Whatever Sounds Good

Local Natives - Hummingbird

2013-01-30T17:02:00.001+08:00

Local Natives new album Hummingbird is out there. And it’s with an inch of pleasure I say they’ve surprised me. Positively I mean.

Looks like they found their own place in all this Indie-rock, electronic, whatever-you-want-to-call-it space. Hummingbird is no longer the reflex of some wannabe Grizzly Bear-The National-Fleet Foxes. Now, it’s just Local Natives.

Breakers opened up the appetite, and while going through the whole set of tracks in Hummingbird, our mind travels into a very good place, a place where Local Native’s music starts making a lot of sense. The year has just begun but this might be a strong candidate to feature in WSG top albums of 2013.

Having said that, Bowery is just a living proof of their maturity. Loving every second of it.

Torres - Torres

2013-01-28T14:29:00.001+08:00

2013 has started and surely there will be lot's of exciting new albums, bands and tracks to write about.

To kick it off, let me introduce Torres. The beautiful little Torres. Artistic name to Mackenzie Scott, a girl who comes with Nashville's musical responsibility and apparently is not afraid to carry that cross all around.

Her self-titled debut album Torres is simple yet very dense. Full of broken lyrics and with the aspiration of reaching PJ's feet, she's out there. Trying hard.

Honey is a great showcase of Scott's delicate husky voice. A voice that promises to light up some of our dark days. Mellow, just mellow.

2012 - THE TOP 5

2013-01-08T09:50:00.000+08:00

5. Major Lazer – Get Free

Opening the Top-5 is Diplo’s musical project, Major Lazer. The album is yet to be released but what a great bait Get Free is. A praise to all the ones feeling stuck in all the troubles of a world of injustice, political crimes and lack of common sense. An open invitation to freedom. Mind-freedom.

Probably the most-played song in my iTunes and that says it all.

‘All I need's relief / I need some sympathy’

4. Tame Impala – Why Won’t They Talk to Me

Yes, yes and yes. Lonerism is the precious little gift 2012 saved for all us Indie-rock fans. Probably THE album of the year.

I’ve tried to understand how and where I can stop listening to Why Won’t They Talk to Me, but I really can’t. Hypnotizing stuff from the Australian crew.

‘But I don't even care about it anyway. / I wouldn't listen to a word any of them say.’

3. Jack White – Sixteen Saltines

No need to say Jack White’s THE rock star of our generation. That's a fact. Broken by the separation of White Stripes (aka Meg), White (gladly) went solo. Blunderbuss is full of under-covered messages. Hidden rage, disbelieve in love and ruthless lyrics.

Sixteen Saltines is all JW is capable of, with a hint of a damaged heart&soul. Making it obvious that Meg left some traps behind.

‘If I get busy then I couldn't care less what you do / But when I'm by myself I think of nothing else / Than if a boy just might be getting through and touching you’

2. Caspian – Gone in Bloom and Bough

Caspian’s masterpiece Waking Season was a true revelation to my once upon ignorance towards instrumental post-rock (whatever that is). Caspian transports me to a world where no lyrics are needed. Where words come in the format of melodies. Deep, powerful, meaningful melodies. Melodies crushing my humble thoughts like commanding waves hitting the rocks on a stormy day.

Gone in Bloom and Bough is the work of a visionary. A demonstration music has no borders, no limitations and definitely no need for anything else than instruments.

1. The Shoes – Time to Dance

And we have a number 1.

When it comes to Dance music, French make it better.

The first time I heard Time to Dance, only one thought came to my mind: ‘Number one. Number fucking one!’. Best thing I’ve heard since Justice's Stress, Daft Punk's Around The World, Cassius's Sound of Violence and M83's Midnight City. Time to Dance is an anthem. A magical trip to the dance floor, long, mysterious, aggressive and raw. Just as I like it.

And the video clip, my god this video clip is the work of a genius. It’s like Kubrick and Tarantino got together and decided to produce a music video. Jake Gyllenhaal just goes bananas killing everyone for no apparent reason. All this while I’m dancing in my living room, eyes closed, hands up in the air while busting some crazy leg moves. Can't wait for the album.

...from 10 to 6...

2013-01-07T09:26:00.001+08:00

10. Crystal Castles – Wrath of God

I’ve said and re-said it, CC's new album blew my mind. Alice has always manage to easily turn me into a maniac person, thinking where the hell is all that energy coming from, but now that they’ve put their shit together, sky is the limit. They’re flying high, really high.

