http://www.stoneddog.com/guitar-centerpiece/
cool quincenera centerpieces?
im trying to think of centerpiece decorations for my party that would stand out and represent me but idk what.
the colors are red and black but i dont really want elegant.
i dont want it to just be styrofoam and flowers like everyone else doess..
i love music and i play the guitar but im not sure how to make a centerpiece out of what i likee…
any ideas?
You don’t want elegant? Aren’t Quincenera’s elegant celebrations?
Here is my idea:
Buy a seven day candle, a white one. Print a very cool picture of you playing the guitar. Wrap it (glue it) around the candle. Set it in the middle of the table with red and white flowers around it. You can have the candles lit, as they burn and melt down, your image (which is glued around the candle) will be illuminated from the inside. I did this and it looks really pretty.
I would suggest you leave black for your shoes or another occasion, black and red is too harsh, like a brothel.
Also, you only turn 15 once, make it elegant. You are presenting yourself to the world. Be a lady and enjoy it. Peace.
“Centerpiece” (Acoustic) – Guitar & Ukulele Tutorial
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17 Party / Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah Rock & Roll Lit 46″ tall Centerpieces $700.00 |
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WASHBURN RR10 FLYING V COLLECTOR CENTERPIECE GREAT GIFT FREE S&H $663.17 |
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Reusable Swan Ice Sculpture Mold $19.95 Ice sculpture molds by Sculptures In Ice are elegant and easy-to-use. Your beautiful creation will literally slip right out of the mold. Simply fill the mold with water or other liquid, freeze at least 48 hours and release a beautiful, professional-looking ice sculpture. Our ice molds fit in most conventional freezers and measure 14″ high by 11″ wide by 3″ deep. These versatile molds allow your c… |
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Record Bowl – The Doors $40.00 Each bowl is created from a single record, which has been molded in to a vessel form. The bowls retain the look and feel of an LP, while the original record label is laminated and the spindle hole is sealed with a clear film. The bowls are great for dry items and snacks, and should be wiped clean by hand. Not dishwasher or microwave safe…. |
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Record Bowl – The Who/Tommy $40.00 Each bowl is created from a single record, which has been molded in to a vessel form. The bowls retain the look and feel of an LP, while the original record label is laminated and the spindle hole is sealed with a clear film. The bowls are great for dry items and snacks, and should be wiped clean by hand. Not dishwash… |
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Where Joy Kills Sorrow $3.99 The album, being released on Zacksongs, contains 11 tracks of diverse original material with Garrin’s words, voice, and guitar as its centerpiece. From the concise, electric Beatle-esque pop of “What You Wanted to Hear” and “Answers” to the aggressive, punky throttle of “Don’t Panic”, this CD balances song craft, melodic innovation, and a radio friendly aesthetic that has become Benfield’s focus. … |
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Cactus Jazz $14.99 … |
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Mini Music Centerpieces Music Decorations Spice up the Party! The music centerpieces are the perfect addition to your rock and roll party decorating. No matter what your event these music decorations will be sure to make it a hit. Four mini centerpieces per package. Approximately 4 1/2″ tall. Cardstock topper and tissue base. Assorted musical instruments include: drums, piano, microphone and guitar. Music decorations lik… |
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Hawaiian Luau – Coconut Centerpiece – Guitar Accessory Hawaiian Luau – Coconut Centerpiece – Guitar Accessory… |
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Mini HELLO KITTY Pink COLLECTIBLE Guitar $27.95 Miniature Guitars are made with extreme attention to detail. Non-playable and perfect for displaying in homes, music rooms, offices, etc… Order more than one item from our store and SAVE ON SHIPPING. Only $1.99 more for shipping per item…. |
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Mini Guitar JIMI HENDRIX CLASSIC BLACK ‘Rosewood Neck’ $27.95 Mini Guitars are made with extreme attention to detail. Non-playable and perfect for displaying in homes, music rooms, offices, etc.. Order more than one from our store and SAVE on shipping. Only $1.99 more for shipping per item…. |
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How to Paint and Glitter Styrofoam crafts and centerpieces $2.99 Did you know that most spray paints will totally ruin your styrofoam crafts and centerpieces? Don’t waste time and money creating something beautiful in foam, only to completely melt it with the wrong kind of paint and glitter!In this guide you will learn:? Where to get inexpensive foam? Ways to shape and cut designs from foam? Where to get ideas for designs? How to come up with great color combin… |
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Alright Jack $19.98 Home Service was everything that was right about English folk-rock in the ’80s, building on the foundation laid by Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span and effectively expanding it. With Alright Jack they created their masterpiece, something that conjoined past and present without any seams showing. The opening title track rocked powerfully, with its political lyric from John Tams (in whom the band possessed a staggeringly good writer) and the brass addition sounding like a Salvation Army band behind the guitar and rhythm section. But they also knew how to treat traditional music, not only a song like the sentimental “Rose of Allendale” (via the legendary Copper Family), but also”Babylon,” a piece dating from the English Civil War and an indication that it wasn’t the Rastas who first gave that name to an ungodly world. The centerpiece, however, is “A Lincolnshire Posy,” a setting of folk songs collected by the late Percy Grainger for large wind ensembles, both adventurous and innovative. Some of the pieces, like “Rufford Park Poachers,” are well-known, but none had been heard like this before, arranged with care and great thought to create an epic feel, even if the suite itself is only some 12 minutes long. With it, the band created a fitting memorial to Grainger, a man who’d never believed in working inside the lines. It made for an apt fit, because Home Service blurred the lines, and never more than on this album, where the ancient becomes modern and the brass lies down peacefully with the electric guitar. ~ Chris Nickson, Rovi |
