All photos by Lee Klawans. For more, go here.
To read an interview I conducted with Marnie at the Bottle, go here.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Photos: Marnie Stern @ The Empty Bottle
All photos by Lee Klawans. For more, go here.
To read an interview I conducted with Marnie at the Bottle, go here.
Video: Obama's Victory Speech
(Part One)
(Part Two)
(Part three)
I was there in Grant Park. While Obama's speech was much more low-key than past speeches of his, I couldn't have been more proud to have seen, in person, a turning point in the nation's history. Watch this video.
Cross-published on MFR.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
Lupe Fiasco Announces "LupEnd" as Triple Album
(Via)
Well, rapper Lupe Fiasco is nothing if not ambitious. After 2007's The Cool, which was a very loose concept record telling the story of three different characters: the Cool (introduced on a track from Fiasco's debut record, Food & Liquor), the Streets, and the Game. Let's not forget about Mike History either. Discerning the narrative from the album's tracks was a little bit of a challenge, but that didn't stop The Cool from being one of the best records of its year. So what does Lupe do for a follow-up? Tamper his ambition. Oh, no. No, no, no. Instead, his supposedly final album LupEnd, is going to consist of three discs. Individually, they will be titled Everywhere, Nowhere, and Down Here.
Watch the video at the top of the post.
Lupe Fiasco MySpace Page
Top Ten Tracks on Elbo.ws Reviewed in 50 Words or Less: 10/15/08--10/31/08
This is a couple of days late, due to the first of the month being on a weekend. So what you see below may not necessarily match what's on Elbo.ws right now. Otherwise, have at it.
1. Pallers - "Humdrum"
Download: Pallers - "Humdrum"
The newest addition to Sweden's purveyor of pop, Labrador Records, Pallers, a duo, lay the listener down in a blanket of cool, minimalist, electronic beats and crisp synth sounds ideally suited for bedroom listening. And not much else.
Grade: C
2. Plus Minus - "Snowblind"
Download: Plus Minus - "Snowblind"
The derivative innovation in this song is this: "Snowblind" bridges the gap between the electronic-pop of Death Cab frontman's Ben Gibbard's side gig to an upbeat variety of chiming indie-pop that his day job was perfecting in the beginning of the decade. I have the facts, and I'm voting eh.
Grade: C
3. Kanye West - "Robocop"
Download: Plus Minus - "Snowblind"
The thematic flip of the Chicago rapper's first person obsession ode "Love Lockdown", "Robocop" finds West at the receiving end of a jealous lover's unwanted attention. Moving forward in a synth-and-string focused R&B direction, "Robocop" finds West maturing musically. A compelling song, but past braggadocio also lead to more thrilling material.
Grade: B
4. Designer Drugs - "Zombies"
Download: Designer Drugs - "ZOMBIES!"
No need for BRAINS! when listening to this song. This isn't to say that it's stupid. Far from it. But the Daft Punk-isms of this instrumental dance track should be familiar to most listeners. Perhaps it could have been more distinctive had there been an air of spookiness added.
Grade: B-
5. Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains - "American Names"
Download: Sebastien Grainger and the Mountains - "American Names"
Former dance-punker trades in his fuzzy, dingy synth sounds for more lush, expansive synth sounds, swooning vocals, and anthemic guitar-pop. There's an infectious sense of romanticism in the songcraft, but also a strong lack of musical identity to differentiate "American Names" from the numerous other college rock band rehearsing right now.
Grade: B-
6. Of Montreal - "Id Engager"
Download: Sebastien Grainger and the Mountains - "American Names"
Kevin Barnes' alter-ego may be screaming at us all from a phallocentric tyranny, but his disco and funk sonic libations provide all the liberation that one could possibly hope for.
Grade: B+
7. Kanye West - "Coldest Winter"
Download: Kanye West - "Coldest Winter"
West's new found affinity for proper singing leads to another dark, keyboard-driven exercise in booming percussion and vocoded vocals (or is it Autotune?). Another worthwhile experiment, though one that suffers from an anti-climatic brevity.
Grade: B-
8. Parts and Labor - "Nowheres Nigh"
Download: Parts and Labor - "Nowheres Nigh"
The wonders that context can do for a song. At first listen, "Nowheres Nigh" sounded like a turn toward the boring conventional for a formerly ambitious band. In the context of the ambitious Receivers, this track sounds like the exhilarating anthem that band undoubtedly meant it to be. Mea culpa, Parts and Labor.
Grade: A-
9. Mos Def - "Life in Marvelous Times"
Download: Mos Def - "Life In Marvelous Times"
Stabbing synth lines, a militant beat, and group back-up vocals help propel this socio-economic commentary by one of hip-hop's most versatile emcees. "Bright moments always come back vivid" goes one line, and there's plenty that's vivid here, from a sonic perspective. But the dense production also gives a kitchen-sink feel that's a bit distracting.
Grade: C+
10. Lily Allen - "Everyone's at It"
Download: Lily Allen - "Everyone's at It"
Allen's "state-of the world" song, targeting everyone from politicians to young adolescents, shows everyone's favorite mouth runner ditching the ska-pop and moving toward a more 80s synth-pop sound. She's spunkier, and more distinctive when addressing personal problems, but the shift toward others doesn't detract too much from her ability to write a catchy tune.
Grade: B-
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