Sarah Palin, liar

The most frivolous statement from the McCain-Palin camp thus far has been that Sarah Palin's foreign policy credentials include Alaska's proximity to Russia. Turns out Palin has never even visited Little Diomede, the island two and a half miles away from Big Diomede, a larger, similarly inhospitable island that belongs to Russia. (Palin's hometown is about 600 miles away.) In fact, no Alaska governor has ever visited the island. Only indicted Senator Ted Stevens has seen across the Bering Sea to Big Diomede, the rocky island thousands (that's right, thousands) of miles away from Moscow or Saint Petersburg. Now that the most ludicrous - and according to Palin, significant - "experience" she said she possessed has been disproven, what's left? Bubkus.

Bombass Groove of the Week #1

"Cosmic Slop" by Funkadelic, from the album Hardcore Jollies.

Dig the first Bombass Groove of the Week. It's no wonder Dr. Dre sampled it for The D.O.C.'s "Beautiful But Deadly" from his debut, No One Can Do It Better.

Stay tuned every week!

Bombass Groove of the Week #1.mp3

Kings of Leon | Only By The Night

Forget worshipping at the altar of U2, Kings of Leon are straight up zealots on their fourth record, Only By The Night. If lead guitarist Matthew Followill would stomp any more on The Edge's signature delay pedal, they'd be jamming yesterday. Not that this family affair - Matthew the cousin, Caleb, Jared, and Nathan brothers - merely marauds.

A submarine sonar lead guitar opens the first track, "Closer." There is an ominous, haunted feel to the track that is magnified by Nathan's drumming. The song's rhythm isn't pegged as a backbeat or a downbeat; in fact, it is both. In the first bar of drums the beat is one-two-three-four; and in the second bar the beat is on the three, one-two-three-four. This two-bar pattern is repeated throughout the tune. This created a rhythmic imbalance that, instead of interrupting the rhythm, paradoxically adds to the lyrics's vampire anguish: "Driven by the strangle of vein/showing no mercy I'd do it again."

The album shifts from strength to strength in the first half. "Sex On Fire," the albums first single, is the best song on the record, and possibly the best song Kings of Leon have written thus far. As the bass and drum alchemy changes throughout the verses, expanding from chopped rhythms to fluid eighth notes and hi-hat hits, the chorus's topography becomes clearer. Caleb wails, "Your sex is on fire" as Matthew tears a melody from The Edge School of Poignant Guitar Dynamics.

Sandwiched between the doubtful wedding bells of "17" and the soul's dark night of "Cold Desert" are the weakest tracks on the record. Neither "Notion," "I Want You," or "Be Somebody" deliver the emotional impact that the rest of the album so earnestly does. The band's promise, though consistently improving record by record, has yet to be fulfilled. Stay tuned.

Sarah Palin, ignorant

Let's hope the GOP doesn't win. Just a quick note. Palin says Alaska's proximity to Russia enhances her foreign policy credentials. Does that presuppose that the farther she gets from Alaska, the less she knows? Following this rationale, she'd be ignorant of Florida and Texas, not to mention China, Iraq, or Afghanistan.

Note Palin's excessive brashness and annoyance at being stumped. Remind you of somebody?

Rolling Stone Magazine | Weezer "Troublemaker" Tour

I see it's been a long time since my last post. From now on, I'll be blogging on a regular schedule, about two or three times a week and as news and events arise. A recent event I covered for Rolling Stone Magazine was Weezer's first U.S. date of their "Troublemaker" tour.
(Photo credit: Jason Bergman)

My Morning Jacket | Evil Urges

After releasing 2005's Z, My Morning Jacket entered the mainstream spotlight, ready to inherit the mantle of alternative rock's next big thing. But a funny thing happened. The jam-band scene embraced their supreme live shows - though the group rarely jams - and now they are farther away from the mainstream and closer to being festival gods. Faced with this cognitive dissonance on their latest record Evil Urges, the band simply chooses not to pick a style and justify it. Rather they relish in the contradiction, creating subtle alt-country tunes and space rock excursions.

And they also pause for funk. "Highly Suspicious," easily the most adventurous and hilarious track on the album, is a mix between Southern rock, Prince, and metal-Devo. Jim James sings in a peerless falsetto as drummer Patrick Hallahan does his best Bambaataa beat. A dark, paranoid chant and a guitar solo that would make Skynyrd proud elevate the chorus to postmodern heights. Where this tune incorporates a pastiche of modern pop music, various tracks are sober, country-inspired ditties.

"Thank You Too!," "Sec Walkin'," and "Look At You" are tunes where James's pastoral musings on love and identity are given room to breathe with the earthy arrangements. Carl Broemel's work on the lap steel augments the country atmosphere on the songs and James's exquisite melodies bring the pathos. The closing suite - "Smokin' From Shootin'" and "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt. 2" - package the country and electro tendencies in a sprawling, freewheelin' epic.

"Smokin'" begins gently and slowly intensifies to a soaring bass and guitar harmony. The rumbling drums and lap steel push and pull at each other while the harmony and vocals barely hover above them. "Touch Me Pt. 2," on the other hand, is a space dance number inspired more by Pink Floyd than Daft Punk. Disco drums and short chromatic bass fills propel the rhythm as the keys play the main melody. In the denouement, James's high pitch melodious screams mirror the chord changes in the chorus. And the chorus mirrors how you should feel while listening to this record: "Oh, this feeling it is wonderful/don't you ever turn it off!"

(Photo credit: Laurie Scavo)

N.E.R.D | Seeing Sounds

There are few producers who can both craft bust your shit open beats and wreck havoc on the mic. Dr. Dre is probably the best at doing both, never mind the constant ghostwriting rumors. Timbaland attempted the duties on his recent solo album and the results were lackluster. N.E.R.D, The Neptunes's Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo with their childhood friend Shay Haley, have been the most consistent, though often underwhelming, producers-as-headlining artists. Their latest effort Seeing Sounds continues their proud beat-making tradition (see Clipse's Hell Hath No Fury for evidence) and their ongoing lyrical challenges.

"Everyone Nose," the album's first single, is brilliant and infuriating. The music is a cross between Bomb Squad horn blasts, live drums, and chaotic scratching. But in the middle of this sonic assault, there is an absurd slow keyboard interlude that disrupts the vibe with lyrics such as, "You partied all night in sixth gear/just so you know." The tune's hook is so long and convoluted ("All the girls standing in the line for the bathroom") it barely works as a hook. If if weren't for the spectacular beat, well, you wouldn't have a song.

Hooks that do work, in "Anti-Matter" for example, where a fuzzed guitar lead and funk drums provide a steady bottom for the nonsensical lyrics ("You're so anti don't I matter?"), are bookended by verses that say little. Example: "Life is short in black and white/just like little penguins." True, very often the point of hip-hop and pop is to dance and get funky, not to have meaningful lyrics. I'm not looking for meaning in the lyrics though, I'm looking not to be distracted by silliness. Sometimes silliness is an absolute virtue (Beastie Boys, Del tha Funkee Homosapien), but here it interferes with the flow of the beats and the verses.

Maybe The Neptunse and Shay aren't that good at multitasking. In their critically lauded debut In Search Of... the music was played by power-pop, psychedelic outfit Spymob. Perhaps that freed Pharrell and Chad to write better lyrics. Though the guitarist and drummer from Spymob also contribute to this album, it didn't help the lyrics much. Seeing Sounds is all about club bangers, headphone beat deconstruction, and dancing. Who listens to lyrics on the dancefloor anyway?

(Photo credit: Leslie Kee)