Hey All! Hope your weekends went swimmingly and you were able to tune into the 53rd annual Grammy Awards.
If you haven't heard by now, Arcade Fire's Groundbreaking
album, The Suburbs, won Album of the Year, beating out Eminem, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Lady Antebellum. Is this perhaps a sign of the switch in overall musical trends to further incorporate indie rock into the mainstream? Will Arcade Fire's victory lead to further
indie music winners over pop artists? On this valentines day, Lady Gaga's Friday release, "Born This Way", remains at number one on the iTunes download charts, followed closely by pop/hip-hop/rap artists like Justin Beiber, Dr. Dre, Rihanna and the like. It's obviously impossible to compare genres and both do have their merits within the realm of music. However, it's very refreshing to see some of my favorite rock bands clean up so well commercially for a change. The Black Key's recent release "Tighten Up", won Best Rock Performance and the album, Brothers came away with Best Alternative Rock Album. Perhaps these were a little more predictable because the categories were not as broad. Nonetheless, I'm excited about the changing music landscape. (Frankly, I wasn't too thrilled with Lady Gaga's new single despite its decent message even though I do respect her as an artist and definitely loved The Fame Monster.)
In other news, Radiohead announced the upcoming release of their 8th studio album, The King of Limbs. Who's excited? It will be released digitally this coming Saturday in varying formats for download. The "Newspaper Album" as it is being called, will include two records, a CD, sheets of high quality album artwork, and digital versions (wav or mp3) and will be mailed out on May 9th to those who pre-order. This format is pretty different than the "pay what you want" format that In Rainbows took and aims to give fans a full, comprehensive package. What an awesome Valentine's Day gift!
Finally, onto something completely different and exciting! This past Saturday I had the awesome opportunity to meet Sons of the West, a three piece band originally from Ohio and now residing in Chicago.
I had the chance to engineer their live set at WNUR on Airplay as they jammed out, plugged their first full-length, self-titled studio album, and played in preparation for their journey to South By Southwest this year. With stunning vocals and guitar riffs by Anthony DeSanto, resembling those by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, embellishments on harmonica and keys by Nick Harris, and tight drum beats by Gregg Midon, it's hard to believe that these guys are only half way through college. Having been together since High School has given them the opportunity to really develop their sound and musical style, and I think they will be a band to watch out for this year in Austin.
Stay tuned for more!
Peace.Love.Music
Kara Ali
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