Aaron Marks, Zombies, and Other Trending Topics

In the movie Zombieland there is a list of rules that the protagonist Columbus keeps. Rule #32 reads "Enjoy the little things". Although at the moment we aren't all fighting zombies in the zombie apocalypse, the economy is still in the crapper and the modern globalized world seems increasingly screwed up. The idea of enjoying the little things isn't at all a bad idea to follow. Aaron Marks's album "Peace, Love, and Other Trending Topics" is meant to be enjoyed, and to do anything else with it would be a waist of one's time.

The album opens with the catcy ukulele and xylohpone song "It's True, I'm Trouble". The lyrics could hardly be considered groundbreaking, but they are by no means cliche enough to make the first song a skip, and unpredictable beats and great vocals make this song a great opener. The clapping beats are continued in the next song, "Down for the Count", which is a fast paced acoustic guitar song where Marks is able to show off the higher end of his vocal register.

The mood shifts from very foly pop when Postscript comes in for some rapping in "Dont Leave (featuring Postscript)". This song takes a turn towards the electronic with nice bass synth throughout. It works well and the rapping keepts the album unpredictable. Pulled together with acoustic guitars and Aaron's vocals this song is one of the album's highlights.

Things transition back into folk-pop land with "You Called?". The song is full of vocally harmonious hooks and relatively simple guitar pattern. Lines like "I'm sure that I was by the phone, waiting for the text to remind me of home, wouldn't it be easier if you just called?" make the song worth a few more listens. Things then move back into hip hop with "Sell Out (featuring Derek Baker)" which is one of the slower songs on the album. It shows that Marks isn't a one trick pony. He doesn't just do fast folk-pop songs and can do something a bit slower and still make it fantastic.

Up to this point the album has a chance to just be ok, but the single "You're Alive (Why Ask for More)" is a gamechanger. It goes back to the ukulele oriented sound that was heard at the begening of the album. Marks shouts out "If you're alive, then why ask for more? I'm sure that you'll make do, without fast cars and five star hotels, just feel alive" in the song that will no doubt be on everyone's list of the best of the year. This anthem is lyrically relevant to the world, and musically different. Whoever thought to put rapping in a song that is centered around the ukulele was going to either be a genius or a madman. Thanks to everything in this song working perfectly, he is a genius!

When people no doubt go into their ipod to play "You're Alive (Why Ask For More?)" over and over they will eventually hear snippets, or the whole thing if they space out, of "Dont Say That I Dont Know You (When You Don't Know Me)". THe listener will be surprised by the more mature sound of the violins, churchbells and Marks's lower vocal range on what is a very good song and one of the top notch overlooked songs on the album. From this things go right back into hip hop and maybe even crunk land with the song that is a take on "Internet fame", "Social Network Queen (Or The Death Of The Myspace Whore)" in which Marks distantly sings "The social network queen is as dead as can be, living life normally, how obscene."

Catching the musical tone of the whole album is the title track. It has hip hop beats mixed with acoustic guitars. Marks's rapping fits well enough into the song which isn't one of the best on the album, but certainly not bad. The album closes with "Photoshop is A Girl's Best Friend" in which Marks declares "you can't fake beauty" in an anti myspace generation anthem that will leave the listener with that slightly pumped up feeling as they finish the album. Musically it is full of complex drum mixes and some keyboard thrown in. it is one of the highlights of the album.

Aaron Marks has managed to do what already established rock, pop, rap, or hip hop stars try and fail to do. He has made something that crosses over all boundaries of genre. Folk-pop? Sure I guess it could be called that. Folk-rap? If you insist. Acoustic hip hop? Whatever floats your boat. What I would call it is pure and simple Aaron Marks doing what he does best which is rapping, singing, strumming acoustic guitars, and throwing in some hip hop beats. A great album by a great artist.

La Linotte - Very Indie

After Katie Coyle made folky pop rock into a very trendy mainstream thing it seems like everyone has some kind of folk influence in their songs. Maybe it was always that way, and I am just getting to notice it more. It seems like everyone wants to catch that very indie sounding but with mainstream appeal that Coyle's album had, and usually it comes off as trying too hard. Madeline Rameau's album "La Linotte" is by no means an imitation of Katie Coyle despite being very folky. It instead takes things the opposite direction. La Linotte is very indie. The album is full of quirky jazz, folk, vocal layerings, symphonic synths, and a whole lot of French.

