Raditude. You need it.

November 3, 2009 at 1:15 am (music)
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I just got Weezer’s new album Raditude and have listened to it two times in its entirety already.  It’s so fucking good that I’m taking it upon myself to write a review and try to get as many people as possible to pick it up.  After the Red Album… and I guess Make Believe and Maladroit, I can understand why people have lost their faith in Weezer.  I’m personally a big fan throughout their discography, but it’s time people set aside anything they’ve known about Weezer and start fresh with Raditude.  Instead of all this indie music flooding my iTunes library (and just about everyone else’s), it’s so great to finally have some ROCK music in the house.  Even Erik and Joe, non-weezer fans, are digging this album hardcore.

The CD opens up with the single, “If You’re Wondering If I Want You To,” which really sets the mood for the rest of the awesomeness.  Here we have pretty formulaic rock blended with cathy lyrics, not so formulaic instrumentation, and damn good vocals.  And that’s Raditude’s greatest strength.  It lays on the rock with the perfect amount of pop hooks, great musicianship, and Rivers’ phenomenal voice leading it all.

The lyrics are a real joy to listen to.  Rivers’ way of talking so plainly is often times so endearing and terribly relatable.  You’d never think that the line, “I thought tonight would suck like any other night,” could sound so poetic.  There’s one song in particular that resonates scarily well with me which I’ll share the lyrics to at the end here.  It’s a tune called Tripping Down the Freeway.  And then the infamous new song with Lil Wayne, “Can’t Stop Partying” is oddly infectious and will have you singing immediately.  Actually, the whole friggin ALBUM is that way.  Even through the first listen we all caught on to the lyrics quickly and were singing along by the second chorus of almost every song.

One song in particular, “Love is the Answer” is almost surreal to listen to.  It takes Indian music to a level you didn’t know it could reach. If Slumdog Millionaire and the vibe it produces didn’t inspire this song, I’m not sure what did.  It’s not going to be for every one and I can already tell that fans + reviewers are going to shit all over it saying “What the hell is this?”  But it’s easily one of my favorites by far.  Then you’ve got “Let It All Hang Out” that easily could have reached number 1 during the 80s which seriously makes you want to “let it all hang out.”  The genuine rock vibe exploding out of Raditude has made me hop around the apartment like a bunny until my legs have gone sore and I definitely rocked out with my Guitar Hero guitar while clothed in nothing but a towel to “The Girl Got Hot.”

In short, you HAVE to get this album.  Weezer fan or not, it’s a breath of fresh air from anything else being released by a major label and in fact, I’ll go so far as to say even anything from an independent label.  I know I haven’t bought an album like this in a long time and it feels freaking good.  Even right now I’m so tired and need sleep and need to do homework, but all I wanna do instead is sit here listening to Weezer.

Now, as promised… here are the lyrics that touch me deep every time I listen to it.

no way, we ain’t gonna break up
we made a promise and our will won’t fade out
not just in ‘09 and ‘10
we’ll be together from now until the very end
you’ve got the Shirley Applebee look
i’m totally caught up on your hook
you know that we are gonna be ok
we’ll stick together as we’re tripping down the freeway

Also, click the following link to see the most delightful music video I’ve come across in ages. :)

Weezer : Now Playing : (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To.

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Pop Music On the Rise

October 12, 2009 at 11:10 am (music)
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From about 2002-2007, pop music was in a seriously suffering state.  It’s hard remembering what was popular during that time because all of it was honestly garbage.  The first “artist” that comes to mind is 50cent and no amount of pestering can make me ever respect or like him.  Of course there were songs like “Since U Been Gone” that were actually good, but c’mon- there are always going to be exceptions with everything.  However, it was right as Hot N Cold by Katy Perry came out that popular music did a 360 and became GOOD!  Although things are very electronic nowadays, acting almost like evolved 80s dance music, it’s still a good trend.  It’s a very fun and interesting time for music as songs like “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas and “Whatcha Say” by Jason Derulo are becoming intensely popular, being embraced by tons of different music listeners all during a time when the industry is completely falling apart.  And it’s interesting being a PART of this industry knowing that most music which are released are hardly creative ventures, they’re business decisions put together to make money.  And for me that’s also what makes listening to today’s music so WEIRD.  I’m not always hearing music, I’m hearing producers and artists sitting in a recording studio control room deciding on “what song to remix” or “what kind of drum sound to have”.  There’s a logical reason for every thing you hear on a single in today’ music and I happen to hear that logic.

