I have been woefully uninspired in terms of writing. I chalk it up to a very busy fall spent with my band tightening up the sound in preparation for our return to the studio. BE PREPARED!
Anyway, I still have been listening to a shit-ton of music and here's my favorite 10 records of the year, irrespective of genre. I will do a metal/heavy-rock list later, because even though the top 5 are all power-poppy and Americana records, I still love my metal. But more importantly, I love great songs, be they heavy or slow or hard or dreamy or toe-tapping or sing-along or shout at the top of your lungs. A great song is a great song.
So the order for these were determined by the following methodology: which record would I want more. So if you were a jerk and started taking records out of my collection and saying "you can't have this" this would be the last 10 getting plucked.
10 - The Autumn Defense - Fifth: A perfect slice of 1970s FM radio. For fans of Wilco and Jackson Browne.
9 - Pallbearer - Foundations of Burden: Super heavy prog meets doom metal with hooks. These guys should be the standard bearer for stoner rock. For fans of pot.
8. Alcest - Shelter: Ethereal French progressive rock. It isn't showy but the melodies and the moods are beautiful. For fans of clouds.
7. Elephant Stone - Three Poisons: Psychedelic India-inspired rock from fine Canadian band. Second year in a row they have made my list. For fans of the George Beatles songs.
6. Opeth - Pale Communion: Opeth have fully embraced their inner-prog-nerd. Old fans might hate the direction but I am glad to see the Cookie Monster vocals are a thing of the past. For fans of Pink Floyd.
5. Sloan - Commonwealth: Canadian power-poppers great double album where each member gets a side. Four distinct song-writers that together are brilliant. For fans of Paul Beatles songs.
4. The Both - s/t: Aimee Mann and Ted Leo join forces for an album of wonderful songs. For fans of harmony.
3. Foo Fighters - Sonic Highways: No Dave Grohl saturation for me this year. I love the record and I love the exuberance he has for rock n roll. If he can turn people back to rock music, the world is a better place for it. For fans...frak it, you know who this is.
2. Jenny Lewis - The Voyager: A lost Stevie Nicks record by a great song-writer. And produced by Ryan Adams, who by the way....
1. Ryan Adams - s/t: The best record he has made since Gold. The record Tom Petty used to make. Glad to have Ryan back.
There it is. That's the list. Find me another list where you'll find The Autumn Defense AND Pallbearer AND Jenny Lewis AND Opeth.
Showing posts with label the both. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the both. Show all posts
Monday, December 29, 2014
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Aimee Mann and Gord Downie Side Projects
Aimee Mann has long been a favorite songwriter of mine. After Til Tuesday, who were a fine 80s band in their own right, she made two outstanding power-pop solo records: Whatever and I'm With Stupid. If you watched Melrose Place (I didn't) you probably heard "That's Just What You Are" off the latter record. She also got a lot of exposure doing songs for P.T. Anderson's Magnolia, a movie that was written with Aimee Mann in mind, and which featured all the characters in the movie singing "Wise Up." The rest of her solo output has been good but not great. Her 2012 record Charmer is probably the best of the post-Magnolia output.
Now she has teemed up with Ted Leo to form The Both. Ted Leo is considered an indie alternative (whatever that means) artist but labels aside he's a singer/songwriter. I never really got into him that much, but after hearing this record, I should give him another shot. The Both is a great collection of power pop gems. Mann is on bass and Leo on guitar and they take turns on the lead vocals. Both sound great, but it's even better when they harmonize. At first glance it seems to be a trifle, just a one-off side project of two established artists having fun, but the songs are so well written and so well played it isn't fair to dismiss it as such. My two favorite are "Milwaukee" and "Pay For It," both of which bounce along merrily with great melodies, clever lyrics and super production. What I like best is that Mann has never had a guitar player working with her as intense as Ted Leo. His playing makes the songs roar to life. They are playing the 930 Club on Friday night and I am hoping to go.
