ScatterPoints: Early May

Here is some cool stuff I've found over the past week. Enjoy!

MidPoints Top 5: Mom Songs

I'm going to start posting more of these Top 5 countdowns so feel free to comment with your own Top 5s. Happy Mothers Day!

5. Chromeo - Momma's Boy

4. 2Pac - Dear Mama

3. Scissor Sisters - Take Your Mama

2. Sufjan Stevens - Decatur, Or, Round Of Applause For Your Stepmother!

1. Kanye West - Hey Mama

VIDEO

The National - Terrible Love

ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS

The Hold Steady - Separation Sunday

Rating: 90/100

Garage rock and drunken nostalgia have been perfected over the past decade by The Hold Steady, and Separation Sunday is the one that kicked off their hot-streak of great albums back in 2005.

High Point Tracks: "Your Little Hoodrat Friend", "Banging Camp", "Stevie Nix"

Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record

Rating: 81/100

When a phenomenal band like BSS releases a mildly disappointing record like this one, the result is sometimes still a very enjoyable and engaging album.

High Point Track: "World Sick", "All to All", "Water in Hell"

The Dead Weather - Horehound

Rating: 86/100

Its loud, dirty, and a little frightening but its also one of the most raw and powerful rock albums in recent memory.

High Point Tracks: "60 Feet Tall", "Treat Me Like Your Mother", "Hang You From The Heavens"

David Guetta - One Love

Rating: 68/100

European producer/DJ David Guetta delivers a hit or miss collection of up-tempo club jams, all of which feature at least one relevant name from the hip-hop/r&b scene.

High Point Tracks: "Sexy Bitch ft. Akon", "When Love Takes Over ft. Kelly Rowland"

The White Stripes - Under Great White Northern Lights

Rating: 93/100

This live album from 2007 features the lo-fi rock duo at their loudest, sloppiest and absolute finest while giving new life to both deep cuts and hits alike.

High Point Tracks: "Blue Orchid", "I'm Slowly Turning Into You", "Jolene" (Dolly Party cover), "Seven Nation Army"

Summer Bands: The White Stripes 101

Legos and The White Stripes in HD. What more could you want?

I spent most of my summers before college hundreds of miles from civilization in Galena, IL, a small resort/retirement community. The Galena economy was fueled exclusively by knick-knacks and golf and there was absolutely nothing for me to do. So, I sat around reading and burning through as many CDs I as I could get my hands on. One of the my favorite summer bands is the White Stripes. They released albums in the summers of 2001 (White Blood Cells), 2003 (Elephant), 2005 (Get Behind Me Satan), and 2007 (Icky Thump). Well now its summer 2009 and sadly there are no indications of any new White Stripes material being released in the near future. In honor of this Detroit based duet, I give you The White Stripes 101. The White Stripes doesn't have a Greatest Hits album, but if they asked me to make one this is what it would look like. I know it doesn't include their first two albums. Deal. It starts with there more fast paced singles and then delves into some of the weirder deep cuts. Here we go:

THE WHITE STRIPES 101

1. Blue Orchid (Get Behind Me Satan-2008)

2. Fell In Love With A Girl (White Blood Cells-2001)

3. Theres No Home For You Here (Elephant-2003)

4. The Denial Twist (Get Behind Me Satan-2005)

5. Rag & Bone (Icky Thump-2007)

6. Little Room (White Blood Cells-2001)

7. Girl You Have No Faith In Medicine (Elephant-2003)

8. Take, Take, Take (Get Behind Me Satan-2005)

9. Conquest (Icky Thump-2007)

10. Seven Nation Army (Elephant-2003)

11. Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (White Blood Cells-2001)

12. Instinct Blues (Get Behind Me Satan-2005)

13. Icky Thump (Icky Thump-2007)

14. I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself (Elephant-2003)

15. You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told) (Icky Thump-2007)

16. The Air Near My Fingers (Elephant-2003)

17. My Doorbell (Get Behind Me Satan-2005)

18. Passive Manipulation (Get Behind Me Satan-2005)

19. I Want To Be The Boy (Elephant-2003)

20. Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn (Icky Thump-2007)

21. St. Andrew (This Battle Is In The Air) (Icky Thump-2007)

22. Little Ghost (Get Behind Me Satan-2005)

23. In The Cold Cold Night (Elephant-2003)

24. We're Going to Be Friends (White Blood Cells-2001)

25. Effect & Cause (Icky Thump-2007)

26. This Protector (White Blood Cells-2001)

Hot damn! 26 great tracks in only 77 minutes. Happy summer 2009 folk!

James Bond + Alicia Keys + Jack White = Another Way To Die

This unlikely duet from The White Stripes/Raconteurs front man Jack White and singin' sensation Alicia Keys is the theme song for the upcoming James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. Reminiscent of some of the classic Bond theme songs from the 60s and 70s, Another Way To Die is with out a doubt one of the more original songs to be written for 007.  I don't think that either of these individual artists would have been a particularly strange choice for a Bond theme but the pairing of the two certainly is.  It gets wierder.  A clip of the tune was recently featured in a Coke Zero commercial and shortly after it aired, Jack White issued a statement that claimed this commercial was done without his blessing. Although conceptually bizzarre, the cascading horns, heavy piano chords and fuzz-box guitars combined with Key's smokey vocals and Jack White's signature wail make Another Way To Die one hell of a jam.  Click here to listen to a stream of the track or here to download the mp3.