Should I or Shouldn't I?

I'm thinking about starting this thing up again. I have about 75 albums to review...Hmmm. This thing might be back on.

Gonzo Radio 2/27/07

Explosions in Space has ceased to exist. Of course, we all know an explosion in space can't happen anyway. At least theoretically... You know, that oxygen thing.

Here is the debut of Gonzo Radio. Basically, this is a 24 hour radio station that picks songs based on my music tastes and listening habits. It is brought to you by Last FM , a really awesome music site. The motto of this station is Any Genre at Anytime and if you listen for a while you will see what I mean. As with Explosions in Space it is weighted heavily to obscure indie rock.

Enjoy

Explosions in Space 1/7/07

The new show is now up. This week we have 19 songs ranging from Explosions in the Sky to Pretty Girls Make Graves. Of course there is a ton of good stuff in between. Go there now.

Explosions in Space 12/31/06 Best of 2006

The Happy New Year show is now up. This is the time of year when people who think they are important or cool post their best of the year lists. I really hate those people! So, just to be jerk like them I made my last show of the year...The Best Songs of 2006. These may not be the best songs written and certainly not the most popular, but they are what I grooved on the most in 2006. HAPPY NEW YEAR everybody. See ya in '07 Go there now.

Explosions in Space 12/24/06

New show is now up. We have a christmas song by the Flaming lips and a few requests as well. I guess 3 or 4 of you are actually listening. This week features a song by Leaves. Leaves is a Coldplay copycat, but they write better songs. We have Garageland, which if you listen carefully, you will hear where the Strokes stole their sound. This album came out 4 years before Is this It. Let's not forget a classic drinking song from Silkwork. Happy Holidays! See you next week. Go there now.

The Sunshine Underground - Raise the Alarm

Genre: Indie Rock
Release Date: August 28, 2006
Sounds Like: The Killers, The Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand
Overall Rating: 5.7/10

Summary: The Sunshine Underground is from Leeds, England. Their debut album Raise the Alarm is a beat heavy indie rock album. If you were to shuffle up a player with the Sunshine Underground, Kaiser Chiefs, The Killers and Franz Ferdinand you would probably miss them because they would blend in so well. This genre of music has been played out. There is nothing new here. I have to say though, this album is much better than the latest from the Killers. There really are not any bad tracks on here. Just straight up fun. If you are looking for something new and exciting this isn’t it, but if you want to have some fun and shake your booty then this is what you have been looking for. Visit their myspace site for some tunes.

Ratings Summary:
Originality within Genre: 4.0
Originality by Band: 6.0
Production: 8.0
Did I like it?: 5.5

Track Ratings:
1) 6.6
2) 6.3
3) 6.6

4) 6.4

5) 7.1

6) 5.2

7) 6.9

8) 6.1

9) 6.8

10) 6.9

11) 6.6

Explosions in the Sky- All of the Sudden I Miss Everyone

Genre: Indie Rock, Post-Rock
Release Date: Early 2007
Sounds Like: Mogwai, Mono, My Education
Overall Rating: 9.0/10

Summary: Anybody who knows me really well also knows I love Explosions in the Sky. They are one of my all time favorite bands, so just assume right off the bat that this review is biased. I managed to get my hands on the forthcoming EITS album, to be released in early 2007. The album is all called All of the Sudden I Miss Everyone and it is a Post-Rock classic. The album features six epic songs that build layer upon layer of post-rock grandeur. The melody is there and the guitars are huge as usual. This album is vast and lush. This is the best album I have heard in all of 2006, too bad it is a 2007 release. It looks like we have frontrunner for album of 2007 already. Just awesome! I will link you to tracks soon.

Ratings Summary:
Originality within Genre: 9.0
Originality by Band: 9.5
Production: 8.0
Did I like it?: 9.8

Track Ratings:
1) 8.1
2) 9.2
3) 9.3

4) 8.0

5) 7.5

6) 8.4

Explosions in Space Website Update 12/19/06

Explosions in Space has a new website...Sort of. It looks a lot like the last one, but much neater looking. I also added the ability to submit requests for the next show. I might also experiment with getting your requests added to the list within 24 hours. Go there now.

Explosions in Space Website Update 12/19/06

Explosions in Space has a new website...Sort of. It looks a lot like the last one, but much neater looking. I also added the ability to submit requests for the next show. I might also experiment with getting your requests added to the list within 24 hours. Go there now.

