Brand New - The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me

I am waiting to listen to this album so I’ll report back with a grade soon. Their single Jesus was what won me over. For now, sit back and listen as I give you a lesson on the band.

I’ve been a fan of this band since their first album, Your Favorite Weapon. On paper it would probably be described as punk-pop, but something about that album stood out to me in a sea of punk-pop albums… this might sound ludicrous to some, but there was something about this album that reminded me of Radiohead’s Pablo Honey. I was confirmed with my Radiohead comparisons when Brand New’s second album, Deja Entendu came out. This album mellowed out and aside from their hit The Quiet Things that No One Ever Knows, the album was almost like an “emo-fied” version of The Bends, and when I use the word “emo-fied” I don’t mean it as an insult. Deju Entendu was a disappointment to those wanting more of the pop sounds that Your Favorite Weapon packed, however those who stuck around long enough were greatly rewarded by the depth of the lyrics and the dramatic build-ups.

Ah the lyrics. I personally think that singer Jesse Lacey, is one of the more under-rated lyricists out there.

“You are calm and reposed, let your beauty unfold pale white like the skin stretched over your bones. Spring keeps you ever close, you are second hand smoke, you are so fragile and thin standing trial for your sins. Holding onto yourself the best you can. You are the smell before rain, you are the blood in my veins.”
- from the song The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot

Anyhow, BRAND NEW IS GOOD - it may take a cloudy fall day for you to fall in love with the band, but it’s worth a shot.

VISIT: myspace.com/brandnew

There’s a dope art show at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra lasting, I think, until the first week of October. New completely beautiful paintings from Audrey Kawasaki and Fuco Ueda. They’ve got prints that you can buy cos everything in the gallery was sold out before the opening even began.

Nucleus also has a new show opening October 6th titled “Tender Succubus” featuring Junko Mizuno, who wrote Princess Mermaid. Her art might be familiar, it’s been made into vinyl toys in addition to her illustrations in magazines and the manga she’s written. There will also be new art by Alayna Magnan and Mizna Wada (more info here).

Gallery Nucleus Website: http://www.gallerynucleus.com

30 West Main Street, Alhambra, CA 91801

Directions and map: http://www.gallerynucleus.com/default.php?sitepage=about&PHPSESSID=37a294f9a16d41a4db60829cb60b850a

Audrey Kawasaki: http://www.audrey-kawasaki.com/2007

Fuco Ueda: http://www.geocities.jp/uedafuco

I had fallen fast asleep last night playfully replaying Kanye West’s “The Good Life” over and over in my head. I thought to myself, “Wow, this right here, is the good life. After months of speculation that the world was ignorant and would surely let 50 Cent win in the battle of the hip hop titans, that belief was kindly put to rest after Kanye clearly was the victor on Tuesday’s releases.”

But, then I woke up. I turned on my computer. I looked at my iTunes preparing to once again overkill “Stronger” and what did I see? Under top albums, 50 Cent’s “Curtis” is number 1. How did this happen after 2 full days of Kanye at the top?

My guess is that come next week, when we find out who the number 1 seller is, 50 Cent (that wirey little scamp) and his team is going to have already bought up many of his albums that didn’t sell to put him over the edge. This goes for buying up iTunes songs too.

So America, I call you to duty, go and pick up 10 Kanye West albums today (along with the new Hot Hot Heat!), distribute them to your friends, loved ones, and even your pets. We all benefit from a little more Kanye and a little less 50. Let’s put our money where our mouth is and show America that we want more music like Kanye.

I have some illegally downloaded copies of “Curtis” if anyone would like one.

-Keep rocking the movement-

Walked down Sawtelle today and noticed a new spot I hadn’t seen before. Inside was a dude painting amidst a wall full of paintings. Turns out the guy’s name is Norm and the spot, The Norm Maxwell Gallery is his.

Norm’s a cool cat and has previously done tons of production work for some major players including the likes of Janet Jackson, Lil Jon, & Iggy Pop. Like most of us, he didn’t enjoy having to answer to someone else, so he started up the gallery. Rumor has it that the gallery also hosts musical events. For now be sure to check out the spot next Friday (09/21/07) for The Microscope (see flyer below).

