Friday, March 11, 2011

Been Taken for Lost and Gone

Yeah, right.

The Beach Boys' legendary lost masterpiece Smile is set to finally finally finally be officially released 40+ years after its recording. This album has its own mythology around it because there have been so many near-releases over the years, not to mention bootlegs and Brian Wilson's own take on it. Capitol Records says it's coming out in 2011, yet...
You want it right? Sure, we all do. So make it right BEFORE announcing that it's ready to be released. Sheesh. They say it's happening, though, and the whole band is on board. I'm sure Mike Love will find a way to f#ck it up like he always does though.

The story of Smile via Wikipedia

Thursday, March 10, 2011

You Don't Look At Things The Same As Me


The Smithereens first album of new material in over 11 years is due out April 5, 2011! The album's timely name is "Smithereens 2011", an homage to their hit album "11".

The first single, "Sorry", is now available on iTunes. You can also stream it for free at Spinner.

Sorry is classic Smithereens and makes me actually look forward to the album. Let's face it - the last couple of albums were not that great. Over in iTunes you can stream snippets of the rest of the songs on the album and I'm highly optimistic from what I've heard so far.

Pre-order Smithereens 2011 from iTunes

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Love Comes and Goes

Telekinesis sets the lyrical tone immediately on the new 12 Desperate Straight Lines: "We fell in love in the summer. By springtime we were done." Yep, classic break-up album. Virtually every song invokes the winter of their discontent with the cheeriest of tunes. Yep, classic Too Poppy album!

The second album by Michael Benjamin Lerner's band easily avoids the sophomore jinx by staying catchy, concise and reverent to popsters of yore. Paul Simon's 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover is explicitly affirmed by 50 Ways. Please Ask for Help is richly complete with Disintegration-era Cure guitars. And Gotta Get It Right Now is the catchiest thing I've heard all year. The static of background broadcasts is peppered throughout the album giving it that irresistible classic AM radio feel that seems to fit nicely with the universal sentiment that relationships suck at times but yet we still gotta get it right now.

The album produced by Death Cab's Chris Walla clocks in at barely over half an hour and leaves you thoroughly satisfied yet hopeful for more. 12 Desperate Straight Lines is the first great Too Poppy-approved album of 2011.

iTunes
Amazon MP3

Official site
TheirSpace
Merge Records
Facebook

Thursday, March 03, 2011

Things Have Been Dark For Too Long

INXS - yes ... INXS - has released a new greatest hits package and it's now just seeing the light of day here in the US. This one is a bit different though because they've cajoled other artists to cover or otherwise guest on the tunes. Of course when your original lead singer has been dead for 14 years and you've been forced to subject fans to an American Idolesque reality show to replace him, I guess you need to get creative. Most interesting to me: Ben Harper doing Never Tear Us Apart and Tricky with Meditate. Fair warning, though ... John Mayer is on the album.

Amazon MP3
AOL Stream

Video for new version of Don't Change ...



I'll stick with the brilliant originals. Michael Hutchence is irreplaceable.

Do Those Stunts Prove Anything?

Danger Mouse and the dude from The Shins - collectively better known as Broken Bells - are releasing a new EP of previously unreleased tunes on March 29. This is good news considering they released one of my favorite albums of 2010.

Pre-order Meyrin Fields now here.

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Hip Hip Hooray

R.E.M.'s new album Collapse Into Now is available for purchase with your hard-earned cash next Tuesday, but through the magic of public broadcasting you can stream the entire album for one full week before you buy. What a wonderful time we live in.

NPR calls the album "the band's most rewarding album 15 years." I heard similar hyperbolic pronouncements about Accelerate and quite frankly that album just didn't hold up for me. But it's R.E.M. They've earned my attention.

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

The Beat Goes On

Beady Eye, which is really just Oasis sans the more talented brother, released their debut album today cheekily titled Different Gear, Still Speeding. Because, you know, it's really still Oasis, just, uh, different, and they still like to do drugs, like speed. It all makes sense.

Actually it's getting pretty decent reviews and iTunes is featuring it this week for $7.99. Go.