Linktacular New Post!

Here in America (I don't know if I have any international readers, hence the clarfication), today is Labor Day, the day when we all celebrate how hard we Americans work by...taking a day off. Hmm. Anywho, some random stuff to catch you all up on since I went away.

Matt at Addicted to Vinyl posted two fantastic complete live shows; a Matchbox 20 set from Australia circa 1998 (After Yourself Or Someone Like You, but just before Mad Season), and the famous Nine Inch Nails Woodstock '94 show. Both are available in their entirety at the links provided. Enjoy!

Friends or Enemies posted a mixtape featuring new stuff from Fall Out Boy, Gym Class Heroes, et al. Haven't listened to it yet (headphones are busted so listening time has been shelved lately), but its free if you click here. Click the little lever thingy then fill out some info and you'll get your download ticket. PS: Fall Out Boy releasing a new album already? That was quick.

And since I've posted so many others cool stuff, I suppose I should give you good folks something to read (assuming you're still reading and didn't click away yet). This live show has gotten posted before, I'm certain, but it's a great show and worthy of being recycled here. Sometimes called "The Show That Broke Up Audioslave", Chris Cornell did an unplugged show in Sweden shortly after Revelations was released. Here is that show. For all the people who hate the new solo Cornell stuff, use this as a means to look back fondly upon the man.

Chris Cornell Unplugged in Sweden

Doesn't Remind Me
Like A Stone
Wide Awake
Fell On Black Days
Be Yourself
Billie Jean
Original Fire
Redemption Song [Bob Marley Cover]
Peace, Love and Understanding [Elvis Costello Cover]
All Night Thing
Black Hole Sun
Call Me A Dog
Thank You [Led Zeppelin Cover]

Complete zipped download

Have at it. Back later.

==TJ==

Biggest Letdowns of 2007 (Some of them Anyway)

2007 had some great moments, which I talked about here. Sadly, there were some low points too. In no particular order, some of the things that sucked about the year that's nearly gone past.

Amy Lee becomes the female Axl Rose
The Evanescence frontwoman probably won't be getting Christmas presents from any of her original bandmates. Earlier this year she kicked out Rocky Gray and John LeCompt, the remaining original members of the band (Founding guitarist Ben Moody quit in 2003, more on him later). By most accounts, Amy Lee seems to kick out any member of the band that dares suggest she's wrong about what the band should be. Based on the war of words that went on after the fact (Lee more or less accused Gray and LeCompt of trying to destroy "her baby", and LeCompt joked about how he hoped we would become lyrical fodder for Lee), not much love lost here, except from the fans that miss what was once a good band becoming the Amy Lee show. As much as I love Lee, she can't carry that band on her back. The Open Door was a disappointment mostly because she released the shittiest songs as singles after "Call Me When You're Sober". At this point all we can do is hope the band quits while they're ahead, or that the band gets a backbone again.

Evanescence - Call Me When You're Sober [iTunes]

(As for Ben Moody, he's spent his time writing and producing for the likes of Lindsay Lohan and Avril Lavigne. A recent report also notes he collaborated with Celine Dion on her most recent album. On the Bill Simmons Vengeance Scale, I'd say this is about a 0.7 out of 10. )

Jay-Z pulls a fast one on iTunes, revokes American Gangster
It was the most the third most anticipated rap album of the year, and had racked up millions of pre-orders on iTunes by the time American Gangster, the new Jay-Z album inspired by the movie was due to be released. But then at the last minute, Hova pulls it from iTunes, citing his desire for the album to be heard as one unit, not song-by-song. As a result all the people who preordered the album got screwed. Smooth...reaalll smooth.

Having said that, I heard a couple tracks off the album, and am duly impressed.

Jay-Z - Roc Boys (And The Winner Is...) [AmazonMP3]

Matchbox 20's "New Album"
A 6-song EP and a greatest hits collection that even the most casual fans have does not an album make, guys. Get back in the studio and give me more.

Matchbox 20 - How Far We've Come [iTunes]

Live Earth
Huge dud. But then again, pretty much what you'd expect from a concert organized by Al Gore, no? Even the Foo Fighters sounded boring in this one. And that Police/Kanye/John Mayer performance? You wanna tell me that wasn't the most scripted thing ever? Points for effort and trying to be socially conscious, but no-good on the execution.

