Are You Rockin'

Howler: America Give Up/ CD Release Show Review

2012-01-14T18:54:00.006-06:00

So like many people have said, if you have not heard of Howler yet and you live in Minneapolis...have you been in a cave? These break-out Indie stars are making it big but not exactly as big here as in England. Being signed to the famous Rough Trade Records this summer made them bigger than life there. They were given the title of 3rd best new band of 2011 in the British newspaper NME. Their album comes out on January 17th and every one's hoping that it'll be huge. Last Saturday I attended their CD Release Show at the Triple Rock Social Club. I knew that I would be experiencing history at this show and I believe I did. But first let me talk about the album. The songs on the record are all very similar to each other but have a fresh sound on each one. They have been compared to the Strokes and I would definitely say to the least that I agree with this. Their sound is very un-produced at times and reminds of the older Strokes albums. I love the fact that they all went to High Schools that I can relate to now since I am officially in High School myself. Singer, Jordan Gatesmith attended De La Salle High School where he graduated from last year and the rest of his band went to Southwest High School (my school) or South High School. It is fun to watch a band blow up, especially when they're so close to home. The CD is filled with catchy riffs and fun lyrics to go along with it.

Here's my review on the show,

Prissy Clerks

B+

The brand new project of Clara Salyer (Total Babe) is amazing and better than her first successful band. With only 4 gigs in the bag, they rocked the sold out crowd at the Triple Rock Social Club! The band, featuring members of Red Pens and Total Babe, you can almost look at them as a little local super group. They put on a great show for the brand new band.

Radiator Girls

D+

The band had very good and fun surf styled guitar parts but the singers voice was just a little too whiny for me. I can't someone that whines when they sing so it just bothered me the whole time. Not on the bands behalf but there were also dancers on the side stage and kept getting on stage and dancing. The whole time I was afraid of being kicked. Maybe I'll see them again sometime and have a different impersonation?

Howler

A-

The band I was most excited for was Howler and for the right reasons. I had seen Jordan Gatesmith preform once before on a small stage at the King's Bar Block Party. He put on a little preview of the great album that just came out. This time seeing the band though was much more fun. We were up close and person with them which was nice to think about when Thousands of Brit's are trying to see them in concert at the moment. The show was energetic, intense and exactly what I'd hoped for. The only problem was that they only played 11 songs that lasted for 30 minutes... He offered to play a cover which would've been nice but it was ok in the end. "Free Drunk", the one song on the album not played was not missed either. I had a great time and I am for sure going to see them again. Maybe at the Varsity Theatre in April? Who knows because I am flat broke after buying...

BLACK KEYS TICKETS! Yay! It is at the Target Center on May 15th. The tickets were way overpriced and the venue sucks for this kind of show but at least I got General Admission spots and avoided Ticketmaster fees by going to the Box Office right when they sold out. I will be very much excited for the show though because the Arctic Monkeys are warming up for them.

Howler America Give Up

Best Tracks: "Beach Sluts" and "Wailing (Making Out)"
Rating: A+

Setlist:
America
For All Concern
Beach Sluts
Too Much Blood
Wailing(Making Out)
This One's Different
Back To The Grave
Told You Once
Pythagorean Fearom
Back Of Your Neck

Encore:
Black Lagoon

Hope Your're Rockin!
-Mx2007

10 Records, 12 Months

2011-12-31T00:00:00.010-06:00

This year was amazing in music. Everyone can agree in whatever genre you listen to. Something for everyone came out this year that blew us all away. Here is my list of the 10 best albums of 2011.

1. Foster the People Torches
This album wowed me beyond my liking. I first heard this record in June this summer (The song obviously being "Pumped Up Kicks") while in a car ride and immediately took liking. Quickly listening to the rest of the album, I fell in love. They truly put out an amazing record that fascinates me throughout. I bought the LP Version today to show my love for it. I also believe they were the best show I saw this year. First Avenue was a great venue for them. Sadly they'll never play a venue like that again. It's too bad that they're loved in so many places because I think that the Target Center does not fit them or their personalities on stage. The whole albums great, I cannot pick the best song!

2. Two Door Cinema Club Tourist History
So I cheated a little bit. TDCC's album came out in April of 2010 but never really got serious airplay until the new year came around. This album was my obsession in January and February because of the fast paced songs on the record. I just loved lead vocalist Sam Halliday's voice when I first heard it. The fact that they're an Irish band makes it all the better because the last band I can remember to come out of Ireland that was actually good was the Dropkick Murphys. Exciting to listen to, I would recommend everyone buys this album. "Undercover Martyn" and "I Can Talk" are by far the best songs on the record.

3. Doomtree No Kings
Look below article this for my review of this AMAZING record that came out in November. Otherwise I must say that they put out a great record for everyone. It showcased the talent of the group and all the solo artists in it. The best songs by far were "Bangarang" and "Bolt Cutter" and they sure put on a good show.

4. Iron & Wine Kiss Each Other Clean
This album was such a change up for Indie darlings, Iron & Wine. I've known them since their Sea & the Rhythm EP and that was a quiet beautiful coupe of songs. This CD is filled with weird sounds and vocal affects but it still doesn't effect the beautiful voice of Sam Beam and the harmonies surrounding. I know most people would not agree with me when I say this but I believe this has been their best album yet, maybe not considering their first EP I told you about. The best tracks on this album are "Rabbit Will Run" and "Monkeys Uptown" which is surprising an Explicit song for these guys who are always so pure.

5. Justice Audio, Video, Disco
Now I'm a huge Justice fan, maybe even to say they are one of my 5 favorite bands of all time. I was looking forward to this album since April and was not disappointed. They switched it up completely and changed the feel but I still felt like they created a great album. I would never say this is like the masterpiece they sculpted on Cross, their last album, but it definitely highlighted their individuality. There is more of a 80's Goth sound to the record which surprised me at first but got me hooked eventually. The french duo know what their doing even if they don't schedule any shows in the Minnesota area...(Disappointed). The best songs on this album are "On 'n On", "Audio, Video, Disco" and "Ohio".

6. Atmosphere The Family Sign
Atmosphere is where hip-hop gets interesting. Anyone signed to Rhymesayers has to be great right? Well not exactly but mostly everyone is. Slug, Ant and the band definitely showcased their talent this year on the album, The Family Sign. To All My Friends was a good CD but it just did not compare to their art from 2008, When Life Gives You Lemons. Even if they are not considered as classic hip-hop, their history as a group has gone all the way back to 1989 in 2Pac times. Of course they have much more talent than the self centered west coast rapper who was shot to death. The best songs on this record are "She's Enough" and "Your Name Here".

7. Mason Jennings Minnesota
Mason came at us again with yet another CD to add to his life collection. His last CD, The Flood did not impress me but this one sure did. The album came from the heart as you can hear on the album. His emotional songs that he wrote in his cabin up north really come out and express his memories. I think the experience of writing this album would've been huge just because of how hard he worked on it. Jennings switch to keyboard really changes it up too because it adds more melody than his classic one man on a guitar act. This short CD is filled with all amazing songs from start to finish. The best tracks on the record are "Rudy" and "Raindrops On The Kitchen Floor".

8. The Vaccines What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?
The Brit rockers totally took America by surprise when they played their first show at the Bowery Ballroom. They were some of the big hype this year with their big song, "Post Break-Up Sex" taking the media by surprise. I wouldn't say they are amazing, as there are other bands sounding similar, but I would say that they definitely have talent and write great songs. is a spot on poet in the way that he writes. The best songs are "Post Break-Up Sex" and "If Ya Wanna".

