Artists to Check Out: 10 Years

You know how you listen to Pandora or grooveshark or whatever, looking for a new artist, and you listen to one song, and then say, "Yeah, not really into them?" Well, that was the band 10 Years for me. But believe me, I am kicking myself for it now, because they are AMAZING.


This is the band that mixes hard-and-heavy with literally the most poetic lyrics I've ever heard: "Casting a cool breeze/supplied by the autumn/question where it went wrong/climbing Jacob's ladder" ("The Autumn Effect). Writers like me eat that stuff up with a bloody spoon.


You've probably heard their breakout hit, "Wasteland." The song was written by lead singer Jesse Hasek about his cousin, the actor Brad Renfro, who tragically died of an overdose in 2008. In total, three videos of the song were made, one of the band performing, one including Renfro, and the final version, which tells the harrowing stories of people from third-world countries and is by far my favorite. "...[W]e came to the conclusion that instead of showing teenage angst or the very typical cliché American video, we wanted to show the U.S. social awareness of the struggles that other countries go through - that other people go through and how easy we have it compared to their lives," said Hasek about the video in an interview.Wow.


The band was formed in Knoxville, Tennessee, and did not include Hasek as singer until their second album, Killing All That Holds You (I've never heard 2001's Into the Half Moon, and I probably won't. I feel like it wouldn't be 10 Years). 


After their third album with the current lineup, 2008's Division, the band became fed up with major record labels and made 2010's Feeding the Wolves. “It’s like breaking up with a longtime girlfriend. You’re used to the motions, but when it becomes stale and unhappy, you need to move on and get energy back into your life. There was no anger on either side. We just painlessly parted ways,” Hasek said.

 After the album was released, 10 Years launched Palehorse Records, and recently released a new album, Minus the Machine, and while not quite as good as The Autumn Effect (my personal favorite), it is definitely a legit album. I especially like the lyrics to the song "Knives:" "settled in sedatives/silence these sirens/I am uncomfortably numb."


10 Years isn't very well known, even though they've toured with acts like Korn and Mudvayne. And that's a shame, because their music and lyrics are really extraordinary. “As a band, we like to explore more and go a little left of center with song structures," Hasek says.


 I also like that the band is so down-to-earth. They asked their fans to make a video for their single "Fix Me," and they've posted several interesting videos (my favorites being a Harry Potter jellybean contest and a tour of Hasek's art studio). I love a band who can play just for the joy of playing. And I definitely respect a band who would rather keep their artistic integrity than make millions.

My favorite tracks: 10 Years – Waking Up, 10 Years – Through The Iris, 10 Years – The Autumn Effect,10 Years – Dying Youth,10 Years – Shoot It Out,10 Years – Minus The Machine,10 Years – Knives, 
"Silhouette of a Life," "R.E.S.T."

Artists to Check Out: The Legendary Shack Shakers

Been forever since I posted - I know. Believe me, if I got paid to blog, I'd be on here every day.

Anyway, I've got a new band on my playlists that I feel everyone should check out - Th' Legendary Shack Shakers. You may have heard them on the True Blood soundtrack, or - nope, that's it. These guys aren't well known outside of their very specialized genre of music - psychobilly.

What the hell is psychobilly? you ask. Well, it's a mixture of bluegrass, punk, hillbilly, blues, polka, and pretty much anything else you can think of. Oh, and the bass line is also normally played with an upright instead of a guitar - which is pretty much the coolest thing I can think of. Ever. It's been popularized (relatively) by such artists as The Cramps and The Meteors. You'd think it would be primarily a Southern genre of music, but The Meteors are British and The Cramps formed in Sacramento.

But these guys are for real. The band was formed in Kentucky, and its frontman, J.D. Wilkes, was given the honorary title of Colonel, which is apparently the equivalent of an honorary doctorate or something in the Southern states.

But don't let that fool you - they've been all over the world in the past few years, touring with such bands as The Black Keys, Rancid, and Robert Plant (of Led Zeppelin fame).

My favorite album of theirs is 2006's Pandelirium. It's a creepy, folksy, lurking trip through the psyche of the South. Songs like "Bible, Candle, and Skull" and "Ichabod!" (which features Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra) showcase the Shack Shakers' punk and polka roots. But I guarantee they sound like nothing you've ever heard before. (Also, check out Wilkes's Layne Staley-like stage presence on the "Ichabod!" video.)

Check out this interview with Wilkes (in which he berates the interviewer for calling the Shack Shakers' music "evil,") and be sure to take a peek at my other favorite songs of theirs.

