Wax Cylinders

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

2010-08-06T18:33:00.000-07:00

Released 3 August 2010
Rating: 4/10

This record can really only be described as one thing... boring, boring boring. Most of the songs are utterly indistinguishable from each other. They all feature a steady 4/4 drive, a repeating phrase-long chord progression, mellow vocals from Win Butler, and the same instruments retain their same role in each song, without becoming more or less prominent in the slightest. Even the mood of every track is identical. Arcade Fire is comprised of world class musicians, yet nothing interesting or beautiful is attempted in The Suburbs' instrumental arrangements.

This disappointment is made all the worse when one considers what made Arcade Fire great on their other two records. Each song with few exceptions on Funeral and Neon Bible was distinct and exciting. At Arcade Fire's best, their songs were downright moving, inspiring. "Wake Up," "Rebellion (Lies)," "Intervention," "No Cars Go" - all gained their fame and acclaim for gripping listeners and opening their hearts, accomplished with unique and inspired melodies and arrangements.

At this point, I just find myself either counting down the next two to three years until Arcade Fire's next release, or even wishing they would just start over and try again right away.

OK Go Goes Viral Again

2010-03-03T14:31:00.000-08:00

Pop-rock group OK Go is often name-checked in discussions of the Internet's revolutionary influence on media, thanks to their 2006 YouTube music video for "Here It Goes Again." The video, which featured the band performing a choreographed dance on eight moving treadmills, received over 49 million views and rocketed the band to stardom.

For their next album, Of the Blue Colour of the Sky, the band has sought to one-up itself. The video for single "This Too Shall Pass" features an epic four-minute continuous Rube Goldberg machine synched to the music. The machine was commissioned by Syyn Labs, an LA-based group of engineers known for their masterful fusions of technology and art. Over the course of four months, more than fifty people contributed to the project, more than half of them required just to reset the machine after a run. Resetting, namely setting up dominoes, rigging catapults, emptying and refilling water features, took nearly an hour, even with a team of about 30 toiling at it.

OK Go specified that the machine had to last the full length of the video, use only low-tech elements, and that it must be filmed in one continuous shot. The (fastidious) band itself is a part of the magnificent contraption, both physically and in a cameo (look for the "Here It Goes Again" video towards the end!)

Without further ado, please enjoy this four-minute spectacle that will surely put a smile on the grouchiest of faces (Recommended for viewing full screen on 1080p)

Everything Absent or Distorted Comes to a Close

2009-10-22T15:35:00.001-07:00

Sad news I learned today -

Denver act Everything Absent or Distorted is calling it quits after 5 years of some of the most original music on the local scene.

Check the Westword article here:

http://blogs.westword.com/backbeat/2009/07/everything_absent_or_distorted_2.php

(Apparently I'm way behind on the news here, since it's dated July.)

Their final show is this Saturday at the Bluebird - say goodbye in style!

Tuesday Turntable 10.13.09

2009-10-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

Readers, I am sick. Sick sick sick. So are these songs.

Down With The Sickness. I wonder if Disturbed also takes a nap and eats chicken broth when they are down.

Sick of Me - Green Day. My roommates certainly will be, I am so whiny.

The Chills - Peter Bjorn and John. You guessed it, I have them.

You'll Be Illin' - Run DMC. You will be if you hang out with me.

The Sickest - Biz/Silencer. I am the sickest. Especially after listening to this song, since it is terrible.

Paean, Munsterboogie, Emily Frembgen, Mehko and Ocean Birds @ Blast-o-mat, 9/30

2009-10-13T11:21:00.000-07:00

It's the first chilly fall night in Denver, and I find myself at 7th and Federal's Blast-o-mat. A (tiny) vinyl store by day, behind the store you find a weathered skate ramp and a sound-insulated garage, the walls covered in political stickers, artful graffiti, blown-up / insanely detailed pencil drawings, drumsticks shoved in the padding on the ceiling. It is in this quirky locale where Paean, Munsterboogie, Emily Frembgen, and Mehko and Ocean Birds, all local acts, will play tonight.

First to mount the stage was Ft. Collins-grown Paean. Playing more accessible indie rock than one typically sees from local start-up acts, the group was still far from predictable. Especially of note was the unique balance struck by "When I Was Five Years Old." In this song, Anna Maddocks' violin was actually mastered somewhat higher than the guitar, about on par with Dave Maddocks' vocals. This gave the violin a particularly human, piercing quality, effectively the driving force of the tempestuous celtic-tinged melody. Keeping both interest and entertainment high seems to be a particular skill of the band. Highlight of the set "Floyd Brown" featured rapid-fire violin chords, single-picked, echoing lead guitar, infectious keyboard drone, and chugging high-hat-centric drums. The final effect of the group on a first-time listener such as myself was that this band wasn't just here to make noise - Paean is really going somewhere. Wax Cylinders wishes them mucho luck on their U.S. tour commencing at the end of the year. Make sure to catch them at the Hi-Dive November 10th to see them off!

Overall Rating: A

Paean Lineup:

Dave Maddocks - lead vocals / guitar

Anna Maddocks - violin

Marty Alberts - guitar / drum

Jonathan Alonzo - keys

Aaron Landgraf - bass

Tim Maddocks - drum

http://www.myspace.com/paeanco

Munsterboogie followed Paean with a wholly different atmosphere. Dressed in hillbilly 19th century period costume and armed with banjos and harmonicas, it was honestly hard to tell if the group was more aspiring musical act or skilled theater group. Either case was achieved at Blast-o-Mat, with silly-yet-crowd-pleasing lyrics ("my long hair just can't cover up my red neck,") but at the same time a great amount of voice stylistically. Most songs you could imagine are snarled by a limping, growing, drunken cowboy (when you add the accordion, he becomes a Ukrainian cowboy.) "Seed in the Soil" was a definite highlight, with haunting lyrics and presence, yet its effect was somewhat diminished by its appearance late in a too-long set. Munsterboogie had the longest set of the evening, and considering its comparative lack of musical diversity, the set did feel over-long.

Overall Rating: B

Emily Frembgen shyly began her set a half-hour later. As she took her seat behind the mic with her guitar on her lap, the audience proceeded to sit on the floor in front of her, cross-legged and storytime-style. Frembgen has a high, girlish voice that lends her most of her stylistic element, which varies between pleasantly in-ornamental or unpretentious and somewhat out-of-tune or boring. While pleasant to listen to with engaging lyrics, Frembgen's guitar is repetitive and simplistic and her vocals much the same. She can next be seen at Leela's European Cafe on October 17th.

Overall Rating: B

Mehko and Ocean Birds rounded out the night, taking the stage in neon face paint and with full energy. The frequency with which the group has been playing shows has added a lot to their performance value. At their early shows this summer, it was clear that Mehko and Ocean Birds was made of a bunch of highly reactive, energetic elements, but now those elements truly combine in a controlled experiment (performed by a mad scientist, of course!) The band's growing fanbase makes it really feel like something that belongs to the Denver music community - when Mehko and Ocean Birds comes on, the crowd tends to double, and everyone is ready for some of the group's now-well-known audience inclusion. Certain elements were left wanting - the loss of the group's brass players, particularly trumpet, has had an impact on songs like "Flesh as Ghosts as Home." However, the group still commanded the energy of the venue. The particularly high-octane "Hear Today" saw Stephen breaking out into rapid uke fretwork, Chris wailing on his drum set, Micah nearly leaping over his keyboard, Allison showing the crowd what-was-what along with her fellow cello Isaac, who showed his most energy yet on this act. As always, Mehko finished with "Queen of the Night," a song driven by the audience's shaker rhythms and end-of-song sing along, performed in a circle around the garage, arm in arm with one's neighbor.

Overall Rating: A-

Tuesday Turntable 9.29.09

2009-09-29T22:01:00.000-07:00

Lots of new releases today!

AFI released Crash Love today, and its first single is "Medicate." Very much a return to The Art of Drowning- style aesthetic, and by that I really mean a grateful turning-away from Decemberunderground, which seemed to value dramatics over music. Epic guitar solos and truly Davey Havok-unique lyrical themes aplenty.

Ghostface Killah's Ghostdini: The Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City was definitely much-anticipated in hip-hop circles. I don't usually follow rap too closely, but there are elements in hip-hop that I really enjoy - easy, down-tempo, non-sampled backing tracks, and free-flowing rhymes... and this track has all of that. Unfortunately, the rhymes are far between long stretches of auto-tuned harmonies.

