I don’t want to seem like I’m biased towards No Idea bands because they release plenty of stuff I don’t care for. I just haven’t been sent any of it to review. No Idea has a good track record in my reviews and this release is no exception. I really like this album. Truthfully, I probably like this because the band is comprised of members of Municipal Waste and New Mexican Disaster Squad. The group manages to blend a thrashy hardcore sound with melodic hooks, with plenty of catchier moments, particularly in the backing vocals department. There’s totally some Black Flag in there, a bit reminiscent of early to mid ‘90s/faster Bouncing Souls. My favorite, by far, is “Loaded Question.” The album is definitely worth checking out; I listen to it at least once a day as of late.
CarCrashLander
Where to Swim
Parks and Records
7/10
If you have been looking for music perfect for a rainy day or that week where depression suddenly strikes, then look no further- I give you CarCrashLander. Where to Swim is the newest addition to the CarCrashLander catalogue, and is unquestionably one of the mellowest albums I’ve heard in a long time. The vocals of lead Cory Grey rarely rise above a whisper, but they provide a perfect ambiance for the album through and through. These hushed vocals team up with Grey’s organ, laying down the undertones for the majority of the album. The rest of the band quietly playing in the foreground and background and only getting loud when necessary presents a perfect formula for Where to Swim.
Songs like opener “Landmines” set the course for the entire album with catchy hooks and memorable melodies that will be stuck in your head for weeks. When CarCrashLander does finally decide to turn up the volume and quicken the pace it is well-timed. The track “Boatful Of Buckeyes” displays this skill, when it’s the guitarists’ turn to show off a bit with a face-melting solo at the end.
However, certain songs in this album feel a little out of place; tracks like “Overgrown” and “Rosie” seem more akin to some fusion between indie, Spanish Polka, and gypsy, but I most certainly am not complaining. These tracks provide a pleasant aside from the usual mellowness of the rest of the album. With flutes and a horn floating in and out, these tracks do a great job in displaying the musicianship and adaptability of CarCrashLander.
For a price tag under $10, Where to Swim is undeniably a purchase worth making.
Lela Lee is an internet success story. Actually, make that success story, period. In the space of sixteen years, the cartoonist, actress (She’s appeared on Scrubs numerous times), and Los Angeles native has gone from relative unknown to one of the most recognized individuals in California’s Asian-American community. Her strip Angry Little Asian Girls has become an internet sensation in itself, and made characters such as the angry Kim, soul-sistah Wanda, and depressive Xyla recognizable figures in their own right.
Not bad for a child of immigrants from Korea. I caught up with Lee, and she reminisced about her life, career, racism, the challenge of being Asian-American, and much worse.
RacketJohn: Where did the idea for Angry Little Girls come from?
Lela Lee: I came up with Angry Little Girls as an umbrella name to house the original character Angry Asian Little Girl and her friends. She was “born” my sophomore year in college at UC Berkeley where I was an angry young college grad mad at the world. I grew up as one of a handful of minorities [in San Dimas], so I was made fun of for being different. My parents were really strict and just trying to assimilate. I couldn’t really talk to them about the mean things kids said at school. One time I did, and they just responded “Be nice.”
They just wanted us to get good grades, and become doctors or lawyers. I was also the youngest, and I could never talk back to my three older sisters or my parents, so I just bottled up a keg of gun powder by the time I got to college. Ch-check it »
I take it as a great compliment when I say that Erin Tobey’s vocal performance on Leave Alive sincerely reminds me of the Smoking Popes. The Smoking Popes are an amazing band. At other times, I hear a distinct Ergs sound (particularly on “Not the Wrong Son”), which is a good thing. Unfortunately, that’s the best thing I can say about the album. It’s not bad! It just isn’t all that stellar. It has a fun vibe to it, but doesn’t move me like a great album should. It’s an average album; I guess that’s not so bad.
What television show do you think about when looking at the album cover?
