“Daddy buys me anything/Presidency/Oil Company”…sound familiar? Politics aside, “Surrounded By White Men” is a scorcher of a song (and video!) by Antlered Man. These British upstarts are lighting a fire under conventional music. Giftes 1&2 (Due on March 5th) is a breath of fresh air in today’s musical climate of retreads. Similar to “Platoono Of Uno”, “…White Men” starts quietly and builds to an epic climax. Vocalist Damo Ezekiel-Holmes begins in a whisper while Danny Fury lays out a spectacular [...]
The Viewfinder: Jason Mraz’s “I Won’t Give Up”
Dude, what happened to Jason Mraz? The slightly pimply, baby-faced kid who sang “The Remedy (I Won’t Worry)” has apparently decided to go through a hippie face. Long, stringy hair, a beard, he’s almost unrecognizable! Since the success of “I’m Yours” a couple years back, Jason seems to be transitioning from being John Mayer’s little brother to Jack Johnson’s little brother. He’s toned the smart-assery down a bit (as well as the vocal pyrotechnics/drama student schtick) and become more “earnest.” [...]
The Viewfinder: Antlered Man’s “Platoono Of Uno”
If you never want to look at breasts in the same way again (And some other lady parts), then skip all this needless text and go right to the video for Antlered Man’s “Platoono of Uno”. Some of you are still with me? Good. Here you have a taste of what is to come on the upcoming Giftes 1 & 2 full-length due on March 5th. The album is a crazy mixture of QOTSA, The Melvins, and Public Image Ltd. [...]
The Viewfinder: Erasure’s “Fill Us With Fire”
Vince Clarke and Andy Bell have been making beautiful music together for over a quarter-century. Those of you who only know the handful of Erasure songs that hit the pop top 40 have missed out on some of the best electronic music to emerge during this time period. Clarke is a master on the synthesizers, and Andy Bell is a fantastic vocalist (his two solo albums are also pretty decent. If you see either of them somewhere, snap ‘em up.) [...]
The Viewfinder: The Black Keys’ “Gold On The Ceiling”
Who’s the hottest rock band right now? I’d have to say The Black Keys take the cake. With a hit album, endorsement money, critical acclaim, a sold out tour and Grammy nominations, Dan and Patrick are sitting pretty and are also a true artist development story. El Camino, which is about halfway to becoming their best-selling album after less than three months of release, is their 7th full-length. Following the goofy video for first single “Lonely Boy”, the “Gold On [...]
The Viewfinder: De La Soul’s Plug 1 & Plug 2 Present First Serve: “Must B The Music”
A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that Plug One and Plug Two of De La Soul (AKA Pos & Dave) are unveiling a new project called First Serve . The concept is a little weird, but I’m so excited to hear new music from these guys that I’m willing to forgive the weird framework the music is given in. With the First Serve album release coming up (4/2, for those who are unaware,) the fellas have decided to add a video component to their concept. [...]
Friday Throwback: Father MC’s “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright”
I really don’t know what happened to Father MC. Father MC’s Father’s Day was one of the first rap CDs I ever bought with my own money. I was a huge fan of his song I’ll Do 4 U and even dug Treat Them Like They Want To Be Treated. With those song titles, dude was definitely trying to reach out to the females who were seemingly being dissed in other rap songs. But what might’ve been his best song [...]
The Viewfinder: Jay-Z and Kanye’s “Ni**as in Paris”
While I may not have been the biggest fan of Watch the Throne overall, I have to admit that “Ni**as in Paris” was one of my favorite tracks of the year. A killer synthesizer beat, Will Farrell samples, and of course the glorious interplay of Hova and Ye combined to make one of the most fun songs on the year. While the single’s been on the radio since September, Jay-Z and Kanye are just now dropping the song’s video, debuting [...]
A-Sides With Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings
Psyched to be a part of the Blerd Team… Blerdy Blerd Blerd. Anyway… Aretha Franklin is the Queen of Soul, and always will be. Ditto for Michael Jackson and his King of Pop distinction. Sharon Jones made that abundantly clear in a recent “A-Sides” interview. Having said that, there’s still room for another queen in the worldwide music castle. Jones is the self-professed “Queen of Funk.” The lead singer of the appropriately named Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings is as [...]
Pass The Popcorn: “The Amazing Spider-Man” Trailer
Although my favorite super hero of all time will always be The Hulk, Spider-Man has always been where my heart is. He’s not rich playboy or a scientist or a God. The lure of Peter Parker is that he’s just an ordinary kid who had something extraordinary happen to him. Don’t we all wish that was our origin story sometimes? Anywho, billed as “The Untold Story”, The Amazing Spider-Man (Out July 3rd) looks to have some new twists and turns [...]
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