Gonna be honest here. I’ve been listening to a band i have no idea what to do with. Like, at all. It was suggested by a friend, and so far outside of my normal scope of interest that i just got nothing.

I guess this is to expected when i’m suddenly tossed a French Pop CD. Phoenix, Alphabetical. When it first kicked on, i scoffed. It sounded like a boy band. While Savage Garden may forever hold a place in my heart, all in all Boy Bands leave me running for the hills.

So i kept listening. And listening.

Then i got a PS3 and got distracted like mad.

But now i’m back, and i’m still confused by Phoenix. I certainly don’t dislike the album. But at the same time it hasn’t overly interested me, on a long term basis. I’m not even indifferent to it…which is making me a tidge confused.

I know what i think about this album will come to mind at some point, but i fear it’s one of those albums that suddenly become clear in two or three years. One day i’ll play it on a whim, and then it’ll all click together.

One thing for sure, though, is that i like the funk element that runs through the album.

The vocals are more even than i’m used to, and i feel like the vocals are really what’s preventing me from really getting behind this album. The music is eclectic and runs the gambit of instruments and angles, but the vocals always seem to stay the same.

At least one good yell would help me make up my mind. Alas. No yelling at all. No falsettos. No growling, shrieking, or grunting. Just smooth boy band like vocals.

Some of the songs seem to work with this smooth even singing, Victim of the Crime comes to mind. The song is overall smooth, so the smooth lyrics blend right in.

Honestly, that’s about as coherent as i can make my thoughts on this band. For three weeks now i’ve been trying.

What to Take Away?

I am stumped, and unable to connect Phoenix to any other music in my collection. As such i’m having a hard time understanding what i thinks about it.

What to Expect?

Debilitation confusion, at least if you think anything like me.

What drink to pair it with?

A Rogue Chipotle Ale. I had one about a year ago. The jury is still out if it was something i’d like to experience again, and i’m still puzzled by it.

Favorite song?

Victim of the Crime, i think. but i don’t know. In three years when it finally clicks, i’ll let you know.

Operation alleviate boredom through music is in full swing here at the Anderson abode. My most recent musical refuge has been a band i’ve heard about for what seems decades. Despite this fact, up until about three weeks ago, i had never actually listened to any of their music. At all. The band? Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

The album i’ve been listening to is their debut: Fever to Tell. In the first listen through Tick really grabbed my attention and refused to let go, such that i found myself skipping forwards and backwards, ignoring other perfectly fine tracks in favor of the sheer insanity of Tick. With much will power i was able to break this tendency and listen to the rest of the album.

I’ve been listening to Fever to Tell almost exclusively for a week now, and for a week i’ve been trying to figure out how to describe this album. I finally figured it out, but only by using other bands that you may or may not have heard of. Which kind of makes this post moot, because practically everyone has heard Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The first is Cat Power, the second is Be Your Own Pet. Take both bands, and combine them in various ways. You end up with this album.

My affinity for Garage Rock is limited, to be honest. There is something about it that after a while just gets under my skin. Perhaps it’s too open-ended. Perhaps it’s because the vocals aren’t so pronounced, and to me vocals are what seal the deal. Or maybe it’s because the beat is hard to feel under all that guitar. Regardless, garage rock and i don’t always get along.

This album has some songs that don’t really pull me in. It also grates on me sometimes. Karen O’s crazy vocals are great, but when the guitar gets weird and screamy behind the crazy vocals it feels like too much.

The first two tracks on this album don’t do a whole lot for me.

Tick then goes nuts and permanently landed Fever to Tell in my remembered albums list.

The songs on this album that i don’t care for fall into a category of music i generally don’t care for, no matter who is producing it. Fast lyrics with slow music, or vice versa. Too much vampy guitar. A beat that is off kilter or subject to unexpected change. These things always get to me.

Black Tongue and Pin are pretty awesome. The beats are solid and the guitar is kept under control.

I also really enjoy Maps, but for alternate reasons. It’s a slow song, but with a good beat. The guitar gets vampy without getting piercing, and matches the deeper Karen O vocals. Modern Romance is another perfect slow song. The beat is steady, and the vocals are perfectly nostalgic.

