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New Music 2008: Whadja Get?

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  • #46
    Re: New Music 2008: Whadja Get?

    not so much a "whadja get" as a "what eric gonna buy me" today at best buy:

    marie (pronounced ma-ree-ay) digby's "unfold."

    despite the controversy as to her authenticity as an undiscovered artist who made herself discovered via the wonders of youtube or not, to my ear, she is undeniably talented. (scriv, i would bet you would find her japanese-irish looks undeniably beautiful)

    her covers of rihanna, maroon 5, and incubus all do what the best covers do - breathe a bit fresh life into a song i already like, all the while somehow causing me to enjoy the originals even more. make fun of my taste in music, but i found britney's "gimme more" completely enjoyable gyraty pop if tainted by that sloppy mtv award performance. digby's version pretty much scrubbed the taint off for me. additionally, digby's original songs (like "stupid for you" and "say it again") easily earn my pressing the "repeat" button on my cd player at work.
    superbia (pride), avaritia (greed), luxuria (lust), invidia (envy), gula (gluttony), ira (wrath) & acedia (sloth)--the seven deadly sins.

    "when you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: the people i deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly..."--meditations, marcus aurelius (make sure you read the rest of the passage, ya lazy wankers!)

    nothing humiliates like the truth.--me, in conversation w/mixedplatebroker re 3rd party, 2009-11-11, 1213

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    • #47
      Re: New Music 2008: Whadja Get?

      Yeah, Marie Digby... I bought the single off of iTunes and was going to buy the album last week since it was on sale at BestBuy for $7.99 or $9.99. What is it selling for today? I'll wait for the next sale. I sampled the 30 sec. tracks at iTunes and it sounds like something I would like.

      Also thinking about getting Ana Laan; and for the old fart in me, recently got the new R.E.M. which I still have to open and the B-52's "Funplex" which just picks up from where they left off several years ago. The latter is a fun album that'd go good at a dance party if people liked that kind of music.
      I'm still here. Are you?

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      • #48
        Re: New Music 2008: Whadja Get?

        She looks pretty good, though for some reason I'm not much taken by her in the photos I've seen. I am also not much impressed with her choices of covers, but then I haven't actually heard them yet. Will definitely check her out, though.

        Haven't acquired much new stuff lately; the release lists looked a little uninteresting this month, so I've been filling in the holes in my 2007 purchases. However, I do have a few new things, so an update later this evening. Gotta get back to work.
        But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
        GrouchyTeacher.com

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        • #49
          Re: New Music 2008: Whadja Get?

          Originally posted by mel View Post
          Yeah, Marie Digby... I bought the single off of iTunes and was going to buy the album last week since it was on sale at BestBuy for $7.99 or $9.99. What is it selling for today?
          $9.99...or, if you know someone who works there and is willing to buy it for you as a gift, about $6.

          been listening to it at work almost constantly & i thoroughly enjoy it. not sure if i like it better than ingrid michaelson's 2007 release, girls & boys.
          superbia (pride), avaritia (greed), luxuria (lust), invidia (envy), gula (gluttony), ira (wrath) & acedia (sloth)--the seven deadly sins.

          "when you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: the people i deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly..."--meditations, marcus aurelius (make sure you read the rest of the passage, ya lazy wankers!)

          nothing humiliates like the truth.--me, in conversation w/mixedplatebroker re 3rd party, 2009-11-11, 1213

          Comment


          • #50
            Re: New Music 2008: Whadja Get?

            Originally posted by cynsaligia View Post
            not sure if i like it better than ingrid michaelson's 2007 release, girls & boys.
            I have that and have given it a good half-dozen listens. Not sure how I feel about it. It definitely has its moments, but ultimately I think it's unsatisfying. Maybe if you tell me some of your favorite tracks, I'll listen differently and give it another shot.
            But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
            GrouchyTeacher.com

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            • #51
              Re: New Music 2008: Whadja Get?

              Originally posted by mel View Post
              ...the old fart in me, recently got ... the B-52's "Funplex" which just picks up from where they left off several years ago. The latter is a fun album that'd go good at a dance party if people liked that kind of music.
              Yeah!!! Platinum action at the Funplex! Great album!
              Make trouble, have fun, do good stuffs.