9. Howler This One's Different EP
Jordan Gatesmith is an amazing singer in my opinion. He is a huge inspiration to me these days because of how his career started. Jordan used to be the guitarist for the local band, Total Babe. He attended De La Salle High School in Minneapolis, MN and literally the summer he graduated, got signed to Rough Trade Records, all the way in England. I found out the other day that Howler warmed up for my friend Tony Williams at a venue called the Depot last year and I was invited but didn't go! Think of how fun of a show that would've been to see! Howler warming up for a rap artist in a small venue when they were still writing the songs to be on this EP. Now that brings me to the fact that this is only an EP and I'm still waiting to hear their new record which is coming out in January. Be on the lookout for a review of that new album because it will be coming your way! The best songs on the EP are "This One's Different" and "You Like White Women, I Like Cigarettes".

10. Poliça Give You The Ghost
Channy Leaneagh (Formally Casselle) and Ryan Olson created this band in 2011 and quickly shot to stardom. These guys will make it big if they play their cards right. They've only played around 10 shows and have already sold out some of them with bands like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! and Foster the People. There is a huge amount of talent in this band even if Channy is using auto tune, which is my least favorite vocal effect. I do believe she could have made the album without it but, it's always up to the artist and she seems to be getting praise for it. I just hope that she doesn't start a trend of this though. Bon Iver's use was bad enough, now she needs to use it. This album really is amazing though because of her beautiful voice. The two drummers in the back of the stage really add to the show. I saw them warm up for Foster the People this year and I definitely plan to see them again. The best songs on the album are "Amongster", "Lay Your Cards Out" and "Form".

Doomtree: No Kings

2011-12-19T20:34:00.005-06:00

So what's going on in Minnesota Hip-Hop currently? Doomtree is the answer! With their first release in 3 years, their new CD No Kings successfully follows up it's predecessor, conveniently self titled Doomtree. The crew features some of the Twin Cities greatest Emcee's P.O.S., Dessa, Mike Mictlan, SIMS, and Cecil Otter. Most people when generalizing rap believe that the music is just crap about money, hoes and cars. These guys actually put thought and inspiration into their music. Their influences take place anywhere from political matters to stuff happening in their homes. I personally went to one of the 7 Doomtree Blowout nights this year and experienced the emotion that they put into their music (If you are unfamiliar with the Blowout, every year the group puts together an event where they play multiple shows at First Avenue Night Club back to back). They all have a good vibe whether they are together on stage or preforming their solo music which in some cases is beautiful. For example, Dessa's solo album Badly Broken Code was considered by many as one the most elegant albums to come out of Minneapolis in 2010. The fact that they mix their punk rock roots (P.O.S. being in many punk bands including currently, Marijuana Deathsquads) and conjoin in with the rap that they so sublimely make. If I happened to be a rapper, these guys would for sure be my inspiration.
Best Tracks: "Bangarang", "Fresh New Trash" and "Little Mercy"
Rating: A+
Hope You're Rockin!
~Mx2007

The Smashing Pumpkins: Gish and Siamese Dream Deluxe Editions

2011-12-19T20:10:00.005-06:00

So you might ask, what's the perfect Christmas present? Well I have the answer! For your average Smashing Pumpkins fan, these are the CD's to have and not only did Capitol Records release one album in Deluxe, they released two! Gish and Siamese Dream are now out in box set display and being sold for mainly around $25 each. These albums are classics from the band that saw it all in the 80's/90's Grunge Rock scene. Siamese Dream is probably one of the biggest Smashing Pumpkins albums considering that some of their most popular songs like "Today" and "Cherub Rock" are on the album. This album in itself has inspired hundreds maybe thousands of musicians around the world. Billy Corgan's writing style is unique as his voice but you can never get tired of this classic!
Best Tracks: "Today" and "Cherub Rock"
Rating: B
Hope You're Rockin!
~Mx2007

Best and Worst of 2010!

2010-12-31T09:06:00.007-06:00

A return is what I've been getting ready for and here it is! But that won't happen until 2011. For today I will give you my annual Best and Worst of 2010! Now in the past I've down 25 albums or had everyone vote. Last I did those and Top 15 of my life but this year it's different. It started when I made a list of my Top 100 songs for this year... I know it seems long but it was fun and exciting to choose out the winners! I will make a page on the website exclusively for the past years! Also I am going to start making a page for reviews and short reviews from the book I'm going to be following for the next year. So for the 100 songs, I will include them on the new page and just show the top 10. Here ya go!

Album of the Year

Gorillaz: Plastic Beach

Top 10 Songs of the Year!

1. Tell 'Em by Sleigh Bells
The amazingly powerful gunshot/ drum roll sound
is amazing and fantastic! Great to listen LOUD!
Plays this Year: 32 Listens

2. Glass by Julian Casablancas
The mysterious sound of the intro and the empathetic
verse are amazing together! I think this guy has more hits than
the Strokes even on his first CD which only has 8 songs.
Plays this Year: 22 Listens

3. Good Morning (The Future) by Rogue Wave
The happy sound of this song is really great especially the lyrics because
their very joyful.The beat and the track is flamboyant and gives you hope.
Plays this Year: 23 Listens

4. Superfast Jellyfish (Feat. Gruff Rhys & De La Soul) by Gorillaz
The cartoon part of this band is what really makes some people love them.
I love them for songs like this though where they are a brand. It's like a cereal add
the whole song! It's amazing!
Plays this Year: 48 Listens

5. the High Road by Broken Bells
The song is engrossing because it has many different instruments
playing all around that the song. It's a mixture of the Shins and Danger Mouse!
Who couldn't love it? But my favorite part is the end when it gets all quiet and nice.
Plays this Year: 1o Listens

6. Stylo (Feat. Bobby Womack & Mos Def) by Gorillaz
Stylo is one of those very weird songs where you have no clue what their
saying or talking about. I like the fact that Damon Albarn takes a current hip-hop star
and an old Blues singer and combines them into such a new style.
Plays this Year: 18 Listens

7. We Used to Wait by Arcade Fire
Now Arcade Fire is a band I never shared a love for until I saw them in concert
this fall. They always seemed boring on their album Neon Bible and to tell you the
truth, that album mainly is. But there new one... Must be my second favorite album
of the year! The voice on this record is crazy and amazing, the song is more rock anyways.
Plays this Year: 1o Listens

8. Congratulations by MGMT
The slow-moving melancholy part of this song is stunning but at the same time it's supposed
to be a happy song about winning... How does this work? I'll tell you how, because it's MGMT! It's great and can get you to sleep or quiet down.
Plays this Year:11 Listens

9. The Suburbs by Arcade Fire
Chorus's are always cool and interesting, that's why their in songs. But this chorus
is very cool on the fact that it's got good lyrics and he sings really cool! It's just funny
to say that. The suburbs is basically about, Suburbs.
Plays this Year: 6 Listens

10. O.N.E. by Yeasayer
Gosh this song must have been my favorite song at the very beginning
of the year! I was waiting for this album ever since I saw them at Rock the Garden
and then again that July, but when Ambling Alps the single came out I got excited.
This song is cool because of its weirdness and that's all I can say about it.
Plays this Year: 8 Listens

This year was really just horrible for local music, which is why there's none on my Top 10... The actually good albums were Jeremy Messersmith's, the Reluctant Graveyard and Communist Daughter with their debut, Soundtrack to the End. Now I'm not usually a downer but this year I just had to do the Worst and most annoying songs of 2010. Just because our music era is failing and sucking. All pop stars that call themselves rap is just annoying and disturbing. So give it up for your Worst songs of 2010!
(In no particular order)

We Are the World for Haiti by Various Artists
How crappier can people remake a song? Seriously... Justin Bieber sings the first line? What ever happened to the dead guy Michael Jackson or Steve Perry? Or how about Bruce Springsteen? Common! Is this how senseless these people are? You totally ruined a perfectly good song from the 80's!

