The Aquabats – The Aquabats Holiday Extravaganza

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Last Friday, I went to an Aquabats show at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles. It was an awesome show, I would definitely recommend going great lengths to see them perform. After the show, they were handing out free CDs to everyone. To my knowledge, this was the first show they were handing out these CDs at. The CD simply contains two Christmas songs, both of which don’t even hit the two-minute mark. I would have uploaded this sooner but my CD drive was broken and I couldn’t rip it. It’s definitely not going to last you very long, but any Aquabats fan will find it well worth the listen. Enjoy.

 

The Emotron – in The Decemberwrist

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I honestly hope no one mistakenly downloads this thinking it’s going to be a Christmas album; they will be in for a very large shock. I say that because The Emotron is self-described “vulgar synth-punk”, and my god that couldn’t be truer. If there was an album that needed a “Parental Advisory” sticker it’s this one. The Emotron is a one-man-band that plays some of the catchiest synth/pop-punk I’ve ever heard. It’s in the same vein as Atom and his Package but with more of a punk kick, which is a very good thing. In fact some of the best songs on the album have a more hardcore feel to them. With that said there’s a lot of variety here, one track is a Bright Eyes inspired/mocking and another is a country western ho-down with all synthy goodness in between. However, some would say The Emotron is a bad man, a bad, bad man. It’s strange to listen to the creator of the tron, Kyle Knight discuss music and such in interviews; he sounds like a regular dude making music. When Knight takes on The Emotron’s persona it’s as if he becomes a fun loving yet pissed off anti-hero who on the one hand rails against bullies but on the other “hopes you get cancer when you listen to The Cure”. I’m not sure if I should love The Emotron for who he is or be afraid to even go near him.

So let’s review:

-some of the best pop-punk and synth-punk ever

-going to offend at least one person who downloads

-you should download this album because it’s amazing

P.S. If I haven’t done enough to convince you how vulgar The Emotron can be, recently in live shows he’s stripped down covered in flour and fake blood while shitting out chocolate syrup he put up his ass and trying to piss in his mouth. This is all before he sets his dick on fire. You have been warned.

 

Electric Light Orchestra – Eldorado

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In my personal opinion, this album is one of the most beautifully crafted to come out of the 70’s.  Mixing that Classic Rock sound that we’ve come to expect from 70’s rock bands and some fantastic bits of classical-reminiscent orchestral backing, Eldorado is also one of my own personal favorite concept albums.  The album tells the story of The Dreamer.  A man who has become fed up with the mundane and boring world he lives in and spends all his time in his many dreams, “up above his Earthly burden”.  You can tell Jeff Lynne had alot of fun composing this, as it was his first that he could afford to hire an actual Orchestra to back them up, rather than just overdubbing the strings.  Electric Light Orchestra has become one of my favorite bands, for the great blending of Rock and Orchestra that, in my opinion, really shone through in this album.

And, on behalf of the four of us here at HTBSR, I’d like to apologize to those of you who were following the Holiday albums we were posting.  We were only able to pump out 20 of them because, to be quite frank, we were running out of ideas on what to post.  I mean, we could’ve posted albums that we didn’t really like that were holiday related, but what would be the fun in that?  And as far as I’m concerned, 20 albums is damn good.  But next time we decide to do a special posting session, whether it be for a week or a  month, you can bet that we’ll plan it all out ahead of time.  Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Joyous Kwanza, and Have a Nice Day (for the atheists, of course).

 

Feeding Fingers – Wound In Wall

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“The old proverb warns us not to judge a book by its cover. The artwork on the CD label alone is enough to warn of doom and gloom ahead. With cryptic song titles printed in an eerily scrawled font, there appears to be a number of dark places this album could go. Is it your garden variety morbid death metal? Will there be lots of screaming and depictions of bleeding fetuses? The fears are threatening and numerous. But as soon as the opening track rolls in, all concerns are quelled as quickly as they came. Lush, melodic layers of guitar and piano subdue wary ears. As if to second the feeling, one-man show Justin Curfman chimes in, singing fills my mind … with relief. Exactly. Here lies a noble attempt at traditional gothic beauty. With an obvious nod to bands like The Cure, Curfman s mournful cries echo in the distance, veiled in a gauze of reverb. Swirling around him is a variety of minimalist accompaniment, ranging from guitar and piano to electronic beats. Standout track Fireflies Make Us Sick might as well have been written by Depeche Mode themselves… …gives us that dim, melancholy feeling our inner ’80s teenager desires. – Babble & Beat Magazine … Wound In Wall is a very addictive album… – Bat-Cave (Poland) … if you fancy turning (The Cure’s) Seventeen Seconds, Pornography and Faith into a quartet, look no further than Wound In Wall. – Evil Sponge –Southeast Perfomer Music Magazine” – from Amazon.

 

Los Campesinos! – Romance Is Boring

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I was so excited when I found out this leaked the other night. Los Campesinos! is a British indie-pop band with influences of twee. They are like a non-stop action fun party with sometimes sad lyrics, but still totally upbeat, yeah! It’s cutesy music for cutesy people such as yourself, and probably going to be one of the best albums of 2010, so you should download.

 

My Bloody Valentine – Loveless

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About twice every year I get into a stage where I listen to a few albums till I can’t listen to them anymore. Loveless is one of those albums, however I always come back to it. There’s something new every time, and it just seems to get better and better. Perhaps it’s the classic shoegaze aspect of it, or the wall of melodic noise and drone. Or the overlaying distorted guitars that go together so well. Maybe it’s the breathy female lead vocalist that sings lyrics that  can not be understood yet fit so well. Anyways, I know most people have this album, but for the few that don’t this is a must listen. Download ASAP.

 

Sting – If On a Winter’s Night…

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Sting of “The Police”, a band that I’ve posted on here before (HERE) is famous for his love songs.  But now he’s doing a Wintery/Christmasy album. Mostly Wintery, though.   To be honest, I haven’t listened to the whole thing, so I don’t completely know how I feel about it, yet.  But the stuff I HAVE listened to is pretty good.  Worth a try if you’re a fan or The Police or Sting’s solo work.

 

Pokemon Christmas Bash

I have not listened to this yet as I am in a huge rush to leave the house. From what I understand it’s hilarious and sung by Oak and various other Pokemon.

 

Harry Connick, Jr. – When My Heart Finds Christmas

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If you’ve never heard of Harry, he’s essentially the Frank Sinatra of the 90’s and 00’s.  Honestly, he’s not that bad.  He writes alot of his own music, and can sing pretty well.  And this album is one of his more enjoyable.

 

Weezer – Christmas with Weezer

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Weezer’s try at Christmas cheer.  Pretty self-explanitory, really.