Conventional Weapons

Well, for any fan of My Chemical Romance it shouldn't come as a surprise, that after The Black Parade and before recording Danger Days, the band had made and subsequently scrapped a whole another album. Only a few songs from that album eventually made their way on Danger Days, while the rest stayed locked in the drawer. Fans, such as myself, have long been anxiously waiting to hear them one day. And that day has finally come...

The original letter from the band's guitarist, Frank Iero, describing the circumstances upon which the album was ditched can be read here. In the following five months, the band will release two songs each month and I honestly can't wait to hear the rest.

The two songs released so far are in the vein of My Chem's cover of Dylan's Desolation Row for the Watchmen soundtrack. It's pretty much straightforward rock'n'roll and I can't help but to enjoy it. As for this day, I just hope My Chem are far from over and keep releasing great albums. They never fail to blow me away.

Christian Music Corner: The Violet Burning

The Violet Burning is one of those odd cases in music. They prefer not to be called a "Christian Band", and yet, a lot of their music embodies everything that Christian music should be. But at the same time, it's completely different from anything in the worship music genre/scene/whatever. Ever since their debut album way back in 1989, "The Violets", as they're nicknamed, have been putting out powerful music. It's really hard to pin down one or two bands they sound like, so I'll just post a few of my favorites and let you judge for yourself:





This song reminds me of the band Filter. Especially the song "Nice Shot".



And here's a song from their most recent album. Very reminiscent of Smashing Pumpkins, if you ask me!



Of course, the songs I posted were just a drop in the bucket of TVB's music. They have 13 albums, and I've only heard songs from 4 or 5 of those. I'd recommend checking them out, and if one album doesn't "get" you, try another! You may fall in love!

Presenting: Nick Drake

For Marry. I'll just throw in a couple of videos and then write some description later... There's the link to Drake's Wikipedia profile.





My personal favourite from The Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack, Fly from his sophomore album, Bryter Layter.

Emitt Rhodes

Wes Anderson's movies have always such carefully and well selected soundtracks. They usually feature a mix of more and less known artists from the sixties onwards, that go very well with the director's hipster image. The one that stuck with me the most is the soundtrack to The Royal Tenenbaums. Among The Rolling Stones or Paul Simon, it also contains a few hidden gems from musicians I'd never heard of before. Namely Emitt Rhodes, a man considered by many "the one man Beatles".

And that description is actually spot on. His music shows clear influence of the fab four and especially Paul McCartney. Rhodes' eponymous debut album sounds like what fans of Paul wanted to hear from him in the post-Beatles era. In 1970, the album made its way to #29 on Billboard charts.

Rhodes wrote all of the songs on his albums, he played all of the instruments, sang all of the vocals and recorded everything in his own primitive home studio. After three more years, three other records and a conflict with his label, Rhodes stopped performing and releasing new material. Which is a pitty, really. Because his fantastic eponymous album is a true masterpiece of the early 1970s.

I'm Shaking, Best Friends and Hospital Beds

Here are some brand new music videos I enjoyed. First comes a reminder of how great Jack White's solo debut was. And the video is fantastic too, of course...



Funeral for a Friend, on of my all time favourite bands and also one of the best current post-hradcore acts, will release a new album on January 28th. Here's a first glimpse at what it may sound like. Honestly, I can't complain.



Thoughts?

Skyfall

For me, there hasn't been a single more anticipated movie this year than James Bond's 23rd adventure, directed by one of the most interesting current filmmakers, Sam Mendes. Well, the title song by Adele has been out for a few hours and I'd like to know everyone's opinions on it. Although I don't listen to Adele at all, I like the song very much. It reminds me of Golden Eye a lot... Thoughts?

Don't Panic

As much as I love Douglas Adams and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I'm gonna be talking about All Time Low's newest album right now. As you may know, the band is one of my guilty pleasures. Even though, I mostly listen to Bob Dylan, George Harrison and other masters of classic rock nowadays, it doesn't mean I can't still enjoy me some good pop punk/power pop/whatever every now and then. And that time came again, not with Green Day, but with the supposedly less talented and accomplished band. Don't Panic is simply fun and furthermore, you can listen to it on a youtube stream.



After the rather bland Dirty Work, there comes quite a surprising follow-up. Opinions?

Travis

Sometimes, I tend to forget just how great some bands are. Right now, I've realized that with Travis. Somehow, I stumbled upon one of their songs and remembered I hadn't listened to them in a long while. To be honest, it's also partly their fault becuase the Glasgow quartet hasn't released any new material in four years. Fortunately, they plan to release a follow-up to Ode to J. Smith sometime in the first half of 2013.