BLOG IN YOUR FACE

Today will be my first review of two different albums in one post! The reason being, I have had these two albums for quite awhile, but I have been a little busy with wedding planning. Also, the new O.A.R. album came out today (Jaci sent me a picture message of her holding it. She went out and bought it for me as soon as I left for work today, God bless her little heart). That being the case, I thought I had better knock out these two reviews before I forget what they sound like considering I will be listening to the new O.A.R. album non-stop for the next fortnight (at least).

So let’s dig in:

Flobots - Fight with ToolsBefore I get into my review, let me just tell a little story: I had some friends in town this past weekend, so Jaci and I took them all out to a dance club. A hip-hop song came on and everyone stampeded to the dance floor. I came to find out that this song is entitled Lollipop and the artist is “Lil’ Wayne.” I want to show you the lyrics to the chorus of this song, unaltered and in all of their glory:

Shawty wanna thug
Bottles in the club
Shawty wanna hump
And ooo I like to touch ya lovely lady lumpsThat’s it. And when they aren’t repeating that same chorus OVER and OVER they are talking about “Shawty” licking some lucky fella like a Lollipop…and then the song is over and everyone is sad. I stood there at the club this weekend wondering just where in the world the talent aspect of the hip-hop music scene has gone. Gone are the days when rappers wrote poetry about growing up on the street and gang violence in Southern California. At the age of 25, I really don’t feel like an old-timer, but then I listen to rap music these days like the songs from this weekend’s club and I simply cannot grasp how incredibly SHITTY hip-hop is nowadays!

Am I weird because I long for the days when rap music made at least somewhat  of a statement about something? Am I weird for thinking that rap music should strive to be an art form like every other genre out there? Tell me, where is the artistic expression in a song about how “Shawty” wants to fu*k a thug in a club with bottles of alcohol around and then then perform oral sex on that said thug resembling the licking of a lollipop? Lil’ Wayne: You are the reason that I rarely purchase hip-hop music anymore (case in point: last hip-hop purchase was back in late March when I bought M.I.A.’s cd).

Excuse me while I dismount from my ramblings…

Ok. I’m Better. My apologies. What I was trying to say was Thank GOD for musical groups like the “Flobots.” They are a sigh of relief to the hip-hop industry in my opinion. Formed in 2000 in Denver, CO, Flobots only hit it big within the last few months after winning a radio station contest and beginning their U.S tour with some pretty big bands and a few late night talk show gigs.

The album Fight With Tools  is more than just 12 tracks. It is a manifesto! The opening track argues that there is a war going on for our minds, with the battleground somewhere in between the media’s overwhelming influence and the government’s lies. The Flobots are the self-proclaimed “insurgents” in this war for our minds. The album art contains pictures of riot police and band members wearing American flag bandannas over their faces in militia-like fashion. The songs of the album demand that Americans take social action in many forms; that we strive for a society free from racism, sexism, political corruption, senseless violence and the like. The cool thing is, Flobots practice what they preach! They have formed several foundations and activist groups of their own. Check out these websites if you are interested:

 http://www.americawillbe.org/
http://www.fightwithtools.org/

Flobots fit into the Rock-Rap genre, but they are far from typical. On top of a 4-piece band, they are also comprised of a trumpet player and viola player. If any of you don’t know, a viola is basically a seriously upgraded violin. It sounds so deep and rugged, yet so sleek and sensitive at the same time…kind of like if you were to get David Hasselhoff and Casanova together to sing you a duet lullaby.

I absolutely cannot wait to see these gentleman (and one girl) live in concert when they come here to Omaha on August 22nd. They are playing at a venue called The Waiting Room which is a pretty intimate little place.

I would suggest going to the Flobots’ MySpace page and checking out a few of their songs to see if you like them. Personally, I think the entire album is incredible. My favorite track is actually their first single off of this album, “Handlebars.” There are tons of ways you could interpret this song, but I tend to think it is about loss of innocence. It begins telling a story about riding bikes with no handle bars for the first time and drawing comic books with our friends, and progresses all the way to witnessing missiles that are guided by satellites and holocausts that are “..end[ing] the planet…” If we all took the creativity that we had as a child and applied it to some of the worlds problems, it would be a breathtaking world to live in.

To sum up the Flobots sound, get a huge kettle and throw equal parts all of the following bands into it:

Cake
311
Phunk Junkies
Papa Roach
Gorillaz
Yellowcard
Eminem

Stir well and add a heaping tablespoon of liberal ideologies and a disgust for the current political arena. Turn down heat and let simmer for hours on end in your CD player or I-Pod. Don’t forget to smile and tell yourself that true hip-hop is not dead!

Jakob Dylan - Seeing Things

I gotta hand it to Jakob Dylan: Unlike so many kids with famous parents - not to mention any names (Myley Cirus, Kelly Osbourne, Lisa Marie Presley, Brook Hogan, Sean Lennon, Nicole Richie, that Judd girl etc.) - he really has done a remarkable job of separating himself from his father and creating a pretty independent sound and name for himself. That is pretty tough to do when your father is the Jesus Christ of folk music and arguably not only the greatest musician of all time, but also the 2nd and 3rd greatest (because nobody even comes close). And if you are absolutely insane  enough to not know who I am referring too, I speak of the one and only Bob Dylan.

Jakob hasn’t ever appeared to have any desire to follow in Dad’s footsteps or even relish in any bit of Dylan Sr.’s fame and glory. No, Jakob seems to have always been pretty content with his band The Wallflowers which he started in 1989 and recorded 7 albums with through 2007 when he finally began to throw around the idea of a solo album. Jakob and Dad have never performed on stage together or recorded anything as a joint venture.

Needless to say, I was pretty excited when my sister informed me that Jakob Dylan had a solo album out. But I must say, I noticed something before I even tore the cellophane wrapper off of the CD. As much as Jakob has tried to distinguish himself from his Dad both in music sound and in the music business, he sure can’t do a damn thing about his genes! At 39 years old and without the rest of The Wallflowers standing behind him on an album covers, he looks more like his Pops than ever before…

But this isn’t about his look. This is a music review for God’s Sake! On with it!

The album Seeing Things  is quite short; only ten tracks long. If any of you have ever heard The Wallflowers  then you know that Jakob does not have the nasal-y voice of his father. His is more of the raspy, rugged and sexy sounding nature…very breathy. If you had never seen his face before you might kind of picture him as having a 5 o’clock shadow by the sound of his voice. Very scruffy,  ya know? So, even though he has gone solo, I still can’t say the man sounds much like his father.

I am going to go out on a limb and say that Seeing Things  kind of sounds like a mix between Tom Petty and Norah Jones. It makes me want to drive down an old country road in a beat up old pick-up truck with the windows down wearing some aviator sunglasses. I really do enjoy the album…very much so. It is not anything extraordinary but I am glad I picked it up. For his first-ever solo venture, I would say he created a very nice sound. Thank You to my sister for recommending it to me. I love ya!!!