Album A Day: Nine Inch Nails - The Slip

[TJ's note: We're inching ever closer to the official move from this site to our new home on Wordpress. Any and all mp3s posted here will not longer be picked up by Hype Machine, as they have been given the new URL for the site. Odds are by the end of next week this site will be officially closed. Change your bookmarks, Google Readers, RSS feeds, etc. accordingly.]

In honor of Nine Inch Nails' release of 400 GB of video footage yesterday, I'm listening to their most recent record, 2008's The Slip today. I was considering playing the bootleg I have of their show at Woodstock '94, but I'm saving that for an eventual week of live shows.

The Slip was a stellar blend of old and new for Trent Reznor. It had the driving, danceable singles in "Discipline" and "Echoplex" that were reminiscent of With Teeth, alongside the spacey instrumentals of "Corona Radiata" that made Ghosts I-IV a hit earlier that same year. In between those, you get the head-pounding, teeth-gnashing industrial that made Trent Reznor a hit in the early 90s. In many ways its a perfect introduction to NIN for people whose knowledge of the band begins and ends with the line "I wanna f--- you like an animal"*.

Lyrically Reznor is rarely better than he was at this point, and the music carries an intensity that warrants the epic tour that just wrapped up. Even "Lights In The Sky" (the song for which said tour was named) in its subdued angst holds so much power that you forgive its funeral march tempo. Despite getting a bit tedious around the seven minute "Corona Radiata", The Slip holds up so well leading to that point that you let Reznor indulge for one song just to hear what he does next. Sure enough, the patience is rewarded with the trippy "The Four Of Us Are Dying" and one last headbanger in "Demon Seed". A worthy end to an album

It's a shame that The Slip was so widely ignored on Best of '08 lists this year, since in a year where rock music struggled to have its voice heard amongst the return of Britney Spears, the reign of Lil Wayne, and that friggin' garbage that was "Low", Nine Inch Nails stood out as a shining bright light amongst a dim sky.

Nine Inch Nails - Discipline
Nine Inch Nails - Lights In The Sky
You can still download The Slip for free at NIN's official website

==TJ==

*I'm of course referring to the chorus of "Closer", not that of the despicable Limp Bizkit song "Hot Dog". Apologies for any confusion (though if you were thinking of Limp Bizkit in the midst of a blog about Nine Inch Nails, we might need to have a chat...)

Album A Day: The Boxing Lesson - Wild Streaks and Windy Days

Today's installment of Album A Day takes a trip to the underground with Texas space rock (their words, not mine) band The Boxing Lesson. I've received emails from The Boxing Lesson a couple times now, but as life goes, I'm only really giving a hard listen to and blogging about them now.

The biggest problem with the entire psychedlic/progressive rock genre is that its almost too broad. In its attempts to reach out and touch the farthest reaches of the universe, I always feel like I get left behind. Even the best in the genre (Rush, Pink Floyd) have a hard time keeping my attention from time to time. The Boxing Lesson have the same problem on their fourth release Wild Streaks and Windy Days, but its certainly not for their lack of trying. Tracks like "Freedom" and "Hopscotch and Sodapop" are wonderful, talent-laden rock songs that sound like they could've come straight out of the '70s. Even some of the longer, spacier songs like "Lower" have the allure to keep you involved more than usual. But once the lyrics are out and the token jam session gets going, The Boxing Lesson become a challenge to listen to again. Still, even for an underground band in a subgenre that has never impressed me, The Boxing Lesson show a remarkable amount of talent, and an equal or greater potential to bring something meaningful to the table. I can't in good faith slam or dismiss Wild Streaks and Windy Days since its not an outright bad album. I'm sure a number of my readers are seeing the description for the band and clamoring to hear it, and more power to them. The Boxing Lesson caught my attention for a little bit this time, and in the not too distant future I see them making another appearance on VLM.

The Boxing Lesson - Freedom [iTunes]

The Boxing Lesson on MySpace

==TJ==

Album A Day: The Rules

Since I never did post the rules for the Album A Day project…here they are. You’d think I wouldn’t need to do so, but if they’re written here, then I have to stay honest about it and you get to call me on it if I screw up.

