tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53240842685449840182024-03-05T23:09:05.640-05:00Ray Bradbury's Love-CamelEJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.comBlogger296125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-70375680139085582882015-08-16T00:00:00.000-04:002019-03-17T20:53:56.843-04:00Witnessing the King of the Surf GuitarI've seen a lot of live music in my life, but I can't say I've seen many "living legends". Tonight I had the chance to see Dick Dale, King of the Surf Guitar. He may not be a household name, but if you like surf guitar music--and I really, really like surf guitar music--then you know Dale is the man who started it all. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see a man who created an entire genre of music.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimuIMGfGRlI10HojWsGsXZnkAfzryAZaqLtLt3b2WZ9OHhKFysklBm_-o38HFqZy_dIBu5o-OT8bD435ijocFa_Vcs6R80GB7209EtdVTUuO4y4rhXqHrF_btPdMdjtZTSkpCiMdk31eo/s1600/Dick_Dale_042112_3276.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimuIMGfGRlI10HojWsGsXZnkAfzryAZaqLtLt3b2WZ9OHhKFysklBm_-o38HFqZy_dIBu5o-OT8bD435ijocFa_Vcs6R80GB7209EtdVTUuO4y4rhXqHrF_btPdMdjtZTSkpCiMdk31eo/s320/Dick_Dale_042112_3276.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Usually when I got to see a band, it's a few dude and dudettes, generally in their 20s, 30s, or maybe 40s, playing their hearts out (if you're lucky). And that's great! But Dick Dale was a lot more than that...<br />
<ul>
<li>He's <b>your grandpa</b>, but way more talented. Dale does the same thing a lot of 78-year-old men do. He told stories and rambled a bit. He complained about health issues. When was the last time you heard a musician complain about his kidneys at a rock show? But hey, it was pretty cool to hear some new banter for once.</li>
<li>He's a <b>Bostonian!</b> I had no idea before tonight that he grew up in Quincy. Of course he made his name in California, but Dale was clearly feeding on the home-town energy tonight.</li>
<li>He's a slice of <b>history</b>. Not a lot of musicians can tell stories of hanging with Leo Fender, inventing record breaking guitar amps and making the Fender Stratocaster the legendary instrument that it is today. Dale is the guy who <i>originally</i> took guitar volume to 11.</li>
<li>He's a got <b>an incredibly patient back-up band.<i> </i></b>The bass player and drummer were clearly less than half of Dale's age, but they were a perfect fit. When you're 78, I guess you're entitled to stop songs whenever to tell a story, forget which songs you've already played, or switch songs entirely halfway through if the first one is tiring you out. Though they occasionally shot each other a bemused look, they stuck to the star's pace no matter how much it fluctuated.</li>
<li>And to be clear, Dick Dale was and is above all a <b>rock star</b>. He may not play quite as fast as he did at his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIU0RMV_II8">peak</a>, but c'mon! His peak was over 50 years ago! Dick Dale still plays the guitar like no one I've ever heard. He was still able to channel the energy of a very enthusiastic crowd (which was comprised of 20-somethings, septuagenarians, and every age in between) into an unforgettable performance. </li>
</ul>
Live music nearly always makes me happy, but as Dick Dale wrapped up his set with a surf guitar version of "Amazing Grace" segueing into his signature "Misirlou", I experienced a euphoria that I've only been able to grasp at a handful of shows over the past few decades of going to shows. I got just a glimpse of what those young surfers in Balboa, California witnessed back in the summer of '61. And if a geriatric Dick Dale could make a middle-aged me feel like I did tonight, well...it's no wonder he was able to father a whole new genre of music back in the day.<br />
<br />
I'll be honest. Part of me went to this show tonight just so I could say I saw a "legend". I didn't really have high hopes that the show would actually be <i>good</i>. Shame on me. I now pay fealty to the King of the Surf Guitar not out of a blind sense of loyalty to formerly great ruler, but because he's still great, and still making his fans swing their hips (even if some of those hips are now artificial).EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-25922015856297592552014-01-14T22:42:00.001-05:002014-01-14T22:43:37.120-05:00Favorite Albums of 2013After an almost 2 year hiatus, I'm back! Sort of. Who knows when I'll post again after this, but I enjoyed writing about music again. <br />
<br />
I'm foregoing a traditional Top 10 list this year and going for some
completely made-up categories instead. I thought 2013 was a decent year
for music. Nothing blew my mind, and judging by the look of other Top 10
(or however many) lists out there, there didn't seem to be much of a
consensus about what was great. Anyway, here's some stuff I really
liked:<br />
<br />
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<ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip5ZDp2R6A45ea938Wv6JP6WLQVqCVqH5zfsiJVEwkdggk_buNwamfx2Kb48Vo6QYyc_KvtgXExIwxMyeTziiXetn2-ofvWYaHJ-pvp4RtbBHjbuSGRruxiZYVxTFxZQbu1P7T_Lu_jI8/s1600/MVotC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip5ZDp2R6A45ea938Wv6JP6WLQVqCVqH5zfsiJVEwkdggk_buNwamfx2Kb48Vo6QYyc_KvtgXExIwxMyeTziiXetn2-ofvWYaHJ-pvp4RtbBHjbuSGRruxiZYVxTFxZQbu1P7T_Lu_jI8/s1600/MVotC.jpg" /></a>
<li><b>Best Album By a Band That Somehow Managed to Make 3 Great Albums in a Row</b>: Vampire Weekend, <i>Modern Vampires of the City. </i>I wouldn't say that Vampire Weekend topped their self-titled debut or 2010's <i>Contra</i>,
but I think this record equals them in general awesomeness. The band has pulled
off a neat trick by both evolving their sound and staying uniquely
Vampire Weekendy. Their sound has matured with every record. Their debut
was infectious upon the first listen and <i>Contra </i>took me a couple of listens before I really started to appreciate it. It took months of off and on listening before <i>MVotC</i> really grew on me, but once it did, it was clearly one of my favorites of the year.</li>
<li><b>Best Album By a Band That I Have Previously Passed Off As Completely Overrated: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Y_ccHS5EDgSyXYN-qF66xzlpblK76A752mijvQeqH2lc9Zw_mBybIep93EswCvYuOXcatg0aO2Z24bZcfuYHvE0sd4hxF4DX792OjTlYn-aaGBx37Jfv9VgwnQdnrKs53d9Onjyi12s/s1600/Reflektor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Y_ccHS5EDgSyXYN-qF66xzlpblK76A752mijvQeqH2lc9Zw_mBybIep93EswCvYuOXcatg0aO2Z24bZcfuYHvE0sd4hxF4DX792OjTlYn-aaGBx37Jfv9VgwnQdnrKs53d9Onjyi12s/s1600/Reflektor.jpg" /></a></div>
</b>Arcade Fire, <i>Reflektor</i>.
It's rare that I will listen to an album fully expecting to dislike it.
Normally I wouldn't even bother listen to something I didn't think I
had at least a chance of liking. It's not that I even really dislike
Arcade Fire, I just never thought they were all that. And when it comes
down to it, I can't even really explain why I like this album so much.
It's just as much of an overwrought mess as their previous albums, but I
can't stop listening to it. The <i>whole</i> double-sided album. Sure
there are some favorite tracks--even though it clocks in at over 6
minutes, I wouldn't mind if "Here Comes the Night Time" went on a bit
longer--but there's not a single song I feel like skipping.</li>
<li><b>Best Album in a Genre of Music With Which I Am Almost Completely Unfamiliar: </b> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzlRFRTPA-TMRLo7WUceKi6ncbafGAgHd3d9F-xzahaUWMZIkPNf9fAsW-7Pq0p4t4fgU2puDzdLmNK0wYB3RMuxiRqkDGkDDURZrarAkKHxL3vIUMJ63jY9dDU5Tk-w7ur-o_ZLpBzbc/s1600/Moon+Hooch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzlRFRTPA-TMRLo7WUceKi6ncbafGAgHd3d9F-xzahaUWMZIkPNf9fAsW-7Pq0p4t4fgU2puDzdLmNK0wYB3RMuxiRqkDGkDDURZrarAkKHxL3vIUMJ63jY9dDU5Tk-w7ur-o_ZLpBzbc/s1600/Moon+Hooch.jpg" /></a></div>
Moon Hooch, <i>Moon Hooch</i>.
When I say "genre" of music here, I guess I'm sort of thinking of jazz,
because that's how iTunes classifies this record. But it's not like any
jazz I've ever heard (not that I've listened to a lot). Using two
saxophones and a drum kit, these guys made a record of songs to which
one is compelled to shake one's ass. I haven't even had this album for
two months, but I've listened to it <i>a lot</i>. I love it. My kids love it. I encourage everyone to listen to the opening track, "Number 9", and see if you love it, too: <a href="http://www.moonhooch.com/music/" target="_blank">http://www.moonhooch.com/<wbr></wbr>music/</a></li>
<li><b>Best Summer Album (Maybe Ever?):<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq_8FJF3v2GynF-bPhsZmdic2owNbgVh9T_g32IUshZXlr0T6w1Hktuw9xq4s4dFg5HLm5peSfWTl1MiVA1HtIJFxOnvDnmACnl-IkgbSB_iFQ8eQiN60sjyWvwSYQM4q80FdxBsp-kfQ/s1600/cayucas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq_8FJF3v2GynF-bPhsZmdic2owNbgVh9T_g32IUshZXlr0T6w1Hktuw9xq4s4dFg5HLm5peSfWTl1MiVA1HtIJFxOnvDnmACnl-IkgbSB_iFQ8eQiN60sjyWvwSYQM4q80FdxBsp-kfQ/s1600/cayucas.jpg" /></a></div>
</b>Cayucas, <i>Bigfoot. </i>I
don't think this CD left my car between mid-spring and mid-fall. That's a
good thing. Undeniably a west coast sound (I can't even fathom an east
coast band making this album), these are roll-your-window-down-and-put-<wbr></wbr>on-your-
shades songs. There is nothing remotely complex about them. A good
percentage of the lyrics are composed of "ooo-ooo-ooos" and "hey hey
heys". You don't have to think about them too much, and who wants to
think during the summer anyway? "High School Lover" is the track that
got me hooked,
and it's definitely a stand-out single kind of song, but the whole
album is perfect for your drive to the beach. If the beach is pretty far
away, put it on repeat.</li>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Io8PqddrRIs" width="400"></iframe>
<li><b>Best Album Featuring a Weird Duo That Still Works: </b>The Uncluded, <i>Hokey Fright</i>. Kimya <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3vM8YYq0vW6wxy8qhpGU_hFW9hPm04_Px8sudq8AQ7lPkTrzcNYPibQzczRqiTFrUSygbzQWgH7SCxE22lHkBNGcDfWMMUzzLsPrEBfaxbxXxzMXSuZ5a_wGhw31gF-hq_2GaM0qIpKQ/s1600/hokey+fright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3vM8YYq0vW6wxy8qhpGU_hFW9hPm04_Px8sudq8AQ7lPkTrzcNYPibQzczRqiTFrUSygbzQWgH7SCxE22lHkBNGcDfWMMUzzLsPrEBfaxbxXxzMXSuZ5a_wGhw31gF-hq_2GaM0qIpKQ/s1600/hokey+fright.jpg" /></a></div>
Dawson is not for everyone. I can imagine a lot of people find her singing fairly intolerable (and it <i>is</i>
a bit of an acquired taste). But she is undeniably one of the most
earnest singer/songwriters out there. Her songs can vacillate between
making you laugh and breaking your heart in moments. I don't know much
about Aesop Rock, besides the fact that he's a rapper and producer.
Though I liked Dawson's 2011 album, <i>Thunder Thighs</i>, I was not a
big fan of the tracks that featured Aesop Rock. I wouldn't have even
considered listening to this album until I heard "Delicate Cycle".
