White Sea "Stay Young, Get Stoned"

"Stay young, get stoned." It's the kind of chorus Katy Perry would write, if she didn't have young, impressionable girls watching every move she makes. If it weren't for the PG-13 lyrical content, White Sea would have a bonafide pop hit on her hands. Well, not a let's-get-this-party-started kind of pop hit, but at least a solid deep cut.

Check out more from her here.

My Favorite Song About Robots Taking Over

Surprisingly, my favorite song about robots taking over is not The Streets' The Robots are Taking Over. (That's my second favorite.) The top spot is reserved for Citizens of Tomorrow by Tokyo Police Club.

This 2006 tune into the future--all the way to 2009--to imagine a frightening brave new world.

Let's take a look at some of the lyrics.

Our robot masters will know
How to clean this mess up
And build a better world
For man and machine alike
For the boys and the girls
Who are slaves building spaceships at night
In the fluorescent light.
That's 2009.

Child slaves building spaceships? Frightening indeed. But it doesn't stop there.

I have a microchip
Implanted in my heart
So if I try to escape
The robots will blow me apart
And my limbs will go flying
And land before the ones that I love. 

Man, 2009 sounds HORRIBLE!

But it sure makes for a great song.

And now back to The Streets. My favorite white British rapper (aka Mike Skinner) loved to rhyme about the wonders and ills of technology. (In fact, he wrote a whole album about it called Computers and Blues.) 

Here are a few lines from The Robots are Taking Over [VIDEO]:

We used to control it but now we let it control us
Made it to connect us but it turns it into loners
Now they double check our names and act like they don't know us
And one day they turn then they will certainly dethrone us.

Dang robots. 

But Mr. Skinner also writes a few nice things about bleeps and boops, including my number one favorite song about cell phones.

And who could forget Skinner's heartfelt shout-out to the ultrasound machine as he sings to his unborn child on Blip on the Screen [VIDEO]? Priceless.

But no list of robots and phones and computers is complete without Bad Religion's 21st Century Digital Boy. Greg Graffin wants to punch technology in the face!

Check out all these songs here. [VIDEO PLAYLIST]

Song of the Day: Midnight Hours by Wunder Wunder

If you're looking for a kind-hearted piece of pop, you're in luck. Midnight Hours by Wunder Wunder is a gentle, wavvy bit of ambient pop that feels like lying on the summer grass, just as the sun's starting to go down.


Their new album, Everything Infinite, comes out July 15 on Dovecote Records.

Cloud Nothing's Psychic Trauma

Another new Cloud Nothings single from their forthcoming album "Here and Nowhere Else." And another success. Check out "Psychic Trauma" below.

If I Had to Choose Just One Track from Streetlight Manifesto's The Hand that Thieves

I think I'd have go with If Only For the Memories. It makes me want to sing along, pump my fist, and eat a chimichanga...all at the same time.

Talk about an emotional trifecta!

The 10 Best Lyrics from In Utero

It's hard to believe that it's been 20 years since Nirvana released In Utero, one of my favorite albums of all time. There has been a lot of press around the album's anniversary and accompanying box set re-release, including some really great interviews with Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic. All of which has been making me pretty nostalgic.

I can still remember riding my bike to the record store to buy it and then anxiously putting it into my boombox. I sat on my bedroom floor and listened, with the cassette sleeve in my hand, so I could follow on along with the lyrics. (Up until that point, I thought the refrain to Heart Shaped Box was "Hey Wayne, I've got a new complaint." Which didn't make a lot of sense.)

Speaking of lyrics, here are my top 10 lines from the album.

10. You can't fire me because I quit, Throw me in the fire and I won't throw a fit (Scentless Apprentice)

Has there ever been a better song written about a baby born without the ability to smell--a literal scentless apprentice?

9. Angel left wing, right wing, broken wing (Milk It)

Along with Tourette's (which has no recognizable words), Milk It is the abrasive song on the album. Between howls of "Doll steak!" and "Test meat!" Kurt offers up some of his signature wordplay.

