MUSE Study Break

I know i needed yet another study break, so i watched this entire concert.  If you happen to get bored, its quite a good one.
-cs

Radical Face Album Review

              Radical Face is a musical act consisting of Ben Cooper, a talented singer/songwriter who keeps plenty busy in his four successful bands.  In 2007, Cooper released his first album under Radical Face, titled “Ghost”.  This album gained quick notoriety thanks especially to its inspirational hit “Welcome Home”.  After a long hiatus, Radical Face released their second full-length album, “The Family Tree: The Roots”, this past October.

            The album is similar to “Ghost” with beautiful vocal harmonies and a heavy reliance on a steady backbeat.  But “Family Tree” is not a mere copy of their first album.  The songs seem to capitalize on their strengths, yet improve on melodic complexity, something that let their other album become dry at some moments.  The standout songs on the album are “Always Gold” and “Ghost Towns “.  “Always Gold” starts off slowly working the chords up the keyboard.  One bass drum is hit repeatedly to get your foot tapping, followed immediately by Cooper’s impressive guitar work.  But where the first album might have trailed off repeating the same phrase, this song explodes with a powerful 2 bar chorus and jumps right back into a new verse.  This song does not follow a simple verse chorus structure, which keeps it consistently interesting.  But the track that stood out most to me was “Ghost Towns”.  Much darker than the other songs, piano and guitar wind their way down a minor key progression and create a feel that would be appropriate if you were strolling through a park on a cold October night.  But with a syncopated, clapping rhythm and swirling vocals, emotions run all over the place and you’re almost driven to tears.  This song was an emotional rollercoaster that will make you stop, listen, and melt.

            It is rare an album grabs my attention the first time I listen.  But I can say in all honesty that “The Family Tree” has done that.  Since I bought it, I have not been able to put it down.  The diversity of emotions the songs will bring you through is addicting.  Although Radical Face is currently touring in Europe, we can expect a U.S. tour soon that I am sure will be nothing short of phenomenal.  So if you are looking for emotionally driven music with beautiful melodies and straightforward rhythms, pick up a copy of “The Family Tree: The Roots” and enjoy.

Playlist of the Week #9

Busy busy coming into finals, so this will be a short playlist.  Hope you enjoy it!
-cs

1. Ghost Towns - Radical Face
2. Lebanese Blonde - Thievery Corporation
3. Give It Away - Zero 7
4. Without You - Junip
5. Mansfield & Cyclops - Espers
6. Your Hand in Mine- Explosions in the Sky

Playlist of the Week #8

Happy thanksgiving!  Hope all is well and you are ready for a new playlist of the week.  Thanks to the suggestion from some friends, this week's playlist is a hip hop playlist.  Enjoy!
Cody

1.  Remember Who You Are - Living Legends
2.  Tug Of War (1993) - Jedi Mind Tricks
3.  My Pathology - Common Market
4.  Smart Went Crazy - Atmosphere
5.  Slang Blade - Binary Star
6.  616 Rewind - Cunninglinguists
7.  Classic - Hieroglyphics
8.  Souls From The Street (1994) - Jedi Mind Tricks
9.  Bonita Applebum - Tribe Called Quest
10.  Bruise Brothers - Blue Scholars
11.  Brooklyn Sky - Digable Planets
12.  Rock Co.Cane Flow - MF Doom
13.  2010 - Living Legends
14.  Get It Together - Jurassic 5
15.  Obnoxious - Immortal Technique
16.  No Karma - Jaydiohead
17.  No Rest For Weary - Blue Scholars

Playlist of the week #7

Hello all,
Here is a little cd of some songs to get you through the week and closer to thanksgiving break!  If anybody wants a hard cd copy of this playlist or any of the others, please let me know!

1.  Strangers - The Kinks
2.  If I Could - Phish
3.  Circuital - My Morning Jacket
4.  Dead Wrong - Hanni El Khatib
5.  Sweet Rose - Matt Costa
6.  Crimson & Clover - Tommy James & the Shondells
7.  My Sweet Lord - George Harrison
8.  Mountains - Radical Face
9.  Infinity - The XX
10. She's Losing It - Belle & Sebastian
11. Pa Pa Power - Dead Man's Bones
12. California Stars - Billy Bragg & Wilco
13. I Won't Back Down - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
14. 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover - Paul Simon
15. Dawned On Me - Wilco
16. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues - Bob Dylan
17. Everything In It's Right Place - Radiohead

First Leg of Radiohead Tour Announced

Here are the announced tour dates for Radiohead's 2012 U.S. tour:

