heavy rotation – 10.21.10
October 21st, 2010 § Leave a Comment
a bit of an off week.
not having what could be considered the “best” of weeks. i’m not sad or upset about anything, just feeling kind of unmotivated. today i’m actually pretty sick.
i walked in to my professor’s office this morning and he said to me “wow, you look like shit.” to which i replied “umm…thanks”. then he told me to go back to my room and sleep and that my absence was excused. college is wonderful.
but all of that is no matter. let’s get down to business.
this week’s heavy rotation.
1. you can play these songs with chords by death cab for cutie: this was their first album, back when they were still a blossoming indie blip on the radar. ben gibbard has proven to be something of an indie rock success story and really changed the way people look at indie music. the success of dcfc also forced people to accept that indie bands can become popular and still be wonderful. and good news – ben gibbard said to
expect a new death cab for cutie album in spring of 2011.
tracks to listen to – “champagne from a paper cup” or “that’s incentive”
2. blue sky noise by circa survive: anthony green is possibly one of the most talented and successful drug addicts to ever pick up a microphone. his voice is easily recognizable over any other singer. his music is amazing. and he and his wife just gave birth to the messiah.
side note: i know what you’re thinking “but cody! every rock band from the 60s/70s/80s was on drugs and they were good!” and you’re wrong. most of what happened between the 60s and the 80s wasn’t music – it was a series of seizures and sound waves. that’s it.
tracks to listen to: “get out” or “fever dreams”
3. absolutes by barcelona: i saw barcelona in concert a few years ago and they are some of the nicest dudes around. this album is practically perfect and is definitely one of the best albums of 2007. the album reminds me a lot of high school, but i can look back on it now with completely different eyes.
tracks to listen to: “time to mend” or “fall out of trees”
4. sometimes things just disappear by polar bear club: i heard about polar bear club in alternative press in an article about hardcore/punk bands that no one knew about. their name is awesome, their music is pretty good, and i look like i belong in that band. i met them at warped tour this summer and they’re genuinely nice dudes.
tracks to listen to: “heart attack at thirty” or “eat dinner, bury the dog, and run”
5. invented by jimmy eat world: i finally got my hands on a copy of the new j.e.w. album and it is phenomenal. i’m going to write a review for it soon. but just know that it is a really impressive piece of music. well worth the wait.
tracks to listen to: “anais” [available on the deluxe version of the album] and “invented”
red dead redemption: undead nightmare.
that is the list for this week. send me your suggestions and what not to theindielumberjack@gmail.com.
enjoy your day friends.- the lumberjack.
my next post: i’m going to talk about some video games. i’m a nerd. it’s what i do.
heavy rotation – 10.7.10
October 7th, 2010 § 3 Comments
what is heavy rotation?
heavy rotation is where i tell you what i’m listening to, why i dig it, and what tracks you should listen to. if i like doing this, i’ll make it a weekly thing. let’s see where it takes us.
this weeks heavy rotation:
1. illuminadio by chiodos: this should come as no surprise to people that this is on the list. their new album is such a fantastic piece of music. i’ve probably listened to it eight times in it’s entirety since monday. it is the chiodos that was lacking from bone palace ballet.
tracks to listen to – “closed eyes still look forward” or “stratovolcano mouth”
2. the ocean and the sun by the sound of animals fighting: it took forever for this band to catch on with me, but after a few months [okay like a year] of listening to them occasionally and i finally enjoy their music. some of their songs aren’t great but for the most part i really like them.
tracks to listen to – “the ocean and the sun” or “the heraldic beak of the manufacturers medallion”
3. grand by matt & kim: in a bad mood? listen to matt & kim. really stoked about life? listen to matt & kim. want to listen to some good music? listen to matt & kim. they’re pretty much a wonderful duo of music genius. their music is dance-y and grand. [i made a pun]
tracks to listen to – “daylight” or “i’ll take us home”
4. for lack of a better name by deadmau5: if you love techno, this music will make your head explode. it is just a dude [joel zimmerman] who likes to make sweet techno beats that occasionally have lyrics. he wears a giant cartoon mouse head during his performances, so he has to be the coolest, right?
