sir mix-a-lot
10-25-2006, 08:54 PM
You've stumbled upon the wonderful world of Decoy Music's weekly Listening Station. So plug in your iPods or whatever you use and get ready to fill it with items selected by staff, readers, and bands you know and love. You could also buy an album, even. I know, far-fetched.
Rick Senses The Impending Listening Station Apocalypse And, In An Attempt To Prostrate Himself Before The Listening Station Gods, Gets His Selection In Well Before The: Zero Hour - Specs Of Pictures Burnt Beyond
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/zerohour.jpg
Website: (http://www.zerohourweb.com) :: Listen: (http://www.zerohourweb.com/pages/media/mp3.htm)
Now this is some heavy-duty prog-metal. As much as I love Dream Theater, I think they should listen to a couple of Zero Hour songs to learn how to cut down on the over-indulging masturbatory instrumental passages. That and Chris Salinas could teach James LaBrie a few things about how not to suck as a vocalist. As opposed to past releases, Specs of Pictures Burnt Beyond is a lot heavier, even at times feeling like a very mature and non-crappy version of Mudvayne mixed with some flourishes of the now-defunct Reflux. Heck, you might even be able to get some metalcore kiddies to listen to this as there are some seriously heavy passages that border on proper breakdowns, but instead of being a tool to get kids to hardcore dance, they have a natural place in the song.
Johnny Only Folds When He's Holding Trip-Fives: Ben Folds - Supersunnyspeedgraphic
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/benfolds.jpg
Website: (http://www.benfolds.com) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/benfolds)
There is a reason why Ben Folds has been a relevent part of the American music landscape since the early 1990s. Folds consistently writes music in the truest sense of the word. The foul-mouthed piano man has penned some of the greatest pop songs of our time; songs like "Brick," "Army," "Selfless, Cold and Composed," and the list goes on and on. Every song that has been on a Ben Folds or Ben Folds Five record has been musically superior to virtually everything out there and now Folds releases a collection of B-sides and songs that appeared on EPs along the way and these songs, again, 99% of musicians in the world would kill to write. Ben Folds will have a large audience as long as he chooses to write music.
In His Latest "Bands I've Been Listening To Way Too Often" Poll, Brandon Votes For: Pedro The Lion - The Only Reason I Feel Secure
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/pedrothelion.jpg
Website: (http://www.pedrothelion.net) :: Listen: (http://www.epitonic.com/index.jsp?refer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epitonic.com%2Fartists%2Fpedrothelion.html)
With some open diary honesty and acoustic guitar that seems to give the same, Pedro The Lion has given us a great release in Jade Tree Records history. If you aren't familiar with any of David Bazan's work or Pedro The Lion at all, then get out from under the rock you've been living in and listen to this stuff. It's in the vein of Bright Eyes or The Spill Canvas. If you want something more along the lines of The Postal Service, then check out his side project Headphones. Either way, the magic that David Bazan possesses will fill your ears and I'm pretty sure you'll dig it!
Jared's Just Learned The Definition Of The Phrase "Long-Winded Diatribe" And Is Putting It To Practical Application. In A Related Story, Ben Rice Just Looked Up The Word "Hypocrite" And Couldn't Quite Grasp It: Killswitch Engage - As Daylight Dies
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/killswitchengage.jpg
Website: (http://www.killswitchengage.com) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/killswitchengage)
A new Killswitch Engage record? Of course it's going to make my pick!
When we last heard from Killswitch Engage with The End of Heartache, things were very different. The number one question on KSE fans' minds was, "How is Howard Jones going to work out?" In short the answer was, very well. I still believe Jesse Leach (Seemless) was the man for the job, but his ambitions were elsewhere. Howard Jones (Blood Has Been Shed) is definitely a capable replacement.
So how is it? To paraphrase the band, it's heavier, lighter, and more southern rock than everything they've ever done and that's a good thing. That description is probably closer to the truth than it seems. As Daylight Dies has its skull-cracking moments. It also has some very melodic moments. There's also a little bit of a southern rock feel to some of the songs. A perfect synopsis of this style is the track "This is Absolution." It's got a blistering tempo, some very melodic lines (sung by Adam D. no less), and a little southern rock flavor to the guitars.
