Playlist

Here are list of track you should check out and spin...

Kanye West Feat. Chris Martin - "Homecoming"
Bjork - "Hyperballad"
Bruce Springsteen - "Radio Nowhere"
Paulo Nutini - "New Shoes"
Foo Fighters - "Pretender"
The Doors - "The End"
Coheed and Cambria - "The Running Free"
Incubus - "Oil and Water"
The National - "Fake Empire"
Jimmy Eat World - "Chase the Light"

Live Review - Bjork at MSG

While evil in its purest form gathered in Manhattans East Side at the U.N., peace and love gathered on the other side of the island at Madison Square Garden when hipsters of all nations united to see the Icelandic Princess herself. Staged by a Medieval backdrop and complete with a full brass ensemble, Bjork skipped and hopped to and fro on stage and delivered an inferno of light, sound and magic. Opening with "Earth Intruders," one of the Timbaland produced tracks from her latest Volta, Bjork commanded the crowd like a ruling Queen rather than a rock star. Bjork's sound was supported not only by the brass ensemble, but two live DJ's, a drummer and organ player. Her voice, as powerful as it is captivating, is something you would not expect from such a tiny person the way she was swelling a sound like an opera singer.
Yet, it's in her voice and lyrics that you can understand why people keep coming back for more or as often as they can, considering Bjork's rare live schedule. Her voice live is not perfect, it is powerful, however, it is also vulnerable, it cracks and then she whispers and then it sounds as if she is singing a lullaby to her audience-but this could all be part of the show. For when she wants, Bjork will awaken the beast inside her and this is a warning, stand back because what you will feel and hear will surprise you.
The highlight of the program came three quarters into her set when she jammed "Army of Me," and kicked into "Innocence," and propelled the audience to high octane. During her performance the light and magic and color that filled her movements and lyrics were in sync to each beat and at points I felt as if I was:
A) In a club
B) Knew exactly what a seizure felt like
C) Knew what taking E at a 90's rave must have been.
This all came full circle at the closing of her first set with the chaotic "Hyperballad." All of this adds to Bjork's creativity, she unlike anyone in music today is not afraid to dabble into this. I knew I was at a rock show, but at points I didn't know whether to fist pump, sway my hips or head bang. Nevertheless, that is Bjork, she leaves it all for you to decide. Never have I ever seen creativity so alive and abstract in front of my eyes. She is a traveling Museum of Modern Art and something you should endure.

Bjork Setlist MSG 9/24/07
01. Intro - Brennið Þið Vitar 02. Earth Intruders 03. Hunter 04. Pagan Poetry 05. I See Who You Are (Feat. Min Xiao-Fen) 06. Unravel 07. The Pleasure Is All Mine 08. Dull Flame Of Desire (Feat. Antony Hegarty) 09. Jóga 10. Desired Constellation 11. Army Of Me 12. Innocence 13. I Miss You 14. Cover Me 15. Wanderlust 16. Hyperballad
(Encore) 17. Plutoencore (Encore 2) 18. Oceania 19. Declare Independence

Gogol Bordello Live on Letterman

Gypsy Punkers Gogol Bordello brought their traveling circus to the Ed Sullivan Theater this past summer for a performance of "Wanderlust King."

Quick News

After seeing an advanced cut of Ridley Scott's latest film American Gangster, Jay-Z was slated to record only a few tracks for the films soundtrack, however, he was so inspired he cut a whole album! The record along with the film starring Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington arrive in November.

The Beastie Boys are mixing it up again...this time they are adding vocals to The Mix Up, an album of musical arrangements done by the Beasties. Yet it is not what you think, they will not be singing or rhyming over their work, they have tapped a slew of British singers and Emcee's such as Jarvis Cocker, MIA, Lily Allen and many more...

After seven long and curious years, Zach De La Rocha is finally putting out his long awaited solo record. The Chinese Democracy of solo records was recorded mostly in Jack Johnson's eco friendly studio in California, however, a label and release date have not been set. Also, no word on whether the collaborations from Trent Reznor and ?Love will appear on this as well.

