DELTRON 3030 RECOMMENDED: Various Artists – Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World
| 1. We Are Sex Bob-Omb - Sex Bob-Omb (written by Beck) |
| 2. Scott Pilgrim- Plumtree |
| 3. I Heard Ramona Sing- Frank Black |
| 4. By Your Side- Beachwood Sparks |
| 5. O Katrina!- The Black Lips |
| 6. I’m So Sad, So Very, Very, Sad- Crash and the Boys (Broken Social Scene) |
| 7. We Hate You Please Die- Crash and the Boys (Broken Social Scene) |
| 8. Garbage Truck- Sex Bob-Omb (written by Beck) |
| 9. Teenage Dream- T. Rex |
| 10. Sleazy Bed Track- The Bluetones |
| 11. It’s Getting Boring By the Sea- Blood Red Shoes |
| 12. Black Sheep- Metric |
| 13. Threshold- Sex Bob-Omb (Written by Beck) |
| 14. Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl- Broken Social Scene |
| 15. Under My Thumb- The Rolling Stones |
| 16. Ramona (Acoustic Version)- Beck |
| 17. Ramona- Beck |
| 18. Summertime- Sex Bob-Omb (Written by Beck) |
| 19. Threshold (8 bit)- Brian LeBarton |
The original soundtrack to the movie,Scott Pilgrim Vs the World –which releases this Friday, features four new songs by Beck under the guise of Sex Bob-omb and two versions of a totally new Beck track titled “Ramona”. It is classic Beck circa “Sea Change”. Needless to say it is a must have. I considered hoarding it for Hype 18..but I couldn’t do that to you guys. It’s just too good. Also on the soundtrack are tracks by Indie stalwarts Broken Social Scene, Black Lips, Metric and Frank Black alongside classic rock anthems from soundtrack vets the Rolling Stones and T.Rex. After giving the album one spin it is safe to say Edgard Wright (go hulu “Spaced” asap!) was the right man to spearhead this movie. It’s nice to see a director actually put in some work when developing the sounds that move the plot forward. It’s not just a marketing free for all (I’m looking at you Twilight) to push product. The music in this movie is meant to very much be a supporting character that, through the choices made here, show a lot more range than the patron saint of one trick ponies, Michael Cera. If the movie is as enjoyable as the soundtrack is, I’ll have no problem spending $12 to see it this weekend.DELTRON 3030 RECOMMENDED: Queens of the Stone Age – Rated R (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)
“The best, most important rock album for years…No gimmicks, no postmodern guilt-trip bullshit, just punk rock space-cadet genius, Queens Of The Stone Age’s major label debut compromises nothing but still has mass appeal. The new rock royalty have come to claim their throne. Do not miss out on this.” – NME, September 2000
Yes it has already been ten years since the QOTSA blessed us with their acclaimed album”Rated R.” 10 years!? Really? Damn! “I grow old. I grow old. I shall wear the bottoms of my Jncos rolled.” To celebrate Homme and Co released a special two disc deluxe edition today. As I reflect on a lost decade’s worth of nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy, and alcohol I’ll use this as my soundtrack. You should do the same. If you haven’t heard this album before go and do yourself a favor and download it asap. The first disc includes the original album, and the second contains six B-sides, a few covers ( The Kinks!) and a recording of the band’s set at the 2000 Reading Festival. Homme is a bad-ass ginger who I would not want to fuck with at a festival. This Ginger? Not so much.
Highlights: “Feel Good Hit of the Summer,” “Better Living Through Chemistry,” “The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret”
DELTRON 3030 RECOMMENDED: BEST COAST AND TAMARYN…WHO’S THE MAZZY STARR OF THE WEST COAST?
A friend of mine recently described Best Coast’s new album, “Crazy for You” as sounding like “Mazzy Star if Hope Sandoval was from Southern California.” I love the analogy, as any chance my teenage love for Hope can be rekindled I jump at it….but I’d save it for another Californa duo, Tamaryn’s “The Waaves”. Thanks to our difference of opinion I’ve just set you up to compare and contrast dueling Cali duos for the rest of their recorded careers.
Best Coast – “Crazy For You”
It is easy to fall for Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino. For those of you not familiar with Bethany, she was the glowing vocalist on the “All Summer” track put out by Converse.(I love that song). She seems like the perfect girl, outside of her love for her cat…and cats as a whole in general. Seriously check out her blog, the album cover, her lyrics where she wishes her cat could talk…it’s a bit much. OK, beyond her future as a lonely cat lady she seems pretty cool. She’s goofy, has an obsessive love for all things Seinfeld, and writes some hooky pop gems. Inspired by their sunny home state of California (Hence the moniker “Best Coast”) all of the songs on “Crazy For You” are washed in a surfer glow vibes with tinges of old school 50’s girl groups singing about her boyfriend, summertime, the beach…and weed. Like I said it’s a love letter to California. They love their weed here. Weed and Avocados. I’ll never understand it. I can’t figure out avocados but I can figure out Best Coast. They married simple hooks and melodies with simpler lyrics. Sometimes you just want to relax when you listen to music. Bethany’s voice takes each minimalist track and raises them to greater heights of carefree bliss.
