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The Friday Five: April 27, 2012

The Friday Five over at Popdose is the one, it’s the one, yeah you know it’s the one, it’s the one (yeah, you know it’s the one).

Torche - “Amnesian” (Meanderthal, 2008)
I (ahem) acquired this album from a friend, and while I like the sludgy, Soundgarden-y, stoner-rock riffage, I wish I liked the actual songs as much as I like the album title. Now that’s pure genius.

Ginger Wildheart - “You’re the One, You’re the One, Yeah, I Know You’re the One, You’re the One (Yeah, I Know You’re the One)” (555%, 2012)
The (former? current? future, hopefully?) Wildhearts frontman’s PledgeMusic experiment to create a new triple-album solo release was wildly (maybe insanely?) successful, far exceeding his pledge goal and reaching 100% of the target in less than 6 hours. The album’s title reflects the point at which Ginger chose to cut off availability of hard-copy versions of packages that include CDs or vinyl, with all pledges beyond that receiving digital-only versions (and because 5 is Ginger’s favorite number). With 16 days remaining to pledge, the project stands at 581% of target with 6010 pledges. Impressive. But what about the music? 30 songs, most of them top-notch, none of them throw-aways, and in true Ginger fashion, stylistically all over the map. This particular song is one of the best of the bunch.

The Beautiful Mistake - “Stabbing Backwards” (Light a Match, For I Deserve to Burn, 2002)
OK, so this is an emo/screamo band, and as the album title suggests, they take themselves a little too seriously. I only wish other emo bands took their musicianship as seriously as these guys did on this release—tight performances with great production and good songs, for the most part. “Stabbing Backwards” is one of the best tracks on the album. I could do with a little less of the screaming, though. I like my screaming with a little dose of metal, crazy guitar solos, more attitude, and less whining.

Glen Phillip - “Dam Would Break” (Live at Atlanta’s Red Light Cafe with Nickel Creek, 2003)
Excellent cut from an excellent bootleg of an excellent show the former Toad the Wet Sprocket frontman performed with special guests Nickel Creek appearing for the second half of the show. The bootleg is available at the Internet Archive and is definitely worth the download if you like Glen, Toad, Nickel Creek, or good muscianship.

Arcade Fire - “Deep Blue” (The Suburbs, 2010)
Another acquisition from the aforementioned friend. It seems I have to be in the right frame of mind to listen to this album as it is often hit or miss with me. This particular song leans toward miss today.

The air rains heavy like a gun
A weight that crushes conversation
In frozen flesh and bone
We share this bed alone
Ginger Wildheart - “Silence” (555%, 2012)
Hallelujah! Eureka!
You reek of the cheap alternative
Ginger Wildheart - “There Is Something Wrong With My Mind” (555%, 2012)
Now, I can see later
It was a brilliantly successful failure
Ginger Wildheart - “You’re The One, You’re The One, Yeah, I Know You’re The One, You’re The One (Yeah, I Know You’re The One)” (555%, 2012)
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The Sonic Graffiti - “Mystery Number”

Moved to “do something” after learning of the devastation caused by the catastrophic earthquake that hit Haiti in January 2010, Ginger Wildheart’s current manager Gav McCaughey fired off a few emails and made a few phone calls, and before he knew it, he had put together a compilation album to help with the relief effort. Featuring music from The Wildhearts, Eureka Machines, Sorry & The Sinatras, and Antiproduct among others, The Haiti Project is a 16-track album released in 2010 and is available as an exclusive digital download from MusicGlue.

The album also features as its lead-off track the one and only song recorded by The Sonic Graffiti, a band Ginger had put together for two Los Angeles shows in July 2009. Billed simply as “Ginger and Friends,” the band featured Ginger, Michael Butler (of Rock and Roll Geek Show podcast fame) on bass, Billy Morrison (Billy Idol, The Cult, Camp Freddy) on guitar, and drummer-turned-modeling-agency-mogul-turned-drummer Scott Lipps. Based on the success of those shows, the group reconvened in August 2009 to record “Mystery Number” at Matt Sorum’s studio. The song was produced by the legendary Mike Clink (whose oeuvre includes Guns N’ Roses, Mötley Crüe, and Megadeth), and it finally found a home when Ginger and the band donated it to The Haiti Project.

The song stands toe-to-toe with some of my favorite Ginger-penned tunes and serves to show just how talented the guy is no matter who he is playing with. And it’s nice to hear Michael Butler’s voice right up in the front of the backing vocals in the mix.

Enjoy!

Now that you got nothing to worry about
What you gonna worry ‘bout now?
The Wildhearts - “Vernix” (¡Chutzpah!, 2009)
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Ginger - “Forget About It”

My favorite song so far off the first set of Ginger’s 555% triple-disc PledgeMusic project

Once again you forget to remind yourself to just forget about it
Ginger Wildheart - “Forget About It” (555%, 2012)

Please Accept This As My Resignation

Coheed & Cambria - “Sentry the Defiant”

What was it about Valentine’s Day (and the few days surrounding it) that made so many bands show its fans some love this year? Ginger did it. The Mars Volta did it. And I just found out that Coheed & Cambria’s Claudio Sanchez did it, too—released new music that is.

Sanchez fired up his guitar cam to give us all an acoustic sneak peek at the new song he is working on for the band’s as yet untitled sixth album. The song is “Sentry the Defiant,” and the Coheed frontman says of the video version on the band’s YouTube channel, “This is literally the first time I played the song through in its entirety.” It will come as no surprise that the new release will be another concept album—does Claudio do anything else?—and will be another Amory Wars prequel set further in the past and “will hint and influence the pre-existing saga.”

My first impressions of the song? Freakin’ awesome. And how low can you tune an acoustic guitar before the strings go all flappy on you?

Enjoy!

I’m Drowning in a Sea of Girls

Ginger Wildheart - “You’re The One, You’re The One, Yeah, I Know You’re The One, You’re The One (Yeah, I Know You’re The One)”

Ginger Wildheart delivered a very special Valentine’s Day treat to the pledgers of his triple album project at PledgeMusic. An exclusive download of a new track is his way of showing his appreciation for the outpouring of support for the DIY approach to his new album. As of this moment, Ginger is currently at an unprecedented 523% of his pledge target with almost 5100 donors.

It didn’t take long for the track to make it onto YouTube, and in typical Ginger fashion, he blessed the effort with the following tweet:

Someone just put the new song on YouTube. In reverse outrage I would emplore you all to RT this link youtu.be/vvmShA2c1TE Thank you x

The track is excellent, and based on this and the sneak peeks Ginger has provided throughout the making of the album, it’s shaping up to be a top-notch release.

So what are you still doing here reading this?! Head over and make your pledge! You only have until the end of the month to get in on the fun! Enjoy!

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Ginger - “Black Windows”