OneRepublic - Dreaming Out Loud

The good outweighs the bad on 'Dreaming', March 28, 2008
It's not very often that a band from my home state of Colorado hits it big, but that's precisely what OneRepublic has done. With the help of Timbaland, the band scored one of the biggest hits of this decade to date with the remix of "Apologize", which spent 25 weeks in the top ten of the Hot 100, is one of only three songs to date to surpass three million in U.S. digital downloads, and spent 14 weeks at #1 on the United World Chart to name a few of its accomplishments. Needless to say I had to check out the band's debut album, especially considering how addicted I was to "Apologize." The album is one of those "singles" albums in my opinion, where about 5 of the songs are great and sound like big hits, but a lot of the album is filler.

Unsurprisingly to me, I did not find another song I liked as much as the Apologize remix, which is a bonus track on the album. Although I dislike that the remix is credited to Timbaland featuring OneRepublic (it should be vice versa), I have to admit there's something about the remix that sends the song into that upper echelon of mega hit that only happens rarely, and the original version of the song just can't compete. The song is much more than just a hit though, as everything about the remix is the total package of lyrics, beat, hooks, and vocal performance that seamlessly meshes to make it one of those universally likable songs. Enough about that song though, the rest of the album has some other tracks that are worth talking about, starting with second single "Stop and Stare." The song seems to be about evaluating your life and questioning why it is the way it is. The song has a big chorus and is one of the most re-playable tracks on the album. "Mercy" is a more rock tinged affair that first gained the band notice when they put it on their MySpace. It is somewhat reminiscent of a song U2 would do, and is well written and produced. My favorite track besides "Apologize" would have to be "Say (All I Need)" a song that crescendos from a gorgeous soft rock ballad into a soaring melodically layered piece of music. Most definitely a hit, but more importantly a superb song, and I have to also note that lead singer Ryan Tedder gives an exceptional vocal as well on it. The album isn't all good news though, as about exactly half of the tracks are filler that go in one ear and right out the other. Songs such as "Prodigal", "Tyrant", and "Won't Stop" to name a few just leave no real impression on me.

What saves "Dreaming Out Loud" from being disappointing is that the good half of the album overshadows the unmemorable portion. It's been a while since I've heard tracks as overall well put together such as "Apologize", "Stop and Stare", and "Say (All I Need)." Other highlights are "All We Are" and Coldplay esque ballad "Come Home." The band also seems to be talented lyrically as well, and Ryan Tedder might be quite the up and coming producer/songwriter already having huge production/writing hits for other artist such as Natasha Beddingfield's "Love Like This" and the mega worldwide smash "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis. "Dreaming Out Loud" is a promising debut that is satisfying but leaves plenty of room for future growth. 4/5 Stars

My Top 5:
1. Apologize (Remix)
2. Say (All I Need)
3. Mercy
4. Stop and Stare
5. All We Are

Cat Power - The Greatest

As January was winding down and I was wandering around the internet, wading through the eMusic archives and this month's Pitchfork reviews, I felt that January didn't bring much music worth talking about. I gave up and found an interesting artist on an eMusic "dozens" list named Cat Power, a.k.a. Chan Marshall. I downloaded her 2003 album You are Free and became an immediate fan. Her sultry, affecting voice delivers somewhat cryptic lyrics that nonetheless bury themselves under your skin. She plays both the piano and guitar with a moody charm that is, though sometimes simplistic, refreshingly original.

Marshall has just released a new album on Matador Records, entitled The Greatest. Though it doesn't quite live up to it's title, The Greatest does randomly arrive at greatness.

Marshall has previously played it safe within the boundaries of indie rock. The Greatest is her seventh effort and is her most accessible to date, owing to the fact that she is joined not by indie musicians but by legendary Memphis session musicians. These guys are strictly professional and have supposedly played for the likes of Al Green, Neil Young, and Aretha Franklin. This professional accessibility - which evokes the label "Starbucks music" to one Blogcritics reviewer - might mean that the indie rock world snubs Marshall. If, however, Marshall does manage to break into the Starbucks scene, mainstream fans are likely to give The Greatest a warm reception.

The Greatest opens with a triumvirate of the album's best three songs (except for "Love and Communication", which I'll get into later). "The Greatest", about somebody's failed aspirations as a boxer, nails it's intended mood with grace and perfection. A melancholy beat drags down the bittersweet, but endearingly elegant strings as Marshall croons "Once I wanted to be the greatest / Two fists of solid rock." The ballad crushes you under it's sincere depiction, both in lyrics and music, of honest remorse and failure. "Living Proof" wipes away the mournful vibe of "The Greatest", picking up the beat and adding a constant whining organ. "Lived in Bars" begins slowly and carefully, but picks up in mid-song, bursting into a celebratory ditty with repetitive horns and "sho-bops". These first three tracks establish the overall emotional mood of the album; a mood of bittersweet regret, disappointment, and nagging - but comfortable - sadness. These three also showcase the Memphis band at it's best.

The band's overindulgences come up in tracks 4 through 10. Only one of these is honestly bad - the baffling "Where is My Love" - but there isn't much to talk about. The exception is "Willie", a cover of Marshall's own 18 minute song "Willie Deadwilder" about the love between Willie Deadwilder and Rebecca. The lyrics are penned in a Dylan-esque storytelling manner and the band maintains a subdued groove enabling Marshall to show off her sultry vocal talents. Other than this the middle of The Greatest is above average (barely) filler. The band strays a bit too deeply into country-tinges and incessant horns while Marshall seemingly runs out of ideas.

