Small thought on Dubstep.

This has been a fantastic year for music, sadly American Cinema did not have much success, though that is besides the point. In this past year Dubstep has gained mainstream recognition, however there is still much digging America has todo to uncover good Dub. I found that English Dubstep seems to be superior to American dub, check out some of the UKF tracks. They have this other element that seems to be missing from the American scene.

However what i find more interesting is that there is an opposition to Dubstep, the same clubs/bars that play it on a Friday mainly just in Skrillex and Bassnectar remixes nothing pure Dubstep in nature. Though a Saturday night is Dubstep free. Another thing that I have noticed is that Dubstep only seems to be popular among an under 21 crowd. So Dubstep may drive up the attendance of 18 and up clubs, but its driving out the main clientele (+21) of nightclubs. This genre of music has came a long way, but this is the true test! Will it be as good as it is when the main listening group becomes of drinking age and Dubstep can create revenue not just for its self but for bars. Only time will tell.

Audio.........Video...........Disco.....

BEHOLD!


Justice went in a completely different direction with this one, makes me wonder if it will be accompanied with a live album just as good as the last. Audio, Video, Disco is new ground for this band, somewhat less electronic than Cross, but more Electric in nature. The track Ohio seems to hypnotize me every time I listen to it, while Horsepower and New Lands has me driving like I am on the  Nordschleife in Germany. So I will spend my days speeding on the interstates of this great land speeding to get to the parking garage before 9pm to go to my favorite bars, listening to this great album all the way.

Perfection

The album is hanDover, and the first half of it is complete gold in my book. The effort put into this album can be heard from Ovrit to Noisex.  Most notable tracks are: Ovirt, Wavy, Ashas, Gambatte, Icktums, Brownstone, and Noisex. Like every Skinny Puppy album (excluding the ones where the majority of the tracks are on other albums) handover is very much its own monster, perhaps a new beginning for Nivek Ohgr and Cevin Key.  Skinny Puppy has proved itself once again to be just as innovative as they were in the beginning, VIVIsectVI, and The Process. There will be a tour to accompany the release of this masterpiece,  only tour dates on the West coast of the US have been announced, I hope they don’t run off to Europe before paying the Eastern seaboard of the US a visit.

Angels & Airwaves Concert review

Strange symbols stobes and a layer of sythedic made this show a bit more than it had to be. Every thing is just like it was at any other show. However, there seemed to be quite a few people that seemed to care about more about the past, wanting to hear Blink 182. 
I could only feel sympathy for the members, imagine if you were Robert Kennedy, having to live in the shadow of your brother John, and people dont support you cause they like your policies on the issues, they just like you cause you just happened to be John F. Kennedy's brother. It's hard living in the shadow that was Blink 182. The more that I think about it, I just think there was alot pf people there wanting to see a Blink 182 concert and not an Angels & Airwaves show. It would not be aparent if it was not for a third of the crowd wearing Blink shirts. 

I thought it some how amusing how different Tom Delonge's voice really is in person. It seems more whiny live compared to how it sounds in a recording, me not being used to this found it to be slightly annoying, however this show was worth seeing if you adore A&A or Blink 182. Just keep in mind that you are not seeing Blink 182.

modlife.com/angelsandairwaves

R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio 1942 - 2010

 The Heavy Metal world has lost a hero, Ronnie James Dio to stomach cancer at the age of 64. Dio was best known for his unique vocals and his showmanship. I must say when a friend informed me of the news my usual happy mood became sad and silent. Wendy Dio (widow of Ronnie Dio) left this statement on ronniejamesdio.com and on the Ronnie James Dio page on Facebook.

“Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever.”

He leaves behind millions of fans and his band Heaven and Hell. He will be missed and admired until the end of time. 

"This is not a Paul Simon Concert." Porcupine Tree Concert Review

 Sunday night concerts are not popular among any crowd, though for more than 500 local and out of town fans, Porcupine Tree was a hot ticket!

Their on stage presence was immediately established in a few riffs, then quickly went mellow, as they went into playing songs from their new album “The Incident”. After a few songs it became apparent that front man Steven Wilson is the conductor of this five piece Progressive Rock Symphony. Wilson's energy on stage would fit more in a several thousand seat arena, and his talent appears to be unlimited. The overall quality of Porcupine Tree's performance surpasses anything not heard in person.

Porcupine Tree sets the bar for the next generation of Progressive Rock very high, from the lyrics to the keys. Porcupine Tree gets no where near the attention from the music world that it deserves, like other talents in Prog Rock. If you ever have the opportunity to see Porcupine Tree, go see them, you will not be disappointed.

porcupinetree.com

myspace.com/porcupinetree

More photos here!

MGMT Congratulations Album Review

The duo is back and going in a different way that is still very much Indie. They are back with there second album, Congratulations. If you are looking for anything Ocular Spectacular in this album, there are a few things but not many. Congratulations has had a few issues keeping itself out of the radar until the release date, due to it being leaked and shared all across the Internet. MGMT released this statement on their website soon after, “Hey everybody, the album leaked, and we wanted you to be able to hear it from us. We wanted to offer it as a free download but that didn't make sense to anyone but us”. MGMT now has full streaming of the album on their website.

Congratulations starts off at a slow pace compared to the last album, but it functions more like a book, starting off slow, then the climax near the end, and then two chapters to tie everything leaving the listener content, and immediately starting from track one. Congratulations maybe best to listen while in complete darkness. Some tracks are hypnotic, especially Siberian Breaks. Unlike Ocular Spectacular, not every song is an instant favorite. I found that three tracks on the album can be little a hard to listen to, with songs that are much longer than most are used to hearing. Though followers of MGMT should be nothing less than thrilled with Congratulations, which is due out April 13th.

Whoismgmt.com