For what it’s worth, though, Karen O seems to be a total Frother…which automatically gets her a gold star.

What to Take Away?

Generally speaking, Leslie doesn’t know enough about Yeah Yeah Yeah’s style of music to make much commentary on that, but overall the album has some good points, some boring points, and some points that really gets on Leslie’s nerves. This being the debut album, though, makes me look forward do a more defined sound in their later albums.

What to Expect?

Garage rock influenced Indie with a general lack of steady beats in favor of craziness.

What drink to pair it with?

A Hot and Dirty Martini. Pepper Vodka, Dry Vermouth, Olive Brine, a dash of chipotle tabasco sauce. Garnish with a pepperoncini stuffed with blue cheese, and enjoy the insanity.

Favorite song?

Oh my, Tick. That song makes the entire album seem like a gift from congress.

Meet the newest incarnation of Leslie: unemployed Leslie. Prior to, oh, today, i had a Job. And prior to that i had school. But i graduated (thank congress), and with that lost my on campus job. While in the search of gainful employment (or, you know, ungainful employment. Whichever presents itself first), i’m filling the 8+ hours a day i normally spent working, going to class, and procrastinating homework via Plants Vs. Zombies, with music.

I reached a musical road block some weeks ago, but thankfully i have at least one friend with a high rate of musical overlap who recommended some music my way.

Currently i’m investigating Noisettes, a three piece Indie/Rock outfit from Great Britain.
They are another band to be retrieved from my musical blind spot. I mean, they make perfect sense, but somehow i had never heard of them before.

But now i have. Specifically i have been listening to What’s the Time Mr. Wolf?. There is a lot of rock in this album. The tag “Indie” always gives me an image of relaxed fit music. Melodies, harmonies, and a lot of sanded down edges. I just automatically think “I’m From Barcelona” for some reason.

That’s not so much the case here. Sharp edges are in abundance, and there are quite a few discordant parts that pop out at you. The electric guitar parts are especially pronounced, not something that generally appeals to me, but most of the time here i feel that it is well placed. Not overwhelming like 70’s power-metal. Really, the album feels like a Garage Rock album. Perhaps with some minor Post-Punk tendencies, and a few dashes of Indie sentiment.

Shingai Shoniwa, the lead vocalist, has an amazing voice. her range is quite sizable, and her ability to switch from shrieking to sultry to soft harmonies is perfect. I’m tempted to suggest that her voice makes the band, but that’s not entirely true. The music certainly keeps up, and is engaging and forceful in it’s own way, but is constructed such that it leaves a gap where her voice can come in and pull everything together.

Shingai herself plays bass. For the record, female bass players are awesome. Dan Smith crafts all the guitar rifts, and Jamie Morrison has control over the drums. Smith and Morrison provide perfect back up vocals to Shingai’s singing. For a three piece, their sound is very large. I want to say the music sounds “neat”, but it certainly doesn’t. It sounds, i imagine, exactly how they want it to sound.

The music itself is varied. The first song “Don’t Give Up“, gives very definite Rockabilly vibes, thanks to a deliberate and prominent bass line, her full throaty singing, and a subtle twang. She even throws in some little growls that really bring the Rockabilly touch home. The whole song is at a good tempo, perfect for throwing someone around the dance floor. I love it. I wish the rest of the album followed this style.

Unfortunately it doesn’t, but at the same time not everyone digs rockabilly as much as i do. From track two, the notion that this is an Garage Rock album really kick in. The bass is backed up to normal. The songs seem slightly unbalanced, but i always feel Garage Rock to be slightly off-balanced. It seems to be part of the charm. Most of the songs certainly don’t follow the normal verse to chorus ratio.

While guitar and vocal heavy garage rock may be the signature of this album, Noisettes throw some tracks onto the album to show they are capable of deliberate and delicate music. “The Count of Monte Christo” is probably the best example of this.

I don’t necessarily love the entire album. But regardless, the whole album is artfully crafted. Some of the songs just reach outside of my normal comfort zone for screaming guitars. There are quite a few songs on this album though that i really dig, and “Don’t Give Up”, is one of the few new songs i’ve become obsessed with in ages. I mean, even one dynamite song is more than most albums have going for them.

