This is a four track EP from Broken Bells, Danger mouse and James Mercer. The fours songs are tracks that the duo did not feel fit on the first full length that they put out. I agree that they did not fit on the album but the songs in this collection are still just as good. The EP was released at the end of March. The artwork is in the same vein as the full length, leading me to believe that they were recorded during the same session as the self titled album. The four songs are really quite good. They give me a good happy feeling when I listen to them. They make me want to hear more. I really hope that they make more music together. Both artists are associated with other bands. Mercer is the lead singer for The Shins, a popular indie rock group, and Danger Mouse (Brian Burton), who seems to have his hands in multiple projects at the same time from Gnarls Barkley to this project, Broken Bells. My only problem with this album is the cost. I wanted to buy the vinyl release of this EP but it was over 10 bucks. I can’t spend 10 bucks for four songs from a band that I don’t like enough to get the singles, especially when there may not ever be another full length release from the group for sure. The CD was over 5 bucks too.
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart – 89.3 The Current Live Session 4-26-2011
As you all know, The Pains are my new favorite band. I went to see them in concert last Monday, as seen on post 2.16. I found out the next day that they went over to my favorite radio station, 89.3 The Current, and recorded a quick set before they went on to do their next concert. The current was streaming this little set on the internets through their webs. I have a neat little unit that I have talked about in the past called the i-Key. I hooked this little gadget up to my computer and recorded the out put from my computer onto the i-Key. Now I have the three song set that The Pains did at The Current. Two of the songs I already have from the Daytrotter session but the third is why I recorded this set. The songs are Belong, Heart In Your Heartbreak and My Terrible Friend. I hope that I have not done anything illegal and thank you to The Current for making this available for geeks like me.
Pete Yorn - Pete Yorn
The fifth release from Pete Yorn. After the weak release from his fourth album, Pete enlisted the help of Frank Black (The Pixies) to produce the fifth album. The album was released in late September 2010. The first single and first song on the album, Precious Stone, has inklings from the song Pass Me By with his backing vocals. The second song, Rock Crowd, is a song about just that, the rock crowd that he sings to during every concert. It is a fun pop song that could easily be a single for the album. The chorus on the song is about crowd surfing. It is a really fun song. The third song, Velcro Shoes, could also be a single. It is another fun song about, you guessed it, Velcro shoes. I really like this album. It has reminders of his first three albums but it still has something new at the same time. The use of Frank Black really gives this album that kick that the fourth album was missing. I could see this album recording my feelings in this present day. Then I could write about it again in five or so years and say that this album has memories of me writing this blog. Well, maybe that would be a little boring, writing about an album that reminds me about writing about an album. This would be a little redundant, Yes?
Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine: 2010 Remaster
I have been debating about getting this remaster for a while now. I finaly disided to get the remastered album. The album was remastered by Tom Barker and Trent Rezner (Nine Inch Nails). Here is the skinny from the Wikipedia page for the album Pretty Hate Machine:
On March 29, 2010, the master recording rights of Pretty Hate Machine were acquired by the Bicycle Music Company and on October 22, 2010, Trent Reznor announced that a remastered re-issue of the album would be released by UMe and Bicycle Music Group on November 22, 2010. The re-release includes new cover art by Rob Sheridan and the bonus track "Get Down, Make Love", a Queen cover originally found on the "Sin" single.
Leading up to the re-release of the album, a website was put up for fans featuring content from videos and tours for Pretty Hate Machine. The videos for "Head Like a Hole" and "Down in It" featured newly remastered sound, the uncut video for "Sin" (a remix for the video was used, which did not lead to the song being remastered) and two early live video segments, one with interviews.
I was not sure that I would like or even see a difference between the two versions. From my comparisons the remastered version sounds so much better. It is not a mind blowing difference but it is a lot easier to listen to. The parts that were difficult to hear now stand out in the sound field more and the harsh sounds have been rounded off a little. I have already reviewed the original version of this release so I won’t rehash the album again. I did already have the Sin single. It is nice to have a remaster of that b-side, Get Down, Make Love. It is a good song.
Does It Offend You, Yeah? – Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You
This is the second album from the electro dance punk group. It was released in the middle of March 2011. The album is not all that different from the first album. Some would say that this is called the sophomore slump. For me, this works completely. I couldn’t get enough of the first album so to have a second album of similar stuff is just fantastic. I will say that there is more acoustic guitar used on this album. This is a welcome change from the first album. It puts more of a contrast on the songs. An acoustic guitar paired next to digital sounds and heavily distorted guitars. It is other worldly. I love it! The first single, The Monkeys Are Coming, features a vocal sample from an internet meme featuring an American man ranting to a group of skateboarders. It is really quite funny to hear the sample in the song. The second track on the album features the classic hip hop sample of “Woo! Yeah!” There are some other samples that are used but they don’t stand out unless you know the source. This group is part of the reason that I started getting back into the electric noise sounds in the past 5 years. They have not disappointed me with this album that is for sure.
Zwan – Mary Star Of The Sea
This album was the result of The Smashing Pumpkins dissolution in 2000. Billy Corgan got a few of his favorite musicians together in 2001 to create this album. It is a smooth album with roots in The Smashing Pumpkins sound. I don’t think that Billy was finished writing music that sounded like the famous group. As we have seen he really wasn’t. He is still making music under the band name today. The group, Zwan, only put out this one album. There were two singles from this album. The first is Honestly. I have used this song in creating many mix discs for friends. They always ask if this is The Smashing Pumpkins and are surprised to find out that it is not but they obviously know that it is Corgan on vocals. The other single from this album is Lyric. This song is about music, quite simple. The cover reminds me of something from the flower power age, black and white with rainbows coming out in all directions.
I can remember living in my second house when this album came out. I was getting into minidisc. I had recorded this album onto a recordable from CD. It had just snowed about a foot. I popped this album on and went out to start shoveling the snow. I had a short driveway. I started with the sidewalk. Wow, it was some heavy wet snow that I was shoveling. I worked hard and enjoyed the music. It put me in a good mood and helped me get through all that heavy snow. I had listened to the album enough at that time that I could actually sing along with most of the lyrics. I really did not care if anybody else heard me. I was in the zone. I also remember taking pictures of that fresh snow before I had started shoveling. I have no interest in taking pictures of people. I love pictures of buildings and nature. I think that this may be because people are so common to me. If I can get an artistic picture of anything I am happy. As long as people are not involved in my photography I am usually happy with a photo.
I have more to write but I had to get what I had up. I will probably get more up in the next couple days.
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