There's so much I've been dying to say, but I just can't muster up the courage to say it. Perfectionism is kicking in, triggering a familiar procrastination.
Like, for one, I am totally a goner for the new Avi Buffalo album. I have an interview that I recorded with Avi some months ago that I need to put together. And I need to collect my thoughts further. Because, for the life of me, I can't put my finger on what exactly draws me to his songs. Bubbles automatically want to touch one another, by some physical, scientific connection. My ears are similarly, and weirdly, might I add, attracted to everything about the way Avi's fingers sound on his guitar. The way that his song structures don't really make any sense to me, but then they end up making total sense. The way his voice annoys me and thrills me, and how much it upsets me when people automatically lump him with James Mercer, just because it's "different."
As I sit here, trying to figure out a scanner, wondering why I had to be born into a century when these things matter, The Black Keys' new album plays on my record player.
My player looks like an old radio combined with an old record player. It looks cool. It doesn't sound so great. But it plays CDs. And tapes. And radio. And records. So that's gotta count for something.
Anyway, The Black Keys made an album named
Brothers that I'm supposed to be reviewing this minute.
All I have so far is that it sounds like these songs sound like they've been coated in dust, and then dipped in whiskey. It's like something Dairy Queen might dream up if it was owned by some really gritty alcoholics.
The album is great, and that's really no surprise to me, considering The Black Keys are making some of the best simple music of our time. Consistently. These songs help me understand what my dad might have been thinking when he wore out the grooves of his Zeppelin records. Not because it sounds anything like Zep, but rather because this is just rock in it's purest form. I never felt like I could truly UNDERSTAND classic rock, and maybe that's because it came before me.
And one more thought - The Black Keys are making some of the sexiest music alive. Yeah, it's alive. The riffs are breathing, and Auerbach's vocals are steaming, and everything about the drums feel paced for strutting.
"Howlin' For You" is destined to be the hottest song of 2010. Don't even deny that. You can't. It'd be like telling me that hands would function properly without thumbs. They just wouldn't. I broke my thumb once. I know.
Pat Carney and Dan Auerbach aren’t brothers, but they might as well be. The Akron duo has been playing music together since the two were teens, and it shows. Auerbach refers to their musical relationship as a well-oiled machine. In fact, the Black Keys finished Brothers in nine days of recording at Muscle Shoals studio. On their sixth album, dirt and grime coat every song. A visceral rawness radiates throughout, giving the album an attitude that reaches back to basics – distorted guitars, pounding beats, and clean bass. “Howlin’ For You,” which will probably land at the top of the ‘2010 scorchers’ list, kicks off with Jock Jams drum hits and amps cranked to 11. Danger Mouse, who produced 2008’s Attack and Release, was back behind the boards on “Tighten Up.” The song’s innocent whistling adds just the right amount of whimsy to the driving riffs and bumbling bass. It ends with a slo-mo guitar solo that’s straight out of a movie dream sequence. Carney and Auerbach cover Jerry Butler’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” with old soul flavor, and stay true to their blues revivalism on “Next Girl.” With grooves this good, you kinda wish the guys were your relations.
