Pork here.

Happy Tuesday, AKA’ers. It’s time to Listen Up as another New Music Release Tuesday is upon us. I’ve combed the (virtual) shelves and done some research . . . all for you!

Leading the charge is Travis, my second-favorite Scottish collective, who not only make a welcome return with their 6th full-length album, but they do it with incredible force. Ode To J. Smith finds our boys embracing their rock roots with an album full of some near-riotous concoctions, a few hypnotizing slow burners and many stops in between that will satisfy your urge to rock while opening up your mind and heart to feel . . . something . . . anything.

The album’s first officially-released single was “Something Anything” (get it now?) which failed to receive the airplay it deserved here in the U.S. simply because current radio just doesn’t know what to do with such a song. It’s as close to arena rock as Travis has ever turned out with a blistering guitar solo like you haven’t heard in ages packed into just 2 minutes and 24 seconds... which is all they needed to confirm that all they want to do is rock!

Keep reading the review of Travis after the jump. Plus, reviews of Duran Duran, John Lennon, Deadmau5 and The List of all new releases for November 4, 2008.

Ode To J. Smith comes to life with “Chinese Blues”, a mid-paced, piano-based stomper that enchants immediately with Fran Healy singing about “a million lonely people with their head in the sand trying to make some sense of what they don’t understand.” It’s heady and heavy . . . and classic Travis.

“J. Smith” starts innocently enough with classic and crisp staccato chords before dissolving into a choral hymnal and then plows back into pounding rock-n-roll before somehow blending the two into a perfectly dense climax and then returning to the original opening riff. With that much packed into just over 3 minutes, it is sort of a mini-mini-Bohemian Rhapsody. ("J. Smith" is also our featured song of the day, so check it out in The Media Bar.)

Travis Healy’s voice still travels right into my big ears and my whole system feels it every time. In addition to checking out Ode To J. Smith, I strongly urge/demand you to make their 2000 masterpiece, The Man Who a part of your current heavy rotation.

For fans of Duran Duran and their mammoth album, Rio, the honorable folks at Classic Albums deliver Classic Albums: Rio, an introspective DVD set that investigates and documents every angle of that album’s creation and history including songwriting, recording, and the albums massive success once it was released. Packed with live performances (both vintage and new), band interviews and videos, this should satiate even the most rabid Rio-ites.

Sidenote: Years ago while watching some footage of Jeff Buckley (deep breath) in the studio recording the vocals for “Grace” and “Hallelujah” I began thinking how much I would live for behind-the-scenes footage documenting the making of an album I’ve come to love. Come to think of it, I’d probably watch a documentary about the making of an album I don’t even care for. I am kind of obsessed with learning how anything is made, but when you’re talking music, it’s a double obsession. So, well done, Classic Albums folks. Hats off to you for pickin’ up the slack.

Another DVD worth checking out is Come Together: A Night for John Lennon’s Words and Music, the 2001 concert that brought Cyndi Lauper, Alanis Morissette, Lou Reed, Moby, Rufus Wainwright, Natalie Merchant and many more together to deliver their takes on some of the best songs ever written by one of the best songwriters ever alive. I can’t imagine that there are many people who haven’t been touched or felt some connection to John Lennon’s amazing catalog of songs and this concert offers some genuinely moving and memorable moments by some stellar artists who can make you hear something ‘old’ for the first time all over again. The show also ended up being some much needed musical therapy for those in attendance as only three weeks had passed since 9/11 and picking up the pieces is as much of a focus in this concert as the man and his music. The concert was originally scheduled to take place a few weeks earlier, but was postponed to October 2nd, 2001 in hopes of allowing the healing process to progress a bit more. This DVD will take you inside Radio City Music Hall on that night and you’ll discover inspired performances from a most-worthy roster of musicians.