8. I own my own pet virus, I get to pet and name her (Milk it)

Loved this lyric so much that I named my very first band Pet Virus. We only knew about five songs: Nirvana's Polly, Today by Smashing Pumpkins, and a couple of Green Day songs.

7. I think I'm dumb, or maybe just happy (Dumb)

Simple. Perfect. But ironic, given Kurt was neither dumb nor happy.

6. She'll come back as fire and burn all the liars, leave a blanket of ash on the ground (Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle)

Frances Farmer was never a single, but it's one of the best tracks on the album. It's perfect Nirvana, totally heavy but completely accessible.

5. I miss the comfort in being sad (Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle)

Again, what a great song.

4. I love you for what I am not, I did not want what I have got (Radio Friendly Unit Shifter)

Obviously, the band was conflicted about being punk rockers who were wildly successful in the mainstream. This song--intended to be the opposite of a tune that would sell records or "shift units")--is catchy in spite of itself.

3. If you ever need anything please don't hesitate to ask someone else first. I'm too busy acting like I'm not naive. I've seen it all, I was here first (Very Ape)

Classic Nirvana contradictions. I'm naive, but I'm pretending I'm not. But I'm really not. I know more about this anyone else.

2. I've been drawn into your magnet tar pit trap, I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black (Heart Shaped Box)

Haunting.

1. Teenage against has paid off well, now I'm bored and old (Serve the Servants)

Best. opening line. Ever. Just about every article about grunge focused on Gen Xers' angst, ennui, and lack of motivation. Kurt turned it back around, happily implying that he'd cashed in on the stereotypes of the slacker generation...he'd moved on...and left everyone else behind.

Twenty years later, In Utero isn't as good as it was in 1993. It's better.

May I Recommend: GRMLN

Even though it's 2013, I spend a lot of time time thinking about 1992. Specifically about how much I love the 1992 album It's a Shame About Ray by the Lemonheads. I have yet to find a band that can construct a perfectly-crafted three minute pop/rock song quite like Evan Dando.

And then I got an email about GRMLN. The band is basically a 20-year-old dude named Yoodoo Park. He was born in Japan and moved to Southern California as a kid. The SoCal sun shines all over Empire, Park's lighthearted debut album. Ah, pop/rock. 

I can't get enough of the ultra-bouncy Teenage Rhythm. It makes me wanna dance. In fact, I think I will. 

Empire clocks in under 30 minutes. It's a great listen all the way through. 

Best Moment: Bad Religion True North

What do you say about a band's sixteenth record? Of the Brett-Gurewitz-is-back-in-the-band era, True North is basically on par with the so-so Dissent of Man and New Maps of Hell. It lags far behind the excellent The Process of Belief (an album that is as good as anything in Bad Religion's entire catalog). In other words, it's good but not great.

Here's my favorite track from the record, a tune that has the urgency and simplicity of early Bad Religion.

Nothing to Dismay

Balance and Composure - The Things We Think We're Missing

I've been listening to the Balance and Composure all afternoon on Spotify. My finger is getting tired of clicking "star" on every single track.

On their debut release, the impressive Separation, it was easy to compare this Doylestown, Pennsylvania five-piece to contemporaries like Polar Bear Club or Transit. But on Things We're Missing, it appears the '90s have overcome these millenials. The album is awash with noisy fuzz, sludgy guitars, and some pretty striking post-teenage angst. It's angry and shoegaze-y and heavy without losing track of structure of hooks.

Here a few of the tracks I'm digging right now:



Tiny Raindrop



I'm Swimming



Lost Your Lost Your Name

The album is pretty solid start to finish. I'd highly recommend listening to it in its entirety.

Why I No Longer Hate New Found Glory

Here's the deal with releasing an album that all your fans hate. It opens the door for new fans.

