Frank Chow: Asian- American Political Pundit

Why am I just discovering this? I have no idea, but I'm glad that I did. Simply beautiful arrangements and enough uniqueness in the melody that I keep returning to it. From the the talent : Ghost was released in March, 2007 on Morr Music. I started writing for the record long before that, though. I'd been collecting songs for the record since early 2004, all under the concept of making a record about houses. rBut because I'd been writing for the album over that long a period, I wound up with way too many songs, even after discarding the ones I was less excited about. So I divided those up into two categories, based on their sound. Category one was "Ghost." Category two will be my next solo record, but I'll wait until I'm closer to completion before I talk too much about that one. So "Ghost" is a concept record. I know that's a dirty word to a lot of people, but I like concept records. It was written with the idea of houses having memories, a...

The first single off their latest album aptly titled "Simple Math" due to release May 10th . I enjoy where they are going sonically. It seems like a natural progression and of course I'm highly anticipating this album. This so happens to be one of my favorite bands over the past couple of years. I like to believe if I was to write an album that sounded like my college years, it would be something similar to Manchester Orchestra's Mean Everything to Nothing . I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

A glimpse into what Paddy K and I discuss in the next TATPodcast episode. This song is a beautiful display of Mr. Blake's talent and what he accomplishes in this cover is quite impressive. I suggest, if you haven't already, to go out and get his self-titled album . I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Because where I'm going to now, no one can ever hurt me Where the well of human hatred is shallow and dry No, I never wanted to change the world, but I'm looking for a new New Jersey Because tramps like us, baby, we were born to die Great song by a promising band . Visit their site here and laugh at their Kanye video. I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

For my lady, whose week thus far has been testing her patience. Daniela Sings here and Tumbles here . I've yet to figure out why Daniela is not famous already. Truly one of the best yet to be signed artists. The cold has crept into Chicago, the warmth was finally subsided and in Evanston (where I work) it snowed. I'm ready for a change. It's this time of year I start listening to more somber music, apologies if it comes across as "emo" as that's not my intent. It simply is my preference. Last year was Bon Iver not sure what will be my winter soundtrack this go around. Suggestions are welcomed. I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

As I stated in TAT , I've been listening to a lot of different music to prepare for my next acting gig. Norma Jean being one of them. This song makes me want to rage, especially the line "lie to me." It's fitting for the type of character I'm going to be playing; the dynamics, the gut-wrenching screams and the brutal guitar riffs are reflective of the emotional scope I need to portray. In other words, I'll be playing the role of a disturbed scavenger whose lost his grasp of reality. Sounds like fun, huh? I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

This is a going out song and since I'm going out tonight it applies. Plus, these dudes have been around the blogosphere getting solid plays from just about everybody in the AAPI community. BT-Dub, if someone can explain this song to me that'd be great... Enjoy your evening and congrats to Far East Movement for breaking through the charts. I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

P.O.S. - Savion Glover stripped down to its essentials, the lyrics . " This one's ours let's take another ." Chow!

(poor quality) This video is riveting to me. Mineral was the band to me. For a long, long time. Unfortunately I was never able to see them live. To this day my comparisons to other bands, in this particular genre, all go back to either Mineral, Penfold or Sunny Day Real Estate. Their first album exemplified all the aspects of music I aspired to write. It was gut wrenching. It was emotional without being cliche. It was dynamic. It was inspiring. It had musicality. And above all it kicked ass. Whenever I hear the breakdown in "Gloria" I still get the urge to thrash about, but refrain. As I hear it today, this is the band that sums up so far the tough and growing years of my life. I can recall driving to basement shows, waxing philosophical and blinking extra hard for the drive home. When I would get home, my ears would be ringing and then I would wake up the next morning ready to face another day of uncertainty. Mineral as my soundtrack. People just don't write music likes...

Alkaline Trio - "This Addiction" Alkaline Trio | MySpace Music Videos I recently had a discussion with Paddy K about Alkaline Trio's upcoming release. We were discussing how Alkaline Trio was one of THE band's we listened to in high school. Now that we have aged so has Alkaline Trio, but what remains is there constant songwriting style. For better or worse is up for debate. I am one who never expected Alkaline Trio to be more than what they already were, a definitive pop punk band. They existed before shit bands ruined the genre and turned it into teeny bopper cry fests (see All Time Low, Good Charlotte and a ton of other copies with neon clothes and glue spiked hair) without substance or heart. Alkaline Trio have always had a knack for writing catchy tunes with sing along choruses filled in with simplistic leads. And that is why I love them. They fit a certain niche in my catalog. With their latest release "This Addiction" I am becoming concerned. Not bec...