But yeah, The Uncluded works for me. Dawson's songs can veer strongly
toward the twee, and Aesop Rock gives them an edge that veers them right
back in the other direction. It's an album unlike anything else I've
heard before.</li>
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<li><b>Best Album By a Band That I Thought Had Peaked 6 Years Ago: </b>The National, <i>Trouble Will Find Me</i>. I was pretty much convinced that <i>Boxer</i> was the best album The National would<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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put out.<i> </i>I thought <i>Alligator </i>was just OK and 2010's <i>High Violet </i>just didn't do much for me. And I still felt that after the first few listens of <i>TWFM. </i>But
then something clicked. I found myself singing along. I found myself
drumming the steering wheel and bobbing my head. Then I found myself
taking the CD everywhere I went, so I could listen to it at home, in the
car, or at work. And though I was going to forgo rankings, I now find
myself saying that The National made my favorite album of the year. I
feel like this a very grown up record. I don't see high school kids
getting into it. I don't know if 20-something me would have been all
that into it. But 30-something me is definitely into it. Every song. Now
excuse me while I go sit in my fainting chair and drink a pink
rabbit...</li>
</ul>
And a few more albums worth checking out: Bombadil, <i>Metrics of Affection; </i>John Grant, <i>Pale Green Ghosts</i>; Houndmouth, <i>From the Hills Below the City; </i>Wild Child, <i>The Runaround; </i>The Front Bottoms, <i>Talon of the Hawk; </i>Nataly Dawn; <i>How I Knew Her, </i>Thao & the Get Down Stay Down, <i>We the Common</i><span class="HOEnZb"><span style="color: #888888;"><br />
</span></span>EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-35049151588328961642012-01-21T20:56:00.002-05:002012-01-29T23:20:54.620-05:00Favorite Albums of 2011 (and Some Stragglers from 2010)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvfSCVqCk7dod6etgwZxFFvkRl3wgcIs-Lu-VmonCgua94VXiAIgtm9yDXxHwN8c8YupNnb0UV20ggG96uhONvXxO6zTqW-3QQczITVMrY7egdKmUfuaDdewBom5sJLts8H-WS5xGBMYM/s1600/alexander.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Was 2011 a great year for music? No...I don't think so. If it's been a great year for music (for me, anyway), I have a hard time picking my top 10 albums. Sometimes I have a hard time picking my top 20. This year, I struggled to fill my top 10. It wasn't that there were that few albums that I liked. There were a lot of good albums. There just weren't a lot of great albums. I want my favorite albums of the year to exceed my expectations, not just meet them (even if I have relatively high expectations). So this year, it's just a top 7, + two 2010 albums that I didn't discover until 2011.<br />
<br />
<b>7) Iron & Wine - <i>Kiss Each Other Clean</i></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJUwQq7uTwndSX1P78LkKEdtwQf1H7idi6wYY5c1i-4HxUaQ65g82ZvyPiU_ho5CPjfCugnGHdCaq9AgIhpf3x_Q18EpBFFo5cBn-1q9IP_kNRJ6ZiiIBMDfZKXVC1WLIWfr0DJHiOiTQ/s1600/iron%2526wine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJUwQq7uTwndSX1P78LkKEdtwQf1H7idi6wYY5c1i-4HxUaQ65g82ZvyPiU_ho5CPjfCugnGHdCaq9AgIhpf3x_Q18EpBFFo5cBn-1q9IP_kNRJ6ZiiIBMDfZKXVC1WLIWfr0DJHiOiTQ/s200/iron%2526wine.jpg" width="200" /></a><b><i> </i></b>When Sam Beam released <i>The Creek Drank the Cradle</i> nearly 10 years ago, he was writing spare wisps of songs. The songs were quiet, but powerful. He could have released a few more albums like that and been remembered as someone who wrote pretty, sad songs--a modern Nick Drake (minus the tragic ending, one would hope). Iron & Wine's second album <i>was</i> actually pretty similar to the first, but then Beam started to evolve. If someone had told me a decade ago that he would release an album like <i>Kiss Each Other Clean</i>, I would have been incredulous. The songs are still powerful, and often still sad, but there's a richness to their sound and production that the early albums lacked. More instruments, more harmonizing, more everything. Sometimes more is less, but it works here. For the record, it did <i>not </i>work for me as well on 2007's <i>The Shephard's Dog</i>. That album seemed like more of an experiment of styles and came out as a bit of a mess. <i>Kiss Each Other Clean</i> is more cohesive. The opening single, "Walking Far From Home", quickly became one of my favorite Iron & Wine songs, but the whole album is highly listenable. <br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="233" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PrjasWr19cw?rel=0" width="400"></iframe><br />
<b>6) Alexander - <i></i></b><i><b>Alexander</b></i><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvfSCVqCk7dod6etgwZxFFvkRl3wgcIs-Lu-VmonCgua94VXiAIgtm9yDXxHwN8c8YupNnb0UV20ggG96uhONvXxO6zTqW-3QQczITVMrY7egdKmUfuaDdewBom5sJLts8H-WS5xGBMYM/s1600/alexander.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvfSCVqCk7dod6etgwZxFFvkRl3wgcIs-Lu-VmonCgua94VXiAIgtm9yDXxHwN8c8YupNnb0UV20ggG96uhONvXxO6zTqW-3QQczITVMrY7egdKmUfuaDdewBom5sJLts8H-WS5xGBMYM/s200/alexander.jpg" width="200" /></a><i><b> </b></i>Alexander Ebert is better known for his work with Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros and he is a damn hippie. I have a top-40-listening co-worker who calls everything I listen to "hippie music", and though she's wrong about 90% of the time, I have to concede that <i>Alexander</i> is indeed hippie music. Slightly weird (but not <i>that</i> weird), trippy, hippie music. For those not familiar with Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros--and I highly recommend that you do familiarize yourself with them--the closest musician I could compare Ebert to is perhaps Cat Stevens, and probably Yusuf Islam (AKA, Cat Stevens). It's probably partly the beard, but their voices, their message, and their ability to write a good hook are not dissimilar. A fun album that I listened to way more than I expected to when I picked it up on a whim.<br />
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<b>5) Say Hi - <i>Um, Uh Oh</i></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqS1WO5o4RT8C5VZxt5JwEualBw-x_I1rolxEeGLd6m-y92PG8jvFPk367EZ5ssY8RJBtA2rd5RTWP8-3LiYUep-gsv1-bnumwVQxkX4cGNHDCu1RxRvvdWMnbkjdvJ85oHhlkoEc6Gu4/s1600/um+uh+oh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqS1WO5o4RT8C5VZxt5JwEualBw-x_I1rolxEeGLd6m-y92PG8jvFPk367EZ5ssY8RJBtA2rd5RTWP8-3LiYUep-gsv1-bnumwVQxkX4cGNHDCu1RxRvvdWMnbkjdvJ85oHhlkoEc6Gu4/s200/um+uh+oh.jpg" width="200" /></a><b><i> </i></b>Say Hi is a boy named Eric, and he has also been making music for a decade. Eric Elbogen's music--whether under his original moniker, Say Hi To Your Mom, or the more recent Say Hi--has always been a bit spotty for me. Every album has at least a few songs that I really like, but 2006's <i>Impeccable Blahs</i> came the closest to being and album I really loved. On that album, every song was about vampires. Clever! But <i>Um, Uh Oh</i> achieves greatness without a clever gimmick. Every song--really <i>every</i> song--is a perfect little pop gem. Elbogen's formula hasn't changed much. Many of his songs are pretty much all chorus, but you know what? That's the part of the song everyone sings along to anyway. And that's exactly what I do when I listen to this album. I sing along to every song. <br />
<b>4) Telekinesis - <i>12 Desperate Straight Lines</i></b><br />
<b><i> </i></b>I first wrote about Michael Benjamin Lerner's sophomore album <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2011/03/o-what-dirty-thing.html">back in March</a>, and I kept right on listening to this album all year long. I don't know how many times I have to tell people: listen to this band.<br />
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<b>3) St. Vincent - <i>Strange Mercy</i></b><br />
<a href="http://sarafoss.com/post/first-impressions">My first impression</a> of <i>Strange Mercy</i> was a good one, but after the first listen I honestly didn't think this album would creep into my top 3 albums of the year. But it did. Though some of the songs seemed somewhat jarring at first, I got used to it. As I got used to it, it became clear that this is Annie Clark's strongest work yet. <br />
<b>2) Grouplove - <i>Never Trust a Happy Song</i></b><br />
<b><i> </i></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMGgazzjcIrxd0i_MgDBNAy_QX3TD5W-JdzEMNQxeinLXcOMh39Wz3c6MOFvQE-DWzvV9V-F95xYsz3Jj5OgqRTIaDuXTvs_t2wLk2RzHZDTdRxP5b2zWa8q6EvPm34riR47l2v0_FE0/s1600/group+love.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMGgazzjcIrxd0i_MgDBNAy_QX3TD5W-JdzEMNQxeinLXcOMh39Wz3c6MOFvQE-DWzvV9V-F95xYsz3Jj5OgqRTIaDuXTvs_t2wLk2RzHZDTdRxP5b2zWa8q6EvPm34riR47l2v0_FE0/s200/group+love.jpg" width="200" /></a>Of the top three albums here, Grouplove is probably the least challenging band to listen to for the casual listener. I wrote about my infatuation with this album <a href="http://sarafoss.com/post/grouplove-and-the-importance-of-context">earlier this year</a>, and that infatuation has since evolved into a full-on crush. Even if Grouplove disappeared tomorrow--and I hope they don't--I can already tell that this album will be joining a relatively small group to fall into my <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2010/03/comfort-music-of-last-decade.html">comfort music</a> classification. The music is not particularly innovative...it's just fun as hell. <br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="233" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oCLek4aSpbo?rel=0" width="400"></iframe><br />
<b> 1) tUnE-yArDs - <i>Whokill</i></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4PHov9fZCGlIgjzTdphAJ5bKZ8iz7ff7kYrZ_fE8FiEcvlHHvrm9a0q-qRKLDWwNR6x-vkS1QzmgUam07vkZ59eiU8PpfbVskPdiq1MJmeKxnwS9lbupeQ_thagtCPODWOQlCQDwhr8Q/s1600/tune+yards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4PHov9fZCGlIgjzTdphAJ5bKZ8iz7ff7kYrZ_fE8FiEcvlHHvrm9a0q-qRKLDWwNR6x-vkS1QzmgUam07vkZ59eiU8PpfbVskPdiq1MJmeKxnwS9lbupeQ_thagtCPODWOQlCQDwhr8Q/s200/tune+yards.jpg" width="200" /></a><b><i> </i></b>I, like most people, am usually doing something else while I'm listening to music. That's not to say that I'm a passive listener, but I'm a busy guy and I need to multitask. So when a song--or in this case, an entire album--makes me stop doing whatever else I'm doing, that's saying something. The first time I listened to <i>Whokill</i>, I was at work. It was a very unproductive 40 minutes. I'm fairly certain I just sat there with my headphones on, grinning from ear to ear, and probably failing to resist the urge to chair-dance in my cubicle. Merril Garbus manages to defy genre, convey her politics, <i>and</i> be incredibly entertaining, all on a single album--often in individual songs. Impressive. Listening to her music, watching her in her videos...I can't remember the last time I saw an artist throw self-consciousness out the window so completely and make it work. This was the girl in high school who danced like a spaz and didn't care what people thought of her. Yeah, she got teased, but the ones who got her really, really liked her.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="233" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YQ1LI-NTa2s" width="400"></iframe><br />
<b>and from 2010...</b><b> </b><br />
<b>--Allo Darlin' - <i>Allo Darlin'</i></b><b><i> </i></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTzpVjnk1-eurEPWPYXSSYYhtRP8A0LxhLEJMKTc62_rMsnURdabF0RVqA_xPvg8ildgg2eSh4XR9vDPRbwNmruN87tqK2-ms0Xq7wNf24lFiUGEcxfqAkXR2zMQYxAC0DqyOB4aovNbg/s1600/allo+darlin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTzpVjnk1-eurEPWPYXSSYYhtRP8A0LxhLEJMKTc62_rMsnURdabF0RVqA_xPvg8ildgg2eSh4XR9vDPRbwNmruN87tqK2-ms0Xq7wNf24lFiUGEcxfqAkXR2zMQYxAC0DqyOB4aovNbg/s200/allo+darlin.jpg" width="200" /></a>Allo Darlin' is sort of the musical equivalent of watching the movie <i>Juno</i>. Now that will either be a selling point or a deal breaker, depending on who you are. For me, it's a selling point. These songs are clever, cute, and catchy, but never cloying. These are songs about love, watching movies, listening to music, and making chili. If I could write songs, these are the songs I would want to write. I think that's the highest compliment I can pay. I would want to write catchy songs that make me happy, and preferably I would like them to be sung by a woman with a pretty voice. Not a <i>beautiful</i> voice. That's an important distinction for some reason. I like a pretty voice, and Elizabeth Morris supplies that. I don't feel like I'm selling this album enough. It's awesome. Please listen to it.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="233" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/57eii7Bdf3g" width="400"></iframe><br />
