Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
F Yeah! I Want My FNMTV!
I missed it. By a few years, by a generation, whatever. I missed when MTV was actually MUSIC television. For my generation, MTV has just been about The Hills, and Real World, and My Super Sweet Sixteen- not to mention the truly craptastic shows like Next and Parental Advisory. Even MTV2 is just reruns of Punk'd and Cribs. No music. I once tried to get into TRL and watch it after school everyday, but then I got sick of it because it was the same terrible music videos every day, and the hosts were annoying. I've always wanted an MTV show that actually focused on music and new videos that were interesting.
I think I found that show. On Friday nights all summer, there is a new show called F'N MTV (the FN stands for either "Friday Night" or "Feedback Now"). It's hosted by Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy, who I really do not care for at all, but I watched the first episode and sort of...loved it. To start with, the mix of groups who appeared, performed and premiered new videos were eclectic, so say the list. Lil Wayne and Duffy each performed their latest singles. Vampire Weekend, Shawty Lo and Boys Like Girls each premiered new videos. Katy Perry was on the commenting board, along with two other fellows who are somehow qualified to comment on music videos. The format of the show was fun and interesting, and so simple that you wonder why MTV doesn't just make all of their programming like that. It was, without a doubt, the best two hours of MTV I've ever watched.
For starters, Vampire Weekend premiered their "Oxford Comma" video, which was awesome. It's a single shot and very Wes Anderson (one of the commenting men was very happy to have made this comment of about Anderson. He seemed quite smug after mentioning it. Which made me resent the fact that I noticed it too.) and not to mention that "Oxford Comma" is a great song. BLG premiered some emo-pop video of theirs that I didn't care for because it looked and sounded like every emo-pop song/video ever.... Duffy was great performing "Mercy," Lil Wayne was better performing "A Milli". People could text their opinions of the videos as they aired and then there would be a tally of people's opinions after the video. Pete Wentz was not even as annoying as I had anticipated (granted, I anticipated 100% annoyance).
Basically, the show was pretty awesome. If they kept this the whole year I would definitely tune in. To put it in the words of one nervous hipster who sent a video of himself commenting on the "Oxford Comma" video: "It was...the best thing I've seen on MTV. Ever."
Oh and I just remembered that Lil Mama showed a video too, which was great! Yeah! F'N MTV! Yeah!
Mid-year Review- Best Albums of 2008 (so far)
I shouldn't really call these the best albums of 2008, these are just my favorites, and god knows my taste needs some sharpening. So here, in no particular order, my favorite albums of 2008, so far.
1) For Emma, Forever Ago- Bon Iver
Just a gorgeous collection of songs, some heartbreaking, all of them perfect for listening to at night. The myth behind the album is that Justin Vernon (I'm too lazy to fact-check, but I'm pretty sure that's his name) hibernated all-by-his-lonesome in a cabin for quite some time and emerged with these soulful acoustic tunes. NPR recorded his set when he opened for Black Mountain in DC in February. That recording can be found here. Listening to it makes me all the more excited to seem him in August. Should be a great show.
2) Narrow Stairs- Death Cab for Cutie
To all of you naysayers blabbing on about how Ben Gibbard is a wimp and Death Cab sold out once they were on the O.C., please kindly shut up. Death Cab will always get flack for being to sensitive and too girly, but dammit, this is a great album. It's got more meat than Transatlanticism, the songs are catchy as hell, and I got the album a week before it released through a leak (Don't worry, I paid real money for it when it actually came out. Otherwise I would feel dirty.) and it has yet to grow stale. The instrumentals shine here more than on any of their past efforts, and Chris Walla's production job is, in a word, fantastic.
3) Nouns- No Age
What fun! That's all I can say about No Age's wonderfully cacophonous Sub Pop debut (don't get all hot and testy- I know they made albums before, hence why I specified that this is their Sub Pop debut). The punk duo sounds like their having a great time through each of the melodic lo-fi punk gems on this album. I was hooked since I heard "Eraser," and I ain't letting go. Hopefully No Age sticks around for more great releases.
4) Hold On Now, Youngster...- Los Campesinos!
This punctuation-happy twee-core outfit has to be one of the (sorry) cutest bands I've ever seen. After hearing "You! Me! Dancing!" on a podcast, I purchased the album and was addicted to their hook-filled tunes, witty lyrics and charming use of the glockenspiel. I had the opportunity to interview guitar player Tom for my zine Pop (interested in a copy? email us at popmagdc@gmail.com! woo!) and instantly fell in love. He was incredibly friendly and adorable and gushed about Pavement and had an accent. It was wonderful. **I just finished reading John Sellers's memoir, Perfect From Now On. In it, he mentions a particularly terrible album review in which the female author began by describing her immense crush on the lead singer. I ashamed to see that I just did that. My deepest apologies. This is why they don't let 16-year-old girls write for Spin.
5) Mission Control- The Whigs
The Whigs are a severely under appreciated group. The trio crafts concise rock n' roll tunes with a heaping helping of The Replacements and a grungy polish. I loved their first release, Give 'Em A Big Fat Lip, and Mission Control is in no way a sophomore slump. In fact, I think the boys got better. Every song feels like the best and each sounds better when the volume is cranked. The album is solid, cohesive and balanced, yet each song can stand strongly on its own. Why the Whigs don't have more mainstream attention is beyond me. Their songs are catchy and melodic, with what I think of as widespread appeal. This is the kind of band that you just want to hang out with. I can't wait to hear what they put out next. Just writing about it makes me crave it. Off go the Talking Heads, on go the Whigs. So...good....
