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The Old Boys Club would hate Sorority Noise

Felipe — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 21:43:27 +0000

Given the antics we are barraged with on TV and Facebook, it seems I can’t have any sort of discussion nowadays without it getting politicized. So when I was mulling over sending out this email about the new Sorority Noise album (which is hella tight!), the first thing I asked myself was, “Who’d hate sorority noise?” I didn’t necessarily mean the band Sorority Noise – although they’d hate them too – but like, those words and their word associations, like, sororities, women, noise, and fun? Well, the first thing that came to mind was old white conservative GOP-dudes in Congress who seem to hate women and want to control every aspect of them and their bodies, that’s who. Those dudes definitely don’t like good tunes, women OR noise – I mean, they went after NWA in the 90’s and Eminem in the 00’s – so it’s safe to assume they wouldn’t like the combo of women on their own, in their own house, not needing men around, and making “noise.” That would be, I presume, terribly vexing to them. “Just how could them gals be havin’ fun without us or our permission!? That just ain’t natural I tell ya!”

Anyways, this new Sorority Noise album is killer, even though there are no female members in the band (wait what? but then why all the talk about women? that’s just misleading Feli) (womp, womp). The Hartford, CT foursome got started in 2013, put out some lo-fi-ish indie/emo tunes that were pretty great. Then they buckled down, and put together this excellent 2017 release “You’re Not As ____ As You Think.” It’s fast, dark, and broody, and rips through quickly enough you don’t get bogged down by all their “feelings.” It came out last Friday, and ever since Joe Ciolli made me listen, it’s been at the top of the list, even above WSTR right now… I know, I can’t believe it either. Here are the first two tracks, hoping it tickles your fancy (“tickling fancy” sounds like something our esteemed POTUS has admitted experience in – especially given that fancy was a euphemism for fanny in old British English, a vulgar expression for female genitals.)

FeliSays Sorority’s Noise is the best Noise

Champagne for my Real Friends, Real Pain for my Sham Friends

Felipe — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 16:54:58 +0000

Some times it’s really important to have a few FU jams queued up in your playlist. There’s always an occasion to rage out on your boss, an ex, or even some dude who, while you were holding the subway pole, “accidentally” slides his hand down and rests it on your firmly pole-gripped hand. No reaction, no hand adjustment, nada. Just standing there like a payaso, pretending like something else besides another human hand stopped his from continuing to slide down the pole. Or maybe he thinks YOU’RE the a**hole, ya know, sliding your hand UP to rest it under his, and HE’S the polite one, not saying anything… :-/ Come one dude..! I’m not an X-Men with super feeling… I KNOW you feel my hand too… I hate you and everything you stand for. You’re somehow worse than the non-headphone-wearing, rush-hour subway riding loud-music-player, as if he’s not in a crowded subway, but instead, sitting on the toilet at home all by himself. Except we’re all in the bathroom with him listening to shitty trap music on a shitty LG phone. Day = ruined.

Luckily the pop-punk world is laden with grief-stricken, pissed off, angst-riddled millennials (“No one will ever understand me and what I’m going through!”) with lots of time of their hands to write me songs to get through the hatred I have for every person I encounter on the morning commute to work. This week we will explore a few of these pissed-off youngsters.

The Story So Far, a California quintet who got their start back in 2007, and are one of several bands that take their name from a New Found Glory title (see: All Time Low) and they write fun and angsty songs to get you riled up (a much better version of Knuckle Puck). With Confidence are an Australian quartet from Sydney, with much more subdued, classic pop-punk stylings. One fast song. One slow song.

Pop Punk week for me on FSL/TMD

of Verona – Kids on the Street

Max — Tue, 28 Feb 2017 02:02:50 +0000

Talented indie-alt based band, of Verona, have just released their latest offering, “Kids on the Street,” a melodic thought provoking track in support of their second full length album “Glass Beach,” due out this Friday. As lead singer Mandi Perkins mentions, “the song is a commentary about social media on social media, and explores the idea of how someone is always watching, which is why we now view our lives through a lens. Not every story you hear is real and not every picture you see online tells a true story, it’s just someone’s highlight reel, but if you don’t remember that, it can make you feel dark and alone because your life doesn’t match up.” When Perkins sings “got to get a capture, caption it like this, show you really have it all,” you sense that she is telling us that no matter how great we think everyone else has it, in reality, we are all the same inside.

You can check out the track below and make sure to look out for the new album dropping later this week.

Grammy’s are stoopid. Hip Hop is good.