tracks to listen to – “ghosts ‘n stuff” or “word problems”
for lack of a better name by deadmau5
5. the suburbs by the arcade fire: before i begin, i used to hate the arcade fire. i thought their music was too indie to be good and i thought they were really over rated. but now…holy eff they are good. i don’t love every track, but i like the vast majority of their music library.
tracks to listen to – “rococo” or “wasted hours”
that is the list for this week. send me your suggestions and what not to theindielumberjack@gmail.com.
enjoy your day friends.
- the lumberjack.
my next post: it should hopefully be a review of the new jimmy eat world album.
illuminadio: review.
October 4th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
i miss craig owens.
craig owens’s (@craigeryowens) wonderful voice is, sadly, not on illuminadio. but you know what, that is actually completely okay. craig owens is a really talented dude, he has been in a lot of different “side-projects” and has been successful in all of them. his new band D.R.U.G.S. (@drugs) is slated for releasing their debut album next year.
but that chapter of craig and chiodos’s career is over. and let us all remember it fondly and stop talking about it.
before i begin.
chiodos has begun streaming their entire new album on their MySpace page. [i'll give you a minute to go to their page and start listening before i start the review......]
holy eff.
i wasn’t a huge fan of their album bone palace ballet because it sounded kind of…not great. i mean, it was a good album, but all’s well that ends well, the band’s first full-length album will forever remain one of my favorite albums of all time. i refused to believe that chiodos’s first album would be their best and i waited in impatient anticipation for the day their next album would come out. well, that time is now.
track list:
- illuminadio
- caves
- love is a cat from hell
- modern wolf hair
- notes in constellations
- scaremonger
- his story repeats itself
- let us burn one
- hey zeus! the dungeon
- stratovolcano mouth
- those who slay together, stay together
- closed eyes still look forward
i went in to listening to this album with a completely open mind. i was really enjoying the songs they’d released on their MySpace and on other places around the internet so i was prepared for something awesome. and they delivered.
illuminadio is twelve tracks of glorious, glorious hardcore glory. from the first track to the last track, the album is fantastic. there are, of course, songs that i like more than others, but i like love all of the songs.
what makes the album good?
illuminadio album cover.
well, to be honest, brandon bolmer’s voice blends really well with the rest of the band [instruments and voices]. and the tracks themselves are really great. the lyrics are really well thought out and some of the songs are pretty catchy and i’ve found them dancing around my head for the past few days.
my two favorite tracks [because i always pick two] from the album are: “closed eyes still look forward” and the other is a toss-up between “modern wolf hair” and “love is a cat from hell”. all of the songs, though, are fantastic.
the album is even well produced. nothing sounds fake or doctored [even though that is the whole point of production].
final verdict.
i feel like putting this is just beating a dead horse, but the album is pretty much flawless.
i give illuminadio a 10 out of 10.
my next post:
is going to be a review of the new jimmy eat world album. hooray music!
take it easy, folks.
- the lumberjack
hurley.
September 16th, 2010 § 4 Comments
how did this seem like a good idea?
so i am generally a fan of weezer: they make pretty rad music, they all look like dudes i would enjoy hang out with, and i follow their lead singer rivers cuomo, on twitter (@riverscuomo).
their last album had some catchy songs about pork and beans and what not, and their album before that had some playboy bunnies running around in one of the videos. these are things i approve of.
however.
i am not a fan of making the face of the chubby dude from the show lost the album cover.
and at first, i wasn’t a huge fan of this album. but i gave it another listen and it is starting to grow on me…much to my dismay.
this is their album cover. i wish i was kidding.
lets get started.
i’m a big fan of old weezer like “island in the sun” or “buddy holly” or “my name is jonas”, you know, stuff that i can play on rock band. and i’m pretty keen on “pork and beans” and “if you’re wondering if i want you to, i want you to” because those songs are pretty decent.
