Indie Rock Kid

I'm Sorry Lady Gaga

So, the other day I went to see Lady Gaga at the HP Pavillion in San Jose as part of her Monster Ball Tour following up the release of her album 'The Fame Monster.' As anyone in their right mind could have guessed, Lady Gaga's "concert" was the most commercial thing ever, which was a big change from the concerts I typically attend. Now I would like to do a comparison between the concerts I typically go to, and the Lady Gaga concert.

Indie Rock Concert:

• Who is (visible) on stage? - the band
• How many costume changes? - 0!
• Who is there? - people with good music taste
• Pot? - yes.
• Concert? - yes.

 Lady Gaga Concert

• Who is (visible) on stage? - Lady Gaga, a billion back up dancers (Lady Gaga lookalikes and Gay men)
• How many costume changes? - stopped counting at 2
• Who is there? girls (and a lot of them), stay at home moms, gay men, and I
• Pot? - no (thank god)
• Concert? - more like Lady Gaga musical

Now that you have seen that fantastic comparison, we can discuss the up and downs of the Lady Gaga concert. Let's begin on a happy note. There was little to no pot at this concert. The air was free of the marijuana scent, that which any frequent concert goer is able to recognize with even the slightest whiff. I haven't been to a single indie concert where I was not periodically attacked by the scent of "a plant." So not having to smell the plant constantly was definitely a plus.

Okay, so now that we have gone over the "up's," we can move on to the "downs." But... because I do not feel like just listing out everything I disliked about this concert, from here I am just going to do my typical concert right out, a negative one (lo siento ガガ さん). 

The story begins with 3 words (or is it 2?), Semi-Precious Weapons. They were awful. But, although their music was really unbearable to listen to, they were still better than Abe Vigoda opening for Vampire Weekend. Yowza! One thing that was worse than Abe Vigoda about the Semi-Precious Weapons was their outfits which were completely stupid. The bassist decided it was cool to wear a blanket tied around his neck as a cape topless while wearing pajama pants while the lead singer wore skin tight, what appeared to be leather pants. Frightening, it was. Just as frightening as their music. So, based off of this we can determine that Abe Vigoda's music was even worse than the Semi-Precious Weapons outfits which were catastrophic. So to conclude, Lady Gaga's opening act = complete and utter failure. 

When the Semi-Precious Weapons were done performing everyone was quite relieved. But, what was even more relieving was the fact that they turned on what seemed to be a Michael Jackson greatest hits album for about an hour until Lady Gaga decided to finally come on. Gaga took WAY too long to come on stage. Too much damn suspense. But finally, by 9:30 she decided it was time to bust our ears with screams from teenage girls, so she came on, sort of.

By sort of, I mean she came on stage, but from most seat you could only see a silhouette of her through a strange screen curtain thing that has a name that I am blanking on right now. I think the word is scrim. But anyways, she came on and sang Dance in the Dark, very nice... She continued to sing her billion and one hit songs she had until the concert was over and came back to sing her billion and second hit song, Bad Romance. It was a grand ending. 

So here is my main complaint about the concert, I had to watch Lady Gaga and her many back up singers and dancers sing and dance for 2 hours without getting to see the drummer! Yes, the guitarist and bassists were on stage, but the dancers were just too much. I like your typical concert, the band on stage, thats it. Yes, the lead singer is always the star of the show, but not to this extent usually. I know the artists name is Lady Gaga and not Lady Gaga and her brass band or whatever. Wait, thats a terrible example, but you get the point, but I still would have enjoyed to see the very solid drummer who did a ton of fills on stage playing his heart out. Instead he was under like a tower thing and from my seat was invisible. So thats my main complaint, I like to see a concert not a Lady Gaga musical, Lady Gaga as the star, and her singers and dancers as the ensemble.

 

My other main complaint is that she changed her costume way too many times throughout the concert. Yes Gaga, I know your outfits are part of your picture but I dont need to wait seven minutes in between songs for you to change into a lamp shade. Come on! The problem with this was that for one you had to wait for a long time to hear the next song, but also that you would get all pumped up by the energy of the song and then she would go to change outfits and the energy would die down in those seven minutes. Plus, in the end she just ends up in her skimpy little outfit that she stripped down to after having an interesting costume on for 30 seconds (no exaggeration there).

