Lavender Diamond: "Open Your Heart" Video
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?The intensity. The drama. The emotion. The colors. The darkness. The melodies. The anger. The honesty. The drive. The new. All of the above and more.? According to Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor, those are the things that define Stone Sour?s passionately pulsing second album, Come What(ever) May (Roadrunner). Stone Sour?s first album in four years finds the band firing on all cylinders, and primed to capture the attention and the hearts of the rock ?n roll masses.Stone Sour?s self-titled debut was twice Grammy-nominated and RIAA Certified Gold. It was an eclectic album, propelled by the band?s busy tour schedule, the contemplative smash single ?Bother,? and a series of groovy, melodic metal numbers. In 2002 and 2003, Stone Sour established itself as a multi-faceted hard rock force of nature.While Taylor is one of the most recognized figures in rock music, thanks to his role as the frontman for Slipknot, a Grammy winning, multi-platinum act, Stone Sour is anything but a side project. It?s a full-time band that all members are fiercely dedicated to. Taylor spent much of 2004 and 2005 supporting his other band, but will spend 2006 and 2007 focusing on Stone Sour and Come What(ever) May. Also comprised by guitarist James Root, who does double duty in Slipknot, bassist Shawn Economaki, guitarist Josh Rand and new drummer Roy Mayorga, Stone Sour is armed with an album that expands beyond the palette of its predecessor. The band was afforded more time to craft songs, and it shows. The album, produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver), is tight, crisp, and full of rowdy rockers and melodic numbers.?With Stone Sour, I loosen up and show more of myself,? Taylor reveals. ?As soon as the fans hear this new record, they?ll see it?s different than anything that we have ever done. It gives me a chance to do the singing that I love to do, the type of singing that I do when I?m walking around my house.? Taylor, a self-described extrovert, may be the mouthpiece for Stone Sour, but he insists the band is a truly collaborative effort, and that?s something he thoroughly enjoys. ?I?ve been able to blend into the background if needed, you know? You grow up thinking being recognized all the time will be sweet, but sometimes you just want to be one of the guys. I think I balance it fairly well, without killing people.?Guitarist Josh Rand, who ran 3-5 miles a day during the recording process to clear his mind for each day?s highly creative atmosphere, believes that the diversity of Come What(ever) May, which features guest appearances from The Wallflowers? Rami Jaffee and Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin, will be what hooks fans, and what keeps them. ?This album?s content will fit any mood you may be in,? the guitarist says. ?If you?ve had a shitty day at work, you could crank ?Hell And Consequences.? If you need a little optimism, you could listen to ?Through Glass.? If you are feeling depressed, you could listen to ?Zzyzx Road.??Obviously, Come What(ever) May is a sensory experience, encompassing a wide spectrum of emotions. ?30/30-150? and ?Reborn? are bruisers that?ll get the blood coursing through listeners? veins, while the first single, ?Through Glass,? takes up real estate in your brain for days at a time, thanks its unforgettable melodic twists and chorus. Try and purge your brain of Come What(ever) May?s melodies, and you?ll fail miserably. Taylor concurs, ?So many bands are so genre-specific these days. No bands cover the middle ground. If they try, it?s lifeless and limp. Our album has such a pulse. The cool thing is that when we write stuff, it turns out catchy whether we want it to or not. It?s just something that we do.? He?s right. Crafting melody and mixing it with metallic maelstrom is definitely something that Stone Sour does better than most.Jim Root, who contends that ?life? itself influenced this album and who claims he consumed nerve-shattering, tooth-staining amounts of coffee during the recording process, sees Come What(ever) May as a necessary evolution in the band?s sound. ?We?re taking every aspect to the next level. As an artist, no matter what you do, you must evolve. That?s very important to me. Some people fear change. I embrace it. This record is a testament to where I am at, musically and spiritually. Life is a learning experience and so is song writing. As with everything I try to improve. I can sit back and listen to these songs and know that I have.?Taylor understands that as his career goes on, he will be less and less understood and he likes it that way. ?I?ve lost a little sleep over the fact that people don?t get what I do and how I do it. I do everything I can to entertain, educate and infuriate the status quo. If I give the mainstream a headache once in a while, that works for me.? It?s that attitude that attracts the disaffected youth, the kids, the anti-conservative thinker, as well as the casual rock fan to Stone Sour. ?I have a conscience,? Taylor says about his songwriting style. ?I have a respect for the music and I have an agenda. I have an individualistic mind to botch the ?product? mentality, and I am not out to further myself in a spotlight that knows no favorites. This could all be gone tomorrow. If all you?re doing is trying to build your Q points, what are you going to do when no one wants to see you anymore? At least I?ll be happy about the music I left behind.?The songs and music on Come What(ever) May ensure that Stone Sour?s legacy will endure for a long time to come.
