News:Live Music This Week In Kamloops

I just thought I would remind you of some live shows that are coming up this week.

First of all, Sunday night, at the Pavilion Theatre, there is a punk show starting at 7:30pm and going until 11pm.  It is ten dollars at the door, and Wednesday Night Heroes, The Jolts, Soundcity Hooligans, and Let's Dance are all playing.  If you can only go out one night this week, hit this one up, I'm sure its going to be awesome.

If you're into country(not really my thing), on Monday, Doc Walker and Ridley Bent are playing at the Sagebrush Theatre at 7:30pm.  Tickets are $33.50.  

Then, on Wednesday, local artist Asha is playing at The Commodore.  I've been looking all over and can't seem to find what time the show starts, I'm figuring around 8pmish?  The show only has a five dollar cover charge.  

Thursday night, starting at 8pm, Kamloop's own DJ Kudos with guest DJ Astroglyde(best/worst name ever) is playing at Tango Tapas Bar and Lounge.

The big show is on Friday, with George Thorogood and the Destroyers coming to the Interior Savings Centre.  Tickets are $40+.   

Lots going on this week, make sure you get out and support Kamloops music.

News:May 24th, Vernon-Bass Dragon

At the Unity Martial Arts Centre in Vernon there is a rave starting at 11pm and ending at 6am.  Featuring two rooms, it is hosted by Dragon's Lair.  I've haven't been to one of these shows in Vernon yet, but I've heard that they are really well done and are a lot of fun.  Ticket's are fifteen dollars in advance or twenty dollars at the door, and you must be at least eighteen years of age and bring photo ID.  Kamloops talent is going to be there in the form of Wandalicious who apparently plays "ass shakin house."  For more information click here.

News:Tricky Is Back

British trip-hop genius, Tricky, is releasing a new album on September 9th, six years after his last musical effort "Vulnerable."  The album is called "Knowle West Boy" and is named after the ghetto he grew up in.  Not surprisingly the majority of the album was produced by himself but he also got some help from Switch, who produced M.I.A.'s most recent album.  The first single "Council Estate" will be coming out at some point this summer.

Review:Nine Inch Nails-The Slip

4/5 stars

Trent Reznor is sure keeping busy this year, recording and releasing two albums, genius marketing, touring, and proclaiming to the world the evils of corparate music(take that Rolling Stones).  His most the recent release, "The Slip," is being given away for free over his own website, which is not an unprecedented move.  Radiohead beat him to it, but as Trent Reznor pointed out, Radiohead backed out, saying that it was just a marketing scheme to drum up publicity.  So is this album the sequel to "Year Zero" that he promised, or is this back to business as usual?  I'm not totally sure, some lyrics are very direct references to the "Year Zero" theme, "you train us how to act, you keep the fear intact," or "your armies full of hate, believing your charade."  Other lyrics are just as suicidal as "The Downward Spiral," "put the gun, in my mouth, close your eyes, blow my fucking brains out, pretty patterns on the floor."  Personally, I could care less what the theme of this album is, Trent Reznor has never been a lyrical genius.  Nine Inch Nails has always been more about the emotion you hear in the vocals and music, rather than what he is actually singing about.

"The Slip" is the best Nine Inch Nails album since "The Fragile," and it is the noisiest music he has created since "The Downward Spiral."  The album opens with the ambient white noise of "999, 999" and then "1, 000, 000" comes right after with a blast of distorted guitars and crashing drums.  It is a song that would have easily fit on the "Broken" EP. The song, much like the rest of the album is filled with suicidal lyrics like "I jump from every rooftop, so high, so far to fall."  Then the even noisier "Letting You" comes right afterwards, filled with guitar notes that seem to be picked at random.  Easily the best song on the album, this song sounds like it was written for "The Downward Spiral."  The first single "Discipline" is a slinky song that grows on you with each listen.  Trent Reznor's misery hasn't sounded this sexy since 1994.  About a halfway through the album the music completely changes from the heavy industrial into piano ballad "Lights in the Sky" which is a relatively weak song.  What saves it from the skip button, is the rawness of it, almost sounding like you are sitting right on the piano bench with Trent, as he composes the song in his whispered vocals.  After that the album starts to sound like "Ghosts" with ambient instrumentals "Corona Radiata" and "The Four of Us are Dying" which are both superb.  They feel like short glances into Trent Reznor's totally fucked up head.  The album ends with "Demon Seed" which is probably the worst name for a song ever, and also the weakest song on the album.

