Song #100: Broken Bells - "Vaporize"

Here we are at the final stage! For my last trick, I’ve decided to have a listen to the new project for James Mercer (normally of The Shins) and Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse/one half of Gnarls Barkley). It’s entitled Broken Bells, and they’re just about to set their debut album out on its merry way. This first taste, entitled Vaporize, sounds almost exactly like you’d think it would - almost. Remember, Burton never forces his hip-hop and soul leaning on artists that don’t need it (lest we forget his collaboration with the late, great Sparklehorse). It’s much more of an acid-dropping approach to this new project – this really does sound like The Shins adventuring through outer space in slow motion.

That’s definitely a compliment, for the record. Mercer sounds both peacefully placid and creatively inspired, the music behind him sounding spacey but also incredibly comfortable. He has plenty of catchy melodies that float by in a loving haze. If I got high, this is probably something I’d do it to; just put it that way.

FINAL RATING (/10): 8

The new album is streaming online now. Google that shit, suss it all out.

Well, that’s it! A conclusive post is to come, but I have successfully completed THE SONG CENTURY CHALLENGE! Hooray!!!!

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David

Song #99: Foals - "Spanish Sahara"

With two songs to go, I’ve decided to shut the fuck up for this one. Because, really…how the hell do you describe something that left you speechless on first listen?


Foals are back. And I’m so glad they are

FINAL RATING (/10): 9.5

PLEASE watch this video. It’s insane amounts of goodness.



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David

Song #98: Dead Letter Circus - "Here We Divide"

What a pleasant surprise in my email inbox this morning! “Hey dude,” writes a friend of mine. “Thought you might want to hear the new Dead Letter Circus song, so here it is.” Well, thank you very much, my good man! Having seen DLC just over a week ago, it’s very exciting to hear that their debut album is done with recording and is set for a mid-May release. Anyone who’s been following the band for awhile would be more than aware that they’re not the kind to disappoint, making their debut easily one of my most anticipated releases of the year.

This new track, Here We Divide, continues on with the sound established by earlier DLC records which mixes an Edge-style lead guitar with effortlessly technical rhythms and Kim Benzie’s distinctive, impeccably powerful voice raising hell atop of proceedings. Even at nearly five minutes and some forms of repetition that seep through the song’s movements, it keeps your interest and engages you as a listener right up to the final crescendo. That’s the great thing about this band – I’ve been racking my brain and can’t think of even one bad song these guys have. It’s an impressive track record, that’s for sure; and I doubt that will change much when the album drops.

What else can you say? Dead Letter Circus are something to get enthusiastic about. Let’s do so!

FINAL RATING (/10): 8

DLC’s debut is out in May. Don’t forget to check out the band’s website to explore Project Dead Letter, which is a really cool series of footage in relation to the recording of the album. Very nice!

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David

Song #97: Calling All Cars - "Disconnect"

You know you’ve got a good song on your hands if your only words after hearing it for the first time are “fuck” and “yeah” in quick succession of one another. Such was the case for the brand new single for Melbourne band Calling All Cars. I’ve been enjoying these guys for quite some time – they’re a bouncy ball of energy live and they’re always keen to chat at the end of their gigs, handing out fliers for the next gig (and, given their hard working schedule, there is ALWAYS a next gig). Now, fresh from a tour with AC/DC and Wolfmother, the three-piece are readying their debut album, entitled Hold, Hold, Fire.

Disconnect, the lead single, more or less sums up everything that’s great about this band. It’s punchy, ridiculously catchy and incredibly tight, with each member contributing to the overall sound in a positive light. The chorus alone is one of the best things I’ve heard all year – the thing has hooks as sharp as nails that will lure you in and then savagely tear at your body. Am I getting too violent? Maybe, but fuck it: Disconnect is awesome.

FINAL RATING (/10): 8.5

Hold, Hold, Fire comes out on the 12th of March. Also, they’re about to go on tour with Grinspoon. Fuck yeah.

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David

Song #96: Jon LaJoie - "Let Me See Your Genitals 2: E=MC Vagina"

Three times Chris has come to the rescue in terms of my hearing of a song I’ve never heard before. That’s my younger brother, for those of you playing at home (as if you are). This time, however, he managed to pull something out from absolutely nowhere that I did not expect from him at all. Although, now that I’ve heard it, I’m somewhat less surprised.

