So it finally happened. The next most bewildering reunion aside from the ghosts of John and George jamming with Paul and Ringo, Led Zeppelin reunited and played a full two-hour show Monday night at the O2 Arena in London.
With year end best of lists being cluttered with The National, Spoon and Bruce Springsteen, there is a band out of Birmingham, Alabama, Through the Sparks, whose Lazarus Beach certainly deserves some attention. Through the Sparks is a collaboration of long time friends that involve James Brangle and Jody Nelson, who began writing and recording with longtime friends and collaborators Nikolaus and Thomas Mimikakis and Greg Slamen in early 2004.
Releasing one, two and sometimes three studio albums a year, calling Ryan Adams prolific would be an understatement. However for every brilliant Cold Roses there is a "did we really need this" 29. With the Follow the Lights EP, Adams has released perhaps his most unblemished recording since Gold.
The Radishes are a San Francisco/Los Angeles based band with an attacking sound that has been described as Nirvana meets Motorhead. Although musical comparisons are easy to come by, cocalist/guitiarst Paul Stinson likens it as White Stripes meets the Stooges meets NIN. Not too shabby. Toss in the Radishes fiery vocals and their ominous song-writing with loads of pop, punk and metal, and you have an act that could be headlining the big festival stages if they weren’t doing it the small “Do It Yourself” route, in part due to Stinson's self admitted "laziness."
The Marquee Theater has that effect of making a Friday night seem like a Tuesday for most bands, but Art Brut and The Hold Steady knew they have a job to do. As Finn said at the end of the show, “there is so much joy in doing what we do,” – you almost had to believe him.
With a little more direction, Spirit If.. has the makings of a winner, instead it has too many B-sides mixed with the good stuff to award Drew higher status on the Broken Social Scene name chain.
La Cucaracha isn’t your Chocolate and Cheese or Mollusk Ween; it’s inconsistent, but never-the-less, it’s always been about those three or four Ween gems that keep you coming back.
R.E.M. Live isn’t going to turn their naysayers to the R.E.M. sound, but it proves a better late that never live package, or at least a well needed hold-me over until their next studio release due in early 2008.
Straddling the indie/classic rock/roots line of My Morning Jacket and Wilco, while incorporating the sensitive harmonies and instrumental angst of Built to Spill and Neil Young, Band of Horses is pure critic ear porn.
A new Radiohead album came out today. You can download it at inrainbows.com. After you put it in your shopping cart, you can choose to pay whatever price you want. What else can you say?
