Inside the studio with Listen2Three

The Used — “Vulnerable”

Alternative / Metal / Punk

Remember high school? For me, The Used is one of those bands I go back to for nostalgic bittersweet bliss. After falling off their label, the charts and pretty much the planet, The Used rebuilt themselves under their own label known as Anger Music Group and released the new album “Vulnerable.” 

The rebuild brought some chatter about whether or not their original label Warner dropped them, or if they just decided to part ways after their 10-year contract. Either way, The Used found a new home in their self-made record label. 

Usually, a move like this is a money-maker, but the music has to be worth buying to make the money. So, is “Vulnerable” worth buying? Well, if you want a carbon copy of the rest of their albums then, yes. 

“Vulnerable” features the same sound found in their self-titled release a decade ago. The band has not grown at all since they first came on the scene. It literally sounds like a b-side of a b-side of a b-side.

Wiz Khalifa — “Taylor Allderdice”

Hip Hop

Pittsburg seems to follow me everywhere. The city produces some of my favorite sports teams, people and, most importantly, some of my favorite hip-hop music. Wiz Khalifa, Pittsburg native, is high on my list of favorites. 

His flow is great. His lyrics are simple, catchy and surprisingly objective. A long stressful day always goes away when I listen to some Khalifa — he always raps about smoking marijuana and getting paid.

His music reflects his lyrics well. The beats are relaxed and the melodies are never too in your face — like Lil’ Jon. After releasing “Rolling Papers” in 2009, Khalifa reached more listeners than ever after hitting No. 1 on the billboard charts with his single “Black and Yellow.” 

Now, he has released a new mixtape entitled “Taylor Allderdice.”

The album features Juicy J — another personal favorite of mine — in many tracks, such as “T.A.P,” “My Favorite Song” and “The Code.” My personal favorite track on the album, “Never Been Part II,” features Rick Ross and Amber Rose. 

Chromatics — “Kill For Love”

Electro / Electronica / Indie

Sometimes, I put myself in the shoes of an ex-band member of a recently successful band. I can only imagine what feelings I would have looking at the cool new videos I was not in,  listening to songs I helped create and reading magazine articles with the faces of my old bandmates on the cover.

For Chromatics, it has been a slow climb with changes in the band’s lineup accompanying almost every new release. But now, Chromatics is looking ahead with the addition of producer and multi-instrumentalist Johnny Jewel, a performer with the Portland Oregon natives.

“Kill for Love” is Chromatics’ fourth studio album and features some of Jewel’s finest work. The audio trail Jewel has left behind has always utilized muse-like female vocalists and with Chromatics’ Ruth Radelet at the front, Jewel helps produce another enigmatic compilation that characterizes the metro-western, indie-pop sound. 

Think Music

The time has come for yet another Savannah Music Festival and with each year brings more reasons to attend. From jazz and blues to salsa and folk, the festival has something for everyone.

Things began last Thursday with a personal favorite of mine — Takacs Quartet and many other artists.

But there is still a lot to come. Ranging from Grammy-award winners to newcomers, the festival is filled with great talent from all genres. The festival will go on until April 23, but what is important now is who to see. Here are some great artists lined up to play that I feel should not be missed:

Wycliffe Gordon — He was raised on gospel music in Waynesboro, Ga., and is quite a superb trombonist. This year, he is hosting three different nights in honor of Louis Armstrong — song writer of hits such as “Stardust” and “What a Wonderful World.” Gordon will be performing with a plethora of musicians March 27 at the Charles H. Morris Center.

Sebastian Knauer — This pianist is from Germany and started playing at the age of four. His first concerto was performed at age 13. Let’s just say he’s the modern day Mozart of Germany when it comes to the keys. He will be performing a few Felix Mendelssohn pieces — a native German composer of the 19th century — which would be a delight to see.

New York natives Fun. — “Some Nights”

Pop-rock/Indie

It has been four years since a rock band has hit No. 1 on the billboard hot 100, but there is hope behind the looming shadows of the drab faux-musicians filling in the fatty charts. New York natives Fun. has climbed the totem pole and reached No. 1 with their single “We Are Young” and has maintained it since early March. 

 But how is the rest of the album?

“Some Nights” is Fun.’s second full-length and was released late February of this year. It only took one week for the single to reach No. 1. That casts quite a shadow for the rest of the tracks on the album. The genre is essentially pop-rock, but despite the digital sharpness of the production, the band has created quite a raw set of songs. 

The album begins with a quiet theatrical piano and an opera singer — quite the mood setter. As the first track continues you hear the ghost of Queens Freddie Mercury through the golden pipes of lead singer Nate Ruess, former vocalist of The Format. 

ASAP Rocky — “Live Love Purple”

Rap/Hip Hop

For artist ASAP Rocky, the road to fame has been a rough one so far. The Harlem-born 23-year-old dealt with the imprisonment of his father, the death of his brother, and he spent half of his childhood in a shelter. 

After all of those experiences, ASAP decided to take his music seriously at a very young age.

His newest mixtape “Live Love Purple” was released just two weeks ago and shows some promise considering no multi-million dollar producer was involved. 

The music is indeed raw and some of the beats get pretty catchy. 

One thing to keep in mind while listening is the infancy of his talents. ASAP has yet to make a full length — but is rumored to be in contract with Sony — and has only been releasing mixtapes for a year. 

Lamb of God—“Resolution”

Metal

A lot has changed since Black Sabbath, but metal music is still notorious for being loud, intense and difficult to wrap your head around. Let's be real here. Metal is definitely an acquired taste. Blazing guitars, lack of annunciation in screams and double-bass drums are just a few characteristics making the genre unique. 

But at the same time, are genres like R&B and jazz what they used to be? No way — these genres have evolved.  So aside from trying to be loud and fast, what makes a modern metal band timeless? I believe it comes down to a few factors not quite honored by most pop music ringtone gurus — originality, overall skill at executing the instrumentation and a certain sense of "wowing" the listener.  

Over the years, one band has nailed all three — Lamb of God. Fronted by one of modern metal's more recognized voices (Randy Blythe) with a band name that stirs the pot, Lamb of God has their formula down to a tee. The band has, over a course of six studio albums, sold over 2 million copies and been nominated for a Grammy. 

Lamb of God already casts a big shadow, but with the release of their newest album "Resolution," I would say their shadow has increased substantially.  The album's opening, "Straight for the Sun" starts as any metal album should, with a blood curdling scream and some sludgy, teeth-gritting guitar. 

As the album progresses through some wicked double-bass action and more technical guitar work, there really is not any change.