If It's Too Loud...

This week's death of Harold Ramis affects just about everyone. There isn't anyone between the ages of 20-60 that hasn't been touched by his work, from National Lampoon's Animal House to Groundhog Day . Nerdcore tapper and animator MC Chris has been working on a Ghostbuster's themed album for the past two years. As a tribute to Ramis, MC Chris posted his song about Ramis's Ghostbusters character, Egon Spengler, to Soundcloud. "58.9" was meant to be a silly song about a fictional character, but has now taken on a meaning that lyrics like "T he opposite sex is perplexing but mold I can manage" were never intended do.  For more information and to preorder MC Chris Foreverrr , go to MC Chris's website .  Also, go read Harold Ramis's IMDb page and marvel at the movies the man was involved with.  

Some highly anticipated stuff coming out this week. But is it any good... Beck - Morning Phase : Ken got to listen to an early stream of this, and his thoughts mirror mine: "The last album was a retread. And this is a sequel to Sea Change , like Hangover 2 was a sequel. But at least that movie changed locations." This feels more like the Wake Up, Ron Burgundy! to a proper Anchorman , as it feels like a lot of dull b-sides to an album I didn't care for to start, but the jarring thing for me is that I haven't enjoyed a Beck album in at least 8 years and it just gets more and more tenuous for me. A number of people loved Sea Change , and if you liked that, you might like this too. As for me, this is arguably the most disappointing listen in ages. St. Vincent - St. Vincent : On the flip-side of things is St. Vincent. Her first album was an instant favorite for me, weird without being inaccessible. Her other efforts left me wanting a lot more - a few good singl...

... I don't even... I mean...  Does this mean Miley Cyrus is cool or The Flaming Lips are lame now? I guess I shouldn't complain. Maybe this will help spark a new found revival for good music. I have heard stories that Miley Cyrus actually does have good taste in music and was never really into that Disney fluff she used to do. This could lead to a bunch of teenage/college age girls running out and listening to the Flaming Lips and then discovering Butthole Surfers and Melvins.  Probably not, but an old man can dream. 

I still think there's something bizarre going on with Spotify's music recommendation system...

To help celebrate/promote the reissues of their first three albums, the Lemonheads are releasing videos for individual songs featuring archival footage of the band. The latest is for "Ever," my personal favorite of Ben Deily's Lemonheads material. Originally released on Lick , the video features footage of their very first gig at The Rat in Boston back in August 1986. There is also footage of one of Deily's final shows with the band in 1989, along with some down time at quarries in IN. I love this approach of new videos with old footage and can't wait for more. To get your own copies of the long awaited reissues of Hate Your Friends, Lick, and Creator, head over to the Fire Records website . For the Lemonheads and Evan Dando news, head over to the Lemonheads website . If you're in the Boston area, you can see Ben Deily's current band, Varsity Drag , at TT the Bear's in Cambridge on 3/19.   Lemonheads, "Ever" (Official) 2014, w/re-...

Yesterday, Kay Hanley of Letters to Cleo posted a bunch of pictures on Instagram from the set of Parks and Recreation. I had a chuckle from this since Adam Scott's character has been known to wear a Letters to Cleo shirt on the show every so often. Based on other pictures she posted, this episode will be the o ne featuring Jeff Tweedy of Wilco . Tweedy will be the frontman of a band called Land Ho! that Leslie and Andy are hoping to reunite for a concert in Pawnee. The rest of Land Ho! would seem to be John Dragonetti ( Jack Drag , The Submarines ) and Dave Gibbs ( Gigolo Aunts ). No word on what other Boston bands will be represented, but maybe Fuzzy or The Sterlings can open.

