Monthly Archives: November 2011

Boy & Bear is a five-man band from Sydney, Australia.  And from first listen, they are the Australian version of Fleet Foxes. Just like Fleet Foxes, they have high-pitched vocals, acoustic sounds, what CSNY would call wood music.  Their album Moonfire, is pretty much your standard indie-folk album with songs starting out slow and mellow and building with added electric guitars and harmonizing voices.  However, even though Boy & Bear is playing off of tricks and techniques that others have used before them, they’re not copying other bands.  This is amazing because they, especially the vocals, sound almost exactly like Fleet Foxes. Read More »

Anthony Gonzalez, the driving force behind M83, has described his group’s latest effort as “very, very, very epic.” Most reviewers seem to agree that he’s spot on, but it would appear that the bulk of the music press has taken his assessment to mean something entirely different. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming was released in October to overwhelmingly positive reviews from the cream of the crop of indie taste-making journalism. I’m an M83 fan, but I can’t jump on-board with their glowing assessment of what I can only describe as a sprawling, dull, and overwhelmingly long album, littered with far too many interludes. Read More »

“It took you guys 16 f**king years to get here. But that’s ok, we’re glad you’re here,” was Dave Grohl’s greetings to all the fans who were experiencing their first Foo Fighters concert, on November 11^th, 2011, at the Verizon Center. There is perhaps only one adjectival phrase in the music world that can describe the scope of the Foo Fighters’ show; of Springsteen proportions. The Foos hit the stage at 9 o’clock sharp, following impressive, if not slightly poorly amplified, opening sets by The Joy Formidable and Social Distortion (for you classic rock fans, Social Distortion closed with an interesting rendition of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”), and then played for the next three hours; with the same intensity and energy that they hit the stage with. Read More »

The best “thriller” films set an ominous mood and maintain it until the big finish – that way the action has the maximum emotional impact when it finally arrives.  David Lynch, best known as the director of the quirky/bizarre TV noir “Twin Peaks” and the famously creepy films “Blue Velvet” and “Eraserhead”, is a master at setting that mood in any medium, and his new record, Crazy Clown Time, is no exception. Read More »

Pull a chair up to the table and dig into this full course WGTB family Thanksgiving dinner. Pass around the turkey, yams and pecan pie and share your favorite Thanksgiving dishes and tunes in the comments! Playlist and full track list after the jump. Read More »

I am going to change things up this week. No catchy guitar riffs to bring you in, no quick minute-long songs blazing for your attention and ending before you really know what has happened [I’m looking at you, Tokyo Police Club (full disclosure: I love Tokyo Police Club), no need to create songs with the intention of catching one’s attension. In truth, the first two or three times I listened to this album I found it did not have the deep lyricism of Deja Entendu or the punk-rock heritage of Your Favorite Weapon. The album in question is The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me by Brand New, and in time it has become one of the most brilliant and inspiring albums I have had the pleasure of hearing. Read More »

40 years ago, November 8^th, 1971, one of the most iconic albums in rock, and in popular music, was released. On that November day, Led Zeppelin released the now legendary “fourth album,” establishing the permanent presence in rock music from that time one. The album, customarily called Led Zeppelin IV, following the trend of Zeppelin’s first three albums, never had a formal title, many fans simply labeling it above, or “the fourth.” Today if one walks into a Barnes and Noble, they will find the album labeled “Zoso,” taken from the symbol Jimmy Page used to represent himself.

The album evokes mystery and magic when looked at, and listened to. Read More »

Who would’ve thought that one of 2011’s best albums would come from none other than The Beach Boys? While the album was recorded way back in the ’60s, it is only now that the album is being properly released. The album was originally intended to be a follow-up to the now legendary Pet Sounds. It has been widely recognized as the most famous unreleased album of all time. It is part legend, part psychedelic opus magnum, and complete perfection. Read More »