So yeah, Lady Gaga is a very good performer when it comes to being as commercial as possible, but I MUCH prefer your typical indie concert without changing costumes a thousand times or having a thousand back up singers. Its just not needed. Im sorry Lady Gaga, but I was not impressed. At all.

How to Annoy a Theater Geek

Throughout the past, well I guess my entire life I have been learning over time what annoys my older brother the most. This post is, if you hadn't already guessed, about what music annoys my brother most, why I like it and why he hates it. He doesn't know this yet, but as part of this post I am going to "discreetly" interview him, and type it up. Twill be exciting. 

To start off, my brother hates all indie music that has really weird sound effects, interesting singers, or is really electronic. He therefore dislikes bands such as LCD Soundsystem, Apples in Stereo and Hot Chip, a few bands that I am quite fond of. Another genre he hates is rap, and I agree with him 99.9% of the time, except I do enjoy Eminem, who he CANNOT stand. He also believes that all indie rock singers are trying to sound like John Lennon, which amuses me. I am also sure that in some instances he is right, because dont all musicians want to be like John Lennon? In this post I'll also talk to him about that. Twill also be exciting. But, to start off I am going to talk to him about an album I got really recently called This is Happening by LCD Soundsystem.

This is Happening sadly is LCD Soundsystem's last album (I think I heard that through the grape vine). It is a really cool album filled with electronic indie rock stuff. Yes, I have no better word to use than stuff, lets just say their music is indescribable. It really is, I love it. My grandma also pointed out that their instrumental stuff at some points sounds a lot like Devo, which actually happens to be quite true. I also read somewhere that James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem worked with Devo on their new album. Thats pretty coincidental isn't it? Also, speaking of James Murphy, NPR had a really cool and informative interview with James Murphy recently and you can go check it out here. Now, lets go talk to my brother about LCD Soundsystem and see what he has to say.

IndieRockKid: "So why do you hate LCD Soundsystem so much???"

Brother: "Cause its atrociously bad."

IndieRockKid: "What about it?"

Brother: "I cant remember. I just remember listening to it and hating it. No, I'll tell you what I hate about it. The singer."

Because my brother dislikes Hot Chip for similar reasons as LCD Soundsystem, and I've already talked about Apples in Stereo in a previous post, the next artist I will talk about my brother hates even more than LCD Soundsystem. I'd like to introduce to you, Slim Shady. My brother hates rap already and then I believe that Eminem's nasally voice. I think his voice is just... different. But, his voice is just one of many things that makes him different than other rappers (putting his skin color aside). He typically raps in very different rhythms than other rappers and talk about much deeper things. His background music also uses a lot fewer electronically produced instruments. As all of you probably already know, Eminem just came out with a new album titled Recovery, which quite frankly is pretty much the same as most of his other music. He doesn't have very much variation is my opinion, but I still think he's pretty awesome. Now, lets talk to my brother about Eminem, this will be... special. 

IndieRockKid: "So, why do you hate Eminem so much?"

Brother: "Um... I just dislike that genre of music."

IndieRockKid: "What do you dislike so much about rap music."

Brother: "Im not a fan of rap, because it sounds like crap (said in a "rap" rhythm)"

Thank you for that very informative description of why you hate rap music he who can't be named, aka older brother. It's too bad that he doesn't enjoy cooperating when I actually am typing this up, but when I am just talking to him he'll rant on and on and on forever about how he hates Eminem or whatever. Anyways, moving on to the John Lennon thing, hopefully he'll rant on about how he thinks indie singers are trying to be John Lennon for you. Lets try. 

Never mind, my older brother is being annoying so he wont say anything about it. Maybe he's afraid you'll be offended because hopefully most of you like indie rock if you are reading an indie blog. Yes? Thats what I though. Anyways, I guess I will finish this blog post now, because quite frankly I dont have much else to say and apparently neither does my brother.

But, to finish off I would just like to mention that my brother is super picky and sophisticated when it comes to music, and if you knew him you would clearly be able to guess that he would hate Eminem and indie rock and pretty much all music I like (other than Lady Gaga). Also, I really can't expect my theater geek brother to like indie music. Theater and indie rock music in pretty much all situations just dont go together.