<b>--Carolina Chocolate Drops - <i>Genuine Negro Jig </i></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLXFpOH2WQec5FglM-j1eTGAGfbJ76vHd1Ye6Bl2_z-DlyJuDWW_R2SY82m42ZCoeeRGl8kLnjGUbu6lOmT4vM1VI_EC6JPGO4nayKdz7Oul5Cpg0yXVtYVZ8yWcwEzik8e_5SJb4gxI/s1600/chocolate+drops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLXFpOH2WQec5FglM-j1eTGAGfbJ76vHd1Ye6Bl2_z-DlyJuDWW_R2SY82m42ZCoeeRGl8kLnjGUbu6lOmT4vM1VI_EC6JPGO4nayKdz7Oul5Cpg0yXVtYVZ8yWcwEzik8e_5SJb4gxI/s200/chocolate+drops.jpg" width="200" /></a>I initially bought this album because, having lived in North Carolina for 6 years, I really liked the name of the band. Lucky me that the music turned out to be pretty incredible, too. I have heard a member of the band describe their music as "black minstrel". Not sure what that means exactly, but I generally find that the harder it is to describe a band's sound, the more I like the music. There's certainly an old-timey flavor to these songs, but their mix of old songs from the earlier half of the century, covers of modern tunes (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKTXJUYiAT4&feature=relmfu">their version of "Hit 'Em Up Style"</a> is amazing), and originals keeps it fresh.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="233" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1xOxHyTP91c" width="400"></iframe>EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-3235045639562803052011-09-27T21:48:00.000-04:002011-09-27T21:48:42.193-04:00First Impressions: Sep. 13th AlbumsIt's been a while since I wrote about...anything on here I guess. I'm not quite giving it up, but I'm also exploring new avenues to shove my opinion down people's throats. My friend Sara asked if I could contribute some stuff to her new blog, and my <a href="http://sarafoss.com/post/first-impressions">first post</a> went up yesterday. Please check it out! I take a gander at new releases by Mason Jennings, St. Vincent, Blitzen Trapper, Wild Flag, Blind Pilot, Laura Marling, and Me First & the Gimme Gimmes!<br />
<br />
Since that was already a long-ass post, here are some videos from a few of the albums...<br />
<br />
<br />
St. Vincent's "Cruel":<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" height="245" id="FiveminPlayer" width="400"> <param name='allowfullscreen' value='true'/> <param name='allowScriptAccess' value='always'/> <param name='movie' value='http://embed.5min.com/517149397/'/> <param name='wmode' value='opaque' /> <embed name='FiveminPlayer' src='http://embed.5min.com/517149397/' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' width='400' height='245' allowfullscreen='true' allowScriptAccess='always' wmode='opaque'> </embed> </object><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.5min.com/Video/St-Vincent---Cruel-517149397" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;" target="_blank">St. Vincent - "Cruel"</a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Creepy! Awesome!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Blitzen Trapper's "Love The Way You Walk Away":</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div><object height="245" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9UK2nIsflQA&rel=0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9UK2nIsflQA&rel=0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="400" height="245"></embed></object><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"> <sniff sniff=""> Do I smell...America?</sniff></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Wild Flag's "Romance"</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/27624987?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/27624987">Wild Flag - Romance</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/mergerecords">Merge Records</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
A certain famous Merge label mate gets a bit of trouncing here. Watch closely!EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-46922684047419181852011-06-13T22:40:00.000-04:002011-06-13T22:40:03.910-04:00Chihuly and a ChildThis past weekend, I went to Boston's Museum of Fine Art for the first time in over 3 years. My wife and I used to be members, but once our son was born, we realized there would be far fewer trips to the MFA for us. But you can't walk around Boston longer than a few minutes these dayswithout seeing ads for the <a href="http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/chihuly">Chihuly exhibition</a>, and I knew I had to go.<br />
<br />
I was first introduced to the glass sculptures of Dale Chihuly about 5 years ago, while visiting the Botanical Gardens in St. Louis, MO (one of my favorite botanical gardens in the world, and I've been to a lot of them). Chihuly's works were scattered throughout the gardens, and I was mesmerized. It was like walking through Candy Land. The bright, delicious colors and Seussian shapes left an impression on me, and I knew I would have to visit them again now that they were so close.<br />
<br />
Yet there was still the issue of the kids. Taking my almost-two-year-old was not an option--the thought of taking her to an exhibition of glass sculptures was nightmare-inducing. But I thought my now 4-year-old son could handle it. So on a cold, rainy Sunday, he and I set off for the museum. We'd see the Chihuly pieces, and depending on how things were going, move on from there and possibly see some of the new Art of the Americas Wing.<br />
<br />
It turned out to be one of the best visits to an art museum I've ever had. The Chihuly exhibit itself was as enjoyable as I'd hoped. It didn't quite have the same "oomph" as the Botanical Gardens because it was a very different context, but these are still some of the most accessible sculptures one will come across. By "accessible", I mean I can't imagine a person looking at these sculptures and not thinking they look cool. Maybe "cool" isn't a very fancy word to describe art, but just check out this boat full of stuff (I did not take my camera, regrettably, but this picture is from the actual Boston exhibition):<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaDsEKaspvt5OomKcG02GaRsk76KR-J-nLoOQXyLYtYTxkF7p0ZV9Qic6umUUsjjyPIA7EAZxl4HLIdHe7pIqCqoyw86s5H8tGBpqb_qb-CZ67NKqlMfC3neSU3IgWzBGQ7x-XbKu9FhI/s1600/0004_MFABostonBoat_sml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaDsEKaspvt5OomKcG02GaRsk76KR-J-nLoOQXyLYtYTxkF7p0ZV9Qic6umUUsjjyPIA7EAZxl4HLIdHe7pIqCqoyw86s5H8tGBpqb_qb-CZ67NKqlMfC3neSU3IgWzBGQ7x-XbKu9FhI/s400/0004_MFABostonBoat_sml.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>It's a party. It's an alien invasion. It's a parade. In a boat. And made out of glass. It's cool.<br />
<br />
And my son thought so, too. I didn't get to read a lot of the descriptions of the pieces as I normally would have, but instead I got to hear my son's interpretations, which I think may have been an order of magnitude more interesting: "Look at the flowers!" and "It's a giant slug, Daddy!" Exposed to his unchecked imagination, I saw the sculptures in a way I never could have seen on my own. At one point we were walking under the "Persian Ceiling", which is one of the more publicized images from the collection (in the slide show from the link above, it's the first slide). My son--who at my insistence kept his voice at an "indoor" level the whole time--looked up and said, "It's a baby!" As I looked up, a rather grim woman caught my eye and said, "He's talking about the cherub up there."<br />
<br />
And that's when it really clicked for me. A lot of these people couldn't see this art the way my son could. They had too many preconceived notions of what everything was supposed to be. Why couldn't it be a baby? Why couldn't that other sculpture be a giant cactus? I thought that was the point of art like this...it can be what you want it to be. But because we adults read the descriptions or listen to the audio tours, we lose the chance to come at these pieces with a blank canvas. My son had a blank canvas...the grown-ups had paint-by-numbers.<br />
<br />
The joy of seeing art through my son's eyes extended beyond the Chihuly exhibition and into the galleries. The way he zeroed in on specific aspects of a painting while ignoring the "main event", if you will, was fascinating. Take this painting, <i>The Fog Warning,</i> by Winslow Homer:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7enwSngNNhhnTdHHH7tmS_ku79LjfkCqsnui9cgP22m1ZdKbYtno3_-Di43xdYZ0Uk5AdcrOVrmLJuFP6Tfv8QB-uSX0zgZKHGutxRm-8VCLaIHoeFNRA2E4_3fqEPfF3aEHs_3nurXA/s1600/fog+warning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7enwSngNNhhnTdHHH7tmS_ku79LjfkCqsnui9cgP22m1ZdKbYtno3_-Di43xdYZ0Uk5AdcrOVrmLJuFP6Tfv8QB-uSX0zgZKHGutxRm-8VCLaIHoeFNRA2E4_3fqEPfF3aEHs_3nurXA/s400/fog+warning.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>I took my son up to this painting thinking he would be impressed by the big fish in the small boat. Instead, he pointed at the tall ship way off in the background, excitedly talking about the "pirate ship" that was coming closer to the man in the boat. I'd barely even noticed the ship in the background. This was a common theme throughout our visit to the museum, which lasted over three hours. He found details I had missed. He would make up a story, explaining to me why the people were doing what they were doing. Occasionally he would ask questions, but usually he was just looking for ways to fill in the gaps in his own stories. <br />
<br />
I can't stop thinking about this visit. I've always enjoyed art in nearly any medium, but I've often become hung up on the "how" at the expense of the "what". I'm a scientist...I think it's natural for me to wonder how Dale Chihuly and his team make his amazing sculptures. I'm sure it's an interesting process. But it took my 4-year-old to help me step back and strip the "how" away, from the Chihuly pieces to paintings that were centuries old. He helped me forget the idea that a piece of art isn't <i>supposed</i> to be anything necessarily. A painting or sculpture can be whatever I want it to be: a story, an idea, or sometimes just a picture of somebody's stinky butt. Thanks, buddy. Thanks for reminding why works of art--not to mention kids--are awesome.EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-19230217842705384212011-03-30T22:03:00.002-04:002011-03-30T22:05:21.682-04:00O What a Dirty ThingWhen I first saw Michael Benjamin Lerner in the bathroom at the Middle East a few years ago, I had no idea I was about to fall hard for his band. I wrote about that first show <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/03/concert-review-telekinesisblind.html">here</a>, and his <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/04/more-mini-music-reviews-april-2009.html">first album</a> made my top 5 of 2009. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdyocS0oRwrHFJM74JtNeuq45XU5SYPu20qNgFRG0pb6QuPK7gXhSzvVmvon592AMuFAyi76fvfo9HqWwZLNn_3Opb5Xs5jGd44s31SDk8EeOF-KTQjnR9bV2r5J65_RyeB8_L1VeNIz8/s1600/telekinesisII.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdyocS0oRwrHFJM74JtNeuq45XU5SYPu20qNgFRG0pb6QuPK7gXhSzvVmvon592AMuFAyi76fvfo9HqWwZLNn_3Opb5Xs5jGd44s31SDk8EeOF-KTQjnR9bV2r5J65_RyeB8_L1VeNIz8/s200/telekinesisII.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>And now comes his follow up, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/12-Desperate-Straight-Lines-Telekinesis/dp/B004GH9ZL8?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">12 Desperate Straight Lines</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004GH9ZL8" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i>. <br />
<br />
There are two types of songs that get stuck in my head. There is the Katy Perry-esque treacle that gets played so frequently that it might as well be a commercial jingle. These are the types of songs that I want desperately to never hear again--they are the musical equivalent of Chinese water torture. You know the song is going to come at you again eventually, so your brain seems to mentally prepare itself. This is not the good way to get a song stuck in your head.<br />
<br />
Then there are songs like Lerner's. His songs will have a hook that creates a mental itch, and the only way to scratch that itch is to listen to the song again. And again. Soon you've got the album on the MP3-player equivalent of speed dial. Or, if you're an archaic old fart like me, you carry the CD around with you everywhere.<br />
<br />
And that's pretty much what I've been doing with <i>12 Desperate Straight Lines.</i> I wasn't enthralled after the very first listen, but it pretty much had me by the second. It's definitely an easily digestible album. The longest song is a shade over 3.5 minutes, but most of the songs clock in at 2 and half minutes or less, including the amazing single, "Dirty Thing":<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="225" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/14424975" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/14424975">Telekinesis - Dirty Thing</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/mergerecords">Merge Records</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<br />
I challenge you to listen to this song twice and NOT get the "chorus" stuck in your head. I use quotation marks since I don't know if you can call it a chorus if it doesn't have words, but you'll know what I'm talking about when you listen to it.<br />
<br />
And this is one of many great songs on the album. Merge has been on a pretty incredible streak as of late, and Telekinesis is probably one of their more underrated bands right now. Whenever a sophomore album equals--or in this case, maybe even surpasses--a strong debut, there's cause to celebrate. Or at the very least, cause to listen.EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-73121333247137071762011-01-27T22:23:00.001-05:002011-01-27T22:23:47.670-05:00EJP's Very Late Favorite Albums of 2010Well, better late than never, I guess. At least I'm doing this before the end of January.<br />
<br />
Was 2010 a great year for music? Probably not. But I did fall in love with a few albums, and there were certainly some that I liked a lot. They weren't always the most critically acclaimed--Arcade Fire's album was pretty amazing, but ultimately I didn't listen to it all that much. Apparently Kanye West's album was pretty amazing, but I haven't heard more than a track of it. <br />
<br />
