“Without music, life would be a mistake.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols
Road Tunes: New Music Releases
What's new in music for the week of 08-28-2012.
Web2Carz Senior Writer
Published: August 29th, 2012
F
orty years ago today, Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out” was the number one song in the country. Why it was number one at the end of August, so close to the start of the school year, is unclear. The album was released in June of 1972, but it apparently took a few months for the song to catch on. Also on this day in 2009, Noel Gallagher quit Oasis. Somehow we all found the strength to move on. And even though there will be no new Oasis albums, other artists still release new music. Here’s this week’s batch.
 |
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis / Lawless (Sony Masterworks) THEY SAY: Soundtrack to the film Lawless, which was scripted by Nick Cave, from a novel by Matt Bondurant. WE SAY: This is the fourth film soundtrack by Cave and former Dirty Three member Warren Ellis. It’s less soundtracky than their earlier work (The Proposition, The Assassination of Jesse James, The Road), and features cover songs and originals sung by Cave, as well as Mark Lanegan and bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley, who turns in one of the more bizarre covers in music history: a country-fied, acoustic rendition of the Velvet Underground’s “White Light/White Heat.” |
|
 |
Minus the Bear / Infinity Overhead (Dangerbird) THEY SAY: Fifth album from Seattle, Washington-based alt-rock band. WE SAY: Minus the Bear is one of those bands that gets labeled as an indie rock band despite there being nothing really indie about their sound. Maybe it’s the fact that they’re from Seattle. Their music is highly polished pop-rock, and despite the odd complicated time signature, it’s pretty radio-friendly stuff. Their latest album is more of the same—bright, punchy, catchy tunes with enough of an edge to keep the kids happy. |
|
 |
Alanis Morissette / Havoc and Bright Lights (Collective Sounds) THEY SAY: Latest album from Canadian singer/songwriter known for her misuse of the word “ironic.” WE SAY: This is Alanis’ first album since becoming a mother, so she has a fresh angle for her introspective, soul-searching songs, which will either move you deeply or have you running screaming to your doctor, begging to have your ears removed. |
|
 |
The Orb featuring Lee "Scratch" Perry / The Orbserver in the Star House (The End) THEY SAY: Thirteenth album from legendary ambient house group. WE SAY: As the pioneers of spacey, tripped-out electronic music, it makes perfect sense for the Orb to team up with the world’s premier purveyor of spacey, tripped-out dub reggae. The result is a blend of two genres so seamless that it’s hard to decide whether to describe it as dubbed-out electronic music, or electronicafied dub music. |
|
 |
Roxy Music / The Complete Studio Recordings (Virgin) THEY SAY: Box set comprised of all eight of the band’s studio albums, plus a double-disc of singles, b-sides, and alternate mixes. WE SAY: It’s nice to see a band’s complete discography packaged together in one very affordable (around $80 for 10 discs) package. These latest remasters were transferred “flat,” meaning that no additional acoustic jiggering was done to make the recordings sound more modern. The result is a sound that closely resembles the original vinyl. The mini-LP sleeves are kind of low quality and there’s no lyrics, liner notes or booklet included, which is probably what keeps the price so low, but would have been nice anyway. Still, the opportunity to own everything by this timeless and influential band is one no one should pass up. |
