The good, bad and inconclusive : 'Google Music' testing underway

iTunes could finally have a legitimate competitor in Google.

CNET reported multiple music industry sources say that Google is testing its prototype music service on its own servers. With the title "Google music," the service would work through the Android market.

But that's not all. The new application was supposed to be ready for late 2010, but the search engine is bogged down in publishing agreements with the four major labels: Sony, Universal, Warner Music and EMI.

While we don't know many hard details yet, there's going to be a lot of speculation until Google's I/O Conference in May. But if you're a consumer, Google Music seems like an endgame to this era's battle with the music industry. Outlined below are some of the situations that Google, the music industry and consumers will have to deal with, should Google Music be launched.

ON CLOUD NINE 
You know how Google Docs works, right? A document is saved on your Gmail account, and you can access all your work from any computer, all the time, via your email. This is cloud computing, the device that Google has excelled at more than any other service, even though they're losing millions of dollars every day by giving it to you, the consumer. That's because they make all this money back (and much, much more) in search advertising. It's a service, it's free and it's simple. What consumer doesn't want this?

Just think of your music library in this style. Imagine all your (legally) downloaded music, on a cloud. And while reports indicate Google Music would most likely be a streaming service, that's still your library that you can pull up at any time. And if you have an Android phone with 3G/Wi-Fi, it could all be on there too.

THE GOOD NEWS (FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE BAD NEWS)
It could be a while before we see this. Even if tests are going well on the Google homefront, it doesn't change the fact that Google doesn't have any music to stream. And even with the four majors in talks with Google, we're not taking into account the independent labels that don't upstream or publish via a major.

Could Google even afford the amount of royalties these labels would charge? If you think the RIAA charged a bit much for a couple of downloads, Google's library would surpass tens of millions of dollars in mechanical licenses and song royalties. At that point, it doesn't matter how many people are using your open system, someone else is probably going to have to pay.

BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY
Some things are still inconclusive about Google Music, the largest question being, "What will become of the music industry?" If Google begins to wage war against iTunes, prepare for a long, ragged dogfight.

If you give a moose a muffin, he'll probably want some milk. And pretty soon Google will need its own MP3 player. And then its own recommendation engine. And then a doppelganger to Genius. The list goes on an on. Similar to iTunes, Google is a prime example of the benefits of complete vertical integration.

The difficulty in seeing how this specific situation plays out: Who is willing to give up their iPod and iTunes to take a chance on Google? While they by no means have a monopoly (digital downloads only received about 31 percent of total music sales in 2009), iTunes is definitely the banner name for digital music. And what about other subscription catalogues like Rhapsody?

When you're running up against an Internet giant who might as well have "We own you" as its slogan, smaller music services will have a tough time competing with Google's potential streaming service.

Dance Gavin Dance embattled on 'Downtown Battle Mountain II'

8.2/10
[Rise Records, 2011]

A couple of weeks ago, Dance Gavin Dance scream vocalist Jon Mess described their new release as “a chaotic mess,” a narrative that closely reflected the band’s emotional state. The day of this week’s release, Downtown Battle Mountain II, clean vocalist Johnny Craig finished rehab for multiple addictions. Craig, who returned recently after being forced out of Dance Gavin Dance following the original Downtown Battle Mountain, canceled all his shows save DGD and his other band Emarosa, an outfit with buckets of buzz at the apex of MySpace’s musical exposure.

With his close ties to social media, it should come as no surprise that Craig would front a band with the musical mentality of a seventh grader that knows how to play just about every harmonic riff and lick in the book.

And here we are again. Back with Dance Gavin Dance’s original lineup (minus guitarist Sean O’Sullivan), for a continuation of their first LP.

The assumptions are true: The sounds are quirky, soulful, apocalyptic, scattered, melodic and dissonant all at the same time (to name only a handful of adjectives.) The record is confusing, no getting around that. But DGD’s juxtaposition of funky-punky instrumentation, high-range vocals and aggressive screams is what makes this band one of the most remarkable in today’s screamo scene. The sequel to Downtown Battle Mountain is a mess; in the same way Jackson Pollock’s dripping phase is a mess.

Meandering guitar riffs from brainchild Will Swan bounce from opposite speakers like a game of Pong. This is hardly a negative consequence, though: Swan’s virtuosity is a tight rambling of high frequencies and melodic up-tempo punches that spin your brain upside down at a rate of umpteen times per second.

Though it’s in line with every other DGD album to date, including the self-titled release and Happiness with interim lead singer Kurt Travis, DBMII makes a newly syncopated impression on old fans. Songs like “Blue Dream” and “Privilously Poncheezied” showcase Craig’s popular influences, making a strong case that his voice rivals the King of Pop’s on the second side of Thriller.

