Where do I fit in?
Where is my place here?
What do I need to say?
What do you want to hear?
-Lennon, "My Beautiful"
People ask me why I'm down on hip-hop/rap/most pop. I give you this quote from Chad Hugo of the Neptunes (he's the one who isn't in all the videos):
"As a producer, you really want to dig in the crates and find that overlooked song, and try to flip it and make it hot."
Um, as a producer, shouldn't you really want to create something new? Nah. That might be original. The sad thing is that if a rock act made their living doing cover songs, they'd be laughed at. When a rapper does it, he's P. Diddy.
In this week's X-FACTOR:
1. Opening Track
2. 5 Artists You Should Know
3. The Song Remains...The Used, "The Taste of Ink"
4. Encore - What Aboot Avril?
OPENING TRACK
My homey Iago Ali and I are planning a feature on the current musical offerings from the NYC area. He'll be handling the hip-hop, and I of course will be laying the rock on you. However, I need your help. Who do you think are some of the hot bands coming out of the New York City/Long "God's Country" Island area these days? E-mail me and help a brother out.
5 ARTISTS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Before we start I do have a brief disclaimer. I make a HORRIBLE A&R guy. I'm the one who referred to Nirvana as "unintelligible crap," laughed at how ridiculous that Brittany chick was after seeing the debut of the "Baby, One More Time" video, and originally thought Eminem was the Weird Al Yankovic of Hip-Hop. In other words, I'm a horrible judge at what the next big thing is going to be.
However these are a few bands that I've been enjoying, and maybe I can get a few of you to enjoy them as well...
Lennon
I had said last week how Michelle Branch could turn rock, and how other pop artists could do the same. There is, however, one girl out there who is already the real deal. Imagine Tori Amos, only angrier, not as weird and flaky, and a lot more down to earth. Mix in Carole King's knack for songwriting. Than give her Stabbing Westward as a backing band. What you'd get is unique sound and style of Lennon Murphy.
Unfortunately her debut album 5:30 Saturday Morning has two strikes against it. One is that it was released last year on September 11th. The other is that it was released on a label (Arista) that doesn't seem to know shit about how to handle a rock act, which is a shame because it is an absolutely incredible album. It's a narrative mix of heavy guitar rifts and elegant piano parts that simply rock in the truest form of the word. Lately I've been listening to it just about every day, either at work or while I'm working out. If you've ever agreed with anything you've ever read from me, you'll LOVE this album and LOVE Lennon. Trust me on this one.
www.lennononline.com
Saves the Day
When you think of New Jersey and music, you think of names like Sinatra, Springsteen, and Bon Jovi. But Saves the Day? If the band sounds familiar, you may have seen their video for "Freakish" on MTV2. It's the one with the weird puppets in the piano bar.
The main thing that makes them different from most of the other (for lack of a better term, since I know the "punker than thou" kids are lining up to bash me right now) "Emo rock" bands that have come out lately, is that Saves the Day has a lot more to talk about than how their girlfriend broke up with them. Just look at some of the tracks on their most recent release, Stay What You Are. "At Your Funeral" deals with watching your friend destroy themselves with drugs, "Cars and Calories" tackles a society that uses style over substance to measure what's cool and successful, and in "As Your Ghost Takes Flight" they sing about losing a loved one. However in most cases, the music is upbeat so you don't even realize that they're laying some relatively heavy lyrics on you. It's got the same fun and upbeat melodies that most bands of their ilk have, only without the same ol' lyrics about broken hearts and jilted lovers.
www.savestheday.com
Greyscale
Gotta represent Long Island on at least one of these tracks. :-) I've seen these guys a number of times (most recently opening up for Phantom Planet), and I think they're awesome. Greyscale combines elements of rock and funk, mixed in with a touch of 80's heavy metal. More importantly, they're easily the tightest un-signed act I've seen in a while. Too many times you go to local bar or club, and the band playing is either standing still, or just playing to their friends. Greyscale, whether it's on a full stage or just in the corner of a bar, plays like they're headlining at Madison Square Garden. Their energy is that intense.