Those of you looking for beats to get you moving, your best bet today is Random Album Title by Deadmau5, who has solidified himself as one of the most exciting presences in dance/electronic music of the past 2 years. Random Album Title is a long-overdue (and highly-anticipated) collection of tracks that have helped him make his mark. Gathered together for the first time, the entire album packs a punch you will feel long after the record stops. (Do I have to start saying “after the mp3 is over?” :] )

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, remember to vote while you’re heading out to the record store. :]

The List:
All New Music Releases - November 4th, 2008

Alvin and The Chipmunks – Undeniable (your chance for “Livin’ On A Prayer” . . . Chipmunk style!)
Arctic Monkeys - At the Apollo (DVD Import)
Andrea Bocelli – Incanto
Sarah Brightman – A Christmas Symphony
Harry Connick, Jr. – What A Night! A Christmas Album
deadmau5 – Random Album Title
Duran Duran - Classic Albums: Rio (DVD)
Fall From Grace – Sifting Through the Wreckage
Hinder – Take It to the Limit
honey honey – First Rodeo
Illinois – The Adventures of Kid Catastrophe, Chapter 1
Little Joy – Little Joy
Morel – The Death of the Paperboy (shoegazer disco?! yes, please!)
Jacqui Naylor – You Don’t Know Jacq
ohGr (from Skinny Puppy) – Devils in My Details
Randy Owen (from Alabama) – One on One
Brad Paisley – Play
Q-Tip – The Renaissance
Lou Reed - Berlin: Live at St. Ann’s Warehouse
Shiny Toy Guns – Season of Poison
Mavis Staples – Mavis Staples Live: Hope at the Hideout
Tenacious D - The Complete Master Works 2 (DVD)
Tipsy – Buzzz
Travis – Ode to J. Smith
Randy Travis - Christmas from the Pecos (DVD)
Hezekiah Walker & LFC– Souled Out
Various Artists - Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music (DVD)
Various Artists – Soul Men (Soundtrack)
Various Artists – Twilight (Soundtrack)

Greatest Hits, Best Ofs, Box Sets andReissues by: Ace of Base, Boyzone, Girlschool, Don McLean, Alan Parsons Project, Switchfoot, Thompson Twins and for those of you who buy the NOW That’s What I Call Music compilations (and there are apparently millions of you) today is the day to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of their top-hits collections. They are relatively new to us United Statesers so seek out this 3-CD, UK import if you want a better idea of the winning formula that has brought them such success.

Pork here with Listen Up! AKA New Music Tuesday for October 28, 2008.

P!nk’s Funhouse is open and I’ve spent much of the past week inside of it. The Cure is reawakened with 4:13 Dream and John Legend continues to Evolve. Lady Gaga is finally served up in the U.S. and Bloc Party get intimate.

I would’ve liked to have reviewed the new album by Bloc Party, Intimacy, but we’re just a new, little site and I don’t have labels throwing new releases at me to listen to. Maybe that will change someday, but for now settle for the cover art, which is ever so romantic.





Listen Up! AKA New Music Tuesday is going in deep this week. Track-by-track deep. P!nk is back! She’s still not dead, but man is she ever hurting! After repeated visits to the Funhouse, I’ve emerged with this report of sure grammatical malfunctions and even some f.t.w.s (first time words), but I’m a believer that you have to create at least one word a day or the English language is dead. Dead I tell you! That being said . . . here’s a bit of decoding from the top: Fun = Sad, House = Heart. You need look no further than the lyrics to the title track to see P!nk is getting a different kind of party started: “This used to be our funhouse, but now it’s full of evil clowns . . . I’d rather live out on the street than in this haunted memory.” Oooooooh. I LOVE heartbreak albums!

“So What” offers a wagon’s worth of bravado as P!nk struts through this defiant, fists-in-the-air anthem for everyone needing to claim their inner rock star. The lead single and album opener became the first No. 1 single of P!nk’s career and after repeated listens it heftily attaches itself to the brain thanks to its sing-alongability (f.t.w. #1) and top-notch production by Max Martin. This was a no-brainer, across the board smash . . . right down to the “na na na na na na na”s.

Read the track-by-track review of Funhouse and check out all the new music releases for today October 28th, 2008 after the jump.

