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Cake is an indie-rock band from Sacramento, California that has a devoted fanbase and loyal following for their unique blend of indie, funk, jazz and country music. Fashion Nugget, Cake’s second album, became the album that brought the band into the public eye and gave them their first radio success with the song “The Distance”. After another five albums, a bounty of TV snippets including having written the theme tune to Chuck, and a number of hit singles has made them one of the most popular bands on the Alternative Rock scene.

In 2008 the band removed their studio (Upbeat Studio) from dependence on Sacramento, California’s power grid by installing a system of solar panels. The band subsequently announced that their upcoming studio album will be “recorded using 100% solar energy.”

Although Cake’s music is often classified as alternative rock or indie-rock, it combines elements of multiple musical genres, such as funk, rockabilly, jazz, rap, and country. Cake’s music features droll lyrics rife with word play and syncopation, catchy distorted guitar riffs (courtesy of guitarist Greg Brown until 1998, and bass player Victor Damiani until 1997), prominent use of a Moog, and a solo trumpet (played by Vince DiFiore).

The laconic and rap-like style in which lead vocalist/guitarist John McCrea brings the lyrics is sometimes called sprechgesang.

In the summer of 2002, Cake headlined the Unlimited Sunshine Tour festival among such varied bands as Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips, De La Soul, Latin techno fusion band Kinky and bluegrass group The Hackensaw Boys. Cake brought back the tour in 2003 with Cheap Trick, country singer Charlie Louvin, garage rockers The Detroit Cobras and a return performance from The Hackensaw Boys. The tour returned in 2007 with the Brazilian Girls on the East Coast dates, return of The Detroit Cobras for the West Coast dates, and Oakley Hall, Agent Ribbons and King City for all the shows.

In June 2008, lead singer John McCrea told music publication REVUE that he is thinking seriously of quitting touring to become a farmer.

On June 11, 2009, Cake played at the Apple World Wide Developer Conference 2009 bash in San Francisco, California.

Current lineup

• John McCrea – Vocals/Guitar
• Vince DiFiore – Trumpet/Keyboards
• Xan McCurdy – Guitar
• Gabe Nelson – Bass
• Paulo Baldi – Drums

Discography

• 1994: Motorcade of Generosity
• 1996: Fashion Nugget
• 1998: Prolonging the Magic
• 2001: Comfort Eagle
• 2004: Pressure Chief
• 2007: B-Sides and Rarities  

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Tags: alternative, b-sides, band, cake, california, cheap trick, chuck, comfort eagle, country, de la soul, fashion nugget, flaming lips, funk, Gabe Nelson, greg brown, hackensaw boys, indie, jazz, john mccrea, lyrics, modest mouse, motorcade of generosity, Paulo Baldi, pressure chief, prolonging the magic, rarities, riffs, rock, sprechgesang, the distance, victor damiani, Vince DiFiore, Xan McCurdy
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CLICK HERE to buy LITE’s albums on CD or mp3 download

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Tokyo-based instrumentalists LITE formed in 2003. Their debut “Filmlets” received great critical acclaim, and since then the band have toured Japan constantly, embarked on their second UK & Ireland tour last September and they have appeared at the Fuji Rock Festival.

LITE’s sound combines the precision and musicianship of prog rock with the emotionally charged cinematic compositions of art rock, in a heavier, more modern package that they describe as “math rock”. Nowhere near as heavy as mathcore or prog metal, but more so than your average prog rock band.

Shortly after that appearance, the Japanese quartet released a split CD with Funanori (Go! Team guitarist Kaori Tsuchida and Mike Watt from The Minutemen) and teamed up with Mike Watt again in February this year to host his Brother’s Sister’s Daughter tour of Japan.

With the release of their second full-length album, “Phantasia”, the intense gigging schedule has obviously paid off. The band have improved their songwriting skills and their ability to translate their energetic live performances into an impressive studio album. Their instrumental prowess comes across in splendid fashion and the result is a varied and satisfying album.

Darker in parts to its predecessor, “Phantasia” contains many influences, from King Crimson-esque jazz-rock to full-scale guitar assault as on “Contra” or the opener “Ef” which has been re-recorded and reignited with the fury of its live rendition.

Throughout, there are stories woven into these grooves; the sea-faring tragedy “Shinkai” and the melancholic “Solitude” illustrate the band’s maturity as “storyteller” songwriters.

With “Phantasia”, LITE is set to cement its reputation as one of the most exciting bands to have emerged from Japan in recent years.

The band are Nobuyuki Takeda (guitar), Kozo Kusumoto (guitar), Jun Izawa (bass), and Akinori Yamamoto (drums).

Discography 

EP’s

•  LITE (2006)

Albums

• Filmlets (2007)
• Phantasia (2008)

Live album

•  Live in Limerick (2007)

Live EP

•  A Tiny Twofer (2007)

We at the Real Music Forum love LITE. We hope you do too.

