Alright, Passion Pit's Pretty Proper.

Reposted with permission from archipel-a-gogo.blogspot.com.

The college music scene drives me insane sometimes. Getting beaten over the head with new releases by staple artists as a result of overblown hype rather than talent can get positively exhausting after a few short years. So how are we supposed to weed out the bands that actually deserve our praise, if, after hearing the crappy ones over and over, we might've finally been desensitized to real music worth the attention?

I don't have an answer, trust me. However, a few of my adventures into the hype machine may hopefully bring some light to the subject.

First and most important question on the docket: what am I supposed to be listening for when I'm sifting through piles of hipster/gangster-endorsed records? The most basic answers are, of course:
(1) Whether I can jam to it, or
(2) Whether I take the artist's lyrics to heart. Also,
(3) whether the song gets stuck in my head for an extended period of time should also be taken into moderate account.*

**This question can be overlooked in a number of cases. Like Brooke Hogan's single, "Falling."

But then, there are more refined questions that must be addressed. Some of these include:
(1) How much effort did this artist put into his/her/their album?
(2) Do I take it seriously (read: is it Brooke Hogan?) Or, is it intentionally and endearingly silly?
(3) Is it unique, or does it parrot something already around?
(4) How far can this artist go without being unforgivably adventurous?
(5) And, is there something about this record or artist that makes me biased for/against him/her/them?

Taking all of these into consideration, I had a tough time cracking the egg that was Passion Pit's new full-length album, Manners. Having known bassist Jeff Apruzzese from his previous band, The Peasantry, I was initially encouraged to enjoy the new music. However, avoiding the obvious pitfall of personal bias was not as hard as I thought it would be. I was definitely nonplussed when I saw them open for Girl Talk at BU this past fall, and--sorry, Jeff--no amount of friendly affection would have convinced me otherwise.


Then, when their EP Chunk of Change hit the stands earlier this year, I thought I'd give them another chance (here's where my friend duties were fulfilled). However, yet again, I was sorely disappointed. Nothing caught my ear at all, not melody, not lyrics, not exceptional musical prowess--excepting, of course, the lead singer's "unique" vocal timbre. Overall, I just did not enjoy listening to it.

Nevertheless, when a friend lent me her copy of the band's newest release, I decided ONE MORE LISTEN wasn't going to kill me--hopefully.

And what do you know? I started bobbing my head. I Googled the lyrics of three of the songs. Track four, "The Reeling," stuck in my head for a good 24 hours.

So what the hell changed? These are some reasons I came up with:
(1) I unknowingly hit my head (not unlikely) and now have amnesia.
(2) I unknowingly underwent radical eardrum surgery (unlikely rating: 7 of 10) and now all sounds are equally enjoyable.
(3) Zombies made me do it. (highest unlikelihood, 9.5 of 10--because you never know.)
(4) I just got used to it--a musical Münchausen Syndrome.
(5) I finally picked up on the likability of the music.

All things considered, I've decided it's a combination of 4 and 5 (though I haven't ruled out zombies). While I know my getting used to the sounds of the album has a good deal to do with it, I have to admit that the electronic beats and unique vocals have an attractive quality in themselves. It's pretty new-agey, sure, but this is the future, and it's jammin'! You can certainly dance to it, there's a substantial level of talent apparent in the album's varying tracks, and lyrics like "Now I'm dreaming somebody/Would simply come and kidnap me" attain the perfect level of angst; for me, anyway.

So who knows? Give that band you hated a few months ago one more chance...you might just have a change of heart and acquire some new ear candy. More love, less hate, right?

All I'm saying for sure is, while it's not my "summer album," a couple tracks on Manners may creep their way onto a couple of my weekend party playlists. Thanks, guys.

•Extra!• After I'd begun this post, NPR's All Songs Considered released its most recent and highly relevant blog/podcast, entitled "Music You Should Love, But Don't." Check out the blog and post your thoughts here, or download the podcast here.

•Extra Extra!• Check out this really bizarre video from, of all places, ABC News, on Passion Pit and Manners...a friend shared this, and we agreed: couldn't stop laughing at all the irony.

-Devon Maloney

Review: Modern Skirts - All of Us In Our Night: "They’re Modern All Right"

The southern saunter and spunk of these Athenian musicians glazes over listeners like a humid, relaxing breeze. Modern Skirts’ sophomore album, All of Us in Our Night, made its debut in October 2008. Its goal was perhaps prematurely ambitious, but nonetheless admirable. From one track to the next, the boys aimed at incorporating every musical genre possible, giving the album new spins and unexpected shifts.

The steady rhythms pushed the eclectic record into many of the industry’s hearts, including R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, who helped produce “Motorcade,” a pleasant acoustic anthem, proudly proclaiming that “it doesn’t matter how the tide breaks, we’re gonna make it back to the shore.” With clear optimism, the Modern Skirts dove into concocting one of the most contrasting albums to date.

“Soft Petals” offers an intoxicated escape into a surreal world where all you need is a “knife and a merry-go-round.” The light and hypnotic drive of this song clashes with blatant hints of various vices. Also somewhat dark, “Chokehold,” combines the synthetic sound similar to the Postal Service with cool, Coldplay-like, lyrical vocals to create a reminiscent piece about life and mistakes.