New Yorks New Hope

In the shadows of what once stood the Twin Towers and the land that was and will always be the World Trade Center, fans from all over gathered for a free concert from the biggest band to come out of New York City since The Ramones. That band is, The Hold Steady. This, unlike anything I have written, is not a Live Review (if you are looking for one of The Hold Steady, see Bill Reese's article from last month), instead this is more of a statement, a testament of sorts to a tight group of five guys singing about life, love and the pursuit of happiness. There are not five individuals that love their job more and show it each and everyday more than the guys in The Hold Steady. Their live show reflects this and more importantly symbolizes how far they and the city that inhibits them has come.
Half way through the bands set at 7 World Trade Center, a chill hit right to the bones of everyone in attendance, some could argue that it was the wind swooping around the enormous buildings and hitting off the concrete. I'll say it was the angels next to us in the well of souls finally looking down with some ease. Hold Steady singer Craig Finn became humble and emotional when speaking about the loss of a loved one on 9/11. After his diatribe during the set, spirits awoke and came to enjoy themselves, much like their mortal counterparts. The band was draped right in front of the intimidating Silverstein building and for a concert put on by corporate America to revive Lower Manhattan, The Hold Steady were the best band to kick things off.
They are a band comprised from all over the U.S. that formed in Brooklyn earlier this decade. Five guys from five parts of the country that truly represent the five boroughs. They are New York City. They danced and played on that stage as if it were their last time ever to play in front of anyone. Bottom line The Hold Steady like New Yorkers are living for the moment in its purest form. Give these guys some time and soon enough they will be to New York what the Dropkick Murphy's are to Boston. In a city that never sleeps, souls alive and faithfully departed can rest while these guys are in town.

Indy Watch

The past two days the net has been buzzing like a swarm of bee's with new info on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull....

First off George Lucas gave a rare interview to TV Guide about the upcoming Indy film and the fact that he seems OK with the idea of Sean Connery not returning to play Indy's Dad.. Read the interview here http://www.tvguide.com/news

Next..What could be career suicide or great exposure..you decide..an extra on the set has reviled some HUGE spoilers about the ultra top secret plot...check that out at http://www.aintitcool.com/node/34088

And lastly..for now..MTV.com has actually done some homework, they uncovered the origins of the Crystal Skulls and how they fit perfect for whatever plot or story Lucas and Spielberg have up their sleeves...read it here http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1569493/20070911/story.jhtml

Craig Finn Photos

Craig Finn of The Hold Steady gave a rare solo performance Thursday night at Barnes and Noble in Union Square..here are photos..

Grohl

Grohl
By Bill Reese
I never thought I'd ever say this, but Dave Grohl has become a better songwriter than Kurt Cobain. He wasn't always this way, but the song son the new disc are probably the most personal he's ever put together,and the most endearing thing about each Foo Fighters record is that it is always an evolution from the previous effort. With every disc, Grohl adds new layers, subtracts the excess fat and somehow finds away to continually hone his craft.Cobain never really did that. He started to show signs of evolution,arguably with "All Apologies" and "You Know You're Right," but you can't use two songs as proof of progress, not when Grohl has spent the last twelve years experimenting and evolving. Cobain's songs are timeless classics, they dammed the river and forced the music to flowin a new direction. Grohl can't do that, and he doesn't have to.
Of course, Cobain never had the opportunity to evolve, but that's his fault, not Grohls, and as a result, Kurt's music should be measured against Dave's with no asterisk and without taking into account the"what ifs." Cobain killed himself because, among other things, hewasn't comfortable with being a rock star and what fame would do tohis music. And on Echos, Grohl's songs about trouble at home amids this life as a famous rocker show that he's even a bigger person to take the strife associated with rock stardom, live through it and convert negative energy into positive, really fucking hardcore rock songs. And that knocks Cobain even further because he lived through a childhood of abuse, neglect and hate, didn't crack, only to crack under the weight, (among other things) of rock stardom?
Nobody, maybe Sean Lennon, has had to crawl out of a bigger shadow. And Sean Lennon's got two OK albums and seven or eight good songs. Grohl has six LPs (seven if you could In Your Honour as two discs), and two dozen great songs, as well as three or four bona fide classics. He stopped being the drummer in Nirvana so long ago, it took me four paragraphs to even mention that. The only shadows Cobain had to emerge from were his own past and his idols in Seattle's early scene. And compared to Grohl's, emerging from that darkness was like walking into as undrenched afternoon.Nirvana's music and their meteoric rise was the dream. Foo Fighters,and Grohl's music and success is the dream realized.