Buy the album on iTunes if you must (can't even give you an mp3 of Linkin Park's performance)

Legally Blonde on Broadway
OK, I'll admit, the movie didn't suck nearly as much as I thought it would. This is more a rant about Broadway's apparent decision to join Hollywood in not coming up with original ideas. Between this, Young Frankenstein, and the slew of Disney musicals, the theatre is almost as bad as TV and film at this point.

...and this is the industry I'm gonna go into...*sigh*

High School Musical 2
A sin against God, man, and everything I did for four years between September 2002 and May 2006.

50 Cent hasn't retired yet...
Despite his album Curtis getting soundly beaten by Kanye West. I guess a rapper's promise doesn't mean as much as it once did. Does anyone else miss the days when a rapper would promise to pop some caps, and then shortly thereafter the news would get out about another shooting?

50 Cent - Ayo Technology [iTunes]

Radiohead release In Rainbows, get verbal blowjob from the blogosphere
I'll admit, I was among those who praised Radiohead's ingenuity when they self-released their new album. I also think I was one of the first to dismiss the music itself as trippy, directionless and overrated. Meanwhile nearly every other blog has added In Rainbows to their Best of 07 list. Just 'cause you do something ballsy doesn't mean you're automatically the best.

I think that's all I've got. The Best Songs of 2007 list will be arriving shortly.

On a random note, I had the strangest urge to listen to the Red Hot Chili Peppers earlier today. There was no reason for it whatsoever, but I'm blasting the Greatest Hits CD now, and thought I'd share that fact.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Fortune Faded [iTunes]

==TJ==

Kanye, 50 set to do battle

For starters, I just started playing a leaked version of Graduation by Kanye West. I'll tell you what I think when I blast through the whole thing, but you should know that "Stronger" has been getting frequent play on my iPod for the last week or so. Both this album and 50 Cent's Curtis are slated for a Sept. 11th release, creating much fanfare and rivalry in the hip-hop world. In a very shady coincidence, both albums also leaked within hours of each other early last week. Fiddy has claimed that he will retire if Kanye sells more albums, a bet I sincerely wish we got in writing. Rolling Stone had the two appear as their cover story, and while the pieces are well worth the read, I was kind of disappointed to find out that the West/50 rivalry isn't nearly as heated as everyone would like to believe. I kind of enjoyed the image of Kanye holding his hands up in victory as he stands on a crying 50 Cent's body curled up in the fetal position. Maybe he's handing 50 a gold watch to help commemorate his retirement too. I dunno.

Last night my roommate handed me a mix of Okkervil River's stuff. I had heard of them insofar that their the new indie band du jour, but don't know much of their stuff. I'm gonna give it a shot a little later, see if maybe the indie kids got something right this time around.

Till then, I offer you a little taste of what I've been listening to in the last week or so:

Matchbox 20 - How Far We've Come
Kanye West - Stronger
Linkin Park - Shadow of the Day
Velvet Revolver - The Last Fight
Finger Eleven - Paralyzer
Pearl Jam - Daughter (Live at Lollapalooza 07) [The unedited version that caused a shitstorm last month]

That's pretty much it. Back later in the week, probably with more info on the radio show.

==TJ==

Some Stuff to Chill Out To...

No, I'm not dead. Just been tied up with work and school and the like.

I've been listening to a lot of really chill, acoustic-y type stuff. And since I'm behind on my reviews I think I'll burn some time talking about what I've been listening to. I don't like doing long reviews unless its something big, so these'll be short.

I think just about everyone has heard Matt Nathanson's version of the early '90s hit "Laid", but for some reason he hasn't had much big-time success elsewhere. A few weeks ago he released Some Mad Hope, his sixth studio release. This album might be his best shot at commercial success, led by tracks like "Come On Get Higher", a track well in the running for makeout song of the year, and the leadoff anthem "Car Crash". But outside of these are smooth, chill pop-rock that his fans have come to love. It's not glitzy and you may not remember every song, but its a great cohesive set of tracks that create a decent album.
Ruling on the Field: 6.5/10
Highlight Reel: Come On Get Higher
Matt Nathanson on iTunes

For the past few months I've had "Life Less Ordinary" and "What About Everything?" by Carbon Leaf on my iPod, and both songs got airplay on the old radio show. I finally got around to hearing the album Indian Summer. It's got a bit more spine to it than Matt Nathanson, and it has the tendency to wreak of Matchbox 20, but no one ever said it was crime to write one hell of a hook. Tracks like "One Prarie Outpost" and the Irish-jig-meets-pop-rock meld of "This is My Song" show far more musicianship and inspiration than most anything Rob Thomas has done recently.
Ruling on the Field: 7/10
Highlight Reel: What About Everything?
Carbon Leaf on iTunes