“Radio breaks,” one of the CDs most genuine gems, tells a story of a romance unlike any other. A soulfully sweet piano breaks the good, or bad, news that “just in case you missed me, I’m leaving my bills for you to pay, I will love you dearly, for breaking the pain for me each day.” This song feels nothing short of simply right, emanating dedicated vocals, an instrumental break, and the classic fade.

The flavor quickly shifts in “Face Down,” a Weezer-ish rock ballad resonating with the usual heart-wrenching guitar motifs and heavy, dramatic drum-work. In contrast, “Conversational” cuts in as next track. This song radiates with Bright Eyes’ emotionality in search for identity, proclaiming, “’cause lately I’ve been likely, to be somebody like me, someone who’s really not me.”

Stitching together the sounds of OK GO and gypsies, “Astronauts,” is definitely the track that goes the extra mile on this record. Opening with a slick voice and sly guitar, it quickly captivates attention. Going along with the dark yet light trend, Modern Skirts infuse the track with more mischievous and delightful lyrics by adding “of all the things I leave behind, I want to die and leave my teeth, so you can keep a bright smile.”

The album’s scattered ambitions might signify that perhaps the Modern Skirts have spread themselves too thin. Yet their steady rhythms hold the diverse tracks like super glue. All of Us in Our Night takes time to chew, and only gets better with time. Before you know it, you’ll be mouthing, “I can’t shut off this stereo.”


- Tetyana Pecherska

David Byrne & Brian Eno's "Strange Overtones"

It's arrived! The first single off David Byrne and Brian Eno's new album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, "Strange Overtones!"

It's awesome, I'm so happy...so, giddy. It lacks Eno's signature strange but has a soothing early 90s sound that lulls listeners into a trance.

I am supposed to be writing an essay about how 1975's Rocky Horror Picture Show reflects American frustration of the time, but I think I am going to force listen to "Strange Overtones" into my iTunes top 25 instead. Cool!

"Heaven" - Talking Heads (1992 Warner Bros.) Sand In The Vaseline

Pay Your Own Price for the new Girl Talk album

It's happening! Just like Radiohead let us pick our own price for In Rainbows, Girl Talk's doing the same for the new album, Feed The Animals. For any price (starting at $00.00), the full 14-track album can be downloaded on their label's website (illegalart.net). But for $5, fan also recieve an additional mp3 of the entire album as one stream. "It's intended to be listened to as a one continuous jam," writes DJ Gregg Gillis in a recent MySpace blog. Those who pay $10 will also eventually get a hard copy of the CD.

Tracklisting for Feed The Animals:
01. Play Your Part (Pt. 1)
02. Shut The Club Down
03. Still Here
04. What It's All About
05. Set It Off
06. No Pause
07. Like This
08. Give Me A Beat
09. Hands In The Air
10. In Step
11. Let Me See You
12. Here's The Thing
13. Don't Stop
14. Play Your Part (Pt. 2)

www.illegalart.net
www.myspace.com/girltalk

(Photo cred - illegalart.net.)

PS: If you like Girl Talk and downloading albums for free, you will really enjoy Chilly Willy. He is from Portland, OR, and I am hooked on his album this summer. Listen to his tracks on MySpace, and/or download the entire album here.

Aimee Mann, @#%&*! Smilers

I have always rooted for Aimee Mann. Ever since I heard her 2002 classic Lost in Space, I have searched through her other work in hopes of discovering the glory of that stand-out album elsewhere in her catalogue—or at least some traces of it. I am always left with the same unspectacular adult contemporary whatever that only once in a while shows signs of that spark that made Lost in Space so quietly brilliant.

Fast forward to the present, and the latest from Mann has critics all abuzz with weighty words like "masterful" and "deceptively powerful." I'm not so convinced; Smilers is mostly a disappointment, giving new meaning to an old line from Lost in Space that reads, "I'm not the girl you once put your faith in/ Just someone who looks like me."

You get the feeling that Mann's musical style is like her grandmother's old pie recipe that she keeps trying to figure out, with Lost in Space being that one time she got it right. She makes slight adjustments on every attempt—writes pretty arrangements, treads new ground lyrically, breaks out some brass?—but the pie is always missing something, and so are most of these tracks.

The subject matter is partly to blame. Smilers suffers from her last album's curse of downer specificity: a song about a middle-aged pretty boy whose looks are fading, something about not being able to afford a freeway.... they are an upgrade from the old school boxer tale she told on concept album The Forgotten Arm, but not by much. Mann has proved her exceptional talent for clever, moving songwriting with past works of art such as "Invisible Ink" and "Guys Like Me." She would benefit from a return to the broader, more relatable themes of her past work.

"31 Today," "Stranger into Starman" and "Medicine Wheel" earn more listens, but you could live without the first two. Mann is at her best on the heartfelt "Medicine Wheel." She bears her pain from the beginning with the gripping opening line, "The day you left and you called me 'bitch'..." to a chorus that stings with frustration: "Everything that's given, you steal." Overall, not a bad effort from Mann; however, with the bar set so high, Smilers is a bust.

- Jessy Bartlett