Top 5 Front Women

Another Friday, another Top 5. This week I’ll examine the Top 5 Front Women in music. In order to qualify for the list, the women must be active (i.e. no Gwen Stefanis or Cranberries) and must be a lead vocalist for their band or group. Keep in mind that this is not the Top 5 Hottest Front Women, either. That, friends, is another list entirely.

#5: Kori Gardner of Mates of State – Clearly, Kori Gardner is not the most talented of vocalists. However, her unique voice, style, and chemistry with the rest of her band (i.e. her husband) is what makes Mates of State work. Without her, Mates of State would be nothing and definitely not worth listening to. So even though she may sound a bit off sometimes, take joy in knowing that it’s not going to get any better…and that’s the way it should be.

#4: Neko Case of The New Pornographers – Ms. Case is one of the most talented vocalists alive today. However, her spot as #4 on this list is due primarily for her lack of involvement with The New Pornographers. Sure, she’s primarily a solo artist, and that’s why we love her. But on the same note, the songs that she graces her presence with on each New Pornographers album is beautiful. If there were more of her, it she would be higher. But there isn’t….and she isn’t.

#3: Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley – Arguably the wet dream of every hipster in the world, Jenny Lewis has managed to charm her audience time after time with her unique mix of sugary vocals and witty lyricism. It is this same lyricism, however, that serves as Jenny’s very own double edged sword. While some of her lyrics can be touching, others can be downright confusing or, dare I say, stupid. Regardless, there’s no denying the presence that Lewis commands, both on stage and on albums. Despite also being the home band to another talented musician and songwriter in Blake Sennet, Rilo Kiley succeeds primarily because of Lewis’ influence. If you don’t like her, you’re probably not going to like the band. That’s power.

#2: Emily Haines of Metric – On the aforementioned hottest list, I feel fairly confident that Emily Haines would go ahead and take the top spot. But as stated this is not that list. Still, number two is no joke, and there’s no better woman to fill that spot than Emily Haines. He lyrics range from poignant to sexy, and like so many others on this list, her band would be nowhere if it weren’t for her. Haines is much more than a pretty face. She’s the most talented frontwoman in indie music. And believe me, it’s a long list.

#1: Nina Persson of The Cardigans – What? Really? Yeah, though I’m not the biggest Cardigans fan in the world, I still do like them and Nina Persson has one of the most precious voices that the music industry has ever been graced with. If you don’t like it, you’re deaf. That’s the truth. It really is.

Video of the Week – Week 15

Metric – “Dead Disco” from the album “Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?”

Go News Go! – The Weekly News Recap

Due to terrible occurrences, the Week of April 9th, 2007! is ending early.

• DVD: The closest you will ever get to seeing the Flaming Lips live!
• Your opportunity to buy a piece of mediocrity has bee stifled.
• Ryan Adams not playing Stonhenge afterall, still a dick.
• Who’s riding Stephen Colbert’s coattails now?
• Jena Malone is worth $750. Her music? Nah.
• Caribou gets signed, sets album date, keeps name, avoids further confusion.
• Kevin Barnes talks, you listen. K?
• MIA album details. Prepare for more crap.

Day off work tomorrow, YAY! Test that literally determines my future, BOO!

Top 5 Radiohead Songs

Radiohead is one of few bands that got their start in the early nineties and is still going strong. Their music continually defies expections and conventions, album after album. With all that going for them, it’s pretty tough to take all their amazing work and work it down to their top 5 songs. But hey, I love crap like this. So let’s see what we have.

#5: “Karma Police” from the album “OK Computer” – A beautiful song, and one of many on Radiohead’s 1997 masterpiece. Like I said, Radiohead has so many awesome songs, but this one just stands out to me as one of the best. That chord progression is genius and put to good use by Thom Yorke.

#4: “The Bends” from the album “The Bends” – “Creep” made Radiohead famous in the United States, but “The Bends” was the first time we ever heard the band rock out to their fullest extent. In many ways, they have not equalled the intensity of this song since. Though few would complain about such menial things.

#3: “No Surprises” from the album “OK Computer” – It’s no surprise (sorry, I had to) that this song made the list. “No Surprises” is the highlight of OK Computer’s more toned-down second half, yet it’s easily the best.

#2: “Everything In It’s Right Place” from the album “Kid A” – You’d think that because “Kid A” is my favorite Radiohead album that I’d have more than one song on the list. However, it’s pretty tough to compete with the amazing songs from “OK Computer.” I still think that Kid A is a better, more solid album, but the great songs on OK Computer really outshine most of the tracks on Kid A. If I were to do a top 10 list it would be much more lop-sided the other way around. Trust me.

