popwreckoning

The Holy Ghost! story begins in 2007 – when Alex Frankel and Nick Millhiser, childhood friends and mutual lovers of dance beats, released a song that quickly became a dance classic, “Hold On.” It’s hard to believe it took them four years, but here we are in 2011, and the dance duo is finally releasing their self-titled debut album. No surprise they’re releasing it on their good friend James Murphy‘s DFA Records. Actually, you can trace James Murphy‘s influence in this first release of Holy Ghost!‘s: Murphy asked Frankel and Millhiser to tour with LCD Soundsystem in 2010, which forced the duo out of their comfort zone (usually presiding over the decks at dance clubs as DJs, never playing live) to come up with a Holy Ghost! live show. Interview Magazine has called their sound, “Michael Jackson meets New Order at a 1979 disco.” Right up my alley.

Indeed, songs from their debut album are currently being played while the duo, with three additional musicians, are opening for Melbourne’s Cut Copy on their North American tour, now in progress. However, Frankel has said, “I didn’t want to limit myself to making an album that could only be played in clubs,” with Millhiser adding, “we were trying to make something that people would want to listen to, front and back, at home.” Their self-titled debut album is a testament that this can be done – and can be done well. Two of the 10 tracks on this effort (“Static on the Wire” and “Say My Name”) are from the band’s Static on the Wire EP released last year, and the aforementioned “Hold On” also figures on this album. All three are superb tracks; it’s not hard for me to imagine these being played for sweaty masses on a dance floor, albeit possibly in clubbier, more drawn-out versions.

But you’d be remiss to only focus on those tracks. The album opener, “Do It Again,” is mesmerizing, with its relentless driving rhythm and shimmery synths. “Wait and See,” which DFA is giving away as a free download on Soundcloud, is clear evidence of the band’s ’70s disco / ’80s new wave and electropop sensibilities. “Hold My Breath” is cut from a similar cloth. “Jam for Jerry” is an upbeat yet wistful tune, likely to be a loving homage to the late Jerry Fuchs, drummer of LCD Soundsystem and !!!, disguised as a dance love song.

The best track on here is “It’s Not Over” – here is where I’m guessing any New Order comparisons began. The synthesized bass line sounds like it was yesterday that Bernard Sumner was surreptitiously pushing Peter Hook out of the band with programming, only that with Alex Frankel’s soulful vocal delivery and tribal drum patterns, it’s something very unique that you won’t quickly forget. As a dance record, Holy Ghost! is not in your face, and that’s a good thing. Most dance recordings are overproduced, overwrought jumbles of sound with no direction. This one hits all the right buttons.

Tracklisting
01. Do It Again
02. Wait and See
03. Hold My Breath
04. Say My Name
05. Jam for Jerry
06. Hold On
07. It’s Not Over
08. Slow Motion
09. Static on the Wire
10. Some Children

Holy Ghost!‘s self-titled debut album will be released on April 12 on DFA Records. The band is currently on tour as support for Cut Copy. The band will also make appearances this month at Coachella on April 15 and at a headlining gig at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg on April 29.

Tour Dates
Apr 04 – House of Blues / Boston*
Apr 05 – Club Soda / Montreal*
Apr 06 – Terminal 5 / New York City*
Apr 07 – Sound Academy / Toronto*
Apr 08 – Riviera / Chicago*
Apr 09 – First Avenue / Minneapolis*
Apr 12 – Showbox SoDo / Seattle*
Apr 15 – Coachella / Indio, CA
Apr 16-17 – Grand Ballroom @ Regency / San Francisco*
Apr 20 – Granada Theater / Dallas*
Apr 22 – Stubbs / Austin*
Apr 23 – Republic / New Orleans*
Apr 29 – Music Hall of Williamsburg / Brooklyn*
*supporting Cut Copy

Holy Ghost!: website | myspace | Friendly Fires / Holy Ghost! – 12” Split Single| Interview with: Alex Frankel of Holy Ghost! | @ U Street Music Hall | @ 9:30 Club | ‘I Know, I Hear’ video | DFA Records Curating NYC DJ Residency Free to the Public

It’s been a year and a half since the passing of the  King of Pop: Michael Jackson and his popularity has soared to greater levels than one can imagine, like that of fallen musicians such as John Lennon, Tupac Shakur and Kurt Cobain.

