Anyone who knows me in real life knows I don’t much care for Top 40 dance/hip-hop club bangers. The exception to this is Party Rock Anthem, which is just ridiculously infectious.

That said, I, like most other people who live on the Internet all day long, am frequently subjected to what is “popular” with the “kids” – well, the kids that don’t shop at Hot Topic.

As such, I heard Jennifer Lopez‘s On the Floor enough to get very sick of it , quickly, over the course of the past year or so. Pitbull‘s involvement with the track didn’t help matters. When I heard it, it sounded oddly familiar, even though I knew I hadn’t heard it before.

Or had I?

Again, I DON’T go out of my way to listen to Top 40 jams, but I do occasionally go to malls or department stores (or fashionable joints, when coerced by my gf), where they play the kind of music that makes me long to be deaf…or back it up like a Tonka Truck. It really depends on my mood.

Somewhere along the way I would hear this vaguely European/Latin version of what sounded A LOT like On the Floor‘s main melody, but with an accordion or some other such instrument. This was amplified when my day job moved into our current office, connected to a warehouse that would play KISS FM, L.A.’s leading assault-on-the-ears Top 40 Jams station. I heard BOTH J. Lo and the mysterious accordion melody version all day long, and it was slowly driving me batshit insane.

Well, after some Internet sleuthing, I stumbled upon this article at Salon that was written roughly a year ago. It blew me away.

To summarize: not only was I correct in thinking On the Floor was familiar, it RIPS OFF A SONG THAT ALREADY RIPS OFF ANOTHER SONG.

Pop music is a vortex of repetition and overused melodies, and this seals it.

My girlfriend was lamenting how KISS frequently played a song that sounded exactly the same as the J. Lo jam, but I couldn’t figure out what it was…until now.

^^ That is the second song that uses the same melody, but since most Top 40 songs today don’t offer much in terms of creativity, they often sample forgotten 1980s songs…or just flat-out rip off other melodies, licensed or not.

This was a case of the latter…you see, the song above, Edward Maya’s Stereo Love, already lifted its melody from an Azerbaijani musician. As the Salon piece so nicely summarizes:

Soon after “Stereo Love” was released in the fall of 2009, Azerbaijani composer Eldar Mansurov came forward and contacted the Romanian Copyright Office (Romania is Maya’s country of origin) to file a copyright infringement claim. According to Mansurov, the refrain of “Stereo Love” was a copy of a song he composed in 1989 titled “Bayatilar.” At the time, Maya claimed that he tried locating the original composer of the song, which he heard over the internet. He (probably a little too quickly, in retrospect) gave up the search when he couldn’t find the rightful owner, and went ahead and used the music (crediting the author as Anonymous). In the end, he had no choice but give a full co-writer’s credit to Mansurov. .

Here’s Bayatilar.

So, in case this ranting has enveloped you, J. Lo’s On the Floor sounds like Edward Maya’s Stereo Love, which sounds like (and stole from) Eldar Mansurov’s Bayatilar. In theory, Mansurov is the mastermind behind both international club hits. Nicely done, sir!

As for me, this reinforces my opinion that pop music eats itself and is content to repeatedly churn out the same detritus over and over, regardless of silly things like, oh, copyrights, legality, and the old-fashioned and outdated concept of WRITING YOUR OWN DAMN MUSIC.

Que sera, sera, right?

I was told months ago about The Rebel Bingo Club for the first time by BTH’s Flak after I saw the disco ball addition to his home. When I was invited to come shoot the hilarity, I jumped at the chance for the possibility of a disco ball of my very own or at least to get the photos of someone else winning something as random and fantastic.

I finally made it out this time to the rebel bingo where people dance, draw on each other, dress like Alex DeLarge of The Clockwork Orange and party in what can only be described as the love child of the electric daisy carnival and a strangely sexy bingo club.

Walking around the two rooms and outdoor area of the venue, I was greeted by people painted in marker and by then end my arms were covered and for about a day and a half, still said “HI!” in bright purple marker. Thank you Rebel Bingo! I may have my newest tattoo design in the works.

When asked how many people came to her last party, the grand prize winner shyly answered “just six”. Moments later she was given the grand prize, a old school boom box, and a room filled with about six hundred new friends. I hope, and am sure, that her next party will be a much greater success!

Started in the basement of a church in London by a couple of event promoters, the party has come to Los Angeles and has gained  a well deserved following. Why wouldn’t it? Basically it’s dressing up to play an innocent game your grandmother plays, but with sexy hosts, while drinking, dancing, and finding yourself surrounded by the fantastic characters I captured in the photos below. (of course with a big smile and a double thumbs up by our very own Flak) I think nights like these are what we all meant when we said we never wanted to grow up.

Photos by Ohio (Tamea Agle) www.photobytamea.com

Till next time,

~Ohio

See you at the shows!

Jesus Christ, it’s almost March. I hope nobody had developed hope that I’d forgotten about this just-a-little-overly-long countdown, as I hate to disappoint. But in any case, after a long, chaotic month, I’m pleased to continue with this Best-of-2011 list according to some random guy you’ve never met. As we all know, however, the only thing better than reading pointless pop culture countdowns is not having to read the even more pointless paragraph that precedes it. So… let’s continue, shall we?

75. Amon Tobin – ISAM

When a guy can not only make an album out of random samples he put together himself (and we’re not talking vocal hooks from old, obscure R&B songs, I mean shit as random as electrical feedback and painstakingly recorded movement of insects), but make it absolutely phenomenal as well, you know there is some ridiculous talent on your hands. Or in your headphones, rather. With ISAM, Amon Tobin has toned it down just a bit, keeping the adventurous, wild beats but with a bit less of the eccentricity. Which is not to say that the random nature has been completely thrown out the window of course (this is still about as leftfield as it gets), simply that it’s just a bit more accessible. And leave it to someone this clever to pull the juggling act off without a hitch.

Recommended Tracks: Kitty Cat, Dropped from the Sky

74.  Skindred – Union Black

It only took seven years and more than a few iffy efforts, but Skindred have finally mastered their reggae-metal blend, and sounds as good as anybody could have hoped. The Welsh quartet haven’t lost any of their aggression or heaviness to achieve this, either; just some serious tightening in the songwriting department, and having a few more tricks up their collective sleeve this time around, particularly their dabbling with electronics. The fist-pumping choruses of stompers like Cut Dem and Bad Man Ah Bad Man are tremendously rousing, not just in how animated the music is, but how much soul is behind it.