#1: “Paranoid Android” from the album “OK Computer” – Was there ever any doubt? Of course not. I’ve stated on numerous occasions that this is not only my favorite Radiohead song, but my favorite song…ever! So to put it at #1 is not a big surprise, but when you compare it to the other songs on this list you see that it has some stiff competition. It’s one hell of a song! Listen to it.

Video of the Week – Week 14

Pop Levi – “Pick Me Up Uppercut” from the album “The Return to Form Black Magick Party”

Bright Eyes: "Cassadaga"

After 2005’s brilliant “I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning” and out-of-left-field “Digital Ash In a Digital Urn,” Bright Eyes was due for a well-deserved break. Two years later and fans are once again graced with the group’s presence, this time in the form of “Cassadaga.” I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the biggest Bright Eyes fan out there, mostly out of my lukewarm feelings for front man Conor Oberst, but I’m wise enough to point out talent when it’s apparent. And Oberst is one of the most talented and gifted songwriters out there! “Cassadaga” not only serves as a powerful reminder of this fact, but as one of, if not the best Bright Eyes record to date!

The album begins with the haunting string orchestration of “Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed).” Two minutes into the horror movie-esque intro, and they suddenly drop out, leaving only a simple acoustic guitar and Oberst’s classic rumbling vocals singing, “It’s a kill or be killed…” It’s a fantastic way to start out the album, and it leads into what is probably one of the best Bright Eyes songs in recent memory, “Four Winds.” Here, the strings take the stylistically country route, or what can affectionately be called “fiddling.” Oberst is at his absolute best, conveying his emotions spectacularly as he howls, “When great Satan’s gone, the whore of Babylon, oh she just can’t sustain.” The song is infecting, and entertaining. So much so that you might even find yourself singing along after a few listens on repeat.

Likewise, “If the Brakeman Turns My Way” is another fantastic song that has classic Bright Eyes written all over it. It features a particularly memorable melody, in which Conor sings, “Got a cricket for a conscience, always looks the other way.” “Hot Knives” features an uncharacteristically distorted guitar and even more of Oberst’s insightful and inspiring lyrics. Once again, the strings are at full-force when Oberst sings “So give me black lights, so give me hot knives, on a dance floor no one tells time.” This powerful and upbeat song, gives way to the exact opposite in “Make a Plan to Love Me,” an unabashed love song complete with beautiful female vocals in the background. At times, it can sound like a 50s-style ballad, something you’d imagine hearing at an Under the Sea-themed prom in 1959.

“Soul Singer in a Session Band” features the worst aspects of Conor Oberst’s vocals, but at the same time it offers up some of his better lyrics on the album. Take, for example, the ironic “I had a lengthy discussion about the power of myth with a postmodern author that didn’t exist” or the more-realistic “I was a hopeless romantic, now I’m just turning tricks.” The band feels as cohesive as they ever do here, and the fiddling is once again in full-force. “Cleanse Song” features a barely-there band, and instead showcases some impressive percussion and what I believe is an Oboe (though I must admit it’s been a while). “No One Would Riot for Less” is a haunting glimpse at the state of the world. Oberst’s vocals are effective here, as he laments “Little soldier, little insect, you know war has no heart. it will kill you in the sunshine or happily in the dark.” It is a beautiful song. Disturbing, but utterly beautiful.

By the time the album comes to a close, you can’t help but be impressed by it. “Cassadaga” is a pleasant surprise for me. As I said, I’m not the biggest Bright Eyes fan in the world and had this album been anything less than brilliant, I would’ve been happy to dismiss it as such. But “Cassadaga” is an amazing album that is filled from end to end with brilliant songwriting, awesome production value, and unquestionable power. Like most Bright Eyes albums, the listener is sure to experience a wide array of emotions while listening to it, and the listening experience is made so much better because of it. If you’ve never heard a Bright Eyes album before, you absolutely have to listen to this album! On that note, if you’ve been a fan for years, Bright Eyes has given you their all in what is sure to be one of 2007’s best albums.

Recommended for fans of Bright Eyes and anyone who wants to be a fan of Bright Eyes.

Key Tracks:
1. “Four Winds”
2. “Hot Knives”
3. “Make a Plan to Love Me”
4. “No One Would Riot For Less”
5. “I Must Belong Somewhere”

8 out of 10 Stars

Dntel: "Dumb Luck"

It has been six years since Dntel last released a full-length album. Since that time, Jimmy Tamborello has undergone quite a transformation; from underground electro programmer to full-fledged indie pop god. Whether he was busy being one half of the uber-successful The Postal Service or putting out albums as James Figurine, Tamborello has found countless ways to stay busy. “Dumb Luck,” the long-awaited follow up to 2001’s “Life Is Full of Possibilities,” sounds like an expected mixture of everything that Tamborello has accomplished over the last six years. In doing so, it largely abandons the sound that separated Dntel from Tamborello’s numerous other projects.

