An Ohio Commotion

Ah ah ah a mass of devotion, ah ah ah and a Holy commotion... The Pretenders - Holy Commotion 

Dan Auerbach (Akron, OH) of The Black Keys produced and played on the latest from Chrissie Hynde's (Akron, OH) band The Pretenders.  I love the Auerbach influence with Chrissie's voice.

The Making of a Song About The Making of a Murderer

Where the mice of men are chained and bruised, Where to stand accused is to admit you lose... The Arcs - Lake Superior

I am really digging the new Arcs song Lake Superior.  The song was influenced by the Netflix blockbuster 10 episode documentary Making A Murderer.  The show is an up-close,  fascinating look at crime, police work and our court system.

From Consequence of Sound:

"...The Arcs return with new music once again in the form of the hazy, psychedelic “Lake Superior”. The track was reportedly inspired by the new Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer, which tells the real-life story of Steven Avery, “a DNA exoneree who, while in the midst of exposing corruption in local law enforcement, finds himself the prime suspect in a grisly new crime.”

In a statement, the band explained how the show gave rise to the song:

“It’s like Billy Childish says, ‘We live in troubled times.’ Last week, we got a sneak peek at what goes on behind the curtains of our criminal justice system. A few sleepless nights later we gathered in the studio and wrote this song. Written, recorded, mixed and mastered in 2 days.”

... All profits from the track benefit the Innocence Project, a nonprofit that helps to exonerate wrongly convicted people through DNA testing."

The Black Keys Gives Us Fever

You shook me like I never been; now show me how to love again... The Black Keys - Fever

The Black Keys recently announce the release of their next album Turn Blue on May 13.  Yesterday they gave us Fever.

2012's Best Albums

Down in the waves she screams again; Roar at the door; My mind can’t take much more... The Black Keys - Gold On the Ceiling
 

 

 Here is the list:

1. The Black Keys - El Camino - Actually released in late 2011, but I have included it in my best of 2012. The Black Keys continue their emergence as a great rock band. El Camino began where 2010's Brothers left off with imaginitive, guitar driven bluesy rock. The leadoff single Lonely Boy is my song of the year. The album is strong throughout, but highlights include Lonely Boy, Gold on the Ceiling, Sister, Dead and Gone, Little Black Submarine....

2. The Shins - Port of Morrow - After some detours with Broken Bells, etc... James Mercer regroups The Shins and release their first album since 2007's Wincing the Night Away. Port of Morrow's is a more straight ahead pop album, but still managed to mantain their signature quirky sound. A couple of ballads really made this album: It's Only Life and For a Fool are a couple of the Shins best.

3. Jack White - Blunderbuss - Jack White's solo debut lived up to it's expectations. The album featured the same edgy music that White has been playing for years. Sixteen Saltines is classic Jack White, with a hint of The Who; Love Interuption, Freedom at 21 and I'm Shakin' were also highlights.

4. Mumford and Sons - Babel
5 Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball
6. Dwight Yoakam - 3 Pears
7. The dB's - Falling Off the Sky
8. The Avett Brothers - The Carpenter
9. The Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten
10. Alejandro Escovedo - Big Station

2012's Best Songs

Well I'm so above you and it's plain to see but I came to love you anyway... The Black Keys - Lonley Boy

Here is my list of favorite songs of 2012: 

1. The Black Keys - Lonely Boy

2. The Black Keys - Gold on the Ceiling

3. Mumford and Sons - I Will Wait

4. The Shins - It's Only Life

5. The Black Keys - Dead and Gone

6. The Black Keys - Sister

7. Jack White - Sixteen Salteens

8. The Shins - Taken For a Fool

9. The Black Keys - Little Black Submarine

10. Bruce Springsteen - Rocky Ground

The Black Keys Tour Rehearsal

Well I'm so above you and it's plain to see but I came to love you any way...  The Black Keys - Lonely Boy

I got to see The Black Keys in Cincinnati, OH back in early March at the beginning of thier El Camino Tour.  It was a night to remember in a lot of ways, but the concert was excellent with the Keys ripping through the new material, as well as their best from earlier albums.

Back in December prior to the tour, the Keys recorded the rehearsals and are now releasing a 6 song EP of thier "live in the Studio" perfomances.  The songs are available on itunes now but will released as a CD in a few weeks.