I've mentioned Secondhand Serenade on this blog in the past, but i never did a real review of them. If Chris Carabba were to overdose on Prozac, it would come out sounding like John Vesely, aka Secondhand Serenade. His debut album Awake is made up entirely of songs he wrote for his wife. He's got all the ingredients of an early Dashboard Confessional, but he's also got an absurd amount of harmony in every song, and has already begun to explore a fuller sound with the bonus track "Stay Close, Don't Go". Secondhand Serenade is for all the people who miss acoustic Dashboard or are tired of hearing about unrequited love.
Ruling on the Field: 9/10
Highlight Reel: Maybe; Stay Close, Don't Go
Secondhand Serenade on iTunes

Dude named Brandon Heath had a concert at Arcadia last year. At the time he was starting to find some radio play in the south, but nothing huge. I wrote him off when he came to campus, but finally snagged a copy of his album last week. It opens with two incredible country-rock songs in "Steady Now" and "Simple Man", and the title track "Don't Get Comfortable" shows what he's capable of, but the rest of the album falls flatter, with fewer memorable songs.
Ruling on the Field: 5/10
Highlight Reel: Steady Now
Brandon Heath on iTunes

Finally, last week Las Vegas singer/songwriter Nick Motil played a set here on campus, and his most recent release One of These Days is another example of what good solo artist albums should sound like; simple, unassuming, and just memorable enough to warrant repeated listens. Nothing pretentious or dull about it (looking at you, Ani Difranco and Jack Johnson).
Ruling on the Field: 7/10
Highlight Reel: One of These Days
Nick Motil on iTunes

That's all for now. More mp3s and info on the pending radio show will come in the next few weeks.

==TJ==

New Singles from Jimmy Eat World, Springsteen, and AvA

OK, lots of cool stuff coming this entry, but first some clarifications;

-If you comment, please be kind enough to sign your post. Gina, I know you reminded me about the Backstreet Boys album dropping in October as well, but please do sign your comments so I can separate the legit from the spam.

-2 entries back I listed James Blunt's All The Lost Souls on the list of albums coming out in October, thus implying you should be excited about the release of said album. Such was a miscommunication; I do not expect you to wait with bated breath for the return of James Blunt, especially if "1973" is any indication.

-If you hadn't noticed, I added my CD Tracker to the list on the left; it keeps a mostly up-to-date list of what CDs I own. Go check it out.

And with that, onto the goods:

-Angels & Airwaves has announced October 23rd as the release date for their sophomore album I-Empire. A clip of the first single "Everything's Magic" is streaming on their MySpace. As of today it had not been released to iTunes.

-However, both Jimmy Eat World and Bruce Springsteen released their first singles "Big Casino" and "Radio Nowhere", respectively, to iTunes today. Springsteen's track is decent, though his voice is starting to show some wear and the message of the song is a bit curmudgeonly, while Jimmy Eat World delivers another great hit. If you hadn't gotten the message, I'm excited for these two albums

Jimmy Eat World - Big Casino
Bruce Springsteen - Radio Nowhere

-More information has come out about Exile on Mainstream, the forthcoming release from Matchbox 20. It will be a 2-disc set, the first disc containing six new tracks including "How Far We've Come", while the second disc is a best-of containing 11 songs even the most casual fans already have. Meanwhile "How Far We've Come" has yet to make it to iTunes. So, in conclusion you will most likely be paying 20 bucks for six songs. Smooth, guys, reeeaaal smooth.

That's all. I'll be back later this week with some more goodies.

Does Jack Bauer care if you buy your music or not? I don't know. But do you REALLY wanna find out if he does?

Jimmy Eat World on iTunes
Bruce Springsteen on iTunes

==TJ==

First Peek at New Jimmy Eat World

Because my brother is a huge Jimmy Eat World fan, and I alluded to this sometime last week, I present the following: a video of an acoustic performance of "Chase The Light", the title track from Jimmy Eat World's forthcoming album, due out October 16th.

Jimmy Eat World - Chase The Light (Live Acoustic) [Quicktime]

No mp3 of it because I'm holding out for an official single release.

Artists releasing albums in October:
Matchbox 20
Bruce Springsteen
Dashboard Confessional
Jimmy Eat World
James Blunt

You may get excited...now.

==TJ==