Jared Weiss shares his glorious new album “Isolated Thunderstorms” which intrigued our ears from start to finish. Based in New York City, Weiss brings ‘back to basics Rock’ to the table that pleases the ears and then some. On the album he showcases his talents as both a storyteller and musician, all while creating a captivating release.
Jared Weiss has shared about the record:
“Isolated Thunderstorms is an auto-biographical confessional, born out of a life or death need to tell the truth. I threw away the love of my life because I was too sick to care. My mind was warped. I hit rock bottom. What choices did I make to get me to this place of isolation? In order to re-examine the tragic, macabre moments of my life, I first had to embrace them. I don’t know if I understand them, but Isolated Thunderstorms is my response to my examination.”
On the album Weiss brings a golden touch and lyrical wit to the table. Each song on the record stands strongly on its alone, though comes together perfectly as a while. With pieces such as “Almost All of Me,” and “Get Out of My Head” as two ultimate favorites, the entirety of the record flows beautifully. Time and Time again Jared Weiss impresses, and this is truly only the beginning…
The Slang have recently released their ambitious EP, “Desperate Times,” and we can’t stop listening. The group made quite an endeavor of the record, they recorded the release in several different studios and cities, to make every song on the record feel a little like home and to bring new ears into the mix. On the EP we hear a band that is clearly making music on their own terms.
As they call Washington DC home, the group bring together influences of artists such as Matt Pond PA, Rogue Wave, Death Cab for Cutie and Nada Surf…quite a round up! Blending elements of blissful indie rock, the group set forth to bring a record that is truly their own.
I found myself immediately head over heels with tracks such as “Breakdown” and “Harm,” which help to carry the record throughout. Lead single “Is It Any,” equally enticed my ears, as the band shows they are no one-trick pony. Showing they have staying power, The Slang, is a name that you should make yourself acquainted with. We’re in love!
Keith Cooper is on fire with his new video for “American French Revolution.” A promising piece that shows the true essence of Cooper himself as both a songwriter and performer, the video has us on the edge of our seat within every turn. Gearing up for a release to drop sooner than later, we caught up with Keith Cooper as he dives into the video and talks about the artistic vision that went into creating the epic release.
Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically?
Great to talk with you Modern Mystery! This song was such fun to write. If I can take a song in a pseudo-historical and absurd direction you better believe I’m going to do it. I’ve always been fascinated by the French Revolution, and I decided I’d try my hand at an updated and Americanized retelling of it. It seems especially relevant right now. Lyrically, the song is so image driven that it seemed a perfect fit to be made into a video. I mean, a 21stcentury Marie Antoinette angering the foodie masses because she doesn’t realize cake isn’t gluten free…isn’t that fun? I hope so. I wanted to choose a song I could make a fun video out of that doesn’t take itself too seriously. But still was saying something at the same time.
What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?
I wanted to portray a local café erupting in a revolution highlighted by a food fight of organic proportions. People on their laptops sipping coffee, everyday conversation – then all of a sudden a few “Napoleon” characters start trickling into the café sewing dissension. The chaos really being set off when a barista version of Marie Antoinette shoves a cake in the face of a “Napoleon” customer with certain dietary restrictions. I had a lot of fun thinking about absurd little details and scenes to include. The guillotine pin on my jacket, the toy horse stick, dueling Eiffel towers, Uncle Sam crumbling a scone over a customer’s head – these were all ideas that made me laugh, so I figured that was an indication they belonged in the video. I wanted shots of the band playing amidst all this, but with no one paying us any particular attention. Which I totally get – there was a revolution to attend to after all!
What was the process of making this video?
We filmed this video in one night, and what an incredibly fun night it was! I I’ve worked at Bloc Café in Somerville, MA for many years, and the owners were generous enough to let me use the café as the setting for this video. Friends, coworkers, and regulars all came by to help us film after the shop closed up for the day. We started loading equipment in right as we were kicking customers out. I was actually the closing manager the night of the video shoot, so I went straight from work mode to revolution mode. It felt like a very natural transition actually. Ha. I was fortunate enough to get to work with the videographer Craig Shannon. His video for the Speedy Ortiz song “Raising the Skate” caught my eye, and we were really on the same page about what type of video we wanted for American French Revolution. Which, of course, made the filming process even more fun. Filming ended around 4am that morning, and it was after 5 by the time we had totally cleaned up all evidence of the food fight(s) from the premises. Just in time for the café to open up shop on a Saturday morning.
Modern Mystery 