Archive for the 'The Raconteurs' Category
JACK WHITE’S LATEST PROJECT: THE DEAD WEATHER
The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and now The….Dead Weather? That’s the name of Jack White’s newest band, composed of White, The Kills‘ Alison Mosshart, The Raconteur’s Jack Lawrence, and Dean Fertita from Queens of the Stone Age. It’s like an indie rock super group, the only bad news is that the band’s first single, “Hang You From the Heavens,” isn’t graced by White’s vocals, but his skilled production is evident from the harsh opening riff. Listen below:
It’s depressing to see Jack White’s name attached to a project where he doesn’t lend his unique and earth shattering vocals. Seems like a waste. They should go back and record another version of that song with Jack singing lead - I mean the chick is o.k., but that’s the problem, she’s just ‘o.k.’ But from a musical standpoint, the song sounds great.
Jack White’s label, Third Man Records, hosted The Dead Weather last night in Nashville, Tennessee for their first gig to a modest crowd of 150 people. The band’s debut album, Horehound, is set to release in June and you can purchase the single on iTunes now.
TOP 10 SONGS OF 2008
The more and more I think about it, I must consider 2008 to be one of the worst years for music in the 21st century. That is to take nothing away from the artists who made this list, because all of these songs are great. But it really was a down year - in general - for almost every genre outside of pop.
These are my 10 favorite songs from the past year. I highly recommend them to you all….
THE TOP 10 SONGS OF 2008
LISTEN TO THE SONGS HERE:
10. “YOU KNOW WHAT” N.E.R.D.
9. “UR SO GAY” KATY PERRY
8. “YOU’RE NOT SORRY” TAYLOR SWIFT
7. “MANY SHADES OF BLACK” THE RACONTEURS
6. “WILD INTERNATIONAL” ONE DAY AS A LION
5. “EVERYBODY GET DANGEROUS” WEEZER
4. “HANDLEBARS” FLOBOTS
3. “HOMETOWN GLORY” ADELE
2. “AMSTERDAM” SHANE ALEXANDER
1. “YOU DON’T KNOW ME” BEN FOLDS
TOP 7 ALBUMS OF 2008
I am going to step out onto a limb and say that 2008 has been somewhat of a down year for a dynamic music industry still trying to determine its identity in a iTunes-driven market. Outside of the rock albums on this list, the rock genre hasn’t really produced any great music this year. The Arctic Monkeys took the year off and the Foo Fighters are still touring off their immaculate 2007 release Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, which was the best album of last year.
Before writing this list, I wanted to see what Rolling Stone was naming as their top albums of 2008. Unfortunately, the magazine that used to have dignity has killed all outstanding integrity by awarding The Jonas Brothers’ A Little Bit Longer the number 40 album of 2008. Jimi Hendrix must be rolling over in his grave. They claim that TV On The Radio’s Dear Science is the #1 album of 2008…As you can see, I disagree.
My apologies for the arbitrary “7″ list. I didn’t feel like there were 10 albums worthy enough to make this list and having only five would force me to leave off albums that deserve to be featured.
Be sure to check back for the Top 10 Songs of 2008 to be released next Monday…
THE TOP 7 ALBUMS OF 2008
7. MURDER BY DEATH ~ RED OF TOOTH AND CLAW
…This album sounds like the soundtrack to a black and white, 1930’s gangster movie. Murder By Death fits into a dark, alternative-country niche that Johnny Cash himself would be a fan of. The production quality is excellent and it’s evident that a Grammy Award winning producer (Trina Shoemaker) was involved. Expect great things from these Bloomington, Indiana natives…
[TSF's full review here]
best song: “Steal Away“
6. PETER BRADLEY ADAMS ~ LEAVETAKING
…This record is folk-Americana-singer/songwriter goodness. The first track, “The Longer I Run“, is the front runner of the record and definitely worth the hard drive space for those digital down-loaders out there. Track after track, this album has a serene tone and a likable melancholy quality - good enough to relax you but not make you fall asleep…
[TSF's full review here]
best song: “The Longer I Run“
5. BEN FOLDS ~ WAY TO NORMAL
A deviation from Ben Folds’ norm, Way To Normal is a great album with some of Ben’s best writing yet. In depth review by following link below:
[TSF's full review here]
best song: “The Frown Song“
4. SHANE ALEXANDER ~ THE SKY BELOW
…Independent artists are beginning to take over the musical landscape of the modern-day recording industry and Shane Alexander is leading the way with his latest effort, The Sky Below. As I make a mental note of the sonic quality of this record mixed with the brilliant lyricism and professional instrumentation, I begin to question why an artist this respectable is independently funding his own career…
[TSF's full review here]
best song: “Amsterdam“
3. TAYLOR SWIFT ~ FEARLESS
…This album is a step in the right direction for an artist who is extremely dynamic and is almost single-handedly molding a new country/pop fan base. Fearless is a magnificent piece of pop music. It’s one of the best pop albums released since Michael Jackson’s Thriller and without-a-doubt the best female country album I have ever heard…
[TSF's full review here]
best song: “You Belong With Me“
2. THE RACONTEURS ~ CONSOLERS OF THE LONELY
Nashville’s own The Raconteurs released 2008’s best rock album and along with the Foo Fighters are becoming one of the most important rock bands of the 21st century. This album features the best opening track of 2008 (”Consoler of the Lonely”) and successfully rocks the listener hard with songs such as “Salute Your Solution” and the stand-out track “Attention” fronted by Jack White of The White Stripes fame. The Raconteurs showcase their deep roots in folk rock with great down-tempo tunes such as “Carolina Drama” and “Old Enough”.