“Vagina


Vagina


I want to have sex with your vagina”

Meet Jon LaJoie. This comedian has already had one YouTube hit with Show Me Your Genitals, and couldn’t see the harm in throwing a sequel out to the web. Show Me Your Genitals 2: E = MC Vagina continues on with absolutely ridiculous lyrics, sending up the over-sexualisation of commercial hip-hop/pop rap music and delivered entirely in a brilliant deadpan. Admittedly, it does get irritating towards the end, with the song running out of ideas (wasn’t there only one to begin with?) and it’s the kind of thing someone out of high school probably shouldn’t be enjoying. Still, it was fun while it lasted. The guy has a few good ideas, going from the rest of his YouTube channel. Nice one.

FINAL RATING (/10): 6

Devour the video belowhand. Belowhand is now a word. Deal with it.



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David

Song #95: Crash Tragic - "Simple Separation"

Saw these guys opening for Gyroscope and A Death In The Family at uni. A Wollongong band who’ve been around the block a few times with bands like Kisschasy, Trial Kennedy etc., I probably should like at least something about these guys. They seem nice enough and they’re going for a catchy pop-punk sound. It all falls apart, however, after one look at them (they all look well into their thirties), the fake American accent and the horrid simplicity of it all. It’s weak bunny-mosh styled music that’s very basic in its execution, which loses almost all of its identity within the first minute – Simple Separation is a perfect example of this. I’m sure they’re nice guys and all, but they’re getting WAY too old for this shit.

FINAL RATING (/10): 3.5

Their new EP is out now. Wotevs.

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David

Song #94: Nickelback - "Never Gonna Be Alone"

What can be said that hasn’t already been about these guys? They’ve devolved from a somewhat ambitious rock band with a few catchy tracks in their arsenal (Leader of Men, How You Remind Me) to the epitome of what’s gone wrong with radio rock music. They are currently in the realm of glossy, ugly and mostly downright awful music that takes no brains to create and even less to enjoy.

Apparently this little number has been poisoning the airwaves since September of last year, but I’d thankfully avoided it up until now. In fact, all I’ve heard from the band lately is that song they do for the theme song of WWE Raw, which is bloody annoying. Speaking of bloody annoying, did they REALLY need to do another syrupy ballad about fuck-all? Chad Kroeger goes all cassanova with slow drums, simple chords and quite possibly the worst harmonies in any Nickelback song ever. Completely uneccessary, irritating turd of a song, this one. Like you expected any less.

FINAL RATING (/10): 1.5

Fuck 'em.

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David

Song #93: Timbaland feat. Jet - "Timothy Where You Been"

I finally got around to sussing out Timbaland’s Shock Value II guestlist. It was nowhere near as strong as the first go around which had Elton John, Dr. Dre, Fall Out Boy, Missy Elliott, Nelly Furtado, etc. This is all Chad Kroeger, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, The Fray, Drake…y’know, somewhat good, but definitely not great. Of particular interest to me, however, was the collaboration with Australian band Jet. The song that Timbaland samples for the song Timothy Where You Been is, strangely enough, Timothy, the final track on Jet’s Get Born album. For all the crap the band gets, Timothy is actually one of their best works. It’s a heartfelt ballad around the story of Timothy Cester, the eldest Cester sibling (Nic is the vocalist and Chris is the drummer), who died before Nic was born and was mentally disabled.

With this in mind, it’s strange and a little offensive to think Timbaland has taken the song to be an “all-about-me” ego trip. Sure, the interpolation and reworking of Timothy is very cleverly done, but it’s no secret that Timbo is not a very good rapper or lyricist. His flow is menial and his rhymes pointless – perhaps the rhyme of “Nelly Furtado” and “escargot” could have been avoided if he wasn’t trying to big-up himself and name-drop at the same time? Ahh, who knows. The point is that the whole thing is great when Timbaland keeps his mouth shut. Isn’t that the same for nearly everyone of his tracks to begin with, though?

FINAL RATING (/10): 5.5

Shock Value II is out now.

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David

Song #92: Estelle feat. Kardinall Ofishall - "Freak"

She's back! It seems with every release,the divine Estelle changes again. Her first album, The 18th Day, was a hip-hop based affair. That was followed by the soul/rnb/pop stylings of Shine, which spawned the Kanye-boasting megasmash American Boy. Where to from there? Simple: go absolutely fucking batshit.