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At the Foot of the Garden $15.98 Blood & Time is another in the ever-growing compendium of Neurosis-related side projects, this one including vocalist/guitarist Scott Kelly and keyboardist Noah Landis, with support via bassist Anthony Nelson and drummer Stephen Garrett. First album At the Foot of the Garden is, like Kelly’s solo work, Sunday morning music — somber, mellow, and entirely acoustic; in other words, the sonic reversal of Neurosis’ Black Sabbath-ish rumblings. However, removing the lion’s teeth doesn’t take away its animalistic urges, so it’s no surprise that Blood & Time simmers with subtle intensity even as tempos rarely rise above a comatose heart rate, minor keys rule, and sparse instrumentation leaves many wide-open spaces in the misty mix for Kelly’s raspy, sung-spoken vocals. Miles-distant electric guitar, industrialized samples, spoken poetry, and a morose organ lend color to “Shining King,” “Their Constant Battle,” and “Glorious Sky,” a three-part suite that’s the album’s centerpiece; “Crown of Teeth” swells to a more conventional, rock-rooted catharsis (even if any drama is succinctly downplayed); and “Our First Thought,” with a rootsy, almost upbeat plucked guitar arpeggio, could be interpreted as a vague, indirect love song. Otherwise, At the Foot of the Garden is mostly gray in tone, lyrically meditative, and, like most Neurosis-related material, builds appreciation with repeated listens. Like Neurosis’ moments of subdued tension-building, Blood & Time can be disarmingly quiet, and the pseudo-pagan lyrics utilize many worshipful icons from the natural world — elements that should appeal to those who sink their teeth fully into the Neurosis collective’s increasingly vast artistic depths. ~ John Serba, Rovi |
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Between My Head and the Sky $13.98 She’s really back; one of the most gloriously influential and notorious women in the history of rock has returned with a new album at the age of 76, and thank goodness. With Between My Head and the Sky, Yoko Ono has courageously and outrageously revived the Plastic Ono Band moniker; a group she and husband John Lennon formed together; only this time, instead of the late John, it’s with the couple’s son Sean Lennon. Audacious? Oh yeah, but wait until you hear it! On 2007′s Yes, I’m a Witch, Ono gave a bunch of her old tracks to artists like J. Spaceman, Chan Marshall, DJ Spooky, and the Flaming Lips, to name a few, and re-recorded them. This time out, she surrounded herself with New York studio players, Sean’s own band, and guests such as Yuka Honda from Cibo Matto, and members of Cornelius. The end result is a stunning collection of 16 wildly diverse tracks that were written in six days and recorded very quickly. The centerpiece is an electronic-cum-acid rock spoken word peace called “The Sun Is Down,” with screaming guitars, crisscrossing beats and breaks, and Honda offering sung vocal support drifting entrancingly in the backdrop. Then there is the funkier material, such as the wonderfully surreal “Ask the Elephant,” with some stellar feedback and heavy guitar work by Sean, and the overtly rockist title track, where Ono speaks more emphatically than she has in decades. This isn’t just rock as spoken word, it’s got groove, crunch, noise, and vulnerability as well as authority, and in places, yes, her trademark ululating wail. “Watching the Rain” is a midtempo ballad with shimmering blips and beats, her singing voice is expressive in its limited range, and her words are deeply moving. The shamanistic, trance-like quality of “Moving Mountains” melds acid folk and new production styles with a beautiful layer of horns — trumpets mainly — in the background. Come to think of it, there are a lot of trumpets on this record. Ultimately, however, Between My Head… |
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Brand New Eyes $18.98 With 2007′s Riot!, Paramore proved that pop hooks and a killer set of pipes can still vault a band to platinum status, economic downturn be damned. Success comes with a price, though, and Paramore struggled as media outlets reserved most of their coverage for Hayley Williams, deemed by many to be the group’s leader. Rather than calling it quits, the musicians sought therapy in the studio, where tales of self-doubt and frustration were captured on tape by mega-producer Rob Cavallo. The anthemic, celebratory songs that made Riot! so appealing were largely absent, but the band found a new way to rock during those sessions, prizing catharsis and nuanced arrangements above the hooks of albums past. Released in late 2009, Brand New Eyes presents Paramore as a stronger, leaner, and altogether more consistent band. “Careful” and “Ignorance” are two of the group’s most aggressive tunes to date, and the rest of the disc follows suit, with the guitar interplay of Josh Farro and Taylor York (who makes his studio debut here, having joined the lineup after Riot! was recorded) receiving much of the spotlight. Drummer Zac Farro anchors the band with a flurry of snare hits and cymbal crashes, but the true MVP is none other than Ms. Williams, who sings with all the gusto of an angsty, 21st century Ann Wilson. She’s fun, fiery, and altogether fantastic, a pint-sized powerhouse who attacks everyone from holier-than-thou naysayers (“Playing God”) to egocentric space cadets (“Brick by Boring Brick”). Williams also tones down the sonic assault whenever it’s appropriate, offering a beautifully understated vocal during the album’s centerpiece ballad, “The Only Exception,” and championing the band’s longevity during songs like “Where the Lines Overlap” and “Looking Up.” “God knows the world doesn’t need another band,” she sings during the latter track, “but what a waste it would have been…I can’t believe we almost hung it up. We’re just getting started.” Riot! explored… |