More tunes: "Blood on the Bluegrass," "Where's the Devil . . . When You Need Him?" "Angel Lust," "Agony Wagon"

Artists to Check Out: Tech N9ne

I was never one who was much into rap. When I'm listening to music, I like lyrics that are deep and sometimes spooky - and rap, with the exception of some Eminem and 2Pac, doesn't really fit into that category. I'll admit, I get in the mood for a good booty-shakin' song just as much as anyone else ("Get Buck in Here" with Akon being one of my favorites), but generally I prefer rock.

My interest has recently been piqued, however, by one Aaron Dontez Yates, aka Tech N9ne. He's been called "bizarre hardcore rap" by one Allmusic reviewer, and after listening to the rhymes he pops off (he was nicknamed after the Tec-9 semiautomatic for a reason), I'd have to agree with that. He lists Metallica and The Doors alongside Just-Ice and Wu-Tang as influences on his music.

Not to say that he doesn't like to rap about booties and money, but his style is a tad different from other rappers. For instance, his latest video, the one for "He's A Mental Giant," includes a dark, creepy version of the Wizard of Oz.

He is one of the only successful independent rappers in the United States, having been represented by his own label, Strange Music, since its inception in 1999. His latest album, All 6s and 7s, has gained commercial success, due to inclusion of artists such as Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes, and Deftones (that's right, I said Deftones). It is also strong in old-fashioned, fast-slick rapping, with tracks like "Worldwide Choppers" leaving the listener feeling dizzy and disoriented. All in all, this is one rapper that fans of every genre (with the exception of country) will want to check out.

Introducing Viennie V

This video, "Nightmare or Dream," has been one of the most-watched on YouTube for a couple of days now. The video description lists the petite Asian-American chanteuse, Viennie V, as a "Lady Gaga protege." While others might disagree with me, I don't see much of Gaga's influence in the video. It's a fairly straightforward, Twilight-esque vampire-slash-bondage fantasy. (I particularly thought the image of V writhing around in a morgue locker was original and interesting.) The tune is catchy, though the lyrics are a little trite. Where it went wrong, I thought, was V's voice. I know there's a sultry Roxie Hart in there somewhere - you can hear her trying to break out when V croons "I wanna be abused" while chained to a metal chair. That's what made Gaga popular - she really and truly has a good voice. And while "breathy and innocent" may work for singers like Katy Perry, I think a little bit of vamping it up is never a bad thing.

Bands to Check Out: System of a Down

Sometimes certain bands can surprise you. This was the case for me with System of a Down.
I first heard this band when I was in high school, in a weightlifting class. I thought, "Wow, that guy has a cool voice," and didn't think about them again, except to get them confused in my mind (for some inexplicable reason) with Theory of a Deadman, whom I don't really care for.
Anyway, I checked them out again this week when I heard "Chop Suey!" on one of my Pandora stations. Turns out all four of them are Armenian American, and many of their songs have to do with the political climate, with media control over the public mentality, and with various world events, such as the Armenian genocide during World War I in 1915. In addition to lead vocalist Serj Tankian's interesting (I really can't describe it; it's something you've got to listen to) voice, their music is very haunting, very reminiscent of Balkan folk songs at times, even through the heavy grind of guitarist Daron Malakian's playing style.
They went on hiatus from 2006-2010, during which Malakian formed his own band, Scars on Broadway, which is vastly different from System.
I like bands that tend to wax political, but it's kind of rare to find that in a metal band, rather than in a punk outfit. Also, the band's Armenian heritage clearly influences their music, as does their self-proclaimed main influence, Slayer. Definitely some of the best metal I've heard in a while.

Best tracks: "Sugar," "Aerials," "BYOB," "Streamline," "P.L.U.C.K."

Nicki Minaj

I'm having to post this again, because of Blogger's issues yesterday. Anyway, Nicki Minaj seems to be just another in a line of booty-shakin', bare-all songstresses who have an affinity for the weird, alongside such singers as Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, and Katy Perry (cupcake bra? Really?). I like Gaga and Perry just fine, but I wish they would focus more on the music instead of who can be weirder. I mean, it was the same thing with Eminem and Marilyn Manson over who could be more offensive.
But anyway, back to Minaj. The Trinidad and Tobago-born singer/songwriter (real name Onika Tanya Maraj) seems to be just another Perry copycat with her penchant for pink wigs and glow-in-the-dark eyeshadow. But she can do something the other Leading Ladies of Strange can't do: rap, which is gratifying in an era that seems to be dominated by pop/r&b ballads.
Minaj's song "Super Bass" just made Pitchfork's playlist with "Best New Track." It's a catchy, summery, tuneful song, but I'm inclined to think it's as fleeting as summer love itself. We'll see if Minaj can hold her own with her eccentric colleagues. As always, the video is posted above.

