808s and Heartbreak

We kind of strayed away from doing reviews a while back, and I felt that was fine cause the purpose of the blog isn't to tell people what music is good and what is bad, rather to expose people to new music that we believe is worth listening to. However, I felt like the new Kanye West album was so monumental and controversial, as well as applicable to lots of the stuff we typically write about here, that it was worth a mention.

When I first heard the premiere single from Kanye's newest release, 808s and Heartbreak, I thought "what the hell?". Upon hearing that the whole album would be comprised of tunes in a similar style I thought "this poor bastard's ego has finally consumed him". Long story short, when I sat down to listen to the album the first time I was not exactly going into it with the most open of minds. I was sure that it was going to reach a level of suck that most high school garage bands could only dream of. However, as I began listening my thoughts and impressions seemed to be best dictated by a line from the Simpsons (as are all things in my life) "I know what I hate, and I don't hate this".

It's easy to notice right away that the death of his mom and a failed relationship has temporarily soured Kanye's view of the world. Combine this with a jaded view of the current rap industry he helped produce and an overactive ego with a constant need to reinvent the wheel and you have Kanye's 4th studio release. There's more substance to this album than I would have predicted, both lyrically and musically. This album, more than any of his others, has shown me he understands music and knows how to layer and construct it into something powerful and moving.

On the other side of the coin though is the ridiculous production and gimmicky vocal editing which has seriously cut into the musical credibility of the album. In a way I felt like his ego really did consume him to the point where he thought the idea of having the entire album done with the auto-tune on the vocals was a good idea. The album reminds me of the way people described Vince's movie "Medellin" in the show Entourage. On the surface it's not really that impressive due to a controlling director/producer who became consumed by his ego and refused to listen to anyone on any aspects; but there's genius in there that could be exposed with some editing.

In summary its an interesting album, and definitely worth a listen for those of you (like myself) who originally panned it without trying it. Does it live up to everything it could be? No. Will I still be listening to this album as much as his others in 5 years? No. Is Kanye one of the the most talented musicians in the business today? Yes.

Normally I'd post some tracks to check out, but we all know those would get taken down in about 5 seconds, so you'll just have to check them out for yourself by legally *wink wink* obtaining your own copy of the album.

Now I can't let you go home empty handed, so I'll leave you with a track from Beyonce's kid sister Solange, who has a fairly decent neo-soul/pop album out. This isn't one of the album tracks, but rather just some random thing she made featuring my most favorite up and coming rapper Wale. Its kind of humorous to hear the sister of Beyonce do a big "screw you" song to the record industry when Beyonce is pretty much the token diva for said industry right now. You might recognize the beat as Dre's "Explosive" off The Chronic 2001, remixed with a little Kanye of course.

Solange Knowles - Fuck The Industry (feat. Wale)

- Alec

Happy Birthday Track Nine

Waaaay back on November 13th, 2006 this little music blog was started. The birthday wishes are a little bit belated, but I figure that's better than nothing. I really hope that you have been enjoying checking out some new tunes whether you think the bands terrible or the most amazing thing since the inception of the Milwaukee Brewers.

For this post, we're looking for a little feedback from you. Who actually reads this thing?? Do you want newer album reviews?? Do you hate soul music and think we should stop talking about it?? Do you think we should talk about Indian Bhangra and/or 60's psychadelic instead?? Do my posts suck and Alec's rock?? Do you think we should post twice a week?? Do you want to guest post??

We'd really appreciate it if you happen to read this blog even every once in a blue moon to drop a comment on this post and let us know what you like/what you don't. I think it would help us out to keep you interested, reading, and expanding your music horizon.

Thanks,
Kyle

Here's a couple tunes that I've been diggin lately....

Paul Weller - Broken Stones - - Just a solid, soulful tune in the vein of Bill Withers

Matt Pryor - A Totally New Year - - Better known as the lead singer of the New Amsterdams....the first track from his first solo CD, which is actually pretty solid.

Love You Moon

You'd think that being unemployed I would have plenty of time to listen to and write about music, and you'd be right. Yet somehow I find myself struggling to motivate myself to find new music let alone write about it. Perhaps living in my parents house in a room with no stereo system and a semi-reliable internet connection has something to do with it.

Today I present to you Love You Moon, the side project RX Bandits frontman Matt Embree. The "group", which basically consists of Embree and a couple guest musicians on some of the tracks released their debut album this fall entitled Waxwane.

I've written plenty before about RX Bandits and their amazing musical abilities, and Matt is a great guitar player and singer. I think this cd is a decent display of his skills, although being an acoustic album he limits himself from the beginning. The cd is full of his powerful vocals, and of course politically and socially charged songs. Also featured, a staple of the Bandits, are lots of complex rhythms and interesting chord progressions. Matt does a great job of varying up the styles and parts that the sound doesn't become stale; however, my one piece of criticism is that at times he tries to do too much with his acoustic and it seems a little overdone.

Overall its a solid disc, and if you are in anyway a Bandits fan I recommend checking it out. If not I at least recommend listening to "Late May's Gaze" which is a beautiful and moving ballad that I have become somewhat obsessed with lately.