Iron and Wine: "Naked as We Came"
Miami's Sam Beam makes music under the name Iron and Wine and September, 2002 saw the release of his debut album, The Creek Drank the Cradle. That record was/is hushed, literate, intimate, melodic: a quiet treasure which, with its unaffected candor and depth, found fans all over. (Entertainment Weekly: "Based in Miami, of all places, [Beam] invests these songs with hypnotic beauty and sparkling melody, making them as accessible as they are affecting.") Our Endless Numbered Days is the second full-length album from Iron and Wine and it was recorded both at Sam's Miami home and in Chicago's Engine Studios with Brian Deck (Red Red Meat, Modest Mouse, Ugly Casanova, etc.) On it, Sam is aided and abetted by regular touring and recording conspirators: his sister Sarah Beam, Patrick McKinney, Jeff McGriff, EJ Holowicki, and Jonathon Bradley. Listening to Our Endless Numbered Days makes plain Sam's deft touch with words and melody; one that allows him to turn out stories about love, loss, faith, or the lack of it that are at once personal and universal, set to music that is sweetly haunting and timeless.
In the summer of 1998 ? brought together by a slew of disparate-yet-alluring musical reference points ? high school friends Eddie Baranek (vocals/guitar), Mike Trombley (drums), and Mark Leahey (bass/vocals) formed The Sights. The trio began playing around their hometown of Detroit shortly thereafter, around which time Trombley, founding drummer, headed to California for what would come to be a three-year respite from the band and also the impetus for a revolving door of drummers, bassist and keyboard players. Undaunted , The Sights took to the studio and began recording their debut album, Are You Green?, at Jim Diamond?s Ghetto Recorders in Detroit . Originally released in June of 1999, Are You Green? was picked up by L.A.-based Fall of Rome Records and re-released the following year. Never big on rest, The Sights went to work on their sophomore album, Got What We Want (released in 2002). With this, the band?s freakishly precocious ability to blend frenetic garage rock, Motown and 60?s pop into something equal parts classic and catchy got them noticed. Got What We Want was released in the U.K. a year later, garnering them some very nice words from both the British press ("Got What We Want is a revelation - a treasure trove of sparky and wildly immediate songwriting." --NME) and the not-so British press ("At last - a new Detroit-garage band that comes in colors." --Rolling Stone). The Sights hit the road for a year of touring both countries, including a 10-week stint sleeping inside the group?s 1991 Ford Econoline van and stealing bagels for sustenance. In the spring of 2004, The Sights - now including relative newbie Bobby Emmett as organist/bassist and Keith Fox as drummer- caught the ear of ex-Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, who signed them to his own Scratchie Records ( an imprint of New Line Records). And with that, the band headed back to Ghetto Recorders to record their self-titled third LP, The Sights, due out in April 2005. No small feat, the album combines the unobtrusive honesty of The Band with slivers of influence from The Sights? own personal record collections: Ike & Tina, Solomon Burke, Everly Brothers , Bob Seger, Tim Hardin and all manner of raucous songwriting. The end result is an album that?s classic, not derivative?filled with swagger and deference?and ridiculously catchy. Really.
