The Drop music blog
Technology is not always your BFF
By Jillian Mapes, Assistant Managing Editor
November 1, 2007 | 6 p.m.
Although I'm confident that 99% of you did not notice, I must admit that I dropped the proverbial ball last week by not posting a new blog.
I had the distinct pleasure of having my computer hard drive die a fiery death, thus sending my digital music library and my semi-written blog straight to the pearly gates of technological Heaven. I've been told that the hard drive is most likely not recoverable, so I'm just trying to lick my wounds and rebuild my music library from the ground up. This has most definitely taught me to back-up my files more often.
So, enough lamenting over lost music, documents and blogs. There's new music to dissect and devour, so let us charge full speed ahead into the stacks.
It's a battle of the '90s pop stars this week, as both Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys release their respective records. While BSB's Unbreakable is a more sincere effort than Britney's Blackout, Spears' album remains more memorable because of its unbelievably arrogant nature. I could barely contain my laughter when Spears matter-of-factly proclaimed "it's Britney, bitch" as her single "Gimme More" began. Why does Britney suddenly sound like Kelly from the "Shoes" video?
Blackout is a dance-pop album that you can actually dance to, if you disregard the over-the-top lyrics. Until her train-wreck VMA performance back in September, no one would have guessed that Britney was even working on a new album. Between her busy schedule of almost killing her destined-to-be-screwed-up kids and gallivanting around town (sans panties, of course), Spears has released an album that could distract Us Weekly from sensationalizing her already outrageous public hi-jinks for roughly one week.
If mainstream pop music isn't your bag, then fret not, kiddies. Because I was shrouded in a haze of computer problems last week, I didn't get the chance to tell you about Ryan Adams & The Cardinals' mish-mash EP, Follow the Lights, and Maritime's Heresy and the Hotel Choir. Although Adams' record was released last week and Maritime's dropped two weeks ago, both are excellent choices for those searching for a bit of rock-infused flavor.
Ryan Adams' fans are not hurting for new material; Follow the Lights is the Americana-style troubadour's 29th release this month alone. Seriously. Okay, not-so seriously. Nevertheless, it is really expensive to be a Ryan Adams fan, considering that Follow the Lights is Adams' eighth release in four years. While classic artists such as The Beatles typically released more than one album a year back in the good ole' days, this rate of production is essentially unheard of in this day and age.
Follow the Lights strays slightly from the overly-introspective, strictly alt-country formula of Easy Tiger, this summer's full-length release by Adams. With only seven songs, this EP includes a few new songs nestled between bonus tracks from previous albums, alternative versions of previous songs and, surprisingly, a completely revamped cover of Alice in Chains' "Down in a Hole." The cover is almost unrecognizable, while the stripped-down alterna-version of "This Is It" (from Rock N Roll) makes the EP worth buying.
Former members of indie-emo act The Promise Ring have gone on to form Maritime, a band that sounds like it picks up where The Promise Ring left off, only now with a Paxil prescription. Heresy and the Hotel Choir is an album that is more listenable than any of those released by The Promise Ring due to its much-needed infusion of more upbeat indie-pop. The album is jangly and toe-tapping in some places, while insightful and melodic in others. Overall, the variance from song-to-song is the perfect amount, and singer/guitarist Davey von Bohlen's vocals are tremendously less teen-angsty and whiney than they were on any Promise Ring albums. Maritime is a band that is comparable to The New Amsterdams, coincidentally also a band spawned out of a '90s indie-emo group (The Get Up Kids).
Another release that deserves mentioning has to be indescribable indie rockers Yeasayer's debut album, All Hour Cymbals. I knew that Yeasayer was something special after seeing the band's other-worldly Athens performance at The Union back in September. All Hour Cymbals is an album of many layers, most of which gleam with ethereal vibes. Yeasayer has it all: polyphonic chants, tribal drums, synthesizers and guitars that meander on and on to jam-band proportions. If you're a fan of experimental indie like TV on the Radio or Animal Collective, then download the single "2080" and swoon away.
And, finally, soundtracks dominate my top picks for this week. The soundtrack to "Control," Anton Corbijn's highly-anticipated Joy Division biopic, was released much to the delight of post-punk fans everywhere. It goes without saying that the soundtrack includes numerous Joy Division and New Order tracks but also features some of the band's contemporaries and influences, such as David Bowie, Roxy Music, The Velvet Underground and The Buzzcocks. Throw in The Killers' striking cover of "Shadowplay" for a bit of present day whimsy, and you've got yourself a party!
The soundtrack to an upcoming Bob Dylan biopic, "I'm Not There," is quite the impressive compilation of Dylan classics performed by a who's who of indie icons. Stephen Malkmus plays on several tracks, while Yo La Tengo, Cat Power, Sufjan Stevens, The Black Keys and numerous others also contribute their own versions of Dylan songs. "I'm Not There," which features six different actors (including Cate Blanchett, oddly enough) won't be released in the U.S. until later this month to heavily mixed reviews and furrowed brows. Nevertheless, the soundtrack is a must-buy for Dylan fans (and who isn't, at least a little bit?), despite the fact that it doesn't feature my all-time favorite Dylan song, "Lay Lady Lay."
Remember kids, rock'n'roll won't kill your soul -- just your ears.
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To legally download any of the albums mentioned in this blog (except the bad ones -- don't even think about it!), head over to Ruckus.