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Dick’s Picks, Vol. 1: Tampa, FL 12/19/1973 $20.98 Named after the Grateful Dead’s vigilant vault keeper Dick Latvala, the Dick’s Picks series ultimately encompassed three dozen entries spanning 23 years (1968 — 1991) of live concert recordings. Inside the debut installment are over two hours of highlights from the band’s final 1973 gig (December 19) at the Curtis Hixon Convention Center in Tampa, FL. With a surfeit of options to inaugurate the ongoing project, Latvala cited his desire to disseminate items that were “lesser known” by Deadheads and to reveal the sonic splendor of the opener “Here Comes Sunshine” when asked the reasons that he chose this specific date to christen Dick’s Picks. It was clear that the entire evening could not be presented on two CDs. Therefore, Latvala — with input from a variety of sources, notably bandmember Phil Lesh (more about that in a moment) — selected representatives from the first and second sets. Deadhead purists were initially displeased that the concert had been condensed and/or resequenced. Meaning, they wanted every note. In addition to the sublime “Here Comes Sunshine,” a potent “Weather Report Suite” and “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” are worthy of investigation. The former for its incisive instrumental explorations, while the latter is notable for the conspicuous absence of the typical “Upon the Rio Grande-O/Upon that lazy river” refrain. The late 1973 lineup of the Grateful Dead is minus contributions from Donna Jean Godchaux (vocals) — whose final trimester of pregnancy was not conducive to life on the road. A further point of contention between connoisseurs of the music was the out and out hatchet job done to “Playing in the Band” at the behest of Phil Lesh (bass/vocals). A caveat of including the performance was the removal of his bass solo. The centerpiece of disc two is 50 minutes of vintage, uninterrupted and nonstop musical interaction from participants Jerry Garcia (guitar/vocals), Keith Godchaux (keyboards), Bill Kreutzmann (percu… |
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Giacomo Gates – Centerpiece $15.99 Personnel: Giacomo Gates (vocals); Vic Juris (guitar); Vincent Herring (alto saxophone); Harold Danko (piano); Ray Drummond (double… |
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Hank Crawford – Centerpiece [Remaster] $11.99 Personnel: Calvin Newborn (electric guitar); Hank Crawford (alto saxophone, Fender Rhodes piano); Alex Foster (tenor saxophone); Howard… |
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Historias $7.99 Historias, Ricardo Arjona’s second album for Sony Music, is a significant leap forward from his breakout debut effort, Animal Nocturno. For many fans, it’s his finest effort thanks to the many hits found here, among them “Se? ora de las Cuatro D? cadas,” “Historia de un Taxi,” “Te Conozco,” “Realmente No Estoy Tan Solo,” and “Libre.” For all the hits, the album is a bit uneven. Then again, that seems to be the point, as each song is stylistically distinct and the instrumentation is remarkably varied. There are around two dozen instruments credited on the album, everything from saxophone and trumpet, to piano and Hammond B-3, to cello and bassoon, to violin and viola. This is a big difference from Animal Nocturno, which was relatively austere in instrumentation. Most notably, the hard-rocking electric guitars, omnipresent synthesizer, and gated drums that comprised the bulk of Animal Nocturno are downplayed on Historias. Recorded in Dallas, TX, this is an elaborate album that employs an army of studio musicians and reflects Arjona’s grand ambitions as an artist. In addition to the colorful musical palette of Historias, it’s conceptual. In accordance with the album title, each song tells a story. The best example is the album’s epic centerpiece, “Historia de Taxi,” which tells a complex story of lust, betrayal, and fate in which a low-class taxi driver picks up a high-class blond in a miniskirt. Like the song itself, which runs nearly seven minutes, the story is long and deep. It’s astonishing on several levels and demonstrates the brilliance of Arjona. Historias is filled with such songs. The ballads in particular are brilliant. Released only a year after its predecessor, Historias is a far more sophisticated album than Animal Nocturno. That album has great songs too, but it was more or less a rock album in style and spirit. In contrast, Historias shies away from full-throttle rock (only three of the 14 songs are driven by electric guitar) and favors i… |
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Koi Au $15.98 Koi Au is the sophomore release from the young Makana, who spent his apprentice years learning from the likes of the Pahinuis and Sonny Chillingworth. Here, he showcases a sort of new direction for slack key guitar, as he works through some standard forms (including a slack key instrumental penned originally by Chillingworth), but also mixes in pieces of world music, with some Portuguese fado making an appearance as well as a Chinese zheng. In the opening track, he switches between slack key guitar and an open-tuned (slack key) zheng, providing a Chinese ambience while playing in a Hawaiian style. After a piece in tribute of Bali, he duets with Cyril Pahinui and follows with a solo performance of the Chillingworth instrumental. The centerpiece of the album follows soon, with the lengthy instrumental “Koi” in three movements, based in some part on a Willie K. tune. It’s here that Makana shows off his full ability on slack key, running through quick passages and more emotional, slow passages with equal grace. A couple of nice Hawaiian vocal numbers continue the series, with one love song in English following them in turn. Then comes another piece of cultural fusion, as he sings a good Portuguese fado in the aptly titled “Fado” while playing a relatively upbeat slack key accompaniment. After a few more instrumental pieces, the album closes on the slightly moody electric “Far from Home.” It’s a full spectrum of new interpretations of the old slack key genre that Makana showcases here, and a number of interesting directions are taken. While the classic masters of slack key are outstanding in their own right, this is a worthwhile endeavor on Makana’s part, and deserves at least one listen, even by the purists out there. ~ Adam Greenberg, Rovi |
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Millions Now Living Will Never Die $15.98 Tortoise’s production expertise hit an early peak with Millions Now Living Will Never Die, a work that not only references studio-centric forms like dub and electronica, but actively welds them to the group’s aesthetic of sturdily constructed indie rock. The centerpiece is the 21-minute opener “Djed,” a multi-part track which brought Tortoise’s already impressive compositional abilities to a grand scale. It’s almost a history of influences in miniature, first referencing tape music and dub for several minutes, then moving on to Krautrock with a chugging section incorporating wheezing organ and understated guitar chords. Halfway through, the band takes on minimalism with repeating figures of organ and vibes, then return to the green fields of their debut with a final few minutes of moody indie rock (though even this is spiced with a scratchy rhythm and various noise effects). With “Djed,” Tortoise made experimental rock do double duty as evocative, beautiful music. The other songs on Millions Now Living are hardly afterthoughts, though; highlights “Glass Museum” and “The Taut and Tame” display the band quickly growing out of the angular indie rock ghetto with exquisite music, constructed with more thought and played with more emotion, than any of their peers. ~ John Bush, Rovi |