So these are the 10 albums that I listened to the most, which is generally a pretty good indication that I like them. I'm not putting them in any particular order--I'll be a little more low key this year since this list is going up so late. <br />
<br />
First, the albums I've already written about...<br />
<br />
<ul><li> <b>Sharon Van Etten</b>: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Epic-Sharon-Van-Etten/dp/B003Y86JQE?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Epic</a> (see <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2010/12/if-you-dont-leave-me-now-do-you-love-me.html">this post</a>, or just scroll down) </li>
</ul><ul><li><b> LCD Soundsystem</b>: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/This-Happening-LCD-Soundsystem/dp/B003BEE0F8?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">This Is Happening</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003BEE0F8" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> (see <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2010/08/very-late-best-music-of-first-half-of.html">this post</a>) </li>
</ul><ul><li> <b>Fang Island</b>: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fang-Island/dp/B00332DBKI?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Fang Island</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B00332DBKI" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> (see <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2010/08/best-music-of-first-half-of-2010-pt-ii.html">this post</a>)</li>
</ul>Not only did I thoroughly enjoy this album, but they made one of my favorite videos of all time. The video below, for the song "Daisy," looks pretty crudely made at first, but if you think about how it was clearly done all in one go, shot by one of the dancers with no cuts, it's pretty amazing. Plus it just makes me incredibly happy when I watch it.<br />
<object height="295" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EIurAP4yHtQ?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EIurAP4yHtQ?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object><br />
<ul><li><b>Cornershop</b>: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Judy-Sucks-Lemon-Breakfast-Cornershop/dp/B002EP7Z6G?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Judy Sucks A Lemon for Breakfast</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002EP7Z6G" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> </li>
</ul><ul><li><b>The Black Keys</b>: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Black-Keys/dp/B003AO1SVS?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Brothers</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003AO1SVS" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> </li>
</ul><ul><li><b>Tuung</b>: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Then-We-Saw-Land/dp/B003907AEM?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">... And Then We Saw Land</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003907AEM" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></li>
</ul><ul><li><b>Vampire Weekend</b>: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Contra-Vampire-Weekend/dp/B002JN74WI?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Contra</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002JN74WI" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> (this album and previous 3 albums conveniently described all at once in <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2010/08/best-music-of-first-half-of-2010-pt-iii.html">this post</a>)</li>
</ul>And now some new stuff... <br />
<ul></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbzE-o6EnPunv6t6sLhCgcxNEuSlyg5yhZTmOKO9h_Q1Mon5V1z1cS2FIps60ELtFhajwBldwPbiuznw36WO6y6N8gGdv2wkv0BaQYbFxgTXP1rDJxg44qHgigyAVuVi0xay3vd-96FT8/s1600/archandroid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbzE-o6EnPunv6t6sLhCgcxNEuSlyg5yhZTmOKO9h_Q1Mon5V1z1cS2FIps60ELtFhajwBldwPbiuznw36WO6y6N8gGdv2wkv0BaQYbFxgTXP1rDJxg44qHgigyAVuVi0xay3vd-96FT8/s1600/archandroid.jpg" /></a></div><ul><li><b>Janelle Monáe</b>: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/ArchAndroid-Janelle-Monae/dp/B002ZFQD0E?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The ArchAndroid</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002ZFQD0E" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></li>
</ul>There are a number of reasons this album shouldn't work for me. It's a concept album. It mixes every genre of music under the sun. It's loaded with guest artists. It's produced and produced and produced.<br />
<br />
And yet it does work for me. Any one of the above attributes can usually put me off an album, but I guess when they're combined, something magic happens. Which is not to detract from Monáe's voice, which is incredible. Her voice ties the whole beautiful mess together. I can't remember what compelled me to pick this album up originally, but I'm so glad I did.<br />
<br />
<ul><li><b>Sonny & the Sunsets</b>: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tomorrow-Alright-Sonny-Sunsets/dp/B003VOP7N2?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Tomorrow Is Alright</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003VOP7N2" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> </li>
</ul>There seemed to be kind of a retro thing going on this year, with a lot of new or newish bands exploring old sounds. By old, I'm talking 50s and 60s-style rock. Gimmicky or not, I ate it up. Despite the fact that I'm constantly checking out new music, I grew up listening almost exclusively to oldies stations on the radio. That's where my heart is, and Sonny & the Sunsets--right down to their very name--tapped into my oldies-lovin' heart with this album. Here we have a band that sounds like they're right out of the <i>Happy Days</i> era, only with lyrics that would have made the Fonz blush. It's simple, fun, and exactly what I wanted to listen to many times over the last several months. Check out the song that got me hooked, "Too Young to Burn":<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Un2xYzvAqhw?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="360"></iframe><br />
<br />
<ul><li><b>The Goodnight Loving</b>: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Goodnight-Loving-Supper-Club/dp/B003PIUA04?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Goodnight Loving Supper Club</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003PIUA04" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-MFF6lScJb2JRQXHrL6MpBHJvlWmZ6ks1SIApPg8NWd8tr_NSey0ZzDOQJzhQ8LFNu5-mpJHTas0TLckUKFcz3ROH-7-05awr6dIF1eQFCua5B0VuosS5Egq-mquFCzBc4SVYwuiv8DA/s1600/goodnight+loving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-MFF6lScJb2JRQXHrL6MpBHJvlWmZ6ks1SIApPg8NWd8tr_NSey0ZzDOQJzhQ8LFNu5-mpJHTas0TLckUKFcz3ROH-7-05awr6dIF1eQFCua5B0VuosS5Egq-mquFCzBc4SVYwuiv8DA/s200/goodnight+loving.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Like Sonny & the Sunsets, there is an appealing timelessness to The Goodnight Loving's music. I probably listened to this album more than any other this past year. I consistently grabbed for it when I was feeling indecisive. The songs can be...weird. One of my favorites, "The Pan", is sung from the point of view of a fish that ends up in a pan. You can think of it as a metaphor I suppose, but you certainly don't have to.<br />
<br />
I'm struggling here...I want people to listen to this album because I honestly think it's really, really good. The songs are incredibly catchy (there's even a track appropriately called "Earworm"). If you can imagine The Beach Boys as a garage band, that might be what The Goodnight Loving sound like. In some ways, this album is the antithesis of Arcade Fire's <i>The Suburbs</i>. Not in terms of quality--both are great. But I think the main reason I couldn't listen to <i>The Suburbs</i> all that much is that it was just a little <i>too much</i>. It was so dense that I felt a little exhausted after listening to it. Whereas <i>Supper Club</i> woke me up. It's a much simpler album, and yes, more fun. <br />
<br />
And that's my top 10! But it wouldn't be me if I didn't at least a decent list of honorable mentions. Here are some other stand-out albums to check out:<br />
<ul><li> Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings: <i>I Learned the Hard Way</i></li>
<li>Mumford & Sons: <i>Sigh No More</i></li>
<li>Bouncing Souls: <i>Ghosts on the Boardwalk</i></li>
<li>Drive By Truckers: <i>The Big To-Do</i></li>
<li>She & Him: <i>Volume Two</i></li>
<li>Freelance Whales: <i>Weathervanes</i></li>
<li>Ted Leo & the Pharmacists: <i>Brutalist Bricks</i></li>
<li>Let's Wrestle: <i>In the Court of the Wrestling Let's </i></li>
</ul>EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-34056716257048298752010-12-01T21:54:00.002-05:002010-12-05T19:58:51.726-05:00If You Don't Leave Me Now, Do You Love Me Back?My super duper music crush of the year is Sharon Van Etten. I have to agree completely with the folks over at NPR music (where she did an amazing <a href="http://www.npr.org/2010/11/08/131163999/sharon-van-etten-tiny-desk-concert">Tiny Desk Concert</a>)--for any singer-song writer to stand out in this age of a gajillion singer-song writers, she has to be pretty special. If you're going to sit on a stage on your lonesome, strumming your guitar and singing thoughtfully, you better be damn good or I'll wonder why you aren't sitting in a subway station sifting through commuters' quarters.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Epic-Sharon-Van-Etten/dp/B003Y86JQE?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Epic" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B003Y86JQE&tag=raybslovcame-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003Y86JQE" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />Van Etten is that good. To be fair, her new album, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Epic-Sharon-Van-Etten/dp/B003Y86JQE?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Epic</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003Y86JQE" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />, has a bit more production that just the voice and the guitar, but that's just gravy on what is easily the most listenable-yet-sad-hearted album I have heard in years. The 17-year-old in me would have put this album on repeat and dreamed about moving to Brooklyn just to be in close proximity to this woman. As it is, the 34-year-old who is me is still playing this album more than anything else I've purchased in the last several months.<br />
<br />
But don't take my word for it. Follow the link to the concert above or play the video below, which has her playing "One Day", the song that got me hooked on her in the first place. If you don't like her, you can still be my friend, but not as good a friend.<br />
<object width="640" height="360" id="delve_player_object" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"><param name="movie" value="http://pitchfork-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/player/DelveMoviePlayer.swf"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000"/><param name="flashvars" value="mediaId=2e65180ceae143bb98bea5a965b555b3&adConfigurationChannelId=6cceb515a3ec4cf98b38819b443d2900&autoplayNextClip=true&defaultQuality=HD"/><embed src="http://pitchfork-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/player/DelveMoviePlayer.swf" name="delve_player_embed" wmode="transparent" width="640" height="360" bgcolor="#000000" allowScriptAccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer" flashvars="mediaId=2e65180ceae143bb98bea5a965b555b3&adConfigurationChannelId=6cceb515a3ec4cf98b38819b443d2900&playerForm=88a26316a62d4655a806dda0da4e95ca&autoplayNextClip=true&defaultQuality=HD"></embed></object>EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-53534615156674773742010-10-23T23:27:00.000-04:002010-10-23T23:27:24.957-04:00Wondermark Hits Too Close to HomeI have not posted much this year. Clearly. There are a few reasons. One, I've just been too busy with work and family. I don't really consider spending time with my family "busy" exactly, but it's super duper important and I want to do that more than I want to do anything else when I'm not working. Another reason is that I found I was listening to music/reading books/watching movies with the express purpose of writing about it on this blog. It was seriously distracting me from actually enjoying stuff. Instead of thinking, "Hey, I love this album! I want to listen to it over and over and totally lose myself in it for a month!", I was thinking, "Hey, I love this album! I'm going to write about it on the internet and then basically be done with it."<br />
<br />
And then, I read the following comic strip and it hit way, way too close to home. It's really too small to read here, so just click it to go to the Wondermark website. It'll be worth the ever so slight finger motion required for clickage:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://wondermark.com/262/"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip9L_HsikLTnpGM9D11Csct4CEmFyFO8B6CnffHkK788T4T-O0HF0UnjA7bNxbNRAWFe6LrJ_W1CpVhOpFrOVpRgW8dS4f3PF1-ndhkX0e4pyDHjhlgt8ALlMkrJZaqdIV_7Pl09ZabAw/s400/wondermark.gif" width="400" /></a></div><br />
This scenario has basically happened to me. I'm well aware that I've become a bit of a douche bag when it comes to convincing the hoi polloi that I have, like, the best taste ever. I'm sure I've used the term "indie cred" multiple times on this site alone. And no, I don't have a TV, though I do watch DVDs of TV shows sometimes. And I've been told no less than three times that a song I've played for someone is on a car or iPod commercial (no Burger King yet).<br />
<br />
