Be on the lookout for this alternative pop jazz rock monster of a release by music producer Rich Jacques under the name Right The Stars. It is FM radio ear candy. Mainstream alternative - a contradiction in terms but totally understandable.
Think of a combination of these influences - banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck, Jason Mraz, almost a decade of knowledge as a music teacher to the stars and almost an equal amount of time as a music producer - and you start to get an idea about what Jacques is trying to do. Or, should I say, has succeeded in doing. Waves of sound, soothing and soaring vocals - a memorable chorus or line. Tight instruments. These songs do not display instruments as lead vehicles. The instruments are used as intricate parts in a tightly constructed framework of sound solely intended to support each song. Voices are used as instruments but instruments are rarely used as voices. The writing and orchestration are finely tuned. There is agony and grief in the lyrics, but, there is also hope.
Where does it come from? Jacques spent a year working with the We Can Pediatric Brain Tumor Network, a support group for families of children with cancer. He even helped write a song about survival to help children cope with their diagnosis. The pain shows in the lyrics. Empathy and passion can be overwhelming and you can hear it in the writing - it is extraordinary. From the hesitant hopefulness of the song "Making Deals With Gods" to the outright bursts of joy in "We Got It All" (which is being used by Honda in its Australian CR-V advertising) Jacques, with the help of a panoply of other writers, makes these emotions palpable and you can empathize. The African influences in "Life In A Northern Town" made me wonder whether Jacques went with Bela Fleck to Africa on Bela's recent tour,
Yes, the music is "commercial." Right The Stars' music will appear in the Brooke Shields and Brendan Frasier movie Furry Vengeance which is scheduled for release on April 1, 2010. However, just because it is "commercial" that doesn't mean it is bad. In fact, in this case, it is wonderful. Let the music seduce you. Releases like this don't come along that often
Lighten Up is easily the best hardcore band that Philadelphia has produced since Homo Picnic. Absolutely Not is their debut album and is out now on Jump Start Records, available on CD (only 5 bucks!), mp3 and LP. The first time I listened to this I could have sworn it was a reissue of some forgotten album on Toxic Shock from 1984. Their sound is total old school hardcore that fans of the Zero Boys, D.O.A., A.O.D., Minor Threat, The Descendents and the Dayglo Abortions will love. The whole thing only takes 17 minutes to listen to and I guarantee you’ll play it 2 or 3 times in a row.
These 4 obnoxious youngsters warmed my tired old heart with their kick ass brand of aggression and fun. 11 of the 12 songs are very fast and very short. “Bet II” clocks in at 14 seconds and ends on a big “fuck you!” “Boyz II Wolves” is 15 seconds but manages to fit in a Misfits “woah-woah” sing along. Most of the other songs are about a minute of fast blasting punk the way it should be. “I Don’t Think So Tim” is a great song about telling someone to piss off. Album closer “Personality Implants” is 5 and half minutes of heavy ass Flipper style middle finger rage.
Their anthem “Born To Perspire” lays out the bands philosophy that playing music is “is the only way to escape this mess, and I’m pretty sure it’s relieving stress.” It seems to be working for them. Listening to this record is a great way to blow off steam so Lighten Up!
Yes, I know I'm supposed to be studying for my finals right now since they're tomorrow morning but I'm gonna be bothered all day if I don't get this out of my system and published. Therefore, I write.
With all these dark concepts being thrown around and copied left and right, both by boybands and girl groups, it's nice to see some of them going out of the trend. Two MV teasers from two idol groups were released today - ZE:A and After School - and they both happen to be set for a March 25 release.
I'd hardly call it a a showdown since they're not in the same genre nor are they the same type of group, but they were released the exact same day and both bands' schedules for the next few weeks look similar so what the heck.
After School - Bang!
Because of You was the single that made me stand up and notice After School and now they're back with a new member and their third single. I was curious to see/hear what they'd do after Because Of You and honestly, I'm liking it. It's a lot cheerier than what Kara and SNSD are doing but After School still look AND sound like themselves - finally a girl group that knows what growth is.
I'm curious for the whole song and although I'm not feeling the wardrobe or the image, the song's got potential. And hopefully, the new girl can sing. I hope.
ZE:A - All Day Long
Right now the trend for boybands is dark as well, with BEAST leading the pack, but ZE:A are a little more mellow than everyone else. I hated Mazeltov, I really did, but this new single+image is looking quite good, actually. The song seems a gazillion times better than the pathetic excuse for a song that was Mazeltov - it's verging on a serious ballad, which works for their vocals, thankfully. I just hope these guys have either gotten better choreography or learned how to work as a group - that's pretty much the only thing they need.