Being a Weezer fan for 20 years is kind of like having an ex-girlfriend that you had  to break up with. You had a great few years, but then, even though you have some amazing memories together, you had just grown apart irreparably. But, unlike a bad break up, you don't have friends checking to see if you want to spend $65 to hang out with your ex every year or so. Sure, you might pull out some old memories and reminisce every so often, but you could never go back. Over the weekend, Weezer had their Weezer Cruise. They debuted a new song, "Back to the Shack," that isn't terrible. Maybe. I don't know. Whenever there is a new Weezer song kicking around, I always expect the worst, but there is a little part of me that is hopeful that Weezer is back instead of whatever they have become lately. The song has lots of references to the past ("Rocking out like it's '94") which makes sense since this year is the 20th anniversary of the Blue Album. Rive...

This week is thankfully a lot slower than last week, but there's still a lot to get to, so let's get to work: Ida Maria - Accidental Happiness : We hadn't heard much of anything from Ida Maria as of late, but it turns out that she was working out some alcohol addiction issues, and it's nice to report that she's back with an EP of mostly good songs. Nothing here has the flash of KATLA or her debut, but it's still a solid little EP of songs from someone we haven't heard from in some time. Good to have her back. Dawn Landes - Bluebird : I became a fan of Dawn Landes when she opened for Hem many, many years ago. Her voice is absolutely gorgeous, and her roots-tinged folk sound just hits me in just the right way. Her latest release, Bluebird , is thankfully more of the same, and I mean that in the most positive light. In a way, she's like the anti-Marissa Nadler, as Landes's songs feel more light and airy than the standard fare. If folk music o...

I saw De La Soul on the Unlimited Sunshine Tour a looong time ago, and they were really a fun act. This month marks 25 years since the release of their debut album, and they're offering all of their back catalog for free download beginning at 11am eastern today through noon tomorrow. The band has a new album coming shortly and a lot coming down the pike, so there's good reason to become reacquainted with the group. A newer song is above.

Newport Folk Festival is quickly shaping up to be the event of the year. They've only announced six acts in all, and all six are absolute winners. Joining the aforementioned Mavis Staples and Houndmouth are Jenny Lewis (making her Newport debut), Shovels & Rope, Hurray for the Riff Raff, and the reunited Nickel Creek. This makes three holdovers from last year (Houndmouth, Hurray for the Riff Raff, and Shovels & Rope, but Newport might be the only festival that can pull it off without seeming repetitive. The Newport community is more like a family than a concert festival, so seeing the same bands there numerous times just feels right. Plus, I skipped Shovels & Rope last year to watch all of Frank Turner's set, and while I didn't exactly regret it, the two songs I saw them do made me need more. The Nickel Creek reunion was on my personal prediction list, so I'm thrilled to see that they're officially playing. Nickel Creek is a reminder to keep your eyes o...

We've been posting a ton about the shoegaze scene in Minneapolis lately, but for some reason that area is a hotbed of 90s inspired acts lately. Brilliant Beast just might be my favorite as of yet. Led by siblings Hannah and Jordan Porter (who also share lead vocals), the band released their second album late last year. Brilliant Beast somehow join shoegaze with a poppier sound, with just the slightest edge of punk. It reminds me of the earlier, more pop driven period of Built to Spill. The third track, "Nepotism Shakes," is the soundtrack to the most lush dreams you've ever had and is much closer to Slowdive. "Crushdumb" brings back the noise and energy, while still swirling you around in dreamland. You can get some more info on Brilliant Beast at their website . While you're at it, stream their whole album (which is out on Guilt Ridden Pop) at their Bandcamp , and check out the official video for "A Child on Fire" below.

For those of you who don't know, Dave Lamb from Brown Bird was diagnosed with leukemia last year. Any form of leukemia or cancer diagnosis is scary and hard enough, but for musicians it can be especially hard since the vast majority are self employed and without insurance. Plus, while going through procedures and recovery, Brown Bird has been unable to tour, cutting off virtually all incoming revenue. Luckily, Brown Bird are a fairly successful and known band so they were able to start a YouCaring to help defer the costs. If you're a fan of Brown Bird, it's definitely worth checking out the video. Unfortunately, health insurance is a political firestorm right now, so I will mention the video was put together with HeadCount.org and implores people to look into getting health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. I try to avoid politics on this blog, but I would hope health insurance can slide by just this once. If you'd prefer, you can go here to watch them per...

