I got my copy of the new Veronica Falls album a week early! It is a really great album on the first few listens. Slumberland posted that they found an extra box of the white vinyl. If you are into that get them while they are hot!
You can now preorder the upcoming Golden Grrrls album from the
Slumberland Records website. It is available on limited white vinyl.
Surprise to everyone, My Bloody Valentine released their first album in over 20 years last Saturday! You can download it from the bands website for a nominal fee or buy it on CD or vinyl. Both physical copies come with a download in your choice of format.
Alright, on with the show...
This is the fourth and final album from The Smiths. It was
released in 1987. From Wikipedia, “The sleeve for Strangeways, Here We Come, which was designed by Morrissey,
features a murky shot of East of Eden
co-star Richard Davalos. Davalos is looking at James Dean, who is cropped from
the image. Dean was a hero of Morrissey's, about whom the singer wrote a book
called James Dean Is Not Dead.
Five years later, when designing the sleeve for WEA's Best compilations, Morrissey again chose Davalos as a cover
star, and Davalos is looking at Dean, who is once again cropped. On the title,
Marr has said "I've learned to love the title... it was a bit overstating
things somewhat. A little bit obvious. But it's OK. I was always intrigued by
the word Strangeways. I remember as a kid, when I first heard that the prison
was really called that, I wondered had it not occurred to anybody to change the
name? It's still befuddling, really." Morrissey has also stated,
"Really it's me throwing both arms to the skies and yelling 'Whatever
next?'"
There were four tracks released from this album. The first
is called Girlfriend In A Coma. The single was the last to include newly
recorded material on the B-side. It holds the distinction of containing the
last recorded Smiths song, "I Keep Mine Hidden". Also included—and
recorded at the same session—is a cover version of a Cilla Black song,
"Work Is a Four-Letter Word". Morrissey's insistence on recording
this song incurred the wrath of Johnny Marr who apparently left the band not
long afterwards. The song is interesting with a good pop beat.
The second single from the album is called I StartedSomething I Couldn’t Finish. The song was released after the band had announced
their split. The song has a good beat and great tonality but it is the standard
slow beat that most of The Smiths songs have and can bet a bit boring because
of that. The track features an outtake during the fade-out at the end, with
Morrissey asking "Okay Stephen (Street, the Producer) shall we do that one
again?" This is an interesting little sound bite that can be heard if you
are listening for it but easily missed.
The third single released from the album is called LastNight I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me. The introduction consists of a piano
playing against a backdrop of crowd noises from the miner's strike. The minor
strike could be described as such: from Wikipedia, “The UK miners' strike was a major industrial action affecting the
British coal industry. It was a defining moment in British industrial
relations, and its defeat significantly weakened the British trade union
movement. It was also seen as a major political victory for Margaret Thatcher
and the Conservative Party. The strike became a symbolic struggle, as the
National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) was one of the strongest unions in the
country, viewed by many, including Conservatives in power, as having brought
down the Heath government in the union's 1974 strike. The later strike ended
with the miners' defeat and the Thatcher government able to consolidate its
fiscally conservative program. The political power of the NUM was broken
permanently. Ten deaths resulted from events around the strike: six picketers,
three teenagers searching for coal, and a taxi driver taking a non-striking
miner to work.” This is another slow song that doesn’t really appeal to me but
the two leaders of the group, Marr and Morrisey, site this as one of their
favorite tracks that they have recorded.
The last single released from this album is called Stop MeIf You Think You’ve Heard This One Before. The song was originally supposed to
be released as a single and a music video was filmed, featuring scenes of the
group-iconic Salford Lads Club and surrounding areas being bicycled through by
the lads and friends. Because of a reference to "plan a mass murder"
in one lyric it was banned from daytime airplay by the BBC because of the then
recent Hungerford massacre, so the band decided not to release it in the UK,
however it was released in various other regions including North America,
Europe, Australia and Japan.
