The Dead Weather – “Horehound” Review

The Dead Weather is the new new band from critically acclaimed and loved songwriter Jack White.  But don’t get confused when you hear it, because this music is by far the most experimental thing anyone has ever heard from him.  The band is made up of Jack, Alison Mosshart of The Kills, Jean Lawrence of The Raconteurs, and Dean Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age. When you first heard the single, “Hang You From The Heavens,” you were familiarized with it because it sounded like a very rough, dirty version of The White Stripes.  That particular song isn’t very commercial, and certainly not a hit, but that is the closest thing this band has to a radio-friendly tune.  The whole album is very odd.  And by that, I mean that I love it.  If Jack White was not in this band, no one would care or ever really hear of it.  It’s as if Jack White wanted to prove his fame by putting out a band he was pretty sure no one would understand or even like, but knew it would get big simply because his name was attached.

The sound is dark and heavy, but very spaced out.  Nothing gets cluttered as each song sound more eclectic and off-putting than the next.  I may be going a bit overboard with this, but I’m pretty sure I’m giving this album a 5 out of 5, simply because of the punch to the face Jack gave all his commercial-friendly fans.  Not to mention, the video they put out for “Treat Me Like Your Mother” is one of the most badass videos I have ever seen.  Please, go check out this album, whether you like Jack White or hate him, I think you’d at least appreciate it.  5 out of 5.  This is amazing.  Watch the video for “Treat Me Like Your Mother” below.

Jay-Z feat. Kanye West & Rihanna

Fresh off the fist of Chris Brown comes Rihanna with a new song with Jay-Z and Kanye. Ok, I know that was a very late joke, and a lot of you may be a little offended, but if that was written like three months ago, that shit would be funny. Anyway, a new song hit the inter-webs today and it’s off Jay-Z’s upcoming album. The song is pretty sweet, too. I’ve never been huge into Jay-Z, mostly because I feel he freestyle’s too much on record rather than actually writing lyrics that tell a story or have a deep meaning. But that is pretty much what he literally does. When in a studio, he never writes anything down, he listens to the beat, thinks up lyrics, and spits. That both helps prove my theory as well as signifying his talent. For example, remember the song “Diamonds” from Kanye West that had Jay-Z on it? Kanye raps the whole time about the diamond trade in Africa and how children in Africa die so rappers can have bling. Then Jay-Z comes on and talks about how cool he is. It can be really stressful sometimes. He’s one of the most legendary rappers in existence, but that doesn’t mean he can do no wrong.

This song is catchy, has a decent hook, and three of the biggest names in the hip-hop/R&B genre. Rihanna comes on with the hook, Jay-Z follows with two verses of how his bank account has millions and how he runs circles around people, and Kanye comes on with the third verse and saves the whole song. He starts off complaining once again about paparazzi and how hard it is being a celebrity (no surprise there), but how he saves the song is through his rhyme scheme and his lyrics. It proves once again how Kanye has surpassed everyone in the game as possibly the best rapper of his generation.

Overall, the song doesn’t really have a purpose to it, or even a solid meaning. It’s funny how a song like this can be strangely good with such few reasons. I’d personally give the song a 4 out of 5, but listen for yourself or download below to form your own opinion:

Click here to download the track for yourself

New Beastie Boys track with Nas

The Beastie Boys are probably my all-time favorite hip hop act.  They are absolutely phenomenal and without them, we wouldn’t have people like Kanye or Common or nearly anyone big out there now.  With their new track they paired up with Nas, one of the most respected rappers in the past two decades.  Personally, I’ve never really been much into Nas, but I am well aware of his talent.  The song is amazing, with a drum beat you’d expect from The Beastie Boys (which means its awesome).  There isn’t much tone, there is a faint guitar in the background giving a little bit of a melody, but the entire song is primarily vocals and drums.  Check it out below.  I love it and so should you:

Kazaa claims to be the “future of digital music”

