New Music Tuesday October 23rd!

Pretty cool Neil Young graced us with a new album October 23rd, the day after I saw him perform live. This week was pretty good, at least compared to last week's releases!

"No hidden Path" from Neil young’s new album "Chrome Dreams II". Completely original songs, totally new releases, and superbly Neil. He did it again, and I got to hear them all played live last Monday night. His songs "Dirty Old Man" and "Beautiful Blackbird" will be playing on the pod at work, but the song I picked for the list "No Hidden Path" was the key track that made me want to download this whole record – which I am doing as I type, actually. He rocks hard for 11 minutes on his guitar, oldskool Neil style. There wasn’t on person on their butts in the Keller, and this is a new song! It was the best Neil concert I’ve been to (third time solo, once with CSN). The atmosphere was top notch, great crowd, Neil was solo with no band for the first half, surrounded buy his pick of guitars, and the second half got tipsy with crazy horse, rockin his new songs to a very luck audience.


"Down in a hole" from Ryan Adams' Follow the Lights EP! Yay! Love Ryan, and I will buy anything he releases. This isn’t my favorite work of his, but always refreshing to hear new Ryan. Wonder if he’s gonna release a new album soon. Anyone? Do you know? Please tell me!

"Toka Toka" from Black Dice's new album "Load Blown". Prog rock/Art Rock. Can’t go wrong with a band described as progressive, can you? From Brooklyn, jamming since the 00’s… ok, 1998. This is effin tripppy. It’s like being a part of a laser light show. Not to rub it in, but I’m seeing a pyramid light show in Cairo November 11th. Perhaps I will bring my iPod and listen to Black Dice while fireworks are glowing in the Nile…

"Rain will come" from Castanets new album "In the Vines".Another indie rock folk band on the rise… a bit like Dylan… has that serious Hawthorne coffee shop voice. What I find interesting is that people always associate rain with sadness and depression… but I love the rain. The acoustic ‘Everly Bros’ guitar accompanied by the sad rain fall lyrics is supposed to be melancholy but I like it.

"Cocaine Lights" from Phosphorescent's new album "Pride", Matthew Houck is the only member of the band. Can it be called a band with only one person? I don’t know. I guess his ‘band’ is forever rotating… This song is fantastic. It’s really dramatic and pretty, and you can totally picture the lights… glowing in all that snow? Tee hee… by the way. Wikipdeia this bands name… interesting…

"The World Has No plans for Me" from The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir's self-titled debut album. Some of their songs remind me of Franz Ferdinand (the whole Scotland thing maybe?) and some of their songs are totally "O Brother Where Art Thou". My favorite kid of band is one that can change it up and be versatile. The SYGC (as the refer to themselves) are definitely not repeating their sound in each track on this Freshman album. Way to go, boys and girls (they have a HUGE band)!!! Bummer iTunes doesn’t have them yet. But eMusic does! Way to support the indie business, eMusic!

"Bored to hear your heart still breaks" from Tullycraft's new album "Every Scene Needs a Center"… these guys are hilarious. I love their creativity. They are seriously on the border of obnoxious, but they are so out of the box that I have to give them credit. You would be pissed if your heart was broken and someone played this, but on the other hand, if one is getting hurt 24-7, you’d wanna sing it to them too… This band is way insensitive, and I love it.

"Fiesta" from Ween's album "La Cucaracha". You have to hear their song "Piss up a rope". It’s not on this album, but I’m gonna go find it. And you all are gonna get it on a compilation. Sorry folks. Ok, so back to La Cucaracha, I had no idea what Ween was about. They got country vibes, they got the saxophone, and serious trumpet. I love it. You get the idea they have a lot of fun. Their electronic "Big Fat F**k" although totally inappropriate, is friggen inspiring. You have to just wean yourself from your conservative holes and expose yourself to this band, man.

"Make a plan" from Saturday Looks Good to Me's new album "Fill Up the Room". They like to have a bunch of musicians on stage during performances, the more the better collaboration. The pop-rock sound streams from their music like sliced bread. You can really hear the Beach Boys influence in their songs, and somehow this works. I missed their EP release "Cold Colors" that came out July 24th. Guess that makes me fired.

