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I wanna say this is the most badass of the badass group of writers. I'm so proud of everyone one of these reviews this week and we have some ridiculously cool stuff planned for the future.

This week Dillinger reviews a House classic by a little known band called Daft Punk, Apathy's girlfriend has great music taste, Xzyliac gives his first negative review, and more!



Album: Alive 2007
Artist: Daft Punk
Label: Virgin
Released: 11/19/2007 - 12/04/2007 (North America) - 02/25/2008 (United Kingdom)
Genre: House
Sounds like: A super computer raped the future while on E and had twins babies that made tunes to suit.

Say what you will about House music (I think its a steaming pile of shit, myself), but when a transitive musical duo like Daft Punk are put under the label, you have to appreciate it... if only a fraction. Personally, I believe that labeling Daft Punk under something as simple as House Music is a direct injustice to their powerful creativity.

The story of Daft Punk's success story is one that is hard to fathom. The short version; starting in a simplistic punk rock band, being slammed by critics all over the nation (even being labeled as 'Daft Punk' by one critic in particular), deciding to re-invent themselves through elements of modern electronic music by taking their basic riffs and tunes and reapplying them into samples and finally dubbing themselves under the name that many critics liked to once think of them as. The rest (as cliched as it sounds) is history and Alive is a testament to that history which reveals that everything unfolded as it should have for the duo of failed french punk rockers, who through this effort captured the sound of the last two decades and ingeniously mixed, matched, revamped and applied it to the audiences of today.



It really is amazing how listening to something can inspire movement in conjunction with the sounds portrayed and usually, it is only the best of sounds that can give people the passive will to move. Guaranteed, within minutes of listening to Alive's opening track 'Robot Rock / Oh Yeah' a listener (fan or not) will have at least one appendage moving (which appendage will differ depending on the listener). These unconscious movements of the body continue to happen throughout an entire listening, whether it be your feet tapping while at your work desk or your entire body while congregated with possessed humans at a gathering of some kind. It becomes increasingly difficult to sum into words the types of sound that are used to achieve this result. Deep seeded bass thumps are complimented with differentiating technological samples that change little throughout a track but at the same time never seem overused; Computerized robot babble, seemingly futuristic tones and effects that are used for no other reason than to invoke happiness and wonder as to what is being plunged into one's ear canals. The live element only escalates the overall energy of the album with a thunderous choir of worshipers chanting and cheering as sections drop, build and peak throughout definite adrenaline feeding album highlights; Too Long / Steam Machine, Around the World / Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger and One More Time / Aerodynamic.


Members of the audience were given cameras to film the recording of the album

If pushed to describe this album in one word it would have to be Ecstatic. It literally makes you want to get off your chair and dance while wishing you were there to experience the albums recording in progress. Alas, we only have this effort to remember their live element by until they swing past our local State Capital next, but until then it is a live recording that will always be welcome to most people willing to have a great time with some great tunes.

Hell, there is usually a moment on most days where I shut my eyes and I wish I was in a better place, which with the piss hole of a world we live in today, isn't the hardest of things to do. But with Daft Punk infecting the infrastructure of your ears, carrying the virus to your brain and finally breaking you down into dance...its hard to give a shit about what kind of world you are living in.

Track Listing::

1. "Robot Rock" / "Oh Yeah" – 6:28
2. "Touch It" / "Technologic" – 5:30
3. "Television Rules the Nation" / "Crescendolls" – 4:51
4. "Too Long" / "Steam Machine" – 7:02
5. "Around the World" / "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" – 5:43
6. "Burnin'" / "Too Long" – 7:12
7. "Face to Face" / "Short Circuit" – 4:55
8. "One More Time" / "Aerodynamic" – 6:11
9. "Aerodynamic Beats" / "Forget About the World" – 3:32
10. "The Prime Time of Your Life" / "The Brainwasher" / "Rollin' & Scratchin'" / "Alive" – 10:22
11. "Da Funk" / "Daftendirekt" – 6:37
12. "Superheroes" / "Human After All" / "Rock'n Roll" – 5:41

Learn more about Daft Punk here.



-Mr Dillinger



Album: Alligator
Artist: The National
Label: Beggars Banquet Records
Released: April 12, 2005
Genre: Indie Rock
Sounds like: Lou Reed’s tears and David Byrne’s laughter mixed together and gave birth to this band

Hello, I would like to tell you about an album that means a lot to me. It’s called Alligator by The National. For me, music is something that I often equate to the objects involved in the moments of my life. That’s worded awkwardly but an example is that I’ve always thought that Joy Division sounded like the soundtrack to concrete. But not concrete being mixed or just a slab of it sitting there, more like the concrete that’s under your feet at 3 am when you are sitting on your front steps thinking about something and the voice in your head is almost too loud and time feels fluid and tenuous. So it’s in that spirit that Alligator was the album I wanted to review.

