Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Weekly tune-up

Music I'm loving right now . . . El Camino by The Black Keys



Listen to while . . . you do anything. And everything.

(There's more after the jump . . .)

This was perhaps one of the most popular Christmas presents in Akron - try as they did, my parents could not find it on vinyl for my boyfriend anywhere in town - and for good reason. The duo's seventh album, El Camino is easily one of their best and should keep their Grammy nominations and accolades coming after their 2010 album Brothers.

The album was co-produced/co-written with Danger Mouse and his influence definitely seeps in, but not overwhelmingly as the Keys maintain their signature, old-school bluesy rock sound. I'm not sure I can pick a favorite track from the album, but "Gold on the Ceiling" and "Little Black Submarines" get stuck in my head a lot.

I also really enjoyed the promotion The Black Keys did for their latest album. They placed an ad in the Akron Beacon Journal in October advertising a used "1994 El Camino" for sale and listed a phone number. The number was a recording of Pat Carney describing the car and asking the caller to leave a voicemail. The next day, the band posted a video on YouTube that was a low-budget used car commercial for the same El Camino van. Great on so many levels, and I love that they did it in Akron  since it's their hometown.

Listen to the whole album, let me know what you think and take a look at the photos in the album booklet  - we definitely recognized some Akron neighborhoods.

1 comment:

  1. i love this album as well. it's kind of been on repeat since the day i bought it. "lonely boy" and "little black submarines" get stuck in my head for sure. also, "dead and gone." way to go, black keys. NEO represent.

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