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Purity Ring - Lofticries from David Dean Burkhart on Vimeo.

Die Antwoord - Evil Boy from Billy Deathmetal on Vimeo.

Valley Lodge "All of My Loving" from Valley Lodge on Vimeo.

Hey You
Madonna: The Confessions Tour - Live from London (CD+DVD)
I’ve thought about this for a week now but I can’t get the frustration out of my mind. My hesitance to say anything stems from my unwillingness to criticize anything about Madonna. There’s too much senseless opprobrium that I don’t want to contribute in any way. And I think 99% of what she does is genius. It is with a heavy heart that I have to point out Madonna’s stiffing of her fans in the Live Earth concert. Almost two years ago I saw Madonna perform her new hit single Hung Up at the Europe Mtv VMAs. It was a really cool mix of the song with great choreography. Then I was excited to hear in the Spring Madonna would be opening the Grammies. It was a mash-up of Hung Up with the Gorillaz’ Feel Good Inc. It wasn’t much of a Mash-up. The Hung Up portion of the performance was exactly like the VMA performance; same costumes, same dancing, same mix of the song. There was no effort to change it up in any way. It’s safe to assume that people who saw the European VMA performance won’t also tune into the American Grammies – maybe. Then I finally got to see the Confessions Tour. The grand finale was hung up. It closed the show and there was a lot of build up to that song with teaser snippets played during earlier pieces in the show. However, when Hung Up finally closed the show, it was the exact same as the Europe VMA performance and the Grammy performance. It was, again, the same choreography, costumes, mix of the song, and everything. It was quite anti-climatic to close a show with a performance all fans had seen at least twice. Then, I heard Madonna was headlining at Live Earth in London. I was suspicious when they announced the songs she would be playing. And, when I saw the performance of those songs it was exactly the same as the Confessions Tour. And, once again, Hung Up was done the exact same way. Same introduction of Madonna and dancers bobbing up and down on poles, same mix of the song, same dancers, same choreography, and no effort to freshen it up. So this is the fourth time a major show has featured Madonna performing this song the exact same way. And the rest of the singles performed were exactly like the Confessions Tour too. Even when she introduced weirdoes of the moment, Gogol Bordello, to play on La Isla Bonita the rest of the performance was the same. They played their violins and whatnot but the dancers did the same thing they did on tour. And it didn’t exactly fit. The only thing new was her Live Earth single Hey You. Honestly, that song is kind of embarrassing. Let me reiterate, I hate to criticize Madonna. But I think in the interest of her fans she should have made an effort to show something fresh. She has to know that her career is kept afloat by rabidly obsessed fanboys who follow her every move. Why would she give us all the finger by recycling the exact same performance of her biggest single lately? Why doesn’t the smartest marketer and provocateur in pop music know she needs to switch it up a bit to keep it interesting? Madonna is a legendary perfectionist workhorse. It seems lazy not to work up a new performance of one song. I was so excited to see Live Earth but so disappointed when I realized I had seen the exact same thing before. She has endless resources and handlers. Could she not have paid someone to think of a new way to do this show or a new mix of it to dance to? Come on, Madge. I will now go confess my sins to the statue of the Madonna I have in my apartment. (Am I kidding?) I shouldn’t pick on her. But I feel so cheated. Madonna, come up with some new material. You’re the mother of reinvention for heavens sake. Do something different. Don’t perform the same song in the exact same way over and over again! She better release her new album soon.

