So ryan adams was in a seattle radio station last friday doing a promo for his new album. they were talking about how Adams was pretty much a spoiled jerk the last time he was in-studio (about 10 yrs ago in his enfant-terrible Whiskeytown days) and how Adams has finally gotten sober. Also talked about the songwriting process and how for Adams "it kinda just falls out". Adams said," I guess I owe you one...how about if I write a song right now," so they got all the equipment set up, he grabbed a guitar, and on the spot put together a full-length song (lyrics, music, verses, chorus, rhyme schemes...and plenty of explitives) right there on the spot. Not exactly top of the pops quality, but definitely not a "Whose Line is it Anyway" Franken-song either. The station recorded it and now it's the #1 single every morning in the "battle of the new singles" contest they have at 8am. It's actually on YouTube now:
Admittedly not one of his finest, but definitely not bad for 5 minutes notice. Let's hope this doesn't end up on a future album...
But man this guy can put a song together.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
More Creativity in his Pinky...
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Giving M Ward a Run for his Money
Introducing Andrew Bird. How can I not have known about this guy until recently? And how can I have reacted slowly when I first heard his music? Every track on his latest, "Armchair Apocrypha" is a beautiful, textured, interesting, deep, moving, emotional wonderland. Love it. He's coming to Seattle on Sep 2....SUNDAY! WHY!
Here he is on Letterman, which is the only time we'll be seeing him for the forseeable (maybe he'll be on ACL this season...)
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
But Not On Me (plus new album of the week)
The last post was pretty messy and long-winded, just trying to convey the general angst with the news/sports media. The good news is, MUSIC is having one of its greatest years I can remember, with more creativity and quality coming from more places since the golden age. Not a week goes by that I don't hear a brand new album that "will change your life". Awesome stuff out there. And thankfully, for whatever reason, whether they're too busy touring and in the studio, or live hermetic lives, or are not attractive or sexy enough...for the most part musicians don't get themselves splattered across every tabloid and infotainment program out there (besides your occaisional James Blunt or Chris Martin) so they mystery of who THEY are is retained and the MUSIC is allowed to stand on its own.
If you haven't yet, try Camera Obscura's 2006 release "Let's Get Out of This Country." Fellow Scots in both name and style to Belle & Sebastien, CO puts together a very cohesive "chamber-pop" record that's equal parts intricate layerings of honey-touched melodies, sun-drenched playfulness, and enough depth to keep you from tossing them off as another "twee-pop" act. Fits in very nicely with B&S, Of Montreal, The Shins, Tegan & Sara, New Pornographers, but also have a sound decidedly their own.
Viva la musica!
The Sky is Falling
Haven't written about sports before, even though I'm a big Yankees (and now Mariners), Jazz, MLB and NBA fan. I'm excited about Beckham coming to America and hopefully putting soccer on the map (Kevin Garnett in the crowd at the Galaxy game? The tide has turned...).
But now the big three sports are each facing major (?) conspiracies/embarrasments: First there's MLB with the whole steroids/Barry Bonds about to break Hank Aaron's record thinnest of all thin ice scenarios, the ugly, scary, disgusting Michael Vick running a dogfighting ring in Virginia, and now the NBA has the scandal to top every US sporting scandal since the Black Sox in 1919.
Meanwhile, Paris Hilton is in an out of jail, Lindsay Lohan is constantly 10 seconds away from becoming a River Phoenix, summer TV is horrible, and the Yanks are 10 games out of first place behind the Red Sox. Yes the sky is falling. The Second Coming must be right around the corner.
Will this change how I feel about NBA games? You bet! My interest has cooled considerably over the last couple of years anyway, but was on its way back up after the Jazz's inspiring run into the Western Conf finals last year. But now...you just can't help but wonder how many of those games Donaghy officiated for YOUR team were not rightly won by them. Let's not even start to talk about the Spurs/Suns (or getting LeBron into the finals for that matter)...
I just wish that we could escape all the noise. I wish the shelf life for these stories was 3 days: 1 day for news to break, 1 to analyze, 1 to learn from it and MOVE ON. Instead we'll be hearing about these things ad nauseum for the next year, with every talking head and every blogger and every news reporter and every newspaper writer having to get his/her two cents in.