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Phrenology $11.99 The easy-flowing Things Fall Apart made the Roots one of the most popular artists of alternative rap’s second wave. Anticipated nearly as much as it was delayed, the proper studio follow-up, Phrenology, finally appeared in late 2002, after much perfectionist tinkering by the band — so much that the liner notes include recording dates (covering a span of two years) and, sometimes, histories for the individual tracks. Coffeehouse music programmers beware: Phrenology is not Things Fall Apart redux; it’s a challenging, hugely ambitious opus that’s by turns brilliant and bewildering, as it strains to push the very sound of hip-hop into the future. Despite a few gentler tracks (like the Nelly Furtado and Jill Scott guest spots), Phrenology is the hardest-hitting Roots album to date, partly because it’s their most successful attempt to re-create their concert punch in the studio. ?uestlove’s drums positively boom out of the speakers on the Talib Kweli duet “Rolling With Heat”; the fantastic, lean guitar groover “The Seed (2.0)” (with neo-soul auteur Cody ChesnuTT); and the opening section of “Water.” The ten-minute “Water” is the album’s centerpiece, a powerful look at former Roots MC Malik B.’s drug problems that morphs into a downright avant-garde sound collage. Similarly, lead single “Break You Off,” a neo-soul duet with Musiq, winds up in a melange of drum’n'bass programming and live strings. If moves like those, or the speed-blur Bad Brains punk of “!!!!!!!,” or the drum’n'bass backdrop of poet Amiri Baraka’s “Something in the Way of Things (In Town)” can seem self-consciously eclectic, it’s also true that Phrenology is one of those albums where the indulgences and far-out experiments make it that much more fascinating, whether they work or not. Plus, slamming grooves like “Rock You,” “Thought @ Work,” and the aforementioned “The Seed (2.0)” keep things exciting and vital. If this really is the future of hip-hop, then the sky is the limit. [The... |
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Piece of Mind $13.95 The second of three straight iconic Iron Maiden albums, Piece of Mind marks the debut of what many regard as the definitive Maiden lineup, with the arrival of new drummer Nicko McBrain. McBrain's ability to duplicate the complex patterns of the guitar and bass riffs gives the band a seamless ensemble unity. Even Steve Harris, whose busy basslines were never exactly groove-oriented, has never felt more integrated into the overall sound. Perhaps part of that feeling comes from the less frantic pace; the average tempo has slowed somewhat from the preceding album, and the hold-over punk influences still present there have been completely eradicated. Instead, we get a few moodier, heavier pieces (especially "Revelations") that make the album darker-sounding overall. We also get greater involvement in the songwriting from Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith, whose themes are perfectly in tune with Steve Harris' epic storytelling. Nearly every song here was inspired by movies or literature, whether it's history, mythology, sci-fi, or fantasy; this approach got them tagged as a thinking-man's metal band, and certainly provided a lyrical blueprint for Anthrax. No less than four songs are about battles and warriors, and a couple are about flying, underscoring the heights of the drama that the band is aiming for. The centerpiece of the album is, of course, "The Trooper," an all-time genre classic that boasts Murray and Smith's most memorable harmonized lead riff, plus that trademark galloping rhythm. A retelling of the Greek myth "Flight of Icarus" was the other British hit single, boasting an appropriately soaring chorus. Album opener "Where Eagles Dare" is the other flight song, recounting a WWII spy thriller and featuring one of McBrain's signature performances with the band. If much of Piece of Mind ranks as state-of-the-art heavy metal, it is true that the second half dips a bit from the first. "Quest for Fire" is many a die-hard fan's least favorite track from ... |
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Steinberg Sequel 3 - Windows $79.99 The new Beat Page in Sequel 3 is the centerpiece for all your beats, rhythms and grooves. Harnessing the power of the Groove Agent ONE drum station and the Beat Designer step sequencer, the Beat Page gives you direct access to groovy drum sounds and easy Programming of rhythmical patterns ? All in One spot. Following the philosophy of legendary drum machines, the Beat Page combines simplicity and convenience to become the starting point of your creative productions. Bring your Music to the stage-The Sequel 3 performance mode combines the advantages of linear and pattern-based workflows and lets you create and arrange your tracks in real time. Just define parts in your project, which are then automatically assigned to the performance pads. Assign the pads to your MIDI controller or Keyboard and trigger the patterns on the fly without missing a single beat. Break free and let the track evolve live on stage. And it just gets better: you can also Record your performance, re-edit or export it back into your project. Sequel 3 is equipped with a fine selection of high-quality instruments and effects for your production. The HALion Sonic SE sound workstation provides you with more than 500 sounds and instruments for all kinds of musical styles ? from Analog instruments to synthetic pads, leads and basses. Groove Agent ONE adds authentic drum sounds to your tracks and brings the groove into your productions. For guitarists, Sequel 3 includes the VST Amp Rack SE that turns your Computer into a legendary amplifier. Even third-party VST 3 plug-ins can now be Integrated into Sequel 3. Have you ever wanted to create a mix of your favorite track? Sequel 3 is the perfect tool. Just drag a song from your MP3 library into your project and let Sequel 3 detect the tempo of the track. Now you can easily create loops, change the arrangement and use the included effects to add your Personal touch to the tracks. The Step Envelopes editor in Sequel 3 allows you to easily modulate your Audio |
