Sorry for the Lack of Updates

Hey guys - just wanted to keep you updated on what's going on. I've been doing finals all week so I haven't had time to do any updates. Tomorrow is my last final then I should have a lot of free time, so stay tuned. Promise to have a few cool new things up very soon.

Interview with Thievery Corporation's Eric

I spoke with Eric of Thievery Corporation on Friday about the duo's upcoming four dates at the 9:30 club. I should have a write up summary of the interview in the next few days. Stay tuned.

Alright, finally got it hosted correctly. Sorry about the delay - you can listen to the interview here.

New web address!

Hey everyone, I just bought the domain www.thehifistereo.com, so you can access this site from there. This morning I spoke with Eric from Thievery Corporation, and as soon as I get webhosting I will upload the audio of that. Stay tuned guys.

Some News

Some news as for what's up next - it seems like the interview with Gogol Bordello has fallen through, so I don't think that is going to happen. On a better note, tomorrow I am interviewing Thievery Corporation about their four sold out dates at the 9:30 club in late December, and yesterday I had a conference call with Chris Brown and Ne-Yo about their upcoming movie Stomp the Yard, set to release in early January. Some notes from that will probably be up tomorrow or Saturday. I am also going to be writing a few stories in the coming days. Keep checking back for new stuff!

Last Martyrs of a Lost Cause Release Debut EP

Last Martyrs of a Lost Cause have just released their debut EP for free on Absolute Punk. The band is made up of members from defunct Pennsylvania ska acts, including front man Chris Irons from Long Shot Hero. The EP sounds great and the highlight is clearly "Don't Take it Personal," which features an awesome guitar solo and amazing gang vocals. Download the EP for free from Absolute Punk.

Ciara: The Evolution Review

Well I'm usually not one to review or listen to rap CDs, but I just did this for the Diamondback.

A little more than two years after her double platinum debut Goodies, Ciara has set out to reinvent herself for her follow-up Ciara: The Evolution, but is at her best when she sticks to the formula that made “Oh” and “Goodies” such smash hits.

Much of The Evolution was written and produced by the singer herself, and features fifteen songs plus three short interludes. The CD opens with the high-energy track “That’s Right,” featuring crunk king Lil’ Jon. The song, a feminist dance track about women making time for themselves, could easily be a future hit. The song features Ciara’s flowing vocals over Lil’ Jon’s ever present chants of “Let’s Go.”

As with Ciara’s past hits, she is at her best when her soulful voice is supported by a high-energy rapper that speeds up the flow of her songs. The standout tracks on The Evolution are “Get Up,” featuring Chamillionaire, of “Ridin’ Dirty” fame, “Can’t Leave ‘em Alone,” featuring 50 Cent, and the aforementioned “That’s Right.”

“Get Up” was a huge hit this summer, and recently “Promise,” her ballad about finding the perfect man has been climbing the pop charts. “Promise” features some impressive R&B vocals, and is a nice change of pace from her other hits, but its slow tempo won’t get many dancing. Another possible hit sung without the help of any featured artists is “C.R.U.S.H.,” a Lil’ Jon produced track about having a schoolgirl crush on a guy. “Make it Last Forever” samples the Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock classic “It Takes Two,” and shows off Ciara’s rapping talent.

While most of the album contains Ciara’s trademark club-ready hits, the last third slows the tempo on tracks like “So Hard,” “I’m Just Me,” and the Pharrell produced “I Found Myself.” The last two tracks are about Ciara’s evolution as a singer and songwriter, and about becoming comfortable in her own skin. It is during these that the album falters, and becomes something less than the club banger it should be.

While every song is not a hit, there is plenty of material on this CD to satisfy any Ciara fan for the time being, and enough stellar tracks to make this a great album. While the title promises an evolution, listeners will be glad to hear that on most tracks, she has not changed her recipe for success too much.

Ciara: The Evolution comes out December 5 on LaFace and Jive Records.

Here is a link to the article on the Diamondback's site.

A Response to Negative Hinder Comments ...

