First Ever Deep Cut Friday!

In trying to revive the slumbering Above the Din, I decided that I am going to start a new recurring column that takes a look at some of the tracks that didn't make it to singles, but probably should have. As this is a relatively new column, I could cull from anywhere in the last 5 years, so keep your eyes and ears tuned. But I will try to make note of at least one new release each week.

So without further ado, the first ever Deep Cut Friday.

The first song I want to talk about is "Stamp of Origins: Horizons" by dredg off "The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion" (2009). dredg are recognized for songs like "Bug Eyes", "Savior", and "Information", but they have a very sweet side to them as well. Horizons, a song predominantly led by piano, takes the view of someone ready to die and meditating on their life. It's a thoughtful way to tie up the album, and references many of the songs within (Ireland, Information, Delusions, I Don't Know, Gathering Pebbles, and I believe Mourning This Morning all get nods in the latter half of the LP version of the song).

The Stamp of Origins series off the latest record echoes their first two LPs, Leitmotif (with the "Movement" series) and El Cielo (with the "Brushstroke" series). They took a respite from this concept with their mainstream breakthrough Catch Without Arms, and the return to this is a sign that dredg will not shake their roots just because they have seen the spotlight. Notable in this way is that this album marks the only time that dredg's series have not been instrumentals, although there are instrumentals on the new album (notably "Drunk Slide" and "Long Days and Vague Clues").

Going a bit lighter, the second and final track for this week is one from late last year: "Addicted To Drugs" by Kaiser Chiefs off "Off With Their Heads" (2008). The song is typical fare for Kaiser Chiefs, very wry and danceable, and seems to chronicle the boredom of suburban life. The chorus plays off Robert Palmer's "Addicted To Love": "You're gonna have to face it, you're addicted to drugs." Musically Nick Hodgson makes excellent use of the cowbell to start and supplement the track, Whitey's guitar riff slides under your skin, and Simon Rix's bass sounds like it could be another guitar. Peanut's keys have been understated in this song (and throughout the album), but add the right bump to the song's chorus and instrumental breakdown. It is easily a highlight of the superb album.

That is all we have for today. I leave you with this bit of information: Kaiser Chiefs, Kings of Leon, Bloc Party, and Vampire Weekend are among the bands scheduled to play this year Readings-Leeds Festival, and Kaiser Chiefs have announced a break following their tour with Green Day. StayTuned for new information on Above the Din!

Rock Radio is Back!

Rock Radio has been gone from New York City but it has returned. WXRK is back in its old home of 92.3, and will be all rock all the time. The radio waves were missing something in New York and now they are filled.

It is back baby.

A fight over Guitar tabs

"Recently Hal Leonard Corporation, the world's largest songbook publisher, sent an email to the music publishing and copyright community urging them not to license guitar tablature for free, advertising-supported use online. The email includes a number of factual errors and was potentially very damaging to the potential for a free, legal, and licensed destination for guitar tab online. Musicnotes and MXTabs have posted the full letter along with their response."

Music Videos Online

Internet radio may be on the verge of disappearing, but maybe there is something else, an Internet music video station.

Online radio station Last.fm is adding a video section to its site this week, enabling users to create their own personalized video channels - similar to how users can already create radio stations based on their music tastes.

"Last.fm aims eventually to have every music video ever made on the site, from the latest hits to underground obscurities to classics from the past."

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/lastfm_launches_video.php

College Shooting

Massacre at Virgina Tech today as a student came to class with two guns and killed 22 students and injured 29 people at least.

Our thoughts and prayers are with all.

from CNN:

(CNN) -- The Virginia Tech Police Chief said at least 20 people were killed in twin shootings on the Blacksburg campus Monday morning.

"Some victims were shot in a classroom," Chief Wendell Flinchum said, adding that the gunman was dead.

President Charles Steger called the shootings "a tragedy of monumental proportions."

A hospital spokeswoman told The Associated Press that 17 Virginia Tech students were being treated for gunshot wounds and other injuries. Sharon Honaker at the Carilion New River Valley Medical Center told CNN that four patients had been transported there, one in critical condition.

One person was killed and others were wounded at multiple locations inside a dormitory about 7:15 a.m., Flinchum said. Two hours later, another shooting at Norris Hall, an engineering building, resulted in multiple casualties, the university reported. (Watch police, ambulances hustle to the scene Video)

The first reported shooting occurred at West Ambler Johnston Hall, a co-ed dormitory that houses 895 students. The dormitory, one of the largest residence halls on the 2,600-acre campus, is located near the drill field and stadium.

