Eddie Vedder – Into The Wild

During the whole WMD fiasco Eddie Vedder and Sean Penn became close friends. And it was Sean Penn that asked Eddie Vedder to pen his first solo affort. Into The Wild was written specifically for a new film telling the story of a young man who gives all his money to charity and hitchhikes to a new life–and his eventual death–in the wilds of Alaska.

Vedder collaborated closely with Penn during the shoot, and they sent eachother work in progress throughout the project. Personally I think who better to sing songs of pathos than Vedder. The whole subculture of EMO sprang from Vedder impersonators in my opinion. Vedder himself said ‘The story is so inspiring, just so inspiring, and the images were inspiring, and it was so easy to focus that it really became kind of an out of body experience. It went real quick and instruments were being handed to me and we were just doing all the takes real quick, and then we’d send it to Sean and he’d find places for it, and ask for a couple of more. It just kind of grew that way.’

If you love Vedders voice, as I and many others do, then you’re predisposed to love this album, its change of pace from demanding Hard Sun to banjo plucked interludes. The lyrics too show Vedder stripped and bare.  This album is difanately an OST, but it stands on its own merits too, and is a worthy addition to any music collection.

THINK: It’s Eddie Vedder. Nuff said.
WATCH: Penn and Vedder discuss Into the Wild
READ: Into the wild myspace
BUY: Into the Wild at amazon

The Radio_update Radiohead watch I’ve been on has ended far sooner than I would have guessed. I had anticipated months of cryptic clues together with a rumour mill endlessly churning out track lists that would send everyone on a peer to peer freny. But, this is Radiohead we’re talking about, so they subvert expectations again. Nice one Boys.

Their new album In Rainbows is available from this website as a digital download from 10th of October. But wait, there’s more! You decide how much it’s worth! There are two packages, the firstis a Discbox which includes the album on CD, 2 x 12″ Vinyls, an enhanced CD, the album as a download, art work and lyrics book all in a (no doubt) spiffing hardback case. The second is just the download - and you decide how much you think it’s worth! On ya Boys!

Tracklisting below.

CD 1 AND VINYL
15 STEP
BODYSNATCHERS
NUDE
WEIRD FISHES/ARPEGGI
ALL I NEED
FAUST ARP
RECKONER
HOUSE OF CARDS
JIGSAW FALLING INTO PLACE
VIDEOTAPE

CD 2
MK 1
DOWN IS THE NEW UP
GO SLOWLY
MK 2
LAST FLOWERS
UP ON THE LADDER
BANGERS AND MASH

But Wait! There’s MORE!
If you’re not content to wait 10 days, the good news is that all the above tracks have been played live at one time or another. And through the power of the interweb, you can wrap your listening holes around them here!

Thank me later.

The Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist

These things DO come along in threes! First we had Dinosaur Jr recapture the Nineties and now my favourite navel gazing grungers return with a much hyped release. There has been much derision following Senor Corgan’s comeback, and not all of it unfounded. It’s difficult to refute the ATM release label when you release 5 (That’s FIVE ) versions of the album, each with a different bonus track! You have to buy the album at Target to get the title track! Just have a think about that for a second, we’ve got time.

The second critical point is that James Iha and D’Arcy didn’t rejoin the fold, so how can this be a Pumpkins album? Well, they were barely on ‘Siamese Dream’ either, Corgan played all guitar and bass parts.

It would be very easy to dismiss this release on the paragraphs above, and I admit it is with some reluctance that tell you that Zeitgeist isn’t bad. Dammit. The first single ‘Tarantula‘ is not at all awful. As a matter of fact, it rocks along quite nicely. Corgan’s cat strangle vox is a little more prominent in the mix than previous releases, but that’s not such a bad thing. ‘Neverlost’ showcases Chanberlin’s precision drumming nicely, while rekindling our fondness for pumpkins catchy ‘ballads’.