I think I'm going to start watching "Planet Earth." We're already totally enthralled with "Man Vs Wild." Time to get back to REALity.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Guaranteed to Make You Smile (2)
My very first post was a YouTube post of "everything that's right with music today" M. Ward and Co. jamming on Conan. If you enjoyed THIS, you'll definitely want to see the video below. Such a sweet little ditty. A pretty straightforward interpretation of the lyrics and the tone of the song...perfectly captures the innocence and depth and beauty of it. And that propulsive percussion section just keeps you movin' on. Quickly moving up the ranks of my all-time favorites.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Top Five of 2007 Update
A couple of new discs have landed that have quickly changed the order of the Top 5 discs of the year. Here's the new updated list:
5. Still being fought out between Boxer by The National and Sky Blue Sky by Wilco
The National is a new group to my ears, but I really like their take on the NYC Joy Division revival. Sky Blue Sky is "the best Eagles album never recorded". Both need more time to figure out which comes out on top.
4. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon
Britt Daniel and Co. have done it again, taking their always-enthralling mix of 60's pop, transistor radio sound effects, sparse yet layered arrangements, and grooviness and serve up another very pleasing helping of Spoon. "Cherry Bomb" has to be one of the catchiest tunes in years. My only dis on them is for some reason they feel a little thin in the emotion department. There's a certain depth missing in the music. Lack of soul. Maybe further listens will reveal, and maybe it's because they're on this list between the neo goths in The National and the bleeding heart Ryan Adams...
3. Easy Tiger - Ryan Adams
Excellent amalgam of all 3 styles Adams explored in 2005. So far 2007 has only given us 1 Ryan Adams record...and this is all we need.
2. Icky Thump - White Stripes
Brilliance. Instant classic. Just as relevant 30(!) years ago as it is today. Rock hard enough to make Jack Black happy, yet filled with clever wit to make you smile.
1. Armchair Apocrypha - Andrew Bird
Yes, Dylan, this did come out in 2007. March. I just didn't give it a listen until now. Awesome album. Rootsy, sometimes bluesy, deep, bright and murky. And dude whistles (really really beautifully). Impeccable songwriting and drum-tight production.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
All Things Considered
Listened to a talk by Elder Maxwell this morning called "The Inexhaustible Gospel." Not many things in this world make me feel as much an intillectual weakling as listening to Elder Maxwel. The talk was about truth and knowledge and how there are countless things you can gain knowledge about, but not all of it is useful. He says, "it is a truth that I am wearing a blue suit, but that knowledge is useless." He goes on to say that the most important truths we can learn are eternal truths, those that help us to become more like Christ which is the aim of our existence. He said that true knowledge is both mental and physical...it is both KNOWING and DOING. Reminded me about what the Book of Mormon calls Belief: which is both to "believe" and to "do." The Nephites and Lamanites were labeled as Believers or non-Believers because of their actions, not their words.
Anyway, it got me thinking how important it is to spend what little time I have exercising my mental muscles in ways that are meaningful and will contribute to something, and not just pass the time. Not to say that there isn't time for pure enjoyment now and again, but if it becomes a habit to use my commute to passively listen to sports radio rather than engaging podcasts or beautiful music, then that time is lost to me forever and what I could have become has been diminished.
So, All Things Considered, it is not wise to consider all things of equal value. And when time is the currency used to purchase who we become, I need to make sure I'm spending it wisely. Just need to be a little more aware and make sure I make the wiser choice.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
New Artist of the Week: Brett Dennen
Call him this year's Ray LaMontagne for me...soulful white guy making really beautiful/if-slightly-funky music mostly on an acoustic guitar. The kind of music you can safely have on in the background during dinner or when friends are over, and yet is still interesting enough to be rewarding when listening to it on its own. Also like Ray, this guy's been around for a few years, but has some great tracks on his latest disc that have the chance of placing him on the map. Either way, it's a very mellow, satisfying listen. Brett's voice is every bit as interesting as his fingerpicking: for a 20 year-old white guy (sources say he may be more like 26 or 27 but dude looks younger than a 19 yr old with a dork dot), his impeccable phrasing and smokiness in his voice recalls a much older, wiser soul (a lot like Joss Stone or Corinne Bailey Rae without the "next superstar of soul" packaging). He's like the love child of Neil Young ("heart of gold" Neil) and Billie Holiday.