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              • #52
                Re: New Music 2008: Whadja Get?

                Poi Dog Pondering - 7. A mix of their old sound and recent house/soul sound.
                poidogpondering.com
                just started: mililaniblog.com

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                • #53
                  Re: New Music 2008: Whadja Get?
                  • Death Cab for Cutie, Narrow Stairs (05/13/2008, Atlantic) Got it yesterday and listened to it once. I think I like Chris Walla's solo album more.
                  • Madonna, Hard Candy (04/29/2008, Warner Bros.) Timbaland and Justin Timberlake did Duran Duran no favors on Red Carpet Massacre, but they do fine by Madonna on this album. The Neptunes tracks are also quite good.
                  • Furukawa Miki, Bondage Heart (04/23/2008, BMG Japan) Not as appealing as her 2006 solo debut, Mirrors.
                  • Kylie Minogue, X (04/01/2008, Capitol) I've actually been listening to this for months, since it was released elsewhere last year. Quite fun, really.
                  • R.E.M., Accelerate (04/01/2008, Warner Bros.) Oh, thank goodness R.E.M. finally shook off that funk.
                  • Wayne Horvitz/Gravitas Quartet, One Dance More (04/08/2008, Songlines)
                  • Wayne Horvitz, Joe Hill: 16 Actions for Voices, Orchestra and Soloist (04/01/2008, New World)
                  • Wayne Horvitz/Sweeter Than the Day, A Walk in the Dark (April 2008, self-released)
                  • Varmint, Mr. Man in the Moon (April 2008, self-released) I'm still listening to all these Horvitz discs (Varmint included), so I don't have much of an opinion just yet.
                  • ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, World World World (03/05/2008, Ki/oon) The more I listen to this album, the more I warm up to it.

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                  • #54
                    Re: New Music 2008: Whadja Get?

                    I think it's high time to bump this thread.

                    CDs:
                    • Shiina Ringo, Watashi to Houden Shiina Ringo's B-sides are as good as her singles.
                    • LOVE PSYCHEDELICO, This is LOVE PSYCHEDELICO This actually has previously released material from Japan, but it's the band's US debut. Imagine a classic rock band time traveled to 2000.
                    • Emmylou Harris, All I Intended to Be Harris ditches the moodiness of her previous two albums and mixes originals with interpretation. This one is a contender for my year-end favorite list.
                    • Sigur Rós, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust The first half of the album is refreshingly lively, but the second half brings back the atmosphere of the band's previous work.
                    • The Dead Betties, This Is Your Brain on Drugs The most melodic of the wildly prolific Dead Betties albums I've heard thus far. Doesn't have the blister of Nightmare Sequence, but the performances are still tight.
                    • Eponymous 4, enigmatics I released my own CD.


                    MP3:
                    • Jonathan Mendelsohn, Various SNOCAP tracks Not an actual album, but a number of recordings available on Mendelsohn's Myspace page. I like his voice, and his songs don't tend to get lost in the R&B clutter.
                    • Nico Muhly, Mothertongue An enigmatic album weaving monotone melodies, minimalism and ancient music. Strangely appealing.
                    Last edited by NemesisVex; July 11, 2008, 09:56 AM. Reason: Adding Jonathan Mendelsohn

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                    • #55
                      Re: New Music 2008: Whadja Get?

                      Been buying a lot of stuff recently, after a bit of a drought. New releases that impressed me include:

                      "An Invitation" - Inara George (vocalist with The Bird and the Bee, daughter of Little Feat's Lowell George) teams up with Van Dyke Parks (acclaimed arranger/songwriter best known for his work with Brian Wilson)

                      "S.M.V." - three incredible bass guitarists teaming up: Stanley Clarke, Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller - jazzy, funky fun.

                      But the one that has blown me away is the US release (with additional tracks) of a 2002 European collaboration between jazz guitarist Pat Metheny & Polish singer Anna Maria Jopek, "Upojenie." If you like Metheny at all, you have to have this album. Several of the tracks are new arrangements (with Polish lyrics) of some of his past instrumental works, and several are composed by the musicians on the album. Jopek's voice has a haunting breathiness reminiscent of Brazilian bossa nova singers, and is a fantastic lead instrument for these works. Unutterably gorgeous jazz.

