LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening

With three major reviews giving this album a near perfect review, every bone in my body wanted to not like this record just to be “cool” (I actually just wanted to disagree with Pitchfork for fun, but man they reviewed this one right). I originally planned to somewhat “bash” this record, but the more I listen to it the more I realize that is truly is fantastic. For an album that had a few things that I hate to hear in a record, such as having over an hour’s worth of music (way too much for me most of the time) and having nearly eight songs that are over six minutes long, it still succeeds with flying colors.

I recently watched an interview of Alex Kapranos, the lead singer of Franz Ferdinand, in which he explained the notion that rock and alternative bands often forget the importance of a hook. However, James Murphy nails the concept of a hook on this record.  The reason why people like the crap you hear on the radio is pretty obvious. Those songs are super catchy. Some of the best songs that you hear on the radio are great at building around one dumb hook. This is Happening is so catchy its frustrating because you have four different songs on the album stuck in your head at once. Jesus, how many times do you hear the same super captivating riff of “All I Want” repeated? But, who cares? It works so well on this record.

My one dislike about this record is that “Drunk Girls” just seems to be thrown on this album for just the sole purpose of being “the single,” which is ironic because it is my least favorite song on the album. Even then, it is still a good song. Besides this one flaw, this album is nearly perfect. From groove to groove and hook to hook this album is sure to warm your soul and put a smile on your face. I hate to sound elitist, but if you don’t like this album you’re a moron (not actually, just kidding), but seriously it is really difficult to not get so deeply into this album. I demand you to listen to This is Happening!

Rating: 95/100

- Greg

LCD Soundsystem - "All I Want"

The National - High Violet

I have never really liked The National. I understand the appeal of Matt Berninger's baritone vocals, but I never understood the hype. However, my opinion of the the Brooklyn band  has changed with this record.  High Violet is a masterfully crafted  album that will certainly make everyone's top 10 list.

High Violet is easily one of the prettiest and most heart-wrenching albums I have heard all year. From it's opener, "Terrible Love," to the newest singles from the album, "Bloodbuzz Ohio" and "Anyone's Ghost," High Violet draws you in with it's hauntingly gorgeous melodies. The one problem I have with this record is that, like past National records, there is not enough ebb and flow. You go from bereaved track to bereaved track and not much changes in the atmosphere of the record. High Violet stays static and makes you feel unbelievably empty, but yet reflective. This is not a bad thing, but it is to say that High Violet is not an album that I can just listen to whenever I feel like it. Rather,  this is an album you should listen to when your in a mood of sadness. Save this album from a day when your in the right head space and let it take you to a magnificently empty occurrence.

The National - "Bloodbuzz Ohio"

Rating: 89/100

- Greg

Special Guest Review

Few things bring more joy to my life than when someone goes out of their way to help support something I am passionate for. Recently a friend sent over a review he wrote of a record I have never heard before and it totally made my day. The album at first did not seem "up my alley," but the more I have listened to Pneuma the more I have liked it. I hope you enjoy the following review and give this album a chance.

- Greg

Moving Mountains - Pneuma

For the first time since I heard The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me (November 2006) and In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (around the same time), I have found an album that, in all truth, has completely captivated me from start to finish. Moving Mountains' Pneuma is a work that requires much more than a casual listen. To catch the full beauty, it may require a night sitting up in bed with a pair of quality headphones or a spin on a record player with close friends and a bottle of whiskey.

Regardless of how you may choose to take it in, Pneuma will seize your mind and your heart with its simple, heartfelt lyrics and fearless instrumentals. The album crosses genres, with hints of the ambient wonder that is Brian Eno, a touch of the powerful drumbeats that drove early pop-punk, slicing guitar riffs reminiscent of Alexisonfire, and elaborate intersections of the style of The Fall of Troy and Band of Horses. However, Pneuma is much more than just a cross-section of genres and styles, it's just hard to say what it is exactly. And that's okay. Finally, an album that just "is".

Pneuma opens with the powerful "Aphelion", a heartfelt song with a couple screams that may ward off casual listeners. When taken into context of the full album, however, they blend in with some of the instrumentation and seem to mark a climactic point. "Aphelion" rips open the proverbial "can of worms", with the rest of the built-up emotion to subsequently flow forth.

In the album's second track, "Cover the Roots, Lower the Stems", we are introduced to the single lyrical theme of the album: that the writer feels as if he is the earth- natural, pure, and humbled by the presence of something even greater and more awesome. That presence is that of the sun, which can be perceived as the woman, his lover, and is incredibly powerful, bright, and bold.

Vocalist Gregory Dunn's voice yearns to become one with the sun, reaching the eventual point of crying out "you, you're like the sun and I am earth, together we're one. But someday your fire will die and I'll grow cold without sunlight. And I will freeze, baby, I will die. I'd freeze, I'd die for you," and then, "someday the sun will die and I'll grow cold. I hope someday your love finds its way home."

Despite having such incredibly simple and true lyrics, Pneuma really brings a sense of completeness. After just one listen straight through, you will feel content. So content, in fact, that after my first full listen, I laid in bed with my eyes closed for twenty minutes, with not even a single thought daring to enter my mind. And just as Dunn's vocals beg to be brought together and become one with his lover, the listener, even if only for a brief moment, also feels that togetherness. And that, to me, is enough. It's the most I've been moved by an album in recent memory, and I guarantee that the aptly named Moving Mountains will be a band that continues to produce such heartfelt classics as Pneuma for years to come.