Hey You
Madonna: The Confessions Tour - Live from London (CD+DVD)
Madonna thrills Live Earth 08/07/2007 - 11:00:15 Pop queen Madonna got 70,000 people on their feet demanding action on climate change in a stunning finale to the London leg of Live Earth last night. Pop queen Madonna got 70,000 people on their feet demanding action on climate change in a stunning finale to the London leg of Live Earth last night. The singer was one of the highlights of yesterday's event, which also featured the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Duran Duran, the Black Eyed Peas, Kasabian and even spoof band Spinal Tap. She began her set with a song especially written for Live Earth, the anti-global warming event billed as the "greatest show on earth". Dozens of school children in school uniform sang along to 'Hey You', while footage showed images including polluting factories. But the biggest moment came when the 48-year-old star called on the crowd to get to their feet. Thousands cheered as she told the audience: "If you want to save the planet I want you to start jumping up and down. Come on mother f***ers. "If you want to save the planet let me see you jump." Wearing a black dress and her hair in Thirties-style ringlets, Madonna thanked former US Vice President Al Gore "for giving the world the wake-up call it so badly needs and for starting an avalanche of awareness that we are running out of time". "Lets hope tonight's concert and the concerts going on around the world are not just about entertainment but starting a revolution around the world," she said. "This is your last chance to show that you care about the planet." Madonna sang 'Hung Up' and then 'La Isla Bonita' with Eugene Hutz and Sergey Ryabatsev from the gypsy band Gogol Bordello. The stadium switched off all but essential lighting for a few symbolic moments before Madonna took to the stage. Sir Terence Stamp introduced the switch-off, saying: "Let's not be endarkened by this, let's be enlightened by this." Organisers say the power used to put on the Wembley concert is being sourced from renewable energy and the audience is being asked to commit to Live Earth pledges. Plastic water bottles and cups were used and the audience were urged to recycle them in bins at the stadium but some were put in ordinary bins and, at the end of the night, thousands of plastic cups lay on the stadium floor. Spanning seven continents, pop stars were also doing their bit to "save the world" in New York, Washington, Sydney, Rio De Janeiro, Johannesburg, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hamburg. An estimated two billion people were watching the concerts, the brainchild of Mr Gore. But some have raised questions about whether Live Earth, which follows in the tradition of Bob Geldof's Live Aid, can do anything more than boost the profile of the stars taking part. Some bands like the Arctic Monkeys and Oasis stayed away, saying it is hypocritical for jet-setting acts with higher than average carbon footprints to illuminate the problem of global warming. But Mr Gore called the event an "historic day" when he spoke from a Washington concert, calling for the developed world to reduce carbon emissions. On a video link, he said: "Not many years from now, our children and grandchildren will ask one of two questions, looking back at us in 2007. "Either they will ask: 'What were they thinking, didn't they hear the scientists, see the evidence, didn't they care, or were they too busy?' "Or they will ask the second question, which I prefer. I want them to ask of us: 'How did they get their act together to successfully solve the climate crisis'?" Stars including David Tennant, Ricky Gervais, Geri Halliwell, comedian Chris Rock, former tennis hero Boris Becker, 'Sex and the City' and 'Desperate Housewives' stud Kyle MacLachlan and actress Thandie Newton took to the stage to talk about global warming and introduce the acts. Eddie Izzard, presenting Razorlight, admitted: "A lot of us are going to come out and are going to tell you to do things. A lot of stuff we tell you we have to do as well. "We're probably more guilty than anyone with all this flying around and stuff. "With two billion people watching, today is the day to start." Duran Duran frontman Simon Le Bon also admitted some celebrities needed to practise what they were preaching when he waved his hands aloft, ridiculing some of his fellow performers, as he said: "Everybody who did not arrive on a private jet put your hands in the air." Sharon Looremeta, a Kenyan Masai woman hammered home the message when she took to the stage to tell the crowd: "I'm here today to tell you that my people are already suffering from the terrible effects of the changing climate, making our survival even more difficult."

So Low
Self: The Soul of Healing Meditations
On the shuffle… new workout mix: Self: So Low… The Sugarcubes: Traitor… Billy Idol: Cradle of Love… The Darkness: I Believe in a Thing Called Love… Smashing Pumpkins: Bullet with Butterfly Wings… Faith No More: Epic… Foo Fighters: I Stick Around… Queensrÿche – Silent Lucidity… Def Leopard: Lets Get Rocked… American Hi-Fi: Flavor of the Weak… Juliana Hatfield: My Sister… That Dog: Never Say Never… Alice in Chains: Would… Nirvana Unplugged: Rape Me… Stone Temple Pilots: Sex Type Thing… Guns N Roses: November Rain Willy Nelson: Cowboys are Secretly Frequently… Velvet Revolver: Slither… New Order: True Faith… NIN: Head Like a Hole… Pulp: Common People… Royksopp: 49%... Belly: Feed the Tree… Mama Cass: Make Your Own Kind of Music… … … Best Cardio Mix Ever!!!! (*****)