Recommended Tracks: Warning, Living a Lie

73. Ulver – Wars of the Roses

Probably the most diverse band in existence with such consistent success, and albums embracing genres as disparate as trip-hop and black metal, Ulver has proven themselves to be impossibly good at just about everything they try their hand at, and this time around Garm and co. have got their fingers in a few different pies. From the unexpected poppiness of opener February MMX to the haunting ambience of closer Stone Angels, Wars of the Roses is a thoughtfully crafted piece of work, not only with shades of nearly everything they’ve done up to this point, but making a cohesive unit of it all to boot. Even without the beautiful songs, that alone is a massive triumph.

Recommended Tracks: Providence, Island

72. Youth Lagoon – The Year of Hibernation

Something about The Year of Hibernation feels as if it should be permeating sadness. And indeed, melancholy is abound in the dreamy waves, but there’s just something so life-affirming about Trevor Powers’ debut under the Youth Lagoon moniker; just how gentle and fragile this album is. Lines like “When I was seventeen, My mother said to me, ‘don’t stop imagining, the day that you do is the day that you die’” can be found up and down the eight stellar tracks, and one can’t help but smile at the charming innocence behind it all. Powers has an endearingly childlike wonder in how he expresses himself, both lyrically and musically, and that is what makes this such an audible treat.

Recommended Tracks: Cannons, Montana

71. Loss – Despond

As heavy with its guitars as it is with its melancholy, funeral doom act Loss’ long awaited follow-up to 2004′s Life Without Hope… Death Without Reason has proven more than worthy of its predecessor (as well as the teasing splits released over the past seven years). Taking a bit more of a melodic path without sacrificing any of the unyielding bleakness, Despond is a cohesive and pitch-black slab of sorrow, yet with songwriting and production so sharp that aurally speaking, it’s tremendously enjoyable. Like taking a trip through the nether regions of the soul with excellent in-flight service.

Recommended Tracks: Cut Up Depressed and Alone, The Irreparable Act

70. Deaf Center – Owl Splinters

Cleverly blending neo-classical with ambient, Owl Splinters places gorgeous piano pieces alongside captivating soundscapes to create a downright haunting package. Then there are moments where the two elements are combined, namely on the wonderful The Day I Would Never Have, with its astonishingly powerful build-up and fiercely morose atmosphere. This isn’t rainy day music so much as it is end-of-the-world music; at times it practically paralyzes the listener in its tenebrous beauty. Sounds a bit dramatic, I know, but… fuck, just listen to the thing.

Recommended Tracks: Time Spent, Close Forever Watching

69. The Kills – Blood Pressures

2008′s Midnight Boom was a certainly an enjoyable affair in its own right, but Blood Pressures finds the duo back at what they do best; good old fashioned gritty, bluesy rock. This is the dirtiest and most aggressive Jamie Hince’s guitars have sounded in a while, and it’s a large part of why The Kills came out head and shoulders above The Black Keys this year. Not to mention that Alison Mosshart’s vocals are as venomous and sexy as ever; maybe it was their time apart, maybe it was Mosshart’s time with The Dead Weather, but whatever the reason, the duo is back at the top of their game.

Recommended Tracks: Satellite, Pots and Pans

68. Arms and Sleepers – The Organ Hearts

Like so much of the trip-hop of old, Arms and Sleepers’ latest has a sweetly dark way about it. The charm doesn’t lie so much in traditional hooks or melodies nearly as much as in how alluring it all sounds. At times it can be a bit despondent and at others a bit swelling, but there’s never too much of one thing going on at any given time to disrupt the cool, wispy air about it. Everything is smooth and controlled, with just enough liveliness to keep things from getting dull.

Recommended Tracks: A Smile in Sofia, Airport Blues

67. Bill Callahan – Apocalypse

A sardonic baritone can make just about anything (in this case, “Oh America!” comes to mind) sound brilliant, but Bill Callahan’s witty lyrics and laid back delivery already do that to the man’s music all on their own. Not to mention the masterful subtleties sprinkled throughout Apocalypse‘s delightfully americana-drenched brand of folk, from seemingly random tempo changes to startling musical progressions, all of which can be found on early album highlight Baby’s Breath alone. Callahan’s soothing voice is enough, but the broad instrumentation and gentle sound brings it all together quite nicely. A lovely listen.

Recommended Tracks: Baby’s Breath, Riding for the Feeling

66. Jehst – The Dragon of an Ordinary Family

As he asserts on the closing Two Point Four, “Yeah the kid spits flames, you’ll have to call the fire brigade to fix this place.” With his latest, Jehst places himself comfortably alongside Orphans of Cush and Klashnekoff as the premier voices in modern UK hip-hop. Clever line after clever line fly from this guy’s mouth, the least of which off the top of my head is how he uses A Tribe Called Quest’s infamous call-response “Can I Kick It?” only to respond “no, you can’t” on The Illest just to illustrate how lyrically untouchable he is. And really, any listener would be hardpressed to disagree.

Recommended Tracks: Zombies, England

65. Wormrot – Dirge

One of the joys of listening to grindcore is that if you’ve got eighteen spare minutes, you can listen to a fantastic album in its entirety. Which is exactly what Singapore based trio Wormrot give us with their second full-length; eighteen blistering, screaming minutes. More importantly, however, is the (relative) versatility shown. Yeah, it’s harsh and in your face and all that, but the mere fact that these guys don’t have to limit themselves to simply thrashing away as fast as they possibly can for the entire duration of the album says more than anything else – after all, when you can tell the songs apart on an album like this, that alone is a huge step forward! As the shortest song here not to be a Napalm Death reference proclaims, “Fucking fierce, so what?”

Recommended Tracks: Overpowered Violence, Principle of Puppet Warfare

64. Austin Peralta – Endless Planets

Despite the lack of electronic influence, Endless Planets fits right in on the label that Flying Lotus calls home; the meticulous layering, the prodigious songwriting, and that knack for capturing a mood and not letting go until the album’s dying strains. As stunningly clean and beautiful this smooth, jazzy affair is, it’s all the more impressive when you consider the fact that the man behind the piano leading this lovely music was a tender twenty years of age at the time of recording. When I was twenty, I remember (vaguely) writing term papers, waiting tables, and finagling alcohol by whatever means were available to me; not exactly much of a comparison there.

