http://www.96x.fm en dthompson@sinclairstations.com Copyright 2011 2011-08-23T19:25:11+00:00 http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/theophilus_london_-_i_stand_alone/ http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/theophilus_london_-_i_stand_alone/#When:19:25:11Z Theophilus London Performs "I Stand Alone" on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Theophilus London Performs "I Stand Alone" on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Theophilus London is an MC and singer from Brooklyn, NY, whose genre-bending approach draws from a range of styles, from soul-pop and new wave to electro and contemporary R&B. Citing influences that include Michael Jackson and Prince as well as Kraftwerk and the Smiths, he began working with the New York City-based label Normrex in 2007. He made his label debut with a couple mixtapes, Jam! (2008) and This Charming Mixtape (2009), which circulated freely in the music blogopshere. London made his album debut in 2009 with This Charming Man, a stylistically wide-ranging full-length effort featuring an eclectic cast of vocal guests and production work by Normrex beatmakers Machinedrum, Jimmy Edgar, and Letherette. The follow-up, Timez Are Weird These Days, was released through Reprise in 2011. 2011-08-23T19:25:11+00:00 http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/my_chemical_romance/ http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/my_chemical_romance/#When:18:19:29Z 2010-10-28T18:19:29+00:00 http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/gorillaz_-_on_melancholy_hill/ http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/gorillaz_-_on_melancholy_hill/#When:15:58:07Z Check out the kick @$$ new video from Gorillaz! The song is killer and the animation is pretty mind blowing....ENJOY! 2010-08-26T15:58:07+00:00 http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/linkin_park_-_a_thousand_suns_-_in_stores_september_14th/ http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/linkin_park_-_a_thousand_suns_-_in_stores_september_14th/#When:15:39:48Z 2010-07-26T15:39:48+00:00 http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/dan_black/ http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/dan_black/#When:20:20:43Z One of the vanguard artists in the U.K.'s genre-swirling Wonky Pop movementOne of the vanguard artists in the U.K.'s genre-swirling Wonky Pop movement, Dan Black's combination of pop, rock, dance, and hip-hop flavors came to light in 2008 with his hit single "Yours." After spending four years playing guitar in the alt-rock band the Servant, Black left London for Paris. The 2008 solo track "HYPNTZ" -- a mix of the lyrics from the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Hypnotize" with a sample of Rihanna's "Umbrella" underneath -- announced his return home. The funky single "Alone" became his first official release thanks to the Polydor label, then "Yours" landed at the end of the year. Black began 2009 by joining Boy Crisis and Master Shortie on the U.K. Wonky Pop Tour. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide 2010-03-03T20:20:43+00:00 http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/edward_sharpe_and_the_magnetic_zeros/ http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/edward_sharpe_and_the_magnetic_zeros/#When:20:07:03Z Birthed by Mouth in the year two-thousand and five, young Edward Sharpe had to wait nearly two years before he was to grow his arms and legs and fingers and toes. Immaculately conceived, his father (a Robot who had magically become a real boy...but that’s another story) declared his undying devotion to the creature. He perched the fleshy bust upon a teetering pedestal fashioned from stacked cereal boxes and positioned the display at his window for all the town to see. Young Edward soon proved no ordinary boy. Birthed by Mouth in the year two-thousand and five, young Edward Sharpe had to wait nearly two years before he was to grow his arms and legs and fingers and toes. Immaculately conceived, his father (a Robot who had magically become a real boy...but that’s another story) declared his undying devotion to the creature. He perched the fleshy bust upon a teetering pedestal fashioned from stacked cereal boxes and positioned the display at his window for all the town to see. Young Edward soon proved no ordinary boy. Though his father had figured him deaf for his unresponsiveness to sounds, he in fact had the universally unique condition of being deaf from hearing too much or, more correctly put, too well. In plain words, he heard EVERYTHING AT ONCE. At first it proved rather painful like a wretched whining winding all hours, but very soon those who whisper visited young Edward