Hot Chip – One Life Stand

There are lots of bands that have incorporated the style and glossy production sound of top 40 hip-hop and pop into their music, but none are able to do it with as much class as the indie rock band Hot Chip. They have been crafting some of the catchiest dance-floor anthems of the past decade with their great music and clever, often tongue-in-cheek lyrics. They burst onto the scene largely with the tracks “Over and Over” and “And I Was a Boy from School” from their 2006 release, “The Warning.” Their new album, “One Life Stand” is said to be more somber than their previous releases, so it will be interesting to see where the band goes from here on out.

Vampire Weekend – Contra

These preppy art school kids have divided music fans into love it or hate it camps, with their detractors criticizing their usurping of African rhythms and Paul Simon “Graceland” influences in their music. It’s hard to come down on Vampire Weekend for stealing from black musicians when throughout musical history that is all that white people have done. Their new record is full of even more of that catchy, literate pop music that they are known for, with lyrics that sound straight out of a “Gossip Girl” novella.

The Besnard Lakes – Are the Roaring Night

This epic indie rock band is hard to pin down; their vocalist sounds like your typical whiney indie rock singer but their sound really shoots for the stars, with lengthy, often seven minute long songs that slowly burn their way into your skull. Their albums seem to be loosely conceptual, with their breakthrough “Are the Dark Horse” being followed by “Are the Roaring Night,” with an effectively appropriate image of a roaring night fire on the album cover. I don’t know what these guys are up to but it sounds like it is worth following.

Alan McGee is a freelance writer from MN.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/anticipated-indie-rock-albums-for-early-2010-1714063.html

Benny Blanco

At only 21 years old, Benjamin Levin aka Benny Blanco has done remixes and production work for some of the biggest names in electro, hip-hop and dance, from Kylie Minogue to Justince to Jordin Sparks to Britney Spears. This youngster has the added experience of being friends with some of the hipper artists in the industry, from Baltimore rap group Spank Rock to seedy LA rapper Mickey Avalon. Look for Benny Blanco to stay one step ahead in the fast paced music production industry. Bringing some of the most unique and fun beats to the radio.

Dr. Luke

Lukasz Gottwald also known as Dr. Luke or Kasz is an American songwriter, producer and remixer who has worked under legendary Swedish producer Max Martin for several years, co-producing such hits like “Since U Been Gone” for Kelly Clarkson and “Girlfriend” by Avril Lavigne. Dr. Luke played guitar in the Saturday Night Live Band for ten seasons, leaving in the 2006-2007 season to focus on his work as a producer for dance and hip hop tracks. . With his recent work for artists as varied as Adam Lambert to Mos Def to Miley Cyrus, Dr. Luke is a production force to be reckoned with and he will for sure be around for a long time.

RedOne

RedOne is the name for Moroccan-Swedish producer and songwriter Nadir Khayat who studied European pop music in the early 21st century and has brought that sound to the States for some of the biggest hits of the past decade including “Just Dance”, “Poker Face” and “Bad Romance” for Lady Gaga as well as work with Akon, Sean Kingston, Cassie, Lil Jon and Usher. RedOne is definitely going to be an up-and-coming pop music producer to watch out for in the States. He has already broken into popular hip-hop and R&B production so look for him to show his dominance in the coming years.

Alan McGee is a freelance writer from MN.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/2010-spoilers-a-list-of-the-new-decades-best-young-music-producers-1636558.html

My Bloody Valentine

The stars of the shoegazing scene, My Bloody Valentine formed in Dublin, Ireland and released a number of experimental, punk influenced EPs and singles before they finally released their debut record in 1988, “Isn’t Anything.” Their sound was a complex and intricate mix of producer, perfectionist and guitarist Kevin Shields’ wall of melodic guitar sound and Bilinda Butcher’s soft, girl-like vocals that were often buried so deep in the mix you could only make out her melodies and not the lyrics. They set the groundwork for many earl 90s shoegazing bands and many noise-rock bands today that are interesting in mixing beautiful harmonies with loud guitar effects.

Ride

Ride fell into the shoegazing label when they first started thanks to the heavy guitar effects and forlorn vocals of Andy Bell, but as the years progressed they shed their shoegazing sound that made them unique and inched more and more towards boring British rock in the vein of Oasis or Supergrass. Their one classic album, “Nowhere” is still held up as one of the greatest records of the 90s and a blueprint for many bands to come. “Vapour Trail” is one of the few perfect shoegazing singles of the era and still sounds as fresh today as in 1990.

Slowdive

Slowdive were the most cerebral of the shoegazers, interested not only in emulating their peers (My Bloody Valentine, The Smiths, The Velvet Underground) but taking the shoegazing genre to new heights. The original founding duo of Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell formed the band in 1989 and soon after released an EP that received early praise from critics. Their debut album, “Just for A Day” only hinted at the lofty goals the band had set for themselves, with the band arguably peaking with their final record, “Pygmalion” a dark, sparse and atmospheric mix of shoegazing and electronic elements that sounded like no other shoegazing band before or after them.

Alan McGee is a freelance writer from MN.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/top-3-most-influential-shoegazing-bands-1585700.html

“Prom Queen”

The worst of the bunch and a horrible choice for the first single, this slice of middle-of-the-road rock-rap noodling sounds like Lil’ Wayne auto-tuned singing mixed with Nickelback which is a terrible, terrible combination.

“Hot Revolver”

Another flopped single despite lyrically and melodically sampling Green Day’s “Basket Case” which his record company thought would make this a huge hit, instead it’s a mess of rock-star drums, elementary guitar playing, worthless lyrics and a terrible sounding chorus from Kevin Rudolf. The final version tacked on a actual rapping verse from Lil’ Wayne at the end to appease the complaints of a lack of rapping. It’s still pretty bad.

“On Fire”

This track is actually pretty good, partially saved by a fun reworking of Giorgio Morodor’s 80s synth-based “She’s on Fire” track from the Scarface soundtrack. Lil’ Wayne’s “verses” are little more than random, mumbled nothingness but if you ignore them and listen to Cool and Dre’s great beat you might actually dig this.

“Da Da Da”

Didn’t think it was possible but this is probably the worst of the bunch. Lil’ Wayne reportedly plays bass guitar on this track but no one cares. It’s another mess full of distorted Wayne singing, sludgy, ugly guitar riffs and a complete lack of melody or chorus.

Alan McGee is a freelance writer from MPLS.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/a-review-of-the-singles-off-of-lil-waynes-rebirth-1550704.html