AMD (NYSE:AMD) announced today that it will again chronicle Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival this year as it did in 2004, this time using multi-core AMD Opteron(tm) processor-based digital audio workstations (DAWs) and adding notebook PCs into the mix for smaller stages.
Machine Head – The Blackening / 2007 Roadrunner / 8 Tracks / http://www.machinehead1.com / http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com / Machine Head is a band that has been around for about as long as I have listened to metal. Their first album came out in 1994, and the band was around for a few years before that. So, “The Blackeningâ€, their sixth album, should be a pinnacle with which they can achieve new levels…
With Passion – What We See When We Shut Our Eyes / 2006 Earache / 10 Tracks / http://www.withpassionmetal.com / http://www.earache.com / This California band does not take more than ten seconds to start rocking the faces off of their listeners. The music that they play is a brand of progressive cum speed metal that is shrill, melodic, and orchestral all at the same time. The band can bring the…
TAB formed in December, 2006 after Tony and Adrian decided they wanted to start a rap group featuring the characters Professor Bizniss and Tony Vegas, two fun loving lotharios who loved the ladies, money, and pimpin straight out of the south shore of Massachusetts.
Call It Arson – The Animal Strings Album / 2007 Kill Normal / 6 Tracks / http://www.callitarson.com / Call It Arson is a band that has been together in some form since 1994, and while the band did not start to become a serious venture until a few years ago, the tempestuous type of indie meets rock music that starts out “The Animal Strings Album†shows that the band is…
“Squelching guitars and drawn-out rhythms evoke everyone from Can to Glass Candy” Creative Loafing (Atlanta) – Bands to Watch “We were left gobsmacked by the trancelike, dubadelic vibe, equal parts postpunk and noir rock” Harp Magazine
Snatches of Pink – Love is Dead / 2007 Self / 15 Tracks / http://www.snatchesofpink.com / Snatches of Pink on their “Love is Dead†play a brand of sleaze rock that brings individuals back to the days of Spinal Tap and the New York Dolls. The lead vocals during “Rocks†(and extended to the whole of the disc) have more than a passing resemblance to those provided by Mike Ness…
The Hammer: The Best of Hank Aaron / 2007 Borders / $14.95 / 144M / 1:50 / The subtitle of this book is “From the Pages of Sports Illustratedâ€, and the tile really gives individuals a good idea what focus that the book may have. This was culled together from the material written about Hank Aaron throughout eir career by the individuals at Sports Illustrated. More so, the language used…
Clamor #36 / $5.50 / 100M / http://www.clamormagazine.org / I always feel bad when I review earlier issues of a magazine, especially those that have shut their doors recently. However, this issue is just too good to pass up. There are pieces with the Coney Island Polar Bear Club (which shows a humorous side of Clamor that does not usually come through during issues of this magazine), along with a…
Strange Mike Steel / 2005 Mouse Chew / $3 / 32M / [email protected] / Strange Mike Steel is a comic that feels as if it came out about thirty years ago. Philip is extremely influenced by this earlier style, but is able to tell a story without really going into the more fanciful story-telling styles of the stories of the era. The first page starts out with an interesting note,…
OST: Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof / 2007 Warner Bros / 16 Tracks / http://www.warnerbros.com / http://www.deathproof.net / Everyone knows that this soundtrack is for the movie that was Quentin Tarantino’s part of Grindhouse, “Death Proofâ€. The tracks here feel like they are taken from an earlier period. The first track on this score is Jack Nitzche’s “The Last Raceâ€. This track has the seventies orchestral heaviness present in droves, with…
Slug #223 / Free / 1:00 / 68M / http://www.slugmag.com / For those individuals that have not seen any of the prior reviews of Slug, this is a free zine that is handed out in the Salt Lake City (Utah) region. However, the zine gets a little more in the way of legs when individuals read the feature pieces in the issue. The one thing that seems to have changed…
Trapt is holding the world premiere of their new video “Stay Alive†on Yahoo today. The band wanted to do something a little different and utilize some of the great talent that exists on the web to create their new video. The band searched hard and found Mile Kalbach, an amazing claymation artists who was a fan of the band.
Nerve #1 / Free / 28L / :45 / Nerve House, P.O. Box 12255, Milwaukee, WI 53212 / I was really looking forward to Nerve when I looked at the first page of the zine. In it, it says “There’s no poetry in itâ€. I assumed that there was no poetry in the entire issue, but I guess the author just meant that there is no poetry in the word…
Protest Hill – The City Echoes Our Hearts / 2007 Latest Flame / 11 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/protesthill / http://www.latestflame.com / Protest Hill plays a brand of indie-heavy pop-rock that is similar to the work of a Fray, Ben Folds, or Jack Johnson. “All That You Need†is the first track on “The City Echoes Our Heartsâ€, and it blends Tori Amos ‘s style of piano playing with bassy instrumentation and…
With all the summer music festivals coming around this year, Different Kind of Dude Fest is offering something different but necessary—it bills music along with an anti-sexist education. Through workshops, discussions and large-group art projects, Different Kind of Dude Fest aims to present an alternative to the self-indulgent culture of the average music festival.
Hotel Alexis – Goliath, I’m On Your Side / 2006 Broken Sparrow / 14 Tracks / http://www.hotelalexis.com / http://www.brokensparrow.com / There is little more to say about Hotel Alexis besides the fact that they play a brand of indie rock that has no time referent; tracks like “Soft Soft War†and “San Diego Backslide†paint a quiet yet nuanced picture of the band. “I Will Arrange for You to Fall…
Gallows – Orchestra of Wolves / 2007 Epitaph / 15 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/gallows / http://www.epitaph.com / Gallows play a brand of hardcore metal that goes into the style of acts like Men’s Recovery Project and Agoraphobic Nosebleed at times. However, during tracks like “Kill The Rhythm†and “Come Firendly Bombsâ€, the band create a much more approachable sound than any of those two acts. This means that during a “Come…
Heavy, one of the web’s leading online brands and the leader for 18-34 year old guys, today announced a challenge to Sum 41’s fans: shoot a video of you pulling a prank on one of your friends and send it to http://sum41.heavy.com for a chance to be Sum 41’s roadie at House of Blues in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 19th.
The Electric Soft Parade – No Need To Be Down-Hearted / 2007 Better Looking / 12 Tracks /http://www.electricsoftparade.com / The Electric Soft Parade plays a very soft, looking-back style of rock during their “No Need To Be Down-Heartedâ€. This is moderated by the inclusion of a nineties alternative sensibility and a current electronic fuzz that makes a song like “Life in the Backseat†approachable by all. The band moves from…