Plus, bassist Jon Middleman is easily one of the best bass players I've ever heard. I'm apparently not the only one who thinks so either, because he was voted "Best Bass Player on Long Island" a few years back. The band plays all over the upper east coast, so check out their website to see if they'll be near you. You'll thank me for it.
www.greyscale.tv
Guster
In my opinion, Guster is the best band you've never heard of, which is odd since they've released three albums (with a forth due out soon) and have been on tour for most of their careers. Their unique sound, that substitutes electric for acoustic and uses bongos instead of a traditional drum kit, puts them in a musical genre all their own. The constant touring has built the band a loyal fanbase.
Guster fans may not have adopted a cool moniker like "deadhead" or "parrot head," but they still follow the band from show to show, singing along to every song and coming dressed in the appropriate uniform. In the case of their last tour, that meant Hawaiian shirts in homage to Guster's debut video for "Fa-Fa Song." Equally entertaining is their live covers of songs that...let's just say they don't take themselves too seriously. Next time you're downloading music, look for their rendition of Journey's "Faithfully" and a track called the "Summer of 69' Story."
www.guster.com
Norah Jones
Okay, so she's not what you would call "rock," but I like her all the same. Norah was born in New York City (her daddy is Ravi Shankar, a Sitar player who can list The Beatles as his biggest fans), raised in Texas, and eventually relocated back to NYC and the artsy Greenwich Village - and you can hear the two drastically different environments come across in her debut Come Away With Me. Musically, she's a little bit jazz, a little bit blues, a little bit pop, a little bit country, and even a little bit folk. Vocally, she's a lot bit sultry. Anytime someone can sing a Hank Williams song ("Cold, Cold Heart") and make it sexy, that's pretty impressive.
And when you have a date, there's no better album to put on. One, it makes you look all classy and shit. Two, your vast musical tastes are sure to impress your lady friend. Three, if you're not in the mood after listening to Norah Jones, drive your date home and just give up on the opposite sex altogether.
www.norahjones.com
Now here's where you guys come in. I included the address to the individual band sites so that you can get more info on the bands, and maybe even some song clips. It's then your job to "Play it Forward" and tell you're friends about this great new artist you've heard. Why wait for MTV to tell you what's cool? You can do it yourself!
THE SONG REMAINS...THE USED, "THE TASTE OF INK"
Two weeks ago (and actually, a few paragraphs ago as well) I pretended to know what Emo was all about, and a reader called That Dork E Rawk called me on it. Hey, I'm no expert. I just play one on da' Net. But I'm all about listening to the readers, and one of the bands Mr. Rawk suggested I check out was The Used. As luck would have it, I had happened to catch their video for "The Taste of Ink" earlier that morning, so it seemed like a good choice for this week's "The Song Remains..."
It's about finding the courage to leave your comfortable surrounding, and going out to take a chance to do something with your life. A lot of us live in small towns, surrounded by people who either have never, or will never leave and they settle into their mundane existence. Constantly being surrounded by that, it's really easy to fall into the same funk. When you have people close to you letting you know that you won't amount to anything, it's really hard to break out of it.
At last it's finally over
Couldn't take this town much longer
Being half dead wasn't what I planned to be
Now I'm ready to be free
It's a lot like Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road," only edgier. The video is starting to pick up some heavy airplay on MTV2, so check it out.
ENCORE - WHAT ABOOT AVRIL?
Anytime I can get off a cheap Canadian joke, I'm a happy man :-)
A lot of people have been asking me why I didn't think Avril Lavigne might be next great female rocker. I'll be honest. I really enjoyed her album Let Go, and in another year when she's no longer a felony, I wouldn't mind taking her out for some ice cream. But lately I am beginning to question how legit she is. How much of her album is her, and how much is it her label creating the "anti-pop star?" Seriously, have you ever heard her talk about any musical influences, or anything even remotely interesting? The last few interviews I've seen, it's like she just says the exact opposite of something Britney Spears would say.
Maybe by the time her next album rolls around, she'll prove to be the rocker she appears to be. But like I said, I have my doubts.
NEXT WEEK
I'm going to assume that Widro will be pulling rank and reviewing the new Bon Jovi album...but he never said anything about their other nine albums, which I'll be covering in a piece I call "The Soundtrack to Your Life."
