iTunes more expensive than Amazon?

It appears that way.

Engadget is reporting that variable pricing has gone into effect over at iTunes, and that its Top 10 songs, which are unsurprisingly similar to Amazon's, are more expensive than its competitors.

Noty sure if Jobsy poo was forced to charge more for music, or if Apple is greedy, or if amazon can just fuck up shit with prices.

But whatever it is, I like it. Keep the prices coming down boys.

Cymbals Eat Your Face

So, I talked to Zak C. yesterday, just a usual check in, and he starts raving about this band Cymbals Eat Guitars, which I had seen on Pitchfork a while back (to rave reviews, which is never a good sign).

I kind of remembered hearing them on their MyFace page and had been momentarily intrigued.

They're good. I'm getting the album today, we'll report out later. it's a lot of that loud/soft/loud crash guitar stuff that was popular way back when. For all you suckas praying for Pavement to get back together, this band kinda fills that bill.

Everyone wants to be fucking Nirvana.

No in all seriousness, the stuff I've heard on their page is pretty solid. So I'm going to pick this up. They have it at Amazon. Or Insound. or itunes. or wherever music is sold.

What We're Listening To - White Lies "To Lose My Life"

You've gotta love a band that is so openly and unapologetically bombastic, while shamelessly aping the sound of an 80's synth legend.

White Lies debut isn't incredibly deep. The lyrics aren't especially moving. There doesn't seem to be a great string of literary cohesion. And I feel that if this was your standard indie pop, I would've passed this over.

But from the first track to the last, it's clear that this band is trying to be the second coming of Duran Duran. It starts out big, and is remarkable for that sustained energy alone.

When the songs are good, they make you think, “Damn, I did love the 80's” The Opener, Fear, is a tremendously large happy romp about death and love (which is kind of the album's entire theme.)

The sound is what everyone is doing now. You had The Killers make it novel a few years back, and you had The Rosebuds make it perfect with “Night of The Furies.” But this album might be the last sip from that well.

It's all happening

This Sunday.

The fearless leader of this not so regular group blog.

Will bring his electronic written thoughts, musings and indefensible music reviews...

To LIFE. Well not to life, per se, but in an audible electronic format.

The best damn podcast ever, Shifted Sound.

And The DP will unite. For one episode only.

And it will be AWESOME. Epic doesn't do Shifted Sound Episode #150 any justice. You ever put your tongue on a 9volt battery? This will be the same thing, but by a bajillion.

Subscribe now (in iTunes.. click this link and it will pop up) so your lame ass doesn't forget and miss it.

What We're Listening To - Bishop Allen's Grrr

How can you not like Bishop Allen?

A week doesn't go by where I don't put on The Broken String, when I'm not humming a tune or quoting a song. It's my eldest son's favorite album (Click Click Click being his favorite song).

So I, like a lot of people I know, have been eagerly waiting for the follow up.

And it's here, amid a slew of other great albums, vying for attention on my iPod. And as much as I'm loving the new M. Ward, and finding out new songs to like on Dark Was the Night (New Pornographers, what?), this album has been a siren song, calling me back.

I heard a lot of these back at the concert in October, and it sounded good then, even if not totally fleshed out. I'm actually kind of sad I'm missing them this tour, because I can only imagine that after a few months of touring, these songs sound incredible live.

Essentially, Bishop Allen makes nerdy, sing-along college indie pop (that was an actual bin label at Coconuts). They use words like filibuster. They use Shanghai as a verb, and it's not racist. There's a guy playing a recorder. Lots of weird percussion shows up.

It is a fun record.

Yet, it doesn't hold on as well as Broken String. The past is prologue and all that jazz, but if you go in looking for the same kind of pop perfection, you'll be sorely disappointed. South China Moon seems oddly dark. The album opener doesn't really hook you like The Monitor.

But if you're patient, you'll be rewarded. Dirt On Your Shoes is pretty song about failure. Oklahoma makes me bounce whenever I hear it. And True or False is better song than Butterfly Nets (Heresay, I know).

The good outweighs the bit of bad, and this music is still sunny. And like a plenty of sunshine on a barely cloudy day, I think you'll enjoy this album

Get Bishop Allen's Grrr...

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What We're Listening To - Wild Light's "Adult Nights"

Well, this title is a bit of a misnomer.

I've had this album as a preview since the beginning of January.

Hell, we even did an interview with them.

And it sat on my iPod virtual shelf, collecting dust.

But then I heard Shelby's show from a few weeks ago, and I put it back in rotation.

And I forgot how incredibly solid this album is. If their big label promotes it right, this could be one of the sleeper hits of the year.

he single, "California on My Mind" won't be on the radio. But maybe Surf Generation. Or Red House. Or Canyon City.

This is the pop that made you fall in love with the Killers, or Tokyo Police Club. It's sunny. It's clearly rooted in 80s synth. The lyrics are light and don't really delve into too much.

If that wasn't enough, the boys of Wild Light premiered a new video for California on My Mind. A sleepy bored Marilyn Monroe impersonator singing Fuck California? Brilliant.

What I'm Listening To - Hold Time by M. Ward

People tell me M. Ward is some kind of musical genius.

I wasn't convinced after She and Him Volume I, to me the worst album of 2008. The only thing I imagine is worse is that there will inevitably be a Volume Two.

But my hate aside, people I respect say give M. Ward another chance. And I did, cos I'm a man of forgiveness and mercy.

Ward's latest album, Hold Time, validates the praise. This album is gorgeous. You can tell he has an affection of that gauzy, fuzzy pop music of the 70's. And he achieves an impressive work of pastiche with this album. The guitars sing. He didn't shy away from huge production values (background singers, full throated orchestra on "To Save Me"). The fuzzy guitars of "Never Had Nobody Like You" (with the suprisingly pleasant background vocals of Zooey Deschanel). The waves and swells of the title track. Stripped down this is not. It sounds as if Brian Wilson let loose a bottle of Pet Sounds and stepped in behind the boards.

He also affects a pretty solid country persona too. The best song on the album might be his duet with Lucinda Williams, "Oh Lonesome Me." I don't know why, but this song just makes me happy. And it's such a sad song.

Same thing for "For Beginners." He opens the album with this trudging singing, yet it's haunting fade out only beckons for more.

2009 is shaping up well. I recommend picking this one up to usher you into spring.

BONUS: Check out M. Ward tonight March 6, on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Get "Hold Time" by M. Ward

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