Sorting Through My Inbox

A guest blogger for PMA did a post a few weeks back about the adventures of a low-level music blogger and his email inbox, a story to which I could relate all too well. I, too, a couple dozen emails a week from promotions companies asking me to listen to their next big thing. More often than not it's either terrible or not worth the time (example: "indie dance pop fused with rock" = terrible. Band saying 'check out our MySpace page for song samples' = "not worth the time". Don't make me work that hard to hear your music). Every once in awhile though, something good breaks through. I give you some of those examples.

Exile Parade are raw, raucous and just a little bit sloppy. In other words, they're exactly what rock music could use these days. With the Foo Fighters taking a break for a few years, the stage might be set for someone like Exile Parade to give rock music a swift punch to the kidneys.

Exile Parade - Heart into Suicide

Love, She Wrote take four-chord punk rock and give it a better-than-average lead singer (given the state of punk rock these days, that's a compliment) and some catchy lyrics. Overall they're not the most memorable thing you'll hear, but they've at least got enough talent and hook to warrant a few listens, which is more than I can say for countless others.

Love, She Wrote - December Nights

Lastly, I've got Letha Allen. Letha Allen is what I wish soft rock sounded like more often. It's got less forceful and more mellowed out than standard rock n' roll, but at the same time, it doesn't put me to sleep (looking at you, Fleet Foxes). If you're a fan of Counting Crows or Ryan Adams, this is a good place to pick up something new.

Letha Allen - You Do It Right

That's it for now, back with a little more soon.

==TJ==

Fall Out Boy Show Madness, Yet There Is Method To It

Did you know Fall Out Boy were releasing a new record on Tuesday? If you did, you seem to be in the minority. The once ubiquitous punk band have but one mild radio hit in play right now in "I Don't Care" (#22 on the Top 40 this week). It's true, Folie A Deux lacks the immediate gratification that previous FOB albums gave, but this album signals Fall Out Boy's graduation from the standard pop-punk outift into a smarter, diverse band. Give it a chance, and Folie A Deux will reward time and again.

It takes the better part of the first song "Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes" for Fall Out Boy to get into a rhythm that can resonate with listeners (I bought in right around the chanting "Detox just to Retox!"). Unlike their previous work, Fall Out Boy seem less interested in making music that gets people singing along and more interested in making people shut up and listen to what they're trying to say. Whereas other albums featured a good blend between Pat Stump/Pete Wentz's lyrics and the tight music, this one's all about Pete Wentz's take on fame, fatherhood, and politics. On "I Don't Care" Stump defiantly declares "I don't care what you think as long as it's about me". Likewise "Headfirst Slide into Cooperstown on A Bad Bet" has the band singing "I will never end up like him / behind my back I already am". Make no mistake; there's nothing stupid about this record.

That said, the emphasis on substance over spectacle makes it a more difficult listen. With no herpes-esque infectious hooks to force listeners to come back, individual tracks on the album are far less memorable. Lil Wayne helps keep things fun on "Tiffany Blews", and "The (Shipped) Gold Standard" stands out as a surprise favorite amongst the hit-and-miss later tracks. There's nothing wrong musically here, it's just not what listeners or radio programmers have come to expect from the guys who wrote "Dance, Dance".

Folie A Deux is already drawing comparisons to modern punk classics American Idiot and The Black Parade. While this record may match those in sheer ambition and scope, Fall Out Boy come up short here in regards to making something I can imagine going back to years from now when I want something representative of the rest of their career. All in all I see it more as an equivalent to Magical Mystery Tour, with a lot of great ideas and great passion in the music, but trying too hard to say something and forgetting that it's supposed to be musically pleasing too.

Final Score: 7/10
Fall Out Boy - The (Shipped) Gold Standard
Fall Out Boy - Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes
Buy Folie A Deux on iTunes today

Pearl Jam Celebrating 18, 19, and 20 Years With Re-Issues

We now have Rolling Stone's first guaranteed five-star review of next year.