I've never been a New Found Glory supporter. I don't even remember why I first listened to 2006's Coming Home. (It was probably in advance of an interview I did with guitarist Chad Gilbert, who was quite a nice guy, by the way). But I loved it pretty much instantly.

It's slower than their preceeding records. It's just a collection of songs about girls and heartbreak, but it's built on genuine melancholy, rather than just teenage emotion.

It's a record I love to listen to front-to-back. It's tough to even choose a favorite track, but this one will do.



Since Coming Home, NFG have released to back-to-basics albums, Not Without a Fight in 2009 and Radiosurgery in 2011. Though they don't resonant with me in the same way, they're both solid releases.

Hey, I guess I'm a fan now.

Like a Monkey With a Miniature Cymbal

Songza told me it would play me music that would make me feel like I was sitting on a rooftop in the summertime. Unfortunately, I don't think I have sat on enough rooftops in the summertime to know if this playlist really delivers what it promises. All claims aside, it certainly offered up "Over and Over" by Hot Chip, a song that I love but haven't heard in years.


Next time I'm cleaning the leaves out of my rain gutters, you can be sure this is the tune I'll be listening to.

New WHY? on the Way

WHY? is a 2000s band, who I really believe was mysteriously transported from the mid-'90s. They do all that '90s stuff like mix rock and hip-hop, and sing and talk, and talk-sing, and who are always hugely deadpan. (Think early Cake or a less ridiculous Bloodhoung Gang.)

On paper, this doesn't sound like something that would appeal to me but I love both the two albums of theirs that I've heard (Alopecia and Eskimo Snow). There are certain moody afternoons where this is exactly the band I want to listen to.

Looks like they've got both a new EP and a new LP coming out this fall. They just released this new single (which, so far, suits me just fine).

Sod in the Seed (SoundCloud)

You can also check one of my favorite WHY? tunes here - These Few Presidents (YouTube). 

Secretly in Love with Justin Bieber?

 
If you love those sugary-sweet, Bieber-esque hooks, but aren't quite ready to admit your Bieber Fever to your friends, I may have a fix for you. DATABOY is just as catchy, but with a slightly more electronic vibe (and clearly more hipster cred).

For the next few days, you can stream their new album Dreams are Gold here. You can also check out a bunch of their tunes on SoundCloud. 

Rocky Votolato = Incredibly Nice Guy

Over the last year-ish, I've had the chance to talk to Rocky Votolato three times. Each time I hang up, my first thought is, "Wow, what a nice guy."

Call number three was no exception.

His new album, on the other hand, is quite exceptional. Check out the tune "Little Spring" here.

---

Rocky Votolato is feeling better. Much better.

Over his long and impressive career as a singer/songwriter, Votolato has had his share of personal peaks and valleys. But when it came time to write 2010’s “True Devotion,” he was pretty much at rock bottom.

“I always want my writing to reflect where I’m at in my life,” he says. “With ‘True Devotion,’ I was in a really dark place. I was struggling with some really personal, existential issues. On this one, I feel like I’ve sorted a lot of that out.”

“This one” is his new album, “Television of Saints.” From the first notes of the record, it’s easy to hear that Votolato is in a different headspace. “There’s a lighter feeling to this album overall. It’s not as heavy as the last album,” he says. “There’s still an element of struggle and darkness within the songs, but it’s more from a narrative perspective.”

Though the record is not as heavy, “Television” is just as weighty. The songs flow together joyously and effortless, creating the most instantly engaging collection of Votolato’s career.

He says the album title draws a phrase coined in the 1930s, referring to how the newly invented television had such a power to bring people together. Through the record isn’t about TV, it is about how we are all connected in some way. Votolato says he was heavily inspired by his connection to friends and family when he wrote the album.

So it was only fitting that he reach out to those same folks to help him make the album. His brothers Sonny and Cody both played on the record. “This is the first time I’ve had both of my brothers on an album. That was a really cool experience. I’ve been wanting to do it for a long time,” Votolato says.

