A Few Words In Defense of Our Country - Randy Newman

"Falling Slowly" - Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova

"Wilderness" by Sunny Day Sets Fire

[I will be posting a "review" later. <3]

"Go Call FEMA" - Evan Greer (RiotFolk! Collective)

This boy is the shit.

"Have Love, Will Travel" - The Sonics

"Hip Hop" - Dead Prez

"Let's Get Free"

The Definition of Hardcore

I've been missing real soul-lifting, earth-shaking music as of late. Not because there is a lack of great music, but instead because I have been unable to stop and smell the proverbial roses for the last couple of months. I hate being busy, but at the same time, I love what I am doing (and I always want to do more).

Tonight I was reborn, refreshed, and reinvigorated by the sounds of Broadcast Live, a more-than-just-hip-hop/rock outfit from Albany, New York. The quartet form a quirky collaborative who - in the same concert - covered Dylan and Dead Prez. The music of Broadcast Live is charged with the musical activist electricity of Rage Against the Machine, and their instrumentation is tightly layered and interwoven. Songs draw on jazz, classic rock, folk, punk, hip-hop (old and new), hardcore, and jam while still remaining cohesive and natural.

Playing a mix of songs from their older album Underground, and their yet-to-be-released (sure to be amazing) album Boomerang Metropolis, the band touched on issues that cannot be ignored (gentrification, homophobia, racism, oppression, modern day US slavery, disenchantment, radicalism). At the same time the music flowed and gelled, providing the words steady passage without detracting from their weight. It is difficult to do justice in words alone to a band that uses their own poetry of words and music to convey their beliefs and spread their knowledge. All I can say is that if you are a fan of music, and a fan of justice and the beauty of free expression, listen to Broadcast Live.

Broadcast Live website

Broadcast Live MySpace

Clips from La Chinoise by Jean-Luc Godard

La Chinoise - Trailer

Soundtrack to my Fall: Glasvegas

This fall has landed in my heart holding hands with a massive case of deja vu. I cannot disconnect the two. It isn't that I can remember past events more clearly than I can the rest of the year. Those snapshots of life are still blurry. What is different, and slightly disconcerting, is that I am feeling closer emotionally to the "self" of last year, than I am to my current "self". There are only shades of difference between the two selves, and yet I often feel as if I am being haunted by my own ghost. I suppose this feeling is appropriate given my proximity to Halloween, but it is still slightly confusing.

I found the most appropriate music to soundtrack this feeling: Glasvegas by Glasvegas.

This album is epic in a way that I have not heard since Muse's Black Holes and Revelations (Wow, I just felt a wave of strong deja vu. Black Holes and Revelations happened to play a big role in my life last fall). There is a certain glamor and sheen surrounding Glasvegas which is unusual to find in new artists. I am not certain that I can even do justice to the album with the words at my disposal. In fact, I am not sure that I can process this album with constant replays of emotions from last fall running through my head. Suffice it to say that "It's My Own Cheating Heart that Makes me Cry" and "Lonesome Swan" fill some of the deja vu ridden areas of my brain, allowing me to focus on both the present and the past. Without music, I would be a real mess.

Go watch "Daddy's Gone" on YouTube: "Daddy's Gone" - Glasvegas


Then listen to It's My Own Cheating Heart that Makes me Cry - Glasvegas

Inspiring

This is from xkcd.com

You should go check it out as soon as you possibly can!

"Beard Lust" - Natalie Portman's Shaved Head

I know too many boys with beards.

Prodigal Daughter

Life has been wild for the last few weeks, but no less stuffed with musical discoveries, and I am taking this opportunity to apologize for my lapses as a blog writer. I have allowed this blog to sleep for far too long, and now it's time to vent.

Music defines generations, and often that music is applied to one or more subsets and subcultural movements of future generations. You'll find people in your life who know the words to every song by Bob Dylan; and then, there are those whose passion lies with the spirit of the Grateful Dead on misty mountains in New York. There are people here who own the entire Beatles' collection (in fact, multiple people, who I at once admire and fear).

The thing is, there's a point where obsession becomes less about the object, than about the consumer. There's a point where self-definition is impossible without resorting to listing brand names (band names) and singing the lyrics to other people's songs. In my major life transition, I was subconsciously afraid of resorting to these tactics. I was afraid of realizing myself through music, instead of recognizing the music in myself, so I pulled back.

What have I discovered? One thing is that I am strong enough to sleep without any music. I don't have to self-medicate. At the same time, if I'm trying to wind down after a long night, there's nothing like the Juno and Marie Antoinette soundtracks as lullabies for life. The only lullaby I've heard that made me sleepier faster was being sung the other day in the shower. It was a Hebrew lullaby, and I almost fell asleep while shaving my legs.

