The Useless Critic 2.0

"Eclectic one-man band" Tom Vek has been pretty prolific about creating music over the last few decades. And much to our benefit! You might not hear a lot about him these days at least stateside (unless you're Florence ) but rest assured he's still an extremely active guy. Case in point, I checked out his latest album, "Newer Symbols." As the name may imply, it's a reimagining of his 2020 album, "New Symbols." Reimagining or not though, this album (just a little more than 30 minutes) stands quite well on its own. Check out the 2022 version of "Washed Up on the Beach" - my personal favorite - here; I would urge you to check out this release if you like electronic music in any variety. It feels like some of his finest work I've heard; experimental yet approachable. Warm while still fairly cool. Some tracks don't quite land but on the whole it's a very good listen, one of my favorites of this past year.

 It's truly the little things in life that make a world of difference. And for me, that means my summer playlist! Behold, I have put together 2022's edition. It includes cuts from artists like: - Mitski - Uffie - Johnny Orlando - Kylie Minogue + Jessie Ware - Florence and the Machine (who put out a fantastic album this year after a long dry spell of kind of "meh" records. Her pairing with Jack Antonoff worked out quite well!)  - Bilal - Harry Styles (he has some catchy music!)  - KATE BUSH DUH - And of course, Lana. It's also available on Apple Music, but since I recognize a lot of folks use Spotify, here's that link. Enjoy!

New Florence + the Machine! New Florence + the Machine! Did I make my point yet?  New Florence + the Machine! Actually it's just a release for Record Store Day (which is just around the bend on April 21st).  This sounds like classic, powerful Florence - an uplifting, inspiring ballad. And it's not too bombastic or overproduced; it's just raw. I was a huge fan when "Lungs" came out almost 10 years ago - and this song reminded me exactly why.  "In a city without seasons, it keeps raining everyday." Says the glorious Flo about the song: “This was a song that just fell out of the sky fully formed,” says Florence Welch. “Sometimes when you are performing you get so high, it’s hard to know how to come down. There is this feeling of being cracked open, rushing endlessly outwards and upwards, and wanting somebody to hold you still, bring you back to yourself. It’s an incredible, celestial, but somehow lonely feeling.” Watch the video below:  ...

Foo Fighters have never been one of my favorite bands. Actually, I think there were when I was like 7 0r 8. That's because of the UFO connections with their name. You don't know what I'm talking about?!?!? WIKIPEDIA IT. Although, let's concede, early-era Foo Fighters have some crazy good tracks: I bought the Foo Fighters album with the neck tattoo on the cover when I was 14. I didn't listen to it much and gave it to my brother. Kind of how I felt when I sold my copy of Jimmy Eat World's "Bleed American" and the record store clerk was like OMG I LOVE JIMMY EAT WORLD. Anyway, Dave Grohl broke his LEG earlier this summer and because he's a badass, troopered through the show he was playing. It cost him a leading spot at Glastonbury, which was inherited by Florence and the Machine. She did a really kickass cover of the ubiquitous-in-2000s "Times Like These," which Grohl recently admitted moved him to tears. D'awwww. ...

Song of the Day Arlissa is an American/Brit who, at the age of 20, is already earning big-name comparisons to Florence + the Machine and Crystal Fighters. She made a splash with a duet with Nas last year - and that's really the beginning of it. Her debut album will be out March 3. She started this year playing Top of the Pops (I'm American so I will pretend to understand that) and will be playing the Notting Hill Arts Club Jan. 31. The Guardian has called her the sound of 2013. What say you? I definitely see star potential!

THESE REVIEWS HAVE ALL BEEN TAKING UP TOO LONG SO I JUST WANT THEM OUT OF MY SYSTEM Feist, Metals - refreshingly calm in a post-calm world. I like this album a lot- it's warm, inviting and introspective, yet stripped bare. meaning:  if I was living in Nova Scotia, like I will someday, I'd listen to this non-stop. Florence + the Machine,  Ceremonials- bombastic Florence as always. but perhaps she bumped it up? sounds as desperate and as anguished as her (and the Machine's) first soon-to-be-classic effort. late night existential crises, here's your soundtrack! The Happy Problem, Headcase - jumpy powerpop meets punk in this album. Driven by a powerful female singer, it's an infectious effort and worth listening to. However, I hate to say this, the two strongest tracks on here are both covers. never fear....it seems like this group is definitely going somewhere. Stereo Soul Future, Ghost In The Night - an intriguing album by a band in the vein of Andrew Bird and Wi...