The Black Keys
TOUR REHEARSAL TAPES

1. Dead and Gone (Live In Studio)

2. Gold on the Ceiling (Live In Studio)

3. Lonely Boy (Live In Studio)

4. Next Girl (Live In Studio)

5. Run Right Back (Live In Studio)

6. Tighten Up (Live In Studio)

2010 Leftovers

So turn up your radio and darling dial me in close; We're riding on the airwaves and we're traveling coast to coast... (Bruce Springsteen - Save My Love)

2010 was a really good year in music; we finally got that box set of Darkness on the Edge of Town goodies from Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band; we got great new stuff from younger bands like The Black Keys & Gaslight Anthem; we got a fantastic cd from the side project band Broken Bells; and we got several fresh discs from the likes of Robert Plant, Alejandro Escovedo, Neil Young & Tom Petty.

Here are some videos in tribute to 2010.


*****************************************************************

*****************************************************************

*****************************************************************

*****************************************************************

*****************************************************************

*****************************************************************

The Corners Best of 2010

I want you out on the streets making a noise for everybody; I want to hear your voice up above the crowd and the noise ... (Alejandro Escovedo - Down in the Bowery)

As I've said before, I love year end lists. I enjoy making them and reading others.

2010 was another good and suprising year in music. There were several suprises this year from Broken Bells to Black Keys. I saw several fine concerts this year: Alejandro Escovedo, Bob Dylan, Kings of Leon, Paramore, Arctic Monkeys, The Black Keys, The Avett Brothers, The Whigs, The Incurables, etc...

Here we go:

1. Broken Bells - Broken Bells - James Mercer of The Shins and musician/producer Dangerous Mouse released their debut record together in 2010. The result is a great blend of The Shins quirky melodies and lyrics with the experimental/hip-hop of Dangerous Mouse previous works. The CD is loaded with great tunes.

*******************************************************************
2. The Black Keys - Brothers - The duo from Akron, Ohio released a classic in 2010. Brothers is full of gritty blues, R&B and classic rock sounds. Highlights include Tighten Up, The Only One, Everlasting Light, Ten Cent Pistol and Sinister Kid.

*******************************************************************

3. Alejandro Escovedo - Streets Songs of Love - Street Songs of Love comes off like a classic record with a terrific mix of both rockers and ballads. The highlights include Down in the Bowery, Anchor, After the Meteor Shower, The Bed is Getting Crowded and Fall Apart With You.

******************************************************************

4. Robert Plant - Band of Joy - Robert Plant, one of the great voices of rock and roll released another rootsy record in the vein of 2007's Raising Sand. Band of Joy features Buddy Miller & Patti Griffin and brilliant song choices: Angel Dance, Monkey, You Can't Buy Me Love, Silver Rider, Cindy I'll Marry You Someday, House of Cards, etc...

******************************************************************

5. Bruce Springsteen - The Promise -Bruce finally released those outtakes from The Darkness On the Edge of Town era that we have been waiting for several years. The Promise is look behind the curtain into the most productive era on E Street. The songs range from classic E Street sound to 50's style rave ups to Southside Johnny territory. My review will be coming soon.

6. Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown
7. Old 97's - The Grand Theatre
8. The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
9. Band of Horses - Infinite Arms
10. The Hold Steady - Heaven is Now

My favorite songs of the year are as follows:

1. Broken Bells - The Mall & Misery
2. The Black Keys - The Only One
3. Broken Bells - Mongrel Heart
4. Band of Horses - Factory
5. The Gaslight Anthem - The Queen of Lower Chelsea
6. Alejandro Escovedo - After the Meteor Showers
7. Broken Bells - Vaporize
8. The Black Keys - Tighten Up
9. Broken Bells - The High Road
10. Alejandro Escovedo - Down in the Bowery

It's really hard to pick one favorite show this year, but Alejandro Escovedo was so good when I saw him In Lexington, KY at The Kentucky Theater back on October 19. Close behind was the Kings of Leon/Black Keys/The Whigs at Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, OH on September 2.

Kings, Keys & Whigs

She's such a charmer, oh no; she's looking at me... (Kings of Leon - Charmer)

I saw a hot show in Cincinnati, OH at the Riverbend Music Center (my favorite venue) on Saturday (9/04): The Whigs, The Black Keys and the Kings of Leon.