Pearl Jam announced last week that they will be re-releasing their entire catalog between 2009 and 2011 in celebration of the band's 20th anniversary, starting with a remastered version of their debut classic Ten, set to be re-released March 24th. According to the band's website, there will be four different versions, with all manner of special additions, among them:

-Remixed album by Brendan O'Brien (some of these remixes appeared on the Rearviewmirror Greatest Hits album)
-DVD of the 1992 MTV Unplugged performance
-LP of the infamous 1992 "Drop in the Park" concert
-Cassette tape of "Alive", "Once" and "Footsteps" demos with Eddie Vedders vocals (only recently uncovered by Jeff Ament)

And that's just the beginning. The Super Deluxe Edition is available for pre-order now at the "What Recession?" price of 140 bucks, but shipping's free if you're a good ol' red-blooded American (or at least if you have an American address). Below is the full info on all 4 versions (I'm setting aside some cash for the Deluxe Edition).

1. Legacy Edition (2-disc set in mini-LP style slipcase):
· Disc 1: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered (original mix)
· Disc 2: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered and remixed by Brendan O’Brien, plus six bonus tracks: “Brother,” “Just a Girl,” “State of Love and Trust,” “Breath and a Scream,” “2,000 Mile Blues” and “Evil Little Goat”
· Re-designed packaging

2. Deluxe Edition (2-disc set plus DVD specially designed hardbound package):
· Disc 1: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered (original mix)
· Disc 2: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered and remixed by Brendan O’Brien, plus six bonus tracks: “Brother,” “Just a Girl,” “State of Love and Trust,” “Breath and a Scream,” “2,000 Mile Blues” and “Evil Little Goat”
· DVD of Pearl Jam’s previously unreleased 1992 MTV Unplugged performance including never before seen bonus performance of “Oceans” with 5.1 surround sound audio remix

3. Vinyl Collection (2-LP set)
· LP 1: original Ten tracklisting remastered for vinyl
· LP 2: original Ten tracklisting remastered for vinyl and remixed by Brendan O’Brien

4. Super Deluxe Edition (2-disc set plus DVD, 4 LPs and replica cassette in linen-covered, slip-cased clamshell box):
· Disc 1: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered (original mix)
· Disc 2: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered and remixed by Brendan O’Brien, plus six bonus tracks: “Brother,” “Just a Girl,” “State of Love and Trust,” “Breath and a Scream,” “2,000 Mile Blues” and “Evil Little Goat”
· DVD of Pearl Jam’s previously unreleased 1992 MTV Unplugged performance including never before seen bonus performance of “Oceans” with 5.1 surround sound audio remix
· LP 1: original Ten tracklisting remastered for vinyl
· LP 2: original Ten tracklisting remastered for vinyl and remixed by Brendan O’Brien
· LP 3 & 4: Drop in the Park – Live at Magnuson Park in Seattle on September 20, 1992 (audio mixed by Brendan O’Brien)
· Cassette: replica of original “Momma-Son” Pearl Jam demo cassette featuring “Alive,” “Once” and “Footsteps”
· Package also includes an Eddie Vedder-style composition notebook filled with replica personal notes, images and mementos from the collections of Eddie Vedder and Jeff Ament, a vellum envelope with replicated era-specific ephemera from Pearl Jam’s early work and a two-sided print commemorating the Drop in the Park concert.

Again, this is the first in a series of re-issues of every Pearl Jam album. Suffice it to say I'm glad I've held off on picking up the entire PJ catalog thus far.

Official Press Release on Pearl Jam's Website

Pearl Jam - Black [iTunes]

==TJ==

The Part Where My Roommate Gives Me A New Favorite Song - Updated

A post that's apropos of absolutely nothing other than the fact that I heard and fell in love with this song last night, courtesy of one roommate and one good friend.

The Veronicas - Untouched


That opening string bit had me at 'hello'. Listen as needed. Love it ad nauseum.

The Veronicas - Untouched [iTunes]
(Thanks Matt)

Breaking down the GRAMMY Nominations; 2008 edition

A performance from the Foo Fighters still wasn't enough to get me to watch the Grammy Nomination show last week, but now that I've bothered to take a look at who the Recording Academy's children told their out-of-touch parents should be nominated, it's time a take a look at a couple categories

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Coldplay, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III
Ne-Yo, Year of the Gentleman
Robert Plant and Allison Krauss, Raising Sand
Radiohead, In Rainbows

For the most part this category is in order. Viva La Vida was the surefire album to get nominated, and deservedly so. For no other reason than its mold-breaking publicity stunt Radiohead deserved a spot. Tha Carter III is a shout-out to the bloggers who know what they're talking about. Robert Plant and Allison Krauss are this year's Herbie Hancock, the old folks who put out an OK-but-not-great album who could steal it all because they're respected artists paying tribute to a respected (read: old) style of music.