Upon my first listen to "My Curse," I had my doubts about all the melody used in the song, but after listening to it a few times, I think it's one of my favorites on the album. I also really like "This is Absolution" and "Through the Eye of the Storm."
I would imagine those who enjoyed The End of Heartache are going to find As Daylight Dies just as pleasing. The band's style didn't really change all that much and they are sounding more cohesive than ever.
Alex Davies Is 100% Serious At All Times. Keep This In Mind While Reading About: JC Chasez - Schizophrenic
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/JCChasez.jpg
Website: (http://www.jcchasez.net) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/jcchasez)
After years in the shadow of the headline-grabbing Justin Timberlake in the seminal *Nsync, JC Chasez finally got the platform to showcase his incredible talent on his 2004 debut solo album, Schizophrenic. Whether it's the brooding atmospherics of "Some Girls (Dance With Women)," the majestic bombast of "Blowin' Me Up (With Her Love)" or the dirty, electro-grooves of "All Day Long I Dream About Sex," the sheer brilliance on offer here is sure to floor any listener. Brilliant.
Armand Partakes In Dangerous Adventures In Radio Listening: Cold War Kids - Robbers And Cowards
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/coldwarkids.jpg
Website: (http://www.coldwarkids.com) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/coldwarkids)
For the past few years I have stopped listening to the radio because it predominately plays, how can I put this gently, abhorrent shit. So in order to avoid being subjected to the radio’s cancerous waves during my daily commute, I always take my laptop with me in my car and hook it up to the tape player with those tape converter thingies so I can listen to whatever I please. Well, during one of my commutes last week my laptop’s battery died. I felt helpless and had no choice but to turn on the radio. To be honest though, I was curious to see if the radio had changed for the better. After countless minutes of radio surfing, I was about to give up and just listen to K-Mozart. But as I got to Indie 103.1 (the fact that it is indie is extremely debatable) on about my tenth trip around the airwaves, I finally found a tune that caught my attention. After enjoying the song, I was thinking to myself “the dude better say what song he just played.” And he did. It turned out that the song was “Hang Me Up To Dry” by the Cold War Kids. I had heard some good things about the Cold War Kids so I gave their new album a shot and I am sure glad I did. “Hang Me Up To Dry” has to be one of the best songs I’ve heard in quite some time, along with some of their other tunes. So go to their MySpace page and give them a listen, you won’t be disappointed. And forgive me for having only one giant paragraph.
Chris Conlan Is Wrong; We Call Him A Dumbass To His Face. But Then He Just Tells Me I'm Ugly And I Like Panic! At The Disco And That Shuts Me Up Pretty Quickly. But Then I Point Out He Also Likes Panic! At The Disco. He Counters With The Fact That I'm A Self-Absorbed, Self-Important Elitist Who Should Be Ten Miles Above That Stuff And He, On The Other Hand, Is Renowned For Enjoying Shitty, Mindless Music. I Cry And Write Awful Poetry As A Result. I Go On To Record A Horrible Album That Sells Well Because Chris Conlan Gushes Over It Because It's Absolutely Horrendous. The World Collapses Upon Itself The Following Day: The Takeover - EP
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/thetakeover.jpg
Website: (http://www.thetakeovermusic.com) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/thetakover)
I have to say that The Takeover is probably one the best unsigned bands right now. The biggest obstacle I think they have to face is the Panic! At The Disco reference because we all know P!ATD started the synth fad (SARCASM). Well, these guys are 100x better than that aforementioned band.
The band is set to release their debut EP on iTunes shortly and I must tell you I'm ecstatic for it to be released so others can enjoy it. I've been listening to it non-stop in my iPod. I even catch myself at times doing the robot. You might be calling me an dumbass behind my back, but to deny myself their dancy tunes would be a crime.
Clint Curtis CCs Decoy RE: The Listening Station, Vis-à-vis The Fact That Readers Can FWD: Things To: Ben Rice For Submission: Quantice Never Crashed - Quantice Never Crashed
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/quanticenevercrashed.jpg
Website: (http://www.myspace.com/quanticenevercrashed) :: Listen: (http://www.purevolume.com/quanticenevercrashed)
Unfortunately I believe Quantice Never Crashed is no long making noise together. If I ever come across a genie in a bottle, I will definitely wish for these chaps to start jamming again. That is, of course, after I wish for a barrel full of wishes…and monkeys. What kind of music do they play? Well, these fellas like to scream, bang drums, and strum their geetars. Sorry, I’m not good with genres and such. For fans of older Underoath and Alexisonfire’s self-titled.