Never Forget

Six years ago the world as we knew it changed forever...Here are a few videos that reminde us to never forget that fateful day...
U2- 2002 Superbowl Performance


Beastie Boys - "An Open Letter to NYC" Video


Bruce Springsteen - "My City of Ruins"

BUY NOW!!!!!!!!!!

Albums worth every buck!

BUY NOW!!!!!!!!!!!
Kanye West - Graduation
VHS or Beta - Bring on the Comets
Justice - + (Cross)

Warped Tour Forum

A reader posted this forum he created about next years Warped Tour...check it out http://www.warpedforums.com

Indy Watch

So its Official....

Indy Watch

The biggest news at this years MTV VMA's was not Britney Spears awful performance....it was Shia LeBouf "announcing" the title to the fourth installment of Indiana Jones...Shia got on stage and stated, "I am sworn to secrecey by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg not to reveal the title of the next Indiana Jones movie, but I am 21 and we are in Vegas so...the title to the next Indiana Jones movie is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." No word from Lucasfilm or Paramount whether this is the actual title or just a tease from Indys new sidekick...

HELP PATENT PENDING!!!

My Good Friends in Patent Pending need some assistance from you and their fans...Click on the link below and POST THAT YOU WANT TO SEE PATENT PENDING ON NEXT YEARS WARPED TOUR!!!!!!

As stated from the band "it will take you two minutes and it would mean everything to us! thank you friends!!!!!"

Seriously, if you have seen them before you know they should be on Warped Tour, if you haven't, you are doing a great injustice to your concert going career...one of the sickest live shows you will ever see...

http://www.warpedtour.com/warpedtour/news.asp?id=1426661&ck=WARPEDTOUR1457186859466102905212003163E181BMGN1RFJU76C71T8TD574LUDYGD8QC5F8ID&gc=WARPEDTOUR1332824ecbbe44ba8c19e9262e9267cdAND

Bono on Pavarotti

After hearing the sad news that legendary Opra Tenor Luciano Pavarotti passed away after a battle with cancer..the first thing that popped into my head was, "I wonder if Bono will release a statement..." Sure enough...posted on u2.com today, here are Bono's words and experiences with Pavarotti:

“Some can sing opera, Luciano Pavarotti was an opera. No one could inhabit those acrobatic melodies and words like him. He lived the songs, his opera was a great mash of joy and sadness; surreal and earthy at the same time; a great volcano of a man who sang fire but spilled over with a love of life in all its complexity, a great and generous friend.
Great, great fun, The Pavlova we used to call him. An emotional arm twister if he wanted you to do something for him he was impossible to turn down. A great flatterer.
When he wanted U2 to write him a song he rang our housekeeper, Theresa, continually so we talked about little else in our house.
When he wanted U2 to play his festival in Modena, he turned up in Dublin unannounced with a film crew, and door-stopped the band. His life and talent was large but his sense of service to the weak and vulnerable was larger.
We wrote Miss Sarajevo for him. He had worked on the humanitarian crisis that was the war in Bosnia. We travelled together on a UN air force flight to Mostar... all of us earnest in hard hats, just about strapped into this industrial aircraft with the big man handing out parmigiano from Reggio Emilia, “the best cheese in the world" he kept saying… deadpan… to make us laugh.
In Pesaro, in his summer house, he lived an almost bohemian life with a recording studio set up in an out house - but did all his vocals in his bedroom... there was a hammock hung between two marine pines for a siesta. He liked to eat, sleep and then warm up his vocals though I remember more eating than warming up. When we first recorded with him I left a stone heavier than I arrived.
Intellectually curious, couldn't’t stick to his own generation - loved new ideas, new people, new song forms.
A sexy man whose life lit up again when he fell in love with Nicoletta and as he watched Alice play in the yard. He loved all his daughters so much. The sadness of losing his only boy his only silence.
I spoke to him last week... the voice that was louder than any rock band was a whisper. Still he communicated his love. Full of love.
That's what people don't understand about Luciano Pavarotti. Even when the voice was dimmed in power, his interpretive skills left him a giant among a few tall men.”- Bono

As Tall As Lions Live

Be Here Now



As Tall As Lions have posted a video of the song "Be Here Now," from the bands performance at the Highline Ballroom back in July. Check it out, it is great...I was at this show and a live review can be found in July's post.

