The Casualties

New Releases: Paris Hilton, Outkast, Kelis, Casualties, J Dilla, Lamb Of God, DJ Kay Slay & More

21 Aug 2006 20:27:00 EDT

Also due Tuesday: Luther Vandross, Primal Scream, Danity Kane, Cursive, Tortoise, Headlights, Layzie Bone, Prince.
By Kurt Orzeck

With more than 100 new CDs dropping this week — but surprisingly few reissues, oddly enough — this could shape up to be one of the hottest summer Tuesdays for new releases. But sifting through the stores, you're bound to see a few standouts hogging most of the attention. That being said, there's a colony of underdogs who deserve some playing time too. So here's this week's onslaught in easy-to-digest capsule form: the Big Guns and Small Shooters who are ready to unload.

Big Guns:

Paris Hilton: Those who don't guiltily grab the heiress' debut for the sexy artwork alone will probably do so because they're still bopping along to her unexpected club smash, "Stars Are Blind." But there's more to Paris than meets the eye — no, really — including a limited-edition version that's waxed up with a 30-minute bonus DVD of in-the-studio and interview gems. Priceless indeed.
Outkast: Will 'Kast's "Idlewild" soundtrack fare better than the film itself? Place yer bets. The musical accompaniment doesn't have any video bonuses — you'll probably have to wait until the DVD for that — but it does feature spots by ubiquitous Outkast guests Sleepy Brown and Killer Mike, as well as film co-star Macy Gray. There's also a song called "Chronomentrophobia" — how can you go wrong with that?
Kelis: After droves slurped up her Tasty "Milkshake" back in 2003, it's about time Harlem, New York's R&B maiden quenched people's thirst. Her fourth effort features Too Short on the lead single ("Bossy"), while Nas, Will.I.Am and Cee-Lo crop up elsewhere. With her "Step Up" soundtrack contribution giving her an extra boost, she could be leaving quite the mark with Kelis Was Here.
J Dilla: His death may not have had the same impact as Hendrix's, but the recently deceased Jay Dee drew an outpouring of grief from big-name rappers who considered him the genre's unsung production hero. His debut, The Shining, reflects that support, featuring Busta Rhymes, Common, D'Angelo and Pharoahe Monch, among others.
Luther Vandross: Another recently fallen beloved artist, the R&B singer makes his way back into the record racks, posthumously, with The Ultimate Luther Vandross. The collector's edition has a bonus DVD bristling with seven remixes, but two unreleased tunes he recorded before his death in July 2005 appear on both versions: "Got You Home" and the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis-produced "Shine."
Prince: Also getting the Ultimate treatment is another veteran who's still very much going strong. The two-CD tip o' the cap has the hits plus obscure remixes of "Raspberry Beret" and "Hot Thing." While you've got that in your hand, head over to the DVD section of your store of choice for "Diamonds and Pearls." The 12-clip collection also chalks up concert highlights, interviews and Prince and his band running through Aretha Franklin's "Dr. Feelgood."
DJ Kay Slay: With this week's hip-hop competition as hot as it's been all year, Kay and Greg Street might have a hard time living up to the title of their collaborative The Champions: The North Meets the South. Then again, with guest spots by more names than you can shake a stick at, the duo might get all the boost they need. On their red carpet are Busta Rhymes, Chamillionaire, Lil Wayne, Shaq Diesel, Cassidy, Paul Wall, Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, Remy Ma, Ghostface, Lil Jon and another pal or five you may have heard of.
Danity Kane: Will the latest "Making the Band" act make bank with its debut? The self-titled affair isn't just backed by executive producer Diddy, though: Also sharing their wisdom with the newcomers are Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins, Mario Winans and Bryan-Michael Cox, all of whom spend some time behind the boards.
Lamb of God: Switching gears just a wee bit, the death-metal deacons are dishing up "Foot to the Throat," "More Time to Kill" and "Walk With Me in Hell" as part of their very unholy Sacrament. The deluxe edition lives up to its name with 90 minutes' worth of content, including up-close-and-personal segments, the director's-cut versions of two videos and more. Roar.
Casualties: With an ever-growing fanbase, lotsa lovin' from Los Angeles' Indie 103.1 FM and some raucous gigs on this year's Warped Tour, could the NYC throwback punks be this year's Billboard albums chart surprise? Produced by ex-Black Flag and Descendents member Bill Stevenson, Under Attack rips into the government's botched Katrina effort ("System Failed Us ... Again"), the music business at large ("Fallen Heroes") and, without a doubt, your eardrums.