Allen Doesn't Even Recall There Being Any Breakdancing In The Film, So Really, One Breakdance Move Being Busted By A Member Of This Band During The Recording Would Mean They Can't Be Sued For False Advertising: Murder By Death - Like The Exorcist, But More Breakdancing
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/murderbydeath2.jpg
Website: (http://www.murderbydeath.com) :: Listen: (http://www.purevolume.com/murderbydeath)
I was ecstatic when I found this in a going-out-of-business Tower Records in the city, becoming a huge fan of Murder by Death only recently, after their release of In Bocca Al Lupo. It's always interesting to see how far a band has progressed through the years (I bought Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them? at the same time). I was surprised that Murder by Death has come from much more ambient-sounding roots to the punk- and indie-influenced alt-country they are now. Albeit, they’re not that different, but the piano in the tracks on Like the Exorcist were a definite bonus, as well as a change from the Johnny-Cash-as-punk vocals (which can eventually get a little tedious—though only when you’ve listened to In Bocca Al Lupo on repeat for about three to four days) to a kind of quiet whisper/slur with less Johnny Cash.
Tim Burns It Down And Walks Away: Haste The Day - When Everything Falls
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/hastetheday.jpg
Website: (http://www.hastetheday.com) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/hastetheday)
Something about this album always did it for me. I hated seeing this band live before it came out and I absolutely hated their first two records (with the exception of "One Life to Live" off the one before this), but the band really stepped it up on When Everything Falls. This is probably one of the only Christian emometalcorescreamo crap albums I'll ever listen to, not counting anything by He Is Legend because I don't count them due to their discretion. "Fallen" is the shit.
Scott Keeps His Write-Up Short, Because The Pronunciation Is Difficult: Nikitov - Vanderlust
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/nikitov.jpg
Website: (http://www.nikitov.com) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/nikitov)
I <3 klezmer.
Daniel Alcinii Gets Kicked Out Of School For Copying Off Of Scott, Then Frantically Trying To Cover Up By Being A Bit Wordier, But Saying Pretty Much The Same Thing. Naturally, He Tried To State His Case, Claiming Scott Copied Off Of Him And Dumbed It Down A Bit. But Scott Is Considered The More Academic Of The Two, So, Naturally, The School Took His Side. Life Is Fair: Magyar Posse - Random Avenger
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/magyarposse.jpg
Website: (http://www.magyarposse.com) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/magyarposse)
All you need to know: Magyar Posse is from Pori/Florida, Finland, and produces beautiful instrumental music.
Marc Actually Prefers Everything But The Girl: Minus The Bear - Highly Refined Pirates
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/minusthebear.jpg
Website: (http://www.minusthebear.com) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/minusthebear)
I'm just going to recommend the last album I listened to, which was Minus the Bear's Highly Refined Pirates. My friend decided to put this on while driving home from a night at Checkers to get milkshakes (so good!). I forgot how soothing of an album this is. As soon as I dropped him off and hit the open road, this album just set the atmospheric mood. If you're looking for Botch, don't waste your time. The band doesn't use the same distortion or heaviness Botch provided; rather, they take a more poppy, catchy sound with some of the weirdest song titles ever. Give this a listen; it's worth you're time.
Chris Pandolfo Calls Them The Deft Ones: Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/deftones.jpg
Website: (http://www.deftones.com) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/deftones)
Only a few minutes into "Hole In The Earth," you can immediately understand the direction that Deftones decided to take with their brand-new album, Saturday Night Wrist. This new direction happens to be a breath of fresh air for the band and, in my opinion, no other approach would have made it as good as it really is.
How good is it though? After my first listen all the way through, I told myself it was better than White Pony. Do I still feel that way after 10+ listees? Basically. It's brilliant and it never loses my interest until the dreadful "Pink Cellphone," which I actually skip, and I'm not a person to skip tracks on a CD. Besides that extremely awful...track, the rest of the album is straight up SOLID. I give the D-tones a lot of credit for showing us that they actually have talent!