This is by far my favorite Flo song for the record. It crept up on me and swept me away, so gigantic and epic and over-the-top. It's hard for me to still hear it and not be a little blown away!  And in the dark,  I can hear your heartbeat, I try to find the sound,  But then it stopped,  And I was in the darkness,  So darkness I became. Let's GET IN A TIME MACHINE NOW. And let's step back to a few years ago, when this album came out, when I was falling in love with it/Flo/legs/redheads and falling in love really in general. This song defined that for me, that brief and a little joyous stitch of time. In a way, it was totally innocent. Almost the last of that kind of innocence for me....while I don't claim to be some impure Mae West-esque whore smoking on the side of the road, my mind and heart became clouded in later years. "Cosmic Love" was right at the brink of where this transformation took place. I remember sitting in poetry class and having this s...

up for noms: Arcade Fire, Cee-Lo, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Vampire Weekend, Robyn, Eminem, the cast of Glee (?), Miranda Lambert, Florence + the Machine (swoon!), ... overall I think it was a decent showing for once. except Justin Bieber showed up in there. somewhere.

JULY 26TH U2 AND INTERPOL IN PITTSBURGH TELL ME TO NOT GET A TICKET BECAUSE I JUST MIGHT p.s. Florence + the Machine is getting pretty popular here in the States. supposedly, Flo will be opening for some of these U2 shows (including one in Baltimore), too! she is coming to Balty-more....hopefully I'm not here at that point in time, but if I am......

I'm kind of out of it. bare with me, I have the beginnings of the flu, I started my new job and had to go around and shake everyone's hand today. typhoid Mary? winter 2011: please don't be a mean winter. I don't think I can handle another one of you. So here is my dead person of the day, the dead singer (dead) Robert Palmer. do you remember him? he was awesome: Florence + the Machine recently covered his biggest hit, "Addicted to Love." see here: also, Shakira. flashback 2002: my friend in eighth grade: Brittany do you like Shakira? me: what? sorry, I'm too busy jacking off to these Gwen Stefani magazines. my friend in eighth grade: it's okay, I like Linkin Park too much to have a respectable opinion. then I saw the "Whenever, Wherever" video. wow that girl can dance! I've never been particularly fond of her, though. she's catchy and dances well but sometimes she blows and when she blows well she really blows. "Underneath My Clot...

Well, Al and AWM have given it goes, adding some nice diversity to the lot. I don't know what charities they are supposedly representing or if they want to hoard the fortune to themselves. as for me, I'll decide if I win. Rebecca still has to go- Matthew, C-raw? feel free to do as well. and Adam! ... here's a transit of my year in terms of famous female writers, do you follow? - winter 2010: Sylvia Plath (basically want to die) - spring 2010: Anne Sexton (still want to die, but more insane. I did not sleep with my daughter, though....) - summer 2010: Anais Nin (darker periods, with more light, a return to former self. although my former self is basically dead so I am kind of a zombie version of Brittany, but a good zombie). thus, my midsummer mixes have traditionally held a melancholy air of them, the same kind of air that reminds you autumn is just one premature frost or changing leaf away. that school supplies are all the rage at Target and Staples, etc. BUT I NO LONGER F...

So Metric (who met the Queen of England yesterday???? weird??????) is doing the theme song for the Eclipse film. also appearing on that soundtrack: Bat For Lashes and Beck, Florence + the Machine, etc. I remember the first Twilight soundtrack. it wasn't amazing, not awful either. The Black Ghosts and Muse (duh what else) were on it, but then you had PARAMORE omg I hate Paramore don't even get me started. Then you had the New Moon soundtrack, with Grizzly Bear and Lykke Li. somewhat better. Editors were on it, though, which hurt it (ha sorry I JUST D NOT LIKE THEM). so if the first soundtrack scored a B-, New Moon earned a A-. (and also- OKGo, and that Anya Marina song, bleh) now you have Eclipse . which is AMAZING. and I had the epiphany yesterday- ha, why do I think so much about these things!- the continuing improvement of the soundtracks reflects the main characters' developing maturity levels. ... anyway Rusted Root and One World Tribe are kicking off Eight Great Tues...

SONG OF THE WEEK RIGHT HERE now I know typically her videos suck, but DAYUM. just revel in that for a while. enjoy. happy Saturday.

