Iron Man - The Bad Plus
Stuck to You - Nikka Costa
Rivers Cuomo - Blast Off
Deftones - Change
Cover Me Slowly - Deerhunter
Decide For Yourself - John Tchicai
Flying - Secret Machines
She Talks to Angels - The Black Crowes
My Night Out- The Homosexuals
Wicked Wisdom - Of Montreal
Iron Man - The Bad Plus
Experimental jazz piano trio Bad Plus has become an unlikely jam band fave in recent years. Secret weapon? Superbly screwing with classic rock and grunge staples like Black Sabbath's "Iron Man," Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and Rush's "Tom Sawyer." Sure, the threesome composes originals, but that's not what gets these guys paid. So it should come as no surprise that Bad Plus are following the same template for their new disc.
Stuck to You - Nikka Costa
The Deal: Funky, rockin' soulstress releases her third U.S. album.
The Good: She first hit American radio/MTV with the single "Like a Feather," which conjured up images of a female Lenny Kravitz - through both sound and visuals. Costa's sound on this latest effort ranges from soul to rock - having an Amy Winehouse-esque vibe on "Stuck on You," sounding more like Tina Turner on "Can't Please Everybody," finding the funk of Parliament on "Keep Pushin'" and conjuring up a bit of Kravitz on "Keep Wanting More." There seems to be a good bit of '70s style flowing through the majority of the album, whether it be as a funk riff, a soul groove or even a disco beat. Costa's vocals range from the soft and sweet to the low and powerful.
There aren't a lot of good local blogs about
A retail-ready compact disc, like so many worthwhile products and ideas, starts out as a small and simple thing: a polycarbonate pellet no larger than a BB from a toy gun. But from those humble beginnings something truly special can develop, given the right circumstances. The same can be said of AudioGraphic Masterworks, a local CD and DVD manufacturing business that has grown by leaps and bounds in the past decade or so.
Founded by partners Mark Yoshida and Brandon Seavers in 1997, AudioGraphic Masterworks started out as an audio-mastering and graphic-design studio in a tiny space on Summer Avenue. But growth was always a part of Yoshida and Seavers' plan.
"When we started, we knew we wanted to get into packaging eventually," Seavers says. "So when we moved to a larger place across the street in 1999, we added that capability."
Rivers Cuomo - Blast Off
Deftones - Change
Cover Me Slowly - Deerhunter
Colin Mee is riding high on an artistic second wind that carries him far from the atmospheric clatter he churned out as the former guitarist for Deerhunter. Now fronting a trio dubbed Hollow Stars alongside Josh Blanton (bass) and Adam Bruneau (drums), Mee focuses on the art of solid, experimental pop songwriting.
His debut release, a 7-inch on Deerhunter bassist Josh Fauver's Army of Bad Luck imprint, embraces the spirit of exploration, but not at the expense of the song itself. The approach is just as therapeutic as the masculine metal riffage of his other band Chopper, but with Hollow Stars Mee keeps the music closer to his heart and mind. "I hit a rough patch after leaving Deerhunter and was feeling lousy," he admits. "I decided to quit drinking and when I did I had the mental capacity to be creative again."
That moment of clarity yielded an earnest fresh start that finds him showcasing his baritone voice. "I've always liked singers like Johnny Cash, Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen," he adds. "Their songs have always provided a frame of reference for me to use what I've got."
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