Brian is somewhere in the English countryside sipping tea and looking at the 45 CDs he's bought so far on his trip to En-ga-land. Someone has to hold the fort down and produce the Friday Random Ten. I'm that guy. You know the rules... 1. "Starship Trooper" - Yes 2. "I'll Take The Rain" - REM 3. "Meltdown" - Live 4. "I've Got Sunshine" - The Temptations 5. "I'll Be There For You" - Bon Jovi 6. [...]
There are few bands that get the braintrust of The BM Rant more psyched than Art Brut . The raw punk ethos coupled with Eddie Argos' class clown lyrics make for a music listening experience that keeps on giving time after time. Plus, John, part-time contributor and Renaissance Man, has a serious crush on bass player Freddie Feedback. He loves punk rock chicks. The London-based band's debut, Bang Bang Rock & Roll , was such a welcomed departure from the majority of music that we listen to. The hooks came quickly, and [...]
Rodrigo y Gabriela - Diablo Rojo The Veils - Calliope Green Day - Working Class Hero (American Idol Finale) The Great Lake Swimmers - To Leave it Behind [...]
It's the Absentee Landlord edition of the Friday Random Ten. My girlfriend and I are far away from the BM Rant offices, currently mingling with royalty across the pond in England. But since I'm so loyal to my readers, I won't allow my vacation to prevent me from posting my Randon Ten. Here's my list for today: 1. "Art Decade" - David Bowie 2. "I'm Not Your Man" - Tommy Conwell & the Young Rumblers 3. "We Can Have It" - The Dears 4. "Slow Hands" [...]
The time for dissecting whether or not Jordin should have won it all is over. While I wasn't the biggest fan, her performances last night were simply better than Blake, and I would be surprised if the vote was close between her and everyone's favorite Northwestern beatboxer. Some thoughts on tonight's finale: 1. I didn't start watching until I had the kids in bed, and my DVR didn't tape the 1st hour because it was already taping 2 other things I didn't even care about or know were being recorded. So I missed the first hour. [...]
Tomorrow night will most likely be a nightmare of product placement, C-List celebs from Fox sitcoms and plugs for the upcoming Idol Tour. Somewhere in there we'll find out who won American Idol as well. Tonight was the last chance for Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis. Neither of them did anything materially different from the last 45 weeks they've been on TV, but both did enough to ignite their fanbase as well as send Melinda Doolittle fans into a tizzy trying to figure out who to vote for. I haven't been a fan of Jordin at [...]
We're real big Editors fans on the Rant. So we're nothing less than stoked about their sophomore album, An End Has A Start , which is due out on June 25th. I can't imagine anyone accusing Editors of aping Joy Division anymore. The first single from the album is "Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors". The song is a mixed bag for me. It's got an undeniably epic sound to, as lead singer Tom Smith emotes all over icy guitar work courtesy of Chris Urbanowicz. The song would [...]
Letterman - Top Ten George W Bush Moments Cold War Kids - Hang Me Up To Dry Fischerspooner - Emerge Lucky Soul - Lips are Unhappy
It's the Anglophile edition of the Friday Random Ten, as my lady and I depart (in less than a week) for merry old England for a much-needed vacation. Here's my list for today: 1. "Know Your Onion!" - The Shins 2. "Brass Monkey" - Beastie Boys 3. "Scenic World" - Beirut 4. "Give Us Your Blessings" - The Shangri-Las 5. "Sold My Soul" - Willy Mason 6. "You Made Me The Thief Of Your Heart" - Sinead O'Connor [...]
I guess last night was really no big surprise to anyone. I would have preferred to see Jordin and her fake tears head back to Glendale, AZ, but unfortunately we have another week to deal with her. I don't think she's a shoo-in to win the entire thing - Blake has a rabid fanbase. But it would stand to reason that more of Melinda's votes would go to Jordin than they would Blake given the differences in genre. I fast forwarded through the vast majority of the show, avoiding three vignettes about the Idols' trips home, Maroon 5 [...]