THE RULES

• The basics are simple; there are 365 days in 2009.
• Between January 1 and December 31, I will listen to 365 albums.
• Things that count as an album: Albums, EPs (use sparingly…let’s not cop out), Soundtracks, Bootlegs/Live shows, semi-official mixtapes (anything by Lil Wayne or Kanye, etc), greatest hits compilations, and other things I’m not considering.
• Items that do NOT count: self-made mixtapes, iTunes playlists, CD singles.
• If for whatever reason I miss a day, I must double up on the next day. If I miss consecutive days, the earliest day is considered lost and cannot be made up (if I miss tomorrow and Thursday, I can only make up for Thursday).
• I cannot listen to two albums in a day and have one count for a future day.
• Each day (unless a skip like the one mentioned in rule 5 occurs) I will post a response to the album. Not necessarily a review, just a response to what I think and feel as I listen and how I think others will respond.
• Other rules can be added at my discretion; none of the above may be deleted.

I think that covers it. Listening to today’s album right now. Back soon with more on that.

==TJ==

Album A Day: Wicked: Original Broadway Cast Recording

I'm happy to report that work on the new site is very nearly complete, and I'm now able to show you what it looks like right now. The site is still very much in its early stages, and until I get my computer back tomorrow I'm still limited in what I can post, but it's up and alive and ready for you to see. This site is going to stay active for at least another week or two while I get some other business in order, but checking the new page as well, since I'll slowly be introducing more material there and less here.

The NEW ¡Viva La Mainstream!

Feel free to leave any and all feedback you have. Now, on to today's album.

When people browse my CD and mp3 collection and come across my numerous Broadway and film soundtracks, they tend to respond with a confused look of “Dude…really?“. The answer is yes. Really. A Broadway soundtrack, when done properly, can be as enjoyable and great to listen to as any other album. People seem to want to relegate soundtracks to the scrap heap for reasons that never made sense to me, but then again, I’m a theatre major.

Even without the stage performance from whence it came, the soundtrack to Wicked stands out as a wonderful example of pop music that holds its own against the Taylor Swift’s and Britney Spears’s of “real” pop. It’s got hooks that latch on to your brain for hours, harmonies that never let up, and in terms of emotional punch…folks, it’s a friggin’ Broadway musical.

If you’ve never touched a Broadway soundtrack before, it might strike you as overly cheesy and vomit-inducing. That’s understandable. In that case, ease yourself in with one of the other big shows from the last two decades (Rent, for all its flaws, is a good jumping-off point). If you’re like me and can appreciate Broadway musicals alongside your rock n’ roll, then give this a chance. Just have something more catchy on standby so you don’t get caught humming “Defying Gravity” in public.

==TJ==

Album A Day: The Smiths - The Sound of The Smiths

For the record, I am deeming greatest hits records to be fair game for this project. Really the only thing that doesn’t count as an album is a homemade mix since, well…it’s a mix.

A friend of mine wore a Morissey T-Shirt awhile back, sparking a conversation about music that lasted well over 2 hours. I stopped short of confessing that I had barely ever listened to The Smiths (or Morissey’s solo stuff). Given the conversation my friend and I had, I decided it was time I broadened my horizons and picked up the recently released Smiths compilation.

Usually when I say of a band or album that it’s the kind of thing I need to hear more than once to understand, it means I wasn’t a fan of it. I liked The Smiths…the 23 songs I heard anyway. But The Smiths are something I need to hear more than once to understand. The music is poppy, entertaining, and alluring, but there’s something vaguely melancholy in the music in spite of it. It probably has something to do with Morrissey’s brilliant falsetto and heartfelt lyrics. Granted, I only understood about a third of the words to any given track on the record, but it left me wanting more. And in a good way. I can’t even make a call as to which track is my favorite, because they all left the same kind of impact that I need another listen to decide what really sticks. So in closing, if you’re like me and have never gotten around to listening to The Smiths, go take care of that problem.

==TJ==

Album A Day (x2)

So the rebooted Album A Day project stumbled out of the gate a bit, as yesterday came up blank. Luckily today had no serious plans in mind, so plenty of time to double up. First, the album that would have been posted yesterday; Panic! At The Disco's debut A Fever You Can't Sweat Out.

Panic! At The Disco's debut record dropped around the same time Fall Out Boy saw their highest point of success to date. The two bands always seem to be lumped together, creating an unfair deal for Panic. The Las Vegas quintet are less blatantly pop or punk than FOB, and are more like a cabaret group that just happened to have a few punkish songs. might be remembered as one of the albums that made dance-rock cool, at least in the indie circles. I love the band's new direction on the Beatles homage Pretty, Odd., despite the universe's lukewarm reaction to its less-hooky, orchestral feel. If you're tired of Pete Wentz and want something intelligent and catchy, go through your archives and give this another spin.