but as a whole album i wasn’t a fan of raditude because, to be honest, it wasn’t very good.
so to make amends for that travesty, weezer put out hurley, complete with an album cover of actor jorge garcia.
not quite sure why this seemed like a good idea.
the songs sound a lot like the old weezer that i know and love [and a lot of critics seem to agree with that sentiment...rather, i agree with their sentiment].
basically, this album doesn’t sound like all of that forced pop stuff that makes you want to drain your veins. [yep, that was a suicide reference].
it doesn’t feel like somone walked up to the band and said:
“hey! sound like all the other terrible bands!”
all of the tracks are pretty solid, some more solid and awesome than others [like "ruling me"] but all are pretty enjoyable tunes.
track list:
- memories
- ruling me
- trainwrecks
- unspoken
- where’s my sex
- run away
- hang on
- smart girls
- brave new world
- time flies
the final verdict?
well, while it is a step in the right direction from raditude, it isn’t quite as epic as their old self-titled albums.
i did enjoy hurley though…even though when the album art pops up on my ipod it startles me.
i give hurley a 7 out of 10.
next time.
i’m talking about my college. everything i say will be either funny or rude.
see you next time.
cody.
illuminadio: first impressions.
September 9th, 2010 § 2 Comments
i’m at a crossroads.
so as you all might be aware, i’m what some would call a chiodos fan [and that is a grand understatement if there ever was one]. i own all of their music and would say that overall i like all of it. was all’s well that ends well their best album? oh hell yeah it was. do i think bone palace ballet should have been a better album? you better believe i do. but i still love chiodos, no matter what.
no matter what.
as most of you may already know, craig owens, incredible singer/alleged drug addict/beautiful beautiful man, was “politely” asked not to return to chiodos in sept. of 2009. they posted a short, to the point, explanation that they let him go and would be continuing on as a band sans owens.
this made me cry a lot of tears, but owens is in a new band called d.r.u.g.s. and i’m really looking forward to what comes from them.
then, earlier this year it was leaked that chiodos had a brand new singer: brandon bolmer [formerly of yesterday's rising]. he is a pretty talented chap and he sang some of the older chiodos material at bamboozle and it sounded pretty good.
his vocal range isn’t quite as impressive but his voice is still pretty good.
illuminadio album cover
the new album.
the new chiodos album, illuminadio, is set to be released on october 5, which is less than a month away. now, you’d expect my natural reaction to be excitement since their last album sort of left something to be desired from me.
they’ve released two songs on their myspace from illuminadio and here is what i think about them.
“those who slay together, stay together”
this song is actually pretty good. it sounds a lot like bone palace as far as the instrumental direction that the track took, and bolmer’s voice blends really nicely with the rest of the music. the intro to the track is also really grabbing.
the lyrics are also pretty impressive.
however, the first thing that is obvious is the lack of owens’ vocals.
“modern wolf hair”
i know the name is kind of weird…and offputting…and makes you feel uncomfortable, but it is actually a pretty solid track. the vocals are good, the instruments are good, and the lyrics are good. i have no complaints about the song [except for the name].
overall.
i’m really excited for illuminadio. i’ll miss craig owens and i’ll always wish that they found a way to work through their issues as a band and kept owens in the band. his voice made them a recognizable band.
track list:
- illuminadio
- caves
- love is a cat from hell
- modern wolf hair
- notes in constellations
- scaremonger
- his story repeats itself
- let us burn one
- hey zeus! the dungeon
- stratovolcano mouth
- those who slay together, stay together
- closed eyes still look forward
like when “baby you wouldn’t last a minute on the creek” comes on, i know it is chiodos. i hope that they prove everyone wrong and illuminadio is their best album yet.
i have high hopes.
i have a special blog coming out tomorrow: it’s about intolerance. brace yourselves.
cody.
chatting it up with cody: episode #2.
September 7th, 2010 § 1 Comment
i’m sure i’ll regret posting this video. whatever.