The lead-off and title track, “Dumb Luck” features Tamborello’s stylistically unflattering voice offering tidbits of self-pity such as, “Don’t forget that it’s dumb luck that got you here” or “you can’t trust your friends, they will betray you.” The song begins with the largely disjointed flutterings of Jimmy’s production, but eventually collapses into a simple acoustic guitar with minimal electronic effects in the background. It is a decent song, but like most songs sung by Tamborello (i.e. James Figurine’s 2006 album), the production value far outweighs the vocal performance.

In many ways, it feels as if “Dumb Luck” is less of a Dntel album and more of a “Jimmy Tamborello featuring All of His Friends” album. Aside from the title track, every song is sung by a guest performer. Some of these tracks work rather well, while others feel stale and generally unmemorable.

“To a Fault” featuring Grizzly Bear, for example, is a rater awesome track. Here, it actually sounds like a Dntel song should sound like, with minimal emphasis placed on vocals and more on everything else. As such, most of the song is comprised of evidence of Tamborello’s unwavering skills as a producer/programmer and it stands out as one of the better songs on the album. On the contrary, “Roll On” is dominated by Jenny Lewis’ trademark quasi-country voice and as a result the song sounds absolutely nothing like any other Dntel song to date. Like so many other songs on the album, it features the standard “verse/chorus/verse/chorus” setup. Tamborello’s skills are entirely subdued here, and one has to wonder what even classifies this as Dntel and not James Figurine or The Postal Service (aside from the fact that that’s what Tamborello says it is).

“Rock My Boat” featuring Mia Doi Todd, is a pretty good song that does a fantastic job of balancing the talents of both artists. Even if it’s a bit clichéd to hear an artist sing, “You rock my boat,” Mia Doi Todd does a fantastic job of complementing Tamborello’s stellar song. Similarly, Andrew Broder offers up the best vocal performance of the album on “Natural Resources.” At it’s best moments, the song sounds like it could have been pulled right off of Radiohead’s Kid A.

Arguably, the most notable vocalist on the album is Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes on “Breakfast In Bed.” However, Oberst tones down his trademark emotionally wrought vocals and presents a completely uninspired melody, sounding almost exactly like another one of his songs, “Kathy With a Ks Song” (without the aforementioned emotion). Though his emotionally-vacant vocals actually blend rather well with Tamborello’s song, one can’t help be disappointed by their absence.

Overall, Dntel’s “Dumb Luck” should satisfy any fan of The Postal Service or James Figurine. However, Dntel fans who were expecting a revival of the artist’s unrivaled sound from previous albums might be a little disappointed. Personally, though I enjoy this album a lot, I can’t help but feel a bit cheated. I am a huge Dntel fan, and this album offers nothing that would even suggest that this is the same Tamborello moniker. If the artist insists on using multiple monikers to promote his music, he should do a better job of defining each one. “Dumb Luck,” though good, sounds absolutely nothing previous Dntel albums, and more like everything else Tamborello has done in recent years…for better or for worse.

Recommended for fans of The Postal Service, James Figurine, or any of the artists who lend their vocals to this album.

Key Tracks:
1. “To A Fault (featuring Grizzly Bear)”
2. “I’d Like to Know (featuring Lali Puna)”
3. “Rock My Boat (featuring Mia Doi Todd)”
4. “Natural Resources (featuring Andrew Broder of Fog)”

6 out of 10 Stars

Go News Go! – The Weekly News Recap

Week of April 2, 2007.

• If you’re going to pay tribute to The Beatles, it’d be better to get bands that didn’t suck.
• Smashing Pumpkins are now 25% less terrible.
• New Pornographers album details.
• Another reason to buy Bjork’s new album.
• Yay! Sufjan.

Ha! More like Weak of April 2nd.

Album of the Month: March 2007

The Winner:

LCD Soundsystem: “Sound of Silver”
Dance albums aren’t for everyone, so I’m not expecting a lot of readers to agree with me on this one. But LCD Soundsystem’s second LP completely shattered my expectations and made me a believer in his overwhelming talents. After his first album he had the world singing his praises, but I wasn’t buying it. This one is different. Brilliant from start to finish, if you haven’t heard it you have to check it out! Period!

Runner Up:
My Brightest Diamond: “Tear It Down”

Video of the Week – Week 13

“When You Wasn’t Famous” by The Streets from the album “The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living”