An Introduction to Finnish Metal

Sorry about the lack of posts this week - I've been trying to install my new wifi. Today I'd like to talk about something I've recently stumbled upon - Finnish metal.
I don't think I've ever been quite so enchanted with a genre of music in my life. Listening to it takes one back to fairy tales - innocuous, but also hauntingly tragic.
Finnish metal as we know it today started out in the late seventies and early eighties with glam/metal bands such as Hanoi Rocks, and has branched off into many different subgenres such as symphonic metal, doom metal, and black metal.
I feel like all of the groups I've listened to so far, especially my favorites (from left to bottom left: Apocalyptica, The Rasmus, H.I.M., and The 69 Eyes), have a melodic tranquility in common. It's metal, yes, but like you've never heard it before - beautiful, charming. Even the more black/doom metal style of The 69 Eyes has a certain lilting musicality to it, visible most on such tracks as "Wasting the Dawn." The lyrics are often beautifully poetic and emotional, dealing with such things as love, death, pain, and healing. My favorite Finnish band, H.I.M., writes so many of their songs about love that they jokingly refer to their genre as "love metal."
There is a lot of symphonics in this genre as well. Apocalyptica, who have become quite popular in the United States for work they have done with artists such as Adam Gontier, Lacey Mosley, Gavin Rossdale, and Corey Taylor, are a four-piece cello band who have come up with inventive new ways of using the instrument, such as hooking them up to amps to give off a more "metal" sound. Nightwish, one of the most internationally known Finnish bands, uses a lot of symphonics as well. They have been compared to such bands as Within Temptation and Evanescence for their use of a female soprano singer (currently Annette Olzon, formerly Tarja Turunen). Most people know Nightwish and Children of Bodom as the most popular Finnish bands, but I think the others I have mentioned so far are hands down the best.
What I think is incredible is that all of these bands are writing and singing in a language not their own, and for all that, and while their lyrics may be a little trite and corny (even, if I must admit it, HIM's), hey, they're not even in their native tongue. But then again, most people speak at least two languages in Europe and Asia. In America, we barely speak our own correctly, which I think is really pathetic.
There is a certain nihilistic brutality about American metal music that will always be my first love - but I love the pretty symphonic melodies and weaving lyrics of Finnish metal as well. This genre tells the same story metal fans are used to, just in a more delicate, refined way.

Best Tracks

Apocalyptica: "Bittersweet (both instrumental and featuring Ville Valo and Lauri Ylonen)," "I Don't Care (ft. Adam Gontier)," "In the Hall of the Mountain King," "SOS (ft. Cristina Scabbia)," "Romance," "Nothing Else Matters"

The Rasmus: "Livin' In a World Without You," "Heart of Misery," "No Fear"

H.I.M.: "Kiss of Dawn," "Dead Lovers' Lane," "Pretending," "In Venere Veritas," "Heartkiller," "Wicked Game," "Bleed Well," "Heartache Every Moment," "Vampire Heart," "Killing Loneliness"

The 69 Eyes: "Dance d'Amour," "Lazarus Heart," "Lay Down Your Arms," "Never Say Die," "Wasting the Dawn," "Framed in Blood"

Rebecca Black

Okay, I promised something that I'm not as fond of, and here it is: Rebecca Black.
Criticism for her single, "Friday," has been circulating around the Internet for what amounts to eons in our superfast society, so it may seem like I'm a little late, but I've just barely heard it - not my fault, a friend made me listen to it, so I could see "how bad it really was."
I must say, I have never been so horrified by anything purporting to be "music" in my life. I hate saying that when the person I'm talking about is only thirteen, but it's true.
Black's parents reportedly shelled out $4000 for Ark Music Factory of Los Angeles to record the song, which features an auto-tuned Black half-speaking, half-singing.
What I want to say about it is this: Has America (and the world) really come to this? Are we really just so shallow that we will dance to the most mindless lyrics and download the most unmelodic atrocities to our iPods? Or is Black's popularity a result of everyone watching her video on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. so they can comment on how bad it is? I know that Justin Bieber's popularity doesn't just center on people who think he sucks; it's the tweenage fangirls who are to blame for these viral monstrosities! (Seriously, think about it: who made the Twilight series so popular?) I just think it's sad that money can truly buy you everything in today's society, including talent. It's also sad that her parents are pushing her into this sort of career when she's clearly not ready. She's gotten much worse criticism than I'm giving here, and she's going to keep getting it. But still, I say to you, America, grow up in your taste in music.