New Explosions in Space 12/17/2006

A new Explosions in Space show is up on the explosions page. Click here to go there. Although Explosions in Space is an indie rock show, it doesn't mean that commercial music shouldn't be played. This week's show has a smattering of classics wedged between the indie and post-rock. Until next week...Enjoy..

Thoughts 12/13/06

Over the last 5 hours I Iistened to 2 new albums that I really dug. I tried to write reviews for them, but after I finished the reviews I deleted them. I don't know. It just didn't seem like I was connecting with them even though I liked them. So for the last 2 hours I have been scanning my database of 31,000 songs trying to find the ultimate song. Once again I have failed. Tonight, for whatever reason, hardcore punk is soothing. Over-the-top artistic crap is boring me. I'm sure it will all change tomorrow, but thank god for DOA, Unwound, Cable and Snapcase. They have made this night....as Borat would say NICE. BTW- Borat is not about hating other races. It is about hating the ignorance of America....Just a friendly plug from your anarchist friend. Go see this movie. If you have half a brain you will see the brilliance and understand the criticism of America...This movie is PUNK!!!!

I really hate bloggers who post whatever crap comes to their mind...Oooops. I'll try not to do this again.

New Explosions in Space 12/10/06

A new Explosions in Space show is up on the explosions page. Click here to go there. We have a lot of post-rock and many other tasty tidbits.. Until next week...Enjoy..

Explosions in Space 12/03/06

A new Explosions in Space show is up on the explosions page. Click here to go there. Lots of classics from the likes of Sonic Youth, Ride, Lush and Arab Strap. I threw in some Turkish indie rock by the Replikas and the slow burning Daturah to close the show. The show opens with a punch in the face by the Distillers. Until next week...Enjoy.. If you are too lazy to go to the explosions page click here to listen now.

Lost Ocean - Night to Life

Genre: Indie Rock, Alternative Pop
Release Date: 8/15/2006
Sounds Like: Coldplay
Overall Rating: 3.9/10

Summary: Do you like Coldplay? If you do then perhaps you will like Lost Ocean or maybe you will feel like you have been let down by a pretender. There is nothing wrong with having influences, but this is thievery. I think these guys are good musicians, but they do not know who they are yet. Click here to listen and learn more about them.

Ratings Summary:
Originality within Genre: 3.0
Originality by Band: 5.0
Production: 7.0
Did I like it?: 3.0

Track Ratings:
1) 4.0
2) 5.0
3) 3.0

4) 3.0

5) 4.0

Explosions in Space 11/25/06

A new Explosions in Space show is up on the explosions page. Click here to go there. I managed to get this one up a day early. Must be the holiday. This week's mix is weighted more on the heavy side as you will see. We have some post-punk from Thursday and At The Drive In. We have a healthy dose of metal from Isis, Type O Negative and a killer tune from the Spawn Soundtrack. We have Moby! Yes, that Moby! He released a rock album back in the late 90's that pretty much rocks. No Dance music here. And finally a beautiful drinking song from Silkworm called DRUNK. I think that about sums it up. If you are too lazy to go to the explosions page click here to listen now.

Daturah - Daturah

Genre: Indie Rock, Post-Rock
Release Date: 2005
Sounds Like: Mogwai, Mono, Explosions in the Sky
Overall Rating: 7.6/10

Summary: Daturah is the biotanical name for Jimson Weed. A drug that Hunter S. Thompson made famous in the Great Shark Hunt. Jimson weed is a hallucinatory drug that has a profound effect on the sensory and physchological aspects of the mind. Sight and sound can be blurred and distorted. Noise can become music and music can become ambient noise. It is twisted and hence the name of this band. Yeah, I know it was released last year, but have you heard of it? Probably not, so it is new for both of us. Rather than bore you with my prose, just read this and understand why I love this band. Visit their myspace site for more info and tunes.

Ratings Summary:
Originality within Genre: 7.9
Originality by Band: 7.5
Production: 8.0
Did I like it?: 7.8

Track Ratings:
1) 7.2
2) 7.9
3) 6.9

Heliconia - Glad You Were Born

Genre: Indie Rock, Shoegaze
Release Date: Summer 2006
Sounds Like: The Verve, My Bloody Valentine, Catherine Wheel
Overall Rating: 7.2/10

Summary: This is the debut full length for England's Heliconia. Glad You Were Born is just a great album. Why flower it with poetic words like... lush walls of distorted guitars over a water fall of rainbow prisms. Why declare that the album shimmers like a billion diamonds strewn across the sunlit sand. Why? It's really simple because this album does all of that, and if you listen, and if you like even a bit of classic shoegaze then you will understand. This is what I have been waiting to hear, a band who embraces the early 90's shoegaze movement and one ups it to a new level. I must give one bit of criticism though, it sounds too much like early Catherine Wheel. Wait, that's a good thing! My mp3 player will wear out its batteries on this album. Buy it, download it, steal it! Just get it! Visit their myspace site for more info and of course tunes.

