Sunday, September 27, 2009

2 New Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Records

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez is a power house. Besides leading, composing and playing guitar for The Mars Volta, hes recently scored the movie The Burning Plan with Hans Zimmer, produced Juliette Lewis' new record, and continues to churn out new solo records almost constantly.

On Tuesday he's releasing his 12th solo album entitled Xenophanes. Even for a huge Omar-head like myself it is daunting to keep up with all of his records, but this one is of particular interest because it is the first time in his entire career that we are going to get to hear Omar sing! It will be sung completely in Spanish and this fact alone should make it worth a listen.

And just this morning another new album entitled Los Sue Os De Un Hidago was released digitally. This album was recorded with his group, including members of The Mars Volta and critically acclaimed/grammy winning singer Ximena Sariñana, live at BBC studios during a tour through Europe earlier this year.

<a href="http://omarrodriguezlopez.bandcamp.com/album/los-sue-os-de-un-higado">Boiling Death Request A Body To Rest Its Head On by Omar Rodriguez Lopez</a>


This is probably one of my favorite solo albums Omar has released yet. Hell some of my overall favorite material in general. Where on many of his solo albums he can to indulge in his various styles, particularly the more experimental, this album is a great balance of all them all. He finds a center point which we haven't seen much of. It's not overly crazy, (a la Cryptomnesia) but also not ambient (Omar Rodriguez Lopez and Jeremy Michael Ward). Omar instead showcases all of his many talents in this 5 song set, something usually reserved for a Mars Volta disc. It proves to make a most enjoyable records.

Los Sue Os De Un Hidago also finds Omar working more with melody, be it through he guitar solos or through Ximena Sariñana's vocal work. Don't get me wrong though, Omar still retains his unique sense of style. The opening "Boiling Death Request A Body To Rest It's Head On" finds the group on the more fusion side of things and features some awesome keyboard work along with Omar's patent dissonant guitar lines. The last track, "Victimas Del Cielo", is a stand out and features more great vocal work from Sariña before showcasing Rodriguez's best guitar work on the ablum.

The great thing about this, and the rest of his solo work is that it can all be streamed for free at http://omarrodriguezlopez.bandcamp.com/. This has helped me sift through his large and rapidly expanding discography and find the gems (I also highly recommend The Apocalypse Inside of an Orange). These new projects find Omar continuously expanding and show that even with the large breath of music he's releasing, he is becoming anything but stale.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

9/24/09 Playlist

My inaugural show at 91.3 WVUD. Not without its set backs, including an accidental play of Steely Dan, but it was real fun. Thanks to my friends and family for listening. I'll be doin this every Thursday from 5-6pm so hit me up with requests. You can listen here or of course on 91.3fm if you're in Delaware.

Rx Bandits- My Only Lonesome Friend
The Mars Volta- Goliath
The Meters- Look-Ka-Py-Py
The Bamboos- Rawville
The Dead Weather- 60 Feet tall
Steely Dan- Bad Sneakers
Portugal. The Man- Sugar Cinnamon
The Dirty Projectors- Temecula Sunrise
The Flaming Lips- Buggin'
Big D & The Kids Table - Describing The Sky
Big D & The Kids Table- The Sounds of Allston Village
Santana- Soul Sacrifice (live at Woodstock)

Friday, September 18, 2009

Facing New York - Me N My Friendz

Everyones got those bands that they should check out. Facing New York had been up there for a real long while, and it wasn't till I heard this song that I finally did. I actually love this song alot. I really do. The thing is it should suck. The guitar riff is ok and the delivery of the vocals vaugley remind me of something between Weird Al and some lame white rapper. But the total package and presentation is great. I really believe it. While after giving them a quick once over, I should go in more deeper, this is the song that I think is really outstanding. Hope you feel the same.


Monday, September 14, 2009

The State

The State is a comedy group from the early 90s that have produced most of my favorite comedic material of all time. If the name doesn't look familiar then you might know their other projects; Stella, Role Models, Reno 911!, The Ten, Wet Hot American Summer, and Michael & Michael Have Issues to name a few.

This past summer the influential tv show of the same name finally got a release and if you get a chance to watch it in any capacity i highly recommend it.



After the show ended, its members went on to form different projects, one of which being Stella. Starting as a stand-up troupe that made hilarious short films, they are probably best remembered for the short lived show on Comedy Central (you can watch the entire series of Hulu). This Tuesday they have a brand-new live stand up DVD coming out and it looks great. Check out a clip;



For me Stella is special, not just for the humor but also for the time in which I saw it. I checked it out probably because the dude from "I Love the 80s" was in it but after seeing the first episode I was hooked. My friends and I gathered each week to see this explosive brand of humor that I had never seen or even thought of before. It was brilliant.



They also introduced me and much of the world to "alternative" comedy (for lack of a better term) and a great new group of actors including Paul Rudd, Zach Galifianakis and Elizabeth Banks.

Here's some additional projects/media to check out from the crew;

You can see all of the Stella Shorts at college humor.
http://www.collegehumor.com/user:398

New Interview with David Wain. It goes into just how the State formed and made it to MTV, how he came to work with Paul Rudd, and his role in the DVDs production.
http://www.avclub.com/articles/david-wain,31483/

Michael Showalter's internet "talk show" The Michael Showalter Showalter.
http://www.collegehumor.com/tag:michaelshowalter

David wain's Internet show Wainy Days which features guest stars from Jonah Hill to Rashida Jones.
http://www.mydamnchannel.com/Wainy_Days/Season_1/1Shelly_388.aspx

You can stream both Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter's comedy albums on Lala.com
http://www.lala.com/#album/360569445187453484

David Wain's first film that he made before The State even formed. It made it all the way to Sundance and did the festival circuit when he was still in High School.
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2007/08/david_wains_aisle_six_investig.html