Can You See the Sunset? » pop

Robyn – Body Talk

Eric — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 17:40:29 +0000

A few months ago (for whatever reason) I was watching a rerun of the Jay Leno show from right before last Thanksgiving. Really? Yeah. It’s odd considering how infrequently I watch late-night television, but I need to move on with the story. Anyhow, I turned on the show just as Jay was introducing a performance of Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own.” Despite knowing who she was, it was the first song of hers that I can remember hearing. I really liked the song and listened to some more from her latest album Body Talk online and spent another half hour watching YouTube videos of her. Uh oh…

Since then, I’ve been totally smitten with Robyn’s music, specifically about half of her newest album Body Talk. It’s a record that would have easily made my best of 2010 list if I’d heard it earlier. “Dancing On My Own,” and “Hang With Me” are easily two of the best songs released last year and “Hang With Me” is about as close to pop music perfection as I’ve ever heard. I mean, it’s on par with “MMMBop” in terms of pure catchiness, but has significantly more depth lyrically and I have barely been able to shake it out of my head for any part of the past few months. I’m as surprised as anyone just how much I love the highlights from Body Talk, but I do. It’s not punk or anything I’d usually cover here on Can You See the Sunset, but there really truly is a reason that she was on so many best of 2010 lists. Body Talk is a gem of a record. Here’s the video for “Hang With Me.”

LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening

Eric — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 03:12:46 +0000

Just a few weeks ago my neighbors were (for whatever reason) blasting their gospel music at 10AM on a Sunday morning. It was WAY too loud so what exactly did I do? Well, I cranked up some LCD Soundsystem (I think it was probably “Losing My Edge”) and turned the bass way up and let it play for about 5 minutes. When I turned it off there was no gospel music playing. Score one for me. In addition to that one, James Murphy’s LCD Soundsystem has given us such other gems like “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House,” “All My Friends,” and “Someone Great.” His latest album, This Is Happening, is full of another 9 songs of electro dance pop-rock of the highest quality including the lead single “Drunk Girls” and my personal fave on this album “I Can Change.” Highly recommended by everyone here at Casa de CYSTSFTS including my 5 year old daughter. She loves this stuff… but has no clue what it all means.

MP3:
LCD Soundsystem - Drunk Girls

Justin Townes Earle – Harlem River Blues

Eric — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 17:57:06 +0000

You may or may not have known that Justin Townes Earle’s previous album, Midnight At The Movies, was one of my favorites of 2009, but now you do. As much as that album served to really prove that Earle could step out from the shadow of his famous father, this album takes it a step further and shows what he’s really capable of. Now I wasn’t initially as drawn into Harlem River Blues the way I was with Midnight At The Movies. I chalk it up to the wide-ranging stylistic swings this album takes. It’s still sorta a twangy country album, but Earle dips his paintbrush into blues, gospel, rockabilly, and especially sweeping pop music to give his tales of hard luck some vibrant (even if more mainstream) colors. Earle’s songwriting range is certainly impressive but it may be just a little too “all over the place.” Harlem River Blues is a beautifully crafted album but somehow lacks some of the tenderness that made Midnight At The Movies so cohesive and moving. Still, the more I listen to Harlem River Blues, the more I like it and the more it makes sense to me. Ask me in another month what I think and I’ll probably say it’s better than his last.

MP3:
Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues

Hostage Calm – Hostage Calm

Eric — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 02:27:35 +0000

As someone who is completely unfamiliar with pre-Hostage Calm Hostage Calm, this is my singular opinion of this Connecticut-based band’s self-titled full-length. Before ever listening to a note of the record, I just casually and carelessly assumed this was a hardcore record. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Hostage Calm is a record that covers a lot of ground without ever losing focus and without just becoming a hodgepodge of disparate musical elements. There’s a lot going on in these songs and the band expertly treads the line (as if one actually existed) between complexity, fluidity, pop hooks, and punk rock intensity in a way that’s hard to describe without actually hearing the album. Despite the fact that there a handful of musical nods to being a hardcore band (fast punk tempos at times, palm muted breakdowns, etc…) there’s really nothing about Hostage Calm that really sounds traditionally hardcore. It’s more of an overall feeling than it is anything the band does sonically. There’s a lot of tempo changes, unexpected instrumental flourishes, and great melodies, but it’s all much more pop rock than I would have expected. Not that I’m comparing ‘em to The Clash (one of my favorite bands ever), but just think about London Calling and how much more than just a simple punk record it is; Hostage Calm is kinda sorta like that.

Now I normally don’t like much in the way of highly-produced and “mellowed” punk rock, but this is somehow different. The music is intelligent and interesting while the vocals are melodic but keep a pretty even-tempered and calm trajectory throughout. There is also a confidence in the changes and the complexity that seems effortless; the incorporation of Latin-ish (I guess?) rhythms, acoustic guitars, and keyboards seems completely natural and organic. I also keep thinking that these guys kinda remind me of mid-period Saves The Day and Thrice despite not really sounding anything like either of ‘em. Weird, huh? So, yeah, Hostage Calm and their self-titled album have quickly started to dominate my stereo and work their way up my year-end list. Hostage Calm is (however) a record that needs to be listened to at least a few times to really “get” it. Still, innovation is rarely this listenable.

MP3:
Hostage Calm - Rebel Fatigues
Hostage Calm - Victory Lap

12 Days of Christmas MP3′s for 2010: Day 3

Eric — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 04:20:49 +0000

What we’ve got here are a few of the most awful and/or annoying Christmas songs known to man. Don’t argue either… I mean, how can the synth that opens “Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time” not make you want to stab through your ears with an icepick? And is there anything creepier than Johnny Cash singing “Silent Night?” It gives me the chills. Even so, it’s fun to listen to these even if just for a good laugh. As always, here are the links to Day 1 and Day 2 of the series.