If I get addicted to this single, I'll have to go memorize another nine guys. Damn.
When I was a kid, growing up in a house with Cat Stevens, Neil Diamond, and Simon and Garfunkel, the first time I ever heard Kiss's "Detroit Rock City," it was a moment of musical epiphany. It was just so vicious, aggressive and mean. It changed the way I listened to music. I've had a few minor epiphany's since then, when you come across a band that just brings something new and revolutionary to your ears.
What have been your musical epiphany moments?
There were a few such moments. The first fascination was with T.REX thanks to my brother. From that moment I took up playing the guitar and fell in love with rock music. Then were hard rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple which were followed by Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, and King Crimson.
Talk to us about the song-writing process for you. What comes first, the idea? A riff? The lyrics? How does it all fall into place?
Music comes first, then a riff. So I returned to the roots of rock music the basis of which was a guitar riff. Next we arrange the whole track, i.e. riff, musical section, vocals and lyrics.
Where do you look for continuing inspiration? New ideas, new motivation?
We look for inspiration everywhere. This is life which is becoming increasingly harder. Lots of things have improved in Poland, but musicians do not have it easier. A lot of music is marketed for a bit primitive commercial mass. Nevertheless, we are still fighting and inspirations are brought to us by life.
Genre's are so misleading and such a way to pigeonhole bands. Without resorting to labels, how would you describe your music?
Yes, you are right, marketing specialists do categorize music. That is often confusing for the label records. Once you start switching those categories they will not know what to do.
I think that our music is first and foremost melodic, melancholic and even sad with a great doze of emotions.
What is you musical intention? What are you trying to express or get your audience to feel?
Every artist always wants his listeners to get his music the way He wants. However, I guess that not many of the listeners do so, but that would be fantastic. I would like my listeners to feel the emotions: sadness, joy and melodies. It is good to hear that somebody is singing your song: that is very nice.
In songwriting, how do you bring the song together? What do you look for in terms of complexity? Simplicity? Time changes?
There is no strict pattern for composing music. There are different moments and different songs in which something needs to be added (e.g. a solo) or the tempo needs to be accelerated. All that depends on the very song itself.
The business of music is a brutal place. Changes in technology have made it easier than ever for bands to get their music out, but harder than ever to make a living? What are your plans to move the band forward? How do you stay motivated in this brutal business?
Yes, it is becoming increasingly more difficult. That is because of the free access to the music via Internet, appearance of baskets with CDs next to the socks in a supermarket. That in turn led to disappearance of positive attitude of the public to music, CDs and musicians.
In my opinion the status of musicians, being something more than a typical man, suffered a lot. The consequence of that is the fact that everyone thinks of himself as an artist when he writes a song on his computer. Admittedly technology has made composing music easier but it has also brought about a lot of rubbish and pseudo artists.
It is difficult to predict anything, but what I can advise to others and myself is just to love music, however strange it sounds.
What makes a great song?
Of course, there are no such songs, but as far as I am concerned, it is the melody that makes up for an ideal song.
Tell us about the first song you ever wrote?
That was a song about a prostitute that I fell In love with when I was a young boy. Together with my friends I visited a place called kongresowa which is located in Pałac Kultury, a characteristic place in Warsaw. You will definitely notice the place once you come here. The song was made up of a very simple riff and lyrics telling the story that I fell in love with a girl which turned out to be a prostitute.
What piece of your music are particularly proud of?
I do not think about that and just keep composing New songs. Every new song is the best one.
Who today, writes great songs? Why?
A lot of artists. Peter Gabriel and that is not only for his music. I find him a very interesting person. He is a member of Amnesty International and co-founder of Witness organization. He takes active part in various charity events (46664 concert or Live Aid).
I like his style and his characteristic voice and that is why I think his artistic work is great. I think that if anyone else tried to sing the same compositions, I would not like them and they were not so attractive.
Over the years of Rippling we've met tons of cool people who's work we just have the utmost respect for. Exploding in Sound is one of those. Exploding in Sound is a website/blog created by Dan Goldin with the sole purpose of promoting and spreading great rock music. GLORIOUS NOISE is the “must listen” fifth release in an ongoing compilation series aimed at breaking new artists and gaining exposure. The first four, including December’s Circulatory System and the ever popular Future Legendary have been met with critical praise and wide spread acclaim. As someone who owns all these comps, I can honestly say that if you haven't downloaded them, you're missing out on some dynamite new music!
