BrockLi Soup

A couple days ago, Gogol Bordello, Against Me, and Smashing Pumpkins all released new albums. Obviously, I’d been looking forward to it for a while - Against Me and Gogol are two of my favorite bands, and the Pumpkins haven’t released anything in 7 years (and anything GOOD in 9 years).

Honestly, I haven’t listened to the Pumpkins album Zetigeist much. I got Tarantula a few weeks ago and absolutely love it. The rest of the disc is pretty good, but that’s the only single that really sticks out to me.

I’d been waiting for Against Me’s New Wave for months, and honestly, I’m kind of disappointed. I got the White People For Peace single a while ago (which included Full Sesh), and both of those tracks are fantastic. The rest of the album? Well, I haven’t really decided yet. This may well be the sell-out album. I mean, it’s catchy, but it barely sounds like Against Me. I was expecting a biting, politically-charged anarchist opus - really, I wanted a full CD like White People for Peace. Borne on the FM Waves sounds like Jimmy Eat World. I do like Americans Abroad, but I liked it on the live album - it sounds exactly the same, just without the crowd in the background. The rest of the tracks are mellower; it’s a more introspective album, and I suspect the die-hard fans are losing their shit over it.

Gogol’s Super Taranta may well be the best album of the year. Tribal Connections feels like a long-winded jam band tune - it reminds me of the long live version of OAR’s Crazy Game of Poker. Forces of Victory is really good - really, the second half of the album is great. I love the opening of Supertheory of Supereverything - “First time I have read the Bible, it had stoke me as unwitty, I think it may started rumor, that the Lord ain’t got no humor.” The whole album is a little more polished than Gypsy Punks was, more self-referential and continuos, and really, it’s just a fun album. Like New Wave, it’s mellower and deeper, but Gogol did a much better job of it than Against Me. Their show next week is going to be unbelievable, and I may wet myself with glee if it’s half as great as I’m expecting.

Just finished my first listen-through of Gogol Bordello’s Super Taranta, and it is FUCKING AWESOME. I also got the new albums from Against Me! and Smashing Pumpkins (who did a show tonight in DC - waiting for my roommate to get home and report on that), but I haven’t really had a chance to listen to those two yet. More soon.

Gogol Bordello is headlining a sold-out show tonight at 9:30, and I don’t have tickets. I SHOULD have tickets, because I knew about this months ago, but I kept putting it off.

No matter; my point here is that they sold out a headlining show at a pretty big venue, which is a big step from the first time I saw them, opening for Flogging Molly in a small venue in Binghamton (still a pretty good gig, but they’re definitely moving up in the world). I do feel a little of the requisite “I loved them back before anyone knew them and now they’re popular and I think they suck,” but I’m happy that they’re doing well. I’ll catch them next time.

Jared: “I can’t get rid of my truck - the steering wheel has great bass.”

In a similar vein, I wish I could mic my couch, and Gogol Bordello was on Jimmy Kimmel last night.

This weekend I saw The Aristocrats at The Little with some people from work. One of the previews was for Everything is Illuminated (which, as it turns out, was made two years ago). The Ukrainian guy looked so familiar, but I couldn’t place him.

I was reading a post from Tom when I saw Tracy’s icon, which sparked my memory and reminded me to look into it. According to IMDB, his name is Eugene Hutz, and he is (gasp!) the lead singer for Gogol Bordello. It’s no wonder I recognized him: I just saw him up close and personal last month.

I’m looking forward to seeing that movie.