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.)

Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol.1

The Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack is ridiculously great.

It's more than being just great collection of tracks in and of themselves.

It's more than "it does that thing good soundtracks do" (invoke memories of powerful key moments in the movie).

I guess really what makes it stand out is the soundtrack is a key component of the character film.

Not to overstate it, but it's pretty much a proper additional actor in that ensemble cast.

The Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol.1 does all of that. Without being pretentious or heavy-handed.

Track list:

1. "Hooked on a Feeling" (Blue Swede)
2. "Go All the Way" (Raspberries)
3. "Spirit in the Sky" (Norman Greenbaum)
4. "Moonage Daydream" (David Bowie)
5. "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" (Elvin Bishop)
6. "I’m Not in Love" (10cc)
7. "I Want You Back" (Jackson 5)
8. "Come and Get Your Love" (Redbone)
9. "Cherry Bomb" (The Runaways)
10. "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" (Rupert Holmes)
11. "O-O-H Child" (The Five Stairsteps)
12. "Ain’t No Mountain High Enough" (Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell)

LADYTRON: Best of 00-10

You kids today, with your Metric, and your Shiny Toy Guns (Carah Faye Charnow or Sisely Treasure or Carah Faye Charnow) -- your electronica synth sounds and your sexy, female vocalists.

You should listen to LADYTRON.

Because it's got two sexy, melodic, wailing vocalists, that are kind of like if Janis Joplin is still alive and pushing the aural envelope in the 2000s, and not caring if all "sounds the same".

And because it's got "TRON" in the band name. So it's topical. Ish.

LADYTRON, for those who don't know, is a long-time electronic band from England (Liverpool?) that has bravely not stuck to any stylings, and made greate music for more than a decade. Kate Bush and Lady Gaga owe these people.

And the reference to Joplin is intentional. One of the criticisms of LADYTRON's work is "it's not consistent". No, no it's not. Thank goodness.

That's because their sound is innovative. They're always doing slick, complex, changing craftsmanship, without getting stuck in what's "in" -- so they're not riding the crest of in-vogue electronica, they're out playing in their own deep water. Think Janis Joplin doing electronic, melodic wailing as she cuts her own swath through the genre.

And the "not consistent"? Brian Eno allegedly called them "the best of English pop music" -- and look how consistent he is (but I dig him, too).

Then add another female vocalist, so in addition to Helen Marnie and Mira Aroyo (who also do synthesizers), add Daniel Hunt (electric guitar and synthesizers) and Reuben Wu (#### it, more synthesizers).

This compilation album has seminal songs from 2000 through 2010 -- plus a couple of brand-new tracks. The collectors edition has a photo book, if you're into that kind of thing (I am).

Check out the album. So worth it.

Now I probably need to go pre-order Gravity The Seducer -- on vinyl. Because my kids are going to grow up with vinyl.

(Oh, and I do totally dig Metric and Shiny Toy Guns. Can you believe Carah's back? I know.)

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.)