Album name: In Love With Oblivion Artist name: Crystal Stilts Genre: Noise Pop Released: April 11, 2011 Label: Sumberland Records/Fortuna POP! ZME Rating: 7/10 Website: myspace.com/crystalstilts You remember the 2003 film Lost In Translation don’t you? Yeah. Fantastic wasn’t it? Too flippin? right it was! The film was directed by Sofia Coppola and starred the greatest actor (although perhaps not technically) in the history of American cinema: Bill Murray. Fact. If you can also remember…
Album name: Rolling Papers Artist name: Wiz Khalifa Genre: Rap Released: March 29, 2011 Label: Atlantic/Rostrum ZME Rating: 6/10 Website: wizkhalifa.com I’m about to defend a Wiz Khalifa album. Well, kinda. For the few of you who haven’t navigated away, hear me out. WK is a an average rapper at best, no one – myself included – is going to argue that. But the key to appreciating any song by him is to understand that…
Album name: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Artist name: Kanye West Genre: Rap Released: November 22, 2010 Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def-Jam ZME Rating: 9.5/10 Website: kanyewest.com I remember when OutKast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below came out. It was the album that convinced me OutKast could fucking do anything. They were incapable of committing mistakes. OK, the album was too long (mainly The Love Below, of course), but “Hey Ya!” is, like, the greatest thing ever. Then something happened:…
Album name: Recovery Artist name: Eminem Genre: Rap Released: June 18, 2010 Label: Shady/Aftermath/Interscope ZME Rating: 6/10 Website: eminem.com ——————— Generally speaking, Eminem doesn’t play well with others. Aside from the crew he runs with (or, used to…) – Dre, the Bass Brothers, D12 et al – he just doesn’t jive with too many other artists. If you discount the fact that Dre is the one that discovered him, and has basically served as…
Album name: Belle & Sebastian Artist name: Bell & Sebastian Write About Love Genre: Indie Pop Released: October 12, 2010 Label: Rough Trade ZME Rating: 7.3/10 Website: belleandsebastian.com Belle & Sebastian have been making pop music for sad people since the ’90s, but on their eighth studio album there isn’t much of and end or a sense of rehashing insight. They stick to what they know and move forward with it. Principal writer, Stuart Murdoch…
Purely spectacular and painfully beautiful are the music and lyrics that are delivered by Baltimore’s own Beach House. Last Monday night, Beach House took the audience on a musical journey through time and space at the Hard Rock Live in Orlando, Fla. With a simple and sophisticated set made up of three light reflecting pyramids and an intimate arrangement of instruments that brought the band to the edge of the stage, lead singer Victoria Legrand,…
Imagine you have this deliciously juicy secret that you are just dying to tell. You’re antsy and feel like you are going to explode if you don’t share the big news. Containing this information seems nearly impossible and you just want to shout to the world that this amazing thing is happening. That is the exact emotions that Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros draw out of every one of their fans. Pure and simply…
With a new album entitled Buzzards, Margot and the Nuclear So and So are quite busy, but that didn’t stop them from putting on an amazing show Friday night at the Crowbar in Tampa Florida. With three opening acts, the crowd was raring to go when Margot and the Nuclear So and So finally graced the stage. The show got off to a great start. Local band the Sleepy Vikings opened and got the crowd…
Have you ever heard a song and felt like it transported you home? Not just to your place of residence but to that time in your life where everything seems so safe and innocent. Where nothing could harm you. Stress and worry are just words of another language and warmth and happiness seep into everything fiber of your being. Comfort comes from the embers in the fireplace glowing in the living room and the sinking…
Potent. That is the one word that comes to mind when describing the Indie-Rock band, Born Ruffians. Don’t let their trendy good looks and stylish charm fool you; these Canadian boys have developed and crafted a sound that will marinate in your bones and urge you to move. Born Ruffians began the show Sunday night at the Backbooth in Orlando, Florida in the most appropriate fashion by opening the show with “Foxes Mate For Life.”…
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