MP3:
Peter Cetera - Jingle Bells
Wham! - Last Christmas
David Bowie & Bing Crosby - Little Drummer Boy
Johnny Cash - Silent Night
New Kids On The Block - I'll Be Missin' You Come Christmas
Barbara Streisand - Jingle Bells
Mike Love - Santa's Goin' To Kokomo
Dan Fogelberg - Same Old Lang Syne
Paul McCartney - Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time
Cher - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

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Against Me! – White Crosses

Eric — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:13:22 +0000

It would be stupid to review this album by comparing it to earlier releases by Against Me!, but it would also be stupid to pretend they didn’t happen. Look at this way, Against Me first released the Crime As Forgiven By EP in 2001 and when they released their full-length debut Reinventing Axl Rose, some fans thought the band changed their sound and didn’t like it. When the band signed to Fat Wreck Chords and released As The Eternal Cowboy in 2003, many fans were, again, unhappy with it. Ditto for Searching For A Former Clarity in 2005. Then Against Me! signed to Sire Records (a major label) and released New Wave in 2007. Fans were, again, unhappy that the band signed to a major label and unhappy with the changes in the band’s sound… again.

If there is one thing we’ve learned about Against Me! frontman Tom Gabel, it’s that he isn’t afraid of any sort of backlash from “the scene” for any decisions he makes and that we shouldn’t expect the “sound” of Against Me! to remain exactly the same for any length of time. All that being said, I think White Crosses is a great rock album that sounds like it should be played in stadiums all over the world. Just imagine a combination of New Wave and Journey/REO/Boston and you’d be close. Sure, when the occasional “Huh!,” and “Chicka-ah,” punctuate songs like “Suffocation” and “Ache With Me,” it’s clumsy and unnecessary, but I’ll be the last person to say that White Crosses isn’t a bold statement for the band.

The production (again courtesy of Butch Vig) is sickly slick, there’s a lot of really retro 80′s sounding keyboards, and the backing vocals sound like they’re from a Def Leppard record, but there’s no doubt that songs like, “White Crosses, “I Was A Teenage Anarchist,” “Because Of The Shame,” “Suffocation,” “We’re Breaking Up,” “Spanish Moss,” and “Bamboo Bones” are all huge rock songs. Yes, that means I nod my head along to ‘em. Lyrically, White Crosses is probably Gabel’s weakest effort in some time and (at many points) just seems overly clumsy. I’ll live with it though. This is not the Against Me! of your teenage years. This is the band that opened for the Foo Fighters a few years ago. If you don’t like it, don’t listen and quit your whining. PS: George Rebelo (from Hot Water Music) plays drums on White Crosses. Word.

Away We Go – Lights! Camera! Attraction! EP

Eric — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:14:57 +0000

If you’ve got/know/are teenagers that like Paramore and/or Fall Out Boy, you should check out Las Vegas’ Away We Go. Their horribly titled EP Lights! Camera! Attraction!, features everything from acoustic songs to radio-ready pop rock and is some of the most derivative stuff I’ve heard in a long time. Sure, it’s power pop that’s decently played and undeniably catchy, but that isn’t hard when you are just tracing melodies. You could say they that the guys and gal in Away We Go wear their collective influences on their Hot Topic bought sleeves, but, unfortunately, their influences do this sort of thing way better than they do. Perhaps that’s why the band broke up less than a week after their EP was released. Better luck next time kids.

MP3:
Away We Go - The City Of Sin With A Twist Of Tulips

12 Days of Christmas MP3′s: Day 9 (funny/creepy songs)

Eric — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:00:34 +0000

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, nine ladies dancing… and a whole bunch of Christmas MP3′s. Ladies dancing? This ain’t the Silver Slipper Saloon so don’t expect any dancing ladies, especially considering the nature of these songs. The Christmas songs below range from funny (“12 Days Of Christmas”) to creepy (“Kill a Tree For Christ”) to downright annoying. (“Jingle Dogs”). My daughter likes most of these so, yeah, its like that.

MP3:
The Darkness - Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End)
Celtic Elvis - Kill A Tree For Christ
Eric Cartman - O Holy Night
The Chipmunks - The Chipmunk Song
Jingle Dogs - Jingle Dogs
The McKenzie Bros. - The 12 Days Of Christmas
Sugar Ray - Little St. Nick
ABBA - Happy New Year
Kenny Loggins & Dave Koz - December Makes Me Feel This Way
Ariel Rechtshaid - Dreidel Dreidel

12 Days of Christmas MP3′s: Day 3 (annoying songs)

Eric — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:30:55 +0000

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me three French hens… and a whole bunch of Christmas MP3′s. In this case, some of the worst/most annoying/most awkward Christmas songs I’ve ever heard, and these aren’t meant to be novelty or joke songs. It’s true. I mean, every time I hear that synth from “Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time,” I wish I was deaf. Listen at your own peril.

MP3:
Peter Cetera - Jingle Bells
Wham! - Last Christmas
David Bowie & Bing Crosby - Little Drummer Boy
Johnny Cash - Silent Night
New Kids On The Block - I'll Be Missin' You Come Christmas
Barbara Streisand - Jingle Bells
Mike Love - Santa's Goin' To Kokomo
Debbie Gibson - Sleigh Ride
Paul McCartney - Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time
Madonna - Santa Baby