Soft Skeleton

Emily Haines

So Justin Timberlake's "bringing sexy back", but Emily Haines has always been "so succexy". Haines' talents have been displayed and worked in Broken Social Scene, Metric, and now finally in her latest solo album debuting on Last Gang Records on September 12, 2006 (Canada) and September 26, 2006 (US). The album is titled "Knives Don't Have Your Back" and is a lot mellow compared to what you would find in her work with Metric. "The album is intimate and mellow, featuring piano-driven tracks with string and horn arrangements", and so far what I hear from her track "Doctor Blind", I like. The track is eerie, yet stunning beautiful at the same time.

Listen to "Doctor Blind"

Download "The Lottery"

Emily Haines Solo Tour Dates:

9/12/2006 Toronto @ The Gladstone Hotel
9/18/2006 Montreal @ Le National
9/19/2006 New York City @ Joes Pub
9/21/2006 Los Angeles @ The Viper Room
9/22/2006 San Francisco @ Cafe du Nord

Counting Down The Days So It's "Yours To Keep"

So many great films are being released this fall. So many great albums and solo artists are making their debut, but there's one album whose greatness is not a surprise and fans living outside of the U.K. will have to grab an import copy for a little more money just so they can listen to it... unless you're a pirate of course, but we hope you will buy it. Who may I be speaking of? Well if you couldn't guess from the title of this entry, I'm speaking of the one and only Albert Hammond Jr. of The Strokes. Fans can head over to Hammond's Myspace page to listen to three tracks from the album including "Everyone Gets A Star", "Back To The 101", and "Scared". There's definitely a Strokes feel to these tracks. On bass is Josh Lattanzi (Ben Kweller) and on drums is Matt Romano (Adam Green). The album also features Ben Kweller, Sean Lennon, Strokes' manager Ryan Gentles, Jody Porter (Fountains of Wayne), Mikki James (Thin Lizard Dawn), and Sammy James Jr. (The Mooney Suzuki). To tell you the truth, I like what I hear so far from Hammond and I like it better than The Strokes overall, but of course I'm still a Strokes fan and they are definitely not breaking up and Hammond is not going to become a part-time member of the band. The album will be released in the UK on October 9th on Rough Trade. The Strokes is performing at The ARC Pavilion at UC Davis on Thursday, September 28th with Muse.

Tracklisting:

01 Cartoon Music for Superheroes (Goodnight)
02 In Transit
03 Everyone Gets a Star
04 Call an Ambulance
05 Blue Skies
06 Back to the 101
07 Bright Young Thing
08 Scared
09 Holiday
10 Hard to Live in the City

Listen

BIG CITY ROCK at The Boardwalk Review

Andy Barr of Big City Rock

BIG CITY ROCK
plus 2 random bands
August 15, 2006
The Boardwalk $12
Orangevale, CA

It was a straaange show. It was due to the random screamo bands opening for Big City Rock. It was better than no opening bands I suppose. The screamo bands weren't even the good kind of screamo either. It was just the same screamo that you would hear from any other amateur screamo band. There was nothing different. Nothing unique coming from these bands, yet they act like they're the shit because clearly they're not. Are they signed to a major label? No. Or even an indie label? No. Are they the Yeah Yeah Yeahs? No, so therefore they have no right to disrespect other bands or their elders. I like screamo, but only if it does not sound like a million other bands out there. The transition between the first screamo band to the next was almost as if the first band didn't even leave the stage at all. If I hadn't been watching, I would've thought that the first band just left the stage for a break and came back for an encore performance. There was no difference at all between the first two bands besides the amount of band members present on stage.

Big City Rock sounded great, but I can tell that they weren't having as much fun as usual. It was much more fun watching them opening for Big Japan back in May. They should have more fun on stage whether there are 5 people or 20 people or 50,000 people in the audience. Their emotions really show through sometimes in their performances like last week's and it reflects onto the audience because I would've enjoyed their performance more if they were enjoying it. There was nothing wrong with their sound because as usual, they sounded amazing. It was a bit of a disappointment that they played a short set and THEN everyone got kicked out of the venue before 11:30pm while other bands played and their shows lasted until after 12am so I don't see what the big deal is with The Boardwalk this time around.

TV ON THE RADIO Coming To A Cookie Mountain Near You!

It must be a dream. TV on the Radio coming a day after my birthday and then We Are Scientists coming 3 days later!