So he's the new artist of this week, because somebody had to be first, and he's still relatively "new" to me. When you're in the mood for some pleasant, interesting, singer-songwriter type music, give "So Much More" a spin. There's enough range on the record that you won't feel like you're listening to the same song over and over again (which is the chief plague of singer-songwriters, David Gray...) and it's textured enough to be interesting but earthy enough not to sound like John Mayer (loved his early records though...but I digress). Standout tracks include the world-weary "Ain't No Reason", the (Paul) Simon-esque "Darlin' Do Not Fear" and the borderline bubble-bum guitar pop of "She's Mine". And you can't miss the Dylan references in "I Asked When", which does an admirable job of reviving the early 60's slow-burn protest song.
Perhaps the best track is "One Who Loves You the Most"...a great peppy love song with some nice slack guitar and a tinkling organ in the background offsetting that blue-eyed soul and Lady Day worthy phrasing. Starts almost a capella and adds instruments slowly until building to a steady jam.
Already listened to "So Much More"? What do you think? Haven't yet? Give it a shot and let me know what you think...
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Fear at 40 feet
A couple of weeks ago our division had a "morale" day at one of those high-ropes courses. The course had a wide assortment of obstacles to cross while standing atop platforms 40 ft in the air. From the ground, it just looked like alot of fun. Besides, everyone had helmets and harnesses connected to 10,000 lb test cables, so nothing could go wrong, right?
Not until you get up there. I was amazed how just as soon as I finished climbing up the 40 ft rope ladder and looked down at the ground below me, how unsure of myself I was. It didn't help that I tweaked my ankle in some earlier games on the grass so was pretty unsure of putting any weight on it. Now I had to cross 20 foot spans like a tightrope walker, with nothing between me and the ground besides my shaky feet? I don't think so! There were all kinds of stations to climb to, spread out like a rope and wood and wire spiderweb amongst the trees. I caught my bearings for about 5 minutes. During that time I seriously questioned what I was doing up there.
When we were on the ground, the instructors told us the purpose of the activites was to become more aware of our inner monologues. My inner monologue was pretty apparent at this point: Find a way to get down as quickly as possible! I was surprised at how shaky I was and how little confidence I had. I was blaming it all on my bum ankle, figuring that "I'm injured, so I get a free pass. But if I wasn't injured, I'd be all over this."
Well, long story short, I stayed up on those ropes for about 3 hours (and was one of the last to come down). I started very tentatively at first, doing the easiest passes two and three times to build up my confidence. Then I began stretching my confidence and my abilities. My ankle did keep me from doing some of the transfers, like doing a running jump from one platform, grabbing a rope and swinging like tarzan to the other...just too much jumping and landing...but I was able to do just about everything else. It was a great time.
Interestingly that afternoon has really stuck with me for these past few weeks. It's hard to explain exactly how or where, but it's made me aware how much I "play it safe" instead of confidently putting myself out there. It's helped me to catch myself doing that, and be more bold, assertive, confident, proactive when I need to be. The most interesting thing is, would you have asked me 3 weeks ago where my self-confidence is on a scale of 1-10, I'd have probably said "8". After the ropes course, I realize it might not be as high as I thought in all situations...but now I'm aware of them. OK the rambling has begun. Time to cut this one off...
Friday, July 6, 2007
Learning Bb
That's "B-flat", as in a very tough (for my fingers) chord that's the basis of most of Ben Gibbard's music. It's a very pretty chord, with equal parts hope and sadness...lots of melancholy but also a good amount of brightness. Works great to add some texture to G and C Major.
After 4 months (!) of hibernation I finally broke the old Seagull out and hit the strings a bit. I sheepishly had to look up some basic chords again, and my nails are too long(they have to be really short to play) but it was great to play again. Playing is both exhilirating and frustrating: exhilirating when I can piece together some chords in proper rhythm and tempo (usually for seconds at a time) and frustrating when I realize my limitations and how far I have to go before I can "really" play. How come I just didn't stick with those lessons I started back when I was 16? Why weren't my friends and I into actually MAKING music, instead of just listening to it (and talking about it ad-nauseum)?
