Owner: Eartaste URL:http://www.eartaste.com/ Join Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2007 00:43:29 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: A daily review of the best new music Site statistics:Click here
The Handcuffs - Car Crash 2008-03-05 22:08:00 “Practicing zen on a tilt-a-whirl.” This line alone would earn the song a place on my top-ten list this month, but add the fantastic music & the rest of the lyric and I am enjoying this hump-day party with total excitement. I never try to guess where the writers are coming from, I put myself in the lyric. This one is talking about the pills folks take. In my line of work, my friends are forced to take pills by society, because when they don’t “everything’s a car crash”. Their days are horrible for themselves and everyone around them, and law enforcement is often called. There is an interesting related problem that’s a frustration – sometimes, many times, often, drugs are used as a replacement for therapy. So, the drugs become a long-term situation that eats livers for break Read more:Car Crash
Jack Bruce & Robin Trower - Perfect Place 2008-03-04 22:55:00 “Take away the blindfold and hold your head up high!” This album brings up an intriguing question. If the artists are the real thing can they be considered retro? "Don't think about the past or you're gonna burn out way too fast." Doesn’t matter, this is good, old fashioned rock and roll with a perfect taste of blues power. "Don't shift the blame on somebody else." Shoutout for the cream-flavors of Bad Case of Celebrity & Come to Me. Tasty. Jack Bruce
& Robin
Trower Read more:Perfect
, Place
, Robin Trower
DigJelly - Time Is Up 2008-03-03 22:55:00 “Nothing stuck but needles, there you chose your way.” Blast me out of bed straight back to the 1980’s with this song. It’s unfair to say that, because most of this album sets itself directly in 2008, but this song I’m using to wake my Monday up is the one that is an immediate introduction to a most interesting band. And this is truly a band in the sense that the sum is greater than the parts. All of the instruments are perfectly played for each song, but the sound is pure heaven despite that. I know that sounds odd. But try to think of the Doors without Jim Morrison. Really. They were great with him, average without him. How about Jim Morrison without the Doors? Well, we will never know for sure, but the few things I heard have a similar reasoning – together the musicians outs
Dionne Warwick - I'm Going Up 2008-03-02 20:12:00 “There’s no regrets in this world, I’ve found.” I love this little line tuck in the middle of a beautiful gospel song. I have a few regret, and one of the largest was when the church went from being Jesus-centered to anti-Moslem centered. I regret that the church decided to fly the American flag higher than the banner of love. I regret that albums like this did not come out during the first Bush administration, the Clinton administration, nor during the current administration. From Kosovo to Somalia to Waco to Iraq, our country has shed blood, needless blood, in the name of Christ. I regret that happened, because I love what Christ stands for. Dionne Warwick
, I thank you for being bold enough to sing so freely for Christ and against the so-called heroes in Iraq and the politicians Read more:Going
, Dionne Warwick
Adele - Right As Rain 2008-03-01 23:53:00 The dance excitement night full of honey flavored organ and drums and a soul voice eternal deep with love and the power to reflect a year or two of life filled with joy and youth and still managing to sound fresh. “Go ahead and steal my heart.” Yep, my heart is gone into a past filled with today. I’m loving everything here and praying it never ends. I’m rejoicing loudly and smiling a silly grin thicker than every thought I’ve ever been capable off. When it does finally end, I’m okay, because the shoutouts are Crazy For You and a cool cover of Make You Feel My Love. The moons of Saturn are singing with me “getting into my favorite mood.” Thanks, Adele
! Adele Read more:Right
Sergio Mendes – Encanto 2008-02-29 22:59:00 This album is a party wrapped in a box. It’s not often I write about an entire album here at eartaste. I’m sure I’ve done it, but I can’t recall when it was. And, to be absolutely honest, as much as I praised Timeless when it was released, I seriously did not expect it to be anything more than a fluke. It was simply so good that I thought it a beautiful little blip on the screen of my life. Well, Sergio
returns with the same energy and some of the same artists to keep himself relevant in 2008 better than most artists ¼ his age. His is not afraid to rediscover his past with modern flavorings. If he had not thought of the projects himself, I’m sure someone else eventually would have; but I know from experiences with hundreds of “tribute” albums that most fall flat and add no t Read more:Mendes