New Music Monday: Murder by Death

Wow, sorry about the late post on this one. Anyway, I've discovered another intriguing band: Murder by Death. They're a four-piece group formed in 2000 in Bloomington, Indiana. Not terribly interesting. But add to that that one of their number is a cellist, and that their songs deal with all sorts of topics, from mutiny on the high seas to mining, and you've suddenly got some very interesting post-punk/country/indie rock/instrumental stuff. As you can see, there's really no classifying these guys.
The friend who introduced this band to me mentioned that her favorite album of theirs is In Bocca Al Lupo, so I checked it out. The album has many songs that deal with sin and hell, reminding me of Avenged Sevenfold - in subject matter, not in musical style. Their music style sounds like what Faulkner would sound like if put to music.
Lead singer and guitarist Adam Turla explained the influences of the album on Murder by Death's website: "There were several books that were influential in writing this album- some of them were Dante's Inferno, Herman Melville's Benito Cereno, and Edgar Allen Poe's Fall of the House of Usher. Basically all these stories had issues that seemed relevent to the record and helped the creation of these songs." There you have it. I'm not an expert on this band by any means, but I do have some favorite tracks that I'll post below.

My favorites: "Brother," "Dynamite Mine," "Comin Home," "The Devil in Mexico (ft. Gerard Way)"

Jada Pinkett Smith: Metal Goddess

Did you, like me, hate the inane chorus of Willow Smith's single "I Whip My Hair?" Yeah? Well, what if I told you that she's into Lamb of God? Yep, her mom, Jada Pinkett Smith, said she loves that kind of music, in an interview with metro.co.uk.
If you think it's weird for the daughter of rapper/actor/coolest man alive Will Smith to like metal, you might not know that her mother is the frontwoman for a nu-metal band, Wicked Wisdom.
The band wasn't very well known despite its famous lead singer when Sharon Osbourne booked them for Ozzfest in 2008. Fans of the annual festival were outraged, even threatening Pinkett Smith with death. "When I played metal music, I was mocked," Smith says in the interview. "I got death threats when I was added to the Ozzfest lineup but I stuck with it. At the end of that, people got on board. Me doing metal was one of my biggest learning experiences. A lot of my success is down to not being afraid. I came to Hollywood by myself when I was 18. If my mother had thought "What's going to happen?" and kept me in the house, I'd never have had the life I have."
I say kudos to her for being a true rocker (also, she's got to be the most awesome mom in the world). And as for Wicked Wisdom, they're working on a third studio album right now, tentatively titled Wrath of the Wicked. I'll post their creepy, Poe-like video for "Bleed All Over Me" below. Also, check out Pinkett Smith's full interview here.

Bands to Check Out: Muse

Okay, I know how this is going to sound, because Muse is "that band from Twilight." But hear me out: obviously that was a massive lapse of judgment on their part, because their music is really good. I've been pretty into them lately - and to me, Twilight is one of the worst books/movies ever. Plus, they're British, which is cool enough in its own right. (I don't know, it's just something about the way they say things - it's so much more elegant than when we Americans speak.)
Despite the fact that Stephenie Meyer and I now agree on something, I love their experimental sound that can go from space rock to heavy metal to indie in one album. Their lyrical themes center around revolution (libertarianism - need I say more?) and sci-fi stuff, so it never gets boring.
Their most recent album is 2009's The Resistance. It has a lot of great power tracks, like "Uprising," but also a great love song in "Undisclosed Desires."

General tracks recommended: "Supermassive Black Hole," "Unintended," "Plug in Baby," "Sunburn," "Muscle Museum."

New Music Whenever: Adele

Let me apologize for the lateness of this post: I think the time change has me screwed up, because I completely forgot about posting anything yesterday.
The new music for this week is Adele, and I've got to say, never have I been so inspired by a powerful female voice since Amy Lee's debut with Evanescence. The 22-year-old British songstress has more than enough soul to go around.
I decided to feature Adele rather than her new album, 21, because I don't feel like she's terribly well-known - which is undeserved. She's every bit as good as countrywoman Amy Winehouse, without all the psycho drama - at least not yet. I particularly recommend "Rolling in the Deep" as a showcase of her voice - it's good stuff. I'll post the video above, and be sure to check out 21.