Turns out I didn't pick great teenage hobbies: soccer, which was lots of fun and had a high "coolness" factor but thanks to months at a time of twisted and taped ankles now my ankles sprain when even looking at uneven ground (which really sucks), and acting, which was tons of fun and exhilirating and taught me tons and I really enjoyed every minute of, but ever since I decided the actor/director's lifestyle wasn't one I wanted to pursue (I'm waaaaay too risk-averse), and after leaving Franklin Covey (where at one time I wanted to be the next Stephen-Covey style facilitator/presenter/life changer) to enter the world of business...well, let's just say there's not a lot of opportunity for me to use my middle English accent these days. Come to think about it, another hobby of mine was Japanese...and I don't get to use that much at all. Unless there's an unknown opportunity coming my way that involves playing soccer in Japan while starring in shakespear plays at night....I think it's time to pick new hobbies. Which brings me back full circle to the guitar...there were no less than 5 guitar "acts" at the ward talent show last month, and zero Sam Shepard monologues. Not that the end goal is to perform at the ward talent show...
Anyway, playing again was great. Gotta get to it more often. And get that Bb!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Monday, July 2, 2007
5 Best Albums of 2007 - so far...
Now that we've crossed into the second half of '07, it's time to take a look back at the best albums the music world has given us so far...
5. 3-way race between: Blue Sky Blue, Wilco / The Search, Son Volt / We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, Modest Mouse Yes I know it's a cop-out to list 3 albums here, but all three of these surprised me with how good they were, and they caused me to want to listen again and again. These represent the first Wilco I've been able to get into from the first listen, the most consistent Son Volt I've heard, and Johnny Marr as the newest 'Mouse'keteer.
4. Icky Thump, White StripesI've listened to this abum repeatedly since it came out a week ago, and continue to find nuggets that make me smile. I love the "icky" (which I interpret as Jack's snaggletooth guitar or instrument-of-the-moment such as a tortured keyboard) and the "thump" (Meg's understated, simplistic, BOOM of a bass drum). Love the textures, love the variety, love tongue-in-cheek and the fact that Jack doesn't take himself too seriously.
3. Wincing the Night Away, The Shins Maybe the best new wave/british pop album since Violator. Except it's American Indie Pop. I love the arrangements and the intricacies found here. Lots of texture. You'll catch on soon that that's a really important musical element for me. I love me my simple melody like "God Only Knows" from Pet Sounds, but when a group can put together contrasting textures...interesting instruments, dynamic changes in tempo and sound, and keep it together as a cohesive whole, that always keeps me coming back for more.
2. Easy Tiger, Ryan Adams Easily this generation's Johnny Cash or Willie Nelson, Ryan Adams once again shows he can bring it with the best of them. I was a little over-anxious on the first listen and winced when I heard lyrics like "maybe we'll win the whole she-bang" and the track titled "Halloween Head", but after about 8 listens in the past week (in constant rotation with Icky Thump) this album is destined to go down as one of the best RA albums to date. A gentler, twangier sound, which kind of feels like all three of his 2005 albums rolled up into one. Lots of standout songs, like "Two" (again the music overcomes simplistic lyrics...and Sheryl Crow)and "Oh My God, Whatever" (can't wait to be able to play this one myself).
1. Neon Bible, Arcade Fire From the first time I heard this, it was the album to beat. Not since the best days of Radiohead has a band created such dynamic tension and cathartic release. And with such an incredible wall of sound coming from all 8 band members playing in perfect balance of chaos and harmony. Truth be told, I haven't listened to this album nearly as much as the others on the list. But it stays on the top (at least for now) for 2 reasons: 1) Easy Tiger and Icky Thump are too new to know how they'll age so I can't put them on top, and 2) When I was in my office somewhere in week 2 or 3 and feeling completely in over my head and overwhelmed and anxious, I heard some music down the hall that perfectly captured my emotions and mood and soothed and smoothed them and put them all back together again where they belonged. It was just a few bars but it completely captured the mood. It was one of those "music moments" that make being a music fan so rewarding. It was Neon Bible. That and because Arcade Fire is, ironically, the follow-up to Born to Run that the Boss never wrote. Awesome.
More to come...
