Video: Kevin Devine and Jesse Lacey, "Tomorrow's Just Too Late"

Video #17: Brand New, "Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades"

fugging shizzz

[win free thrice tickets, get closer to licking the sweat from dustin kensrue's head]

This is seriously the slowest week ever. There haven't been any big releases, TV shows or movies to really wax intellectual about. VH-1 aired the latest installment of their "Hip-Hop Honors" series in which they paid tribute to "New Jack Swing" (which isn't really hip-hop as much as it is a rap/R&B clusterfuck that resulted in my older sister getting tickets to see Boyz II Men, Another Bad Creation and Bell Biv DeVoe, while all I got were a bunch of shitty back issues of "Uncanny X-Men"). There was also the Lupe Fiasco Fiasco (dubbed "Fiascogate" by those wiseguys at Nah Right), where the motherfucker forgot the words to "Electric Relaxation." How is that possible? How can you be a backpack toting rapper and not know the words to a Tribe Called Quest song? A single, no less? A fucking song that the was theme to the "Wayans Brothers" goddamn sitcom? Bullshit, I says.

Other than that, it's been pretty dead. I've also been doing some legal work and flirting with the idea of getting a job with the gov'ment, which means that I'll have to go back to buying music, though in all fairness, I've purchased more music this year than I did last year. So take that, music industry reports.

Anyway, hopefully next week there will be some shit worth writing about. Maybe I'll expand on my Top 10 Break Up records of all time, as spawned by my Taking Back Sunday post earlier in the week.

Oh...go out and buy that Manchester Orchestra record, "I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child." That shit is hot fire. It might be the record of the year, next to Tegan and Sara's "The Con."

...And enter the new Redefine contest for free copies of the new Thrice album and tickets for the Brand New/Thrice tour!! Huzzah!

it's goin' down

Yesterday, the vastly popular Byron Crawford, posted this brief report about Mos Def's latest album, "Tru3 Magic," being pulled from retail stores. Actually, I didn't even know that the shit was out. Crawford alludes to the Mighty Mos taking swipes at the suits at Geffen, which is part of the giant Interscope/Universal/Island/Def Jam conglomerate.

Releasing his album with little more than a disc, an idiotic title and handful of decent songs, it makes you wonder if Mos Def basically put out a sub par record to finish off his contract with Geffen. Similarly, another one of Interscope's big acts, Brand New, recently released their much heralded third album, "The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me," with little more than a disc, unreadable liner notes and no lyrics. The exclusion of lyrics seems to be the big sting since most kids who are into the emo tend to hang on to every word that these guys sing and the idea of having to transcribe, and possibly misinterpret, lyrics to scribble onto their notebooks is both equally entertaining and sad.

To add insult to injury, of the many possible singles that Brand New could've made a video for, they used a two minute instrumental song called "Untitled," which was aired on MTV2 followed by a post on the Internet penned by lead singer, Jesse Lacey, which included subtle, incindiary comments about the giant label.

With two of Interscope's bigger acts doing everything they can to distance themselves from the label, it makes you wonder, how bad are they screwing up that company? Even after the Rootkit debacle, Sony is still steadily pushing solid, successful releases and Capitol, who's famous for catching onto genre trends a little late, has had some success with The Decemberists and Saosin.

While there is a new year looming, along with planned releases with Jimmy Eat World, Stat Quo and M.I.A. (it's been rumored that Dr. Dre has been attached to produce, but he probably won't), one may assume that despite public dissent, Interscope will probably walk away unscathed.

Related Links
Brand New - Untitled Music Video
Mos Def - Katrina Klap

album of the year? maybe?

Brand New
"The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me"
(Interscope)

The day is here. The arrival of the new Brand New album. Self-processed emo kids can finally breathe. And the album itself?

There's much to be said about the album that took nearly three years to be released. For one thing, following bands such as Switchfoot and Eisley, it's a decidedly very Christian rock album, particularly the imagery in the song "Jesus Christ," which has more to do with the iconography of the man and his message.

Then there's the vast stylistic growth from 2001's "Your Favorite Weapon" and 2003's "Deja Entendu." In a preview post from last week, I labeled the band's music as "bombastic, escapist pop" and now having heard the entire record, I think I may have coined some sort of review cliche to be used from here on out.

One of the most powerful elements of the band was their lyrics, which still appears to be as strong as before, but the music has gotten a complete overhaul. The aformentioned "Jesus Christ" has an intro that is basically lifted from Death Cab for Cutie's "Technicolor Girls;" "Not the Sun" is a faster ditty that refines the rapid punk moments of The Pixies. Yes there will be many comparisons to various bands that've shaped music culture within the last two decades, but Brand New has successfully borrowed from all of them.

At its musical core, "The Devil and God..." is a frantic album -- while loud and fast in some parts, it's quiet and reflective in others; it follows your standard pop trappings of catchy choruses, while other tracks have hardcore breakdowns. It's obvious that the guys in this band have a broader musical palette than your typical pop-punk fan.

In a lot of ways, this record will change the way that message board kids and Fall Out Boy rip off bands make music, just as "Deja Entendu" got them listening to Bright Eyes, "The Devil and God..." will cause a rise in pedal sales and dozens upon dozens of bands will cite Failure, Mineral and Owen as their primary influences, though they probably never heard of them before 2006.

Of course, my predictions could just all be hyperbole and I may be overpraising a record that I'll get sick of in a few months. But for this moment, this is the best album I've heard in a long time.

countdown to a brand new brand new album

Long Island's Brand New is either the smartest band in the world or the dumbest. We've seen enough of the VH-1 Behind the Music specials to realize that if a band takes more than a year and a half to make a record it's going to be a great album or an unmitigated disaster. I'm willing to give Brand New the benefit of the doubt and say it will most likely be the former.

After demo tracks leaked online a year ago, it seems as though the new record, "The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me," could be a quiet hit for the quartet, not unlike Death Cab for Cutie's "Plans." This, of course, is based on the strength of the first two tracks from the final pressing of the album that have been posted on sites like Myspace and Purevolume, "Sowing Season" and "Degausser."

Surprisingly, Interscope is releasing the album in the fourth quarter, a time that is usually reserved for greatest hits compilations, holiday themed albums and surefire platinum albums. Since "The Devil and God..." is neither a best-of or a Christmas record, then we can assume that Interscope has some pretty high hopes for the album.

Post "Deja Entendu," Brand New has managed to wander away from the pop-punk/emo soundscape altogether and place themselves in a general rock-defined genre with their brand of bombastic, escapist pop.

The only downside to all of this, however, is that Brand New has taken such a long time making a new record (it's been three and a half years since their last studio recording) that people may have already forgotten about the band. After all, bands that are considered to be heavyweights in the genre such as Taking Back Sunday, From First to Last and several others have released two albums in the time it's taken Brand New to make one. But then again, it is about quality, not quantity and if there's anything to be said about Brand New's commitment to releasing an album, I don't have a doubt in regards to its potential greatness, but will the kids still care?