What concerts are people most excited for coming up? I really threw down on The National at The Greek on 9/2 and Bon Iver at The Forum on 9/15 and can't wait for either.
I love that these guys are still in their early 30s, meaning they've been making old man music since before they could even legally drink in the States.
Also can we talk about how stone cold the "FUN!" video still is? Vince has had so many great, pointed videos and it still may be his best. Great concept, showcases his personality and the home he loves, and the ending is so goddamn savage I felt it in my chest.
As someone who was there, the set was a bit of a charming disaster. Courtney was apparently having issues with her sound levels and spent the whole set berating her band for playing too loud, even claiming that she lost her voice because she had to sing too loudly over her band. It was very tense. But she did seem genuinely grateful for the fans and, ultimately, grateful to the band. An inspiring moment came when a fan yelled “I love you Courtney,” to which she responded “I love me too! And it took me SO fucking long to get there!”
I've seen them in plenty intimate venues which are always great, but I have tickets for their upcoming LA arena show and can't wait! The documentary about the stage design they have prepared has me excited.
Love this interview and what Justin says he stands for. Love the new record. They're easily the most interesting arena-sized artist around right now, to me. I'm all in, baby!
Kelly's had some excellent tracks over the years! But thank *christ* the notion of "contractually-stipulated theatrical musical starring competition show winner and runner up" did not become a trend.
BONUS BONUS BONUS BONUS BONUS BONUS BEATS: They did a very early-2000's cover of this song in the all-around early-2000's pop culture nightmare "From Justin to Kelly." Tried to find a video of the scene but, mercifully, that movie has a very limited online presence. Here's the song from the soundtrack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLBdUFSEmiw
This guy is on a completely different plane than anyone else doing it right now and it makes me giddy that there are people really trying to push shit forward, or, if not forward, than push shit *somewhere*.
Love that he continues to put the old OF dudes on year after year, even though the majority of them haven't done anything worthwhile in about 8 years. Last year I was in line for one of the carnival rides later in the night and Left Brain was standing in line behind me. Not one kid asked for a picture or seemed to even recognize him. Times have changed, but I'm sure he was happy to be there.
Telephone Ave is *easily* his most underrated track imo. Great hook, great production, and one of the few times his meta conceptual approach to a song totally works. And what a missed opportunity if he was in the Bay and didn't play it!
Comedown Machine is egregiously overlooked, likely because they put zero effort into the release and were quite open about it being a "get out of the contract" album. But yes. Bonafide bangers. And though I know it's controversial, I really like Julian's falsetto.
What's an older album that you've gotten into lately that you're sad and/or embarrassed that it's taken you so long to get into? I listened to Hearts of Oak by Ted Leo and Pharmacists recently for the first time and haven't been able to stop.
Did people like this show? I felt like on paper it should've been a slam-dunk for me, but through the first few episodes it really just wasn't clicking. Probably the most extreme example of this phenomenon in recent years for me...
I can see a case being made for Reflektor. Like First Impressions, it's an overlong, occasionally-drab (depending who you ask, of course) affair that ends a run of real greatness. But, if that's the case, someone PLEASE tell me what is the "Afterlife" or "You Only Live Once" of this Chance album, because I sure as shit don't hear one.
I really feel like this is one of those situations where not only does something surpass the record, but it just keeps going and going until there's an entirely new benchmark for success.
Maybe I’m just speaking for myself, but it seems that everyone wants this to be either good enough to remember why we liked him in the first place or bad enough to write him off for good. The only true disappointment will be if it’s somewhere in the middle...
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