Can't get this song out of my head. Stripped down it is just as catchy and fun to sing. Absolute Punk : The complexities and dense topics still remain on Dinosaur, giving the album many layers for the listener to peel apart. Basically, My Dinosaur Life is the fusion of the best moments of Motion City Soundtrack’s previous three albums and expanding on that, while maintaining all the uniqueness and quirks that fans love about the band. This album will probably draw a lot of comparisons to Weezer’s first two albums, which won’t be surprising because there are a lot of similarities. But if Weezer created the nerdy/quirky pop-rock sound, then Motion City Soundtrack has perfected it on their best album to date, My Dinosaur Life. I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

A shout out to some local boys. Love them or hate them, I will say it is crazy seeing a band I saw start in a basement (cough very close to where I live) in Virginia doing music videos for a major movie. Congrats to the Friday Night Boys! I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Long before I ever knew I was going to be a failure at music, I started at least three bands a year until the age of 21. One of those inceptions was a carbon copy of all the bands we were listening to at the time, but mostly Sunny Day Real Estate , Jimmy Eat World and the Promise Ring . Most of all I wanted to be and sound like Davey von Bohlen. The odd turns of his melodies and quirky lyrics made me want to dance in my skinny jeans. Needless to say I never became Davey von Bohlen and the band didn't sound like the Promise Ring either. Heck, we didn't get passed a basement show. Maritime isn't the Promise Ring. It is its own thing. The similarities are certainly there, however the band misses some of the youthful playfulness that was so infectious with von Bohlen's earlier songs. Sometimes it is hard to admit that your teenage favorites have grown up. Maritime hits Chicago in February and I can't wait. It's not the Promise Ring, but I like where this band is h...

I'm out...for now...till then, SHUT UP AND DANCE! Devil Wears Prada , AP's Band of the Year I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Pitchfork : So how the hell did Merriweather Post Pavilion-- an album closer in spirit to the sub-aquatic psychedelia of 2005's Feels and Panda Bear's 2007 solo Person Pitch than its predecessor-- wind up in the Billboard Top 20 and outsell both the Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand's most recent albums in North America? That mystery is ultimately the most wonderful thing about the album. Unlike so many indie-rock crossover artists before them, Animal Collective did not breach the mainstream by cleaning up their act, or adopting classic-rock conventions, or scoring a strategic soundtrack or iPod-commercial placement. And, above all, they did little to formalize their defining mercurial quality. Almost everything we hear on Merriweather Post Pavilion has some antecedent in the Animal Collective canon. But, true to the band's science-lab-like stage set-up, years of experimentation have yielded a formula that mixes those core elements-- psychedelic pop, analog electronica...

It wasn't long when Juliana Theory was one of the bands I related to...I know, pause for a second and think ten years ago; I was still a teenager. It isn't as bad as you think. At that time, I recall driving hours to see Juliana Theory only to find out they couldn't make the show. Juliana Theory with their first two releases related to all the teen angst and struggle one might have had...imagine Dawson's Creek in a mix cd.  With no loss of experience my friends and I were able to see Hot Rod Circuit and some band I would like to forget for their pre-Fall Out Boy tendencies (we also barely missed Fairweather, a local favorite. ) It was one of those events in your life, where you sat in the back of a van, near a church and listened to independent music while still seeming so cool. It was unique. It was ours. It couldn't have come at a better time. I had lost my mother to her battle with cancer. I had struggled with understanding where I was in life, but I was in a car...

I know there are some albums I have not been able to get acquire that have made many a list, but these are my top picks for 2009. It is what I have grown to love, sing a long to in the car or just rock the eff out to over this past year and to be honest 2009 had some great music. I can only hope 2010 is this solid. Frank's Top Ten of 2009 1. Chuck Ragan- Gold Country Chuck Ragan is the man, what else can I say? Ragan on "Gold Country" defines a new era of folk; not quite as timid as the Nebraska brand, more punk influence and gritty as the man's beard. It is the type of album that you put in your car or at home, kick back a few beers with your friends and reminisce. Highlight Track- Glory 2. Tegan & Sara- Sainthood These two can't do much wrong in my mind and I don't care what flack I get for it. I think everyone and every critic has written about them what can be written. Clever pop. Amazing hooks. Tell all lyrics. Highlight Track- Someday 3. Brand New- D...

Last winter I spent a lot of time listening to Bon Iver , City and Colour , and Explosions in the Sky . I wouldn't say it played into the seasonal depression I was feeling, but it didn't help. This winter I am trying something a little different, luckily a couple of different late releases by Tegan and Sara , Brand New , Say Anything and Converge have me up. P.O.S. is on that list too . I was late to the P.O.S. fandom, but he is as a legit of a cross over from my early hip hop influences such as De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest to my teen years when I was heavily influenced by the D.C. punk and the hardcore scene. Just listen to his track "Drumroll" ; it is sick. And I don't use that word lightly. Pastepunk recently interviewed P.O.S. you can read the whole thing here , but this excerpt had me stretching a smile: Pastepunk : Talk to me about CONVERGE… Stef : CONVERGE is great. CONVERGE has been a great band to listen to since Jane Doe all the way up through, ...

Feeling sick, going home early. Rock the eff on I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

My favorite artist, Owen : New Leaves, like its title suggests, is a new beginning for Mike Kinsella/Owen. It was recorded over the course of two years by multiple engineers such as Tim Iseler (Wilco), Brian Deck (Iron and Wine), Graeme Gibson (Califone), Nate Kinsella, and, yes, some recording at mom’s house. New Leaves retains elements of earlier Owen material—but here, the arrangements are more elaborate, the song structures more complex, and the lyrics more refined. Instead of lamenting failed relationships, Kinsella focuses on the new beginnings they allow. I am Frank Chow and I approved this message