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racer2c
07-14-03, 02:31 PM
Two new CDs that I am burning a groove in are...

Rooney - Hailing from sunny California, this new band is the epitome of retro rock and they make no excuses about it. That's their angle. Retro isn't just 60's and 70's anymore. Sounds from the 80's are creeping into the retro scene. Rooney has a few tunes that could have come directly off of The Cars first record. Roll The Cars, Cheap Trick and the Beach Boys with Weezer , and a smattering of the obligatory Beatleesque retroness and you have Rooney. Great hooks, great harmony vocals, Rooney accomplishes a retro sound in a new package which is a difficult thing to do. The guitars are big and powerful aiding in the modern element.
This band has a company push behind them also which is nice for this sometimes forgotten genre of rock. I actually caught their single on MTV, quite a rarity for retro-rock.
The negatives are a short album with not much range in song. I would like to hear them pull out the acoustic for a slower, introspective number, but maybe they're waiting for record number two.


Now, this record will go down as one of my all time favs. The long awaited return of Fountains of Wayne was well worth the four year sabbatical. Their new record, Welcome Interstate Managers is a triumph in power pop rock. This record has it all from guitar driven hook laden rockers to acoustic ditties that have Simon and Garfunkel written all over them. FoW's previous recordings established their signature whimsical lyrical style. A style that I personally thought was a bit overdone. How can I take you seriously if you don't take yourself seriously? Well, I was pleased that not all of their latest songs have that comical approach and even the songs that contain their whimsical lyrics are analogies to a 'bigger meaning'. Take the song Mexican Wine. "He was killed by a cellular phone explosion. They scattered his ashes across the ocean. The water was used to make baby lotion. The wheels of commotion were set into motion but the sun still shines in the summer time. I'll be yours is you'll be mine. I tried to change but I changed my mind. I think I'll have another glass of Mexican wine." Funny yes, but there still is a poignant message in there.
For fans of sugary 'hook' power pop rock, the new FoW is a must have. A brilliant record.

RichK
07-14-03, 02:59 PM
Hey, a fellow FoW fan! I am a big Ivy fan (Ivy is FofW except for Dominique, the singer), and have been waiting for this CD for a while.

From your choices, you might want to check out the Orange Peels, also out of California (Redwood City), sort of a retro/surf/pop sound. They are very good!

p.s.-Thanks for the Rooney review, I'll check it out.

TRDfan
07-14-03, 03:03 PM
Thanks for the info, I've been itching for some new music to check out.

Canon2292
07-14-03, 05:01 PM
Here's a few good new releases:

Radiohead-Hail to the thief
Broken Social Scene-You see it in people

Dirty Sanchez
07-14-03, 05:56 PM
There can be only one...




music thread (http://cartfanatics.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2378) :thumbup: (currently 878 replies and 7476 views)

WickerBill
07-14-03, 08:54 PM
No... there can be two...

Sean O'Gorman
07-14-03, 09:10 PM
Originally posted by WickerBill
No... there can be two...

Does that mean we can start a tenderloin thread too?? ;)

WickerBill
07-14-03, 09:36 PM
I'm not a censor by trade.. do what you want. But they're all idiots -- Slippery Noodle has the best tenderloins.

Turn7
07-14-03, 10:10 PM
Slippery Noodles and tenderloins on a family forum?

Cam
07-14-03, 11:22 PM
The Noodle has some amazing memorabila in it... There is a Stratacaster on the wall well out of reach signed by SRV for one. I about melted into tears when I saw it. :cool:

Warlock!
07-15-03, 07:09 AM
Killswitch Engage. Heavy stuff - thick guitars, machine gun double bass drums, with some goofy melodies thrown in every now & then. Uranium is cool...

Warlock!

racer2c
07-15-03, 10:22 AM
I didn't mean to compete with any other music threads on neighboring forums. I wasn't even aware of it actually. I'm weird in that I only do one forum at a time. I absolutely love OC!

Dirty Sanchez
07-15-03, 11:39 AM
Originally posted by racer2c
I didn't mean to compete with any other music threads on neighboring forums. I wasn't even aware of it actually. I'm weird in that I only do one forum at a time. I absolutely love OC! No worries... this isn't a competition. It was more just me saying "Oh no, not another endlessly cool and time consuming music thread. I just can't commit to more than 1 right now!" ;)

I'm listening to Brick Layer Cake right now though :saywhat:

Warlock!
07-15-03, 12:11 PM
Let me axe you guys sumpin'...

How it the heck do you hear about the bands you listen to? I mean, about 75% of the bands that are brought up in these threads I have never even heard of. Do you just go out and pick up a cd that looks cool, or is it word of mouth, or do you actually hear this stuff on the radio? I realize I'm in NW Ohio, pretty much shut off from the rest of the world when it comes to newer radio music ("...and in the next block of rock we'll have Bob Seger, Van Halen, and new Led Zeppelin!"), but I would think I would have at least had a sniff of some of the music mentioned.

Around here my college CD collection is still pretty up-to-date... :gomer:

Warlock!

Dirty Sanchez
07-15-03, 12:29 PM
Rule #1. There is tons good music out there that you (or I) will never ever get to hear (or hear about). Don't get frustrated, dude.

With the exception of a couple college radio stations in the area, I never listen to it. You need to find a reliable source for recommendations whether it be a friend who's taste in music can be trusted, a record store that pimps good stuff that you like, online sources, mags, etc.