Contest: How good are you with song lyrics? [CONTEST OVER] 2008-02-29 22:55:00 This contest is sponsored by Organic Entertainment and Digital Music Marketing. They have supplied a copy of a new CD release Small Town by Wind Cries Mary. The first winner, Mike from Essex, will receive that plus 10 other CDs from my pile.The second winner, John from Milwaukee, will receive a second CD from Organic & Digital entitled A Sentimental Education by Anton Sword, along with 10 assorted CDs from my pile.The third winner, Ruth from Redding, will receive 10 assorted CDs from my pile. Here are the answers. If you recall, I mentioned that they would be from Hit songs. The first group were the ones selected by Mike, which matched mine. John found a few others, which were acceptable, but Ruth obviously listens to a different hit radio station, but since she also sent proof the lyrics
Soko - The Dandy Cowboys 2008-02-28 22:53:00 The song begins tenderly, with just the right amount of emotion, “I just can’t be myself when I see you because you’re very cute tonight”. These junior-high school emotions will always be present, because for whatever reason – people keep having kids. And, I’m glad. Keeps me employed, and keeps adding to our pile of extremely creative ways of looking at relationships. This one will be my favorite for a long time to come. “I still want you, but not as a friend because you’re the man, I’m the girl, we look good together! You with your hat, me with my boots, we are the DandyCowboys
!” Fun, fun, fun. The honest emotive peek into a young girls diary continues with the outstanding shoutout tune, Sh*tty Day. Soko
REM – Airliner 2008-02-27 22:30:00 A high-energy instrumental power taste for a super Wednesday party. Surf meets indie-alt-rock with a vengeance. The surf is pounding, the bombs are dropping, the margaritas are spiked extra heavy. Excitement is the rule, and everyone is smiling bigger than their face. A new song that fits our old parties just fine. Shoutout for Supernatural Superserious – another song filled with excitement, promising that the new album will be one of the top 5 REM albums of all time. 20 plus years and the ability to reach the rock behind the roll is still blossoming! “Everybody here comes from somewhere that they would just as soon forget.” That’s why God created hump day parties! “Enjoy yourself with no regrets.” Easy to say type of platitude, but the narrator even shares some words of wisdom
Star Anna - Five Minutes To Midnight 2008-02-26 23:23:00 The music is good, but the taste that engulfs the senses here is the fine vocal. “Count it down, count it back, count it right.” I don’t feel like Star Anna is singing to me, but to “all the clouds that hide the moon tonight.” And, that’s alright – because the emotion comes through and convinces me that anticipation is important. What we’re waiting for doesn’t matter, simply the tension of knowing we’re waiting is enough. The shoutout tune, Wait, takes it a step further and gives a hint that I’m waiting for the light to come back to take away my pain. “Sadness hangs on our front door just like it has many years before, and I pray to God it isn’t here to stay.” A spiritual exploration where salvation is offered, but not immediate gratification. Beautiful performa
Dive Index - For Centuries 2008-02-25 22:02:00 Can a mind float? Mine seems to be floating above and beyond time. The percussion is the key – both timeless and borderless, but it doesn’t end there. The bass playing is subtle, the synths and guitars holding my visions on unseen strings high above the atmosphere. As the singer reminds me, we are “bound by the skins with eyes that look out and barely ever can see in” – but the arrangement of the voices and the instruments allow me to overreach the boundaries and see both inwards and outwards at the same time. Extremely cool – almost dreamlike. The actual poem, for me, speaks out against current world leaders (“senseless crusades”), but goes deeper and explores the truth that we are all an integral part of whatever the leaders have done (“the pulse that beats behind rib c Read more:Index
, Centuries
Polydream - Catch Me If You Can 2008-02-24 20:48:00 “Here we are another space and time” introduces a musical sphere of emotion that allows the dreamer to easily escape into the intellectual arena of pure thought introduced by the narrator. “I can’t tell you anything will be the way we were promised it would be.” He’s speaking to the nexr generation, as the children join him in the background and beg for acceptance of each other’s humanity, “if we don’t learn to live as one we won’t outlive the sun.” The cynic may accept that’s going to be true anyway, but there are those of us who can imagine humanity moving out and beyond the earth without the need to consume to create wealth, merely to live and explore. The music is composed in a fashion to encourage dreaming of a positive future. Rock and roll with philosophy dr Read more:Catch