Highlights: “Crazy For You,” “Boyfriend,” “When I’m With You,” “Our Deal,” “Happy”
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Tamaryn – “The Wavves”
Sexy slow burning shoegaze set to the hushed vocals from the real heir to the Hope Sandoval throne. Reverb, Fuzz, and ethereal vocals are only part of the equation as you listen to their lead single, Sandstone…There’s a lot going on in each song. They would seem to be the anti-Best Coast. Not that there’s anything wrong with that
Highlights: “Sandstone,” “Cascades,” “Choir of Winter”
DELTRON 3O3O RECOMMENDED: ceo – ‘White Magic’
What do past TRAffIK featured artists The Radio Dept, Miike Snow alll have in common? They, along with Robyn, The Shout Out Louds, Lykke Li, The Tallest Man on Earth, and El Perro Del Mar are all Swedes. Should we start breaking ground for a new wing of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame over there? I suppose I’m jumping the gun a tad but you have to admit their music scene has grown by leaps and bounds. Before 2000, when The Hives broke into the states with “Hate to Say I Told You So“, the Swedes were best known for….well let me just provide this chart.
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Rank Swedish acts Sold Genre Years active
1. ABBA ———-300 million + ——- Pop —————- 1972–1982
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2. Roxette ———-70 million + ——- Pop rock ———– 1986–present
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3. Ace of Base —- 50 million + ——- Eurodance ——— 1990–present
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4. Europe ———- 20 million + ——– Glam rock ———–1979–1992; 1999; 2003–present
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5. The Cardigans –15 million + ——–Alternative rock –1992–present
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Not exactly a murderer’s row of artists. What is most impressive is that Europe was able to sell 20 million albums off of one (kick ass) song. That has to be some kind of one hit wonder record.
Now that you have Sweden’s most prolific artists fresh in your mind it is much easier to appreciate the Swedish music landscape for what it is now. Artists like The Hives, Peter Bjorn and John, The Knife, and The Sounds laid ground work for the Swedish invasion that we are currently reveling in. “Swedish Invasion” sounds too played. Let’s call it “The Stockholm Syndrome”. Soon to be added to my favorites from Sweden list, which currently consists of Miike Snow and the Radio Dept, is ceo. I find the stylistic choice of leaving the letters in ceo all lowercase off putting and the fact that his website is a black hole of info* is a bit annoying…but the album makes up for all of that. For a short form (28 mins) album it manages to hit a few different sounds. It is a combination of M83 styled instrumentals (“All Around”) Miike Snow-esque sleek romps of synthy pop driven jams (“Come With Me”) and Sigur Ros lush soaring strings and emotion (“Den Blomstertid Nu Kommer”). I just threw out M83, Miike Snow, and Sigur Ros?! WOW.
I don’t think I need to say more. Do I?
Highlights: “Come With Me,” “Illuminata,” “No Mercy”
Black hole of info* – As far as info goes, this is what is available on his website:
“CEO arises in 1981 and 1891. in 3064 and tomorrow. after ibrahimovic and before nectanebo II. before the dark ages and after spring break. before time was, ceo is.ceo arises in miami, hell, holzschlag, the andes, sparta, chianti and wall street. in the antennae galaxies, kungsm ssan, flushing meadows and the mariana trench. before space was, ceo is.you may call me sophia, yukio, fanta, eric, kiki and krishna. and wii and whitney.ceo is the photosynthesis and an aria, it is silence and virginity lost in a gang bang.ceo is a bird in space and ceo is the space in a bird.ceo is saliva, patr n, november rain and panic. it is a relief, a citrine and it is broken dreams.ceo is the harlot, the prince the snake and the shaman. in a spyker c8 laviolette. and on a mirage.ceo is raspberries and chlamydia, it is the shadow and it is a clapping game.ceo is auroras and charlotte casiraghi. it is laser beams and a home by the ocean.ceo is a lost love and rihanna’s voice. it is hibernation,the spectacle, and every breath you take. ceo is platinum and it is valium, it is a quasar and it is a lie. ceo is a breech forest and a slamdunk. ceo is the ashanti and ceo is seinfeld. it is eucalyptus, neon and a smile. ceo is a war zone and a sanctuary. it is dukkha, dilla and the body of light. ceo is cashmere, sweat, zooxanthellae and a stiletto. it is implosion technology and it is the match point. ceo is you and you are me and i am ceo. in eternity.”
DELTRON 3030 RECOMMENDED: ARCADE FIRE – ‘THE SUBURBS’
Your Friday just got that much better. Arcade Fire’s new album has leaked!