American Idiot the Musical

Many of you probably saw Green Day perform with the cast of the American Idiot Musical at the most recent Grammy's where 21st Century Breakdown took the grammy for best rock album. And I am also sure that all of you thought it was clearly the best performance of the night by a long shot. Yes, I can and always will be able to read your mind. Muahahahaha. Anyways, if you have not seen their performance from the grammy's, or their performance from the Tony's this week then you must watch them now.

The amazing grammy performance:

And the Tony's performance (skip to 1:25):

Now that you have watched that you are probably like, "oh my gosh! I need to see that!" And I couldn't agree more. If you are in New York you must see the American Idiot Musical. I first saw this show when it was debuting at Berkeley Rep. in well, Berkeley and it was great. It was that album, American Idiot, which I knew oh, too well with a new Broadway (well, not Broadway yet) touch. Therefore, there was still the rockin' Green Day, punk rock feel to it, but you also got the musical-esque stuff like intense harmonies and Tom Kitt's amazing orchestrations, which at some points made me like some my favorite songs even more.

For example, in this musical 'Give Me Novocaine' one of my favorite Green Day songs prior to this musical was transformed into a more Broadway like song with the harmonies and whatnot, and in some respects became an even better song. In my opinion (and my older brothers), this is clearly the best song in the show. Of course, there are so many great songs it's almost impossible to decide. But I did. 'Give Me Novocaine,' hands down. 

Another great song in this show is a mash up of 21st Century Breakdown's, 'Last of the American Girls' and American Idiot's 'She's a Rebel.' Two great songs, combined into one great mashup equals happy me. The way they put the two songs together is very interesting, and believe it or not (yes Ripley's, you better be listening up) the lyrics still to a certain extent make sense! And thats just special. 

I could go on and on all day about each and every song and aspect of the show, but I just want this post to give you a little taste of the musical. You really need to experience it yourself. I mean, you cant experience the strobe lights unless first hand, same with the extreme volume. Its really like a rock concert, but with a plot, orchestrations, control, and even some old people there (not a lot, but more than a rock concert for sure). So if you're in New York, go see American Idiot. Its way better than like any other musical on Broadway right now (I mean, come on, Fela?).

Apples and Music

Apples and music relate in so many ways. But the most important way that apples relate to music is through the style of music called beaple. Beat + apple = Beaple. this style of music is where various musicians take different sized apples (therefore making different tones) and hit them together therefore creating intense rhythms and such. The only issue with this is that it is extremely expensive for the "bassist" in the group who plays the largest apple, because their screens tend to break very easily and are quite pricey to replace. On the other hand, the soprano apple player rarely needs a new apple because his has no screen and is very durable. 

But seriously, apples really do seem to come up in music a lot. From Apples in Stereo to Apple Records to apl. de.ap, to Apple's iPod, I feel like this fruit appears too much in music. I mean, come on, the fruit wasn't happy enough with being one of the best tasting fruits, so it had to become a member of the biggest hip hop group today, one of my favorite indie bands, the best mp3 player around and The Beatles recording company. Im sorry my friend the apple, but I think you are a spoiled little brat. Okay, I've already told way too many terrible jokes, so moving on to the serious stuff, I really think it is odd that the word "apple" comes up so often in music. And although this was originally just supposed to be a post about Apples in Stereo, I thought it would be a little more interesting to write about all four of these things. And with that note the two paragraph long really stupid introduction is over. * insert smiley face here *

Recently I discovered the band Apples in Stereo. They were featured on amiestreet.com one week when they released their newest album 'Travelers in Space and Time,' which is a great album. They have an upbeat electronic rock feel to them at some points very similar to Of Montreal and bands of that sort. One specific similarity, is like in the song "Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse" by Of Montreal, Apples in Stereo tends to use very major, joyful synthesizer riffs very much like the one in this song. So this is a really great album and you should go check it out. I really recommend the songs "Energy" from their first album and "Dance Floor" from their new one if you are just going to check out a few songs. Now to continue with the Apple fest we will go on to company apple which is releasing their new iPhone the 24th of this month.