This is a soundtrack to the hope and loss we all experience. It’s got nervous energy, orgasms, and tears. Alligator creates a rolling soundscape of highs and lows. Introverted monologues fine-tuned to create intimate songs that sit in your head like a sleeping kitten are followed by screaming eulogies of love lost and glimmers of hope for a future where you learn from your mistakes. It takes me to some of the best nights of my life when I felt like I was alive and happy and then to dark, awful places where I couldn’t hide anything from myself or the world and I just wanted to sleep. This record hits you in the gut and at the same time hugs you so hard, you don’t ever want to let go.



The abstract lyrics have a way of cutting through you to get to the core moments of your life, when you realize who you truly are and it makes you connect with those moments and face them:

“I’m put together beautifully, big wet bottle in my fist, big wet rose in my teeth. I’m a perfect piece of ass, like every Californian.” – All the Wine

“You wear your skirt like a flag...”-Lit Up

“I won’t fuck us over, I’m Mr. November.”- Mr. Novermber

Musically, the album is in perfect harmony with the lyrics. The drums create a thumping, disjointed beat that adapts perfectly with the tone and pacing of the album and the guitar work sounds fragile and delicate, like antique glass or a butterfly’s wings. It all comes together to make something better than the sum of its parts; an album that feels like an ex-lover you’ve forgotten the face of but remember the smell of their skin, a best friend’s laugh who you remember clear as crystal even though you haven’t seen them in 10 years, or a perfect day that ends in tears and laughter.

Track Listing :
1. "Secret Meeting" - 3:44
2. "Karen" - 3:59
3. "Lit Up" - 2:55
4. "Looking for Astronauts" - 3:23
5. "Daughters of the SoHo Riots" - 3:59
6. "Baby, We'll Be Fine" - 3:21
7. "Friend of Mine" - 3:25
8. "Val Jester" - 3:00
9. "All the Wine" - 3:15
10. "Abel" - 3:37
11. "The Geese of Beverly Road" - 4:57
12. "City Middle" - 4:28
13. "Mr. November" - 3:57

Personal favorite tracks: [url= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAjw8sKBbCg/]Lit Up[/url], All the Wine, and Mr. November

-Occams Electric Toothbrush



Album: Alkaline Trio
Artist: Alkaline Trio
Label: Asian Man Records
Released: April 18, 2000
Genre: Punk
Sub-genres Alt-punk, Dark Punk, Pop Punk
Sounds like: Combining the raw energy of punk with the sometimes vaguely disturbing lyrics of goth and rolling it into a package that somehow remains happy and manages to scream a defiant “FUCK YOU!” to all of life's problems.

Though they've been around for almost 15 years, the name “Alkaline Trio” might not ring a bell for a lot of people. Hell, I didn't even know shit about them until I met my girlfriend, who's absolutely obsessed with them. Before she rolled around, I knew them only as “Those guys with that song Time To Waste”. Holy crap, what I was missing out on.

Forming in '96 out of Illinois as the trio (go figure, amirite?) of Guitarist/Lead Vocalist Matt Skiba, Bassist/Backup Vocalist Rob Doran, and Drummer/Backup Vocalist Glenn Porter, they quickly gained local fame and infamy, recording their first EP, Sundials, in '97. Shortly afterwards, Rob Doran left the band and was replaced by Dan Adriano, fresh from semi-influential bands Slapstick and Tuesday. With his arrival marked the true potential of the band, with Matt and Dan sharing main vocals and songwriting duty. They got to work recording another EP, For Your Lungs Only, which caused them to explode in popularity rather quickly in the Midwest, to the point where Dan had to drop out of the still-active Tuesday to focus solely on Alkaline Trio. Many recordings were to follow, with their first full album Goddamnit being very well-received critically, which was followed up two years later by a self-titled EP collection.

Now, before we continue, you're probably thinking- “Wait, an EP collection? How can you call a compilation disc an album?” That's the funny thing though. Aside from these EP's being probably their best work period, the compilation comes together with such a natural flow and cohesiveness that few would even be able to tell that it wasn't written as a full album.

