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Music, New, Synthesiser Patel
Gold Soundz
10.05.11 | Permalink | Comment?

Deerhoof vs. Evil - Deerhoof
Cuddly avant garde
popsters fight evil forces.
Yoshimi redux?

Basic Instinct – Ciara
First Lady of “Crunk
‘n B” rounds bases, covers
all with hits. Home run.

The People’s Key – Brights Eyes
Conor Oberst’s band
name reminds me of Bonnie
Tyler. Can’t help it.

Crack The Skye – Mastodon
Mammoth riffing from
prehistoric pachyderm
namesake metal band.

Wasting Light – Foo Fighters
Dave Grohl and his pals
finally deliver on
long made promises.

Wounded Rhymes - Lykke Li
Sweden takes further
monopoly on pop songs
worth blogging about.

Endgame – Rise Against
This week in angsty
radio punk broadcasting
from America.

Now That’s What I Call Music 35 – Various Artists
Currently these are
the songs EMI Records
are calling music.

A State Of Trance 2011 - Armin Van Buuren
Not hypnotism
related, rather it is
dance music instead.
General Monty, Music, New
~~~ A Cappella ~~~
14.04.11 | Permalink | Comment?

We’ve started a new YA CD collection devoted to the voice, and mostly the human voice in harmony. I’d recommend these CDs to anyone who’s enjoyed Glee (The Warblers, especially!) or has listened to (and enjoyed) your local college’s barber shop quartet.

An American programme called The Sing Off has just been renewed for its third season and has seen a resurgence in interest in ‘a cappella’ singing, which Wikipedia describes as ’solo or group vocal or singing without instrumental sound.’ Watch a clip from Nota, the winners of the 2009 Sing Off competition here.

Here are some of the CDs in the a cappella collection!

The Sing Off : The Best of Season 2
Nota, by Nota
The Sing Off : Harmonies for the Holidays
With a Twist, by Straight No Chaser
University A Cappalla!, by Ben Folds
Music, New, Synthesiser Patel
New Compact Discs
15.12.10 | Permalink | Comment?

Endlessly – Duffy
Shyness forgotten,
the spotlight’s glare now embraced,
pop moves to the fore.

The Very, Very Best Of – Crowded House
These three discs are as
crowded as a crowded house
hahahaha jk.

Greatest Hits – Good Charlotte
Identical bros
longetivity ensures
Christmastime release

Cardiology – Good Charlotte
Oh, you wanted more?
Perhaps these “heartfelt” tunes will
scratch away your itch.

Merry Christmas II You – Mariah Carey
Second in series
of seasonal themed songs from
singer of Someday

Christmas Album – Glee
More seasonally
appropriate recordings,
this time from Glee Club.

Disc-overy – Tinie Tempah
Rapper shares birthday
with Synthesiser Patel.
Good for him, I guess.

Semi-Charmed Life – V/A
Unlucky enough
to have missed nineties alt-rock?
Not with this you’re not.
Music, New, Synthesiser Patel
Now That’s What I Call Haiku
09.12.10 | Permalink | Comment?

Now That’s What I Call Music 34

Erstwhile collection
doubles runtime in thirty-
fourth incarnation

Evolution - Deceptikonz

Is “evolution”
“transformation”? If so, I
expect rapping cars

Humanoid City Live - Tokio Hotel

The last emos in
town turn on the bright lights, turn
dials to eleven

City Limits/Neon Sunrise - I Am Giant

Local X-Games
enthusiasts cut album
full of skater riffs

The Runaways – O.S.T.

Cherry-bombing girls
get biopic that sounds like
a roller derby
Music, New, Synthesiser Patel
Bits of plastic with songs on them
25.11.10 | Permalink | Comment?

Telephantasm – Soundgarden
Days they tried to live
apart were black. Together
again on their wave

Hands All Over – Maroon 5
Soon American
Idol contestants will be
covering these songs.

Nothing – N.E.R.D.
Nobody ever
really dies, especially
trendy producers

Surfing The Void – The Klaxons
Feline themed record
covers rapidly approaching
the “new black” status

Six Feet Downunder EP – Metallica
Napster opponents
release fan-made bootlegs to
fund Christmas shopping.

The Sound Of Dubstep
If you don’t know what
dubstep sounds like, one presumes
this is the tonic.

Step Up 3D
Breakdancing in the
third dimension requires some
futuristic rap.

Clubbers Guide Summer 2010
As the weather warms
this faux Lonely Planet Guide
arrives just in time.
Music, New, Synthesiser Patel
New Music And A Year-Old Joke
16.11.10 | Permalink | Comment?

Speak Now – Taylor Swift

I was going to
write about this but Kanye
interrupted me.

Camp Rock 2 : The Final Jam

Jo Bros. holiday
productively by kicking
out jams they then sell.

Doo Wops & Hooligans – Bruno Mars

Rising Hawaiian pop-
-star seemingly writes music
only whilst napping.

Wake Up! – John Legend & The Roots

Legends – self procaimed
and other – shake us gently
awake from slumber.

The Sellout – Macy Gray

Apparently to
sell out means bizarre Velvet
Revolver guest spots

The Enemy Within – Concord Dawn

