"You Know What I Mean:" Cults @ Union Transfer, Philly

"You Know What I Mean:" Cults @ Union Transfer, Philly - Friday The 13th (Live Review)

Madeline Follin was even more beautiful and sultry live in concert than I could have ever even imagined! Her voice was a tad bit deeper than on record, but I think it actually sounded better in a larger-scale [concert] setting. A drummer, bassist, and multi-instrumentalist were brought into the fold to help beef up the band's sound, just for the special occasion. Follin belted out each and every passion-filled note as if she were a seductive, slithering Jazz songstress playing a gig @ a hoppin' Lounge joint back in The Roaring 50's. Cults proceeded to rip through the entirety of their 11-track Columbia debut. A few appended tracks were also added into the mix for good measure: "The Curse" (Cults 7" EP), a BRAND NEW Leonard Cohen cover, miscellaneous noodling and banter.

At the imminent close of said blistering set, guitarist Brian Oblivion muttered something to the effect of "Fuck that corny shit where the band walks off stage, pretends to hang out, and then comes back out for an encore!" Cults then played one final tune; After which the walked towards a cab, en route to Tony Luke's. Almost any acquaintance of mine knows that I go to a shit-ton of shows, but I've never really attempted to write a live concert review for the blog... an initial review which I can only hope did Cults' stage show some degree of justice. With that said, the overall experience was without a doubt one of the most utterly enjoyable shows I've been to in a while! - Babbling under-aged drunks and passionate, PDA-displaying lovers, of course not included.

Cults' aesthetic and stylistic elements almost constructed a dark sometimes mildly "creepy" undertone, which acted in stark contrast to Madeline Follin's cheery, 50's Girl Pop-esque vocal arrangements. The majority of Cults' highly adored set took place in near darkness; a lone dimly-lit spotlight cast on Follin as she aimlessly grooved along with the beat. Brian Oblivion & Friends [touring band] produced a layer of carefully constructed feedback-drenched guitar distortion. These backing effects were then backed by images projected onto a large film screen, which lay behind the group.
Oblivion's sampler produced snippets of pre-recorded cult-like banter, then under-laid against various images: black & white live feed of Madeline Follin, simple computer-generated effects, alternate Cults music videos, and random stock footage. An unknown sense of "Hip-Hop," maybe it wad the keyboard stylings or Boom-Bap drum beats... further meshed all of these miscellaneous elements into one Hell of an interesting stage show! In closing, if you ever get a chance, catch Cults' live show, my friends - I promise, you won't regret it! Cults are reportedly working on a Hip-Hop-tinged mixtape version of their self-titled debut. Complete with appended bars from some of Hip-Hop's most talented up-and-coming MC's.

"Let Me Shine for You:" Lindsay Lohan for Playboy (Winter 2011-12 Leak)

Lindsay Lohan essentially embodies exactly "What NOT to Do In Hollywood :" Fame, fortune, success... sex, drugs & Rock "N" Roll . Within a fairly short period of time, Lohan somehow managed to obtain a plentiful helping of POWER @ a very young age. This gradual rise-downfall was captured on film; Between 1998-2010, she portrayed a wide array of roles across the silver screen in movies including: Mean Girls, Bobby , Herbie Fully Loaded , Georgia Rule, Machete , and Freaky Friday . Between rapid-paced film shoots, Lindsay Lohan also found time to record 2 Pop Rock albums for Casablanca , Speak (2004) and A Litter More Personal-Raw (2005). Needless to say, Lindsay Lohan has gotten roped up in a lot of troubles and woes with the law over the last 3-5 years... a vicious cycle of drugs, arrest, court, rehab, "daddy issues," jail time [Repeat]. That's the pure basics of it - But Google that shit for additional info, if necessary. Towards the end of

[W]reckless, Topless American Youth: Lana del Rey - "Born 2 Die" (Britney Spears Birthday 30)

Lana del Rey [Lizzy Grant] effectively became 2011's "It Girl" with the release of her phenomenal debut single, "Video Games" (Stranger) . Like many struggling singer-songwriters, Grant has been signed, dropped, and significantly changed her public image since bursting onto the scene (2009). With that said, it can be assumed that Lana del Rey has collected just as many "haters" as she has avid supporters. To be perfectly honest, the only other artist I can think of that made this much commotion... garnered so much wide-spread buzz/hate and critical acclaim -- right out of the gates -- with just one track is Britney Spears . And maybe in this post- Mike musical era, that's the true synthesis of Pop Culture: Britney Lynn Spears . After months of repeated teasing and speculation, Lana del Rey 's major label debut, Born 2 Die will [finally] be released this coming Jan. 30-31, 2012. Pitchfork reports that it will feature "Off to The Ra

Liberty Bell Cracked In 1/2: Ween - "Freedom of '76" (Gene Ween's Final Send-Off)

Chocolate & Cheese (1994) was one of the first albums I bought with my own money. I was in some sort of BMG Music Club , where you'd buy 5 CD's and then get 10 for "FREE." It was all sent through mail order and you picked the titles from some special booklet. I'm almost positive that Chocolate & Cheese's side boob-baring album cover was what initially drew me in... mind you, I was 12-15 and the zany Ween logo/middle finger CD graphic really didn't hurt either. Honestly, I forget how I really felt about it @ the time, but a few years later, my older cousin Josh told me that Ween were this BIG college "jam band." CKY did some sort pf 93.3 radio takeover to promote their new album and played "Freedom of '76" late that night on air. Needless to say, I re-visited Chocolate & Cheese @ about 20-something this go 'round and I fucking loved it! Ween were really weird, yet talented... almost too talented. I can vaguel

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