I'm not giving up this blog altogether. In fact, I plan on posting more consistently...I'm gonna shoot for once a month. But instead of reading/listening/watching with the blog in mind, I'll sit down at the end of the month and write something about the pop culture nugget that blows my mind the most. Other Love-Camel contributors can do whatever they want...which for the past year or so has been nothing. It's all good. Oh, and I'll still do my favorite music of the year list at some point, because my musical taste is so, so awesome.<br />
<br />
And finally, read <a href="http://www.wondermark.com/">Wondermark</a>. It's wicked funny. I even bought the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wondermark-Beards-Forefathers-Collection-Strips/dp/1593079842?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">books</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1593079842" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />.EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-83387229825724859062010-08-30T23:49:00.000-04:002010-08-30T23:49:59.540-04:00Best Music of the First Half of 2010: Pt. III<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Albums That Surpassed My Expecations</span></span><br />
<br />
Admittedly, many of the albums below fell into this category because I had pretty low expectations for them. Nevertheless, these are all pretty high quality and I would recommend any of them.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieXh-4fANHZGX9osWWUM_guFbWQPZZEVKnQf5_VQiaeK0LUZ1jRUrnci5SbhzeQG7pBjLKGTInQYKIdKQzV978pPTT3Mb282Km4Ru9s9XmnNYFFtJQiH5Vc_Y63m-gzZaGemJ1GMK1ZHM/s1600/2010+clem+snide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieXh-4fANHZGX9osWWUM_guFbWQPZZEVKnQf5_VQiaeK0LUZ1jRUrnci5SbhzeQG7pBjLKGTInQYKIdKQzV978pPTT3Mb282Km4Ru9s9XmnNYFFtJQiH5Vc_Y63m-gzZaGemJ1GMK1ZHM/s320/2010+clem+snide.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003116W6G" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003116W6G" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />Clem Snide - <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Meat-Life-Clem-Snide/dp/B003116W6G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1282875416&sr=8-1"></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Meat-Life-Clem-Snide/dp/B003116W6G?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Meat of Life</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003116W6G" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />: </span></span>Clem Snide's last album, <span style="font-style: italic;">Hungry Bird</span>, was a huge let-down for me. But Eef Barzelay followed up with an album I can totally get behind. It may not be as high quality as some of the earlier Clem Snide albums, but the wry humor is still there in tracks like "Walmart Parking Lot"; and the heartbreak is there in tracks like "Denver". Barzelay also tends to name drop other musicians in his songs, and there's a nice nod to Sufjan Stevens (or at least his fans) in "I Got High."<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2W1o4QlheHYEeK3ZfGdq6KSnn83DIsPe9WyhnQUiupbVijDfShRDtaeqwQlXvNvqXw5Xh5qtymBPgWTxzF1N29BkuWliLsnjNBUlw1-18KZk1esf4Ku9zWUyEhH1d6DU4TU3lWMGE-o/s1600/2010+tunng.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2W1o4QlheHYEeK3ZfGdq6KSnn83DIsPe9WyhnQUiupbVijDfShRDtaeqwQlXvNvqXw5Xh5qtymBPgWTxzF1N29BkuWliLsnjNBUlw1-18KZk1esf4Ku9zWUyEhH1d6DU4TU3lWMGE-o/s320/2010+tunng.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tunng - <span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><i><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Then-We-Saw-Land/dp/B003907AEM?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">...And Then We Saw Land</a></b></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003907AEM" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />: Tunng is, in my opinion, and incredibly underrated band. At least in this country...I don't know if they're any more popular in their native UK. I got this album hoping it would be as good as their last effort, <span style="font-style: italic;">Broken Arrows</span>. It's a very different album, but I like it as much, if not more. The opening single, "Hustle", is the song that got me hooked:<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="225" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/9525275" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/9525275">Tunng - Hustle</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/thrilljockey">Thrill Jockey Records</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDjRWnLL5JqyqF1AmSWcJILgksZ-DsL3FbPjJXz44PgbdCLahSzpMLu1Eaoc8PtJeo2zlpxeGss_gb68g76uMLWvAwrcdx5w-Ae3SfYLhJhvOMwUc5uUxyHIYVGS_VmgDHeSz4X4agHMc/s1600/2010+bouncing+souls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDjRWnLL5JqyqF1AmSWcJILgksZ-DsL3FbPjJXz44PgbdCLahSzpMLu1Eaoc8PtJeo2zlpxeGss_gb68g76uMLWvAwrcdx5w-Ae3SfYLhJhvOMwUc5uUxyHIYVGS_VmgDHeSz4X4agHMc/s320/2010+bouncing+souls.jpg" /></a></div><b>The Bouncing Souls - <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-Boardwalk-Bouncing-Souls/dp/B0030Z9WC4?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Ghosts on the Boardwalk</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0030Z9WC4" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i></b>: A number of things surprise me about The Bouncing Souls. First and foremost, the fact that they're still around and making new albums. These guys have been kicking around for a good 12 years or so. Their albums may have matured somewhat, but unlike some of their peers (lookin' at Green Day here), they don't aspire to anything too fancy. They just want to make fun music. They also often have a song on each album that borders on novelty, and "Badass" easily fits that bill. It's basically the band reeling off one "badass" thing after another for a few minutes, and it is awesome.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJix-muZDoxNRv9v3FDAXoveIsRQJjNh6p7oybAgxXV-tM8CKuJzZjVBQbloqQKpznlam64uBuJJ7C5V40g5mJplzs-wmV39FOC2N-ZSRB7iIOc-cnyj-hN2KUZEScs70JuCHL3aS4wIA/s1600/2010+black+keys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJix-muZDoxNRv9v3FDAXoveIsRQJjNh6p7oybAgxXV-tM8CKuJzZjVBQbloqQKpznlam64uBuJJ7C5V40g5mJplzs-wmV39FOC2N-ZSRB7iIOc-cnyj-hN2KUZEScs70JuCHL3aS4wIA/s320/2010+black+keys.jpg" /></a></div><b>The Black Keys - <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Black-Keys/dp/B003AO1SVS?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Brothers</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003AO1SVS" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i></b> : Simply put, the best Black Keys album in ages. I've felt like they were on a bit of a downward spiral the last few years, but this is an amazingly accessible album, but it somehow it still sounds like The Black Keys. I'd be very surprise if this one didn't end up in my top 10 of the year.<br />
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<a href="http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=104927443">The Black Keys "Tighten Up"</a><br />
<object height="360px" width="425px"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/><param name="movie" value="http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=104927443,t=1,mt=video"/><embed src="http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=104927443,t=1,mt=video" width="425" height="360" allowFullScreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><br />
<a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=3451033">The Black Keys</a> | <a href="http://music.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=videos">MySpace Music Videos</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv9YM293XV6jnSSQ7IoZt03o9KZ5tIb8w0mzPrjfjDK_sq-CmmBqkpH0RxbV5pqvFc-vfGS6U_d6_ye1A439tc3yP1sbYkoN8pghTG-mZ0A3gVPH03GRMMsj5NNFCbTRacRajtbewAauo/s1600/2010+black+francis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv9YM293XV6jnSSQ7IoZt03o9KZ5tIb8w0mzPrjfjDK_sq-CmmBqkpH0RxbV5pqvFc-vfGS6U_d6_ye1A439tc3yP1sbYkoN8pghTG-mZ0A3gVPH03GRMMsj5NNFCbTRacRajtbewAauo/s320/2010+black+francis.jpg" /></a><b>Black Francis</b>-<b><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nonstoperotik-Black-Francis/dp/B0038FI7QI?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Nonstoperotik</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0038FI7QI" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i></b>: I don't really care what Charles Thompson wants to call himself these days, but starting with last year's <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/08/since-no-one-seems-to-be-aware-of-this.html"><i>Grand Duchy</i></a> (a collaboration with his wife), he seems to be in an upward spiral. After several years of stuff that was barely passable, one of my favorite musicians is finally making good albums again.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI2xOwUYzvB3qA_jJErVFDWHM2KKnyyDT50aoNrGAk0TTWDspfpmvxU5mXDkgQe5cmXBCZf0Vdj4hgRhVR_6FpYam9lPRpv1_Lhk2V6d9L87Yg1mqAbeWHczg5-HrnBwwMkX-3aBiV-H0/s1600/2010+ted+leo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI2xOwUYzvB3qA_jJErVFDWHM2KKnyyDT50aoNrGAk0TTWDspfpmvxU5mXDkgQe5cmXBCZf0Vdj4hgRhVR_6FpYam9lPRpv1_Lhk2V6d9L87Yg1mqAbeWHczg5-HrnBwwMkX-3aBiV-H0/s320/2010+ted+leo.jpg" /></a></div><b>Ted Leo & The Pharmacists</b> - <b><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Brutalist-Bricks-Ted-Leo-Pharmacists/dp/B00347ZXPI?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Brutalist Bricks</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B00347ZXPI" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i></b>: I have no idea how these guys started an album with an opener as explosive and energetic as "The Mighty Sparrow" and follow it up with a bunch of songs that are equally as good. <i>Brutalist Bricks</i> is, hands down, my new favorite Ted Leo album.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqIb1qLUe-iXBrPrHv-qvtSVdVcIg5G44shG6fH12y7bcF7Yz3NvlDU24wEC9uVeD_5vNtnizBmeHNpd5oukKP3yBqRXLnNJwycOApO4bjVWMX4wJGpbXaIJh4RDJNeEfCL2Kn8Keeak/s1600/2010+vampire+weekend.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqIb1qLUe-iXBrPrHv-qvtSVdVcIg5G44shG6fH12y7bcF7Yz3NvlDU24wEC9uVeD_5vNtnizBmeHNpd5oukKP3yBqRXLnNJwycOApO4bjVWMX4wJGpbXaIJh4RDJNeEfCL2Kn8Keeak/s320/2010+vampire+weekend.jpg" /></a><b>Vampire Weekend - <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Contra-Vampire-Weekend/dp/B002JN74WI?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Contra</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002JN74WI" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />: </b>I was pretty much convinced that lightning would not strike twice for this band. Their self-titled debut was unfollowuppable, or so I thought. But I'm still playing this album, which came out the second week of the year, on a fairly regular basis, and still finding new things to like about it. Never has a sophomore slump been so utterly and completely avoided.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2AgxmPkauhMrJ-CjFDAvlRILFSMV45SYmjAwFYILrtDhyphenhyphen5dMYXiuEwoXcC5vzkUq0BWBXzKXFjbIvHAK3ZcjkA943NL1VeqxM6udoFeKJLlAtv19lumy7VxN-SsRY_rthVqVbwHDXIc/s1600/2010+cornershop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2AgxmPkauhMrJ-CjFDAvlRILFSMV45SYmjAwFYILrtDhyphenhyphen5dMYXiuEwoXcC5vzkUq0BWBXzKXFjbIvHAK3ZcjkA943NL1VeqxM6udoFeKJLlAtv19lumy7VxN-SsRY_rthVqVbwHDXIc/s320/2010+cornershop.jpg" /></a></div><b>Cornershop - <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Judy-Sucks-Lemon-Breakfast-Cornershop/dp/B002EP7Z6G?ie=UTF8&tag=raybslovcame-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Judy Sucks A Lemon for Breakfast</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=raybslovcame-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002EP7Z6G" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />:</b> It has been 8 years since Cornershop's <i>Handcream for a Generation</i> came out, and I was utterly convinced I would never see another album from Tjinder Singh's band again. And even when I found that they were releasing a new album, I was skeptical. Eight years is a long time...if and when bands come back from a break that long, they...well, they often kind of suck. Cornershop came back with not only a strong album, but one of my favorite albums of the year. Some songs are political, some are nonsensical. There are multiple styles of music, from straight up anthemic rock, to a little calypso, to gospel, to bizarre mixes of many other genres. There are quite a few albums I like this year so far...some that I like a lot. This may be the only one so far that I really love.<br />