This is (hopefully) the last I'll ever have to talk about my Hinder review. First of all, this is a personal blog, not The Washington Post. Although I am a journalism student, I never said this blog would be unbiased or that I would do my blog entries as though it were for a newspaper. I am entitled to my opinion of a concert, or an album, or whatever I want. The fact that I left early from the Hinder show does not mean I am not entitled to review it for MY WEBSITE. If I left early, then sure, I shouldn't review it for a real publication - that would be irresponsible. At the Hinder concert, I saw enough of it to see that it was absolutely terrible and not worth spending another second there. My brother, who likes Hinder, was begging me to leave the entire time. Middle aged women dressed as prostitutes and overweight men with no clothes on is not my idea of a fun time. Neither are boring, generic bands with horrible lyrics and a generally terrible attitude toward bands who are different than them and are incredibly cocky for no good reason. I stand by my review, even if it was not a "journalistic" review, and am tired of people thinking I haven't done my homework on the band. I spent hours of my life researching the band, speaking with the band, and listening to the band, and off of this I have come to the conclusion that they have little to offer the music community, and society as a whole. I am done wasting my life on one of the worst bands I have ever heard with some of the most misguided fans I've ever seen.

New Bomb the Music Industry! Demos

Earlier today, Jeff Rosenstock posted a new blog on the Bomb the Music Industry! myspace about the people who have helped him along the way, including the fans. To show his gratitude, he posted four new demos to be recorded with a full band (a BTMI! first) and released in July. The songs are called "Jobs Schmobs," "493 Ruth," "Bikerophone Test 1 2 3," and "25 Hour Goddamn Telethon." The songs demoed are to be part of an album tentatively called Get Warmer. Rosenstock had been recording an EP called NO NO NEW YORK, but it sounds like plans for that EP have been scrapped. Rosenstock has just released his second album, To Leave or Die on Long Island on vinyl through Asbestos Records. It is available on Interpunk.com.

Bouncers, Crowd ruin Hinder Concert

First off, let me tell you that I am not a fan of Hinder. That being said, I went to the last night's conclusion of the Extreme Behavior Tour with an open mind. I expected to have some fun, expecting a rock concert with at least some dancing or moving or pushing or excitement. The show last night ended up being so boring that I left after five songs of Hinder's set. Part of the reason were the ridiculous bouncers, but a huge part was the horrendous crowd. The bands themselves played alright, nothing to write home about.

First up was Lynam, a rock trio out of Alabama. They played a nice set, including a cover of Journey's "Midnight Train." They had a very talented guitarist, but he was underutilized, playing standard chords for most of the bands' songs. It was nice when he broke into a few solos at the end of their set. Halfway through the set, an extremely large man dressed in an executioners mask, and not much else came out with a whip and started dancing. It was very bizarre and not a sight i really wanted to see. Lynam also played the first 30 seconds or so of Backstreet Boys' "I Want it That Way." For me, that was the highlight of the concert.

Next up was Eighteen Visions, out of Orange County, California. The five-piece played slightly heavier music. I did not enjoy it at all and went to the balcony and sat down. There isn't much to say about Eighteen Visions - I was thoroughly unimpressed.

Finally, Hinder came on to a roaring audience. This is when I expected the crowd to go insane and start pushing towards the front of the stage. Nothing happened. Everyone stayed in place, singing at the top of their lungs, but standing in place with their cigarettes and their alcoholic beverages. The crowd consisted mainly of middle aged women dressed in revealing outfits looking to be Hinder's groupies. The crowd was incredibly boring and completely ruined the concert for me. Hinder clearly put on a much better show than the other bands, opening up with their new single "How Long." I don't want to comment too much on their performance, because as I said I am not a fan at all and it seemed like they played their generic rock music as well as it sounds on the record, not adding much more or making it sound any worse. Austin, the lead singer was good at getting the crowd vocal, but not as successful at getting the crowd to move.

Halfway through Eighteen Visions's set, I went up to the front to take pictures, using my photo pass. The first bouncer let me through, but then the next one said "this is only for Hinder, come back when Hinder comes on." I was only mildly disappointed, so I came back during the third song of Hinder's set. After fighting through the immovable objects that made up the crowd, I showed my photo pass to the bouncer, who then said "you can't go backstage." I told her I did not want to go backstage, that I merely wanted to take photos, as my pass allows me to. She said "no you can't take pictures with that pass." I asked her what the hell the purpose of this pass was and that the other bouncer told me I could come up. She didn't care, and didn't let me take pictures. After another heated discussion with her and another bouncer, I stormed out of the club with my brother, who was attending his first concert. We were both extremely disappointed at the time we had wasted at this dreary concert.


The picture shown is of Lynam's guitarist, the only band I was able to go in front of the barricade to take pictures of.

My piece on Hinder came out today as well.
Here is the full transcript of my interview with Hinder's bassist, Mike Rodden.