Wrath of God is art work. Nothing else to add.

9. Passion Pit – Take a Walk

Passion Pit are the POP hit of 2012. Smooth tracks, catchy beats and easy lyrics, the perfect pop formula. They’ve hit the spot with Gossamer.

Take a Walk is the soundtrack of 2012’s summer. And what a great summer it was. I owe part of it to Passion Pit, so take your seats and enjoy the walk.

‘And tonight I swear I'll come home and we'll make love like we're young.’

8. Bat For Lashes - Laura

I can’t tell you how happy I am finally witnessing Natasha’s talent being put to use. Finally you’ve made it. The Haunted Man is quality stuff. It’s Kahn’s lungs screaming ‘I’m here you bastards, and I’m awesome’. Yes you are my dear.

Laura is from another world. A better world. Her voice, the piano, the melody, the dramatic lyrics, all there to witness it. It’s perfection communicating to earth via Natasha’s vocal chords.

‘Drape your arms around me and softly say / Can we dance upon the tables again?’

7. Japandroids – The House That Heaven Built

Number 1 fan. Anyone that can make me feel 16 again has all my respect. Their second album Celebration Rock was (again) highly acclaimed, and well-deserved acclamations they were. They’re just honest, easy and awesome.

The House That Heaven Built is yet another punk-rock anthem. One of those that makes me shook my head like a crazy kid, smash beer cans and jump like tomorrow is my 17^th birthday. How can anyone dislike this?

‘And if they try to slow you down / Tell em all to go to hell’

6. Alt-J – Breezeblocks

Enough has been written about them. They’re debut album An Awesome Wave was one of the year’s highlights.

Breezeblocks has meaning. A lot of emotional baggage if you ask me. The love-whispering mixed with the dub beats is just addictive. This song is almost a drug.

‘She’s morphine, queen of my vaccine, my love, my love love love’

...from 15 to 11...

2013-01-06T20:03:00.000+08:00

15. Damon Albarn – The Marvelous Dream

Oh Damon…or should I say Sir Albarn? If it were for me the man would be called Sir Damon Albarn.

Dr. Dee is quite a weird album, very catholic, very intimate, very British, its just Albarn doing something else. And he doesn’t seem to know how to do it wrong.

The Marvelous Dream is simply a masterpiece. His voice, the instruments, the story-telling tone. It’s truly a marvelous dream. I can’t stop saying, this man is a genius.

'I call to the dance, now the party begun / Alcohol, holiday, I'm a drug... strong'

14. Autre Ne Veut – Counting

Autre Ne Veut is quite a mysterious little thing. They seem to hide their talent within four very strange walls. And I can’t really understand why.

Counting is one of the most well-constructed, powerful and catchy songs of 2012. And to think few people know it kills me. It really does. Great tune.

'This is not a way for you and me / I don’t wanna be with you all night alone'

13. Rhye – The Fall

Their yet-to-release debut album might be one of the best things of 2013. For the moment let’s not keep it complicated, The Fall is just awesome. It’s melting stuff, the kind that sticks to you and never leaves. It's sex on a stick. I’ve heard it time and time again and I can keep on doing it forever.

'Oooh, my love / Come home to me'

12. Django Django – Default

Django Django made sure they’re debut album came at the right time, building a story, building momentum, waiting for the world to be prepared for the London boys surprising beats. Clever stuff.

Default is their perfect welcome card. It’s different, irreverent and incredibly addictive. A great ride into DD’s mind.

‘We just lit the fire and now you want to put it out’

11. Soko – First Love Never Dies

She’s all over the place. She’s mainly an actress, she’s French but she sings in perfect English. She’s just the surprise of my musical year. Frank, open, raw, deep and intriguing. She’s that and much more. Coming across as a Lykke Li young sister but as strong and powerful as the queen Joplin. Soko is just out there. Where few can understand her, or what I’m writing about.

First Love Never Dies is the confession of a shameless little girl. A confession that makes the strongest men cry to tears. She’s sending a message to make sure we all understand that our first love, it never dies. Write it down cause she won’t be saying this too many times.

‘Can you feel the same / I will never love again’

...from 20 to 16...