and revealed to him the Tricks and Truths, the Ways and Plays, the Chords and Dischords of the Universe. He did not need to eat but the color of the sun, which was F#, and moved his bones to grow. His arms and legs and fingers and toes grew ‘til the tower of boxes collapsed and he laughed. He moved thru the door which was C over B# and ran thru the village hearing ALL of its music! The workers and children and painters of buildings and dogs barking madly and trees bristling softly and OH!! Young Edward could not resist! He began playing the tree which are the chords E and D ‘gainst the mice in the grass which are A played with brass and the wooden fence F and then C and repeat with a drone of B Minor to bring in the street and the Birds B to B Sharp with fluttering strings and the sky mostly C unless he wants to bring in the rain and for rain bring the F Chord bombastic with organ’s distortion and symbols a’crashin! Yes, and a music was born. 2010-03-03T20:07:03+00:00 http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/flobots1/ http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/flobots1/#When:17:41:51Z When we last left Flobots, there was a war going on for your mind. Apathy, fear, and militarism reigned. Many people failed to understand their own power. When we last left Flobots, there was a war going on for your mind. Apathy, fear, and militarism reigned. Many people failed to understand their own power. Flobots responded by waking people up, bringing them together, and telling them they were not alone. They used broad-brush strokes to paint giant murals supporting peace, hope, and change. On the charts and at the ballot box, these slogans had an effect. The mood of the populace shifted. Now, those murals have begun to crack and fade. People are taking a closer look at what's behind the slogans, and seeking to come to terms with what they find. Exhaustion. Hypocrisy. Ego. Frustration. Quagmire. Wars with no exit strategy. Lifestyles that are non sustainable. American flag bandanas made in China. Everywhere, we are encountering limits. Enter the Flobots once more. The situation is more complicated now. The populace is cautious and jaded. The old slogans will not suffice. What is needed is new story. Survival Story is a vision of hope for a world facing its limits. While others revel in the dystopian, the Flobots remain committed to their ability to rise together. Navigating the coming years will require new tools. It will require narratives that cause us to reexamine our priorities, redefine wealth, and re-inspire ourselves. It will require that we come together in the face of death and write the story of our own survival. Paying it back, paying it forward. Six Flobots dedicated to social action, change and thought. Two emcees, childhood friends Jonny 5 and Brer Rabbit, began Flobots organically, looking for like-minded musically inclined individuals. Enter viola-wielding Mackenzie Roberts and guitarist Andy Guerrero who made Flobots their home in 2005. Bassist Jesse Walker and drummer Kenny Ortiz completed the roster. The Denver collective grew their audience by playing live shows and cultivating a strong following of people who loved the combination of live music and social awareness. The rocket launched; Flobots' Fight With Tools raced up the charts, bolstered by the Top 5 single "Handlebars" and "Rise." One of the most buzzed-about newcomers of 2008, they performed on Late Night Television (The Tonight Show, Conan O'Brien, Carson Daly), led anti-war marchers into the streets of Denver {after a highly charged performance} during the Democratic National Convention in Denver, performed in Washington, DC on election night and toured the United States and Europe. In September of 2009, the group opened up the Flobots.org Community Center in Denver, headquarter for their community work. The organization helps with everything from school arts programs to voter registration. Not surprisingly, our heroes found themselves with so much more to say. Holed up in Blasting Room studio in Ft. Collins, CO with Producer/Mixer Mario Caldato (Beastie Boys, Money Mark, One Day as a Lion), Flobots had a lot to get off their collective chests. They didn't just tour the world they listened to it. From message boards to emails to comments left on social networking sites to actual conversations (remember those?), Flobots paid attention to what was being said. Andy believes, "Talking with the audience before and after shows gives us constant inspiration, and motivation, to keep doing what we do." Each and every person has a story to tell but struggle is a universal theme. That's not so say that the band that so eloquently declared on "Fight With Tools," "We need heroes/ build them/ don't put your fists up/ fill them" didn't have their own internal battles while making their follow up. As Jesse opines, recording a Flobots record is "Like a virtual reality reenactment of the French revolution." Emcee Jonny 5 summed up the creative experience thusly: "Our greatest asset as a band is that we are six passionate people who invest ourselves fully into our music. We have made an explicit commitment to value everyone's voices in this process. That means every time we write new songs we create a new process. It's not always pretty, and it's not always easy, but it's the only way we know how to do it. "The growth displayed by the band over the past two years has been astounding," asserts Kenny, "Our collective experiences in that time has informed our songwriting as a team, as well as our personal relationships and how we relate to each other as musicians. It's evident on Survival Story." They need not worry about the process; the CD is a sonic boom of thought provoking expression, melding funky guitar riffs with a heavy bass n' drum backdrop and a fiery viola. Survival Story begins with a foreboding warning in "Cracks in the Surface," as the music rises like a tsunami, Roberts' tense viola threatening to explode. Having galvanized their audience to change, Flobots understand complications come from transformation. Lead single "White Flag Warriors" is a breath of fresh air against the backdrop of jingoistic, ole glory waving war. The band is courageous enough to wave the white flag, not for the sake of surrender, but for the idea of unarmed negotiations. Tim Mcllrath from Rise Against joins Flobots on the chorus reminding listeners "this is love, not treason." But Flobots aren't always against the establishment - they take responsibility too. Songs like "Whip$ + Chain$" and "Infatuation" (a cacophony of funk like none other on the record) demand we take a good look at ourselves, because we are part of the problem, with our desires, materialism and mounting debts. Says Jonny 5, "When people listen to Survival Story we want them to see themselves and their own stories, with all of their complications, questions, and frustrations. Rather than seek to hide them, we chose to embrace and even celebrate them as a part of a global transformation, one in which forces of violence, hopelessness and waste will be composted into fertile soil from which new possibility can grow. We want to leave people with a sense of excitement that a new world is emerging, one which we have the power to shape, that a new story is being written and we must write it together. When the album is over, we want our listeners to walk away with a profound awareness of the cracks in the surface, a deep sense of what's at stake and a strong resolve to make sure that the new world is one in which loved ones near and far, known and unknown, survive." The more things change, the more they stay the same. When we first met Flobots, not so many years ago, the United States had a different President, Afghanistan was "the other war, Michael Phelps had more gold medals than Mark Spitz, and the stock bubble had yet to burst. The world has changed since then. But Flobots? They're still exploring change, illuminating issues, encouraging people to use their mind to transform, not their fists. As long as there is work to do, this Alt/Hip-hop collective from Denver will use their lyrical and musical voices to do it. 2010-03-02T17:41:51+00:00 http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/the_maine2/ http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/the_maine2/#When:02:31:58Z Formed in Phoenix, AZ, in 2007 while most of the bandmembers were still in high school, the Maine turned their '90s radio rock band influences into a generic but still infectious pop-punk sound. Featuring singer John O'Callaghan, guitarists Kennedy Brock and Jared Monaco, bassist Garrett Nickelsen, and drummer Pat Kirch, the Maine signed to Fearless Records and released a five-song concept EP, The Way We Talk, in 2007. After performing on the 2008 Vans Warped Tour, the band released their debut album Can't Stop Won't Stop, which was produced by Matt Squire. Formed in Phoenix, AZ, in 2007 while most of the bandmembers were still in high school, the Maine turned their '90s radio rock band influences into a generic but still infectious pop-punk sound. Featuring singer John O'Callaghan, guitarists Kennedy Brock and Jared Monaco, bassist Garrett Nickelsen, and drummer Pat Kirch, the Maine signed to Fearless Records and released a five-song concept EP, The Way We Talk, in 2007. After performing on the 2008 Vans Warped Tour, the band released their debut album Can't Stop Won't Stop, which was produced by Matt