Assessing the Leaks

First off, some sad news regarding one of my favorite record stores: Tower Records is seeking a buyer after filing for Chapter 11 for a second time today. They've already been cut off by major music suppliers for failure to pay its bills. It's becoming more and more apparent that online is the best bet for buying music. Many of those sites (like Insound and Amazon) cater to music junkies by offering free shipping once an order exceeds a certain price. This makes places like Best Buy, and the pricier Barnes & Nobles option, completely useless in terms of bargain music, because they are charging $18.95 a pop for something that can be bought online for 2/3 or 1/2 the price. Combined with the price of gas and the inability for people outside of major cities to get exactly what they want (Best Buy isn't stocking their shelves with Cloud Cult, plain and simple), online is the way to go. Not to mention, they are fucking efficient.

A couple comments on two albums that I've been listening to that have yet to hit (virtual) store shelves. First is The Decemberists' The Crane Wife (pictured). I won't claim to know an awful lot about this band and I wasn't really introduced to their music until I started listening to Picaresque. I have to say, however, that their Capitol debut is really impressive. It's left a lasting impression on me and I'm recognizing now that I need to get more acquainted with their back catalog. The song that really sticks out for me is the 12-minute epic, "The Island-Come & See/The Landlord's Daughter/You'’ll Not Feel The Drowning." My other favorites include "The Perfect Crime 2", "When the War Came," and "Summersong."

Second, is Kasabian's Empire. The response to this album has been horrendous and it's warranted. Tell me this album is a collection of b-sides and I'm not mad at it but telling me it's a British classic crushes their credibility. I don't really think it's as bad as everyone makes it out to be but maybe I'm disillusioned and holding out hope that it will grow on me. This was also one of my most anticipated albums of the year so I guess I have that going for me. A couple warning signs that I failed to recognize along the way: "the follow-up to their 2004 self-titled debut, 'took just five weeks to record'," and "the band wrote material for the album, which was produced by Jim Abiss (Arctic Monkeys, Placebo, Paul Oakenfold) 'right up to the wire'." Their first single, "Empire" is the best track on the album and the new wave element is still working on tracks like "Shoot the Runner", "Me Plus One", and "Sunrise" but the songs on the second half of the album lack any real distinction. The Oasis similarites also aren't helping their career and it's quite possible that "Aponea" is one of the worst songs of the year. I'm also going to miss their NYC show in September and their chance to make up for the lackluster effort. Depressing.