Saturday, October 30, 2010

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Red Hot Chili Peppers is one of those bands that pretty much everybody likes. I can't say I've ever heard a song by them I can't stand. Not only that, but they have some great songs too. Though, I would say they've gotten a bit stale. Their earlier stuff had a more diverse sound, while a lot of their more recent stuff kind of sounds the same, though that does tend to happen when a band goes mainstream. Though I'm not saying their recent stuff is bad. Stadium Arcadium is a great album. Also, their bassist, Flea, is pretty damn good. Anyways, yeah they're a great band.

A quick post about Ice-T

I don't have much to say at the moment, but I thought I'd put out a short post. Also, this marks my first rap related post.

I just thought I'd give one the better rappers out there a mention. Though, his rap career is pretty much done, he put out some good albums in the early nineties and one or two in the late eighties. Rap's not really my thing most of the time, but Ice-T is pretty good. The guy can tell a story. He put most of, if not all of, today's popular rappers to shame.

It's not music related, but Ice-T is one of the stars of Law & Order: SVU, which is a pretty good TV show, and I must admit he's an alright actor. 

The Pink Spiders - Teenage Graffiti

I've been listening to this album quite a bit recently so I thought I'd give it a review. It's their third release and their major label debut. It put them out in more into the mainstream and introduced them to a lot of people, including me.

The only single released off the album, "Little Razorblade" was the first song I heard by them. I know I stated this in the blog I wrote about them last week, but this song didn't really give me the best first impression of them. As time passed I started to like it, and I'll admit it's a decent song, but definitely not their best.

Anyways, later on I would actually listen to the whole album and I was pretty impressed. There's some great songs on the album like, "Modern Swinger", "Hollywood Fix", "Easy Way Out", and "Pretend That This Is Fiction". I kinda thought, "Woah, the same guys who made that mediocre pop song made a great rock album?". It's a pretty impressive album, in my opinion.

I give it a 4 out of 5!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, is the debut album by the Arctic Monkeys, and was released back in early 2006. It's one of the fastest selling debut albums of all time in the UK.

I was introduced to them and this album probably about a year ago. My friend would constantly be playing this album and a Bright Eyes' album, while we were in his car. I quickly took a liking to the Arctic Monkeys. Not only is it great music, but when I listen to it, it also reminds me of some fun days and nights spent with friends.

This is an excellent album in my opinion. These guys are great musicians and they put together a great album. My favorite song on the album is a tie between, "Riot Van", "When the Sun Goes Down", & "From Ritz to Rubble". All three are excellent songs. I would honestly recommend you listen to the whole album if you've never heard them before.

Rating: 5 out of 5

"From The Ritz to The Rubble"


Track Listing

1. The View From The Afternoon
2. I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
3. Fake Tales Of San Francisco
4. Dancing Shoes
5. You Probably Couldn't; See For The Lights But You Were Looking Straight At Me
6. Still Take You Home
7. Riot Van
8. Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured
9. Mardy Bum
10. Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong But...
11. When The Sun Goes Down
12. From The Ritz To The Rubble
13. A Certain Romance

The Pink Spiders

The Pink Spiders are a garage rock/pop punk band from Tennessee. I discovered them through a friend a couple years ago, though I didn't really get into them until earlier this year. The first song I heard by them was "Little Razorblade", which is much more poppy than most their songs. So, my first impression of them wasn't that great. I eventually started to hear some more of their stuff and decided that they were actually pretty good. I feel like they could easily attract fans of mainstream music, while also getting some people that generally stay away from it. My favorite song by them at the moment and one I'd recommend listening to if you'd like is, "Falling with Every Step".

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Alter Bridge - Blackbird

Blackbird is the second studio album by the hard rock band Alter Bridge. It was released on October 9, 2007. It peaked at 13 on the Billboard 200 charts.

This is, in my opinion, their best album. It's pretty heavy and the songs are well written. There's some soft songs on there that are good too. The guitar riffs are pretty awesome. This album shows what a talented hard rock band Alter Bridge are. The first single I heard from them was "Rise Today. It's a great song and it introduced me to them. This whole album is excellent in my opinion. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

The single for "Rise Today", the first single off the album.

Track Listing

1. "Ties That Bind"
2. "Come to Life"
3. "Brand New Start"
4. "Buried Alive"
5. "Coming Home"
6. "Before Tomorrow Comes"
7. "Rise Today"
8. "Blackbird" 
9. "One by One"  
10. "Watch Over You"
11. "Break Me Down"
12. "White Knuckles"
13. "Wayward One"


The Birthday Massacre

The Birthday Massacre is a synthrock band from Canada. They've got quite a unique sound. The best attempt I can give at describing it would be electronica mixed with metal-ish hard rock. You'd really have to listen to a song by them to understand. I'd recommended you check them out only if you're pretty open minded when it comes to music. I don't have much to say about them at the moment but I'll probably post a review of one of their albums in the future.

The Raconteurs

The Raconteurs, fronted by Jack White (also of The White Stripes and The Dead Weather), are one of my favorite bands. They're a (somewhat) bluesy alternative rock band. Jack White, their lead singer/guitarist is a pretty talented musician and in my opinion a pretty good guitar player. Their last album, Consolers of the Lonely, is my favorite (though at the moment they've only released two). If you haven't heard them and are interested, I'd recommended you give their song "Consoler of the Lonely" a listen.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

MGMT

A band I've pretty recently discovered is MGMT. One of my friends showed them to me earlier this year. I gave them a listen and was pretty impressed. They have a really distinct sound and seem pretty talented. They've been gaining a lot of popularity in the last year and are a good band to check out if you haven't already. 


Here's the video for "Time to Pretend" off their first album "Oracular Spectacular".

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Minor Threat

Minor Threat was a short lived hardcore punk from Washington DC. They were only around for about 3 years, and only released 22 original songs, but they left a huge impact on the hardcore punk scene. Their groundbreaking and iconic style set the standard for hardcore punk bands. They're one of the best hardcore punk bands, in my opinion.

Minor threat coined the term "straight edge". Straight edge, a subculture of hardcore punk, is philosophy of refraining from recreational drug use and promiscuous sex, which was popular in the hard rock scene at the time. Some of their songs revolve around the topic of straight edge such as, "Out of Step", "In My Eyes", and obviously "Straight Edge". They helped start the movement which quickly spread through the US and Canada.

Though they were only together for about 3 years, they influenced many bands and the straight edge scene. They're one of the more important bands in the history of punk rock being pioneers of hardcore punk.

Rating: 4 out of 5