With their previous two albums Win Butler and Co. set the bar pretty damn high for their third album, “The Suburbs”. “Funeral” and “Neon Bible” were truly amazing albums that will always hold a special place in my iPod’s heart. “Funeral” was an absolute musical epiphany for me, and I used to melt off hangovers at Santa Monica beach set to the sound of “Neon Bible’s” church organs. I found no irony in the fact that the track that housed those ominous organs was titled “Intervention.” I’ve been talking up “The Suburbs” all summer. It is that one tent pole blockbuster that all the other drops have been leading up to. Knowing that I’ve already had an unhealthy amount of anticipation and set unfair expectations on this album–I tried to dial it down a bit…but The BBC just exasperated the situation this week with their pre-release quote. Speaking about “The Suburbs” the BBC said
“…It is their most thrillingly engrossing chapter yet; a complex, captivating work that, several cycles down the line, retains the magic and mystery of that first tentative encounter. You could call it their ‘OK Computer’. But it’s arguably better than that.”
Wow. Better than “OK Computer.” No pressure there. It’s stupid to even compare it to that. I’m not against comparisons by any means. I tend to compare stuff all of the time, but Radiohead’s “OK Computer” is far more different in tone and style than this (from what I can tell as I give it it’s first full listen). I’m up to track five and I’m already loving it. The frantic energy of the strings on “Empty Room” caught me off guard in the best way possible, especially after the “Free Fallin’ ” slow groove of the Petty-esque “Modern Man.” It’s certainly too early to tell if it will match or top “OK Computer”…but it sounds like classic Arcade Fire so far.
Highlights: “In the Month of May,” “Modern Man,” “Empty Room,” “Half Light I”
Read More from the BBC review here
Note: Arcade Fire will be live streaming their concert on 08/05 @ MSG with “very special guests.” My guesses: David Bowie..and Mark Messier. Check out the trailer here.
DELTRON 3030′S MID-YEAR TOP TEN ALBUM LIST…
We’re a little more than half way through 2010 and it’s safe to say it has been a pretty incredible year for album releases so far. As you know, I love making lists so I decided to put out a quick top ten list of my favorite albums so far. If you haven’t made sweet ear love to these albums DO IT NOW!
10.) Janelle Monae – “The ArchAndroid”
An amazing ambitious debut of genre jumping tracks
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9.) Delorean - “Subiza”
They shimmer and dance on your soul like a pool’s magical healing waters on a hungover summer day. Dive in and let the warm glow fix what ails you
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8.) Tame Impala – “Innerspeaker”
The Lennon-esque vocals are married to trippy psychedelic guitars and drums that definitely time warp the listener back to an era when people dropped acid like it was their job
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7.) Titus Andronicus – “The Monitor”
The Civil War spun as an analogy for suburban doom and gloom by a bunch of disenfranchised post punk rockers from New Jersey
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6.) Jonsi – “Go”
Jonsi’s ethereal voice will brighten any sky and push the clouds out of your mind and leave you in a warm happy place. This album is like Zoloft for your ears.
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5.) The Radio Dept – “Clinging To A Scheme”
Delicate textures and melodies wash over the tracks in a waves of emotion that are enhanced by the lost love crooning vocals
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4.) Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – “Before Today”
They shift gears from new pop leanings (“Round and Round”) to low fi chill-waves (“L’estat”), 80’s sweet cheese (“Can’t Hear My Eyes”) to drugged out fuzz attacks (“Butt-House Blondies”). …and I’m a sucker for all of it.
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3.) Gorillaz – “Plastic Beach”
I love this album. I love it because of what it is. I love it because of what it isn’t. I’ll be honest though, I didn’t love it right away. In a way that’s the beauty of it The different soundscapes, the variety of guests, and the “newness” of it all combine to create a sound that welcomes you to revisit the world over and over again.
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2.) Phantogram – “Eyelid Movies”
Two unassuming Up-State New Yorkers throwing down sexy vocals and psychedelic melodies on top of hop hop beats. A pretty simple formula…but there’s so many more layers to their sound. Fifteen seconds into the lead track and I knew I’d be a huge fan.
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1.) LCD Soundsystem – “This Is Happening”
As the lead track “Dance Yourself Clean” started up with its slight downer vibes I wondered where the LCD party was. I was sure I was destined to sing “LCD I Love You, but you’re bringing me down”. Then at the 3:08 mark the drums kicked in, shaking off the bad mojo with them, and I haven’t looked back since. If “This is All Happening” is truly his last album it is one epic swan song. This album is is full of amazing tracks. I’m only on my second spin of it but I feel confident in saying this might very well might be your soundtrack to the summer. I want to say so much more but my mind is swimming in the beats and layers. This album has altered my ability to think straight.
LCD, it’s a helluva drug.
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