This is an ambitious project gathering together Amanda Palmer – performer, she was the lead singer, pianist, and lyricist/composer of the duo The Dresden Dolls, Neil Gaiman – author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, etc, Ben Folds – singer, songwriter, musician and Damian Kulash – vocalist and guitarist of OK Go, for an exciting experiment. Monday, on April 25th, the four musicians joins in Boston at the Rethink Music conference to explore/re-conceptualize the entire notion of artistic creation and its mechanical dissemination and human reception in these topsy-turvy modern times of ours. The original goal was to write and record eight songs in eight hours, after then play a concert and forther release the album. The effort resulting in 6 songs in 12 hours, entitled “Nighty Night”. In addition, the entire process was streamed live on Youtube, lasting from 4 pm on April 22nd to 4 am on April 23rd. Read more 8in8 – Nighty Night (2011)
2011
Ok Go – 180/365 (2011)
In my list of “10 best albums of 2010” one was “Of the Blue Colour of the Sky” by OK Go. These guys rocks. They wrote some great songs, they are funny and full of life. Made a few killer videos. Not too many bands have now days their energy and ability to deliver quality stuffs. Actually OK Go were the exception, as I said, I’m pretty sick lately of anything labeled “indie” or “alternative”. Damian Kulash (lead vocals and guitar), Tim Nordwind (bass guitar and vocals), Dan Konopka (drums and percussion) and Andy Ross (guitar, keyboards and vocals) delivered a new package consist of the album and a volume of gorgeous OK Go tour photos taken by Nathaniel Wood. 180 gigs in one year, resumed in 15 great songs. Read more Ok Go – 180/365 (2011)
The Nightwatchman – Union Town (2011)
During an interview in October 2010, Rage Against the Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha allegedly confirmed that a new album is in the works, with a possibility of a 2011 release. All the fans waiting this since 1999 and obviously most of us hoping for more killer tracks such as “Killing in the Name”, “Bullet in the Head”, “Bulls on Parade”, “Testify” and “Guerrilla Radio”. It’s not a big secret, RATM are one of the most activist and lefty rock band of the scene, extremely involved in politics, maybe too involved. Well, growing up “behind the iron curtain” in a so-called communist system, I have a quite different experience and implicitly a totally different view about what “left” actually means. On the other hand, the troubled times we’re living in and the obvious failure of the capitalist system I thought will somehow release and satisfy these guys. Well, it seems not. It seems they wanna “slayer the dragon” right till the end and dance on his grave. Some things I can understand, others not, everybody must be aware of his own limitations. I know that the United States has had a two-party system for over a century and well, it’s not quite the “free world” we dreamed about and democracy is only an illusion while all the information we received are filtered, censored and distorted, but still, I will never ever waving a fucking red flag knowing at least what guys like Lenin, Stalin, Castro, Ceausescu and Kim Ir Sen did.
The Nightwatchman is the alter-ego and solo act of Rage Against the Machine, Street Sweeper Social Club and former Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello. It was formed in 2003 as an outlet for his political views – while some claim Audioslave was playing apolitical music, still, they played on May 6, 2005, a free show in Havana, Cuba and became the first American rock group to perform a concert in the socialist republic of Cuba.So… Read more The Nightwatchman – Union Town (2011)
Limp Bizkit – Gold Cobra (2011)
Scheduled for release on June 28, 2011, Limp Bizkit finally made their way back. All along 2010 their official web site announced that it is “the year of the Cobra” and adding the fact it’s been six years since their last release, “The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1)”, the expectations were escalate pretty high. The downside of the delayed release might be that we set our expectations too high or some might lost their interest along the way. Last year, to maintain this interest high, Fred posted teasers to the songs “Shark Attack”, “90 to 10”, “Douchebag” and “Walking Away” and “leaked out” “Why Try” last April and “Walking Away” last August. On May 17, 2011 it was released “Shotgun” as a digital download, the lead single from “Gold Cobra”. On June 7, 2011, Fred leaked the second single, “Gold Cobra” and finally the standard edition album leaked out yesterday, on June 20 2011, four days before it’s earliest release date. Read more Limp Bizkit – Gold Cobra (2011)
Iggy Pop – Roadkill Rising, The Bootleg Collection 1977-2009 (2011)
While we’re all waiting for “Angle of the Dangle”, issuing four discs of live recordings and to summarize a career as Iggy Pop’s, it makes sense and we’re talking about a career for 40-plus years. “Préliminaires” was marked obviously by the death of Ron Asheton, Iggy took on a path down to blues with some jazz overtones and it was the less rock-oriented album he ever made, listening now into this raw sounding bootleg, reminds us of who Iggy actually is and why – most of us – love him since the 70s. And well, on the first CD features material from Pop’s legendary 1977 tour with Bowie on keyboards and the Thin White Duke, it is quite something even if the recordings are not surgically clean. And we also have the Stooges reunion gigs from 2003, the best proof that nobody else can play those songs like the guys who wrote them. Read more Iggy Pop – Roadkill Rising, The Bootleg Collection 1977-2009 (2011)
