Cornershop, "Handcream For A Generation"

Artist: Cornershop
Album Name: Handcream For A Generation
Release Date: April 23, 2002
Wikipedia Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handcream_for_a_Generation

The Band
Cornershop is one of the most underrated bands of all time. Once upon a time they had a hit called “Brimful of Asha” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw41Ag_9ic0 ). However, their catalog is deep and full of awesome music. Tjinder Singh is one of the best songwriters of all time, weaving rock, funk, disco, alternative, and even Indian music into a potent cocktail of kickass music. The band doesn’t make it out to the states that often, but the last time they did was in 2002, and they put on an awesome show at the Metro in Chicago. They’re coming to L.A. in November of this year and you can bet your ass I’ll be there.

The Album
These guys are sick sick sick. I don’t know how they are able to combine so many styles of music so perfectly but they do it and make it look easy. Handcream was their fifth album. I can’t imagine it did very good in terms of sales, but I bought it immediately when it came out, and that’s more important than sales figures. So good job Cornershop.

The Highlights
“Staging the Plaguing of the Raised Platform” – Track 1
Is there anything cooler than a bunch of kids singing along to lines like “making the dope dope and the dope dope”? I’d have to say nope nope.



“Lessons Learned From Rocky I to Rocky III” – Track 7
I’ll be the first to admit, I have no idea what this song is about. But If I had to guess, maybe it’s about the excessive lifestyle of rockstars of yesteryear. Or maybe it’s about Sly Stallone wailing on Apollo Creed and Mr. T. Either way, I understand guns in the A&R office and this song is awesome!



Now here’s the thing. There are a ton of great tracks on this cd like “People Power,” “Motion the 11,” and “Spectral Mornings” (which features Noel Gallagher from Oasis and is a better 15 minute jam than any know-it-all college hippie could ever handle), but I just can’t find anything on youtube from the album. So lucky you I’ll give you a couple tracks from the new cd to get you ready for the Nov. 15, 2010 show at the El Rey Theatre in L.A. See you there!

Sigur Ros, "Takk..."

Artist: Sigur Ros
Album Name: Takk…
Release Date: September 2005
Wikipedia Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takk...

The Band
Post Rock!!! Post rock might be the greatest genre of music ever. It’s no doubt the most underrated genre today. Led by awesome bands such as Sigur Ros, Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, the post rock movement is one that implements numerous styles of music and instruments (including the almighty glockenspiel). My personal favorite aspect of post rock is its use of dynamics to control the energy of the music (if that even makes sense). Anyway, if you want to learn more about post rock and how awesome it is, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-rock

Sigur Ros is one of my favorite bands of all time. They are one of the most famous post rock bands. One of the things that sets a band like Sigur Ros apart from their post rock contemporaries is their use of vocals. Many post rock bands are instrumental. However, Jónsi Birgisson uses a beautiful falsetto which sounds more like another musical instrument than it does your traditional vox.

The Album
Takk… made a huge impression on me from the first time that I heard it. I listened to it every night for a week when I first discovered it. The album sold 30,000 copies in America the week of its release, and has sold roughly 800,000 copies to date worldwide. The band is from Iceland and the majority of the vocals on the album are in Icelandic or Vonleska, a scat-like form of gibberish.

The Highlights
“Glósóli” – Track 2
You know how Jimmy Page used a bow on his guitar? Yeah, well Jónsi’s better at it. There are some good live videos on youtube where you can watch him doing it, but below is a great video of the song from the Planet Earth series.



“Hoppípolla” – Track 3
My favorite track on the album. Great dynamics in this track.



“Sé Lest” – Track 5
So word on the street is that there’s an instrument called a celesta and that björk lent said instrument to the band which was used on this track. Now I don’t know much about björk and her music (though maybe I’ll give it a try soon), but she helped out with this album, I guess, so good job, björk.



