The Foo's Announce North American Tour Dates

The Foo Fighters have been busy this year. Their new album Sonic Highways is out now and in case you haven't heard anything about it, was recorded in eight different studios in eight different cities across the country.  The making of the album has been chronicled in an eight part mini series on HBO under the same name and has brought the American rock band back into the spotlight in a huge way.  Dave Grohl had been speaking about a world tour to support the new album and series but had yet to announce North American tour dates until yesterday.  The Foo's will play 29 shows across the country supported primarily by rock duo Royal Blood with the exception of their July 18th show at Fenway park where Grohl has asked local Boston underground heroes Mission of Burma to open. Tickets supposedly go on sale in three days on the 22nd with a heightened focus on getting tickets to fans directly so as to avoid hiked prices from scalpers who buy large amounts of tickets and list them on sites like StubHub.  So get in line, pick up the phone or go to the Foo Fighters website to get tickets because they will no doubt sell fast and if you haven't already seen the Foo's live it is not something to be missed.  With shows averaging three hours long, you definitely get your moneys worth and Grohl always has a few surprises to throw into the mix.  The band exemplifies modern rock and roll and if you're a fan of the genre, this is a show you simply must see.  Check out full details from Rolling Stone below.


Foo Fighters North American Tour Dates

Song's from this Morning

1. Peaches - Presidents of the USA
2. Ruby Soho - Rancid
3. Porch - Pearl Jam
4. Shut Up - Blink 182
5. Where Did You Sleep Last Night - Nirvana

We are the Best! Captures the Essence of Punk Rock

I am a huge fan of independent films.  I love watching a movie with no A list actors and feeling so absorbed by the subject matter.  You believe and relate to the story so much more when you aren't staring at the face of Brad Pitt or Seth Rogen.  No matter how fabulous an actor is you will always know that you are in fact watching them perform.  With independent films however, we get the opportunity to really feel the authenticity of the subject matter.  Such is the case with We are the Best! A Swedish indie film about three young girls growing up in Stockholm during the early part of the 1980’s.  Bobo and her friend Klara are punk rockers and thus are outcasts.  Their hatred for their parents, school, and society is matched only by their fervent loyalty to each other and their adulation of punk music.  The film focuses on the two girls as they navigate the stresses of rough home lives and the constant battle that is public school.  However, after signing up for the communal band space at their local kids center, the two decide that they MUST start a band.  Soon they recruit a new friend named Hedwig.  The quiet, introverted, and religious girl is a sharp contrast to Bobo and Klara but the three soon become inseparable as Hedwig teaches the other two about how to play music.  The film is part coming of age tale, part music documentary, and part love story.  It’s incredibly hard to capture the spirit of something like punk rock.  To capture what it truly means or the effect it has on some people’s lives is supremely difficult and We are the Best! does a masterful job at showcasing the essence of punk through the the lives of these three girls.  Adolescence is a tough time for everyone and normal issues like boys, teachers, and parents are present throughout the film.  The difference is that the movie manages to show how punk is not only an escape for these girls through the music and style of nonconformity, but also how it is in and of itself a state of mind that allows you to do whatever you want.  Capturing the true DIY spirit of the genre, We are the Best! manages to avoid clichés and assumptions about punk while delivering a message we can all relate to: being young can be hard, but that shouldn't stop you from defining yourself the way you see yourself.  It shouldn't stop you from being what you want to be.  And that is what makes the genre and this film so wonderful.

Today's Playlist

1. Next of Kin - Alvvays
2. Sweet Pea - CHILDBIRTH
3. Miami - Against Me!
4. Psycho Killer - Talking Heads
5. Intergalactic - Beastie Boys
6. Teardrops on My Pillow - Dum Dum Girls
7. The Beauty Process - L7
8. Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam - The Vaselines
9. Would You Be Impressed? - Streetlight Manifesto
10. Bad Attitude - Articles of Faith

Alvvays Crafts Incredible 80's Infused Indi-Pop

Canadian five piece Alvvays (pronounced Always) has caught the indie world by storm with the release of their eponymous debut this past July.  The album is some incredibly ethereal and melodic indie pop and successfully redefines a genre which has been done to death these days.  Lead singer/guitarist Molly Rankin’s voice is unlike anyone else in the world of indie music today.  Her lyrics are both complex and accessible allowing you to hear what she’s saying and understand where she’s coming from while leaving a little open to interpretation.  All nine songs on the record are hits with Molly’s voice and guitarist Alec O’Hanley’s riffs as the focal point.  The guitar play between the two works masterfully and creates an infused and haunting style.  The 80’s influenced

soft rock sounds brought to the table by keyboardist Kerri MacLellan fit masterfully with O’Hanley’s surf rocky hooks and the steady simple drum beats of Phil MacIsaac which keep a similar tempo on every track.  Lead off song “Adult Diversion” will get stuck in your head for days and is one of the best on the album.  The single “Archie, Marry Me”  follows and is a perfect example of the sublime melodies present on the entire LP.  Other notable tracks include “Next of Kin” in which the narrator sings merrily about leaving her love to drown in a river with a chorus of “If I had known he couldn’t swim, we would never have gone in”.  Lighthearted track “Agency Group” brings the focus to the bass and drums while still allowing Rankin’s voice to shine through as the guiding light.  The slow, lullaby-like “Dives” precedes the fastest track “Atop a Cake” which starts pushing the soft indie pop of the other songs into rock territory which is refreshing after the mellow, almost euphoric sound of the rest of the album.  Alvvays is currently touring and had a recent stop in Boston where I missed what was hailed as an impressive show.  Live, the band sounds just as good as on their record and brings an energetic passion to their leisurely tunes.  Definitely check this band out and give the CD a listen.  The songs instill a warm fuzziness that makes you smile and relax.