Squire. You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/themaine Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/themaine Twitter: http://twitter.com/themaine http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=23tPuCYZB7Y&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewAlbum%253Fi%253D322015711%2526id%253D322015094%2526s%253D143441%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30 2009-12-10T02:31:58+00:00 http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/hockey/ http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/hockey/#When:16:00:54Z Look out! I’ve got too much soul for the world!” growls Hockey singer Ben Grubin on opening track “Too Fake” channeling the swagger of a raspy Rod Stewart. And judgingby the spring-loaded bass line and buoyant drum keeping up behind him, this is the sort of hit song that comes around only once in an iPod’s life cycle: it’s the perfect meeting point between downtown New York and the seedy streets of London.Merging the studied cool of the new wave revivalist movement with the sleek textures and commanding rhythm of electronic pop, Hockey burst out of the Portland, OR music scene in 2009 to become cult favorites in the United Kingdom on the strength of a handful of live appearances and a self-produced demo EP. Vocalist and guitarist Ben Grubin and bassist Jeremy Reynolds formed Hockey in 2007 while they were both students at Southern California's Johnston Center for Integrative Studies, a free-form college affiliated with the University of Redlands. The Johnston Center allows students to establish their own curriculum, and Grubin and Reynolds used the opportunity to focus their attentions on music. They began writing songs and playing out as Hockey accompanied only by a drum machine, and a demo recorded by this early incarnation of the band attracted the attention of A&R executives at Sony Music. Hockey were signed to a record deal, but communication between Grubin and Reynolds and Sony soon broke down, and attempts to cut an album with producer Jerry Harrison (ex-Talking Heads) came to a halt when Sony dropped the band. Grubin and Reynolds left California for a creative environment where they could start over, and after a spell in Spokane, WA, they found it in Portland, OR. Hockey expanded to a four-piece with the addition of percussionist Anthony Stassi and guitarist Brian White during the band's stay in Spokane, and they started playing clubs and college parties as soon as they hit Portland. Home-recorded versions of the songs "Learn to Lose" and "Work" found their way to Zane Lowe, a disc jockey at BBC Radio 1, and airplay generated a demand for the group in the U.K.. After being invited to play the London club Water Rats, and a showcase hosted by the influential music magazine New Musical Express, Hockey were once again being courted by the major labels, and they signed with Virgin for the U.K. and Europe and Capitol for the United States. Hockey's album Mind Chaos, featuring revised versions of the songs from their demo, was released in the late summer of 2009. Courtesy of Mark Deming -All Music Guide 2009-08-26T16:00:54+00:00 http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/phoenix/ http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/phoenix/#When:15:52:32Z While it's true that you have to wait for inspiration to strike, there’s comfort in knowing it will inevitably arise, even if you have to look all over the globe for it before you find it—or so goes the logic behind the epic recording process of Phoenix's new studio album 2009-08-26T15:52:32+00:00 http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/the_dead_weather/ http://www.96x.fm/music/picks_entry/the_dead_weather/#When:11:59:35Z I was told to pick a CD that’s hot=2 0 in my life for a “staff pick”, but to be honest with you I have not listened to a ton of new stuff lately. Mostly just some old school Aerosmith and the Smiths and things like that...I was told to pick a CD that’s hot=2 0 in my life for a “staff pick”, but to be honest with you I have not listened to a ton of new stuff lately. Mostly just some old school Aerosmith and the Smiths and things like that. I could say the new 311 but I already wrote a review for that, so that’s no good. I did however pick up the new Deadweather CD featuring Jack White and that is pretty pretty good! That dude is in more bands than I can keep up with these days, but all of them are great quality, and this one is no different. I guess it’s some where in the middle of the White Stripes and the Raconteurs. Not quit as laid back as some of the White Stripes stuff, but not as rockin’ as the Raconteurs. Not a bad CD so I would suggest giving it a listen. 2009-07-23T11:59:35+00:00