Being isolated from civilization with no cell phone or television in West Jefferson, North Carolina, for less than a week has literally driven me crazy. Call me spoiled, but try having no communication with the outside world besides dial-up Internet, then couple that with having to play card games every minute of the day with only your parents. It’s like that episode of Seinfeld where Jerry and Elaine are trapped in Florida with Jerry’s parents, who constantly fuss over everything, but not funny.

I’ve even had to resort to going to the extensive public library and reading old Rolling Stone magazines. One particular cover stuck out because it mentioned Flobots, whose bandwagon I have definitely jumped on since hearing them on the radio. “Handlebars” is refreshing, unique and simple yet powerful with a real message about the way our country is being run.  

Give credit to Rolling Stone; they wrote about the up and coming rap group from Denver very quickly. They saw potential just as major recording labels did (Flobots was signed to Universal Republic Records) and didn’t waste any time. However, in trying to describe what Flobots sounds like, they compared it to Linkin Park and Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine. Now I can understand de la Rocha because the lyrical content is very similar. Also, most of the tracks off of Fight With Tools definitely have that funk undertone also, much like Rage. Voice-wise? Not so much. De la Rocha’s voice is incomparable to anyone and it was an enormous stretch to relate Flobots to Rage in the vocal category

What really set me off was where it said that Flobots was very similar to Linkin Park. That is fucking absurd. Are you kidding me? Was Rolling Stone trying to compliment Flobots? If so, then they did a horrible job. 

I think the main difference between Flobots and Linkin Park is that one makes music while the other one eats shit. Every one of Linkin Park’s hits recycles the same tone of the last radio hit. There is absolutely no talent there. They just shout or shout/rap and occasionally try to sing and then the vocals are masked by producers and drowned out by an obnoxious, headache-inducing hybrid of noise and cheesy beats in the background – it takes a lot to try to disguise how horrible Linkin Park’s vocals are. One impressive aspect of Linkin Park, though, is how many songs they can write about being numb and being in pain. Thank you, Linkin Park, for giving the world so many songs about being in pain … we definitely need more. 

Flobots, on the other hand, don’t try to appeal the Hot Topic (read: faux-rebellious pre-teen) crowd and continuously copy their own song that blew up. On Fight With Tools, “Handlebars” stands alone, as does every other song. They accompany different vocal styles like talking, female vocals, rapping and singing with an array of instruments, which is admirable because they came up with a whole album of songs that are individual from each other. 

Rolling Stone, what were you thinking? Have you listened to either band? If anyone, Flobots has Cake-like characteristics, especially in “Handlebars.”  Flobots has come up with a genuine great song; don’t insult them by likening them to Linkin Park.



Afterthought – I remember back in the day seeing a YouTube clip of how every Nickelback song sounds exactly alike so I looked up Linkin Park. I wasn’t disappointed.


View & Leave Comments

Here’s a timeline to start out this short blog post.

10:00 PM to 11:30 PM – I’m watching South Park on a Saturday night. I am also playing pool on Yahoo! Games. I have work tomorrow. Don’t judge me.

11:30 – I look up to see that Ned “Carlos” Mencia’s new stand up special is on. At this time I realize that my night just got a lot worse.

11:30:18 – The start of Mencia’s first racism-centered joke only 18 seconds past the special’s 11:30 start time.

11:30:56 – First “retard” impression.

11:32:08 – First use of the word “beaner.”

11:32:51 First time Mencia reminds us how controversial he is.

11:34 to 11:45 – I get increasingly angry and watch more to see what part of this performance was enhanced like the title suggested. He makes some jokes about gay people and gender differences. I also note that, along with his horrible jokes, he now decides that it would benefit him to jump around and scream like an idiot similar to how Dane Cook gets laughs. I decide I would rather die than watch this anymore and watch some recorded MXC that I had been saving for such an occasion.

 

Who the hell goes to Carlos Mencia appearances? Why are people still putting up with someone who has told the same joke for years? It really does baffle me why Carlos Mencia has gained so much popularity. It is as if he has this golden defense of “if you don’t like my jokes, then you just can’t handle how controversial they are” when the real reason no one likes him is because the same played out joke was never funny to begin with. The worst part is that he has been accused of plagiarizing people so many times. I feel that the only thing more maddening than Carlos Mencia’s success is Rihanna’s “Umbrella” getting a Grammy.

Here is a good example of Carlos Mencia’s versatility. He makes fun of so many different races and is so funny and controversial. Bottom line - if you don’t laugh, you just don’t get it and are way too uptight. I love him because he says exactly what I’m thinking!

 

View & Leave Comments

So I’ve been a fan of Bomb the Music Industry! and We Versus the Shark for a while now, which is why I was pretty psyched when I found out that Pegasuses-XL and Jeff Rosenstock were teaming up to release an album. I had never been the biggest fan of synthesizers, mostly because The Know How ruined it for me the first time I saw them and the keyboard seemed to drown out what would be a decent band. Regardless, I was pretty excited and luckily was not disappointed.

P-XL mostly resembles We Versus the Shark and blends many genres but has stuck to a electronic rock motif throughout its releases so far. There hadn’t been much a focus on the vocal aspect, however, until their first full release, The Antiphon. The change is apparent from the start in “Drugs for Change.” It starts out with a four minute long progression up to an almost mystical plateau of mixed vocals then leads to a peak, and my new favorite phrase, “meanwhile back in New York!” From there, Rosenstock’s voice makes its first prominent appearance in the band. Although he doesn’t have the best voice by any means, it is definitely a unique one, and it sticks out from the instrumental background.

From there, the album kicks into its electronic jam “Gold Power.” This song is one that I listen to more often than others on the album. Then, P-XL goes back to its EPs, which featured a lot of audio clips over synthesizers. This is basically the format in the short “Special Times with Sandwiches in Lumicolourland,” which shifts the tempo right before my favorite song of the album, “Marathon Mansion,” which most resembles a live show of theirs. It seems light hearted; the simple keyboard tune that backs up rapping mixed with some singing. Rosenstock is primarily featured here, which is probably another reason I love the song so much – it sounds a lot like a BTMI! song would. This and “Atmospheric Skull” are similar in that they both are more rap than electronic rock.

This is what most turned me on to the album. P-XL shows are more personal than planned out concerts that are unfortunately becoming more and more common (think Against Me! nowadays, whose shows almost ruin the simple albums which drew people in the most). It is nice to see a group of musicians genuinely having fun on stage and in the studio and not taking themselves too seriously. The shows are goofy, which blends in nicely to when they focus and go all out to the amazing instrumental sections such as in “Panzerfaust!”

Back to The Antiphon, other songs that stick out are the Daft Punk-esque “Walking Life,” “The Big Haunt” because it shows a side of their versatility featuring female vocals and sounds a little bit poppy and also “Intermurals” just because it sounds like if a non-asshole young Eminem tried to rap over a what sounds like a spooky organ. The album closes out how it started, steadily. “Antiphon,” the last track, is a peaceful progression that leads the album out, giving it a sort of closure.

I was a fan of the first three EPs by P-XL. “Run the Gauntlet” is badass no matter what kind of music you’re into. “Major in Business/Minor in Art” is gold as well. The third EP, simply entitled Third EP, was the major stepping stone to this album because it seems to resemble and pave the way for “The Antiphon.” I really suggest obtaining The Antiphon – it will be well worth your time if you are looking for something not only quality but original too.

 

Also, this has nothing to do with music but this video proves that, no matter what your feelings about the guy are, Shaq is an entertainer (think Kazaam). I literally lol’d for a good five minutes about number two. Enjoy.

 

 

 

View & Leave Comments