The spin: When a band gets famous and members feel they can’t “handle it,” they often make one of two kinds of followup records.
One is the “price of fame” album, in which They sing and play and songs about how everything has changed and who can we trust and please pass the drugs so I can numb myself. “In Utero” was a really good one. “De La Soul is Dead” and “The Marshall Mathers LP” are others. Pulp’s “This is Hardcore” is a personal favorite. Bow Wow actually named an album “The Price of Fame,” which gave everyone a good laugh.
The other is the “contract breaker,” an album that goes so consciously against label expectations based on previous work that the record company elects to let the artists go from their contract, which is probably the intention. It is essentially a dare. Those familiar with 1990s indie rock remember that when avant-blues rockers Royal Trux signed to Virgin, the band delivered a straight-forward album in 1995 called “Thank You,” then followed it with “Sweet Sixteen,” a well-neigh unlistenable record with a profoundly befouled toilet on the cover. Genius! Read the full story
The spin: Just as Usher is releasing his sixth album, America has become fascinated with the train-wreck quality of celebrity divorces. It’s fortuitous timing, because there may be no one more qualified to comment on celebrity marital woes than the R&B lothario slowly creeping into his 30s.
The success of his biggest album (2004’s “Confessions”) in part stemmed from the pulled-from-the-headlines quality of some of his biggest songs, which revolved around him cheating on TLC singer Chilli. In the years since, Usher has begun to see the downside of giving the world a bird’s eye view to his personal life. Read the full story
Here’s a look at one of the bands coming to SunFest, April 28-May 2 — The Flaming Lips, who played an amazing show in Austin this past weekend:
By MICHAEL HOINSKI
Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips plays among tons of confetti at Austin Music Hall. (Jordan Smotherman / Austin American-Statesman)
Not 10 minutes into the Flaming Lips show Friday at Austin Music Hall, the five members of the Oklahoma psych-rock group had reached such a fever pitch with the sold-out crowd that the show could have ended there and people would have left satisfied.
More confetti was strewn about than at a Super Bowl celebration. Numerous white, orange and yellow inflatable balls were dispatched into the audience. Strobe lights flickered in pandemonium. Dozens of dancers, flanking both sides of the stage in neon orange and fuzzy conehead hats, danced and pumped their fists. And smoke machines made thick, thick fog.
Frontman Wayne Coyne was already in his signature clear blow-up bubble, risking limbs and lungs traversing the upraised arms of the crowd. Santa, Dorothy and the Tin Man were among those helping. Indeed, the full spectrum of the scene was a riot—exhilarating no matter your first or 100th time.
“We’ve played some of our greatest shows in Austin,” Coyne would later say, after finishing up that intro song, “Enthusiasm for Life Defeats Existential Fear.”
The spin: Ludacris new album Battle of the Sexes was supposed to be a duet album between him and Shawnna, a female rapper signed to his DTP label. So when Shawna left the label last year in a contract dispute, Ludacris expanded the idea to collaborating with female rappers in general, with the idea to showcase a feminine perspective severely lacking in modern rap.
But while collaborations like “Hey Ho” talk about sexual double standards and “BOTS Radio” give relationship advice, the vast majority of this supposedly forward-thinking concept album is actually a return to Ludacris’ roots. Hip-hop’s premier jester tried to inject gravitas into his last few albums, dabbling in social consciousness and self-consciously trying to thrust himself into the conversation of “great” rappers. Read the full story
The spin: Psychedelic pop band Yeasayer came out of nowhere in 2007 with “All Hour Cymbals,” a dystopic affair recalling the Talking Heads’ “Remain in Light” and other Brian Eno-infused work. Similar to Vampire Weekend, the debut was so strong that it wasn’t unreasonable to think the band would just fade away after exhausting their best material.Songs such as “2080” and “Sunrise” were both catchy and forward-thinking; to duplicate these would be a challenge.
It seems the band felt something similar to this as well, as the first thing that stands out about “Odd Blood” is its change in direction. The dark, haunting core that defined “Cymbals” is replaced with a distinctively brighter vision. “Ambling Alp,” while staying faithful to the band’s tendency toward layered synth effects and rhythmic experimentation, is notably different with its feel good chorus, “stick up for yourself son, never mind what anybody else does.” Similarly, the companion tracks “O.N.E.” and “ONE” seize upon a dance pop sound that locates them closer to contemporaries like Cut Copy than the Talking Heads. While “Odd Blood” might not win as many new fans as the debut, it represents a big leap forward in the band’s development.
The spin: It’s helpful to consider folk rock band Midlake’s third album, “The Courage of Others,” through the prism of its immediate predecessor, 2006’s “The Trials of Van Occupanther.” That album — a cult favorite that got end-of-the-decade shoutouts from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone and the Onion A.V. Club, among others — evoked endless comparison to the naturalistic ‘70s FM radio rock of America, Neil Young and, above all, Fleetwood Mac.
Though well reviewed at the time of its release, in the ensuing years “The Trials of Van Occupanther” continued to build its audience, as the slow-burning pleasures of its poetic lyricism and front man Tim Smith’s wispy vocals revealed themselves. Put simply, Midlake is a group whose strengths take time to unfold — which makes an initial judgment of “The Courage of Others” misleading, particularly since it’s an even more complex and layered album.