Amie Steele, editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper, said one of her reporters at the dormitory reported "mass chaos."

The reporter said there were "lots of students running around, going crazy, and the police officers were trying to settle everyone down and keep everything under control," according to Steele.

I'm not sure if I should laugh or not.

100 Millionth iPod Sold

Apple has sold 100 million iPods. And I still don't have one.

Chocolate Jesus is Tasty

Chocolate Jesus is tasty.

For all those people who like naked men and chocolate, this is the story for you.

TRL is dead, long live TRL!

TRL is no longer live. You'd think this would force a name change, but nope, they are still filmed in front of a live audience so they can keep their name. TRL used to be the top show in the music industry. I'm sure people at MTV thought it could become the new American Bandstand, but it never reached that level. TRL will now be taped twice a week before its current show time of 2:30 pm.

TRL used to be the spot where people came to pimp their movies, books and CDs, but at half its top ratings from the late 90s it doesn't have nearly the impact it used to.

For more info check out. http://nwitimes.com/articles/2007/03/25/entertainment/entertainment/doc345d37df10e59a2a862572a6006b613e.txt

Nothing is More Christian than Denying Fellow Christians the Chance to Pray

Yesterday, five Equality Riders were arrested for attempting to worship at a chapel with students from Oklahoma Baptist University. The Soulforce Equality Ride is a nationwide journey of 50 young adults visiting conservative Christian colleges to challenge policies that discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students. The arrests were made when all 26 of the East Bus Equality Riders and one community member sought to enter campus and were turned away with a warning of trespassing. Five of the Equality Riders, truly determined to worship with students, were arrested by the Shawnee Police.

The News with Jokes

The News with Jokes

Rapper The Game is suing the WWE because they have a wrestler called The Game. A fake hood versus a fake fighter: the winner will get a fake trophy.

The lead singer from the All-American Rejects is going to create his own clothing line. Because he feels there are not enough clothes for emo kids to wear and be mopey in. He'll also consider other brand-new and original ideas like a line of shoes and perfume.

Macy Gray was almost arrested in Brazil for cursing. No need for a joke here, the joke is on us for reporting it.

Sad Milestone

We have reached a sad milestone. Yesterday the 1000th reporter was killed reporting. It is a sad day.

The GN'R Saga Keeps Getting More Interesting...

In the ever unfolding drama that is the professional life of the man whose name is an anagram for oral sex, Axl Rose, the latest development suggests the possibly imminent reunion of the original Guns lineup. In fact, original drummer Steven Adler recently spoke with Axl and had this to reveal, as Dotmusic (via Yahoo) reports:

"I saw Axl, talked with him from 10 or 12 at night to 8 in the morning. We resolved a lot of sh-t. I said, 'You know the five of us have to get back together! That's when it will really take off again! Nothing will be bigger. It would be the biggest reunion ever in history.'

"He just grinned and giggled a little bit," said Adler.

He concluded: "I've been talking with Slash. I've been talking with Izzy. He wants a reunion."

Don't believe it? Neither do I. But this rumor is not without merit. The official Guns N'Roses website reported on a recent show where original member Izzy Stradlin joined Axl onstage and jammed to several of the band's classic songs.

And as far as "Chinese Democracy" goes...Well, after the VH tour that never was got axed, so to speak, how much hope could there be for the album that's been delayed nearly 10 years? Every year it seems there must be the requisite VH and GNR rumors. As their acronyms have embedded themselves into our vernacular, accordingly disappointment has followed. Although it's not all bad. From the OS:

The good news is that all of the recording for the album has been completed. Drummer Frank Ferrer and guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal integrated themselves into the recordings seamlessly and will have their presence felt.

There is no official release date, as the band is currently mixing, but after some delays and scheduling difficulties, things appear to be moving along.

Take care,
Del James

Did anyone actually bet on March? Though the completion of the disc is certainly significant. I'm thinking we might have something to look forward to in another year (yeah, right).

News Roundup: Feb. 19

Rather than creating update spam and linking to 15+ stories separately, here for your reading pleasure (or displeasure) are some highlights of what's been goin' on in the music world lately (specifically during my recent absence from the site):

- Chris Cornell leaves Audioslave, readies solo album, covers MJ's 'Billie Jean,' and doesn't rule out some form of Soundgarden reunion.