Backspacer is Pearl Jam's first release since Eddie Vedder's solo sojourn for the melancholy soundtrack to Into the Wild, and frankly, I welcomely expected the next Pearl Jam album to have the same sort of mumbley introspection so present in all its other works, or at least some of the anger of the self-titled 2006 album. Instead, we get "The Fixer," which is utterly... peppy. Lots of 'yeah yeah's' and major-keyed power chords. Not Pearl Jam-my.

Monsters of Folk is a supergroup comprised of big-hitters M. Ward, Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis and Jim James, and "The Sandman, The Breakman, and Me" is everything I hoped this collaboration to produce (and everything I had hoped Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band would have.) M. Ward on vocals, it doesn't seem like anyone really fronts the band, they are all equal in folky-awesomeness.

Tuesday Turntable 9.22.09

2009-09-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

Today is a quiet day. Everything is kind of muted by the rain, and everyone is too bundled up to talk much. Therefore, today's theme is instrumental groups.

Explosions in the Sky is pretty much the most relaxing group I could ever imagine. This song, "First Breath After Coma," very much lives up to its name. It starts off slow and simple, echoing guitar, single notes. As you slowly awaken from this long sleep, the exhilaration of this first breath comes to an incredible, ecstatic climax that has you riveted the remainder of the song.

The problem I've always had with metal is the screaming. I think metal players have an amazing amount of skill, I respect them a lot. But when the lead singer starts freaking out and screaming at me, I feel like running and hiding! So the real deal for me is Russian Circles. An instrumental metal group, you get the same intensity and speed of the big acts in metal, without the terrifying screaming. "Micah" is your Russian Circles dose for today.

Nujabes is a Japanese instrumental / jazz hip hop act that I'm pretty crazy for. I love listening to this group late at night, when the room is dark, yet illuminated by the moon. I think "Kumomi" is a really perfect example of this type of mood.

Tristeza is sort of the same idea as Explosions in the Sky. "Bromas" is another one with an up-tilting tempo and movement. In essence, it sounds pretty similar to the other acts on this list, but the idea of this turntable is music you can zone to.

And finally, there is Meco. Meco is silly. Meco's song on this turntable is "Star Wars Theme / Cantina Band," disco-ized. The best part of this ridiculous disco anthem? It actually reached -NUMBER ONE- on Billboard's Top 20 in 1979. Legitimately, this was the most popular song in 1979 for a time. Enjoy.

To listen to this Turntable without having to stay on Wax Cylinders, click the Pop-Out Player button below the playlist. If your pop-up blocker is reluctant to allow this, try holding the control key when you hit Pop-Out Player.

Enjoy!

Tuesday Turntable 9.15.09

2009-09-15T15:05:00.000-07:00

Green Day has made their 2004 radically-popular concept album American Idiot in to a stage musical. Don't believe me? I don't really blame you... but it's true.

In honor of this bizarre happening, this Turntable is dedicated to concept albums more deserving of a stage show than Green Day (as much as I love the little tykes.)

The Who's Tommy actually -was- made into a feature film. A weird one. But "Pinball Wizard," one of the enduring hits from the record, is a great song any way you spin it. The plot up to here - Tommy, the main character, is stricken deaf, dumb and blind after witnessing his father murder his mother's lover. (convoluted, much?) Turns out, though, Tommy is a total prodigy at pinball. Who knew? (HAHA pun...) "Pinball Wizard" is a really fun song, to sing along to and to appreciate for the fact that it means -exactly- what you think it means.

I have written (at length) about The Decemberists' new concept album The Hazards of Love, but I still think Colin Meloy would make a phenomenal Broadway front man in the production of this fantasy. This is a really nifty movement in which the Queen is first introduced, possibly my favorite villainess ever, anywhere. And, at the beginning, there is ostensibly a fawn playing the pipe organ, in the highest room in the tallest tower, I like to think. Fantastic image, there.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is one of the most famous concept albums ever. Not shockingly, since it's The Beatles. However, it's somewhat controversial to call it a concept album. A few ideas were there in pre-production - at first, the album was meant to explore the concept of aging, then it morphed into the story of an ex-army bandmaster (Sgt. Pepper himself.) But, just like Sgt. Pepper, the idea met some problems, and didn't really end up in the final cut, except in name. Regardless, "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" is a song that could have it's own show in and of itself, being placed in the craziest circus setting in music. This especially comes through in this Eddie Izzard version, more theatrical than the Beatles version.

Most people in our generation don't take Styx very seriously. Maybe that's because their most famous song is "(Domo Arigato) Mr. Roboto." But come on, what could make a better stage show than this song?? Check out the full plot of the album, courtesy of Wikipedia:

The album's somewhat rock-operatic story tells of a future where rock music is outlawed by a fascistgovernment and the "MMM (the Majority for Musical Morality)". The story's protagonist, Kilroy, is a former rock star who has been imprisoned by MMM leader Dr. Righteous. He escapes using a disguise (according to the album's famous song "Mr. Roboto") when he becomes aware that a young musician, Jonathan Chance, is on a mission to bring rock music back.

THAT IS SO AWESOME.

Deltron 3030, who you will recognize upon listening as the rapper from Gorillaz, has made a pretty bad-ass rap concept album following Deltron Zero's dystopian fight against evil corporations, oppressive governments, and his quest to become the Galactic Rhyme Federation Champion. Think 8 Mile... IN SPAAAAAACE!

Enjoy!

Tuesday Turntable 9.1.09

2009-09-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

Aah! It's September!!!!

Well... you know what this means.

There is only one possible theme for this week's turntable...

That's right.

Horses vs. Unicorns.

...

Allison's recommendation. I couldn't agree more.

First... a Horse! "Judy and the Dream of Horses" by Belle and Sebastian. Really, Belle and Sebastian is one of those bands that I really want to like a lot, but for which I can usually only muster minimal excitement. This song, however, I'm always happy to hear. A very sweet and simple beginning that keeps you focused on the lyrics detailing Judy's story builds to a nice, up-tempo latter half. As for our contest, the horse in this song is stolen by some girl in Judy's dream. Not a very good start, horses. Let's see what the unicorns have in store.

The best unicorn song, ever. "I Was Born a Unicorn," by who else but The Unicorns. A charming blend of punk and 50's pop, this song is a big smile-inspirer. Weird Vincent-Price-like breakdown in the middle of the song doesn't throw anyone off, it just makes this quirky song all the more lovable. Contest judgement: Unicorns score one for having a band named after them, but these unicorns keep getting left behind by Noah's Ark and have some identity issues. They are doing much better than our next horse though...

"Wildfire" by Michael Martin Murphy. AWW! COME ON! Yes, I am giving you the famously tear-jerking 70's ballad about a young girl and her beloved pony named Wildfire. A killer Nebraska blizzard hits, Wildfire busts out of her stall and gets lost, and the girl is doomed to run through the blizzard screaming for her best friend, who has tragically perished in the storm. How freaking sad is that??? It's the saddest thing. Horses lose.

"White Unicorn" is a pretty awesome Wolfmother song. Catchy as "Woman," but with more interesting instrumentation. Definitely holds up to repeat listening, whereas a few other Wolfmother songs get kind of old pretty quick. Contest: the unicorn in this song is really only a tattoo, but it isn't stolen, left behind from an ark, or killed in a blizzard, so unicorns have scored the first point of the game.

Finally, "Is There a Ghost" by Band of Horses. Has some of my favorite Band of Horses features: deep, echoey mastering, Ben Bridwell's unique vocals, and really accessible but fascinating lyrics. True, there is no horse in this song. But it is played by a whole band made of horses. Do you know how hard it is to play guitar with hooves? Didn't think so. Horses score 1, making our contest a tie game.

Enjoy!

Up Close and Personal with Mehko and Ocean Birds

2009-08-25T16:47:00.000-07:00

"The most exciting thing for us right now... Everything," answers drummer, Chris. "We're in a world of firsts."

True, Mehko and Ocean Birds are brand-spanking new, the spring chickens of Denver's music scene. Everything is relatively up in the air, still, particularly the lineup. Lead singer and ukelele player Stephen only arrived in Denver about four months ago, at the beginning of this summer. Why Denver?
"Everyone here is doing something, and they have this openness. You have house shows here, that never happens other places. The crowds care about what's going on onstage, they aren't just looking for a cool place to smoke a cigarette." As for Mehko and Ocean Birds, Stephen explained the recent origins of the group, sitting on the curb out front of the then-closed Larimer Lounge, where the group had just finished their set.

