Blerg!

Best use of music in a commercial this year…hands down…



MP3: Saul Williams - List of Demands
This song is the musical equivalent of a powder keg. Then again what would you expect from a dude that mixes racially charged poetry and hip-hop and who's collaborated with NIN, Zach De La Rocha, The Fugees, Rick Rubin, KRS-One, and Allen Ginsberg. Seriously, I'm getting fired up just listening to it in my cube. "Come on...bring it, spreadsheet. You think can auto-format me...F-YOU!"

Sorry...kinda went off the deep end on that one.

Afternoon Dee-lite!

MP3: Those Dancing Days - Hitten
Gotta love fun, all-girl bands out of Sweden cranking out some catchy pop music. Hitten is just cool track that serves as perfect background music for your day.

MP3: Cameron McGill - Low Ways (Live on MOKB)
Mello James Taylor-ish / Ryan Adams vibe. Good chill track.

MP3: Lil' Wayne - Lollipop (Chopped and Screwed by DJ Young Redd)
Okay…this is probably a track that most people will hate. I normally am not a fan of screwed songs myself, but for some reason I think this one works. The original version is kinda dark and creepy anyway, so by chopping it up it I think it actually adds something to the track.

Morning Glory!

Wednesday is slowly becoming my favorite day of the week due to my “Free Coffee on Wednesdays" card at Starbucks. Here are a couple of tunes I was listening too on my walk over today…enjoy!

MP3: Does It Offend You, Yeah - We Are Rockstars (highly rec’d)
First things first…I freaking love the name of this band. This UK quartet released their debut disc last week and they rock. They’ve got a Daft Punk meets Aphex Twin, and call me crazy, but a little bit of Jack White mixed in. I dig it…big-time.

MP3: Clipse - Hello New World
Best Line: “I found poetry, excuse me Flo-etry. Say Yes! Jiggas hear ‘Eghck!,’ and they know it’s me.”

MP3: Port O Brien - I Woke Up Today
Big Yeasayer vibe on this track…

MP3: Jaymay - Gray or Blue
A track for the ladies, and the dudes like me that are secure enough to rock out to some chick rock. Good acoustic vibe that makes me want to be on vacation…28-days and counting until Linds and I will be here!

Case of the Mondays...

Here's a couple of tracks I thought would fit well into to your Monday daily duties...Enjoy!

Something Old…
Oasis - Whatever
- Sorry for the vid of the Oasis track, but it's suprisingly hard to find mp3's for B-Sides from 1994 Oasis EPs.


Something New…
MP3: The Wombats - Moving to New York
- Fun, up-beat Brit-Pop…kinda Bloc Party sound but with a slight 80’s new wave vibe

MP3: Cut Copy - Feel The Love
- Definitely 80’s pop vibe with this one… Tears For Fears-esque with a clubby dance synth undertone.

And My Favorite Song to Play On A Monday…
Mp3: Kate Nash - Mouthwash
- This song is by no means new, but it still continues to just be a kick ass song. This song doesnt get old, despite how ofter Linds and I may play it...

Add to Your Weekend Playlist...

Here are a couple of tracks for your weekend listening pleasure.
MP3: Port 'O Brian - Stuck On A Boat - Folk-pop meets the Arcade Fire
MP3: Jamie T - If You Got The Money (highly rec'd) - Streets with a reggae vibe
MP3: Jack Penate - Spit At Stars - Brit Rockibilly vibe
MP3: Jack Penate - 1-2-3-4 (Feist Cover) - what can i say...I love a good cover...

enjoy...

Show Review - Feist

Feist - Show Reveiw

Crikey! Last night Lindsay and I stumbled across one of the most mysterious creatures in the world. They’ve been rumored to exist for as long as mans been alive, but I’ve always thought of them in the same way I think of the Loch Ness Monster, Sasquatch, and the Chubracabra. Sure, you’ve seen pictures but never a real life sighting! As luck would have it, we witnessed the elusive Sheila, in her natural habitat; drinking, chanting, and participating in some sort of a rhythmic display. It’s with great pleasure that I can now declare: The cutesy lesbian – YES, just like those nice ones you see on TV and the internet - does exist! And luckily for mankind everywhere, their species appears to be thriving in the crowd of a Feist concert. I guess I severely underestimated the appeal of ethereally feminine vocals on the female persuasion.

