Music Recommendations.

Wired has a nice side by side comparison of the music recommendation sites available, some of which I'd never even heard of. Sweet.

Deftones.

Ordinarily I don't comment on mediocre albums, but in the case of the Deftones I will make an exception. Saturday Night Wrist is not quite up to the standards of their earlier work, with three pop tracks and four throw-aways. This leaves a grand total of five tracks worth of pure wholesome Deftones goodness. As a serious fan of their first three albums, I'm just glad to have something here worth listening to (unlike their weak self-titled album from 2003). If you're a fan, check it out. If not, skip it.

Jason Webley.

In case you were unaware of it, Jason Webley rocks. Think Tom Waits, but sillier. I saw him live as a solo act the other night opening for the Dresden Dolls, and he was just loads of fun. I highly recommend checking out his work.

The Roots.

Every time the Roots release a CD, they raise the bar a notch higher for everyone in hip-hop. I thought it couldn't get much better than the Roots 2004 release, The Tipping Point. I've been proven wrong. In every respect, Game Theory is an improvement on their time tested formula. In production standards as well as lyrical balance, Game Theory is a fantastic album, in fact one of the best I've heard this year.

Every album by the roots contains at least one edgy, driven track. This disc contains two: "In the Music", and "Here I Come". While these tracks were the first to grab my attention, subsequent listens have shown up "Don't Feel Right" and "Baby" as my favorite tracks. The Roots have added Pink Floyd and the Beach Boys to their list of influences on these tracks, creating an entirely cohesive listening experience. The arrangement of the tracks creates an unbroken flow of mood, each song blending flawlessly into the next, an area that I've always felt was a bit lacking in this band.

And as always, the Roots are on point with their primary message: The system is fucked. Change the system.

Julie Christmas et al.

First off, a strong recommendation for fans of metal: Pick up 'Triad' a six song sampler from Neurot recordings. Three bands, six sick tracks, one awesome female vocalist. Julie Christmas, who heads up both Battle of Mice and Made out of Babies sings her heart out on four of these tracks, sounding by turns like Bjork's twin sister and a mutant female counterpart to Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, she fills these tracks with creepy, atmospheric lyrics that create a black mood across the entire album. If you like heavy guitars and screamy rock chicks, then this disc will definitely light you up.

Dresden Dolls.

As reported yesterday in my log, I saw the Dresden Dolls two nights ago. I've been looking forward to this one for ages. Did the Dolls live up to my expectations? You bet your ass they did.

Amanda Palmer came on stage wearing a Pixies T-Shirt, which was just downright cool. Something I didn't expect was the fact that drummer Brian Viglione proved to be just as exhibitionist as Palmer. In fact, Viglione was the real treat of the evening, providing drum work which was absolutely mind-blowing, and continually engaging in melodramatic antics throughout the set.

The set itself was awesome, and quite possibly the strangest ever played. At one point, the Dolls were joined on stage by Brendon Urie, the lead singer of Panic! at the Disco (for whom they were opening), for a tongue in cheek rendition of Brittany Spears "Hit me Baby, one more time", followed by fan favorite "Coin Operated Boy", and then a fantastic cover of "War Pigs", by Black Sabbath. This rather unusual combination really threw the girl-pants crowd into a confused state, but they were all pretty enthusiastic about it anyway. The Dolls ended their set with "Girl Anachronism", which was the one song I was really hoping to hear them play.

Just as a side note, The song "Coin Operated Boy" has alternate live lyrics: Instead of singing "I can even take him in the bath", Amanda Palmer sings "I can even Fuck him in the ass", much to my amusement.

Murder By Death.

'In Bocca al Lupo', by Murder By Death, recommended to me by my friend Zack, is a terrific blend of southwestern rock styles. The band clearly derives its strength from the legacy of dark, strange and angry men of generations past: A bit of Tom Waits, a hefty dose of Nick Cave, and a whole lot of Johnny Cash. In fact, the lead singer sounds so much like Johnny at times that it's just downright eerie. One track on the disc really made me think of Elliott Brood, which I posted about earlier. If you're into the dark side of the west, definitely give these albums a listen.