Movie of the Month - Half Nelson

Its September, people of all ages are getting ready to go back to school and what more appropriate way of displaying Septembers Movie of the Month. Most school centered films, whether is high school or college all seem to have the same situation in common. They all seem to boast the idea of some teacher coming to a bad district or teaching bratty kids and changing their life around. With that said, take everything you know about a school centered film and throw it out the window and view Half Nelson. Directed by an unknown, Ryan Fleck and starring Ryan Gosling in the role the garnered him a Oscar Nomination, Half Nelson tells the story of a Brooklyn high school history teacher and woman's basketball coach, Dan Dunne, who has a serious addiction to crack. Gosling plays the crack addicted teacher who after a basketball game, he is found laying on the floor of the girls locker room after smoking a heavy amount of the addictive drug. Who he is found by, Drey, played by the brilliant Shareeka Epps (in her first film role), would change the course not only of his life but Drey's as well. Drey and Dan would build a bond of secrets and sometimes lies, where the both of them need each other more than ever. One of the most powerful films of last year and one that will leave you surprised and uncomfortable. In many ways Half Nelson is the anti-school centered film and focuses more on life and the issues of that nothing is what it seems, backed by a great soundtrack from the band Broken Social Scene, Half Nelson is a must see. .

Underrated Classic - Foo Fighters "There is Nothing Left to Lose"

Lets be honest, no one ever knew what to make of the Foo Fighters. Even today, many people probably still don't. Are they a great hard rock band? Are they a versatile band? Are they a goofy rock band? They are indeed all of the above, but the one this most people over look is that they are a serious and passionate rock band. When the Foo's first emerged in the fall of 1995, they were know as the band made of members of Sunny Day Real Estate and that drummer from Nirvana singing. Yet after their sophomore disc, The Colour and the Shape, a much more sophisticated and louder band came out. Getting Dave Ghrol out of the shadow that once was his famous Grunge trio, yet giving the listeners what they wanted. However, two albums down, no one could still put a finger on these guys. The release of their third disc 1999's There is Nothing Left to Lose, a rather profound statement displaying lose, loneliness and in some cases perseverance, symbolizes a band finally comfortable in their own skin. An awkward paradox and situation to be comfortable or easily adjusting too. The story behind this record is after a label dispute with Capitol Records the band left to sign to RCA. Not only did they lose a record deal...and gain a new one, right before entering a home built recording studio in Virginia, guitarist and founding member Pat Smeer announced he was leaving the band. Yet Ghrol and Co pushed on and hired guitarist Franz Stahl to fill in for Smeer only after the record was finished, what many do not know is that they recorded it as a trio. There is Nothing Left to Lose would boast the singles "Learn to Fly," and "Breakout," yet it were the deeper cuts that led to a better understanding of a misunderstood band. Songs like "Generator," "Next Year," and the closing epic "M.I.A.," would show a side of Ghrol that no one had ever herd, an honest and vulnerable man trying to deal with whatever demons and struggles he had succumbed to. It seems to be the most overlooked in the bands catalogue, yet would pave the way for the self proclaimed "not so loud," disc on In Your Honor. There is Nothing Left to Lose is the Foo Fighters at their all time best, its the most solid accomplishment the band ever released and the last great record of last millennium.

Quick News

The Strokes ran into a fork in the road last week while recording their fourth record. Guitarist Albert Hammond Jr., decided to put his sessions on hold with his claim to fame, only to record a solo follow up to last years critically acclaimed Yours to Keep. The Strokes are being fully supportive of their band mate and are waiting for Hammond to finish his sophomore disc so the band can resume theirs.

New Jersey rockers Thursday are hitting the road with Circle Takes the Square this fall. All to support a live CD/DVD retrospective of the band put out by their former label Vagrant Records. Thursday left Vagrant in late 2002 on bad terms before signing a major label contract with Island Records. Apparently the band and Vagrant have buried the hatchet and are releasing this CD/DVD combo this fall under the Vagrant name.

In other DVD news, it wouldn't be fall without a Beatles release of some sort. The greatest band of all time is releasing Help! for the first time on DVD. Help! will feature much of the same special features A Hard Days Night did when they put that out in 2002 (behind the scenes, never before seen interviews, etc) . This time around, Help! will also feature a literary entry from Martin Scorsese.

Against Me! Live On Letterman

Florida punkers Against Me! rip up Ed Sullivan Theater on Letterman