Having finished out his contract with indie label Barsuk, Votolato decided to turn to his friends and fans to help him fund the record. Through the website Kickstarter, he was able to raise $40,000 (more than double what he had asked for) in just 30 days.

“I’m really, really grateful to all of my fans for all of that,” he says. “It allowed me more freedom and more control creatively. I got to the make the record I wanted to make. And I didn’t have to go into severe debt to do it, which is what I would have been facing if I hadn’t done Kickstarter.”

In exchange for their donations, fans were treated to a wide range of collectors items, from t-shirts hand-screenprinted by Votolato’s wife to paintings made by his son. For the fan who donated $2,500, Votolato promised a private concert anywhere in the U.S. or Europe.

“Most everything has worked out really well and is pretty close to being finished now. It’s been a ton of work, but I think well worth it,” he says. There was one small problem, though.

“I had 128 hand-written lyric sheets to do and I kind of sprained my neck because I was writing so many of them without taking a break,” he says with a laugh.

Despite the full-band feel of the “Television of Saints,” Votolato will again tour as a solo act. “I like to play alone,” he says. “I like to keep the shows simple. On the records I’m most pleased with, I’ve followed the philosophy of ‘less is more.’ It makes things more intimate. I think that’s what I’m best at, so that’s what I’m bringing to the shows.”

So Yeah, I Feel Electric Pink in the Cheeks

I was just about to start writing an article about the incredibly nice Rocky Votolato when I got distracted by Spotify. I started with Rocky V, but then the "related artists" made me think about The New Amsterdams. Before I even pushed play, my eye was drawn to a band I haven't listen to in years--The Promise Ring.

The Promise is a bit of an acquired taste, but I absolutely love Electric Pink. I love the perfectly simple bass line and, of course, the lisp-y vocal.

For a long time after I first heard this song, every time I wrote a new song I would the steal the line "I live a small street/With very small shoes/But in a small house" as a place holder. It doesn't make any sense. And I love it.

Electric Pink [on Spotify]
I'd also recommend Happiness is all the Rage. 

The Atom Age: Dirty, Dirty Rock 'n Roll

Burt's Tiki Lounge is dark, dingy and loud. It's pretty much the perfect venue for The Atom Age, the East Bay, California five-piece that likes to keep its rock 'n roll a little dirty.

"Getting the audience horny is definitely an important part of the type of music we play," says guitarist/singer Ryan Perras. The Atom Age, however, is not what you'd call a gentle lover.

The band's garage rock sound is more an audio attack than a romantic swoon. And though the band features the tenor saxophone, there are no slow jams or sexy solos.

"We are really into rock 'n roll from the '50s and early '60s," Perras says. "Having tenor sax was considered pretty much essential back then--it was often more prominent than guitar. It's definitely a homage to that time."

The saxophone is a crucial part of the band's frenetic sound, that gives traditional rock 'n' roll an affectionate punch in the throat. "[The sax] adds dynamics and depth to the sound, as well as a being cooler-sounding alternative to guitar for lead parts," Perras explains. "A screamin' saxophone is just a part of wild rock 'n' roll, and I can't even imagine the band without it."

The band's new record, "The Hottest Thing That's Cool," just hit shelves this week. Perras says the album is purposefully a little rougher around the edges than their debut release, 2011's "Kill Surf City."

"On [our first] album, we hit The Atom Age sound on the head a few times but there's almost a lot of power-pop sounding stuff which, while still good, was not really what we had in mind," he says.

"We spent a lot of time touring on that record and really finding what direction we wanted the sound to go in, and we ended up having a very clear picture of what we wanted. For the new album, we worked really hard to make sure every single song was how we envisioned it. I think we can say that every song has The Atom Age sound."

That sound is raspy, raunchy and unrelenting. The band's live performances also follow suit, whipping the crowd into a healthy circle pit. "Screaming 'C'mon Motherfuckers' 500 times only gets ya so far," Perras says. "Just because you take your band seriously doesn't mean you have to be hardcore artists with the weight of the world on your shoulders. It's really criminal to forget about the most important part of rock 'n roll: FUN."