Despite the aforementioned mediocrity, I can recommend The Greatest for three very good reasons. Number one and two are, of course, the opening triumvirate and "Willie". Number three is the closing song, "Love and Communication." Dropping the album's mood, which by this point becomes overbearing, it assaults you with heavy guitar (without the wearing country-tinge), a driving beat, and staccato strings. Marshall's voice floats atop the noise sounding more comfortable and natural than at any other moment on the album. I predict "Love and Communication" ending up on a few "best of 2006" lists. If you are looking for a more complete Cat Power album (minus the filler), I would recommend checking out You are Free. Canada phone cards India phone cards France phone cards Russia phone cards UK phone cards USA phone cards Bizon phone card Jupiter calling card Mozart calling card Continental calling card

Collin Herring - The Other Side of Kindness

(originally written for the Boise Weekly)

Alt-country always strikes me as unparalleled in the context of authenticity. Collin Herring, hailed as “the torchbearer for alt-country” by the Dallas Observer (an assertion implying a responsibility that isn't entirely fair), plays his guitar and opens his mouth not to turn heads, but rather because playing music is simply what he does. Before even the first song ends, we understand that playing music is on par for Collin with eating, sleeping, and breathing.

Though there is surely something to be said for this raw authenticity, it does not necessarily equate to a worthwhile sonic experience. Indeed, I'm certain that my high school punk band meant every note of the 'music' that we played. But alas, none of our songs have stood the test of time. On The Other Side of Kindness Herring creates a genuine Americana audio landscape. The music's features are as familiar as the landmarks of the American heartland it evokes. This disc, however, is not entirely an obnoxious recreation of tired and traditional musical sensibilities. Herring's music is anchored by guitars that are comfortable like Grandpa and Grandma's home and is accentuated by strings like breezes over rolling green hills. Excuse the clichés.

While the music borders on run-of-the-mill alt-country, Herring shines through his words and vocal delivery. His voice is honest and occasionally intense – like Conor Oberst if he were more focused and more alt-country (the press release included obscure comparisons such as Husker Du; I had to have my fun too). Infused with just the right dose of twang, Herring's voice delivers down-home lyrics that contain grassroots insight. In 'Cauterize' Herring ponders out loud, “I guess only the lucky pictures turn yellow in a frame. The rest you slide into some dark place where receipts are research to remember where I've been, and bad news leads to interstates.” Within one's personal context words like these can attain a lucidity that is capable of shaking lives.

No matter how I may herald the greatness of today's trendiest music, I can't help but occasionally feel suffocated by the pretentiousness that abounds in both the words and sounds. A musician as unpretentious as Herring is refreshing because he is not the next big thing – he's just doing his thing.

New Years Book #1: Reading Lolita in Tehran

As I've stated previously on this blog, I made a New Year's resolution to read one book for every two weeks of 2006. This won't include my school books (I have to read 75 pages of a book about Brown v. Board by next Tuesday). I'll read two books per month and fit in two more (to make 26; or I may read even more) during times when I have more time on my hands or am reading a smaller book. I'll write a small paragraph about each book I read on this blog. I rationalize writing about words on a music blog by insisting that just as music is breathing, so is literature. Words validate the tedious chore of day-to-day existence. The first book was Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi.

I'll put Reading Lolita in Tehran with books like On the Road, Writing Down the Bones, and 1984 on the list of books that have changed my life. Nafisi has inspired and nurtured a love for literature that was already blooming inside me. She taught literature in Iran during the Islamic revolution. It was a strange and turbulent time to read authors like Fitzgerald and James. Her students of opposing ideologies made these works a battlefield while she synthesized the tremendous upheavals of society through this literary lens. She later created, when the revolution was cemented and liberty lost, a secret class to study such authors as Nabokov and Austen. Nafisi's analysis of these works is always bold, surprising, and insightful. Her memories and contemplations on life in Iran are inspiring. Her genuine passion for literature is contagious. This memoir is worth reading even if one is unfamiliar with Iran or these works of fiction.

Upcoming Reviews and Guided by Voices

I visited the Boise Weekly offices today. Along with a copy of a 1975 film entitled The Passenger that I'm assigned to review, I picked up four very varied CDs that ought to each prove interesting, at the very least. Two are from Rock, Paper, and Scissors Inc. Thandiswa arises from the rich cultural post-apartheid music scene of South Africa. Julia Sarr, a Senegalese-Gambian-French singer, collaborates with Patrice Larose, a French flamenco guitarist, on Set Luna. Both of these releases already have me salivating at their exotic setting. These aren't your typical American white male indie releases. The other two, however, are closer to orthodoxy. Collin Herring was called "the torchbearer for alt-country" by the Dallas Observer. Along with that quote in the press release were many others that built Collin up to almost unparalleled proportions. He's got a lot to live up to. The fourth release is packaged very DIY, and is called Salt Lake City by a band called Purr Bats. Their press release opens with "howdy" and doesn't give a clue as to what kind of music awaits me. I have a sneaking suspicion, however, that this is some punk rock. We'll see. I bought a fifth CD today that will only be mentioned here (no review): Guided by Voices - Human Amusements at Hourly Rates: The Best of Guided by Voices. This is my introduction to a seemingly legendary band that I've somehow managed to avoid. I'm hearing it right now, and it already sounds like something that might well receive stereo rotation ten years from now. Look for all the aforementioned reviews within the next two weeks.