Three Kicks

For some reason the internerd has been flooded with posts/mentions/info about The Bravery today. Strange. I said I liked The Bravery way back in January (pre hype train) but even back then I pegged them as an amalgam of most of the current now sound alternative type bands. I saw them again in March (post hype build-up) and I still liked them and I'm not changing my views now. It seems too many people are wrapped up in their look (yes, they do look like they were put together by a record label) and influences, but I look at it this way; At least bands like The Bravery and their ilk are ripping off INXS, The Cure and early u2 instead of being one of the endless Coldplay/Travis clones coming out of the UK for the last three years. Purely from a DJ point of view, you can dance to it and people dig it, so I'm cool with it. Also, I give Endicott props for producing their debut album, it sounds superb. Whether you like the tunes or not is up to you. But I digress...

Check out this Boston Phoenix piece on the Killers v. The Bravery. One of the guys on CSI: Miami was in Skabba The Hut. Who knew? I think too much is made of this whole ska thing. The lead singer of the Mooney Suzuki was once one of the rap guys in 2 Skinnee J's before he decided to rock out and no one really cared about that. Or maybe no one cares about The Mooney Suzuki. Who knows? [link via Catchdubs]

Predictably, Pitchfork gives The Bravery's album a sub-6 rating. That's actually tough to argue with though, because the clunkers on that record are BAD.

But haters, take heart, apparently The Bravery aren't THAT big yet. Witness this report from Gawker. On a somewhat related note, I'm very excited to finally see The Information. Last week at iPod Jukebox, Holly mentioned to me that they were coming to town soon, and sure enough, Bliss is hosting them at DC9 on May 12th.

Some other stuff to get excited about:
- The setlist from a recent Manic Street Preachers show. Hottness. Faster would definitely get a mention from me an a "Greatest Song Ever To Namecheck Mensa, Miller, Mailer, Plaith and Pinter" discussion.

- Parts of the Oasis album have leaked online! Did you get them? I have three of the tracks (thanks L Boogie) but no way to listen to them at work. I'd like to present this as Exhibit A in the band and label's furtive attempts to prove to fans that the record will be better than the first single. "Leaked" my ass. I'll have a report soon if what I have is indeed the real thing.

- Quoth Liam: Fookin' Students! [via Stereogum]

- The La's to play Glastonbury? DROOL.

- Gnarls Barkely. Best. Name. Ever.

- Umm...who are these hotties and why didn't I see them at bluestate?

Three albums I've been really into lately:
Kings Of Leon: HATED this record the first few times I listened to it. I just couldn't get over the singers extremely nasal voice and pronounced Southern accent. But once I did, the album really opened up to me. The interplay between the guitars on this record is really amazing. I could see me playing this on a sunny day as I'm embarking on a road trip with the windows down.

Bloc Party: I finally caved and bought this album via iTunes and it's as good as the hype surrounding the band. I love the relentless pace. 75% of this I could play at bluestate, so I just ordered it on wax.

Beck: I am no Beck fan. I gave up on him a long time ago, but I popped Guero in to my car's CD player last night and was pleasently surprised at what eminated from the speakers. Lots of stuff that sounds like The New Pollution (meaning more singing, less rapping). It's also reassuring to see the Dust Brothers haven't lost it either. I'm going to listen to this record much more than I thought I would.

Yo, if anyone out there wants to give your favorite leafblower a free pro flickr account, just get at me.