Dexessus – Punish me with Love (2011)
Generalizing, Dexessus might be the Russian answer for Rammstein. Metalic, heavy riffings, electrifying sampler layers, deep and strong male vocals mainly spoken and spiting the words and as a nice addition, some smoother female vocals, and this dialogue offering them a special sound, makes the difference. Marching tempos, aggressive guitars, colorful textures and the catchy themes full of adrenaline are the winning schemes of Dexessus. It reminds me – obviously – of the collaboration of Rammstein with t.A.T.u.. “Ðакажи Ð¼ÐµÐ½Ñ Ð»ÑŽÐ±Ð¾Ð²ÑŒÑŽ” (Punish Me with Love) is an absolutely correct industrial metal album from this band from Odessa. Read more Dexessus – Punish me with Love (2011)
Mr. Pan[k]sament – The Ghost of the Absent Father (2011)
Marcus Miller once said: “that one of the problems with making contemporary music is that you never know how it will be judged in the futureâ€. That’s true, but still, I believe it really doesn’t matter what anybody think about it, who and how judge it. I’m conscious that I disappointed most of my fans from the 90’s, but I always felt like I have to move on and I’m kind of pathologically scared not to repeat myself. Under the moniker “Mr.Pan[k]sament” I’m exploring extremely different areas of musical expressions from electronica to metal and from punk to jazz, it might be confusing, I’m aware of it, but this is who I am. Writing recently about Queensrÿche and reading some of the fans comments about their latest release I was thinking about one more aspect: a band should play what their fans demand or what they actually feel? Some great artists such as David Bowie with each release moved on in some other direction while bands like AC/DC played the same riff for decades but both are just great exactly for what they did. So, it’s no “right” or “wrong” answer. On the other hand, thinking about music exclusively in genres, I think it’s definitively wrong and leave us with a very narrow horizon… Read more Mr. Pan[k]sament – The Ghost of the Absent Father (2011)
Garage Days
Today it’s a nice, smiling Sunday. And I felt like I have to smile back. 🙂 So, I dig out some tracks that were send to me by Grigore (Oedip Piaf) with one of them songs: “Detentie” (Detention) , and I cut off Serban’s guitar track, I used some parts of it and other parts were re-sampled and I write a brand new theme for them, give life to a new song. 😀
It’s always exciting to work on something and re-arrange it to become something totally different, to give birth to another thing. That’s the reason why I – still – insist on my collaboration without frontiers idea. And the doors for it are still wide open.
“Garage Dayz” is kind of dirty, dusty blues rock song, I’m not actually into blues at all, but this one feels alright. 🙂 Read more Garage Days
Pat Metheny – What’s It All About (2011)
This is a beautiful, quite acoustic album. As it’s written on Metheny’s official web site: “The new acoustic solo guitar album from Pat Metheny called “What’s It All About” features classic tunes from songwriters like Paul Simon, Lennon & McCartney, Burt Bacharach, and Henry Mancini. Pat describes it like this: “I wanted to record some of the music that was on my radar before I ever wrote a note of my own, or in a few cases, even before I played an instrument. Every one of these tunes has something going on that is just hip on a musical level, no matter how you cut it. They have all stuck with me over the years.” While Matheny played with John Scofield, Charlie Haden, Jim Hall, Ornette Coleman, Brad Mehldau, Jaco Pastorius and Bob Moses, Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins, Dave Holland and Roy Haynes, Joni Mitchell, Jack DeJohnette, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Bill Stewart, Kenny Garrett,and his older brother, Mike Metheny, a talented jazz musician and a trumpet player, among many others, it’s almost strange that “What’s It All About” actually it’s his sixth solo album while his first, “New Chautauqua” was released by ECM back in 1979. Read more Pat Metheny – What’s It All About (2011)
Marcus Miller – Tutu Revisited (2011)
Released in December 1986, 25 years ago, “Tutu” divided the world of jazz: some loving it, others labeled as “not jazz” and quite hating it. As Marcus Miller said in a recent interview: “I bought a Downbeat magazine when I was 15 years old and they were arguing about that. The last time I looked at Downbeat, they were still arguing the same stuff.” Thinking of music in genres, I believe, it’s a quite stupid approach. And there’s not even “good” or “bad” music, eventually there’s music we like or we don’t. It’s about the vibe I guess. And about our perception and not at least it’s about the moment and the mood, not to mention the contradictious matter of taste. I won’t definitively play Morbid Angel or Slayer when I’m in mood for sex. I admit, I discovered Miles Davis through “Tutu” and for years I did paint exclusively on Miles Davis and Jan Garbarek’s music. And still, I prefer to paint on jazz.
Marcus Miller wrote and produced “Tutu” at the age of 27 while by age of 13, Marcus was already proficient on clarinet, piano and bass guitar, and already writing his own songs. Miller soon became a top call session musician, gracing well over 500 albums, a short list of which includes Herbie Hancock, Mariah Carey, Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner, Frank Sinatra, Dr. John, Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Grover Washington Jr., Donald Fagen, Bill Withers, Michael Jackson, Luther Vandross, Roberta Flack, Carly Simon, Bryan Ferry, David Sanborn, Billy Idol, Chaka Khan, LL Cool J and Me’shell NdegOcello and Flavio Sala. Read more Marcus Miller – Tutu Revisited (2011)
