The Unknown: The Cure - Disintegration (Re-Imagined)

This weekend was Record Store Day.  The greatest single event created for music fans everywhere.  And for all the haters, they're just bitter because they didn't think of it first.  Seriously.  Without Record Store Day, independent record stores would be out of business, not increasing in numbers.  So for any flaws it might have, the positives outweigh the negatives in extremes. This year, for Record Store Day, there were a few "alternate" versions of popular albums.  The Flaming Lips' alternate version of "Clouds Taste Metallic" and Fleetwood Mac's alternate "Tuck" are a couple that come to mind.  This got me thinking.  How can we re-imagine famous albums in a new way? Not necessarily a better way...but a new way.  Like visiting a best friend in a new house or a director's cut of a great movie.  Are there other ways to enjoy something we already love? My favorite album of all time is the Cure's "Disintegration."  It might be the perfect album.  To me.  It got me thinking...is there a new way to enjoy this album?  Even by merely re-ordering the songs...  Is there a new way to experience it?  I took the 12 songs from the original release.  I included the 4 B-sides and used the extended remixes of the singles in lieu of the current album versions.  With these 16 songs, I ventured out to create a new album. Immediately, I noticed one very important thing...the order of the songs is as important as the songs themselves.  Here's something to consider.  If I try to make a 12 song album, using these 16 songs, the possibilities of different albums number in the...get ready for this...billions.  Yes, billions.  There are over 800 billion different ways to order these 16 songs. Eight hundred billion.  This is true. It's called math.  Permutations, precisely.  Google it. So, of the 800 billion possible combinations, are there other combinations that work?  The answer is...yes.  Over the course of re-evaluating this album, I discovered two very different paths, creating two polarizing different albums: a dark album...and a light album.  So I have included them for you here.  Disintegration:  The Light and Disintegration: The Dark.  Listen to them both below...and enjoy a new journey into The Cure.  Even songs used in both alternate versions, come across with totally different feels in their new homes. A unique experience that can surely open the door into the listening of other favorite albums. Trying to stay on par with the original, I have capped the running length under 70 minutes.  Let me know your thoughts...and your own versions. The Cure Disintegration: The Dark     The Cure Disintegration:  The Light    

The 11 Best Songs By EMA

This weekend and last weekend, Coachella will reign/reigned supreme.  It's the yearly sabbatical to spend three days in the hot sweltering dessert with overpriced water, lots of dirt, while networking with people you wouldn't normally sit next to in a Starbucks.  The only reason anyone deals with it is for the over-inflated line-up of everyone's favorite band of the moment.  I mean, does anyone listen to music from last year's line-up?  Phoenix?  Vampire Weekend?  They are so...last year.  I have never been to Coachella.  I would like to go once in my life.  I'm waiting for the Smiths to reunite for the show...or at least Jellyfish before I make the $400 plunge.  I grew on the original Lollapalooza.  I've had my fair share of summers days spent around mountains of dirt just so I could get close to Layne Staley or Les Claypool (ask your parents).  But Coachella has done something bold that Lollapalooza has never done.  It's something so daring, it makes we want to go to the show out of appreciation for their generosity.  They stream the entire show...online...live...and for free.  No other organization out there would think of streaming the concert...and if they did it...they'd never do it live...and absolutely never for free.  But Coachella has created a new standard and dared every other festival concert to do better.  I spent the whole weekend watching some of the best live performances I've seen in a long time.  Empire of the Sun, Foster The People, MGMT, Pharrell, Nas, The Pixies and Skrillex all gave me a private show in the comfort of my own home.  Thanks Coachella!  And if you have to go vegan to get Morrissey to play...I'm good with that.  I'll pack my hamburger to go. Here are the 11 Best Songs By EMA:

1. Grey Ship (Past Life Martyred Saints)
2. Angelo (Marked)
3. Red Star (Past Life Martyred Saints)
4. Soul On Fire (Soul On Fire)
5. Breakfast (Past Life Martyred Saints)
6. Kind Heart (The Grey Ship)
7. Take One Two (Take One Two)
8. Anteroom (Past Life Martyred Saints)
9. Marked (Past Life Martyred Saints)
10. Cowboy (Little Sketches On Tape)
11. California (Past Life Martyred Saints)

Buy EMA's new album, The Future's Void...now!!!

The 11 Best Reunions That Have Never Played Coachella

They crammed all my favorite bands into Saturdays line-up, so I was left with no choice but to watch the Chili Peppers.

One of the best things about Coachella is guessing with iconic band will reunite for that year's show.  This list taps into the wet dreams of all the indie kids heading out to the desert every year.  For a list of the best bands who are still together that have never played together...check yesterday's list.  I excluded a couple of groups (N.W.A., The Replacements) because they were missing dead members.  I only did this to narrow down the list.