As I literally just mentioned, Apple is releasing their new iPhone super soon, as in like exactly a week soon, which is exciting. Whats not exciting is that I am not getting one. おとうさん! But anyways, this iPhone really does not have much that the current iPhone's dont other than video conferencing and a super sexy look (the others were just sexy, not super sexy). Of course, the camera is also very improved and can film Hd video in 720p. I also heard that this phone gives off a lot more radiation than the past iPhones. Thats always a plus! Yay for getting cancer from cell-phone radiation! But the reason this Apple belongs in the 4 1/2 A's (aka 41/2 Apples) of music, is truly because of iTunes and how it has changed the music industry so much. Before iTunes, downloading music off the internet was practically unheard of, and these days everyones doing it. And if everyones doing, then why not try? Thats my motto! Haha, just kidding, stay away from drugs kids. Speaking of drugs, The Beatles used a lot of drugs, and they were on Apple Records. Oh, what a great transition sentence.

Apples records is the 3rd of the 41/2 A's of music, and possibly the second most important only behind the 1/2 which you will find out about later on in the show, so stay tuned (ooh, whatcha going to do? I have left you at a cliff hanger). the reason why they are so important can be described by 2 simples words, The Beatles. The Beatles are special. They for one are named after an awesome bug, and two had a drummer who's name is Ringo. And OH MY GOODNESS, I didn't realize this, but Ringo means apple in Japanese. Oh schnap. Now there are 5 A's of music, because this one only counts as a 1/2. But this is just amazing, god, apple is just a great word. Also, incase y'all were not aware, recently Paul McCartney was awarded this years Library of Congress Gershwin Prize at the white by Barack Obama at the White House concert. And I am pretty sure that was a run on sentence. Only three people have been awarded this prize (thats because it was created in 2007, but still...) ever, and those three people were Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon and Paul McCartney, a pretty great group of musicians. Sadly, none of their names mean or are apple. But a musician, who's name really does have apple in it is apl. de.ap, of the Black Eyed Peas.

What I find really amusing is that a band named after a vegetable has a fruit in it. Its like an oxymoron, sort of. And after the past three, you are probably wondering why apl. de.ap, deserves a spot in the 5 A's, and honestly, it is because of his name and no other reason. The only two in  the Black Eyed Peas that anyone has heard of are Fergie and Will.i.am. And I cant imagine why. I mean, apl. de.ap, has so many solo parts in those Black Eyed Peas songs, I almost feel like he's the "ball hog" of the Black Eyed Peas. But seriously, who the hell is he? Can someone please tell me who he is in any of the songs. Is he the guy with the super low voice thats says "Let the beat rock" in Boom Boom Pow? I dont know! All I know, is that his name sort of has apple in it. apl. Thats just dumb. Know what else is dumb? Literally naming your kid Apple.

No surprise its the lead singer of Coldplay's daughter and Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter who's name is Apple. I mean, I already hate the singer, so why not make me immediately love (only because apple's a cool word, not a cool name) and hate your daughter by naming her Apple? And yes, this is the final half. But that is just a dumb name. I think when I am older I am going to name my son Pomegranate and my daughter Kiwi because I think they will do well in life with those names. And if I have a dog Ill name him pear. But back to Apple, who in their right mind would name their kid Apple. Stupid parents. Stupid stupid Chris Martin. Ps, I know you never will read this, but if you do, I am sorry for offending you and your daughter, it was for entertainment purposes only. You cant be funny without offending someone? But quite frankly, I do not know if that was funny at all. 

So thanks for reading, I hope this was a good entry back into the blogosphere. And remember the 5 A's. They're much more important than the 3 R's. And all I have to say to finish off is... apple!

I'm Back.

If any of you were wondering why I haven't written in a while (because I know I have so many readers that constantly are checking back for new posts), it is because I was not able to find any new music. But now I have tons of new music that I have found and will write posts about. Twill be exciting. In the following... well, I dont like to give myself time limits because then the posts are rushed, so lets say in the following decade I will most likely write posts about artists such as Apples in Stereo, MGMT, Eminem (yeah, Im serious), Broken Bells, Cast of the American Idiot Musical and many (or just a few) more. So keep checking back for posts about those bands, and who knows, maybe Ill even find someone new and amazing to write about and then you will be happy because I found you a new band. So again, keep checking back, and I am glad to be back from my very long IndieRockKid vacation in Wonderland.