From Filter:

TV On The Radio On The Move
by Amy Davis | 08.15.2006

TV on the Radio, the post-punk boys of Brooklyn, have announced a slew of North American fall tour dates in support of their major-label release, Return to Cookie Mountain. Slated for a September 12 launch date in the States, their debut album for Interscope, features vocal contributions by David Bowie, and is the anticipated follow-up to their 2004 electro-infused Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes.

Kicking off in New Orleans, the two-month tour will include stops on the west coast, Canada and will end in Philadelphia.


TV on the Radio Tour Dates

September
14 - New Orleans, LA - Republic
15 - Dallas, TX - Gypsy Tea Room & Ballroom
16 - Austin, TX - Zilker Park
17 - Austin, TX - Emo's Austin
19- Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre
24 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl*
25 - San Diego, CA - Soma
26 - Pomona, CA - Glass House
27 - Santa Barbara, CA - Soho Restaurant & Music Club
29 - Sacramento, CA - The Library
30 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre (Download Festival)

October
2 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
3 Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom
4- Seattle, WA - Showbox Showroom & Lounge
7 - Fargo, ND - Playmakers Fargo
8 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
9 - Chicago, IL - Metro
10 - Detroit, MI - St Andrews Hall
12- Toronto, ON - Opera House Concert Venue
13- Montreal, QC Le National
14- Boston, MA -Paradise Rock Club
17- New York, NY Irving Plaza
18- New York, NY Irving Plaza
20 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar Lounge
21- Philadelphia, PA - Starlight Lounge

*With Massive Attack

Snakes On A Plane Motherfuckers, Casino Twilight Dogs, & Through The Windowpane DLs

Snakes On A Plane Soundtrack (Release Date: August 15, 2006)

The Snakes On A Plane Soundtrack is probably one of the most interesting collection of songs considering what the movie is about. I have not seen the movie so I can't criticize the relation between the songs and the film, but I just have to say it's weird. It's a great collection of songs, but I just really don't see the relation right now. I can't relate "motherfuckers" with Jack's Mannequin as much as I love Jack's Mannequin. Much of the soundtrack are just remixes, but I think the track that made me interested in hearing how the rest of the soundtrack sounded like was the release of "Snakes On A Plane (Bring It)". I think it's a really great track and yes I can relate that track to the film, or at least the trailer of the film. I still don't see the greatness of Gym Class Heroes. From what I've heard from them so far, I kind of find them annoying. I like rap, well underground rap, but so far not Gym Class Heroes' rap. People could still change my mind about them though. I've heard people say they love Coheed & Cambria and others who dislike them and find them annoying, I think I'm in the latter category. Their acoustic version of "Wake Up" is great. The music is great, but their voices annoy the hell out of me.

Tracklisting:

1. Cobra Starship (featuring members of The Academy Is..., The Sounds and Gym Class Heroes) - "Snakes On A Plane (Bring It)"

2. Panic! at the Disco - "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage" (Tommie Sunshine Brooklyn Fire Remix)

3. The Academy Is... - "Black Mamba" (Teddybears Remix)

4. Cee-Lo Green - "Ophidiophobia"

5. All-American Rejects - "I Can't Take It" (El Camino Prom Wagon Mix)

6. The Sounds - "Queen Of Apology" (Patrick Stump - Fall Out Boy - Remix)

7. Fall Out Boy - "Of All The Gin Joints In All the World" (Tommie Sunshine's Brooklyn Fire Retouch)

8. Gym Class Heroes - "New Friend Request" (Hi-Tek Remix)

9. The Bronx - "Around The Horn" (Louis XIV Remix)

10. Armor for Sleep - "Remember To Feel Real" (Machine Shop Remix)

11. The Hush Sound - "Wine Red" (Tommie Sunshine's Brooklyn Fire Retouch)

12. Jack's Mannequin - "Bruised" (Remix)

13. Coheed & Cambria - "Wake Up" (Acoustic)

14. Donavon Frankenreiter - "Lovely Day"

15. Michael Franti & Spearhead - "Hey Now Now"

16. Trevor Rabin - "Snakes On A Plane - The Theme"

Buy Snakes On A Plane Soundtrack

Youth Group's Casino Twilight Dogs

Youth Group's latest album Casino Twilight Dogs is pretty good considering I'm not a big fan of theirs. It is better than Skeleton Jar as whole, although Skeleton Jar had a few amazing songs on it. I still find myself bored with some of Youth Group's tracks on Casino Twilight Dogs, but that's just me as I'm not a huge fan of DCFC because YG having had numerous sold-out shows PLUS having been creating music together for over a decade clearly shows the staying power this band will have in the long-run. The basslines are simply beautiful on "Under the Underpass" and "Daisychains" is definitely my favorite track off the album displaying some fine vocals from vocalist and guitarist Toby Martin.

