THE RACONTEURS - "CONSOLERS OF THE LONELY"

Before we even get into what a strong 2nd record The Raconteurs have released...let's look at why the manner in which it came out is a landmark one. In an effort to keep everyone (fans, critics, and media alike) on a level playing field, no copy of this album (nor a single, not anything) was made available to anyone. Take me, for example: the sources from which I get records, normally ahead of time, made this record available to me and other media folks today. The very same day anyone can walk into a store and buy it, or download it from iTunes. Was the band perhaps not very confident in their work, fearing that bad press might affect those oh-so-important first week sales? After one listen, I can't imagine that's the case. Instead they just wanted this piece of work to be heard by everyone at the same time, with nobody able to influence its reception nor its perception.
Here's the other cool part: they literally just finished mastering the record during the first week of March. Mastering is the final step in making a record, and it's when the final mix is actually put onto some data storage device (a big fat tape in the old days, and probably some sort of a disc or hard drive now). Normally, the mastering stage is completed, then comes album artwork, and a promotional/marketing campaign, plus duplication and manufacturing of the CDs, and the actual release date of an album happens months after the completion of the recording. In this case, it was all done in a matter of days. The Raconteurs took the master to a vinyl pressing plant, then a CD pressing plant, then digital distribution was set up, all in an effort to have it available in every possible format, at the same exact time. And the earliest date in which to do so on all formats was March 25th...hence its release this week.
OK...so perhaps this is a bit long-winded..but I just thought that this is a groundbreaking manner for a release..especially for a group that gets as much attention as these guys do. But how about the actual music?
Well, where their debut 'Broken Boy Soldiers' was a bluesy affair, on 'Consolers Of The Lonely' they've brought the rock. The guitars and vocals of Jack White are raw and sometimes stinging, but that's offset nicely by Brendan Benson's pop sensibility in his songwriting.
It's more stripped down, less polished, and full of energy. But just because it rocks doesn't mean it's one dimensional. Far from it.
And by the way, they've announced live dates & festival appearances for the spring/summer, including Coachella and Bonnaroo...and the dates of August 1st-3rd are mysteriously vacant on their itinerary as of this point....hmmm.....

THE B-52'S - "FUNPLEX"

I'm not sure which is more surprising: The fact that it's been 16 years since the last studio release from Athens, GA's The B-52's (it makes me feel old), or the fact that this record sounds like they hadn't gone anywhere. Among the forefathers to "indie" and "alternative" music, while some groups were making brooding, dark, emotional post-punk in the late 70's & early 80's (Bauhaus, The Cure, Joy Division), The B-52's were laying the ground work for new wave party rock. While contemporaries were wearing combat boots and leather jackets, The B-52's were sporting retro thrift store outfits, with the beehive hairdos (from which they got their name) on the heads of vocalists Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson. Their music certainly wasn't for everyone, but long before mainstream hits such as "Love Shack", this band showed that "alternative" music could not only be different, but also fun.
The first thing I noticed here on "Funplex", their 7th studio album, was the return of Wilson (who had left the group in 1990), and a clear use of modern electronic sounds...not that they didn't make synthesizers and the like sound good even during the years of the infant stages of those instruments.
It's fun, catchy dancey pop and the voice of Fred Schneider sounds as chipper as it did when he yelped "there goes a narwhal!" in "Rock Lobster" exactly 30 years ago.
Oh, and here's one way to gauge this group's importance in the electro-pop landscape: Lead single "Funplex" has been remixed by some of today's biggest hitters in the genre, including Peaches, Scissor Sisters, and CSS.
Despite their age, I'm sure their May 1st gig at House Of Blues will be a raucous evening.

Happy listening!
Cheers,
pogo

PS: Next week: The new R.E.M.!!