Recommended Tracks: Capricornus, Ode to Love

63. 2562 – Fever

From the get-go, Dave Huismans shows off a remarkable skill with manipulating samples on the third release under his 2562 moniker. Playing almost like a dubstep equivalent of a Pollack painting, Fever takes a good few listens to digest; there’s a constant sense of familiarity, yet without being able to easily place the origin. The styles implemented range from disco to eighties pop to nineties rave along with numerous others, and Huismans makes them all work together far better than anyone would ever expect. As scattershot as the overall album feels, everything begins to make sense in its own way, and all while keeping the listeners nodding their heads.

Recommended Tracks: Aquatic Family Affair, Brasil Deadwalker

62. Septic Flesh – The Great Mass

The Philharmonic Orchestra, the Choir of Prague, and gothic death metal, a combination which normally spells out an overly bloated, symphonic mess. And to write off Septic Flesh’s latest as such would be completely understandable, but a gross oversight as well. Not only does the band avoid the cheesiness that bands like Cradle of Filth (I’m a fan, but let’s be honest here) are infamous for, but there is such attention to detail in balancing the metal, neo-classical, and melodicism, and fantastic interplay among all these elements. Too often do extreme metal bands’ efforts collapse with overwrought ambition, but here it’s quite possibly been done as well as it’s ever going to be.

Recommended Tracks: Five-Pointed Star, Apocalypse

61. Nicolas Jaar – Space Is Only Noise

Another absurdly talented young man, Nicolas Jaar’s debut album takes funky basslines, garage rhythms, chopped up samples, and a harrowing ambient feel to create an atmosphere entirely his own. The middle portion of the record alone, from the gloomy, Ray Charles sampling I Got a Woman to the strangely danceable-yet-unsettling Space Is Only Noise If You Can See, exhibits just about everything Jaar has to throw at the listener, all bundled up in a tasteful little package. It serves as a great sample of its parent album, as it’s probably the best ambient music of the year to not even really be ambient at all.

Recommended Tracks: Colomb, Keep Me There

60. Ash Borer – Ash Borer

The mere fact that forty minutes of black metal crammed into three densely packed tracks doesn’t get old after the first five minutes is proof enough that Ash Borer’s self titled debut LP is something special. But beyond that, there’s so much going on here; for one, the raw, ear-scraping production lines up perfectly with the intense emotion driving the music, as opposed to the poor production so many black metal acts fall victim to, presumably under the impression that that’s simply what it’s supposed to sound like. The music is crushing, the vocals are piercing, and everything is just so fucking loud. As nature intended.

Recommended Tracks: In the Midst of Life We Are in Death, My Curse Was Raised in the Darkness Against a Doomsday Silence

59. Steffi – Yours & Mine

Quite possibly the best love letter to early house music since Zomby’s near-classic Where Were U in ’92?, Steffi’s first full-length release has a delightful no-frills approach. Both pretty and fun, while being deliberately dated to the point of sounding modern, Yours & Mine is too inoffensive to dislike, yet carries none of the boredom that an adjective like “inoffensive” often carries. This is just an extremely adept DJ doing her thing, spinning modestly crafted house music that wriggles its way into your ear and gets you dancing before you even have a chance to think about how inherently lovely it is.

Recommended Tracks: Yours, Mine (yes, I realize this looks like a lame joke)

58. fLako – The Mesektet

Trippy, and almost sad. Almost, because you can just imagine the half-baked freestyle sessions that this album has likely played host to since its release. A charmingly mixed bag of instrumental hip-hop, The Mesektet is something that any J Dilla fan would do well to give a listen; a hodgepodge of thirty mini-tracks, all with their own allure yet unquestionably all parts of the same entity. With all the different styles and moods that fLako visits here, nothing ever feels out of focus or forced, but rather a smooth, fun trip through the imagination of its creator.

Recommended Tracks: Wedjit, Shake It Harder

57. A Winged Victory for the Sullen – A Winged Victory for the Sullen

In a word, breathtaking. Ordinarily, music that sounds as tragic as this is only able to convey so much beauty, but A Winged Victory for the Sullen’s self-titled debut exceeds overwhelmingly on both counts. The music is so delicate, so fragile, and almost seems to tell a tale so heartbreaking that it could only be told through something this arrestingly gorgeous. It’s no surprise that half of the duo which crafted this ambient work of art hails from Stars of the Lid; in fact, what would be a surprise would be if it had been produced by two no-names just putting out their first piece of music. There is so much emotion, so much power behind Sullen that, well to be perfectly frank, I wouldn’t judge you if it made you weep a little bit.

….pussy.

Recommended Tracks: We Played Some Open Chords and Rejoiced for the Earth Had Circled the Sun Yet Another Year, Requiem for the Static King, Part One

56. Dela – Translation Lost

Mainstream hip-hop isn’t quite as bad as many purists would have you believe, however it’s undeniable that there are a few too many so-called MCs getting by with simply mumbling like an idiot over bad techno, calling it rapping, and collecting a paycheck. A source of frustration, to be sure, but when a guy who grew up listening to all the right hip-hop comes along and does it right, it’s all the more rewarding. On Transition Lost, Dela employs the best things about the nineties east coast sound: impeccably placed samples, a smooth, jazzy sound, and gentle melodies with an upbeat presentation. The tracks that don’t already feature somebody on the mic are begging to be rapped over, underlining one of the most important qualities one can have in the game, whether a rapper or producer – just being hungry.

Recommended Tracks: Lucy’s&LooseLeaves, Jay Electropietricus

55. Tim Hecker – Ravedeath, 1972

Where A Winged Victory for the Sullen seems to mourn the loss of beauty, Ravedeath, 1972 seems to revel in its destruction. So much of this album is warbled, distorted, and with more than a hint of menace, yet with the strains of a sense of longing dying underneath it all. And with as densely packed as this ambient tour de force is, the imagery conjured up by these sounds is hardly set in stone; several people I’ve discussed this album with have walked away with something entirely different. This is largely what makes Ravedeath so remarkable, that there is so much being said here, yet not enough to cleanly define it. Not exactly, anyway. And really, that’s one of the best things a piece of music can offer.