Now if they could only improve their live performance.
Ben's Ego Is Put Under The Microscope And It Is Revealed He Is A Complete And Utter: Failure - Magnified
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/failure.jpg
Website: (http://www.kenandrews.com) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/failure)
This is a bit of a shock. I figured by the time I finally bothered to put a Failure album up as my pick, Fantastic Planet would be the album making an appearance. It's an easy mistake to make, considering I think it's one of the best albums ever recorded. However, I decided to give my pick to the criminally-overlooked predecessor that is Magnified. It's not nearly as good as Fantastic Planet, but, to me, few are. So rare is an album nearly on par with it that my list of the top five albums of all time is only three albums long. Magnified just hints at what Fantastic Planet would bring, establishing Failure's love of growling metallic bass, spacey guitars, punk-ish drumming, and hushed vocals with an underlying pop sensibility. That and the lyrics are awesome. I have quoted a line from "Magnified" in the header for this column if you'd care to check it out. It's full of gems just like that one. Truly a four out of five. Oh, and I own two copies of this album because there's a version with a more rare cover. I found two copies of the rare copy, each going for $3.99 at a going-out-of-business sale at this tiny record store that had no business being where it was or having two copies of this magnificent record. I gave the second copy to some clueless sap who was maybe 12 years old and told him to buy it, give it a listen, and, should he not like it, either rot in Hell or sell it on eBay and make a profit. Hopefully he liked it.
Jeremy Deal Tries Not To Connect This Fantastic Punk Band With The Song By The Abysmal Alice In Chains Ripoff Band That Calls Itself Godsmack But Refuses To Admit They Stole The Name From A Band They So Obviously Idolize: Bad Religion - Generator
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/badreligion.jpg
Website: (http://www.badreligion.com) :: Listen: (http://www.badreligion.com/media)
I was introduced to this album during my junior year of high school (back in 96) by my best friend's sister. Clearly "Atomic Garden" is one of the most addictive songs on the album. Other personal favorites are "The Answer," "No Direction," & "Babies In The Dark" (though the whole album stands up to continuous listening). Brings back memories of days when all I listened to were this, Civ, and Black
Flag. Good times!
Rick Senses The Impending Listening Station Apocalypse And, In An Attempt To Prostrate Himself Before The Listening Station Gods, Gets His Selection In Well Before The: Zero Hour - Specs Of Pictures Burnt Beyond
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/zerohour.jpg
Website: (http://www.zerohourweb.com) :: Listen: (http://www.zerohourweb.com/pages/media/mp3.htm)
Now this is some heavy-duty prog-metal. As much as I love Dream Theater, I think they should listen to a couple of Zero Hour songs to learn how to cut down on the over-indulging masturbatory instrumental passages. That and Chris Salinas could teach James LaBrie a few things about how not to suck as a vocalist. As opposed to past releases, Specs of Pictures Burnt Beyond is a lot heavier, even at times feeling like a very mature and non-crappy version of Mudvayne mixed with some flourishes of the now-defunct Reflux. Heck, you might even be able to get some metalcore kiddies to listen to this as there are some seriously heavy passages that border on proper breakdowns, but instead of being a tool to get kids to hardcore dance, they have a natural place in the song.
Johnny Only Folds When He's Holding Trip-Fives: Ben Folds - Supersunnyspeedgraphic
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/benfolds.jpg
Website: (http://www.benfolds.com) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/benfolds)
There is a reason why Ben Folds has been a relevent part of the American music landscape since the early 1990s. Folds consistently writes music in the truest sense of the word. The foul-mouthed piano man has penned some of the greatest pop songs of our time; songs like "Brick," "Army," "Selfless, Cold and Composed," and the list goes on and on. Every song that has been on a Ben Folds or Ben Folds Five record has been musically superior to virtually everything out there and now Folds releases a collection of B-sides and songs that appeared on EPs along the way and these songs, again, 99% of musicians in the world would kill to write. Ben Folds will have a large audience as long as he chooses to write music.