Felipe — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 22:15:07 +0000

The Grammy’s are stupid. Why do they even have them? The whole industry just shows up to blow smoke up each other’s butts for 6 hours. The same 4 a**holes win every year… Artists that have been around for years win “Best New Artist”? The only one you should be allowed to win “Best New Artist” is if your FIRST album or EP dropped that year. That’s it. Washed up dead guys win “Best Rock Album”? The only reason anyone cared is cuz he died. The same idiots who win year after year are SHOCKED they win again. “Who me?! OMG I CANNOT believe this!? What an honor!” Walking up to the stage like Ron Burgundy “not ready” to play the yazz-flute then go home and make sweet sweet love to Veronica Corningstone. The idiots watching on TV take to twitter to complain about cultural appropriation. Other idiots apologize for stuff they didn’t even do. And at the end of the day, we didn’t hear of any music that isn’t heavily played on mainstream pop radio, while mega bands that sell out stadiums worldwide don’t even get a nod. But no… no… some celeb (who is more famous for being a celeb than a musician) need a 37th Grammy for a song that 94 industry pros collaborated on. How creative of that ONE artist! Amaaazing! And worst of all, network TV won’t air a new episode of Bob’s Burgers cuz they think all these dummies are watching the 43rd award show of the year.

If the stupid Grammy’s don’t bog you down too much, there’s lots of fun stuff happening in 2017 too. If you live in a cold place, then you prob got snow. Dope. If you don’t, then you’re prob nice and tan. Dope. If you like TV, Always Sunny in Philadelphia is back and crushing it. If you like to watch the news, well, you prob have no hair left. But hey, neither does Johnny Sins. So, still kinda dope. But best of all, 2017 has been real dope musically. We are fresh with new tunes that got ignored at the Grammy’s per usual (WSTR, Japandroids, the first half of Migos, Oso Oso, Cloud Nothings), as well as the arrival (finally) of some good hip hop tracks. Juicy J, Wiz Khalifa and Ty Dolla $ign gave us a sweet throwback track, feeling like old school Three Six. Lupe’s new stuff is sweet. Even J. Cole showed up. Who knew?! Here’s some hip hop to welcome you to the long weekend.

Feli Hates Award Shows

The Midnight Faces of Sergio Flores

Felipe — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 15:47:37 +0000

Slide in to your Monday with these appropriately easy to listen to tracks with enough sexy sax to boost your spirits (granted, they could always use a little more sax, but I’ll take it. Did I listen to “Careless Whisper” on repeat afterwards? Maybe I did, so what? That’s the sexiest sax. Did I google funny Sergio Flores Sexy Sax Man videos after that? Signs point to probably). Midnight Faces is a Los Angeles-based synthpop+rock band by way of Grand Rapids with a new album out last fall called “Heavenly Bodies.” The album seems to be Monday morning appropriate: not too intense, got its ups and downs, easy tempos to settle you down after a raucous and sardine can-like subway ride to work. Is it an album you’re gonna crave to listen to when you get home, no, most likely not. Not me at least. But would I put it on shuffle in the background while idly working, doodling, or cooking? Ya, I would / I currently am. Would you put it on while nighttime driving, preferably with the windows down? Most certainly, it’s a very LA album.

Well, Feli Says he’s back, with hopefully less hiatuses to come. Here’s two sexy sax tracks off of Midnight Faces’ “Heavenly Bodies”, and an extra dose of “Careless Whisper” for good measure.

Bring Back My Name Is Earl (St. Clair)

Felipe — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 20:41:43 +0000

When I first saw this dude’s name, I thought he named himself after that amazing Zac Efron movie where he chats and plays baseball in the woods with his dead brother while sailing or whatever, but then, after looking it up, saw that was Charlie St. Cloud, not St. Clair (womp womp). Ends up Earl St. Clair, the Cleveland native, named himself “St. Clair” since his first studio in Cleveland and his second studio, upon movie to California, were both on St. Clair street! What a coinkidink! I mean, he HAD to name himself Earl St. Clair, although Earl St. Cloud woulda be tight too. When Zac couldn’t decide between his real life gf and his ghost-bro?? Heavy stuff; life is for living, amirite..? Growing up with non-ghost people in Alabama had its influences on Mr. Earl, and his fresh New Orleans-feelin, swag-steppin happy jam is great for a day like today. Def Jam describes him as an “earthy, full-bodied shouldering blend of Outkast, James Brown, and Ray Charles” (good company I’d say). His debut album “Songs About a Girl I Used to Know” is coming out shortly, and this tasty lick is right off of it. Another track worth checking is “Man On Fire,” more of a burner, then the happy dance of “Feeling Alive.” Oh ya, he and Lebron share an agent. That’s kinda cool. Cleveland’s second son.