Starting things off is track one, “Goodbye Forever”. A Matt Skiba-led track (You'll notice that Matt and Dan typically switch off lead vocal duties on a per song basis), it starts out loud, fast, and shows you exactly what to expect from them- slightly dark, yet incredibly catchy lyrics, fast chord-driven guitar riffs, and some great bass beats, all backed by some superbly energetic drums. Following that is the excellent “This Is Getting Over You”, which is quite possibly one of my favorite songs by them. Led on vocals by Dan, it's a catchy tune about, you guessed it, getting over lost love. But this isn't your typical mopey kind of breakup track...that's just not how Alkaline Trio does it. Instead, it's a triumphant tune of “Life's better without you anyways so fuck off” that starts out slow before divulging into a semi-surf rock sound halfway through that devolves into a strangely appealing chaotic mess of Dan singing “This is getting over you” while Matt screams and wails the same thing in the background. Following that is “Bleeder”, a Matt song which is simply one of the catchiest pop punk songs I've ever heard, not to mention the best Matt-led song the band has to offer. With a loud chorus of “One thing, that I've never said, I'm truly happy in my heart and in my head”, it's not only amazingly catchy but surprisingly positive too, which is something of a signature touch for the band- somehow writing morbid lyrics that come across as happy.

Next up we have “I Lied My Face Off”, a Dan track that practically screams out in anger at you. It's another one of those tracks that shows to everyone that Dan is pretty much the greatest asset of this band. After that we have another Matt song, the riotous “My Friend Peter”. Fast, intense, and straight to the point, it's another one of those defiant breakup songs, almost the penultimate 'fuck you' to a former flame. Three more Matt songs are up next, the loud and fast “Snake Oil Tanker”, explosive “Southern Rock”, and “Cooking Wine”, a passionate track with typical Alkaline Trio lyrics like “Sorry I'm late, I was out spoiling my liver”. “For Your Lungs Only” follows, which is another Matt song that has possibly the most passion he's ever displayed on a track. Next is “The Exploding Boy”, which is actually a cover of a song by The Cure. Though not as good as the original, it manages to do what all good covers should- manage to sound like it's own song while still paying tribute to the original.

The next three tracks, “Sundials”, “Nose Over Tail”, and “'97”, are unique in that they're the only three studio tracks to feature original bassist Rob Doran, back before Dan came. “Sundials”, the very first single the band ever released, is probably the most raw, fast, energetic track the band has ever and will ever put out, and is one of my favorite tracks because of that, even if it doesn't feature Dan. “Nose Over Tail” is just a simply great pop-punk track through and through, despite the fact that Matt almost sounds like he's losing his mind. Closing out the album is “'97”, which used to be the band's signature closing song at shows. The closest thing you'll get to a slow song from this album, it's one of the most awkwardly beautiful tracks you'll hear from them.

This album, quite simply, is one of the best pop-punk albums you'll ever hear in your life, and the best Alkaline Trio has ever sounded. Though they may have taken a slight fall from grace lately, they'll still always be one of my favorite bands, and this will forever be one of my favorite albums of all time.

...Not bad for a band I knew nothing about before dating my girlfriend.

Personal favorite tracks: Bleeder, I Lied My Face Off, This Is Getting Over You (It's a live version though, so expect bad quality)...Though honestly, the entire album is great.

Summary for lazy people: The best pop-punk not-album I've ever heard in my life.

-vApathyv



Album: The Ecstatic
Artist: Mos Def
Label: Downtown Records
Released: 2009
Genre: Rap, Hip-Hop
Sounds like: Oh No, Madlib, MF Doom, the list goes on…..

Ok, most of you saw the word “Rap” and moved on to the next review or the comments to comment on how Daxelman is one of those Year 2000 “gangsta” kids. Lemmie tell you, this is not what you think it is.

While Mos Def is turning into more of a multimedia type of person than just a rap artist, he can still, how you kids say it, “bust a phat rhyme” every now and then, which would happen to be his 2009 release of The Ecstatic. If you’re not a fan of rap, you might want to give this a listen, because this could be one album that could change your mind on the genre.

For those of you who don’t know Mos Def’s musical prowess, to describe him against the armies of Lil Wayne’s, Gucci Mane’s, and Drake’s, would be calm. He’s not the “hardcore” that 21st century rap is called now; it’s more along the lines of the older, calmer, more underground workings. This is clearly evident in his music.

I don’t know how to properly describe The Ecstatic, but I can say it’s not what you would hear on the radio at all. I guess you could describe his stuff as more organic; less synth and electronic claps, more sampling. Mos Def takes a number of different sounds, from random flute solo’s, to Selda Bagcan’s Ince Ince, to famous quotes of people I probably won’t learn about in History class, to compose his beats. It all sounds really good, and is all good on the ears if your just getting into the rap genre, or are tired of hearing all the tried radio-rap tropes (the track “Life In Marvelous Times” is really the only track that breaks this rule, but it sounds like something Jay Z produced, so it sounds good, trust me).