2013-01-05T10:26:00.002+08:00

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20. Local Natives – Breakers

Local Natives kept they’re good mojo. Hoping their new album (only to be released in 2013) can be as good as Gorilla Manor.

Breakers is as unpretentious as they are. Great song for a cozy afternoon. You don’t even need the beautiful girl. On the other hand, maybe it wouldn't be that bad.

‘Leave all the lights on / Can't see out / But they see in’

19. How To Dress Well – Cold Nites

How To Dress Well impressed me from day 1. This entire experimental-pop wave really catches my ear. Total Loss grabbed my attention as soon as Cold Nites popped in.

Cold Nites gives childhood chills while someone whispers in my ear all the bad things I’ve done. But in a sexy weird way, only the adult-me can understand. It’s the good stuff.

18. Arctic Monkeys – R U Mine

Oh yeah! The Monkeys are back. With Turner looking as badass as he can possible try, they seem to be in the right direction to blow our minds with their new album.

R U Mine is a great appetizer, but I want more. And Turner, I’m not fucking gay, but I’m all yours. As long as you give me some I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor, I might even be yours yesterday mate.

17. Lia Ices – Love Is Won

I have to admit I’ve never heard of the lovely Lia Ices before coming across Love Is Won. Sadly I have to say.

Lia’s voice is like a guided tour to heaven. If heaven exists she’s up there holding an umbrella pointing up for us to follow.

Love Is Won makes me wonder why and when have we started to ignore talent such as Ices. Such a beautiful song and woman (my god she’s gorgeous) should be enough to turn her into the greatest hit ever. Apparently isn’t…

‘Oh love is won when we are bound and still feel free’

16. Grizzly Bear – Yet Again

I don’t know where to start when it comes to these guys. Everything they do seems to be as close to perfection as one can wish for. I’m still trying to recover from Veckatimest to be honest, but knowing GB is out there makes me relax about music’s future. They’re that good.

Yet Again strikes us in our mind, body and soul. Leaving any sensitive human being lying there wondering what the hell happened. It’s no Two Weeks though. Two Weeks was Two Weeks, but it's pretty damn close.

From 25 to 21

2013-01-04T11:51:00.001+08:00

25. Bobby Womack – Please Forgive My Heart

Bobby is a classic. From his 70’s rise, to the recent drug problems and the shit he went through, it’s quite a return for him. All together being alive in 2012 is almost a miracle. To top this, his new album is one of the most interesting projects out there, and the proof is that he got hold of the best music guy out there, Mr. Albarn himself.

Please Forgive My Heart is just a strong confession from an honest man looking for redemption. He’s got mine. I've forgiven his heart, and beyond.

‘I could try to say I’m sorry / But that won’t be quite enough / To let you know the pain that I feel’

24. The XX – Chained

I think all has been said about The XX. Surprises were not to come, and that’s probably why they’re not number 1 as in 2010. But they’re good. They’re fucking good.

Chained warms any cold winter day. It asks for a coffee, a blanked and a beautiful girl.

‘Separate or combine / I ask you one last time / Did I hold you too tight?’

23. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Only In My Dreams

These guys crack me up, from their name to their videos. And the best part of it all is that their music is great too.

Only In My Dreams is the cherry on top of the Mature Dreams cake. It looks like they’re making fun of Grizzly Bear and Fleet Foxes. They're kind of saying: ‘They take it too serious’.

‘When she don't call up no more, well / Never give up, you gotta believe it’

22. Alabama Shakes – Hold On

One of the best new things I’ve come across 2012. Brittany’s voice is just incredible. And their live shows look like a musical orchestra full of funky-rock new sounds and approaches. It’s all so pure it hurts.

Hold On is all of the above combined into one song. It smells Alabama all over the place, and it’s a great smell.

‘So, bless my heart and bless yours too. / I don't know where I'm gonna go / Don't know what I'm gonna do.’

21. Tanlines – All Of Me

Tanlines have the wonderful ability to always put me into a good mood. That alone justifies them to be on this list. But on top of that they have All Of Me.

All Of Me is responsible for some of the best screaming-with-eyes-closed and arms-pointing-at-the-sky moves. Healthy stuff if you ask me.

2012 soundtrack from 30 to 26

2013-01-03T16:45:00.001+08:00

30. The Slow Show – Brother

They’re good. They’re very good. Still building their name on the music scene, The Slow Show promise to be one of the bands to watch once they get their deserved credit.