Recommended Tracks: Analog Paralysis 1978, In the Air: II

54. Roman Flügel – Fatty Folders

Rarely is such adventurous house music this lovely. Everything about Roman Flügel’s first full-length is an absolute pleasure to listen to, from the laid back moments awash with gentle synths to the more complex tracks ridden with almost haphazardly paired melodies. Then there are the most aggressive moments, particularly The Improviser, a bass-heavy number with a definite animosity bubbling just beneath the surface, yet subdued enough to keep it fitting in smoothly with the rest of the album. Everything ties together quite nicely on Fatty Folders, and its greatest strength is that gentle sound woven into the music’s inherent ability to make you want to dance.

Recommended Tracks: How to Spread Lies, Krautus

53. Demdike Stare – Tryptych

A compilation of three vinyl-only releases from the previous year (though it does contain a fair amount of bonus tracks), including Tryptych is probably cheating just a tad, but the dark ambient here in this sprawling set is just too good to be excluded. This isn’t haunting so much as it is downright frightening; there are horror films with scores that have nothing on the Forest of Evil disc alone, much less Tryptych in its entirety. And while there’s over two and a half hours of meandering, uneasy ambience, there’s always something new being thrown in to keep it from growing stagnant… though to be honest, the music has such a presence to it that it probably wouldn’t have been necessary anyway. Fun trick to play on your roommate #427: just as they’re drifting off, put this on, then in the morning listen to them go on about the weird dreams they had.

Recommended Tracks: Forest of Evil (Dusk), A Tale of Sand

52. Maybeshewill – I Was Here for a Moment, Then I Was Gone

Maybeshewill has always been a band who does post-rock that gets right to the point, without sacrificing any of their intensity in the process. Their ability to condense ten to fifteen minute songs to a length of about five has always been a calling card, and with as rapidly as this band has progressed, it’s great to see that they haven’t lost this. While I Was Here for a Moment isn’t perhaps the largest leap forward, it finds them honing their skills just a bit more, with the only real loss being the movie samples which popped up rather frequently in the past. Those were always a nice touch, but when compared to a superior flow and song layers that compliment one another better, it’s hardly much of a loss.

Recommended Tracks: Farewell Sarajevo, To the Skies from a Hillside

51. Radiohead – The King of Limbs

The King of Limbs has drawn quite a bit of flak from fans old and new, what with its brevity and somewhat minimalist sound. And following the somewhat sprawling In Rainbows, it’s not a complete surprise. But if this band has taught us anything, isn’t it to not expect the same thing twice? No first listen to a Radiohead album has ever bored me; I remember loving trying to wrap my head around the uncompromising bizarreness of Everything in Its Right Place and Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box, getting a little startled when the distortion kicked in halfway through 2+2=5, and finding my head bobbing along to the infectious rhythm of 15 Step. So when the shuffling piano and drums against that pitch-black backdrop of Bloom filled my headphones, there was only one thing I expected: another great album, and that’s exactly what we got. At the end of the day, Limbs is a flat out fantastic record. Yes, even by Radiohead standards.

Recommended Tracks: Little by Little, Lotus Flower

Judging by the article’s somewhat less-than-ambiguous title, and the fact that anyone reading this is more likely than not a music nut well-versed with wandering around the net, there’s not much need for a wordy introduction here. But let’s do that anyway! 2010 set the bar staggeringly high, and it’s nothing short of a marvel that 2011 measured up with such apparent ease. From artsy pop sirens to dubstep wunderkinds to old hip-hop favorites, the year was dominated with heavy hitters, to say the least.  So let’s stop rambling and survey the year’s wreckage with an another needlessly large countdown, shall we?

100. Grouplove – Never Trust a Happy Song

There’s something to be said for music with such an infectious catchiness to it that any lack of originality is completely forgiven. Which is not to call Grouplove’s debut derivative or unoriginal at all; while this lovely slice of summery indie pop goodness is sprinkled all throughout with familiar sounds and influences, everything fits wonderfully with the band’s own individual stamp. Not only does Never Trust a Happy Song give off such an absurdly good and energetic vibe, it puts 2011 indie contemporaries Foster the People and The Drums to shame with its impressive consistency.

Recommended Tracks: Lovely Cup, Love Will Save Your Soul

99. Little Scream – The Golden Record

Laurel Sprengelmeyer (who painted the cover art herself) proves to have quite the Midas touch with her debut, the aptly titled The Golden Record. While the bulk of this album’s material points to folk, Sprengelmeyer tries her hand at incorporating a number of different styles, resulting in a surprisingly effective blend. The mood ranges from sad and wistful to restless with not just a startling lack of difficulty, but such a genuine nature that the music doesn’t once feel as if crafted by an overly eager musician trying too hard, which can be a tremendously difficult pitfall to avoid with such ambition, and that could well be Little Scream’s greatest strength.

Recommended Tracks: The Heron and the Fox, Black Cloud

98. The King Blues – Punk & Poetry

Not to say that I’m the biggest fan of The Clash, but honestly, they’re just one of those bands where you’d be hardpressed to find someone who doesn’t at least respect them. Enter The King Blues, who carry the same spirit of playing with punk rock not just in how it can sound, but what it can say, and they do a marvelous job with their third LP. Outspoken vocalist Jonny “Itch” Fox’s subject matter ranges from tender love songs to taking fierce socio-political stances at the drop of a dime (and sounding just as passionate every time) while the band behind him toys with styles as disparate as dancehall and doo wop. And with as long the gamut they run is, the band makes it feel as if it shouldn’t be any other way.

Recommended Tracks: The Future’s Not What It Used to Be, Five Bottles of Shampoo

97. Cass McCombs – Wit’s End

As bleak as Wit’s End can come across, it’s admirable just how damn mesmerizing it is. McCombs has such a knack for emanating his influences (Syd Barrett and Nick Drake, to name a few) while making his melancholic songwriting his own. The songs express themselves by way of storytelling, venting, and even at times rambling, and each one is like a successful, dark little experiment. And Wit’s End is a dark listen, even unbearably so at times, but there is such attention to detail and such a feel of authenticity behind it that it’s unimaginable for a fan of any folk between 1965 and today to not find something they would like here.