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These Are Not Fall Colors $11.99 Predating most of today’s emo rock darlings, Lync took the cutesy indie pop indigenous to their home of Olympia, WA, and added a noisy, distorted musical element. Guitarist Sam Jayne savors the same alternative tunings that are the benchmark of Sonic Youth, but instead of submerging them in a melee of distortion, he lays the chords bare with only the natural overdrive of a Fender amp. The drums are also understated, recorded with a lo-fi flat thud. That leaves bassist James Bertram, who propels the music by attacking his instrument with an aggression typically found in much harder bands like the Jesus Lizard. While the sonic specifics are critical in explaining Lync, they are, of course, only half the story. The songwriting is impeccable, with many of the album’s songs remaining valid after years of repeat listenings. “Silverspoon Glasses” is an energetic rev-up, while “Turtle” has a storybook sing-song refrain about a baby turtle hatching from its shell. With those kindergarten sentiments, the song sticks in your head like an old Sesame Street favorite. The centerpiece of the album is the epic single-picked guitar riff of “Cue Cards,” which leads into the coda-like melancholy of “Angelfood Fodder and Vitamins.” Together, the two songs make a single piece of music as majestic as “Stairway to Heaven,” without reverting to rock & roll histrionics. The members of Lync were innovators, as a slew of emo bands followed in their wake. Had they recorded more than this one album, they certainly would be more recognized for their contributions. As it stands, These Are Not Fall Colors remains a cult fave. Very few people who have ever heard the album decided that they didn’t like it. ~ Joshua Glazer, Rovi |
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USED: At the Foot of the Garden $6.98 Blood & Time is another in the ever-growing compendium of Neurosis-related side projects, this one including vocalist/guitarist Scott Kelly and keyboardist Noah Landis, with support via bassist Anthony Nelson and drummer Stephen Garrett. First album At the Foot of the Garden is, like Kelly’s solo work, Sunday morning music — somber, mellow, and entirely acoustic; in other words, the sonic reversal of Neurosis’ Black Sabbath-ish rumblings. However, removing the lion’s teeth doesn’t take away its animalistic urges, so it’s no surprise that Blood & Time simmers with subtle intensity even as tempos rarely rise above a comatose heart rate, minor keys rule, and sparse instrumentation leaves many wide-open spaces in the misty mix for Kelly’s raspy, sung-spoken vocals. Miles-distant electric guitar, industrialized samples, spoken poetry, and a morose organ lend color to “Shining King,” “Their Constant Battle,” and “Glorious Sky,” a three-part suite that’s the album’s centerpiece; “Crown of Teeth” swells to a more conventional, rock-rooted catharsis (even if any drama is succinctly downplayed); and “Our First Thought,” with a rootsy, almost upbeat plucked guitar arpeggio, could be interpreted as a vague, indirect love song. Otherwise, At the Foot of the Garden is mostly gray in tone, lyrically meditative, and, like most Neurosis-related material, builds appreciation with repeated listens. Like Neurosis’ moments of subdued tension-building, Blood & Time can be disarmingly quiet, and the pseudo-pagan lyrics utilize many worshipful icons from the natural world — elements that should appeal to those who sink their teeth fully into the Neurosis collective’s increasingly vast artistic depths. ~ John Serba, Rovi |
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USED: BACK TO BASICS 0202 $7.98 Sheila Wilcoxson’s strong, dirty, and downtrodden “I’ve been to hell and back” vocals are the centerpiece of Back Porch Blues’ setup of vocals, harmonica, guitar and bass. Whit Draper’s guitar captivates throughout on up-tempo jams like “Boogie Woman” and slow, nasty crawlers like “Mean Old Man,”. Harmonica player (and bandleader) Jeffrey Dawkins blows like he is hemorrhaging, especially on “NW Line.” The baker’s dozen tracks are compelling and the sound full and satisfying, even without the presence of a drummer. ~ Andrew Hamilton, All Music Guide |
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USED: Central Market $9.98 At the time of Central Market’s release, Tyondai Braxton was best known as a member of proggy post-rockers Battles, who earned so much acclaim for their 2007 debut album Mirrored that many of their fans might not have known of Braxton’s decade-plus of work as an avant-garde solo artist. That’s understandable, since his debut solo album History That Has No Effect was released in 2002, but Central Market reintroduces Braxton as an artist with an audacious set of compositions that link to his earlier solo work and Battles, but don’t rehash either. On History That Has No Effect, Braxton was truly solo, crafting heavily processed, loop-based pieces that mimicked a larger ensemble through meticulous layering. This time, he collaborates with the Wordless Music Orchestra and composer/string player Caleb Burhans, giving Braxton an entirely new palette of sounds to play with, along with his guitar, electronics, and voice. He dives in with contagious zeal: as impressive as Central Market’s compositions and arrangements are (which is very), the most remarkable thing about the album is its playfulness. A joyful impatience runs through almost every track, as if Braxton can’t wait for listeners to hear what’s coming around the bend. Over the course of the album, he nods to composers and arrangers ranging from Igor Stravinsky, Bernard Hermann, and Brian Eno to Carl Stalling as he blends modern classical, prog rock, hip-hop, and electronic music with ease. However, the album rarely feels “difficult” in the way that pedigree would suggest. Braxton challenges listeners to keep up with every hairpin turn he sets out, but it’s well worth the effort. Central Market’s first half is especially dazzling: “Opening Bell” alone builds from a rudimentary piano line and zapping synth into a piece that uses the orchestra and Braxton’s guitar to suggest a street scene, a parade of wind-up toys and mischief straight out of Looney Tunes. The album’s centerpiece is “Platinum Rows,” which tra… |
