Tags: Picture of the day
Before discussing the latest Avengers info and the state of the mutants post-Schism, I thought I’d produce a list of the major category winners of the 2011 Harvey Awards, presented at this year’s Baltimore Comic-Con (which, by the way, was ridiculously crowded this year thanks to Stan Lee being the guest of honor).
Major winners:
Glad to see Marvel getting love here—but it’s a little odd that all the Marvel books are Thor-related…Anyway, hit the break for gossip, leaks, and good news…
Tags: Comic books, Hulk, The Avengers, The Caped Crusader, Wonder Woman
I suppose you could call Don’t Wait Animate (a.k.a. “DWA”) a trip hop or dubstep band, but since I generally hate those genres-and I really enjoyed their latest EP, Overcast Up Concrete Down, I’m not going to classify them as anything other than Indie.
The 5-member band from England sounds a little bit like Bloc Party used to (when BP was still good), but without the punky edge. Maybe if Bloc Party covered Unkle. Or were produced by Four Tet.
The vocals and music combine with a sense of urgency and danger–desperate passion. These are a group of guys you really need to hear. And I need to hear more from.
The Hunger (Sample) by Don’t Wait Animate
Tags: Extended Player (EP), Indie
I’ll admit it: Most of Alkaline Trio’s stuff leaves me cold. There’s usually just a few songs per album that I find myself really digging. That’s why I was so surprised by the first solo album from Dan Andiano, Alkaline Trio’s stalwart bass player.
“Hurricane Season” is terrific. In fact, it reminds me a lot of Colin Hay. It’s a collection of mostly acoustic love songs full of sadness and hope with lyrics that aren’t profound but, instead, resonate with honesty. Whether it’s the man waiting for his girl “to say to come home” or the lost lover crying that “it’s gonna rain all day” or Andriano himself, performing in Denver, “dying while [his] baby sleeps at home”. Andriano, both lyrically and with his amazing delivery, brings the reader into his own heartache.
Overall, the album feels like a mix of Americana, singer/songwriter folk-rock, and the occasional guitar solo. The electric songs are spaced out evenly, and seem to be used to provide texture. Without songs like “On Monday” and “Let Me In,” the album would feel almost too sad, too quiet, too depressing. These songs give the record a kick in the ass right when it’s needed.
And that’s the best thing about it: It’s a record. Remember those? Before everyone focused on singles and collected cover songs and music became disjointed and disposable, we had albums: Thematic compositions with carefully selected and arranged songs. This, my friends, is an album.
And a damn good one, at that.
Tags: Indie rock
A little Sunday schoolin’ for ya. The answer is: God loves the cat the most, fried with soy sauce and served with fava beans and a nice Chianti.
Tags: Godstuff, Picture of the day
Vakill has been around for years–since 1995, to be exact–as part of Chicago’s Molemen 
collective. I’ve alwasy thought of him as Chicago’s answer to Raekwon–he tells gritty street stories, with an old school flow and new jack lyrics. He’s capable of words that have more than two syllables, and has a decent vocab, too, which has always made him one of the more interesting long-standing emcees out there. Yet, most of his albums haven’t held together too well. That all seems to have changed this year.
“Armor of God,” Vakill’s new release, is hard-hitting and strong, with production/guest shots by Panik (also of the Molemen), Jake One, Vizion, Rhymefest, Nino Bless, Crooked I, and others.
After the first third, we find “Heavy,” a slow-but-extremely-heavy cut with digital sounds overlaying the standard 808, in which Vakill seems to be wrestling with his own age: “Heavy is the head that wears the crown,” is the theme, talking about how he’s outgrown life on the streets and how even musically the rap game has changed (he even calls out 808 Heartbreak). “Who got next, where are they found? I can let it breathe or air you out,” he says to his successors, a warning that Vakill’s time isn’t over yet.
This is easily Vakill’s best album in years–possibly ever.
On Moleman Records.
Stream some cuts and/or DL “Beast” below.