Recommended Tracks: The Lonely Doll, Buried Alive

96. Tombs – Path of Totality

For an album stumbled upon simply because it shares its title with Korn’s latest misguided attempt at reclaiming relevancy, Tombs’ fourth full-length is a find and a half; as intelligent as it is blistering, and a great direction in which to send someone who wonders where the hell Neurosis has been hiding. Totality has got a serious kick to it, sludging and thrashing its way through impressively intricate progressions and building up to downright explosive peaks. Booming, raging, and even morose at times, Tombs exhibits a depth in metal that just isn’t as common as it used to be.

Recommended Tracks: To Cross the Land, Cold Dark Eyes

95. DeVotchKa – 100 Lovers

One of the most culturally rich bands around, DeVotchKa (don’t you DARE leave out that typeset!) returned this year with essentially more of the same; an album that may not be as cohesive as it could, but songs that absolutely nail any aspect of world music they attempt, incorporating it seamlessly with their gentle brand of indie rock. With such a unique style, and what with how every Devotchka record (see? Doesn’t that look HORRIBLE?) takes its listener on a such a convincing musical journey around the world, it’s hard to fault the band for the few flaws they do show.

Recommended Tracks: All the Sand in All the Sea, Exhaustible

94. Necro Deathmort – Music of Bleak Origin

Utterly bizarre. Music of Bleak Origin couldn’t possibly have a more appropriate title; pitch black from start to finish, with so many heavy and dark genres thrown together to create something that’s soul crushing in its own special way. It pounds like industrial, it deafens in the same way that drone does, and it maintains a barely concealed beauty underneath all the ugliness in a way that shoegaze always has. Bleak grabs you immediately, and holds your attention as only something mildly disturbing can. To put it plainly, there’s an extremely good chance that you’ve never heard anything quite like this.

Recommended Tracks: For Your Own Good, Blizzard

93. Banner Pilot – Heart Beats Pacific

Banner Pilot’s third effort finds the quartet doing what they do best, crafting catchy pop punk with just enough edge to keep it interesting. And like the best outfits in this scene, Banner Pilot has a way of making the most silly and every day things sound absolutely brilliant by merely singing about it with a soaring poppy chorus. ”So if you wanna stay up all night, we can hit the record shops or just stay in bed drinking Spanish Reds, waiting for the rain to stop.” A band this good can make just about anything sound great.

Recommended Tracks: Forty Degrees, Spanish Reds

92. The Horrible Crowes – Elsie

It doesn’t really come as a surprise that something so bluesy, dirty, and downright raw could come from a side project of The Gaslight Anthem’s Brian Fallon, but that doesn’t make it any less impressive. Fallon is known for his outstanding storytelling abilities and lyricism, and these truly take the stage on Elsie; loneliness, anguish, and frustration are evident in even the most raucous numbers, but they’re no more prevalent than the hope and resilience that are able to register in the saddest and most pensive of the tracks. As direct as it is complex, Elsie is quite the emotional trip.

Recommended Tracks: Sugar, Ladykiller

91. Sims – Bad Time Zoo

Yet another obscenely talented MC on the Doomtree roster, Sims’ sophomore record boasts incredibly catchy and seemingly radio-tailored beats that are too fun to not get your head nodding. On top of this, however, is an impressive flow expressing quite a few ideas and protests that almost don’t fit the music’s unbridled merriment; politicians, technology, ignorance, greed, solipsism, and several more topics make up quite the conversational buffet that is Bad Time Zoo‘s lyrical platter. The great thing is, though, that the music and lyrics balance each other out perfectly, and you can be in the mood for only one and still enjoy the shit out of this.

Recommended Tracks: Burn It Down, Weight

90. Jenny Hval – Viscera

In a word, sexy. Not many singers can let their looming voice carry the brunt of an album, much less blurt out words like “clitoris” or “erection” so offhandedly yet with such profound effect. Viscera is just that, a woman embracing her sexuality from the inside out and expressing it with music and vocals that are thoroughly dripping with lust. Hval manages a peculiar balance musically as well, keeping her melodies and instrumentation with a strong variance yet with an unmistakable uniform sound to the album as a whole. As engaging as it is challenging. And as you may have guessed, quite thought provoking as well. Ehm… if you’ll excuse me, I need to regain my focus.

Recommended Tracks: Blood Flight, This Is a Thirst

89. Thrice – Major/Minor

Seeing the ever-evolving Thrice on an end-of-the-year list isn’t exactly a shocker, is it? Thrice is that rare beast in music who never sounds like anybody but themselves, though gives you something new every time, and Major/Minor is of course no exception. And while the atmosphere and melodies are more than enough to carry this album, it’s is a stunner if only for that voice. Dustin Kensrue’s rasp has so much character in it that the “singing the phone book” cliche most definitely applies here, making the already stripped down affair sound even more raw and pack even more of an emotional punch. Thrice, you’ve done it again.

Recommended Tracks: Yellow Belly, Treading Paper

88. Sarah Fimm – Near Infinite Possibility

Let’s pretend for a moment that Dredg and their god-awful “dark pop” doesn’t exist for a moment, and simply embrace the notion of a pop-rock singer/songwriter embracing a bit of a dark edge to their somewhat radio friendly approach, and this is roughly what you get. Sarah Fimm has got more than just a touch of Sarah McLachlan in her, but she is far more daring and eclectic, and on this outing she is wearing her heart on both sleeves. There may be a bit of a streamlined sound here, but make no mistake – the emotion boiling underneath the surface is very real. Dredg may have coined the term referring to dark pop, but this is the real thing.

Recommended Tracks: Invisible Satellites, Disappear

87. Modeselektor – Monkeytown

Perhaps, for whatever reason, the German duo feared that their already staggering collection of electronic styles was in danger of growing stale, and that could be why Monkeytown is so eclectic (even more so than their flooring first two albums). In any case, one can only assume that Modeselektor wanted to go even more all out this time around; more guest spots, a more dizzying array of genres blended together, and more densely packed tracks. There is so much going on here that it can take a while to digest; which isn’t to suggest that Monkeytown isn’t concise, of course. In fact, it’s an absolute joy to feel growing on you.

Recommended Tracks: Berlin, This (feat. Thom Yorke)

86. Onry Ozzborn – Hold On for Dear Life

The vocal half of Dark Time Sunshine (who released the tremendous Vessel just last year) returns with his fourth solo album, and it’s loaded with great beats and smart rhymes, both of which come with an extremely dynamic delivery. Alternately fun and gripping, it’s not how much he has to say (and there is quite a lot) so much as how he says it; Onry Ozzborn is extremely inventive with his wordplay and with how he stacks the rhymes in his flow. Absolutely relentless.