"'Mehko' is what I called myself as a solo act. As far as the Ocean Birds... anyone can be an Ocean Bird. This isn't my band, it's all of us. Everyone is as permanent and as impermanent as anyone else. How it goes is, we meet someone, play together. If they're in, it's because we just got that feeling - that they really care, that we can make music together."

As for now, Mehko and Ocean Birds consists of seven talented musicians. Stephen on vocals and uke, Chris on Drums, Allison and Isaac on the beautiful cello, Micah on keyboard, Kate on 'dream vocals,' (as Stephen put it), Leslie on tuba, and Robert on trumpet.

"We're like a molecule with various neutrons and electrons darting around," Chris adds.
If that's true, the group, whoever happens to be playing at the moment, has a bond as strong as those in a diamond when they are making music together. Everyone involved is a part of what they love most, and it's very evident when hearing them play, or talk about why they play.

Chris expressed the most important part of a live performance: "With this band, specifically, everyone likes to use this venue for catharsis - let emotions flow, and find what makes us human."

"You can talk to anyone with music," agrees Allison. "you can't do that with anything else." Stephen follows the metaphor: "Like, with a painting, you can work on it for a week and then find out it doesn't work. A song either happens or it doesn't."

Mehko and Ocean Birds does what it does, all for the right reasons. But, readers not familiar with the band's work might be wondering, what exactly is it that they do?
"We do magic, we play love songs. Aggressive, chaotic, passionate love songs," offers Micah. Stephen recounts the band's practice session days before the show.
"We were playing at my place, we had been at it for over an hour, and my roommate busted in, and put his hand down and said "Man, you can't do this right now. It's too much for me right now." Instead of being miffed at his roommate's obstinacy, the group took it as a compliment - indeed, the music they produce is out-of-this-world, in every sense of the term. The cohesion of the rag-tag-seeming selection of instruments is something that can only be fully appreciated when you see the band, perhaps at their next show? More on that later...

Mehko and Ocean Birds are presented with some pretty unique challenges - they're new, and they are a daunting 7-piece act. Timing practices, sussing out the sound balance (for example, between a ukelele and a tuba,) and properly memorizing their rapidly growing catalogue all come to mind for the group. Yet, Mehko and Ocean Birds are on an exponential trajectory at this point. A month from now, the group hopes to have doubled their repertoire, and to get in to the studio for some professional recording time.

In the more short term, the band has a couple shows ready for your listening enjoyment.

Friday, August 28.
The Tea-House (house show)
721 Elati st, Denver, CO 80204
All Ages, No Cover.

Friday, September 11
The House for Clownfish (house show / cupcake bar)
2001 S. Clayton st, Denver CO 80210
All Ages, No Cover.

*note: Yes, I did attend their show at Larimer Lounge. Yes, I did intend to review it.... No, I was not allowed into the club - alas, Larimer Lounge is strictly 21+. The show this Friday will be reviewed here!

Decemberists Get Ticket for Street Performing

2009-08-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

Cutest music news ever - The Decemberists' Colin Meloy announced from his Twitter that the band was 'busking,' or, playing on a street corner for tips, on Royal Oaks, MI's Main street.

Alas, the impromptu street sesh ended in a ticket from the Royal Oaks cops... Busking is technically illegal without a license in Michigan.

Tuesday Turntable 8.18.09

2009-08-18T14:12:00.000-07:00

Summer is over. Well, pretty much. Anyone who hasn't headed back to the hallowed halls is probably packing up to do so, surely with a grimace.

But fear not, we all have a few more weeks of sun and summer left to us, and these songs are here to remind you of the last months in music.

All these tracks were released, brand spanking new, this summer, all from blockbuster bands, at that. Let's take a look-see at these Next Big Things!

"Guilty Cocker Spaniels" is a track off of Modest Mouse's new EP, released August 4th, No One's First, and You're Next!. The album is famously composed of rejected tracks from Good News for People Who Love Bad News and We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, and considering these two albums earned Modest Mouse the bulk of their huge fan base, "Guilty Cocker Spaniels" has enough elements from both records to act as a catch-all track for everything likable from the previous two albums.

"These Are My Twisted Words" has the most Radiohead-ishly bizarre backstory ever. The track surreptitiously floated onto a message board of Radiohead fan site At Ease, with absolutely no explanation or commentary from the band. This sent the blogosphere into a frenzy since Wednesday... "well, is it Radiohead or not??" Thom Yorke's entrance at 2:38 on the track had most people convinced it was at least a Yorke single, but nothing was confirmed until Monday, when the band acknowledged it on their site, adding, "We've been recording for a while, and this was one of the first we finished. We're pretty proud of it." Oh yeah, and did I mention it's a free download?

Panic! at the Disco has had a turbulent summer - two members, aka half the band, guitarist Ryan Ross and bassist Jon Walker walked out of Panic! over creative differences to start their own project. Jon and Ryan are gone, the exclamation point is back, and a new track is out.

Panic! at the Disco released "New Perspective" on July 27th, first as a MySpace exclusive. (What's left of) the band announces the video is already shooting for the new single.

Weezer has named their upcoming album, featuring this track, "(If You're Wondering if I Want You To) I Want You To," Raditude. That pretty much sums up my opinion of Weezer, right there. Still, new track, I'll be seeing them open for Blink-182, and new track becomes official August 25th.

Upcoming Event - Mehko and Ocean Birds

2009-08-17T13:55:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday, Denver gets a real treat.
Local artists Mehko and Ocean Birds will be playing the Larimer Lounge in Denver, just an $8. You should all be psyched for this show, and here's why.

Mehko and Ocean Birds is truly one of the gems of the Denver music scene. A dauntless experimental sound combined with the genuine talent of its members make the tracks from this band truly exciting to hear. Originality like this doesn't spin around too often, so it's up to all of you to make it down to this show to make sure it sticks around for us. If the show at the Larimer is big enough, we'll be seeing Mehko and Ocean Birds at the Bluebird, a venue worthy of this fantastic new sound.

Hear it for yourself:
http://www.myspace.com/warmumbrellas
My personal recommendation for best track currently on the player is "Iri." This show, though, will feature plenty of new material not on the MySpace player, so the only way to hear it is to come on down!

Here are the details:
Wednesday, August 19th at 8:00 pm
Larimer Lounge
2721 Larimer St, Denver
Cover- $8

I better see you all at the show! If you are stricken with plague Wednesday, (the only viable excuse for missing this!) expect a review up on Wax Cylinders Thursday afternoon!

Spring Season - Modest Mouse @ Balch Fieldhouse, 2/28

2009-08-06T21:48:00.001-07:00

Show:

Modest Mouse

Venue:

CU Balch Fieldhouse

Date:

2/28/09

Openers:

Japanese Motors, a surf-rock California group were admittedly silly with lyrics such as ‘Ugly girls are drugs to me,’ but they turned out to be a pretty solid act, with solid bass and energetic melodies.

Mimicking Birds gave a far more finished and serious sound, coming onstage with familiar indie-folk and a vocalist quite reminiscent of Band of Horses’s leader Ben Bridwell.

The Show:

This show, unusually housed in CU Boulder’s small track house off the side of the football stadium, was definitely one to reward long term fans – only four songs all night came from Modest Mouse’s newest album We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank; “Dashboard” wasn’t played at all. In lieu of the new, more radio-ready material, Isaac Brock put new touches on very old, messy favorites. 1997’s The Lonesome Crowded West saw the most attention, drawing Modest Mouse’s traditional raw energy out from the entire set.

Highlights:

- The hot, dirty, mosh-y and frantic “Doin’ the Cockroach” that proved the worth of having two full-kit drummers onstage this tour.

- “This Devil’s Workday” gets unconventional with a trash can lid stomp routine and brass band, shows off Brock’s completely signature lyric delivery.

- The most perfect close to the show possible, “Custom Concern”, my personal favorite Modest Mouse song ever, puts everyone in a peaceful hypnotic trance at the end of the high-energy show.

Lowlights:

- Serious punctuality issues – Modest Mouse didn’t take the stage until nearly an hour after Mimicking Birds finished, also another 20-minute break before encore.

- Really, really bad sound system. This probably has the venue to blame, but painful mike screeches and feedback both ruined basically every song from We Were Dead, especially “The View” and “We’ve Got Everything,” and also went to piss off Brock, not a fun thing to do.

Overall: 80/100 (Lots of energy / enthusiasm, yet sound quality very hard to get past.)