New Music: Kittie

From now on, Mondays will be New Music Monday. I'll introduce something cool, because it's good to expand horizons, right? Anyway, in light of the holiday yesterday, I'm going to post the new stuff today. Today's band is Kittie, an all-girl metal group that may be one of the only successful lineups of its kind. Hailing from London, Ontario, the band has been active since 1996 and includes Morgan Lander (lead vocals/rhythm guitar) and her sister Mercedes (drums), who are the only remaining original members of the band. They are famous for such singles as "Brackish" (composed by Morgan Lander while still in her teens), and "Sorrow". Morgan Lander's voice (harsh scream through verse and then a clean croon through the chorus) is very akin to Alexis Brown of Straight Line Stitch, and indeed, Brown can look to Kittie as trailblazers of her type of music.
Kittie is currently working on their sixth album, a follow up to 2009's In the Black, and Morgan Lander wrote on her Twitter page, "This is proving to be the most difficult album I've ever written. Our story, so complex and tragic...Where do I begin?" Indeed, there have been tragedies, with former bassist Trish Doan leaving the band due to her struggles with anorexia, and Morgan and Mercedes' father, David Lander, dying, both in 2008, as reported by Blabbermouth.net.
I think these guys are pretty underrated - they even toured with Slipknot back in the day (which is pretty impressive, even though I'm not at all fond of the latter). Definitely check them out, especially the single "Cutthroat". I'll post its video above.

The Pretty Reckless

A band fronted by Taylor Momsen? "You've got to be kidding me," I said. Momsen, former child star and Gossip Girl regular, is only 17. I thought this band would resemble Miley Cyrus' attempt at stardom, more of a way for Momsen to have a rebellious stage (albeit much more grandiose than ordinary teens') than a serious music venture. But then I listened to it. "Not bad," I said. And hardcore rockers must share my opinion: The Pretty Reckless played the whole Warped Tour 2010.
The sound is perhaps a little generic, and the lyrics get a little banal in places, but Momsen's got that powerful Joan Jett voice that has come to be a key ingredient for women in rock. It's exhibited to perfection in tracks such as "Factory Girl" and "Since You're Gone", off their just-released debut Light Me Up. In an interview with MTV, Momsen listed some of the band's influences as the Beatles and Oasis. As for personal influences? Kurt Cobain and, you guessed it, Joan Jett. I don't know about Kurt Cobain, but Momsen's definitely got the Courtney Love thing going on - especially with the whole "kinderwhore" look. She's made mothers everywhere cringe with her dominatrix-esque wardrobe choices. Don't believe me? Check out the video for "Make Me Wanna Die", posted above.
Although I think that the band's recent deal with Interscope Records had more to do with Momsen's popularity as an actress than the band's actual talent, and although it may be no more than a way to get back at Cyrus for not landing the Hannah Montana spot, I think this is worth listening to.

Straight Line Stitch

Metal is a hard genre to reinvent. So many thousands of bands have already done things in so many similar ways. And let's face it, there are only so many ways you can do a good scream or growl. So it was a surprise to me when I saw a video titled "Black Veil" by Straight Line Stitch, a band I had never heard of. Not only was the lead singer a woman, she was also African-American and had an eyebrow-raising voice, not to mention awesome hair. This was a totally different take on a genre that is heavily dominated by white guys, and I had to check it out. These guys are originally from Knoxville, Tennessee, which puts them at even more of an outlier on the heavy metal charts. Their guitar style is very reminiscent of early Dimebag Darrell, and lead singer Alexis Brown's voice goes from angelic one moment to a hellacious scream the next. Check out the interview with Brown about the origins of the band, from puregrainaudio.com. These guys also have an album coming out March 22, The Fight of Our Lives. I'll post their latest video, "Never See the Day", off their 2008 album, When Skies Wash Ashore, as well as their just-released song, "Conversion." If this song is any indication, this sophomore effort will be a strong one.

Taproot

I love the feeling you get when you discover a new band that you like. It's like falling in love over and over again. Such is my current enjoyment of Taproot. These guys are a severely underrated post-grunge band from the early 2000s, in the vein of contemporaries Breaking Benjamin and Alter Bridge. They're most famous for their song "Poem", off their 2002 album,Welcome, which I think also happens to be their best song. It's a surprising mix of the traditional, darkly melodic grind of guitars, combined with vocalist Stephen Richards' uncharacteristically nasal singing, which is punctuated now and then with the requisite metal scream. This, combined with layered harmonies, give Taproot songs an uncanny beauty. If you wanted to go for their best album, definitely check out their debut, gift. It has a lot of pounders like "Again & Again" and "Time". The video to "Poem" is also worth checking out; the decaying setting and despairing hypocrisy is something you don't generally see from this era of do-it-yourself music videos. Video embedding has been disabled for it, but the song is posted with lyrics above. As always, I do not own any rights. Credit to Victory Records.