I literally don’t know a single person that uses P2P programs like Kazaa anymore.  That shit was SO 2003.  But supposedly people still use it because they like downloading viruses on their computers.  They’re probably the same people that have sex in club bathrooms with people they don’t know without using condoms because they say that STD’s are “just a rumor” and refuse to believe that the things on their genitalia are just skin tags.  Anyway, Kazaa is tired of being sued all the time so they are going the same route as Napster and Rhapsody.  This is where people have a monthly fee and they are free to download as much music as they like.  They seemed to have worked out a deal with all the major labels, but honestly, if I was a label, I’d tell them to fuck off.  There’s already enough digital music outlets that Kazaa is entirely unnecessary.  Nearly everyone who downloads from a digital music source uses iTunes anyway.  I don’t think I know of anyone that uses Amazon or Rhapsody or Napster.  It’s pretty pointless.  Also, for Kazaa to call itself the “future of digital music” is just frustrating.  If this was 1998, then yes, they would be the “future.”  But this is 2009, and they are about a decade late.  I honestly hope they fail miserably.

Thrice – “Beggars” Leak News and Review

Thrice has gradually become one of my favorite bands.  Everything they put out is just astounding.  You can hear an inner evolution between the members with each new song.  I am quick to recommend them to any new friend, or whenever someone asks “I can’t figure out what to listen to.”  I can’t say enough great things about this band.

Unfortunately for them, their new album that doesn’t come out for another three months, entitled “Beggars” has leaked online.  Now, I am not one to promote illegal downloading, especially when it comes to bands that deserve every penny that goes their way.  I did grab a copy of this watermarked promotional piece, and I am here to tell you that I am going to review each song as I listen to it for the first time.  However, I have to strongly contest that I plan on buying a copy of it when it comes out, regardless if it’s good or bad.  Here it goes:

“All The World Is Mad” – fantastic.  You can already tell with the quality of the production that this is possibly their most stripped album to date.  No special effects, no over produced studio nonsense.  It honestly sounds like the whole band played together in one take.  The song is great, the lyrics are catchy, and this is a great opening to what I’m hoping is an amazing album.

“The Weight” – It starts off with what sounds like a blues jam, and quickly turns into a rock blast with feels of funk and soul.  Not their greatest, but still very good.  Don’t ever think when I say something about this band like “not their greatest,” that it’s bad.  I’ve honestly never heard a bad song from this band.  Ever.

“Circles” – This is more of their ambient side that was very heavy in The Alchemy Indexalbums.  A very slow, gradually moving song with a very cool percussion during the chorus made by what seems like shakers and finger snaps.  If you listen carefully, you can actually hear the squeaks from the high-hat pedal, which I think is amazing.  Very much a calming experience.

“Doublespeak” – A very cool song, with a chorus thats unexpected and rough as hell.  By rough, I mean beautifully dirty.  This accompanied by the hard-hitting piano chords in the verses make this the favorite of the album so far, followed closely by “All The World Is Mad.”

“In Exile” – A good throwback to The Alchemy Index, immediately reminding you of “Daedalus” but quickly moving into something new.  This is definitely something I haven’t heard from Thrice before, and I’m a little unsure.  This is probably one that will have to grow on me.  It’s has more of a pop feel to it, with a drum beat I feel is a tad too repetitive.  It would make sense to release this as a single, though I feel it certainly isn’t catchy enough to be one.  Now that I’m in the end, it’s sounding much better, as the drums are going crazy and the song is sounding more Thrice authentic.  It is a little disappointing I had to wait through all of that to get to it.

“At The Last” – A heavier song, but I’ve noticed on this album so far that there are no screams, which is a little odd but not too surprising.  A very cool song, very different guitar riffs, certainly new directions.

“Wood & Wire” – Once again, sounding much like they are all jamming at once, with random studio talk in the background at the very beginning.  For some reason, I absolutely love when bands do this.  It makes me feel like I have more of a personal connection to the recording.  This song is definitely in the ambient, slow feel that they love to touch on several times in an album.  I am digging this one much more than I was “Circles” though.  Pretty amazing.

“Talking Through Glass” – Great start with distorted drums moving quickly into distorted guitars and yelling.  Fast paced and definitely interesting.  Two-thirds of the way through changes into acoustic guitar and soft hums.  Very nice, but will definitely need to get used to it.

