March 9th, 2010 § 0
Thought I’d post some new music today.
Deftones – Rocket Skates (Single)
First new release from the Deftones in over 4 years—and it rocks.
Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
Another band with a 4-year hiatus. Got to love a band made up of cartoon characters that’s still cooler than you’ll ever be.
We Were Promised Jet Packs – The Last Place You’ll Look
Great little moody 5-song EP. Echoes of Joy Division.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Beat the Devil’s Tattoo
Yes.
February 15th, 2010 § 1
I grew up in Seattle and spent a good portion of my youth attending shows in the vibrant, local Christian alternative music scene of the early 1990s and following bands like Poor Old Lu and Soulfood 76. One of my favorite bands was Pedro the Lion, which consisted of David Bazan and various revolving musicians.
The first time I saw Pedro the Lion was at a small church show with about fifteen other people. The music was moving, and I was instantly enamored with David’s heart-felt and honest lyrics and the raw emotionalism of his music. It seemed that David was speaking things that those of us who grew up in the evangelical church world were afraid to say out loud. His focus on sin, pain, heartache, and struggles with faith were what we were all experiencing – but he was actually talking about it. It was liberating.
David became a sort of folk hero for us all.
Perhaps this is why I’m so saddened when I think about David and his recent struggle with and abandonment of Christianity. If you haven’t heard about David’s story, you should read this article. It’s moving and heartbreaking to me.
What’s saddest to me is that David’s story isn’t all that different from my own. I’ve had the same struggles of faith as him. Yet, by God’s grace, I’ve come out more assured (at times!) of my faith. David didn’t. And I could just have easily come out of my struggles with the same conclusions as him.
If you haven’t heard his latest album, Curse Your Branches, I highly recommend you listen to it. But be warned. It’s basically a break-up album with God. And it’s very raw. In fact, I’d saw it’s the most pitch-perfect depiction of post-evangelical angst I’ve come across.
Every time I listen to the album, I’m struck by it’s honesty–and if I’m honest with myself, I see reflections of my own psyche in hundreds of different ways. Ironically, listening to David’s album has strengthened my faith by making me wrestle with the same hard questions with which he wrestles. Only I come up with different answers.
Below is one of my favorite songs on the album as performed at a house show recently.
January 7th, 2010 § 0
What do you get when you bring together the bassist for Led Zeppelin, that guy who used to drum for Nirvana, and the lead man for Queens of the Stone Age?
Them Crooked Vultures.
If you love rock and roll, you’ll love this.
December 31st, 2009 § 2
It’s hard to believe that another decade is in the books. Tomorrow we move from the aughts to the tens and begin the ascent to what will hopefully be another roaring twenties. It’s bittersweet to say goodbye to the decade of my twenties. So much of who I am was solidified over the aughts. And it was a pretty good decade for music too. Some of my favorite albums of all time were produced over the last ten years, and it took a while to whittle down the list. But I present to you my Top 10 Albums of the Decade.
I’m ashamed to say that my little sister is the one who introduced me to The Distillers while I was in college. Who can keep up with the kids’ music these days? I wasn’t expecting much since I generally listened to sappy Indie music (as most of this list attests), but I did have a punk streak back in my high school days. The first riff of the first song had me hooked. It’s not often so much angst can be captured so melodically in the punk genre, and so much anger can be undergirded by so much sadness. The album was not like anything I’d heard before. Oh, and the lead singer, Brody Dale, is a girl…I know it doesn’t sound like it. And really her energy and passion make the record. If you like punk at all, you have to give this a spin.
If I were going to be a member of a heathen rock band, Queens of the Stone Age would be it. I mean here is a band that pretty much epitomizes everything I’ve come to expect a rock band to be. Drugs, sex, band blow outs…they’re all here. But beyond their less than desirable moral example, these guys know how to rock. They balance raw, emotional rock and roll with sheer fun. And Songs for the Deaf is their best work by far. Crisp guitar riffs, a driving old school rock style, and incredible arrangements bring to mind a modern day Black Sabbath. And Josh Homme’s voice is simply awesome.
I remember the first time I ever heard Arcade Fire. I was working for Tully’s Coffee in Seattle, managing one of the downtown stores. Because I had just graduated from college, I didn’t have a car, so I was borrowing my dad’s bright-red Pontiac Fiero. As I was driving to our company headquarters in Georgetown, a run down industrial neighborhood on the south side, the dj on The End introduced this band as the most unique band she’d heard in her entire life. Needless to say, I was intrigued. And when she powered up “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)”, I was hooked. Arcade Fire juxtaposes happy sounding indie pop with such gentle melancholia, that if you weren’t careful you’d think that life was grand for the band. The album is heavily orchestrated with nuanced and extremely interesting instrumentals that create distinct listening experiences for me almost every time. Arcade defines intelligent rock, and Funeral is their best.
