Lil Wayne - Jimi Hendrix - Tom Waits - The Via Maris - The Whigs

Lil Wayne



There must be some sort of indie-kid summit where bearded dudes in ironic t-shirts and frumpy "drama club" type girls get together and make decisions on what kind of things all "indie kids" are going to consider cool. Remember when they were all boners for Kelly Clarkson?

I guess at the last meeting they all decided that Lil Wayne was going to be the new ironic choice for indie- kids world wide. I can't tell you how many giddy e-mails and text messages I have gotten this week now that Lil Wayne's new album "Tha Carter III" leaked. So I gave in and asked a friend to send it to me.

I'm going to wait to listen to it until this weekend so I bump it in my car on the way to the beach. For some reason rap music always sounds better to me in the car. Stay tuned.

Jimi Hendrix



I'm watching a pretty rad Jimi Hendrix documentary right now on PBS (thank God I don't have to watch Deal or No Deal) and it made me think of these videos I saw a while back. Here's Jimi and The Experience in Vancouver in 1968.


Vancouver Interview - Part One


Vancouver Interview - Part Two


Tom Waits



Has anyone seen this movie Wristcutters: A Love Story? It's a great movie and Tom Waits is in it too!! Can't ask for much more than a good flick and Tom Waits.

Scene From Wristcutters



The Via Maris





My friends from Phoenix The Via Maris just released their second album, "The Bicentennial" and I think it deserves some attention here. It really is a perfect folk-pop record. I love when artists take the time to make records like this - solid from start to finish.


www.myspace.com/theviamaris


The Whigs



I've really needed a band like The Whigs. They rock. David Letterman thinks so too...

My Morning Jacket - Joy Division - Oasis

My Morning Jacket



You don't have to be a fan of jam-heavy, southern rock bands with serious beards to appreciate My Morning Jacket. Over the last few years, MMJ has gained a reputation amongst music fans as a band for everyone. They've managed to blend their own brand of southern rock that has left them always sounding fresh and becoming the darlings of rock critics and fans alike. I love them too. Seriously, these guys rule.

It's hard to judge their new full length, "Evil Urges" on any criteria other than "does it kick ass?" The answer is yes, my friends. It does.

There's nothing better than getting to hear a band like My Morning Jacket do what they do best, and on "Evil Urges," Jim James and Co. keep it simple and deliver a record that just plain rocks. If you like their other stuff, you will love this. I love it when things are this simple.



Joy Division



With all the hype surrounding the Bob Dylan movie "I'm Not There," it seems like Anton Corbijn's brilliant biopic of Ian Curtis and Joy Division , "Control" just got lost in the mix. The film was great, a very revealing look into Ian Curtis' psyche and a real treat for fans who had been waiting for it a long time.

A year later, there's going to be a proper documentary, simply titled, "Joy Division." Check out the trailer here:




Oasis



I once read Noel Gallagher say something to the effect of "If you expose yourself people can't expose you." I always felt that was pretty true. There's very little we don't know about the Gallagher Brothers by now and it's made them rather endearing in my eyes. Kind of like that friend you can always count on to make you laugh every time they fuck up.

After their 2005 album, "Don't Believe The Truth," Oasis unveiled the making of that album documentary, "Lord Don't Slow Me Down." It's a bunch of footage of the band being surprisingly tame and almost impossible to understand at times. But the footage is rad, great live stuff as well as some really good moments with the Gallagher boys just being boys. Watch it and wait for the new record.

Part One



Part Two



Part Three



Part Four



Part Five



Part Six



Part Seven

Fleet Foxes - - Jeff Buckley -- SLC Punk

Fleet Foxes



Just about every month now another new "buzz" band starts to creep into my life. I become aware of a band as "the next big thing" and I quickly scramble to get their record, read up on who they are and why people suddenly care about them, and then make up my mind about whether or not I care about them. There have always been bands that garner immediate and legitimate attention quickly, but recently it seems like these bands are the flavor of the moment for the blink of an eye and then quickly forgotten and replaced by something else. I thought that only happened in hip-hop?

Whether it's Okkervil River, Fuck Buttons, Vampire Weekend, Band of Horses, Cut Cop or The Ruby Suns, it's become clear to me that music media and fans alike are becoming fickle and too quick to jump on and off a band. The music media has always been fickle, that's their job, but real music fans are supposed to be smarter, and more loyal. We're supposed to make up our own minds and not be led down every dark path some underpaid rock critic tells us is salvation.

