An Album Cover
This is HILLARIOUS!!!
July 31, 2007
July 28, 2007
Lunch of Champions Nostalgia Machine | Fiddler on the Roof
I recently saw a local performance of Fiddler on the Roof, and WOW! It was a funny and sad story about tradition, politics, and love. Check out my favorite song from the musical “If I Were a Rich Man” (this clip is from the 1971 movie):
July 26, 2007
Invasion From Planet K – Try it with Yoga!
Kevin Schafer’s funk rock outfit, Invasion From Planet K, is a pure delight. I’ve seen these guys play live twice, and the musicianship of the band members is by far the best I have EVER seen. Period. These guys trade improvised licks in a fashion I haven’t seen since Muhammad Ali fought Joe Frazier to a split decision in 1971′s “Fight of the Century”.
On their first studio record, Invasion From Planet K shows a toughness and edge that will cause heart attacks in senior citizens. The album’s first track, “Sucker Punch”, will get your ass moving and head bobbing as there is no escaping the fire that is coming from those twin guitars. On track #3, “Sparkle Motion”, you will receive a firm headlock of drums and wah-wah coupled with a rude guitar kick in the face. I could go on and on about how hard this album kicks, but I’d like to get to address a different issue I am having with this self-titled record.
Recently I have found myself practicing yoga to Invasion from Planet K. And I actually got the idea from my friends in LOUDRAY, who host regularly-scheduled Yoga sessions with Invasion From Planet K in the stereo. It’s a feeling or an emotion – there’s just something intangibly good about this band. Maybe they have the karma machine working in their favor. While breathing and stretching, I feel some sort of weird power flowing from the shredding guitars and funk bass lines.
Give this album a test drive, and you will find yourself demanding Mr. Schafer to release the follow-up record, which, by the way, he is currently in the studio recording – BOOYAH!!!
July 23, 2007
Paul Potts Heartfelt Moment
Boy does Simon Cowell know how to produce a tv show! …Brings a tear to the eye…
Save Internet Radio!
As you have probably heard, internet radio is set to become either non-customizable or non-existent under new pay-per-play rules enacted recently. For a great explanation of all this, read this article.
The good news is that legislation has not yet been passed on this matter, and there is a bill that would before Congress right now that would help the internet radio stations. Please email your Congressperson or Senator and ask them to support the Internet Radio Equality Act, which requires a revenue-percentage model of payment rather than a per-song model.
July 20, 2007
Gnarls Barkley on the Theremin
Wow! Check out this cover of “Crazy” that utilizes the theremin, which is one of the first electrical musical instruments ever created and can be played without being touched.
…and what would this post be if I didn’t showcase a rendition of a Super Mario Brothers song? Check out the music from SMB 1 played by a Tesla Coil!
July 12, 2007
The Alarmists | “The Ghost and the Hired Gun”
The Alarmists seem to excel at great intros and beginnings. “Try to Be Kind”, “Nobody Knows You”, and “Light a Smoke” all feature near-brilliant openings, but as the songs transition into the first verses, they seem to lose their chops…It’s as if whatever it is that gave the tunes their power evaporates and is replaced by contemporary pop-rock stupidity. It’s a shame, too, because these guys really have some talent. Check out our live review from last November.
But really, I feel bad ripping these guys, as their popularity exploded well beyond their maturity as songwriters after Minneapolis’ City Pages nespaper did the equivalent of blowing their sexual load all over the band by making them their “Picked to Click” band of 2006. Clearly, this group needs what most bands need – time – in order to hone their craft and excel beyond pop-schtick baloney.
So, while I don’t dig their new stuff, I do think they have a solid beginning going with probably way more press than they deserve, which comes with some great perks but also opens them up to criticism from old hacks like me. I give “The Ghost and the Hired Gun” a generous 2 stars.*
*ADDENDUM (7/22/07) – After reading some of the feedback on this post, I feel that in the interest of full disclosure, I should state for the record that I listened to all of the tracks on the Alarmist’s mySpace page but did not listen to the entire album prior to writing this article. Lunch of Champions did not receive a copy of the album to review, possibly because we “don’t recieve promo copies of discs from bands of this caliber”, as one of our more salty critics would say.
Lunch of Champions is an independently-run music review blog. So, while we don’t have the large budget of other music review blogs, we certainly have heart, and you will NEVER see a review sponsored or influenced by the record industry.
What Lunch of Champions provides is a forum for music lovers like you and me to post our opinions about records and also to receive feedback from readers.
Keep those comments coming!
July 8, 2007
Megadeth…Still Truckin’
I didn’t even know that Megadeth was still playing gigs these days…but since they are, enjoy this BRAND NEW live clip of them playing their best song, “Holy Wars”, recorded in June 2007 in England.