Okay…now for the actual review of the show...

Feist started off the set list a cappella while singing behind a back lit white screen. Her vocals were spot on and as you'll notice in the clip below...she was looping her voice the whole time. Nice way to start off a show. The first half was a compilation of older and slower tracks, which I had never heard before. None of which were bad, per se, but I wasn’t alone with my feelings of boredom. We did however take full advantage of the downer tracks to gossip that all the ladies around us appeared to be very “close friends.” I think Kelly and Lindsay were glad I was there to affirm that they were “not a couple.”

The later half of show picked up a bit with a smattering of tracks from The Reminder dropped in, here and there, but was still relatively low key. The crowd got really into the up-beat tracks, sang along and danced like crazy people…so I found it odd that she kept launching back into these rambling waltzy songs. One thing I was not a fan of was her encore. She played a decent track solo for the first song, then launched into the up-beat jam Sea Lion Woman – which should’ve been her closer, but instead she closed with this super slow song that put everyone to sleep. Sea Lion builds and builds and builds, so why not end on that? Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I like to end the show on a high…not yawning.

On the bright side, her band was great and had a lot of variety of instrumentation. Keys, clav, flugelhorn, sax, trumpet, bells…it was all there. At one point the dude was playing bass, and the next he’s got a flute in his hands…it played well. I also really liked that she was looping her guitar and vocals through most of the show, which served well to create all those rich layers you love from the album. Through out the entire show she sounded great, the crowd was into it, and visually there was some cool stuff going on (I’ll get into that later).

Overall, I was really impressed with the total package Feist put together, but would’ve liked to have a different set list. The Reminder has some real jams on it, which would’ve played better than the downers she was playing. It’s tough to play tracks like that in venue that big. I’m not saying she should be playing at Starbucks or anything, but maybe someplace like Bass Hall would have been better suited for her. Oh well…maybe next time…

Highlights from the show…

• Amazing slide show done during the show via real-time visual artist Shary Boyd (http://www.sharyboyle.com/) …slides, mulit-layered paintings, foliage, fabrics, and her own hands projected onto a screen. Trust me, it was much cooler than it sounds
• Group of girls dancing in front of us through out the show. At one point a girl ran and slid on her stomach under the other girls legs. It was entertaining to say the least
• Favorite songs: The Opening track (vid below), Mushaboom, Sea Lion Woman, My Moon My Man, and NOT CLOSING with 1-2-3-4

Opening song from last night… (jump to :50 in)


Mushaboom and cool light slide show thing…

Follow Me Now...Indie Hip Hop to Starland Vocal Band in 5 easy steps…

Take a trip in Casey’s magical musical mind…

Don’t ask me why but listening to a Kid CUDI track (MP3: Kid Cudi - Day n Nite) got me thinking about sitting in my duplex in college playing Tony Hawk on Xbox…which got me thinking about my favorite track off of THPS: Underground, Imaginary Places (vid here) and by the way damn, Busdriver kills it in the MC department not to mention the insane flute sample…which made me think of the jazz flute stylings in The Black Keys track Same Old Thing (MP3:The Black Keys – Same Old Thing)…which obviously got me to Ron Burganday…which got me to this…

Playlist for the Weekend...

5 tracks to start your Friday off right…
MP3: Interpol - Evil
MP3: Big Boi - Royal Lush
MP3: Okkervil River - Black
MP3: Black Kids - I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You
MP3: Scotland Yard Gospel Choir - Aspidestra

Morning Glory...

MP3: Born Ruffians - Hummingbird
I hear a lot of the Violent Femmes in the track…and that’s a very good thing. Hummingbird jumps all over the place musically through guitar runs up scales, fast punky drums, and skats. If Adderall is looking for a tour to sponsor, they should seriously consider this Toronto trio.