Rating: 95/100

- Dan Mullin

How Well Do You Know Rock's Most Famous Drum Fills and Breaks?

I am a huge music nerd. Like seriously, it's sad. However, Robin Hilton, producer of NPR's All Songs Considered, might take the cake as the biggest nerd of them all. Despite his nerditude, he is the man. He recently put together a list of some of his favorite drum fills and breaks, the most important aspects of any song, (...did I mention that I am a drummer. So, yeah I am little bias) that I felt I should also share with our readers. It was a bit of a challenge  to name all of the fills, but I really enjoyed taking a few minutes out of my "busy" day to attempt this task. Check it out!

Hear the drum fills 

- Greg

R.I.P. Will Owsley

Perhaps I have not paid close attention to people passing in the last few weeks or the blogosphere did not do a very sufficient job in covering this story, but the news was just brought to my attention this evening that Will Owsley died about two weeks ago (sorry for being late). There have been many musicians who have died as of recent and I do not feel that a story like Will Owsley's death will gain as much attention as the late Ronnie James Dio, so I have chosen to quickly explain his career and give him praise. Owsley was a singer/songwriter who started out playing with Judson Spence and later The Semantics before moving onto a solo career, putting out three albums from 1999 to 2005. His album Owsley brought him a Grammy nomination in 1999 for best engineered album, but fans will certainly remember it for its brilliant pop melodies. On April 30th Will Owsley died in Franklin, Tennessee. He was 44. He is survived by his two sons Walker and Liam. The man was a fantastic songwriter and will be missed. The song I leave you with is my favorite song off of Owsley, which is a fantastic album and a perfect place to familiarize yourself with Owsley.

- Greg

Owsley - "Oh No The Radio"

Cover of the Day: Kids (MGMT) - The Ooks of Hazard

As I did my nightly search for interesting covers my attention was quickly fixed on a song I have heard about a hundred times. I have heard countless covers of "Kids" that I have despised, but I think this is phenomenal. I think that "Kids" will go down as the greatest song MGMT has ever written and one of the greatest songs of the 00's. This version does it justice. Check it out!

- Greg

Backstage with MGMT

Hey everybody,

I was recently assigned a story assignment for Fordham's newspaper, The Observer. In the assignment, I was asked to cover our Spring Weekend which featured headliners MGMT. I was able to get backstage and hang out there for their entire set. Later on, I had the chance to meet Ben Goldwasser and get an interview with Andrew VanWyngarden and drummer Will Berman. The experience was undoubtedly memorable and I am truly grateful. The guys of MGMT were more than friendly; VanWyngarden met and signed every little thing students had for him. He didn't leave until everything and everyone was signed and happy. Although Ben couldn't do an interview at the time because of his hounding stage manager that kept hovering over me, he was very polite and soft spoken and apologized for not being available to do one. The following is the article I wrote, published in the newspaper and posted online. Hope you enjoy.

http://www.fordhamobserver.com/mgmt-gives-a-final-congratulations-to-the-class-of-2010-1.2259236

Mike

The New Pornographers - "Your Hands (Together)" Video

I am not ashamed to say that The New Pornographers are one of my favorite bands of all time. It’s been a while since The New Pornographers last release (3 years) and after albums in the past few years from Neko Case, A.C. Newman, and Dan Bejar, it is really refreshing to hear them all mix it up together again. This album has been a breath of fresh air for me. Check out the video for "Your Hands (Together)."

- Greg

Greg's Top 30 Albums of 2010... thus far

I have been planning on making this list for quite some time now and I felt like putting up today would make most sense because it has been approximately a third of year. There are two things I want to say before people are angered by this list. One, I have not heard everything. There are plenty of records that I am sure will make your list, but not mine simply because I have either not listened to it yet or have not listened to enough of it yet. Two, Mike and I do not agree on every review we put up. For example, I really enjoyed MGMT's Congratulations, while Mike did not. So, please don't think of me as a hypocrite if you see a review on this site that does not match this list's order. I hope you enjoy reading my list.

1.)  Surfer Blood – Astro Coast

2.) Yeasayer – Odd Blood

3.) Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM

4.) Beach House – Teen Dream

5.)  Dr. Dog - Shame, Shame

6.) Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings – I Learned The Hard Way

7.) Four Tet – There is Love in You

8.) She & Him – Volume Two

9.) The Radio Dept. – Clinging To A Scheme

10.) Fang Island – Fang Island

11.) Spoon – Transference

12.) Gorillaz – Plastic Beach

13.) Local Natives – Gorilla Manor

14.) Gil Scott-Heron – I’m New Here

15.) The School – Loveless Unbeliever

16.) MGMT - Congratulations

17.) Titus Andronicus – The Monitor

18.) Los Campesinos! – Romance is Boring

19.) Jónsi - Go

20.) Owen Pallet - Heartland

21.) The Tallest Man on Earth – The Wild Hunt

22.) Kings Go Forth – The Outsiders Are Back

23.) Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part Two (Return Of The Ankh)

24.) Ted Leo & The Pharmacists – The Brutalist Bricks

25.) Hot Chip – One Life Stand

26.) Pocket Vinyl - Protaganist

27.) Citay – Dream Get Together

28.) Rufus Wainwright - All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu

29.) Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me

30.) Efterklang – Magic Chairs