Mos Def’s lyrics are something to comment on as well. Compare to Lil’ Wayne’s “We Be Steady Mobbin’” (I don’t even know what that means, and I’m black), Mos Def is Jesus + Buddha + Jesus again. More than that, Mos Def most proudly reminds me of some of the lighter, calmer Wu Tang Clan stuff. You’ll be finding yourself slightly bobbing your head up and down to how his lyrics perfectly fit his beats.

So if you find yourself hating the rap on the radio, or looking to getting into a different side of the genre, The Ecstatic is a great first choice. If you’re looking for more, calmly rooted hip hop, you must look no further.

Personal favorite tracks: Quiet Dog Bite Hard, Casa Bey (official music video)

Summary for lazy people: Don’t like T-Pain? You might like this guy. But who could hate Freaknik?

-Daxelman



Album: Survival Story
Artist: Flobots
Label: Universal Republic, Island Def Jam
Released: March 16, 2010
Genre: Hip-hop
*Sub-genre: Alternative hip-hop, alternative rock, Rapcore, Rock Rap
Sounds like: Early Beastie Boys, Rage Against The Machine lite

This week was a difficult week for me. I could either lie and say there were no interesting new releases for me to review and do a classic review (it would’ve been a Queen album by the way) or bite the bullet and review Flobot’s Survival Story. If you don’t know Flobot’s you might know their single Handlebars. It wasn’t a bad little one hit wonder, inda catchy for a few weeks, but after that album the band went on to self-produce some album or whatever and now they’re back on the scene with another real album (see: produced by a major label). So why did I choose to review this bullet which needed biting? Because I’m a sucker for an opportunity to be unexpectedly blown away. Was I? Pfft, if I told you now you wouldn’t keep reading!

First thing I noticed was “Dude, this album is catchy as fuck.” And it is. It really, really, is. If you’re easily appeased by catchiness this album is really right up your alley. I’ve been having these tracks on loop in my head all freaking week. I can not stress enough how much this struck a chord with me. At least for the first few tracks. After that things kinda went downhill. My “Dude, this album is catchy as fuck,” quickly became “Dude, this album is waaay too long.” The catchiness of the album actually ends up becoming it’s downfall. Which brings us to…

…the composition. If you heard the 2007 Fight With Tools or even just the aforementioned single Handlebars you pretty much know what to expect in this piece. You’ve got the guitars, the really cool drummer (Who is this guy? He’s incredible), the rappers, and for kicks, a violinist. It sounds really cool in theory but in practice it just isn’t enough to save the album from it’s own repetition. The catchiness of the album quickly becomes it’s only leg to stand on. It really is all it has going for it. The composition is completely built out of riffs and choruses. Catchy as they may be they’ll only really satisfy the easiest to please. The album rarely breaks from the formula of track 1 and rarely shakes things up.

Lyrics? Oh ho boy. You wanna talk lyrics? We’re gonna get a little Sterling here. Strap yourselves in. See it’s not enough for me to just tell you the lyrics are bad. No I’m gonna have to shred this bitch up and down. No the lyrics really are that bad. See here’s my issue with the album: the bands socio-political lyrics are nothing but incredibly vanilla. This Democratic lovefest is way too preachy to ignore and almost ruins the entire album. Subjects include gay marriage, anti-war (Remember? That Middle East thing? Yeah, we’re still doing that.), more anti-war songs, another anti-war song, and other various American Liberal bulletpoints while spouting the typical self-appeasing “We’re [insert name here], we’re awesome, fuck yeah!” hip-hop rhetoric that wasn’t even cool in the 90s. The subjects aren’t even tastefully or poetically presented. I’m not expecting the poetic epic of Digable Planet’s pro-choice song La Femme Fetal but be a little less obvious than your gay marriage promoting track Superhero. Seriously, this is hip-hop. Lyrics are the name of the game. If I don’t want to hear your album without the music and focus squarely on the poetic delivery you have failed as far as I’m concerned. Your album is nothing but a bunch of really cool instrumental tracks with some dude talking in rhymes. Sure you could technically call it rapping but do you want to?

Overall I’ll reiterate: this album isn’t bad if you’re easily pleased. I’m not saying that as a bad thing. The album does have catchiness going for it. However as the reviewer I have to say the album is incredibly vanilla. I don’t consider myself harsh but I do consider myself a man who needs to be impressed and as much as I really wanted to love Survival Story for all the things it does right what it does right ultimately is what kills it and proves that you really can have too much of a good thing.

Personal favorite tracks: If I, The Effect, Good Soldier

Summary for lazy people: If you’re okay with catchiness without substance check this out at your own risk. I cannot personally recommend it.

-Xzyliac

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This is never as easy as it looks. I feel bad for the Recappers. Next week is looking really exciting on my end of the musical rainbow. Stay tuned! Also, hey look RonBurgandy has joined the sidebar!