3 singers. 3 judges. 3 songs each. 333 reasons to stop watching this show. I guess it's my utter lack of passion for any of these remaining Idol contestants that has me so disinterested in the entire Idol franchise at this point. I think it's just a Season 6 thing; I certainly hope so. Brian mentioned to me today that I didn't even write a post about last week's results show. Bottom line: no one thought for a minute that anyone but Lakisha was going home. Plus, the vast majority of the show was complete fucking drivel, complete [...]
2007 is definitely the year for high expectations. It seems like every week there is another album being released from a band coming off a massively successful debut album. So it is with The Arctic Monkeys, whose 2006's debut Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not was greeted with superlatives of the highest order, not the least of which being a No. 5 ranking on NME's list of the Greatest British Albums of All-Time . The band's second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare , while not [...]
The Smiths - Reel Around The Fountain (at the Hacienda) Arctic Monkeys - Brianstorm (Conan) Rainbow Quest 6 - June Carter Johnny Cash Pete Seeger Beirut/Final Fantasy/(part of) [...]
Set your digital music player to Shuffle, press Play, then list the first ten songs that appear. Here's my list for today: 1. "Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly)" - Icicle Works 2. "French Disko" - Stereolab 3. "Whole Wide World" - Wreckless Eric 4. "Left To My Own Devices" - Pet Shop Boys 5. "Between A Man And A Woman" - Kate Bush 6. "Junk" - The Pogues 7. "The Bends" - Radiohead 8. [...]
Last night was Bee Gee's night on Idol and the results were mixed to say the least. Blake's beatboxing was bad for the songs, Melinda was as boring as ever. Lakisha WAS yelling and Jordin is annoying. This has to be the lamest last couple of weeks of Idol ever. Never has there been 3 of 4 remaining contestants so similar as to almost cancel each other out. How in the world did this happen? In six years of watching Idol, I've never not given a shit more than I do right now. Does Blake [...]
picture courtesy Rob Wanenchak . The last time my girlfriend and I were at a concert was at the Pogues gig on March 16th, so it's been a while since we've attended a show. Needless to say, I was starting to feel left out of the live music scene. Luckily, Arcade Fire's show on Saturday night at the Tower brought me back into the fold in exhilarating fashion. To say they "rocked" would be both an accurate literal and figurative description of the show. Between the power of the music and the energy [...]
Brandi Carlile - The Story (Conan O'Brien) Lily Allen - Nan You're A Window Shopper Teddybears - Punkrocker (Ft. Iggy Pop) Spiderman 3 Trailer (reviews haven't been too [...]
It's once again time for the Friday Random Ten. Set your digital music player to Shuffle, press Play, then list the first ten songs that appear. Here's my list for today: 1. "Land" - Patti Smith ( Horses ) 2. "I Want To Hold Your Hand" - The Smithereens ( Meet The Smithereens ) 3. "The Commerical" - Wire ( Pink Flag ) 4. "Bron-Y-Aur-Stomp" - Led Zeppelin ( Led Zeppelin III ) 5. "Formulae" - JJ72 ( I To Sky ) [...]
I love seeing shows at The Khyber. But it doesn't happen often that I find a show there that interests me enough to go. The last show I saw at The Khyber was Beirut's set in August . Finally, 10 months later, I'll be headed to The Khyber. This time to see the New Zealand by way of London band The Veils. Wikipedia entry here . I have yet to hear the entirety of their second album, Nux Vomica , but what I have heard instantly puts them near [...]
Thoughts on last night's Idol results show: 1. Phil got screwed, but I guess at this point everybody is worthy of sticking around or going home. But he was the best singer on Tuesday night. Lakisha, Melinda and Jordin are passing through unchecked. Are they going to be the last three standing? If Blake goes home next week, the last 2 weeks of Idol are going to suck. 2. Speaking of Jordin, I do not understand what the fascination is with this girl. Her performance on Tuesday night was worthy of banishment from the show as [...]
The BM Rant
No Church In The Wild
CHROMATICS "THESE STREETS WILL NEVER LOOK THE SAME"
Nas - Daughters
The Rains of Castamere by The National
DIIV "How Long Have You Known?" (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
Avicii – Two Million
Yellow Magic Orchestra edit from Chrome Canyon
Beck – I Just Started Hating Some People Today
H&M Lookbook Mujer y Hombre Otoño 2012.
