The Good:
- The new Rooney album, Calling The World; especially "Believe In Me," "Love Me or Leave Me," the title track... Well, darn it, the whole thing with the exception of "Are You Afraid Of Me," which is too slow for an upbeat band and sounds out of place on this record.
- The new Junior Varsity, Cinematographic; especially "I Went Blind," "The Sky"--they're filming a video for that one right now!--and, again, dammit, the whole thing. It's really hard to narrow down. The instrumentation on this album is absolutely sick. If you like shredding, sarcasm, and killer hooks, this is for you. It also features a cameo on "Wunderdrug" by Ken Vasoli of The Starting Line, which leads me to...
- The new Starting Line, Direction; especially "Island" (the first single), and "21." It's classic TSL fare: catchy, earnest, and just a tiny bit lyrically old at times: Kenny, we get it, you grew up on the road and people bitched about your hair. We know. And we love you anyway. This record also marks the band's departure from Drive-Thru and onto major label Virgin.
- The Soho Dolls are starting to get their British behinds in American gear, and damn, they're good. Think Shiny Toy Guns, only better. And hotter. Oh, yes.
- Under the Influence of Giants. Not only do they make the best dance rock I've heard in quite some time, but they're also really down to earth. I sent them a myspace message asking where I can purchase their new song "On My Own" so I could listen to it on my upcoming flight to Texas, and it turns out, they answered me within five minutes asking for my e-mail so they could send me a present. Keep in mind that I've never met them and they didn't have much incentive to send it to me because I said nothing about being a music writer in my message. They're sweet. And schweeeeeet.
The Bad:
- I don't care how much buzz, hype, etc. surrounds Feist--I can't wrap my head around a song that counts "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10." I suck at math, and even I know there's two numbers missing.
- While the thunder was keeping me awake last night, I decided to watch Cops, in which I counted no less than four instances of arrests without suspects being read their Miranda rights. Oink!
The Ugly:
- As a fan of Neil Strauss' The Game, I was crazy excited to watch the premiere of The Pick Up Artist on VH1, in part so I could put a face to the characters I'd read about. While Mystery is pretty hot, I can guarantee you that "Matador" and "J-Dog" would be regarded as a tool and gay, respectively, by me if I was to be approached by them at a club. "Matador" has slicked back hair and an angry, devious looking face. "J-Dog" looks like the crackbaby lovechild of Thom Yorke, Paul Reubens (better known as "Pee Wee Herman"), and Johnny Rotten. I pray that Pradip, Spoon, and the rest don't follow figurative and literal suit.
*By Jessica, who should probably start packing soon
Showing posts with label Rooney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rooney. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Rooney & The Rewinds (say that five times fast)
I had the pleasure of a guest list spot at Rooney's show in Hoboken at Maxwell's, their first Jersey appearance in three years. Friendly, energetic, and interactive, they played a variety of new and old material and engaged the over-sold out crowd in their Beach Boys-with-a-twist style singalongs. I strongly encourage you all to get their new album when it drops next month, because everything they played from it was just as good, if not better, than their self-titled debut. I loved their set so much that I spent the entire length of it recording it on my friend's voicemail for us to relive later on.
Another fun part of the evening was the sole opening act, The Rewinds, who were just as catchy and fun and infectious as their headliners. Discovered and handpicked by Rooney through the ubiquitous MySpace, the Birmingham, Alabama natives will probably be headliners soon, if not for their killer songs, then for their neat merch--they have ribcage shirts (similar to Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap, who is one of my heroes) and--get this--a Rewinds gumball machine. It's clear that they're going places, and hopefully one of those places is a return to Jersey. We like them here.
*By Jess, who feels like she's hogging this blog space and got a killer haircut at the Hoboken Beauty Parlour this weekend.
Another fun part of the evening was the sole opening act, The Rewinds, who were just as catchy and fun and infectious as their headliners. Discovered and handpicked by Rooney through the ubiquitous MySpace, the Birmingham, Alabama natives will probably be headliners soon, if not for their killer songs, then for their neat merch--they have ribcage shirts (similar to Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap, who is one of my heroes) and--get this--a Rewinds gumball machine. It's clear that they're going places, and hopefully one of those places is a return to Jersey. We like them here.
*By Jess, who feels like she's hogging this blog space and got a killer haircut at the Hoboken Beauty Parlour this weekend.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Rooney Interview with Robert Schwartzman
April 2007 @ UC Irvine's Wayzgoose Festival (Irvine, CA)
By: Jackie Rudolph & Photo Credit: Jen Sung
Hey remember those studly looking guys who made an appearance in the hit drama, “The OC” or how about that one guy who was Anne Hathaway’s love desire in the movie, “Princess Diaries” or what about that song that you just could not get out of your head back in the year 2003, “I’m Shakin”? Oh, the good old days. Well, they’re here to return. That’s right, Rooney is back and they’re coming out with a new record this summer! Whaaaaat? Yes, they are back for another round of tunes! If you ever wanted to know what happened to Rooney since their self titled album release in 2003, well 4 years later, they are back with their new album, “Calling The World” which hits stores this July! Rooney performed last month at the University of California, Irvine, or as how I like to call it, UC Newport Beach. These guys steamed up the stage at the university’s yearly event called Wayzgoose. The crowd was enormous with tons of love by both the fans, and of course the band members themselves. I was able to score an interview with this shaggy haired front man, who goes by the name of Robert Schwartzman. Speaking with him made me realize how much work it truly takes to put into an actual album. Robert explained that for a good number of years, the guys of Rooney made three different records and created them into one single record. Robert comments that there was a ton of writing, demoing, and recording which basically exhausted the band to the maximum. At least we can now see how much dedication was put into the making of this album. So with all these songs written by the band, are all of these songs true? I was curious about one particular song off of Rooney’s old album called, “Daisy Duke.” Robert explained, “Not all of the songs are 100% true, but there are a good number of songs that are true. In some songs, we are bending the truth. Like for “Daisy Duke”, I kind of like writing songs from other point of views.” It’s cool to see what kind of thoughts are actually circulating through the minds of Rooney. Goes to show that inspiration comes from their own ideas and not from phony lip syncers who have to have their material written by other people (I won’t name names). Love it.