Glorious Noise is a true exploration of rock music, with a sound so massive you need to hear it to believe it. The album is an international affair, with submissions from the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Europe. Great rock music with integrity, intelligence, and intensity is being made worldwide, and Exploding In Sound is dedicated to bringing you the best of the best. The bands comprising the compilation deliver an assorted array of genres including post-rock, grunge, shoegaze, alternative, indie, acoustic, post-punk, and more. As always, the compilation is a 100% FREE digital download, containing artwork, band descriptions, links for further enjoyment, and more.
SNSD are back and following the current girl group trend, they're donning a supposedly 'dark' image. Hmm.
A little background on the song - the 'concept'/makeover was hinted as early as the release of the Oh! music video that featured the nine girls in black outfits at the end of the video. Once the song finally surfaced earlier this week, it was brought to knowledge that Ke$ha recorded a demo a while back but the license/copyright was sold to SME Korea and the song went to SNSD.
The song is definitely a departure from their cutesy image during Oh! promotions, but before I start actually reviewing the song itself, I have something to say. As a non-biased SNSD listener (meaning I listen to SNSD material but only choose what I like), I'm sick and tired of all these 'image changes'. I don't like the fact that their pattern ever since they came out with Gee early last year is cute-not cute-cute-not cute. I don't like it because it's confusing me - who the effin' crap are SNSD as a band? What are they, cute or not cute? Yes, there should be change, but like I always say, it should be a growth rather than a complete 180.
SNSD constantly changing in gargantuan proportions only means one thing to me - they're one of the most capitalist-controlled bands I've ever seen because only someone who doesn't know anything about music can do something like that to 9 pretty decent performers.
But that aside.
The song isn't very original in my opinion - it sounds like a cross between their earlier promo single Chocolate Love (for the LG Chocolate phone) and Kara's Lupin. It's a midtempo verging on uptempo and I'd have to admit, after listening to it once, the hook was stuck in my head. It wasn't as annoying as Gee and Oh!, but I believe that it'll never match Genie in terms of production. Although the production on this single is pretty OK too, considering the oftentimes crap production all these other Kpop acts get.
In short, it's catchy in the non-annoying way. It's not that annoying mainly because their vocals weren't cute-i-fied but the treatment of their vocals is similar (NOT identical) to the treatment they got on Chocolate Love, which I hated - it's like a toned down version.
Surprisingly, the right girls get the right solos/airtime on this song - Taeyeon, Seohyun and Tiffany. The three take most of the melodic parts and they do it pretty well, thankfully. Yuri gets like a line or something, which is good, but I wish Sooyoung got a solid singing part - she would've matched the song nicely although I highly doubt if she'd be able to deliver it live. Jessica got a ton of exposure on this as well, but I find her vocals annoying. Yeah sure she matches the cute side, but I do not like their cute side.
I don't like the pseudo-rapping/talking/pseudo-singing throughout the song, but I think I'll learn to live with it the more I listen to it.
One of the reasons why I held off reviewing the song was 'coz I wanted to see if it was like Genie that took some time to sink in. (that and I literally didn't have any time whatsoever during the week) The conclusion? I don't really ADORE it, nor do I hate it, but the good thing is that after a few days of listening to this almost non-stop, I haven't gotten sick of it. Usually if I listen to a kpop single as much as I did this, I would've thrown up if I ever heard it again. That's a good sign, but I'm not that keen on the song.
One thing's for sure, it's better than Oh!. I know I gave that song a pretty high rating and responded pretty positively to it when it was new but the cuteness makes me want to hurl. Oh well. 4.5/5
Carina Round’s 2004 album Disconnection is exactly the sort of music that reminds me of what New York smells like. Armed with a sound that at one time we would have called “indy”, but which has become so diffuse as to be meaningless, Round attacks her songs in a heavenly voice, but one that is paired with snare heavy drums that slice through the production like an illegally obtained box cutter, a chugging bass and guitars that aren’t afraid to hit you with a slab of distortion right between the thighs.