I grew up in Seattle and quite frankly wasn’t that into Modest Mouse. I found them to be too angular for my taste at the time. But that all changed when I took a chance on Good News For People Who Love Bad News. The angularity was still there, but it was also tempered with some really impressive melodies and their famous angst and rebellion nature had matured into the ennui of our generation. It was an album that, at the time, I could greatly relate too. I was fresh out of school with no idea what I wanted to do with my life. And the temptation was just to “Float On”. The lyrics of this album are much more approachable than other albums, and the orchestration added great depth to their sound – while ostracizing many of their old fans.
Words can’t really describe the sonic experience it is to listen to a Illinoise. The songs “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.” and “Casimir Pulaski Day” alone place this album on the list. Stevens is a composer, not just a musician. And to listen to one of his albums is to have an experience. This isn’t a good album for passive listening. Everything is meticulously planned from the art, to the lyrics, from the orchestration, to the song titles. The first time I heard the album I was speechless. I still am today.
I know everyone loves A Rush of Blood to the Head, but my first exposure to Coldplay was hearing “Yellow” on 107.7 The End. I bought the album expecting more of the same, but was so pleasantly surprised to hear a much more introspective and beautifully simple album. The energy, emotion, and rawness that is displayed in this first album is amazing, and a stark departure from their later, more well-known work. I bought this album in 2000, and I haven’t stopped playing it since.
I’ll be honest. The first time I heard The Shins was while watching Gilmore Girls with my wife. I feelso much better now! Rory (yes, I know her name) was attending a party at Yale, and The Shins were playing “So Says I” on a stage in the background. I thought, here’s a band I could really get into. After all, they just redeemed a horrible night of television watching. I went over to State Street Records the next day and picked up Shoots Too Narrow. There’s no one thing about The Shins that make this album great. It just is. The lyrics are introspective and thoughtful. I mean what depressed twenty something can’t relate to, “Of course I was raised to gather courage from those lofty tales so tried and true. If you’re able, I’d suggest it because modern thought can get the best of you.”? The music is fun, light, but intelligent. It’s really a great indie rock album. If you don’t own it. You should.
The first time I heard Fever to Tell, I had a smile on my face the whole time. Mostly because my wife hated it, and she was letting me know. I bought the album because of their awesome song, “Maps”, as I’m sure many people did. It was a radio ready single that really didn’t capture anything that the album was about. Instead, my ears were greeted with a manic sound of post-punk explosion. I think it’s an unbelievably good album. Karen O’s voice and energy carry the band without a doubt. But it’s a spectacle worth watching and one that won’t disappoint again and again.
The story behind Bon Iver’s album was what initially intrigued me. Justin Vernon broke up with his long time band of good friends, moved to a cabin the backwoods of Wisconsin during the winter, suffered depression, and wrote an album on a three-track recorder. Ok. I’m in. On first listen, I knew this album would forever be a part of my life. The raw simplicity of the music is absolutely beautiful. And the deep sadness that Vernon was feeling at the time oozes through the speakers. As far as I’m concerned Bon Iver is the king of the neo-folk movement.
The first time I heard We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes, I was sitting in Hoyt’s on Queen Anne, a bar that no longer exists, having been torn down in favor of new condos. I didn’t know who they were, so I asked the bar tender, the only time I’ve done something like that in my life. He looked at me like I was stupid. But the truth is, they were still relatively unknown back then, and I kind of wish they were still. The early music of DCFC has a honesty and hunger to it that I just don’t hear in the later albums. I don’t begrudge them their success, I just miss the old days. When ever I want to reach indie rock heaven, I put on this album. And if I want to reach the 7th level of indie rock heaven, I put on “No Joy in Mudville”.
December 29th, 2009 § 1
Some great new tunes out today. Lala is imbedded for a free listen. If you want to purchase any, please consider clicking the big album cover pictures and purchasing through Amazon.com so I can get a little coinage (this counts as my disclaimer too).
December 2nd, 2009 § 2
Inspired by Matthew Paul Turner’s hilarious DC Talk lip sync find over at his blog, I took a walk down memory lane. Loved this song when I was 8 years old. 
My favorite part is the street dancing…
November 27th, 2009 § 1
It’s Black Friday, and deals abound. We all love music, especially when it’s cheap. Amazon.com is offering up some tasty deals on digital albums. Here are some I recommend. As a disclaimer, I make a little change if you click on a link and buy. I’ll probably use any money I make to buy another album…
October 13th, 2009 § 0
Yeah! New music! So, here we go! All pictures link to lala.com, where you can spin the album for free one time. Enjoy!
September 29th, 2009 § 2
Ok. So I’m totally stealing this concept from other bloggers…but isn’t that what blogging is all about?
Bunch of great new music today. So, here we go! All pictures link to lala.com, where you can spin the album for free one time. Enjoy!
