Fitz and the Tantrums

Fitz and the Tantrums.
That name is what turned me on to this band in the first place, because it sounds like something you would have heard 30 or 40 years ago, and in this modern context it's very out of place.
I didn't know that that was what the band was all about till later.
according to their myspace, Fitz in the Tantrums started when Fitz (The singer) got a call from his ex saying that her neighbor was moving out and was selling this great old church organ for 50$. Fitz grabbed the thing before any logic could get in the way and proceeded to write an entire EP about heartbreak and the end of relationships...I wonder if that girlfriend can feel the irony breathing down her neck.

This band makes some beautiful soul music with the same modern twist as Gnarles Barkley, only with more white people and physical instrument. It's the kind of album that sounds just familiar enough to get you to listen, the kind that brings back memories of all the songs you never heard that probably sound just like it. It jogs a memory that doesn't exist.
Anways, I'm going on for too long.
They're playing at the Echo on the 6th but it's an 18+ Show, so I can't attend.

Enjoy:

Tuesdays with Morrissey

God. That's a horrible reference...
Oh well. Morrissey has been ill recently, apperantly, after collapsing during a concert in England. The former singer of "the Smiths" Has been released from the hospital since then, but his big show yesterday was canceled, and that's likely not the be the last one to get knocked off. This is a good man with some great music, and he has my blessing.
Get better Morrissey.

Boogie Wednesday #1

I wish i was rick rolled instead...

Power - Boys Noize [Album Review]

Overall, I am filled with positive feelings towards Boys Noize's sophomore album, Power. On a good note, he has really branched out from his distorto-techno Oi Oi Oi days. Rather, tracks such as Heart and Gax bring out a melodic and softer side of Boys Noize. But don't get me wrong, he still kills it with Jeffer and Starter, true products of the German techno scene. Overall, Power has much more variety and dynamics than Oi Oi Oi; embodying analogue synth patches, focusing on track development, funky production style, and even some harmonic growth (kudos on those dissonances, Mr. Ridhaon). On the downside, Power is lacking any anthemic bangers, like his previous &Down and Don't Believe The Hype. At least on this album he skips out on using that fucking corny vocodor!

Sample Fail #1

With a new generation of music listeners, unoriginal sampling has run amok.

And hip hop is the prime culprit. These artists market music to the youth, sampling catchy sections of old famous songs, and distastefully try to make it their own modern-day smash .

(Samples "Flat Beat" by Mr. Ozio)

The Virgin Suicides In Review

Angst.

It makes an exceptional movie theme, and it's no secret. To say that it is overused is putting it lightly.
Still, the Virgin Suicides may very well become one of my favorite movies that I've seen over the last year. The characters are compelling and the story is believable, the acting is convincing and the narrator is a poetic spirit. The angsty teenagerism of it might be overwhelming for some adults, but I am not an adult, and I am not overwhelmed or under appreciative. Lux is a bit of a cliche, the free spirit with the binding situation, but Kirsten Dunst pulls it off well in what has to be my favorite performance by her, though I don't have much to base that on, considering i'm not a fan usually. Also, isn't that just a great name, Lux? It sounds like an unstable chemical, which makes a lot of sense really.

This is probably a movie I'm going to watch in ten years and hate for being pretentious and intolerably vague, the way my thirty-something-year-old uncle hates American Beauty, and maybe he's right and I'm wrong. But from this world view, it was a great film, and if you are not thirty-something, you may feel that way too.