Airplanes (Feat. Haley Williams) by B.o.B.
I don't know if it's a joke or something? This song is too dramatic and WAY over liked... Not much else I can say about it other than how boring it is.

Sweepstakes (Feat. Mos Def) by Gorillaz
There's no point to this song and the fact that it's sound is stupid and annoying. Unless you really want to get annoyed right now, don't listen to this crap.

Lost in the World (Feat. Bon Iver) by Kanye West
Kanye what have you done. Your ruining peoples careers.... First Taylor Swift & Beyonce, now the amazing Bon Iver. Oh and why auto-tune! Ever since Gayngs Bon Iver has been overusing auto-tune.

Your Love Is My Drug by Ke$ha
First off, Love is not the only drug your on... Why do you just write about party's? No one wants to hear about your parties and how drunk or high you get. Please don't write anymore!

Drunk Girls by LCD Soundsystem
I think these kinda lost it with this new CD of theirs. I mean, this song was decent for a little bit but got annoying fast. Overplay on the radio and other stuff also kinda help it. Critics like praised this song as if it we're amazing! News flash, it's not.

Can't be Tamed by Miley Cyrus
WTF (What the Frack?)

Holiday by Vampire Weekend
I seriously love Vampire Weekend, I started listening to them when I entered Middle school but this song could not be played more than it is. The new Honda commercial plays it too much. I'm sure it gets them a lot of money but for the rest of us...

Crystalised by the XX
Again it's the same situation as Holiday, the song was overplayed on the Current. To tell you the truth, what's so great about this song? It's slow paced and not fun.

Whip My Hair by Willow Smith
I understand that you guys are like a super-family with your dad being Will Smith, Mom being Jada Smith and your brother being Jaden Smith but the one Smith that doesn't have talent is the youngest in the family. Willow who repeats the lyrics "I Whip my hair back and forth" at least 10 times every chorus.

Well its Christmas!

2010-12-19T09:01:00.003-06:00

Well it's Christmas and me and my dad got the book 1,000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die, by Tom Moon. It's one of those things where it told me, you should start writing! So It's a HUGE idea to do so but once a day me and my dad will listen to one recording and I will write a short paragraph about if it's memorable or not and why...

Hope You're Rockin!
~Mx2007

Notorized: Lottery Pick

2010-09-05T20:46:00.014-05:00

Hey all you fans out there that have been disappointed about my lack of reviewing this Summer. I was happy to just kind of take a break after reviewing my friend Jeremy Messersmith's CD "The Reluctant Graveyard". But now one of my close friends from school has inspired me to get back writing with his hip hop/rap bands, Notorized new CD "Lottery Pick". Adrian Williams who I work close with and his friend Reid Travis have been behind this project for two years at the most, creating songs to perfect this new CD. I was told it was gonna be the best CD that ever comes out of our school and I must say in our 8th grade year, this could be it! With a chance of a lifetime ahead of them, I talked to my friend Adrian AKA Dre Will in an exclusive interview right here for all you readers out there at AreYouRockin'

Mx2007: Hi Dre how are you?

Dre Will: I'm good! Do you like the CD?

M: Yeah! I'm loving it... OK so what gave you the idea of the name Lottery Pick for the album?

D: Lottery Picks are elite players in NBA or NFL drafts, so we felt like we were elite, combined with our interest in Basketball, the name suited our ego/feeling about the album

M: So your all big basketball players?

D: Yeah, we all play on traveling teams... but Reid is the best out of us.

M: So how did Israel fit into the group and what is his input on your debut album?

D: When we started the group it was just me and Reid. Then we added guys like Israel and some behind the scenes guys like Skull Face or Phancy Khid

M: Uhuh and the new single with Phancy Khid, can we expect that on his new album entitled "Modern Love"?

D: Yeah we are considering it, but he has some really new stuff that is even better than that one. So expect big things!

M: I'm definitely looking forward to it! Now on the song, "The Best" what got you too use a sample of Michael Jackson and what inspired you too write such an outgoing song?

D: We wanted to make some sort of tribute to the king of pop on the album and the sample fit nicely into the song. We wanted to have another up-tempo song to go along with the song "Takin' Ya Girl".

M: Ya I would have to say those are the best songs on the album so you should definitely keep it up. Do you plan on writing a few more for your next album?

D: That was more of Reid's style though...

M: What would you have done differently?

D: I think we should of put a couple more songs on there, but it turned out pretty good for a debut release.

M: Yes which brings us to your second single called Takin' Ya Girl, who inspired that?

D: A lot of the guys that thought they got a lot of girls at our old school

M: So your old school wasn't the best?

D: Nah, It sucked. Just not a very good environment for learning and stuff. you know what I'm saying?

M: Ya so are you happy to write songs about your school or are you just ready to grow up and start writing about the world?

D: Well at our age, school is a major part of our life.

M: Ya that's true but are you excited about any aspects of adult life and do you plan on doing music forever?

D: Me personally, I plan on making music for as long as I want to. Which will be a long time, but the other guys (besides Skull Face) have bigger interests in other things. So only time will tell.

M: Me and you both being huge young entrepreneurs do you think we could sometime collaborate?

D: I am basically almost always looking for new people to collaborate with. I do Hip hop, RNB, Funk, and Jazz.

M: I know many people think your a great DJ, Now whats the update on the upcoming show with Notorized, the Paradox and Phancy Khid?

D: Yeah I'm a DJ first, Producer 2nd and MC 3rd and there is no new update on that concert in particular.

M: Well I know from Dreams you can MC and do it occasionally well, do you plan on making a song just for you to sing or rap on?

D: All I can say right now is be on the look out for a solo album!

M: Great! Another thing to look forward to! Well I'm afraid were all out of time!

D: Ya, Anytime Mx2007

AreYouRockin' and Blue Wolf Entertainment

So that should explain most about their CD but when it really just comes down to it, It's so easy to show every bit of enthusiasm on this debut album. Here's a recap of some of their best songs... Dreams, one of their first singles is very inspiring and more slower and captivating than other songs while Takin' Ya Girl is all out and exciting. Some of the instrumentals also just overpower the slower more hip hop songs with a more classy flamboyant beat, like on the track Hero. Throughout this CD, Dee-Jay Dre Will, and MC's Reid and Israel really bring out the trendiness of this new decades underground hip-hop scene. This is Mx2007, glad he's not retiring off this website for now... be expecting a new review very soon!

Are You Rockin?
~Mx2007

Jeremy Messersmith: The Reluctant Graveyard

2010-04-27T19:29:00.017-05:00

Hello everyone reading this! I just received my digital copy of Jeremy Messersmith's new CD, The Reluctant Graveyard. Probably his best yet, this album offers a glimpse into the life of a graveyard. You may have heard his new album streaming on the Current.com along with the new Gayngs (supergroup) album titled, Relayted. According to Jeremy Messersmith his inspiration on this album is The Kinks, The Beatles, The Zombies, The Beach Boys and The Band. The CD begins with the track "Lazy Bones" which has that beginning Electric Light Orchestra beat that is so easy to recognize. It's an amazing song to start out the CD. Now the second song I think (I'm like 99.99% sure) is inspired by John Dillinger. I don't know, just a guess is all. It's called "Dillinger's Eyes", and the bass in this song is added perfectly, making me jump throughout this song. It kind of adds an oldies theme to the song. This leads to the next song which is my favorite! It's called "Organ Donor", which make you sway through the song instead of jumping through it. Having that dark theme is only part of this song because it has that drifting off sound in the chorus. Then getting louder it completes the perfect glance at death. To tell you the truth, his quirky invitation to meet the underworld is pretty inviting!

