Muse Reviews…

Throughout college, I was working for an internet-based company that distributes “secure, legal digital entertainment and educational media that directly serves college markets.” (Yeah, I just quoted my resumé. Deal with it). They started their beta testing at my alma mater, so it was a great experience to be a part of an upstart company in a business sector I’m very intrigued by. Also, I got a ton of free music and movie downloads.

CDigix has a pretty dope service, where you have access to a couple million songs for cheaper than 2 sandwiches a month. But don’t take my word for it (cue LeVar Burton)…

Well, I recently rejoined the CDigix team to help them establish an editorial section. I’m now scribing music reviews and pop culture manifestos in a semi-professional capacity. I’m telling you all this because it explains why I haven’t written as much about music or movies and such on this blog in a while. Basically, I’m saving all my best stuff (if you can call it that. not sure I’m allowed to use superlatives) for them. You can call me a sell-out if you’d like, or you can give me a virtual *high-five*. The stuff on their site is only available by subscription for the time being. In the future, I might be able to just link over there…

For now, I’ve just got permission to post a few random paragraphs a month so you know what I’m listening to:

Danger Doom: The album follows the same non-sequitor trajectory of a typical Adult Swim episode, complete with cartoon themes and “Judy Jetson” shout-outs. MF Doom drops pop culture reference couplets like his name was Peter Griffin.

“Don’t Ask”- Grizzly Bear: At the beginning of this track, if you turn the volume up high enough you hear phantom voices in the background. I’m not sure if they are there on purpose, like the urban legend “ghost” from Three Men and a Baby. It is probably ambient residue. The artists know it’s there, and made the conscious decision to leave it in there. It makes the music much more real. There are noises like that all over this track. Layered, dense, raw…

“Daft Punk is Playing at My House”- LCD Soundsystem: The lyrics are pretty simple. There’s the declarative first line: “Daft Punk is playing at my house, my house.” LCD Soundsystem then describes what preparations one would need to make for the party to happen. Obviously, you will need to put the furniture in the garage, buy 15 cases of beer, and set up the PA system in the basement. Oh, and Christopher Walken, your prescription is ready. There’s a 30 second cowbell solo in the middle of the song. I just hope Marissa RSVPs for the party.

Confessions on a Dancefloor- Madonna: While I was going through puberty, Madonna’s voice and appearance were changing too. She did everything from punk to pop, blasphemous to breathless, baseball stories to bedtime stories, erotica to Evita, French Riviera to Che Guevara, kissing chicks to kaballah. She’s done it all. Or has she?

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: Few musicians bring as much infectious energy to the stage as Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. Announcing to the crowd at the Ottobar in Baltimore that he was suffering from a severe head cold, nobody could argue on this particular night that Ted Leo was very much infectious. Watching from the balcony, one could see Ted Leo spraying a sweaty mist over the front row as a he sang his signature lyrics, his voice a bit raspy and struggling to reach the falsetto range. The audience helped out, singing along where they knew the words and providing a healthy collective voice. The Pharmacists, the backing band, are always a good remedy of rhythm and helped Ted Leo pump out the jams.

Annie: Annie’s real name is Anne Lilia Berge-Strand, but that sort of information is as necessary as me telling you that Barbie’s real name is Barbie Millicent Roberts. We’re operating in a world of plastic pop-culture, where songs about bubble gum (Annie’s “Chewing Gum”) are still as much fun as when the Shangri-Las were meeting cats at the candy store.

“Can I Have it Like That?”- Pharrell aka Skateboard P: The rhymes are okay. Typical Pharrell-isms, though some speculate that the Clipse or some other VA homegrown cats are ghostwriting his lyrics. “But now, my vision so clear out the window of the Lear/ And I’m talking on my celly all this ish that you should hear/ Listen clearly now/ Hello, can you hear me now?” Is there a Verizon endorsement on the horizon? Pharrell effortlessly drops double digit brand endorsements, but not always the type that you need the Robb Report to comprehend.

*if you want to contribute something in the future, holla at me