If you happen to have a pulse and use the internet, you have likely heard about or perhaps even viewed this video. Then again if the only internet usage you have is to check what is the latest and greatest here at Tympanogram, I am merely doing my part to assist you in water cooler discussion. The video is a thinly veiled metaphor that seemed a bit hackneyed to me. It is most definitely NSFW, so view at your peril.
Yesterday I received two bits of news regarding The Stills that made me happy. First, I learned that the band will accompany Built To Spill in opening for Kings of Leon at the show I will be attending at Darien Lake this summer. I have never seen any of the three bands live, and I am now far more interested in the openers than I am the headliner.
In the second bit of news, per The Music Slut, Gregory Paquet is back in the band. He was the lead guitarist on the band’s debut album Logic Will Break Your Heart, and in my estimation the most instrumental part of the band’s sound on that first effort. On subsequent records the band never quite seemed able to recreate the particular feel or stellar guitar work present on the first after he left the band, so I hope this return will bring that sound back. Consider me excited.
All I tend to be doing with this project is rehashing the same bands and choosing different songs I tend to love. I don’t know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing and I’m not prepared to examine the issue further at this point. So, as always, go here if you are interested in finding what this project is all about and to see what I have used so far.
I will forever be a Deftones fan. It is within my DNA to enjoy this band and the vast majority of their music. While their sound isn’t exactly what I prefer these days in terms of contemporaries, I still purchase what ever they produce. This song is actually a b-side off the “Change” single that I got by going to WBER while they were giving it away on some early Friday morning before school. The fact that I rank it in the top two songs from a band, whose catalog I nearly entirely enjoy, says something. Though of what it says exactly, I am still uncertain. Maybe it’s that this band, regardless of their genre, is so good that an extra track which didn’t fit on a record is still great. Great enough even to be a favorite of a guy who doesn’t exactly associate with that genre any longer.
I’ve told the story before, but the first time I heard My Morning Jacket was when they opened for Doves several years ago at a show here in Rochester. I saw these incredibly hairy men banging their heads intensely to the most melodic rock music I had heard. Perhaps it was the juxtaposition of the band’s look coupled with their music that was both bewildering and entrancing, nonetheless I greatly enjoyed the show and went out and found as much music by the band as I could. Obviously I still enjoy the band’s work today, and many more people have come to adore them in the subsequent years, perhaps also due to their live shows. The second time I saw them live was an outdoor show in Buffalo with Wilco. MMJ was inside the fences warming up to this particular favorite while the rest of us attendees were waiting to enter. I thought it a very sound idea to pump up the waiting spectators to say the least.
Truthfully, this song sounds a bit rehashed. As many readers will know I am a big Bloc Party fan, and will always regard any of the band’s work as something of even minimal importance. This solo effort from lead singer Kele Okereke isn’t bad, but it also did not leave me feeling warm and tingly. Folks who prefer this type of music will say this is better than anything Bloc Party ever did. They would be wrong. A preference for dance music, mash-ups and the like does not mean this song is better than just about any of Bloc Party’s work. Through the years and records Bloc Party’s sound has moved further away from Indie guitar band and into over-produced dance rock. Since it is Bloc Party they make it work, though it isn’t as good as their early music. Kele on his own – completely electronic – doesn’t quite do it for me. My expectations for this record took a hit today.
What better way to begin a day than with some new Interpol? Staying true to the theme of brooding, slow builders, the track is vintage Interpol. The band has stated on their next effort they would be attempting to make their own Kid A. Whether or not they hit the mark remains to be told. In the meantime grab the track here, or get it directly from them using the widget above.
001: Joywave - Ridge/Traveling At The Speed Of Light 7"
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Upcoming Western NY Concerts
NOTE: Concerts are in Rochester unless otherwise noted.
1/5: Les Racquet
1/12: Joywave with Old Tapes, Dave & Marissa
1/13: The Dads
1/14: My Brightest Diamond
1/17: Josh Netsky Band with Cuddle Magic
1/18: Tycho (Buffalo)
1/26: Avicii
1/26: A$AP Rocky (Buffalo)
1/28: The Crystal Method (Syracuse)
2/11: Blind Pilot (Ithaca)
2/22: William Fitzsimmons
2/24: Mike Doughty
2/25: Charles Bradley (Buffalo)
2/29: Summer People
3/3: Matthew Good
3/5: Evening Man
3/23: The Men
3/30: tympanogram’s 3rd Birthday with Born Gold, Old Tapes, TBA
4/20: fun.
4/23: Cults (Buffalo)
5/6: Bear In Heaven (Ithaca)
5/7: M83 (Buffalo)
an examination used to test the condition of the middle ear and mobility of the eardrum, and the conduction bones by creating variations of air pressure in the ear canal.
Basically, it sounded like a cool name for a blog intended to be primarily about music. We’d both had other blogs previously, but over beers it was decided that more damage could be done as a joint venture. And here we are.
We share a passion for the undiscovered and under-appreciated, and hope that you’ll be able to find something you love as well.
Disclaimer
The music offered on this blog is for sampling purposes only. If you enjoy something you hear here, please go out and buy the music, see a show, or purchase some merchandise. Posted mp3s are available for a limited period of time only.
If there are any materials featured here that are your intellectual property, and you would prefer them removed, please notify us and we will be happy to oblige.
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Do you have an artist or band you think we should hear? Please feel free to let us know and we'd be glad to give it a listen.
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Please note that we try our hardest to respond to all submissions, but we get a lot of requests, so we will get back to you as soon as we can.
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About the Author: Dave
I like music. I can't describe how I came to like the music I do, because I don't know how or why, I just do.
Many years ago, Napoleon's brother, my great-great-great-great-great-great Grandfather, came to America. He was asked his name on Ellis Island while being processed as an immigrant. Not understanding English, he was under the impression that he was being asked how he had arrived in the new land. So he turned around and pointed at the sea vessel and said, 'LaBarge.'
About the Author: Andy
I come by my music taste of my own free will. My friends listened to 2Pac, my parents to contemporary Christian and me? Sunny Day Real Estate. I can’t explain it.
“Music, true music, not just rock ’n’ roll, it chooses you. It lives in your car, or alone, listening to your headphones…” - Lester Bangs