Ratings Summary:
Originality within Genre: 7.7
Originality by Band: 7.0
Production: 8.0
Did I like it?: 8.5

Track Ratings:
1) 8.1
2) 7.2
3) 6.1
4) 7.8
5) 6.9
6) 5.8
7) 6.9
8) 7.2
9) 6.6
10) 5.2

11) 7.7

Nassau - Machines to Paradise

Genre: Indie Rock, Psychedelic

Release Date: 10/24/06

Sounds Like: Pink Floyd, Hawkwind, Trail of Dead
Overall Rating: 6.9/10

Summary: Nassau is from Toronto, Canada. Machines to Paradise is their second full length album. This album is a straight ahead psychedelic rocker. The band wears its influences on its sleeve. You hear early Pink Floyd, The Byrds, Blue Oyster Cult and more contemporary bands like Trail of Dead. Yet despite these influences they maintain a unique sound that is purely Nassau. I have a feeling this album will get better with a few more listens, especially late at night with the headphones on. Check out their sounds here.

Ratings Summary:
Originality within Genre: 7.5
Originality by Band: 7.5
Production: 8.5
Did I like it?: 6.7

Track Ratings:
1) 6.6
2) 6.8
3) 6.5
4) 5.5
5) 6.1
6) 6.8
7) 5.8
8) 6.7
9) 7.2
10) 6.6

11) 7.8

Explosions in Space 11/19/06

A new Explosions in Space show is up on the explosions page. Click here to go there. This week we have some classics from Sugar, The Flaming Lips and the Treepeople. I threw in an awesome Butthole Surfers tune and for my buddy Caps I closed the show with New Jersey's own Overkill. You never know where the beverages will take me. If you are too lazy to go to the explosions page click here to listen now. Below is the track list for this week.

1. The Dandy Warhols - Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia - Godless (5:20)
2. Butthole Surfers - Independent Worm Saloon - Leave Me Alone (2:27)
3. The Flaming Lips - In a Priest Driven Ambulance - Mountain Side (6:19)
4. Leaves - The Angela Test - The Angela Test (4:26)
5. And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - Madonna - Mistakes & Regrets (3:46)
6. The Meeting Places - Numbered Days - Cardboard Robot (4:11)
7. Absinthe Blind - The Everyday Separation - You Should Get Out More (7:42)
8. Magic Dirt - Magic Dirt - Goofy Gumb (6:00)
9. From Monument to Masses - The Impossible Leap in One Hundred Simple Steps - Sharpshooter (8:52)
10. Sugar - Beaster - JC Auto (6:13)
11. The 90 Day Men - (It (Is) It) Critical Band - Exploration Vs. Solution, Baby (4:57)
12. hope of the states - the lost riots - black dollar bills (6:54)
13. Treepeople - Something Vicious For Tomorrow, Time Whore - It's Allright Now Ma (2:19)
14. Overkill - Taking Over - Wrecking Crew (4:32)

Confuse the Cat - We Can Do it

Genre: Indie Rock, Alternative
Release Date: 10/16/06 (Europe)
Sounds Like: The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Interpol
Overall Rating: 6.5/10

Summary: Confuse the Cat are from Belgium and that is about all I know about them. After listening to We Can Do It, I am shocked that they are not popular here in the USA. This is just a really good album all the way through. It certainly competes with anything by The Killers, Franz Ferdinand or Interpol. The only fault I can find in this album is the absolute complete lack of originality. Confuse the Cat is the three above bands rolled into one. There is nothing unique here, but if you haven’t tired of the bombardment of non-stop Post-Punk Dance music then you will love this. The 80’s still live here and I do expect Confuse the Cat to cross the pond real soon. Good album. Click here for some songs from their myspace site.

Ratings Summary:
Originality within Genre: 4.0
Originality by Band: 6.0
Production: 8.0
Did I like it?: 7.5

Track Ratings:
1) 8.7
2) 8.6
3) 7.5
4) 7.7
5) 8.1
6) 7.7
7) NR
8) 6.6
9) 4.9
10) 4.5