What to Take Away?

Noisettes is a solid Indie Rock band that takes much from the Garage Rock genre. Shingai’s voice is powerful and amazing, and a lot of thought seems to go into their music. Oh, and Shingai is a total fox.

What to Expect?

Garage Rock and nuts vocals that sometimes verge on blues or soul.

What to Pair it With?

Gin and Tonic with an extra wedge of lime.

Favorite Song?

“Don’t Give Up“. Its combination of bass and vocals is intoxicating.

which is awesome, because for me, Holiday Hi-jinks come with a cost (other than themselves, mind you).

I drive a 1999 teal chevy cavalier. he’s a twice hand-me-down. His name is Little Blue, and i love him, except for one fact: he has no CD player. Neither does he have a tape deck. Not only that, but his cigarette charger is disconnected, so running things from the outlet is impossible.

Little Blue therefore leaves me no option but to listen to the radio. as such, i have spent the last two weeks of December driving from Cleveland to Pittsburgh, and countless jaunts in between, with nothing but the radio to ease my holiday travel boredom.

not good. But the endless exposure to the harmful music radiation has left me with a fairshare of guilty pleasures.

1) Jason Derulo. Whatcha Say.
It’s the Imogen Heap in this song that brought me over to the dark side. It is so not my typical style of music, and now lies within a small selective group of rap and hip-hop that doesn’t leave me running to the hills. (for the record, Mystical’s “Bounce Back”, and Outkast’s “Whole World” are the only other two in this category. Unless “Hammertime” and “Jump Around” count. I’m gonna go ahead and assume they don’t.)
The only problem with this song is the way he sings the phrase “I just didn’t know what to do”. the “what to do” part is spit out in such a way that for a second i question whether his IQ is above 70.

2) P!nk. Funhouse.
It didn’t hit the airwaves that much, but enough that i kept hitting the scan button in a fruitless attempt at avoiding Miley Cyrus. If you ask me, i think Miley Cyrus might be the Evil Clown to which P!nk alludes.

3) Lady Gaga. Bad Romance.
Lady Gaga is nuts. And i love her. It is in fact the insanity present in this song that appeals to me. and the beat. and the ‘Gaga oh-lala’.
what also appeals to me about this song? it’s not paparazzi or telephone. i want to punch those songs in the face.

4) 3oh!3. Don’t Trust Me.
This is old by now, but for some reason it hit the radio with a vengeance these past few weeks. It has taken months of steady and solid disinterest, but it’s finally winning me over. except the part it’s most famous for: the Hellen Keller part. that part just reminds me that the rest of the song makes little sense, and the writers are probably douchebags.

5) Owl City. Fireflies.
The first 3 million times i heard this song i thought The Postal Service made a comeback. the 4th million time i heard it i started to realize it wasn’t the Postal Service, but it wasn’t until listen 4,589,341 that the announcer actually said the band in question. This song is enjoyable for the strings present, and the fact that a “sock hop” is actually in the equation. The voice isn’t so bad, and the lyrics are acceptable. The fact that it is almost directly a page out of the Postal Service’s book, and that it’s about 42 seconds long are not in it’s favor. but it sure as hell beats miley cyrus.

With my guilty indulgences out of way, i move forward to Most Rued songs of the Holiday Season.

1) Miley Cyrus. All of it.
Oh how i rue this young woman and her pathetic attempts at music. i rue!

2) Lady Gaga. Paparazzi.
As much as i appreciate Lady Gaga and her danceable tunes, i hate Paparazzi. It’s slow. It’s not dancey. the beat is lagging so much to be mistaken for missing, and it is overplayed like whoa. for serious, this song drives me nuts. it was okay when i only heard it every once in a while, but this three-times-an-hour business is for the birds.

3) Lady Gaga. Telephone.
If Lady Gaga likes to play subtle jokes on mindless celebrities through her music, she is going to have to backtrack something fierce with the advent of this song. It is not subtle. it is overbearing, it is brutal and it is stupid. The lyrics are uninspired, the music mediocre, and the singing is bland. this song annoys me greatly.