- Arctic Monkeys and The Killers clean up at the Brit Awards, Muse and The Fratellis also take home new hardware.

- Counting Crows' new album expected by the end of the year, frontman Adam Duritz becomes the latest in a long line of performers to launch his own record label.

- Rufus Wainwright to "Release the Stars" in May, also recreates Judy Garland concerts.

- EMI mulls dropping DRM and embracing MP3, industry abuzz with changing standards talk.

- Dream Theater ink with Roadrunner, ready next disc, stay true to epic (read: 25 minute song) form.

- The Smashing Pumpkins reveal "Zeitgeist," along with an usual Saturday, July 7 release date (unconfirmed by the label).

- OZZfest offers free tickets to 2007 outing, Ozzy will play material from forthcoming studio album.

- Arctic Monkeys want to share their "Favourite Worst Nightmare" on April 23 (one day later in the U.S.), first single "Brainstorm" to make waves on April 16.

- Apple, Inc. and Apple Corps Ltd. settle trademark dispute, The Beatles in digital is hopefully to follow very soon.

News Bites - January 30

- Iggy is back. The Stooges have released "My Idea of Fun" from their forthcoming LP, "The Weirdness," on their MySpace page. "The Weirdness," which is the first set from the group since 1973, is due in March.

- The Police have confirmed longstanding rumors that they are reuniting for this year's Grammy Awards, taking place February 11 and broadcast on CBS.

- Blabbermouth.net reports that Tool will record shows on its upcoming tour for a live CD/DVD release. Check the article for dates and venues.

- Dance-rock darlings Franz Ferdinand are set to record their next album, the follow-up to 2005's "You Could Have It So Much Better." Frontman Alex Kapranos promises "a whole new sound."

- Billy Joel has returned to pop music after going strictly classical back in 1993. "All My Life," the piano man's new pop single, will debut Feb. 7 on People.com, according to Billboard.

- Superstar producer and artist extraordinaire Timbaland has revealed that his next album will feature the likes of Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, The Hives, Elton John, Fall Out Boy, and She Wants Revenge.

- And finally, Modest Mouse have confirmed the details of their forthcoming album, "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank," now due March 20 (via Epic). Lead single "Dashboard" is impacting radio, MySpace, etc. now and a Motion Theory-directed video is on its way. A world tour is expected in support of the disc. The tracklist is as follows:

"March Into the Sea"
"Dashboard"
"Fire It Up"
"Florida"
"Parting of the Sensory"
"Missed the Boat"
"We've Got Everything"
"Fly Trapped in a Jar"
"Education"
"Little Motel"
"Steam Engenius
"Spitting Venom"
"People As Places As People"
"Invisible"

2007 Previews: Finger Eleven

After bands really hit the mainstream, they are given a few options.

1. They can start writing songs that flow more into the mainstream sound. Hoobastank fell into this trap with their latest release, "Every Man For Himself". Sometimes it works and sometimes it falls apart. EMFH barely made a noise in the stream of music.

2. They can try something new. This could be either a negative reaction to their success (Live's "V," the Beatles' latter catalogue) or just wanting to try something a little different (Sum 41, Lostprophets).

3. They can self-destruct (The Doors, Nirvana).

Finger Eleven came to this crossroads following the golden reception that their single, "One Thing," received and continues to receive. They responded by heading for Door #2. Their release "Them Vs. You Vs. Me," due out in March, promises "keyboards, xylophones, a lap steel, violin, banjo, and other assorted instruments," according to SoundScan. The leadoff single, "Paralyzer," is a dance-rock track that vaguely recalls "Deep Enough" off Live's album "V". The rest of the album ranges from F11's typical fuzzy rock to country, touching on various styles throughout. Over a hundred tracks relay-recorded over the Internet are pared down to 12 for the final cut.

Finger Eleven will support this album by opening for Hinder in the upcoming months.

A quick check of the news...