best song: “Attention“
1. ADELE ~ 19
…This album is absolutely phenomenal. If you have ever thought about taking my word on anything, take my word on this. If you enjoy jazz or singer/songwriters with originality and an unparalleled uniqueness, Adele will not only flat your boat - she’ll drive the damn thing for you…
[TSF's full review here]
best song: “My Same“
WEEKLY POP CULTURE UPDATE (12.09.08)
iBANGLE?
Apple, it is time to extend a job offer to designer Gopinath Prasana, who has designed quite possibly the coolest idea for a new iPod yet. It’s called the iBangle, and although it isn’t real, it’s extremely bad ass. This would be perfect for runners and people in big cities that require a lot of pedestrian travel. TSF gives the iBangle two thumbs up.
SEE MORE ON THE iBANGLE here.
CHICKIPEDIA FTW
The World Wide Web is one of the greatest inventions of all-time due to websites like Chickipedia. It’s a wiki (like Wikipedia) for female celebrities. It has pictures and “stats” such as bust size, hobbies, and vices. It gives a biography of the featured “chick” and has links to popular websites featuring the chicks in all their hotness. Isla Fisher is the most underrated hot celebrity and that’s why I have embedded this link to her Chickipedia page… www.chickipedia.com.
GOOD TIMING
Photography caught at the right moment. Click here to see more.
SONG OF THE WEEK
The Raconteurs have released a bluegrass version of their song “Old Enough” and have added guest stars Ricky Skaggs and Ashley Monroe. Why bluegrass you ask? The Raconteurs live and record in Nashville, Tennessee. The country/folk/bluegrass influence is rampant in that neck of the woods. Go download it. It’s a good version.
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
I enjoyed American Idol during the auditions. This video is the worst of the worst.
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TSF PICKS THE 2008 GRAMMY WINNERS
Last night was the Grammy nomination show in Los Angeles to announce all of the nominated artists for the 51st annual Grammy Awards. The nominations feature albums released between October 1, 2007 and September 30, 2008.
Now that the nominees have been chosen, we here at TSF have decided to reveal who we would chose as the winners in each category. For the sake of not boring you, we have chosen the 5 most compelling categories.
With each category, we have listened to each song or album and determined a winner.
Not that this isn’t who we think will win, it’s who we would choose to win of the nominated artists.
- winner noted by blue font -
RECORD OF THE YEAR
(given to the artist/engineer/producer as opposed to song of the year, which is awarded primarily to the songwriter)
- Chasing Pavements
Adele - Viva La Vida
Coldplay - Bleeding Love
Leona Lewis - Paper Planes
M.I.A - Please Read The Letter
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
All of these songs are likable and 3 of them are great songs (”Chasing Pavements”, “Bleeding Love”, and “Paper Planes”). Let it be noted that “Paper Planes” was listed on TSF’s Top 5 Songs of 2007-2008 That You Haven’t Heard list, which was posted way back in June, before the song hit the mainstream. TSF also loves Adele as noted by our Adele - The 20-Year-Old Singer/Songwriter Phenom post from September.