4) Taylor Swift. Love Story.
I was amazed to hear the other day that this song beat out “Just Dance” for the yearly countdown. Impressive. except for the fact that this song is truly just insipid. Lady Gaga may be mocking people through her music, but Taylor Swift actually thinks getting hitched so young you can’t drink at your own wedding is brilliant and romantic. yech.

5) Ke$ha. Tik Tok.
I have no idea where this came from. The singer and the song came out of left field. it has been widely reported that left field is the advent of most musical suffering, and i wish for the sake of humanity she would take her junk and flee back to this left field of doom. holy wow. and that is so not how you spell “Tick Tock”.

It’s always a toss-up. With so many varieties of stupid girls out there, which one(s) do i rue the most?

Crash Love. It’s the newest album by AFI. I’d like to say it was long anticipated, but the truth is I kind of forgot it was coming. I knew after the Blaqk Audio album that a new AFI album was coming eventually, but I didn’t keep tabs on it.

I will go ahead and admit, at the risk of losing any street-punk cred I had left from my 15 year old days, that I like decemberunderground. I like it a lot, even.

Which brings us, somehow, to Crash Love. Most people, it seems, disliked decemberunderground. Vehemently. I know they weren’t the old school die-hard AFI fans, because most of those decided AFI sold out after songs like I Wanna Mohawk (But Mom Won’t Let Me Get One) went out the window.

Anyway, public backlash against decemberunderground was largely widespread, but I liked it. It felt honest, like it’s really what they wanted to do. Crash Love doesn’t give me the same vibe. For one thing it feels more theatrical. Some of the songs seem almost like a rock-opera. While Havok’s voice could totally handle opera, I feel the only band really capable of the rock-opera is Manowar. And they are lacking from this equation.

I’ve heard myriad people mention how much this album tickles them because it goes back to AFI’s “old sound”, which doesn’t make sense to me, because this sounds nothing like Cereal Wars. Even if they’re talking about Sing the Sorrow “old”, I don’t see it.

For a vast majority of the tracks, the music feels weak to me. While the lyrics may have been questionable in decemberunderground, I felt the music was well thought out. On Crash Love, however, the music feels almost generic to me. If I heard it without any vocals, I would have no idea what band was responsible for it.

Admittedly I am no musician, I am merely a music lover, and I have no way of telling whether music is easy or hard to play. However, regardless of ease, I felt the music of decemberunderground to be more engaging, and while the lyrics where perhaps weak, their presentation was pleasing to my ear.

Regardless, the first couple tracks confuse me. There are parts of the songs I love, but other parts that irk me. The chorus from Beautiful Thieves, for example, I find fabulous. The beginning of End Transmission does nothing for me, but the rest of the song sucks me in. I just flat out don’t like Medicate, but parts of I Am Trying Very Hard to Be Here pull me in while other parts push me away.

Sacrilege is the first song on the album that kind of reminds me of any old AFI. I do like it. the back-up vocals, the contrast between chorus and verse, and music that seems leveled, varied and well paired. I like the tempo in Havok’s singing too. The bridge bothers me a little, but very few bridges don’t. I’m biased against them. (The exception being Regina Spektor’s perfect bridge in Dance Song of the 80’s).

Darling, I Want to Destroy You annoys the hell out of me, and Cold Hands bothers me greatly at parts, but entertains me in others.

The whole album leaves me feeling rather bi-polar. And I’m just going to skip most of the extended tracks, because I am one of the few music junkies that doesn’t put much stock in demos, previously unreleased tracks, or otherwise. I generally feel there is a reason songs get left behind…

Fainting Spells, however, I feel has a lot of potential. I almost feel some Nine Inch Nails influence, but I find the intro lacking enough that it took me a long time to notice that what followed it was worth listening to. One of the strongest songs on the album, though, even though it isn’t on the normal album.

What to take away?

Crash Love leaves a very “meh” taste in my mouth. I don’t vehemently hate it, but for the most part i find it either boring and/or easily forgotten. Some songs have great aspects, but overall i feel the album is lacking a reasonable number of stand alone great songs.

