Discoveries Of The Month

Top 3 Best Discoveries Of The Month:
1. Arcade Fire - Suburbs
-An extremely well-done music video (made by Spike Jonze) about disillusioned teens. The video also has an important message too. The story follows kids in a town controlled by a military force that takes young boys to be soldiers in the middle of the night. It puts the theme of child soldiers to a place any American can relate to.
2. Kanye West - Runaway
-I have to take this one in two parts: the “film” and the song.
-Song: While I’m admittedly not a fan of rap, this song definitely makes my list. Kanye definitely stepped it up with this song. The piano chords in the begin are haunting, yet beautiful. Lyrical it has its ups and downs; some still blow: “I sent this bitch a picture of my dick”, but some are actually good: “Never was much of a romantic/I could never take the intimacy/and I know it did damage/plus the look in your eyes is killing me”.
-Film: I don’t think it quite deserves the title “film”, but since that’s what it’s labeled as I’ll go with it. Kanye should know though, just because it’s Selita Ebanks doesn’t mean it’s not bestiality. I must admit though, if I were an alien come to Earth, I would definitely want Kanye West to show me around. I was also actually pretty impressed with Ebanks’ acting.
3. The Strokes - Angles
-Not as much to say on this one since it’s just an announcement. But, I cannot wait to hear the new album, especially after hearing "Under Cover Of Darkness". I have to say that the song has become one of my favorites and a most played. It's extremely catchy and the lyrics are great. "So long, my friend and adversary." You can get a free download of it on The Strokes' website.

Other Things That Should Be Mentioned:
1. The Black Keys - Tighten Up
-While the song is super good, I still haven’t decided exactly how I feel about this video. Definitely an amusing video, but with the number of child actors out there, they should have gotten some who could actually lip sync. Almost a Cute Is What We Aim For level of bad. My other complaint is the kid who looks disturbingly like Macaulay Culkin. Highlights? Lots and lots of Ray Bans and watching some guys get beaten up by kids.
2. Our Lives In Motion
-I found out about this band through good ol’ Twitter. The lead singer has a good voice and their sound reminds me of Anberlin (think Feel Good Drag). Its clear they’re new though; the songs all sound fairly similar. Branching out will do them good. You may have heard of them because they were also named one of Purevolume Top Unsigned Artists of 2010.
3. Count Me In
-Another band I found out about via Twitter (I’m just gonna give ‘em all a little mention). They’re very pop, but not in a bad way. The lyrics to “She’s Got It Goin’ On” are pretty good for a new band. One of the main things they have going for them is that, unlike most beginning bands, their songs don’t all sound identical.
4. Dangerfield
-When I first went to Dangerfield’s page and heard the opening to “Fighting”, I expected something a little more hardcore. But, the singer’s voice is synthesized. I almost thought it was a joke until I listened to the others. The music and the singing don’t really match up. I think they could be good if they just chose a direction and stuck with it. An example is “Tonight”, which is a decent start for a synth-heavy band.
5. This Love
-They toured with NeverShoutNever! and are, therefore, not my taste. They’re definitely better than NeverShoutNever! though because while the songs are kinda cheesy, they are nowhere near as bad. My main complaint is that the lead singer’s voice is scratchy. While this can work really well sometimes, with This Love it just seems like they shouldn’t be singing their own songs. My verdict? Not awful, but not great.

Top 5 Worst Discoveries Of The Month:
1. Cloud Nothings - Should Have
-If I hadn’t seen the video, the song might have ended up on my “Other Things That Should Be Mentioned” list. But, the video is a whole new level of disturbing. I have no desire to watch people deep-throat each other’s hair. My desire decreases even less when they barf. And when the hair is repulsive looking.
2. Lady Gaga - Telephone
-Okay, so granted I’ve known about this video for awhile, but I thought I’d give it a shout-out; especially on the horrifying discovery it made Pitchfork Media’s Top Music Videos Of 2010 list. I think I can pretty much sum up why I chose to put it on this list with this: Get some originality. You can only kill cheating boyfriends so many times and ripping off Chicago is lame. Also, your product placement is fucking ridiculous.
3. Robyn - Call Your Girlfriend
-No. Just no. Possibly a new all time low lyrically. Why do you want to be the awful boyfriend stealer? Its only redeeming quality is that you can play it at a techno club. Oh wait, that kind of play time is not a redeeming quality.
4. Nicki Minaj - Right Through Me
-This is another one I’ve known about for a bit, but it’s also so bad it deserved to make it. The lyrics are inane and the video makes her the least-likable human being imaginable. Don’t throw things if you want to keep your boyfriend.
5. The Fight Between Kings Of Leon and Glee’s Creator
-Glee’s creator, Ryan Murphy, apparently thinks that putting your song on Glee isn’t selling out. And that he’s educating kids. How is not putting your song on Glee hating on arts education? Glee is not the least bit educational or realistic. It also ruins good music and shouldn’t be watched by the 7 year-olds Murphy thinks it applies to. As much as Kings Of Leon is hit-or-miss for me, I think it’s good that they actually have some standards.