In His Latest "Bands I've Been Listening To Way Too Often" Poll, Brandon Votes For: Pedro The Lion - The Only Reason I Feel Secure
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/pedrothelion.jpg
Website: (http://www.pedrothelion.net) :: Listen: (http://www.epitonic.com/index.jsp?refer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epitonic.com%2Fartists%2Fpedrothelion.html)
With some open diary honesty and acoustic guitar that seems to give the same, Pedro The Lion has given us a great release in Jade Tree Records history. If you aren't familiar with any of David Bazan's work or Pedro The Lion at all, then get out from under the rock you've been living in and listen to this stuff. It's in the vein of Bright Eyes or The Spill Canvas. If you want something more along the lines of The Postal Service, then check out his side project Headphones. Either way, the magic that David Bazan possesses will fill your ears and I'm pretty sure you'll dig it!
Jared's Just Learned The Definition Of The Phrase "Long-Winded Diatribe" And Is Putting It To Practical Application. In A Related Story, Ben Rice Just Looked Up The Word "Hypocrite" And Couldn't Quite Grasp It: Killswitch Engage - As Daylight Dies
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/killswitchengage.jpg
Website: (http://www.killswitchengage.com) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/killswitchengage)
A new Killswitch Engage record? Of course it's going to make my pick!
When we last heard from Killswitch Engage with The End of Heartache, things were very different. The number one question on KSE fans' minds was, "How is Howard Jones going to work out?" In short the answer was, very well. I still believe Jesse Leach (Seemless) was the man for the job, but his ambitions were elsewhere. Howard Jones (Blood Has Been Shed) is definitely a capable replacement.
So how is it? To paraphrase the band, it's heavier, lighter, and more southern rock than everything they've ever done and that's a good thing. That description is probably closer to the truth than it seems. As Daylight Dies has its skull-cracking moments. It also has some very melodic moments. There's also a little bit of a southern rock feel to some of the songs. A perfect synopsis of this style is the track "This is Absolution." It's got a blistering tempo, some very melodic lines (sung by Adam D. no less), and a little southern rock flavor to the guitars.
Upon my first listen to "My Curse," I had my doubts about all the melody used in the song, but after listening to it a few times, I think it's one of my favorites on the album. I also really like "This is Absolution" and "Through the Eye of the Storm."
I would imagine those who enjoyed The End of Heartache are going to find As Daylight Dies just as pleasing. The band's style didn't really change all that much and they are sounding more cohesive than ever.
Alex Davies Is 100% Serious At All Times. Keep This In Mind While Reading About: JC Chasez - Schizophrenic
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/JCChasez.jpg
Website: (http://www.jcchasez.net) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/jcchasez)
After years in the shadow of the headline-grabbing Justin Timberlake in the seminal *Nsync, JC Chasez finally got the platform to showcase his incredible talent on his 2004 debut solo album, Schizophrenic. Whether it's the brooding atmospherics of "Some Girls (Dance With Women)," the majestic bombast of "Blowin' Me Up (With Her Love)" or the dirty, electro-grooves of "All Day Long I Dream About Sex," the sheer brilliance on offer here is sure to floor any listener. Brilliant.
Armand Partakes In Dangerous Adventures In Radio Listening: Cold War Kids - Robbers And Cowards
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/coldwarkids.jpg
Website: (http://www.coldwarkids.com) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/coldwarkids)
For the past few years I have stopped listening to the radio because it predominately plays, how can I put this gently, abhorrent shit. So in order to avoid being subjected to the radio’s cancerous waves during my daily commute, I always take my laptop with me in my car and hook it up to the tape player with those tape converter thingies so I can listen to whatever I please. Well, during one of my commutes last week my laptop’s battery died. I felt helpless and had no choice but to turn on the radio. To be honest though, I was curious to see if the radio had changed for the better. After countless minutes of radio surfing, I was about to give up and just listen to K-Mozart. But as I got to Indie 103.1 (the fact that it is indie is extremely debatable) on about my tenth trip around the airwaves, I finally found a tune that caught my attention. After enjoying the song, I was thinking to myself “the dude better say what song he just played.” And he did. It turned out that the song was “Hang Me Up To Dry” by the Cold War Kids. I had heard some good things about the Cold War Kids so I gave their new album a shot and I am sure glad I did. “Hang Me Up To Dry” has to be one of the best songs I’ve heard in quite some time, along with some of their other tunes. So go to their MySpace page and give them a listen, you won’t be disappointed. And forgive me for having only one giant paragraph.