About the Hungerford massacre: from Wikipedia, “The Hungerford massacre
occurred in Hungerford, Berkshire,
England, on 19
August 1987. The gunman, 27-year-old Michael Robert Ryan (b. 18 May 1960),
armed with two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun, shot and killed sixteen
people including his mother, and wounded fifteen others, then fatally shot
himself. A report on this incident was commissioned by the Home Secretary, Douglas
Hurd, from the Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, Colin Smith. It
remains, along with the 1996 Dunblane massacre and the 2010 Cumbria
shootings, one of the worst criminal atrocities involving firearms in British
history.
This is the first album from EMF. It was released in 1991. The
album name is a pun on the name of the popular sweet Sherbet Dip and the
19th-century composer Franz Schubert. This album was released at the end of an
era in music before it was changed by the grunge movement. The album is heavily
electronic/sample influenced. For me it was between this album and Jesus Jones
first album. I went with Jesus Jones. The reason that I have this album today
is that I found it for a dollar at a local shop used. I almost had this album
last summer but the case did not have the CD in it. I have always wanted this
album but it was never enough of a priority for me.
There were four singles released from this album. One was a major hit and the others not so much. The first single released from the album is called Unbelievable. This is a great song that uses some well known samples from comedian Andrew “Dice” Clay. The song also samples a lesser known song called Spin That Wheel by Hi-Tek 3. The song features the artist Ya Kid K. Hi-Tek 3 is a side project from the group Technotronic. The song is great. I especially like the breathy male vocals on the track. They make it unique for the time and a great dance track overall. I remember listening to this song often on the radio, especially on trips back from camping as we usually listened to the top 40 show on the way back from our camping trips on Sunday mornings. It was a great time but it also marked the upcoming end of these summer weekend trips that my family took.
The second single that was released from this album is called I Believe. This is more of an up beat dance/rock track. It has the same style vocals as Unbelievable but it doesn’t really work for me on this song. It is an interesting song but not a good enough song.
The third single from the album is called Children. This track has a slow fade in synth intro that makes use of what sounds like an asian styled motorcycle speeding past the mic. The rest of the song makes use of police sirens at different pitches. The track has a nice distorted guitar sound that works very well with the track. The police sirens are annoying to say the least. Other than that the song sounds very good.
This is the sixth album from Blindside. It was released in
the summer of 2011. I wasn’t sure that the group was still together with such a
big gap between releases, about six years between this release and the previous.
Although, there was an EP released between full albums. I did not even know
that they had released this album until a year after the release. I didn’t
purchase the album until recently. After spending some time with this album I
find that it takes some notes from the previous album, The Great Depression.
The alum makes appropriate use of electronic and synth sounds. I always like it
when a hard rock band can be creative enough to make use of electronic sounds
and still make powerful music. The lyrics for the songs that this group has
produced lean towards the Christian ideal. Although, the songs don’t seem to
relate directly to the bible they do talk about Christian ideas. This is one of
the reasons that I got into the group and continue to follow them as much as
possible.
This is the last in the 7” series for Conventional Weapons.
It was released February 2013. I think they saved the best for last. These final
two tracks are a couple of the best tracks that I have heard from the group
since Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge. They have released good music since but
these two tracks tap into the sound that made me interested in the group in the
first place. I have also received in the mail the physical product. It is a
great slip-case box with a large poster and all five 7” singles sealed inside
the box. Each record is a different color. The poster is a graphic of a
shooting range poster.
This is an EP from The Chemical Brothers that was released
in 1996. From Wikipedia, “The title track, Loops Of Fury, exemplifies the squelching synth
lines and hard-hitting drums that became The Chemical Brothers' sound of the
late 1990s, and would be the blueprint of their tracks for years to come. It
was included on the bonus disc of Singles
93–03, and as a B-side to the Japanese edition of Setting Sun. Because
the song segues into the next track on the EP, and fades out on various artist
compilation albums, the ending is different on Singles 93–03 and
features a vinyl scratching sound at the end.”
The Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 was passed in the wake of the massacre,
which banned the ownership of semi-automatic centre-fire rifles and restricted
the use of shotguns with a capacity of more than three cartridges (in magazine
plus the breech). Ryan's collection of weapons had been legally licensed,
according to the Hungerford Report.”