Who am I missing?

Here are the 11 Best Bands Who Have Never REUNITED To Play Coachella:

1. The Smiths
2. The Police
3. The Talking Heads
4. R.E.M.
5. Neutral Milk Hotel
6. Outkast
7. Soundgarden
8. lush
9. Oingo Boingo
10. Fugazi
11. A Tribe Called Quest
12. Sneaker Pimps (original line-up)
13. Porno For Pyros

um...yeah...that's 13.  It's a hard list to make!

Watch Coachella now!!

The 11 Best Bands Who Have Never Played Coachella

There's something sadly thrilling about getting to sit in front of my computer and watch Coachells unfold before me without paying hundreds of dollars, enduring crazy temperatures, dust, dirt, and douche bags.  Right now I'm flipping back and forth between New Order and Phoenix.  I couldn't do that at the festival...I would have to choose...currently, I'm winning.  Because at home, I get both.

While enjoying Coachella from the comfort of my home, I started to realize how many bands have never played the festival...some that I'm actually shocked.  Some I thought for sure had played only to find out they had never made the journey to Indio. (Journey being one of them)  Below is a list of the best bands that have never played Coachella.  I have only chosen bands that are still together.  Reunions...well, that's really for another list...so, check in tomorrow for that list.

Who Am I missing?

Here are the 11 Best Bands Who Have Never Played Coachella & Should (that are still together):

1. U2
2. Pearl Jam
3. Ryan Adams
4. Fiona Apple
5. Tori Amos
6. Royksopp
7. Iron & Wine
8. Burial
9. Morcheeba
10. Sufjan Stevens
11. Garbage

Watch Coachella now!!

The 11 Best Songs By Animal Collective

The music industry has been on a roller coaster ride for the past decade, and no one, not fans, not the artists, nor the industry insiders have any clue where it's headed...or for how long.  Right now, all we can do is throw our hands in the air, scream, and hang on for the ride.  This weekend we witnessed the bi-polar yet beautiful chaotic mess that is music.

On Saturday, the old school music dinosaur that I am, pulled myself out of bed at the unGodly hour of 9AM to go stand outside a record store for 2 hours.  I was 10th in line, which made me nervous initially that I wouldn't get the over-priced 7-inches on colored vinyl containing tracks I already owned digitally.  But I was more relieved when the line ballooned to about a 100-rabid music fans, knowing I was in slightly better shape than them. No one waits in line to buy music anymore, which made this moment so much more fulfilling. Walking out of that store with my 4 top choices and 11 total pieces of an ancient art form felt like a victory. I got albums I really wanted (Foo Fighters, Decemberists, Ryan Adams, Fucked Up, and White Flag), some I didn't know I wanted (Regina Spektor, Mumford and Sons, Fistful of Mercy).  I didn't get Pinback or Deftones...but I did get the uber rare Kode9.  I went home to listen to my spoils...but something distracted me along the way...

I learned early Saturday morning that I could watch the big acts at Coachella streamed live via youtube channel.  Dubbed by the online community as "Couchella," I found myself glued to my computer enjoying my favorite bands without the obnoxious screaming of the shirtless drunk guy.  Showstealers would have to go to Mumford and Sons, The National, Arcade Fire, Cage the Elephant, and Kanye West, which made wish I had been there.  Then of course, there were the letdowns like The Strokes, Kings of Leon and She Wants Revenge...who made me glad I could just switch to another channel.

This weekend celebrated the past, the present, and the future of music.  From the record, to the outdoor festival, to the streamed live feed of the show for those too broke and without the time to spend three days in the blazing desert.  There's no telling if Record Store Day will last or the internet will eventually render it meaningless.  But for the moment...for today, they both exist in a beautiful harmony.

Animal Collective hit the tri-fecta this weekend.  A slot at Coachella...an new album by lead singer Panda Bear...and an exclusive Record Store Day release.  We may not know where the industry is headed...but it looks like Animal Collective will be definitely be one of the first to get there.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By Animal Collective:

1.      Did You See The Words? (Feels)
2.      Bluish (Merriweather Post Pavilion)
3.      Summertime Clothes (Merriweather Post Pavilion)
4.      Banshee Beat (Feels)
5.      What Would I Want? Sky (Fall Be Kind EP)
6.      My Girls (Merriweather Post Pavilion)
7.      Prospect Hummer (Prospect Hummer EP)
8.      Peacebone (Strawberry Jam)
9.      Turns Into Something (Feels)
10.   Water Curses (Water Curses EP)
11.   Kids on Holiday (Sung Tongs)

Buy Panda Bear's new solo album, Tomboy...now!!!