Finds that Hollywood wastes no time! It appears as though acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee will direct a biopic based on very recently passed James Brown. I mention this because, besides being relevant to music, I feel Spike Lee deserves all the props he can and does receive. In addition to being a maven of the independent film world, he also directed his first $100 million box office smash this year with "Inside Man" and even more significantly directed "When the Leeves Broke: A Requiem in Four Parts." This has garnered Lee Special Achievement Honors for 2006 by the AAFCA (African American Film Critics Association) and also earned him a spot on AFI's Most Significant Moments of 2006 list. Spike Lee is a captivating personality and artist. Whether you agree or disagree with his expressions and statements, one thing you gotta give him is that he draws you in and challenges you, pushes boundaries aside and finds ways to consistently surprise and provoke his audience. And that is the sign of a truly accomplished and gifted visionary.

In much different news, Danger Mouse is about to pop up again and this time not with Gnarls Barkley, the Gorillaz, or MF Doom. Rather, the star producer and artist has something entirely different to offer us in the near future. Billboard reports:

The artist will serve as the leader of a producers' collective dubbed the Underground Animals, who will release a compilation album in 2007 via Downtown/Atlantic. The participants will be brought to life courtesy of animation from Adult Swim.

"We have some very celebrated producers and some up-and-comers, all of whom are arranged around Danger," Downtown co-founder Josh Deutsch tells Billboard.com. "Everybody is producing under a pseudonym." For the introductory album, the idea is that each song will feature a different producer working with a different artist, but "there won't be a reveal as to which producer is doing a given track," Deutsch says.

Billboard additionally reports that Gnarls Barkley are already gearing up for their next studio album, which may hit store shelves before the end of 2007.

Now I remember Danger Mouse back when The Grey Album controversy was spinning faster than Danger Mouse's turntable. I maintain that this effort is ingenious and no doubt helped launch his still rising profile into the atmosphere. He might just be the unlikely new Midas of the pop world, but really how does one accurately depict Gnarls Barkley and the Gorillaz? Maybe it's this unconventional artistic mysticism which makes Danger Mouse so profound and appealing. One thing to be said, though, is to keep an eye on his work. It may just pave the way to pop enlightenment, but at the very least it's guaranteed to lead somewhere new and interesting, as Cee-Lo certainly agrees.

Second best title ever.

"Her Majesty the Queen has appointed Bono to be an honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in recognition of his services to the music industry and for his humanitarian work," the embassy said in a statement.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2006/12/23/bono-knighthood.html

How bad ass of a person do you have to be to get the Queen of England to refer to you as "Most Excellent"? Clearly a lot.

Major thumbs up to Bono and the Queen for bestowing an amazing title.

The Canterbury Rap and Lit-Hop

Baba Brinkman, who has a master's degree in medieval and Renaissance English literature from the University of Victoria, has found a way to apply his scholarly work to his hip-hop artistry, by cutting rhymes from Chaucer's classic 14th Century, "Canterbury Tales." From the article:

"Ready to kill with their jagged-edged daggers drawn/The three aggravated braggarts staggered up the lawn/And without dragging on while the story is told/Beneath the tree they found a bag filled with glorious gold," Brinkman raps in a seamless cadence, updating Geoffrey Chaucer to hip hop.

For those skeptical that there really is the right kind of relationship between Chaucer and hip-hop to pull off such a seemingly unlikely task, I refer you to Brinkman himself:

There are remarkable parallels between "The Canterbury Tales" and modern rap, Brinkman said at Wellesley College during a recent stop on his tour of high schools and colleges across the eastern United States and Puerto Rico.

"Chaucer and rap are both performance-based and they're both battles of words where your proficiency gets you by," said Brinkman, whose master's thesis compared the two.

"The Canterbury Tales" was a storytelling competition among pilgrims on their way to Canterbury Cathedral, much like freestyle rap battles today.

"Before I ever read anything about (Brinkman) I could see the similarities between rap and Chaucer, especially the storytelling aspect," said Kathryn Lynch, a Wellesley English professor who teaches classes on "The Canterbury Tales."

"Like rap, the sound of Chaucer is important for the audience's experience, and they are both competitive verse forms."

It really should not be surprising that someone like Geoffrey Chaucer could be reimagined in 2006 using a freestyle, lyrical art form. This is especially true when you consider slam poetry, beat poetry, and other modern movements that sought to present social issues and themes in a direct, punchy, and explicit sort of way. It takes another leap, however, to arrive at old English literature and it provocatively explodes the wealth of directions that hip-hop can go while also giving back to their constantly expanding audiences. Of course, that doesn't mean that everyone has jumped on board with this new style:

"People have a narrow idea of what constitutes rap based on what they see on TV. Who's to say that white people are not supposed to rap, or Asians, or Hispanics? ... Hip hop is all about proving your skills. About keeping it real. Some people are skeptical at first, but when they hear me, they realize I can rap."

