Since Billie Joe tweeted earlier this week about a new secret show Thursday, fans have been running amok with speculation, including yours truly. And when someone spotted Billie Joe on a plane heading to Austin, and then Tre on 6th street, I got REALLY excited. Apparently some Green Day-related art has been posted on 6th, and so everyone I know is checking venue calendars and calling promoters. Shit is bananas right now.
It’s not official whether the show is in actually here in Austin tomorrow night, but you can bet I’ll be checking the Internet probably every ten minutes. Friends in moderately high places have speculated venues like Stubb’s, Emo’s East, East Side Drive In, and ACL Live. The last one is a good bet, in my opinion, since there’s a swanky new hotel just above it. But I honestly have no clue. When I do, you can bet I’ll be camping out to grab a spot. If I miss Green Day in a small venue in the ATX, I will never forgive myself.
In the meantime, here’s a taste of things to come.
Thank Me Later was a blast from beginning to end, but if that was the introduction, we can now safely assume Drake is just getting started. Take Care is long enough you can’t burn it on a blank CD, and the results are more moody and introspective than ever before.
Rap music nowadays usually divides the line between personal and decadent, tortured and boastful, and Drake’s got plenty of the former and very little of the latter. Don’t get me wrong, he’s bragging about his new fortunes, how he’s the hottest rapper in the game right now, etc. But his insecurities are laid bare for all to see; there’s no “Fancy” here to distract you from the sheer reality of how human this superstar is. On “Headlines” he laments how critics motivate him to progress musically, while boasting “the real is on the rise.”
Musically, the album is even more of a low-key affair than “Marvin’s Room” hinted a few months ago. With the exception of leaked tracks featuring Nicki Minaj and Rick Ross, Drake does a substantial amount of crooning; the Weeknd shows up more than once here to provide an ominous tone to Drake’s songs of self-questioning and heartbreak. Overall, Take Care is as bipolar and human as the human that made it. And in the 21st century making-it-rain/getting-personal hybrid of rap, this is probably the best it that it gets….and that’s pretty damn good.
Every Saturday, I post a 15-20 minute podcast featuring some tracks I’ve been jamming the previous week, as well as some commentary and random musings from yours truly. Enjoy!
Tracklist:
Tom Waits – Chicago
Deer Tick – Let’s All Go to the Bar
Gross Magic – Yesterdays
Pusha T – Feeling Myself
Escort – Cameleon Chameleon (Club Mix)
I haven’t had an extraordinary amount of time this week to delve into this past weekend, so this post is a little late. I suppose I wanted to let everything settle down and let the experience marinate. And after several days of contemplation, I’ve come to the conclusion that my initial thoughts were correct – this was the best Fun Fun Fun yet, and probably the best weekend of my year. Well done, Transmission. Well done.
I admit I was initially very nervous about the festival’s move to Auditorium Shores; was my favorite little 3-day adventure turning into a mini-ACL? Well after this weekend I understood that it kind of was….but the keyword is “mini.” The location may have changed, the crowds may have gotten slightly bigger (in a bigger park, it really didn’t feel like it, though), but the devil-may-care vibe is still there. Great food, great music, same ideal stage setups. They still haven’t fixed the beer situation, though. Just Heineken and Tecate? I think next year I’ll spring for PIP so I don’t have to pay $6 for that crap. Basically, it was a Fun Fun Fun experience just like Waterloo, pros and cons included, though it felt more smoothly run this time around. You still had the dust problems, the expensive drinks issues, occasional sound debacles….you know, festival stuff. But as far as weekend fests go, Fun Fun Fun still cannot be beat.
The plain-speaking mind that brought you “Trapped In the Closet” is planning for a spring 2012 release of his autobiography. The title? Why, Soula Coaster of course. And now Kells has a new untitled track dedicated to all them haters bringing “negative shit” about how he was “washed up” because his voice was shot. If this song is the evidence, it’s pretty apparent R’s vocals are far from gone. Quite the oppostie, in fact. And the hook? “Shut Up, Shut up, I’m talking to you.” Catchy as all hell. Kelly’s back, baby!
Best line: Referring to the reproductive power of his music – “How many babies been made off me? OMG.” Listen at Pitchfork….you just have to.
Today I continue a series of posts dedicated to the best albums of the last decade, posting analysis of one album at a time.
34. Beck – Sea Change
In 2002, Beck completely did a 180 and released an album I initially found very upsetting. Well, not initially. It’s still pretty depressing. But in a good way. After hearing the anit-folk of Mellow Gold, the dance rock zaniness of Odelay, the bluesy Mutations, and the boogie-laden Midnight Vultures, I was having a pretty difficult time pinning down the stylings of Beck. He was, and still is, all over the place. He recreates his style with every release. But Sea Change was probably the starkest transformation for the musician. And almost ten years later, it remains my favorite.
Inspired, or maybe tormented, by the breakup with his longtime girlfriend, Beck penned these uncharacteristically un-ironic songs about utter sadness to traditional instrumentation and beautiful string arrangements written by his father. Singles “Lost Cause” and “Guess I’m Doing Fine,” especially the latter, perfectly capture the theme of Sea Change, one of alt-country heartbreak and burgeoning depression. This album is still perfect for comfort after loss, or even just a contemplative drive along a lonesome country road, preferably on the vast, falt terrain that is West Texas.
Take Care, the new album from Drake (cover art above), drops November 15th, and by the amount of leaked tracks you would think half the album’s already been heard by the masses. Not even close. Today, to add to “Marvin’s Room,” “Make Me Proud,” and “Headlines,” we have three new leaks.
Rap Up’s got the first, a collaboration with the much-blogged-about Weeknd called “Crew Love.” The Source hooks you up with the Rick Ross-guesting “Lord Knows,” and Pretty Much Amazing has the title track featuring Rihanna and sampling Jamie xx. Â What do all these leaks have in common? Â They’re all awesome. Â And they all hint at Drake’s sophomore effort being one of the finest rap albums of 2011.