It was almost exactly a year ago that I saw the Kings of Leon in Lexington, KY. The Kings still touring in support of 2008's break through Only By the Night, played 8 of the 11 songs from that cd. They also teased us with an new tune, Pyro, from their fourthcoming new CD Come Around Sundown (to be released October 19). The Kings provided many highlights, but my new favorite Kings song and highlight was Charmer from 2007's Because of the Times.

The nights middle act was the Black Keys, who's latest CD Brothers has been in my CD player all summer long. The Keys were amazing playing a portion of the set with only the two members vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer/producer Patrick Carney. Two additional musicians assisted on the remaining portion of the show. The standouts for me were Tighten Up and 10 Cent Pistol.

The opening act was The Whigs, a trio from Athens, GA (a very musical enriched city). The Whigs played a short energetic set of southern garage rock. Lead guitarist Parker Gispert entertained with his balancing on one leg guitar playing. This band requires further listening.

Disco Strikes Back

But when all is said and done I know you are still the one, You're the only one... (The Black Keys - The Only One)

I lived through the disco era and frankly I wasn't a fan of the polyester suit, the flashing strobes or the off-beat bass line. However I can admit now that there was a few good songs that came out of that peroid (not many). So here we are in 2010 and this is the 3rd year in a row that song with a Disco feel has caught my ear.
In 2008 it was My Morning Jacket's Touch Me I'm Going To Scream part II;



...last year it was U2's Magnificent.



...and now this year The Black Keys The Only One.



This song reminds me of George McCrae's 70 disco hit Rock Your Baby.

Summer 2010

The theme of this party's the industrial age and you came in dressed like a train wreck... (The Hold Steady - The Weekenders)

I love summertime and summer music. There's just something about listening to music with the window down or the top open rolling down the road. There's some good music out there right now and here is what I'm currently listening to this summer of 2010.

The Hold Steady - Heaven Whenever

The cover of The Hold Steady's 2008 cd Stay Positive was an old looking photo of a drive-in movie theater, an apt cover. Listening to a Hold Steady song is like watching an old grainy movie; Craig Finn's singing is like a narration of a film. The Hold Steady sound is 2 parts Wild & Innocent/Born to Run era E Street Band, 1 part Elvis Costello with a dash of punk attitude.

However, the sound on their latest cd Heaven is Whenever is a bit of a departure. They no longer have the sweeping keyboard sound from Franz Nicolay who departed from the band earlier in the year. The new sound takes them further away from the old E Street Band sound and closer to a guitar dominated sound. The opening song is the fine The Sweet Part of the City, a tale of earlier days of the singer; On The Weekenders the band really hit their stride in the chorus with their great background vocals; the song seems to be about a bad event that kind of ruined a friendship; other winner includes Hurricane J and Our Whole Lives. Heaven is Whenever is solid, but not quite at the level of either 2006's Boys and Girls in America or 2008's Stay Positive.

The Band of Horses - Infinite Arms

The Band of Horses harmony vocal give the Horses their unique sound. They have been building momentum with their first 2 releases 2006's Everything All the Time and 2007's Cease to Begin and with great songs like The Funeral and Is There a Ghost. Now in full gallop the Horses release their major label release on Columbia records Infinite Arms. Their sound is basically the same, but songs are more consistent and even.

The cd begins Factory a song that would sound at ease on the radio, with is classical string arrangement and estranged love story lyrics; Compliments immediately changes the direction with a fast pace rocker; others like NW Apt reminds me a bit of Kings of Leon's Taper Jean Girl; the upbeat Dilly and the country tinged Older have really tight harmonies. Infinite Arms should be on your playlist.

The Black Keys - Brothers

The Black Keys are a blues rock duo from Akron, OH who have been around on the Indie circuit for about 10 years. Their latest release is Brothers a terrific blend of blues, rhythm, old and new school rock.

Brothers opens with Everlasting Life a song that finds it's groove immediately; two terrific songs Next Girl and Tighten Up follow; The Only One is a great tune that strangely brings George McCrae's Rock Your Baby to mind; Sinister Kid is another solid song. Brothers is solid throughout and maybe the cd of the summer.