2011 in music | Page 3

The Blerd13 with…Mike Doughty!

by Jesse on Aug 30, 2011 • No Comments

Mike Doughty is a busy man. There’s the electronic/samples Dubious Luxury record which was released in early August, a new solo album due this week, and then the highly anticipated book due early next year. Mr. Doughty recently answered some burning questions that Popblerd! had about the book, the albums, label changes and some interesting musical collaborators . Keep reading to see if some of your questions were answered, too! 1. With a new album, book, and tour coming up, it seems like […]

Metal Monday Volume 33 (8.29.11)

by Jesse on Aug 29, 2011 • No Comments

Album Reviews / Metal Monday / music / New Releases / Pop Music / rock music

What defines “being metal”? Is it the heaviness of the music? The members involved? Do you review a Hank Williams III album because he frequently plays in bands with Phil Anselmo? Do I put an R.E.M. album in here because their current drummer used to play in KMFDM and Ministry (Really!)? While Crosses , the self-titled debut EP from Shaun Lopez of Far and Chino Moreno of Deftones, is definitely not a metal record, its’ member reps certainly warrants that it […]

CSS liberate you from boredom on latest.

by Jesse on Aug 28, 2011 • No Comments

Album Reviews / Indie Rock / music / New Releases / Pop Music / Videos

Electro-rock is alive and well in 2011 thanks to bands like Cansei Der Ser Sexy also lovingly known as CSS. Their latest, La Libreacion, is, quite simply, a slab of danceable electro goodness. For those of you who love the video game aesthetic of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, La Liberacion is for you. If you love Ladytron but wish they weren’t so serious all the time, La Liberacion is for you. Album number three starts off the best way any album could with a song […]

CSS liberate you from boredom on latest.

by Jesse on Aug 28, 2011 • No Comments

Album Reviews / Indie Rock / music / New Releases / Pop Music / Videos

Electro-rock is alive and well in 2011 thanks to bands like Cansei Der Ser Sexy also lovingly known as CSS. Their latest, La Libreacion, is, quite simply, a slab of danceable electro goodness. For those of you who love the video game aesthetic of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, La Liberacion is for you. If you love Ladytron but wish they weren’t so serious all the time, La Liberacion is for you. Album number three starts off the best way […]

Killer Sounds from a Killer Band (Hard-Fi come back hard!)

by Jesse on Aug 27, 2011 • No Comments

Album Reviews / Blerd Appreciation / music / New Releases / Videos

The UK’s Hard-Fi are somewhere in the realm of The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite mixed with The Police. They definitely bring the groove with some horn and synth flourishes but overall, Hard-Fi just rock. Their third album, Killer Sounds, is out this week and it is well worth the 4-year wait. Teaming up with producers Stuart Price (Madonna, Seal, The Killers), Greg Kurstin (Lily Allen), Alan Moulder (NIN) as well as production from frontman Richard Archer, Hard-Fi have managed to […]

Mastodon Play the Singles Game!

by Jesse on Aug 16, 2011 • 1 Comment

music / New Releases / rock music

Did Mastodon actually make a single that sounds like a single? I think they did! “Curl of the Burl” is still a big ball of unrelenting riffs and guitar solos wrapped into a neat under 4-minute package but wait ’til those vocals come in. Are they singing throughout? I think they are. And it’s very melodic! Who knew? And is that a huge pre-chorus filled with “Ohhhh’s”? It’s a little scary when you think of it as a Mastodon song […]

Metal Monday Volume 31 (8.15.11)

by Jesse on Aug 15, 2011 • No Comments

Album Reviews / Metal Monday / music / New Releases / Videos

The most satisfying thing about being a music fan is when something comes at you from out of nowhere and just blows you away. ICS Vortex’s Storm Seeker did that to me recently. This album just floored me. Being a casual Dimmu Borgir fan, I was familiar with Vortex already but Storm Seeker is so much more than Dimmu. Storm Seeker is one of those albums that transcends metal. Is it heavy? Sure, but it’s also something else. The thunderous apocalypse that […]

It’s Gettin’ Better, Man! (Anthrax Round 2)

by Jesse on Aug 14, 2011 • No Comments

Metal Monday / music / New Releases / rock music

Ok, this definitely sounds aLOT better than “Fight ‘Em Til You Can’t” but I can’t help feeling that this was all written with someone else in mind. It’s got that crunch of Bush-era ‘Thrax and that breakdown in the middle is totally something that John Bush would’ve dominated on Sound Of White Noise. It probably doesn’t help that I’m not a Belladonna fan to begin with but anyone who’s’ stuck with Anthrax over the last 15 or so years can […]

Where Have You Been, Staind?

by Jesse on Aug 12, 2011 • 1 Comment

Metal Monday / music / Pop Music / rock music

Wow. It’s not often a band declares “Oh yeah, we’re gonna get back to our heavy roots on the new album” and then actually delivers on that statement. Staind really mean it. I haven’t been more than a casual fan of the band since Dysfunction was released back in 1999 (Christ, has this band been around that long?) but the songs I’ve heard off of the forthcoming Staind disc (due September 13th) give me a lot of hope for this […]

Metal Monday Volume 30 (8.8.11): Trivium

by Jesse on Aug 8, 2011 • 1 Comment

Album Reviews / Metal Monday / music / New Releases / Videos

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if Metallica ever decide to retire, Floridian metallers Trivium are the obvious choice to inherit the throne. They have the old-school thrash style down and vocalist Matt Heafy has a growl almost identical to James Hetfield at times.One listen through their latest, In Waves, and it’ll be mighty hard to dispute my claim. Personally, I am not a fan of any album hanging around the stereo for more than 12 tracks. […]

Mastodon returns. ‘Nuff said.

by Jesse on Jul 28, 2011 • 1 Comment

Metal Monday / music / Release Dates / rock music / Videos

Best news of the day was when the latest Mastodon album, The Hunter, was officially scheduled for a release on September 27th and not in October. Sooner the better, I say! Second best news was the release of “Black Tongue”, the band’s first offering from The Hunter. It’s heavy, it’s fast, it’s definitely Mastodon. This one sounds like a natural progression from Crack The Skye but more stripped down and sleek. How about this: take the guitar tones from “Blood […]

Metal Monday Volume 28 (7.25.11)

by Jesse on Jul 25, 2011 • No Comments

Metal Monday / music / Release Dates

I told you it was gonna happen and it did. Less than 24 hours after last week’s 2nd half of 2011 preview post went up, the almighty Will Haven bestowed upon the masses a brand new song in the form of “Mida’s Secret”. This is important for three main reasons: It’s the first taste from Voir Dire (Due October 11), It’s their first new song in almost 4 years, and most importantly, it’s the first new studio music that original singer Grady Avenell has sung on in almost […]