Ex Reverie – The Door Into Summer / 2008 Language of Stone / 9 Tracks / http://www.exreverie.com / Gillian Chadwick is one of the key forces behind Ex Reverie. Chadwick was originally in Woodwose, and makes strides here to craft a fully unique sound. This means that tracks like “Clouds or Smoke†have a dissonant sound present, even as the different elements of the band create a harmony that weaves…
Mia Doi Todd – Gia / 2008 City Zen / 10 Tracks / http://www.miadoitodd.com / Mia Doi Todd has just passed eir first decade in the music industry. This is because eir first album, “the ewe and the eyeâ€, was first released in 1997. Todd has been prolific in the years that have followed. 1999 saw “come out of your mineâ€, 2001 saw “zerooneâ€, 2002 saw “The Golden Stateâ€; individuals…
Opals are a very interesting material. I know that I do not wear too much in the way of jewelry, but Koroit Opal is such an interesting material that I just may go and get a ring or a necklace made of that. Koroit Opal is a very dark mineral, but the number of variations in each rock make each piece of jewelry unique, stunning, and out of this world.…
With an uncanny ability to always land on their feet, notorious Vegas rock group Escape the Fate have begun writing and recording with a spectacular new singer and a superstar producer. With John Feldmann (the Used, Story of the Year) lending his talents as both producer and songwriter, and with the addition of singer Craig Mabbit, formerly of Bless the Fall, Escape the Fate are on track to make an…
OMGWTF #1 / Free / Half-Sized / 28 Pages / http://ska.ca/omgwtf / justin@sxe.ca / killer@sxe.ca / This was one of the most novel approaches to doing a zine that I’ve ever heard: Killer and Justin both have a pile of material, and do their own version of the zine. So, Canadians get Justin’s copy and Americans get Killer’s copy. Pretty much all of the material in the first issue is…
All Music Guide – “If you distilled Dark Side of the Moon, Pet Sounds, and Revolver into a glass and poured it over the California surf, it would probably sound like this… Classic sounds make for a classic album, which is precisely what Ghost Notes is.”
George Strait – Troubadour / 2008 MCA Nashville / 12 Tracks / http://www.georgestrait.com / George Strait has been around a hell of a long time. Ey has 38 hit albums, starting off with 1981’s “Strait Countryâ€, moving to 1990’s “Livin’ It Upâ€, 2000’s self-titled release, and 2008’s “Troubadourâ€. “I Saw God Today†is one of many hits on this album, which contains duets with both Dean Dillon (known for “I’m…
Drew Hastings – Irked & Miffed / 2008 Image Entertainment / 14 Tracks / http://www.image-entertainment.com / Drew Hastings has been on a number of major-level comedy outlets. This means that ey has been present on both Comedy Central and the Bob and Tom Show, even if “the man†thinks ey is not popular enough for a Wikipedia site. The skits that are present from “Irked & Miffed†are those that…
It’s been nine years since First Imaginary Symphony for Nomad, the first album from The Music Tapes, was released on Merge. The Music Tapes is the recording and performance collective formed by Julian Koster. Julian is perhaps best known as the purveyor of the haunting sounds of the singing saws in Neutral Milk Hotel.
Weezer – Pork and Beans / 2008 Geffen / 1 Track / http://www.weezer.com / Weezer have came back from the precipice of mediocrity with “Pork and Beansâ€. This track really calls forth some of Weezer’s earliest (and best) tracks; hints of “My Name is Jonas†and “Suzanne†are present in this song. The slinky guitar line that is prominent during the track works well with Rivers Cuomo’s vocals, while there…
Busta Rhymes (Feat. Linkin Park) – We Made It / 2008 Aftermath / 3 Tracks / http://www.bustarhymes.com / http://www.aftermath-entertainment.com / Linkin Park has worked with rappers before. Individuals would do to look back to the mash-up album that they had with “Numb/Encoreâ€. Busta Rhymes is gradually gaining back some of the momentum that ey had a few years back, especially when one hears eir hot flow on Missy Eliot’s Chin…
Mindi Abair – Stars / 2008 Peak / 11 Tracks / http://www.mindiabair.com / http://www.peakrecords.com / This is Abair’s fourth full length album. Ey made eir big splash with 2003’s “It Just Happens That Wayâ€, and is currently the host of “Chillâ€, which previously was hosted by Chris Botti. The smooth jazz of Abair first hits listeners during the disc’s inaugural track, “Smileâ€. This hopeful, happy song needs nothing in the…
Neil Diamond – Home Before Dark / 2008 Sony / 12 Tracks / http://www.neildiamond.com / It’s amazing when the amount of albums that you have sold, if limited to the United States, would provide a copy of a Neil Diamond album to one in every three citizens. This fact is almost as amazing as the fact that Diamond has been recording for nearly fifty years; 1960 saw the release of…
Van Morrison – Under Review 1964-1974 / 2008 MVD / 112 Minutes / http://www.mvdb2b.com / Van Morrison is a name that individuals will know even if their tastes of music in no way are comparable to the works that Van Morrison has created over the last forty-plus years. “Under Review†has went and covered Van Morrison’s earliest years, giving individuals a documentary that covers the period where Astral Weeks, Moondance,…
How To Cook Your Life / 2008 Lionsgate / 93 Minutes / http://www.lionsgate.com / Doris Dorrie is a name that is not too commonly known in the United States. Much of what Dorrie has done in the last twenty-years has been for the German market. Eir movies were titled Geld, Paradies, and Keiner Liebt Mich. “Enlightenment Guaranteedâ€, eir 2002 film, was the first time that Dorrie broke in a major…
Allan Holdsworth and Alan Pasqua Featuring Chad Wackerman and Jimmy Haslip / 2008 MVD / 85 Minutes / http://www.mvdb2b.com / This DVD features a number of individuals that have been around the rock scene for an incredibly long time. Allan Holdsworth started releasing music in 1969, presenting eirself on an Igginbottom recording; eir solo career began in 1976, with “Velvet Darknessâ€. Alan Pasqua has spent time in both Eddie Money’s…
National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets (2-Disc Collector’s Edition) / 2008 Disney / 125 Minutes / http://www.disneydvd.com / National Treasure 2 is obviously the sequel to the 2004 film that starred Nicolas Cage. While I thought it was a flop in terms of ticket sales, I guess I was wrong: it has racked up nearly 500 million in ticket revenues since it was originally released. The story itself revolves around…
Not long since wreaking havoc on Austin, Texas during SXSW, the illustrious Ed Harcourt will return to the States from his native England to perform on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” Friday, June 6. Timed perfectly with the release of his fourth full-length album, THE BEAUTIFUL LIE, due June 3 on Dovecote Records, Harcourt will celebrate the arrival of this much-awaited LP with a national television debut.
There’s a new place where individuals can go forth and work promoting services and things for a number of advertisers. This web site is Socialspark (www.socialspark.com). The site gives individuals tools to place on their web site to monitor the number of hits that the web site garners, to ensure that advertisers and bloggers alike are matched together. As a web site gets more popular, the more chances that that…
Equal Vision Records and DAMIERA announce a June 24, 2008 release date for their sophomore record, QUIET MOUTH, LOUD HANDS. The four-piece self-recorded & produced the eleven-track set over a four month period which began November 1, 2007 at a studio they built in Niagara Falls, NY.