I usually have a few solid sources for music recommendations. #1 Friends that know what I like. #2 Reckless Records in Chicago--they write reviews on just about everything they sell and you can listen to anything they have in the store (requires a time committment ofcourse). #3 Sometimes I will follow a particular label... check out the other bands signed to your favorites' label. Harder to do for major labels, obviously. #4 Amazon can actually be a pretty good resource. Search for records that you already have and check out the "Customers who bought this title also bought:" section.

Dave99
07-15-03, 04:16 PM
I've been paying more attention to the music channels from my satellite provider than to local radio stations and all their commercials. Lots of new bands from the last three years or so, some good, though most just ehh.
A couple of songs that have caught my attention lately are "From The Inside" by Shinedown and "Blackout" from (hed) pe. They both seem to be a mix of Tool, Puddle Of Mudd and Linkin Park.
I have (ahem, cough, cough) heard that these songs are (ahem, cough, cough) available as (ahem, cough, cough) MP3s.

racer2c
07-15-03, 04:30 PM
I was a touring guitar player in a hard rock band for ten years so I have a bunch of musician friends who bounce stuff back and forth.

I'm really picky and closed mined about music (surprisingly allot of musicians are), I follow sort of a 'family tree' or better yet a five degrees of separation. For example, in '93 a drummer buddy picked up the second Jellyfish album that a record store clerk recommended to him. They broke up and the members went on to other projects (such as Jon Brion co-writing with Aimee Mann), so I just keep abreast of that and follow my favorite musicians through their different projects. Much of it is in the same genre so it's stuff I like. I used to love MTV's 120 minutes. I found RedKross on there among a bunch of other good stuff. I don't think it's around anymore though.

RTKar
07-15-03, 06:31 PM
Originally posted by Warlock!
Let me axe you guys sumpin'...

How it the heck do you hear about the bands you listen to? I mean, about 75% of the bands that are brought up in these threads I have never even heard of. Do you just go out and pick up a cd that looks cool, or is it word of mouth, or do you actually hear this stuff on the radio? I realize I'm in NW Ohio, pretty much shut off from the rest of the world when it comes to newer radio music ("...and in the next block of rock we'll have Bob Seger, Van Halen, and new Led Zeppelin!"), but I would think I would have at least had a sniff of some of the music mentioned.

Around here my college CD collection is still pretty up-to-date... :gomer:

Warlock!

As for me, Chicago had a great FM station, WXRT, it's still OK but a shell of its' former self. Before it was bought out it used to have a superb style of allowing the DJ'S to play an eclectic mix of music, so for roughly 18 -20 years I heard some great stuff. My musical tastes are all over the map and occasionally I'll buy a music magazine like Q ( from the UK) or Dirty Linen (a folky mag)which will highlight new stuff. The far left end of the radio dial (college and public radio stations) at times can be eye opening too. Also, I went to the RA test with Chop456 and was exposed to XM Satellite radio which is phenomenal for anyone interested in music - had it installed in my car the next day:cool: It's excellent for road trips.

Classic Apex
07-15-03, 07:52 PM
Originally posted by Dave99
I've been paying more attention to the music channels from my satellite provider than to local radio stations and all their commercials.

Same here. The "DMX" music channels on Direct TV are where I hear about all of the newer bands that I like. Channel 817 has been very very good to me.

Dave99
07-15-03, 08:39 PM
Yup Brian, 817 and 818 are what I have programmed into my DirecTV reciever. 816 is a bit too heavy for my liking but they manage to squeeze out a gem now and again amidst the Marilyn Manson-ish Euro-trash "bands".

chop456
07-16-03, 12:30 PM
Satellite radio and satellite TV. Chan 957 on DishNetwork "Adult Alternative" is pretty good. "XMU" on XM radio is a pretty good approximation of a good college radio station.

Some of the good stuff they're playing now includes:

Party of Helicopters
Ester Drang
Cat Power
Turin Brakes
Calla

Warlock! We'll listen to XM Liquid Metal at RA. At least until my urge to kill starts to get the best of me. ;) They play the hard stuff, and most of the bands I've never heard of, so I'm assuming they're relatively new.

You can listen online here: http://www.xmradio.com/programming/channel_page.jsp?ch=42

I listened for a bit this morning until they played a band called "Dying Fetus" and I got frightened and changed the channel. :saywhat:

Warlock!
07-16-03, 01:18 PM
Originally posted by chop456
Warlock! We'll listen to XM Liquid Metal at RA. At least until my urge to kill starts to get the best of me. ;)

I listened for a bit this morning until they played a band called "Dying Fetus" and I got frightened and changed the channel. :saywhat:
Dying Fetus and most of the Black/thrash/death metal and grindcore stuff I've heard of... I just don't get to sample much. Everytime I listen to channel 816 on the satellite I wonder why I don't listen more. If I had the XM thing I'd be all set, cause really that's the only time I listen to music... just when I'm drivin'. It's seldom convenient to sit and listen to tunes anymore :(

Warlock!

Dirty Sanchez
07-16-03, 01:21 PM
Warlock! has a propensity to headbang you say? I'm sure I could throw a couple recommendations his way!

baffle
07-17-03, 01:38 AM
normally I'm into really mellow easy listening sounds, like the stylings of the late great karen carpenter and such, but for some reason I can't get that transplants song diamonds and guns out of my head. <OOH OOH> should I seek therapy?