Talking more about the music biz, Robert commented, “I love how instant it is. If you feel something, you just write about it. You can pick up the guitar and just write and play about anything. On your cd, you have your song. So quick, people can hear what you’re feeling, it’s a quick turn around. I wanted to express myself through music. It felt so good. I thought it would be fun to start the band. The thing is the people loved the band right away. We built ourselves up in town. There were all these grateful people who liked us. I was just like ‘Wow, I’ll keep working on this.’ To me, music is just an amazing thing to create and to write a song one day is just special.” Wow, it really is true love with the work he does. Seeing this, I’m putting my own faith in their success, especially for this summer…Just make sure to catch Rooney this summer as their cd hits stores, and don’t forget of course their tour with Fergie as well! Even if their music is not exactly in the same category, it’s all good in your neighborhood this summer because at least you’ll get a variety of different tastes of music, plus it will be quite G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S. Just make sure you’re shakin’ your head at their show, especially since the guys of Rooney are quite proud of the music and are excited to see both new and old fans at their concerts! Oh, and P.S. Be sure to check out their new song, “When Did Your Heart Go Missing.” I’d have to say worth your while, so give it a go to their myspace at www.myspace.com/rooney, or even better go to www.rooney-band.com for even more information.
By: Jackie Rudolph & Photo Credit: Jen Sung
Hey remember those studly looking guys who made an appearance in the hit drama, “The OC” or how about that one guy who was Anne Hathaway’s love desire in the movie, “Princess Diaries” or what about that song that you just could not get out of your head back in the year 2003, “I’m Shakin”? Oh, the good old days. Well, they’re here to return. That’s right, Rooney is back and they’re coming out with a new record this summer! Whaaaaat? Yes, they are back for another round of tunes! If you ever wanted to know what happened to Rooney since their self titled album release in 2003, well 4 years later, they are back with their new album, “Calling The World” which hits stores this July! Rooney performed last month at the University of California, Irvine, or as how I like to call it, UC Newport Beach. These guys steamed up the stage at the university’s yearly event called Wayzgoose. The crowd was enormous with tons of love by both the fans, and of course the band members themselves. I was able to score an interview with this shaggy haired front man, who goes by the name of Robert Schwartzman. Speaking with him made me realize how much work it truly takes to put into an actual album. Robert explained that for a good number of years, the guys of Rooney made three different records and created them into one single record. Robert comments that there was a ton of writing, demoing, and recording which basically exhausted the band to the maximum. At least we can now see how much dedication was put into the making of this album. So with all these songs written by the band, are all of these songs true? I was curious about one particular song off of Rooney’s old album called, “Daisy Duke.” Robert explained, “Not all of the songs are 100% true, but there are a good number of songs that are true. In some songs, we are bending the truth. Like for “Daisy Duke”, I kind of like writing songs from other point of views.” It’s cool to see what kind of thoughts are actually circulating through the minds of Rooney. Goes to show that inspiration comes from their own ideas and not from phony lip syncers who have to have their material written by other people (I won’t name names). Love it.
Talking more about the music biz, Robert commented, “I love how instant it is. If you feel something, you just write about it. You can pick up the guitar and just write and play about anything. On your cd, you have your song. So quick, people can hear what you’re feeling, it’s a quick turn around. I wanted to express myself through music. It felt so good. I thought it would be fun to start the band. The thing is the people loved the band right away. We built ourselves up in town. There were all these grateful people who liked us. I was just like ‘Wow, I’ll keep working on this.’ To me, music is just an amazing thing to create and to write a song one day is just special.” Wow, it really is true love with the work he does. Seeing this, I’m putting my own faith in their success, especially for this summer…Just make sure to catch Rooney this summer as their cd hits stores, and don’t forget of course their tour with Fergie as well! Even if their music is not exactly in the same category, it’s all good in your neighborhood this summer because at least you’ll get a variety of different tastes of music, plus it will be quite G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S. Just make sure you’re shakin’ your head at their show, especially since the guys of Rooney are quite proud of the music and are excited to see both new and old fans at their concerts! Oh, and P.S. Be sure to check out their new song, “When Did Your Heart Go Missing.” I’d have to say worth your while, so give it a go to their myspace at www.myspace.com/rooney, or even better go to www.rooney-band.com for even more information.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