Tags: Hip Hop
“The Best of I Am Lovedrug” is a collection of covers funded buy fans of the band. It’s also the band’s first full-length album. It’s quite unusual for a band to introduce itself to the world via the words and music of others, but it’s also a canny way to get internet buzz.
The selection (and arrangement) of songs ranges from the common to the quirky, as you’d expect. There’s a the obligatory Fleetwood Mac song, “Dreams,” which, frankly, nobody seems to be able to do a bad version of. Oddly, there’s also a Stevie Nicks song (“Talk to Me”). Both are pretty faithful to the originals. Then there’s some “street cred” selctions (“Only Shallow” (My Bloody Valentine)) and “Me and My Arrow” (Harry Nilsson)). Again, the versions are fairly true to the original—although “Talk To Me” shines with its male vocals; it kind of changes from a pop song to a blues ballad. Kind of. It’s still pop, though. The other big standout is a cover of The Cranberries’ “Zombie,” a song I always found grating until Lovedrug made it more contemplative, eschewing the screamo chorus.
The “we’re so weird we’re cool” pick is from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: “Pure Imagination.” And it’s handled quite well. Lots of fun.
I wasn’t familiar with this band prior to getting this solicit, and I have to confess that after having listened to the whole thing, I still don’t feel lI know them. They’re clearly a talented and tight pop band, skilled on the synths and good singers, all, but what are they about? No clue.
But I had fun trying to figure them out!
“Talk to Me” (Stevie Nicks cover)
“Dreams” (Fleetwood Mac cover)
Everywhere (Fleetwood Mac Cover)-Vampire Weekend
Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac) Death Cab for Cutie w/The Decemberists
Tags: Covers, Covers On Fridaze, Indie Pop
See, it’s not funny that the dummy looks like him. It’s funny that the dummy looks like her.
Tags: Godstuff, Picture of the day
Every rap fan knows who Pete Rock is. The man’s a legend. He broke as one of the best 1990s major-label rappers, but he’s also produced about a dozen brilliant rap albums (including Common’s The Bitch In Yoo; Ghostface’s Be Easy; and B.I.G.’s first big hit, Juicy).
But how many know about Smif-N-Wessun? They’ve also performed as Tek-N-Steele, Cocoa Brovaz, and as part of the Brooklyn rap group Boot Camp Clik (one of Brooklyn’s best collectives). Yet they’ve never gotten their due as some of the rawest, grimiest street rappers out there.
I don’t know how much it will help, teaming up with Pete Rock on the indie-then-RIAA-now-indie-again label, Duck Down. The cops had to break up the record release party in Manhattan, leading to brutality accusations from Pete Rock, who watched with horror as his wife and stepdaughter were punched by the NYPD as the boys in blue, who were summoned by the club itself, arrested five attendees (all of whom were later released without charges being filed). Who knows what really happened—probably doesn’t matter if you just wanna know if the album is good? Makes for an interesting story, though.
So how is the album?
Pete Rock is as good as ever, and Tek and Steele still know how to pull unusual rhyme choices out teir bag of tricks, making street rhymes that sound fresh and new (instead of the stale rehash we hear so often from newer artists).
There’s also some solid guests here: Fellow Boot Campers Sean Price, Rock (also of Heltah Skeltah) and Buckshot, as well as veterans like Bun B, Raekwon, Pharoahe Monch, Styles P, Freeway, and Memphis Bleek. I actually found myself wishing there was less “look who I can bring to the show” and more Smif-N-Wessun: This should be their showcase, not a gangbang.
Smif and Wessun are two of underground rap’s pioneers—they’ve got a rapport forged over the course of a decade together, and it shows. The problem is, if you’re a long-time fan, you’ve heard much of this before. You won’t hear their best work here, but it’s a great introduction to the duo, particularly because there are so many guest spots. It feels more like a mixtape hosted by Smif-N-Wessun and produced by one of the greatest of all time. Pick it up if you’ve never heard them before, or if you’re hungry to hear them again.
Roses (feat. Freeway)
Tags: Hip Hop
