"Raditude" Without the Attitude

by asherleyann November 11, 2009

On Nov 3, Weezer released their seventh full-studio effort – Raditude. The album, named by comedian and actor Rainn Wilson, gives Weezer fans plenty to love.

Or hate.

Longtime fans that fell in love with classic Weezer songs such as “Buddy Holly,” “Undone (The Sweater Song),” and “Say It Ain’t So” off the 1994 album, The Blue Album may feel let down by Raditude, which is excellent by its own standards, but subpar compared to previous Weezer efforts. Raditude also lacks the classic sounds of Weezer from the 1996 album, Pinkerton, which is still considered to be a defining album of the emo genre. Fan-favorites off Pinkerton like “The Good Life,” and original lyrics like “I asked her to go to the Green Day concert / You said you never heard of them / How cool is that?” have seemed to vanish from Weezer’s last few albums. Weezer’s two previous albums Make Believe and The Red Album released in 2005 and 2008, respectively, have failed to impress fans. Front man Rivers Cuomo was accused by fans of writing shallow lyrics and insipid melodies. Even further, Make Believe’s first single “Beverley Hills” left fans feeling betrayed the band that had cultivated a reputation as the average, awkward loser – the band of men that could never get the girl. Fans were disgusted when Cuomo sang about his longing for Beverley Hills, a far cry from what the average Weezer fan knows. The Red Album bode no better – online film and music webzine, Tiny Mix Tapes, went so far as to call the album “a sad portrait of a band that has been totally destroyed by fame and the pressures that come along with it.”

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Bands to Know: The Summer Set

by airwave November 2, 2009

The Summer Set: Chelsea

Arizona natives, The Summer Set, have gone from self-releasing EPs to releasing a full length on Razor&Tie in a span of just two years.  The fivesome, including brothers John and Stephen Gomez, Josh Montgomery, Brian Dales and Jess Bowen have a dynamic that will please fans of pop-punk.

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Where Words Fail, Music Speaks: Freedom of Speech Through Music

by airwave November 1, 2009

“Cop Killer” was released by Ice-T and his heavy metal band, Body Count, in 1992 on their self-titled album.  “Cop Killer” lyrics were sung in first person, and told the story of an individual outraged by police brutality.  The individual then decides to take the law into his own hands by killing corrupt, violent police officers.   Though the song was written two years before and had been sung live by the band on tours prior to its legitimate availability, it was met with tenacious opposition upon its official release.

Then-Vice President Dan Quayle labeled “Cop Killer” as being “obscene,” and then-President George H.W. Bush publicly discredited any record company that would release it.  The Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas (CLEAT) launched a campaign to impel Warner Brothers Records to withdraw the album completely.  CLEAT was joined by police forces across the United States within a week. 

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Bands to Know: The Saturdays

by airwave October 27, 2009


The Saturdays: Forever is Over

Anyone who says they don’t like a good pop song is a liar.  If that were the truth, bands like The Pussycat Dolls and several other female vocalists would not be on the charts, harboring alternate labels like “R&B,” “Alternative,” and various other sub-genres before listing “Pop.”  There hasn’t been a girl group from the UK to break the United States since the Spice Girls.  Hopefully, that’s about to change.

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A Look at Female Fronted Bands

by airwave October 26, 2009

It seems like the popularity of female fronted bands has increased at a quick rate. Bands like No Doubt have been doing it for decades, and before No Doubt there was Blondie. A new generation of female fronted bands is on the rise, but which of them actually stand out?

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by airwave October 26, 2009
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

VersaEMERGE: Whisperer

An Interview With The Bigger Lights' J.K. Royston

by airwave October 19, 2009

Photo: Mark SacroTagged with labels like powerpop, rock, pop and pop punk, it’s kind of hard to distinguish what genre The Bigger Lights should really be in.  The quintet from Fairfax, Virginia are not a band that should go unnoticed simply on account of the labels because they’re a group of great guys who love what they do, adore their fans, and want to make music that people want to listen to. 