And the band certainly hasn't forgotten about rock 'n' roll's best friend: sex. "I would like to think [our show] is a high energy experience that leaves you sweaty and feeling horny" Perras says, before adding, "but strangely satisfied at the same time."

Check out an Atom Age playlist here.

Koffin Kats: Inspired by Beavis and Butt-Head

Vic Victor can trace his rockabilly roots back to the most enlightened intellectuals of the '90s: Beavis and Butt-Head.

He was watching the show when he saw the video for Reverend Horton Heat's 'Psychobilly Freakout.' "I thought it was just really cool," Victor recalls. "The video was weird and the guy played a big violin."

When Victor picked up the Reverend Horton Heat album at the record store, "It changed everything for me," he says. "I started getting into the 'billy culture and the hot rod culture. I started cuffing my pants and slicking my hair back."

That rockabilly/psychobilly culture became the backdrop for his band the Koffin Kats, where he sings and plays upright bass. But it wasn't the only inspiration.

"Once I started writing my own music and had my own band, I found my own way. I realized that lifestyle wasn't totally for me because I didn't fully believe in rockabilly. It was just another form of music. I didn't want to dedicate myself to one specific form of music."

"Ever since I've been a musician?--and just a fan of music--I've gone from listening to a Metallica album to a Tom Waits album to a Stray Cats album. Dedicating myself to one style of music has never been what I'm about or what Koffin Kats is about."

The band has always tried to let those varied influences come to the surface of their music. "I never want to put out the same album twice," Victor says. "And within the album, there's always something that the 'billy side, the punk side or the metal side, can dig. We play music that's all across the board. We're basically just a mutation of all the music we like, all put together--stylistically and musically."

Koffin Kats are also known to throw in a surprise or two, like on their new track "The Devil Asked," which is more Black Sabbath than Tiger Army. "It's cool that we've been able to make straight-forward, rockin' records, but it's also cool to be able to include some songs that people wouldn't expect from us," Victor says of the song. "It's going to be one that people either love, hate or just don't get."

"If someone has been a fan of our discography, they'll realize we've done stuff like this on other albums where something comes out of left field. It breaks up the monotony of the record. I don't want to write something where 30 minutes later, you think you'd been listening to the same song over and over."

As the band's sound has evolved, Victor's lyrics have also matured. "As I've gotten older, I've put away writing the off-the-wall science fiction lyrics of the first few records," he says. "I wanted to write songs about situations I've been in or or situations where people can just say 'I've been there.'"

The lyrical turning point came after Victor penned "At the Bar," a song about a fictional character wasting his life at the bar and watching relationships fail. "I've had so many people come up to me and say 'Man, I've been there,'" Victor says. "It's rewarding to hear people say that they can relate to something that you wrote. I don't consider myself to be any better than the next person, but to have someone say that they appreciate that you write really pushes you in a new direction."

Now Victor writes about what he knows best, and the band's new record, "Our Way & The Highway," is drenched in alcohol (see "It Happens Every Night," "The Bottle Called," "Booozincrossanation," among others).

The band's show in Salt Lake, however, will be slightly less, er, spirited.

"We're playing an all-ages show, so the booze won't be flying around [like usual], but we definitely try to make every show as much as a party as we can," Victor adds. "We want to have a good time and want to give [the fans] every bit of their dollar's worth."

Check out - At The Bar (YouTube)

The Hood Internet

December and January are very slow when it comes to rock seeing shows. For the most part, I only write about bands coming to town that I'm already interested in. But right now, I've just been trying to find something to fill the magazine pages.

I saw that The Hood Internet was coming to town. I'd never heard of them but the name alone was enough to entice me to look into the band.

The DJ duo specializes is mashups between indie bands and hip-hop artists. I checked out a few of their mixtapes and was instantly impressed. So I reached out to them about an interview.

