Sex and the City

So I cant keep this stupid smile off of my face. I just recently received two late birthday presents in the form of the new Walkmen cd and an early sneak peak at the new Japandroids album. And unlike the recent trend of indie bands just putting out crap as fast as they can so they have an excuse to get back on the road, these two actually put out quality efforts that build on what they started. First off, I cant believe that The Walkmen have been around for 10 years now! Each album is unique with it's own distinctive sound and feel and yet you know it's them by Hamilton's amazing voice, the spastic drums, and Paul Maroon's guitar. This album keeps you on your toes right out the gate with their single Heaven and continues all the way to Jerry Jr's Tune featuring Fleet Foxes. Do yourself a favor and scoop this cd up; if for nothing else but to see the quirky photos of the band members with theie families including one with Hamilton and his wife who my friend Carole says looks like a Pentecostal Sarah Jessica Parker. Wasnt that the plot of Sex and The City 2? Or does SJP just look weird all of the time?Thankfully I was single when that movie came out so I wasnt forced to see it. And yes I saw the first one but moving on. All I can say about the new Japandroids album is wow!! I didnt think they really could take their sound anywhere else. After all its basically garage punk about being young and enjoying life to the fullest but they managed to keep the same energy and style and somehow the record is different from their first official effort. You will be singing their teenage anthems The Nights of Wine and Roses and Adrenaline Nightshift all summer long. They are also playing Pitchfork festival in July. I have previewed both bands here.
http://onlyfreshness.blogspot.com/2012/03/more-music-from-hipsterville.html
http://onlyfreshness.blogspot.com/2012/04/playing-dress-up.html

Someone who is playing both Pitchfork and ACL will be Big K.R.I.T. I have known about him for a while but thought he would fade away like most southern artists; see Mike Jones or David Banner. But I always felt there was something a bit different about Krit. What's cool about him is he is from Mississippi and keeps the southern style and dirty bumpin beats but his lyrics arent about candy colored whips and grills. He actually has some thoughtful lyrics and his songs have substance to them. He grew up writing poems and decided to get his voice out in the form of rap. He drops hooks like "This cant be all, this cant be all, drank, weed, and hos, money, white cars, and vogues" or "i couldve bought my way to heaven, but spent it all on this chain". He doesnt rely on gimmicks or shocking lyrics like an Eminem or Danny Brown, but just his presence and flow alone makes him stand out and exudes this cool confidence. I would definitely suggest checking him out and give him a rating of FRESH. Oh and for the record, every time I type Mississippi, I have to sing that stupid song MI SSI SSI PPI. Yes, I promise I went to college and actually graduated.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpdX14zmQtI&feature=endscreen&NR=1

Next up is The Good The Bad. Once again, due to their name, everything that pulls up is a reference to the movie The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly when you search for them. But when you finally find them, you are pleasantly surprised. They are a Danish 3 piece all instrumental band and their songs sound like a soundtrack to a Quentin Tarantino movie. The lamest way to describe it would be to call it garage surfer rock. When I first saw them in this club which was literally the size of my living room, they came out and looked like extras from Inglourious Basterds. And they had learned a total of about 10 English words for the show. "Hi, we're The Good, The Bad.. Thank You" and "We have cd's". And since this is all they knew, they repeated it about 20 times during the show. But honestly if youre a band, this is all the English you need to know along with "another Lone Star please" and "yes I have condoms". Heck, most nights downtown, these are the only words that I can actually get out from time to time. But outside of this, these guys rock! And while you would think you would get tired of this kind of music after about 20 minutes, you really dont. they have crazy energy and enough skill to mix up their songs so they dont sound the same. Check them out. I will give them a rating of slightly WEAK only because I am not sure where else they can take their sound but given their talent I wouldnt be surprised if they hang around for a bit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ouOGacf3Ss&feature=related