“Chasing Pavements” isn’t even the best song on her record and “Bleeding Love” is a great pop song, but I’d almost have to say that “Paper Planes” is the best song of 2008. The Plant/Krauss collaboration is a little overrated, if you ask me.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
- Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
Coldplay
- Tha Carter III
Lil Wayne
- Year Of The Gentleman
Ne-Yo
- Raising Sand
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
- In Rainbows
Radiohead
Not the greatest selections ever. None of these albums are great by any means. Ne-Yo and Lil Wayne are beyond obnoxious. I think Lil Wayne has like 3 or 4 good songs, which isn’t saying much because he releases an EP like every other week and has like a million songs. If terrorist were to capture me, no form of torture would be worse than Ne-Yo’s Year Of The Gentleman on repeat for days on end.
Coldplay is annoying by default and as noted, the Plant/Krauss experiment is quite marginal. Then to top it all off, I’m not a huge fan of anything Radiohead has done outside of The Bends and OK Computer, but if pressed, In Rainbows is the best album of this list. But that isn’t saying much, I wouldn’t put any of these albums anywhere near a top 5 albums of 2008 list.
BEST NEW ARTIST
- Adele
- Duffy
- Jonas Brothers
- Lady Antebellum
- Jazmine Sullivan
First of all, Adele and Duffy are without a doubt from the same British R&B/Soul/Jazz mold, and Adele is much much better.
The thought of the Jonas Brothers winning best new artist makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit. Lady Antebellum is a barely marginal country act with no special qualities.
Jazmine Sullivan seems to be the dark horse of the list. I follow music very closely and had never even heard of her until the nomination. I sat down and listened to her debut album, Fearless, and nothing about it really stood out to me. She’s evidently the protege of Missy Elliot, and it’s very obvious. I must compare her and Duffy to Adele, since they fall into the same overall genre - and Adele is much better than her competitors.
BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE
(BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS)
- Rock N Roll Train
AC/DC - Violet Hill
Coldplay - Long Road Out Of Eden
Eagles - Sex On Fire
Kings Of Leon - House Of Cards
Radiohead
AC/DC’s latest single, “Rock N Roll Train”, doesn’t disappoint but is no match for The Eagles’ “Long Road Out Of Eden”. Given the fact that Kings of Leon are terrible and Radiohead is overrated, The Eagles barely edge out AC/DC in this category. It’s a song with a “Hotel California” vibe and an old school Eagles sound that we haven’t heard in a long-time from one of the greatest country/rock bands of all-time.
BEST ROCK ALBUM
- Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
Coldplay - Rock N Roll Jesus
Kid Rock - Only By The Night
Kings Of Leon - Death Magnetic
Metallica - Consolers Of The Lonely
The Raconteurs
Kid Rock has fallen off since the late 90s and Metallica’s Death Magnetic was recorded practically inaudibly by a bunch of deaf infants - plus, you know our opinion on the other bands.
The Raconteurs rush-released one of the best rock albums of the 2000s in 2008, Consolers Of The Lonely. That album absolutely fucking rocks. It’s arguably Jack White’s best effort of his impressive career and each track is outstanding. It’s safe to say that Nashville’s The Raconteurs should run away with this award. I recommend the songs “You Don’t Understand Me”, “Attention,” “Many Shades of Black”, and “Salute Your Solution”.
“MANY SHADES OF BLACK” ACOUSTIC:
15 MUST OWN SONGS OF 2008
At the end of 2008, I plan on doing “best of 2008″ lists with movies, music, TV, etc.
A “TSF Awards” if you will.
Until then, I think there are 15 songs that you should be listening to - that way when December rolls around, you will be able to identify with some of the songs I mention. That’s assuming that you download some of these songs that you don’t have.
in no particular order:
15. “Handlebars” by Flobots
14. “You Know What” by N.E.R.D.
13. “Bleeding Love” by Leona Lewis
12. “Tear Down This House” by The Avett Brothers
11. “Everybody Get Dangerous” by Weezer
10. “Love Story” by Taylor Swift
09. “Amsterdam” by Shane Alexander
08. “Derty” by Ronald Jenkees
07. “Attention” by The Raconteurs
06. “The Longer I Run” by Peter Bradley Adams
05. “Wild International” by One Day As A Lion
04. “Steal Away” by Murder By Death
03. “Bye Bye” by Mariah Carey
02. “You Don’t Know Me” by Ben Folds
01. “Hometown Glory” by Adele
Here is the list as an iMix on iTunes:
