Not new, but new to you.

Now then, this should be an interesting one... There are a lot of very well known artists starting with the letter N, and I've made it pretty clear that I'm trying to review something fresh, instead of just telling you about bands you already listen to. Well, this is about to get pretty contradictory.

N is for Neil Young. Yeah, there's no way you've heard of Neil Young before, right? Well, we're going to be focusing on Neil Young's relatively underrated and unknown 1982 release, the electronic album, Trans.

That's right, Neil Young made an electronic album, and it's really no surprise that an audience who loved him for is folk rock music would be put off by such a drastic change of direction. The thing is though, there is something for everybody on this album. It does have a couple really good songs that aren't overly synth-laden, but I guess most people weren't too focused on those. I for one think it's a really interesting blend of styles, and I don't know if we'll ever see anything else like it. Obviously that's a pretty biased statement, since I'm a huge geek for electronic music in general, but I'm confident there's a great deal of merit to it nonetheless. So the songs that conventional Young fans took issue with were the ones that belong on Optimus Prime's iPod.
I am a fan of Neil Young's standard fare, but Trans was just a complete anomaly to me, and it definitely stands out as the most compelling in my mind. I hope you all enjoyed this, or at the very least, went "Holy Crap! Neil Young made what?"

I'd like to point out that I added another half to my Liam Lynch review, and put another song on my Headphones review. Check 'em out if you haven't.

Mere days behind.

Maybe by next week I'll be consistently on schedule. I'm running out of weeks in april though. I might be adding another review to this one at a later date.

M is for Mouse on Mars. Mouse on Mars is an electronic duo from Germany. They started making music in 1993, and I'm pretty sure their last studio release was in 2006.
My first exposure to Mouse on Mars was this song, and soon after hearing it, I picked up one of their newer albums, Niun Niggung.
Some of their music is a little goofy.

And some is... completely phrenetic.
But in a good way.


Niun Niggung is a very strange album, I'll admit that... some of it is too weird to listen to at times, and the whole album included a lot more trumpet than I was expecting. lol
But then there are songs that just seem to get everything right... to me anyway.
There's a lot more of Mouse on Mars that I haven't heard yet, and I'll be trying to remedy that shortly. If you liked anything you heard, I recommend you do the same.

Let's do this.

Like it's any surprise, I'm gonna geek out at length about something nerdy again.

L is for Liam Lynch! Probably best known for MTV's Sifl and Olly Show, as well as his album Fake Songs, featuring the track United States of Whatever. We're clearly here to talk about the latter, but I think more introduction is in order. So those are the things you probably know him for, but Liam Lynch has had his part to play in a ton of stuff, and it's possible you may have missed his involvement. For starters, he did some directing work for the music video for Tribute, by Tenacious D. Plus further involvement with Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny. Yeah.
Then there's that theme song for Clone High he wrote. No big deal.


Here's the extended version, because it actually is a big deal.
Also worth mentioning, the song was written by Lynch, but performed by the Abandoned Pools.

There's a ton more, too! He directed the UK music video for Times Like These by The Foo Fighters, co-wrote a song for the movie School of Rock, and directed Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic.

So now that I'm done being a fanboy, let's get back to his music. As the name suggests, Fake Songs is a collection of songs done in the style of other musicians. I especially enjoy Fake David Bowie Song, Fake Depeche Mode Song, and Fake Björk Song. Aside from the "Fake ___ Song" titles, there's a decent selection of original works. There's a song featuring guest vocals by Jack Black, and one two featuring guest drums by Ringo Motherfucking Starr!

Liam Lynch is all about DIY, and I think that's what makes this album so great; it wasn't made to move units. The guy pretty much put the album together for fun instead of worrying about how it would be received. Incidentally, United States of Whatever charted top 10 in the UK.

Here's a quotation from the liner notes of Fake Songs:
"Everything on Fake Songs was made at home on my computer. For me, it's those late night (and into the morning) hours that fuel the most creative fun. I'm a little slap-happy and sleep deprived... alone in my house and free to make something silly or weird or just interesting. I can put down any artistic ego and not try to be cooler or smarter or better than anyone. It's freedom. No rules. It's like pretending and playing when you were a kid... there is no wrong way to do it... it's whatever you want.

The sound alike songs on this album are out of respect. Obviously, to try to capture the musical and lyrical style of an artist, you have to listen to that artist a great deal. I see them as charicature songs, and they are meant as compliments.

I hope you all like this stuff and that something makes you laugh. That's the point of all this. I just hope to make you smile."

On the topic of fake songs, I found a pretty rad Fake White Stripes Song that didn't appear on the album.
So Liam's still writing music and making amusing videos, and you can check out his website for more info.

Kind of a cop-out.

Ka-blamo!