Brother is as beautiful as 2012 could have been. Great melodies, great voice, epic lyrics. Powerful stuff reminding us of Lambchop’s relaxing vibes.

29. Bruce Springsteen – We Take Care Of Our Own

The boss came back, and what a surprising one it was. Solid album, with some of the usual inspiring lyrics and that classic-rough-sentimental-rock. Typical Springsteen.

We Take Care Of Our Own is just what you expect from the best of boss, as catchy as it can get. And in this world in crisis he reminds us of what once was obvious, we should take care of our own. That’s for sure.

28. Cloud Nothings – Stay Useless

Cloud Nothings are definitely what the current music scene needs. Some nice punk-rock to challenge these young minds with ears full of commercial-bullshit-music.

Stay Useless is up there on 2012 WSG soundtrack. It’s just addictive, and the video is fucking brilliant.

‘I need something to do / Somewhere to go’

27. Wild Nothing – Paradise

Wild Nothing came back for their second album 2 years after the magnificent Gemini. Nocturne is not as good, but it was a solid comeback, for yet another Indie Rock band.

Paradise glows and re-glows. With starlets of a nice pop-song, female sexy confessions and dreamy beats, it’s what you want to hear on a summer day.

'You crush me with the lies / And tell me once or twice / That love is paradise / Love is paradise'

26. Jessie Ware – 110%

Jessie Ware was one of the pleasant surprises 2012 reserved for us music lovers. She’s strong, she’s simple, she’s good.

110% takes me back to a place where there’s love, there’s softness, there’s safety, and there’s a magical voice communicating it all from above. Way above. I just listen to that voice hoping one day I can meet someone that gives me 110%.

‘Won't dance, not without you, small steps, they lead only to your heart’

Caspian - Waking Season

2012-12-18T10:53:00.001+08:00

Who said post-rock couldn't be top of charts? Guess someone who didn't come across Caspian's master-piece Waking Season.

The absence of lyrics leaves me too with no words to describe this album. Everything about it is perfect. Intense, introspective, violent. Just how life should be.

I've seen darkness and Waking Season showed me the light. Thanks Caspian, your work here is done. 10/10.

Leave you with one of the most amazing things I've ever listened, Gone In Bloom And Bough:

Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold

2012-12-06T15:55:00.002+08:00

Parquet Courts were totally unknown to me until Pitchfork suggested a track from their debut album Light Up Gold. From that day I've been involved in their world, a world that bounces from Joy Division's deep rock melodies and some sort of Ramones quick punk-rock.

I haven't figured out quite yet if I just needed to listen to something like this or if they're really good. Truth is I can't have enough of it.

It feels like No Age's close cousin or something like that.

Well, I leave you with their single Borrowed Time. It's all there.

Tame Impala - Lonerism

2012-11-28T11:27:00.000+08:00

Something happened and I've missed it. That was my feeling when I first listened to Lonerism from Tame Impala. Some sort of psychedelic revolution is on the streets and nobody warn me. Damn you revolutionary people.

Lonerism is exactly what I was looking for but didn't know existed. Hey, Animal Collective, are you listening? This is what you should've been doing. Or at least this is what I wanted from you.

It's an amazing album in form, content, lyrics, it's all there in that little thing they call CD. I don't think anyone will save this one, Lonerism will go straight into album of the year 2012.

And Why Won't They Talk To Me is simply one of the best things ever made in the past years.

But I don't even care about it anyway.
I wouldn't listen to a word any of them say.
They just talk about themselves all day.
One day Ill be a star and they'll be sorry.

The Slow Show - Midnight Waltz

2012-11-20T15:39:00.001+08:00

Fresh and highly recommended. The Slow Show's Midnight Waltz can and should be the beginning of a beautiful story.

Easy, addictive and thoughtful. Both lyrically represented in the influences of people like Tom Waits or Bob Dylan and following the musical steps of the recent success stories of The National and WU LYF.

They're just good and I rest my case.

Their song Brother could easily be one's life soundtrack. Careful, it's emotionally heavy.

Crystal Castles - (III)

2012-11-14T12:19:00.001+08:00

When I heard CC were releasing a new album I almost pee'd on my pants. The thought it could be better than the 2 previous ones – Crystal Castles and Crystal Castles (II) - wasn't even a (real) possibility.

I was wrong.

