Picks Of The Week -- 9/10-9/16

Excuse my rant from earlier, but it had to come out somehow. It was brooding. Anyway, I've stumbled upon three bands that have caught my eye recently...one in experimental rock, two leaning more towards indie, with those bands being Interpol, Liars and The Veils.



1. "Pioneer to the Falls" - 5:41
2. "No I in Threesome" - 3:50
3. "The Scale" - 3:23
4. "The Heinrich Maneuver" - 3:28
5. "Mammoth" - 4:12
6. "Pace Is the Trick" - 4:36
7. "All Fired Up" - 3:35
8. "Rest My Chemistry" - 5:00
9. "Who Do You Think" - 3:12
10. "Wrecking Ball" - 4:30
11. "The Lighthouse" - 5:25



http://tinyurl.com/3xpru9

Interpol's been around for a while, New York legends in a way. They all met at NYU and started some years back. Their new album has garnerded the attention of critics as "inventive" and "still have the same touch as their debut LP". They've gained quite a fanbase and are now headlining at Madison Square Garden with Liars being their support act.


1. "Plaster Casts of Everything" - 3:56
2. "Houseclouds" - 3:21
3. "Leather Prowler" - 4:25
4. "Sailing to Byzantium" - 4:02
5. "What Would They Know" - 3:11
6. "Cycle Time" - 2:16
7. "Freak Out" - 2:30
8. "Pure Unevil" - 3:52
9. "Clear Island" - 2:38
10. "The Dumb in the Rain" - 4:21
11. "Protection" - 4:30



http://tinyurl.com/37jtnp


Liars is an experimental rock group that began in New York City as a dance-punk band, but after line-up changes and a move to Berlin, they had started to lean towards experimental rock. Their new record, the self-titled Liars, is quite a wonder and very catchy as well.


1. "Not Yet" - 4:54
2. "Calliope!" - 3:35
3. "Advice for Young Mothers to Be" - 3:25
4. "Jesus for the Jugular" - 4:46
5. "Pan" - 4:58
6. "A Birthday Present" - 3:43
7. "Under the Folding Branches" - 3:23
8. "Nux Vomica" - 5:30
9. "One Night on Earth" - 4:06
10. "House Where We All Live" - 5:08




http://tinyurl.com/2scbqf

The Veils are quite good, quite fucking good. "Calliope!", the first single off of Nux Vomica, is very catchy and so fresh to hear. Finn Andrews, frontman of the band, sounds like a cry from Nick Cave with today's turbulent melancholy piano riffs and simplistic basslines, followed by enchanting drums and some shagadelic guitars. Nux Vomica is quite honestly one the better records of the year.



Enjoy them, guys.

Music sounds better with you, peeps. Take care.

-- Mitch

Gimme, gimme, gimme more...motherfucking bullshit from MTV.

Another VMAs, another massive debacle. Just a monstrosity from top to bottom, with no hope or payoff. It was just a complete crock of shit. This was really the downfall of all awards show...and you thought the Teen Choice Awards were bad. The show started with the massively hyped-up "comeback" of Britney Spears, and surprisingly she didn't actually disappoint; she instead BOMBED. Starting with her patented "I'm lip-syncing but you'll never know because the music's too loud" technique, she began the night saying: "It's Britney, bitch." First of all, don't call us all bitches. Second, you suck worse than a $2 whore. The performance was hilariously atrocious and undoubtedly effortless. Celebrity audience members that were stunned, repulsed and laughing included: 50 Cent, Nelly, Diddy, Chris Brown and Rihanna (laughing in front of her). It was shit-tastic. Bravo, Britney...way to come crashing down to fucking earth. You definitely deserve it, and you especially deserve Sarah Silverman's rip on you and those kids: "Those kids are the cutest mistakes you will ever see!!!" Damn right.

Anyway, Rihanna and Justin Timberlake cleared house with two awards each. Justin Timberlake challenged MTV to play more videos, which was a welcome suggestion...except no one at MTV gives a shit. There were some awkward moments because of the new "band suites" at the Vegas VMAs, because almost all the bands didn't finish a song. It was just cut-ins and cut-outs...and speaking of that...MTV used almost all of Justice's "†" album as intros and outros to presenters. Justice are nominated for one award, and the correspondents asked the guests about Justice...and guess what? No one knew who the fuck Justice was. Surprising? No. Predictable? Fuck yes.

And as usual, Kanye pulled another bullshit comment out of his ass, stating he should've opened the awards and "if I don't win, I ain't coming back to MTV, ever."

...He didn't win, and this was the result:


You're a whiny little bitch, stop fucking being a dumb little motherfucker. You're a sore loser and now you think YOUR RACE has something to do with it? Rihanna won two awards. Beyonce won another. Chris Brown won another as well. Well, Kanye...what I'm asking is, who the fuck do you think YOU ARE? Why would you automatically pull out the race card? Why are you so whiny when you don't win? Music isn't about being the winner, it's about being proud of what you've done. Stop making everything about you. You need to seriously SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LEAVE THE MUSIC BUSINESS FOR A FEW MONTHS. JUST FUCK OFF, YOU WHINY LITTLE FUCKER.

Anyway, Justice lost...no surprise.

This was my VMAs rant entry. I hope you enjoyed it. I'm never watching the VMAs again.

Peace.

-- Mitch

Stick to the B.E.A.T, get ready to ignite.

Seeing as how I'm unable to sleep, I might as well post the next day's entry a bit early. The big news today is that Britney is "REHEARSING" her VMAs performance. WOW. Amazing reporting, huh? That and Vanessa Hudgens nude photos were leaked onto the 'net. I'm thinking of a number...around 10-15 million males aged 15-40 all going on the internet simultaneously and checking out the photos. Good job, perverts.

Where's the music news, man?