Setlist:

1. “Paper Thin Walls”

2. “Never Ending Math Equation”

3. “The View”

4. “Dramamine”

5. “The Good Times are Killing Me”

6. “Doin’ The Cockroach”

7. “Fire it Up”

8. “We’ve Got Everything”

9. “Satin in a Coffin”

10. “Float On”

11. “Trucker’s Atlas”

12. “Ohio”

13. “Broke”

14. “Trailer Trash”

15. “Education”

Encore:

“Satellite Skin”

“Black Cadillacs”

“This Devil’s Workday”

“Custom Concern”

Heath Ledger Directed Video for "King Rat" - Modest Mouse

2009-08-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

There has been a big buzz ever since the actor's death that The Dark Knight star Heath Ledger was directing a music video for Modest Mouse's new EP No One's First and You're Next.

That video turns out to be for "King Rat," a track originally meant for 2007's We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. The video follows Dead's oceanic theme, combining Issac Brock's menacing vocals and arrangement with Ledger's very grim, very creepy anti-whaling message.

In keeping with the actor's activism, proceeds from iTunes sales of the video will be donated to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and organization devoted to ocean preservation.

Modest Mouse - King Rat (International Version)

Spring Season - Andrew Bird @ Ogden, 2/26

2009-08-05T13:09:00.000-07:00

Show:

Andrew Bird

Venue:

Ogden Theater

Date:

February 26^th, 2009

Openers:

Loney Dear is an up-and-coming indie group with a very honest presence and exciting yet adorable melodies. I highly recommend you find highlight number “Airport Surroundings” somewhere on the interwebs.

The Show:

Andrew Bird is a unique performer, by all respects. Trained on the Suzuki method (much like your humble author!) on violin starting at age 4 and graduating Northwestern University with a degree in violin performance, Bird is clearly going to be in the upper echelons of musical ability. This he proves during the show, not only evidencing his unbelievable talent at violin, but also on instruments as diverse as the glockenspiel, mandolin, guitar and even whistling. The multi-layered tracks of violin or Bird’s whistling heard on the albums are not sacrificed in the show. They aren’t even pre-recorded. Bird uses a live sampling pedal system, so that every layer of sound is unique to this show alone. Every song in this set seemed to be the one that truly showcased his ability, yet I was consistently impressed by new tricks or insane violin riffs. Andrew Bird is most certainly a live performer worth his salt.

Highlights:

- The layered and complex rhythm achieved on “Effigy.” As each was added by the sampling pedal, the resulting backtrack was something you could really get lost in musically.

- “Plasticities” was so intricate that every member of the band was completely in the zone, a focus that translated into the crowd. Every instrument on stage was used, including a Theremin that played off the feedback of the electric guitar.

- The absolute highlight of the night was “Why,” an accomplishment in Bird’s blues ability and in gettin the whole crowd spontaneously cheering at key moments, especially in the violin part, that totally blew us away.

Lowlights:

- “Imitosis” saw Bird a little off his game. After having to restart the song due to what he apparently considered faulty tuning, Bird never really seemed confident with the number, and unfortunately he would not seem to regain full confidence until the encore numbers.

Overall:

90/100 (More musical ability than is typical to see in a mainstream group, loss of focus in end of main set was only deduction.)

Setlist:

1. A 19^th century spiritual folk song, name unknown

2. “Masterswarm”

3. “Opposite Day”

4. “Fitz and Dizzyspells”

5. “Natural Disaster”

6. “Effigy”

7. “Oh No.”

8. “Plasticities”

9. “Not a Robot” (by Martin Dosh)

10. “Armchair Apocalypse”

11. “Anonanimal”

12. “Tenuousness”

13. “Imitosis”

14. “Fake Palindromes”

Encore

“Why”

“MX Missiles”

“Tables and Chairs”

Spring Season Concert Reviews

2009-07-29T17:40:00.001-07:00

Commencing today, Wax Cylinders is off hiatus, and to kick things off again I'm posting reviews of the spring season of concerts in Denver. The shows are from February to May, and feature some of the best acts to swing through the Mile High City, ranging from Andrew Bird to Modest Mouse and No Doubt - stay tuned all this week!

Tuesday Turntable 5.26.09

2009-05-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

How's it kickin'?
For us here in Denver, it's not kicking too much. We are on our 6th straight day of weary dreary rain and grey skies, definitely not typical for a state that gets 300 days of sunshine a year. To celebrate (or, if it's your style, mourn) the rainy days, both literal and figurative, our turntable this week is slow, sad and stormy. Here follow my most favorite songs to be sad to :-(

"Exit Music (For a Film)" is off Radiohead's multi-platinum OK Computer, and gained even more attention for appearing in Baz Luhrman's William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet. In fact, the ponderous ode was written specifically for the end credits, as you can see from the title. Thom Yorke wrote the song to take place the morning after Romeo and Juliet consumated their love; Yorke said regarding "Exit Music," "I couldn't understand why, the morning after they shagged, they didn't just run away. The song is written for two people who should run away before all the bad stuff starts. A personal song."

"Something in the Way" is next, from Nirvana's Nevermind. It can be said to close Nirvana's master work with the same simplicity and cynicism that made the band famous. There is only one verse and a one-line chorus, and the feeling that Kurt Cobain might have fallen asleep while singing this song is an aestethic pretty unique to Nirvana.

"The Ice is Getting Thinner" is one of the best tracks on Death Cab for Cutie's Narrow Stairs. It might just be me, but this song, even from the first time I heard it, has always made me self-reflective, listening to the hollow guitar echos and searching its lyrics for relevance in my own life. Even though the literal meaning of the song is pretty clear, just the sound of it can mean anything the listener needs it to, and goodness knows I've needed this song a couple times since I discovered it.

Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" is the most famous cover of Leonard Cohen's original. Sadly, Buckley's track was not released until after his death. This tragedy has, however, made certain the song hasn't lost any of its well-earned acclaim and adds deeper meaning to the beauty Buckley accomplishes on this, his last hit.

"Nude" comes from In Rainbows, Radiohead's newest album. Some great features of this track are the dramatically palm-muted guitar chords, echoing production, and, my absolute favorite part of the song, Thom Yorke's voice as the rest of the band drops out at 2:59, his voice soars over the track in the breathless climax. Seriously, shivers every time.

Don't let these songs make you sad, instead, let them envelop you in to a nice stormy cocoon as you front the literal storms outside.

DU May Days Music Fest 2009

2009-05-22T12:36:00.000-07:00

It’s late May, and the powers that be at the University of Denver have insisted on holding its students through the beginning of next month. This seems like torture when the rest of the Colorado schools let out 2-4 weeks before and when you are walking between classes in 80-degree weather and immaculate sunshine.
Every year, then, as a token of good will to its students, DU arranges a week-long May Days event, culminating in the May Days Music Fest, seven hours of local music on the campus-central Driscoll Green.
This year’s event doesn’t boast the warm weather and summery sunshine invoked by the event’s colorful posters; instead, it’s about 50 degrees and cloudy. However, that hasn’t stopped about 200 DU students from congregating on the lawn for free food and tunes.
Heading to a free music festival on my campus, I must say I didn’t have the highest expectations for the actual quality of the music. Turns out, though, the lineup chosen for the festival featured some pretty promising acts, especially as the afternoon progressed.
Student band Bokonon pulled off a 45-minute set of ambitious instrumental experimental rock, instrumentation including an extra percussionist, sax and trumpet in addition to the typical guitar/bass/drums setup. Bokonon’s set was convincing, professing a level of skill and credibility that is epidemically lacking in the amateur prog-rock genre. They announced an upcoming show at the Mercury Café June 4th with fellow openers Petals of Spain. http://www.myspace.com/denverbokonon
The Foot is the most active, or at least most promoted band on campus. Sounding something like Lenny Kravitz, on the first song of their set their sound isn’t terribly original, but it is an accessible and crowd-pleasing one. A cover of Muse’s (I’m breaking down) Supermassive Black Hole draws more to the crowd, at this point numbering around two hundred people. Once the crowd was sufficiently bolstered, The Foot brought out new track “Whiskey and Water,” definitely the favorite of the crowd. The three are graduating DU in June, and plan to release an album in fall and start touring plenty of local venues. http://www.myspace.com/findthefoot
The Epilogues followed up The Foot, with a sound that would be popular with fans of either hardcore or electronic rock a la Shiny Toy Guns. Their set worked well with the rain that was unfortunately starting to thin the crowd, playing an alternating set between slower, more introspective tracks like “Caroline” and their more sinister, mysterious material, like “Adieu.” Their set ended somewhat abruptly, but not without impressing the crowd with an extended guitar jam at the end of their last song. http://www.myspace.com/epiloguemusic
The Photo Atlas probably suffered the most from the sketchy quality of sound that is achieved on outdoor stages; the vocals too faint, the guitars overpowering. However, their set had the highest energy that had yet performed, and they drew eyes as well as ears from the surrounding festival. The last of the rock acts for the night, The Photo Atlas did the finishing work of gathering the crowd for the dance party that supposedly followed. http://www.myspace.com/danceatlasdance
I say ‘supposedly’ because, much to my current dismay, I didn’t stick around to see Savoy or Clipse. Hey, it was raining and I was freezing in my sodden sundress! I’m sure that a great time was had by all, but sadly I had to venture away from the festival to return feeling to my outer limbs

Grizzly Bear - "While You Wait for the Others"

2009-05-22T10:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it isn't usually my style to feed something on this site directly off another, but something happened this morning that was so shocking, I feel compelled to share.
Browsing today's Pitchfork reviews, I noticed that it had awarded a single the score of 10.
Pitchfork gave something a 10. This must be investigated diligently.