<object height="250" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bLgueesvGxk?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bLgueesvGxk?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="250"></embed></object>EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-75557076279579371732010-08-16T21:21:00.008-04:002010-08-20T09:34:32.540-04:00Best Music of the First Half of 2010: Pt. IIOK, the next category does not count as "Best Music", because these are some...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Albums That Failed to Meet My Expectations<br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Laura Marling - <span style="font-style: italic;">I Speak Because I C</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">an:</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> I enjoyed</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> Marling's 2008 debut, <span style="font-style: italic;">Alas I Cannot Swim</span>, immensely. Her follow-up is OK, but not great by any means.<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hot Chip - <span style="font-style: italic;">One Life Stand:</span></span> An underwhelming effort from a usually fun band.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Magnetic Fields - <span style="font-style: italic;">Realism: </span></span>Normally I worship a</span><span style="font-size:100%;">t the alter of Stephen Merritt, but this latest effort didn't do much for me. "We Are Having a Hootenanny" is sort of a fun novelty song, but for the most part I expect better from this usually peerless group of musicians.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Spoon - <span style="font-style: italic;">Transference: </span></span>I heard the the phrase "best Spoon album ever" tossed around by a number of critics, but I was less than impressed. I'll</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> probably listen to</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <span style="font-style: italic;">Girls Can Tell</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">Kill the Moonlight </span>10 times each </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">before I listen to this again.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Didn't Know Enough to Have Expectations<br /><br /></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">These are albums I've r</span><span style="font-size:100%;">eally been enjoying by either new bands or bands I'd never really listened to before. Broken Bells would have been on this list if I hadn't given them their own post yesterday...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Frightened Rabbit - <span style="font-style: italic;">The Winter of Mixed Drinks:</span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKrFvHmuMeKvgEE2UWMs3iggURX8dgNYx6w93kPmaqzIFR_M3V_78fEX6TAF1xG96Z6euBG5jFsPDeiHqP4yn6V7kwY8lw1tpou6RG0PIVm_btRzWEGMokjNnFzucMZMHPMUPB7cHKuOM/s1600/2010+frightend+rabbit.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKrFvHmuMeKvgEE2UWMs3iggURX8dgNYx6w93kPmaqzIFR_M3V_78fEX6TAF1xG96Z6euBG5jFsPDeiHqP4yn6V7kwY8lw1tpou6RG0PIVm_btRzWEGMokjNnFzucMZMHPMUPB7cHKuOM/s320/2010+frightend+rabbit.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506949504223166242" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span>This band's been around for a few years, but this was my introduction to them. As I explained when I wrote about We Were Promised Jet Packs <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/08/mini-music-reviews-august-2009-pt-ii.html">last year</a>, I guess I just like Scottish guys singing rock anthems.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Black Prairie - <span style="font-style: italic;">Feast of the Hunter's Moon</span></span>: Comprised of 3/5 of The Decemberists (Chris Funk, Jenny <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfHe4EMVd2eMYpsqUL15RwsoqvWjceDya0PM9VaesSM5cWw-TaCw2TCowSa6h9Fe0mVZDRWSwsK23dlYOxu5oEQ_cM4Lr2fvcV6D8QLq6UWMN-Y-7tWbfkpi7inYAiz_LwZFXxyTlg_SY/s1600/2010+black+prairie.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfHe4EMVd2eMYpsqUL15RwsoqvWjceDya0PM9VaesSM5cWw-TaCw2TCowSa6h9Fe0mVZDRWSwsK23dlYOxu5oEQ_cM4Lr2fvcV6D8QLq6UWMN-Y-7tWbfkpi7inYAiz_LwZFXxyTlg_SY/s320/2010+black+prairie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506949516135408226" border="0" /></a>Conlee, and, um, the bassist), and a few other Portland musicians, I expected some high quality musicianship, but I didn't really know what form it would take. If you have ever watched the defunct HBO series <span style="font-style: italic;">Deadwood</span> and enjoyed the background music, that's pretty much Black Prairie's music to a note. It defies genre to some extent, but it's kinda old-timey and very much American.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Freelance Whales - <span style="font-style: italic;">Weathervanes</span></span>: <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWNQwvgdYqiXW-aaWcOWjCWT-Jr55_ceP5kbChbK0r_kYkk3fMFPOva3K1FUGjv_UWxVpdNUjfMF6AKLeDmde7BeGYKwKOqMOgE2OGg5W2WrHukaLhswRFD0GwuHbPPDvARacD6vGsg9w/s1600/2010+freelance+whales.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWNQwvgdYqiXW-aaWcOWjCWT-Jr55_ceP5kbChbK0r_kYkk3fMFPOva3K1FUGjv_UWxVpdNUjfMF6AKLeDmde7BeGYKwKOqMOgE2OGg5W2WrHukaLhswRFD0GwuHbPPDvARacD6vGsg9w/s320/2010+freelance+whales.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506949508916825778" border="0" /></a>This band has been getting plenty of support from the blogosphere, and as far as I'm concerned, they're just about worthy of the hype. I've been listening to this album a lot.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Let's Wrestle - <span style="font-style: italic;">In the C</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">ourt of the Wrestling Let's:</span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAph1OAJsXEFxAu9g79k6voTbnonKXQYsXOJfpWS9BQvTHXgDgyCs6rAzBx60-4N44BfEIQC0hTHHjenDEoAtQk3wFuheoaE3aiWwrNg4CvDi7UB6k83TjxHLQMNxuke3AdgzVRLhl0hA/s1600/2010+let%27s+wrestle.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAph1OAJsXEFxAu9g79k6voTbnonKXQYsXOJfpWS9BQvTHXgDgyCs6rAzBx60-4N44BfEIQC0hTHHjenDEoAtQk3wFuheoaE3aiWwrNg4CvDi7UB6k83TjxHLQMNxuke3AdgzVRLhl0hA/s320/2010+let%27s+wrestle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506949489546237362" border="0" /></a> I can't even remember why I bought this album, other than that it was released by Merge, who I generally trust to release great albums. I can't even really explain why I've been listening to it so much. There are plenty of dirty garage rock bands out there that are borderline ridiculous. I think that maybe since Let's Wrestle saunters across that border and revels in their own ridiculousness, I have embraced them. I'm also a sucker for choruses that fall back on "ba ba ba ba ba....":<br /><object height="227" width="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5RN4-WlzHME?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5RN4-WlzHME?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="227" width="360"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Drive-By Truckers - <span style="font-style: italic;">Big To-Do:</span></span> These guys have been around for nigh on a decade, but this is the first album of theirs I've ever heard. I can't remember exactly why I picked it up, but I'm glad I did.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://fangisland.com/">Fang Island</a> - <span style="font-style: italic;">Fang Island:</span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrs8AUCOOIKiLii6uTUsOgAw3Pbzwft53JXgRMFgbyioo29G1CRAlwFYojbIgNGuxSN5l36g4y6nu9txXd1IH_ZxRhgtlXUCwxT123Cenx5PTzSZXryZAqqMFMvNxlKnaXjwJnovOf8vo/s1600/2010+fang+island.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrs8AUCOOIKiLii6uTUsOgAw3Pbzwft53JXgRMFgbyioo29G1CRAlwFYojbIgNGuxSN5l36g4y6nu9txXd1IH_ZxRhgtlXUCwxT123Cenx5PTzSZXryZAqqMFMvNxlKnaXjwJnovOf8vo/s320/2010+fang+island.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506949506758113442" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span>This bizarre band will not be everyone's cup of tea, but I personally think this is a helluva fun album. If you're at all familiar with Ponytail, this is sort of a toned down version of them. There's less screaming, but you're still not listening to Fang Island for insightful lyrics (if a song has lyrics at all). There's just a joyfulness to the music that one doesn't hear much these days. Sadly, it's kind of rare to listen to a group and think "Hey, they sound like they're having a <span style="font-style: italic;">really good time.</span>" This band, on the other hand, is having a blast.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Charlotte Gainsbourg - <span style="font-style: italic;">IRM</span>: </span>I initially picked this up because I knew Beck was involved, and I've honestly enjoyed it more than any of Beck's own recent albums. The trippy video below is for my favorite song off <span style="font-style: italic;">IRM</span>, "Heaven Can Wait", but there are plenty of other excellent tracks that make this whole album worth a listen.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /><object id="AOLVP_50851477001" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="415" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://o.aolcdn.com/videoplayer/AOL_PlayerLoader.swf"><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="flashvars" value="playerid=10032373001&stillurl=http%3A%2F%2Fpdl%2Estream%2Eaol%2Ecom%2Faol%2Fbrightcove%2Fus%2Fmusic%2Fmusicvideos%2Fwmg%5Felektra%2Fcharlottegainsbourg%2Fcharlottegainsbourg%5Fheavencanwait%5Fvideo%5Fstill%5F480%2Ejpg&publisherid=1612833736&videoid=50851477001&codever=1"><embed src="http://o.aolcdn.com/videoplayer/AOL_PlayerLoader.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" bgcolor="#000000" name="AOLVP_50851477001" flashvars="playerid=10032373001&stillurl=http%3A%2F%2Fpdl%2Estream%2Eaol%2Ecom%2Faol%2Fbrightcove%2Fus%2Fmusic%2Fmusicvideos%2Fwmg%5Felektra%2Fcharlottegainsbourg%2Fcharlottegainsbourg%5Fheavencanwait%5Fvideo%5Fstill%5F480%2Ejpg&publisherid=1612833736&videoid=50851477001&codever=1" height="415" width="480"></embed></object>EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-80799904260249082732010-08-15T21:43:00.008-04:002010-08-15T21:56:43.737-04:00Broken Bells and Their Trippy "Video"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqECyBpSJWP2yXl84RiqyvtdlR_yViql8kxgr-0t0oOBeKlHzKdz5gwn9nXvc9JoP-V0MxRL61M8zZpeiqpAn2uiUslCzH3LuW61RZHy6p2gQAyzyaraQIqFDR6gdhI8Nu8q3-ZHDkPKk/s1600/2010+broken+bells.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 223px; height: 223px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqECyBpSJWP2yXl84RiqyvtdlR_yViql8kxgr-0t0oOBeKlHzKdz5gwn9nXvc9JoP-V0MxRL61M8zZpeiqpAn2uiUslCzH3LuW61RZHy6p2gQAyzyaraQIqFDR6gdhI8Nu8q3-ZHDkPKk/s320/2010+broken+bells.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505819825608762770" border="0" /></a><br />I was going to talk briefly about Broken Bells briefly in Part II of my first half of 2010 music review anyway, but then I stumbled upon <a href="http://www.brokenbells.com/october/">this</a>. It's an interactive video for their song "October", and it's pretty damn clever. Clever enough to warrant it's own post, I reckon. Make sure you move your mouse around the screen lots and lots.<br /><br />The band is comprised of James Mercer (of The Shins) and Danger Mouse. Both great artists, but not necessarily two people I pictured together as a band. They sort of pull it off though. The self-titled album sneaks up on you. I wasn't impressed on the first listen (which was several months ago now), but after a few more spins it really started to grow on me. It's good wind-down music...not so good pump-up music. But winding down is good, too, ya know?EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-19773301014053243042010-08-13T22:07:00.009-04:002010-08-20T09:33:58.490-04:00(A Very Late) Best Music of the First Half of 2010: Part IAfter post #300, I took a hiatus from this blog...life got busy. It still is, but I'm feeling like writing about stuff again. I've been listening to a lot of music this year, and my ego compels me to share my opinions with the internets.<br /><br />The albums mentioned below and in the forthcoming posts all came out before July (I think). There are plenty of good albums that have come out since then, but I'm sticking to the first half of the year for now. Instead of a standard top 10, I've split everything up into 4 categories and things are in no particular order. Category 1 sounds boring, but it includes some great albums:<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Albums that Met My Expectations</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">The National - <span style="font-style: italic;">High Violet</span>:</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> Didn't think it would be as good as <span style="font-style: italic;">Boxer</span>, and it's not. But it's still a great album by nearly any other standard.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gorillaz - <span style="font-style: italic;">Plastic Beach:</span></span> Expected good, got good.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Hold Steady - <span style="font-style: italic;">Heaven is Whenever:</span></span> </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG0FSojlN9zttARiy_SpcjUIbz5GnJr2dQgG9xQaO49OlN0HE4-_QZDxR5NDTgnlPAYlE2yM0-pbcdfKIiZmcRQwvcKglOEnfJmksnCHYpyMneo1FFtuC2MG8pMoLUK2C8QtIi2eNaQ5k/s1600/2010+hold+steady.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG0FSojlN9zttARiy_SpcjUIbz5GnJr2dQgG9xQaO49OlN0HE4-_QZDxR5NDTgnlPAYlE2yM0-pbcdfKIiZmcRQwvcKglOEnfJmksnCHYpyMneo1FFtuC2MG8pMoLUK2C8QtIi2eNaQ5k/s320/2010+hold+steady.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505098331887364402" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">The Hold Steady know how to put out an album around the be</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ginning of the summer that begs to be played loud in the car with the windows rolled down. That's what I wanted and that's what I got.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">She & Him - <span style="font-style: italic;">Volume Two:</span></span> I won't claim to like this album as much as <span style="font-style: italic;">Volume One, </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">but t</span><span style="font-size:100%;">hat was a hard debut to follow. It was as much as I could have hoped for from a pretty actress with a pretty voice and an indie star who has been, arguably, a little <span style="font-style: italic;">too</span> prolific as of late. I guess that makes it sound like I didn't like this album, but I do. I expected fun, light pop and that's what Zooey and Matt brought.