"Toussaint Grey First In Life And Death" is one of those quiet classic Jeremy Messersmith harmonizing songs. Speaking out for itself about being a child, this song just adds on to the greatest hits that will happen someday for Jeremy. It reminds me of one of his songs called "Snow Day" from his first album Alcatraz Kid.

I love the song "Violet!" even the The Current has been overplaying it a bit. It definitely has that happy Beach Boys tune in it. Quite the accomplishment for Jeremy coming up with this song! Towards the end it really sticks out when everything gets louder and all the instruments collide. I asked Jeremy about the song, and this is what he had to say. "I had the initial inspiration for "Violet!" while watching some protests in California last year, but more than that I think it's about the moment where it seems that all hope is gone and you have to make a conscious decision to keep going anyway, despite the odds. I really tried to zoom in on a microsecond of time."

Another one of my favorites on the CD is very gleeful song called "Knots." It's kind of like a reference to a girl making your life all mixed up... like a knot in a string. I could be totally wrong on this but I think he makes a referral to the Uptown Bar which was torn down earlier this year. (The legendary place which is birthplace to bands like the Jayhawks and the Replacements) Just a thought. This next song I first I heard when Jeremy played the State Fair last Summer. "A Girl, A Boy and A Graveyard" is the quietest song on the album. It's not loud enough to stick out in the album, but it's one of those beautiful, quiet additions. Something like the one purple tulip within a stack of roses . With its impressive strings section, it's hard to resist.

I asked Jeremy how he thought of the songs on this album. His response was, "What is death? What happens when you die? What do I think and feel about it? The more I thought about it, the more complex it became." Another question I asked Jeremy was why he switched to playing bass guitar for this CD. He told me he likes to switch things up for each album. He had an old quote he used that went like this, "You can't step twice into the same river".

Anyways next week will be the CD release show at the Cedar Cultural Center and count me in on going because I'm all set to hear these songs live. If you can't attend the CD release show then check out his album when it comes out on May 4th. Thanks!

Hope You're Rockin!
~Max Timander

Record Store Day!

2010-04-17T09:51:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone, today is record store day! Yes and if you get to the Electric Fetus you'll be able to catch an exclusive Dr. Dog show this afternoon. I'm definitely going because also Mason Jennings has a live CD only available in stores today. I hope each one of you goes out and supports your local record store!
Hope You're Rockin!
~Mx2007

New Update, Many reviews!

2010-03-26T19:33:00.016-05:00

Well its been a month since I posted and the reason I haven't posted is because I was just getting caught up on the end of the quarter. In case you want to know I have 4 B's and 3 A's. So while I was away from posting, an amazingly awesome music season started! So here are some short lengthened reviews of these great new albums! Starting here with the Gorillaz.

Gorillaz
Plastic Beach
After 5 years of waiting for the sequel to the album Demon Days. Now with a full new album called Plastic Beach, it takes us on an adventure never dreamed of. So I have read about the "History" of the Gorillaz and how band members 2-D, Noodle, Russel and Murdoc have found their stories. Turns out Noodle was taken to the underworld to be tortured by evil spirits + satan. When he was taken out of the underworld people started to believe he was a cyborg. I really don't know how this all works but they're animated and created of one person so... amazing stuff! My favorite song on the album is "Superfast Jellyfish" because of its amazingly random lyrics. Telling us about how a breakfast company gets jellyfish from the sea, turns it into breakfast. It's basically a commercial in a song with rap verses. Two other great songs on the album are "Stylo" and "Rhinestone Eyes". Both songs don't have the same sound because they're both sad and dramatically down. Definitely check out the album wherever you have your music source.

MGMT
Flash Delirium
Now following up their last release of Oracular Spectacular the band has another happy album title of Congratulations. The band MGMT was, as I believe, voted as the greatest alternative band of last year. With hits such as "Kids", "Time to Pretend" and "Electric Feel", I expect their new album to be almost as good. Something to go along with that thought is that the new song, "Flash Delirium" is spectacular (see first sentence). The track really reminds me of the Shins. Kind of because of its weirdness and I've grown up thinking they're very weird. But as you may have caught on by now, if you read my blog, weird is best. And, about halfway into the song, you can hear some Andrew Bird. Their album comes out April 13th so make sure to buy it.

Future Antiques
Another Twisted Ending
"Relapse" starts this amazing new local record out by Future Antiques. I believe they'll be the next Hopefuls if their lucky. I'm sure they'd actually release a record every other year though, if you know the history of the Hopefuls. The song totally deserves some radio play. But after that I listened to the song "Take Another Look" and I had my guitar in hand so I just started playing it and I learned about every verse of the song. The keyboard/synthesizer really makes the song interesting. When combining these parts together it makes a harmony so great it's hard to resist. The band consists of Jason Herd, Jeremy Robinson, Adam Durand and Joel Herd. I think they get their influence from bands such as Mute Math and Muse, who use electronic and rock together. Without question, go out and buy this record and make sure to see their CD release show with White Light Riot at the Fine Line Cafe on April 23rd.

Broken Bells
Broken Bells
Now this next band is composed of Gnarls Barkley, Danger Mouse and the Shins and they are called Broken Bells. So their first song, which is getting them some rave right now, is called "The High Road". Their instruments include noise makers and acoustic guitars, what could be better? Well maybe the next song could be, titled "The Ghost Inside". Now James Mercer's voice can get high but I've never heard it this high. Also in this song, the tremolo picking with the beat that I can tell is Gnarl Barkley's, blends well together to create happiness in the song. This is why you should buy the album.

So anyways, about 3 weeks ago was my birthday and I asked for money to buy a guitar. When I went out I found what I was looking for, a red hollow body with a tremolo bar. I bought an Ibanez Artcore for a very low price (from Twin Town) and it's the best guitar ever. Also when I bought the guitar I got a strap of my choice free. I chose Woodstock... 3 Days of Peace & Music. Well other than that, nothing else has gone on except my obsession for LOST! Thanks for reading!

Hope You're Rockin! ~Mx2007

Yeasayer: Odd Blood

2010-02-23T10:35:00.006-06:00

One of my number one favorite bands of the year has finally had their newest album come out. Called Odd Blood the band Yeasayer's odd Indian/pop roots are amazing! Now the first time I listened to the album, I have to admit I was kinda disappointed but then I was told to listen again. When I listened a second time I found it out to be a really good record. So I have a new review for you all.

On the first time I listened to the first song, "the Children" I thought it was a really weird song. I mean the whole song is an extremely low voice with screams, loud bass and slow drums all in back. It scared me because I didn't know someone could write such a dramatic song about children. I wonder if the song is talking about a dark point in history. Maybe a last minute Haiti song? Who knows but it's a great song. Another amazing song is "Ambling Alps", a single that came out like 3 months ago. I heard it at the Current's Rock the Garden in June and immediately searched for it. Not finding it anywhere I assumed it was a new song. Then while seeing them again at Pitchfork in July I knew I had to find the song because I was falling in love with it. The many instruments it has mixed all together just compliment it perfectly.

"Madder Red" is another song that I had to listen to twice before really enjoying it. Slower, sad but upping the album, this song really can explain Yeasayer and their roots. I like the oohs in the surrounding background part of the song because they blend nicely with the guitar. The following track is completely different cheering up the album with a Messersmith/Alcatraz Kid kind of music. Called "I Remember" its a very cheery song. But one of the more revealing songs of the singer, Chris Keating's voice. Emphasizing the song is the bursting feeling of happiness.