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USED: Double Exposure $5.99 Trans Champs is the unexpected by-product of two of indie rock’s most noted instrumental groups: Chicago’s blip-and-beep rock sound experimentalists Trans Am and San Francisco’s power metal trio the Fucking Champs. It may sound a bit out of the ordinary, but each group has already dabbled with the other’s style, and once they join forces to create the ultimate six-piece rock montage, it all makes perfect sense. Opening with the cheesy power-ballad-styled “Give It to You,” the record gets off to a weird tongue-in-cheek start, but it doesn’t take too long for things to fall into place for the remainder of the five-track EP. The aptly titled and technologically sound “The Big Machine” opens with the computerized beats and synths of classic Trans Am, but it isn’t long before a wailing guitar augments the mix and proves that the whole concept really is a good idea. The centerpiece of the disc is a two-song cycle entitled “First Comes Sunday Morning” and “Then Comes Saturday Night.” Part one is a gorgeous acoustic interlude with strings and flutes, and the second section rehashes the melody Champs style with plenty of ’80s metal zest. Double Exposure isn’t as mind-bending as it could be, and the Champs seem to be holding back from their usual brutal assault for most of it, but it is still a strong collaboration that will hopefully yield further work from two groups who work so well together. ~ Peter J. D’Angelo, All Music Guide |
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USED: Flowers in the Desert $7.98 The easiest thing that a facile flamenco guitar player like Manuel Iman could have done on his debut Flowers in the Desert is stick to the usual jumpy trappings of the genre as he does on the intensely rhythmic “Rumba Chulita.” But that would simply put him on par with more established pop flamenco stars Ottmar Liebert and Jesse Cook. Introducing a rock edged electric guitar into the mix proves a stroke of brilliance on a multi-movement piece like “Zingar”; a frothy tropical jam that suddenly grows deeper and more passionate until Iman finally plugs in and wails, screaming and crunching like Van Halen dropping into a little cantina. He uses the rocking instrument as the centerpiece of a soaring Middle Eastern flavored jaunt on the title track. The tune begins unassumingly, loping along with a bright Spanish guitar melody before chant-like vocals soar in the distance, spacy synth harmony appears, and Iman dramatically ups the distortion and goes for broke. While rock & roll is an obvious love, Iman’s other main influence appears to be classical music. A marching rhythm pattern on “King of Hearts” forms the backbone for a graceful weave of gentle flamenco stylings and synthesized orchestrations. And the closing track, “Swan Birthday,” is a soft flute-acoustic guitar meditation which borders on new age and enters the classical realm with another synth orchestra sweep. ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide |
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USED: Historias $4.99 Historias, Ricardo Arjona’s second album for Sony Music, is a significant leap forward from his breakout debut effort, Animal Nocturno. For many fans, it’s his finest effort thanks to the many hits found here, among them “Se? ora de las Cuatro D? cadas,” “Historia de un Taxi,” “Te Conozco,” “Realmente No Estoy Tan Solo,” and “Libre.” For all the hits, the album is a bit uneven. Then again, that seems to be the point, as each song is stylistically distinct and the instrumentation is remarkably varied. There are around two dozen instruments credited on the album, everything from saxophone and trumpet, to piano and Hammond B-3, to cello and bassoon, to violin and viola. This is a big difference from Animal Nocturno, which was relatively austere in instrumentation. Most notably, the hard-rocking electric guitars, omnipresent synthesizer, and gated drums that comprised the bulk of Animal Nocturno are downplayed on Historias. Recorded in Dallas, TX, this is an elaborate album that employs an army of studio musicians and reflects Arjona’s grand ambitions as an artist. In addition to the colorful musical palette of Historias, it’s conceptual. In accordance with the album title, each song tells a story. The best example is the album’s epic centerpiece, “Historia de Taxi,” which tells a complex story of lust, betrayal, and fate in which a low-class taxi driver picks up a high-class blond in a miniskirt. Like the song itself, which runs nearly seven minutes, the story is long and deep. It’s astonishing on several levels and demonstrates the brilliance of Arjona. Historias is filled with such songs. The ballads in particular are brilliant. Released only a year after its predecessor, Historias is a far more sophisticated album than Animal Nocturno. That album has great songs too, but it was more or less a rock album in style and spirit. In contrast, Historias shies away from full-throttle rock (only three of the 14 songs are driven by electric guitar) and favors i… |
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USED: Jupiter $4.99 An undeniable masterpiece, this album met with both praise and disdain from long-term fans upon release. Previously, on their godly Dillinger-esque calculus-core debut, Until Your Heart Stops, Cave In carried tormenting aggression and blended it with creative genius. Signs of avant-garde progression could be seen on tracks like “Juggernaut,” but these ideas did not come to fruition until the Creative Eclipses EP. Drawing upon indie rock act Failure, the album shocked some, with its landslide progression toward a Radiohead-meets-hardcore sound. Off-kilter and half bloomed, they failed to reach full potential, until Jupiter, which should engulf the masses. Losing the hardcore vocals almost entirely, except for the emotionally astonishing rasps on “Big Riff,” the band has begun to experiment with a gorgeous, emotive Thom Yorke styling. Conveying a patient vulnerability few veteran bands possess, emotional layering seems to form the nucleus of Jupiter. Steve Brodsky’s haunting notes break like crashing waves against his lush soundscape of gentle noise, brilliantly exemplified in tracks like “Innuendo and Out the Other” or “In the Stream of Commerce.” This last song begins by drowning the listener in meticulous, disharmonic beauty. Suddenly clean channel melodic guitar pours forth, bridging with the centerpiece chorus and cutting through the heart with a sharp emotional blade. This album is 100 percent pure blackened expressionism shrouded in silent shadows. “Requiem,” an epic quiet climax, feels like a healthy dose of Brave Murder Day-era Katatonia, both musically and lyrically — not vocally. Clean picking struggles to stay afloat in a sea of noise as Brodsky belts “Do you feel it’s true that you’re always this doomed?” This band puts a whole new spin on tormented emotion and broken spirits. Crushing Neurosis, with Dillinger sensibility meets Radiohead as a doom hardcore outfit? Jupiter is captivating and is something imperative for all metal and non-met… |
