Friday, March 28, 2014

" But everybody knows that a broken heart is blind..."

"Fever, where'd you run to?
 Fever, where'd you run to?
 Acting right is so routine
 Fever, let me live a dream."



     What do Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails, Guided by Voices, Devo, Twenty One Pilots, the Black Keys and me have in common?  Besides sharing an intense love of music we are all products of the Midwest's most misunderstood area. Ohio is the broken heart shaped state of America's depressed industrial and automotive manufacturing Golden Era, symbolizing our countries lost, wandering soul, Goth/Emo teen aged persona. Ohio may be cold, dark and dreary at times but the winter seclusion of harsh hibernation has spawned some pretty amazing artists. Along the snow and ice covered shores of Lake Erie in the Northeast, Cleveland is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame http://www.rockhall.com/.   Once famous for its rubber tire plants, near-by Akron, Ohio notably rolled off the production line one of  the most talented and respected independent/indie/alternative/rock bands in the world, The Black Keys. The Black Keys lead vocalist, musician, guitarist, lyricist, Dan Auerbach and the multi-talented percussionist, writer, and ten foot tall, Patrick Carney joined forces in 2001 to create The Big Come Up (2002). The Big Come Up was only the first of many collaborations for the darling duo including Brothers (2010) and their most commercially successful release to date,  El Camino (2011). There isn't one alternative rock music connoisseur who doesn't have the Grammy and BRIT Award winning, Black Keys CD or download in their collection.
     The Black Keys eighth album, Turn Blue has been anxiously anticipated by fans and critics alike. Turn Blue  will be released in its entirety on May 12th, 2014. The audio/ video slice above is a deliciously edgy taste of much needed medicine. So if you have a "Fever" this is your only prescription for now.