Madonna: Confessions on a Dance Floor
The first review of the album is in and it's amazingly good: ***************** The first journalist to hear Madonna's new album says it's an "absolute belter". The Sun's Victoria Newton says Confessions On A Dance Floor "wipes the floor with her critically acclaimed CDs such as Ray Of Light". "It is an hour of pure electronic dance/pop heaven," she wrote. "There are no gaps between tracks so listening feels like you are having a private DJ session at the Ministry Of Sound. "I can't find a weak track, and I'm confident the album will be hailed a masterpiece on its November 14 release." Victoria reviews the album track-by-track and gives six of the 12 songs 10 out of 10 - and one of them gets an "11". Her favourite was Isaac, a controversial song which got Madonna in trouble with Kabbalah religious leaders because it's about a rabbi. Victoria described it as "a stunning combination of wild rhythms, a hypnotic jewish chant and loads of strings and guitars" and concluded "I defy anyone to not be blown away by this track". ************************

Hung Up
Madonna: Confessions on a Dancefloor
The track list for Confessions has been released as well as a 6 second clip of the first single, Hung Up. You can hear the sample on Mtv.com as a ringtone and download it for your phone. Hung Up will be released in mid-October with the whole album dropping a couple weeks later. I cannot wait! It's also only 9/25 and I put a copy of the sample in the blue room.

The Silent Type: Of Writing/Of Violence
On this site of endless observation and opinion I am always open to the discussion of controversial topics. I always said I would let you know when things come up that are inarguable. This is one of those times. This month the Silent Type released their latest album Of Writing/Of Violence. The work is genius, brilliant, perfect… I cannot say enough good things about this music. Of course, I am a bit biased but hardly alone in my assessment. Here are some quotes from other reviewers – a chorus of unanimous praise – including an astounding review by Drowned in Sound, Britain’s equivalent to Pitchfork Media. Like the review says, “Buy this album and be happy.” Mighty nice of you, Drowned. But never one to be outdone, Red Fuzzy Jesus says, "if you do not buy this album then you have no worth on this planet and your life means nothing." Quote that, suckuh.

You can buy this album here from Best Buy: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=14398644&type=product&id=1437298

“…it's as if Sigur Rós, Azure Ray and Bright Eyes pooled their collective talents in a magical log cabin at the furthest horizon of the Earth, stocked with only whiskey, teardrops and fairy dust.”

“…a truly special release that was so close to being ignored in favour of records with a higher marketing budget behind them.”

“…so well-realised, so meticulously composed and so brilliantly executed that it's hard to imagine it ever existing in the mind of just one man.”

- Drowned In Sound, July 25, 2005 http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/12721

“The Silent Type take the obvious emotions of loneliness and heartache and make them special treasures to lock away.”

- DECAPOLIS, July 9, 2005 http://www.decapolis.com/music_/pages/TheSilentType-OfWritingOfV.shtml

“Of Writing/Of Violence is an album I've been constantly spinning at night when I lay my head down to sleep. The Silent Type's splendor will put your head at ease, your mind at rest, and cause your dreams to become more vibrant than ever before.”

- Fake Train Reviews, July 2005 http://www.faketrain.com/reviews/thesilenttype.html

“It takes someone miraculously intelligent who lives their life with such an incredible amount of depth and desire for learning to come up with an array of poetry and prose as mind numbing as this. It’s an exploration into the fundamentals of language, its power and its beauty. It’s a transcendental take on the use of words in our lives”

“I thoroughly appreciated this album. I think we need a new genre of music, and I’m going to call it “Intellectual Rock.”

- Punkbands.com, June 16, 2005 http://punkbands.com/reviews.php?id=503

“The Silent Type’s press release was not far off when they labeled this album as a “glorious achievement” and said this album tapped “the canon of iconic indie rock influences for beautiful melodicism.”