About a week before the album came out, a song was put on their website for free. It is called "O.N.E." and to me it is my favorite song on the whole album. I loved it as soon as I heard, on the first listen and on the second. I was obsessed with it for about a week. Though the picture on Yeasayer's website is really demon... ish, I think they have a really cool design. The reason I say this is because it came with the free song. Go download it at this link. "Love Me Girl" is just begging to be played on radios everywhere. Carrying it's electronic beginning it leads into astounding choppy vocals. The words "I Won't Give Up On You" move into really cool sound effects that have probably never been mixed together. This band really knows how to experiment with music, I mean they are loon noises as one of their sounds. That is just way to cool. So that is all I have to say about this extraordinary CD.

While writing this I was watching American Idol, listening to the deafening screams of someone TRYING to sing Chris Isaak, then being complemented by the judges, Ick! So anyway has anyone ever had an older song that just kind of pops into you're head and doesn't go away no matter what? Well I have had "The Final Countdown" by Europe in my head for the past two weeks and I just cannot get it out! If anyone knows how to get a song out of you're head please leave a comment on how you do it and I will share it on my next review. Now I don't know how good this Poster is but I made a poster of an imaginary concert that I yearn to come true some day! My bands name is the Devil Angelists and our warm-up bands on the poster are the best. They include Vampire Weekend, Yeasayer and Cloud Cult Thanks for reading!

Hope You're Rockin!
~Mx2007

Odd Blood - Yeasayer

Hot Chip: One Life Stand

2010-02-14T17:32:00.005-06:00

Hot Chip's new album, “One Life Stand” does exactly what I want it to do. It sounds good but not exactly the same as their other albums. They kept a variety of different types of songs. Like “Slush” a slower more relaxed song. And the song “I Feel Better”, which I think is begging to have a guest rapper rap over the track. What I think has really set these guys apart from the crowd is the vocals. The way the singer flares the notes and has such funny lyrics. A good example goes like this… "He said to be careful of bugs that don’t bite" ("Thieves in the Night") It’s kind of nonsensical and humorous. This album is great background music but is fun to just listen to. It’s excellent for getting your party on, and it’s worth the $10 you pay on iTunes. Go check out Hot Chip's new album!

Childrens Music Takes the Charts!

2010-01-29T22:34:00.002-06:00

Koo Koo Kangaroo's newest CD filled with amazing dance music is out (or down-loadable for free) on the internet. The pump of the music gets all the adrenaline rushing in your body immediately. The album is called The Everlasting Slumber Party which, by the way, is the best name I've ever heard for an album next to Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective. One of the distinct things about this album is that it is amazing when live. A great song on the album is "Food Fight" because of its fun dance steps and cool rhythm. Now the song "Lava Tag" was their first single and its music video is superb, but I heard that someone found a new video by Motion City Soundtrack that is exactly like theirs. Both videos are very great but I definitely enjoy Koo Koo's science fair video the best.

These amazing dancers have been called the Beastie Boys meets Sesame Street by many people and it is true because they do actually appeal to lots of college kids and little kids. Just hitting up a gig at Rock the Cradle put together by the Current, these guys rocked out. Also they are recording a show and if you check out their MySpace you can see when and where they are recording. I heard that they have been trying to get on the children's show Yo Gabba Gabba recently. I would say that they have the most chance out of anyone. Now my favorite song by these guys is called "The Llama Song". It has the best hand gestures and everyone should learn them. Some other great songs on the album include "AOA", "Tidal Wave" and "Knight Delight" The album is totally free and available on their website here.

So now another band whose album comes out this week is The Sweet Colleens, with their new CD The Monkey Dance. I have covered this band lots but I've never been able to review a CD and now they have a new one. Though it's not my exact genre, it is a well composed amazing kids album. One of my favorite tracks here is "Monkey Dance" which is all fun and fast and cheerful. On this song, and on the album, is the Minneapolis Youth Chorus which started out in 2007. Another happy/uplifting song is... ahhh what the heck, their all cheerful!

The song "Road Trip" is another one of my favorite tracks because it features lines from my buddy Jesse. If you didn't see them on KARE11 last Saturday, you have a perfect chance to see them live January 30th at 11:00 am or 2:00 pm. I definitely think you should check them out. Anyways one the things I love is that they made a song out of the children's book, 5 little monkeys. The song is called "No More Monkeys". It totally makes sense as a song and I didn't know someone could come up with such an ingenious song (Even though the didn't write some of it). Though you can listen to the new album here, I suggest that you buy the actual album or MP3. Oh and I almost forgot, the CD contains a cover of Woody Guthrie's song, "Who's My Pretty Baby".

Below this is a picture of Teen Age Mutant Ninja Turtles in the Gorillaz places of their album Demon Days. I Just thought that was funny. Well right now I'm a bit worried because I have to accomplish learning the guitar part and vocals on 4 songs for my band(s). First for my rock band I am learning "Barracuda" by Heart, "The Hardest Button To Button" by the White Stripes, and "Feel Good Inc". by the Gorillaz. Then I am going to be learning "The Scientist" by Coldplay with my friend Ellen. If you would like the hear me play the Scientist and Barracuda you can come to Field school on March 6Th. I will put up more information near when it happens. It will be a pancake breakfast and it will happen to be birthday so when I put up the info. please come! Well for now,

Hope You're Rockin!
~Mx2007

Vampire Weekend: Contra

2010-01-16T19:34:00.009-06:00

Hey everyone! So the new Vampire Weekend just came out and it rocks! Just as great as their last album, the title Contra comes from an old video game and a Nicaraguan group of rebel soldiers. Wait, hold up, is Nicaraguan a word? Anyways, amazing new album and I am here to write about it. When I first heard the song "Horchata" I really enjoyed it making sure this was gonna be just as great as their last album. But I'll always remember my first days of middle school when my dad listened to the EP a lot. Some of the greatest songs on that album are "Mansard Roof," "Cape Cod Kwassa," and "A-Punk". But my favorite by far is "Oxford Comma" because of its catchy, slow beat.

Now "Horchata" is a type of drink that has rice, milk and other various dairy products in it. A person from Mexico might consider it a favorite, but to most others it tastes horrible. One thing that represents this song and the band is the use of the drums and little xylophone. They're just happy tunes! Video game happy songs can totally top cups of "Horchata" when you listen to "White Sky". The song is about over thinking something and then being disappointed. While listening to it though I was surprised by the high voices. Anyhoo, if you've ever heard the song "California English" by these guys it is crazy. It is the 4th song on the album and it so indescribable that I can only say one thing - voice mixer. Go now and listen to the samples below.

The song "Run" has an amazing rhythm by the way it sways. It has cool horns in it making it sound like a Mexican/Caribbean song. The title is talking about ditching girls and the fact of breakup. The song "Cousins" has an incredibly speedy guitar. I am trying to play it on my own and I almost have it. Otherwise Vampire Weekend is one of the most complex, hip bands of today. Hmm... I should use hip more often cause I have no idea where that came from. The slowest song on the album has the weirdest title and it is "I think Ur a Contra". I least expected it from these guys because it doesn't seem like them.

Well me and my buddy Glen are doing Feel Good Inc. by the Gorillaz for our concert so I'm gonna go practice it. Bye!

Hope Your Rockin!
~Mx2007

Contra - Vampire Weekend

Music and Writing

2010-01-07T15:56:00.005-06:00

Hi people! I have been looking at other 13 year old kids blogs and noticed how many people check out their blog when they post more often. I should have noticed this long ago but now I am deciding to do the same. I won't only write about CDs and Concerts (Which I still will do often) I will also write about everything that's going on with music and maybe include some stuff in my life. Anyways... I was listening to the top 89 songs on 89.3 the Current and I was kind of surprised to see that Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros had the #1 song of the year. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the Magnetic Zeros it's just that they played Animal Collective and Phoenix all year. If you don't live in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area you may be wondering what the Current is. I talk about it often, It is a radio station and it plays everything that rocks in Alternative and Rock music.