It's June now, which means this months buzz band has been crowned. Drum roll....meet Sup Pop Records very own Fleet Foxes! They have everything a buzz band needs - flannel shirts and thick beards. Now appearances aside, I chose to judge the band based on music alone. I spent an hour with their self-titled debut, and found it to be good - but as with most bands that get this much hype - not that great. The songs are good, not as catchy as I like, but still good. There's a lot of acoustic guitar and ambient vocals, but it lacks anything that really grips me and makes me want to listen again. Not a total loss, but not a band I'm going to listen to much. Oh well, only 23 more days until July and our next new indie-rock darlings.

Jeff Buckley



After a mention on the March 4th, 2008 episode American Idol, Jeff Buckley's cover of Leonard Cohen's haunting love ballad "Hallelujah," became the number one song downloaded on iTunes. This got a lot of people talking about Jeff Buckley again, almost 11 years after his tragic drowning death in 1997. Although his career was short, he only released one proper full length, 1994's "Grace," his legacy continues to grow and keep him alive for new generation to discover.

I came across this documentary that the BBC put together on Jeff Buckley, and it's pretty good. Brad Pitt is in it - which is cool. I guess he's a fan. This is a really good place to get to know Jeff Buckley, both the music and the man. Check it out...



SLC Punk



What does it mean to be punk? Nobody cares.

This movie gets it right - it really captures being young and believing in something that just isn't worth the trouble. It's really cool - so watch it all here:



Part One



Part Two


Part Three



Part Four


Part Five



Part Six


Part Seven



Part Eight



Part Nine



Part Ten

Into The Sea of Something Big - Episode D

Episode D of our original reality series with indie/rock band The Record Life!!

Dead Sara Exclusive Live Performance "Sorry For It All"

Last week I was lucky enough to be invited by the band Dead Sara to film an exclusive live performance they were giving in Hollywood. The band was showcasing for some major labels and wanted some video of their performance that night. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to be there and film for them.

While the band was performing I couldn't help but think that I was witnessing something really special. As you will see in the video, not only does vocalist Emily Armstrong have an amazing voice, but her stage presence rivals that of Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Axl Rose. Guitarist Siouxsie Medly provides the perfect compliment with her stellar guitar work and angelic harmonies. Together they created a sound that was everything I love, but like nothing I had ever heard before. In five songs they managed to blow me away (as well as some high powered label guys) and create a fan out of me for life.

I'm proud to present to you an exclusive performance of their song, "Sorry For It All." Get to know this band. That's not optional.

Bedroom Walls "Somewhere in Newhall" Exclusive Live Performance

I've always felt that the true test of a band is how they can pull off their songs in a live setting and make them unique and interesting on a whole new level . If you listen to the studio track of the Bedroom Walls song "Somewhere in Newhall," it is a very broad, almost haunting orchestral number, full of fast paced violins, thunderous cellos and ominous vocals.

When the band chose to perform this song for us, I wasn't sure how they were going to pull it off - but boy they did they ever! What you get is a complete re-imagining of the song that fits the garage vibe (that really is their garage) we were going for with this live video.

So here is LA indie-rock band Bedroom Walls performing their song "Somewhere in Newhall" live and exclusively for us here at www.essentialnoise.com.




www.myspace.com/bedroomwalls

Matt Sharp (The Rentals/Weezer) - Interview

About halfway through our conversation I realized something about Matt Sharp - I've been listening to his music since I was in sixth grade. You see, Matt Sharp was a founding member of a little band called Weezer. Maybe you have heard of them?

I remember the first time I saw the cover of Weezer's "Blue Album," I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Four normal looking dudes against a blue background. Harmless enough, right? There's really not a lot I can say about that record that hasn't already been said by everyone else - but it flat out changed my life. Hardly a week has gone by over the last 13 years that I haven't listened to that record in it's entirety. It's follow up, "Pinkerton," was equally as brilliant and just as important to me as it predecessor.

It was about that time that I heard about Matt Sharp's side-project, The Rentals. They released a great record called "Return of The Rentals," and an equally as awesome follow up called "Seven More Minutes." They are both great records and I found myself listening to them on several recent trips to the beach.

After a long break, Matt Sharp has revived The Rentals and spent the summer on tour where he belongs. I caught up with Matt as the tour was winding down and we talked about the music industry and what he has learned in his many years of being in the spotlight.




www.myspace.com/therentals