MOG - Justin Newell's Posts

One of my favorites...

Justin Newell — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 05:44:48 GMT

Amazingly beautiful song from the most underrated band in history.

James Iha

Justin Newell — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 05:42:49 GMT

You know? From The Smashing Pumpkins? Ya, solo album from a ways back.

A few diamonds in the rough...

Justin Newell — Thu, 24 May 2007 05:45:47 GMT

So I bought Maroon 5's new cd yesterday, and well, I wasn't a fan of their new single but let me tell you something that a lot of people don't know about M5.

Their last cd, "Songs About Jane" was recorded by the band themselves as something to take to record companies to sell in hopes of getting signed. Well, the record company had liked what the band had done on their own so much that they decided to mix and master what M5 had done on their own and release it.

So when I heard they were finally coming out with a follow-up cd, I decided to buy it regardless of my distaste in the single. Seeing what the band could do with company money and unlimited expertise in studio production intrigued me.

"It Won't Be Soon Before Long" starts off with a few annoying disco songs, that unfortunately grow on you and get stuck in your head easily but moves towards rock and then a few really incredible ballads including this song, "Goodnight, Goodnight." Amazing stuff.

Just time to relax...

Justin Newell — Mon, 21 May 2007 20:04:41 GMT

It's nice to be able to relax like this...

I got the newest Shins record...

Justin Newell — Sun, 20 May 2007 13:45:18 GMT

I finally got the new Shins cd (I know) and I gotta say, I do like it quite a bit. The Shins are one of those bands for me where I listen to their music and I just think to myself, "how did they write this?" So much of their writing is so smart and it feels so natural. Great band.

I do think it is reallllllly (notice my use of many ls for emphasis) funny how nobody who writes about The Shins mentions how their singer sounds at many times, like he is trying to sing like Jeremy Enigk. Especially on the first song on "Wincing The Night Away" he sounds so Enigk. Anyway, that's my little ditty.

More proof...

Justin Newell — Sat, 12 May 2007 05:50:06 GMT

that Wilco is the best band in America. Their new CD "Sky Blue Sky" is fantastic. Here's a taste of its greatness.

Some of my work

Justin Newell — Wed, 02 May 2007 05:22:59 GMT

I wrote this song about a month or so ago and while I didn't really want to use this site as a place to post my own music, I really wanted to post this.

I was filled with a ton of feelings the night I wrote this song, one being the recent murder of my good friend's husband and two preparing for my girlfriend leaving for India for two months.

It was just one of those times where a song needed to be written, and this time it was a song of love and deep feeling.

"Let It All Out" has a bunch of different meaning to it because of the state of my heart the night I wrote it, but hopefully that will all just ring true as you listen. Thanks.

Year Zero

Justin Newell — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 03:44:57 GMT

My full review of "Year Zero" by Nine Inch Nails has been published and can be viewed here.

Sometimes you just need to give credit where credit is due...

Justin Newell — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 05:44:23 GMT

I just started writing my college's newspaper in the music section and as my first assignment I reviewed the new Nine Inch Nails' CD "Year Zero." Now I'm not a NIN fan but I really have to admit that there are some really great songs on this CD.

"Capital G" is just a cool song, there's no denying it. Even though I really don't agree entirely with the subject matter of the song, it just has an infectious sound and is so freaking catchy.

I can't post my review here, but if it gets published to the online version of the paper next week, I will link to that later.

Logh

Justin Newell — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 05:15:39 GMT

My friend Calvin (Pioneer) sent me this cd the other night. When he was describing to me what I was about to hear, he used words like "beautiful" and "pretty." I hadn't heard a "beautiful" album for a long time, so that got me excited.

Now that I've listened to the cd a couple times I am not at all disappointed or felt let down by the description. Logh's "North" is such a beautiful album with a few really incredible tracks, one of which ("Death To My Hometown") can be heard on Calvin's Mog.

"The Invitation" begins with a swirl of moody, timeless piano and synth followed by the whispered verse vocals. The song builds to a massive crescendo at the chorus and shines in the beautiful glory of big drums and guitars, haunted by the booming, resonating line "Cold when you see that girl/You thought that your luck would turn..."

With guitar melodies reminiscing Jimmy Eat World's "Clarity" and raspy, whispered, even beautiful vocals, "The Invitation" does just that for any first time Logh listener, including myself.

Unbelieveable

Justin Newell — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:14:26 GMT

So as I added a couple more songs to my "Songs You Should Be Listening To" widget, I saw that the song "The Zookeeper's Boy" by Mew wasn't even in the Mog system.

Well I just couldn't have that, seeing how incredible that track is. I know I've talked about Mew in a post before but well, if you knew me well, you would know that I love giving others the gift of Mew and writing about how great and how talented they are.

"The Zookeeper's Boy" captures everything unique and brilliant about Mew. The crazy time signature, the clangy guitars and soothing synth and last but not least, the brilliantly harmonized falsedo and tenor melodies strewn about like a warm quilt or scarf over cold limbs.

Mew has something that a lot of popular bands (and especially rock bands) are missing nowadays. Texture, texture.

