New album releases for 6/8/2010

Here's an article I wrote for Examiner.com today about some new album releases:

With every Tuesday comes a flurry of new album releases. There are many great albums being released today. Here are a few top recommendations:



Against Me! - White Crosses
Punk rockers Against Me! put themselves on the map with their last release, New Wave, which landed on a number of “best album” lists when it was released in 2007. Once again, the band reunited with renowned producer Butch Vig, who has worked with the likes of Green Day, Nirvana, and Smashing Pumpkins. Fans remain divided about Against Me!’s musical direction, but the Florida-based quartet continue to push on, with new member George Rebelo in tow.

Tokyo Police Club - Champ
Tokyo Police Club made a splash in the indie rock scene with their 16-minute EP, A Lesson in Crime, and subsequent debut Elephant Shell. A couple of years after their emergence, this Canadian foursome set to triumph over the sophomore curse with their latest effort, Champ.

Travie McCoy - Lazarus
Gym Class Hero frontman Travie McCoy makes his solo debut on his new album, Lazarus. His lead single, which features the hot talent of Bruno Mars, is already rising up the charts, peaking at #11 on the Billboard’s Hot 100. With all the buzz generated from his recent hit, it looks like Lazarus will take McCoy one step closer to realizing his dreams of fame and fortune.

“The Twlight Saga: Eclipse” Soundtrack
The soundtrack for the much beloved vampire romance boasts yet another all-star line-up, basically showcasing the who’s who of the indie/alternative scene. Muse, The Bravery, Vampire Weekend, and Beck are just a few of the notable names gathered for this impressive compilation.

Christina Aguilera – Bionic
She’s back! Pop/R&B diva Christina Aguilera clearly wanted to make a statement with her fourth studio album, Bionic. Enlisting the help of M.I.A., Sia, Santigold, Ladytron, and many others, Aguilera takes her music to new heights, and that very tendency towards experimentation and diversity demonstrates just why she’s on top of the music game.

Other recommended releases:
AM Taxi - We Don’t Stand a Chance
The Cure - Disintegration
Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
Destroyers of the Void - Blitzen Trapper
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Hanson - Shout it Out
Hot Hot Heat - Future Breeds
Here We Go Magic – Pigeons
Nada Surf - If I Had A Hi-Fi
Ratatat - LP4
Rookie of the Year - The Most Beautiful
Rooney - Eureka
The Roots - How I Got Over
Teenage Fanclub - Shadows
Trash Talk - Eyes & Nines
The Young Veins - Take Vacation

What CDs are you picking up today?

My New Gig- Bay Area Music Examiner

Hello Everyone!

So I started writing for the Examiner.com as an official 'Bay Area Music Examiner.' You can keep track of my articles here. Feel free to comment on and subscribe to my Examiner.com page. The more readership I get the better! And the more I could provide you guys with better coverage and content.

But, don't worry! I'll be sure to keep you updated on this blog as well, in addition to giving you guys special exclusives (some stuff that I might not include for my examiner.com articles). So be sure to still keep an eye out on this blog. :D

So Long CW...

Hello Everyone!

Sorry for my absence these last few weeks. In the midst of school, work, and my internship, I was a very very busy girl. And oh yeah! Not to mention the little fact that I just graduated from college. It was an interesting run to say the least. Now that I've closed that chapter in my life, time to start a new one.

I think the saddest part of it all is that since I'm no longer a student, I had to say goodbye as an intern for the CW. I've had some of the best moments of my life through that internship. Of course, my favorite thing about the internship was doing the band interviews.

I've already posted up a few from the past, but here are the rest of them:


We did this interview with The Dodos during the NoisePop Festival in February, just before they took the stage with The Magik Magik* Orchestra. Even though I already had a few interviews under my belt up to this point, I was especially nervous during this one because well...I kind of have like this huge crush on Meric Long. Not gonna lie...the man is hott. Lol. The guys were some really nice dudes, though. I was super stoked that I got Meric to sing the Pito Land song. I had seen him do it in some past obscure interview, and I wasn't too sure if he was willing to do it again since it's so silly. But, Logan and Meric were such good sports.