They told me they'd rather do an email interview than a phone interview. That comes with goods and bads. It's easier for scheduling and getting quotes that actually make grammatical sense. But it's hard to get in-depth answers or follow-up info. In the worst case, you get crappy, half-hearted responses or one word answers.

My Hood Internet interview was LOUSY. My guess is they took about two minutes to answer all of my questions and gave me almost nothing I could use. I understand that doing interviews is a chore for bands, but when you're not exactly a household name, I'd think you'd be interested in getting a little free press.

Fortunately, I think I salvaged the article, which you can read here.

All disappointment aside, I still recommended giving 'em a listen. You can download both of these mixtapes for free:

The Mixtape - Volume Six
Mixtape - Self-Titled

Might I Recommend: Army Navy

Looking for a sign that you're getting older? Here's one--the place you buy your clothing is the same place you buy your groceries and fill your prescriptions. Ah, the wonders of Target.

Thanks to their crisp whites, circular reds, and bouncy tunes, Target commercials have a way of making the everyday-everything store seem like it's the hippest place in town.

Los Angeles trio Army Navy could easily write an entire Target soundtrack on their own. Their songs are immediately infectious and toe-tappingly fun. Their sophomore album, "The Last Place," is solid front to back. Most importantly, it's impossible not to feel just a little better after having listened to it.

The Kooks Get Digital

 

Though they didn't form their band until the mid-2000s, The Kooks' brilliant debut, "Inside In/Inside Out" felt like it was released in the 1960s. The British four piece proudly wore their love of bands like The Kinks and The Rolling Stones on their sleeve as they created an infectious collection of tried-and-true rock 'n' roll songs.

After releasing a formidable follow up in 2008 ["Konk"], the band decided it was time for something different. For inspiration, they turned from their old-time favorites to modern artists like LCD Soundsystem and Lykke Li. The result is "Junk of the Heart," a new album The Kooks couldn't be more proud of.

Guitarist Hugh Harris took a few minutes to talk about the band's entrance into the 21st Century.

After two albums that pull so heavily from another time period, what made you decide to change directions for "Junk of the Heart?"

We're purist. And we were quite snobbish in the past toward computerized music and things that weren't analog. But we realized you can't really go through life like that. We wanted to expand and see what else is out there. We found that synthesizers can be warm and fuzzy and beautiful and distorted as much as the sounds that we love that come out of amplifiers. Through that process, we opened up our minds.  

This isn't what I'd call a "guitar record." As a guitar player, how do you feel about that?

We've had our guitar record. I love playing guitar but there is only so much you can do with it. It's an instrument that has been played. It's had it's day. I've really been getting into writing on the viola and writing string arrangements. I'm not saying indie music or guitar music is dead, but to us, we don't want to be regurgitating the same sound over and over again. Bands who are on their fourth or fifth album and still playing the same sound look so bored on stage. I don't want us to become that band.

After recording a studio album, what has been like trying to figure how to recreate it live?

It's been absolute hell. I got quite possessive over parts that I'd done [in the studio] and said, "I'd quite like to play that part." But then you realize that you don't have enough hands to play all the parts. The live shows are so much different now. They have elements of punk rock, like our old shows, but they seem much richer and much fuller with these new sonics. It feels great.

Have the long-time fans had any trouble with the sonic shift? 

No. Because the change hasn't felt drastic or contrived. At the heart of the writing is still the same ethic. It's about pop songs and an uplifting melody. The most fascinating thing about pop music is that it's totally genre-less. That's why we feel more like a pop band, because we can morph so many more genres.

How has this record affected what the band will do in the future?

I like that we paved the way to use processed beats -- real dance beats that make you want to move. All we've ever wanted is to make people dance. Also, the strings are something we haven't really done before and it's something we'd like to experiment with. We're not going to reinvent the wheel, but music always has to feel new and fresh. Otherwise, it goes stale so quickly.

Check out: See the World [YouTube]