Two new songs from the arcade fire!

The canadian band released two surprising songs in anticipation of their third album. I don't think it's wise to judge the album before it comes out but these sneak peeks are a bit disapointing. "The Suburbs" is a mediocre song, with nice vocal melody,good marching beat and beautiful piano riffs but the song lacks energy and direction. "Month of may", despite it's distorted guitars and heavy beat is uninteresting: the riff is boring, and Butler's lyrics are dull. Anyway, the songs are ok but I expect much better for the finished record.

LCD Soundsystem: "This is Happening"

LCD soundsystem frontman James Murphy claims that this is the final record and as a conclusion it is definitive but then again so were the previous albums. The album opens with a synthpop tune straight from 1985 called "I can change", a song which seems incongruent until Murphy begins singing, infusing the bouncy pop synthesizers with his biting lyrics: "I can change if it will help you fall in love". Murphy seems to slip into a different voice for each song which gives them each a different tone. On "I can change" his voice is full of emotion and whereas on "Dance yrself clean" he sings with restraint, through grinding teeth like David Byrne. Where this album really differs from previous records is the Bowie influence. The LCD electro-funk sound has been mixed with obvious Bowie inspiration. The guitar on "All I want" is deliciously reminiscient of Bowie's "Heroes"(slightly sped up) and the more electronic songs like use the cold,electronic guitars and synth sound which reminiscient of Bowie's berlin trilogy with Brian Eno. This new influence mixes well with the LCD formula of funk bass and tight, quick drumming.

Murphy's lyrics are more compelling this time around, he's striving to transcend the life of leisure and the pursuit of pleasure, he is trying to get out of solipsistic apathy: " I am amazed at my decision to play". The songs have an expansive quality to them; the start off as bare electronic skeletons and then the band add their parts but the song maintains an element of unpredictability. The first single of "This is Happening" Drunk Girls is an entertaining, accessible dance song. Some of the songs can be a bit torpid, "Somebody's calling me" tries to emulate Iggy Pop's "nightclubbing" but just seems more lethargic than anything else. Whether or not this is actually their last album, The songs articulate a desire for something more substatial, what that is exactly remains uncertain as Murphy doesn't explicitly say what he is striving for

The National: "High Violet"

This summer, I am excited about the return of three big bands: Interpol, The National and Arcade Fire. The National have been steadily building up momentum for a decade now. Slowly building up a fan base across three great records: The national,Alligator and Boxer. I have been a fan since Boxer and have started testing their latest: "High Violet". All the best moments from previous albums are there: Berringer's brooding vocals and intellectual and edifying lyrics, simple yet poignant guitar riffs and slow buildups. Yet there are new developments. The lyrics are much more personal as Berringer reveals his anxieties about becoming a father but also how wonderful the experience is. He sings about apocaliptic floods, zombies and hurricanes and the world that is left afterwards. The sound of the album is a lot more expansive as they use the horn section more, the piano is more involved in the general sound and there are occasional hints of strings adding a sumptuous layer to their sound. The general sound is a lot softer compared to the heavy,distorted sound of Alligator and The Boxer.

The National represent the original wave of Brooklyn '00s rock band amongst Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol and the strokes and it looks like they will be joining those bands considering their build up of critical acclaim. I have just begun to listen to the album but I know it will soon become one of my favorites this year.
Here's the national performing "Runaway" on Canadian tv.

2010 General Election

Tomorrow, I will vote for the first time ever. I'm excited. Political parties usually dissuade me from voting by being homogenous and ineffective and thus I have become a very apathetic person(democratically speaking). I received a polling card declaring my right to vote and the details required to cast that vote. Apparently, E.U residents can vote(unless the polling card was sent by mistake) in the U.K. This seems very suspicious and a little bit defective because I have very limited knowledge of the parties involved, I am unaware of the central issues in Britain and of the prime ministerial candidates(up until about a week ago). So maybe giving people like me the right to choose a leader for Britain isn't the best idea. Unlike U.K citizens, If I really despise the elected party I can just go home and not have to live with the consequences.

So I started by watching debates(most of them), looking at the policies each party wishes to pursue and then I perused each party's manifesto. At least this way I can make an informed(ish) decision.The labour party's website is just filled with empty political rhetoric and patronizing videos but their manifesto has the prettiest pictures. The conservatives want to enforce policies that will make everyone pay more(tax,tuition fees and NHS). So I have decided to vote for Clegg(yellow tie)and the liberal democrats mainly because of the their reforms on education and because they're not afraid of the E.U. The liberal democrats have become very popular, especially with young people because of their reforms and because they present themselves as being completely different from the "old" parties. So I tried not to be influenced by the hype and research them before I jumped on the proverbial band wagon. Anyway, tomorrow I will see what all this fuss about democracy is all about.