So the track is called "While You Wait for the Others" by Grizzly Bear. Pitchfork praises it as one of those "resolute and austere break-up songs" we all have such a weakness for, and cites how well it fits into Grizzly Bear's discography. Not being super familiar with Grizzly Bear myself, I was judging this track on the 4 minutes it gave me, without the discographical context.

What it gave me was, honestly, pretty deserving of a 10, even a Pitchfork 10. The track has that aura of deepness, not referring to the philosophical kind of deepness but the audio kind. The use of hollowed bass drum and guitar effects plus the lone vocalist in the intro suck you into a vacuum that I was only too happy to occupy. The minimalism is stripped away verse by verse until the track reaches its cathartic chorus, invoking Beatles-y vocal harmony and an incredibly well-put-together band dynamic, not to mention heartwrenchingly honest lyrics.

Don't take my word for it, check it out here. I hope you all like it as much as I do!

Tuesday Turntable 5.19.09

2009-05-19T15:18:00.000-07:00

I'm kind of cheating this week. This isn't a turntable I'm inventing. Actually, it comes from the soundtrack to Fallout 3, probably my favorite game ever. Typically one doesn't consider video games to be a source of great music, but Fallout 3 is well-known for its classic jazz and blues playlist that is worked into the plot of the game as radio station Galaxy News Radio by DJ Three-Dog, which is broadcast over post-apocalyptic Washington, D.C. in about the year 2270.
I've had a grouchy week, and this soundtrack has been the only thing I've had any interest in listening to. It never fails to perk up my mood, or at least make me feel nifty Billie Holiday loftiness.

These songs sing for themselves, so I will leave you to it!
[Three dog, ooooout!]

Tuesday Turntable 5.12.09

2009-05-12T07:35:00.000-07:00

Buenas dias, readers!

Shockingly, (shockingly!) we are already 5 months into 2009. We're being pelted with news of a failing economy, watching the giants of record stores close their doors, people are in theory having less to spend on shows and albums.
But the artists out there aren't taking this as a cue to hold back. Far from it, the first bit of 2009 has churned out some really impressive and inspiring new music.

The disco backbeat of "Heads Will Roll" is the most conventional use of synth Yeah Yeah Yeahs have employed on new album It's Blitz, but it does nothing to take away from the fresh feeling of the track. Some U2-reminiscent guitar backing makes the track feel mature and legit. First and foremost, though, YYY are looking to send some great dance-pop our way, and this is indeed first-class stuff.

The amount of praise Merriweather Post Pavilion has been receiving has been daunting, a lot for the Animal Collective album to live up to. However, Panda Bear's ode to his wife and daughter, 'My Girls,' is every bit as freaky and fantastic as we have come to expect and love from Animal Collective. The ethereal Beach Boys harmonies build to a very AC climax, and ends leaving you want to devour the critically acclaimed album in its totality.

I am new to The Pains of Being Pure at Heart but not to their indie-roots lo-fi sound. When you hear a band with a sound as raw and exposed as that on "Contender," you feel this instant inclination to instantly become an insanely loyal fan. This band excites me, I can't wait to snatch up their album and explore them further. Until then, they are so cute that I insist upon spreading their name as far as I can.

I resisted using "The Rake Song" as representative from The Decemberists' Hazards of Love. A cool song, and certainly the most single-ready (although, from Hazards, 'single-ready' is a heavily relative term.) In most respects, "The Wanting Comes in Waves / Repaid" is a stronger song, and my favorite from the album. My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden's vocals in her role as the Witch-Queen blow me away every time.

As I am disposed to do, I leave us dancing at the end of this turntable. Suburban Kids with Biblical Names are another up-and-coming group that has mags and review sites buzzing. "1999" makes me think of some of its poppier antecedents in the 80's, but you would never actually mistake SKwBN for something that actually came from the era of The Breakfast Club - it's sound is too new and experimental. New is good. Me likey.

Tuesday Turntable 4.28.09

2009-04-28T07:47:00.000-07:00

1964-6: A wave of British rock bands become wildly popular in America, bringing us The Beatles, The Rolling Stones...
2004-9: The same thing happens out of...

Sweden?

If you've been paying attention lately, you will have noticed that the Swedes have now invaded, bearing gifts of rock and pop.

Since the artists don't tend towards heavy accents or drastically different attitudes from American music, the Swedish artists aren't automatically recognized as such. But the Swedish sound is something Americans are eating up right now, and with good reason.

Dance pop group The Knife starts off with their original "Heartbeats," which was subsequently covered more famously by José Gonzales. I personally prefer Gonzales' acoustic version, as The Knife's can be grating in certain moods, but I also think it is nifty to listen to them side-by-side.

"This Boy" comes from I'm From Barcelona (they aren't from Barcelona.) The repetitive chorus and light composition (complete with whistling!) is something you can notice in a lot of the music coming out of Sweden at this point, so I think it is pretty indicative of Swedish Indie in particular.

The intro of "Young Folks" always inspires a cheesy dance breakdown in my friends and I when it comes up on the plethora of our mix CDs it is featured on. This track should sound familiar; it is used to advertise pretty much everything: Xbox 360 soccer and karaoke games, Gossip Girl episodes, etc.

"Walk Idiot Walk" is a much older track, but The Hives are a totally awesome band (and, according to Spin, the best live band ever.) Only recently did I discover their Swedishness, and I think it makes this band even cooler. Almost as cool as the band's stage names: Howlin' Pete Almqist, Nicholaus Arson, Vigilante Carlstroem, Dr. Matt Destruction, and Chris Dangerous.

(Honorable Mention: Boten Anna by Basshunter.)

New Decemberists Worth the Concept Album Hazards

2009-04-27T08:06:00.000-07:00

The Hazards of Love
The Decemberists

✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✩
9/10

I don’t think any of us were actually surprised that The Decemberists released a concept album. It was only a matter of time that the idea Colin Meloy played with on The Tain EP would get expanded into a full length LP. Really, though, we aren’t surprised because a concept album is definitely something that The Decemberists could do well. Often hailed as ‘indie’s most literate band,’ Meloy’s penchant for legends and storytelling translates readily into creating an album like Hazards of Love.

Hazards opens with three minutes of reverb, morphing into foreboding organ chords, taking us from the modern to the mysterious enchanted Taiga (a pretty word that refers to the biome south of the tundra. In this case, knowing The Decemberists, we are probably somewhere in Siberia.) Our heroine, Margaret, en route to her fiancé, comes across a wounded fawn. She treats its injuries and, to her surprise, the fawn turns into a man, the adopted son of an evil witch-queen. Unfortunately for the pregnant Margaret, the fawn-guy has fallen in love with her, and now wants to be freed by his adopted mother. Word to the wise: don’t cross evil Siberian witch-queens.

Up to this point, the musical arrangement is pretty traditional Decemberists – plenty of acoustic guitar, skillful bass a la Nate Query, vocal harmony. It is on “The Bower Scene” where you realize what justifies this new album. In between verses, the band drops the pretense of indie-smoothness and instead completely rocks out, breaking into a very weighty metal bridge. The new musical tricks employed on this album are only just beginning, however. “We Won’t Want For Love” employs female lead vocals in a way completely different from how female voices were used on Decemberists albums past. Whereas the voices on tracks such as “Yankee Bayonet” from The Crane Wife were intentionally child-like and basic, Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark isn’t holding back at all on “We Won’t Want for Love.” While still retaining the femininity and sweetness common of Decemberists leading ladies, Stark employs a full vocal range and has no problem carrying the track without extensive help from Meloy or back-up vocalists. Meloy only enters the track as a far-off echo, foreshadowing the couple’s later misfortune. The best thing about her very tangible performance in terms of the concept album is the distinctness of her voice leads you to feel as if she is really a character you connect with, just as if the album were a live musical. “Hazards of Love 2, Wager All” is a centerpiece for Meloy’s style, harkening back to the romance, beauty and hopefulness of earlier Castaways and Cutouts. The emotion packed into his “I’d wager all” lends much to the development of his character, who we know is going to indeed fear nothing in his quest to protect his Margaret.

“Isn’t it a Lovely Night,” with its saccharine sweetness and almost silly sentiment seems to serve mostly as a juxtaposition of the later power and chaos of the coming second act. (Though I will take a minute to geek out over a lyric. Margaret praises the fireflies lighting their moonlight getaway... we are in Siberia. How many fireflies could there be in Siberia??) One of the best transitions in indie rock has got to come between “Lovely Night” and “The Wanting Comes in Waves / Repaid.” The flowery, lilting melody of the former becomes suddenly sinister, transposed into a minor-key harpsichord solo of doom. Our fawn-fellow is in trouble now; pleading with his witch-queen mother to be freed to be with Margaret very ‘royally’ pisses her off. The “Repaid” half of this track really shows us what we’re dealing with in the queen. Meloy has written her as an Angry Metal Mama, which, when sung by My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden, is incredibly awesome. Her vocals could not be farther from Margaret’s; all the sweet girlishness is replaced with powerhouse badassery, bringing us a crashing close to the first act.

“The Rake’s Song” is the first single from Hazards. Its contagious rhythm guitar line is just as menacing as the Rake himself, a child-murdering scoundrel who goes into cahoots with the Queen. This song, as mentioned before, is meant as a single, but it isn’t clear if the subject matter or lyrics will make any sense on the radio, or if it will just leave those who don’t own the album puzzled and wondering if Colin Meloy might need some counseling. However, in terms of Hazards, “The Rake’s Song” is the centerpiece, strong musically and story-wise. The Rake soon kidnaps Margaret of his own accord in a reprise of “The Bower Scene,” but the Queen helps him to cross the Annan River in thanks for his intention to ‘defile’ Margaret (nice lady.) Margaret’s panicked lover in “Annan Water” is played brilliantly by Meloy’s vocals, and the folk elements more common to The Decemberists are placed directly against the metal of the previous track, another example of the skillful manner in which Meloy distinguishes between characters in listeners minds without visual representation.

As our hero rushes to save Margaret from the clutches of the Rake, he is bought some time by the ghosts of the rake’s murdered children. “The Hazards of Love #3, Revenge!” is probably the creepiest Decemberists song to date, another way of saying the ‘one of the coolest.’ A sneaky children’s choir performs the dead children, who seek revenge on their father by sinking the Queen’s ship, drowning the Rake, the Queen and her fawn-son. Margaret survives to be rescued by her true love, but, in true Decemberists fashion, they are still doomed. The lover promised the river that if he was able to rescue Margaret, it could have his life in return. Not the best forward-thinker, he. Though somewhat predictable to Decemberists fans, (13 other lovers have died at Meloy’s pen stroke in previous albums) album-closer “The Hazards of Love #4, The Drowned” is by far the most emotional of all previous Decemberists tragedies. I have listened to this album about 6 or 7 times now, and this song has yet to fail to jerk a tear, a reaction that the story of a CD has never before garnered. Margaret and her love are married on the sinking ship even as the rapids crash around them. If you are young and in love, make sure Colin Meloy never writes a song about you.

Hazards of Love can be considered a showcase for every trick The Decemberists has as a band. Meloy’s lyrics and vocals are more emotive than ever, the music arrangement is innovative and exciting, and the raw talent of all the band members and guest vocalists are captured in Margaret’s story. The most critical thing to be said about Hazards is it is truly exclusively a concept album. It won’t make sense on shuffle or playlists, this can be considered to be a single 59-minute song. But with a story as compelling and masterfully told as that of Margaret, the Fawn, the Rake and the Queen, the time investment will surely gladly be made by fans new and old.

Tuesday Turntable 4.21.09

2009-04-21T07:50:00.000-07:00

Welcome to your Tuesday morning!

Our theme is something completely irresistable...

British Accents!

Let's hop right in, shall we?

First off is "You! Me! Dancing!" by Los Campesinos!. The two-minute instrumental intro is far from dull, it always grabs attention with its impressive cresendo. Gareth Campesinos!'s Wales-accent-laden, high-speed chattering characterizes this track as true Brit Twee Pop.

"Emily Kane" from Art Brut is an obvious choice for our celebration of accents, and again, this song has such a charming and silly tone that only the Grinch could deny its adorability.

Perhaps more conventional but no less cheery is "Keep Singing Out," by Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. Sam Duckworth of Essex, England's band is named in pretty much the most awesome way I can imagine; the title comes from the quest notes of an original Batman video game, which stated 'Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.'

Kate Nash is pop music at its most tongue-in-cheek and introspective, without coming off as pretentious. Far from it, "Mouthwash" is a ballad about, above all else, being normal. Somehow, she pulls this off without the paradox of singing about how normal you are on a platinum record.

The best accent ever belongs to Charlie Reid of The Proclaimers on "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles.)" Don't argue with me. I'm right.

Record Store Day! April 18 2009

2009-04-17T15:25:00.000-07:00

Sat, April 18, 2009

Exciting news!

We have all noticed how scary the situation has been for record stores in the last few years. With the combination of illegal downloads, iTunes, and the recession, we are in danger of losing our beloved treasure troves of CD and vinyl.

To try to re-awaken awareness of and excitement for independent stores, most of them across the nation are bringing in bands, music writers, exclusive merch, and a plethora of other free goodies and perks!

Highlights of the exclusive merch include:
- Sets from Matador Records including Sonic Youth and Beck covering each other and a unreleased Pavement live LP from Germany.
- My Morning Jacket live EP, Celebraciòn de la Ciudad Natàl.
- Blood on the Tracks, a vinyl-only compilation from Domino Records.
- Bob Dylan's "Dreaming of You"/"Down Along the Cove" 7", recorded live at Bonnaroo.
- Exclusive Death Cab for Cutie tee
- An 18-track Iron and Wine live album, taped at a 1995 show in Norfolk, Virginia.
- "The Rake's Song"/"East India Lanes", a 7" from the Decemberists.
- 7" from Kill Rock Stars labelmates the Thermals and Thao With the Get Down Stay Down.
- Vinyl reissues of Jane's Addiction's Ritual de lo Habitual and Nothing's Shocking.
- "Wrong"/"Oh Well", a 7" from Depeche Mode.
- Limited Edition Gibson/Epiphone guitars!
- A split 7" from Andrew Bird and Loney Dear.
- "Break Up the Pavement"/Love's…", a red vinyl 7" from the Pretenders.
- The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' It's Blitz vinyl LP.
- The Talking Heads' 77 LP on 180-gram vinyl.
- A split 10" picture disc from Cursive and Ladyfinger.
- A four-LP retrospective compilation from Def Jam.
(Source: http://pitchfork.com/news/35076-the-pitchfork-guide-to-record-store-day/)

And a list of participating stores in Colorado:
Angelo's CDs, Aurora
Albums on the Hill, Boulder
Bart's CD Cellar, Boulder
Independent Record and Video, Colorado Springs. all locations
The Leechpit, Colorado Springs
Cheapo Discs, Denver
Independent Record and Video, Denver
LP Hound's Vinyl House, Denver
Twist and Shout, Denver
Wax Trax, Denver
Southwest Sound, Durango
Sgt Pepper's Music and Video, Estes Park
The Finest Record Store, Ft Collins
Rock 'n' Robin's, Ft Collins
Angelo's CDs, Littleton
Pueblo Records and Tapes, Pueblo
Independent Records and Video, Pueblo
Angelo's CDs, Thornton
Angelo's CDs, Wheat Ridge

Independent Music Lovers, Unite and Mobilize!

Tuesday Turntable 4.14.09

2009-04-14T12:30:00.000-07:00

The late Seventies wasn't a time I had associated with great music. Until I started paying attention, that is.

This Turntable is comprised of songs produced between 1977-79, and if you aren't already familiar with these, you should get that way. For real, if you haven't heard of the bands themselves, I'd be willing to bet a good portion of your music library is greatly influenced by the punk and post-punk coming out of these years.

First is "Psycho Killer" by Talking Heads. In perfect honesty, I discovered this song while playing Rock Band II in my dorm. Not the most distinguished of musical venues, yet if I hadn't first heard this song when it was my turn to sing, I might not appreciate it as much as I do. The off-kilter lyrics had me giggling shyly to the group as I sang, but once the chorus broke out, I dropped all my bashful pretense. This has got to be one of the most insanely fun choruses to sing (poorly) in the Rock Band repertoire, if not in seventies music in general.

I think "Shot by Both Sides"'s opening guitar solo says more than I can about how great this song is. Magazine was literally post-punk, with frontman Howard Devoto frustratedly quitting his former punk band (a little outfit you might have heard of: The Buzzcocks) in order to form Magazine. He doesn't fully lose sight of his roots, but the more conventional structure of the song allowed Magazine to access a fanbase on which traditional punk was lost.

"Hey, I know I've heard this song before! It was selling the New VW Beetle a few years back, right?"
"Yeah, it's called "Mr. Blue Sky.""
"Oh, right, by the Polyphonic Spree, right?"
"Um, not quite, this band is Electric Light Orchestra, they're from 1977."
*indie cred instantly crushed, mwah ha ha, take that, hipster!*

Ok, Ok, so two of the songs on this Turntable I discovered from video games. Epic fail, I know. But seriously, these game designers have pretty awesome taste, and I'm apparently in their debt. The lyrics to "Surrender" are perhaps even more relevant today than they were in the seventies. Every generation, of course, will be apt to say their parents 'seem a little weird,' I suppose, but relatability doesn't sacrifice excitement in this Cheap Trick ode to being freaked out when your parents make out.

The Only Ones didn't last much longer than their first album, but it was enough to get us "Another Girl, Another Planet." What I notice about this song is, it's a hell of a lot catchier than most punk songs out there. I hear it in a lot of the pop-punk bands that came into existence in the nineties. As long as it doesn't turn out that it's responsible for Simple Plan, it will remain one of my favorite Brit Punk songs.

iTunes Plus: A Plus or Minus?

2009-04-12T18:11:00.000-07:00

In April 2003, the way we buy music was fundamentally changed. In this month (in which I turned 13, fancy that!) iTunes launched the iTunes Store feature, bringing the digital format of purchased music into the mainstream. Once we got over the exciting new immediacy with which we could own any song we fancied, however, we noticed some problems. The songs could only be uploaded to 5 hard drives, ever. Upload it to the three computers you use and backup on a portable hard drive, and then replace those computers a couple years later? You were out of luck once you needed music on that sixth drive. There were (very) strict limits to how many times you could burn this music to a CD. (So much for those mix-CDs to woo your crush, sad day.) The quality of the sound on the CDs also deteriorated drastically once it was ripped to a computer or portable music player. Oh, and the mp4 DRM protected songs wouldn't even play on some of the non-iPod mp3 players. Protected files would quickly become the bane of music sharers everywhere. In theory, you own this music, but DRMput huge limits on what you could do with your own digital 'property.'iTunes noticed a couple years after the launch of their store that more and more users were turning to other music stores like Amazon.com, from which you could download protection-free mp3s (a format that is generally much easier to work with than iTunes' mp4.) In fall 2007, iTunes began offering music from select labels in a DRM-free format, given for a higher price than their DRM-protected counterparts. It wasn't until February of 2009 that iTunes has become DRM-free. In addition to removing the DRM protection, iTunes has upgraded the sound quality of iTunes Plus tracks to 256 kbps, contrasted with the former iTunes default of only 128 kbps.

The transition is definitely not without its catches. When I click the 'Upgrade Your Library' link in the iTunes Store, it takes me to a page that boasts I can un-protect the albums I purchased on 'old iTunes' for $3-4 each. More sneaky, however, is the necessary consequence of doubling the kbps to 256. Where typically songs three minutes in length takes 3MB of space, iTunes Plus files of the same length are 6MB. In theory, if one had filled an iPod with only albums purchased on old iTunes and then chose to pay the $3 an album to upgrade to iTunes Plus versions, that person would need an entire additional iPod to accommodate the extra space. The supposed difference in sound quality achieved by doubling the kbps of the files is negligible unless listened to on the highest quality sound systems; the effect is certainly lost on iPod's low-grade ear buds.

It's not an easy call, whether the perks of iTunes Plus are worth the extra room, or the price of upgrading older songs. My two cents: Apple can only get away with the tiny hard drives in iPod Touches for so long - the original iPods expanded to a standard 120 GB in a fairly short amount of time, so it would follow that iTouch harddrives should expand in a similar timeframe. If I can't buy CDs easily anymore, (in Denver, the last major music retailer, Virgin Records, closes this month, an unfortunate consequence of the digital music phenomenon) I would at least like to be able to burn the music I buy online to hard copies without worrying about DRM limitations. As of February, iTunes Plus tracks don't cost anymore, so as long as you aren't worried about disk room, I think it is a trade-up worth making.

What is Wrong With This Picture?

2009-04-01T23:19:00.000-07:00

Oh no. Oh, oh no.

Tuesday Turntable 3.17.09

2009-03-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

St. Patrick's Day Turntable!

Look, it's even green!

Really, not a lot to say about these songs, other than they are all Celtic Punk and should help you have a crazy fun day!

Tuesday Turntable 3.10.09

2009-03-10T11:50:00.000-07:00

This weeks our theme is Scream at the Top of Your Lungs, or, more specifically, should it apply to you, Finals week. Yes, that dreaded five days of doom that has kept me from writing any of the concert reviews I have heretofore promised. Soon, Soon!

Really, these songs' purpose in life is pretty simple - dance and scream the lyrics as loud as present company would allow until all those little stress-demons have been exorcised by the power of great music.

First we have "I'll Believe in Anything," in my opinion Wolf Parade's best. The most fun thing about this song is singing it adopting the odd singing accent of lead singer Dan Boeckner. It's harsh yet invigorating rhythm is another great draw.

Up to bat now is "Colossal" by Wolfmother. (very wolfy Turntable. What big ears you have, Wax Cylinders!) I think this song was more deserving of the acclaim Wolfmother received for "Mother," but perhaps this tracks' outstandingly obvious desire to be a Led Zeppelin song turned off some of the critics. In any case, the lyrics of this song make you feel like a very mystical and very RAWK gypsy, and I'm sure Wolfmother would have it no other way.

"Without MSG I am Nothing" by low-fliers McLusky has been one of my favorite songs for a few years now, because I can't find anything more hilarious and fun, lyric wise, and the 'goo'-yelping that is part of the verses is totally addicting. I have always been meaning to find more McLusky thanks to this song, but I harbor the suspicion that it must be hard to top.

"Blue Orchid" by The White Stripes. I'm hardly introducing anyone to anything new here, but I don't think I'll really be hearing any complaints. The video of this song is the best indication of its character. It has Jack White as the head of a house of freaky marionettes, including Meg White, robotically banging on the floor with giant spoons. A highly recommended YouTube experience.

To bring us down from the '11' we've been cranked up to without losing this Turntable's energy comes "Heavy Metal" from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!'s debut album. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! always sounds like they are enjoying themselves like crazy, especially on songs like this that engage every auditory nerve.

To listen to this Turntable without having to stay on Wax Cylinders, click the Pop-Out Player button below the playlist. If your pop-up blocker is reluctant to allow this, try holding the control key when you hit Pop-Out Player.

Tuesday Turntable 3.3.09

2009-03-03T10:12:00.000-08:00

Jamba, Listeners!

This week's Tuesday Turntable revolves around (haha, punny) covers!

When a band loves a song so much, they feel like stealing it.

But that's not how it goes at all, right? These 5 songs are some of my favorite covers I've come across, because they make the songs their own without losing what made the song great in the first place.

First is my favorite from the list, "Float On" by Goldspot. This was featured in the last The O.C. mix CD, which was, oddly enough, devoted to covers. As always, The O.C. finds us a gem you wouldn't expect from a show about spoiled rich teenagers.

Next up, something a little more intense - Sia's version of "Paranoid Android," orignially by Radiohead. Not for beginners! She sort of... spaces out with this one. In a good way, I hope you think.