Academics sometimes sniff condescendingly. Brinkman performed at Harvard University to an audience that included the chairman of the English department, but Columbia University was not interested when he offered to bring his act to campus, he said.

But there are rap adaptations based on Shakespeare and "Oedipus," all part of a genre dubbed "Lit-Hop," which is also the name of Brinkman's latest CD.

Thinking about it carefully, it makes perfect sense. Shakespeare and Chaucer, after all, wove words and phrases together just as a needleworker threads a perfectly fitting fabric. In a similar way, rappers sew lyrics and beats together into jams. The big difference is that the language and some of the rules have changed, but therein lies the artful mastery. Brinkman has found a way to combine these previously disparate worlds and fuse them into something new altogether. After all, the lyrical prowess of Shakespeare could really only be fully realized by the hip-hop movement's fluid, linguistic mechanics. Or to quote the artist:

"If Chaucer was around today, he'd probably rap," Brinkman said.

For more: http://www.babasword.com/

YOU are Time's Person of the Year

As many of you may already be aware, TIME magazine recently revealed that their Person of the Year for 2006 was - You. Not Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Donald Rumsfield, Al Gore, or even the founders of YouTube.com, but rather the content creators of YouTube.com. But not just YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, Wikipedia; all of these websites, although brilliantly conceived, flourished because of the end users who power them. And for this reason the editors of TIME, fascinated by the rise of anonymous and not so anonymous Internet denizens, have made their nondescript choice for 2006's Person of the Year. Flashing fancy new terminology such as "Web 2.0" and "Digital Democracy," Lev Grossman makes a detailed argument for why the cyberpopulace deserves to be irrevocably associated with 2006. Considering the impact of YouTube and it's role in shaping the 2006 midterm elections alone, I have to say I find their selection to be right on target. In response to the argument that the founders of YouTube, as the progenitors, deserve the highest acclaim, I say that without the onslaught of interest and the feverish response to that interest which drove their invention, YouTube would have been just another passing fad.

Even more personal to myself, however, is the statement that this story makes for bloggers like us here at AtD. The bubbling up of what one might call the 'unidentified heroes' of this new media stands out as the best example of the Internet proletariat reclaiming power from the bourgeoisie. This truly could be the rise of the average American to fame and greatness, unprecedented in human history both in the access to communicative tools and in the ability of those tools to produce a platform to be heard. This is the new media by which the public can shape the story as much as the private corporation or the CEO of said corporation. Or as Richard Stengel puts it in "Now It's Your Turn," covering the Person of the Year story:

There are lots of people in my line of work who believe that this phenomenon is dangerous because it undermines the traditional authority of media institutions like TIME. Some have called it an "amateur hour." And it often is. But America was founded by amateurs. The framers were professional lawyers and military men and bankers, but they were amateur politicians, and that's the way they thought it should be. Thomas Paine was in effect the first blogger, and Ben Franklin was essentially loading his persona into the MySpace of the 18th century, Poor Richard's Almanack. The new media age of Web 2.0 is threatening only if you believe that an excess of democracy is the road to anarchy. I don't.

Well said Mr. Stengel. As a frequent poster over at DailyKos, the largest political community on the web, I feel I have been a part of history in the making. There I (or anyone for that matter) can post a diary entry which, through the process of Democracy, can become recommended by other users and eventually land on a sidebar on the front page. (I'm still working toward this goal.) As a result, the millions of visitors to the site would be able to read my political opinions, commentary, or analysis and add their own. Right here at AtD, even though we're starting small there are profound hopes and goals. I dare to dream of a future in music journalism imparted in no small way from my experience here on Web 2.0. The same goes for everyone else on this blog and blogs and communities all across the cyber-landscape. If one thing is certain, and as TIME so accurately depicts, it is that the possibilities of this expansive playing field are limitless. Digital Democracy has already ushered in a new awareness of and appreciation for the ability of these possibilities to change the world. A world where potentially anyone's voice can be heard and seen by virtually anyone, anywhere, and at anytime. Here's to making Above The Din a participant in this epic convergence.