Radiohead fans love Radiohead

Today I had some time to waste and decided to watch some songs from Radiohead's recent In The Basement sessions, which features songs from their latest LP and personal non-favorite King of Limbs.   I hadn't listened to KOL in maybe a couple of months.  And it was really only a handful of times.  Nothing on it really grabbed me like past albums have.  Honestly, I feel it is a mediocre Radiohead album -  below Hail to the Thief and above Pablo Honey, in my ranked order of Radiohead albums (every Radiohead fan has one).

I didn't watch the videos in chronological order.  I picked randomly.  But by the time I got to the 7th song, I realized that a) although I am not a huge fan of KOL, I had watched most of the videos from the session and b) most of the videos from the session had roughly the same number of views.  There wasn't a big disparity at all between video views.  To me this represents the dedication and loyalty of radiohead fans and is a true testament to just how good this band is - or was, depending on what side you're on.

It was interesting to see and hear Radiohead play these songs live as a band.  The studio versions sound  so "produced" to me as if they were written and recorded in the studio, track by track.  It sounds more like an electronica album than say a "band" album - and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

By the end of it, I walked away with a slightly different perspective on the KOL material.  I actually think some of these tunes are better in this live format (Bloom, Magpie and even Feral) than on the record. Some of Thom's melodies are still borderline grating, though.  And for the most part, I feel like a lot of it has been done before, so I wouldn't say that this is a step ahead for Radiohead.  But despite all of this, I watched every video, and it looks like other Radiohead fans did as well and I think this says a lot.



Ranked Order of Radiohead Albums (Best to Worst)

OK Computer
Kid A
In Rainbows
Amnesiac
The Bends
Hail to the Thief
King of Limbs
Pablo Honey

Das Racist Announce New 'Relax' LP

Das Racist is one of my favorite rap groups to come out in the past couple years. Although I must say, it took awhile before I jumped on the band wagon.  On the surface, Das Racist seemed as though they shouldn't be taken seriously, mainly due to their goofy lyrical content and half-baked music videos.  However, once you delve into their first two mix tapes (Shut Up, Dude and Sit Down, Man), you realize that these guys are truly skilled rappers with solid flow, clever rhythms and infectious beats.  So yeah, they should be taken seriously.

I'm really looking forward to their forthcoming LP, Relax, set to be released on September 13th. It features production from Diplo, El-P, Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij and Yeasayer's Anand Wilder and includes guest verses from El-P, Despot and Danny Brown.

Here is Rainbow in the Dark, from Shut Up, Dude:

The new Death Cab For Cutie is actually pretty alright

When I was younger and stupid I often referred to Death Cab For Cutie's music as music for fat girls.  I know this bad, and I apologize if you're offended.   But I was never really a big fan (not pun intended).  I am older and wiser now.  I did come to appreciate Ben Gibbard as a voclalist on Give Up, the first and last album under his side project The Postal Service.  This one turned out to be a bit of a the guilty pleasure for me, and brought me closer to being a DCFC fan.  While I haven't yet fully listened to their latest album Codes and Keys, I am enjoying the first single (and video).  I think it might have to do with the infectious guitar lead....

Check it out below:

DJ Shadow continues to disappoint

For me, DJ Shadow's Endtroducing is a landmark album.  Released in 1996, it is truly an album that was ahead of it's time, and one that spawned many copycats (I'm looking at you RJD2 and Moby). Since then,  he has released a couple albums here and there, experimenting with new genres (hyphy, funk and soul), essentially moving away from the sound he pioneered.  Really none of this has lived up to Endtroducing. I feel the same way about his new panned-out single called "I gotta Rokk".  It's ok.   But it's probably something that will get lost in my vast musical collection and rarely ever see the light of day again.

I gotta rokk, I gotta rokk (2011)



Midnight in a Perfect Work, Endtroducing (1996)

Bon Iver | Calgary

Today we got the first taste of Bon Iver's long-awaited follow up to 2007's For Emma, For Ever Ago.   The album is set to be released on June 21st.   The song is called Calgary and can be streamed below.

Canadian rapper kills a Canadian classic

A friend of mine brought this to my attention today.  Knowing that I am a long time Neil Young fan, she warned me and told me to "YouTube it if I wanted to be disgusted".  Most people that know me, know that sometimes I have a sick perversion for bad music.  It's like driving by a car accident on the highway; it's hard to resist a quick glance at the wreckage.  So I couldn't help myself.

This was my first (and probably last) exposure to Redlight King, a white rapper from Hamilton, ON.  In his song  "Old Man"  he lazily samples the 1972 Harvest classic with the same name.  Bastardization issues aside, the beat is terribly stock and generic, and the rapping is painfully pedestrian.  Granted, it will likely give Neil some exposure to the younger crowd.  But I don't think it will end up on the playlist of any loyal Neil fan (or hip hop/rap fan, for that matter).

Here, decide for yourself. But consider yourself warned. :)

Old Man Redux:



Old Man Original:

Timber Timbre | Black Water

Last summer, I caught the tail end of Timber Timbre's set at the Olympic Island Festival in Toronto  (there to see Broken Social Scene and Pavement). This was my first exposure to this Canadian three-piece, and I ended up walking away feeling rather indifferent.  For me, the slow paced spooky crooning of lead singer Mika Posen didn't really fit the hot summery day.

Today, I finally gave Timber Timbre's recent album Creep On Creppin On a complete spin during a long drive in the rain.  This time around their brand of eerie blues made much more sense to me.  Maybe it had to do with the overcast skies and heavy downpour. In the stand-out track Black Water, Posen sings "All I need is some sunshine". Check it out below: