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Alkaline Trio - My Shame is True

As my first blog back, it's only fitting that I start with one of my favorite bands of all time: Alkaline Trio. My Shame is True is a great album to get me back in to the swing of things. Musically the album picks up where This Addiction left off. The perfectly choreographed layers of Matt Skiba and Dan Andriano vocals never miss a beat while the frantic bridges play off a steady verse...classic Alkaline Trio. If the instrumentation brings it up to par for the rest of their discography, it's the lyrics that propel it towards the the top. The difference is the pain of a break-up that Skiba sings about; and this isn't your 20-something pain, this is your "I got a divorce, found something beautiful in life out of it, and was crushed when it ended." This is big-league, adult break-up, and I guess as I get older, I can relate to it a bit more. There are songs that may sound indifferent, like "Midnight Blue," but if you've been there in that position, you know that it speaks honestly to that situation. I highly recommend this album for any Alkaline Trio fans, and anyone that needs a pick-me-up coming out of a crappy relationship. Misery is a dish best shared. Unfortunately, it took this type of situation to see Skiba and Co. at their best, but as a fan, I'm glad he made it and sounds like he pulled through okay.

 1. She Lied to the FBI
2. I Wanna be a Warhol
3. I'm Only Here to Disappoint
4. Kiss You to Death
5. The Temptation of St. Anthony
6. I, Pessimist
7. Only Love
8. The Torture Doctor
9. Midnight Blue
10. One Last Dance
11. Young Lovers
 12. Until Death do Us Part

  Stream it here on Youtube (and buy it on vinyl)!

Starting anew

Yo, I'm restarting the blog. Why now? Because I miss writing, and there's a ton of music that the world should know about. Spread the word, and let me know what's good in the 'hood. I'd like to keep to indie/punk, but I'll review pretty much anything, new or old. It's been a long time friends, and although I probably won't be updating daily, I want to re-discover my love for music, and help some folks along the way. I won't be posting full albums or anything like that (RIAA has a bounty on my head), but Youtube and links to the band's sites should do the trick, if only to hear them. If this turns you off, sorry, but hey, check out my reviews, and I'm sure you'll find the album somewhere; hopefully it's at their table at their show. Let's kick this pig. I'm going to need your support on generating interest if this little experiment in independent music reviews will work...

The End

All, I'm taking the blog offline due to money and time. Take what you can, it'll be coming off-line Sunday night, U.S. EST. It's served up over a quarter million downloads and had almost half a million visits (that's a ton for what I wanted this to be). Keep hitting me up on last.fm, user: ninjas1981 and I'll keep you all posted on future blog projects I come up with.

Rock on,
Lucas

Lupe Fiasco - Lasers

I would say the most anticipated albums of this year (the ones I'm aware of): Lupe Fiasco, Blink 182 (to see what they come up with), and the Ataris. I was looking forward to the new GUK, but after listening to a few times...eh. I'll probably post it later. But for now: LUPE MOTHER F'N FIASCO. Far and away, the best album I've listened to in this young year, the music industry as a whole will have to come up with nothing short of extraordinary to top this one. While the aforementioned albums have really piqued my interest in 2011, Lupe's teasers on Facebook, myspace and a massive guerilla social network marketing campaign has had myself and many others salivating for this album. Every track is strong, mixing politics (or a-politics), life and love into a suave, confident and...baller...album. Beats are familiar and new at the same time, with an air of unexpected predictability that doesn't let go. His blend of his alt rock/punk background and phenomenal hip-hop career resonates in a hopeful, self-confident album that has just as much pop as anything else, yet somehow appeals across a very broad swathe of music genres. I mean, the guy sampled Modest Mouse. With a whos-who supporting cast of John Legend, MDMA and some solid producing, Lupe has managed to create a great album that I would put at the top of my list for 2011, and one of the best pop or hip-hop albums (albeit I don't listen to too much hip/pop-hop to quantify that statement) I've listened to since Blueprint 3 and The Adventures of Bobby Ray. Until I hear something better (which I hope I do), this is the album of the year. Standout tracks: "Words I Never Said," "Till I Get There" and "Never Forget You."

1. Letting Go feat. Sarah Green
2. Words I Never Said feat. Skylar Grey
3. Till I Get There
4. I Don’t Wanna Care Right Now feat. MDMA
5. Out of My Head feat. Trey Songz
6. The Show Goes On
7. Beautiful Lasers, (Two Ways) feat. MDMA
8. Coming Up feat. MDMA
9. State Run Radio feat. Matt Mahaffey
10. Break the Chain feat. Eric Turner & Sway
11. All Black Everything
12. Never Forget You feat. John Legend
Bonus:
13. I'm Beaming
14. Shining Down feat. Matthew Santos
15. Go to Sleep

Link:
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The Boxer Rebellion - Union

So at the behest of my friend Gav, I finally watched Going the Distance. Having been in a long-distance relationship awhile back, I can say that the movie is probably...75% accurate. I thought the good-bye airport scenes could have been better done, among other small things that are pretty big when separated by distance.

In any case, this is a music blog, not a movie blog so I will save that rant for another day. One thing the producers did do well was picking out a soundtrack, and prominently featuring Brit indie rockers The Boxer Rebellion. I had heard OF them, but never really took time to listen to any of their stuff...my bad. I've been on an indie rock kick lately and I don't know what it is about this band that sets them apart, which I suppose could be good or bad depending on how you look at it. The thing that stands out to me the most (in stark contrast to the previous post of EITS) are the lyrics. The expansive sonic landscape also intelligently provides room for singer Nathan Nicholson to practice his trade with wide-ranging and far-reaching tonalities; check out the tracks "Misplaced" and "Evacuate" to see (what I believe) are the best at showcasing the talents of the band. Additionally, "Spitting Fire," which was also on the soundtrack, is superbly put together.

On a side note, I threw in another track from the soundtrack, "If You Run" because I just thought it was a beautiful song.

1. Flashing Red Light Means Go
2. Move On
3. Evacuate
4. Soviets
5. Spitting Fire
6. Misplaced
7. The Gospel of Goro Adachi
8. These Walls are Thin
9. Forces
10. Semi-Automatic
11. Silent Movie
Bonus: If You Run

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Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care

To be honest, I've been looking forward to this album for quite some time (and their tour, which I don't think I'll be able to hit up). As a quick summary of the album, it's awesome. There's more layers than previous albums in the form of background filler, but with post-rock, more layers makes up for the lack of lyrics. EITS' traditional story-telling epics are beautifully crafted with an almost symphony-like approach; each instrument providing an integral sound (and often multiple sounds) that are slammed into bouts of crescendos and diminuendos. I'll be honest, this is not my favorite album by them (that belongs to The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place), but Take Care definitely highlights the progress the band has made over the past decade or so to expand their sound, while staying true to their elaborately constructed, yet "simplistic" instrumentals. It's a great album, and if you're able to, go to one of their shows for me.

1. Last Known Surroundings
2. Human Qualities
3. Trembling Hands
4. Be Comfortable, Creature
5. Postcard from 1952
6. Let Me Back In

Link:
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