Tagged: listemcarefully

October, easily our busiest month in a long time, came and went, and we're thrilled to have been able to share it with all of you loyal readers. A new month is well under way, and it's time to take a look at what went down in its first week. Of course, this recap hardly does justice to a week in which Lil Wayne was finally released from prison and William Shatner took on a certain inappropriately titled Cee-Lo track. That said, check out our site for even more immensely relevant and entertaining news items, among other things. Stay [...]

A few weeks ago, I was playing The Clash’s Combat Rock in the record store (where I work). When the song “Straight to Hell” came on, the clerk I was working with gave me a look and said something along the lines of “I didn’t think you liked MIA” (in reference to MIA’s song “Paper Planes”, which features a sample of "Straight to Hell"). For the record, I don’t like MIA, but I quickly corrected her as to what it was we were listening to. She responded, “Ah, I knew it sounded familiar, but the tempo was different.” This got [...]

Define "epic." For classic literature fans, this can represent something like Dante's  Divine Comedy or Homer's Odyssey ; for rock music fans, the term is much less absolute. To us, one person might use "epic" as the go-to compliment for anything that makes them want to crank the volume knob to its most extreme clockwise position and go crazy. Whereas others may consider "epic" solely on the length of the song or its storytelling subject matter, particularly when discussing progressive rock, jazz fusion, jam bands, avant garde , black metal, or the like. There are [...]

If you stop to think about it, “summer break” is a pretty cruel joke we play on ourselves. Since the moment we get into school, we dream about the three months of freedom, and like clockwork it comes every June. What they don’t tell you is to live it up because there’s no such thing in the working world. Yet we’ve been so well trained, like Pavlov’s dogs, we start to drool when Memorial Day hits. The anticipation that lingers from our school days only makes it worse, like the dog hearing the bell but never getting the treat. As [...]

Ah, New York. The Big Apple. The City That Never Sleeps. While these are phrases you’ll almost never hear a native New Yorker say, it’s clear to anyone that NYC’s impact on the global community can’t be overlooked. It’s been the undisputed financial, political, and cultural center of the world for the last century and shows no signs of giving up the title. Just try and look for an apartment there. Throughout the five boroughs, New York has been both a home and source of inspiration for many musicians over the years. There are few (if any) cities [...]

Next week, thousands of folks across the nation (and the globe) will trek out to Indio, CA for what promises to be one hell of a music festival: Coachella . For some, it's a short afternoon ride. But for others, it's one far out trip - metaphorically and literally. However, getting there is half the battle and if you're smart, it's less a battle and more an experience. That is, if you're open to some creativity and an assortment of artists. We love our country, and we love our music. Naturally, music about our great nation goes [...]

For one reason or another, cover songs tend to catch a bad rap. Even when our favorite artists record a cover, our interest usually lasts all of two or three listens before we are ready to move on to something else, something original .  In this age of "green" living, why are we so put off by the idea of recycling a song? Perhaps, over the years, we have been lured to and held hostage in far too many garages and basements and forced to listen to our friends' high school bands-complete with the lead guitarist's eight-year-old kid sister [...]

Last night - Sunday, January 10th - Fox celebrated the 20th anniversary of The Simpsons by airing a one hour documentary directed by Morgan Spurlock ( Super Size Me ) on the cultural impact of the series and the people who have helped make the series so successful. The show has literally been on for as long as long as a decent portion of Americans can remember. From its impressive list of guest stars to its often timely critique of politics and social values, The Simpsons has become more [...]

With the decade coming to a close, as a music fan it’s hard not to look back at all these years from a musical standpoint. A lot of truly historical albums were released during the past ten years, as we have attempted to assess through our various decade-oriented lists . Whether it was the IDM infused rock of Kid A or the grandiose art-rock of Funeral , a few landmark albums were released by some of the best bands that this new generation has to offer. [...]

Hold on, as we are about to get all meta-analytical up on this piece. Here are the top 10 best songs about writing. These are the musical musings on the act of making something out of nothing. The tunes about the process of taming the ethereal and tapping into that great big atmosphere of inspiration. Whether it's an attack on grammar Nazis, the beast of burden that is writer's block, or word play and verb flexing put into melody, these are the songs that give us insight into the sometimes self-indulgent struggle that is putting pen to paper. Write on. [...]

Do you remember the early '90s? C'mon, think a little... it wasn't that long ago (and things haven't really changed all that much, either). It was a prosperous time! The Simpsons , Melrose Place , and Beverly Hills, 90210 had all started its reign on television (aka the FOX invasion), the '80s still bled into culture only with hotter colors, and America considered the Middle East a plausible area for democracy. Funny how things change, huh? Well, if you really dig deep - and squint between the cracks - you'll recall the [...]