Rodney Parker & Fifty Peso Reward - A Knife Beneath Your Pillow 2008-02-23 22:50:00 “What are you gonna do when they play you for a fool?” Good question. Loud, dancing and thoughts about the “diesel fumes get in your head.” Sometimes we have to wonder about these things, but hey. Let’s dance – it’s Saturday, and this band knows how to have a good time. The singer is threatening “something’s going to happen to you” like he means it, but the band knows the truth is all that’s going to happen is that we’re going to have another beer and dance to the great music. I love the way Rodney
is willing to enunciate all his fears, but allows his friends and neighbors and listeners to let his spirit move their feet. The shoutout, 11 Hours, is more reflective, but effective. I am definitely drawn into Rodney’s meanderings and thoughts about life and the power Read more:Parker
, Fifty
, Knife
, Beneath
Dr. Dave & Mr. Haze: Author's Notes 2008-02-23 19:21:00 Davide has been working on this album awhile, and you know it'll be mentioned here on Eartaste when it's released. In the meantime you can see what he says about the songs on the album here. Read more:Author
, Notes
Animal Liberation Orchestra - Empty Vessel 2008-02-22 22:31:00 “Heart full of pain, head full of doubt.” Fun way to start this Friday party. These things happen at a tough week at work. “I do believe I’ve had enough. I tell myself it’s all in my mind.” Yep, you’re right. Grab a beer and after 3 or 4 of ‘em join us on the dance floor. All these feelings will come out with the puke at some point in the evening, but it’s all worth it because it’ll prepare us for another wonderful working week next week. Don’t sweat the small stuff, you’ve got a whole weekend to lose the hangover. Besides, the guitar palyer is wonderful enough to lead you to some personal liberation. “To the left of right, a line has been drawn.” Get it out on management while you’re drunk, cause they’ll still eb there Monday. “I’m gonna leave, I do bel Read more:Animal
, Liberation
, Orchestra
, Empty
Bayard Russell - Just Feel 2008-02-21 22:41:00 Space is never far from my mind, and I am disappointed when there is an eclipse of the moon yet the clouds cover it. I had high anticipations for this party. So is there good news? Of course. The good news is the music I chose still manages to eclipse our brains even though the clouds obscure our vision. The instruments are glad to take us on a trip beyond our senses. “You took my breath, my love. You took my breath away.” My mind prepared this soundtrack to coincide with the sight of the earth crossing the moon. My mind had to accept the music itself as honest, as real, as empowering despite the clouds. And, it worked. Bayard does not overpower , but empowers my emotions. “If I could feel once more, I would feel anything at all” he intones as the bass player and synthesizer enable Read more:Russell
The Handcuffs - All Shine On 2008-02-20 22:18:00 It’s party day! The week is half over, can you believe it? I can't. “Where do we begin? At the beginning or the end?” Good question. Since you’re asking, my opinion is, let’s start at the beginning. But, thanks for asking! Not many people do. Most people pretend they know me before talking to me, and then simply decide it’s not worth the effort to talk to me because they already know who they think I am. And perhaps they’re right. Who really knows? “Where do we go when the going gets too slow?” How about the dance floor? The band has a great beat going, and the song is fun. “Can someone answer the call?” You don’t have to ask this guy twice if you’re calling for the dance floor to fill up. Once The Handcuffs get this party shaking, they continue with “Can't Get Read more:Shine
Willie Nelson - Always Seem to Get Things Wrong 2008-02-19 22:43:00 “I’m stuck here looking back where I lost the thread. So ashamed sitting here thinking back how I lost my head.” This album is a soundtrack of a life. I’ve never seen the movie, and don’t really need to, the album stands with a life of its own, enjoyable to listen into the private thoughts of the narrator as he travels down the dark roads. Lots of shoutouts here: Brad Mehldau, Feist, Cat Power, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, M Ward. Movies for the head. “I hear the wail of people crying alone.” Special mention for Black Keys for managing to say more with two instruments than many people do with a stage full. Jesse Harris – The Hottest State Read more:Willie