The eccentric songwriting brings immense humor to an emo scene desperately in need of some honesty. “Thug City” bluntly reminds us the main reason many musicians get into the business: getting laid. “Pounce Bounce” has Mess musing, “What’s it like to be an atheist? / Are you okay with suicide?” It can be pretty grim, but only if you’re not thinking of all the scenesters he’s fucking with.

Craig’s overt chauvinism is tired though, and eyes will roll with his shouts of “What color are your fucking eyes?” and “Dance Gavin Dance, baby!” that appear as the played-out form of a mixtape distributed on a Brooklyn sidewalk.

The only problem is that we’ve been hearing DGD shout about one-night stands and relationship problems since 2006’s Everything I Say is Royal Ocean.

But unorthodox compositions for the sole purpose of providing rhythm give way to frustration. There has to be enough people that might like to know why Mess is completely indecipherable on about 80 percent of the album, even when his rhythmic howling on “Need Money” is simply addictive. By the time “Swan Soup” — track 10 of 11 — hits your ears, some listeners might be ready to retreat from the battle.

To enjoy DBMII, you have to endure a few listen-throughs. But after noticing the seamless transitions on tracks, the twisting nonsense of DGD starts to hold some clarity. Some fans are probably going to be disappointed and frustrated with the band’s revamped sound and relatively carbon copy lyricism. But what frustrates others will excite people that are ready to see Dance Gavin Dance running in place: ever-changing, yet always the same.

Dropkick Murphys not yet ready to go 'Out in Style'

[7.7/10]
Born & Bred Records, 2011

The story has repeated itself several times in the last half century: A punk band puts out a few hits in their heyday and, in the midst of trying to get their swing back while changing hands over the past three decades, they keep playing those same hits that got them famous in the first place. And while Dropkick Murphys have always got new stuff to play for a hungry Irish audience, relatively new fans and skeptics might think the band is teetering on the brink of redundancy.

Let’s back up for a second, because this needs clarity. Taken individually, every one of DKM’s records is anthemic, a gusty combat boot to the face. After getting some considerable airplay with “The Gauntlet” off 2001’s Sing Loud, Sing Proud!, the Boston misfits became a punk staple with Blackout. Soon followed by The Warrior’s Code, unduely famous for only the raucous “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” they released The Meanest of Times in 2007. It was their most ambitious album to date, breaking the mold that punk couldn’t use mandolins and banjos to rouse a crowd.

But here we are, four years later, and listening to their attempt at a concept album, Going Out in Style. DKM are still trying to break the mold, determined and hungry to be taken seriously, but are easily pigeonholed in their position as a good Irish punk band.

Again, it’s not to say the songs themselves aren’t good. “Hang ‘Em High” is a valiant overture full of wartime bravado, and the eponymous track is probably going to be playing in every northeastern pub by Major League Baseball’s opening day.

There’s also a tradeoff in listenability. Crunchier songs have more insightful, wise lyrics than ever before, including the single “Memorial Day.” Bassist Ken Casey and lead vocalist Al Barr wax poetic when channeling the concept’s narrator, immigrant Cornelius Larkin. “I was young and I wouldn’t hear it, you had opinions I had mine too / Just a kid with all the answers, pompous pride and not one clue,” shows that the Murphys have gained a sense of life’s teachings through all those skinhead years two decades ago. And the coupling of “Deeds Not Words” and the stripped-down jigfest “Take ‘Em Down” are uncanny protest folk songs worthy of the legendary name Woody Guthrie.

But, as mentioned earlier, there’s a rigid dichotomy between songs with good songwriting and others that are just unlistenable. Snoozefest ballads “Cruel” and “1953” seemingly do nothing to provide context to the concept, and don’t have as much gusto as previous greats “Forever” and “Fairmount Hill.”

And it’s difficult to give the Boston bruisers any lenience on the term “concept.” Bouncing from the mid-19^th Century-dated “Broken Hymns” and leaping to “Sunday Hardcore Matinee,” which references Bad Brains of all bands, it’s hard to take them seriously when they try to tell a story that hasn’t already been set up for them, regarding the massive amount of cover songs they strive to perfect.

When we take a look at the overall direction of DKM, however, it’s probably best if we pay attention to the band as their fans always have: with a sincere sense of appreciation. The band doesn't necessarily have to keep playing the same blue-collar, northern Isle tunes over again, but they do because their fans devour it, and they have fun playing it. Whether listening to a studio recording or watching the 2009 performance of Live on Lansdowne, it’s obvious that the band has an insatiable appetite for having fun.

So when you finish the record to Casey and the great Bruce Springsteen throwing their gravel-filled voices across the bar on “Peg O’ My Heart,” you’ll remember the band’s not doing this for the exposure on Fuse, or a stuffy label that wants more pop sensitivity. They just want to play the damn tune one more time. Now that’s something to which I can raise a glass of Guinness.

Selected Songs: "Take 'Em Down" | "Memorial Day"