sonic slang

The Bee Gees Can Save Your Life

And I thought the "Barry Gibb Talk Show" would be my last chance to show some Bee Gees love on SS.  But it seems that some super genius figured out that "Stayin' Alive" has 103 bears per minute.  Why is this significant, you ask?  Because The American Heart Association calls for chest compressions to be given at a rate of 100 per minute in cardiopulmonary resuscitation - better known as CPR.  And in an instant, disco's very existence is justified!

In fact, a study at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria showed that listening to "Stayin' Alive" helped 15 doctors and medical students to perform chest compressions on dummies at the proper speed.

Cool, but can you save someone's life, while thinking about this?

Citizen Journalists of the World Unite!

We know it's been quiet in these parts over the last month or so, but fear not Sonic Slangers, our summertime slumber is over!  We'll get back to the snarky music observations soon enough (Lil Wayne?  Seriously?) but for now we want to point you towards a new endeavor we're diggin' from musician, poet, colleague and friend David Rheins (he of Free Pamphlet Publishing fame) called Citizen Image.

Accepting submissions from "writers, photographers and witnessers of events" anywhere, Citizen Image is just getting off the ground but already sporting some groovy live music photos like this one from the lovely and talented Faith-Ann Young, snapped at The Kooks' recent Terminal 5 gig:

Wanna get in on the action?  Email David Rheins at dmrconsult@gmail.com

New Stuff, Good Tunes and Toni Basil

So the new "SS Media" section is up and running.  Hey, it's a start.  Much more to come, so keep cool my babies.  In the meantime listen to Spoon's new disc.  It's groovy.  Yup that's a plug.  Keep the promo CDs comin' yo.

Regards,

Sonic Slang

Maximo Park Reveals Earthly Pleaures Tracklist

UK buzz band Maximo Park will unleash its sophomore LP, Earthly Pleasures, Stateside on May 8 (April 2 in the UK).  The release is preceded by lead single "Our Velocity," which hits stores on March 19 and can currently be heard via the band's MySpace page.

The band also has of international tour dates scheduled, with a formal US tour announcement expected in the near future.

Earthly Pleasures tracklist:

Girls Who Play Guitars
Our Velocity
Books From Boxes
Russian Literature
Karaoke Plays
Your Urge
The Unshockable
By the Monument
Nosebleed
A Fortnight's Time
Sandblasted and Set Free
Parisian Skies
Pride Before a Fall (bonus track)
14 Distance Makes (bonus track)

Ryan Adams Sets June Release for Easy Tiger

Admit it.  For all your ball-busting of our pal Ryan Adams, you miss the guy.  Sure, his inability to not release even a single track he pens or records ticks people off now and again, but tell us "Ryan Minus Adams Dot Com" didn't give you a chuckle or two.  And for our money, a guy with his talent that clearly LOVES music as much as he does, deserves to do whatever the hell tickles his fancy. 

That being said, it's been an eternity (by his standards) since we last had an official release.  His trio of releases in 2005 got us used to the idea of a new Adams disc every few months, and though we had rumblings of another hat trick in '07, that never materialized.  Production duties for Willie Nelson and gigs with America had to satisfy our appetite, but this June the wait is over.  Easy Tiger, Adam's 9th proper LP (and probably his 22nd in total) will hit stores June 5 via Lost Highway.

No word yet on which genre Adams will tackle this time, or whether The Cardinals will be in tow on all tracks, but we do have a track list.

Easy Tiger tracklist:

Goodnight Rose
Everybody Knows
The Sun Also Sets
Halloween Head
Off Broadway
Two Hearts
Tears of Gold
These Girls
Two
I Taught Myself How to Grow Old
Oh My God, Whatever, Etc.
Rip Off
Pearls on a String

Razorlight's Borrell Downplays Band Rift

Rumors were swirling about an impending Razorlight breakup following the band's on-stage scuffle a few weeks back.  Well lead singer Johnny Borrell has quashed the speculation, saying the incident was exaggerated in the press.

"We had an argument on stage but what it was about was neither here nor there."

"The fact is that it was totally blown out of proportion by all the papers. I haven't alienated anyone in my band."

Razorlight hit up the Bowery Ballroom Monday night, on tour in support of the it's second, self-titled LP.  A fourth single, "I Cant Stop This Feeling I've Got" will be released March 19 in the UK.  Check it out live in Utrecht below:

The Bravery Previews Three New Tracks

A three-song medley from The Bravery's forthcoming sophomore disc, The Sun and the Moon, is streaming at the band's official site.

Lead single "Time Won't Let Me Go" as well as "Believe" and "This is Not the End" are playing, and except for a few Clash-ish guitars, the band hasn't strayed too far from the new wave-inspired sound of 2005's self-titled debut.  Some might have found the band's vibe anything but original last time around, but at least they aren't trying to go all Springsteen on our asses like another bunch of synth rockers we know...

The Sun and the Moon is due to hit stores May 22.

The Hold Steady Relaunches Social Networking Site

Just about the only bad press associated with The Hold Steady's near-masterpiece filled with Springsteen-esque tales of love, relationships and wasted youth, was the bomb of a social networking site, BoyandGirlsinAmerica.com.  A neat idea, but if they were seeking some OK Go level viral buzz, they failed miserably.  Well you have to admire the band's persistence - The site was just relaunched and refocused. 

Now users have until March 31st to create an original music video for any track on Boys and Girls in America.  The prizes aren't exactly stellar ($1000 cash, $1000 in products from JLB and a six month membership to eMUSIC for the grand prize winner) but the winning vid will also get streamed on Fuse.tv, which is a neat perk for all the budding Spike Jonzes out there.

Head over here to submit your entry.  And if you don't have the disc yet, you're seriously missing out.  Buy it!

PS - From backstage at Letterman: Great taste in movies too!

Givin' Biggie One More Chance

The Notorious B.I.G.'s posthumous output was never expected to rival that of his friend/arch nemesis/chief rival for best mainstream MC of the 1990's Tupac Shakur, but that hasn't stopped Mrs. Wallace, Diddy and the Bad Boy execs from trying like hell to milk some more cash out of the cow.  Does Biggie deserve a Greatest Hits compilation?  Yes.  Did we need one?  No.  If you listened to hip hip during the prime East Coast/West Coast feuding years, then you already own these songs.  But Diddy, always more business mogul than rapper, knows this.  So "enjoy" these two "new" tracks: Paste some old Biggie rhymes into a marginal beat, add some guest stars (Snoop, Fabolous, Busta, Nate Dogg), mix and enjoy...sort of.

- Stream "Running Your Mouth" and "Want That Old Thing Back" via AOL.

"Running Your Mouth" is the lesser of two evils.  While it is merely a waste of talent, "Want That Old Thing Back" is borderline blasphemous.  It's basically "One More Chance (2007)" but with a crappy beat (and Ja Rule).  Wonder if the irony of the title was lost on the suits that let this train wreck happen...

Free and Freaky in the USA

After the the successful resurrection of glam rock pioneers New York Dolls, SS was hopeful that the forthcoming Stooges reunion would get hit with the critical enthusiasm.  Iggy guested on one of our favorite tunes of 07' thus far, and still could probably kick our assess without breaking a sweat. But then we heard "My Idea of Fun," the first single off The Weirdness, and things started looking grim.  Well kids, it was no fluke.  Stereogum leaked the second available track, "Free and Freaky" and it's just as bad as the title sounds:

"The cheese is stinky and the beer ain't cold...free and freaky in the USA!"

Oy. 

"Free and Freaky" via Real/WM