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USED: Moodfood $2.99 Both the title Moodfood and the subtitle (“Aural Medication for Tired Minds”) neatly encapsulate the listening experience offered by producers Fred Hood and Grant Showbiz on this heady mix of ambient, trance, house, pop, and rock. The duo conceived of this project in almost therapeutic terms, envisaging the album as an extended, seamless composition that would stimulate, enhance or complement a range of emotional states. The resulting recording certainly reflects that intention: While it comprises individual tracks that evoke specific moods, to a certain extent they blend into one another and share recurring musical motifs. With contributions from such diverse talents as Jeff Beck, Chrissie Hynde, Johnny Marr, and Linda Muriel, this genre-blending debut displays an enormous emotive range, running the gamut from calming to exhilarating. The contemplative end of that spectrum can be heard on tracks like “Rainsong,” beautifully enhanced by the soulful voice of Linda Muriel, and on the gentle “Hairy Piano,” which pianist Liz Upchurch peppers with decorative new age melodies. The ambient calm of some of this material is shattered, however, by the driving rock of “Skinthieves.” Later appropriated as the theme music to America’s Most Wanted, this number showcases the distinctive, blistering guitar work of perennial axe-hero Jeff Beck. Meanwhile, the spaced-out house groove of “Problem Solved” and the heavier hip-hop rhythms of “100% Total Success” are more dance-oriented. The album’s centerpiece is undoubtedly the soothing and poignant “Spiritual High,” a 15-minute suite comprising three tracks that revisit Jon & Vangelis’ “State of Independence,” feature the vocals of Chrissie Hynde and, elsewhere, sample Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1963 Lincoln Memorial speech. Despite the considerable success of Moodfood, fans would have to wait five years for a studio follow-up. In 1997, Psychedelicatessen served up more of the same, albeit with less compelling results… |
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USED: Murray Street $6.99 Virtually every album Sonic Youth has released since the underrated Goo has been hailed as a return to form. However, Murray Street, their second collaboration with Jim O’Rourke (and their first with him as a full member of the group), not only recalls their past glories but explores new territory. Freed from the trendy agendas that marred A Thousand Leaves and NYC Ghosts & Flowers, the group revisits the complex, transcendent guitar epics that made them underground rock heroes in the first place. But Murray Street doesn’t just rehash the sound of their late-’80s heyday, either; for the most part, epics like the ’60s-tinged “The Empty Page” and “Rain on Tin” — which sounds a bit like a rural cousin to Television’s “Marquee Moon” — are built on surprisingly clean, crisp guitar tones that only explode into occasional noise-storms. Indeed, the guitar work on the album’s first three tracks is both economical and sensual, a feast of textures and counterpoints that never sounds overdone. Murray Street’s wonderfully natural yet intricate sound is O’Rourke’s most distinctive contribution to the group; while his work with Smog and Wilco pushed those groups to be more experimental and eclectic, with Sonic Youth he seems to give those tendencies focus and balance. Even the hypnotic drones at the end of “Karen Revisited,” the album’s noisy, oddly romantic centerpiece, have a unique precision and clarity. Murray Street’s first four songs rank among the most consistent, and consistently exciting, work in Sonic Youth’s career, so much so that the album’s shorter, more rock-oriented songs feel a bit anticlimactic. “Plastic Sun,” a Kim Gordon-sung rant, feels particularly out of keeping with the rest of Murray Street’s warm, expansive tone; “Radical Adults Lick Godhead Style” is a typical Sonic Youth rocker that suffers merely from not being as good as the first half of the album. Closing with the serenely sexy “Sympathy for the Strawberry,” Murray Street reaffirm… |
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USED: Phrenology $7.99 The easy-flowing Things Fall Apart made the Roots one of the most popular artists of alternative rap’s second wave. Anticipated nearly as much as it was delayed, the proper studio follow-up, Phrenology, finally appeared in late 2002, after much perfectionist tinkering by the band — so much that the liner notes include recording dates (covering a span of two years) and, sometimes, histories for the individual tracks. Coffeehouse music programmers beware: Phrenology is not Things Fall Apart redux; it’s a challenging, hugely ambitious opus that’s by turns brilliant and bewildering, as it strains to push the very sound of hip-hop into the future. Despite a few gentler tracks (like the Nelly Furtado and Jill Scott guest spots), Phrenology is the hardest-hitting Roots album to date, partly because it’s their most successful attempt to re-create their concert punch in the studio. ?uestlove’s drums positively boom out of the speakers on the Talib Kweli duet “Rolling With Heat”; the fantastic, lean guitar groover “The Seed (2.0)” (with neo-soul auteur Cody ChesnuTT); and the opening section of “Water.” The ten-minute “Water” is the album’s centerpiece, a powerful look at former Roots MC Malik B.’s drug problems that morphs into a downright avant-garde sound collage. Similarly, lead single “Break You Off,” a neo-soul duet with Musiq, winds up in a melange of drum’n'bass programming and live strings. If moves like those, or the speed-blur Bad Brains punk of “!!!!!!!,” or the drum’n'bass backdrop of poet Amiri Baraka’s “Something in the Way of Things (In Town)” can seem self-consciously eclectic, it’s also true that Phrenology is one of those albums where the indulgences and far-out experiments make it that much more fascinating, whether they work or not. Plus, slamming grooves like “Rock You,” “Thought @ Work,” and the aforementioned “The Seed (2.0)” keep things exciting and vital. If this really is the future of hip-hop, then the sky is the limit. [The… |
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USED: Power Ballads Gold $9.99 Like spandex pants, pyrotechnics, and concept records, the power ballad is as essential to a proper hard-rockin’ band as a mid-concert guitar or drum solo. Giving the band a moment to show its sensitive side was just as important as the hardest song on the album, striking a balance and making the music accessible to those who like a little love in their rock. A time-honored tradition since the ’70s, this two-disc compilation is not just a reasonably priced two-disc session, it’s an anthropological barometer mapping the evolution of the power ballad. Metal love song compilations come and go, but never has this song style been so meticulously documented so well. Every single important moment in the history of power ballads is included in this 30-song session. From its early origins from classic rock bands like Styx, Kiss, Nazareth, and Foreigner; to its prime time golden years as a crucial centerpiece in a hair metal band’s oeuvre (Poison, Extreme, Warrant, etc.), it’s all here. Songs that transcended hard-rocking FM stations to soft rock background stations and back again. Lacking filler completely, this is a collection that is essential for any serious fan of the song style that has touched so many lives. ~ Rob Theakston, Rovi |