Feli Says Happy Music Musts

New 2017 Fiasco (Lupe)

Felipe — Thu, 19 Jan 2017 20:39:39 +0000

Chicago native, Lupe Fiasco, was born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, and rose to fame in 2006 after his album “Food & Liquor,” which coincidentally were the only two things on my New Year’s Resolution list. Unlike the majority of bands I feature, Fiasco is no fledgling, starving artist. Beyond rapping, he runs a company called Righteous Kung-Fu, that designs fashions, sneakers, toys, comic books, other random stuff, and video games (Lupe loves himself some video games and was a competitive Street Fighter V gamer – he uses Ken – and is competing next week at GENESIS 4, after his challenge to play Super Smash Bros. was accepted by the current champ, Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios – he will be using Ryu). Mr. Fiasco has a major footwear deal with Reebok, using other rappers to design and promote gear. The anti-establishment, Grammy winning rapper was removed from stage while performing a 30-minute rendition of a song that contained anti-Obama lyrics, while in DC, performing at Obama’s 2013 inauguration… I wonder if DT asked Mr. Fiasco if he’d perform, or maybe they thought his name was a little too on the nose for tomorrow. This new song came out earlier this year and is the happy fresh jam needed today.

Feli Says Fiasco

You Can’t Misinterpret a Palindrome

Felipe — Fri, 13 Jan 2017 17:01:49 +0000

Waking up in 2017 can feel like you’re going the wrong way on a one way street. Unless you toss out your tech and stick your head in the sand, it’s loud and it’s brash, and entirely overwhelming. “Someone’s always trying to tell me who I am / Who to love and how to f*ck / And that it’s time to pay rent.” RVIVR was on to something back in 2013 when they dropped this dime on us. The Olympia, Washington quartet are known for their high energy shows and their defense of gender equality (sadly, gender equality is out of vogue in Congress). These dudes and dudettes even offer up some friendly advice on how to handle today: “When it feels like you’ve been tamed / And your dragging around your chains / Start screaming your true name.” Seems like lots around the country have already heeded their advice (ok maybe just the Facebook warriors, but whatevs).

Furthermore, this year’s filled with lots of bigly words, and sometimes you just need everyone to Shut. Up. Since this RVIVR track, although dope, is real amped up and loaded with fast talk, I’ve included a chill-down follow up song (what?! two songs? it’s 2017! anything’s possible!) that has absolutely no words whatsoever, by an aptly named band who should perform on the 20th, Red Handed Denial (need some aloe for that sick burn!?). This Friday double-dose is in essence, a perfect combo (you’re welcome, I’ll be here all week). This Canadian quintet lists only one interest in their bio, and boy are they on to something: Super Smash Bros.

Listen Up, Feli Says He’s Back

Death By Piano – Countdown

Max — Fri, 13 Jan 2017 15:51:59 +0000

Brooklyn has long been a breeding ground for electronic beats, distinctive analog instrumentation, and great singing. Probability dictates that these elements should encounter each other within a singular entity, as they do in Death By Piano. A duo comprised of singer/keyboardist Kalen Lister and producer/instrumentalist Greywolf, DBP mixes the sounds of their native borough sifted through their reconstructive filter, centered by Kalen’s lush and expansive voice.

The band hits the ground running, or perhaps more appropriately tripping, with their debut single “Countdown,” a thick brew of strings and synths floating on a bed of pulsing percussion sounds. The song is a slow burn, subtly filling in the spaces around Kalen’s vocal, peaking at the chorus and beginning the process again for one more orbit through their atmosphere.

Feli’s Essential 2016

Felipe — Wed, 04 Jan 2017 18:11:45 +0000

Throwing my hat in the ring with every other idiot who thinks their 2016 list is the best, here is my Essential 2016 Playlist which is also the best (ok, it’s prob not the best, but at least it’s not “basic” – in my eyes, the worst possible description one could give me). Similarly to last year, most of these tracks correspond to a great 2016 album (see: Martha, Pinegrove, Anderson Paak, PUP, Moose Blood, Sturgill Simpson, Trash Boat, Boston Manor, The Sun Days, Empty Houses). All in all, 2016 was a solid music year (especially for UK punk: anyone surprised?), with some breakout stars (see: Anderson Paak), some vets churning out good new stuff (see: The xx), and quite a few musician deaths (see: all the old ppl). And now that we know Coachella’s lineup for 2017 is about as bad as it gets and that they’ve completely sold out to the mainstream fat-cats, we can scalp our pre-ordered tickets to some tweens that’ll pay 300 bucks to only see Queen Bey & Lorde while wearing culturally insensitive headdresses, flower crowns, and sneaking in to the super hip Lacoste Pool Party (…). What were we talking about? Oh ya, 2016 Tracks! Here they are (not in order of faves, but in listenable playlist order), and the Spotify link to boot. The Turnover and Donnie Trumpet tracks are from 2015, but they were defining 2016 songs for me, so they’ve been included with asterisks.

Feli Says Listen to this for sure

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST LINK