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“Shinola” by WEEN

A masterpiece of rock and roll weirdness that will grow on you like a fungus… the key word being “fun”.

Has there ever been a band weirder — album for album, song for song — than Ween? There might be a handful to consider for the sake of due diligence, but few groups could hold a weirdness candle to Shinola, Vol. 1, a collection of undated outtakes from Gene and Dean Ween’s vaults. The slapdash sweepstakes begin with “Tastes Good on th’ Bun,” which wraps jagged post-punk/goth riffs around a hissed vocal ode to hot dogs, dicks or both. That leads, naturally, into “Boys Club,” a hokey treehouse jam drafted over jazzy guitar chords, kiddie handclaps and glue-sniff harmonies. The next step would almost have to be… a slow and moody love song delivered with as much reverence as a love song could ever hope for.

Deliciously preposterous changes in tone and sound are typical of Ween, but Shinola ups the ante by doing away with the pretense of playing like a “proper album.” The songs sound like they could’ve been recorded at any point in the band’s career, and more than half stand among Ween’s best. “Gabrielle” is a monster hit from some secret unheard corner of ’70s rock. “Transitions” could light up an ’80s school dance (provided kids who would dig stepping on toes to lines like “Harry Truman is the holy son”). “The Rift” is at least as hypnotic and transporting as it is disarmingly funny. Only in the context of Ween could such songs sit alongside the dead-on Prince funk of “Monique the Freak” and the flute-strewn Jewish devotional “Israel.” The swerves make almost no sense by any conventional measure, which makes the odds-and-ends Shinola as good a Ween album as any.

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Posted on July 28th, 2010 by admin
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“Pictures of the Big Vacation” by MIKE ERRICO

Mike’s great songwriting and soulful voice will win you over and make you a fan.

Sounding like Dave Matthews crossed with the Wallflowers, Mike Errico delivers a flawed but promising debut with Pictures of the Big Vacation. Errrico’s roots may be in the contemporary folk underground, but the production has a big, glossy sound that’s ideal for adult alternative pop radio. Beneath that gloss, it’s possible to hear what made Errico a cult favorite on the East Coast. His songs are elastic, bending from verse to verse, occasionally stopping for a chorus. His voice is jazzy and fluid, stretching for unusual notes. His lyrics are often impressionistic and poetic, sometimes to his own detriment, since it feels as if he’s striving too hard for unpredictable juxtapositions. This would all sound a lot more immediate and captivating if the production was simpler, but it’s very smooth, as if Errico and his producer Susan Rogers were gunning for the more experimental portions of Matthews’ audience. And, at times the sound does work, particularly on the quieter moments of Pictures of the Big Vacation — but that only hammers home the point that Errico probably sounds better unadorned.

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Posted on July 27th, 2010 by admin
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“The Diamond” by THE SOUND OF URCHIN

Fresh-sounding Hard Rock that will really jump start your earbuds. I love this album.

New York’s the Sound of Urchin manage to borrow from rock’s recent past to create a diverse, energetic album called The Diamond that more often than not feels inspired and sounds unique. Produced by Fountains of Wayne’s own Adam Schlesinger, the disc gets off on the right note with “Police Helicopters Over Brooklyn,” an homage to hot asphalt that pulls elements of the Foo Fighters and Pavement into the approach. Blistering rockers like “The Jack-O-Lantern” — which features guest guitar by the band’s manager, Twisted Sister’s J.J. French — and the Mudhoney-esque fury of “White Dove” take joyous flight, while the peculiarly funny “There Are People in the Clouds” seems to be inspired by Ween. When the Sound of Urchin — singer/drummer Tomato 11, guitarists B. lll and Seahag, plus bassist Doo Doo Brown — head into the hook-laden alt-pop terrain perfected by the likes of Schlesinger’s band or, say, the Gigolo Aunts, they assert just how skilled they really are. The Sound of Urchin may be all over the map on The Diamond, but the band shines just the same.

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Posted on July 26th, 2010 by admin
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PUSSY: The Musical (Soundtrack) by PACIFIC COAST HELLWAY

This album is so catchy, it’s almost like the Mad Cow Disease of music.

“The World’s Most Offensively Enlightened Podcast” is how Playboy Magazine described Pacific Coast Hellway (Aug. ‘06) and never has there been a more apt description given to this world-famous comedy show. In Summer 2007, Mark and Mike decided one day that the time was right for the planet’s first serialized audiobook musical, the problem was deciding on a topic. “Is it about love? Is it about war?” they pondered and then it came to them. How about a musical… about pussy. But then after some thought the PCH boys decided it was kind of crude, so instead they decided to write a musical audiobook about two fictional guys who were writing a musical about pussy.

“There’s a world of difference,” claims Mark.