"New York police are investigating a failed terror attack in Times Square after defusing an "amateurish" but potentially powerful car bomb last night. Thousands of tourists were evacuated from the square and the surrounding streets as officers moved in to dismantle the device, which was discovered in a smoking vehicle"
-Adam Gabbatt
The guardian

Saturday's bomb scare was a reawakening. People are reminded of the constant threat of terrorism, reminded of London,Madrid and New York City and reminded that we are still in this incendiary climate.

The constant threat of attack reminds me of stories and articles concerning the cold war, of course both conflicts are on considerably different scales(the destruction caused by nuclear war is incomparable) but there are some important similarities. The nondiscrimination of attack exists in both, everyone is a target. The validity of a war is put into question when civilians become possible targets, it goes against the principle of distinction. So both the cold war and the war on terror are morally despicable. There is also the potential of an ideological clash. The war on terror: America trying to spread democracy and the Al qaida network trying to contain what they deem as an Empire colonizing the world. Also, the governments are permitted to intervene more regarding domestic surveillance, to a point where the citizen's freedom is questionable. During the cold war, this was exemplified by the McCarthy trials and the communist witch hunt. In recent history, the Patriot act gives the American government extra power to survey(this includes a lot, between border control and checking emails) I'm not saying the Cold war and the "war on terror" are the same thing but that they have both become the defining mark of their respective periods because they affect all of the populations concerned not just the politicians.

Barack Obama has yet to release a full statement on the issue but it has definitely garnered his full attention. How he will react to this threat will have a great influence on the future of this conflict. The Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility but it has not been verified due to the "amateur" construction of the bomb. It has also been suggested that the bomb was planted as a consequence of the South Park/Revolutionmuslim dispute.

Return of Interpol

After three years of solo projects, the most well dressed band is back. They released their new song "Lights" yesterday and although it sounds refreshingly different from a lot of the bands that fall under the indie umbrella ,it's still ambivalent after a couple of plays. It starts of with a great guitar riff, then everyone joins in gradually but it doesn't really progress anywhere from there. The song lacks the aggressive sound, the complex harmonies and the shifts in mood and tone to be found on previous albums. Banks' vocals and lyrics are mysterious and effortlessly poignant which is always good to hear, the repetition of "That's why I hold you my dear" is quintessential Banks in its dubious nature and sincerity.

Earlier in the year, drummer Sam Fogarino was quoted saying "The new record falls back towards the first" and I was excited even though it does seem a little naive to want to recreate former glory. He also admitted that their third album was "not [their] most cohesive moment". This interview was then countered by Paul Banks who admitted that he "had no idea what Sam was talking about", Banks claims there going in a totally different direction, looking for a more "orchestral" sound. This communication breakdown can only be bad news. This is a precursor to their demise, I may sound a tad dramatic but it's always bad news for a band if they can't agree on anything. Fogarino added "Its such an intense collaboration; four alpha dogs in one room is a lot to deal with". I give them until the end of this eventual tour and that will be it, unfortunately, for Interpol. The are one of my favorite bands and I have been supporting them since "Antics" but if they can no longer balance their chemistry as they used to then maybe it's a positive thing.

Sam Fogarino piece

Paul Bank's statement

"Tim and Eric awesome show" is pretty awesome.

Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim are two comedians who write and star on their own sketch show on the adult swim network. I stumbled upon one of their sketches on youtube yesterday and have become fascinated. Their sketches walk a thin line between hilarious and bizarre.The show features surreal situations, incoherent musical acts and fake advertisements. A lot of the sketches start of as conventional jokes. For example, parodying infommercials and advertisements isn't exactly a new idea but Tim and Eric take the humor and warp it by using editing to push the sketch into the absurd such as in this ad. By looping sounds and repeating shots, the comedians prolong the madness and play with the audience and what they expect from a comedy sketch show. The kitsch quality of the show just adds to the "weird" appeal and a lot of the secondary characters appear to be random, ordinary people brought into the madness. However, it does feel at times that Tim and Eric are exploiting some of the people that come on the show, such as in this song "Come Over".

"Tim and Eric Awesome show" also features some great guest stars: Michael Cera, Zach Galifianakis, Fred Willard to name a few.
I have become obsessed with this show for its daring, its strangeness and its pace. An episode of "Tim and Eric" only lasts ten minutes and yet they fit a lot of quick fire sketches. "Tim and Erics Awesome Show great job" is in the middle of its fifth season on adultswim.