Billionaire - Travie McCoy

I first heard the song 'Billionaire' by Travie McCoy on the radio (Wild 94.9) about a week ago and found it completely catchy, although I was afraid that it was going to become overplayed and popular, which to me, makes it icky. Luckily I realized that the song was actually not that popular (sorry Travie, but lets keep it that way) so I decided that I would like the song, and soon became musically addicted to the song 'Billionaire.' Now you are probably wondering "what makes this song so great?" And you are about to find out.

The song begins with a nice little ukulele (or high pitched guitar ((more likely ukulele)) riff and then Bruno Mars begins singing his silly little words "I wanna be a billionaire, so frickin bad, buy all of the things I never had." And for some reason this is extremely catchy, actually I have an idea on why it is so catchy, but you have to wait until a little later in the post to find out why. But anyways, after a short bit of ukulele and Bruno there is a funky little drum fill leading into a cool rap part while I believe is done by Travie McCoy. Travie McCoy is releasing an album at the beginning of April, and Im hoping that the rest of the songs are just as catchy, although I am hoping that the other songs are a little more original. 

At first I thought it was just another one of those rock/reggae/rap songs that there are so many of out there (Sublime, 311, etc.), then I showed the song to my uncle, and being the person he is, he noticed that the song sounded VERY similar to the song 'Santeria' by Sublime. It turns out that they have the exact same chord progression played in pretty much the exact same rhythm, which sort of made me like the song less, just because it made it a completely copy of another song, but the thing is, I love the song 'Santeria' so it wasnt that big of a deal. Now I am going to post the video to both songs, just so you can compare them and listen to the similarities. 

S

So those are the two songs, I hope you listened to them carefully because I am going to quiz you later. Just kidding, but still listen carefully so that you can notice the similarities (and by similarities i mean exact-same-ness, and yes, it is a word). Although I am also pretty sure that the "similarities" are extremely easy to notice. Luckily Travie McCoy at least came up with his own lyrics, none of this Flo-Rida crap. But if he comes out with his next song and it sounds exactly the same as 'Beautiful Disaster' by 311, then I will be frustrated. Actually, no I wont, I will just lose ALL respect I have for the lead singer of the Gym Class Heroes (surprised I haven't mentioned that yet :O), Travie McCoy. Thanks for reading and keep checking back for more articles on random awesomeness (and by that I mean music that I find good, awful, interesting or just plain stupid)!

The Seedy Seeds and Upcoming Releases

I havent written a post for a while because I had pneumonia, but now I am back... and thank god that pneumonia is gone. It was just awful. But anyways, now to the music.

Recently I have become obsessed with another song that I got for free off of Amie St. This song is called 'Drive Me to the Center' by The Seedy Seeds. This song, just like many others I have written about is very poppy (or pop like? National Grammar Day has passed, so you know what, who cares?), but still indie rock. Its not like any of that Ke$ha (yes, thats a dollar sign) or Justin Bieber crap. God no. So basically, its just an indie rock song thats faster paced and filled with synth and pop-like (or poppy...) goodness, not a piece of crap pop song. I also noticed that this song includes banjo... I think. No. I know... I think. This song also really reminds me of Rabbit!. It has similar sounding chord progressions, both a male and female singer and they use similar instruments... and I love Rabbit!, so this is a good thing. And honestly, I cannot stop listening to this song... except Im sure that in a week I will never want to hear it again and then in two months Ill come back and like the song again. Yes, that is how my relationship with music always is. Its like an awful love story... except better because its quick and to the point rather than a two hour long movie... but anyways, moving on to some amazing news which all of you probably already know about...

The amazing news is that two new albums are coming out tomorrow, March 9. Those two albums are 'Plastic Beach' by the Gorillaz and 'Stuck on Nothing' by Free Energy which I will actually be reviewing for Indie Rock Cafe as a guest writer soon. And surprisingly, I am actually really excited for the new Gorillaz album. I cant stop listening to the one song they have released and cant wait to hear the rest. And Free Energy, well if you have read my blog before you probably know already that I am a HUGE fan. And based off of that you can make the assumption that I am excited for their debut album. And if you could not, well then you are a complete and utter idiot. Just kidding, your just kinda stupid. So, here are just a couple videos to give you a little taste of each of those two albums.

