Week 32: Modest Mouse - King Rat

Sometimes it's hard to pinpoint what's been your most-listened to song of the week. There are just weeks that pass by as hiccups. You know they happened but can't think of any specifics, although you're certain that it had to be chalk-full of them.

Okay. Got it.

Modest Mouse plus Heath

It took a few minutes. But there is one song that I listened to on repeat for a bike ride home (I know, not safe...) the other night. Lyrically, it's as strong as the rest of their catalog and the video was actually directed by the late, great Heath Ledger during his 'dark period' before his early demise. It pays to be Modest. Mouse.

Modest Mouse - King Rat

Week 31: Eminem - Survival

Remember when a certain Detroit native spit "A plaque in platinum status is whack if I'm not the baddest"?

Seems like ages ago to me. Sure, he's put out bangers in the last couple years, but did it ever really feel like he was back? Last album, Recovery, felt like a step in the right direction (finally), but still didn't really feel all the way there. I don't think I was alone in worrying that the 'scripts had zapped the fire out of one of the games best.

Well, new track (for the Call of Duty soundtrack - but who cares what the reason is), Survival, has got me excited. It's not perfect start to finish (little bit in the middle, especially the "butt!" part, doesn't fit in my ears) but it feels right. It feels like Slim. The anger and the fire are there. And for the first time in years, they don't feel like they are being forced through a cloud of xanax, valium or whatever he spent those years on. In fact, Eminem's DJ Alchemist has been heard saying that the last two albums were about Em getting back on his feet, but that he's now squarely there and he is "going to further territories... I think now - he's Eminem".

So let's throw a middle finger and let it linger for one of the great kings of controversy and hope that we get some more of this before he retires his jersey.

Week 30: Pond - Giant Tortoise

TAME IMPALA
MELODY'S ECHO CHAMBER
POIND

How much good music can one group of friends put out? Over a lifetime, there's a myriad of examples of 'art collectives' or 'scenes' that have produced cauldrons of hit/iconic records - but in what timeframe?

There's something in the water in Perth. People have probably been saying this for decades, the difference now is that I mean it in a good way. Tame Impala has already conquered the indie earth (and could very well break the North American mainstream if they set their sights on it), Pond has had feet a tapping while they relentless put out albums and Melody's Echo Chamber may be overshadowed by their contemporaries but are far from a mere footnote.

All these names have already been dropped in this blog. But today marks new territory. Until now, Tame Impala were the clear leaders. Psychedelic trip-rock that can switch from oozy zoning to heavy rocking like a smashing vase - drops in almost slow motion but then explodes with a riotous yelp. It may only be one track, but there's a new king in town. This crown is heavy and is not for the weak of neck. Pond, with the first single from the forthcoming fifth album (Hobo Rocket - out August 6 in US/CAN), may have usurped their brother. Of course, two members of Pond are in Tame Impala so it's all quite insestuous - I, for one, am not complaining.

Enough fancy words. Play this. Loud.






Pond - Giant Tortoise