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                      • #56
                        Re: New Music 2008: Whadja Get?

                        CDs:
                        • BLEACH, Kien If you've listened to this hardcore trio from Okinawa before, you've pretty much heard this album as well.
                        • Hajime Chitose, Cassini Hajime Chitose still has the voice of the millennium, but this album finds her bouncing back from the relative disappointment of her last album.
                        • Joan Jeanrenaud, Strange Toys Former Kronos cellist records an album of her own works, and while haunting, the album can get conspicuous.
                        • Samamidon, All Is Well Traditional music quietly performed at an introspective pace. Features orchestrations by Nico Muhly.
                        • Spangle call Lilli line, ISOLATION An album featuring some gorgeous piano work.
                        • Tarik O'Regan, Threshold of Night (Craig Hella Johnson, Conspirare Company of Voices) I bought this at an in-store appearance.

                        MP3s:
                        • Matthew Robert Cooper (Eluvium), Miniatures Mostly piano and synthesized orchestra. Classically minded but not beholden to dogma.
                        • Frederick Rzewski, The People United Will Never Be Defeated (Ralph van Raat, piano) Holy crap do you need to be virtuoso to play this piece.

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                        • #57
                          Re: New Music 2008: Whadja Get?

                          AC/DC's Black Ice is the best CD from the band since 1980's Back In Black. A must for any rock fan.

                          I also recommend James Taylor's Covers. A nice CD with familiar covers done in Taylor's style.
                          Listen to KEITH AND THE GIRLsigpic

                          Stupid people come in all flavors-buzz1941
                          Flickr

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                          • #58
                            Re: New Music 2008: Whadja Get?

                            Originally posted by NemesisVex View Post
                            Joan Jeanrenaud, Strange Toys Former Kronos cellist records an album of her own works, and while haunting, the album can get conspicuous.
                            Frederick Rzewski, The People United Will Never Be Defeated (Ralph van Raat, piano) Holy crap do you need to be virtuoso to play this piece.
                            I was just checking these out this week, as they are eligible for Grammy Awards in a number of Classical categories (another area where I vote).

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                            • #59
                              Re: New Music 2008: Whadja Get?

                              MP3s:
                              • ... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Festival Thyme Not sure if they've shaken off the torpor of So Divided.
                              • Antony and the Johnsons, Another World A bit nondescript -- I hope the forthcoming album fares better.
                              • Girl Talk, Feed the Animals Holy crap how does a person get away with laying Missy Elliott over Nu Shooz or Jay-Z over Radiohead?
                              • Ivri Lider, Beketzev A'hid Batnu'ot Shell Haguf (The Steady Rhythm Of Body Movements) One of Israel's biggest pop stars records a rather rocking album.
                              • Matt Alber, Hide Nothing Former member of Chanticleer sounds a bit like Rufus Wainwright, except Rufus probably can't do countertenor like Alber.


                              And while haven't actually gotten around to buying these yet, I have listened to:
                              • Sam Sparro, Sam Sparro The Force of Prince is strong in this one.
                              • VOLA & THE ORIENTAL MACHINE, Halan'naca Darkside Oh thank goodness Ahito Inazawa has mitigated the awful influence of POLYSICS
                              • ZAZEN BOYS, ZAZEN BOYS 4 Finally -- Dave Fridmann went in and saved Mukai Shuutoku from himself.

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                              • #60
                                Man, it's been some time since I last updated this. I've got too much 2008 stuff to discuss all in one post, so I'll hit it in alphabetical order a few at a time, I guess.

                                Alice Cooper
                                Along Came a Spider
                                It's a pretty good concept album about a serial killer who leaves his victims wrapped in cocoons of silk, minus one leg. Something about assembling a spider of his own, only he falls in love with his eighth victim. The thing about Alice's albums is that they usually take quite a while to grow on me and I haven't given this one an adequate number of listens. Alice can still sing, though, and I think he's one of the best at telling a story in a four-minute song. Slash and Ozzy Osbourne make guest appearances.