Music is for drum
and bassers, cover is for
entomologists
Music, New, Synthesiser Patel
New Music, New Haiku
08.10.10 | Permalink | Comment?

Linkin Park – A Thousand Suns

Not even the light
from a thousand suns can pierce
maturities’ gloom

Shihad – Ignite

Stalwarts of local
scene truck on, introduce new
colours to palette

Kelis – Flesh Tone

Being overlooked
results in a move to the
dancefloor it would seem

Scott Pilgrim vs. the world : original motion picture soundtrack

Graphic novel as
film offers up better sounds
than most of its ilk.

Interpol – Interpol

Self-titled release
indicates return to roots,
results may vary
Music, New, Synthesiser Patel
Moar Haiku
29.09.10 | Permalink | Comment?

Brandon Flowers – Flamingo

Diminutive front
man sets out alone, travels
back towards Sam’s Town

Chemical Brothers – Further

Nineties stad-house “bros”
borrow chillwave blueprints and
add personal touch

Britannia High

Gary Barlow pens
tunes for what I imagine
to be UK Glee

Adam Lambert – For Your Entertainment (bonus tracks)

Your entertainment
is now prolonged by roughly
fifteen more minutes

Right Here, Right Now : 34 massive radio hits from the 90s

You may not recall
what the nineties sounded like,
though with this you can

Bonobo – Black Sands

Bonobos are like
chimpanzees. Black Sands is like
Sunday afternoons.
Music, New, Synthesiser Patel
Haiku Review: Volume Two
16.09.10 | Permalink | Comment?

Jack Johnson – En Concert

Jack brings his guitar
around the world, along with
a tape recorder.

Pitbull – The Boatlift

A man names himself
after a breed of dog and
raps about strippers.

The Gaslight Anthem – American Slang

Four guys who enjoy
Springsteen make alt-punk music
and put out record.

American Idol : Season Nine

Did you watch the ninth
season of Idol? No, well
here is a recap.

Beirut – Lon Gisland

Can’t think of a thing
to say about this one. So
I apologise.

Scouting For Girls – Everybody Wants To Be On TV

Everybody
Wants To Be On TV is
by Scouting For Girls.

Opshop – Until The End Of Time

I heard the singer
has a bunker in his yard
like Ned Flanders does.
Music, New, Synthesiser Patel
Music, Music, Music
22.07.10 | Permalink | Comment?

A whole bunch of new music has come in. Good news, huh?

Radiohead’s masterpiece, OK Computer was originally released in 1997, but has since been given the deluxe re-issue treatment that is so trendy right now. So now in addition to the full album you get an extra disc with all the b-sides from the singles, live tracks and remixes. If that isn’t enough, we have the same deal, but with 2001’s Amnesiac. Hours of Radiohead!

Whilst on the subject of influential British bands getting re-issued, there’s a couple of Beatles albums new to the shelves that’ve been given a loving remastering. 1967’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and 1968’s The Beatles (or the White Album as it’s most commonly known). These two records find the Fab Four at the peak of their studio wizardry and experimentation. Essential.

Band Of Horses aren’t actually a band of horses, rather a band of bearded gentlemen who play alt-country. It’s a good thing when you really think about it, because after the novelty of musical equines wore off it would become all too apparent they couldn’t really play instruments with their hooves and everything. Anyway Infinite Arms is perfect for the indie kid who digs folk rock.

In between jumping motorbikes over things, the Crusty Demons do more than a bit of compiling shouty metal onto CDs. Latest shouty metal compilation, Crusty demons : beyond the Apocalypse continues the trend. Featuring tracks from Slipknot, Fear Factory, 30 Seconds To Mars, Audioslave and a whole lot more spread over two discs.

More deluxe re-issuing, this time for the late, great Jimi Hendrix. His 1967 classic, Axis : Bold As Love now comes with a swell DVD showing the man at work and enhanced CD material that I haven’t checked out, so it could be anything. Anything! If you’ve yet to get into Jimi, please do yourself a favour and pick this up.

Mid-nineties alt-rockers Stone Temple Pilots recently reformed to record a new album showing that time (and the lure of money) can heal all wounds. The self-titled effort is a return to the grungey, 70’s stadium sound that made them stars in the first place, so fans can look forward to more of what they do best.

Miley Cyrus has gotten all tough and grown up on her new one, Can’t Be Tamed. Shedding the Hannah Montana image by sporting a black leather jacket and darkened hair on the cover, she matches it with a more mature, synth based sound. Whilst it’s a little bit edgier than what we’re used to from Miley, her fans will still be right at home.

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