"Killing the Blues" from Robert Plant and Alison Krauss new collaboration "Raising Sand". I knew this was coming a while ago, and was looking forward to it. I am definitely going to by this album, and so should you.

"Walk of Life" from Shooter Jennings "The wolf". Personally, I think it’s effin sweet that Waylon named his son Shooter. Second, I think he is just as entertaining, and I loved that he played his dad in "Walk the Line". I’m downloading this as well as the track "This ol wheel", even though I’m not a country freak. You can’t not include Shooter the man’s released a new album, can ya?

"Endless" from Dave Gahan "Hourglass". He is definitely trying to be Jarvis from Pulp, and it doesn’t quite work for me, but it is a nice effort. The voice needs to be deeper, and the lyrics more provocative. Positive note, his choice of instrument’s rocks. The sounds are amazing and raunchy, which makes up for the song writing… He needs to get his posse back and reform Depeche Mode, cuz he was better with them. Damn ego’s always getting in the way.

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas" from Relient K’s new holiday album "Let It Snow Baby... Let It Reindeer". Totally alternative holiday music here. Most of the songs sound like Malcom in the Middle’s theme song. You want Christmas to end right there, shoot the messenger, and never enter the mall. However, this song I chose is a bit more like Death Cabs Christmas song, has that indie rock feel, more as background music, something you can live with, without running around with scissors looking for Tylenol and spiked nog. I just love Christmas music.

"Together again" from Dwight Yoakam’s new tribute album "Dwight Sings Buck". First off, my sister and brother refer to Dwight as White Scrotum, which is gross I know, but funny, isn’t’ it? Anyway, I actually like this album, I like Buck Owens, and I like his songs. I have Emmylou singing this Buck song as well, and it’s pretty. Dwight really twangs it, and it could use a bit more cowbell. I need some haystacks and my cowboy boots on, and perhaps some Jameson on the rocks while listening to this.

"There she goes" from Babyshambles new album "Shotter's Nation". I know many a bitch who this song could be written about. Can’t stand Pete Doherty (lead singer), but I betcha I know he was singing about!!!! Anyway, Babyshambles aren’t so bad, if they can out shine as a band without Pete making an ass out of himself in London every day, they just might be able to make it. Look at the band Hole’s career!

Aretha Franklin "Rare & Unreleased Recordings from the Golden Reign of the Queen of Soul"
"Flat on the Floor" from Ms.Carrie Underwood’s new album "Carnival Ride". Well, you definitely can’t say she doesn’t sing her little heart out! Carrie shines on this sophomore album, and I’m very proud of her. She sounds so much more mature. This song will make it on the radio, maybe not your station, but somewhere… I like it!

And ironically, Carrie’s fellow idol runner up also released a new album on the same day…

"Take the Country out of me" from Bo Bice’s new album "See the Light". Funny, cuz he’s supposed to be the "rocker" from idol, and Carrie was the country one. He’s a big Skynyrd fan though, and they got a bit hillbilly every now and again. All in all, Carrie will be more successful than Bo. He lacks luster, or something.

"Rather lonely living" written by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, Music from the motion picture "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford". All instrumental, and all hauntingly beautiful. I saw part of this movie (the movie I want to see didn’t start for an hour so I watched the first half of this Jesse James with Brad Pitt) and the music and scenery and direction was lovely. The actors were perfect, although I understand the real Jesse wasn’t all together there upstairs and was not a pretty picture, but the script was shit. I’m sorry. It was missing something big. It never grabbed me, even with the visuals (Brad, the country, etc)… the music does grab me, and that’s probably cuz Nick Cave wrote it. Genius.

Last and least, sorry Tommy Lee...
"Same ol Situation" from Motley Crue’s live album "Carnivals of Sins" LIVE. Ok, why do bands produce more live cds of the same songs? No new renditions or anything… I was just excited I got to see Montley sing this song. I guess if you were at the Carnivals of Sins, you would want a copy of this… Same ol song and dance, I’m afraid, for me…