It occurred to me earlier that we didn't officially acknowledge the absolutely mind-shattering fact WE HAVE BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR A YEAR, OMG. So with that, I would like to say, to all our readers, loyal or otherwise: thank you. We love you. I remember when this was just a dream my freshman year- when I would walk around my dorm late at night and wonder, could I one day have a music blog? Would people read it? Um, of course it's not that much of a music blog, but you know... so dreams become reality. With that being said: Something great to wake up to for my fellow residents of western Pennsylvania: http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/22384354/detail.html I can just imagine: my first jury duty notice. "BRITTANY, HAVE FUN IN THE 911 TRIAL." Que es??? I'm actually anticipating the day I get that slip in the mail. I wouldn't mind at all. Read that, government? WHY YOU NOT SEND ME JURY DUTY? I also like how Bin Laden blamed the United States for the climate...

Sup homedogs? Sorry about the lack of posts lately. Moving across the world, working, etc kind of sucks up a lot of time. I should have a little more time now so I'll try to get back to posting on a semi-regular basis again. Something I enjoy doing is typing in a random word or grouping of letters into the search bar in iTunes and playing whatever comes up. It's a great way to find songs and bands which have been lost in the annals of your iTunes folders. Tonight I typed in "call." Here's a short selection of the songs I heard: Listen on YouTube: Islands - Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby Florence and the Machine - I'm Not Calling You A Liar Long Distance Calling - I Know You, Stanley Milgram! Eric Prydz - Call On Me Watch: Download: Bjork - Alarm Call (view video above) Call Me Alice - Life 101 Out Hud - Dad, There's A Little Phrase Called Too Much Information

This is where I wrap up relatively "new" artists of the year and recommend them to you. what I discovered this year and what you might discover too! IT'S MUTUAL! LET US EXPLORE Chris Garneau Like Sufjan Stevens if his balls were eaten by bunny rabbits. Good Shoes Just a really fun Britpop band, think a la the Maccabees or even Arctic Monkeys or Art Brut. A lot of Britpop bands sound SO ALIKE OMG. Good Shoes stands out. Check out their last.fm for a free MP3. Adam's girl, Florence and the Machine She's a legend in the making. Truly talented. my personal favorite: SO EPIC Greg Laswell His voice is beautiful- what seperates him from the dozens of other unmemorable singer-songwriters out there at the moment- shit, his talent. his cover of Kristin Hersh's "Your Ghost" gives me shivers. He has a very slowcore thing about him, a la American Music Club. But I gotta keep my eye on him in the future. He's currently touring with, yes, Ingrid Michaelson. plu...

As you may or may not know, I am a huge fan of Florence + the Machine. As far as I'm concerned, the woman is a genius, her first album is incredible, and she has one of the best voices out there today. However, I'm a little disappointed by her new single, "You've Got The Love." "You've Got The Love" is a cover version of the song "You Got The Love" by The Source ft. Candi Staton. It's a beautiful song and a worthy cover (I like it better than the original ), but it's not her song. Her album has so many fantastic songs to choose from - ranging from "Howl," which would do well on the New Moon soundtrack, to the amazing "Cosmic Love," which has already had some success on the charts in Ireland - yet she releases a cover. I don't understand this decision whatsoever. On the other hand, her voice sounds great, the harp works wonderfully with the lyrics, and it fits in perfectly with the rest of her songs. I'll ...

Florence + The Machine - Drumming Song So earlier today I was surfing around on YouTube and, just by chance, I stumbled across Florence and the Machine's brand new music video for her upcoming single "Drumming Song." Not gonna lie - I love it. The song is one of my favorites off the album and the video is HOT. The whole "sexy nun" thing has been done to death, but Florence is on FIRE. I mean. Holy crap. She's not traditionally sexy, or even all that beautiful, but she is absolutely stunning in this video. Bitch is (dare I say it?) FIERCE. Legs for days. And her moves are fantastic. Who could deny that humping? It's sacrilicious. In conclusion, I have a crush on Florence and I'm not afraid to admit it. Oh, and the church is pretty sweet too. (Yeah, I know 2/3rds of my posts in this blog are about F&TM. I'll work on that. Honest. I already know what I'm going to review next and everything!)

I first heard Florence and the Machine over a year ago, back when the band has less than 1600 plays on last.fm. First I came across "Girl With One Eye" on the Hype Machine, then I listened to "Kiss With A Fist," and then the acoustic cover of Cold War Kids' "Hospital Beds". Every song was amazing. I searched the Hype Machine every week for new tracks - and never found them. Then a combination of events occurred, I forgot about the band, and I only just got hold of Florence's new album, "Lungs," earlier this week. The band now has over 1.6 million plays on last.fm, a #2 album in the UK (just behind Michael Jackson - damn him for dying and messing up Flo's chances of getting to #1!), and every single released has charted, with "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" the highest at #12 in the UK. My, how things have changed! Let's put it like this: I've listened to the album non-stop for the last three days. "Rabbit Heart (Ra...