This is the video for the song 'Stylo' from the Gorillaz new album. If you didnt take the time to listen, the song is sort of a mix between disco, rock and rap. Its a really cool song. Also, the video is pretty cool because it includes the Gorillaz animations/characters which they are known for.

I tried to find another song to post, but this is the only one with a video that I could find, so ya. I mean, I love this song, but if I am correct, I have already posted this song somewhere else... but anyways, this song really gives you a taste of who Free Energy is and what there sound is. So once again, enjoy.

Hope you enjoyed that post, and check back for something about the Gorillaz album (dont expect a review), and a link to my post on Indie Rock Cafe!

Lust for Life Cover

Today I had school off and I was extremely bored... so what did I do? Learn "Lust for Life" and record myself singing/playing it on guitar for the world to hear. Its decent, I think... :O. So at first it was going to be only for me to hear, for my personal pleasure, happiness, whatever word from the thesaurus you would like to use, but I decided, hey, why not put it up for the world to hear, comment on, and of course, make fun of. But who knows, maybe somebody will enjoy it, and listen to it over and over again. So here it is, enjoy, and if you want it just leave a comment and I will post it on myspace or something for you people to download. So.. enjoy my 30 minutes work!

Lust for Life

Oh, and by the way, I forgot to mention this, but i LOVE this song.

The Left Lingo

Recently the band, 'The Left Lingo' added me on Myspace and then son after I messaged them wondering where I could buy some of their music. Turns out that they dont have any album out yet, luckily, The Left Ling responded with a link to where I could download their demo album, so I did. And yes, it sounded like a demo album, but I actually really liked it. The sound quality wasn't amazing, but again, it was a demo album. I mean, have you ever listened to some of those Nirvana demos, they sound like crap. This one was much better.  

When first listening to The Left Lingo, I wasn't sure I was going to like them because the first song by them was just a little too fast for me, or something of that sort. And overtime even that song grew on me. But the other three songs on that demo album, I really like. Oh, and did I mention that The Left Lingo is just 2 guys from Philadelphia. And what they pull off for just two guys is pretty great. 

Another thing that I noticed with The Left Lingo is that a couple of their songs sound like they should be played at like a wine bar or something. I dont know what it is about them, but it might be the way the singer sings or the laid-back guitar, but either way, it definitely sounds like it should be played at a wine bar or restaurant or something. It hard to explain, but Im sure if you listened to the songs you would understand.

Lastly, there is one song that is filled with heavily distorted staccato power chords, and somehow, I like it. Its weird, because if you were just to flash it by me real quick I would definitely say, too heavy for me, or too fast for me, something like that, but no. I really like this song. Its called, "Recovery."

So yes, go check out this band The Left Lingo. They have a lot of potential here in the music world. You can go to their MySpace to listen to their music streaming. Thanks for reading.

Spoon - Transference

I would have been more prompted to write a review of Spoon''s new album Transference sooner was it not for the disappointment in which I experienced after listening to it for the first time, and every time for a matter of fact. I really just did not feel this album. I mean, yes, it sounds like Spoon, with its simplistic drum lines and so forth. But the problem is, when I found something on the album that I thought was decent, it sounded exactly like some of their older stuff. And the new sounding was too dark for me. Dark, or just like slow, or something of that sort. I mean, I could have guessed based off of the album cover that it was going to be dark or at least dark-ish. But I was utterly disappointed in this album. And dont get me wrong, Spoon is one of my favorite bands. But seriously, Im hoping "Transference" isn't their Transfer-ence into a bad band or something. Because why would you tell the world that through an album title? Bad marketing. Or maybe the album was just dark because Spoon was jealous of fork because fork was used more often. But nonetheless, I was not impressed by this album. That is, except for one song, "Written in Reverse," which also happened to be the first song I heard from the album, which got my hopes up, only to be dropped deep down into the depths of darkness. Alliteration at its best. Hell yes. 

So what I liked about Written in Reverse was how it still had the Spoon sounds, but was something a little different. I mean, I dont think I have heard that banging, almost sloppy piano sound before in a Spoon song, that there is in that song, and I really love it. So thats just a little thought on Written in Reverse.

That is all I have to say about this album. Im sorry for such a short post, but I was just disappointed. Nuf sed. Peace out.