The album's opener, "At Home", is a slow jazzy tune with hooky piano and guitar melodies. It is an emotional opener about Rameau's hometown, growing up, and wishing to go back to childhood simplicity. The instruments set the tone for the album which follows this opening trakc with the faster "Rabbit's Feet". The song is still centered around Rameau's voice and the acoustic guitar but overdriven electric guitars give the song some variation. In this bitter breakup song Rameau declares "And I’ll always think of you,/Whether you want me too,/And I say that I’ll be the one,/Who never knew the better...". The first couple of songs aren't bad by any means, but there is a sense that Rameua is holding something back.

In track the, "Paris", the french roots really come out. The accordian, plus Rameau singing in french make this song very traditional french. The bass and guitar keep things interesting, and the melody is certainly nice. Lyrically this song could be the most cliche throw your stereo out of a hotel window type of lyrics, but they're all in French so I would never know. Next is the catchy anthemic "Rule the Night" which is partly in french, but Rameau also bitterly sings the lines "Now you’ve cut me open to drink my blood./And kick my shins so I fall in mud." which makes me wonder whether I'm listening to a jazzy folk indie act or angry punk rockers. It works out relatively well though in this song which has more of a rock n roll vibe than any of the other songs on the album. It is also produced by Jason Smith, and is one of the highlights of the album.

Next is "Le Plus Angoissantes de Bonheur" which will bring you back to the days of sitting in your friends basement and dropping a bunch of acid. It starts with random jibberish which will either be interpreted as a fantastic piece of art or jibbereish which I find to be more accurate. Loud, relatively fast, and just odd overall, the fifth addition to "La Linotte" will either leave you with a blank confused look on your face or it will be the greatest thing you've ever heard which brings us back to the acid tripping.

At this point I was sort of scratching my head, and I'm guessing unless you are a folky indie jazz junky you probably are too. The album's title track is a gamechanger. It is a beautiful epic in which Rameau declares "The things we swore would be lies have now come true.../I want to spend my life with you.". The song, which is almost eight minutes long, works perfectly. The song is the highlight of the album, and it's melodies need to go down on everyone's list of the most melodic songs of the year.

Next is the very traditional "Biting Through". The clapping, chanting, and slightly chaotic sounds make this song very metaphoric for rebellion which is seen in the reference to Robespierre. The chaos and rebellion is followed by the peaceful synthfilled folk pop of "Kissed by the Wind". Rameua happily reveals "And I don’t know what to say, ‘cept you put me in a good mood." in what is one of the simpler songs on the entire album.

"Elle a Dit" is a fun more up beat and contemporary sounding song with synth, slide guitar, and of course Rameau's great vocal performance. The more diverse instrumentals of this song make it a breath of fresh air for those who were getting tired of the very folky jazz. The rythms and vocal layering make this song a very good one. Next is the very emotional "Sing Sing Sing" in which Rameau desperately declares "The final words have been spoken.../Our story falls apart,/Of that mother with a stone.../In place of a heart," in what is lyrically probably the best song on the album. If "La Linotte" is the best song then this is the second best. The bass, violin, pian, they all work perfectly in this dark melodic masterpiece. The album then closes with "At Home (Continued)" which is a nice touch to create a full circle effect.

Overall "La Linotte" is by no means bad, but it probably wont leave you in shock and awe. It is great if folky jazz is your thing. The melodies are fantastic. Whether it will transcend out of the folk world is tough to say. It probably will just because everything Jason Smith touches finds a way to turn to gold. Whenever I start to think the album will completely blow mt mind there is a song that is just ok. Some songs come off as just too odd. Overall a decent album worthy of some attention, and some of the songs are absolutely amazing, but as an album it is just a bit too gloomy or quirky at some times to be as fantastic as some of it's songs are.



- Max Pruitt, Label Runner, and Music Reviewr Extraordinaire