"Shoot" opens the album, with the hollow reverberating drums, an off tempo cadence, keyboards and the sound of a hollow body guitar being fed through an amp with more than a little of the edge rolled off. Carina pulls no punches early her Wolverhampton accent coming through on the laconic delivery, but she’s not here to give it to you easy. There is an undercurrent of menace, you’re surfing the edge of an explosion and the band rides the beat until you get thrown off of the musical mavericks wave. Very few women will open with lyrics like these:
Come with me falling through the red clouds helplessly Come kiss me so that I can read your lips
I feel a shoot I feel a thunderbolt Undo my body I feel a shoot I feel a thunderbolt The entrance of your soul
She doesn’t lay off for a minute. You expect a respite? "Into My Blood" evokes so much more, echoing early PJ Harvey’s delivery when the discordant guitar takes up the rhythm:
I wait all my life Just for the rush The passing of fire Into my blood
All the reasons that raced through my mind Just to keep me twisted and dry I leave them behind
And lets address it right now: Round has heard Harvey’s Dry and is mining much of the same territory sonically, much in the same way that the Black Crowes were mining the same rich earth as the Rolling Stones in their first two albums. Nothing wrong with that. Harvey’s Dry was a huge game changer in the music world, and there is plenty there to still be explored musically. Round absolutely expands the vocabulary of the trio that Harvey had at the time when the horns come in on Lacuna, or when the mellotron keyboards start to mirror the vocal melody. Round’s self confession "There's a lot to be Said/for this morbid self-attention/The problem lies in my external obsession" comes across as both revelatory and inevitable. She knows it and shes not going to change.
Perhaps I can still smell the café smoke of the Champs-Élysées, but the snappy rhythm of the acoustic guitar that rules "Paris," the pop of the horns on the chorus and double tracked Carina’s make this song a delightful little breath of fresh air. Very few would write lines like: "I used to float in your eye stream to weigh up my beauty day by day/I know broken bones don't come close to the pain of hidden truth/I caught your dream in mine, I saw us walking hand in hand and mean it," but yes, she does, and when the photo album snaps shut the song ends like a book. Slammed shut.
If the self confession exists in "Lacuna," "Monument" is a travelogue of the soul, paired with too many details to make it the fiction that might otherwise become. The sound starts out quietly, delicate rhythms being played on the sides of the drums, but the fullness of the guitar and the swooping of the fretless bass belays the innocence. "Will it rain then and drown this out/I could die here and never be found out/Sweat freezes on my face/Moving forward from this place/Screaming into a new world." We’re time shifting back to the romance of Paris, to the ripped apart future of the new york taxi, perhaps screaming through 6th avenue on a nighttime ride back from JFK, and the with the breathless Oh, god, just this once, let it come, the band takes flight the way that Led Zeppelin would 3 minutes into the song, a coked up guitar suddenly taking up a double time rhythm signature, the drums becoming relentless, Carina’s delivery becoming breathless, the song exploding into the new, leaving the Gare Du Nord behind.
"Overcome" weaves itself on the loom of the acoustic guitar and Carina’s delicate breathy vocals, but finds the one possible vocal melody for the chorus “I will overcome” that doesn’t drift into cliché but seems somehow like something new that you’ve never heard. Even here, as the strings come in, that nothing is settled, that the musically schizophrenic match does nothing more than take what might be the sweetest song on the album and infuse it with just that little dose of unease. I will overcome/I will over/Black wings spread overhead/Lover, didn't you know me.
Sit tight, the next to last track is slow poetry, almost a duet except for that Carina sings an indy cabaret, all red velvet and smoke and elbow length gloves right before last call. Her art betrays her in the lyrics: no female punk would sing:
Restraint is the frame that you have found But I see your soul as Juan Miro Or maybe a Chagall Escaping through your eyes like a liquid time
and no female punk raised only on the guitar trios would move to the funk guitar and hand claps of the break . once again, Round plants her feet firmly on sonic ground at the beginning of the song only to take us unexpected places along the way.
Round closes the Album with "Elegy," and its main fault is that it sounds like an album closer. It builds up from the sparse guitar opening to perhaps the longest solo on the album 5 minutes into the song, but while good, it pales in comparison to the sonic innovation that precedes it. I hate to be critical to a song that’s merely good, but it might be, in my opinion, the most lightly regarded track on the album only because its what you expect her to end it with.
Carina Round’s 2004 album Disconnection is exactly the sort of music that reminds me of what New York smells like. Armed with a sound that at one time we would have called “indy”, but which has become so diffuse as to be meaningless, Round attacks her songs in a heavenly voice, but one that is paired with snare heavy drums that slice through the production like an illegally obtained box cutter, a chugging bass and guitars that aren’t afraid to hit you with a slab of distortion right between the thighs. 
