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This could possibly be one of my favorite records to put on. The Dissociatives are two Australian guys, one who I spoke about a few weeks back, Daniel Johns, the Silverchair guy, and Paul Mac who is a popular DJ also in Australia.

The most impressive thing about this record is that it was all made on a laptop. Which gives musicians like myself hope to being able to make a good sounding record for  a cheap price.

Before reading on further check out the video for their song “Somewhere Down the Barrel” to get an idea of how this DJ and rock guitarist have put an incredible melody together.

This 2004 album contains more catchy song after catchy song. It is something you can tell that these guys worked hard on.

They first got together in the ’90s with their project called I Can’t Believe it’s Not Rock, for which they only released and EP for, check out the Song “Rain” from I Can’t Believe it’s Not Rock.

This Dissociatives record is their first and only full album to date. Though they have told the press that they do not consider the band a side project to their other acts. It’s hard to say. It’s only been about seven years.

This I week I’d like to bring attention to the band The Strokes and their new album, Angles.
First of all, what’s great about the Strokes is that they truly enjoy what they do and have passion for their music. Where I would only say this about their singer, Julian Casablancas, in the past because he was the chief songwriter of the group, I now say the same of the whole band for the following reason.
Angles, their first album in five years was a complete band effort, which is new for the Strokes. Casablancas was the guy that brought all the songs to the band pretty much completed with some already having drum parts.
I would also say that this record could possibly be one of their best. For the reason that the group is kind of going back to how they once were.
The biggest difference between this and their 2006 album, First Impressions of Earth, is that both the songs and albums are shorter, like their first two records, all ending around the half hour mark. Which, at least for me makes me wanting to listen to the album two or two and a half times over again.
Another reason I’d put this album at the top for them is because they have really narrowed in on the group’s style, that kind of ‘80s video game sound with catchy melodies.
Two songs that capture this best are “You’re So Right” and “Taken For a Fool.”
Check out their performance of “You’re So Right” Late Night with Jimmy Fallon here.

In their first album, Mazzy Star gave us their most up beat album, She Hangs Brightly, to date.
It begins with the song “Halah,” that does have somber lyrics, but somehow with a tambourine and snare drum being hit on the upbeat, of the rhythm’s count, the song makes for a sunny day.
The mood continues into the next two tracks “Blue Flower” and “Ride it On,” which features singer Hope Sandoval having more open-mouthed singing than any of the band’s future songs. It’s important to notice this because Sandoval is known for her whispery singing.
For an album that doesn’t get as much of attention as their second one, So Tonight That I Might See, for the band’s best known song “Fade Into You,” I feel people really need to check this one out. It will dispel any accusation that the band is only good for late night wallowing.
Ironically, the title track is the one that departs into more of a Doors like atmosphere, with its organ background and psychedelic guitar lines. They revisit this sound in “Ghost Highway” as well.
With summer just around the corner I highly recommend this album to anyone who enjoys quality songwriting and summer days.

In 2003, The Butthole Surfers or Los Buttholes gave us the album The Weird Revolution. The Texas band, now out of Austin has since put out no new material. For which I say, Lame! These guys are hilarious and one of my favorite acts to catch live. The Weird Revolution is also one of the first records I acquired of theirs.

In the first and title track, singer Gibby Haynes, delivers a rant about what so-called wierdos think and how they perceive so-called normal behavior or normal men.
Here is an excerpt from the song:

The so-called weirdos in this country stand as completely freaked out by the normal man as the normal man is completely freaked out by the weird masses reaction to him.

Which came first—you may ask—chicken or egg; you may ask. Well, the chicken of course; and it’s time to break this weird-ass chain.

The weird masses don’t want to be normalized.

Weirdos want to be abnormal.

The freaks can’t be formally normalized nor can we normally formalized.

What we want is complete weirdification.

Basically, we don’t want weirdness from the normal man.

We don’t want to be freaked out by the normal man.

We want to outfreak the normal man.

Basically, the song is anthem made by and for weirdos. Did I mention that he starts the rant, “On behalf of Dr. Timothy Leary?