(III) has exactly what was missing in the other two albums, normality. A certain sense for humanity, a touch of reality. It just looks like they've finally took it serious. It's still dark, don't get me wrong. The conflicts, the agony, the stress, they're all there (and Alice is there too, which always helps), but there is a layer of magic and balance that makes (III) sound perfect.

The single, Wrath Of God, is a piece of art. Pure and simple.

The XX - Coexist

2012-11-12T14:47:00.001+08:00

Somethings are better left unchanged.

Some might say they should be reinventing their sound, others their minimalism is a bit too much, well, you can pretty much find a lot of reasons why they could be going in the wrong direction. I can't find a single one. I think they are brilliant.

Coexist is just Volume II of The XX. It's 'just' that. And that's enough to keep this man happy.

The whole album is quite consistent, but Tides is the one track I would like to share with you. It's the good stuff, the really good stuff.

Re-birth

2012-11-09T12:44:00.001+08:00

It's been a long time, but after a long consideration process, I've decided to get WSG back in action. The show must go on, as someone rightly said.

Maybe I just thought that if Bloc Party got back together I should resume writing in my blog. Something like that.

Honesty will be kept so as ownership of shit opinions.

Enjoy the re-birth.

Truly yours,
D

2011 Top 10 songs - Part 2

2012-01-13T10:29:00.002+08:00

#5: Bon Iver – Holocene

…and at once I knew, I was not magnificent / strayed above the highway aisle / (jagged vacance, thick with ice) / I could see for miles, miles, miles

There are no words for this man’s voice and lyrics. He hits the spot every single time, and he hits it deep. Regardless of the album's greatness, this song represents the best what Bon Iver is capable of doing. Pure magic.

It’s intimate and unique, I want to keep it like that.

Each time this song pops in my iTunes I skip it, I’m always waiting for a special time to come.

#4: Wye Oak – Civilian

I'm perfectly able to hold my own hand / but I still can't kiss my own neck

A song for eternity. Wasner brings one of the 2011 songs I’ve listened the most. It’s amazing in every sense. They make it look so simple it actually sounds a bit creepy. The truth is I can’t have enough of it.

A message to Wasner: please stop being so damn perfect, it's almost annoying.

#3: Foster The People – Pumped Up Kicks

I reason with my cigarette / Then say, "Your hair's on fire, you must have lost your wits, yeah?"

Inevitable. It’s just THE pop song of the year. No discussion here.

It played in everyone’s head. The album is quite average, but Pumped Up Kicks is pure addiction. It stays there and doesn't leave.

No further comments.

#2: M83 – Midnight City

Look and see her eyes, they glow

Of course they glow. What else could she do while listening to this?

It’s a #1 turned into #2 for a reason only I can explain. It’s perfect in all senses. There’s really nothing else you can say.

The first time I've listened to it, there were shivers all over my body. I thought to myself: ‘How is this possible?’. I wanted to dance, drink and call everyone I know.

I did the first two.

M83 are going far, really far away. They asked us to Hurry Up, and now we're truly Dreaming.

#1: WU LYF – We bros

We bros you lost man / we bros so long / Put away your guns man / and sing this song

They are the reason. They and their perfect album, with their perfect songs and perfect timing.

We all feel outraged by the current economical/social situation of this world of ours, and we need inspiration, true inspiration, connection, a reason to believe, a reason to protest, a reason to live. And We need Bros. Believe me, we do. Here we have 6:27 official minutes of perfection, 6:27 official minutes of hope.

They call this heavy pop, I call this awesome. Guess we're all correct.

Just sing along: We Bros! We Bros! We Bros!

2011 Top 10 songs - Part 1

2012-01-11T10:54:00.007+08:00

#10: Future Islands – The Great Fire

If you let me be there again / I’ll be still, won’t say a word

The expectations for the new Future Islands album were high, and the first glimpse of it brought this wonderful song immediately into my attention. The gorgeous combination of Herrings rough voice with Wasner’s sweetness is just what you can wish for in a quiet afternoon.

It comes as no surprise in this top-10, with a unique touch of beauty from this awkward duet.

#9: The Black Keys – Gold On The Ceiling

Gold on the ceiling / I ain't blind / Just a matter of time / Before you steal it / It's alright

As close to their unique Rock & Roll approach as it can get. Reminding their fans why they're so fucking awesome. You can’t get anything wrong out of this, they seem to be saying ‘Remember our name, cause we’re here to stay baby’.