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Tags: Akinori Yamamoto, album, art, band, cinematic, compositions, Ef, Filmlets, Fuji Rock Festival, Funanori, instrumental, Japanese, jazz, Jun Izawa, Kozo Kusumoto, LITE, mathcore, metal, Mike Watt, minutemen, musicianship, Nobuyuki Takeda, Phantasia, prog, rock, Shinkai, Solitude, songwriters, storyteller, Tokyo
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CLICK HERE to buy Rage Against The Machine’s albums

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Rage Against the Machine was the genre-spawning debut album by rap-metal band Rage Against The Machine, released November 11, 1992. The songs tend to feature political mantras as rapped vocals. The album peaked at #17 in the UK albums chart, #1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart and #45 on the Billboard Top 200 chart.

The rapped vocals and funk-metal guitars mixed with hard hip-hop/funk beats and grooves were a massive deviation from the traditonal rock/metal of the time, but before long “Nu-Metal” arrived on the scene, making such genre crossovers commonplace.

Guitar sound

Tom Morello’s guitar technique stays on fairly traditional territory on this album, compared to subsequent albums, tending to be more influenced by funk and metal, as opposed to the more experimental hip-hop-influenced guitar styles Morello strays towards on later Rage albums.

What do magazines know, anyway?

In 2001 the album Rage Against the Machine was named in Q magazine as one of the “50 Heaviest Albums Of All Time” (which is rubbish, as anyone that has heard the wealth of thrash and death metal that is out there would agree). The album is included in the book “1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die”. In 2003, the album was ranked #368 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Albums Of All Time”.

Turn it up to 11

The album is known for its high production values, which are almost to the strictest audiophile standards. Some audiophile magazines and websites even go as far as using the album — in particular the song “Take the Power Back” — to test amplifiers and speakers.

Tool

One of the songs, “Know Your Enemy”, features Tool / A Perfect Circle vocalist Maynard James Keenan on “additional vocals”.  Keenan has occasionally appeared onstage with Rage to perform the song.

Who?

“Acclaimed” BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe named Rage Against the Machine as one of four albums to be added to his list of ‘Masterpieces’, and his personal favourite album, on December 2nd, 2008 (although repeatedly naming the singer as ‘De La Rocker’).

That man’s on fire!

The cover artwork features a famous photo of Thích Quảng Đức, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, burning himself to death in Saigon in 1963. The monk was protesting President Ngô Đình Diệm’s administration for oppressing the Buddhist religion. The photograph drew international attention and persuaded U.S. President John F. Kennedy to withdraw support of the Ngô Đình Diệm’s government. It was taken by Associated Press correspondent Malcolm Browne; a similar photograph earned the award of World Press Photo of the Year in 1963.

Political Inspiration

Activists such as Provisional IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands and Black Panther Party founder Huey P. Newton are listed in the “Thanks For Inspiration” section. Also thanked were Ian and Alec MacKaye – De La Rocha was “Straight Edge” at the time, though he later took up smoking.

Lyrics

The lyrics for each song were printed in the album booklet with the exception of those for “Killing in the Name”, which were omitted; the booklet reads “2. KILLING IN THE NAME”, skips the lyrics and continues with the next song.

No synths

The statement “no samples, keyboards or synthesizers used in the making of this record” appears at the end of the sleeve notes, and similar statements were made in the band’s subsequent albums. The band also refer to themselves as “Guilty Parties” in the sleeve notes of each album.

Track listing

“Bombtrack” – 4:05
“Killing in the Name” – 5:14
“Take the Power Back” – 5:37
“Settle for Nothing” – 4:48
“Bullet in the Head” – 5:09
“Know Your Enemy” – 4:55
“Wake Up” – 6:04
“Fistful of Steel” – 5:31
“Township Rebellion” – 5:24
“Freedom” – 6:06

Anger Is a Gift bonus disc:

“Darkness” – 3:40
“Year of tha Boomerang” – 4:02
“Freedom” (Remix) – 6:14
“Take the Power Back” (Live) – 6:12

“Guilty Parties”

Rage Against the Machine – Production, Art Direction

Zack de la Rocha – Vocals
Tim Commerford – Bass (credited as “Timmy C.”)
Brad Wilk – Drums
Tom Morello – Guitars
Maynard James Keenan – Additional vocals (“Know Your Enemy”)
Stephen Perkins – Additional percussion (“Know Your Enemy”)

Garth ‘GGGarth’ Richardson – Producer, Engineer
Stan Katayama – Engineer
Craig Doubet – Assistant Engieer
Jeff Sheehan – Assistant Engineer
Bob Ludwig – Mastering
Midas – Mixing / Production
Andy Wallace – Mixing
Steve Sisco – Mixing Assistant

and Nicky Lindeman – Art Direction

Just buy it already.

An inspiring album in so many ways, and not a weak track on the whole album.  This album should be a definite purchase for any self-respecting rocker, metaller, nu-metaller, neo-goth, funkster, hip-hopper and/or fan of REAL music.

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The RMF loves Rage Against The Machine – Rage Against The Machine.  We hope you do too.

Tags: a perfect circle, album, albums you must hear before you die, amplifiers, anger is a gift, audiophile, bombtrack, Brad Wilk, bullet in the head, fire, fistful of steel, freedom, funk, hip-hop, killing in the name, know your enemy, live, Maynard James Keenan, metal, monk, music, nu-metal, production, Rage Against The Machine, rap, real music forum, remix, rock, settle for nothing, speakers, take the power back, Tim Commerforth, Tom Morello, tool, township rebellion, wake up, year of tha boomerang, Zack De La Rocha
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