Zeitgeist is a little slow for my liking, with too many down tempo slow burners. On the plus side, he does mention Saint Patrick for in ‘7 shades of Black’. I have no idea why, but it’s nice to hear he’s out and about, albeit out of context.
THINK: Pre Machina sonics from rejuvenated SP’s
READ: SP’s homepage, myspace or billy’s blog
WATCH: Paris, France May 22, 2007
BUY:  zeitgeist on Amazon

Dinosaur Jr - Beyond

I was given a great musical education by my older brothers when I was growing up. Football on the lawn with the latest AC/DC album blaring. The first album I bought was Van Halen II aged 12. I had an Angus Young back patch. When they left for university I learned that growing up in a small rural town in Ireland, I would often struggle getting the music I wanted. I remember making the 6 hours return trip to Dublin to buy the latest Dinosaur Jr. album (on vinyl of course) in a dodgy music store in a laneway in Temple Bar. It’s fair to say I have a history with Dinosaur Jr. And that’s where I thought they’d stay.

In 2005 the original lineup got together to support the remastered reissue of their first three albums. We didn’t hold out much hope, as the previous band split had resulted in a “Morrissey / Marr” like rift. Despite this, and defying all logic, the reunion worked — working so well that the band decided to record a full-length album, Beyond, releasing it in May 2007.

Beyond is a brilliant album, not a reunion album. It’s great because it’s as bold, vital, and monstrous as their best early work. 2 seconds into opener “Almost Ready“, it’s clear that Dinosaur Jr. have not only recaptured the essence of their music, and their thundering roar sounds as vivid and thrilling as it was the first time around. But this time they are assured of their talent and steer beyond sounding as good as they used to, but sound as good as they could have been had they stayed together. If anything, Beyond makes their entire twenty-year output sound contemporary again.

In an era of ATM tours, when every band I’ve ever adored (don’t do it Soundgarden) has reunited with varying degrees of success—Smashing Pumpkins being the most recent heartbreaker—it’s refreshing to know the bus journey would have been worth Dinosaur’s most filler-free record.

THINK: It’s Dinosaur Jr. Nuff Said.
READ: Their homepage, myspace or J Masics’s page
WATCH: Mountain Man (from upcoming DVD)
BUY: Beyond at insound

Duke Special - Songs from the Deep Forest.

So as you may be aware, I returned to Ireland and the UK recently in a bid to introduce my girlfriend to the sprawling gene pool that is my family. (Before you go thinking that I dislike my family in anyway – 73 first cousins on my Da’s side. Nuff said.) While I was there Ciaran, my eldest brother (of 4 boys – My Da was the sensible one) gave me the new Duke Special album ‘Songs from the Deep Forest’. What with me being in Australia and all, I hadn’t heard of him. Despite what, I’ve since learned, has been a huge media response and much critical acclaim. So, I give you Duke Special.

Duke Special (real name Peter Wilson- no anagrams this time) is a pop-rock musician based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Much in the same vein as Badly Drawn Boy, Duke Special is a piano-based singer-songwriter with a distinctly-accented voice. It’s quite refreshing to hear an artist retain their accent.

‘Songs from the Deep Forest’ is an album that has touches of vaudeville and cabaret. Orchestration, brass and reed atmospherics are layered subtly to emphasise the mood of each piece. The mood of the album, while changing from track to track, has an upbeat optimistic quality.

‘Brixton Leaves’ is a perfect example of the assured arrangement through out the album. Reed and string sections punctuate the time changes perfectly with brass sparingly used to ‘last call’ effect. Although it isn’t the strongest track, it serves well to illustrate the qualities of this album. ‘Last night I almost died’ is an upbeat pop-rock song that hooks you immediately and carries you along with a sense that you’re listening to a movie soundtrack, except you’re the star. You’re the star, sweetheart!

THINK: A consistant gimick-free Badly Drawn Boy
READ: Duke Specials homepage or interviews
WATCH: ‘Lastnight..’ or ‘Tainted Love’ feat. Neil Hannon
LISTEN: Get a free EP here
BUY: Songs from the Deep Forest at amazon