MP3: this is ivy league - london bridges
Think Belle and Sebastian meets The Smiths meets Vampire Weekend.

NEW TUNES ALERT!

MP3: Foals - Balloons
This UK quintet is blowing up everywhere on the interweb after killing it at SXSW. This track has a good 80’s new wave vibe meets Bloc Party. I dig it and assume you will too.

MP3: Band Marino - Chasing Rainbows
MP3: Band Marino- Every Time I Make A Girl Cry I've Done My Job
Folky-pop vibe…kinda reminds me of up beat Ryan Adams tracks with the high pitch vocals of Vampire Weekend. I’m going to check into this cd more, because this could be the chill yet up-beat beach cd I’ve been waiting for.

MP3: LCD Soundsystem - Daft Punk is Playing At My House
An oldie but a goodie… I love pretty much everything about this song. The lyrics just have an attitude to them that is awesome, the beat builds throughout, and he calls out “Solo” before his cowbell solo…freaking Brilliant.

Best line of the song: “All the robots descend from the bus. There’s a Freak-Out brewing my house. My house.”

Guilty Pleasures...

Over-produced, mainstream, poppy, radio-friendly songs should be my Indie kryptonite, so don’t ask me why I like these songs.

Please, If you see me driving on the Tollway singing these songs at the top of my lungs…just look away. I’m a MONSTER!

FloRida - Low


Sara Bareilles – Love Song

Record Review - The Raconteurs

The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely


Okay…Since my White Stripes fanaticism makes me predisposed to love this album before I ever hearing it, I consciously waited a couple of weeks to write this review. To give The Raconteurs' sophmore release, Consolers of the Lonely, a fair shot I needed to listen to it in a variety of situations…I listened to it at work…I listened to it in the car…I listen to it during a long run…I listened to it all day on a Saturday at the house. All said and done it spun, beginning to end, about 30 times over the last couple of weeks.

So now, with full confidence, I can tell you…go out buy this disc!

The best thing about Consolers is that it plays like an album - not just a random collection of radio friendly tracks put back to back. Bands these days just aren’t talented enough to do the variety that you hear on Consolers, and do it as well as Brenden and Jack do it.

The disc starts off with kick you in the teeth rock goodness (Consoler, Salute You Solution), and then they throw you into a jazzy piano driven track (You Don’t Understand Me). After they show you how technical they can be, then comes the bluesy country vibe of Old Enough. The rest of the album is a mixture of Son House inspired blues tracks - played in a way that only Jack White can (Top Yourself), classic rockers infused with horns ala Conquest (Many Shades of Black), southern rock (Pull this Blanket Off), and finished off with the storytelling blues of Carolina Drama.

The comparison to a Zeppelin album is too easy. If you have any rock in your blood, you'll go out and buy Consolers today. Yes, It's that good.

Standout tracks:
MP3: The Raconteurs - Consoler of the Lonely
(first track to secure a spot on the Team Robertson Best Of 2008)
MP3: The Raconteurs - Salute Your Solution
MP3: The Raconteurs - Top Yourself

NEW TUNES ALERT!

MP3: Be Your Own Pet - The Kelly Affair
The Kelly Affair has a kinda surfer punk vibe with a catchy repetitive chorus, which will probably remind listeners of the Go-Go’s...but on speed. I’m normally not a fan of girl lead singers in bands, much less punk rock bands - sorry ladies, it always just comes off kinda flat - but BYOP sounds like the real deal. So real in fact, Universal removed 3 tracks from their March 18th release, Get Awkward, because they were deemed “too violent to be released.”

.

WTF? Does she cover Cop Killers or something? Regardless...I’m frightened, and strangely turned-on all at the same time…

MP3: Dengue Fever - Seeing Hands
Fans of Thievery Corp are going to love this band. Dengue Fever is based out of LA, and their Cambodian-pop mixed with a psych-rock is definitely not your typical Cali-Indie band…but I dig it. I cant speak for the quality of the entire album, but judging by this track it sounds like it would be a chill disc.