“The Great Exchange” – Yet another soft ambient track.  The third so far on the album, which is a good balance.  Normally, bands will have too much of the loud or too much of the soft, or even with a dead balance, and it just won’t be comfortable.  Thrice has always seemed to do this very well.  Whether it be a majority of soft or loud, it always seems just right.  Great song.

“Beggars” – Title track and final track.  It moves slowly and gradually, with amazing lyrics and calming melody.  The end of the song evolves into a beautifully noisy orchestra of guitar and distorted drums.  Certainly an interesting way to close the album.

All in all, I think its an amazing album.  Possibly the best album of the year so far (challenged with Swoon from Silversun Pickups).  Thrice proves once again how overly musically  talented they are.  And right now I’m really hoping that I don’t get sued for this review.  I’m not sure how I could be, but still.  I encourage each of you to BUY a copy of this album when it comes out, because it is certainly worth the money.  Thrice fans will have some getting-use-to when it comes to this, but I’m sure they will find it absolutely gratifying.  I am giving this album a 5 out of 5.

The Used – “Artwork” Review (1 out of 5)

If you’re a fan of The Used then you pretty much know what you’re in for.  And you more than likely enjoyed this album.  But, aren’t you tired yet?  Haven’t you had enough of Bert’s vocals ruining mediocre rock riffs?  You have to be.  I don’t think anyone can take this anymore.  The Used were once considered the frontrunners in the screamo genre, most notably as the ones who really made it explode.  These days, their music is just horrible.  Horrible, horrible, horrible.

If you recall, The Dune Review took a listen to their previous album, Lies For The Liars, and gave it a very mediocre review.  The main complaints on that album were its lack of originality and it’s abundance of nauseating love ballads, while ironically having probably the greatest song they have ever written (“The Bird And The Worm”).  This album is a change of pace for them, because they tried going heavier than usual.  This is something that, normally, I would highly support and encourage.  But just because a band tries to go heavier doesn’t mean its going to better.  This is absolute garbage.  The songs are very, very poorly written.  The guitar riffs aren’t bad, but they don’t ever surpass the mediocre range and talent that they have proven throughout all of their works.  And on top of the guitar lays Bert.  Bert with his cheesy lyrics and melodies that sound like he made them up the day of recording.  By far the only track on this album with any type of goodness is the opening track, “Blood On My Hands.”  The chorus I thought actually had creativity to it.  Though they attempt heavier music, they still throw in the soft ballads that no one enjoys.  Especially the track, “Kissing You Goodbye.”  This is by far the worst song they have ever written, and by saying that, you know it has to be audible suicide when listening to it.  And keep in mind, this beats out every song from the In Love And Death album, as well as the song “Liar Liar” from their previous album where Bert’s chorus was, and I’m dead fucking serious, “Liar, liar, pants on fire.”  WHY IS THIS BAND STILL MAKING MUSIC?!!!

This album receives one star and only one, simply because of their effort for regaining respect by going heavier.  You rarely see bands do that these days.  But that doesn’t excuse the horribly audible bullshit on this album.  Not even the artwork on the cover of Artwork is good.   This album is both visually and audibly an unwanted enema, slightly short of becoming an actual failed abortion.  Avoid this album, I implore you.

Billy Talent – “Billy Talent III” Review (4 out of 5)

Billy Talent is a band that I am constantly perplexed with.  I am perplexed because I just don’t know why I love them so fucking much.  The vocals sound like Johnny Rotten with an American accent actually hitting pitches over commercial-friendly rock.  The drums are nothing spectacular, and the bass follows directly with the guitar.  The guitar is probably the most original part of the band, because it’s played in a very peculiar way, with riffs that are very specifically tied with the Billy Talent sound, but something I have always been very fond of.  If you’re into this band, or enjoyed any of their previous works, then you will absolutely love this album.

The first track, “Devil On My Shoulder,” opens the album much like “This Is How It Goes” did with Billy Talent I.  It’s explosive, catchy, and definitely a good start to the album.  The following tracks are mixed with down-tempo beats such as “Rusted From The Rain,” “White Sparrows,” and “Sudden Movement,” along with powerful blasts of rock like “Diamond On A Landmine” and “The Dead Can’t Testify.”  Many tracks on this album will immediately remind you of previous albums, but it’s nothing that you would find redundant.  For example, if you listen to the beginning of “White Sparrows,” the first thing to come to your head may be “In The Fall” from BTII, but it won’t stop you from enjoying the song.  The album as a whole isn’t anything different than you would find from the band, its a very signature sound they have and it’s something that fans will probably enjoy for at least two more albums to come without them evolving.