And so, PUSSY: The Musical (an audiobook) was born at http://pussythemusical.podshow.com and from it came the soundtrack album which contains the ten songs from the audiobook and a bonus track “What’s the Whole Story About?”.

Give a listen to the songs written by Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff and Mike Yusi and all the new-media superstar voices who lent their talent to PTM. Amazing artists such as Munk, P.W. Fenton, Anji Bee, Ron Bloom, Brian Noe, Perry Baldessari…

And yes, the Adam Curry singing the song “Snatch” is the same former MTV VJ who used to host Headbanger’s Ball.

So sit back, pour yourself a cognac and enjoy the stunningly catchy soundtrack to PUSSY: The Musical and before you know it you’ll be tapping your toes… or other parts of your body.

Get the PUSSY: The Musical Soundtrack
Find it HERE

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Posted on July 25th, 2010 by admin
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“Anger’s Candy” by BLAKE MORGAN

The powerhouse debut album by Blake Morgan, featuring a guest appearance by Lenny Kravitz!

Blake Morgan’s successes as a recording artist, as well as a producer, have paired him with Lenny Kravitz, Lesley Gore, Mike Errico, Phil Ramone, Terry Manning, and Phil “Butcher Bros.” Nicolo, among others. His work has taken him from The Hit Factory in New York to Sound City in Los Angeles, from Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas to Studio 4 in Philadelphia.

In 1997, after signing a seven-album deal with Phil Ramone’s label N2K (Sony/Red), Morgan criss-crossed the country for more than a year, promoting his album Anger’s Candy. Morgan shared stages with rock acts ranging from Joan Jett to Matchbox 20, garnering rave reviews for both the album and his live performances. However, and although he was the label’s most successful artist, the dissatisfaction of working under traditional record company control was undeniable. “But I didn’t want to become one of those recording artists who spend their lives complaining about their label.” Spotting an opportunity to, as he puts it, “break free,” Morgan did the unheard of: he told Ramone he wanted out of his long-term deal.

Defiantly, Morgan began inventing a totally different future for his music — launching what has become a phenomenon: the nationally distributed Engine Company Records home for himself and the growing list of albums and artists he produces.

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Posted on July 24th, 2010 by admin
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Welcome to the PCH eMusic Blog. This site is where I will post my personal download picks.

Best thing is you will be able to get these songs for free from eMusic! Signup today and you’ll get 35 downloads with your free 14 day trial. And if you choose to cancel your membership before that 14 day trial period is over, you’ll STILL GET TO KEEP those 35 downloads! But I think you’ll like eMusic. Check it out here!

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Posted on July 23rd, 2010 by admin
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“Major Lodge Victory” by THE GIN BLOSSOMS 

If you liked their classic hits, the old Gins are back at it with their patented blend of jangly pop goodness.

Exactly 14 summers ago Arizona’s Gin Blossoms released New Miserable Experience, eventually going multiplatinum on the strength of timeless powerpop anthems “Hey Jealousy” and “Found Out About You.” A so-so follow-up (not to mention the alcohol- and depression-fueled exit of their principle songwriter), however, led to a subsequent split in ‘97. Now, after a 2002 reunion, comes Major Lodge Victory. Against all odds it’s a worthy successor to NME, evoking that album’s twinned vibe of ecstasy and melancholy.

Guitarist Jesse Valenzuela takes on the lion’s share of the writing — admittedly, he’s abetted by a song doctor, the Rembrandts’ Danny Wilde — in particular serving up the spirited, Beatlesque first single “Learning the Hard Way” and “Long Time Gone” (which contains striking “Found Out…” overtones). Vocalist Robin Wilson’s jangly thumper “Come On Hard” also joins the ranks of classic Blossoms compositions. And with Wilson’s honey-throated warble still as much a band trademark as the jangles, the album sounds familiar and fresh — the feel-good hit of the ‘06 summer.

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Posted on July 22nd, 2010 by admin
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“Reaching for a Gun” by RICK HENRICKSON 

Slightly retro without that burnout of trying to be too cool. “Reacing For a Gun” is extremely hum-able with a very high replay factor.

Rick Henrickson is unapologetic about the influences that pervade his work. Frank Black, Jason Falkner, the Beatles: you can hear ghosts of their classics all over Reaching for a Gun, Henrickson’s debut album. That’s not a complaint, though. Henrickson’s truly talented in his ability to spin these internalized ideas into melodic gold. Quick, sharp and insanely catchy, these tunes (”Cool Dry Place,” “Surprise, Surprise” and “Two Hats” especially) are the sort of revivalism that’ll have you reaching back to the classics soon after Reaching for a Gun concludes. If you don’t find yourself playing it again, that is.

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Posted on July 21st, 2010 by admin
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“The Ultimate Jackie Wilson” by JACKIE WILSON 

Some music just lives on forever because it has that magic. Jackie Wilson transcended the worlds of pop and r&b and helped establish a bridge between the two that thrives today.