Although pop music is hugely controlled by the “suits” these days, it’s interesting to note how it’s now better than it’s been in the past five years and quite frankly, in my opinion, only getting better.  And by taking a look at where pop music is today and why it is where it is, you have to wonder just where the music industry is headed.  Music is evolving, but that industry is dying.

So what happens next?

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Relient K!

October 7, 2009 at 8:59 am (music)
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In honor of Relient K’s new album “Forget and Not Slow Down” hitting stores yesterday, I want to do a nice little write-up of the sugary pop-punk band for all ya’ll to read.  I have no other purpose in writing this merely because I want to. :-)  So I hope that if you like Relient K and are reading this, you’ll maybe leave a comment with some love- or if you’ve never listened to them before, hopefully this’ll make ya want to check them out!  Either way, happy readings.

My adoration for Relient K began Sophomore year.  I was on vacation in California and bored out of my mind.  So while on that trip I tried my best to just discover as much new music as possible from Amazon.com to keep me busy.  Sure enough, one of the bands I found was Relient K.  I’d seen the cover art everywhere as of recently for Mmmhmmm (sp? haha) and was very intrigued.  Upon buying the album at Best Buy for $10 I was in love.  It was like listening to the child of blink-182.  How did I not know of these guys sooner?  ”The One I’m Waiting For” was a perfect opener to the album with it’s clear So-cal influence being an all-too-fitting soundtrack to my despised trip.  Then songs like “High of 75″ and “This Week the Trend” inspired me, putting me on high.

The next album they released, “Five Score and Seven Years Ago” is actually one of the most important CDs of my life when I think about it.  The first real track, “Come Right Out and Say It” was outlining all the thoughts I had towards my girlfriend at the time, Danielle, that I was refusing to address/admit.  And the other songs like, “The Best Thing” and “Must Have Done Something Right” that talked about innocent, awesome love was reminding me of everything I DIDN’T have but pined for so much.  So needless to say at this point, Relient K’s release started to get me thinking and it made me grow a bit of a backbone.  After Danielle and I broke up, Harriet entered my life not long after and together her and I enjoyed Relient K immensely.  Not realizing at first that the sincere love songs were actually painting pictures of the love WE had, plenty of car trips were spent blasting them and singing along.  But then, yes, one day it hit us that while we listened to Relient K, we weren’t just singing along to the songs… we were singing to each other.  ”We should get jerseys because we make a great team.”  How many times do you think I sang that while looking straight at her and stroking her hair while driving?  Especially on the song, “I’m Taking You With Me,” it managed to plop a spot on the exclusive list of songs that make me think of Harriet it’s so fitting.  When she moved away it became something of an anthem for me.  ”If home is where the heart is then my home is where you are.”  Probably one of my most favorite quotes to date.

After the release of Five Score and Seven Years Ago, their Christmas album delighted me to no end.  Their version of “Sleigh Ride” is probably one of the most amazing Christmas songs ever crafted, make no mistake.  I played it endlessly during the Christmas of ‘08.  Sadly, not so much last year.  Sadly, I didn’t listen to much x-mas music at all last year!  What the deuce, man.

So that’s where I’ve been with Relient K… anything else to mention?

Yes.  One of Relient K’s biggest draws and biggest drawBACKS are their lyrics.  You either love ‘em or hate ‘em.  Most people hate them haha.  But I dunno, if you can have a certain levity while you listen, Relient K is just a joy.  The intentional overly poppy lyrics can be so much so long as you don’t take them too seriously.  And I mean, even if you don’t care for their lyrics, the music they make is still wonderful.  The production values are quite wonderful on their latest works.  Matthew Thiessen’s piano tone is so full and glorious.  On their song, “The Best Thing,” his piano intro is godly.  And then on “Must Have Done Something Right,” their instrumental interlude between the first chorus and the second verse is like a perfect homage to 60s sugar pop and sounds like a groove you’d hear in the opening credits to a movie where everything is going right for the protagonist.

In the end, one’s love for Relient K all depends on the lyrics.  If you can enjoy the lyrics, it’s impossible not to enjoy the music.  Relient K never falls short on making great MUSIC.  And that’s why today once I get the courage to leave my apartment, I’m going to walk to Target and pick up their new album because I know it’s going to be one solid buy that will bring good vibes into my life.  And… if all goes well, maybe Matthew’s lyrics will once again be an accompaniment to my life and say all the things hanging around in my head that I can’t seem to say myself.

http://www.myspace.com/relientk

Songs to listen to: High of 75, Come Right Out and Say It, Must Have Done Something Right, At Least We Made It This Far, Sleigh Ride.