Intimate Jimmy Page Interview

Rolling Stone contributor David Fricke recently sat down with guitar legend and Led Zeppelin founder Jimmy Page to discuss everything from the Zep reissues released this year to his opinions on the O2 arena reunion.  The interview is funny, heartwarming, intriguing, and a little sad.  Read it below, you won't be disappointed.

Jimmy Page Interview

Songs From This Morning

1. I Believe You - White Lung
2. One Beat - Sleater Kinney
3. Be Easy - He Is Legend
4. Leave Me Out - JEFF the Brotherhood
5. Fazer - Quicksand

Transformers Age of Extinction Should Have Had More Dinobots

                The Transformers franchise is FINALLY free of Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox.  Depending on your personal taste this may be a good or bad thing but for me it’s liberating.  I always felt the one thing holding those films back was the awkward character acting brought to the table by the two stars.  That being said, having Marky Mark come on board as a replacement isn’t too much better but at the end of the day the reason anyone is watching these movies is to see Optimus Prime and the other Transformers duke it out in all their epic, mechanized glory so who really cares.  On this front, Transformers: Age of Extinction did not disappoint. 

                This installation in the popular series takes place five years after the Battle of Chicago which saw the death of Megatron.  Humans have become distrustful of the Transformers and break all ties with them forcing each one to go into hiding.  A secret CIA operation is deployed to eliminate the remaining Decepticons but its vengeful leader is also focused on destroying the Autobots.  He feels the world will never be safe while any of the Transformers, good or bad, are on the planet.  Cade Yeager (played by Mark Wahlberg) is an inventor who comes across a broken down truck he hopes to salvage for parts.  The truck turns out to be a rusty and wounded Optimus Prime and Cade, along with his daughter Tessa gets sucked in to all the drama surrounding the alien, metal titans as Optimus is forced to flee the encroaching CIA operatives and their vile Transformer bounty hunter Lockdown who is on a personal mission to find Prime. 

                This installation, much like the previous Dark Side of the Moon, gives us background into the history of the Transformers and the effects they’ve been having on Earth for millennia.  Secrets are revealed which put the future of both Earth and the Transformers in a questionable light as Optimus and his Autobots must decide whether the humans are worth saving.  As is the case with any Michael Bay big budget blockbuster there isn’t a whole lot of substance to the movie.  The point is the special effects, fight scenes, and explosions of which there is an ample amount.  Wahlberg’s relationship with his daughter feels forced and cliché as he spends the entire movie more focused on her hidden relationship with boyfriend/amateur racecar driver Shane than the imminent destruction of the planet and the unrelenting battle of good and evil.  In addition, the Dinobots have a very small role to play which was immensely disappointing as the trailers focused almost exclusively on the addition of the gigantic prehistoric behemoths.  Still, what we did get to see was spectacularly awesome and made the entire movie for me.  On top of this is the introduction of Galvatron, a new villain with a hidden secret you’ll have to watch to find out.  If you were a fan of the other three films then you will enjoy this installation as well.  It feels just like the others and is a somewhat logical continuation of the story line with some fun new additions to keep you interested in what’s going to happen next.     

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Knocks It Out Of The Park

                For the first time in a while a movie’s sequel was just as good as its predecessor.  The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was everything I had hoped it would be.  Giving us insight into Peter Parker’s past, as well has his present and in some ways his future, the film painted a picture of Spider-Man as a larger identity; one that is bigger than Peter Parker.  Again starring Andrew Garfield as Spidey and Emma Stone as his beautiful girlfriend Gwen Stacy the film picks up largely where the last left off making it a logical continuation.  While I was skeptical at first of the idea of having multiple villains, I think it ended up working really well.  Multiple villains was the downfall of Spiderman 3 and ultimately led to that franchises downfall.  Here however it makes sense as we get to see the rise of Electro, played by Jamie Foxx.  Electro acts as the main story line villain and takes up the majority of Spider-Man’s crime fighting time.  However, the rebirth of the Green Goblin was what I was most interested in and I feel as though the film did a splendid job with his character. 

                Returning home from boarding school, a young Harry Osborn inherits his dying fathers company only to learn his father’s disease is genetic giving him limited time to live.  His growing anger with his father, himself, and Spider-Man for refusing to help leads Harry down a dark path.  The films rendition of the Green Goblin is spot on and more true to the comic books than the previous Toby McGuire trilogy in which Willem Defoe portrayed a fully masked version of the high flying supervillain.

                Incorporating Peter Parker’s daily struggle of trying to mix his civilian life with that of Spider-Man’s is important and something every good superhero movie must touch on.  His indecisiveness is a focal point for the film and one that reveals a deep internal struggle brilliantly portrayed by Garfield.  I would definitely watch the movie again as there was so much crammed in to its two hours and change that a second viewing would only serve to enhance the first.  With plenty of action, emotion, and little laughter, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was a home run.

This Morning's Playlist

1. Dixie Cup and Jars - Waxahatchee
2. Archie, Marry Me - Alvvays
3. Spaceman - 4 Non Blondes
4. Your Weakness Give Me Life - Le Butcherettes
5. Back to the Shack - Weezer