Like Sam Cooke and Ray Charles, soul singing colossus Jackie Wilson stood astride two worlds, with one foot in pop music and the other planted firmly in r&b. He was dubbed “Mr. Excitement” for his electrifying shows, but Wilson was hardly a slouch in the studio either, delivering such r&b classics as “Baby Workout,” “Lonely Teardrops,” “To Be Loved” and “That’s Why (I Love You So),” all of which appear on this electrifying compilation.

A Detroit native, Wilson made his professional mark at 19 when he replaced Clyde McPhatter in Billy Ward and the Dominoes, scoring a hit with 19tk’s “You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down.” Signing a solo deal with Brunswick Records in 19tk, Wilson was paired with another Detroit music man, songwriter and future Motown mogul Berry Gordy, Jr., who produced and co-wrote such signature Wilson soul hits as “Reet Petite” and “Lonely Teardrops.” Gifted with a tenor as sweet and clear as spring water, Wilson was soon enjoying two-sided hits such as “Night” backed with “Doggin’ Around,” with one side aimed at the pop market and the other toward r&b. Though the strategy at first paid off handsomely, making Wilson a star on both the r&b and nightclub circuits, by the mid ’60s many of his original r&b fans had all but abandoned him. Teaming with Chicago producer Carl Davis, Wilson regained his crown with such moving hits as “Whispers (Getting Louder)” and “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher & Higher.”

Cut down in 1975 by an onstage heart attack that left him bedridden until his death in 1984, Wilson remains one of the towering vocal stylists of his era, and this 44-song compilation — covering all of his soul and pop hits and also highlighting such unexpected tidbits as his covers of “Eleanor Rigby,” “For Once in My Life,” “Danny Boy” and “Georgia on My Mind” — is a mesmerizing reminder of a singer whose abilities and soul transcended boundaries.

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Posted on July 20th, 2010 by admin
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“Challengers” by THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS  

This indie supergroup puts together another collection of awesome tracks that’ll get a lot of play in your earbuds. “Mutiny, I Promise You” is just plain awesome.

Meet the new New Pornographers, same as the old New Pornographers. When Pete Townshend turned that phrase about bosses back in the Nixon era, it was a statement about complacency and spirit-crippling stasis. But where the New Pornographers are concerned, there’s little to rebel against; chief songwriter and singer Carl Newman is a benevolent leader, democratically doling out vocal parts to his almost-famous cast of indie-rock players: redheaded force of nature Neko Case, eccentric Destroyer bard Dan Bejar and Immaculate Machine’s Kathryn Calder (who also happens to be Newman’s niece). More important, the New Pornographers’ four-album reign — from 2000 debut Mass Romantic to the new Challengers — has been one of the fairest and most consistent 21st-century pop-album runs.

So it’s not like it’s incumbent upon Challengers to smash the system Newman has designed, a musical blueprint roughly inspired by Love’s orchestral-pop flourishes and choppy, Cars-like guitar. His songs are still constructed like rollercoasters, with multiple chorus peaks and melodic twists jammed into each three- or four-minute ride. It’s still thrilling to hear the mixed-and-matched vocalists; the best pairing this time out involves Calder and Bejar trading lines on the folk-rap shuffle “Myriad Harbour.” And when Case breaks into Latin on “Go Places,” it’s reminiscent of ABBA’s flight into “Fernando” territory, a fringed-outfit diva moment in the spotlight.

While it’s nice of the New Pornographers to show up once again with the musical goods, Challengers also addresses one of the band’s biggest problems: a perceived lack of unity. Part of this perception stems from the hired-hand stigma where Case and Bejar are concerned and part has to do with Newman’s lyrics. A student of the Robert Pollard school of abstract words that sound cool, Newman doesn’t do straight narratives, so nobody really knows what his songs are about. But great bands leave clues along the trail for their fans, so on Challengers, we get Newman singing “When John saw that number, he lied” — a nod to “John Saw That Number,” a track on Case’s 2006 album Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. It’s a smart way to eliminate division, huddling the band members’ estimable solo careers under the New Pornographers’ umbrella.

There’s also the continuation of the Pornographers’ most famous conceit: a new girl-group-style nonsense syllable for each album. For Challengers, it’s the title track’s chorus of “oh-la”s; past albums have given us “hey-la” (on 2005’s Twin Cinema), “na-na-na” (2003’s Electric Version) and “woo-ooh” (Mass Romantic).

But that isn’t the extent of the inside jokes: In an era of indie-rock one-album wonders, titling this record Challengers is a fine bit of rope-a-dope, if not a total wind-up. The New Pornographers are clearly the champs.

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Posted on July 19th, 2010 by admin
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