While Uncle Joe is best known as one of America's top Classic Rock historians, throughout his 39-year career he's always been acutely aware of current trends in the music industry. Indeed, Classic Rock itself was the finest new music of its day, composed and performed by artists at their creative peak. For a scholarly insight into today's trends, J.B. presents Rave's Raves.
Rave's Raves are composed by Bruce Ravid, a veteran of Capitol Record's A&R Department and in no way reflect the official viewpoint of Uncle Joe, his staff or management. They are written from Rave's industry viewpoint, originally for friends within the music business, but now shared with the world. New editions appear in April/May, August/September, and December with occasional updates in between. Enjoy!
November 2007
***RAVE'S RAVES #30.1***
RAVE'S FAVES (new airplay in the last two months)
Beck, The Killers, Calvin Harris, Louis XIV, New Young Pony Club, Manic Street Preachers, Bat For Lashes, The Dollyrots.
Beck's "Timebomb" is my favorite current tune as he continues his unpredictability. The Killers' "Shadowplay" brings much needed life to mainstream alternative, while England's New Young Pony Club adds some dance flavor to college/indie. Calvin, also a Brit, has a great sense of humor and several strong tracks. Louis XIV have a great chance to shake the one-hit wonder label with one of the most unique sounding songs of the year. Manic Street Preachers have a melodic new song while the Bat and Dollyrots' ditties are harder tracks getting spins on LA's Indie 103.1 among others.
LIVE
VHS or Beta played to a couple of sold-out crowds at Chicago's Subterranean. They're enjoying mainstream alternative play from Q101 but the crowd was mostly comprised of urban scenesters. They are a good live band and I enjoyed the show, although a lot of their music began to sound the same. New Pornographers played L.A.'s Henry Fonda Musicbox in September. I found their show less energetic then their Coachella set, with their latest album's lower-key approach is the obvious explanation. The Arctic Monkeys just keep getting better and better. They even sounded great at L.A.'s Palladium, which isn't easy in that barn. Good thing the place is undergoing renovations. The Arctic's aren't into show biz at all. They just get out and play. I liked them the first time I saw them and believe more than ever they're a long-term proposition. Queens Of The Stone Age headlined L.A.'s new 7,100 seat Nokia Theatre and I would say they drew about 6,000. The Nokia is a fine place to see a show. This is another consistently good live band, although I would have to say that earlier incarnations seemed to have been a bit more unique. Perhaps they miss their original bass player. It's interesting that they omitted several of their bigger songs including "No One Knows." If you like Polyphonic Spree's music even a little bit, they're worth seeing at least once. At 22-strong, they headlined a three-band gig at the Fonda, and almost every song came off like a grand finale. Rooney had so much potential when they released their debut, but they have morphed into a group that sounds too mainstream and run of the mill. It was my fifth time seeing The Redwalls, and I felt they were the best I've seen them. IAMX played L.A.'s El Rey. I've been touting this electro-glam U.K. band for awhile. Leader Chris Corner hails from The Sneaker Pimps and is a strong front man with a fine voice. The songs are good, they play great, and virtually everything is danceable. As of now, IAMX are on Major Records in England without a US release. My bet is that their album will see light of day domestically in the coming year...
...and...
I can't add much to the millions of words written about the Radiohead release. Sure there have been a few complaints, but one must give them props not only for doing what they did, but for putting quality music out there for everyone... Since I last raved, I've managed to invade the WSUM airwaves twice. My solo show on August 31 is posted on my Rave's Raves site, as is my October 28 Brit-rock sit-in with with Parklife host Matt Hunzkier. Thanks as always to station GM Dave Black and Program Director Adam Higgins for making this possible... I'll be back in late December with Rave's #31 as well as my top songs and CD's of 2007. Until then, enjoy yourself and...
RAVE ON!!!
August 2007
***RAVE'S RAVES #30***
RAVE'S FAVES (on the air)
1990's (various), Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, Spoon (various), Blaqk Audio, Editors, Interpol ("Pioneer"), Skybombers, Goose, Foo Fighters, The Chemical Brothers, Klaxons, U.N.K.L.E. (the Ian Astbury and Jose Homme tracks), Queens of the Stone Age (various), Muse (various), Arcade Fire (various), Arctic Monkeys (various).
Glasgow's 1990's are my favorite new band. Coming from the Franz Ferdinand scene, their sound is reminiscent of The Stones and the New York Dolls but they're more pop and not as dark. See the live review below. Hansard and Irglova's beautiful track comes from the highly-regarded art film "Once" and this tune is already being nominated for awards. Spoon's album is a grower, just like their past efforts. I like the Blaqk Audio song. It's interesting that in a time when mainstream alternative is playing less and less indie-sounding music, stations are all over this tight track because it is an AFI side project. Reaction has been predictably super. Editors have a strong first single as they try to reach a wider audience with their new release. The Interpol album is a true evolution for the band and "Pioneer" builds like an Arcade Fire song. Skybombers from Melbourne are garage with a sprinkle of glam. L.A.'s Indie 103.1 has been supporting them as an unsigned band. Their live set at Musexpo was my favorite over 4 nights of showcases, and the band are returning at the end of August to play a free show for Indie. Goose from Belgium are in the indie/dance genre and deserve serious attention. The Foos still have it while U.N.K.L.E. has come back with a much more blues rock effort this time around. Meanwhile, the Muse, Arcade Fire and Arctic Monkeys albums continue the sound fresh.
LIVE
Klaxons sold out L.A.'s El Rey Theatre in early July and did a good job of recreating their album. It was nothing like their Coachella set, which was the album times three! The guys have been on the road for 18 months and may have been feeling the effects that night. I got a report from Pitchfork a few days later that Klaxons were very intense at that gig. The 1990's L.A. debut was at The Echo. These guys are very unassuming but play with great energy. I'm really looking forward to watching them grow. The Redwalls returned to L.A. for a Spaceland gig. As I wrote at SXSW, they have a more gritty, garage-type sound planned for their upcoming album, which will be released in late October. I'm optimistic about this direction, and they've been receiving many positives along the way. Switches from London also played at Spaceland and have an Interscope release slated for late October. They're hard pop, with super harmonies and melodies on top of strong playing. I've heard an advance copy of this fine album and think these guys might be just mainstream enough to have a shot in the current U.S. radio climate. I should also mention that I loved Jersey Boys. I've always been a fan of The Four Seasons.
...and...
I'm going to be back in Madison this coming weekend and will return to the nighttime airwaves for a WSUM gig from 9-midnight Central time, 7-10 Pacific. KLOS's Chris Carter will join me for most of the final hour as we prerecorded some chat and some awesome tunes... Talk about time flying, this issue of Rave's Raves marks the 10th Anniversary of this tipsheet. It started as a little newsletter meant to tell a group of friends what I'd raving about anyway. Most of the archives are linked from Uncle Joe Benson's website. Thanks to Joe and to all of you for your input and support. Let me hear from you, and until late October...