Small Shooters:

Cursive: They're best buds with Bright Eyes and landed on the cover of the New York Times Sunday arts section the last time they put out a studio LP. With Happy Hollow — featuring "So-So Gigolo," "Dorothy Dreams of Tornadoes" and "The Sunks" — could even bigger and better things be in store for Tim Kasher and company?
Tortoise: There's too much to name going into the Chicago band's four-disc A Lazarus Taxon — out-of-print material, compilation contributions, every video the collective has made — but with a second shipment of the box set already being ordered, more than a few fans are shelling out for this one.
Radio Birdman: Twenty-five years after the Radio short-circuited, the Australians are back with a new album, giving them something to shout about when they kick off their first U.S. tour ever on August 30. A lucky 13 tracks populate Zeno Beach, including the exceedingly appropriate "We've Come So Far (To Be Here Today)."
Headlights: Just over three years ago, indie rockers the Jealous Sound put out a record called Kill Them With Kindness. Now they'll be facing a new Google-search challenger in the Headlights, whose debut of the same name features the playfully titled "The Midwest Is the Best," "Pity City" and "Hi-Ya!"
Pajo: You might know him from Billy Corgan's short-lived Zwan, and probably don't know him from indier-than-thou projects like Papa M and Ariel M, but David Pajo's giving you another chance to meet him, this time as simply Pajo. What happens in 1968? Give it a spin and find out.
Early Day Miners: Producer Daniel Lanois (U2, Bob Dylan) has a protégé in Daniel Burton, and Burton has a few friends in Black Mountain's Amber Webber, Windsor for the Derby's Johnathon Ford and Tortoise's John McEntire. They all chime in on EDM's six-song, 37-minute Offshore.
F--- the Facts: Who knew Ottawa was such a brutal place? The Relapse grind band does seem to have a sense of humor, though, piling tracks like "The Sound of Your Smashed Head" onto its equally sardonically titled Stigmata High-Five.
Wooden Wand and the Sky High Band: And speaking of the facts, let's get these ones straight: New York psych-folkie Wooden Wand is prolific. His solo LP Harem of the Sundrum and the Witness Figg was reissued in May. Four records he's made with the Vanishing Voice have dropped since June 2005. And now he's got Second Attention with the Sky High Band — which features Vanishing members — added onto his résumé. Got it? Good.
Spencer Dickinson: Here's another one that needs some clarification. Jon Spencer has made a name for himself with his Blues Explosion, Pu--- Galore and more projects. Jim Dickenson is an iconic producer who's worked with the Replacements, Big Star and many others. His sons Luther and Cody Dickenson make up the North Mississippi Allstars. Spencer Dickinson is none of, but rather all of, these guys. Got it? Good.
Lambchop: And what's a new-releases day like without some stuff by Nashville's favorite chamber-country-crazies? Damaged is the band's 10th studio LP and is the collaborative result of 17 folks. Make some room in your cart for Kurt Wagner's squad — if you still have any room left, that is.

Song Title of the Week:

"The 23 Things That Rhyme With Darby Crash" from Guttermouth's Shave the Planet

New Releases:

ActionReaction - 3 Is the Magic Number (Equal Vision)
Against Me - Americans Abroad!!! Against Me!!! Live in London!!! (enhanced; Fat Wreck Chords)
Buy Now: Americans Abroad!!! Against Me!!! Live in London!!! (Fat Wreck Chords)
Agallah - Purple City Presents the Don Bishop Agallah You Already Know (Babygrande)
Alexisonfire - Crisis (Vagrant)
Buy Now: Crisis (Vagrant)
Geri Allen - Timeless Portraits and Dreams (two CDs; Telarc)
Eric Bachmann - To the Races (Saddle Creek)
Lullaby Baxter - Garden Cities of To-morrow (Boompa)
Boys Like Girls - Boys Like Girls (Red Ink)
Broadcast - Future Crayon (Warp)
Bu

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Emo Rules Warped Tour '06, But AFI Draw Biggest Crowd

27 Jul 2006 15:11:00 EDT

Joan Jett is sentimental favorite at festival; attendance down this year.
By Gil Kaufman