My entire adult life has been spoiled by having DJ’s grant me access to all their music picks in a handy mixed format. I would pop in my player of choice, close my eyes, and pretend I’m still in the club. Instead of downloading individual songs and making play lists I love having a DJ make music selections like an expert sommelier who serves you the best wine for your meal.

Since we’re in the age of the rockstar DJ, I’ll be sharing my picks of DJ’s and mixes for your listening pleasure. The star of this post is www.myspace.com/iamdjsg .

His self proclaimed style is:
I can’t really say I have a certain style. C’mon… hip hop on Thursdays, underground 80s on Wednesdays,everything on Saturdays. Its like i can’t choose what kinda dj I want to be. I try to have as much fun as possible behind the decks and amuse myself hoping that crowd enjoys it the same.

Listen to DJ SG live here:
Live from “ALLURE” @ Bar Dynamite 8/16/2007
PART 1 / PART 2 / PART 3

I’m not sure if I know a single soul who wasn’t moved at least a bit when they heard the epic build and roaring of The Adventure by Angels and Airwaves last year.

I was driving back home from the daily grind, as the sun was setting behind me, and the radio DJ comes on. Here’s the new song called The Adventure by Angels and Airwaves, leaked onto the web today. First listen baby.

And the reverb of light guitar strums begins to fill my car followed by the massive anthem wailed on the electric guitar…

Angels & Airwaves - The Adventure

Their follow-up album is called i-Empire and from what I’ve heard, it’s a mixture of Blink 182, Boxcar Racer and their previous AVA sound. Catchier melodies and hooks, but retaining the epic and experimental sounds they had with Boxcar and AVA. Their new album is due out in November, and I am stoked.

Here’s a preview of their single off of i-Empire called Everything’s Magic. The video is made by a fan. Rumblings are the official video comes out in 2 weeks.

Angels & Airwaves - Everything’s Magic

I was waiting for a movie showing and ended up at a Borders to kill the time. After having a cup of coffee I started walking down the CD aisles, looking to see if there were any albums I could listen to. I found some albums I had been meaning to check out and held them in my hands wondering if I could afford to buy them. Hell with it, I swiped my card.

One of the albums was New Wave by Against Me!

I remember I first heard about this band maybe around… 2002, in some obscure punk zine. The story of the band or rather singer Tom Gabel, really intrigued me so I found some Against Me! and took a hard listen. Immediately I was sucked in by Tom’s singing. Every line he sings sounds like he’s had an emotional revelation and he’s belting out something he truly believes in whether it be about politics or death on St. Patty’s day. It felt like a genuine punk album - and what criteria do I use to base this upon? The band sounded like pirates.

Their new album is produced by Butch Vig (Nirvana) on Sire Records - a fact that has caused a lot of debate amongst fans/ex-fans who have been doing so for a while. Personally, I’m totally over the “sold-out” type of arguments so let’s talk about the music.

New Wave is a collection of 10 tracks, each one somehow finding that awesome balance of catchy melodies juxtaposed to hard hitting lyrics and rough/raw vocals.

Stand out tracks include: “Up the Cuts”, “Thrash Unreal”, & “Americans Abroad”. A listen to these three tracks will give you a good idea of what the album is like.

Lyrically the songs range from subjects on politics… the punk kind, to vignettes of the hard knock life.

“Golden arches risin’ above the next overpass. These horizons are endless. Americans abroad! Americans abroad! Profit driven expansion into foreign markets. And while I hope I’m not like them, I’m not so sure.”
- Americans Abroad

“If she wants to dance and drink all night then there’s no one that can stop her. She’s going until the house lights come up or her stomach spills onto the floor. This night is going to end when we’re damn well ready for it to be over. Worked all week long now the music is playing on our time. We do what we do to get by, and then we need a release”
- Thrash Unreal

In the end I give this album an “A”

Here’s a video clip to watch:

video courtesy of ShitStroll
And here are some links to visit:
Against Me! Official Site - www.againstme.net
Against Me! Myspace - www.myspace.com/againstme