Auld Lang Syne
Midnight Folly
Viper Bite Records
9/10
Oh how rare it is for an album to come along that is as enthralling and immersive as debut LP from New York country rock quintet Auld Lang Syne, Midnight Folly. Right from the start of track one “Long Ago” you are immediately consumed by the intensity and honest emotion of the music gushing out of your speakers. Lead singer Timothy Dick’s vocals are ominous, beautiful, dark, and have a certain sense of purity in them. One can almost feel the dark memories and pain Dick channels in tracks like “Why We Cry” and “Greasy Horse,” and of course the music provides the perfect background to truly envision exactly what the band is trying to portray. Also, I’ve never heard better harmonica placement in any other album.
Without a doubt, the quintet took the time to carefully craft each and every little nuance in this album. Every cymbal crash, every harmonica lick, every build up and decline all happen for a reason, and it all comes together to create perfect imagery. It’s almost as if Auld Lang Syne is painting a portrait with brush strokes replaced by a guitar chords or vocal harmonies. Nothing seems out of place in this album.
Half way through Midnight Folly is my personal favorite track- “My First Soul.” The song is an eight-minute epic ballad that slowly builds up into a terrific crescendo that keeps you wanting- no, needing- more like it. It’s the most rewarding drug money can buy!
For a mere $12 price tag Midnight Folly is a must have by everyone and anyone looking for something new. And I personally have found a new band to add to my list of favorites.
Angus Khan
Black Leather Soul
Nickel and Dime
5/10
I tell you what, I feel like I’ve been nickel and dimed after listening to this… It’s largely mediocre, yet… grossly listenable. Nice background filler. God. Do you see that album cover? What is this, Raising Arizona? I just don’t know what to say. It’s so cheesy, yet here I am halfway through the album and not feeling the urge to push “next.” I hate myself. I just changed this review from a 3 to a 5 due to the way it weaseled itself into my head.
Okay, now there’s this psych number going on and they’re all like “Silver and Green!” They are trying to hypnotize you into liking the Philadelphia Eagles!!! I still don’t like it. It’s just sneaky. Stay away, lest it overcome you!
The year is 2004. “Until The Day I Die” is filling the airwaves and most music video stations. St. Louis’ STORY OF THE YEAR had finally arrived. After a name change from BIG BLUE MONKEY and a slight lineup shuffle, SOTY had found the formula that would launch them into stardom. Add in mega producer John Feldman and you have “Page Avenue,” a twelve song album of blistering tracks, chunky guitars and catchy melody.
SOTY had a reputation for their flawless, energetic live shows with acrobatics and flying bodies. Having witnessed this first hand, it’s easy to see how and why they were able to catch the public’s eye and instantly become a mainstay in the hard rock scene.
After the release of In The Wake Of Determination in 2005, SOTY parted ways with Maverick records in hopes of finding a new home that will allow them to grow as band and individuals. Two studio albums, and a live album later, SOTY has survived the major label machine, and even found a new home on EPITAPH Records. The 2008 release of The Black Swan had led the band back to a more raw and aggressive approach to their songwriting. Though it was aggressive, they were able to keep their hooks and melody that made them so popular to begin with. Once again, they felt as if they were ready to once again conquer the charts… Ch-check it »
Moon
Sony Picture Classics
9/10
Out on DVD and Blu-Ray now
Moon is a well constructed and beautifully shot sci-fi film written and directed by Duncan Jones, who is also known as the son of David Bowie. The movie stars Sam Rockwell, who gives a surprising performance as a lonely moon-miner, and his only companion, a computer that communicates via emoticon smoothly voiced by an unseen Kevin Spacey. The film is paired with a stunning and well-matched soundtrack from composer Clint Mansell, best known for his work doing the music for Darren Aronofsky’s Pi, Requiem for a Dream, and The Wrestler. Moon’s haunting, moody feel is matched with the futurist angular orange striped esthetic of the 70’s evocative of other sci-fi greats, but somehow it manages to also have a strangely make-shift-cozy and familiar feel- making it both alienating and oddly personal.