Recommended Tracks: All to Herself, Electric Dreams

85. Laura Marling – A Creature I Don’t Know

Fresh off the heels of  last year’s spectacular I Speak Because I Can, Laura Marling churns out yet another excellent piece of folk, forcing me to gush for the second consecutive year about the twenty-one year old with a beautiful, textured voice which spouts out words that sound like they once belonged to a poet of old. It’s astounding how not only can she pour her soul to such a complete degree into her gentle music, but how eloquently she does it. And she’s just getting started.

Recommended Tracks: The Beast, Rest in the Bed

84. Givers – In Light

For better and for worse (depending on your taste, of course), Givers’ debut In Light debut LP more than made up for the absence of a Vampire Weekend release in 2011. All the bright, bubbling melodies, the worldly influences, and that cheerful attitude are present, though it could be argued that Givers offer even more eclecticism and dynamism. These guys seem to go through so many different modes (check out the seemingly random celtic jam on Atlantic and how startlingly well it fits) but don’t lose their focus once.

Recommended Tracks: Meantime, Noche Nada (A Lot from Me)

83. Sebastian – Total

Given how watered down the electro house scene has gotten with knob twiddlers getting by on bells, whistles, and bass farts, it’s become easy to forget that it doesn’t have to be complex to sound great; you can mess around with random noises all you want, but for fuck’s sake, give it some melody! Thankfully, French producer Sebastian has got the balance down pat. As abrasive as the music can be, there’s not only a pounding beat demanding you to stop whatever you’re doing and to just have fun and fucking dance, but the melodies are too damn catchy to ignore. And this, my friends, is what good dance music is all about.

Recommended Tracks: Embody, Tetra

82. The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient

It’s an amazing thing when an album can tell you “yeah, I’ve been there.” Slave Ambient gives off this feel not just in how worn and genuinely destitute it sounds, but simply because the way it embraces its influences is so satisfyingly honest. Vocalist Adam Granduciel doesn’t resemble Bruce Springsteen or Bob Dylan so much as he happens to be in the same boat; an everyman who just wants his story to be told and has extraordinary means with which to do so, backed by a band which is every bit as capable. With so many nods to the past, the mere fact that Slave wouldn’t be at home in any other era is mesmerizing alone.

Recommended Tracks: I Was There, Your Love Is Calling My Name

81. Amatorski – TBC

Sometimes something can sound very fragile at first, and lures you in with the gentle sound it initially projects, but underneath the surface it’s a crisp, and at times menacing beast. Belgian act Amatorski pulls this off with remarkable ease, resulting in what many have dubbed a hybrid of Portishead and Sigur Rós, a description which is a tad more accurate than one might expect. Delicate and beautiful, yet with a strong sense of foreboding, and the different sensibilities harmonize wonderfully.

Recommended Tracks: Never Told, 22 Februar

80. Toxic Holocaust – Conjure and Command

No self-respecting metalhead in this day and age is unfamiliar with any given band trying to replicate the thrash sound from the days of old. However, there is certainly something to be said for a band that takes the basic sound and runs off in their own direction with it. Throwing in just a touch of black metal, Toxic Holocaust really sets themselves apart from their thrash contemporaries on Conjure and Command just in how uncompromising it is. The band is not interested in following a template so much as using it for a stepping stone; Conjure may thrash harder than just about anything else in 2011, but it truly is something all on its own.

Recommended Tracks: Agony of the Damned, I Am Disease

79. Samiyam – Sam Baker’s Album

As doomed as this already was to J Dilla comparisons (prior to release, even), the slightly melancholic nature lying just beneath the surface of the funky boom bap beats was bound to grab at least a few on their own merit. Thankfully, Samiyam is a more than capable producer, and molds all the influences into his own brand of instrumental hip-hop, from the wonky bass to the 8-bit synths. Even more crucially, the tracks never go longer than they need to; While an album having seventeen songs can give off a bit of a daunting feel, no idea is pushed any more than is necessary, and everything flows to a spectacular degree.

Recommended Tracks: Where Am I?, My Buddy

78. Thursday – No Devolución

One of the finest swansongs in recent years. Thursday have always had quite the flair for the dramatic, and it makes all too much sense that (what seems to be) their final release pushes it to the furthest edges possible without coming across as over the top. With aggression and utter beauty meeting halfway, No Devolución strikes an incredibly new sound for the band without ever sounding like anybody else. As vocalist Geoff Rickly said of the drive behind the album’s writing process, “You know what? Who cares? Let’s say our career is over tomorrow, who fucking cares? Let’s make something beautiful.” Only a fool would say that the band didn’t accomplish exactly this…

Recommended Tracks: Darker Forest, Empty Glass

77. Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee, Part Two

An issue that often arises for a band which has experienced twenty-plus years of consistent success is relentless fanboy-isms regarding anything they may put out. Well, as a rabid Beastie fan who didn’t care much for To the 5 Boroughs (or The Mix-Up, for that matter), I can honestly call bullshit. The Beasties may not be in completely top form here, but anyone who denies that Hot Sauce finds them firing on all cylinders in a way they haven’t in over a decade is lying to themselves. Everything our beloved New York based trio has excelled at (rapid fire trade-offs, random bursts of punk, making sure to have fun above all else, etc.) is here in spades. What’s not to love?

Recommended Tracks: Nonstop Disco Powerpack, Lee Majors Come Again

76. Russian Circles – Embros

What makes Russian Circles’ latest such a fascinating listen isn’t so much those usual post-rock (or post-metal, if you like… you know how we music nerds love to tack “post” onto the front of things) conventions with their boxes checked as it is its remarkable ability to explore the best parts of a metal song six to eight minutes at a time. This could very easily come across as a random and pointless exercise, but the Chicago three piece are so good at making it all flow. Atackla alone goes from a brooding somber mood to aggressively pounding away to a startling sense of serenity; it’s not so much a build-up as it blindly following its muse, and Embros is all the better for it.

Recommended Tracks: 309, Batu

Skinnie Magazine, Ernie Ball & AcropolisRecords presents: Battle for Warped Tour Friday July 8th at Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa.

