Nerf Herder (Rockingham)

Rockingham – The new album from referential pop culture band Nerf Herder – is probably the best thing I've heard all year.

I listen to a lot of music (don't think I don't just because I'm not moved to post it here), and I was good-shocked at how this thing grabbed me.

The band, fronted by Parry Gripp, with current members (I think) Steve Sherlock, Ben Pringle, Linus of Hollywood, brings their distinctively fun, clever talent (that has a bit of a not-mean-spirited bite) to play on topics as diverse as the hipster hype of the city of Portland ("Portland"), to the crazy hard absurdity that are pop culture conventions ("At the Con"), to the cleverly insightful (and hilarious) diatribe against our societal buy-in to stock photo models in "Stock Photo Girl".

I don't even want to mention the other nine tracks, because part of the fun with this album is discovering the song titles and song contents, and chuckling throughout.

Honestly, a big part of Parry and Co.'s mastery in their work is in their clever, nuanced treatment of societal stuff – They wrap those in pop-culture topic and meme breading, creating what could be dismissed as a light-hearted, silly throw-away wrapper of a song, that has parfait-like layers of poetry and/or punny-ness.

(I don't know where that dessert metaphor came from.)

Whatever – Buy Parry's new album.

(And enjoy this.)

Daft Punk (TRON: Legacy)

I really dug the new TRON: Legacy movie, and at the risk of sounding like a shill, I'm super grooving on the new Daft Punk original motion picture soundtrack.

I was first exposed to Daft Punk via their Cartoon Network exposure in the late 90s (early 2000s?), and then had elliptical run-ins with them via acting things like their "Electroma" short film Cannes Film Festival offering. Band members Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo are talented, and the soundtrack is a solid album offering from them -- surpassing (I think), even their more well-known "Alive 2007".

I generally wait to buy album soundtracks and musical scores until after I've seen the film, so the music is more evocative of key moments in the film. This sometimes creates a bias for liked and disliked tracks based on their movie tie-in, as opposed to them as stand-alone offerings. But at least I'm honest about my review biases. ;-)

I did the same for TRON, and while there are moments and beats that do pull me back into the film (the music interleaving to the movie sound track is pretty unique) -- "Arena" and "Disc Wars" in particular --there are beautiful, unique tracks that are startling self-contained. The Jeff Bridges narrated "The Grid" is a surprisingly solid tone-setter for the rest of the album, is a wonderful remix of the original TRON theme, and avoids the "show don't tell" trap into which it could easily fall. I actually wish the album started with this particular track.

For whatever reason, I'm fascinated by the Recognizer vehicles -- the hefty AT-ATs of the world of TRON. For me, they're more evocative of the technology gone awry than the light cycles, and the eponymous track drives that home.

Likewise "C.L.U." is a nicely complex piece, evocative of some of the depth of stuff hinted at with that character (and the related relationships). It arguably tries to do too much, possibly because it is the longest track on the album (though short by normal band standards).

"Fall" is one of the shortest, most powerful tracks on the album; it's in danger of being overlooked, because it's easy to mistake it as the bridge between the "Derezzed" (vintage-ish Daft Punk) and "Solar Sailor" (a beautiful, solemn subtle track of its own).

And while not the star of the album, the Amazon-exclusive "Sea of Simulation" track fits solidly (and congruently) within the whole album.

If you do/did see the film, you'll notice Daft Punk's  camera-averse, robot-during-live-shows persona works without much tweaking in their cameo (during the "Derezzed" performance).

Overall, the TRON: Legacy Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is an enjoyable, accessible, semi-house / electronica offering.

(As an aside, I'm also a toy and Japanese anime fan, so add that to my rekindled love for Daft Punk, and I'm likely going to pick up a set of their Zentradi-lookalike Interstella 5555 figures for enjoyment. And possibly parody. It's part of what I do.)

Cloud Cult

I've been listening to a lot of Cloud Cult lately, thanks to a co-worker letting me borrow a couple of albums, "Advice from the Happy Hippopotamus (2005)", and "The Meaning of 8 (2007)". I previously knew their "Lucky Today" song from the Esurance commercial, but not much beyond that.

"The Meaning of 8" is a rawer, more authentic album, largely because a lot of the content deals thematically with the somber and celebratory exploration of what it would have been like if front man Craig Minowa's son had reached 8 years old (he sadly died unexpectedly at the age of 2 in 2002). I'm not sure if the songs for the album were new for the album, or pulled from the nearly 100 songs Minowa allegedly wrote as he grieved for his son.

