Some may claim that they would like The Shins more if they didn’t know it was The Shins, and some may pretend to not like Gnarls Barkley at all, yet while at the same time of their supposed claim you might find this so-called pretender dancing and even singing along with Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo’s music as “Crazy” is unleashed in the basement of the cool girl’s party. So if you fall into either one of these categories or don’t really know what I’m talking about in the first place then there’s no need to worry, because the new collaboration of Broken Bells and their self-titled album has finally arrived. This duo consists of The Shins’ front man James Mercer and Danger Mouse (a.k.a. Brian Burton). An album that can deliver the fun and sorrow filled tunes from The Shins and bring the intrinsic and eclectic fun from the one half of Gnarls Barkley.
It begins with their single “The High Road,” which creepily yet poetically gears the album toward the entrancing side of things, otherwise known as pop, but good pop music. It’s very catchy and after hearing the warbling twangs of Mercer’s voice rolling from one song to the next you can hear the Shin-sier side of things but almost with a cool funk to it, which means that Danger Mouse is doing his job. And he’s doing an excellent job. Brian, if I may call him Brian, does fantastic work with his multi-instrumental talents and skills as a producer. (Do producers do things still?)
As a whole the album works very well and can become quite addicting after a few listens. So now you don’t have to be ashamed of singing in the cool girl’s basement to the new product of Danger Mouse and you can tell you’re friends that you actually like Broken Bells for who they are. All is well and if you haven’t seen the session video for their first single “The High Road” posted earlier, do so now! In the meantime check out the creepy and mesmerizing music video for the single below:

The High Road – Broken Bells

Broken Bells is out now via Columbia Records.

MP3: Here We Go Magic – Collector

Here We Go Magic’s debut record was on repeat for most of my last summer. The combination of sampled, distorted loops, and genuine folk songwriting made a perfect soundtrack for hazy summer afternoons at the beach, or falling asleep on my patio sofa.  The band is set to release their next record, Pigeons, in June, and the first single is an absolute gem. The band’s debut record was written and recorded by band leader Luke Temple, and this song is already showcasing a more full, polished sound. In some cases this may be a bad thing, but with “Collector”, you can tell that the band’s talent is undeniable, and that their lo-fi sound wasn’t the only redeeming factor. So listen to this track with some headphones, you’ll thank me later.

Pigeons is out June 8, by way of Secretly Canadian.

I had a pretty exciting experience today — well, exciting as much as interesting, or gruesome as much as exciting. In any case, it was an experience. I shaved 90% of the hair off my body. No, I wasn’t in an acid induced craze. No, I’m not a self hating wretch struggling with self image issues. Yes, I did enjoy it — a little.

Why did I do this to myself? My girl friend is a make-up artist and I’m hair newest project; she will be turning me into a Ninja Turtle this Friday. In order for the air brush paint to properly adhere to my skin there can’t be any hair getting in the way. Therefore, I shaved.

Your next question will probably be “What the fuck does this have to do with music?!?” My answer: while shaving my chest, ahhmmm, I nicked my nipple and noticed that it began to bleed a little — you should know where I am going with this by now. Obviously you should be recalling a scene from a movie in which Bob Gueldof os shaving his own chest with a complete disregard for the sanc– “titty”  of his nipples (oh fuck I’m a whitty bastard!)

The scene from Pink Floyd’s The Wall is  one of the most memorable of the entire movie. Not only does the scene represent the severity of Pink’s psychological state and transformation, and not only is the scene foregrounded by the lack of music, which draws particular focus towards Pink’s actions — but it is also rumored that Geldof actually went ahead and sliced up his nipples for the sake of the shot (I smell devotion!)

So, to the delight of us all, let’s get our rocks off one more time watchin ol’ Sir Bob give his nips a trim. (If you don’t feel like watching the whole 9 mins, then just skip about 3 or 4 mins in

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If anyone else would like to share some thoughts about this scene, I’d love to hear them — this is by far my favorite movie to share thoughts and criticisms with other people.

Hello everyone, my name’s Colin Ablitt, and I’m a new blogger here on Steamroller.  I am currently getting myself entrenched into the world of music; I am studying it + some theology at a local bible college.  I’m also trying to set up a band with a good friend of mine from said college.  We’re still in the writing stage right now, and we only have like, half a song, but we will be the next Coldplay.  Watch out.

My love affair with music started in my early teens.  Don’t ask me what bands I was into at that time.  It’s rather embarrassing, as it often is for those of us looking back to those years.  But I got my first electric guitar for my 13th birthday.   That was the catalyst for me falling down the rabbit hole of music(an appropriate metaphor, yes?).

Since then, I have also fallen in love with songwriting.  It became a great outlet for me, as I could freely express myself through melody and lyric.  As I wrote more, each song became even better than the last.  I might put up some how-to’s, or simply some Chicken Soup for the Songwriter’s Soul.  We’ll see.

Now that I have introduced myself, let me introduce you to someone else.  His name is Jeremy Larson, and he hails from Springfield, Michigan.  He plays piano-heavy pop music with classical influences, or classical music with pop sensibilities.  Take your pick.  Either way, he’s awesome, and a brilliant songwriter.

Here’s him with an excellent loop-heavy performance of his song, “Today.”

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Cheers,

colin.

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Playing at the Crossroads Guitar Festival, 07

twitter.com/johncmayer

He is also a kick ass columnist!  He is art in everyway.   www.johnmayer.com

Another well known association with the Mayer is his Fender Strat, Sweetness!  and the John Mayer Trio.

Free Fallin     

Brand new video for a great song:

broken bells, the high road, video, music

The brand new, hot off the press video for the Deftones new single, Rocket Skates, is available for free download right now with one simple tweet. Check it out and tell me what you think: Rocket Skates Video

deftones, rocket skates, video, twitter, free, download, high definition, music

I heard this song on the Peak the other day, as their “check this out” tune. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since. Is it just me or is it totally reminiscent of Everlast’s What It’s Like, but far better. Is it weird that KO stands for Knock Out and Everlast is a boxing equipment brand? A little hip-hoppy, a little folky, a lot good. Check out the video, Capable by Toronto’s KO:

KO, capable, video, music, toronto

I know this is kinda cheezy, but I figured what the hell, lets get nitty gritty about the Best Song Oscar nominations. Personally I’m not a big fan of this category; a song written for a movie is usually a lame attempt to tag something obtusely generic to moving pictures. Many of these songs bear my prejudice, but the winner, however, offers a little more than blaring horn sections and cutesy voices. The Weary Kind, best original song by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett, combines folk simplicity with emotive orchestration to produce something that works as well on its own as it does with the movie. but don’t take my word for it. Give all the Oscar nominees a listen and tell me what you think.

The Weary Kind – Crazy Heart

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Almost there – The Princess and the Frog

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Down in New Orleans – The Princes and the Frog

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Loin de Paname – Paris 36

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Take it All – Nine

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