I'm having some trouble with this one, because I've got it down to either Kanye West or Keane, but they're both pretty well known. I don't know if anybody else actually listens to Keane though... I think they're great.

Just like clockwork...

Jesus, that's one shitty clock.

J is for Joey Chaos! Joey is pretty much my brother in law, and I've been around to listen to his music since he first started the project in high school. I thought his music was awesome then, and it's only gotten better since. It started out with some pretty heavy industrial influences, but it's grown into it's own electronic rock sound. Between Joey's keyboards and sequencing, and Walker's guitar and bass, they're a pretty badass duo. Joey recorded an album a few years back, but was unhappy with the result, and has been working on a re-release.
Here's a new and improved track from Beyond the Shadows of Autumn.
Look At You Now by Joey Chaos

On top of that, there's a whole new album on the go!
Here are a couple of the new demos:
Maybe I Miss You by Joey Chaos

Joey Chaos - Glitch (2011 Demo) by Joey Chaos

Glitch is one of my favorite Joey Chaos songs, and it's gone through a couple incarnations since I first heard it. I don't know if this is the final cut, but it's definitely pretty badass in my opinion.

The recordings are one thing, but there's also something to be said for the Joey Chaos live experience. I'll try to keep everybody posted when the next show comes up. Also, check out the website for more info and songs!
That's all for now.

Inconcievable!

I never realized it, but there aren't too many bands that start with I. On top of that, I'm sure everybody's already heard plenty of Incubus and Interpol. I considered reviewing Inspiral Carpets, but beyond "This is How it Feels" is pretty good, I don't have a lot to say. We're switching it up this time, and I'm going to talk about a record.

I is for I, by The Magnetic Fields. It's always hard to describe The Magnetic Fields... bizarre as it may sound, the best I've been able to come up with is "Beat Happening meets Morrissey!" What the fuck, right? Right. You may think that 69 songs about love would be a pretty exemplary repertoire, but not Stephin Merritt! I swear to god, a good 80% of everything this guy's put out has love as it's theme. Make no mistake, I am not complaining. It's pretty great, in my opinion.
I is a fantastic album, and is no exception to this love theme. The concept's pretty simple: every song starts with the letter I. It may come as a surprise, but this record has no synths to speak of. It says right in the liner notes! I have the feeling that might be slightly erroneous, but for the most part, it is legit instrumentation. That's actually pretty cool, considering all the strings and such. Stephin Merritt has a devilish wit to him, and it shows in "I Wish I Had an Evil Twin" and "I Don't Really Love You Anymore." This record is worth listening to for it's lyrics alone. Unfortunately, a lot of my favorite songs from this album are pretty difficult to find streamable copies of. If of the songs I've linked so far have piqued your interest, I implore you to pick up a copy of this album! If you're on the fence, come over and listen to it.

How Jou Like Me Naoh!?!

Hell you guys, this is a lot harder than I thought. It's really hard to find the time, between work and hanging out with all my awesome friends. Motherfuckers.

H is for Headphones! Headphones is David Bazan and Tim William Walsh of Pedro the Lion, and Frank Lenz of Starflyer 59. While this trio wouldn't be recognized by anyone else as a Superband, that's the way I look at it. I followed the projects of David Bazan and TW Walsh for a long time, and couldn't get enough! And Starflyer 59 is pretty exceptional as well. Both Pedro the Lion and Starflyer 59 tend towards guitar and drums rock. Headphones however is nothing but electronics, drums, and vocals. So right there, I was fucking sold.
Also, songs like this sure don't hurt.
I Never Wanted You by David Bazan
It's not your conventional electronic act either. Some of the melodies are fucking pheonomenal, but it might take a bit for most to get into it, because it is pretty minimalist. Bazan's lyrics and delivery pull it all together though. I can't get enough of this guy. Listen to Gas and Matches. Okay look, you and I both know what's coming next: "It reminds me of video game music."
It shouldn't be that surprising, I'm a classic gamer, and up until around the Playstation era, any music found in a video game was likely 100% synthesized. That's just how it worked, and half the reason I'm more into the old school games anyway.
Listen to Natural Disaster, too. It's pretty great. Ignore the Disneyland video. I don't know what the deal with that is.

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Edit:
I don't know how I managed to review Headphones without linking this song. Pretty dark subject matter, and I'd like to say I can't relate. But I'm pretty sure it's common knowledge that I've been stepped on before... a lot. When faced with such flagrant disregard for your feelings, it's hard not to be fucking livid.

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Unfortunately, Headphones seems to have been a one time deal, and on top of that, Pedro the Lion split up, and while David Bazan is still touring, I don't think he's put out any new records in a couple years. Starflyer 59 put out an album last year though, and here's proof!

Well, I'm all caught up for now... time to go do something with my Saturday.