Today (1/3/09): Gavin DeGraw - Chariot

My usual problem with singer-songwriters is the fact that they are easily the most formulaic genre in music right now, moreso than rap and moreso than country. It's usually breaks down to a guy with a cottony smooth voice and an acoustic guitar who's had his share of heartbreak and needs to sing about it for his own personal therapy's sake. Chariot was Gavin DeGraw's attempt to break that up. Yeah, there's still some schmaltzy tracks on this one ("More Than Anyone"), but it's buried amongst the charming rejection of "Nice To Meet You (Anyway)" and the brilliant party song "Chemical Party", saying nothing of the title track. Unfortunately DeGraw walked away from that on his 2008 follow-up, but Chariot still stands out as a wonderful solo debut from a time when John Mayer and his contemporaries were churning out the same coffeehouse-friendly dreck.

Back tomorrow and in the future with consistent postings.

==TJ==

Album A Day: Kings of Leon - Only By The Night

Album A Day, 01-01-2009

Every year as I work on my year end lists I end up stumbling across an album that I had bypassed earlier in the year for one reason or another (usually it gets lumped in with the indie stuff I ignore), and it ends up being incredible. Last year it was Jay-Z's American Gangster. This year it appears to be Kings of Leon and their 2008 release Only By The Night. Suffice it to say, I was wowed listening to this record. It's got it all; the atmospheric opener "Closer", the rocking lead single "Sex on Fire", and the balladry of "Use Somebody". And that's just in the first four tracks. Imagine how the full the rest of the album sounds. Kings of Leon take the '90s blues-rock sound of The Black Crowes and The Black Keys and gives it a healthy shot of adrenaline and marinated in chrome. The result is a fun alternative rock record that needs to be heard again and again.

==TJ==

Holding Mercury Begin Their Ascent with a Downfall

I'm backlogged on my Album A Day project, but I assure you it's still active. Friday's album came to me by way of a recommendation from reader Beth. It's from a band called Holding Mercury, the album entitled Downfall of an Empire.

Holding Mercury sound like they got sandwiched between the electronica-fueled rock of the 80s and the smoother, everyman rock of the 90s. Imagine, if you will, what OAR would sound like if they mixed in some synthesizers. Now take that analogous sound, and make it AWESOME. Now you've got Holding Mercury. They've got the sensibility and intelligence of some of the better mainstream acts like Matchbox 20 or even shades of Everclear, but they've also learned how to be loud and shout-along friendly like 80s favorites Cheap Trick or The Cars. Downfall of an Empire sounds like what I expected from the hugely disappointing Carolina Liar record. If you like your rock and roll with equal parts good hooks and brains, then I implore you to pick up Downfall of an Empire on November 4th.

Final Score: 8/10
Holding Mercury - I'm Not Well

Again, the album drops November 4th. Look for Holding Mercury to be on the radio show for awhile.

Back later today to play catch-up from the weekend.

==TJ==

Rambling Through The Cracks

I was originally going to post a very simple, quick musical ramblings to catch you up to speed, but then 2 posts this week got taken down (both are back up) which slowed the process down. As much as it tickles me to know that I'm drawing the ire of the RIAA's copyright trolls, the whole mess gets a bit frustrating when there's stuff to be done. So instead this post is part ramblings, part stuff that fell through the cracks.

I started re-reading Watchmen late last week. I started reading it sometime freshman year (well before the movie trailer came out) and didn't get through it, but am now about 3/4 finished. If this gets put to film anywhere near as well as it was put to the page, it's gonna be fantastic.

Smashing Pumpkins - The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning [iTunes]
(Song in the Watchmen trailer)

Smashing Pumpkins - The End Is The Beginning Is The End [iTunes]
(Alternate version of the above song)

Two rappers on opposite ends of the spectrum both debuted new material yesterday. Kanye West unveiled an unmastered version of his next single from 808s and Heartbreak "Heartless". The track is much more in keeping with what we're used to from Kanye, but not altogether boring. I like the fact that this album seems to be keeping true to hip-hop, while branching out into old-school R&B and soul. Props to Kanye for keeping it real.

Kanye West - Heartless (Unmastered)

Also coming out of hiding is one Marshall Mathers, alias Slim Shady, alias Eminem. After going into hiding since 2005's Curtain Call, Em is back in the studio recording new music. The first evidence that a new album is imminent came yesterday with "I'm Having A Relapse", a quick, largely unimpressive new song that I think does little more than remind people that Eminem is not, in fact, dead. No exact release date is set, but if 50 Cent is to be believed (he isn't usually, but it's fun to pretend sometimes), it could see the light of day in the coming weeks.