Signed with Doghouse Records less than one year after forming, their EP, Fiction Fever was released on April 17th, 2009 as a follow up to a self released EP, Third Act Stories

Fiction Fever is jam packed with everything a pop-punk fan wants in a pop-punk band and more, and is an excellent follow up to Third Act Stories.  Clean guitars are a pleasure to hear, clever lyrics and catchy hooks, accompanied by a crisp set of vocals from singer Topher Talley, this band is destined to be stuck in your head for days.    It’s a fun listen, and aesthetic is obviously top of the priority list for this quintet and it shows.

Shortly before the band hit the road full time in the month of May to kick off their long summer, I had the opportunity to talk to J.K. Royston, one of the guitarists in the band.  

Walk me through a day in the life of The Bigger Lights.  You’re in a new city almost every single day, and while a lot of people envy you for that, it sounds like it can be kind of intimidating.  Was it scary for you guys at first or did you jump into it and just go with the flow?
JKR: Every day is a little bit different, depending on whether we’re at home, on the road, or in the studio and what kind of tasks we have to accomplish. We tend to stay pretty busy and work hard no matter where we are or what we’ve got going on, so our days are usually pretty full. We’ve kind of gradually worked our way up to the level of touring we’re starting to do now. This will be the first time we’ve ever left home for such a long time on back to back tours, but we’re embracing the opportunity with nothing but confidence and excitement.

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GRACE (warning: small spoilers ahead!)

by misguidedghosts September 27, 2009

Out of the many selections chosen for 2009’s Sundance film festival, there is one film in particular that attracted a boatload of attention and hype. This film is a horror flick by the name of ‘GRACE’. The movie poster alone is intriguing, and hearing the various claims that reporters, as well as viewers, had fainted during the first few screenings is enough to make even the most weak-stomached individual curious about the film’s plot. Although GRACE is based upon the 2006 short film with an identical moniker (and the same director), Paul Solet’s now full-length directorial debut has a specific formula that aspires to leave an imprint on the conscience of its viewers, and it succeeds tremendously in doing just that.

Set in modern times, the back-story of GRACE is one that many mothers have been subjected to during the course of their lives. The film’s main character, Madeleine (Jordan Ladd) is in quite a frazzled state because two of her previous births have failed, and she is now riddled with her third pregnancy. Faced with the fact that this pregnancy might also yield an unsuccessful result, she must deal with her husband Michael’s (Stephen Park) overprotective mother-in-law Vivian (Gabrielle Rose) and her constant nitpicking about Madeleine’s lack of trust in government health institutions, specifically hospitals, and takes immense pride in denouncing the choice Madeleine has made in staying a vegan throughout her pregnancy, and even after. Determined that she has her wants and needs figured out regardless of Vivian’s wishes, the mother-to-be selects her own avenue of childbirth — a kind and skilled holistic midwife named Patricia (Samantha Ferris). Everything seems to be going just peachy until a whirlwind of events, including the death of her husband in a car accident, shatters the hope that Madeleine might give birth to a healthy baby girl … or does it?

In the calming, serene setting her midwife created for her childbirth, Madeleine gives birth to a baby girl, who seems to have passed away in the womb. This causes the already heartbroken mother to become absolutely destitute for the child she had carried for those groundbreaking nine months. However, after cooing to the baby, and allowing the child to suck at her breast, the small infant lets out her first cry of life — the previously deceased child had now been resurrected, in a sense. Then, Madeleine triumphantly announces to her midwife that the tiny girl’s name is Grace. The first few weeks with the tiny baby seemed to be running extremely smooth. Madeleine gives it her all to keep the child satisfied and safe within the barriers of her home. It all goes downhill from there though, and a defining moment exists when Madeleine truthfully realizes that there is something wrong with Grace.