This is one of the those bands I don't like to say a lot about, because it's kind of hard for me to articulate why I like them, and I don't want to sell there sound or messages short. If you thematically like groups like Bear in Heaven or Cymbals Eat Guitars, you may like particularly like Cloud Cult.

All of their albums are available for streaming from their official (very indie) site.

Osaka Popstar & the American Legends of Punk

I've had Osaka Popstar & the American Legends of Punk (w/Bonus DVD) for a looong time, and realized I've never talked about how pimpin' this album is in it's music, art, and brand model (yes, I said art and brand model). (Official site is here.)

I hate summaries, but I feel OK if I call it a Japanese anime-vibed punk take on OST themes and roots songs (like "Man of Constant Sorrow", popularized by Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?). Seriously.

And the band is comprised some of the (if not the) top punk purveyors -- John Cafiero & Jerry Only (The Misfits), Dez Cadena (Black Flag), Ivan Julian (Richard Hell & The VOIDOIDS; The Outsets), and freaking Marky Ramone (Um, The Ramones).

Their takes on Sailor Moon and Astro Boy are stellar (I so hope this latter track makes it into the upcoming CG animated film version), the Richard Hell covers ("Blank Generation" and "Love Comes in Spurts", the former being one of my favorites on the album) are tops, the aforementioned "Man of Constant Sorrow" (with contributing vocals from indie icon Daniel Johnston), and Johnston-written "Wicked World" is just ... so apropos.

And it's not just the band and the songs that are an amazing compilation -- its the art and packaging. Contributors include John Pound (Topps bubble-gum cards, Wacky Packs (a special sticker is included with the album), and creator of the Garbage Pail Kids), Dalek (aka at least one-time local-to-me James Marshall (Space Monkeys designer), Butch Lukic (Batman/ Justice League), and Nick Reid Tragnark (who's allegedly partnered with Cafiero to make a "Shaolin Monkeys" animated series, spawned by the album's song, and featuring a wicked slickly stylized look akin to a mashup between Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, or other Genndy Tartakovsky works). Every page of the liner notes is illustrated or photo composited in a playful, cohesive way. As a matter a fact, other than the forgivable divergence of the "Insects" liners, the disc is a great example of brand cohesion.

The album also comes with a DVD that includes animated videos for "Wicked World" (an "evil Kawaii"-esque 2D affair) and "Insects" a photo composited animation, a la early MTV days, and while the bugs are creepy, the flight-suited puppy band avatars are hilarious (as are their reactions to the bugs; every time).

All in all, a great album that scratches all the right spots for me musically, pop culturally, and in a brand-smart, business innovative way.

Brian Vander Ark

Last night, I went to see Brian Vander Ark (previously of The Verve Pipe) at the Cactus Cafe at the University of Texas.

It's a small venue, and there were just south of two dozen people there.

I'm amazed the place wasn't packed, but I'm selfishly glad to have had such an intimate experience watching and hearing one of my favorite artists.

Brian did two long sets, which netted out to around a couple of hours, and played a lot of stuff from his albums "Resurrection", "Within Reach", and "Angel, Put Your Face On" (the latter two I picked up after the show). He also did one (maybe two) songs that aren't on any albums as of yet. "Evangeline" is really neat.

Brian came across as fun, funny, easy-going, confident in his own skin, and thoughtful. It made for a full-flavored night, as I laughed at his wit, and was alternately lifted or stung by his songs. He's a really pleasant guy with whom to talk, too.

I really enjoy all of his stuff, and have been a fan for a long time. Recent favorite tracks include "Another good man" and "I don't want to be a bother" (both from "Angel, Put Your Face On") and "!229 Sheffield" (from "Within Reach").

Of course, my all-time favorite is still The Verve Pipe's "The Freshman". And Brian did an amazingly powerful, heart-wrenching a cappella version which I feel blessed to have experienced (there's a cool live a cappella version on "Within Reach", but for me it doesn't hold a candle to seeing it).

So, yeah, it was a great, great night.

As an aside, Brian did a lot of the music for the film Pineapple, and is a strong friend and supporter of The Bohemian creative troupe.