Chill

Justin Newell — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 04:26:55 GMT

So I first heard about this guy last summer. I was real into Sufjan Stevens at the time and my brother showed me the cd and said that Sufjan had helped produce and perform on it and whatnot. So I really enjoyed it from the start and then I started hearing it on the radio at work (Starbucks) and that really got it into my head.

So I just love this guy's sound. Denison Witmer, great chill melodic guitar driven folk music that you can just relax, drive, sleep to. Excellent album, pick it up.

Epic

Justin Newell — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 04:39:16 GMT

So just recently, I got the cd "United We Stand" by the Australian Worship band Hillsong United. I'm going to go ahead and say that they are the best Worship band I have ever heard. Their songs are so powerful, emotional and real.

This song in particular has been stuck in my head all week and has been on repeat both in my car and on iTunes. I love it so much that I think our band at church will play it on Sunday morning.

Even if you aren't a Christian, you really need to listen to this song in it's entirety. It is epic, comparable to a great Snow Patrol or an upbeat version of something Sigur Ros might do (minus the Icelandic singing and string quartet or course). So check it out, "From The Inside Out."

Oh and I forgot to mention, this song was recorded live.

Nada Surf

Justin Newell — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 20:27:29 GMT

So I'm sure that most of you know who Nada Surf is. Most people who are into music know who the band is, and have heard their single "Always Love" be it on their 2005 release "The Weight Is A Gift" or the washed out folkster cover of the track on America's 2007 "Here & Now" release.

Now I am guilty of doing this to, so I'm not pointing any fingers, but I've gotta say it is such a tragic error to overlook a stellar album like Nada Surf's "The Weight Is A Gift." Sure, the single is pretty poppy and may turn some people off, but when it really gets down to it Nada Surf turns out some pretty hip stuff, that even the most elite of indie kids will be forced to tap their designer shoes to or bob their freshly fauxed hair along with.

This track, "Do It Again" offers both a body engaging bass line and an emotion-filled, powerful pre-chorus and bridge. If you dig this, check out the whole cd sometime, it's great stuff.

Sunday Afternoons

Justin Newell — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 22:23:01 GMT

I’ve decided that the perfect music for any Sunday afternoon is Wilco. Any Wilco cd (and I own almost all of them) just makes me feel so relaxed and so at ease with life. Sundays for me are very different than they are for most people, and extremely different from people my age. Every week I wake up at 7:45 so I can practice music with the high school Worship band I lead. By the time I get home from Church/lunch around 1:30 all I want to do is just relax, lay in bed, or just put music on and browse half.com looking for new albums to buy.

Today was certainly a Wilco Sunday and this song is just one of several of theirs that are my favorite. I just love Jeff Tweedy’s voice, songwriting style and arrangements. If you aren’t familiar with Wilco, go buy Summerteeth on half.com or ebay. It’s one of my favorite albums by far.

When you forget about songs...

Justin Newell — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 01:56:56 GMT

When I was fifteen years old, I went to see Pedro the Lion in concert. My older brother who was attending college in LA came down to San Diego where I lived with my parents, picked me up and drove us to Pomona to see the show at The Glass House.

That show was my first real concert experience and the whole spectacle was just so amazing to me as a young teen.

More amazing was the band, and the CD they were touring "Control."

Now to get down to my post, I have a few Pedro the Lion cds, but I don't own a copy of "Control." I just had eight of the ten songs on the album. One of the two is a song I completely forgot about over the years, "Priests and Paramedics." If you aren't familiar with David Bazan or Pedro the Lion, this song sums up his style of writing.

The lyrics are based around a fictional story-line, brilliantly crafted by Bazan. The instrumentation is the lazy, but steady indie rock triad so commonly used by PTL, but never worn out, at least I don't think so. Enjoy this track, it is one of my favorite.

Before I Go to Bed...

Justin Newell — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:43:31 GMT

Anyone who hasn't heard this Danish band cannot call themselves a true music lover. The opening track off Mew's third record "Frengers" is quite possibly the best written rock song since Radiohead's "Paranoid Android" or part of the best and most progressive rock record since "OK Computer."

With the emotion of Jimmy Eat World's masterwork "Clarity" and the rhythmic animosity of a metal band (but with full control), Mew is making huge strides in alternative rock music. Not to mention they play songs in ridiculous time signatures and their drummer is extremely technical, yet tasteful, Everyone needs to know who they are.

Fountains of Wayne

Justin Newell — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:30:08 GMT

So if you can remember back to a few years ago, you might recall a very annoying song titled, "Stacy's Mom." This song was in fact, done by New York professional pop-sters Fountains of Wayne.

For those of you who stopped at "this song is so stupid and so annoying" and failed to realize almost every music publication gave the parent album to the single "Welcome Interstate Managers" five out of five stars or close to it, you missed the boat.

Now is your chance to redeem yourself and you musical prowess. Go out and buy my pick for album of the year 2007. Better songwriting and arrangement than "Managers" and even more polished pop/rock/country (yes country) songwriting.

This track, "Fire In The Canyon" is simply amazing.