Which is not to say “The Courage of Others” is an inaccessible or vastly different work — but it does march away from the classic rock inspiration so prevalent on “Van Occupanther” in favor of a direction more heavily influenced by ‘60s British folk rock. If Fleetwood Mac was the go-to comparison on the last album, this time around it’s all Jethro Tull — or the Fairport Convention — with near omnipresent flutes and warm waves of harmonies. It’s a sound that’s enchanting, magical, often dour and — at least before it has time to grow on you — a bit repetitive. Read the full story
The album: Crazy Heart Original Soundtrack (New West)
The spin: If this was just a Jeff Bridges record, you’d think he was an OK singer, but don’t go all Billy Bob Thornton on us. Keep your hobbies to yourself.
As a Bad Blake album, however, this is a cool collection of songs from a 40-year career that would be called fictitious if Bridges didn’t seem to become the washed-up, boozed-up drifting cowboy singer. Imagine Kris Kristofferson if he’d never made it or Billy Joe Shaver if he did and you have an idea of Bridges’ Blake — a South Texas poet/songster who can say a lot with a little. “Funny how fallin’ feels like flyin,’ … for a little while” he sings over a two-step beat on one of the film’s sad and witty tunes. Read the full story
The spin:Transference might not be Spoon’s best album — and in Austin, where “What’s your favorite Spoon album?” is one of the first questions we ask potential romantic partners, it’s natural to try and place the record in the band’s hierarchy. But it speaks to their almost insolent consistency that it’s even in the conversation. Seventh full-length Transference is a winding, shifting soundscape, accessible to the bushels of fans the band picked up after Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga yet with just enough jagged edges to stay fresh. Read the full story
The spin: If one gleans anything from “Unbroken,” Katharine McPhee’s sophomore album, it would be this: Girl is sad.
We can only speculate why — channeling the angst from her struggles with eating disorders? Being dropped by previous label RCA Records? Things with husband Nick Cokas not working out well? Recently watched “The Notebook”? The lyrics are a bit too obtuse to say for sure, but “Unbroken,” from the wistful lament of “Had It All” to the sweetly melancholic “Surrender,” chooses heartbreak as its central theme. McPhee and a cadre of co-writers return time and again to images of loss and regret, giving “Unbroken” an unexpectedly tragic tinge. When she closes the album out with a cover of Melanie’s novelty hit “Brand New Key,” the ray of sunshine is practically a relief. Read the full story
Pop-punk rocker Jay Reatard, born Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., was found dead in his home at the age of 29 in Memphis, Tenn. this morning, reports the Commercial Appeal. The death has also been confirmed by a statement posted on the board of Goner Records, the Memphis label and record store that released several of Reatard’s recordings. Reatard was currently signed to Matador Records.
“It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our good friend Jay Reatard. Jay died in his sleep last night,” reads the statement. “We will pass along information about funeral arrangements when they are made public.”
The Commercial Appeal also reports that Memphis police have opened an investigation into Reatard’s death.
The Matador Records blog has posted the following statement: “We are devastated by the death of Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., aka Jay Reatard. Jay was as full of life as anyone we’ve ever met, and responsible for so many memorable moments as a person and artist. We’re honored to have known and worked with him, and we will miss him terribly.”
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The spin: When a band gets famous and members feel they can’t “handle it,” they often make one of two kinds of followup records.
The artist: Usher
The spin: Ludacris new album Battle of the Sexes was supposed to be a duet album between him and Shawnna, a female rapper signed to his DTP label. So when Shawna left the label last year in a contract dispute, Ludacris expanded the idea to collaborating with female rappers in general, with the idea to showcase a feminine perspective severely lacking in modern rap.
The spin: Psychedelic pop band Yeasayer came out of nowhere in 2007 with “All Hour Cymbals,” a dystopic affair recalling the Talking Heads’ “Remain in Light” and other Brian Eno-infused work. Similar to Vampire Weekend, the debut was so strong that it wasn’t unreasonable to think the band would just fade away after exhausting their best material.Songs such as “2080” and “Sunrise” were both catchy and forward-thinking; to duplicate these would be a challenge.
The spin: It’s helpful to consider folk rock band Midlake’s third album, “The Courage of Others,” through the prism of its immediate predecessor, 2006’s “The Trials of Van Occupanther.” That album — a cult favorite that got end-of-the-decade shoutouts from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone and the Onion A.V. Club, among others — evoked endless comparison to the naturalistic ‘70s FM radio rock of America, Neil Young and, above all, Fleetwood Mac.
The spin: If this was just a Jeff Bridges record, you’d think he was an OK singer, but don’t go all Billy Bob Thornton on us. Keep your hobbies to yourself.
The spin: Transference might not be Spoon’s best album — and in Austin, where “What’s your favorite Spoon album?” is one of the first questions we ask potential romantic partners, it’s natural to try and place the record in the band’s hierarchy. But it speaks to their almost insolent consistency that it’s even in the conversation. Seventh full-length Transference is a winding, shifting soundscape, accessible to the bushels of fans the band picked up after Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga yet with just enough jagged edges to stay fresh.
The spin: If one gleans anything from “Unbroken,” Katharine McPhee’s sophomore album, it would be this: Girl is sad.