Love You Moon - David's Birthday

Love You Moon - Late May's Gaze

Love You Moon - Why Pop Stars Sell Silicone

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

- Alec

Ray Charles (before he was Ray Charles)

I've got some nice relaxing tunes for you today... I'm sure most of you have heard of Ray Charles either from the recent film about him Ray!, or just from hearing your pops play his old records. Charles was one of the R&B/soul icons in the 1960's. He wasn't necessarily the greatest person in the world (heroin addict, fathered children to 7 women, etc.), but he sure put out a whole cache of memorable hits. Georgia on my Mind, Hit the Road Jack, I Got a Woman....just a few of his tunes that once you hear the title you can begin to sing.

Before Charles hit the top of the Billboard charts with his singing, he actually put out a couple of jazz records with buddy and jazz-vibraphonist extraordinaire Milt Jackson. Milt Jackson, along with Lionel Hampton are probably two of the most influential and famous vibraphonists of all time. Milt always felt a little bit smoother to me. With him you would want to kick back and smoke a cigar, but with Lionel you would sit up on your seat and hang on every note.

Soul Brothers/Soul Meeting is the name of the CD which combines two sessions that Jackson and Charles recorded. The first song, "Bags of Blue" is an 8 minute masterpiece where Jackson starts it off with some excellent vibe work. Ray Charles, who predominantly plays piano on this record then hops in with a little bit of saxophone. The traditional jazz swing keeps the number moving and after a while Ray hops back on the piano and riffs over the top of it all. "Deed I Do" is a more romantic-feeling tune where the vibes and piano seem to call back and forth to one another. It almost seems made for a man/woman singing duet. Enjoy!

Ray Charles and Milt Jackson - Bags of Blue

Ray Charles and Milt Jackson - Deed I Do

Fort Knox Five

Sorry for the delay in getting this post up but I've have kind of a crazy couple of weeks. For those of you that don't know, I was laid off from my job in Phoenix as part of some downsizing, and have decided to head back towards the great Midwest to look for work this time around. While being unemployed during a time of such economic difficulty and uncertainty is fairly disconcerting, I am looking at this as an opportunity for a fresh start and a chance to relocate to somewhere I would rather live (probably Chicago). Anyways, enough about me, to the music!

My post today is on the DC group Fort Knox Five. They create a wonderful style of hip hop/funk/latin music that is fun to listen to and great for parties. Similar to some other producer style cds such as Mark Ronson's Here Come The Fuzz or Intramural's This Is A Landslide , this cd features some guest artists to provide the vocals; however, many of the tracks are just bumpin instrumentals.

While the style on the cd varies quite a bit from song to song, I think one way to maybe describe it would be as a mix of Jurassic 5, Parliament Funkadelic and Ozomatli with bits of disco and electronica thrown in. You're thinking that doesn't make much sense? Well then just take a listen and check out these tracks from their 2008 release Radio Free DC.

Fort Knox Five - Insight

Fort Knox Five - Sao Funky (Parts 1 & 2)

Fort Knox Five - Uptown Tricks

Enjoy
Alec

Steel Train minus Scott?? Justin??

I hope things have been great for you 4 religious Track Nine readers... Things have been good in Atlanta, it's down to a brisk 60-65F on most days now, but that didn't stop me from going out last week to catch a pretty sweet concert. Two Track Nine favorites, Steel Train and Dear and the Headlights were playing at a small venue in downtown Atlanta for a crowd of about 40 or 50 loyal fans, haha.

Dear and the Headlights sounded good after the release of their 2 or 3 week old album Drunk Like Bible Times. The new disc brings a little more anguish, a little less foot-tappin, but a lot more crunch than their first release.

After they finished their set, Steel Train took the stage and what happened there marked the true end of an era. Scott or Justin or whoever the vocalist/pianist that I loved to listen play had apparently left the band (I asked the backup guitarist after the show and he confirmed my fear...). I say it's the end of an era because Steel Train has gone through so many transformations, and losing Justin means that there is really no way they will ever go back to or even play a lot of their old tunes. First, Steel Train was a fun-loving group of guys that played acoustic jams. They then turned into a jam-esque band that flowed freely into and out of songs with insane guitar solos followed by soft vocals backed by light instrumentation. Having now fully transitioned into a pop group, I don't think we'll ever see the old Steel Train ever again (not necessarily that it's a bad thing....Trampoline made my best of 2007 list!).

So...below I'm posting 3 tunes to remind me of the old Steel Train with Justin or Scott's (haha) super smooth voice caressing your ears. Enjoy!

Steel Train - Blown Away

Steel Train - Catch You On the Other Side

Steel Train - 1999

Sleepercar

Apparently my post about Sleepercar got deleted by the Blogger folks....

It started like this...

I spent this past weekend playing a little bit of Ultimate in the great state of Wisconsin. We were lucky because the weather was an absolutely perfect 75 and sunny on both days. Coupled with that was the fact that Wisconsin was just then blooming into an incredible autumn. Driving down the small two-lane highways in farm country with the leaves changing and falling all around the roads definitely made me feel a twinge of 'what the hell am I doing in the South'.

Basically they are a sweet rock-tinged alt-country band.

Check em out here.

http://www.myspace.com/sleepercarwesttexas