Busiest new release week so far this year, so let's not waste any time. ††† - ††† : ††† is a side project of Chino Moreno of the Deftones. I only realized this after finishing the album for the first time, and it explains quite a bit - the album would fit right in on mid-1990s alt-rock radio in a lot of regards, and it is ultimately an all-over-the-place nostalgia trip more than anything else. It's worth listening as a curiosity, for certain, but whether it has staying power for you might be based more on your love of the Deftones and/or the state of alt-rock when you were in high school/college. Nina Persson - Animal Heart : Nina Persson is perhaps best known for her work as lead singer of The Cardigans, but this is her first solo album. Truly, this is an album that mirrors her work with A Camp more than it resembles anything you remember from The Cardigans, but that's not really a bad thing. There are some memorable tracks on here along with some slower-type songs...

The Newport Folk Festival just does things differently. Last year they had a rolling line up announcement, where they took literally months to announce the full line up, band by band. There was a practical reason for this, since Newport is a non-profit and pays artists less than other festivals do, they can't always announce acts right away due to contractual reasons. For fans, this actually works out perfectly since you get to check out each band and get excited about ones you might have missed if it was all announced at once. You know, the way every other festival is. This year, they've already announced the first two acts: Mavis Staples and Houndmouth. In any other circumstance, I hate gospel music, but in 2011 I decided to check out Mavis's set at Newport, solely for her connection to Jeff Tweedy. I assumed I'd hear a song or two, and then head over to the Fort Stage for the Decemberists. Instead I sat transfixed by one of the most powerful and beautiful voice...

A fairly interesting new release week this week. Les Claypool's Duo De Twang - Four Foot Shack : All this album taught me is that I really don't care much for Primus, even when they're strange acoustic twangy renditions. The highlight for me was a fairly amusing take on the Bee Gees's "Stayin' Alive," but beyond that, this is really just for fans of Claypool and Primus and not much else. The Haden Triplets - The Haden Triplets : The Haden Triplets are exactly who you think they are: Petra Haden (of That Dog and various a capella renditions), Rachel Haden (also of That Dog), and less famous sister Tanya Haden who has done cello work for various indie and alt-rock bands. The three got together and did a collective album of folk standards for Jack White's Third Man Records, and it's pretty solid. I'm a big fan of Petra Haden in particular, and this was fairly anticipated for me and largely delivers. If you enjoy a lot of good folk music, ...

While we wait impatiently for the first sounds to emerge from the next Lemonheads album featuring Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Juliana Hatfield (aka the LH-Punk All-Stars) and produced by Ryan Adams, we can tide ourselves over with this brand new video for the Lick classic "A Circle of One." According to Ben Deily's Facebook page, this is the first of multiple videos to commemorate the reissue of the first three Lemonheads albums on Fire Records.  In the video for "A Circle of One," you get to see footage of the band from '86-'89, mostly clowning around at home with friends. The "Art Truck" from the Creator  tour is also featured, as well as a cameo from Husker Du's Grant Hart. Keep an eye out for more videos. For more information on Evan Dando and the Lemonheads, head on over to the official Lemonheads webpage . To check out Ben Deily's current band Varsity Drag, check out his website . And finally, go to the Fire Records website ...

Every month, Amazon.com puts up 100 albums for $5 each. Ones that may be of interest to readers: * A Perfect Circle - Mer de Noms * Waxahatchee - Cerulian Salt * Outkast - Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik * The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You * The Beastie Boys - Solid Gold Hits * Portugal. The Man - In the Mountain In the Cloud * Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See * Neutral Milk Hotel - On Avery Island * They Might Be Giants - Flood * Beck - Sea Change