My personal favorite track is “The Dead Can’t Testify.”  This track is absolutely amazing.  You can’t NOT bob your head when you hear it.  Not only that, but you’ll get chills listening to the addition of a mandolin during the chorus.  My least favorite track on the album is the closing song, “Definition of Destiny.”  Though the distorted guitar sounds powerful, the mixture of that with clean tones in the verses and the annoying chant of “definition of destiny” make me wish they left it off the album.

Billy Talent gives you exactly what you were expecting for a third album.  This is both a compliment and a bit of an offense.  If you don’t like them, this will make you like them even less.  If you do like them, then you’ll highly enjoy it.  Regardless, you won’t be surprised with anything.  The only thing I can imagine a fan being surprised with is the use of guitar solos, which have been noticeably absent in previous works.

Once again, I honestly don’t know why I love this band so much.  If you listen to this album, it’s even more proof of their lyrics being absolutely terrible.  With lyrics such as “let the rain fall down to the ground,” “I got my own definition of destiny,” and “strip me of my power, beat me with your chains,” you can’t help be perplexed that you’re still listening.  My theory is that the guitar is specifically written to ignite the rock fire of your soul once dedicated to bands like Aerosmith and Billy Idol, while sending nostalgia signals to your short-lived punk days in middle school.  This album is a 4 out of 5.  As amazing as it is for a BT fan, it’s still nothing shocking.

The Future of Futurama

I know, I know.  That headline was cheesy and fucking stupid.  Deal with it.

I’m angry! Do you know why? It’s because either Fox or Comedy Central won’t pay the voice-over talent of one of my favorite cartoons enough money.  I don’t know the details, so it actually may be the other way, with the talent asking for an absolutely horrid amount of money, but I’m angry at the situation.  Futurama has been signed on to come back for 26 episodes on either Comedy Central or Fox, but since the talent and the network can’t agree on a salary, the talent has left, which means the returning episodes of Futurama will have different voices.  Each character will have his/her own individual douche-bag trying to recreate the voice perfected by the person before.  It’s going to sound tried and awkward, ruining the show for the fans.  It’s not going to matter if the jokes are good, or if the stories are good.  Without the original voices, the show is shit.  Pull it together, Matt Groening!  Fix this bullshit!!!

Public Enemies review – 3 out of 5

Let’s face it.  Johnny Depp and Christian Bale are probably the two most sought-after actors in Hollywood these days, and the idea of them pinned against each other in a 1930′s gangster flick is an idea worthy of a very appreciative orgasm.  Especially one about John Dillinger.  Personally, I wasn’t so excited that it was two of the greatest actors of this generation, but because it was about John Dillinger.  If you’ve heard of a metal band named The Dillinger Escape Plan, you’re automatically interested because the movie is, literally, about John Dillinger Escaping.  I was highly interested in seeing the movie based on the guy that one of my all-time favorite metal bands based their name on (did’ja follow?).

The movie was…confusing.  Not the story-line, but the overall production.  Especially coming from such the guy that directed The Aviator.  The movie progressed particularly slowly, and it lasted probably a good hour too long.  The cinematography is amazing at times, and others looks absolutely terrible.  The audio quality of the gunshots are loud and blasting one second, and then another gun will go off and it seems muffled and shapeless.  The reasons being that Michael Mann made the bold move of filming half the movie with film, the other half digitally with a handheld HD camcorder.  He did this to give a more authentic feel to the movie so that it gives the audience a more personal feel.  However, this was to his fault.

The movie through the HD camcorder, though impressively sharp, makes the movie look like a direct-to-dvd skinflick.  It’s shaky, there’s no depth in the imagery, and it makes the make-up on the actor’s uncomfortably noticeable.  Christian Bale looked like a wax figure of himself.  I don’t want to pay ten bucks for a movie that looks like I could have used cameras within my own budget.

