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10
Cash
This album didn’t blow us away, but it’s great when legendary bands get back together and release some decent material. The Verve released “Bittersweet Symphony”…and subsequently got sued by The Rolling Stones for sampling “The Last Time” and using “too much” of the sample. Eventually, 100% of the proceeds went to the record company and The Verve didn’t make a cent off the song. That contributed the breakup of the band as morale was down and the members had some in-fighting. But with all of that behind them and almost 10 years later, the boys are back. Here’s to hoping they continue to release some masterpieces… and that they got a better rights fees lawyer…
The boys from Boise, ID finally make it back around to Richmond to play their first major-label album, “Perfect From Now On” in its entirety. Doug Martsch’s voice started off shaky, but he found his bearings and sliced through the songs with fine precision. He even brought along the cello, which is prominent on this album. For an encore, he played our favorite song, “Car” to top the evening off.
We got to sneak up to Style Weekly’s skybox for this performance. Jenny Lewis was on point with her voice playing songs from “Under the Blacklight” and not holding back with “Portions for Foxes.” We both have a crush on Ms. Lewis and will happily sneak into a skybox for any performance she does in Richmond.
The boys are on a roll since their “re-invention” from a gimmick band to indie-rock darlings. This is their 3rd album on Barsuk Records and another solid installation. Easily accessible power pop. For us, you just can’t go wrong.
Standout Track: “See These Bones”
Sure, we love Neil’s voice. He makes us feel comfortable. It’s like a warm bed on a cold night. But the real star here is Rick Rubin. He strips the artist down and brings out the best in him. Now he’s done it twice with Mr. Diamond. Dark and loving, this one continues to please.
Standout Track: “If I Don't See You Again”
We know, we know… this album was released at the end of 2007 as the “name your own price” download… but we were skeptical and didn’t trust it, so we waited until it was officially released on January 1, 2008… and we’ve been listening to it ever since then. Radiohead knows how to make you get lost within their music and inspire the greatest videos visually (check out “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” and “House of Cards”). They continue to push the envelope and we happily await their next release.
Standout Track: ummm…all of ’em?
We’re in love with this band. We’re not ashamed. We’ve been with them since the beginning. This latest offering is heading in the right direction…not that their previous album “Plans” was terrible, but it was a touch bland. With “Narrow Stairs,” it opens with “Bixby Canyon Bridge,” a song about searching for Jack Kerouac’s spirit and the ending just sends chills down our respective spines. A bit of pop rock returns with “Cath…” and the final track, “The Ice is Getting Thinner” might bite off of “Transatlanticism,” but sometimes you just need to go with what works.
Standout Track(s): “Bixby Canyon Bridge,” “Cath…,” “Your New Twin Sized Bed,” “Long Division”
New Zealand. Who knew? This one was released on a fantastic day (April 22! Meena’s birthday!) and it compiles most all the great songs from the HBO series. We were happy to send off for the imported New Zealand album, “Folk the World Tour Live Album,” and we were happy when this album was released stateside because we needed more Bret and Jermaine. The jokes don’t get old and can stand the test of repeated spins…and they’re pretty ok musicians too! So grab your business socks, your eye-patch and take a trip into space…foux du fafa!
Standout Lyrics: “They call me the Hiphopopotamus, My lyrics are bottomless………………….”; “The humans are dead, they look like they’re dead, I just confirmed that they’re dead, affirmative, I poked one, it was dead,” “Oh my God, she’s so hot, she’s so flippin’ hot, she’s like a curry, I want to tell her how hot she is but she’ll think I’m being sexist, she’s so hot, she’s making me sexist,” “Just because you’ve been exploring my mouth, doesn’t mean you get to take an expedition further south,” “You are the most beautiful girl in the room, and when you’re on the street (depending on the street) I bet you are definitely in the top three; you’re so beautiful, you could be a part-time model but you’d probably still have to keep your normal job”
This album is full of the new material Mitch was working on before his untimely death. We had the privilege of seeing him at The Funny Bone in 2004 and had tickets to see him again in March 2005…only he didn’t show up. Little did we know at the time, but he died of an overdose in New Jersey, just before his trip down to Richmond. He’s been dubbed many things (the next Seinfeld, comedic genius, etc.) and will always hold a place in our hearts. Because after all, “Is a hippopotamus a hippopotamus or just a really cool Opotamus?”
They came to get the young people to vote. Thank goodness Virginia was a swing state so they could perform here. Not that politics aren’t important, but we were happy to not have to travel so far to see the Beasties. They played the hits, they played to the crowd, they didn’t get too preachy…they didn’t disappoint. Still striking a pose and letting Mix Master Mike do his thing behind the 1s and 2s, the guys are aging, but they aren’t letting too much of that show on stage.
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