Tracklisting:

1. Catching & Killing

2. On a String

3. Let It Go

4. Start Today Tomorrow

5. Dead Zoo

6. Under the Underpass

7. Daisychains

8. Sorry

9. TJ

10. Destruction of Laurel Canyon

11. Sicily

12. Forever Young

Here

Buy Casino Twilight Dogs

Guillemots' Through The Windowpane

Through The Windowpane is truly one of the best albums I've heard this year from a band that I've never heard before. Actually, it's one of the best albums I've ever heard and that is really rare. It is UK's Guillemots' debut album featuring remarkable, original, and beautiful songs from start to finish. It begins with "Little Bear" that puts you right in the mood and is the perfect intro for what would come after. "Made-Up Lovesong #43" is cute and witty, and is one of my favorite songs off the album. Haunting melodies are found in much of the album and really makes you feel, which is what music is suppose to be like and is rare nowadays as to what much of the music on mainstream radio sound like. I would usually find some of the songs to be slow and boring, but Guillemots didn't make it so. Highlights include "Trains to Brazil" and "Annie, Let's Not Wait" and every other track because it's THAT good.

Tracklisting:

1. Little Bear

2. Made-Up Lovesong #43

3. Trains to Brazil

4. Redwings

5. Come Away with Me

6. Through the Windowpane

7. If the World Ends

8. We're Here

9. Blue Would Still Be Blue

10. Annie, Let's Not Wait

11. And If All...

12. São Paulo

Buy Through The Windowpane

Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!... Oh My!

Hellogoodbye

With their debut album Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! released last week filled some new and some re-released tracks that makes you want to go out and party, Hellogoodbye is set for a headlining tour this fall that is sure to blow their last headlining tour away. They always ALWAYS put on an upbeat exciting show that make even your grandpa want to join in on the fun and "dance and dance and dance and dance and dance". So grab your veggie costume and head out to the nearest venue near you...

From AbsolutePunk.net:

w/ Ozma, Cute Is What We Aim For and Peachcake
10/11/06 Las Vegas, NV House Of Blues Las Vegas
10/12/06 San Diego, CA House Of Blues San Diego
10/13/06 San Francisco, CA Slims
10/14/06 Pomona, CA Cal Poly Pomona Athletic Field (Bamboozle Left)
10/15/06 Tucson, AZ Club Congress
10/17/06 Austin, TX La Zona Rosa
10/18/06 Dallas, TX Gypsy Tea Room
10/19/06 Houston, TX Numbers
10/20/06 Tulsa, OK Cain's Ballroom
10/21/06 St. Louis, MO Missippi Nights
10/22/06 Chicago, IL House Of Blues Chicago
w/ Reggie And The Full Effect, Cute Is What We Aim For, Dave Melillo
10/24/06 St. Paul, MN Station 4
10/25/06 Milwaukee, WI The Eagles Club
10/26/06 Pontiac, MI Clutch Cargos
10/27/06 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues Cleveland
10/28/06 Toronto, ON Opera House
10/29/06 Buffalo, NY Buffalo Icon (Show 1)
10/29/06 Buffalo, NY Buffalo Icon (Show 2)
10/30/06 New York, NY Irving Plaza
10/31/06 New York, NY Irving Plaza
11/03/06 Boston, MA Avalon
11/04/06 New Haven, CT Toad's Place
11/05/06 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
11/07/06 Towson, MD The Recher Theatre
11/08/06 Myrtle Beach, SC House Of Blues Myrtle Beach
11/09/06 Atlanta, GA Masquerade
11/10/06 Lake Buena Vista, FL House of blues
11/11/06 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Revolutiojn
11/14/06 little Rock, AR The Village
11/15/06 Lawrence, KS Granada Theater
11/17/06 Denver, CO Cervantes
11/18/06 Boise, ID The venue
11/18/06 Salt lake City, UT In The Venue
11/21/06 Seattle, WA El Corazon
11/22/06 Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom
11/23/06 Orangevale, CA Boardwalk

Buy Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!

Little Miss Sunshine

This is movie is fucking hilarious. It starts out slow, but it is filled with laughters throughout the film. I didn't think the movie was going to be that funny. I just thought there were going to be a few laughs. The film is very unique and I don't think anyone should read or hear any spoilers because it'll just ruin the film for you. You just have to see it for yourself. I loved it. The acting was excellent and I loved Paul Dano's character from the very beginning. The little girl is so adorable! Watch this.