                                Asia
                                Phoenix
                                I'm very, very excited about this one. It's the first Asia album with the original lineup (Wetton, Downes, Howe, Palmer) since Alpha, the band's 1983 second album. As has been discussed on HT before, Wetton had some health problems, resulting in a postponed tour (including a scheduled Hawaii show), and a lot of that comes through in the Wetton-penned songs. There's a lot of "I'll never take things for granted again," and "Now I know what's important" in the lyrics, but if you love Asia the way I love Asia, you wanna know how proggy it is! The answer: About as proggy as an Asia album gets. It really does feel like the third part of a trilogy beginning with Asia and continuing with Alpha. Everybody on the album rocks about the way you'd expect. I think the best thing I can say about it is that there are no surprises here, except maybe how truly positive the vibe is. When Wetton's on his game, he's a great singer, and he's on it here. I don't know if I mentioned it, but for me and my rocker friends in high school, it was really Asia that got us into progressive rock. When we found out it was a supergroup, one of us (not me) investigated his dad's record collection and found LPs of Yes, King Crimson, UK, Uriah Heep, and ELP and over the next few years we were all eventually converted. Oh, and Roger Dean did the album cover. THAT almost tells you all you need to know, right there.

                                Carly Simon
                                This Kind of Love
                                I haven't listened to this since a couple of weeks after I bought it, and the thing that strikes me about this album is that it's a good age-o-meter. If you like it, you're probably old. I kinda like it, so I think that means I'm kinda old. I'm going to have to revisit it, though, because I don't remember anything else about it!

                                Crooked Still
                                Still Crooked
                                Now THIS is an album I'm excited about, and a definite candidate for my album of the year. I've mostly heard Crooked Still described as neo-bluegrass, but I guess I'm still something of a bluegrass tenderfoot, because when I listen, I hear bluegrass. This group of virtuoso twenty-somethings recently lost its founding cellist, a central figure in the group, but found a new one and added Brittany Haas, a college-aged fiddle-playing hotshot on whom I have something of a crush (do a YouTube search and you'll see why). This is beautiful, beautiful music: sensual and energetic and lively and just cool. Check out "Did You Sleep Well?" and you'll see what I mean. A great, great album.

                                David Byrne and Brian Eno
                                Everything that Happens will Happen Today
                                It's about what you would expect: Interesting, intriguing, not altogether memorable, but with moments of genius. Still getting into this one.

                                Digital Underground
                                ...Cuz a d.u. Party Don't Stop!
                                I should know better than to purchase an entire Digital Underground album; they've NEVER put out a whole album of solid material. However, since I knew it was unlikely I'd get to hear anything from this album through the usual channels and since DU has announced that this is its final album, I went ahead and got it, hoping for at least three good tracks. DU is so inconsistent and so uneven, though, so I knew there'd be a chance none of it was worth it. There is nothing here as memorable as "Same Song" or "Humpty Dance," but there are a few moments. I miss Tupac.

                                The Duke Spirit
                                Neptune
                                I saw this band on Leno one night, which is amazing because Leno doesn't usually have such little-known bands and also because I never watch Leno: what the heck was I doing watching Leno that night? Anyway, what I heard was basically a nice, noisy, buzzy band with a cute lead singer; the band reminded me a lot of the Raveonettes (a band I really dig) but a little less esoteric, a bit more accessible. That pretty much describes the whole album, really. It's kind of like Raveonettes Light. Nice, interesting, fun music. If you wish the Ravenonettes were a little bit more melodic, you might really like this.

                                Extreme
                                Saudades de Rock
                                I should probably present the disclaimer that Extreme can really do little wrong in my book, and I had despaired of the band ever getting back together even though the members have remained close friends all these years, so there was no way I would dislike this. It's got most of the good Extreme elements: good harmonies, interesting lyrics, good rhythms, and really tight musicianship. It's missing what the last couple of albums were also missing, though: That really great variety of styles and approaches that can be heard on Pornograffiti, the band's artistic and commercial peak. If you liked III Sides to Every Story, you'll probably like this. If you even liked Waiting for the Punchline, then you should definitely get this, because you're as much a fan as I am. Those who are unsure might just give the first track, "Star," a listen. You'll know from that song whether or not this is up your alley.

                                K. That's enough for now. More tomorrow.
                                Last edited by scrivener; December 2, 2008, 10:02 PM.
                                But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
                                GrouchyTeacher.com

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