A harrowing tale filled with plenty of twists and turns, GRACE is a film that is unlikely to disappoint even the most seasoned horror film buff. Although the urge to faint may not be as strong as was described at the Sundance festival, there are plenty of moments that leave the viewers cringing and peeking between the gaps of their fingers, dreading the next onslaught of blood. Though the movie is not necessarily scary, it gathers a hold on the human conscience with its unsettling images of childbirth and the integral developmental weeks to follow, added on to a mother desperate for any means to keep her child satiated. Paul Solet’s GRACE could be described as satisfying, yet disturbing; a movie that leaves a lasting mark on the definition of what it means to be a mother, and how far an individual would be willing to go for his or her own flesh and blood.

MPAA Rating: R

Runtime: 85 minutes

Into the Octahedron

by desperategraves September 24, 2009

Courtesy of RLP and Warner BrosIf you’re anything like me then the mere weeks before The Mars Volta’s release of their fifth studio album, Octahedron, seemed to carry on for months. With Omar Rodriguez-Lopez having labeled Octahedron the band’s acoustic album, you could practically hear the horrified gasps of Volta Heads from all edges of the world. But they should know, with masterminds Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala, no label should be taken literally, ever.

Upon first listen, fans all shared a collective sigh of relief. What Omar & co have handed over is simply an album full of energy. Albeit, calmer energy but with a definite intensity to its delivery. No it isn’t another De-Loused and it definitely isn’t another Bedlam. It drifts…. well, more like runs from the group’s uniform dazzling yet, dizzying jazz-prog rock freak outs, laying the foundation for a soothing, though not at all any less, complex record.

Octahedron opens with Since We’ve Been Wrong, a spooky ballad of sorts. Bixler-Zavala who has never been known for his…. how should we put this? His, err, straight-forward lyrical aspects, actually manages to give a song that in fact does not need a dictionary. Or several history books for that matter. Rather, we are rewarded with the beginning of an album that truly showcases his singing abilities. Something all fans can agree on – Octahedron has shown us some of Cedric’s most stunning vocals yet, especially on the bone chilling Copernicus, where Bixler-Zavala sings the haunting lyrics with an almost tenderness that one would not expect from him.

The album carries a bit of a gloomy, mournful tone to it with long moments of serenity that might look sedated but definitely should not be trusted. A prime example to this would be the dark and eerie Desperate Graves with lyrics like, “The light brings/ The highest execution/ Show me the wings I must cut.” Didn’t I tell you? Freaky. The album is more like a lion waiting to pounce when you least expect it to, and trust, it does exactly that.

Though most fans will protest the absence of musical freak outs that have long been a custom in Volta albums and at their lives shows, they will be silenced or at least content with the two more Volta-ish tracks. Evident by the wickedly brooding Teflon and the ever high intensity that is Cotopaxi. With lines like, “When Sanskrit was my mother tongue/ Scarabs filled my pillow/ Tarmac strips to pave for them/ And thrones from which to teach,” Octahedron starts to feel a bit more like home.

It is perhaps the mark of a true artist when he or she is able to evolve and grow with their work. The Mars Volta has always shown such a talent on every album to date but it’s the subtle touches to Octahedron that really showcases that band’s versatility, showing their ability to create moods and even, if you think about it long enough, a different world within their music. Whether it be the blink and you miss it back beat to Since We’ve Been Wrong, the piano that shimmers in between verses or Rodriguez-Lopez’s hauntingly subtle yet, ever powerful guitar work on even the record’s quieter moments, one cannot deny that the group continues to grow musically and push boundaries. Even their own.

Like the band’s third studio album, Amputechure, Octahedron does not contain any unifying narratives. In fact, like Amputechure, the album has already been approached with uncertainty by hard core fans, though after a few thoughtful listens one does tend to find small patterns in Bixler-Zavala’s lyrics. Long story short, Octahedron is The Mars Volta’s calmest, most approachable album to date. Yes, one could call it the group’s “pop” album, a twisted one at that. And it’s not an acoustic album. Huh. Who would’ve thought?

Octahedron was released world wide on June 23rd, 2009 and is available for purchase on the band’s website, TheMarsVolta.com, in stores and on iTunes. The Mars Volta is currently on tour. Tour dates can be found on the band’s website as well.