Gogol Bordello makes amazing party music and attracts all kinds of people. Ska-P, NOFX, and Sublime are not appropriate studying music. Alanis Morisette makes you feel better when people fuck with you, and Jimi Hendrix can lighten any mood. Rancid is a surprising point of connection for people of all backgrounds, while Apollo Sunshine devotees are almost always local. Focusing on weighty texts is best done while sitting in the beautiful tree outside of the media Yurt, as live jazz is broadcast across the campus. Stringed instruments are my greatest downfall. Live cello and violin hypnotize me like nothing else (although a heavy bass-line can be pretty magical). I love classical music, and though I am illiterate when it comes to its complexity, I cannot concentrate on another thing while I am listening. It consumes my brain.

Until very soon, my lovely blog readers, this is all I have to say. I promise my next post will be filled with musical goodies.

"Hey Jude" by The Beatles

Hey Jude, don't make it bad.
Take a sad song and make it better.
Remember to let her into your heart,
Then you can start to make it better.

Hey Jude, don't be afraid.
You were made to go out and get her.
The minute you let her under your skin,
Then you begin to make it better.

And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain,
Don't carry the world upon your shoulders.
For well you know that it's a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder.

Hey Jude, don't let me down.
You have found her, now go and get her.
Remember to let her into your heart,
Then you can start to make it better.

So let it out and let it in, hey Jude, begin,
You're waiting for someone to perform with.
And don't you know that it's just you, hey Jude, you'll do,
The movement you need is on your shoulder.

Hey Jude, don't make it bad.
Take a sad song and make it better.
Remember to let her under your skin,
Then you'll begin to make it
Better better better better better better, oh.

Na na na na na ,na na na, hey Jude...

"Since You've Been Gone (LIVE)" by Aretha Franklin

My my metrocard, think I'll go a little but then I go far

This week has been difficult for many reasons, but waking up on Tuesday to find no mood-matching music on iTunes definitely left me grasping to fill a hole in my life. The shuffle feature on my iPod was put to good use, because even when the songs failed to match my mood they were at least a nice distraction from the thoughts that were streaming through mt head. I was able to settle down (a little) and actually finish a book! Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan was recommended to me not by a person, but by a trailer directly preceding Pineapple Express. I can already tell that the book is different from the movie. For one thing, the "will you be my girlfriend for five minutes?" that starts the whole crazy night has been reversed (Norah now asks Nick if he'll be her boyfriend for five minutes). Still, the movie looks just about as messy as the book. Let's hope the director didn't banish the randomly kitschy musical references and sing-alongs from the production ("My My Metrocard" by Le Tigre...inspired).

The book gave me a little bit of a "life high", and I found myself inspired to smile and to create a playlist of my own. It's a quick read - maybe 200 pages at most - and it's one of those books that seems to take on a life of its own and suck you into its pages. When you've finished, you should listen to "My My Metrocard" and think about the random awesomeness of life.

A Small Disclaimer

This blog is for fun.

I try to write pieces with integrity, and I work hard to honestly assess the music that I review, but there are times when I am misinformed or when I am unable to see all of the facets of a particular song or artist. I have never claimed to be unbiased, and I seriously doubt that any music reviewer is completely unbiased. Because I realize that often my perceptions, likes, and dislikes are governed by my world-view and my experiences, I generally refrain from writing negative reviews.

It's easy to find things to dislike about a sound, but it is more rewarding to find a certain "twist of this" or a "pinch of that" which can bring the entire song to a new level.

That being said, if I have an issue with an album that I basically enjoyed or with a band that I believe are talented but could improve their sound, I will not shy away from voicing my opinion (and let me remind my lovely readers that it is just one opinion). If you really want to know what you think about the music I'm reviewing, then you need to go listen. There's no substitute for listening to music.

"The Story In Your Eyes" by the Moody Blues

If I were you, I would skip the movie and just listen to the song.






I've been thinking about our fortune
And I've decided that we're really not to blame
For the love that's deep inside us now
Is still the same

And the sound we make together
Is the music to the story in your eyes
It's been shining down upon me now
I realize

Listen to the tide slowly turning
Wash all our heartaches away
We're part of the fire that is burning
And from the ashes we can build another day

But I'm frightened for your children
That the life that we are living is in vain
And the sunshine we've been waiting for
Will turn to rain

Listen to the tide slowly turning
Wash all our heartaches away
We're part of the fire that is burning
And from the ashes we can build another day

But I'm frightened for the children
That the life that we are living is in vain
And the sunshine we've been waiting for
Will turn to rain

When the final line is over
It's certain that the curtain's gonna fall
I can hide inside your sweet sweet love
For ever more

"Just What I Needed (LIVE)" by the Cars

I don't mind you comin' here
and wastin' all my time
'cause when you're standin' oh so near
I kinda lose my mind
it's not the perfume that you wear
it's not the ribbons in your hair
I don't mind you comin' here
and wastin' all my time