Bands Battling are:
Dreamteam, Amherst Aisle, Orange Blossom Special, The Graphs, KYG & This Time With Feeling

Come support some of Southern California’s hottest bands while they battle it out for a slot on the Ernie Ball stage at Warped tour in Carson city!!

Tiki Bar
1700 Placentia Ave
Costa Mesa, CA 92627

21+ Hit your favorite band up for Tix $7
Show starts @ 8:30

Bands chosen will move on to perform at the SEMI Finals! The winning finalist from the semi-finals will compete against finalists from other battles at the House of Blues Anaheim on August 2nd for a chance to win a slot on the Carson, CA date of Van’s Warped Tour 2011.

Facebook Event Page

-Broke in the OC
www.brokeintheOC.blogspot.com

Unemployment is viewed in one of two ways depending on who you ask: A miserable prison of atrophy and worthlessness or a time in which we can reflect, languish, and do all the things that working never allowed us time for. More often not, the unemployed will shift between these two opinions based on what day it is and how long he or she has been unemployed. As someone who has quickly learned the ins and outs of amusing oneself during the eight hours a day when everyone else is getting paid to be unhappy, here are some helpful tips for prevailing over the emotional rollercoaster of unemployment.

1. Do not seize the day: Waking up too early is the worst thing you can do. Rising anytime before ten or eleven will make you all too aware of how little you have to do.

2. Gauge blocks of time by movies or TV: For movies: If you have watched two movies, it is time for lunch. For TV: If you have watched six episodes of a comedy (like Strangers With Candy) or four episodes of a drama (like Roswell), that’s when you know it’s time for lunch.

3. Don’t forget to move: As addictive as catching up on pop culture can be, leaving the house from time to time is important to not feeling like you live in a vacuum.

4. Walk places that take forever to walk to: If you don’t live in New York, this task is particularly easy to execute.

5. Clean your apartment thoroughly on a daily basis: This is, believe it or not, therapeutic and it will make your roommates more appreciative rather than judgmental of your status as “the unemployed fuck-up.”

6. Tap into your artistic side: Drawing and painting is a very good hobby to have when you don’t have a job because it is an extremely time-consuming effort.

7. Take a two hour nap at some point in the day: Generally, four o’ clock is the best time. But don’t get too hooked to nap time, otherwise, you’ll have to move to Europe where they have siestas if you ever want to get a job again.

8. Apply for one job a day: Applying to any more than that will make you feel like an inadequate piece of shit for how few responses you get. At least, with this method, you can use the excuse that it’s because you have not applied for that many positions.

This website will haunt you in your dreams after how much time you spend on it.

9. Start drinking after your nap: The earlier the better. This also helps ensure you will have a hangover that will cause you to sleep well into midday.

Like Willy Wonka said, "Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker."

10. When people ask you what you do for a living, respond in one of the following ways: 1) Mumble for an uncomfortable number of seconds so that they’ll move on from the subject. 2) “I work for the government. That’s all I can say.” 3) “I’m freelancing.” 4) “I quit my job after I received a small, but respectable inheritance from my transgender uncle” (the transgender detail will throw them off enough to not ask you to pick up the bar tab).

These suggestions are only a glimpse at some of the channels through which you can maintain your sanity. Everyone has a unique approach to getting through unemployment, a state of being that spotlights how life is essentially killing time until another phase we can be disappointed by.

We’ve all had those dreaded moments. The moments when your singledom is put on display because you’re the only person who can sit at the head of the table in restaurants, because there are never three seats together at a movie theater when you go with a couple, and because formal invitations always encourage a plus one.

In spite of an evermore accepting society, it seems that it is more of a stigma to be alone and heterosexual than it is to be gay. At least when you’re gay, you’ve declared some sort of sexual stance. Single straight people are assumed to be either mentally challenged or latent serial killers (and yes, the generalizations admittedly have some merit). But it doesn’t have to be a torturous experience. Believe it or not, some people are not married or attached by choice.

If you are not in this category of being consensually “eligible,” here are some ways you might become more comfortable/accustomed to the notion of attending a gathering of your married/engaged/in a serious relationship friends.

1. Act like you’re oblivious to all awkwardness. This generally includes two of the worst questions a single person can be asked: “Are you seeing anyone special?” and “How’s your love life?” I like to respond to the latter question by bursting into my own rendition of Haddaway’s classic dance hit “What Is Love?” People typically back off the subject after that.

2. Drink. Alcohol. Copiously. Not so much that it’s obvious you’re drunk, but just enough to be perceived as “jovial” or “affable.”

3. If necessary, create outlandish stories about your sexual hijinks to make monogamy seem as incongruous as it really is.

4. Suggest group activities that do not require “pairs.” This would include bowling, croquet, band practice, and going to a racetrack.

5. When couples start prattling about plans for their impending nuptials, interrupt them with your plans for signing up for the Peace Corps and volunteering for the American Red Cross—thereby rendering their lives far more self-indulgent and purposeless.

6. Prepare elaborate appetizers and desserts for the various functions that you attend, so that the attention is always on your culinary skills rather than your skills at cultivating romance. If you can’t cook, buy something and pass it off as your own.

7. When friends ask you if your parents are ever disappointed that you haven’t given them any grandchildren, respond meekly by saying that you’re barren and at the bottom of an adoption waitlist.

8. Never allow anyone in your life to convince you to go on a speed dating jaunt or talk you into being set up with one of his or her other single friends—who you’ve probably never met before because he is bald and short.

9. Attend Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous meetings. They are full of single people who hate people with the ability to “commit” as much as you do.

10. Sleep with your best friend’s husband. Just so you can have the satisfaction of wiping that smug look off her face whenever you feel inclined.

So, there you have it. Ten ways to curb the uncomfortableness of being single when none of your other friends are. You can also turn to another song called “(What Is) Love?” by Jennifer Lopez. I find lyrics like “What if I never find/And I’m left behind?/Should I keep hoping for love?/What if I’m still the same?/Status doesn’t change” to be oh so consoling.

It’s really great and all that women of the late 1960s and most of the 1970s blazed a path of freedom for expression (RIP Betty Friedan and thank you to The Runaways), but why does it seem like people with vaginas are far more objectified now than they ever were circa 1940-1965? In today’s society, lyrics, images, and overall attitudes toward “ladies” are laughably offensive. And yet, back during the era of what is now looked back upon as overt sexism, men would tip their hats, say a few kind words, and even–gasp–have a conversation about something other than which orifice he was going to stick his dick in (not that this is ever usually an elaborate conversation topic).

