More Than Just "Temporary Pleasure"

Simian Mobile Disco are back with a new record that will rock your socks off. Hitting shelves last week, their new record Temporary Pleasure has just eased it's way in to my pick for favorite record of 2009. The duo, formed from the ashes of rock group Simian which was most famous for the hit "Never Be Alone", released the album Attack Decay Sustain Release to much acclaim in 2007 and has been touring ever since. I must say that this is a well worthy follow-up to Attack... and it's too early to say this but, it might even be better!

The album opens up with "Cream Dream", a track that is almost reminiscent of The Who's "Baba O'Reilly" in it's epic electronic orchestration getting louder and louder in order to prepare you for what's in store. The album then goes into the already released "Audacity of Huge" which I wasn't crazy about when I first heard it but takes awhile to get into. The presentation of it on the album really did it for me as guest vocalist Chris Keating lists all the cool things he has (And I mean it, they are cool things). My favorite on the album so far is "Off The Map." The vocals are slow and stoic over a beat that is so fast but so chill at the same time.

Overall though, the album starts off high and ends that way, there are no points where you'd want to skip tracks. Definitely, my favorite of 2009 thus far. Check it out- it's Simian Mobile Disco's Temporary Pleasure.

This Is The Thing - Fink

Here's a British artist who's got some pretty somber music. His name is Fin Greenall, but he goes under the name Fink. He's got a nice variety, check out "Pretty Little Thing" and "Biscuits" by him.

Playlist for the Week(Aug.26) By: Anonymously Rach

1. Bubble Reputation - Most Serene Republic

2. Don't Hold Back, Feel a Little Longer - Most Serene Republic

3. Constant Motion - Dream Theater

4. Toccata in d minor op.11 - Sergei Prokofiev

5. There's No Secrets this Year - Silversun Pickups

1. The first track of The Most Serene Republics latest album, ...And the Ever Expanding Universe, they hit it off with a vibrant opener full of wonderful chord progressions and unique time meters.

2. This is currently my favorite album at the moment and thought I would just put another of the songs into the list. This song is just as good and has a dance feel to it.

3. This song is from the Dream Theater album, Systematic Chaos, which is their second to last album. I will hopefully be doing a review on their newest album "Black Clouds and Silver Linings" in the near future.

4. I figured I would put a classical piece into the mix. This Toccata by Prokofiev is one of the most difficult pieces to perform in the piano repetoire. Even Prokofiev had difficulty performing it! Recommended Recordings: Martha Argerich, Vladimir Horowitz. It has very rigid structure and many difficult parts.

5. This is from the "Silversun Pickups" latest album "Swoon". Good song, fun to listen to, has a bit of a grunge feel to it.

Enjoy!

Pic Source: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1428/1328003372_58f5934895.jpg?v=0

Don't Mess With Canada Playlist

While South Park may rag on Canada, the country has produced some mighty fine musicians. This is a playlist of some of my favorite bands, enjoy.

1) Your Ex-Lover Is Dead - Stars
2) 1,2,3,4 - Feist
3) 7/4 (Shoreline) - Broken Social Scene
4) Combat Baby - Metric
5) Rebellion (Lies) - Arcade Fire

Check this out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bands_from_Canada

It's quite surprising what names you'll find on there.

Jake Shimabukuro - While My Ukulele Gently Weeps

This is one of the more popular Youtube musicians, and he is one of the rare people who play ukulele as their main instrument. I also recommend checking out his song, "Orange World."

5 Artists of the Week (8/25-9/1/09 by: InfektedIncubus)

Hey everyone! It's been a while since my last post, but here's some classic and hard rock for ya.

1. Motley Crue - Home Sweet Home
I would say that this is perhaps one of the most moving rock ballads I've heard in my entire life. It's very powerful and really just hits home.

2. Dropkick Murphies - Flannigan's Ball
This song definitely puts anyone in a partying mood. I really find the drums in this song to be a centerpiece of this song. I find the way the Murphys incorporate so many instruments into their music fascinating.

3. The Mars Volta - Teflon
The Mars Volta did it again with their newest album, Octahedron. This is one of my favorites from the album. Very weird, yet soo good.

4. Blue Oyster Cult - I'm Burning for You
This is pretty mainstream, and I'm sure everyone knows Don't Fear the Reaper from the game, Rock Band, but this has got to be one of the better songs from Blue Oyster Cult.

5. Alter Bridge - Rise Today
You might remember the vocalist from this band he used to be in Creed... "Can you taake meeee higheerrrr" Haha. I'd definitely say that he's come around since then. Alter Bridge combines some aspects of Creed and makes them better by adding a harder rock element to them.

That's it for today, enjoy!

2 Very Original Live Performances

These are two artists who are have a really new and fresh sound. Their live stuff is just as good as their studio recorded material. They really are worth a listen.

This is Owen Pallett. He was recommended to me by a friend. He usually performs under the name Final Fantasy. I love this song, "Peach Plum Pear" and how relaxed he is with the crowd. I also recommend his song "Lewis' Dream". By the way, the artist he is covering, Joanna Newsom, has the scariest voice I have ever heard, so his commentary is warranted.



Horse Feathers is a personal favorite. This video is off of NPR Tiny Desk Concerts on Youtube, which are fantastic for finding other less known artists. This is a set playlist of two of their songs, but my favorite is probably one off of the CD, Words Are Dead, the song, "Finch on Saturday."



It's always the best when live stuff meets or surpasses expectations. This is some phenomenal music. Happy listening.