Every genre of music warrants fusion, and with that fusion comes act after act with a new direction or interpretation. In the late sixties a movement began known as industrial that would change the face of the musical landscape forever by pooling elements of installation art, punk rock, and electronics. This new genre encompassed philosophical extremes inspired by great minds like William S. Burroughs or The Marquee De Sade, and the train did not stop as more artists were drawn to a rising demand for abrasive anti-establishment dynamics found in thrash metal and house music. Thus, industrial metal [...]

It’s 2 a.m. The weatherman warned about a heat wave tonight. You have to wake up early to pick something up at the store before work tomorrow. You’re lying in your bed, the hot summer air pounding against your closed window. “Why isn’t the air conditioning working?” you wonder to yourself. Your dry, scratchy comforter grows tangled around your limbs as you toss and turn, in search of some level of comfort. Your body feels wet from perspiration, and you want nothing more than for your bed to transform into a bathtub filled with cold water. Yes, it [...]

Some of the world’s most fascinating fictional stories have been about musicians. In the 1970s, every cartoon character seemed to be in a band at the end credits, whether the show was about music or not.  We’ve seen skewed versions of real life rockers from the likes of Todd Haynes in his films Velvet Goldmine and I’m Not There , and let’s not forget the countless “creatively altered” biopics floating around out there. No matter how you slice it, every medium has featured hundreds upon hundreds of takes on figures of the world’s favorite pastime: rock and [...]

Ace Frehley. The name alone invokes the lore, the mystique and the overall "badassness" of one of the greatest rock guitarists of all time. As an original member and founder of "the hottest band in the land," Kiss, Paul "Ace" Frehley has done nothing short of influence and inspire millions of guitarists across the globe (including late Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell). Kiss is heavy metal's version of The Beatles (to which Gene Simmons has famously stated they are, "the Beatles on steroids"), and Ace takes full reign of George Harrison's role beyond a doubt. From the early days of their [...]

When my editor asked me to list the top ten songs recorded by John, Paul, George, and Ringo following their world-changing stint as the Beatles, I knew I was in for a daunting task. Actually, it proved to be downright overwhelming. The Fab Four have put out over 70 albums of material and recorded over 1,000 songs since parting ways. And let me tell you it hasn't all been Strawberry Fields and Sgt. Pepper. Cases in point: McCartney's unfortunate foray into the world of dance music, Ringo's attempt at a country-western album, and pretty much any John and Yoko song [...]

Do you remember Dan Caffrey’s list of a few weeks ago? Didn’t it make you fall in love? Even if you didn’t want to do that. Tom Wait’s “Take It With Me” makes me feel seasick-lovesick. That music box piano... If you didn’t read it, please do, Mr. Caffrey's list will warm your heart. Mine will make your heart feel like a cold rock. Aptly, it’s raining now. It’s grey out and just starting to get cold after an [...]

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, you’re bound to stumble across stacks of top ten lists containing writers’ favorite romantic comedies, love songs, etc. But for those of you fed up with the Sinatra/Streissand stroke fest when it comes to the greatest love songs of all time (no offense to the Chairman of the Board), we’ve spiced up some old favorites by mixing them with a little shoegaze, hip hop, and other overlooked genres when it comes to romance. So poison the tips of your heart-shaped arrows, crack open that congealing chocolate, and enjoy CoS’s top ten love songs. [...]

With all of last month’s end-of-year fun still very much in our minds, we decided to take a look back at some of our favorite albums from year’s past. You know, before 2007, or when CoS was officially up and running.Thus, we tapped David Buchanan to takle a look at the Top 10 Albums of 1996 in our newest edition of List ‘Em Carefully… Somewhere between Whitewater and Deep Blue, Electronic Freedom and welfare reform, the formation of Apocalyptica and the demise of Jawbreaker and Sublime (Bradley Nowell, R.I.P), there was music in 1996.  [...]

Sleep. We all need it. Most of us love it to the point of overindulgence. Sometimes, however, it’s hard to fall into that perfect slumber. Throughout our long days, we become restless and stressed, but just can’t shut off immediately when the time comes. That’s why God invented the sleep timer, lullabies, ambien CR, and of course, music. Okay, so maybe music was not birthed for the sole purpose of putting people to sleep, but it sure can be helpful. For many, certain albums act as the adult world’s answer to a lullaby. Whether it’s Thom Yorke talking about rats [...]