With David Guetta at the production helm, Estelle has delivered a decidedly weird, minimalist dancefloor inferno. Chopped up vocal samples lead the parade before Estelle throws in some smutty sex-raps, breathy speak-singing and a banging chorus that ties the entire bizarre affair together. I'm normally not a fan of Guetta at all (I found One Love to be all style and no substance), but I really appreciate his approach to Freak from a composing perspective. It's much more a focus on Estelle's voice and the beat itself, as opposed to overloading it with cheesy club synths and repetitive chord progressions. It's a very clever way to go about it, and it's especially different for an artist like Estelle. It fits her like a cute Gucci dress, though. Will be interesting to see how the rest of the record pans out.

FINAL RATING (/10): 8

If I've piqued your interest (fingers crossed), check out the song's music video.


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David

Song #91: Die! Die! Die! - "We Built Our Own Oppressors"

Fuck yeah. Die! Die! Die! are back to fuck shit up. Anyone who's seen these three live know exactly what I'm talking about - they're an insane joy to watch. Their recorded material, whilst good, has nevertheless always seemed to lack the awesome spastic energy of their live gigs. We Built Our Own Oppressors is already awesome on the basis that it translates the ferocious live sound arguably better than any other of their recorded tracks. Complete with flurrying drums, thick bassline snarls and even a few "WOO!"s thrown in there, it's a song with palpable energy. What else can you say really? This rules.

FINAL RATING (/10): 8.5

Also, check out the awesome video! It was filmed on top of a building they broke into :D

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David

Song #90: Luka Bloom - "The Acoustic Motorbike"

Got Luka Bloom's Platinum Collection CD for nine dollars at JB Hi-Fi. I saw him on Spicks and Specks ages ago and thought he looked really cool, so I was interested to see how a collection of his songs would pan out. There's some wonderful songs in there - he knows how to make a very heartfelt and lovely Irish folk tune. There's a couple of tracks that are pretty daggy, though. This track, the title track to his second album, is one of them.

It's a song about riding a bicycle (an "acoustic motorbike", geddit?). Instead of singing, though, Bloom does this weird semi-rap thing throughout the whole song. It's actually a little annoying at times, especially when the chorus comes through: "git off on yar boike!", he says in his thick Irish accent. It's kitshy, but still I guess it's a little bit of fun.

FINAL RATING (/10): 5

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David

Song #89: Slash featuring Andrew Stockdale - "By The Sword"

Just take a look at those two fucking pictures. Take a wild guess as to what a song with the former lead guitarist of Guns N Roses and the lead singer of Wolfmother is going to sound like. ROCK, maybe? Bang on the fucking money.

So you might not be big on the best-known stuff of either of these two, but this song is completely awesome. The lead guitar riff is godly, starting out on acoustic guitars and sounding somewhat medieval before kicking into some kind of electric overdrive and getting into a frenzy of fist-pumping warrior shit. Yep, just like Wolfmother's first album. It's a great sound the two have gotten together here - Slash gets some great solos and licks throughout the whole thing and Stockdale himself sounds the best he has vocally in years. It's pretty dumb music from a lyrical perspective ("To live and die by the sword!"), but switch off your brain and rock out on this one. So worth it.

FINAL RATING (/10): 8

Slash's solo album is out later this year. Stream the track here.

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David

Song #88: MM9 - "Talking to Himself"

 

Did I miss something here? Last I heard, Many Machines on 9 were a heavy rock band with hints of electronica that had simple, fun and catchy songs like New Chemistry. The next I hear, they're just MM9 and have started to sound like Good Charlotte. Their debut album, The Air Between, is a very awkward listen for people who've listened to the band for awhile. It's a big, glossy pop-rock sound that the group have found for themselves, with the vocals landing somewhere inbetween Disturbed's David Draiman and Joel Madden. I have no idea where this has all come from, but it really doesn't suit them. It's trying way too hard and ends up tripping over its own feet. In short, if you liked them before there's a good chance you won't like them now.

FINAL RATING (/10): 3.5

The Air Between is out now.

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David

Song #87: Jamie Cullum - "Just One of Those Things"

Jamie Cullum is back to do the three things he does best: woo the ladies, swing like a beast and go so hard he forgets what the third thing is. Just One of Those Things is the first track from his brand new album, The Pursuit, and it's a cracker of a tune to kick off with.