Please do never leave us.

#8: PJ Harvey – The Words That Maketh Murder

I've seen and done things I want to forget / coming from an unearthly place / Longing to see a woman's face / Instead of the words that gather pace / The words that maketh murder.

Here she is, bright, new, insightful, patriotic. PJ rarely gets it wrong, but The Words That Maketh Murder just brings the best of the familiar nostalgia only she’s capable to share.

And it’s all so real and tangible. A great song.

#7: Destroyer – Kaputt

Wasting your days / Chasing some girls all right / Chasing cocaine to the back rooms of the world all night

Definitely one of the best 2011 tracks. All combined, probably one of the surprises – if not THE surprise – of the year. The song’s freshness, the 80’s touch, the good vibe, all magical. Brings back the adolescent in all of us, those warm summer nights.

Never-ending inspiration from the boys from Canada.

#6: Tune-Yards – Bizness

I say, I'll bleed if you ask me / I'll bleed if you ask me / That's when, that's when, he said no

What can I say about this song? It takes a person no time to understand this is special. Good special. It took me 10 times to actually say: ‘this is amazing’. And after that, it only has become even better. Garbus is love at 10^th sight, one of those that turns into a marriage of 50 years in a sec after that.

Can’t wait for what comes next.

2011 best song

2011-12-21T15:50:00.002+08:00

Please comment on your top-5 or top-10 and add songs if appropriate. This is WSG raw list, no particular order:

Adele – Rolling in the deep

M83 – Midnight City

Black Keys – Gold On Ceiling

Tom Waits – Satisfied

Fleet Foxes – Montezuma

Beirut – Vagabond

Bombay Bicycle Club – Lights out, Words Gone

Man Man – Life Fantastic

Future Islands – The Great Fire

Los Campesinos! – By Your Hand

Metronomy – She Wants

The Strokes – Taken For a Fool

Fucked Up – The Other Shoe

Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie XX - Far Nearer

Foster The People – Pumped Up Kicks

Junior Boys – Banana Ripple

Guillemots – I must be a Lover

PJ Harvey - The Words That Maketh Murder

Wye Oak – Civilian

The Kills – Future Starts Slow

TV on the Radio – You

Bon Iver – Calgary

Lana Del Rey – Video Games

The Drums – Book Of Stories

Wilco – I Might

Girls – Vomit

Florence + The Machine - What The Water Gave Me

Radiohead – Lotus Flower

Toro Y Moi – Still Sound

EMA - California
The Rapture - How Deep Is Your Love

Do note that you can click on the songs to listen on Youtube.

The Heavy, a story about the unknown

2011-11-30T14:03:00.001+08:00

Soul music has now a new name, The Heavy.

They only have 2 edited albums, Great Vengeance And Furious Fire (2007) and The House That Dirt Built (2009) and for some reason they remained unknown to my kind musical world. From the looks of it, to most of the music universe.

It’s not that the songs are fantastically arranged, nor the lyrics are brilliant, no that's not it. From top to bottom, it’s ALL about Kelvin Swaby’s fucking voice.

There are no words to describe it. The closest would be: Curtis Mayfield, James Brown and Stevie Wonder in one voice. Probably I’m exaggerating, but that’s it.

When I first listened to The Heavy, I felt butterflies in the stomach, like the ones you feel when you’re 16 and you’re standing half an hour on a bench waiting for THAT girl from school. Pure chemistry.

Enough words. Here is the song responsible for all this:

The Drums - The Drums

2011-11-28T10:12:00.000+08:00

The Drums’s debut self-titled album is still one of the best things we can listen to in days of solitude.

It’s simple, it’s catchy, it’s modern but still old school. It’s The Cure’ish with touches of Joy Division and Smiths. They’ve hit the spot and nobody can’t take them wrong.

The Drums - The Drums is refreshing yet familiar. It’s as good as ‘pop’ music can be these days.

Difficult to pick a favorite song but I’ll have to go with Book Of Stories. After playing the album 100 times, when it gets to track 5, still makes me think ‘this shit is awesome’. Surprises me they haven’t turned it into a single, but then again it probably makes the song even more special.

Man Man, an incomplete recent story

2011-11-18T10:12:00.000+08:00

I know very little of Man Man, the sole reason why I actually saw their video is because they were Youtube recommended next to Tom Wait's Satisfied. And that's all I can say honestly .