CINCINNATI — The Warped Tour ought to consider hooking up with Baskin-Robbins as a sponsor next year. Because when the 12th edition of the longest-running U.S. summer festival touched down at the Riverbend Music Center on Wednesday, it served up 36 flavors — approximately 30 of which were variations of the punk taste of the past few years: emo.
With few exceptions, angsty, tattooed white boys with a lot to scream about ruled the day for the 11,000-plus fans who wandered among the eight stages and endless collection of band merch and sponsor booths. The exceptions were goth punks AFI, who drew the day's biggest crowd with their dramatic dinnertime set, and old-schooler Joan Jett, who provided one of the few true cross-generational bonding moments for the many families in attendance.
(Click for photos from the Cincinnati stop on this year's Warped Tour.)
Unlike last year, when breaking bands like My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy and Avenged Sevenfold drew big crowds and lots of hype (see "My Chemical Romance And A Very Stiff Chicken Rock Milwaukee Warped Tour Stop"), three-quarters into this summer's dates, Warped attendance is down slightly, according to tour founder Kevin Lyman. Still, he said Warped '06 is on track to an expected total draw of approximately 600,000.
With fewer mainstream bands on the bill, Lyman says he feels fine about the lower attendance figures. And judging by the crowds that lesser-known acts like Cartel and Emery drew to some of the smaller side stages, it was clear that rabid fans will turn up for their favorite bands no matter which stage they're on. Whatever the final numbers, Lyman, who brandished the top-secret '07 roster (albeit at a safe distance), is certain that Warped will be back next year.
Nearly every strain of emo was on display in the scorching 90-degree heat over the course of the nine-hour marathon: screamo with two lead singers and one guitarist (Marilyn Avenue); screamo with one singer and two guitarists (Classic Crime); screamo with a metal edge (Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, the Bled); goth-tinged screamo with scary pancake and scar makeup (Aiden); classic-rock-inspired emo (the Sunstreak); the three guitarists/ two backup screamers variety (Vaux); the Coheed and Cambria-type (the Junior Varsity); and straight-up, classic emo (Thursday, Emanuel).
Some bands added signature metal touches: Every Time I Die weren't afraid to do some athletic spin kicks, whip their heads around and show off their Kiss-style unison guitar-swinging. Warped veterans Valient Thorr brought Motörhead-style metal thunder to their set, with some hammer-swinging Nordic jams that rocked way too hard for 1 p.m. The only hip-hop act on the bill, Gym Class Heroes, moved the crowd with a combination of live instruments and the head-bobbing ode to MySpace addiction, "New Friend Request."
Then there were political rockers Anti-Flag, who staged a fist-pumping mini-rally against oppressive governments, sexism and lots of other isms through subtle message songs like "F--- Police Brutality." Sets by Saves the Day and Motion City Soundtrack had a more pop-punk feel, with plenty of chant-along choruses and a lighter touch than some of the day's more tortured acts.
Sweden's the Sounds — one of the few female-fronted acts — brought a bit of class to the proceedings thanks to singer Maja Ivarsson's black heels and clingy cocktail dress. The formal wear was just a front for an unhinged stage persona that paid serious homage to late punk priestess Wendy O. Williams of the Plasmatics, right down to the partly shorn blond hairdo and a few unladylike glimpses of her panties during some deep knee bends. As a bonus, the Sounds were one of the few bands at Warped to bust out the cowbell, which they did proudly during the catchy "Song With a Mission."
Though they had the day's most iridescent hairdos, there was nothing elegant about hardcore punk survivors the Casualties. The New York kings of the Day-Glo Mohawk tore through a set that included the tough-as-nails punk ballad "Punk Rock Love" and their tribute to the three deceased members of the Ramones, "Made in NYC." Their set also inspired the day's biggest circle pit, a 50-foot-wide swirl of bodies that tore around the sound booth. The crowd was less juiced up by the Pink Spiders, who, between their pink spandex pants and fingerless gloves, seemed to confuse some of the kids with their Ramones-meets-Loverboy sound and look.
Though she didn't draw a huge crowd, old-schooler Joan Jett was the sentimental favorite of the day and the unofficial cell-phone champ, as half of her crowd held their cellies aloft during her set. Lyman says he invited her along as a lesson to the rest of the bands on the tour about the history of punk rock. Jett and her Blackhearts delivered a tight, half-hour set of classics, including "I Love Rock N' Roll," "Crimson and Clover," "Do You Wanna Touch Me" and her latest hit cover, Sweet's "ACDC" (see "Warped Tour Nabs Trailblazing Rocker Joan Jett For Trek").
Jett, who started out as a member of the jailbait all-girl punk group the Runaways as a teenager in 1976, has never forgotten the first rule of punk: The chorus needs to be easily chantable (think "whoa-whoa-whoa" or "yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah") and the guitars need to rip like buzz saws.
Doug Pyle, 21, drove up from Knoxville, Tennessee, to attend his third Warped Tour show, and he admitted to not really being into all the emo bands on the bill. The heavily pierced, Mohawk-sporting Pyle, clad in a Rancid T-shirt, was on the same page as Dayton, Ohio's John Fritz, 24, who lamented the emo overload and tagged Jett and the Casualties as his favorites of the day. "Man, she's still really hot!" Fritz said of the lean, ripped Jett.
Theatrical California goths AFI rambled from punk to goth and electronica without losing a step. After a day of blazing temperatures, nature seemed to feel the heaviness of singer Davey Havok's inner vampire, as gray clouds rolled in to block the sun during the band's set. Havok, a bilevel-haircut-sporting dude in distress, waved his tattooed arms and threw off panicky jazz-hand gestures while screaming and thrashing around during the Depeche Mode-like gothtronica tunes "Love Like Winter" and "Silver and Cold."
Thanking Ohio natives Devo and the Dead Boys, Havok tore into the band's current hit single, "Miss Murder." The crowd re-created the video's fist-pumping rally theme, bringing what looked like a momentary smile to Havok's pale face (see "AFI Blow Kisses, Play Gothic Bumper Cars At Dramatic NYC Show").
At an intense fest full of throat-scraping screams, karate-kicking guitarists and microphone-cord tourniquets, it was the message on a simple black T-shirt worn by an emo-looking dude that brought plenty of laughs to passersby during the day's otherwise heavy proceedings: "Girls pants are for girls."
For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.

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27 Jul 2006 00:00:00 EDT

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