It begins with a drunken swagger towards the tinkling ivories as he slowly puts together what happened last night, before Cullum snaps his fingers and gets the drums and double bass to come riding in.The second they do, he's right into action. Even so many years after the cutely-titled  Twentysomething, he's still got all the whiz-kid energy that he had when he debuted. If anything, he's developed it further. This is catchy, swinging and a top display of his talents. If you liked him before, you'll definitely enjoy this.

FINAL RATING: 7.5

He's back in Australia this April, if you're interested.

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David

Song #86: Axis of Awesome - "BirdPlane"

The best thing about Axis of Awesome is how they are easily able to take one simple idea and turn it into the most ridiculous, hilarious thing possible. The trio performed on the garden at my university, and it was pretty easy to tell that we were loving every second of it. This track in particular was a huge favourite. The parody only works, however, if you're familiar with your 2000s hit singles.

Remember Five For Fighting? No? How about Superman (It's Not Easy)? Ringing a bell. Now we're getting somewhere. What this song does is takes the first few lines of the original and then goes insane.

I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
I'm just trying to find
The better part of me

I'm more than a bird
I'm more than a plane
And in come the Axis:

I'm a BirdPlane!

The rest of the song goes off on this tangent of singing about how awesome life is when part of you is a bird and the other part is a plane. And come on, that does sound pretty awesome! A definite listen for fans of clever parodies that are after something non-Weird Al.

FINAL RATING (/10): 8

Check out the video!



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David

Song #85: Sunny Day Real Estate - "Nine"

 

It's not everyday you get to be "Oh hey dude, what you get up to last night? Cool. Oh, me? I just saw SUNNY DAY FUCKING REAL ESTATE, that's all." I feel like so much more of a man having the ability to say that.

Anyway, this was a track that I didn't know out of their set. I later found out it was a track that was added to the re-issue of Diary. If I didn't already own the CD, I'd definitely get the re-issue for this number (woo pun!!). It has all the strained, scratchy emotional work you'd expect from SDRE, with some great moments on guitar and vintage Jeremy Enigk vocals. It was great during this part of the set watching at least two or three members from every other band on the bill (Jimmy Eat World, Motion City Soundtrack, RX Bandits and Glassjaw) watching from the upstairs balcony, all being schooled in how to put on a mesmerising, intense performance. Fuck yeah.

FINAL RATING (/10): 8

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David

Song #84: Gil Scott-Heron - "Me and the Devil"

After a few Wiki run-throughs, I landed onto the fascinating story of Gil Scott-Heron and I'm so glad I did. I dowloaded his latest album - his thirteenth - entitled I'm New Here, and it's nothing short of sensational. It's a tale of blues, folk, spoken word, dubstep and ambience, as the sixty-something dude tells us all about his life growing up, his reflections on mortality and impermanence...and this track, a Robert Johnson reinterpretation.

What's interesting about this version of Johnson's Me and the Devil Blues is how drastically the track has changed. Johnson's original is rustic, traditional blues - Scott-Heron more or less takes the lyrics and puts them into the filthy, sinful slums of late-night American cities. Electronic bleeps, buzzing basslines and a shuffled beat accompany Scott-Heron's raspy, desperate vocal rendition of the pitch-black lyrics. It's the exact kind of song that's only very short in its length, but the kind you want to listen to over and over again. Truly sensational stuff.

FINAL RATING (/10): 9.5

I'm New Here is out now. Check out the video below:

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David

Song #83: Rolo Tomassi - "The French Motel"

 

These kids kicked of Soundwave over on the joint 5 and 6 stages. There were a couple of troubles with sound, but once they got into the swing of it, they were fucking awesome. See that cute little blonde girl? She can scream better than you and nearly every other throaty dude on the bill. It was terrifying and terrific at the same time.

The French Motel is one of the tracks they played that is going to be on their second album, due out a little later this year. Apparently cats like M.I.A. and Santogold are going to be producing and stuff, which is pretty cool. As per the "norm" with these guys (if there is such a thing), there is a shitload of musical movements and progressions, complete with dual vocals, big guitar and quick flips in tempo that keep everything engaging and exciting. This lot are definitely ones to watch out for this year.

FINAL RATING (/10): 8

The new record should be out within the next quarter.

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David