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A Story About Crystals

September 29, 2009 at 11:39 pm (music)
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Along with making this album, I really want to document every little piece about it.  Looking back on these blogs is one of my favorite things ever.  I love reconnecting with old thoughts and seeing what my life was like one year, two years, even three years ago.  I plan to put more heart and soul into this record than I ever have and along with it, I want to make sure not a single thing gets forgotten- from great recording days, to recording techniques- to song ideas and personal thoughts during the process.

With that said, here is a little story about the song Crystals, the first song I’m recording.

I wrote Crystals over two years ago.  It was during Senior year when I was making lots of instrumentals.  It started off as a super pretty acoustic song that I was convinced was one of the high points of my creativity.  A mix of heavy-reverbed guitar parts, harmonics, dissonate secondary guitar parts, and a power-chord chorus made for a unique trip I was very proud of.  When I first wrote it I wanted to add vocals so badly, but the first batch I came up with just didn’t sit well.  I thought my voice wasn’t suited to the song.  Trying to give it the treatment it deserved I told Allen to write vocals.  He said he loved the song and would be so happy to, but after loads and loads of time gone by, that never happened and the song ended up being my own.  It wasn’t until I was preparing the tracklist for my album, “Steal the Sky” that I listened to it and realized, “Hey… not only are these vocals not bad… they’re great!”  After not listening to the song with vocals for so long, I had finally realized what I’d written were ingenious and the lyrics were incredibly awesome too.  So I threw it on the album and when I formed Shift In Fade with Tim, it became one of our most practiced/loved songs.  Then when we played it live at UIC last year, I knew more than ever that an electric treatment for it had to happen.  Now finally after two years of having this song in my belt, I’m finally allowing it to see the light of the day the way it was meant to.

The lyrics for Crystals are a bit harsh.  The music is bittersweet, telling its own story of tragedy with an air optimism, and I wanted to capture that also with the words that were to join it.  I wrote it about a failed relationship and how the male (aka, me) was moving on and trying to be a better man.  Sure, I was wronged, but so what?  You live and you learn and you keep on moving.  The first verse really paints a picture of the girl in the relationship being the “bad person” and the guy being kind of sarcastic… hence the line, “And giving you something new to despise, it’s me in the room with a faint glow of gloom, I’m ready for this.”  I wanted to convey the idea that I don’t take being screwed with very lightly.  I’m a rather reserved person- but I’m also incredibly proud when my well-being is attacked.  I wanted that first verse to convey the fiery, sarcastic demeanor that can overtake me when I throw caution to the wind.

The next verse, however, takes a bit of a spin and shows the more sensitive side to a breakup.  The story goes that the guy and the girl attempt to save what they have but it just doesn’t work out and in the end it’s a whirlwind of fights and ultimately a bad separation.  But the one thing that is made clear the whole way through is that it’s the girl’s fault and the guy isn’t going to let this win over him- he’s going to keep his life intact and become a better person from the failure that’s befallen him.

In the end, every word was written from a place that hadn’t been visited by me in a long time.  I wrote it about my breakup with Ellen and how she just left me with no warning.  It was just one day, “I don’t love you anymore,” and my life up and changed so drastically so quickly.. and I had to adapt or I wouldn’t survive.

The chorus includes the word “fuck” because since Idiot Ambush, I hadn’t used a single curse word in any of my songs… and Decision Made, one of my most favorite songs I’ve ever written includes a swear almost every line.  All my songs as RTA were so flowery and poetic.  I wanted to write something that had a little edge… and Crystals was my answer.
“Say goodbye, tonight could be our greatest last fight where you decide to paint the walls with your fucked up lies.”

And that, ladies and gentlemen is the story of Crystals. :-)

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The Honorary Title Acoustic Show

September 27, 2009 at 12:26 am (music)
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Tonight I went to see Look Mexico, Cory Branan, Good Old War, and the Honorary Title at Reggie’s Rock House.  I have been thinking about this blog all night and how I’m going to write it.  I’ve been pouring over my thoughts trying to decide what angle to take on describing this concert because it was so amazing and I just have to write a review of it for the world + give myself complete documentation of such a remarkable night.  Having said that, I don’t know how to do this.  I’m going to have to dive right in and hope I do myself and the concert justice.