It's hard to believe, but women were more derisive toward men in the 50s. Must have been all the repression.

Is it simply that women had this pent up need to be viewed as slutbags and men, likewise, had been waiting all this time to finally stop feigning politeness and just express their sole desire to fuck? I haven’t the foggiest idea. All I know is that in the last decade alone, the things that are permitted to slip by in the media have reached a point where nothing is shocking anymore in terms of sexual explicitness and an overall disregard for the idea that a woman might have a mind behind those big, dumb eyes staring straight at your cock. This isn’t to say that women aren’t in control of how they come across; all of the females reigning in the pop charts right now are entirely conscious of the sex-soaked image they have created. But it is to say that they are influenced by what they feel men want.

Really Katy Perry? Really?

Where dudes can definitely be blamed is in the category of lyrics. Most songs in the Top 40 at the moment feature lyrical content that would make Eleanor Roosevelt blush and then burst into flames. Some examples include: “I’ma disrobe you then I’ma probe you” (courtesy of Kanye West in “E.T.”), “All I need is some vodka and some coke and watch, she gon’ get donkey konged (courtesy of Pitbull in “On the Floor”), and “I heard you good with them soft lips…the things that we can do in twenty minutes girl” (courtesy of Drake in “What’s My Name?”). Look, I’m all for parading your sexual whims, but does it all have to be phrased in such a goddamn crass manner?

This is where the feminist revolution has led.

Of course, both periods of time–now and then–have their advantages and disadvantages in terms of how women are perceived, but, in the vague defense of “then,” at least ads like the one below were to be expected. The nature of how women are viewed hasn’t really changed, it’s just become repackaged for twenty-first century consumption.

A precursor to most rap videos.

SOUNDGARDEN RELEASE FIRST EVER LIVE ALBUM, NOW STREAMING ON FACEBOOK PAGE

Live on I-5 Available Everywhere Now via A&M/UMe

Soundgarden have just released their first ever live album, Live on I5, which can be streamed in full on the band’s Facebook page.

Titled Live on I5 – a reference to the Interstate 5 which runs up and down the West Coast-  the new collection compiles live tracks from a 1996 run by the band and captures the band at the height of their recording and touring career.  This carefully selected compilation includes fan favorites like “Spoonman”, “Rusty Cage”, “Burden In My Hand,” and “Black Hole Sun” (performed by Chris Cornell solo), as well what insiders are calling the definitive live performance of “Jesus Christ Pose.”  As a bonus, the disc includes two brilliantly inspired covers:  The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” and The Stooges’ anarchic proto-punk classic, “Search & Destroy.” The band took out recording engineer, Adam Kasper with them on the West Coast leg of this tour- the first time they ever recorded any live shows. They rented a mobile 24 track machine/truck and recorded the gigs on 2″ tape. Soundgarden had always intended to release it as a live record soon after the tour, but alas, they disbanded and the tapes were left in the closet of Studio X in Seattle (now called Bad Animals) to gather dust until now.

Live on I5 is the follow-up to Soundgarden’s celebrated 2010 reunion, with the band re-staking their well deserved place, earning a Grammy nomination for previously unreleased track “Black Rain” for Best Hard Rock Performance, gracing the covers of music magazines SPIN and Guitar World, performing on the second night of Conan and topping critics’ lists with their fall 2010 release, Telephantasm. The multi-label, career-spanning collection, also available in collector’s editions with the band’s first-ever DVD and booklet,  was a comprehensive retrospective of the enormously influential band whose music put Seattle and a young label called Sub Pop on the map.  As befits a group whose sound redefined a musical generation, they also proved themselves to be innovators with their partnership with Guitar Hero, with 1 million copies of Telephantasm sold, bundled within the launch of Guitar Hero®: Warriors of Rock. The album went platinum before even hitting stores- a first time certification for the RIAA.

Soundgarden’s subsequent live appearances had all the chemistry and intensity fans and critics had hoped for with the band’s legendary heavy sound and power intact.  Their headlining Lollapalooza spot last year found the four members playing their classic material from the ‘90s to longtime fans and a new generation who never thought they’d be lucky enough to see them.  Rolling Stone wrote, “Chris Cornell is the ultimate rock frontman” and Spin said, “The band kicked into an epic set that was the sonic equivalent of a blueprint of the Seattle sound: heavy, loud, and full of metal guitar heroics and classic rock pomp.”

With Live on I5, we catch the now-legendary rock titans at the top of their game. The collection captures the rawness, spontaneity and magic that happens at live gigs between Soundgarden and their audiences.  It cements the band’s place in rock history and shows why their appeal is as strong and as timeless as ever.

Watch this space for additional news on Soundgarden: www.soundgardenworld.com

Tracklisting in full:

1.         Spoonman

2.         Searching With My Good Eye Closed

3.         Let Me Drown

Tracks 1-3: Recorded live at Crosby Hall, Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar, CA – November 30, 1996

4.         Head Down

Recorded live at Mercer Arena, Seattle, WA – December 18, 1996

5.         Outshined

Recorded live at Crosby Hall, Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar, CA – November 30, 1996

6.         Rusty Cage

Recorded live at Pacific National Exhibition Forum, Vancouver, BC, Canada – December 7, 1996

7.          Burden In My Hand

Recorded live at Salem Armory, Salem, OR – December 8, 1996

8.         Helter Skelter

9.         Boot Camp

Tracks 8 and 9: Recorded live at Crosby Hall, Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar, CA – November 30, 1996

10.      Nothing To Say

Recorded live at Mercer Arena, Seattle, WA – December 18, 1996

11.       Slaves And Bulldozers

12.      Dusty

13.      Fell On Black Days

Tracks 11-13: Recorded live at Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland, CA – December 5, 1996

14.      Search And Destroy

Recorded live at Mercer Arena, Seattle, WA – December 18, 1996

15.      Ty Cobb

Recorded live at Crosby Hall, Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar, CA – November 30, 1996

16.      Black Hole Sun

Recorded live at Mercer Arena, Seattle, WA – December 17, 1996

17.       Jesus Christ Pose

Recorded live at Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland, CA – December 5, 1996

-Broke in the OC
www.brokeintheOC.blogspot.com