To get you off of that Sia psych-trip, we have the far more upbeat "Lost in the Supermarket" by Ben Folds. This one was featured in Dreamworks cartoon Over the Hedge, and is upbeat enough for a cartoon without losing The Clash's message.

We follow with The Cranberries' "Zombie" performed by Miser. I lied on this one, Miser really didn't make this song very new or original... but it's a pretty badass anthem nonetheless. And who could hope to top The Cranberries, come on.

Finishing with Ryan Adams' dreamy "Wonderwall," borrowed from Oasis. Beautiful, haunting song, even more addictive than the original.

The Killers - Day & Age Review

2009-02-26T18:11:00.000-08:00

The Killers
Day & Age

✭✭✭✩✩✩✩✩✩✩
3/10

I wanted to like this album. I really, really did. After all, just like any other self-respecting teenager in 2004 I had The Killers's Hot Fuss on steady repeat. It had everything you could want from The Killers - catchy lyrics, danceable singles, a relatively innovative sound for 2004. Best of all, the 2004 Killers were The Killers. As opposed to what they have now undeniably become - Brandon Flowers and His Diva-licious Synth Band.

The greatest hope for this album was that they would remove some of the elements that made Sam's Town a disappointment - opaque concept-album lyrics, failed experiments in genre-crossing. However, Flowers' ambition to become the Next Big Thing in glam rock has done away with any credibility the band might have retained. Instead of making a return to the success of Hot Fuss, Day & Age has effectively removed the features of Sam's Town that were still functional and replaced them with indulgence.

The first time I heard first single "Human" was in the 2008 Victoria's Secret fashion show, and I'm convinced that couldn't be more appropriate. Oddly reminiscent of Cher's 1999 comeback "Believe," Flowers truly embraces his inner diva. The big controversy of this song has been its grammatically-garbled chorus, ("are we human / or are we dancer?") which Flowers claims he lifted from a Hunter S. Thompson quote, "We're raising a generation of dancers." Flowers seemed surprised by his fans' adverse reaction to the lyric, telling MTV News "I took it and ran. I guess it bothers people that it's not grammatically correct, but I think I'm allowed to do whatever I want." (Montgomery, "Killers' Brandon Flowers Stands Behind 'Human' Chorus, Feathery Jacket," mtv.com 31 Oct 2008)

Flowers certainly does 'do whatever [he] want[s],' as evidenced by train crashes "Joy Ride," which sounds like it could be the soundtrack to "Starsky and Hutch Go Calypso," and "This is Your Life," which is rife with baffling (spiritual?) chanting as a background track behind lyrics which lament the disillusionment of characters Jackie, her steps dogged by police, and Candy, who notices that "no one cares about her hair."

As seven-minute "Goodnight, Travel Well" closed this album with an obese exclamation point, all one is left wondering is, 'whatever happened to "All These Things That I've Done"?' Perhaps Killers fans will see a return to the happier days of Hot Fuss once Brandon runs out of mascara, and birds to strip for his feathered jackets. We can only hope.

Tuesday Turntable for 2/24/09

2009-02-24T08:04:00.000-08:00

This week's theme is upbeat, dance-y, get-yourself-out-of-bed-and-into-the-big-bad-world-with-a-pep-in-your-step kinds of songs.

We start off with "Jai Ho," A.R. Rahman's Oscar-Winning finale to Slumdog Millionaire. As someone unfamiliar with Bollywood, this song is definitely novel to me, but I find it totally infectious and it never fails to put me in a great, inspired mood. Little Golden Man well deserved!

Next up is "Ulysses" off the new Tonight: Franz Ferdinand. This is sort of a taster, considering you will be getting a concert review of the best Scotland has to offer next month. Think of this song as the anthem of going out with your best, most dolled-up friends and wreaking havoc on the local nightlife. Gives me big smiles every time!

"Lightspeed" by Matt and Kim is another teaser, expect to see more of them on the site in the upcoming weeks. It's a wonder this dance-punk duo has remained as far under the radar as they have, but with the release of Grand a month ago, hopefully this will change in the near future.

A (relative) oldie-but-goodie, it would be a crime to leave "Dashboard" by Modest Mouse off a playlist of the best dance beats in indie rock. I suppose the hidden underlying theme of this Turntable is previews of upcoming articles, since there will be a review of this Saturday's Boulder Modest Mouse show posted in the very near future!

Finally, we end with 2008's best act, MGMT, and their fantastic "Electric Feel." After being named best of 2008 by multiple big-name music sites and magazines, everyone is just itching to see what MGMT does with their well-earned new fanbase.

Enjoy!

Edison Woods - The Prettiest Band That Side of the Mississippi

2009-02-20T21:46:00.001-08:00

No, really.

The New York-based band seems to be as much art as they are music - in addition to front-woman Julia Frodahl's dreamy, romantic, primarily slow and sad arias, Edison Woods seems to be as much characterized by its focus on visual art. Regular work with photographers and artists bring image in line with melody, meaning being a fan of Edison Woods will find you both beautiful music and seductive aesthetic.

Listening to newly-released The Wishbook Singles is enough to make any girl feel like a princess, living in a world of romance, elegance and wistfulness. "Finding the Lions" is perhaps the best embodiment of the escape Edison Woods offers. Showcasing Frodahl's airy voice, the characteristic artful use of strings, and enchanting lyrics, ("Gonna find the parade, gonna wear those colors, gonna marry the lions…") it is easy to see why Frodahl calls The Wishbook Singles her favorite music the band has ever made.

The following is the video for Edison Woods' most popular single, "Last Night I Dreamt I Would Last Forever," the perfect showcase of the visual and auditory experience of Edison Woods.

As a special treat for Wax Cylinders' first piece, I was lucky enough to land an exclusive interview with Ms. Julia Frodahl herself. Enjoy, and I hope you stick around to see where Wax Cylinders is headed!

Wax Cylinders: The visual art of the band - on merchandise, album covers, not to mention Alicia Reginato's direction in the video for "Last Night I Dreamt I Would Last Forever" - is a big part of the beautiful aesthetic communicated to the fans. Does the visual art come from a member of the band, or do you partner with artists in New York?

Julia Frodahl: We partner with artists from lots of different places. I think the music tends to attract a particular kind of visual artist, and we tend to know pretty instantly if we’re a good match. Alicia Reginato, Sean McCabe, Elisabet Davidsdottir and Daniela Molnar are some of the artists we’ve worked with. They have all added beautiful dimensions to our sound and aesthetic.

WC: The most striking thing about Edison Woods music to me, particularly in instrumentals such as Letter to the Garden, is the elegance of the string arrangements. As a cellist myself, I notice that only rarely do popular musicians use strings to their full potential. How and why does the band use strings in the way it does?

JF: I can’t say there’s a reason why. I’ve just always been deeply moved by the violin and the cello. Their sounds are spiritual. Like the human voice but without the perimeters of words. Edison Woods has had the pleasure of playing with some of the most precious string players in the world. People full of beauty and it materializes in the very way they touch the strings, there’s no question about that. Meanwhile, we arrange our songs so that whatever is in there has a purpose and can be heard. We carve out lots of space for that.

WC: The majority of Edison Woods' tours in the past years have been focused in NYC and Europe - do you have any plans for a US tour?

JF: We don’t currently have plans for a US tour and the reason, unfortunately, is financial. We’re a seven-piece band. I’ve been asked many times by business people to strip it down to three or four and tour the US. I’m sure something lovely could be created from that, but it wouldn’t be Edison Woods. The warm, hermetic embrace of sound that is created by the full group is essential. However, if we work directly with fans to set up shows in various places and pre-sell tickets for example, we could travel to other cities in the US and it would be wonderful. The expenses would be much lower that way. We’d love to hear from fans who’d like to do this with us.

WC: The costs of producing music, let alone touring, are daunting to bands without major label support. On edisonwoods.net, you've cited that it costs about $2000 to produce each song. What are the best ways for new fans to support Edison Woods?

JF: If fans would simply pay for the recordings they listen to, things would become more affordable to artists. Especially now that so many of us are doing it without labels and distributors. Most of the 99c you pay for a song on iTunes goes directly to us now, and it would really add up and make things like touring and recording possible if people would pay for their music.

WC: What is the most exciting thing happening with Edison Woods in 2009?

JF: Making music in the new Obama era, and the release of our Wishbook Singles album coming later this year. Of all the music we’ve ever made, this is my favorite.