Jet: "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is"
Atlantic recording group Jet has revealed the first details of their eagerly awaited second album. Dubbed "SHINE ON," the Aussie rock sensations' follow-up to 2003's RIAA platinum-plus debut, "GET BORN," is set to land in stores on October 3rd. Produced by Dave Sardy - who helmed "GET BORN," as well as recent efforts by such bands as Oasis and Dirty Pretty Things - the album sees Jet again putting their own contemporary stamp on classic guitar-fuelled rock 'n' roll. The album's first single, "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is," will impact multiple radio formats on August 7th. The Melbourne-based band spent much of 2005 and 2006 writing and demoing "SHINE ON" at a variety of studios around the world, including Barbados, Massachusetts, and their home country of Australia. The sessions wound up this spring with a marathon burst of creativity at Sardy's Hillside Manor Studios in Los Angeles. Coinciding with the release of "SHINE ON," Jet will embark on a whirlwind tour of the U.S., slated to run from September 18th through October 6th. Dates will be announced shortly. The band will return to the States in late-November for a full-blown tour of North America. * * * * * Jet came together in 2001, united by a mutual passion for straight-up rock 'n' roll in all its many guises, from blues and garage to punk and psychedelia. Their goal from the outset was to give new life to their inspirations, invigorating classic sounds with fresh fervor and dollops of contemporary energy. Raw, direct, and instantly irresistible, Jet's vibrant sonic style and heartfelt devotion to exuberant songcraft caused a frenzy in their native Australia and soon caught fire around the world. Released in 2003, "GET BORN" proved an international blockbuster, with worldwide sales exceeding three and a half million units. Driven by a fistful of massively successful hit singles - including the #1 smashes "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" and "Cold Hard Bitch," as well as "Rollover DJ" and "Look What You've Done" - the album instantly established Jet as one of the most potent and popular rock outfits on the planet. In the U.S., both "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" and "Look What You've Done" earned RIAA platinum digital single certifications. The band also earned a rep as an electrifying live outfit, blowing up stages everywhere they played - as headliners, festival showstoppers, and special guests of such like-minded superstars as Oasis. Jet has received a long list of international awards, highlighted by an MTV Video Music Award for 2004's "Best Rock Video," for the "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" clip. Also included on the band's honor roll are an American Music Awards' nomination as "Favorite Artist - Alternative Music," and a triumphant six trophy sweep of 2004's ARIA Music Awards in their home country. Jet is: Nic Cester - guitar, vocals; Chris Cester - drums, vocals; Cam Muncey - guitar, vocals; Mark Wilson - bass.
Neon Neon is the artist name for the combined musical powers of Los Angeles-based producer Boom Bip and Super Furry Animals main man and solo star Gruff Rhys.
This album is a departure from the obscured blur of stained glass r?ve to a more self-exploitive memoir. Parts are dreamy and parts are savage, but, as with an opera where death represents a secret heaven, the whole record feels like a black diamond in th
Beth Orton is a famously good singer, as evidenced by the three albums that have so conspicuously built her worldwide reputation over the past decade. Not even that illustrious body of work, however, can properly prepare you for the extraordinarily personal, almost naked and most certainly honest emotional qualities of "Comfort of Strangers," Beth Orton's new album released in February 2006.
Its production values are deceptively uncomplicated. Deceptive, because the album's stripped-down sonics allow the emotional complexities of Beth Orton's performances - and particularly her premiership talents as a songwriter - to flourish; at times sad, funny, playful and poignant, romantic, always lyrical and on occasion even a touch sentimental. Indeed, coming after her opening trilogy of albums, "Comfort of Strangers" represents a total sense of reinvention, a fabulous alchemy resulting from a set of simple rules that Beth Orton decided for the new CD.
Debbie Nunn: "Always in my Heart"
A button bright pop country offering to prove that this young lady can compete on the international country music scene. A fine debut album from this very talented young lady. Beautiful, sweet, strong, sensitive singing from Debbie who puts her heart and soul into the songs.
Good musicians express themselves through music. Great ones push themselves beyond the limits of what they have done before. And that's exactly what the Los Angeles-based Living Legends member The Grouch has done on his stunning new record, Show You The World.
!!! (Chk Chk Chk): "Heart of Hearts"
Music video for !!!'s Heart Of Hearts. It's the first single taken from the upcoming album Myth Takes out 5th March 2007.