What to Expect?

Music that doesn’t quite get at you the way, say, Black Sails in the Sunset does. But what can I say, so far I think they peaked with BSitS.

What to Pair it With?

A poorly mixed Long Island Iced Tea. All the elements for awesome are here, and if they were in proper proportion, I’m sure it would be intoxicating. As is, however, I’m not particularly impressed.

Favorite Song?

I think it’s gotta be Sacrilege. It just gives me hope for the future of AFI, despite the rest of the album. Next time around, they just have to get it right.

Things have been stressful lately. The little things. Worrying about graduation and my future employment (or lack thereof). Trying to finish off my super late senior project. Washing dishes. Eating regularly. Trying to save abandoned kittens. Worrying over whether my office-mate’s boyfriend having swine flu means I should panic every time she sneezes.

It’s not so much that any one thing is particularly difficult, it’s just that between classes and work I’m normally really tired and have very little free time during which I’m not sleeping.

Enter, The Apples in Stereo. They make my life happier. To me they sound like The Beatles meet modern indie pop. I like it so much. “The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone [sic]” has particularly caught my fancy. It’s just such a charming mix of musical styles and lyrics. So much fun. There are also about 18 different little things that catch my attention and make me really happy:

1. A brass section: Brass makes everything better. Much like strings and pianos, brass just lends a little extra something that makes me instantly fall in love. Honestly, I can’t think of one song that makes use of a brass section that I don’t like.
2. Backup vocals: they are done perfectly. Subtle in places, outrageous in others, the backup vocals add some more depth to their already complex songs. I don’t know how to describe it really. It’s almost like how one line is 1D, two is 2D, and if you position that third line right, three make 3D. For each extra voice, an extra dimension is added to the song.
3. Clapping: They do it a lot. I love songs with clapping. I collect them, even.
4. That old-timey feel: seriously, these songs make me feel as if i should be wearing go-go boots or something. But it feels old in the best way possible. Giving that vintage feel to freshly written music I find impressive. Also impressive is the fact that they make use of all sorts of technologies in their music making and recording process that obviously don’t place in the 1960’s or 1970’s, but they still feel at home.
5. Cow-bells, tambourine, and those shaky maraca-like things: there is such a wide array of simple instruments that are often forgot about. in the rush for the biggest and best, some good ole cowbell is often forgotten. Not by these guys.
6. Midi-bass lines: More people need to implement the midi-bass line, me thinks. It kicks the shit out of most other bass lines I’ve ever heard. Perhaps I’ll start collecting midi-bass Lines. I think that would be a short list.

You get the point.

What to take away?

The Apples in Stereo pack all sorts of awesome into their songs. They are filled to capacity without sounding over crowded. They’re damn good. They do a good job of destressifying (a very technical word) without over-hyping. They just subliminally encourage you to get a subtle groove on. This groove may build up over time.

What to Expect?

Vintage sounding indie-pop tracks, most of which are perfect for a good morning pump-up session.

What to Pair it With?

Lithuanian Sparkling Wine. Bubbly, sweet, delicious, and a little bit off the beaten path.

Favorite Song?

“Go” by far. It’s totally my “I hate the morning, and need something to make me stop being a terrible grump” song. It usually works.

In sophomore year of college I discovered Rancid randomly. I had listed to the album “Rancid 2000” before, but thought it was mediocre at best and moved on. Sophomore year I found songs like “Bloodclot” and “Red Hot Moon‘. I fell in love instantly, and saw Rancid rocket up into my top ten with lightening speed.

…and then it just fizzled right out.

I don’t know why, but my love for Rancid did not last very long at all. Which is why I probably should have just skipped this album. I haven’t been in a Rancid mood for 2 years now. I’m probably not going to be very fair.

Rancid came out with their first new album in 6 years: Let the Dominoes Fall. I really don’t think I like it very much. I was hoping for a song or two like Bloodclot to energize me, but the whole album has this campy feel.

