Review of “Let England Shake”
PJ Harvey's "Let England Shake," is both a love letter to her home and an intervention. War is the theme here, violence and death predominate in the lyrics and the music veers between glittering menace and hypnotic dirges. What else is new?
"Let England Shake" is probably a better introduction to the artist than nearly anything released in 10 years. While very different in tone and sound from her early period, these songs nevertheless return to some of Polly's favorite motifs: catchy, circular guitar work, theatrical vocals and multi-layered instrumentation. 'All & Everything' shines in particular, surging and sagging like the tides of Gallipoli, bearing the shattered bodies of England's patriotic dead.
Metal Geek: Grave Digger, Blind Guardian, and Van Canto Share a Stage!
It's not everyday that three of the biggest names in heavy metal share a stage, but sometimes the universe makes exceptions for events as awesome as Wacken Open Air, Germany's premier annual metal super-festival. Celebrating their 30th anniversary, German legends Grave Digger performed the entirety of their classic album Tunes of War for the crowd, which is a treat in it's own right.
But when they decided to invite other metal celebrities like the a capella group Van Canto and Blind Guardian frontman Hansi Kursch onstage for a full-on, kilts-on rendition of "Rebellion," that treat turned into a once-in-a-lifetime event for the thousands gathered around the stage. Handy thing that the crew at Wacken had cameras at the ready to capture it!
Read on for the video.
Video Game Music Nets First Grammy Win
Civilization IV's opening theme, "Baba Yetu," is without a doubt a modern classic. Its soaring majesty and haunting vocal track are seared into the brains of countless Civ-maniacs the world over. It was recently re-released as part of composer Christopher Tin's first solo album Calling All Dawns and was subsequently nominated for the just-aired 53rd annual Grammy Awards in the category of Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) (the album was also nominated for the Best Classical Crossover Award).
In a historic moment, "Baba Yetu" went on to win the Grammy (as did the album as a whole, certainly making Tin's evening), making it the first video game song or composition to ever win such a prestigious award. Tin, after thanking his family and girlfriend, made note of this fact in his acceptance speech, earning him an impressive bout of applause and cheers.
Check out the acceptance speech and a video of the song after the break!
Album Review: The King is Dead by The Decemberists
When I first heard the single Down By the Water from The Decemberists new album The King is Dead I was immediately struck by the sounds of the harmonica and acoustic guitar. I realized this was another change of style for The Decemberists and to my surprise this time around they chose Americana. It is a drastic jump from their last album, Hazards of Love, which can be described best as prog rock. It even deviates from their earlier albums featuring sea shanties, ballads, and dark, eloquent tales of misery. Despite the change in style, there is never a question of who is making the music. The King is Dead is still distinctly a Decemberists album.
Discovering New Music
There are plenty of good ways to discover new music, such as listening to your favorite artists' Pandora station or using a service like last.fm. Here are three simple sites that will allow you to discover new music that you may like (ordered by increasing fanciness).
Tagging Your iTunes Songs
By adding a list of tags to the songs in your music library, you can easily create playlists for every desired theme, mood or purpose. I use this technique, Comments Smart Playlists, when I set up background playlists for my RPG games. Tagging each song's comment field can also be used for a wide variety of uses such as presentations, movie soundtracks or simple amusement.