim Booth from James that it makes me question my vast knowledge of the latter band’s catalogue.
This post, however, is not about James. Rather, it is about The Night Is Ours, the moody new release that Youth Group recorded in a 1920s mess hall on the harbour in Sydney. I’ll be honest with you - this album doesn’t sound like anything that special at first…just kinda melodic with nice use of synths and lovely vocals, but nothing that would instantly capture your attention. If you have the patience though, it definitely rewards with repeated listens.
Some standouts: “Good Time”, the record’s first track, is fragile and haunting and carried by strings and Martin’s effortless vocal work. Featuring the lyrics “I had myself a good time / and now I don’t feel like myself,” it sets the tone for what tends to be a bittersweet album both musically and lyrically. The song flows directly into “One For Another”, probably my favourite tune on the album. It’s catchy and fast and driven by rhythm guitar, with triumphant horns adding a different vibe toward the end.
Since I don’t live in Australia, I have no clue what the single from The Night Is Ours will be, but I’m willing to bet it is the New Order-esque “Two Sides”, which is all about bass and frankly makes me want to dance. Not like many dance clubs in Chicago would ever play good music from a lesser-known band like this, but I digress. And the album’s closing song ” What Is A Life?” adds weight to the overall melancholy quality of the album as a whole. Every time this song ends lately, I get struck by a small feeling of nostalgia that forces me to go back to the beginning of the record and start it over.
Anyway. This isn’t the record that will convert those that still think these guys are ‘that OC band’, but if you are smart enough to base your music choices on awesome reviews like this one and not second-rate television show soundtracks, it may be the record that will make you a Youth Group fan.
Well, after losing 2 key contributors to the band, Mikael Åkerfeldt didn’t think Opeth was going to be around much longer. They lost guitarist Peter Lindgren to corporate life. They lost drummer Martin Lopez to health problems. Just how replaceable is someone like Lindgren, anyway? The man had been Åkerfeldt’s artistic partner for 16 years of Opeth mastery. Perseverance…and an undying want to make music about dying…stayed within the genious that is Mikael Åkerfeldt; he still managed to put together a new album for longtime fans to devour like those dogs at the beginning of Willow. It is Watershed.
Åkerfeldt knows how to write music. Good music. Well constructed and masterful music. Immediate proof of that seeps up through the cracks in the first melody of “Coil,” the album’s opener. It opens the album with a foreboding tease of the windy mastery that is to come…and does so entirely slow, showing off the clean side of Mike’s vocals. It even features a female vocalist for the first time in Opeth history…which is achieved by new drummer Martin Axenrot’s girlfriend.
“Heir Apparent” flows forth from the out-tro of “Coil” seamlessly, flowing from the cool and calm side of Opeth to the imminent unleashing of Åkerfeldt’s dungeon-stretches of vocals accompanied by strong double-bass and gut-pulling guitar riffs smelling evident of the death Opeth. It sets the album up perfectly.
The album goes smoothly from there, honestly. There are some noticeable qualities about the album overall, though, that sets it apart as a new work. Read more »
Got hacked a few days ago. Some assholes used a bot to try and embed a bunch of affliate links to ‘thelookup.com’ into our site, but this wordpress theme is custom enough that the bot wiped out the main layout in the attempt. Things are fixed and thank god I’m way better at this sort of thing than website design I wrote the owners of thelookup.com and if I don’t get a satisfactory response (yes it was an affiliate and we’ve cut ties with them)
I’m gonna return the favor with hacking equivalent of a Fu Manchu enema. If anything was lost, or your password was hacked please leave a comment and I’ll get it repaired.