The foremost and biggest problem with the whole album is that they let the bassist sing. Matt Freeman is an amazingly talented bassist. So talented, in fact, that no talent whatsoever was left over for his voice. His voice is horrible. Simply terrible. A bad decision.

Seriously. Some songs on the album start to almost convince me of their worth, and I start to waiver against their logic… And then Matt comes in and sings the bridge. My defenses are then bolstered, and there is no backing down. Where Matt sings, I will not tread.

And “LA River” – are you kidding me? That “shimmy-shimmy-shake-shimmy-shake-shimmy-shimmy” makes Matt sound like Timmy from South Park, not to mention the general horror of placing that in the middle of a song. I know they were just trying to take up space, but the bass line alone would have been quite enough. Having Matt sing was superfluous and painful. Bad, Rancid.

The whole album feels campy to me. It reminds me of their song “Fall Back Down”. It’s so cheesy it’s almost painful. “Last One to Die” seems particularly painful. Yes, Tim, we understand people thought you wouldn’t make it, but writing a song where you thumb your nose at your naysayers and focus on the fact that Rancid is still around and doing quite okay is a little middle-school.

There are little things all over the album that just bother me. The inflection of a line. The lack of an inflection of a line. Singing the same line, the same way, twice. Stupid little things, but they drive me crazy.

Also, I feel like Tim is putting on that accent-cum-speech-impediment. In his initial stuff I think it was just his normal way of talking. As time goes on, however, it just seems to get thicker. It’s getting to sound like he ought to be wearing a helmet.

What to take away?

Let the Dominoes Fall… is not good. Unless you enjoy grown men singing songs that ought to have been written by someone nearing their teenage years.

What to expect?

Matt’s horrible voice ruining anything that could otherwise be slightly acceptable.

What to pair it with?

A Bacardi Silver pre-mixed Mojito. It’s a bad copy of what was once a good thing.

Favorite Song?

On the Acoustic bonus disk there is a song called “Outgunned“. I like it. The instruments are very well done, complex, and seem subtly Celtic. Matt doesn’t sing.

I have mentioned my deep and abiding (if not a little creepy) love for Third Eye Blind at least twice now on Sound and Tonic.

Here comes round three.

Ursa Major was released not so long ago, and I’ve been mulling it around for a few weeks now. I know that it often takes a reasonable amount of time for me to move from music being ‘okay’ to ‘pure genius’. The Abrasive Wheels took 3 years before they worked into my larger and more accepted music library.

So I kept listening to Ursa Major, but I noticed a pattern. I rocked out through the initial tracks. I danced and sung along and had a good ole time. As the album progressed I found myself not paying attention to the music, or unthinkingly turning the album off in favor of something else. The album starts out quite strong, but unfortunately I don’t feel Third Eye Blind does a very good job of carrying that momentum through the rest of the album.

This, of course, upsets me. With the exception of the cheesy way-too-teenage-angsty tracks (*cough* Jumper *cough*) of their self-titled album, I’ve found the entirety of their catalogue to be truly fabulous. Rating a Third Eye Blind song less than 4 stars hurts my soul. I feel like a traitor.

That’s not to be helped, though perhaps another couple months of listening may sway me to bump some of those 3 and 3.5 starred songs upward to a 4. It has happened before.

Most unfortunately, I feel as is Stephan Jenkins’ writing powers are failing. I let “Non-Dairy Creamer” slide because it was only on an EP, and obviously meant to be flippant. Ursa Major gives off no flippant vibes. This is unfortunate to a point, because I can’t write any poor lyrical choices off to flippancy.

In fact, Stephan Jenkins’ lyrics on this album occasionally leave me annoyed to the point of near anger. “Sharp Knife” leaves me twitching. The verses are quite alright, and remind me of old Jenkins’. The chorus, and the repetition of “I wish I was a Sharp Knife” makes me wish I had a sharp knife, so that I could somehow make it stop.

“Sharp Knife” however, has nothing on “Why Can’t You Be“. Oh my goodness how I dislike that song. The regular version is bad enough, but when Kimya Dawson (who is normally wonderful and good) is brought into the equation, I nearly lose it. It’s mostly the lines about the Water Pick shower massager that leave me screeching like a banshee.