I so excited for the new Vampire Weekend coming out next week! I love the single "Horchata", with the catchy lyrics and all. "In December drinking her china..." I don't know, it's just something about that song that makes me adore it. This is off music business but I think that everyone who likes SciFi should watch the new season of Doctor Who. It's about this guy who is an alien that time travels and saves the lives of British people(Cause it's a British show). All great shows are British, the Office for example. It should be starting in the spring and it is a very exciting show. I am a huge nerd about it though so it may not be as exciting to you. Anyways some great shows coming are the Sweet Colleens at the Cedar Cultural Center, the Big Pink with A Place To Bury Strangers at First Avenue, and Jay Farrar and Ben Gibbard at the Varsity Theatre. Happy New Year!

Hope You're Rockin!
~Mx2007

Music of the Year, voted by you!

2009-12-31T14:12:00.014-06:00

Happy New Year everyone! I have the winners for each category from the vote this past month. But first I would like to put some picks made by two very nice people, who are also great musicians.

Dan Israel's choice, album of the year is "Stereo Night by the Twilight Hours"

Spencer Tweedy (Son of Jeff Tweedy) chose "Jewellery by Micachu and the Shapes"

My favorite album of the year was Dark Was the Night

Now here are your picks for each category...

The Artist of the year throughout everything they have released from video games to box sets is... THE BEATLES!

The band that won the album of the year was voted for in all categories. They were clearly chosen in this category and their name is WILCO!

The single of the year goes to a guy named MICHAEL FRANTI and his band SPEARHEAD! They wrote the winning single Say Hey (I love you).

Preforming Artist goes to two guys who put on the fricken best show in the world and
their names are KOO KOO KANGAROO! I hear that they are starting a TV show soon so that will be exciting.

And last on the list of winners we have Song of the Year going out to Phoenix for their song Armistice!

Thanks to everyone who voted and I hope it will be an exciting year in music!

Hope Your Rockin!
~Mx2007

Brilliant songs of the Decade!

2009-12-31T13:24:00.010-06:00

Retrogirl's Top 20 Songs!

1. Possibility- Lykke Li (2009)

2. Last Request- Paolo Nutini (2006)

3. ‘Til Kingdom Come- Coldplay (2005)

4. Best for Last- Adele (2008)

5. One Day Like This- Elbow (2008)

6. Shelter- Ray Lamontagne (2003)

7. Wake Up-Arcade Fire (2004)

8. The Rising- Bruce Springsteen (2002)

9. Nineteen- Tegan and Sara (2007)

10. Blood to Bleed- Rise Against (2004)

11. I Want You- Kings of Leon (2008)

12. Make Her Say- Kid Cudi (2009)

13. Wheel- John Mayer (2003)

14. Hospital Beds- Cold War Kids

15. Where is the Love?- Black Eyed Peas (2003)

16. Lover, You Should’ve Come Over-Jamie Cullum (2004) (Jeff Buckley)

17. The Blower’s Daughter- Damien Rice (2002)

18. Rain City- Turin Brakes (2003)

19. It Hurts- Angels and Airwaves (2006)

20. Captain Kelly’s Kitchen- Dropkick Murphys (2005) (Courtin’ in the Kitchen)

Mx2007's Top 15 songs!

1. The One You Love- Rufus Wainwright (2004)

2. The Chariot- The Cat Empire (2003)

3. If You Ain't Got Love- Mason Jennings (2006)

4. In My Place- Coldplay (2003)

5. Novacain- Jeremy Messersmith (2006)

6. What Light- Wilco (2007)

7. Edge of Medicine- the Hopefuls (2008)

8. Measuring Cups- Andrew Bird (2005)

9. Always Coming Home To You- Atmosphere (2003)

10. Deeper Down- Wilco (2009)

11. Fiery Crash- Andrew Bird (2007)

12. You- Atmosphere (2008)

13. When It Stings- Pictures of Then (2009

14. Diablo Rojo- Rodrigo y Gabriela (2007)

15. Ambling Alps- Yeasayer (2009)

Hope Your Rockin!

Retrogirl and Mx2007

Mason Jennings @ First Ave.

2009-12-20T17:55:00.017-06:00

Well December 19th was a great night to be at First Avenue, as the Magnolias were in the 7th Street Entry and Mason Jennings and the Pines were in the mainroom! I went to the mainroom show for my very first +21 show and it was so exciting. My dad made sure I could get in because I was by him the whole time. When we got there they were playing War of the Worlds (1953) on the big screen. I became addicted and it was the best movie to be showing there. Anyways, the Pines went on made a killer impression on me. I had seen them one summer ago at Mears Park, but this time I enjoyed them a lot more.

After watching maybe 20 minutes more of War of the Worlds, Mason came on the stage. He got an incredibly large applause and started off his set with "City of Ghosts". The song was one of the best songs he played all night because it was a great introduction. His next song was "Pittsburgh", which is a song about a kid's adventure when he's all alone. He played it nicely and it sounded exactly like the CD. I think it's great when an artist sounds precisely like the recording.

"Ballad For My One True Love" was my next favorite song and it was one of the first songs he played acoustically at the concert. It was a huge switch from his new album to this song but I still loved it! I would say it's one of his most thought-out songs just because of how beautiful it is in it's lyrical view.

One of my absolute favorites that he played was "Be Here Now". This was the first Mason Jennings song I listened to and I have many memories of it. I've heard this song probably a hundred times throughout my lifetime. I also believe that a lot of other people became Mason fans after Boneclouds came out. Anyways another great song he played was "Black Wind Blowing". This probably is one of the most depressing songs Mason Jennings has ever written. It starts with slow unhappy chords, then he starts singing about blood, a murdered baby and killing the person who did it. The reason I like it though is because the title reminds me of a movie on the History Channel. What happened is a giant soil storm which was completely black hit most of America and it was huge! It was a huge event called the Dust Bowl.

After a few more songs he told everyone about some old, old tapes he had made of unreleased songs. They sounded great but what I wonder is if he'll put them out? I love that he played 3 unreleased songs but I was also looking forward to Mason playing stuff from his last album, In The Ever. Well anyways, next on my list of great songs he played is "Ain't No Friend Of Mine". If you've ever listened to this song, it's obvious what the object of it is......BLOOD! Now I don't know what Mason's problem is with blood on his newest album but he definitely likes to write about it. I really like the difference in this song from everything else he's released. It's a rock song and it has great motive on this album. My last favorite song was called "The Weight" which is a song by The Band. I especially px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VmfbIR1Nhm4/SzBFgNk_UeI/AAAAAAAAAbw/62zPmPxP0TM/s200/IMG_2012.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417906771429642722" border="0" />loved this song because everyone in the band had their own part singing in it. It was one of the best encores I've seen in along time.

Well, I've been very excited lately for all the holidays and one of the best things I found out this week is that I won the Beatles box set from Capitol Records! I got it from a drawing because I posted that fireplace video. So other than that, Feliz Navidad, happy Kwanzaa, happy Hanukkah, Merry Xmas and happy holidays!

Nominee Categorys for the Best!