- Cleanly Copacetic, June 14, 2005 http://www.cleanlycopacetic.com/reviews/silenttype1

“At its core, and at its heart, The Silent Type is an acoustic rock record. It's armored by orchestral strings, and ambient noise at times. It's reinforced by a banjo and a harmonica in places. But at the end of the day, the album finds its heart in the hands of a voice and an acoustic guitar. And while the layers do make a fine addition at times, it never finds itself flailing without them.”

- WRANK Music, July 2005

http://www.wrankmusic.com/reviews/albums/tstrev.htm (*****)

TOP 5 RECENT ITUNES PURCHASES
American Hi-Fi, et al: Hearts On Parade
American Hi-Fi, Hearts on Parade: Yeah, they’re a guilty pleasure but they’re fun. They probably don’t live up to the critical standards of the more musically snobby among us but their new stuff is my cup of tea right now. Of course, nothing will ever top Flavor of the Weak but they’re still creative, in a very generic way. Umbra Et Imago, Erotica (The Erotica Mix): No, it’s not some cover of Madonna’s 1992 tribute to S&M (nothing will ever top that either). It is however a very spiritual/sexual tribute to something. It sounds almost ritualistic or pagan. It’s the perfect music for late night study marathons, romantic home cooked meals over conversation, and animal sacrifices. It is ill suited however for cardio exercise. It popped up on the shuffle whilst I sweated on the elliptical and I bumped the speed control down to ‘fatass’. Erasure, Nightbird: Did you know Erasure now has 20 years worth of releases? I didn’t but I’m trying hard now to build my Erasure collection. Their songs were a big part of my college experience. Psi-U was filled with the thoughtful, musically savvy, and sometimes faggoty boys so what soundtrack from those years would be complete without some Erasure? They’re back with a new album, tour, and a lot of TV appearances. Newsweek did a cool article on them a couple weeks ago. Their new stuff continues in their tradition of pining for love and being gayer than gay gay. If you can listen to them without being affected, check your pulse… better yet, eat your Creed CDs. The KLF, 3a.m. Eternal: A blast from the past, baby. This single hails from 1990 and it repeats the phrase “KLF is gonna rock you!” 82 times. Its beat is infectious and it’s just weird enough to be residually cool 15 years later. (They also did a single with Tammy called Justified and Ancient, surreal). I downloaded this delicacy from my middle school years because for the past few weeks I’ve been closing the semester with some late nights at the library. To wake myself up at 3a.m. I like to pump this loud. Yeah, I’m 80% cheese. NIN, The Hand That Feeds: Yeah, so I don’t love this single so much. It was more a loyalty purchase.