The Ne-Yo pick still confuses me. Granted, I still need to hear Year of the Gentleman, but the singles I've heard so far were best described as bland. If they were going to nominate an R&B/Soul record, I would've gone with the better/more successful Exclusive by Chris Brown.

Who Should Win: Radiohead's gone 0-for-2 on AotY nominations, and I feel like In Rainbows is their best chance at scoring a nod. That said, I see a gunfight breaking out between Coldplay and Lil Wayne to score this one. I'm gonna say this is Radiohead's year.

RECORD OF THE YEAR
"Chasing Pavements", Adele
"Viva La Vida", Coldplay
"Bleeding Love", Leona Lewis
"Paper Planes", M.I.A.
"Please Read the Letter", Robert Plant and Allison Krauss

"Chasing Pavements" has no business sharing this category with Coldplay and Leona Lewis. Likewise, the only part of "Paper Planes" I like is the gunshots in the chorus. I like the Plant/Krauss song, but this category is already locked up. That said, where the hell is Duffy on this one? "Mercy" should have been a lock for this category. Grammy fail.

Who Should Win: Coldplay Coldplay Coldplay.

BEST NEW ARTIST
Adele
Duffy
The Jonas Brothers
Lady Antebellum
Jazmine Sullivan

Once again, Grammy's definition of "new artist" needs to be examined. According to their official website:

(For a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that artist.)

Anybody read that and think this is Grammy's way of screwing over smaller record labels? This makes me wonder how many mainstream artists are getting boned by the academy because they won't sign their souls away to the Big Four. Look for another rant on this soon.

Who Should Win: Duffy's the best in this group, but serious doubts as to her chances. Best New Artist is always the toughest one for me to call (Paramore got ROBBED last year).

BEST ROCK ALBUM
Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, Coldplay
Rock N Roll Jesus, Kid Rock
Only By The Night, Kings of Leon
Death Magnetic, Metallica
Consolers of the Lonely, The Raconteurs

Again, Coldplay has a chance to win big. But Jack White has been a Grammy darling for a few years now, so nothing's locked in. The only one here that doesn't quite make sense is Kid Rock, but I'm willing to let that slide.

Who Should Win: Tough call. I think it comes down to Coldplay and Metallica.

That's gonna be it for now, as I have other projects to work on. I'll be revisiting htese nominations over the coming weeks, and I'm expecting to do a running diary again this year. Till then, post your own thoughts here.

Ringleader, Celebrity or Queen, Britney's Back for Real This Time

Finals week and a failing computer made blogging damn near impossible last week, but fear not. I plan to make up for it this week, with at least one post tonight, and more coming in the next few days. Now, to my much-delayed review of Circus, Britney Spears' much anticipated second comeback record in as many years.

After leaving listeners scratching their heads with last years rushed, overproduced Blackout, Spears returns with the record she should have come back with. Circus is an honest, enjoyable listen that proves that Britney still has some talent lying around someplace. First single "Womanizer" is unabashedly fun and a return to the sex-driven pop that made Spears famous a decade ago. Circus looks, sounds and feels like what we should be expecting from a now 27-year-old pop princess of yore. The music is still brilliantly catchy, alluring to men and women alike (for varying reasons, mind you), and yet, you can still catch glimpses of how weary Spears is from the last few years. The token ballad "Out From Under" would fit in just as well on any previous Spears record, and "My Baby", an obvious tribute to her children, may not fit in with the rest of the album quite so nicely, but its no fault of Britney since its just as powerful a song.

That said, the album shines brightest when its fast and club-ready. The title track is the kind of song that proves folks like Avril Lavigne and the interminable Katy Perry owe us an apology for half-assing it. Likewise the already controversial "If U Seek Amy" (say that title very fast) probably has Lavigne and Perry cursing their songwriters for not coming up with something so brilliant and so raunchy first. All of the latent sex appeal that made Spears such a hot topic 10 years ago comes out of hiding on Circus as she stops giving a damn what critics and parents might say; she is one now, and she's just fine with what she's doing, thank you very much.