2009-12-01T16:41:00.003-06:00

Hey Everyone! It is December 1st and it is time for the nomination write-ins! I am going to put up a list of the best people in each category and I want someone to vote for each category. When done voting, I would like you to choose you're favorite album of the year and yours might be picked as viewers choice. Please email me at mx2007@areyourockin.com.
Artist of the Year

Atmosphere

the Flaming Lips

The Beatles

Monsters of Folk

Album of the Year

Dark Was the Night:Various Artists

Tonight:Franz Ferdinand

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix: Phoenix

Wilco (the Album): Wilco

Song of the Year

Ain't No Friend of Mine: Mason Jennings

the Rake Song:The Decemberists

Ain't No Wrest for the Wicked: Cage the Elephant

Armistice: Phoenix

Single of the Year

Ambling Alps- Yeasayer

Uprising- Muse

Know Your Enemy- Green Day

Say Hey (I Love You)- Michael Franti & Spearhead

Preforming Artist of the Year

Green Day

Michael Franti & Spearhead

Koo Koo Kangaroo

The Hopefuls

I hope everyone votes for each category and remember to vote for viewers choice as well. I am going to have musical artists favorite albums this year. I hope you all vote!

Hope Your Rockin!

~Mx2007

The Futureheads: This is Not the World

2009-11-04T20:15:00.007-06:00

The Futurehead's have a jumpy mood in their music uplifting their songs each time a track is on. I had been listening to their last album News & Tributes for awhile, but then I started playing a game on my family's new PS3 called Dirt 2. The song on the game, called "Radio Heart", is still my favorite song on the album, but I'd like to talk about other songs as well. "Radio Heart" in general has got a grungy guitar sound with alternative happiness as its rhythm. Another great song on this album is "Walking Backwards" which includes a simple beat, but the way the singer sings this song is more impressive, in my opinion. The song gives me the idea of saying that I don't really want to do this so why the frick am I? The song "Sleet" starts with classic muting of the strings and rockabilly guitar jumping. It really just makes me think of the upcoming snow and how many times I'll be clumsy and slip. "Everything Changing Today" is a perfect example of how our new government is making more and more changes for the better. It's weird when the band sings in this song because he has a weird accent. I'm sorry, but it's true, and he says things that don't sound quite right in English. The last song on the album I would like to talk about is called "See What You Want". The bending of the strings in the beginning is what really got me interested the first time I listened to it. I mean how many times do bands stretch their strings for that long and that hard? Now that I have gotten through my favorite songs I would like to talk about the band. The group includes Barry Hyde (singer and guitarist), David Craig (bass), Peter Brewis (drums) and Ross Milerd (also vocals and guitar). The band got their start in 2004 with their EP, 123 Nul. Later their album News & Tributes came out. And in 2008 they released their newest one which I just talked about.

This Is Not The World - The Fu...

Side Stuff from my Musical Life that in no way involve my review
Recently I saw the movie, Where the Wild Things Are. It was the saddest, most depressing but beautiful movie I have ever seen. But I am here to talk about the music involved in it, not the movie. Karen O. of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's sang with a bunch of kids for the soundtrack acoustically. My favorite song off the soundtrack would definitely have to be "Igloo" because of how calming it is. At first I felt completely weird to hear this only because the other times I've heard Karen sing is when she is screaming into the microphone and yelling, "Off off off with Heads". Another song I really like from this is actually from the trailer. It is Arcade Fire singing their song "Wake Up" off of their album Funeral. It also shows the light side of their band because when you hear it on the trailer it matches it perfectly. Watch the trailer at the bottom if you'd like. So anyways I have a poll (to the right) and I would really, really, really like everyone to vote on it. Now I can't wait to see 2012!

Hope You're Rockin!
~Mx2007

New Reviews!

2009-10-26T20:07:00.023-05:00

Dear crowd out there reading this post, I am sorry I have not written over this past month. I cannot believe how much great music I've heard and shows I've seen that I could have written about. But now I just would like to put a bunch of stuff out there in one post.

Stereo Deluxe: When the Party's Over
So I really would like to start out with a band called Stereo Deluxe. This Indianapolis group's newest CD is called When the Party's Over. One of my favorite songs on the album is called "Misery" because it has a older 80's sound but then mingling with a new cutting edge sort of Alternative. Another song I really like is "If I Could Forget Her". When I listened to it at first it gave me the chills of a creepy love song. It then turns into a catchy rhythmic song that immediately was wrapped around my brain. When I first got this band I had no clue who they were, but half way into the CD I felt like they had been on my iPod for months. To learn more about this band go to their MySpace by clicking here.

Dan Israel: See the Morning Light
Dan Israel is a local recording artist from Minneapolis who has been around for 15 years making wonderful music for all Minnesotans. He's good enough to warm up for people such as Morrissey and Mason Jennings, along with the Honeydogs and Mary Lou Lord. His newest album,called See the Morning Light, is amazing. My absolute favorite song off the album is "The Only Way". When I first listened to it, it reminded me of how much I love local music. I am now more tuned into local music again. I think people all around the world can like this music and it happens that they do. He has had positive reviews from Paste Magazine and has been played in countries on the other side of the world. I also like the wordless song "Daybreak", which is basically a joyful chord progression shedding daylight on his music. I suggest going to his MySpace by clicking here.

Monsters of Folk: Monsters of Folk
There are monsters taking over and they are named Monsters of Folk. That's right, the super group including M. Ward, Jim James (of My Morning Jacket), Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis (of Bright Eyes) have released their new CD which includes a mixture of all their music. The group has been playing together for four years and has finally come out with a CD which is self-titled. My favorite song on the CD is "The Sandman, The Brakeman and Me." It is a very appealing song because it is a song that was written by M. Ward who is my favorite artist in the band. It has a cooling noise which may let you see the light of the band. The song that is making them famous, besides the fact that they're all in successful bands, is called "Say Please". This song tells the story of someone looking to say something but not being able to climb over their nerves. The band's fantasticness continues on their website at www.monstersoffolk.com.

Muse: The Resistance
The new album by Muse, called the Resistance, is exciting in all sorts of ways. It is literally a rock opera because it features songs from hard rock to classical opera music. Muse is renowned for its hits "Knights of Cydonia" and "Super massive Black Hole". They have also been a favorite on both Twilight soundtracks. They come from a very small country in Europe called Devon which is also the birthplace of Coldplay lead singer, Chris Martin. My most favorite song on the album is called "Uprising" which is a mind blowing crazy fanatic song written to be about some sort of attack? The cover to this single had a picture of teddy bears that have their upper body in the air, and their lower body underground. The music video, which is even weirder than the singles cover, is teddy bears attacking some city and destroying everything in its path, including planes, buildings and THE WORLD! Ahh killer teddy bears!! While watching this video you may think the same thing. Visit their website at www.muse.mu.

Soundtrack: New Moon - Various Artists
You may be thinking, "Oh great, another teen obsessing over the movie Twilight." Well it's not an obsession but I do love the artists on the new New Moon soundtrack. The CD is made up of great artists such as Band of Skulls, Death Cab for Cutie, Grizzly Bear and Sea Wolf. The best song is "The Violet Hour" by Sea Wolf which electrified me when I heard it. It made me forget about everything else and look and listen to the song and appreciate it. It makes me wonder why Sea Wolf doesn't come out with this sort of stuff more often, looking back at either of their two albums. To see these songs in action go to see New Moon on Nov. 20th.

Thank you for coming to AreYouRockin' and I will have another review up by next Sunday.

Go Vikings!

~Mx2007

Koo Kangaroo Contest!

