the morning after girls

And another thing... just thought you folks might want to know that the morning after girls have posted the first bit of music from their new record this week. Check it out at their myspace page.

Adele

Instead of making you wait forever for the next post, I think I should also tag other pieces I write around the web, and re-purpose them here for our enjoyment. Let's start with my review of Adele's, 19. If I had to give a on2ten, I'd say it's a "at first glance" 6, with a longer term 8.

Adele- Chasing Pavements
Adele- Tired

And grab that Strokes cover mp3 for Last Night on the Tripwire page, it's good.

For even more about her check her site.

The Last Shadow Puppets

I realized today that I bought 2 copies of The Last Shadow Puppets, The Age of the Understatement LP in the last month. I liked it so much I bought it twice! That's a pretty resounding endorsement.

It's not like there was much of a doubt, though. I have sung the praises of the Arctic Monkeys enough here, but here we go again. LSP is a side project for Alex Turner (lead A. Monkey) and his partner Miles Kane, who has a band called The Rascals (more on them in a later post). They are old friends and decided to put out a record together. And while, of course, there are plenty of AM touches on the record, the inspirations for this record go much farther and wider. Imagine the AMs doing a Morricone spaghetti western soundtrack or a Hitchcock thriller. The sounds are grandiose and dramatic and very lush, as is the instrumentation. This ain't no British indie duo, but more like two young composers trying their hand at mixing pop music with an epic sensibility.

The record is a strong 7, but the single below is a strong 9.

The Last Shadow Puppets- The Age of the Understatement

Plus I love the record cover:

The Virgins

I saw the Virgins on the Nylon tour earlier this summer with One2Ten faves, Be Your Own Pet, and was pretty impressed. The songs are very Elvis Costello pop and the guys seem to really know how to whip the young girls to a nice froth. Good stage presence and good songs.

Now they have taken it to the next level with what might be the best video I have seen in years. Please note for all non-NYC residents, this may not translate as easily. Let me explain... on NYC public access for about the last 30 years, one of the few things you could count on was Robin Byrd. She brought to the airwaves something everyone wants: strippers. (Yes, she had to fight the law and she won, but that's a much bigger story.) To this day, if you want to see some great early 80s strippers, male or female, all you have to do is tune into channel 33 late night and you can get your fill. It's quite entertaining. It seems that the Virgins agree. To get the full extent of the awesome-ness of this video and its origins, watch this first: Robin Byrd

Then watch this:



And the song rules too. I give the following track a 7.5:
The Virgins- Private Affair

Santogold

Ok so I have been lacking, again. Please forgive me. I'll do a bunch of posts in a row just to make up for things. The good thing about the time away is that I have plenty to post about. Let's start with something you may have heard, Santogold.

Santi is a gal who has been thru the music industry system (she did A&R), and realized she could do just as good if not better than mostof the stuff she had to listen to day in day out. And I agree with her, as her record is definitely going to be on my top 10 for 2008, guaranteed. I heard so many folks talk about her ripping off M.I.A., and I had enough personal issues with the fact that she had been a Fader cover girl, but yet, when it came down to it, the record rules.

It bounces from ska to new wave to art rock to pop dance candy, and in the end, it also ends up being wholly original. Yes there are MIA tinges on certain tracks, and even some Gwen Stefani touches, but the record stands totally on its own merits and deserves all of the accolades it gets. I give Santogold an 8. Here's a remix and a non-album cut that you might have heard in a beer commercial.

Santogold- L.E.S. Artistes (XXXchange Remix)
Santogold- Creator