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">LCD Soundsystem - <span style="font-style: italic;">This Is Happening</span></span>: Everything I could have hoped for from a group that's just getting better. Video for my favorite song off the album, "Drunk Girls":<br /><object height="182" width="280"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qdRaf3-OEh4?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qdRaf3-OEh4?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="182" width="280"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The New Pornographers - <span style="font-style: italic;">Together:</span></span> </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRHfIpeMItwT0dW14YrEXBDFb40UGrkRYKh0ywjC1OL2GVjxPCR4JwkQeDDAAge9m4Ln_47_LeJTaoq4tjMzAaGAODEb5hWxc3fauF6neLixr8waBVDqU1ReBOkS8jhH7rZqEFMBi4BoA/s1600/2010+new+pornographers.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRHfIpeMItwT0dW14YrEXBDFb40UGrkRYKh0ywjC1OL2GVjxPCR4JwkQeDDAAge9m4Ln_47_LeJTaoq4tjMzAaGAODEb5hWxc3fauF6neLixr8waBVDqU1ReBOkS8jhH7rZqEFMBi4BoA/s320/2010+new+pornographers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505098332224292818" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">This band has set such a high standard for themselves over the years, it's hard not to worry about a dud coming along. But I didn't, and it hasn't. A.C., Neko, Dan, and the rest of the gang can make albums forever as far as I'm concerned.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - <span style="font-style: italic;">I Learned The Hard Way: </span></span>Exactly what I wanted from a band that offers a nice change of pace from pretty much everything else I listen to.<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Robyn Hitchcock - <span style="font-style: italic;">Propellor Time<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Laura Viers - <span style="font-style: italic;">July Flame<br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dr. Dog - <span style="font-style: italic;">Shame, Shame<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">These are all artists that I like, but seldom love. They tend to put out albums with several OK songs and a few greats songs, and their latest efforts did just that, no more and no less.<br /></span>EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-40268064363076546282010-03-24T21:41:00.019-04:002010-04-08T22:07:28.628-04:00Comfort Music of the Last DecadeI have a crapload of CDs. My brother-in-law asked me how many I had the other day, and I honestly didn't know. I stopped trying to keep track after 500 or so, and I'm probably closing in on a 1,000 by now.<br /><br />That means there are a lot of albums I don't listen to all that much. I'm still exploring new music, and there's simply not enough free time in my life to listen to everything. That's why it's kind of remarkable when a handful of albums <span style="font-style: italic;">do</span> pop into my CD player on a relatively frequent basis (and yes, I actually still buy and play CDs...I'm old school like that).<br /><br />I equate these albums to the musical equivalent of comfort food. My definition of a comfort food is something I can eat that makes me feel good. I can eat it on a regular basis, and I generally won't ever get sick of it. The quality of the food could be great or it could be not-sot-great. Quality isn't necessarily the issue here. The food--or the album--might bring back a certain happy memory or time period in my life. It might be all style and no substance. If it's an album, maybe it just makes shake my ass on a consistent basis. Maybe I know it so well that I don't have to think about it anymore. I can just consume it without worrying about whether it's good for me or makes me look like a dork.<br /><br />Here are a dozen albums from the last decade that fit this description (the description of each gets shorter as we move through the years since I've written about the latter ones on this blog before). I'm not telling everyone that these are the best albums ever. Many people might hate them. But for whatever reason they have created a little niche for themselves in my music-loving mind. Some of them really are amazing albums that I think everyone should hear. Some I probably latched onto for completely personal reasons. I won't differentiate. I'll just tell you that I love these albums and they make me happy. (I apologize in advance for the font changes and crappy video embed. My grasp of Html is not good enough to figure out what happened.)<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><br />Clem Snide - </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Your Favorite Music</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"> (2001)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgztXwSKBz4Y_43O8W6BcQKisjjKK-cWwWWQvL3e7dSWdw8zFg7ocWsqmjhpRp4ytxN9UpSgvQ03Q49yuZJw3XerSnqGkMCx4DtjcL-1A_HZfH0jx0CKmbbJt2Q86nmaf6f1gNbZrcHqVQ/s1600/your+favorite+music.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgztXwSKBz4Y_43O8W6BcQKisjjKK-cWwWWQvL3e7dSWdw8zFg7ocWsqmjhpRp4ytxN9UpSgvQ03Q49yuZJw3XerSnqGkMCx4DtjcL-1A_HZfH0jx0CKmbbJt2Q86nmaf6f1gNbZrcHqVQ/s200/your+favorite+music.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457939755333260082" border="0" /></a>I consider Eef Barzelay one of the more underrated contemporary song writers in the US. His lyrics are often described as "overly clever", which I think is a ridiculous critique. I always feel that if a critic or reviewer uses expressions like that, they're seriously grasping for something negative to say, or they're jealous. Barzelay is the core of Clem Snide, and essentially the only permanent member as far as I can tell.<br /><br />The aptly named <span style="font-style: italic;">Your Favorite Music</span> was not Clem Snide's first album, but it was first I heard and it was the one that got me hooked. The opening track, "Dairy Queen," is a surreal, stream-of-consciousness trip of a song. Later we come to "Bread", a love song that makes every other love song you've heard lately sound...moldy. "I Love the Unknown" is one of my favorite songs of all time. It's a gem of a pop song. It's a philosophy. The album continues to amaze right up to its closer, a cover of "Donna" by Ritchie Valens. Barzelay does not have a classically great voice, but this cover is pretty sweet. When I first started listening to this album, a girl named Donna was doing some work in our lab. She was cute and all, but I think the primary reason I developed a crush on her is because I'd been listening to this song.<br /><br />I would not say I love every track, but I love most of them, and like the rest. Out of all my CDs, this is the only I have actually worn out from over-playing. It was replaced quickly.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Stephen Malkmus - </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Stephen Malkmus</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"> (2001)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwPbmyQeyoRf4gb4RnFwCN6tfCWIYqBvk2acpVqhZ79hJWIieG0MhI3ybQ7vRddt5mu5rSSRNXpO1EgwVpk3ue2xoQrL-du4C1mCeniFMmIUTvUMweWqnZ7RoIAlZJSsW7LH7MtmL991U/s1600/stephen+malkmus.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwPbmyQeyoRf4gb4RnFwCN6tfCWIYqBvk2acpVqhZ79hJWIieG0MhI3ybQ7vRddt5mu5rSSRNXpO1EgwVpk3ue2xoQrL-du4C1mCeniFMmIUTvUMweWqnZ7RoIAlZJSsW7LH7MtmL991U/s200/stephen+malkmus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457941767976743410" border="0" /></a>Stephen Malkmus had a huge chip on his shoulder when this album came out, and that chip was called Pavement. Pavement was huge in the 90s, and if you knew music, you were familiar with them if not downright devoted to them. When they split up, it brought closure to a tumultuous decade of music.<br /><br />Pavement was a lot of things, but it wasn't pop. So when Malkmus came out with this self-titled debut and we got this, it was a bit jarring to a lot of people. But not to me. I loved it. There are songs about pirates ("The Hook") and Yule Brenner ("Jo Jo's Jacket"), as well as "Jenny & the Ess-Dog" a song that describes the beginning, middle, and end of a relationship between a young girl and her much older, hippie boyfriend. I've listened to it dozens of times and seem to hear something new every time. "Off with those awful toe rings" indeed.<br /><br />Malkmus would go on to release several more good-but-not-great albums with his new band, the Jicks, and eventually he started sounding more Pavementy (and Pavement has actually reunited this year), but there will always be a place in my CD player for this first breakaway effort.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Dressy Bessy - <span style="font-style: italic;">Dressy Bessy</span> (2003)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-u__eb5oyi0w2Vmz5XBckoL6eVCfCzKj3jPtFYg3pClW4UiZTqJbyhu0E4_gxINONxRFZgOg5saughyphenhyphenUjbnFUsGuy8nuIDxVKakFEKZ-mQlmwkwBBvsUP2yFQN9bRhANF91Y5i-k-t2Y/s1600/dressy+bessy.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-u__eb5oyi0w2Vmz5XBckoL6eVCfCzKj3jPtFYg3pClW4UiZTqJbyhu0E4_gxINONxRFZgOg5saughyphenhyphenUjbnFUsGuy8nuIDxVKakFEKZ-mQlmwkwBBvsUP2yFQN9bRhANF91Y5i-k-t2Y/s200/dressy+bessy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457939775507938546" border="0" /></a>To put this band into context, I first heard them on a soundtrack for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Powerpuff_Girls">The Powerpuff Girls</a>. But I didn't really fall in love with them until I saw them live. When I saw Tammy Ealom strutting her stuff in her go-go boots and singing her heart out--visually, a stark contrast to her scraggly-but-talented band of dudes--I became a fan for life. They were touring with this album, which though self-titled, was actually their third or fourth LP.<br /><br />I wore out Clem Snide, but I've probably actually listened to this CD more than anything else in the past 7 years (I guess this CD was just physically stronger??). I put it in when I need something ridiculously upbeat. When I have a ton of dishes to do and I wanna shake my ass while I do them. It's pure bubblegum pop. I've listened to it so many times at this point and know the songs so well that it's the musical equivalent of sitting down and mindlessly eating a whole bag of M&Ms. It's sugary and probably not good for me, but it makes me feel good.<br /><br />Will everybody like it? Probably not. Maybe I just heard it at the right place and the right time and it stuck. But did it stick hard. Here's a peek of what you'd be getting yourself into if you check it out:<br />http://www.mightyfudge.com/webtoons/dressy/mfdbv2.html<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><br />Cat Power - </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">You Are Free</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"> (2003)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWM0YYgSMzf_fB5YU1dMkixWcqrFIL3BeDnz4yFXD00_PBdTvL-eUYId9anw3VlXwdydwFKGRh3K_VWUyqNLM4ss0PPGdl53mK_QeaUsrvdZmJjo43hrXdPMGiqu-7ngB4itjJ7MHFHI/s1600/you+are+free.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWM0YYgSMzf_fB5YU1dMkixWcqrFIL3BeDnz4yFXD00_PBdTvL-eUYId9anw3VlXwdydwFKGRh3K_VWUyqNLM4ss0PPGdl53mK_QeaUsrvdZmJjo43hrXdPMGiqu-7ngB4itjJ7MHFHI/s200/you+are+free.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457941753310333650" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">You Are Free</span> is arguably the last Cat Power album Chan Marshall made before she un-crazied herself. And holy crap was she crazy when she toured with this album. I managed to make it through about 45 minutes of her "performing" these songs. She never finished a single song and she harassed the poor sound guy at the Cat's Cradle relentlessly. It was the first and only show I've ever walked out on due to the artist's assholeishness.<br /><br />Lucky for her, I'd already fallen in love with her album before I went to see her live. "Good Woman", my favorite track from the album and, in my opinion, one of the best break-up songs of all time, felt like it was written just for me and my newly-ex-girlfriend. She was (and is) a good woman, and I am a good man, but we weren't so good for each other. It's a simple message, but between Marshall's smokey delivery and Eddie Vedder's guest vocals, it sounds rich and complex and true.<br /><br />But an album can't be great based on one song, and there's plenty more quality stuff. I would say that 70% of my favorite Cat Power songs are on this album, including "I Don't Blame You", "Free", "He War", and so on. OK, "Names" is possibly one of the most depressing songs ever, but it's still not necessarily a <span style="font-style: italic;">bad</span> song. Sometimes I can just listen to Chan Marshall's voice and it doesn't matter what she's singing. Now that she's sobered up, her live shows are considerably better as well. But if I could only choose one Cat Power album to keep, I would choose this one in a heartbeat.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">The Shins - <span style="font-style: italic;">Chutes Too Narrow</span> (2003)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5-vJrGy8LkCMleukYXreQd9_Uw-pYCynhUiBnrYlL7c2dxTTu_ev9QNXzeFdfLZjLkj7641nnk-QuAyF3JtRHOBTCSZqvethlmBF7xOfXO9aQtpNzNQpOKDAnUKF8pVkK0F8xMQN4aW4/s1600/chutes+too+narrow.