2009-09-24T18:15:00.004-05:00

Hello people!! I am excited because it is the VERY FIRST......Contest! The contest is for the very best dance duo that I know, Koo Koo Kangaroo. I am happy to say that they are sponsoring a contest with tickets to their CD Release Show. One person can win and bring along one other. To win the tickets you need to email me at mx2007@areyourockin.com with, your answer to the question I will give you, your full name, and the person you are bringing with. Also you have to live in the Twin Cities area. I will email you as soon as I get you're email. You will be put on "The List" and let into to see the coolest dancing phenomenon. Before the question I want to give you some background information on the two guys. They are named Bryan and Neil and have an awesome Myspace which you can see here. Some of their songs include Cody the Coyote, Rollin' in the Minivan and the Llama song . I love the activity on stage because it makes it so fun! The show will be their CD Release show which has all new songs. Anyways, the question is, Do Kangaroos box in real life? Otherwise anyone else that wants to come can $5 to get in. The concert will be held at the Beat Coffee shop in Uptown. The address is 1414 West 28th St. and to see the website you can click here. The first person to answer right wins! After the concert you can check out their new CD on their website here. I hope as many people can show up as possible whether you win or not.
Can't wait!

Hope You're Rockin!
~Mx2007

Cool Music and Stuff

2009-09-14T19:23:00.024-05:00

Hey people! It's Mx2007 here and I have not updated for a while with reviews and stuff so I just have a bunch of stuff for you. First I want to to talk about the Atmosphere concert I went to last Wednesday! Well, Slug came out saying "Hi Home" then because I can't remember everything, he probably said how ugly he and the crowd was, and swore a few times. The first song they played was "God Loves Ugly" and it was amazing. I loved the way the crowd chanted back to him when he said "God Loves Ugly". It made it much more of an interesting song. The song that really got me excited was "Shoulda Known" because of the awesome/catchy rhythm in the background. Another song that rocked the night was when they did "Blamegame". The song gave it a Jamaican, (I know it's nerdy but) shoulder swaying theme to the concert.

"Painting" and "Yesterday" were also very memorable from the concert but I really liked "Guarantees" as well. It was interesting to listen to because it kinda became more of a calmer song but everyone found a way to either throw their hands up or sing along in a depressing way, only because the lyrics are very sad and talk about all of Slug's bad memories. I wish I had more to say but since it was a school night I only stayed for part of the concert. Sadly I missed two songs... "Sunshine" and "Always Coming Back Home To You". Two songs that they didn't play (which they should have!) are "Your Glass House" and "You" which is me and my mom's theme song.

Over the last two weeks I have also discovered a "Llama Song" written by my truly favorite dance duo, Koo Koo Kangaroo. Since I am a big fan of llamas (the animal), it's a song I thought I'd tell you guys about it. You can check out the video by clicking here. If you learn the hand motions you are cool!

Other things that have happened are that I went to The Idle Hands and they rocked mid-afternoon for me on my Saturday off. They weren't as good live as they are on their CD but I enjoyed them. Another concert I went to this weekend was Low at Lake Harriet bandshell. They were opening for Jaws (the movie), and I hear from my parents that it was a rare experience to see them so I definitely wanted to be a part of it. They were good and kept me interested 'till the end, when the need for a GIANT ice cream cone was called upon! After the concert I tried to win a pair of Phoenix tickets so I quickly ran to my dad's IPhone and we looked up the answer to a trivia question. Then I ran back over to the front of the stage, only to find out that I had the wrong answer. Instead they had two Vita.mn t-shirts for people that got it wrong. I was able to reach for one in time.

Another thing I'd like to tell my readers about is that I have been watching this huge 10 hour Anthology on The Beatles. So far I have only finished about 6 hours of it, which is A LOT of TV. It is totally worth it though because I am learning all this cool background information about The Beatles that no one knows except for everyone that has seen these DVDs. Did you know that A Hard Day's Night was just a soundtrack to go with their first movie together? Anyways I just thought that was something cool to tell you. Other than that I just wanted to say that my favorite CDs at the moment are God Loves Ugly and When Life Gives You Lemons by Atmosphere and Please, Please Me by The Beatles.

Oh and I almost forgot, my neighbor got the Beatles Rockband and it is so much fun! What's even more awesome is that I can sing while I play guitar on "I Want To Hold You're Hand" on the game.

Hope You're Rockin!
~Mx2007

New Releases Coming out!

2009-08-29T08:40:00.006-05:00

I have a list of the releases that I know of coming up. Whether you know the band or not I think you should check them out.

Date Band Album

9/1
the Chambermaids: Down in the Berries
Black Crowes: Before the Frost....Until the Freeze
David Bazan: Curse your branches
Juliette Lewis: Terra Incognita
Simple Minds: Graffiti Soul

9/8
Drive-By Truckers: Fine Print
Phish: Joy
Rodrigo Y Gabriela: 11:11
Vivian Girls: Everything Goes Wrong
Yo La Tengo: Popular Songs
Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson: Break Up

9/14 Muse: the Resistance

9/15
Big Star: Keep an eye on the Sky
Aluminum Babe: 17
Fink: Sort of Revolution
the Fresh & Onlys: Grey-Eyed Girls
Gary Go: Gary Go
Mason Jennings: Blood of Man

9/22
Monsters of Folk: Monsters of Folk
Pearl Jam: Backspacer
Islands: Vapours
the Pains of Being Pure at Heart: Higher than the Stars(EP)
David Gray: Draw the Line
They Might be Giants: Here Comes Science

9/29
Nelly Furtado: Mi Plan
Paramore: Brand New Eyes
Lynyrd Skynyrd: God & Guns
La Roux: La Roux
Phonograph: OKNO
the Swell Season: Strict Joy

Upcoming Releases I'm excited about after these

10/6
Air: Love 2
Built to Spill: There is no Enemy
Kiss: Sonic Boom

10/27
Weezer: Raditude

Sometime this Fall: The Flaming Lips: Embryonic
Vampire Weekend: TBA

Sometime this Winter: Coldplay: TBA

Hope you like the new CDs that I mentioned!

Hope You're Rockin!
~Mx2007

Blink 182 Live: St. Paul, Xcel Center - 8/18/09

2009-08-21T20:57:00.017-05:00

Hey Samson K here reviewing the Blink 182 portion of this EPIC concert, which included Fall Out Boy AND Panic! At the Disco! But it also had an opening artist Chester French which even Blink openly gave a boo to. I too, thought they were terrible but that is not what I am here to say. I'm here to talk about how great Blink was! It all started out with Chester French and then came an intermission to set up for Panic! At the Disco which had a pretty good performance, and then another intermission to set up for Fall Out Boy who did even better then Panic! At the Disco . After Fall Out Boy there was a very long intermission to set up for Blink, most of the crowd was very angry about this but they made up for it in the end. Blink started out with a great performance of "Dumpweed" and continued with "Feeling This" and everyone there was clearly having a great time. Blink then played "Rock Show" and everyone sang along (i sang along to every song) they then played "What's My Age Again" and "Violence", Mark Hoppus (lead singer) then told a joke about drummer Travis Barkers' relationship with a tractor and said that he wrote the next song "I Miss You" after that relationship. They then played "Stay Together For The Kids" followed by "Down and Always, next came the only part where people sat down during Blink - "Stockholm Syndrome" which starts out with a long speech but continues into a great song. Blink then put it all into "First Date" and "Man Overboard", and then ended that up with "Don't Leave Me" and "Not Now". Just as the crowd got to the peak of happiness Blink played their saddest song "Adams Song" (to me its the best song ever) which mellowed the crowd down a little bit. They then played what I think is their most well known song, "All The Small Things". They then ended up the show with "Reckless Abandon", "Josie", and "Anthem Pt.2". This show also had three encores: Travis' drum solo, "Carousel" and "Dammit". All and all this show had a great set list and great performances but to me Blink was by far the best, I feel bad for anyone who missed out but at least you can listen to them on CD!

P.S.-uh this is my first review thanks for reading it