In this Funhouse is a rollercoaster, and it takes you from one of the few highs of “So What” to the numerous lows heard early on in the “Why do I feel this party’s over?” of “Sober.” Bitterness has entered and makes its presence felt immediately. Truth be told, however, it’s not P!nk at her best. “Sober” also happened to be the name of the massively overlooked second single from Kelly Clarkson’s last album, My December, and although this is not a cover of that gripping tune, P!nk still seems to be pulling her best Kelly Clarkson impersonation on this mid-tempo chugger that easily would fit into the Clarkson Songbook. This is a surprisingly tame production from Danja, better known for his groundbreaking hits for Nelly Furtado (“Promiscuous” and “Say It Right”), Madonna (“4 Minutes”), Britney Spears (“Gimme More”), and Mariah Carey (“Migrate”). The thick layers of swirling hip-hop beats and string loops are replaced with slick, semi-rock production that seems not only anchored, but weighed down, by a chunky chorus that is catchy enough to remember, but perhaps not worthy.

A truer view of this Funhouse is visible in the next 4 song titles alone: “I Don’t Believe You” (a wilting and woozy, string-laden plea to not have to accept a heartbreak . . . quite pretty actually), “One Foot Wrong” (a bluesy and nervous track that opens with “Am I sweating? Or are these tears on my face? Should I be hungry? I can’t remember the last time I ate. Call someone. I need a friend to talk me down.” and ultimately finds her asking . . . okay yelling “Who’s gonna find me, who’s gonna find me? You’ll have to love me when I’m gone.” Gee, Pink. The party is over.), “Please Don’t Leave Me” (Surely this song has to be a single. It’s polished and lonely. Songs about longing rock hearts and the radio. Plus, the ‘da da da da da’s will circle in your head when you wake up in the middle of the night to pee…well that’s what’s happenin’ to me anyway. :] No song on Funhouse comes closer to recapturing the magic of I’m Not Dead . . . . think “Who Knew Pt. 2.”) and “Bad Influence” (one of those big euro-stompers with some swirly melodies and party-time lyrics we’ve come to love and expect from P!nk and one of the last highs this rollercoaster will show you).

“Funhouse,” the title track, is a bit too close to the Maroon 5/Ting Tings finish line for me to embrace it fully, but could it grow on me? Damn you, P!nk! I betchu it does! Those verses are downright throwbacks to Siouxsie & The Banshees “Peek-a-Boo” (“Burn this fucker down! doo doo doo doo doo doo doo”)

Things become crystal clear on the acoustic “Crystal Ball.” “Irony, irony is hating love, hating love for what it does to me . . . what it’s done to me . . . what it’s done . . . done.” Simple. Beautiful.

Oh, the Funhouse is not closed yet! Get ready for the drunken romper “Mean” where over some barsy (f.t.w. #8) Wallflowers-esque guitarwork P!nk wonders “How did we get so mean? How do we just move on?” P!nk would rather forever be and she doesn’t want to be free. So who were you calling a tool in “So What,” eh?

“It’s All Your Fault” brings P!nk back to Clarkson Land, but with a revved up chorus that will kick “Never Again "’s ass. This is the kind of song that could get you a speeding ticket . . . so beware if driving under the influence of P!nk. (Fans of P!nk’s “da da da da da da da”s rejoice! They return here for your pleasure.)

“Ave Mary A” demonstrates shades of Linkin P!nk…P!nkin Park? It explodes into a proper, all-out anthem for the desperate with the pleading refrain “Where did you go? Where did you go?” Fists in the air!

“Glitter In The Air” is by far the most mature song on Funhouse and amongst the best she’s ever written (or co-written as she has all 12 of Funhouse’s tracks). It is like coming out of a smoky haze and piecing together what just happened. Questions remain: “Have you ever hated yourself for staring at the phone? Your whole life waiting on the ring to prove you’re not alone…Have you ever felt this way?” A great way to come down.