Takk… documentary
If you’ve fallen in love with this album by now (and you should have, because it’s awesome), check out the 30-minute short film on the album. It includes the band members talking about the album and great pictures of the band and Iceland. The video is from the band’s official website and can be found here: http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk/band/disco/takk-documentary.php

The Charlatans UK, "Wonderland"

Artist: The Charlatans UK
Album Name: Wonderland
Release Date: September 10, 2001
Wikipedia Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonderland_(The_Charlatans_album)

The Band
The Charlatans UK is an alternative rock band from England that, surprisingly, isn’t more popular in the United States. What separates the Charlatans from their counterparts in the brit alt rock scene is their versatility. The band’s influences range from rock to country to dance to rhythm and blues to soul. I saw the band at the Vic Theater when they were touring in support of the Wonderland album and can say from first-hand experience that they put on a hell of a live show.

Note: When I saw the Charlatans at the Vic Theater on January 22, 2002, they were supported by Starsailor (who will be the subject of another blog post one day). It was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen and included James Walsh of Starsailor doing a solo acoustic rendition of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” which I’ll never forget. The show ended with the Charlatans closing with their classic “Sproston Green,” which I’ll also never forget.



The Album
What sets Wonderland apart from other Charlatans albums are its dance, groove, and soul music influences. If I remember correctly, the album got decent airplay around the time of its release, though I can’t imagine its sales were anything to write home about. But sales don’t mean shit, right?

The Highlights
“You’re So Pretty - We’re So Pretty” – Track 1
I can’t emphasize it enough. If you want to make an awesome album, it always helps to make the first track one of the best. “You’re So Pretty – We’re So Pretty” starts the album off with a catchy dance beat that serves as a great introduction to a great album.



“A Man Needs To Be Told” – Track 4
Hands down, my favorite track on the album and favorite Charlatans song of all time. Daniel Lanois plays pedal steel on this track and extra percussion is provided by Jim Keltner, a legendary session drummer who’s played with Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, and Ry Cooder.



“And If I Fall” – Track 7
Awesome song. Not much more to say.



“Wake Up” – Track 8
The falsetto vocals of Tim Burgess are on full display here. And they kick ass!

The Replacements, "Tim"

Artist: The Replacements
Album Name: Tim
Release Date: October 1985
Wikipedia Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_(album)

The Band
The Replacements, a/k/a the Mats, have been my favorite band since I was 18. Led by guitarist/lead singer Paul Westerberg, the Mats released eight albums over a span of twelve drunk years. It’s often said that the Mats were their own worst enemies, that they could have had all the success in the world, but they didn’t because they were so self destructive, didn’t care enough, thought it was all a joke, etc. Well I don’t buy it. If I wanted to listen to a band that wasn’t drunk all the time and religiously did what their record company told them to do, I’d listen to the Goo Goo Dolls. The Mats are the best fucking band ever and that’s all there is to it. The things that they did made them who they were. And that’s awesome.

Just a quick note before I talk about the album: Paul Westerberg’s solo catalog is every bit as good as the Replacements’. I’ll do a posting on his Stereo/Mono album another day. If you’re ever looking for a great source of information on the band or Paul’s solo career, go to http://www.paulwesterberg.com/.


The Album
When music fans talk about Mats albums, they usually talk about Let it Be or Pleased to Meet Me but Tim has always been my favorite. After its release, the album reached #183 on Billboard’s top 200 and was ranked #136 on Rolling Stone’s 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

The reason that Tim is my favorite Mats album is because of its cohesion. The songs bounce very well off of each other. Each track is different but the songs make sense together. The album has a very natural flow, and it’s one of my favorite albums to listen to start to finish.

The Highlights
“Hold My Life” – Track 1
This song is an awesome first track to an awesome album. Good albums always have to catch your attention and “Hold My Life” does exactly that.



“Bastards of Young” – Track 7
On January 18, 1986, the Mats were the musical guests on Saturday Night Live. The band got so wasted beforehand that the SNL cast members raised doubt that they would be able to perform. Then during the performance of “Bastards of Young,” Westerberg yelled “fuck” to the crowd during the song. They were subsequently banned from the show (though Westerberg did appear as a musical guest later on in his solo career).


What a mess
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“Left of the Dial” – Track 9
For the guitarists out there, one of the most awesome things about the Replacements is their use of alternate tunings. This track is in open A tuning.



“Here Comes a Regular” – Track 11
Usually, drinking is awesome and songs are awesome, but songs about drinking are lame. Here’s the exception. It’s a very fitting end to a great album.