OK Go will be appearing on Wits in St. Paul on November 14th.
I will not be able to go as I will be getting into the busy season of my job.
If you’re interested check it out at Fitzgerald Theater
in St. Paul
The Postal Service are putting out a documentary about the
last tour that the group put on. You can preorder the DVD at Sub
Pop Records.
Surfer Blood have put up a remix of Twin Peaks that sounds
really cool. I didn’t see a way to actually download the track but you can
listen to it at SoundCloud.
If you want to hear the new OK Go album before its release
date head over to Hype Machine to
hear the whole thing now.
You can get the White Laces record now from Happenin’ Records but it seems that
the web site has crashed again.
Here we go...
This is the second solo album from Yorke. It was released
via Bit Torrent in late September 2014. The album was produced by longtime
producer to Radiohead, Nigel Godrich. The album was made available in Wav, MP3,
and Flak digital formats and on white vinyl deluxe edition with an anti-static
bag. The albums release was an experiment to see how the pay-gate model would
fair. The album was downloaded over a million times in the first six days of
its release. Like his first solo effort the album is filled with electronic
beats and sounds underneath Yokes’ vocals. Most critics are in agreement about
the album being good with flashes of brilliance. Also the album as a whole
being something that Yorke quickly put together before Radiohead got together
for recording. I can’t say that I disagree but at the same time to have
something so polished had to have taken some dedicated time to accomplish.
The first single from the new album is called A Brain In A Bottle. The song starts off with a sign wave sound that reminds me of the 70s
experimentations from Pink Floyd or some other band like that. The drums kick
in after a short bit and completely change the feel of the song with their
sharp edges. Yorkes’ vocals are nearly 100% falsetto but soft and warm
sounding. This is welcome with all of the electronic sounds that are going on
that have sharp sounds.
The other single from the album is There Is No Ice (For My
Drink). This song starts off again with some nice round sine wave bass
patterns. A strange sample from Yorke’s vocals is patterned in over it with
other ringing sounds over that. The drums are short clicks from a high had and
toms. The song doesn’t seem to go anywhere after that though. Is it creative,
yes. Do I want to hear the song over and over, not at all.
The album as a whole is good but I would not elect to hear
this one over and over. I like Thom York and his music a lot. I especially like
the work he has done with Radiohead but his solo work is still interesting for
me. Unless you are a big fan this may be a pass for most people or at the very
least a cheap download from Bit Torrent.
This is the second solo album from Radiohead drummer Philip
Selway. It was released on October 7th, 2014. The album continues in
the smooth, quiet ways that the first album went but with a peppier step than
the first album. The album came to me on black vinyl with a CD in a clear
plastic sleeve, very simple. I have never been happy with adding a CD to a
record. I have always felt it was dangerous because if the record gets hot it
could take the impression of the CD and make the record unplayable then. I have
never had this happen to those records that I have that have come with a CD but
it is always a possibility. Just give me a download code.
There have already been two singles released from this
album. The first being the song Coming Up For Air. Selway had this to say about
the song, “It's very much about taking stock of my life. I wanted to convey a
sense of release and affirmation," he also said. "This was the first
song that we recorded. Immediately it felt in a very different space from [the
album] Familial.” I like this track a lot with its electronic wall of sound at
the beginning to its affirming line, “I’m not alone.” It is positive for me to
hear this song. He is showing me that I am not alone even if I feel like I am.
The drums feel very earthy, the electric guitar is clear and sweet and the keys
fill in the holes that are left behind. It is a very strong first single and
first track on the album.
The second single from the album is called It Will End In Tears. My assumption on this track was something darker than it actually is.
The song seems to be about the ending of a relationship or something like that.
He is really saying don’t take it so hard, life will go on and something better
will come along. He is also saying that he may be back as well. Either way,
don’t take it so hard. It is a good song but I think I like the first single
better.
Over all the album is very good and pretty. It is very down
to earth and not many artists have the ability to make something like this
sound so good. I recommend both his solo albums to anyone who enjoys emotional
but down to earth music.
This is a digital only release of B-side tracks from studio
sessions on the albums Let Go, The Weight Is A Gift and The Stars Are
Indifferent To Astronomy. About half of the album is acoustic versions of the
singles and the other half were songs that were released through the vinyl box
set download. Although there were only 1000 released of the box set so I guess
I could say that 1000 people got a preview of what the rest of the world would
have access to in the future, at least that is for half of the album. I bought
the B-sides album because I like their acoustic versions of the songs and I
didn’t yet have the acoustic versions of the songs from the last album so I was
actually gaining something from getting this album. I am a bit disappointed
that the album did not come in a physical format though. I would have liked at
least the option to get the album in a card sleeve from the bands web page or
something. With that being said, there isn’t really any new music here for me,
acoustic versions of songs that I have already heard and, because I got the box
set which includes a special download, a bunch of B-sides that I already have
digitally. For everyone else that doesn’t have the vinyl box set this will be a
great addition to your Nada Surf collection with out having to spend an arm and
a leg to get these B-side tracks.
That's it for now...
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