After that it has been an intense 2 day relationship between WSG and Man Man's Piranhas Club. The track name is brilliant, the song is catchy, the video is just perfect, and I can't help but listen to it and laugh. In a good weird way. I guess because the video reminds me of 2 love stories, Black Keys and Future Islands.

Still don't know anything about them. Just what Wikipedia tells me, and I don't really trust Wikipedia. Like a good friend once told me, Wikipedia is the fastest way of getting wrong information. Bless him.

The song is part of their 2011 album Life Fantastic. Will explore and return if relevant.

For now, here is the video for Piranhas Club. Enjoy like you mean it:

Tom Waits - Bad As Me

2011-11-02T14:24:00.003+08:00

Some people say is a genius. WSG considers Tom Waits to be more than that. He's the master, devil's best friend, earth's best writer, he is beyond what music can reach.

Tom is unique, in every little thing he does.

This post is about his new album, Bad As Me. I'm hooked to it. It's amazing how Waits always manages to hypnotize every single part of my person.

From track 1 to 13 I feel like having a bottle of black label ('no ice please - fucking amateurs') and smoke the packs of cigarretes I never bought. I love you Tom, hope you know what a true inspiration you are to everyone who likes pure rock music and shares the frustrations and lack of honesty of this cruel life. To you I say, great shit-ass album man, another one to go on the top.

The single Bad As Me:

And just a recent memory from Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards - Lie To Me live at Letterman's:

The Strange Boys - Be Brave

2011-11-01T14:16:00.001+08:00

The Strange Boys are a strange band. Or maybe they aren't too much of weirdos but the name always brings me back there.

They want to sound like old punk-garage-rock (something like the Ramones, or maybe I'm just crazy), and at a certain stage they really do. All about them sounds to me very cliché, but for some reason I can't stop listening to their Be Brave album. It's fucking addictive stuff. I don't smoke, but I guess this must be the feeling: 'I know it's not good for me but I can't stop doing it'.

I recommend you to buy the album and see if you share my ~~smoking~~ feeling. Hope they don't increase their price as well, cause they're pretty unknown by now.

Start your experience by the easiest path, the single Be Brave from Be Brave, pretty original stuff:

and finish with my favorite - musically and lyrically speaking - Laugh At Sex, Not Her:

Black Keys, the revolution is on the streets

2011-10-28T16:52:00.000+08:00

The first song of the new Black Keys album - El Camino - is out there. The name of that song is Lonely Boy.

I haven't been this excited since someone told me we could drink beer of a funnel. Yes, I'm that excited.

At this stage I don't even want to focus on the song or album's quality, I just want to mention the awareness that these boys - not lonely for sure - gained in the past couple of years. The video of Lonely Boy was uploaded on Youtube this Tuesday and has generated almost 500,000 views with almost 10,000 likes against 79 dislikes. You can see I work in advertising, but tell me if this is not a (good) sign Black Keys are making the headlines.

What this means, straight and simple, is that the music world is re-conquering the passion for Rock music. Pure, strong and catchy rock tunes. I was waiting for this for a long time, a band like these guys to win respect of the pop community and finally erase from my mind the amount of crap people listen to these days. Yes, I'm talking about the Rhianna's, Bieber's and Gaga's of this life.

I'm all about changing the world, and I sincerely believe these guys can place their stone in music history. It's still early to say, but I think Black Keys will turn the equation around. More good music, less crap please. Starting with the radios, we want Black Keys stuff and no Rhianna's ass (or maybe the ass is ok).

Here is the video - fucking funny one btw - of Lonely Boy, newest song from the yet-to-be-released El Camino:

Future Islands - On The Water

2011-10-25T09:51:00.002+08:00

As the good boy I am, I’ve took the time to listen to whole new Future Islands album, On The Water, and I can’t describe what went through my mind when listening to The Great Fire. It was like small drops of water hitting a big quiet lake. It mystically turns the hardest of men into a crying baby.

As expected, the whole album is amazing - but the mix of Herring’s unique wordings with Jenn Wasner’s gift-of-god voice is just too good to be true (for the ones who can’t recognize her – she’s Wye Oak’s lead singer).

It’s now the 43^rd time I’ve heard this in 2 days. That’s got a mean something.

But if you let me be there again
If you let me be there again
If you let me be there again
I'll be still, won't say a word