Song of the Day - The Rapture: "No Sex for Ben"

It's really an amazing thing to see how different the music industry is today than five or ten years ago. No longer is the CD the medium of choice when it comes to marketing and distributing music. Today, digital downloads, social media (think iLike, imeem, Last.fm, MySpace, and Pandora), blogs, TV commercials, and video games provide more exposure for artists than ever before.

The newest installment of the enormously popular Grand Theft Auto video game franchise illustrates this concept wonderfully. In it you can control the music playing on the car stereo by switching between 18 different radio stations. Not only did Rockstar Games include a diverse roster of artists for the game's soundtrack (including Thin Lizzy, The Who, Fela Kuti, Philip Glass, Justice, Kanye West, Aphex Twin and John Coltrane, among many others), but they also give gameplayers the ability to purchase MP3's of the songs they hear directly within the game. No need to hop on your computer and look around, simply text Amazon from the in-game cell phone and you can have that Liquid Liquid track on your iPod in minutes. Now this is what I call innovation!

Considering Grand Theft Auto IV sold 3.5 million copies ON THE FIRST DAY of its release, it's safe to say that many of the artists included on the soundtrack have never sold anywhere near that many albums/singles before, so why not jump on the bandwagon if you are given the chance? The Rapture followed through on this no-brainer by contributing this previously unreleased track to GTA IV.

Produced by Timbaland, who also performs beatboxing duties, "No Sex for Ben" sounds exactly like what you'd expect from The Rapture. That is, it's catchy and fun and doesn't stray from the formula that yielded the band's last two excellent albums. It's not their best song, but it's far from their worst and it's the first new track I've heard from them in nearly two years. That alone is enough to warrant the Song of the Day honor in my book. Besides, if you own a video game console then chances are you've heard it already.

The Rapture - "No Sex for Ben" (from Grand Theft Auto IV Soundtrack)

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The Rapture @ The Mayan Theatre, Los Angeles 07/25/2007 - Photo Essay

This may be a little late, but this is the last show I went to before I started this blog and if you were there you would agree the statute of limitations on how long you can wait before you blog about a concert is still safely in the distance. With that said. . .

The Rapture took a break from supporting Daft Punk and took over headlining duties on consecutive nights at the Mayan Theatre in Downtown L.A. Having already purchased tickets for the second show in advance, I had the pleasure of winning tickets to the first night, courtesy of my friends at LAist. Never the one to turn down free tickets to anything, I jumped at the chance to see them on back-to-back nights. For some reason, cameras weren't allowed inside on Thursday, so all of these photos were taken Wednesday night from my close vantage point, which was miles better than the night after.One thing that always stands out to me every time I see these guys is how they become better showmen with each performance. Luke Jenner keeps adding to his rock bravado by engaging the crowd with poses and gesticulations that only people with a guitar in their hands can pull off.

Another highlight (as always) was Gabriel Andruzzi and his feverish brand of multi-instrumentation. It seemed like he never tires of dancing while playing the sax, keyboards and cowbell.

Speaking of the cowbell, this devoted fan decided there was only one prescription for his fever. Seriously, he started whacking on that thing and marching through the crowd with about 10 people following him.

More Luke Jenner theatrics...


I left this show (number six and counting) with the same thought I always have, which was The Rapture get better each and every time I see them. Already can't wait for number seven! >>>Continue reading "The Rapture @ The Mayan Theatre, Los Angeles 07/25/2007 - Photo Essay"