Happy 4/20!

It's April 20th, a Monday. Yet Asher Roth decided to release his debut album today instead of tomorrow on the 21st, a Tuesday, when albums are typically released. If you've listened to any of Asher Roth's songs, it's obvious why he made this decision.

We've played a few Asher tracks on the show ("I Love College," "Lark on my Go-Kart," "As I Em,"...), so it's easy to think without hearing the rest of the album that he only raps about college, sex, weed, and parties, in what Decker refers to as "bro music." But after listening to the album, it's clear that Roth does have more to say that just what he loves about college. His track "His Dream," is reminiscent of a slowed-down Atmosphere track. It deals with family drama and the difficulties of fatherhood.

Kind of like Lil' Wayne's Tha Carter III, Roth's album plays around with many different hip-hop styles instead of sticking to one primary sound. Some tracks sound like pop rap (i.e. "I Love College), some sound liek they were produced by T-Pain or Akon (i.e. "She Don't Wanna Man), others sound like Murs track (i.e. "Bad Day"). On the one hand, I like his pop sensibilities and his unique, white-boy flow, but I wish he had executed a more conceptual style instead. My boy Garrett and I had discussed this the other day, this album could have been epic if it had been a concept album akin to The Street's A Grand Don't Come for Free. Imagine this: Asher begins with a track about the boredom of school, but then he sees a girl. Then he pre-games. He heads out with his friends and goes to a party. Maybe he sees this girl again. You get the point. If the album had had this sort of concept and continuity, it would be more enjoyable, kind of like watching Can't Hardly Wait, but in a college setting. Honestly, if any artist were to make the quintessential college hip-hop album, it'd be Asher Roth.

In general, these are good tracks, with a few really good singles. And clearly Asher Roth shows that he is more complex than anyone previously thought. Perhaps in the future, we can expect more development and an even more complex, unique sound.

Flaming Lips this Sunday

This Sunday is Earth Day, which means the Green Apple Festival will be occurring on the National Mall for free! This year's headliners are The Flaming Lips, so you know it's going to be a great show. They are one of the few bands on my list of "Bands to See Before I Die," the others being Muse, Daft Punk, and Radiohead.

Best Album of the Year (So Far)....

I'm not the biggest indie rock fan out there, but I am really into heavy alternative rock, so it should come as no surprise to anyone that I love the Silversun Pickups. Their first LP, Carnavas was the quintessential high school album. Tracks like "Lazy Eye" and "Well Thought Out Twinkles" were epic and thoughtful. And yesterday, the Silversun Pickups released their long-awaited follow-up, entitled Swoon. Honestly, after a few listens, I can definitifely say that this album is the best album of 2009 (so far). The band has upped the distortion and the synth-rock that was pioneered by their main influence, My Bloody Valentine. It's easy to see the alt-rock 90's influence in the Silversun Pickups' work. If it weren't for singer Brian Aubert's vocals, I could have mistook this sound for the old Smashing Pumpkins. (Weird how both bands have female bassist?)  But what I personally love about this album is how the heavy guitar riffs and raw drum beats contrast with lead singer Brian Aubert's soft, melodious vocals. Sure, he can belt it out if he needs to, but most tracks involve him almost humming or mumbling the lyrics over heavily distorted guitars and bass. And the production is wonderful. The mix of elegant pianos and airy, wispy strings with shoegazer riffs is perfect. Yet, the distortion that was ubiquitous in the first album, is much more refined now, which makes for a much more enjoyable sound. All together, the album creates an eerie mood and has a great flow of calm, almost-depressing tracks and powerful, violently loud tracks. As David Fricke writes in his Rolling Stone review, the Silversun Pickups "know how to have fun with fuzz and where to find the beauty in noise." Even the album art is awesome. Like with their first album, the album art comes from a Darren Waterson painting.

You can check out the new album at MTV here.
Check out the video to "Panic Switch" below:

Show #I've Lost Count Recording (4/14)

Though Obama came to campus today, I think the most exciting event of the day was yet another High Fidelity radio show. That's a lie. Today's show was filled with mostly music as Decker and I had work and soccer to watch. Perhaps that's a good thing.

Anyways, click the title above or right here to download the show or stream it below:

Show #? Playlist (4/14)

Outkast- Return of the "G"
The Throwbacks -American Phenomenon
Pharoahe Monch -Body Baby
Rakim- New York (You Outta There)
Balance & Composure- Alone for Now
Rancid- Time Bomb
Morrissey- Shoplifters of the World Unite
Stone Roses- I Wanna Be Adored
Lily Allen - The Fear
Que Billah feat. The Cool Kids - I Got Colors
Bad Brains- With the Quickness
Burn- New Morality
Kid Cudi- I Poke Her Face
Lemar- I Believe in a Thing Called Love
Asher Roth- As I Em
Fugazi- Bad Mouth
The Stone Roses- So Young
Texas is the Reason- Back and to the Left
The Knux- Hush
311- Hey You
Hot Water Music- Russian Roulette
Jawbreaker- Accident Prone
Cage- Blood Boy
Sage Francis- Makeshift Patriot
Juelz Santana- I Am the Club
Turning Point- Behind This Wall
Chad Smith, Tom Morello, Wu-Tang Clan- Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nothing to Fuck With

RANCID RETURNS

SUP, hope everyone's Easter Break was fun. Anyway, I just found out that Rancid put up a new song, so I thought I would post it. The track is called "Last One to Die", and definitely contains some traditional Rancid elements i.e. Tim Armstrong's trademark growl, upstrokes, and singalong.
Rancid has a lot of haters, but whatever. Few bands are as fun to throw on and sing along to while driving or chilling, and And Out Come the Wolves is an incredible record. Hope to catch them at a gig this summer, skank it up.

Peep the new track here.



In other news, one of the best bands from Scranton, PA, The Menzingers just posted a new and much anticipated track. They are a cool band who take influences from diverse acts like the Clash, the Smoking Popes, Billy Bragg, and Bruce Springsteen. Anyway, check their new track here, and make sure you check out their tour schedule because they are a fun band to see live.

Download 311's New Single

Decker and I don't always agree when it comes to music, but one band that we both love is 311. So, I was excited when I found out that the Omaha, Nebraska/Los Angeles, CA band is putting out another album on June 2nd called Uplifter. It's been over 4 years since they put out their not-so-great Don't Tread on Me, so it's needless to say that I'm pretty anxious for this album. In the meanwhile though, the band has released their new single, "Hey You" as a free single with Spin Magazine. Check it out here or the title above.