Sam’s relationships with the few other characters in the film are deeply revealing, rich, and nuanced. GERTY, the station robot with a serious HAL vibe, seems an unlikely source of compassion and support but ends up taking the role of both caring wife and nurturing mother, making the choice to give it a male voice an interesting one. Ch-check it »
Oh, good. Offensiveness, stupid stunts, DiCo, and the usual bits that you would attribute to the Jackass star are found in abundance in his book, Serious As Dog Dirt. Yet, I’m not laughing. Why? Simple: Jackass is the easiest form of entertainment: watching people hurt themselves by being dumbasses. Add the slightest amount of work into the equation and you’re fucked. A book by Bam is exactly what you would think it is: a tattoo session with Ville from H.I.M. (Which I am pretty sure is the session that Ville stood me up on an interview for), bragging about humping his wife (dur) and a mural of Tom Selleck sucking a dick. B for effort, don’t get me started on your terrible spelling and disregard for grammar.
Don’t get me wrong, I ain’t gonna stop watching Jackass. EVER. But it should come as no surprise that Bam’s “book” has nothing of real value to offer the world of literature.
Old Canes
Feral Harmonic
Saddle Creek Recordings
7/10
The first thing when one things of Kansas is…well, Kansas. But there’s more to the Sunflower State than prog rock and wheat fields. Witness the brainchild of Christopher Crisci, of the Appleseed Cast, the Old Canes. Though they’ve been playing on and off for years, the acoustic folk band has been making inroads since 2004’s Early Morning Hymns. Since then, several Old Cane singles have shown up on YouTube and Pandora, making them just the latest band to rise in prominence on the World Wide Web. With their follow up, Feral Harmonic, Crisci and the band explore the organized chaos of acoustic folk-rock music with flair. Ch-check it »
OK GO
Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky
Capitol Records
9/10
I bet the Killers are pissed that OK GO can do glam better than them, and can do it without dressing like some kind of hockey playing bird. Starting off with a synth-bass line that would make Bowie pop a boner and Prince to wet himself, OK GO keep up the momentum with an album that, honestly, is pretty fucking sexy. I mean, when a song’s called “I Want You So Bad I Can’t Breathe”, you’re gonna wanna get down to it. Someone’s been listening to an assload of Purple Rain.
Rad drums, sweet piano bits, and stellar vocals lead to many a close-your-eyes-and-sway-along moments. This happened on “This Too Shall Pass” and “Before the Earth Was Round” (which also get’s it’s vocoder on.) While one-man dance parties occurred during “White Knuckles” and “End Love”. Fuck, they even have a ballad – “Last Leaf” to get the ladies all worked up. Goddammit, this album rules.
Hotpress for Leopold
Self Titled
Grove Addicts
8/10
Think classical and rock don’t mix? How about classical, rock, orchestras, and xylophones? Got your attention? Good. Because Hotpress for Leopold has all that…and more. Formed by a composer named Omar after a happy accident left him with a huge budget and lots of time on his hands, the band is essentially a misfit orchestra of brass, string, and that ever present xylophone lurking in the background. The result is debut album that isn’t so serious so much as it doesn’t take itself seriously. And that is ok.
From the upbeat, Disney-fied “Can’t Stop the Bomb” to the wry but funny love ballad “Torturer (Rock Mix),” this is a record that takes silly to a whole new level. With a backup cast of studio musicians that bring to mind the best of classic rock, and original, spirited lyrics by Omar himself, this is like the grade school musical your fifth grade teacher would’ve produced, if your fifth grade teacher had talent. Witness “Fish Market” and “I I I I Me Me Me Me,” two experimental tunes that seem oddly out of place for a cheery album, but seem to work on an emotional and musical level.
Some would say that camp of the sort featured on Hotpress for Leopold have no place in music. But drama has always been intertwined with the musical tradition dating back to Tin Pan Alley, and you know what? It seems to work. Besides, where else can you find a single about cocaine alongside dewy sweet exclamations of love? It’s not for everyone, but then again, what is? Well, maybe Top 40.