I’m actually a Michael Jackson fan as I grew up with Thriller on vinyl. My parents had given me Dangerous on cassette and I wore it after three months. I was even chosen to attend his memorial service last year, only to give my tickets away to the one person who was a true Michael Jackson fan, and not someone trying to scalp the tickets for profit.

Now almost 10 years after the release of his last album Invincible, Sony has decided to put out Michael: a collection of songs that MJ had not completed, or stored them away due to the fact he wasn’t happy with them.

Now, to forewarn all of you that were hoping to see a masterpiece like that of Thriller or Bad, You’re going to be in for a huge disappointment. This album is nothing near of those masterpieces. Every MJ fan knows that he was the biggest perfectionist in the recording industry and was very anal about what was released and what wasn’t on his albums. Kind of like how Bruce Lee was when he was making his film The Game of Death which he never completed as a result of his unexpected death.

I feel MJ would have been very disappointed in this album as would Bruce Lee would have been in Game of Death which ended up being a slap in the face to all his die hard fans.  This didn’t have the MJ magic or feel that you get when you first heard Thriller or Dangerous. Most of the songs feel like they were a thrown together at the last minute just to make this album in time for holiday sales.  Out of the ten tracks on this album, only two stand out, and that’s “Hold My Hand” (featuring Akon) and “(If I Can’t Make It) Another Day” (featuring Lenny Kravitz), which would have been perfect for a Greatest Hits compilation or box set instead of this record. Other songs like “Breaking News“ and “Hollywood Tonight“ are very sub-par and most of the time very boring; especially with “Hollywood Tonight,” which to me the title sounds like a bad TV gossip rag like that of Entertainment Tonight. There has also been reports that the vocals on “Breaking News” are not MJ’s. If this is the case, could they have pulled the same crap that was pulled with Game of Death?*

This album should have never been released to begin with! As much as I am not a fan of Will.I.Am, I have to agree with him that they should have left this alone. I have also noticed this trend happening for quite some time now with the likes of Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. Now if this was an album that MJ had been working on before he died, then I can understand that. But to take songs that he wasn’t happy with, compile a sub-par record and put it out to make a quick buck is crazy.  On a side note, I am getting fed up with the MJ hype all because of his death. The same thing happened with Kurt Cobain and Tupac Shakur. I would rather enjoy their music as they had wanted it, and not because everyone is now jumping on the “dead singer” bandwagon and trying to make a quick buck by capitalizing off their death. On a side note, over the holiday weekend I overheard a family member talk about this record and that it had to be released because of MJ was dead… Only three words come to mind; GAME OF DEATH!

Track Listing:
1. Hold My Hand (Duet with Akon)
2. Hollywood Tonight
3. Keep Your Head Up
4. (I Like) The Way That You Love Me
5. Monster (Featuring 50 Cent)
6. Best of Joy
7. Breaking News
8. (I Can’t Make It) Another Day (Featuring Lenny Kravitz)
9. Behind The Mask
10. Much To Soon

* Since Game of Death was never finished and Bruce Lee had passed away after completing Enter The Dragon. The studio decided to finish the film by using body doubles that were clearly not Bruce Lee or even worse in some scenes they used cardboard cutouts.

Whether you consider yourself a super fan that can recite not only all the words to every Michael Jackson song, but those to the Jackson 5 as well, or you’re a casual fan who watched “Thriller” a few times on YouTube, Michael Jackson’s music probably impacted your life in some way.