As I walked from the Cerkmak-Chinatown redline stop to Reggie’s, I was a bit worried.  It’s not the best part of town- you’re talkin reaaaal south loop of Chicago where I’ve been badly hassled before.  Despite my slight fears I walked the half mile or so to Reggie’s and found myself waiting in a short line to get in.  Upon walking through the doors and being surrounded by like-minded indie rock fans, there was a merch table I checked out.  I was just minding my own business, walking by the rows of t-shirts and cds when a guy from behind the table goes, “Has anyone ever told you you look just like…”  Yes.  You knew this had to happen.  With the space in between his words I filled in his thoughts, “Like Shia Labeouf and or Michael Cera?”  ”That’s it!!”  And thus started my conversation with Keith, the singer/guitarist/bassist/keyboardist, for the Good Old War.  We talked about how he also gets the “You look like the guy from Its always sunny in philadelphia” comment and we shared ideals on how we wish we could just be seen as unique sexy devils.  This was one of my favorite parts of the night: he told me how he’d just gotten married two weeks before the band left on tour and how he can’t wait to get home to his brand new wife.  I was so happy for him and I hope my wide smile proved it.  I asked him all about what it’s like being away from her/how he’s stoked to go home to her.  I saw so much of myself in him after that.  So obviously that was a great, great start to a concert and even though I knew nothing of GOW, I was now totally prepared to give them my full attention during their set.  More on that later.

Promptly at 7:30, Look Mexico took the stage and they fucking rocked it.  They were this great popversion of Explosions in the Sky that just commanded me through their whole set.  When they said it was their “last song” I was admittedly disappointed for once in my life.  The ethereal and highly heart-pounding instrumental they performed was stunning, leaving me nothing but captivated for the whole 4-5 minute duration and then their ending song with the trumpet-intro/extending outro had me craving more.  After the show I caught up with their bassist and rapped with him for a bit.  We talked about bass-gear/amplifiers and when I said I wanted a t-shirt he said, “No, you NEED this, man.”  He was a really nice guy and when I bought some merch later and tipped him, he was so gracious.  ”Keep the change, man.”  ”Dude, no way.  Ic an’t do that.”  ”Please, I’ve been on tour… I know what it’s like… just take it.”  His appreciation thereafter was so sincere and it made me really happy to support them like I did.  Plus, after the show/buying their merch I started chatting with Matt, the guitarist/singer, and we had a nice talk about tour, Vin Diesel, and being generally awesome.  Also a supremely nice guy whom I’m glad I met.  You can bet I’ll try and catch them when they’re back around.

Next on the bill was Cory Branan.  This country-pop-singer was a riot.  He was so fucking energetic and just HAPPY to be on stage.  You knew there was not a single other place in the world he wanted to be.  It just showed on his face and you know what?  It showed on the Audience’s faces as well.  That was probably one of my favorite parts of this concert: everyone wanted to be there.  The performers, the audience- everyone was ready to have a good time and everyone totally had to.  Cory’s not my style of music, but he was a blast to watch and when he left the stage, I was completely satisfied and knew I was only halfway through one of the best concerts I’d ever go to.  The man’s lyrics are just a blast- look up As Tall As Grass and The Prettiest Waitress In Memphis.  Just read the words- they might just make ya smile.

After him was the Good Old War.  Now, I’m starting to lose writing steam, so I’m gonna try my best to give these guys my sincerest honors.  First of all- whoever the guitarist was- he looked so goddamn happy to be there.  Again- you knew there was nothing else that could make him happier.  Seeing that genuine joy strike his face when he sang and played was infectious and it made you want to love their music so hard even if you’d never heard it before.  Then there was Keith who rocked so hardcore and had great stage presence.  He’s seriously like a goofier, more confident Jason Schwarzman.  Looks a lot like him too!  Just with beady eyes.  I loved his stage antics and when he talked about trying to be like James Brown and mentioned all “the sexy ladies in the house” I couldn’t help but just fall in love with this man’s charisma.  Then there was Tim, the drummer.  I gotta say- can’t stand him.  I thought he was annoying.  But I won’t deny his supremely amazing skillset.  The man can drum and sing phenomenally.  One of the most fun parts of GOWs set was when they brought it down into the audience, formed a circle, and played.  For me, it was really whatevs.  But for the people who were there to SEE GOW?  They were on Cloud9 and just seeing such happiness be created made for such a wonderful vibe and I wanted to be there for it.  I was feeling great just being surrounded by people who couldn’t be having a better time watching one of their favorite bands dance and sing and play RIGHt in front of them…
After the show I talked to Tim and was like, “Do you know where Keith is?”  Dude calls Keith up and says, “There’s someone who wants to see you- stop being a jerk and get up here.”  It took Keith a while to get there, so I went and talked to Jarrod real quickly and on my way out I saw him at the merch booth.  ”Keithhhh- excellent work tonight, man.”  I ended up telling him I definitely bought their cd, wished him and Tim good luck on tour, and then wished him alone good luck with the “new arrangement at home.”  Truly nice guys.  Truly glad I met them.