Well, Enter Shikari, a trance/metal/core/electro band hailing from the U.K., is headlining Bowery Ballroom on the 11th of September. On the 13th, Jamie T will grace the stage of that same venue...and The Noisettes will on the 15th. Quite a nice schedule of artists booked. Good job, Bowery. What everyone really is banking on is the upcoming new venue from The Bowery Presents, Terminal 5. It supposedly is Club Exit turned into a savvy music venue, housing about 3000+ at maximum capacity. They've already sold out two shows before opening the venue, and those two artists are on my playlist; M.I.A. and Justice.

However, both acts have added an extra night due to popularity...or greed.

M.I.A. - October 18th/$25 All Ages Doors 7PM
Justice - October 22nd/$25 All Ages Doors 7PM

Hooray for greedy musicians :)

One thing that really is testing my patience: MTV's partnership with Rhapsody and advertising the VMA Nominees. The song in the commercial is Justice's "Waters Of Nazareth". Are you fucking kidding me? No one knows that song but me, it's absolutely amazing and sad at the same time. Only the real music buffs know what's really playing. It's a shame the only time half-decent music comes on one of the MTV affiliates (MTV2) is Subtarreanean...at 1AM. Fucking idiots.

Anyway, I got some goodies for you.

Blur - Music Is My Radar
http://www.sendspace.com/file/wl2iu5

M.I.A. - Boyz
http://www.sendspace.com/file/fovqto

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Rockers To Swallow
http://www.sendspace.com/file/m6bzu7

...and the big kahuna tonight has to be Blood Red Shoes.
This EP, is quite straightforward and absolutely fucking brilliant.

Blood Red Shoes - I'll Be Your Eyes EP
http://rapidshare.com/files/52982410/Blood_Red_Shoes-Ill_Be_Your_Eyes-_EP_-2007-uF.rar.html

Tracklist:
1. It's Getting Boring By The Sea
2. You Bring Me Down
3. Box Of Secrets
4. Try Harder
5. Can't Find The Door *Personal bonus from me*
6. It's Getting Boring By The Sea (Blamma Blamma Remix)

Have a great weekend, there will be MUCH MORE TO COME. *insert evil laugh here*

Music sounds better with y'all. Take care, guys.

-- Mitch

Television...rules the nation.

Considering I'm pretty new to this, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Mitch, and I'm a creative person full of vigour, spunk and energy. I'm a musician, songwriter and genuine run-of-the mill asshole. I'm extremely one-sided with my musical opinions and sometimes my opinions push people away, but it comes with the territory of getting to know me. Most of the music I like isn't part of today's pop culture, meaning about 98% of it isn't being played on MTV/fuse. The rest is just a wild-ass coincidence. Also, most people will never understand how important music is to me, mainly because it is my air, my food, my water. One of the reasons I live is for music, because without music, we as a collective species wouldn't have been able to realize the beauty in other things. Music is art, beauty and it is part of life, for me a BIG PART of it. Anyway, let's get down to business. Blog entry numero uno :P


The MTV Video Music Awards are coming up, and you know what that means: Every kid ranging from age 12-17 is going to watch that and eat all that pre-fabricated horseshit up. Suffice to say, it's been getting worse year after year after year. This year's big shocker is that Britney Spears is planning her comeback by opening for the award show! *GASP* OMG LIEK BRITNEY IZ COMIN BAK!!!!

...Seriously, kids. Britney's been gone. There's no more Britney, it's just tabloid fodder. She's a shell of the pop princess from the late '90s. She is not THAT BRITNEY, nor she will ever be. She's going to bomb again in her career, just like every other star who's tailspinning into their own Hollywood demise. But, MTV decided this would just sweeten the pot on their most cathartic of televised events. Not only is this LIVE, but in Vegas...do you really think people are going to come being fully coherent of everything? I'm betting at least 3-4 presenters are going to be shitfaced and come onstage trying to flirt with their co-presenter. Fun television, folks. There's only a handful of artists I can actually root for, considering NONE OF THEM WILL WIN. Those unfortunate, talented artists: Peter Bjorn and John, Gnarls Barkley, Lily Allen, and Justice....are doomed to lose. Then, MTV has to make it seem like a soap opera more and more with each awards show, with the "MOST EARTH-SHATTERING COLLABORATION" category, or my personal favorite, "QUADRUPLE THREAT OF THE YEAR". Wow, seriously...where the fuck do you motherfuckers get off doing that? I mean, what motivates to think that people NEED TO BE A QUADRUPLE THREAT? What makes you think that collaborations need to be earth-shattering? I know ratings matter, but you get more and more viewers every year, and this year will be no different, thanks to ex-Mrs. Federline.

The only sub-plot MTV has going for them is if Kanye West fucks up again with Justice winning VIDEO OF THE YEAR (which will never fucking happen...if it does I will definitely shit myself out of sheer amazement, considering they are one of my current musical fixations). If none of you know what I'm talking about, Kanye had a little mishap at the MTV Europe Music Awards, coming on-stage...well...not fully aware of the situation. :D





Nice job, Kanye.

All I'm saying is, not even current pop superstars are giving the underdogs and underground indie artists their due. They, too were once a part of that. It's a shame to see people just put them down. I just wish, people would stop dismissing the music that isn't well-known. There's so much to offer in every genre, that doesn't mean you should be dismissive and egoistic and say: "YO, FUCK THAT SHIT, MAN. IT AIN'T KANYE/50 CENT/MIMS/YUNG JOC/whichever rap artist has a hit for no fucking reason" There is better, more creative stuff out there, and if people are going to stay in the box, then let them. In the end, they'll see how much they missed out on. But, to the real music lovers, keep exploring, because there's only more to love. Guys, music sounds better with you. Keep it gangsta.

-- Mitch