Feb. 27: Miami, Fla. (American Airlines Arena)
Feb. 29: Tampa, Fla. (St. Pete Times Forum)
Mar. 1: Atlanta, Ga. (Philips Arena)
Mar. 3: Houston, Tex. (Toyota Center)
Mar. 5: Dallas, Tex. (American Airlines Center)
Mar. 7: Austin, Tex. (Frank Erwin Center)
Mar. 9: St. Louis, Mo. (Scottrade Center)
Mar. 11: Kansas City, Mo. (Sprint Center)
Mar. 13: Broomfield, Co. (1stBank Center)
Mar. 15: Glendale, Ariz. (Jobing.com Arena)

Playlist of the Week #6

Hello all,
School and work is busy and ever, but i hope to start posting regularly again.  Hope you enjoy the tunes in this weeks playlist.
Musically,
Cody
1.  Que Sera - Wax Tailor
2.  Massage Situation - Flying Lotus
3.  Wonderful ( The Way I Feel) - My Morning Jacket
4.  Welcome Home - Radical Face
5.  Sprawl II - Arcade Fire
6.  Se Lest - Sigur Ros
7.  Insomnia - Electric President
8.  The Only Living Boy in New York - Simon & Garfunkel
9.  Always - Junip
10.  Jesus Etc. - Wilco

Radiohead on SNL and Colbert Report

Perhaps to stir interest for next year's planned tour, Radiohead have been making the television circuit over the past few days. Saturday night saw them playing a two-song set for Saturday Night Live's season premiere, while Tuesday night saw them performing four songs on Comedy Central's faux news show The Colbert Report. But did songs from this year's album The King of Limbs make a smooth transition to television? As a Radiohead fan myself, I'm leaping at the opportunity to discuss the band's sets at length.

The answer is yes, though one performance was far superior to the other.

Saturday's appearance on SNL wasn't the groundbreaking performance I thought it would be, mostly due to awful sound mixing. Most notably, bassist Colin Greenwood could barely be heard. Other issues from the performance involved Thom Yorke's vocals, which seemed a little shaky during their first song, "Lotus Flower" (perhaps he was a little distracted by the bad mixing). Things improved drastically with "Staircase," though, and the band exited the SNL stage after a fairly satisfying performance.

When the band appeared on The Colbert Report on Tuesday, they seemed much more comfortable musically. They began the set on a highly positive note, with the already beloved B-side "The Daily Mail," a slow building rock song that, at under three minutes, was perfect for the time constraints of television.

Interestingly, they followed "The Daily Mail" with the much less accessible "Bloom." If you've heard the studio version of the song, you can guess how difficult it can be to perform live. But, as they did earlier this year with their From the Basement special, the band pulled it off flawlessly. And, thankfully, we could hearColin Greenwood actually playing the bass.

Their third song, "Little By Little," was approached differently from other live versions of the song, with focus being more on the guitar parts rather than the rhythm. That configuration didn't quite hold up when you compare it to From the Basement, though casual listeners will likely be unable to spot any main differences.

Then, suprisingly, the band ended the set with a rousing version of "The National Anthem." Unlike all five songs mentioned above, "The National Anthem" is over ten years old -- it initially appeared on the groundbreaking studio album Kid A. A rock song, probably intended to appease the younger skewing Colbert audiences, "The National Anthem" was the perfect way to end the hourlong special, though unfortunately the tail part of the song was cut off by the credits. Not to worry, though, because the song will be available onThe Colbert Report's website on Wednesday, along with a live track that was recorded but didn't make it into the final cut of the episode.

The End of The World as We Know IT....

With Michael Stipe's lyrics still ringing in our heads, "It's the end of the world as we know it.", we will remember R.E.M as one of the most influential 90's band.  The American rock band announced their split yesterday morning on their website.  Stipe is quoted as saying, "A wise man once said — ‘the skill in attending a party is knowing when it’s time to leave.’ We built something extraordinary together. We did this thing. And now we’re going to walk away from it,”  With hits like Everybody Hurts, Losing My Religion, and It's The End of The World; R.E.M revolutionized not only the rock scene, but also the international radio scene.  R.E.M has also been sited as inspiring bands such as The Black Keys, The Shins, and most notably, Radiohead.  And although this does seem to be the end of an influential band, the music will continue to inspire and we can only pray for a Stipe solo album to come in the future.  Best Wishes for the weekend,
Cody

Playlist of the Week #5

Hope you enjoy these songs for each day of your week!

1.  Monday - Wilco

2.  Tuesday's Dead - Cat Stevens

3.  Wednesday Morning, 3 a.m - Simon & Garfunkel

4.  Sweet Thursday - Matt Costa

5.  Friday - Rebecca Black....... no just kidding.  Friday I'm in Love - The Cure

6.  Drive-In Saturday - David Bowie

7.  A Sunday Smile - Beirut