After the Arcade Fire became the world’s biggest indie band (claiming the title from The Shins), it seemed to foster a need breed of bands incorporating violins, accordions and other non-traditional rock instruments into a band’s regular lineup. Despite all the praise I place on noisy bands like Health and AIDS Wolf, I’ve got to admit I’m a sucker for a good orchestral pop-rock piece from time to time.

Ra Ra Riot
I had originally intended to use Ra Ra Riot as fodder to spark the rest of the bands mentioned in this post. The inclusion of a cello and violin in their band lump them into that Arcade Fire-ish category. They’re probably one of my favorites in the genre, but I could just be biased considering they graduated from the same university as I did:

Miracles of Modern Science
I first heard Miracles of Modern Science this year and was instantly impressed. The New York City-based band have almost abandoned rock instruments completely in favor of a variety of classical stringed ones (only drums remain).

Ravens and Chimes
The only atypical instrument in Ravens and Chimes may be a flute, but they still hit upon the same vibe as the rest of the bands on this list.

Jean on Jean
Ex-Out Hud member Molly Schnick’s new project Jean on Jean has her fronting the band while playing cello. It’s a little more mellow than a lot of the other bands on this list, but it’s also just so damn beautiful.

Decemberists
Even though they are now signed to Capitol Records and seem larger than life, it would be a shame to not mention the Decemberists on a list of bands who use some creative instrumentation. Though Colin Meloy can venture into singer-songwriter territory at times, the Decemberists are quintessential when they take full advantage of their wide variety of talents.

The movie soundtrack CD jumped the shark in the ’90s–back when they changed the titles discs from “Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” or “Music from the Motion Picture” to “Music from or Inspired by the Motion Picture.” This became standard over the past decade or so, but it appears that the entertainment biz is ready to take this already weird and confusing situation one step further.

Tropic Thunder already has a soundtrack, but when you buy the DVD (if you happen to buy it at Wal*Mart), it’ll be packaged with a bonus CD, Songs Inspired by the Tropic Thunder Soundtrack. Yeah, you heard that right, a CD of songs not even inspired by the film, but inspired by the soundtrack of the film.

I hope it’s a joke. Tropic Thunder‘s self-reflexive humor mocked the movie making process and Hollywood studio culture; it only makes sense that they’d create a CD poking fun at other movie soundtrack CDs. Plus, consider all songs on the bonus disc are actually FROM the official soundtrack disc, it stands to reason that the phrase “inspired by” was used as an intentional jab.

I guess it’s just evidence of how the genre of the soundtrack has really fallen downhill these days. The fact that a movie can poke fun of this “inspired by” way of marketing soundtracks should wake up Hollywood AND the music industry. They probably won’t listen. Such a shame, especially when there are plenty of bands more than ready to start making music for films:

Man, if there’s a city you don’t think is indie, it’s probably Vegas. The place shouts corporate in big bright blinky letters. But that’s not the only side of Vegas! There’s another side, but you might need a bus to get there, according to Doug Levitt:

It seems like one of the biggest stories of the week was Lil Wayne’s appearance at the CMA Awards. That’s C-M-A, which stands for COUNTRY MUSIC ASSOCIATION. I like “Lollipop” and “A Milli” as much as the next guy, but does he really have any place near anything labeled as country music?

Okay, granted, Wayne didn’t do any rapping on stage; he just played some basic guitar and acted like the ultimate hypeman for Kid Rock. Wait…Kid Rock?!? What’s HE doing on a country music stage? I’ve heard for years that fans of country felt like it has lost its way and is no longer true to form–Kid Rock’s appearance cemented that sentiment. I don’t deny Kid Rock has made great inroads with country music. But purists still take issue with Garth Brooks, yet somehow we’re supposed to believe Kid Rock is the genuine article?

I guess with the music industry, you take all the exposure you can get. Though I still question Lil Wayne’s appearance. The last time country and rap mixed we got Cowboy Troy, and who remembers him?

Fortunately, there’s not only still plenty of authentic country to be had down in Nashville, but also other music as well (at least if we are to believe Mathew Perryman Jones):

Takka Takka and other city-enamored borough dwellers may have to kiss their indie digs goodbye soon if Governor Patterson and Mayor Bloomberg have their way. In case you hadn’t heard, New York is in the midst of an epic crisis on scale with the infamous Stay Puft Marshmallow Man incident of the 80′s. Unfortunately, proton packs and sheer bravado can’t fix things again, because the form The Destroyer has chosen to take this time is massive debt. In other words, New York State is fuckin’ broke, and the bookies are starting to call about their money.

Rather than take a few shattered kneecaps for their constituency, our fine governor and power-crazy mayor–who, I might add, were in charge of the failed budgets and ridiculously wrong projections that got us into this mess–have decided to pass the burden onto a public who are already being squeezed like Kirstie Alley in a size two dress.

(READ MORE THINKING OUTSIDE THE BUDGET CRISIS BOX)

Though I’ve done previous RIYL features here on Uncensored Interview (with Health and Parts &Labor), I’m hopefully turning it into a regular feature. This week the focus is on The Mae Shi.

Bark Bark Bark from The Mae Shi:
When I saw that The Mae Shi were one of the featured bands this week, I knew I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to talk about the member’s electronic side project, Bark Bark Bark. Mainly the brainchild of Mae Shi-er Jacob Cooper, Bark Bark Bark finds a home on Retard Disco. In fact, a lot of similar artists find their way to the Los Angeles-based label. It’s been said before that electronic music may be the new punk rock, but there are some artists who prove that a musician can do both.

(MORE RETARDED SIDE PROJECTS)

I’ve been making changes in my life lately just to see what happens. A few thoughts have occurred to me since I started trying to do things differently and one of those things is that it’s tough to find things to do differently. Fortunately Bronx hip-hop duo Shootyz Groove has given me a few ideas.

I’m sure eventually I’ll get to the part where I try all different types of women, though as a straight woman I’m not sure what that means to me. For now though I’ve chosen to try all different types of food.

Every time I go to a restaurant I order the exact same thing. If I go out for Thai I get chicken pad thai, Italian is spaghetti bolognese, breakfast is poached eggs and sausage or bacon, Indian is chana masala. I’ve decided to make a new rule for myself that I have to order something I usually wouldn’t.

I’ve been out to a restaurant three times since I decided to do this and all three times I jumped off my own beaten path, throwing caution to the wind by trying something new. I was rewarded with some delicious experiences. It made me pay attention and enjoy the experience as opposed to just satisfying my hunger or craving.

I realized that by ordering the same thing all the time I’m just trying to avoid disappointment. I want to know what I’m getting. It’s the theory that all chain restaurants are built around. People want things that are familiar. Apparently it became more important to me to get something familiar than risk being disappointed and get something that might be incredible. I eat three times a day! How is the possibility of one bad meal too risky? It makes me wonder what other ways in my life I’m being non-flexible in an attempt to avoid disappointment.