But the record is not just full of rants. It includes great songs most of which are pretty catchy including “Jetfighter.” A song about a young boy named Mikey, who grows up to be a Naval pilot who dies young.  Check out this clip from YouTube of the song.

For whatever reason this album didn’t have much success—even with some of the band’s fans. I on the other hand highly recommend it and find that it lines up fine in their catalog of records even if it to be the last.

Those who remember the Australian band Silverchair might only think of their first record Frogstomp and that they were something like 15-years-old when it came out. In defense of those 15-year-olds that record still has songs that would kick bands like Nikelback’s ass any day.

But the album I want to talk about is their 2002 effort, Diorama. At the young age of 23, singer and songwriter of Silverchair, Daniel Johns, wrote a masterpiece.

The album is filled with orchestral arrangements composed by Van Dyke Parks, who is known for helping The Beach Boys with their album Pet Sounds. The songs that are already complex and full of emotion are brought to life with Parks’ arrangements.

The opening track, “Across The Night” brings all this to light in full swing. Though the song sounds like a sad one, which it could be, it could also be a redemption song. It’s sort of like a film’s score, which carries the album through its entirety.

A very thematic album, it also includes hard punching rock songs like “One Way Mule” and “The Lever.” One of my favorite points on the album is during “World Upon Your Shoulders” when the song changes from a nice somber tune into a heavier one. But in between, there’s a fall down section where in the background it sounds like Clydesdales walking off into the distance.

Although this album was a huge success in Australia and other European countries it was not so much here in the states. I remember when I bought the record in 2003. It had a sticker with a quote from Bono of U2 reading something to the effect of, ‘If you haven’t heard this record yet it’d be worth the swim to Australia.’

This week I am going to focus on Jenny Lewis’ 2008 album, Acid Tongue. Acid Tounge is Lewis’ first solo debut. Most know her from her as the singer for the band Rilo Kiley and others might remember her from the 1992 movie “Big Girls Don’t Cry… They Get Even.”

The title of the record comes from the fifth track under the same name. The song is folky and seems to be somewhat autobiographical. It mentions a time in her life when she took LSD and at where she was. In the last verse she sings,

And by the rolling river is exactly where I was
There was no snake or cure for unlucky in love
To be lonely is a habit like smoking or taking drugs
And I’ve quit them both but man was it rough.

Given this stanza and the rest of the song I don’t think her whole experience LSD was necessarily all that bad. But maybe more so in the habits she may have pursued there after.

Another song, featuring Elvis Costello, “Carpetbaggers,” is kind of self explanatory for what it’s about, But what gives this song charm is that the singers are taking the role of carpetbaggers and kind of making fun of the whole idea of people moving somewhere they’re not from and just taking over.

As a kid I remember watching movies with Lewis in them, however, never did I know her by name nor did I think I could ever be a fan of her musically.

Lewis described how she felt of her new career to Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune.

“I never set out to be a solo artist; I never thought I was capable of doing it,” Lewis says. “I can’t believe that I ever got a pass to play music in the first place. I was a child actor — are you kidding me?”

In this blog, I will focus on artists and bands that put forth music that actually means something to them and possibly any music fan. There is no room for music nazism—that is anyone that says, “I only listen to rap” or “I only listen to “rock n roll” or whatever. Over the course of the next months I hope to explore many kinds of music.

This week I’d like to bring attention to the 2003 album Terrorists Threats by Westside Connection, featuring rappers Mack 10, WC and Ice Cube. Throughout the course of the record, each rapper is expressing their disdain for the mainstream rap scene, not mentioning any artists by name but rather parodying situations of some artists they may know. For example the song “So Many Rappers in Love,” though not my favorite on the record is completely about how once hardcore rappers are now rapping about love and less gang life situations. Mack 10 said it perfectly in the line “I refuse to turn R-A-P into R&B.”

These guys really put out a quality record talking about what they want to hear and not just what would sell records. If I remember correctly the only hit off this album was “Gangsta Nation” which featured Nate Dogg—a catchy song. Nonetheless, the album as a whole worth the listen.