The acting, on the other hand, was absolutely superb.  Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, though in the same scene together such a few number of times, work incredibly well together.  Every actor in this movie did an amazing job (not counting the interrogation scene between a police officer and Dillinger’s girlfriend played by Marion Cotillard, what the fuck accent is she using in that scene?).  Not only was the acting amazing in this movie, but the costumes and scenery made you believe they flew back in time and filmed it in the actual time period.   It was astounding.

Obviously, I have very mixed feelings about this movie.  So much of it was good, yet so much of it was utterly frustrating.  Hence, the 3 out of 5.  It’s not literally in the middle, but 3 is usually my middle-ground rating.  I recommend this movie when it comes out on DVD and/or Blu-Ray, because it’s certainly an interesting watch.  But, when it comes down to it, you’ll more than likely only watch it one time just to say you watched it.  This is definitely not a movie you’ll be raving about and wanting to see on multiple occasions (unless it’s on HBO and Starz is playing absolute shit).

Killswitch Engage – "Killswitch Engage" Review (2 out of 5)

I’ll be honest.  It may be a little embarrassing to say this since I’m such a huge fan of Dillinger Escape Plan, Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, Mike Patton, Psyopus, and bands alike.  But, I am an old school fan of Killswitch Engage.  When I was a teenager, their first two albums were constantly being played in my walkman.  Then they evolved into a more structured form of commercially-friendly metal with their new singer (I guess that’s what happens when your original singer blows out his vocal chords by screaming incorrectly).  With this said, the new Killswitch Engage album is entirely frustrating to listen to.

Killswitch is an interesting metal band.  I say this because they can go from playing with bands like System Of A Down and Sevendust and other more commercial-friendly metal bands (most of them being nu-metal – remember that shit?), to playing with bands like Slayer and Cannibal Corpse and still keep the crowd entertained.  This band is very dynamic in that aspect.  They are one of the few bands that can make catchy metal.  But, goddamnit, this album needs to make up its damn mind!

This album opens beautifully.  The first track has a blast beat that gives you hope that they are trying something new and more chaotic.  The verses and chorus are both heavy and in some aspects, “brutal” (cheesy I know).  Then the album dives into a novel of ballads that you’d normally find in a screamo band.  Now I know that most of what Killswitch has written about in their history can be viewed as a tad emo.  For fuck’s sake, the album that nabbed them a grammy nomination was called The End Of Heartache.  I think it’s gone a bit too far in this album though.  I get so excited when I hear them write something loud and fast, full of distortion and anger.  When I listen to metal, this is what I want to hear.  Some of the songs on this album do just that.  HOWEVER, when a song like “Take Me Away” comes on, it just pisses me off.  The beginning to the song is fantastic, it starts off with guitar riffs and patterns that I’ve never heard from them before.  So, naturally, I get excited.  Then, it immediately drops off into clean guitar transcending into a ballad chorus.  Fuck!  Do you know who got famous for heavy verses and clean choruses?  Bands like Saliva and Hoobastank.  This song comes very close to ruining the entire album for me.

Other than problems like this, a lot of the music is redundant if you’re a Killswitch fan.  Simply put, it’s more of the same.  If you are a die-hard Killswitch fan, then you’re going to enjoy the album.  But for me, I’m just too tired of hearing them put out album after album, each sounding the same as the last with minor differences.  I’m going to go out on a limb here, but I honestly think the most entertaining thing they have done since Howard Jones joined the band is the cover of “Holy Diver” from Dio.  I know, I know, it’s a big statement.  But, honestly, listen to Howard’s old band Blood Has Been Shed.  If you want to hear Howard doing metal, that’s where you’ll find it.  They make Killswitch sound like John Mayer.  I’m not saying adding Howard to the mix was a bad decision; I actually like Howard and think he’s a great frontman.  The music just seemed to take a turn for the commercial when he joined.

This album gets a 2.  I would give it a one, but if I was a bigger Killswitch fan I’d probably enjoy it much more.  Therefore, I’m kinda giving them the benefit of the doubt in a sense.  But I’m pretty confident that even a die-hard fan would be understanding of my score.