Eminem - I'm Having A Relapse

Speaking of the coming weeks, Best Buy has posted the tracklisting for the most anticipated exclusive in recent memory, Guns N Roses' Chinese Democracy. On an inactive preorder page, the 14 track setlist appeared, and showed us that the tracks that have been pirated around for the last year are legit, and that there are 3 songs that have never been heard by anyone on the web. Billboard has the tracklisting here. Chinese Democracy is set to drop in your local Best Buy on November 25th. Anybody know of a Best Buy doing a midnight release party?
(I'm only half-kidding there)

Two days have passed since my last Album-A-Day entry, so that means I've heard two full albums.
Wednesday: Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
Thursday: Dean Gray - American Edit (2008 Re-issue)
Today: Haven't decided yet...will return when I have listened to it.

For those unfamiliar with the latter, its the mixtape project from whence the oft-traded "Boulevard of Broken Songs" originates. Highly recommended by VLM, which says something given my ambivalence toward mashups and remixes. The album is available by way of any torrent site worth its salt. Go forth, young pirates, and claim your bounty!

I've been fussing around with the iTunes Genius function, and I was right that the more music you have the better a playlist you get. Good for my ears, bad for my medieval computer. Anyway, my travels through the Genius list have a number of times landed me this song.

Slipknot - Before I Forget [iTunes]

This song is the biggest piece of evidence I have that Stone Sour did the rest of the band good. It's also the first proof I have that Slipknot is capable of producing a melody.

OK that shall be all. Back later today with my daily album and whatever else happens.

==TJ==

Viva La Mainstream Presents an Album A Day!

I mentioned in a post last week that I have a metric ton of music sitting idly on my computer, never listened to, doing little more at the moment than taking up space. Much of this music is actually made of full albums that friends or band managers give me. So in an effort to expand my musical knowledge, increase the breadth of sound that this blog covers, and to give meaning to countless gigabytes of data on my computer, I'm hereby starting a project in which I listen to an album in its entirety every day. For the movie fans reading who also frequent Ain't It Cool News, this project is borne of my appreciation Quint's A Movie A Day project.

I might not write about each daily album I listen to, but I'll let you know what that day's record was and probably give a few words on it. I'm excluding greatest hits albums and similar compilations, but soundtracks are still fair game (though they'll probably be rare). Furthermore, not every album will be something I'm hearing for the first time; of course I'm gonna go dig out the old favorites, but this is also a project to give me new bands to talk about, and thus share with you, so everybody wins!

Some of the records I've listened to in the last couple days:
The Black Crowes - Amorica (1994)
Until last Thursday night The Black Crowes were in that very large category of "Bands I had heard of and been recommended, but never actually listened to". Justin handed me Amorica, the album largely considered their breakout album. Make no mistake; The Black Crowes rock, but it's not the kind of rock where you roll down the windows, turn up the speakers and sing along while driving. Suffice it to say it was quite appropriate for me to have listened to them shortly after midnight in a largely empty library. Very chill, bluesy rock and roll. Whoever said that rock and roll fell off the face of the earth in the 90s after Kurt Cobain died missed the boat as much as I did.

The Black Crowes - Nonfiction [iTunes]

The Black Keys - Attack & Release (2008)
Much of what I said about The Black Crowes just now applies to The Black Keys as well. This does virtually nothing to help the fact that I get the two confused easily. But where the Black Crowes take a more mellow approach to blues rock (think Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton), The Black Keys turn the volume up a bit higher and channel more Led Zeppelin than they do Slowhand. Attack & Release comes in as unassumingly as it exits, and at just under 40 minutes, it's something that demands multiple listens. So perhaps you can look for this record to be the subject of a future Album A Day post.

The Black Keys - Strange Times [iTunes]

AFI - Decemberunderground (2006)
I said last week that a couple of my friends encouraged me to listen to more AFI. I've had Decemberunderground in my CD collection since it came out in 2006, but it never got much play. "Miss Murder" was a fun track and there were moments of alt-rock brilliance, but it never quite stuck with me. After finding that I liked Sing the Sorrow more than I expected, I decided it was time for Decemberunderground another spin. The album is by no means bad, as there are some fantastic tracks here ("Miss Murder", "The Missing Frame", to name two), and AFI's flirtation along the shores of glam rock are worthy of being explored on future albums. The problem here is that the album breaks too early. By the time "The Missing Frame" comes to a close at track 8, I've already heard the best the album has to offer. The final tracks are nothing to write home about, leaving about 15 minutes of music that does little more than tread water.

AFI - The Missing Frame [iTunes]

That's enough for now. I've got a laundry list of albums that are going to appear in this segment in the coming days. If you've got something you want me to hear, drop a comment with the artist and album here, or email it to TJ.ONeill1024@gmail.com

==TJ==