6) Vampire Weekend- Vampire Weekend
Don't you just hate when some band is hyped to the point of exhaustion after the release of one EP, and then their album finally comes out, and it is, well, a massive disappointment? And you hear they suck live, to boot? Luckily, none of that (except the "hyped to the point of exhaustion part," of course) applies to Vampire Weekend. Their debut is original (to all of you who say it's a Graceland knock-off...just let it go already), obscenely catchy, and accessible enough to put on mixes for friends (I'm not one who cares deeply about accessibility, but Vampire Weekend is much more appealing to my less musically-inclined friends than, say, Animal Collective. So it's good to have stuff like this on tap when they ask for mixes.). Overall, I love this album. It's sunny and light, and I must admit, I'm impressed that the boys were able to crank through the trenches of hype and produce an album that lived up to, if not exceeded, expectations. I've been especially excited to get it back into rotation lately, because it is such a summer album.
That's all for now, folks. I would have put My Morning Jacket up there, but I just bought it last week. While I know it will probably be in my Top 10 of 2008 list, I'd feel like a sham if I judged it a week into the purchase. Some other albums I've bought and loved include The Dodos, Fleet Foxes and Girl Talk.
1) For Emma, Forever Ago- Bon Iver
Just a gorgeous collection of songs, some heartbreaking, all of them perfect for listening to at night. The myth behind the album is that Justin Vernon (I'm too lazy to fact-check, but I'm pretty sure that's his name) hibernated all-by-his-lonesome in a cabin for quite some time and emerged with these soulful acoustic tunes. NPR recorded his set when he opened for Black Mountain in DC in February. That recording can be found here. Listening to it makes me all the more excited to seem him in August. Should be a great show.
2) Narrow Stairs- Death Cab for Cutie
To all of you naysayers blabbing on about how Ben Gibbard is a wimp and Death Cab sold out once they were on the O.C., please kindly shut up. Death Cab will always get flack for being to sensitive and too girly, but dammit, this is a great album. It's got more meat than Transatlanticism, the songs are catchy as hell, and I got the album a week before it released through a leak (Don't worry, I paid real money for it when it actually came out. Otherwise I would feel dirty.) and it has yet to grow stale. The instrumentals shine here more than on any of their past efforts, and Chris Walla's production job is, in a word, fantastic.
3) Nouns- No Age
What fun! That's all I can say about No Age's wonderfully cacophonous Sub Pop debut (don't get all hot and testy- I know they made albums before, hence why I specified that this is their Sub Pop debut). The punk duo sounds like their having a great time through each of the melodic lo-fi punk gems on this album. I was hooked since I heard "Eraser," and I ain't letting go. Hopefully No Age sticks around for more great releases.
4) Hold On Now, Youngster...- Los Campesinos!
This punctuation-happy twee-core outfit has to be one of the (sorry) cutest bands I've ever seen. After hearing "You! Me! Dancing!" on a podcast, I purchased the album and was addicted to their hook-filled tunes, witty lyrics and charming use of the glockenspiel. I had the opportunity to interview guitar player Tom for my zine Pop (interested in a copy? email us at popmagdc@gmail.com! woo!) and instantly fell in love. He was incredibly friendly and adorable and gushed about Pavement and had an accent. It was wonderful. **I just finished reading John Sellers's memoir, Perfect From Now On. In it, he mentions a particularly terrible album review in which the female author began by describing her immense crush on the lead singer. I ashamed to see that I just did that. My deepest apologies. This is why they don't let 16-year-old girls write for Spin.
5) Mission Control- The Whigs
The Whigs are a severely under appreciated group. The trio crafts concise rock n' roll tunes with a heaping helping of The Replacements and a grungy polish. I loved their first release, Give 'Em A Big Fat Lip, and Mission Control is in no way a sophomore slump. In fact, I think the boys got better. Every song feels like the best and each sounds better when the volume is cranked. The album is solid, cohesive and balanced, yet each song can stand strongly on its own. Why the Whigs don't have more mainstream attention is beyond me. Their songs are catchy and melodic, with what I think of as widespread appeal. This is the kind of band that you just want to hang out with. I can't wait to hear what they put out next. Just writing about it makes me crave it. Off go the Talking Heads, on go the Whigs. So...good....
6) Vampire Weekend- Vampire Weekend
Don't you just hate when some band is hyped to the point of exhaustion after the release of one EP, and then their album finally comes out, and it is, well, a massive disappointment? And you hear they suck live, to boot? Luckily, none of that (except the "hyped to the point of exhaustion part," of course) applies to Vampire Weekend. Their debut is original (to all of you who say it's a Graceland knock-off...just let it go already), obscenely catchy, and accessible enough to put on mixes for friends (I'm not one who cares deeply about accessibility, but Vampire Weekend is much more appealing to my less musically-inclined friends than, say, Animal Collective. So it's good to have stuff like this on tap when they ask for mixes.). Overall, I love this album. It's sunny and light, and I must admit, I'm impressed that the boys were able to crank through the trenches of hype and produce an album that lived up to, if not exceeded, expectations. I've been especially excited to get it back into rotation lately, because it is such a summer album.
That's all for now, folks. I would have put My Morning Jacket up there, but I just bought it last week. While I know it will probably be in my Top 10 of 2008 list, I'd feel like a sham if I judged it a week into the purchase. Some other albums I've bought and loved include The Dodos, Fleet Foxes and Girl Talk.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
I'm Baaaaaaack.
So I left this blog a few months ago for no reason in particular (I believe, "I'm too busy" was what I told myself. Meh. I waste so much time in a day that I'm never really too buys.). But. I've decided that's important to keep writing about music in order to practice to that when I'm old enough I can create the bitchinist music magazine or supervision company or TV show ever. Skadoosh. And I'm off! See you in a few. I gotta go brainstorm what to write.
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