Though Jackson passed away in 2009, his legacy will live on in his music, the new documentary This Is It and the hearts of his fans.

PopWreckoning.com is giving away a copy of the film and the soundtrack. To win, comment and tell us what Michael Jackson and his music meant to you by Sunday, February 7 at 3 p.m. CDT. We’ll pick a winner then.

This contest is now closed. Thanks to all who entered. The responses were wonderful and if we could, we’d select you all as winners.

Death Cab for Cutie‘s frontman Ben Gibbard seems to be all over the  music news outlets these days. First the guy gets attention for his marriage to Zooey Deschanel. Now his band’s getting attention for being  the lead single for the popular “Twilight” series’ next movie “New Moon.” I think his name constantly coming up in half the headlines on my Google Reader was a sign that he needed to be featured on PopWreckoning as well and what better place to feature somebody so in the spotlight than by putting that person under cover?

Give Gibbard a guitar and put him alone on a stage and inevitably the guy slips into some sort of cover song. No matter the original quality of the song, he’ll cover it. Indie or pop, he’s done it all. I’m actually really surprised there hasn’t been a Death Cab cover album yet.

So for this week I bring you the best (or maybe the worst if you don’t have a sense of humor) of Ben Gibbard’s cover songs. He’s done a ton, so look for this to be a multi-parter.

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.Backstreet Boys – “I Want It That Way” (original, 1998)
.“I Want It That Way” (cover, 2001)

Bellingham, WA. If I could go back in time to any show, it would be this tiny show at the 5th Floor Coffeehouse in January 2001 in Bellingham. Gibbard’s local, so it was intimate with family and friends. This was also his first public solo show since Death Cab formed four years prior. The atmosphere was already special. So when Gibbard acts all serious and hypes up this little cover he is about to whip out, it was like the icing on the cake for an already perfect show. A big breath…the anticipation builds…”You are – my fire.” Laughter. Backstreet Boys was not expected, but like I said, this show was a special occasion. This cover isn’t mind-blowing. Gibbard is pitchy in spots. And it is just downright silly that he is playing it off as this great masterpiece of a song that he is covering as a simple acoustic piece. Yet that is the genius of so many of Gibbard’s covers. Musically, they’re nothing too complicated, but he brings such a fun performance to his versions, that they really are treats.

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.Michael Jackson – “Thriller” (original, 1984)
.“Thriller” (cover, 2007)

Gibbard covered this song  at Theater of the Living Arts and I was unsure about including it on here. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” sounds nothing like this and yet that is exactly what won me over to this cover. Gone are the glossy synth notes that cue Jackson’s “Thriller” so well that you know what it is within two notes before it hits that lovely rolling bass.  Gibbard’s version is definitely that signature Death Cab indie folk sound. He’s managed to strip the Jackson hit into a simple strummed guitar tune. I also am a dork and I think it is hilarious that Gibbard had to read the lyrics off a piece of paper for this and still forgets lines midway through. I find it part of his charm.

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.Avril LaVigne – “Complicated” (original, 2002)
.“Complicated” (cover, 2008)

I’m pretty sure I wanted to shoot myself whenever Avril’s “Complicated” came on the radio in 2002. Her voice was just so nasally and her idea of punk was just so…pop. Not too mention she had that ridiculous intro, “Uh huh. Life’s like this.” Gag me. I guess you could say she was acting on her lyric: “trying to be cool, but looked like a fool.” Then Gibbard comes along and nearly six years later and turns it into a slow, folky number. About 50 seconds in, Gibbard starts chuckling and says, “This is a serious song.” I’m not sure if he is telling that to the audience or a reminder to himself, but either way, it is his personality that makes this song worth the listen. Heck as much as I love his music, the best part is the end when he gives a little commentary on the song, “It’s pretty cut and dry. Complicated? What the hell are you talking about? I like to dress in different clothes.” Aw, Ben. This is why we love you.

Death Cab for Cutie: website | myspace