Really?

The line “My water massager’s the purest love I’ve ever known” makes me want to find Jenkins and punch him in the face. Sure he’s written amazing things, and sometimes I think those amazing things should give him a few ‘get out of Leslie’s doghouse free’ cards…but in reality his awesomeness of lyrical abilities just makes me hold him to a higher standard. By congress, I hate that song.

Here’s where I regain my composure. Excuse me a second. *ahem*. Better.

Where was I?

Oh yes. Ursa Major.

So, aside from the rather strong initial songs, and the songs that leave me spitting and sputtering in rage, the rest of the album fails to really interest me. I mean, it’s not bad. But I don’t find it particularly engaging. Kinda boring. The lyrics don’t sparkle with the glory of old Jenkins

Perhaps I’m being overly critical, but at least to me this album rests squarely at the bottom of the Third Eye Blind’s Studio Album Pile of Greatness.

What to Take Away?

Leslie is rather bummed that this album did not automatically take the place of best album ever.

What to Expect?

Slower Third Eye Blind songs that are hard to rock out to. You could probably get a good mini-groove going, or a slight foot-tap-head-bob combo, but a full rock out loud dance party would probably only last the length of the first track.

What to pair it with?

A Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza beer. It sounds amazing, and you are oh-so sure you are just going to love it. And you a take a sip, and it pulls you in and you start internally pontificating on it’s strengths, weaknesses, and worthiness just long enough to realize you don’t particularly feel like finishing the glass. You also feel slightly put off by the amount of money you just threw down in ratio to the enjoyment derived.

Favorite Song?

The first track “Can You Take Me” is a fast paced song that I could easily see on any of Third Eye Blind’s other albums. It has a good beat, good lyrics, aptly located harmonies and back up vocals, and a solid guitar part. It also attempts to incite a riot. It gets my approval.

This last Monday (September 17, 2009) I got to see one of my all-time favorites in concert, and in my home city nonetheless! The last time The Sounds visited the region they hopped through Cleveland, which, while being better than Chicago, was still further than I would have liked to travel on a work-night.

This time, they visited Mr. Smalls with a band called Foxy Shazam.

Foxy Shazam was, how should I put it… Bad. I don’t know who decided to pair them with The Sounds, but I imagine it was a label decision and a deeply regrettable one at that. The character of the band was something like the deranged bastard child of rock and ska (taking more from the former) attempting a comedy act on a Saturday night while stoned.

I’m sure that’s an entertaining sounding combination, but trust me – it isn’t.

There were some die-hards in the crowd that came solely for Foxy, and I should theoretically thank them because a few made way for us to snag front row standing room after the opener was over, but I just can’t. The entire opening performance – from when the lead singer opened by palm-punching a guitarist in the head, to the absolutely ridiculous diatribes that involved more stuttering than words – managed to appall me.

All I could think the entire time was how much I wish Matt & Kim were the tour buddies for this leg of the tour… Then Foxy’s singer would try to speak and it was the sight of brain cells committing suicide. Oh, Matt & Kim, why have you forsaken me!?

The keyboardist was the most entertaining of the lot, and I think his quiet, quirky style, which involved a lot of foot-playing, made the show tolerable. There were assuredly no other mitigating factors even though the singer’s voice reminded me an awful lot of Alex from IMA Robot.

Don’t misunderstand me, I didn’t loiter there like an apathetic hipster. The music had a beat and was at least twitchable – so twitch I did, but thank Congress the set was short. Eventually The Sounds made their way on stage with the intro “Crossing the Rubicon” which was in such contrast to the audio gore I had just suffered through it nearly put me in tears.

Last time I saw The Sounds was in The Grog Shop – a much smaller and more “intimate” venue than Mr. Smalls – and Maja (the short lead singer) was hard to see from just a few rows back even at my over-six-foot vantage point. Mr. Smalls’ stage has a good four and half feet rise from the rest of the floor with a veritable moat to prevent stage-crowding.