'brand new eyes' for Paramore

brand new eyes album artOn September 18, 2009, Hot Topic stores around the nation held listening parties for Paramore’s third album, brand new eyes. With longtime and new Paramore fans alike in attendance, it was no surprise that everyone was excited to hear what the band had to say and offer to us on this album.  With sneak peaks of songs like “Ignorance” and “Where the Lines Overlap” on their tour with No Doubt, and then the release of  “Brick by Boring Brick” on the band’s official site and MySpace, fans were eager to hear more. 

The band finally decided to offer more.  This album is lyrically something we have never heard from twenty-year-old front woman, Hayley Williams.  Williams, and the rest of the band, Taylor York, Jeremy Davis, and brothers Zac and Josh Farro, have all said that this album is the most honest of the three albums they have ever written.  This should come as no surprise after what the band has been through in the last two years.

After releasing Riot! in the summer of 2007, the band went on tour for what seemed like forever.  With touring extensively, missing home, and even having a break-up between band members, things were tough.  The band told Alternative Press and several other publications that “Paramore had become a business,” and that they “weren’t having fun anymore.”  The band canceled an entire wing of a European tour in January of 2008 and went home to Tennessee without an explanation.  After a few weeks off, they were back out on tour, but there wasn’t the same dynamic that Paramore fans were used to.  The electricity that fans loved to see so much, the passion - it was gone.  They finished up their tour with Jack’s Mannequin, Paper Route, and Phantom Planet and went on to Latin America to close their year’s album cycle, home just in time for the holidays.

With problems internally, the band has said they didn’t know how they were going to finish the album, let alone even start it.  Williams sat down to write lyrics, which contained such harshness that the band began to question where she was coming from.  With chants like, “ignorance is your new best friend,” in reference to the band mates surrounding her; it was obvious that they were all on different pages.  It forced them to talk and be open with one another.  After this, a group therapy session with someone close to them got them to open up and confront everything they were going through together.  After this, the band was ready to move forward and recorded their album in California with Rob Cavallo, who has produced bands like Green Day and My Chemical Romance. 

Williams held nothing back on this album.  Her lyrics contain a brutal honesty, much different from the honesty on their previous albums, Riot! and All We Know is Falling.  With lyrical gems like 
“When I was younger I saw my daddy cry, he cursed at the wind.  He broke his own heart and I watched as he tried to reassemble it,” from “The Only Exception,” “…you don’t deserve a point of view if the only thing you see is you,” from
“Playing God,” and “I scraped my knees while I was praying and found a demon in my safest haven,” from “Turn it Off,” she talks about their story in the best way she knew how, with stories of love, heartbreak, friendship, betrayal and disappointment. 

courtesy of wmgWith other tracks like “Feeling Sorry,” “Brick By Boring Brick,” and “Misguided Ghosts,” this album is not going to disappoint.    “Misguided Ghosts” is a hauntingly beautiful track that is hard to listen to just once.  Done with chilling acoustic guitars and minimal bass chords, Williams croons, “…now I’m told that this is life. That pain is just a simple compromise, so we can get what we want out of it.”

Of course, the album has tunes that will stay in your head for days comparable to Riot!’s “Misery Business” in 2007.  “Ignorance,” “Careful,” “All I Wanted,” “Where the Lines Overlap,” and “Looking Up” are all powerful songs that will have Paramore fans screaming at the top of their lungs when the band sets out on tour September 29th in the United States before jetting off overseas to cover lost time there.  “Looking Up” is expertly done, telling the story of the band falling back into place and finding that spark and passion they had once before, while “Where the Lines Overlap” focuses on how lucky they feel to be doing this together.  Ultimately, “Where the Lines Overlap” feels like a song for their fans once Hayley bursts in with, “I’ve got a feeling if I sing this loud enough, then you will sing it back to me.”

The truth in these songs is inevitably heard, and there is something for both new and old fans alike. 

brand new eyes
is available for preorder on the Fueled by Ramen web store in hard and digital copy, and will be released on iTunes and in stores on September 29, 2009.

* photos courtesy of WMG and Fueled By Ramen.