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USED: Temple of Shadows $9.99 Carrying on un-phased following the departure of founding vocalist Andre Matos, Brazilian metal institution Angra make their tenth release Temple of Shadows (and fourth sans Matos) sound like business as usual. True, some would charge that, as part of their “moving on” process since losing their adventurous-minded former singer, Angra’s most distinctive progressive rock tendencies have grown thinner by the year. But despite succumbing to base power metal’s uniform (and boring!) speed-flailings during Helloween-aping opening exercise “Spread Your Fire” and, later, the equally forgettable “The Temple of Hate,” Angra still find plenty of opportunities to indulge their progressive “jones” via Yes and Marillion-recalling epics such as “No Pain for the Dead,” “Morning Star” — not to mention the album’s awe-inspiring conceptual centerpiece “The Shadow Hunter.” Comparatively speaking, more concise material such as “Angels and Demons” and the almost straight-up hard rock of “Waiting Silence” turn the focus toward memorable choruses and sparkling melodies to go with their more understated structures (think Kansas or Dream Theater). Not a bad transition until we settle into the at times over-saccharine balladry of “Wishing Well” or “Late Redemption” (featuring Brazilian pop legend Milton Nascimento), which regularly coast as close to Air Supply (bad!) as, say, Styx (good!), for inspiration. Taking into account all of the above, the songwriting results are still positive, more often than not, and vocalist Edu Falaschi, though not as powerful or majestic in his delivery as Matos, handily applies his grittier style to suit most of these songs just fine. But, Temple of Shadows does suffer from poorly-chosen production choices in terms of its drums (which sound as limp and inexpressively mechanical as one could expect from a human) and a bass that is seldom heard above the fleet-fingered guitar fray fired up by the band’s central tandem of Kiko Loureiro an… |
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USED: The Eternal Return $4.99 Starting with the dramatic, commanding, overdubbed vocals of “There is No God but God,” The Eternal Return again showcases Ayres achieving a serene, powerful beauty with his fusion of vocal music styles. “Kyrie” shows Ayres doing a more traditional piece, an adaptation of the noted Gregorian chant, but even that contains hints of the more multifaceted nature of Arcanta; as much romantically passionate as religiously striving, it’s a seductive and fascinating blend of vocal performances (if nothing else, Ayres is an excellent arranger of his own recordings). Straightforward, solo a cappella performances are here as well: the first half of “Estranging Sea” being a sweeping example, along with “Eleison,” unsurprisingly a counterpart to “Kyrie,” near the album’s conclusion. Not everything is the mystery of the human voice, though; the introduction to “Awake as if From Slumber” consists of a light but haunting synth arrangement deep in the mix, leading to a church organ bed upon which Ayres then weaves another fascinating performance. It’s an elegant and gripping mix, a further sign of his ability to bring out new levels from familiar elements. Other standout blends of instrumental power and singing passion include “Into Thine Arms,” which almost sounds like something labelmates Lycia would create, though without guitars, and “The Solitary Pilgrim.” The two returning pieces from the self-titled EP form the centerpiece of Return: “Maya” is now “Maya (dirge),” with an even more stirring and mournful feeling than before, yet retaining the same blend of light guitar and synth with Ayres’ voice, here singing an English lyric with his trademark dark passion; and the revamped “Via Dolorosa,” ends with a spectacular series of cries from Ayres. Finishing with the appropriately entrancing “Bodhisattva,” a measured, sparkling beauty of a track, Eternal is a fine effort from an artist with a rare gift indeed. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide |
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XII $11.99 Given the widespread critical acclaim and commercial success Brian Culbertson garnered from 2008′s retro Bringing Back the Funk, it would be understandably tempting for him — or any musician — to revisit it wholesale. However, Culbertson throws a changeup on XII and comes up with a set of collaborative originals with stellar guests that relies more on modern adult R&B than funk, and more on sophisticated pop than it does on contemporary jazz. He’s got real star power on this set; it’s a groover that includes everything from club to go-go funk, up- and midtempo R&B, and polished bedroom ballads, and it all holds together seamlessly. The set opens with “Feelin’ It,” which features some comedy from Sinbad in the intro and outro, but more importantly, Chuck Brown’s vocals are the centerpiece — Culbertson’s piano line quotes liberally from Brown’s classic “Bustin’ Loose” (he gets a co-write). Ray Parker, Jr.’s guitar and Alex Al’s bassline turn it into a monster. Next up is a soulful stepper in “Another Love,” with vocals by Kenny Lattimore. Club makes another appearance in “Out on the Floor,” with Brian McKnight laying down his brand of smooth groove above a killer string arrangement and a lockstep funky backbeat. Nu-soul balladeer Avant sings on the hit single “Skies Wide Open”; with Randy Bowland’s guitar playing an excellent counterpoint to his vocal, it is among the standout cuts here. Faith Evans fronts Culbertson’s band on “Don’t U Know Me by Now,” a midtempo attitude strutter. Parker makes a fine yet minimal vocal appearance on the simmering babymaker “I Wanna Love You,” compensated for by killer guitar work and the spoken word bit from Floetry’s Natalie Stewart on set closer “I Don’t Know.” Of the four instrumental tracks, the most notable are “It’s Time” and the transcendently joyful contemporary jazz number “That’s Life,” co-written by Culbertson, Parker, and Earl Klugh, who also plays on it. While nothing on XII breaks new ground, on… |