You can hear Brian's music on his Website, and buy albums. Why buy when you can hear the music online? Reasons vary from person to person, but for me, it's important to support contributing artists, and I firmly believe in the importance of the whole "Give the worker his wage".

Rainbow Quartz showcase (SXSW 2007)

I wanted to catch one showcase (Rainbow Quartz) and one band in particular (Youth Group) as part of the South by Southwest 2007 (SXSW).

I did catch Youth Group, but other than preceding band Gasoline Cowboy, I missed the other bands -- which sucks, because I really wanted to see them. Note to self: Find new music buddies.

But Gasoline Cowboy was good, and I liked them.

I liked Youth Group a lot, and their set was amazing. I dig passion and poetry in lyrics.

The venue was no-cover Latitude 30, which sounds good, until you realize at 1 a.m. most people at a no-cover venue are there to hang out and drink, and aren't there for the bands. So there were some seriously discourteous folks there. Which was too bad.

But the space is interesting, and the two bands I got to hear are great.

And I know the others, so you should check them out, too -- here's the full-showcase lineup:

• The Summer Wardrobe
• Three 4 Tens
• Asteroid #4
• Outrageous Cherry
• Gasoline Cowboy
• Youth Group

Everything in Transit (Jack's Mannequin)

Listening to this a lot lately. Check out my original post.

William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet: Music From The Motion Picture (vol. 1 & 2)

I'm a big fan of this film, and think it represents Leonardo DiCaprio's most daring work to that point.

So when Amazon.com was doing a clearance on the 1996 versions of the William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet: Music From The Motion Picture and William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet: Music From The Motion Picture, Volume 2, I grabbed both of them.

William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet: Music From The Motion Picture:

The first album (a soundtrack, really), has got great stuff from Garbage ("#1 Crush"), early, dada-esque Everclear ("Local God"), solid track from The Cardigans (Lovefool), and the way under-rated Stina Nordenstam ("Little Star"). Oddly, only the love song theme from the movie from Des'ree ("Kissing You") leaves me a bit cold.

William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet: Music From The Motion Picture, Volume 2:

I hate this album. Freaking passionately.

Not because of the content -- that's actually amazing. We're talking phenomenal instrumentals intro'ed or outro'ed or overlayed with actual Shakespearean dialog from the film, which is a cool device.

The problem is this is one of the most poorly mixed professional albums I own. I have a lot of music, and this and another album have the same problem. I have to turn up the volume to catch some of the whispered, dialog, then have my eardrums virtually (literally) ruptured by the next track.

This forces me to work the volume nob constantly between tracks, rather than be able to sit back and enjoy the powerful, heady stuff. I've been trying to normalize the volume on my digital jukebox without ruining the songs, which is not going well. There's a decibel differential of 12 to 28dB (the biggest differential of any album I own), sometimes back-to-back, causing me aural pain and putting my speakers at risk. Normalizing the tracks as a batch is alternately muddying their sound or causing clipping problems.

I'm ticked that I have to spend so much time to make an album I bought listen-able. And I do a fair amount of sound work.

Again, the content is (for me) amazing, with (for me) only the "The Montague Boys" track feeling a little off.

But the technical side will keep from letting this disc live in my CD player for weeks on end, which I think it would have otherwise.

Orphans (Tom Waits)

Tom Waits and Nick Cave are two of my favorite musical artists, and when the 3-disc Orphans compilation came out in December, I snagged a copy as part of my year-end shopping binge (I've been a good boy this year).

Each disc has a different flavor, with Brawlers being uptempo, non-Latin bragadocio; Bawlers has ballads; and Bastards is, uh, all over the place (the Amazon.com editorial review calls it "a funhouse of angular characters, spiky anecdotes, shaggy dogs ..." -- I'm good with that).

These songs are things that were done outside of core Tom Waits projects, or songs that didn't fit on targeted albums. While this could at best be a recipe for a vapid release (or at worst, a death knell for listability), this may be one of Waits's best albums.

The songs are soulful, moody, poetic, spoken word, quirky, playful, dark, dogmatic -- you name it, and you're likely to find the deep emotions thorughout the album. And even the fun surface stuff isn't superficial.

Great album. Listen to some clips on Amazon.com -- then buy the album somewhere once you're sold on how great it is.

Tom Waits should do music with Danny Elfman on a Tim Burton film. And I should be in the film. My head would probably explode. But it would be worth it.