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Brooklyn’s indie rock eclectic elective Why? is definitely one of the most original and versatile artists to to receive well deserved attention in 2008.

With the release of their refreshing collage of songs on Alopecia, Why has etched themselves a place in modern indie rock. Many of Why?’s songs are completely different from one another that in a blind test it would be hard to say definitively that they are a set of songs from the same group. Electric eclectic is an appropriate tag.

Why? are very creative and accomplished musicians with a knack for eccentricity. This is part of what makes Alopecia so enjoyable, and definitely one of the best indie releases of 2008.

Whether they lay down - quite successfully we say - the rap in hip hop lo-fi tracks like “By Torpedo or Crohn’s” and “A Sky For Shoeing Horses Under” or engage in quirky musical experimentalism with songs like “Simeon’s Dilemma” - evoking comparisons to the glimmer psychedelic folk sound of The Flaming Lips.

The song “Fatalist Palmistry” is a memorable chorus-soaked pop song very much in the tradition of 1960s folk rock. Somehow Why? once again manages to pull off what most artists simply could not.

Other songs like “Song of the Sad Assassin”, featuring overtures to Billy The Kid and Lee Harvey Oswald, make it even harder to pigeon hole Why?’s sound more than any other band we’ve heard in quite a while. Next thing you know you’re listening to the song “The Hollows” with its Cure-like underpinnings.

Next, bubble gummy pop and drum machines predominate “These Few Presidents”, yet another original song that somehow manages to be kind of cool. Nevertheless, the album is not without its weaknesses. The short songs on Alopecia, like opener “Exegesis” and “Twenty Eight” (44 seconds in length) are forgettable.

The over-riding theme of Alopecia is one of constant surprises. Just when you think the band had out done itself, another track spins and proves you wrong. I’ve haven’t heard a record in a while from a relatively unknown band that instead sounds like an awesome compilation of the great songs from a line-up of talented artists.

What strikes me is that a creative writer could probably write an amazing story based on songs on Alopecia. It has all the elements of a great movie, in addition to being a spectacular album. In fact, Alopecia may turn out to be in the years to come must-have in any reputable indie rock music collection.

“The Vowels, Part 2″ - Why? from Alopecia

MP3Death Is The Answer (To My Prayers)
Artist Early Man
Album Closing In
Label Matador Records
Genre Rock

And here is the audio podcast companion to the Hellthy TV video podcast featuring this song’s music video - plus a documentary chronicaling the Early Man sponsoered demolition derby car.

Bring back that pompitude.

Memphis soul music was shaped by many talented voices that are still famous in the music business today. People like W.C. Handy, Frank Stokes, Willie Nix, Furry Lewis, Sleepy John Estes, Junior Parker, Ida Cox, Memphis Minnie, Rosco Gordon, Howlin Wolf, Robert Wilkins, Big Mama Thornton and Bobby Sowell all worked together to create, shape and define what Memphis soul music was, and the impressions that they have left remain strong in the city still today.

Memphis soul music began to take shape in the grand city during the 1920s by some of the local musicians there who hung around the musical district of Beale Street. Beale Street was the center of artistic musical creation, and Memphis soul music was no exception. Not only was Beale Street the soul music capital of Tennessee, it was the soul music capital of the world. There have been countless books and documentaries written about the high times of Beale Street and its Memphis soul music. One of the most popular and more recent bestsellers was James Dickersons Goin Back to Memphis, which was written in 2000.

When Memphis soul music was first evolving, emphasis was first placed on the strange musical instruments that were distinct to Memphis music. These ranged from trombones and drums to guitars and homemade items, like washboards and mandolins made out of gourds. Harmonicas found their way into the hearts of many Memphis soul music lovers as well. These homemade instruments all came together to create the inspirational and unique sound of Memphis soul music.
Household items as instruments came into being because many of the musicians of Memphis soul music started their careers when they were very poor, and they could not afford to buy the shiny new guitar in the music shop on Beale Street, so they would make their own. Other types of musicians that formed the famous Memphis jug bands used empty jugs made of clay or glass and blew over them at different ways to make their music. There were also Jews harps, banjos, and any other kind of item that could make a great sound that were influential in Memphis soul music, as well as other types of Memphis music, too.

It wasnt until after World War II that the home made instruments began to be replaced by the electric instruments that came about into the music world, and the sound of blues and Memphis soul music changed with the introduction of these instruments. The large numbers of African American immigrants into the city also changed the sounds and structure of the Memphis soul music. The soul music of Memphis would forever have a unique history that is unmatched by any other genre of music today.