, Nelson
, Wrong
Rodney Parker & Fifty Peso Reward - Tell Me What 2008-02-18 22:19:00 “I was mending fences, I was knee deep in the mud and I was dying in suspense. My knuckles caked in blood, now tell me – where were you?” First off, this song rocks. It wakes me up with a great feeling, cause the players shake every bone of my being awake. Second off, wow those lyrics! A song about unheralded reality we all have to deal with from time to time. I’ve been there too many times to mention – all done with the job when the person that was supposed to help shows up & adds the last nail. At the end of the day that fool gets as many or more beers than me, but who did all the real work? You know it – the person who does all the real work is never given credit, but at least we have a song now! A song written for the underdog! The song tells a few other stories worth liste Read more:Rodney
, Parker
, Fifty
Putumayo Presents - Euro Groove 2008-02-17 17:57:00 Spring is returning to South Texas, without the rain we need. But the air is clear. It is great to have change, and Putumayo snuck in some mind-changing attitudes on me this week. Nearly always when I get a Putumayo album I’m expecting a dance with the moon and the planets in my backyard, with lots of sweat and pleasurable discussion. This time out, the discussion is still pleasurable, the dance still apparent, but the sweat has disappeared. This is cool jazz, with the dance centered more around the stars deep in Andromeda instead of our solar system. Still grounded, but with a weightlessness only musicians of deep thought can accomplish. The flavors are from many countries, and like all Putumayo products, the flavors defy boundaries. Most Americans associate curry with India, when in fa Read more:Presents
, Groove
Soko - I'll Kill Her 2008-03-17 22:36:00 This has been my morning wake up song for several weeks now. Also been my lunch & dinner song. For whatever reason – charm, humor, old age, I can’t tell, this song sticks with me, and I love hearing it. All of that’s beside the point, today it is my Monday wake-up song. The story is old – the young girl can’t believe her boyfriend is seeing another woman. And, since there’s nothing new under the sun, the narrator blames the other girl, not her flaky boyfriend. What’s fantastic here isn’t the story, as I said, it’s nothing new. Adolescent feelings will always be adolescent feelings. However, the presentation of this story is exciting and a joy to hear. Even though the theme of killing another human isn’t particularly hilarious, when heard from an adolescent love-panged n
BB Brunes - J'Ecoute Les Cramps 2008-03-17 22:34:00 I was talking about Soko with a buddy, and the theme of the general lack of the ability to hear what other countries are listening to on their radio came up a few weeks back. It's a common complaint of mine - in this high-tech world teh US has isolated itself from good music being performed elsewhere. Well, my friend contacted a friend who knew someone in France, and joyfully eartaste has received a box of CDs from France. BB Brunes is an exciting rock group that gets me up to dance without any effort. These guys are simply great. I have no idea what they’re saying, but that’s okay – they rock their socks off in a manner that rocks my socks off. Excellent. Shoutouts for Gang & Blonde Comme Moi. BB Brunes Read more:Cramps
Vanessa Paradis - Divine Idylle 2008-03-17 22:33:00 Another favorite from the box. Vanessa
has a perfect eartaste sound – no way to describe the era. Could be mid-60’s or early 70’s pop or 80's retro-to-60s, but there’s some production twists that squarely place the music in 2008. In other words, ageless – always fun. She’s able to do some real fun things vocally, which makes the album a joy. A very good guitar player keep the excitement especially tasty, and I have to add some kudos to the percussionists. Everyone is performing to top standards in this kitchen. Fun to listen to. Shoutouts for Chet Baker & Les Piles.Vanessa Paradis Read more:Divine
, Vanessa Paradis
More French Singles 2008-03-17 22:32:00 I hope you don’t feel I’m slighting any of these artists by not writing a paragraph about each. It’s not that they don’t deserve it, they do. All of these singles/artists are worth seeking out:Christophe Willem - Jacques A Dit b/w Quelle Chance Pascale Picard - Thinking Of It b/w Unconscious LiarsThomas Dutronc - Jeune, Je Ne Savais Rien Christophe Mae - On S'Attache Dany Brillant - Viens DanserJenifer - Tourner Ma PageRenan Luce - Voisines Read more:French
, Singles