I must say that P!nk has never sounded better. Her vocal swagger continues to stand out in an ever-deepening pool of female artists flooding the airwaves. P!nk is also on my short-list of Must-See-Live Artists, so hopefully some live dates will start popping up. Ba ba da ba ba.

Funhouse is a whirlwind of questioning and longing . . . mostly to not be alone. It doesn’t pack quite the punch of most other P!nk albums, but maybe this is the album where she’s the one being punched. The reaction is a snapshot of the punching bag just as the glove is removed from the stricken surface. At least P!nk was smart enough to not release Her December at the beginning of the summer.
Well done, P!nk. I’m still holding you to your word that we can sing together someday. :]

The List:
All New Music Releases - October 28th, 2008

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals – Cardinology
. . . And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – Festival Thyme (an EP on vinyl)
Sara Bareilles – Between the Lines: Sara Bareilles Live at the Fillmore (DVD)
David Benoit – Jazz for Peanuts: A Retrospective of the Charle Brown TV Themes
Bloc Party – Intimacy
Kurt Cobain – Cobain Unseen (Hardcover with spoken-word material by Kurt on CD)
Coolio – Steal Hear
Cynic – Traced in Air
Bob Dylan – Inside Bob Dylan’s Jesus Years: Busy Being Born…Again (DVD)
Eagles of Death Metal – Heart On
The 88 – Not Only…But Also
Forgive Durden – Razia’s Shadow (A Musical)
The Heligoats – The End of All-Purpose
Michael Jackson – Thriller 25th Anniversary – The Book Celebrating the Biggest Selling Album of All Time (Paperback)
Joey + Rory – The Life of a Song
Elton John – The Biography Presents Elton John (DVD)
Elton John – The Red Piano (Caesar’s Palace concert and documentary, CD and DVD)
Kaiser Chiefs – Off With Their Heads
Toby Keith – That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy
The Knus – Remind Me in 3 Days
Yolanda Kondonassis – Air
Lady GaGa – The Fame
John Legend – Evolver
John Lennon – John Lennon: The Life (Hardcover, author: Philip Norman)
Lordi – Deadache
Marillion – Happiness Is the Road, Vol. 1: Essence, Happiness Is the Road, Vol. 2: The Hard Shoulder
Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis – Live From Jazz at Lincoln Center New York City (DVD)
Tom Petty – Runnin’ Down a Dream (DVD)
P!nk – Funhouse
Queen + Paul Rodgers – The Cosmos Rocks (enhanced and limited editions)
Boz Scaggs – Speak Low
Snow Patrol – One Hundred Million Suns
Talk Talk – Live at Montreux 1986 (DVD)
Susan Tedeschi – Back to the River
Various – Mystery Science Theater 3000: 20th Anniversary Edition (DVD)
Various – OMFGG: Original Music Featured On Gossip Girl No. 1

Re-Issues, Greatest Hits and Box Sets from:Anastacia, Audio Adrenaline, Avalon, Blackfoot, Dave Brubeck, George Carlin (“FM & AM” - 1972 Grammy winner for Best Comedy Album and “Jammin’ in New York from 1992), Johnny Cash (they just keep ‘em coming, don’t they? This week it’s “Johnny Cash’s America on CD and DVD), Celtic Woman, Steven Curtis Chapman, The Chordettes, The Coasters, Ry Cooder, dcTalk, Bo Diddley, Celine Dion (“My Love: Essential Collection”), Dokken (For those of you at the record stores for the new Celine…get your Dokken while you’re there.), Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, Judy Garland, Benny Goodman, The Isley Brothers, Jump5, Trini Lopez, Paul McCartney & Wings, Reba McEntire, Buddy Miller, Aaron Neville, The Partridge Family, P.M. Dawn, Queen (4 new remasters!), Rascal Flatts, Ratt, Roxy Music, Carly Simon, Skid Row, Ray Stevens, Stray Cats, Hunter S. Thompson, and a CD/DVD Bond Compilation called (you knew it) The Best of Bond . . . James Bond. And for all you fans of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, today’s your day to finally get an offical MP3 Download from Ode Records.