Japandroids & Reviews of Green Day and The xx
Canadian garage rockers Japandroids join Jim and Greg onstage for a special taping of Sound Opinions Live at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall.

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This week American and European
Are you one of the three remaining people on earth who haven't seen Psy's "Gangnam Style" video? Better get hip fast. The South Korean rapper just broke the Guinness Book of World Records' entry for most YouTube likes (2.2 million). Back in June Sound Opinions prophesied that K-pop - Korean pop music - was poised to make a big splash in the States. But even Jim admits he never thought the genre's breakout star would be a rotund rapper singing about a posh Seoul neighborhood.
Japandroids
This summer three hundred fans joined Jim and Greg for a sold-out live taping of Sound Opinions at Chicago's Lincoln Hall. The night's special guests? Canadian
!Uno! Green Day

As a band Green Day is so firmly rooted in the adolescent mindset, it's easy to forget how much history they have. As Jim points out, Green Day predates the nineties alternative era. They started out as an East Bay band riffing on the Ramones and playing VFW halls. Today they have a musical, American Idiot, and nine studio albums to their name. The ninth, !Uno! is just out. Billed as a "back to basics" record, Greg says !Uno! really samples from several of Green Day's eras - from the teenage sneer of Dookie, to the "Time of Your Life" balladry of Nimrod. What's missing on !Uno!, he says, is the ambition of the band's later records, American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown. For Greg, Green Day's harkening back to its teenage self (particularly in its foul language on this record) feels like a step backward. He gives !Uno! a Trash It. Jim agrees !Uno! is a big disappointment. The only thing that saves it from the garbage heap is the great Dookie-era production of Rob Cavallo. Jim gives !Uno! a Try It.
Coexist The xx

Jim and Greg close out this week's show with a review of the sophomore album by The xx. This trio of London art students enjoyed a rapid rise after the release of their self-titled debut. Not only did The xx win
Featured Songs
- Sex Pistols, "EMI," Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, Virgin, 1977
- PSY, "Gangnam Style," Psy 6 (Six Rules), Universal, 2012
- The Japandroids, "The House That Heaven Built," Celebration Rock, Polyvinyl Record Co., 2012
- Age of Electric, "Ugly," The Age of Electric, Gods Teeth Ethel, 1993
- Atlas Strategic, "Smooth Nights," That's Familiar!, Self-released, 2002
- Japandroids, "Evil's Sway (Live on SO)," Celebration Rock, Polyvinyl Record Co., 2012
- Japandroids, "For the Love of Ivy," Celebration Rock, Polyvinyl Record Co., 2012
- Japandroids, "The House That Heaven Built," Celebration Rock, Polyvinyl Record Co., 2012
- Japandroids, "Rockers East Vancouver," Post-Nothing, Polyvinyl Record Co., 2009
- Japandroids, "The Nights of Wine and Roses," Celebration Rock, Polyvinyl Record Co., 2012
- Japandroids, "Fire's Highway (Live on SO)," Celebration Rock, Polyvinyl Record Co., 2012
- Japandroids, "Continuous Thunder," Celebration Rock, Polyvinyl Record Co., 2012
- The Replacements, "Can't Hardly Wait," Pleased to Meet Me, Sire, 1987
- Japandroids, "Younger Us (Live on SO)," Celebration Rock, Polyvinyl Record Co., 2012
- Japandroids, "Adrenaline Nightshift," Celebration Rock, Polyvinyl Record Co., 2012
- Green Day, "Oh Love," !Uno!, Reprise, 2012
- Green Day, "Kill the DJ,"!Uno!, Reprise, 2012
- The xx, "Angels," Coexist, Young Turks, 2012
- The xx, "Chained," Coexist, Young Turks, 2012
- Flying Lotus, "Putty Boy Strut," Until the Quiet Comes, Warp, 2012
- Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz, "The Telephone Song," Getz au Go Go, Verve, 1965
- El-P, "Request Denied," Cancer 4 Cure, Fat Possum, 2012
Dear Listeners,
For more than 15 years, Sound Opinions was a production of WBEZ, Chicago's public radio station. Now that the show is independent, we're inviting you to join the band and lend a hand! We need your support more than ever because now we have to do all the behind-the-scenes work that WBEZ handled before (like buying insurance and paying for podcast hosting, ugh). Plus, we have some exciting ideas we'd like to try now that there's no one to tell us no!