Chris Conlan Is Wrong; We Call Him A Dumbass To His Face. But Then He Just Tells Me I'm Ugly And I Like Panic! At The Disco And That Shuts Me Up Pretty Quickly. But Then I Point Out He Also Likes Panic! At The Disco. He Counters With The Fact That I'm A Self-Absorbed, Self-Important Elitist Who Should Be Ten Miles Above That Stuff And He, On The Other Hand, Is Renowned For Enjoying Shitty, Mindless Music. I Cry And Write Awful Poetry As A Result. I Go On To Record A Horrible Album That Sells Well Because Chris Conlan Gushes Over It Because It's Absolutely Horrendous. The World Collapses Upon Itself The Following Day: The Takeover - EP
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/thetakeover.jpg
Website: (http://www.thetakeovermusic.com) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/thetakover)
I have to say that The Takeover is probably one the best unsigned bands right now. The biggest obstacle I think they have to face is the Panic! At The Disco reference because we all know P!ATD started the synth fad (SARCASM). Well, these guys are 100x better than that aforementioned band.
The band is set to release their debut EP on iTunes shortly and I must tell you I'm ecstatic for it to be released so others can enjoy it. I've been listening to it non-stop in my iPod. I even catch myself at times doing the robot. You might be calling me an dumbass behind my back, but to deny myself their dancy tunes would be a crime.
Clint Curtis CCs Decoy RE: The Listening Station, Vis-à-vis The Fact That Readers Can FWD: Things To: Ben Rice For Submission: Quantice Never Crashed - Quantice Never Crashed
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/quanticenevercrashed.jpg
Website: (http://www.myspace.com/quanticenevercrashed) :: Listen: (http://www.purevolume.com/quanticenevercrashed)
Unfortunately I believe Quantice Never Crashed is no long making noise together. If I ever come across a genie in a bottle, I will definitely wish for these chaps to start jamming again. That is, of course, after I wish for a barrel full of wishes…and monkeys. What kind of music do they play? Well, these fellas like to scream, bang drums, and strum their geetars. Sorry, I’m not good with genres and such. For fans of older Underoath and Alexisonfire’s self-titled.
Allen Doesn't Even Recall There Being Any Breakdancing In The Film, So Really, One Breakdance Move Being Busted By A Member Of This Band During The Recording Would Mean They Can't Be Sued For False Advertising: Murder By Death - Like The Exorcist, But More Breakdancing
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/murderbydeath2.jpg
Website: (http://www.murderbydeath.com) :: Listen: (http://www.purevolume.com/murderbydeath)
I was ecstatic when I found this in a going-out-of-business Tower Records in the city, becoming a huge fan of Murder by Death only recently, after their release of In Bocca Al Lupo. It's always interesting to see how far a band has progressed through the years (I bought Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them? at the same time). I was surprised that Murder by Death has come from much more ambient-sounding roots to the punk- and indie-influenced alt-country they are now. Albeit, they’re not that different, but the piano in the tracks on Like the Exorcist were a definite bonus, as well as a change from the Johnny-Cash-as-punk vocals (which can eventually get a little tedious—though only when you’ve listened to In Bocca Al Lupo on repeat for about three to four days) to a kind of quiet whisper/slur with less Johnny Cash.
Tim Burns It Down And Walks Away: Haste The Day - When Everything Falls
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/hastetheday.jpg
Website: (http://www.hastetheday.com) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/hastetheday)
Something about this album always did it for me. I hated seeing this band live before it came out and I absolutely hated their first two records (with the exception of "One Life to Live" off the one before this), but the band really stepped it up on When Everything Falls. This is probably one of the only Christian emometalcorescreamo crap albums I'll ever listen to, not counting anything by He Is Legend because I don't count them due to their discretion. "Fallen" is the shit.
Scott Keeps His Write-Up Short, Because The Pronunciation Is Difficult: Nikitov - Vanderlust
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/nikitov.jpg
Website: (http://www.nikitov.com) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/nikitov)
I <3 klezmer.
