Updated: Friday, July 4, 2008 at 8:35am
God only knows what was going through Black Thought’s mind during Spring Fling. On stage, the Roots’ MC seemed happy to rock the crowd with hits from the ’90s, covers of “SexyBack” and “Push It” and the antics of some guy with a sousaphone named Tuba Gooding Junior. But on the same day that Black entertained a bunch of drunken, mostly white kids, he and his...
Flight of the Conchords’ first full-length album — titled, conveniently, “Flight of the Conchords” — contains nothing we haven’t already seen on their eponymous TV show. In fact, three of the songs also appeared in altered forms on the comic folk duo’s 2007 EP “The Distant Future.” But as it turns out, familiarity does not detract at all from the...
There’s something about the word “sophomore” that is distinctly unpleasant: from somewhere deep within, it oozes dread and foreboding. Mediocrity and yet another fifteen pounds become looming possibilities with the mention of the “sophomore slump.” But besides referring to the second of a four year-long ordeal called school, “sophomore” can also mark the...
Following the success of groundbreaking bands like Nirvana, the early mid-nineties saw an alternative rock scene emerge with Stone Temple Pilots, Jane’s Addiction and so on. This era also featured many memorable one-hit wonders: “Song 2” by Blur (the “Woo” song), “Sex and Candy” by Marcy Playground. One such wonder — Blind Melon — made its mark with a...
“When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold” does not sound like any other hip-hop record. But then again, Atmosphere — the duo composed of rapper Slug and producer Ant — does not sound like any other hip-hop act. Still, “When Life Gives You Lemons” is atypical even of their work. Each subsequent album by the Minneapolis, Minnesota duo has taken...
“What a life I lead in the summer / what a life I lead I lead in the spring” — a devotional hymn that threatens to suffocate the sticky summer air. Jeffrey, a nice, rural chap hums to himself as he flicks on Fleet Foxes’ new EP “Sun Giant.” Memories of unfortunately bad movies might come to mind, but theirs is a style beloved by quieter country folk who live...
Post-erboys for the new post-musicality that is affecting our age. Remembering the grayness that pervades the world. Something empty streams through reticence. M83’s new album “Saturdays = Youth” capitalizes on minimal use of lyrics, sounds, comprehensibility. Somehow Saturdays do not equal Fun. Or anything particularly Saturday-ish. “Too Late,” a song that...
The Kooks are repackaged candy for the long-forgotten, boy-band-loving heart, with its lingering fondness for disposable songs and a carefully crafted image. No trans fats! 40% more lyrics about love! Xtreme pop: Now with real instruments. With lyrics written to unnamed girlfriends and safe, well-worn melodies, “Konk” goes down as easy as hot chocolate . Or...
A troupe of disaffected looking young men projected onto an expanse of blur. The same group wielding neon strip lights in front of them like light sabers, or the umbrellas from Blade Runner. These are the images that have been produced by the self-labeled Australian indie/electro band Cut Copy to accompany their newest release, “In Ghost Colours” (yes, color is...
Why do I like The Fall? They are terrible. A continuous stream of invective against mankind in the form of music extending back 30 years, they refuse to quit. By “they” I mean Mark E. Smith, the would-be vocalist and leader of the band and the only consistent member. Doesn’t The Fall signify — in our fallen world — the apocalypse? Forty-odd people have been in...
