Hideaway is the follow-up to The Weepies' critically acclaimed 2006 album Say I Am You.  You know it was critically acclaimed because you could barely throw a rock without hitting a TV showing a mainstream drama featuring a track from the album.  But seriously, they were slapping The Weepies all over Grey's Anatomy and Gossip Girl because Say I Am You is a great CD full of melty, minimalist indie-folk tunes about falling in love and being in love.  

Hideaway is another charming release from husband and wife duo Steven Tannen and Deb Talan.  That may sound patronizing, but it's not how I mean it. Continue Reading

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I’ll be perfectly honest—I have a giant girl-crush on Kim Deal.  It first started when I was in junior high and The Breeders’ smash hit “Cannonball” was all over the alternative airwaves.  I was absolutely devastated when I was forbidden to attend Lollapalooza ‘94 to hear them perform live.  It really should have been no surprise given my overprotective mother and her dislike of my music.  In retaliation, I picked up The Pixies’ 1988 album Surfer Rosa after learning that Deal was the bassist and backup vocalist, and she quickly became my idea of the coolest girl in the world. Continue Reading

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Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings is the first new studio release from Counting Crows since 2002's Hard Candy.  Unlike Hard Candy, which I didn't particularly care for, Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings really takes me back to the earlier, less saccharine sound that made Counting Crows instant stars on the alternative airwaves–and instant must-haves in my music collection.

I purchased the album off iTunes, where I received two exclusive bonus tracks, a digital CD booklet and a track-by-track video interview with Adam Duritz.  It is divided into two themed sections; Saturday Nights features a driven, harsher rock sound, while most of the songs in Sunday Mornings take on a dreamier, country-infused acoustic tone.  Continue Reading

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March should a month to celebrate the Irish heritage – including its music.  With a name as Irish as mine, it would be almost blasphemous for me not to celebrate my green blood.  This usually involves green dyed hair, green and white beads, my “kiss me” t-shirts, Celtic jewelry, large quantities of Guinness and Harp (ask for a black and tan if you are in an Irish pub) – and music. 

There are a few bands that have successfully intertwined Irish culture with modern rock and kept the music accessible to the mainstream. Ashleigh Holmes did a review on a movie

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The Southern California duo of Inara George and Greg Kurstin, better known as the bird and the bee (humbly titled with no caps in the name) released their self-titled debut album in the US on January 23rd.  This album blends a lot of interesting sounds.  Think jazz meets electronica and you might have an inkling as to what these buoyant and smooth tunes sound like.  Inara George’s vocals sound languid and deceptively sweet in “F-cking Boyfriend” while “La La La” will get your hips moving despite yourself.  “Polite Dance Song” is a nearly satirical response to “put your hands in the air” type rap songs.

My personal favorite on the album is “Because” because of the simple, syncopated vocals mixed with an electronica beat and classical piano interludes.  The two picked an appropriate name for themselves – their tunes seem to float on air despite being having a stream of consciousness as thick as honey.  It’s the kind of album that gets better with multiple plays.  I’m betting you’ll be hooked by the third play.  

www.myspace.com/thebirdandthebee

www.thebirdandthebee.com

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David Byrne (Talking Heads) said that rock and roll as he knows it is dead.  It may be true that we no longer have the vastly influential music of the 60’s being created, but that music still influences modern rock.  Rock seems to have forgotten its roots.  The Velvet Underground were largely commercially unsuccessful at the time during the late 60’s when they were producing music but those with keen ears and eyes for influential art took notice of them. 

Other vastly influential artists such as Andy Warhol and Brian Eno connected with the Velvet Underground when it was still beatnik poetry set to music and guided their success. Warhol opened many doors to the Velvet Underground during his time as
their manager, including a record deal with MGM’s Verve Records, and designed the artwork for the album now known as “the banana LP;” a now iconic symbol of 1960’s rock.  Eno claimed that the thousand people who bought The Velvet Underground’s album all went on to create bands of their own.

Apparently, many of those bands went on to wild success of their own. The Cure, David Bowie, The Pixies, The Strokes, Interpol, The Cars, Nirvana, and even the Talking Heads were all part of genres that were heavily influenced by the Velvet Underground.  Their umbrella of influence in modern rock is overwhelming.  Rock music like the Velvet Underground is timeless, but with so many commercialized, financially driven platitudes parading as rock music streaming through our radios it’s easy to believe that rock has breathed its last breath.

The truth is probably a little more frightening.  Rock and Roll is not dead.  Music never dies.  It has been buried alive by commercialism. But digging into bands like the Velvet Underground is the key to its resurrection.
Enjoy.

Tunes to check out:

The Velvet Underground – Pale Blue Eyes
The Velvet Underground – Rock and Roll
The Velvet Underground – Crimson and Clover
The Velvet Underground – I Found a Reason

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