Daily Loaf

Meet NYC resident and frontman of The Strokes, Julian Casablancas. On his solo debut, Phrazes For The Young, he has replaced all your expectations with synths straight out of 1984. Listen closely. Pop waves too polished to be considered prog echo shades of Duran Duran’s “Rio,” Madonna’s “Borderline” and “Let’s Go Crazy” by Prince. Within this palette of ’80s-style synths, a secretly danceable album bubbles up. Nagging speculation about how the songs would sound if guitars replaced the shiny textures, or if some feedback and grime were swapped for the forlorn tropical vibe glistening across “11^th Dimension” and “Glass,” is senseless and unnecessary, for solo albums serve as outlets to indulge those musical urges normally suppressed by a group dynamic.

Take “4 Chords of the Apocalypse.” The song’s slowed-down tempo makes it feel really out of place to Strokes fans, a knee jerk reaction and possible obstacle for those expecting another “Last Nite” because the track celebrates the despondency of Otis Redding and Solomon Burke-era soul, and not the dissonance and recklessness of CBGB. Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t forget about your homework for the weekend — keeping up on the latest music news.

Jay-Z announced the second leg of his tour for his new album, Blueprint 3. (No Florida stops are included.) The record may just be a “blueprint,” but no doubt it’s a plan to lay the foundation of yet another successful project for Jigga.

A weekly bulletin about who’s playing on late night TV; set your TIVOs or DVRs if you’ve got an early bedtime. See a day missing? No musical guest that night…

The Late Show with David Letterman, CBS
Monday, October 26: Harper Simon (son of Paul, who just released his self-titled debut)
Tuesday, October 27: Florence and the Machine (Florence pictured, photo by Alex Lake)
Wednesday, October 28: Sting
Thursday, October 29: Weezer
Friday, October 30: Weezer

The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, NBC
Monday, October 26: Wolfmother
Tuesday, October 27: Julian Casablancas
Wednesday, October 28: Uncle Kracker
Thursday, October 29: the Swell Season
Friday, October 30: Alice in Chains Read the rest of this entry »

Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse
Dark Night of the Soul

From the first reports of a new project by artist/producer Danger Mouse and singer/multi-instrumentalist Sparklehorse (Mark Linkous), to the freaky 16-second video revealing filmmaker David Lynch’s hand in its artistic direction, to its Internet leak after the dispute with EMI turned into a permanently unresolved issue, Dark Night of the Soul has been generating a shadow-shrouded hype that reflects the album’s own bewitching eeriness.

The 13 songs were written by DM and SH in collaboration with a noteworthy cast of nearly a dozen guests, who not only provided vocals but helped compose and produce their respective tracks. Each one retains its own individual feel, but all remain within Dark Night’s moody boundaries and feature DM’s skilled multi-layering production techniques. (Click here to read more.)

For more news and views in music, check out the CL Music site.