Here's another one that we did during the NoisePop Festival with Pat from Rogue Wave. This interview was pretty last minute. I had just been informed of it only a couple of days ahead, so I crammed in the research and churned out the questions. I was worried going into it, since I didn't have as much time to prepare. Luckily, it turned out great and Pat was super friendly and enthusiastic. Oh and during the interview with Pat, John Vanderslice just happened to be there watching and hanging out (to be honest, I didn't know who he was at the time lol).


Here's an interview we did with the up-and-coming local trio Geographer. At this point, I think they were kind of new to the whole interviewing process (in front of the camera), but the guys did really well. Also, this interview was kind of hectic because we were in a bit of a time bind. We had to finish this interview before one of the other bands took to the stage for their soundcheck, so we only had like 20 minutes. Luckily, everything turned out alright and we finished just in time. It also helped that they answered the questions concisely. I also loved how Mike answered the T-Pain question. Lol. After the interview, Mike said he was glad that I asked him that.


Here's the last interview I conducted with Ryan Star. Knowing that he came from the show Rockstar: Supernova, I was apprehensive that he would have one of those rockstar, holier-than-thou complexes. But no, he turned out to be totally cool. He kind of was a little contrived with some of his answers, but his charisma definitely overshadowed the fact. I was especially excited to ask him about the Backstreet Boys question. I had only found about it like the day of, as I was checking out his twitter earlier on in the day. So, I just tagged it along with all my already-prepared questions. It just shows that up-to-the-minute research always pays off.

Well thanks for bearing with me as I was took that stroll down CW memory lane. Interviewing bands was a totally surreal experience. It was like I was William from Almost Famous. I never really ever got used to the whole experience. My nerves would always be there, but I always got through it, at the same time. This internship gave me a taste of what could be. I'm still determined to incorporate music into my career...no matter what...

The Avett Brothers @ Fox Theater

It was only last year that I grew smitten with The Avett Brothers. Their major label debut, “I and Love and You,” produced by Rick Rubin, was my top album of 2009. It was the way they blended these different elements of country, folk, and bluegrass with pop, punk, and rock ‘n’ roll that caught the attention of my ears. As I listened to the album more and more, I could feel a personal connection to the honesty of their lyrics.

I got to see them this past Saturday at the Fox Theater. Posted up my thoughts about it on the CW Blog:

Hailing from North Carolina, The Avett Brothers, consisting of brothers Scott and Seth Avett, on banjo and guitar, plus stand-up bassist Bob Crawford, cellist Joe Kwon and new touring drummer Jacob Edwards, are well-known for their intense and raucous live shows. Knowing this, I was incredibly excited going into their sold-out show this past Saturday (4/17) at Oakland’s Fox Theater.

Clean-shaven and neatly dressed to impress, the band surfaced onto the stage to the earsplitting cheers of the crowd, who were a random mix of young and old, frat boys and punk rockers, hipsters and hillbillies.

After the acoustic opener, “Four Thieves Gone,” the guys immediately went to work, segueing into their soaring epic ballad, “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise” (my personal favorite off the latest album). The song was so powerful live, especially with everybody singing along and raising their fists in triumphant enthusiasm. From there, the crowd participation only increased, as the band proceeded with a couple of fun and bouncy numbers, “Go to Sleep” and “Kick Drum Heart.”

The energy level never let up throughout the entire show. Even with the slower acoustic ballads like, “November Blue” and “Murder in the City,” the audience remained completely engaged.

Brothers Scott and Seth were perfectly harmonized, both with their vocal harmonizing and complementary instrumentation. Their vocals were spot-on, switching from sweet, calming whispers to full-throated screams with ease. The two took turns on lead vocals and would swap duties between piano and guitar. Scott absolutely killed it on the banjo, frenetically strumming and plucking with superior skill (seriously, I’ve never seen anyone rock so hard on a banjo).

Bob Crawford on the upright bass and cellist Joe Kwon were just as animated and proficient with their instruments, pleasantly hopping along to the fast tunes and demonstrating their fine technique on the slower songs.

The Brothers were fine with handling percussion on their own, through their stomping and slapping of instruments, but Jacob Edwards stepped in to drum for a few songs when they needed an extra rock oomph to the overall sound.

The Avett Brothers’ performance was met with thunderous applause and a standing ovation. It wasn’t long before they came back on stage for the encore. Being the polite Southern Gentleman, Seth voiced his appreciation by saying, “You’re too kind” with a warm smile. The band ended the night with a Roger Miller cover, “Where Have All the Average People Gone” and their latest single, “Slight Figure of Speech.”