My most favorite band on the planet not named Rush is also Canadian: The Tragically Hip. I have written about them extensively before (here and here and here) so my admiration is well known. Their singer is the amazing Gord Downie. He has mellowed out a bit as he has gotten older, but he is still one of the most mesmerizing performers I have ever seen. He seems to go into a trance when singing. Hip shows are always an amazing experience.
He has just released a collaboration with fellow Canadians The Sadies called Gord Downie, The Sadies And The Conquering Sun. The Sadies are another band I never quite got into; they were always a bit more eclectic than I had patience for. I was honestly surprised when I heard about this record. Downie has done a few solo records himself, all of them interesting but all of them again eclectic and therefore not as interesting to me as Hip records. The fact that he was making a record with another band was a bit disconcerting. What about the Hip? Why does Gord feel like he needs to work with another band? Are they breaking up! GACK!!
Hopefully a break-up isn't imminent. For the time being, to get a Gord fix, this will have to do. The best track is the kick-off track "Crater." Noisy and gritty guitars drive the tune. "Los Angeles Times" is a nice mid-tempo number with a good Clarence White-esque guitar solo at the end. Ltrically it's typical Gord Downie; sort of weird, sort of obtuse, sort of rambling but clever in every way. If this was a Hip record it would be a good Hip record, but not as good as the classics. Perhaps Gord just wanted a break from his band; collaborating with old friends and seeing what happens. I hope he doesn't forget where home is.
Here's the FANTASTIC video for the FANTASTIC "Milwaukee" by The Both:
And not quite fantastic but still extremely cool, here's "Crater" by Gord Downie and The Sadies.
Now she has teemed up with Ted Leo to form The Both. Ted Leo is considered an indie alternative (whatever that means) artist but labels aside he's a singer/songwriter. I never really got into him that much, but after hearing this record, I should give him another shot. The Both is a great collection of power pop gems. Mann is on bass and Leo on guitar and they take turns on the lead vocals. Both sound great, but it's even better when they harmonize. At first glance it seems to be a trifle, just a one-off side project of two established artists having fun, but the songs are so well written and so well played it isn't fair to dismiss it as such. My two favorite are "Milwaukee" and "Pay For It," both of which bounce along merrily with great melodies, clever lyrics and super production. What I like best is that Mann has never had a guitar player working with her as intense as Ted Leo. His playing makes the songs roar to life. They are playing the 930 Club on Friday night and I am hoping to go.My most favorite band on the planet not named Rush is also Canadian: The Tragically Hip. I have written about them extensively before (here and here and here) so my admiration is well known. Their singer is the amazing Gord Downie. He has mellowed out a bit as he has gotten older, but he is still one of the most mesmerizing performers I have ever seen. He seems to go into a trance when singing. Hip shows are always an amazing experience.
He has just released a collaboration with fellow Canadians The Sadies called Gord Downie, The Sadies And The Conquering Sun. The Sadies are another band I never quite got into; they were always a bit more eclectic than I had patience for. I was honestly surprised when I heard about this record. Downie has done a few solo records himself, all of them interesting but all of them again eclectic and therefore not as interesting to me as Hip records. The fact that he was making a record with another band was a bit disconcerting. What about the Hip? Why does Gord feel like he needs to work with another band? Are they breaking up! GACK!!Hopefully a break-up isn't imminent. For the time being, to get a Gord fix, this will have to do. The best track is the kick-off track "Crater." Noisy and gritty guitars drive the tune. "Los Angeles Times" is a nice mid-tempo number with a good Clarence White-esque guitar solo at the end. Ltrically it's typical Gord Downie; sort of weird, sort of obtuse, sort of rambling but clever in every way. If this was a Hip record it would be a good Hip record, but not as good as the classics. Perhaps Gord just wanted a break from his band; collaborating with old friends and seeing what happens. I hope he doesn't forget where home is.
Here's the FANTASTIC video for the FANTASTIC "Milwaukee" by The Both:
And not quite fantastic but still extremely cool, here's "Crater" by Gord Downie and The Sadies.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)