Overall Britney Spears delivers a shining moment in pop music in a year that's been marred with a bunch of would-be's trying to take her place. Katy Perry was just keeping the throne warm for a little bit, and Spears takes her place once more. Long live the queen.

Final Score: 8/10
Britney Spears - Circus

Back later this week with a much more timely review of the new Fall Out Boy record, plus my take on last week's GRAMMY nominations.

==TJ==

Best Of 08: The Bloggers

Finals week is a terrible time to have a computer go on the fritz, but lo, my 2003 Dell, the one that got my brother through college and has lasted me the 2 and a half years of my college career thus far, has fallen ill. This means blogging is gonna be a bit harder to do consistently for the next week or two (harder than it already would have been whatwith it being finals week). But I'm taking a break from studies to hammer out one entry, the first this month, and the first in the Best Of 08 series.

No, I'm not making grandiose statements about the best record to come out this year. Not yet, anyway. Starting things small with the best music blogs on the internet this year. Every music blogger reads other people's sites. It's how we know what's making waves and what's worth posting about on our own sites. Agreeing on a fellow blogger's music tastes aren't a necessity, just the fact that you're reading and seeing what other people are putting out there is enough.

2008 was a huge year for ¡Viva La Mainstream!. It was the year that VLM suddenly got added to the list of blogs others read, and the year that this little project that started out when my girlfriend told me I needed a hobby grew to something much larger than that. A great deal of that is the result of you, reading this now, and over the next month I will thank you profusely for your contribution, but part of it also comes from the other bloggers who have stopped in and had a thought provoked by the words on this site. So without further guilding the lily and with no more ado, I present the 2008 VLM Blogroll Awards (I promise to have a cooler name for those by 2009).

First one goes to my colleague Matt at Addicted to Vinyl. Matt was probably one of the first bloggers to take VLM seriously, and in so doing his blog and VLM have found each other making dialogue with each other many a time. Matt was even cool enough to bring me along to Virgin Music Festival in Baltimore this year. Kudos, Matt, and keep up the awesome bloggage.

In tandem with Matt I should point out Broken Headphones, as written by Brian, a comrade of Matt's and fellow VMF festival-goer.

One of the first blogs I ever encountered was Idolator, a site that I recently learned is only about 6 months older than this one. They also certainly win the award for most thorough blog in the bunch. No group, genre, or artist is sacred on Idolator; if they did something, they'll talk about it. Idolator goes down as one of the blogs where I don't generally agree with the sentiments posted, but their sense of wit and fun when it comes to the music business, as well as their consistent updates over the course of a day is amusing enough to keep coming back for more. That said, if I see one more post taking snarky jabs at Dave Grohl or Hayley Williams, Maura Johnston's gonna get a knock at her door.

Kidding...kidding...

Then there's Luis & Co. over at Pretty Much Amazing. First I want to point out two fantastic guest pieces that showed up on the site; one here that talks about life as a low-level music blogger who has to try to sort through all the emails of promotion companies BEGGING you to check out the next huge thing, and one here that breaks down just how blog darling The Hype Machine has affected what we do. PMA covers mostly pop music, with the occasional Hype Machine pandering foray into remixes, indie bands and the like, but for the most part PMA is the place to go to get your Top 40 fix...with a twist every once in awhile.

It is my personal belief that everyone who calls themselves a music blogger should read I Am Fuel, You Are Friends. Regardless of your attitudes toward the music posted there (I'm lukewarm to it, but this Matt Nathanson post was great), Heather Browne is a stellar writer. Fuel/Friends is probably the high-water mark for music bloggers who want to do more than just report the news and post mp3s, if you ask me.

The good folks over at The Good, The Bad, and The Unknown post some great stuff too. They first won me over with a small army of Foo Fighters' B-Sides, and haven't really let up since.

And one final award goes to Mixtape Maestro, a guy who's been reading my blog far longer than I realized, and does some excellent work on his own page.

I think that's everybody. Of course there are bands who do some cool stuff on their sites (NIN, anyone?), but I wanted to get the average joes out of the way first. I'll be back sometime soon with another post, but much depends on a lot of variables right now.

==TJ==