There were four singles released from this album. One was a major hit and the others not so much. The first single released from the album is called Unbelievable. This is a great song that uses some well known samples from comedian Andrew “Dice” Clay. The song also samples a lesser known song called Spin That Wheel by Hi-Tek 3. The song features the artist Ya Kid K. Hi-Tek 3 is a side project from the group Technotronic. The song is great. I especially like the breathy male vocals on the track. They make it unique for the time and a great dance track overall. I remember listening to this song often on the radio, especially on trips back from camping as we usually listened to the top 40 show on the way back from our camping trips on Sunday mornings. It was a great time but it also marked the upcoming end of these summer weekend trips that my family took.
The second single that was released from this album is called I Believe. This is more of an up beat dance/rock track. It has the same style vocals as Unbelievable but it doesn’t really work for me on this song. It is an interesting song but not a good enough song.
The third single from the album is called Children. This track has a slow fade in synth intro that makes use of what sounds like an asian styled motorcycle speeding past the mic. The rest of the song makes use of police sirens at different pitches. The track has a nice distorted guitar sound that works very well with the track. The police sirens are annoying to say the least. Other than that the song sounds very good.
The last single released from the album is called Lies. This is a slower
track that works pretty well. The beat that the bass line carries through the
whole song is fun and interesting. The other instruments also take their turns
playing the rhythm keeping my interest in the song.
There was one digital single that I am pretty sure was
played on radio/internet. That song is called Monster On The Radio. The track
starts off with a 808 drum beat that makes me think of 1988 rap. It is funny to
me and makes me giggle a little on the inside. The song then kicks in with the
verse and it is a hard rock track again. The verse is a bit louder and comes
off as an arena rock track. The bridge uses the 808 and brings back the verse.
The song is about writing music for the radio to get the advertising out to
then make the money. It is kind of tongue in cheek because they know that they
are writing this music to get the Christian message out there.
I think that the rest of the album is actually better than
the single. If you like your music hard and have an interest in exploring
Christian music this may be a band that you should check out. I think they have
the same energy as the likes of My Chemical Romance but sing about better
things and living better lives than MCR would.
This is the last in the 7” series for Conventional Weapons.
It was released February 2013. I think they saved the best for last. These final
two tracks are a couple of the best tracks that I have heard from the group
since Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge. They have released good music since but
these two tracks tap into the sound that made me interested in the group in the
first place. I have also received in the mail the physical product. It is a
great slip-case box with a large poster and all five 7” singles sealed inside
the box. Each record is a different color. The poster is a graphic of a
shooting range poster.
The first track is called Surrender The Night. It is a
moderately paced song packed with energy. There is some great sounding
distortion with picked guitar that sounds just wonderful. The verse vocals
sound glassy and clear and the chorus vocals are pushed to near breaking and sound
great. The little flourishes that are added to the song from all instruments
make that song that more interesting. It is a great song that I will be
listening to a lot.
The second song is called Burn Bright. This is another song
that I really like, not only for the Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge sound but
also for the guitar picking that sort of reminds me of 80s jangle pop in the
opening of the track. I have always liked their use of staccato notes in their
music too. I like when the whole band hits notes together and leave big gaps of
dead air between them. It makes it easy to bang your head to as well.
This is two great songs that should have been released a
long time ago!
This is an EP from The Chemical Brothers that was released
in 1996. From Wikipedia, “The title track, Loops Of Fury, exemplifies the squelching synth
lines and hard-hitting drums that became The Chemical Brothers' sound of the
late 1990s, and would be the blueprint of their tracks for years to come. It
was included on the bonus disc of Singles
93–03, and as a B-side to the Japanese edition of Setting Sun. Because
the song segues into the next track on the EP, and fades out on various artist
compilation albums, the ending is different on Singles 93–03 and
features a vinyl scratching sound at the end.”
The second song on this EP, (The Best Part Of) Breaking Up,
is absolutely amazing and completely boring at the same time. The song uses a
record scratching sample in a rhythmic beat that plays for about four minutes
and twenty-five seconds. The end of the song uses the same beat but changes the
instrumentation. This last one minute and fifteen seconds is pure electronic
gold. I love this part of the track and would listen to if over and over if it
were not attached to the first part of the song.
Brilliant EP from the group if you can find it get it. I was
lucky enough to get it for a buck on one of my pawn store trips.
That is all I have for now...
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