If you’re on the fence about The Avett Brothers, I recommend going to one of their live shows. It’s guaranteed you’ll be in for a good time.

http://www.myspace.com/theavettbrothers

Here's a little snippet I caught from the show of the band playing, "Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise". Sorry for the not so great quality. My seat was pretty far, my hand was shaky, and people's heads were in the way:


Here's another video (that someone else took) of Scott playing "Murder in the City". One of the most memorable performances of the night:

Atoms for Peace @ Fox Theater

Hey Peeps! Apologies for not updating for a while. I'll be graduating college in about a month or so, so these past few weeks have been quite busy.

Earlier this week, I got to go check out Thom Yorke's Atoms for Peace @ Oakland's Fox Theater. It was amazing to say the least. I posted about it up on my Cw Blog.

I ended up editing some stuff out on for that blog for the sake of keeping it concise, so here's my fuller, unedited review of the show:

Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke released his solo side project, “The Eraser,” in 2006, but only late last year did he assemble the recently named Atoms for Peace. Consisting of Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, famed session drummer Joey Waronker, and Brazillian percussionist Mauro Refosco, this ragtag ensemble is on an eight-date tour, hitting up a few major cities in the US, of course, including the two sold-out dates in the Bay Area’s own Fox Theater in Oakland. I attended the first show on Wednesday night (4/14).

If you were like me, you probably thought WTH is up with this line-up, right? However, watching the band makes you come to understand how it all, in some strange and crazy way, perfectly fits together. It’s one of those things you have to see to believe.

I really didn’t know what to expect. “The Eraser,” with its electronic glitchiness and mostly gloomy tone, is one of those albums that is perfect for a rainy day or a lonely zone-out (or both). Apparently, Thom Yorke was set on turning the album inside-out, astonishing the crowd with an oddly colorful and groove-heavy live arrangement. Mostly, he just wanted to get people dancing (and I have a feeling this whole thing was an excuse for him to show us his crazy awesome moves).

Starting with the title track, “The Eraser,” Atoms for Peace were clearly ready to kick things off into high gear dance-mode as a jazz trumpeter burst out during the last few minutes of the song. The band managed to gain complete control of the crowd from the get-go and held on to it for pretty much the rest of the night.

The band surprisingly had some great chemistry. Thom and Flea were like a match-made in heaven, dance heaven that is. Flea was like this big blue-haired ball of non-stop energy, jumping all around and doing his whole tribalistic-like, convulsive strut. Thom had a couple of go-to moves of his own: one being the “sexy” dance, where he sensually swayed his hips from side-to-side, with arms flailing above his head; the other being the “freakout”, where he just spazzed out like crazy as if a bomb went off.

Anybody else pulling off those moves would’ve looked like a fool. But, it’s Thom Yorke, and anything he does is plain cool. Plus, there’s something endearing about losing all inhibition, not giving a crap about what people think. You go, Thom!

Lurking not too far behind Thom and Flea were the other three members, who anchored the set down with their calm and cool demeanor and impressive execution.

The band played the entirety of “The Eraser” album from beginning to end. It was truly amazing. Still, the night only got better.

A solo Thom Yorke returned to the stage for a special encore, and a resounding hush fell over the crowd as he played a couple of stripped-down Radiohead covers, including “Like Spinning Plates” and “Everything in its Right Place.” It was no less than awe-inspiring, and the audience loved every minute of it.

There was plenty more where that came from as the rest of the band joined him for a second encore, playing a handful of rarities and b-sides, such as “Paperbag Writer” and “The Hollow Earth.”

Towards the end of the night, as the band left the stage, the crowd showed their utter respect and appreciation with a standing ovation. Even when the houselights came on, the boisterous crowd refused to leave and continued to clap and cheer for a good 15 minutes.

Then, a remarkable thing happened—the band made a glorious return to the stage for a THIRD encore. In all my concert-going days, I’ve never seen anything like it. Atoms finished off the night with an impromptu jam session, as Thom took the helm, teaching the rest of the gang how to play a few parts.

This show was a unique experience I’ll never forget. It’ll easily go down as one of my top shows of 2010.

I took a little video from the show. My seats were pretty high and my hand was kinda shaky, so yeah the quality of this video isn't all that great. But, hey, at least it's something! Here's Thom Yorke playing "Everything in its Right Place":