Then last but not the least… The Honorary Title took to the stage.  It was just Jarrod and “Dustin”, some ill-tempered pianist fuck from the East Coast (his skinny physique and slicked back black hair couldn’t scream it more), but what transpired thereafter was magical (as if the night already wasn’t filled with incredible music).
While getting everything set up, I noticed Jarrod was calm and slow-moving.  It was cool watching him.  A string even broke on one of his guitars during a tune-up and he didn’t even react.  If that happened to me (or anyone else I know for that matter) I would have been pissed and been like, “You cannot be SERIOUS?!”  But no.. Jarrod didn’t even make a face and just went to the back of the stage, put a new one on casually, and went back to tuning.  Finally when things were ready he started the set with Frame by Frame and we were all off and running.
The first few songs were solely acoustic: Frame by Frame, Thin Layer, Cut Short, Far More, and Only One Week.  Oh my GOSH.  Only One Week was phenomeeeenalllll acoustic.  It was seriously one of the highlights of the night.  And actually when Cory came on to sing the harmony with Jarrod for Far More- that was so sick.  So happy they did that as the harmony on that tune is one of the best parts…  Then something breathtaking happened.  Halfway through Untouched and Intact, acoustic, Good Old War joins the stage and a full band version and finishes it off.  I fucking freaked when this happened.  The show took on a whole new dynamic and it was seriously one of the most solid, most entertaining performances I’ve ever witnessed.  Jarrod thanked GOW for “giving THT testicles.”  Hearing upbeat, acoustic, full band renditions of Bridge and Tunnel and Untouched and Intact was stellar.  But the real surprise/joy came from hearing brand new songs in this fashion.  They were fuckin gooood, too.  I didn’t want that part of the show to stop.  Then the band left and Revealing Too Much, Stay Away, Petals, and Everything I Onced Had closed the show acoustically.  Stay Away was stunning and it’s the one that keeps replaying in my head.

As I left the show there was only one thing I could do: sing Stay Away and smile.  I was so happy after the concert- and I still am.  Afterwards I went to Seven Treasures and just contemplated everything, thinking about how I was going to write this blog, and just turning over and over in my head, “Tonight was amazing.  Tonight was amazing…”  Random awesomeness that occurred: I found a one dollar bill on the ground walking back to the CTA and my server at Seven Treasures gave me extra food since I had to “wait too long.”  Right now I’m so inspired and it’s part because of what I just saw, part because of Keith’s mini-current-life-story.  When I saw Jarrod up on stage performing his own personal songs, it occurred to me that that should be ME.  I should really be giving my tunes the time of day they deserve.  Hell, he started out as just a guitarist and a drummer- why the fuck can’t I?  I don’t need a huge full band, do I?  And then hearing Keith tell me about how he just got married and is on tour while his wife holds down a super hectic job- that totally can be me too!  Because if there was one theme that just kept playing out in every way tonight, it was that everyone was happy.  Everybody was so happy.  Shit, I got so lost in the Honorary Title’s set.  in fact, I was at Reggie’s for 4 and 1/2 hours and I didn’t even know it until I’d thought about it while waiting for my food.

Right now?  I am so happy.  All I want to do now is go to sleep and let these beautiful memories just settle in and never be forgotten.  And in all honesty?  This is a great write-up.  I did what I wanted.  This night is written in stone (figuratively). :-)

There’s only one regret about tonight- but there’s no reason to focus on the one bad thing when everything else not only went wonderfully- it went perfectly.  I couldn’t have asked for much more from tonight.

The Honorary Title is hugely solidified as one of the top bands in my heart.

Booya!!

EDIT: it’s come to my attention that the full-band aural onslaught that occurred last night was unique to the Chicago show. ohh myy goosh!  I’ve decided I’d rather see that show again than the blink concert.  Yes.  I just said that.  And I totally mean it.

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