Daniel Alcinii Gets Kicked Out Of School For Copying Off Of Scott, Then Frantically Trying To Cover Up By Being A Bit Wordier, But Saying Pretty Much The Same Thing. Naturally, He Tried To State His Case, Claiming Scott Copied Off Of Him And Dumbed It Down A Bit. But Scott Is Considered The More Academic Of The Two, So, Naturally, The School Took His Side. Life Is Fair: Magyar Posse - Random Avenger
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/magyarposse.jpg
Website: (http://www.magyarposse.com) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/magyarposse)
All you need to know: Magyar Posse is from Pori/Florida, Finland, and produces beautiful instrumental music.
Marc Actually Prefers Everything But The Girl: Minus The Bear - Highly Refined Pirates
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/ListeningStation/minusthebear.jpg
Website: (http://www.minusthebear.com) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/minusthebear)
I'm just going to recommend the last album I listened to, which was Minus the Bear's Highly Refined Pirates. My friend decided to put this on while driving home from a night at Checkers to get milkshakes (so good!). I forgot how soothing of an album this is. As soon as I dropped him off and hit the open road, this album just set the atmospheric mood. If you're looking for Botch, don't waste your time. The band doesn't use the same distortion or heaviness Botch provided; rather, they take a more poppy, catchy sound with some of the weirdest song titles ever. Give this a listen; it's worth you're time.
Chris Pandolfo Calls Them The Deft Ones: Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist
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Website: (http://www.deftones.com) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/deftones)
Only a few minutes into "Hole In The Earth," you can immediately understand the direction that Deftones decided to take with their brand-new album, Saturday Night Wrist. This new direction happens to be a breath of fresh air for the band and, in my opinion, no other approach would have made it as good as it really is.
How good is it though? After my first listen all the way through, I told myself it was better than White Pony. Do I still feel that way after 10+ listees? Basically. It's brilliant and it never loses my interest until the dreadful "Pink Cellphone," which I actually skip, and I'm not a person to skip tracks on a CD. Besides that extremely awful...track, the rest of the album is straight up SOLID. I give the D-tones a lot of credit for showing us that they actually have talent!
Now if they could only improve their live performance.
Ben's Ego Is Put Under The Microscope And It Is Revealed He Is A Complete And Utter: Failure - Magnified
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Website: (http://www.kenandrews.com) :: Listen: (http://www.myspace.com/failure)
This is a bit of a shock. I figured by the time I finally bothered to put a Failure album up as my pick, Fantastic Planet would be the album making an appearance. It's an easy mistake to make, considering I think it's one of the best albums ever recorded. However, I decided to give my pick to the criminally-overlooked predecessor that is Magnified. It's not nearly as good as Fantastic Planet, but, to me, few are. So rare is an album nearly on par with it that my list of the top five albums of all time is only three albums long. Magnified just hints at what Fantastic Planet would bring, establishing Failure's love of growling metallic bass, spacey guitars, punk-ish drumming, and hushed vocals with an underlying pop sensibility. That and the lyrics are awesome. I have quoted a line from "Magnified" in the header for this column if you'd care to check it out. It's full of gems just like that one. Truly a four out of five. Oh, and I own two copies of this album because there's a version with a more rare cover. I found two copies of the rare copy, each going for $3.99 at a going-out-of-business sale at this tiny record store that had no business being where it was or having two copies of this magnificent record. I gave the second copy to some clueless sap who was maybe 12 years old and told him to buy it, give it a listen, and, should he not like it, either rot in Hell or sell it on eBay and make a profit. Hopefully he liked it.
Jeremy Deal Tries Not To Connect This Fantastic Punk Band With The Song By The Abysmal Alice In Chains Ripoff Band That Calls Itself Godsmack But Refuses To Admit They Stole The Name From A Band They So Obviously Idolize: Bad Religion - Generator
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Website: (http://www.badreligion.com) :: Listen: (http://www.badreligion.com/media)
I was introduced to this album during my junior year of high school (back in 96) by my best friend's sister. Clearly "Atomic Garden" is one of the most addictive songs on the album. Other personal favorites are "The Answer," "No Direction," & "Babies In The Dark" (though the whole album stands up to continuous listening). Brings back memories of days when all I listened to were this, Civ, and Black
Flag. Good times!