Enter the show… The set was a large part their new album “Crossing the Rubicon,” but a number of songs from their previous two albums “Dying To Say This To You” and “Living in America” made it into the line up including the rock/concert version of “Tony The Beat” (the original of which is my all time favorite song).

As a rabbit trail, may I say that there is almost nothing more humorous than seeing an entire venue full of Americans singing “We’re not living in America” – the lyrics to the namesake track on “Living in America” – when not only are they living here, but they’re also bloody citizens. Just for the record, I sang along too.

“Crossing the Rubicon” is a much more artsy grouping of songs than either of their former albums. The lyrics are ultimately deeper (although arguably just as nonsensical), and the music itself is almost more enlightened than anything on “Dying To Say This To You.” Overall, however, “Crossing the Rubicon” seems to be the next step in evolution for the tastes of The Sounds connoisseurs as it mixes the band’s fantastic aesthetic with notable beats and a more matured tone.

Suffices to say, the concert was a huge hit in my books, and The Sounds performance more than compensated for the dumbass choice of opener.

Christina and I even bought (ridiculously overpriced) hoodies in celebration.

Now, since this is a concert review I’m going to forgo the normal question/answer lineup and save that for an honest-to-god review of the “Crossing the Rubicon” album. In the mean time, might I suggest you go have a listen for kicks and giggles?

I love music that is over the top.

Absurd, outlandish, and way, way over the top.

I have even started collecting specific examples of exemplary over-the-topishness in a playlist. You wouldn’t have expected, but I call this playlist ‘over the top’.

Right now there is one song that heads the list of ridiculousness in such a way that I don’t think fleshing out the rest of the playlist will prove overly fruitful.

Mika with Life in Cartoon Motion wins – specifically “Love Today.”

As an 80s infused pop track with vocals by Mika, with his incredibly amazing Freddie Mercury voice, it wins. It just wins.

Mika miraculously made it onto my radar some time ago. Another instance of sudden love, I cannot remember where he came from. Only that one day I knew of him and loved his music, whereas the day before I had not a clue.

I really feel most pop artists ought to take a page out of the book of Mika. I realize that his utterly fabulous voice is not a dime-a-dozen thing, and that many pop artists must rely on other devices to secure their popularity, and that fact would make Mika mimicry difficult at best. But damn, Mika just does such a good job.

For one thing, his album is diverse. From 80s flashbacks to pop ballads to campy Beatles knockoffs, the album certainly isn’t repetitive. Each song is masterfully pieced together.

The fast songs are fast, with back up vocals, clapping, and other small accessories placed exactly in the right spot. The songs drop away to showcase Mika’s amazing voice, then close back in and seem to make his voice sound that much more powerful, with a symphony of sounds pushing it forward.

The slow songs are slow, melancholy, with strings sweeping in at the right moment to infuse the song with more emotion than just the lyrics and the vocals could convey. The lyrics are simply stunning, and worthwhile even without Mika’s voice singing them.

Nothing about the album is typical, despite it holding its rightful place within the realm of pop music. Each song tries something new with the elements of your average pop song, and every permutation works most excellently.

Mika is slated to come out with a new album in but a few days. September 21^st the world will be privy to Mika’s most recent strokes of genius. I for one cannot wait for “The Boy Who Knew Too Much“.

What to take away?

Mika is re-infusing pop music with danceability (not to be confused with grindability) and sheer awesome. Amazingly enough, his brand of awesome is greatly enjoyed by the world unlinke many other awesomely unique pop musicians. Also, his voice is seriously the best voice since Freddie Mercury.

What to expect?

Pop music that sounds like the singer is actually having a good time, and he expects you to be having a good time too.

What drink to pair it with?

A dwarf. At least, that’s what my Lithuanian friends call them. It’s a shot: half Red Bull, half vodka, with a squeeze of lime. Sweet, delicious, and sure to keep you dancing for some time.

Favorite song?

There are easily three battling it out for the top position. Initially “Lollipop” won due to how ridiculous it is, but then the ballad “Any Other World” took over due to it’s deeply rooted beauty. Right now, however, “Love Today” is winning. The song spawns epic dance parties, imitation falsettos, and the urge to put on some spandex and start an 80s revolution.