Musicland is Still Exciting....WEEEE!!!!

Yesterday, I listened to Julian Casablancas' first solo effort, Phrazes for the Young. During the listening process, a giddiness that can be likened to that of a school girl came over me. The album clocked in at about forty minutes or so, but due to the average 5 minute song length, it came out even. From the start the album has a great sound and energy. Of course it still sounds like the Strokes got injected with a heavy dose of Moog and synth, but it somehow it stands alone. The production is pretty great and Casablancas' vocals are great to hear in a new context, especially because we haven't heard it since 2006. It was very exciting. This album is a fantastic new sound that shows artistic maturity.

With the recent release and success of the new Muse album, and the semi-recent release of Franz Ferdinand's Tonight, I still have great faith in the music business. Bands are still making great albums and advancing along. They also aren't fitting the "mold." The mentality seems to be more of "I'm going to do what I want, and don't care if you like it." And in the case of Chris Cornell, nobody liked it. From listening to 94.1 in and out of Madison for a few weeks, I got very put out with the current state of rock. Everything sounded the same, ultra-compressed, and not the least bit exciting, even the new Alice in Chains. But luckily, Muse and Julian have restored my love of new music.

Truth be told, the one musician that has been a real dud is Jack White. The man dips his hand into anything he smells. I was totally cool and excited with the Raconteurs/White Stripes deal, but the new James Bond theme with Alicia Keys, his own record label (Third Man Records) and the Dead Weather hit. James Bond theme= terrible, Third Man Records=whatever, Dead Weather=lack luster. The man is now some sort of musical genius and mogul. He needs to focus on something. When was the last time the White Stripes did anything, aside from a DVD released after being recorded years ago. White is a musician and should stick to doing just that...but not in every band he comes near. The material written in the Raconteurs is great, but they have no momentum because White keeps leaving for other shit. It's annoying.

Still, everyone else seems to be advancing, and that makes me happy.