At $8.99, Hotpress for Leopold is perfect for the subversive musician/composer in all of us.
Memphis punk Jay Reatard has passed away at the age of 29. Born Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., Reatard made a name for himself as founding member of The Reatards and The Lost Sounds.
Goner Records’ message board has the following message:
“It is with great sadness that
we report the passing of our good friend Jay Reatard.
Jay died in his sleep last night.”
Reatard has released an impressive array of albums and EPs and Had gone on to co-found his own label, Shattered Records. Reatard had just released Watch Me Fall on Matador Records last August.
Our thoughts and condolences go out to all of Reatard’s friends and family.
It’s winter. It’s cold. We get it. However, it doesn’t give anyone the excuse to confuse fab with frumpy. Some trends just need to be buried like an Egyptian. Do yourself a favor and ring in the New Year with a new sense of style and humor…because we at Racket dress to the nines all the time.
1. Costello Glasses – To the wearers of these spectacles, if your name isn’t Buddy Holly or Elvis Costello, beware. You might look like you’re pretending to be smart to no avail. Chances are: a) those aren’t prescription lenses or b) you wear them without lenses. Like I said, to no avail.
Ahhh, the obligatory “Best Of” lists. If anything, they get my blood pumping as I think of the injustice of none of my top ten even making the top 40 for Spin. Then again, I haven’t seen any of these bands listed as “indie darlings” and to my knowledge, none of the band members have appeared in anything resembling Juno or any given Wes Anderson flick.
These are the ten albums that have come out this year that I can’t stop listening to. I continually come back to these, whether it’s in the car, on the computer, or while I’m waiting on some chick with fifty million coupons writing a check at the grocery store. And, in no particular order, are the ten best albums I’ve heard this year: Ch-check it »
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Sony Pictures
10 of 10
On DVD and Blu-Ray Jan. 5th
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, based off of the classic children’s book by Judi Barret, is a deliciously delightful film about an overzealous young inventor who cooks up a plan to make it rain a hail of cheeseburgers and ice-cream to save the townsfolk from a fate of sardines. Meatballs is bright and imaginative and has an awesome early 80’s feel that pops with color; even the end credits are gorgeous. It also is just a little disturbing, which is much in the spirit of the book.
This was one of the most enjoyable films I have seen recently and found myself laughing the whole time, during some parts even louder than the children in the theater with me. The movie has a great cast featuring Bill Hader, James Cann, Bruce Campbell, and yes, even Mr. T. They all do an excellent job and give life to the vibrant, wonderful, and likeable characters which really are the highlight of the film. The humor pays off wonderfully and is full of detail and charm. The movie has great pacing and comic timing, The jokes could have easily been obnoxious but ended up being delivered perfectly.
I appreciated little touches, like how the scientific process of invention is illustrated through step-by-step dynamically narrated power-montages and even background driving is comically pantomimed in absurd gestures that have a brilliant child-like charm to them that make you laugh out loud. Talking monkeys, secret lairs, deadly sirloins, rat-birds, and orange Jello palaces- is there anything cool this movie doesn’t have? The film completely captures the spirit of awesome.
While the chance to catch it in 3D may have passed, don’t miss out on this treat of a film. It is available on DVD and Blu-ray now. Special features include a “splat” button that lets you throw food at the screen, how can you say no to that?
No Friends
CarCrashLander
Pink Razors
Auld Lang Syne
Angus Khan
SOTY had a reputation for their flawless, energetic live shows with acrobatics and flying bodies. Having witnessed this first hand, it’s easy to see how and why they were able to catch the public’s eye and instantly become a mainstay in the hard rock scene.
Moon
Serious As Dog Dirt
Old Canes
OK GO
Hotpress for Leopold
Memphis punk Jay Reatard has passed away at the age of 29. Born Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., Reatard made a name for himself as founding member of The Reatards and The Lost Sounds.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
