Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Kickin' it off with new music

Here's the first post of what I'm sure will be a blog that I will get made fun of for.

I'm your host, with some great new tunes for your morning commute, backyard cookout, or lovemaking needs!


First up is a new release by longtime Virginia favorite, MAE. The album is "(m)orning" and it is "the beach" in a jar. It's light, spartan, and it's folkier than their last release, "Singularity," which was driven, layered rock. This release has a misty early morning feel, leaning back to the acoustic side, with a peppering of perfect driving / sing-a-long songs.



Next up, is a big source of blue-balls for me and certainly some of you: John Mayer. His new single, "Who Says" is a simple song about "being in control of the pleasure in your life," that you'll have stuck in your head all day, reminiscent of the John Mayer we first heard in high school. The reason you'll get (or maybe it's just me) the blue ones is that you can't download it yet, only preview it on Amazon MP3 or sneak a YouTube bootleg listen. He sings, "Who says I can't get stoned? --- Call up a girl that I used to know --- fake love for an hour or so --- who says I can't get stoned?" questioning why it seems like half the things you want to do to make yourself happy cause people to raise their eyebrows, but everyone pretty much wants to do the same thing. The single hits the radio today, is available for download on October 13, and the album, the long awaited follow-up to "Continuum," is called "Battle Studies," and hits the store on November 17. I will be taking that day off of work to sit in front of the stereo with the local high school's John Mayer / Miley Cyrus fan club and cry.


Third up is a band you've heard of but never bought anything by, Relient K. After buying their "The Bird and the Bee Sides" on a whim, I became a lifelong fan --- the songwriting, the performance, the production, and the variety (from acoustic folk to country pickin' to pop punk to ska rock, all is if it were their "native language,") all surprise and entertain. Their new album is "Forget and Not Slow Down," and it comes out October 5. Imagine all the pop punk we listened to in college put in a blender with Jason Mraz and maturity. Single out now, full album hits October 5.



Muse has a new album out, "The Resistance," a theatrical Queen-meets-Radiohead monolith that basically can't be fucked with. I can't say anything about Muse except that they are on another level.



Paramore's got a new album out, "Brand New Eyes," the long awaited follow up to their 2007 "Riot." I just bought it and I'm listening now. Find it here for $3.99 today. Yeah, $3.99 --- no brainer.



New Foo Fighters single out, "Wheels." It's the Foo Fighters, it's good. It's more relaxed, like an old pair of jeans, comfortable. Kind of boring. Off their upcoming Greatest Hits album due out November 13.




Wrapping up today's show is your fringe pick by me, your host --- an album that you probably won't like at all, but if you do, you're going to like it a lot. The pick is "In Prism" by a band called Polvo, formed in 1990 in Chapel Hill, NC. Heavy hitters in the underground rock / indie music scene for literally decades, I just found out about them from NPR's "All Songs Considered" podcast last month. This new album is their first album in 12 years, (read: since you were in 7th grade) and is basically a record you'd have to listen to yourself, because it's so dissimilar from the type of music I normally listen to that I can't describe it in relative terms --- the closest I could come is comparing it to Pinback. Give it a listen, and you'll either add my username to your ignore list, or find your new favorite album.

It's fall, get the leaves shakin',
Hunter

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