Anticipated Releases of '07

Okay, so we're all sitting tight counting down the days until Ms. Britney Spears is making her comeback, but until that day arrives we're going to have to focus on some other releases. . . Here's my second attempt at a mini-list of stellar upcoming releases (after my computer crashed on me the first time. . . grrr. . . )

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah--"Some Loud Thunder" (1/30/07)

The delectable quirky indie-pop sounds of CYHSY are back with their sophomore release in late January. These self-made Brooklyn musicians blew up in the blogosphere in mid-late '05 with self-titled release pushed everywhere online. If you're bored enough, you can read my review for the Advance-Titan covering that release here. You can also stream 2 of the new tracks on my links below, or go to the CYHSY website here.

The track listing for this release is below:

"Some Loud Thunder"
1. Some Loud Thunder
2. Emily Jean Stock
3. Mama, Won't You Keep Them Castles in the Air and Burning?
4. Love Song No. 7
5. Satan Said Dance
6. Upon Encountering the Crippled Elephant
7. Goodbye to Mother and the Cove
8. Arm and Hammer
9. Yankee Go Home
10. Underwater (You and Me)
11. Five Easy Pieces

Bloc Party--"A Weekend in the City" (2/08/07)

These British post-punk dancing machines need no introduction, but again, if you want to read my humiliatingly lame article on their debut "Silent Alarm," you can click here for my review from the Advance-Titan.

Their sophomore release, "A Weekend in the City" can be pre-ordered on Amazon.com here. If you're willing to spend a few extra bucks, you can even cop a special edition copy with a bonus DVD here.

The track listing:

"A Weekend in the City"
1. Song for Clay (Disappear Here)
2. Hunting for Witches
3. Waiting for the 7.18
4. Prayer
5. Uniform
6. On
7. Where is Home?
8. Kreuzberg
9. I Still Remember
10. Sunday
11. Srxt

You can view the video for their first single "Prayer" on BBC's website here. Although it's a bit unenthused, it's an interesting way to look through other's beer goggles at an otherwise rocking danceparty.

Arcade Fire--"Neon Bible" (March, '07)

Although I know little to close to nothing about this release, I can tell you that the title for these Candadians' sophomore release "Neon Bible" has been confirmed by AF's Win Butler; the album is anticipated to be released in early March of '07; you can listen to the first single "Intervention" by calling toll-free 1-866-NEON-BIBLE ext. 7777--although I don't necessarily recommend it, I'm sure the track is a real treat--however, listening to chimes, organs, squeaking whistles and the melodic mayhem of the Fire is way too cruddy quality on a recorded phone message over a cell phone. After I attempted to tune in after 10 seconds, I quickly hung up to save myself for a more quality debut. It's a nice gimmick, however. There is some more rumor/fact trivial info on the Wikipedia page as well, just scroll down half-ways through the page and there's a section devoted to Neon Bible. You can click here for this page.

I'll post more on this release when I can dig up more dirt. . .

The Shins--'Wincing the Night Away" (1/23/07)

Although this is The Shins' fourth full-length release (third release as The Shins, fourth if you count their first release in '97 as Flake Music "When You Land Here it's Time to Return"), "Wincing the Night Away" is the most anticipated album throughout The Shins' entire Discography to date. Following a huge breakout of success after being featured in the movie "Garden State," newfound and old devoted fans alike have nothing but happiness awaiting them in "Wincing the Night Away" after a 4-year break since '03's "Chutes Too Narrow."

The album originally leaked online this past fall, but it is unknown if the leaks contained the full edits or not. Either or, the record is a solid release of 11-tracks of alterna/folk/pop pleasure. You can catch these guys on Saturday Night Live on January 13th '07.

For a sneak peek, you can stream to the first single, "Phantom Limb" on the band's myspace page here.

Track Listing below:

"Wincing the Night Away"
1. Sleeping Lessons
2. Australia
3. Pam Berry
4. Phantom Limb
5. Sea Legs
6. Red Rabbits
7. Turn on Me
8. Black Wave
9. Split Needles
10. Girl Sailor
11. A Comet Appears

So Hello Blog. . . Now What?

This is my first official post on my first official blog--well other than all of that personal Myspace rantings and ravings. . . . This will be a quick entry, but I'll briefly explain the reasonings behind this blog. . .

After graduating with a degree in radio/tv/film and journalism last December, it's been a long and trying year for me to find who I am and what my passions really include. While in school, I wrote a weekly music review column for my college newspaper--The Advance Titan, which I also double dutied as a managing editor. I wrote reviews from the spring of 2004 until the end of my college career in December of 2005. If you couldn't find me in the office of the AT, chances were you'd find me up at my 2nd home, my office at the college radio station WRST FM where I worked as the Music Director--reviewing endless piles of non-com records, kissing up to various music promoters and attempting never dying swings at organization.

So all in all, I was a music fiend. Whether or not I ever really had the slightest clue of what I was talking or writing about will remain a mystery, but one thing that was obviously apparent was my passion for discovering new musicians and experiencing the itch. The itch for something that was so new, innovative and made me bust out my moves and rock the headphones around campus and got me through the monatony of Wisconsin and my experience at a pretty non-cultured campus.

This past year, I've forgotten about the itch. I've lost some of the confidence and passion. Whether or not I can make a living doing what I love is unknown at this point--but after a recent conversation with a very close girlfriend, I was motivated enough to at least start my own blog and attempt to find my own roots.

As far as my ultra-mega cheesey emo title of the blog, I tried to pick something with some sort of revelance to the content I'll be posting about. . .

According to Dictionary.com:

vi·nyl /ˈvaɪnl/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[vahyn-l] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective
1. Chemistry. containing the vinyl group.

(some boring definitions I ommitted personally. . . )

4. Phonograph records considered as a group: a secondhand store that buys and sells vinyl.

rap·ture /ˈræptʃər/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[rap-cher] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation noun, verb -tured, -tur·ing.
–noun
1. ecstatic joy or delight; joyful ecstasy.
2. Often, raptures. an utterance or expression of ecstatic delight.
3. the carrying of a person to another place or sphere of existence.

Music, whether in the shape of the record or not, is in itself a form of chemistry, magic if you will that has the ability to carry a person to another place in time as well as possessing that itch that I've missed so much.

So now kids, the cheesiness ends here, well for now anyway.


Let's see how this thing works out. . . .