I don't mind you hangin' out
and talkin' in your sleep
it doesn't matter where you've been
as long as it was deep, yeah
I always knew you'd marry well and
you look so fancy I can tell
I don't mind you hangin' out
and talkin' in your sleep

I guess you're just what I needed
(just what I needed)
I needed someone to feed
I guess you're just what I needed
(just what I needed)
I needed someone to bleed

I don't mind you comin' here
and wastin' all my time time
'cause when you're standin' oh so near
I kinda lose my mind, yeah
it's not the perfume that you wear
it's not the ribbons in your hair
I don't mind you comin' here
and wastin' all my time

I guess you're just what I needed
(just what I needed)
I needed someone to feed
I guess you're just what I needed
(just what I needed)
I needed someone to bleed

I guess you're just what I needed
(just what I needed)
I needed someone to feed
I guess you're just what I needed
(just what I needed)
I needed someone to plead
yeah, yeah, so plead me

you're just what I needed
you're just what I needed
yeah, you're just what I needed
yeah, yeah yeah

"A-Punk" by Vampire Weekend

Darker and Darker (My Love)

Since probably the early nineties popular alternative music has been extremely cyclical. There are definitely creative souls and bands who challenge the status quo - some, even, who have had a modicum of success - but not since the late grunge movement has there really been a new and defining alternative sound for the times. Most bands fall on a spectrum of derivation, and can be elegantly pinpointed as denizens of the recycled sounds of a different era. The Strokes, the Kaiser Chiefs, the Killers all looked to late 1970s glam rock and 1980s post-punk for inspiration. Wolfmother came tumbling fully-formed from the ear of Jimmy Page. Vampire Weekend (with one of the more creative musical recycling projects) seems to be trying to hybridize the sounds of Paul Simon, the Beatles, and Buddy Holly. You know that Amy Winehouse character? She's one talented lady, but her sound is very much a product of her forbears. Now we have two bands who have latched onto the sounds of two particular bands: Jefferson Airplane and the Doors.

Darker My Love is a band from L.A. who channel the heavy psychedelics of the Doors. On "Blue Day" off their new album 2 they buzz and hover with their guitars, while the syncopated drumming pounds the whole concoction into your head. "Northern Soul" off the same album has a wailing guitar intro that sometimes sounds like a distorted bird call (the Flying V is at it again). Consistency and length are two attributes of the songs on 2 that closely tie them to the sounds of the Doors. These attributes are coupled with a dark almost creepy sound that gives way to animated solos. Unfortunately, Darker My Love is not in possession of a front man like Jimmy Morrison. Morrison could channel the energy of the listener into a dark and distorted song, with a charisma that ran through his voice like an electric current. He acted as the translator for a sound that was almost too strange for people to enjoy. Darker My Love has very safe vocalists in their guitar players Tim Preston and Rob Barbato, and their music suffers from that safety. If the band wants to channel the Doors (which they most certainly are doing) then they should also mic the organ/clavinet ramblings of Will Canzoneri in a way that makes them a more prominent part of their music. Ray Manzarek made organ solos extremely cool, why shouldn't Canzoneri do the same?. Unless they're looking to be particularly original, Darker My Love should capitalize on the achievements of their musical forefathers.

Shock Cinema likes their literary references, and they've taken the "White Rabbit" concept to a whole different level. Hell and Highwater begins with reference to a "Leviathan" and ends with the song "Dead Sea". "Leviathan" calls to mind the creature in Melville, with dark and heavy guitar grumbling and mechanical precision; it's a deadly song. "Dead Sea" on the other hand heavily buys into guitar symphonics and mythical language that references the Devil and other familiar characters. They both have aspects of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" (and other songs like "Embryonic Journey" and "Plastic Fantastic Lover" off of Surrealistic Pillow). There's definitely some hero-worship going on here, because Shock Cinema ***vocalist Autry Fulbright*** (See Edit below) channels Grace Slick throughout Hell and Highwater. Often Destiny Montague's voice isn't as sharp or clear as Slick's, but she has found a nice balance between hard and soft sounds that gives her an added fierceness.

What can you really say about bands that so closely resemble a sound that has had its time in the spotlight? I find myself wanting to compare their music to fanfiction. You know your favorite artist is done creating, but you still want to read or listen to more of their work. What do you do? You can create your own versions of the same song, or you can come up with a sound that's new and fresh. There's nothing bad about Darker My Love or Shock Cinema, they just aren't the same as the real thing and they aren't distancing themselves enough to be genre-defining. These bands are playing to the past; but they can't live up to history, they need to create it.


***This is the kind of mistake that happens when you're writing while tired. Not acceptable, but a little understandable. If you look at the comment below, you will see that Fulbright is actually not the vocalist, but a multi-instrumentalist. Destiny Montague is the vocalist for Shock Cinema. Miyuki Furtado completes the musical trio (who according to Myspace, pull in other artists from time to time). Shock Cinema happens to have an intriguing biography The Legend of Shock Cinema on their website.