Madonna: American Life
This album came out over two years ago, so why am I writing about it now? Three reasons; first, Madonna is planning to release a new album this year and I’ve started to see some articles pop up harshly critical to this last one and I bitch to differ. Second, despite all this criticism, I find her last album has a certain personal staying power. What I mean by that is even though the album loses prominence in my CD collection as new music makes me forget, whenever I hear most of the songs on this release they still seem fresh and attractive to me. Finally, this album represents the exact opposite of what I always liked about Madonna, which is why I think it’s been so criticized and why I think that criticism is often unwarranted. I never really liked Madonna’s music all that much. That may come as a shock to any friend that knows her as my musical staple. But, for Madonna, it’s not really about the music per se. I like her. I place a high artistic value on offense. The satisfaction she receives from defying conventions and, say, rolling around on stage in a wedding dress (scandalous at the time) is inspiring to this amateur provocateur. She’s so unafraid to buck convention that when she ran out of S&M parodies and basketball stars she ruffled the feathers of her most diehard fans to become married with kids and, some say, officially boring. I respect her ambition. Her biography is packed with chutzpah. She came to Manhattan with $30 in her pocket, worked at McDonalds and Dunkin’ Donuts and made herself a star. She got a recording contract by visiting a dying Warner Bros. exec in his hospital room and forcing him to sign on the dotted line. No really, she did. That raw ambition always came through in her music, the way she sang, everything she did. “I’ve had to work much harder than this, for something I want don’t try to resist me.” That is until she had everything. The most oft cited criticism of American Life is that Madonna sounds tired. I disagree. I think she sounds rested and resolved. After conquering everything worldly one can imagine it’s no wonder she then turned to the higher plains of spirituality and family. I’m sick of her Kabala studies being maligned as a celebrity stunt. No act lasts ten years and that’s how long she’s been studying that esoteric non-religion. 1998’s Ray of Light was thick with mystic Judaic references. But that album is more overtly about spirituality and awakening. American Life is just spiritual. Gone are the ambitions yearnings for attention even if it was aversion to raunch and impropriety. In its place are quiet vulnerable vocals over bare bones guitar strumming. There’s a humility to this album she’s never owned before. The contradiction here is the repeated theme of not caring about fame anymore. It supplied all the fulfillment it ever could and came up short. Commendable realization, but it begs the question, why release an album at all if you no longer care about the record industry. And therein lies the quality underneath. By not giving so much of a damn about the industry or reinvention or provocation Madonna succeeds in just making music – music that is sweet and actually has something to say. It’s not so much progressive or complex as it is simple and under-produced. Her latest transformation is not a Geisha costume but something more authentic. She has reversed the equation for me and I’m not so attracted to the ambitious ballsy person anymore and now I actually like the music. That’s not to say this is her best offering musically. Ray of Light arguably had better songs. But Madonna hadn’t made it to the secure place she finds herself on American. Ray allowed her to hide behind vapid buzzing, layered effects and distorted vocals. On American you just hear her, something protected on all her previous work. Her unwillingness to channel her own baggage is why she never really succeeded as an actress. American is like the point you reach in a friendship when you finally get to meet the real person, warts and all. And, regarding my long relationship with Madonna, the introduction was overdue. I wish Madonna all the success in the world wherever her art goes. I hope her new album gets rave reviews, connects with the kiddos, and sells well. But I don’t care if it doesn’t. Greater is my hope that she will continue on her journey of self discovery via her children or meditations or whatever else is next for her. So what her last album didn’t thump and throb like all the rest of its dance-centric predecessors. People grow up. And, if they’re lucky, some mature. (****)

Sonic Youth: Sonic Nurse
There’s a certain time period in everyone’s life when everything then has a greater impact on the adult he will become. For me, that time period was 7th and 8th grade. The books I read, movies I saw, and music I listened to in those years had a lasting effect on tastes and interests since. I loved Nirvana and Pearl Jam. I worshipped the Sugar Cubes and was at first sad to hear of Bjork’s decision to go solo and then thrilled when Debut was released. I still have my Julianna Hatfield and Lemonheads tapes (yes, I said tapes) but no band did I love more than Sonic Youth. I even had a poster of that strange orange yarn puppet thing in my locker because my mother wouldn’t let me hang it in my room. I recently rediscovered my love for Sonic Youth with their latest album Sonic Nurse. This time around, Sonic Youth has not nostalgically thrown me back into the tides of puberty. Instead their new work provides a near ideal soundtrack for my life now. While I’m supposed to be identifying with the quarter-life-crisis whining of John Mayer, I don’t. I look for music that captures the longing for meaning and beauty that’s independent of age rather than specifically post-adolescent angst over jobs and commitment. SY seems to have the same artistic leanings. They are now in their mid forties but still producing progressive rock. I didn’t share in the gushing over Murray Street. That’s more a consequence of not paying attention rather than any defect in that album. But Sonic Nurse is impossible to ignore. Almost every song is over 4 minutes long and the lumbering music combined with needling vocals easily slips into noise in the best possible way. Their sound now is just as reminiscent of Dirty as it is – that overused cliché term – experimental. The end product is so sophisticated it leaves me with the same feeling I get from a good book I know I need to read a couple times to pick up on all the meaning. At times it gets a little too slow and a little too noisy for my tastes but that’s minor in comparison to the experience in toto. Along those lines, the album is itself a complete work and listening to it song by disjointed song definitely cheapens the experience. (***)