"The Slip" is incredible, adrenaline charged music, that has a sense of urgency to it.  The two halfs of the album don't fit together very well, with such a huge change in tempo.  But for the most part the quality of the music makes up for any flaws in the order of the songs. 

News:Emmanuel Jal

I think everyone knows, including those that are part of it, mainstream American Hip Hop is slowly destroying itself.  Thats why it is so refreshing for an artist like Emmanuel Jal to get a chance to release his music.  At the age of seven, Emmanuel Jal, became a child soldier in Sudan's civil war.  In a song called "Forced to Sin" he actually details how he had to eat fallen soldiers to survive.  They have a short but good interview of him over at Rolling Stone, and they also have a music video and couple of songs you can listen to.  Musically, it isn't anything fantastic, but subject wise it is pretty moving and groundbreaking.  "For me, I wanted revenge for my mother, wanted to revenge for my village, for my auntie who was raped in front of me, for our house that burned," he says on how most child soldiers actually want to be a part of the war.  One of the most interesting things he says, is about 50 Cent and the nature of gangster rap.  "It was like you can't kill people and then talk about it on the TV.  Because if you take somebody's life, for the rest of your life it will haunt you."  He actually has a song called "50 Cent" where he quite respectfully(I'm not being sarcastic) tells 50 Cent that what he is doing is wrong.  If you want to read the rest of the interview, or check out his music click on the Rolling Stone link.

News:May 15th-DJ Kudos

After the pathetic turnout to the DJ Jelo show, somebody is being brave and attempting to put on another DJ show in Kamloops.  DJ Kudos and DJ Astroglyde will be playing at Tango Tapas Bar and Lounge starting at 6pm on Thursday, May 15th.  I can't really say I'm as pumped for this show as I was to see DJ Jelo, since I've seen DJ Kudos live before and I really wasn't that impressed.  He is definitely a talented DJ, but I find his style and music taste rather dry and boring.  But if you can, go out and support the Kamloops music scene.

News:Welcome To The Fold

As you probably already know, Beck's new album will be produced by Danger Mouse, but you probably didn't know already, Cat Power will also be contributing to the new album.  Beck has also decided to follow the lead of other groups, Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead, Gnarls Barkley, and the Raconteurs, and release his new album right after finishing it, in the next four to six weeks to be exact. Cat Power, Beck, and Danger Mouse all on one album, I feel a little overwhelmed(in fact, I think I just had an orgasm).

News:May 11th-Wednesday Night Heroes, The Jolts, Soundcity Hooligans, Let's Dance

Punk has returned to Kamloops, or so it seems at least.  Next thing we'll be flooded with wannabe emos and the whole polluted scene will collapse in on itself again.  But until then, enjoy!  Sunday, May 11th, 7:30pm, at the Pavillion Theatre Wednesday Night Heroes, The Jolts, Soundcity Hooligans, and Let's Dance are all playing an all ages show.  They all seem like high energy bands, and the Soundcity Hooligans know how to put on a show.  I unfortunately won't be able to make it because of work, so if anyone wants take pictures and put up a review, let me know.

News:Its All For Free, Folks!

Joining the growing multitude of super groups who give out music for free(I'm not complaining), The Offspring have put up their new single "Hammerhead" for free download.  The website took a while to send me the link, so be prepared to wait a couple hours for the song.  The album it is off of, "Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace" will physically be released on June 17th.  Apparently it is "best thing" they have ever done, so I guess we'll have to wait and see.

News:Trent Reznor's Big Thanks

Trent Reznor has been full of surprises this year and this one is possibly the biggest and most exciting of all.  His "thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years" is an album on him.  An entire album of new stuff(with vocals this time) called "The Slip" for free download off of his site.  Check it out, you have no reason not to.  For all the crazy, obsessed collectors, the physical copies on vinyl and CD in July.

News:Kanye West and Justice

Kanye West put up the new Justice music video for the song "Stress," on his blog.  It's a different music video, thats for sure, with lots of meaningless violence, vandalism, and robberies.  I've read a lot of comments that say "welcome to france," apparently this is a very real depiction of the violence and anarchy that happens in the projects of France.  Let me know what you think.