REM - Hollow Man 2008-03-16 23:09:00 The piano creeps in quiet, slow, plaintive and a mournful voice starts telling us why all this emotion is so important.I've been lost inside my hellEchoes fall on meI took the prize last night for complicatednessFor saying things I didn't mean and don't believeBelieve in me - believe in nothingCorner me and make me somethingI've become the hollow man nowI've become the hollow man I seeThe story continues with a wonderfully screwed up dysfunctional narrator admitting his guilt. This will become a classic song because of its build-up from despondency alone at the piano to complete hopelessness in the middle of loud rock guitars, bass and drums. Beautiful composition with an exceptional arrangement that never pretends to be joyful in the face of depression. When I heard the single last month Read more:Hollow
DigJelly – Communication 2008-03-15 22:24:00 “Get in line and just take a number. You and I and misery love company.” LOL!!! The singer captures my understanding of communication between a man and a woman exactly. I’ve been caught in tis trap way too many times, and it took many years of deliberate focus and careful meditation to figure that word out. You sit on a therapists couch, which for whatever reason has always been a woman for the women I’ve been involved in “therapy” with, and well, there is a bottom line here, I’m just having trouble getting it out. I know for a fact I’ll alienate every 2nd woman out there who happens to read that. I know that from my experience with bluntness in the past. Some women get bluntness, the others are offended by it. But in the end, who cares. Not like people are waiting in line
Sia - The Girl You Lost To Cocaine 2008-03-14 23:00:00 The title does not suggest “party”. Luckily, the band brings the party with it, so the song will not hurt your moves. I thought about this a lot. I love to make people think while they dance, but some might consider this depressing. Well, where better to consider truths than at a party? Let’s face it, this could just as easily be the girl you lost to beer or to an accident while driving in a blind rage after you said something mean to her at the party. I thought about how if this was a song about a girl you lost to another man, or even to another woman, no one would think twice. Of course, I wouldn’t think of it twice in any account if the music wasn’t as good as the lyric, but it is, and I enjoy playing it at my Friday party. Shoutout for I Am No Good For You (“I’m seeing gh Read more:Cocaine
Leon Russell - End Of A Love Affair 2008-03-13 22:42:00 “The teardrops on my face reflect the time of yet another place.” Delicate imagery that allows a picture to be formed in my mind that covers many times and places in my own lifetime. Lovely memories form while the narrator sings his heart out of his current sufferings. “In this dark room the pain can’t be erased.” The band has a samba-like flavor creating a movie in my mind with me as the star of too many little deaths. The shoutout tune is Last Dance (“you look at me and turn away when I speak your name”). Leon Russell Read more:Affair
, Love Affair
Devotchka - Along The Way 2008-03-12 22:02:00 “Let me die in my lovers arms, let me live through the night.” This hump day dance is covered in tequila sunrises simply because the colors accent the movement of this exciting album by flavors difficult to describe. Can you have slavic-sounding gypsy music with mariachis accenting in just the right spots? Why not? These guys pull it off masterfully, and I’m taken around the world with a cup of thick coffee in one hand and the worm from the tequila bottle in the other. “There’s a little piece of land in me that no other man can own.” Whirling with pleasures. Topped with whipped cream and the lonely bulls of a starless night made romantic by a single candle. Shoutouts for Basso Profundo and Comrade Z. Devotchka
Jack Johnson - Rodeo Clowns 2008-03-11 22:05:00 “Here comes the music.” With words going 70 miles an hour, this is fun stuff – I can picture the rodeo clowns running around the ring to the beat wildly making sure the guy laying flat on his back doesn’t get trampled by the bull. It’s fun to try to figure out who thought of that sport. As much fun as figuring out who figured out it’s okay to eat something that popped out of a chicken. Someone had to come up with it. Around here the kids are practicing pig wrestling so they can win a belt buckle. Weird what people do. The shoutout tune has fewer tongue excercises, Let Your Dreams Be Dreams (“you know this living ain’t as hard as it seems”). Good philosophical advice wrapped in a fun acoustic tune. Jack Johnson Read more:Rodeo
, Jack Johnson
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