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5-vJrGy8LkCMleukYXreQd9_Uw-pYCynhUiBnrYlL7c2dxTTu_ev9QNXzeFdfLZjLkj7641nnk-QuAyF3JtRHOBTCSZqvethlmBF7xOfXO9aQtpNzNQpOKDAnUKF8pVkK0F8xMQN4aW4/s200/chutes+too+narrow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457941746858507842" border="0" /></a>Not too much to say about this one that hasn't already been said. Natalie Portman blah blah blah it'll change your life blah blah blah. <span style="font-style: italic;">Chutes Too Narrow</span> is quite possibly the best sophomore album ever. Their first album was good, but this one was great. Maybe too great for The Shins. <span style="font-style: italic;">Wincing the Night Away</span> was a huge let-down after the pop perfection of this album. Of all the albums on this list, this one was the most popular among the masses. And that's fine. I'm actually relieved that at least one of my favorite albums was enjoyed by a large number of people.<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><br />Jim White - </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Drill a Hole in the Substrate and Tell Me What You See</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"> (2004)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtUiXQ-RxX3HYlclEFEQvbyVycQ0OGO8zeUv6irCPjCZKI8uFba940peqkS-QKEJxX5IC2krhOld1Pw038YgUzadKyM0MXPieTM9TUUfsedWcuhhLWVgJPnKKDsGFNde9UoROE-3pQlcM/s1600/drill+a+hole.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtUiXQ-RxX3HYlclEFEQvbyVycQ0OGO8zeUv6irCPjCZKI8uFba940peqkS-QKEJxX5IC2krhOld1Pw038YgUzadKyM0MXPieTM9TUUfsedWcuhhLWVgJPnKKDsGFNde9UoROE-3pQlcM/s200/drill+a+hole.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457943675896311826" border="0" /></a>In trying to think of someone with whom to compare Jim White, the closest person I could come to was Harry Chapin. That won't mean much to anyone who isn't either over 40 or didn't have at least one parent into folk music (thanks, Mom!). Like Chapin, most of White's songs are too long to make it to the radio. They range from the playful and fun ("Combing My Hair in a Brand New Style") to the beautifully melancholy ("Bluebird"). Most of the songs on this album fall into the latter category, so I have to be in the right mood when I listen to it. But when I am in the right mood, nothing fits the bill better.<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><br />Andrew Bird - </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">The Mysterious Production of Eggs</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"> (2005)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFGhmVeu-DEtPfvpmlxTS_yX3b_jQRHldDp0-eElI766cTgv-fkqEoWcJIimYj5JsR_mL5WR2D6FOSC4fUGqsgQZe5gyxd0VnMrwqjI_GmFjh8oQssg3Dpy3INgkhBXXLFi1veYTxHIoM/s1600/mysterious+production+of+eggs.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFGhmVeu-DEtPfvpmlxTS_yX3b_jQRHldDp0-eElI766cTgv-fkqEoWcJIimYj5JsR_mL5WR2D6FOSC4fUGqsgQZe5gyxd0VnMrwqjI_GmFjh8oQssg3Dpy3INgkhBXXLFi1veYTxHIoM/s200/mysterious+production+of+eggs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457941761068945250" border="0" /></a>I have written about Andrew Bird extensively on this blog at this point, so if anyone who reads it regularly hasn't checked out his music by now, then it's probably too late to convince you. But I'll try anyway...listen to this album. Please. I'm not going to claim that Bird is the greatest song writer. He's admitted that the meaning behind his lyrics often comes secondary to the way the words sound. The result is beautiful strings of words that are open to interpretation, wrapped in music I can listen to over and over again. This album was my first exposure to his music, and though his earlier and later work is excellent, <span style="font-style: italic;">TMPoE</span> is still my favorite. For some of my earlier raves of both the Jim White album and this one, check out this <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2007/08/three-albums-everyone-should-hear.html">post</a>.<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><br />Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins - </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Rabbit Fur Coat</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"> (2006)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY54WNE3EWcONnY8DC14ErQDOfTcuPk3_GfoZ_rDStISL89hBttZGEwZm0ZYTvyCvYX7lB4q-k56EfP5JsHSMx4k1EsdB0Cqoe0lBOsojGEEQ6kz-OaXi1qoJg5rW8OjhodIJfrnrLUT8/s1600/rabbit+fur+coat.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY54WNE3EWcONnY8DC14ErQDOfTcuPk3_GfoZ_rDStISL89hBttZGEwZm0ZYTvyCvYX7lB4q-k56EfP5JsHSMx4k1EsdB0Cqoe0lBOsojGEEQ6kz-OaXi1qoJg5rW8OjhodIJfrnrLUT8/s200/rabbit+fur+coat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457941758428025186" border="0" /></a>The inclusion of this album almost came as a surprise to myself, but when I popped the CD in last week I realized I've actually been listening to this album a lot over the past few years. Maybe it's Lewis's sweet voice backed up by the perfectly harmonizing Watson Twins. Maybe it's the songs that are a little bit country and a little bit rock. Maybe it's the smart songs that are catchy <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> though provoking, which is not an easy thing to pull off. Maybe it's that perfect cover of "Handle With Care" with M. Ward. I'm sure it's a little bit of all these things.<br /><br />I can't think of any other album quite like this one. If I'd been writing this blog in 2006, I'm sure it would have tied for my favorite album of the year with...<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Forro in the Dark -</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span id="btAsinTitle" style=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Bonfires of São João</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"> (2006)</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><img src="file:///C:/Users/Eric/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot.png" alt="" /><img src="file:///C:/Users/Eric/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.png" alt="" /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLBXsN_VB8Sah4BKVUB-LrtJUDv3E5wiDE22sZbM1Z8_fftSl-BXlKc4q5SLzmJI6H3FKyIcg2c78Xxi7fwFhtZlpra_FtULvw7IRAQVA9bgn56w-VzcAi06WdQxTowJni2rUjxaw4Tc/s1600/forro+in+the+dark+bonfires.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLBXsN_VB8Sah4BKVUB-LrtJUDv3E5wiDE22sZbM1Z8_fftSl-BXlKc4q5SLzmJI6H3FKyIcg2c78Xxi7fwFhtZlpra_FtULvw7IRAQVA9bgn56w-VzcAi06WdQxTowJni2rUjxaw4Tc/s200/forro+in+the+dark+bonfires.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457943669588793922" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span id="btAsinTitle" style="">Forro in the Dark's most recent album was possibly <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2010/01/ejps-favorite-albums-of-2009.html">my favorite album of 2009</a> (though I have to say there's probably a little wiggle room in the top five), and I liked this album a lot more. I've written about it <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2007/12/top-3-albums-i-missed-in-2006.html">before</a>, and I will continue to give props to this band as they continue to promote forro in the US. I told myself I wasn't going to embed any video in this already too-long post, but whatever. Here's Asa Branca, featuring David Byrne:<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/v8OWpeF8jy0&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/v8OWpeF8jy0&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Bishop Allen - <span style="font-style: italic;">The Broken String</span> (2007)</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiLjQX68K9tL3CL4yLjxuMcB5bX82Ux8CqfaeEEoaalTVSkBgri8tozxiq4VFRtYNrKGLmP2NcPNk6C6REZFVLsDNPTByhVc0Xob0U7BGMARy_M0uGeNTy_D146MESKQdZlrwPniTsYEc/s1600/bishop.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiLjQX68K9tL3CL4yLjxuMcB5bX82Ux8CqfaeEEoaalTVSkBgri8tozxiq4VFRtYNrKGLmP2NcPNk6C6REZFVLsDNPTByhVc0Xob0U7BGMARy_M0uGeNTy_D146MESKQdZlrwPniTsYEc/s200/bishop.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457943666837836482" border="0" /></a><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span id="btAsinTitle" style=""><span style="font-size:100%;">I actually lost this CD for several months, and when I finally found it again, I had to play it instantly. Yes, I realize I had multiple copies of the album on my iPod and various computers. I never said I was a rational person when it came to music.<br /><br />The street after which this band is named is just a few blocks from where I work. That's not actually pertinent to anything; it's just a random bit of trivia. What's more important is that this is a very fun <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2007/12/ejps-top-10-albums-of-2007.html">album</a>. It's an album I can listen to on my own, or with my kids, or even possibly with co-workers. I don't like using phrases like "If you don't like this album, then you have no soul." But if you listened to this album and weren't charmed by at least a few of the tunes, I would seriously have to question whether or not I wanted to hang out with you.<br /><br />And as long as I've already broken my no video rule, here's "Click, Click, Click, Click":<br /><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_LpmrZbTu1o&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_LpmrZbTu1o&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="560"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">The National - </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Boxer</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"> (2007)</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjogOuRV9geAPtwC7BOlJBKzkpSCl8lzHPIKc1ozglnOk-KyJT5NllLzMOD9ZcQWcIoqfjNWTBWSQ9oha9fNpfXqbw1QXShtcrVELWD-XR2Qj3Gg6BjM5RXiEkqC0H-WM5L75PmvRLfL3o/s1600/boxer.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 120px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjogOuRV9geAPtwC7BOlJBKzkpSCl8lzHPIKc1ozglnOk-KyJT5NllLzMOD9ZcQWcIoqfjNWTBWSQ9oha9fNpfXqbw1QXShtcrVELWD-XR2Qj3Gg6BjM5RXiEkqC0H-WM5L75PmvRLfL3o/s200/boxer.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457939759036893298" border="0" /></a><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span id="btAsinTitle" style=""><span style="font-size:100%;">My <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2007/12/ejps-top-10-albums-of-2007.html">favorite album of 2007</a>. The National comes out with a new album in a month or so, and it'll be interesting to see how it measures up. Boxer is not a happy-go-lucky album. It's not really danceable. I wouldn't call the songs particularly catchy (though they're all good). I guess I can't describe why I like this album so much any more now than I could a few years ago when I called it my favorite. It's just something I have to listen to sometimes.<br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">We Brave Bee Stings and All</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"> (2008)</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzsh0tefxXQvi0PZKVgfdmPu9DRWpY-_hLG128hfYgdTGwWzG4jHE6geqmw-KyGeOHLhSMCthf7F48Usbs2HhbsRvnQUdxgdLEWz3QJbq3XUDe-oweThn6zl3LUfQjKETCf6sUsdNHrgM/s1600/thao.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 108px; height: 108px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzsh0tefxXQvi0PZKVgfdmPu9DRWpY-_hLG128hfYgdTGwWzG4jHE6geqmw-KyGeOHLhSMCthf7F48Usbs2HhbsRvnQUdxgdLEWz3QJbq3XUDe-oweThn6zl3LUfQjKETCf6sUsdNHrgM/s200/thao.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457939767478912386" border="0" /></a><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span id="btAsinTitle" style=""><span style="font-size:100%;">My top album of 2008, I wrote about this one extensively <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2008/04/checkem-out-studio-360-and-thao-nguyen.html">here</a> and <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/01/ejps-top-albums-of-2008-1-10.html">here</a>. Still fun, still listening to it. Thao's follow-up last year...not as fun. WBBSaA is a bit more whimsical and innocent, and I like it better for that.<br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><h1 style="font-weight: normal;" class="parseasinTitle"><span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span id="btAsinTitle" style=""><br /></span></span></span></h1> <h1 style="font-weight: normal;" class="parseasinTitle"><span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span id="btAsinTitle" style=""><br /></span></span></span></h1> <h1 style="font-weight: normal;" class="parseasinTitle"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span id="btAsinTitle" style=""><br /></span></span></h1><h1 style="font-weight: normal;" class="parseasinTitle"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span id="btAsinTitle" style=""><br /></span></span></h1>EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-31326920605331100072010-03-04T22:36:00.002-05:002010-03-04T22:51:24.011-05:00Getting to Know OK GoI've been aware of OK Go for a while, but I never bothered pick up one of their albums until their latest one, <span style="font-style: italic;">Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky</span>, which came out in January. I would not say it's a great album, but it is a fun album (you can check it out <a href="http://www.okgo.net/media/music/">here</a>). "White Knuckles" is probably my favorite track, but there are plenty of good tunes. I've been playing it more than I thought I would, honestly. I guess it's just carved itself a little niche in my brain for the time being.<br /><br />Alright, though I do actually like this album, this post is really just an excuse to share their newest video, for "This Too Shall Pass". The song is good. The video is amazing. I challenge you not to watch it a multiple times.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qybUFnY7Y8w&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qybUFnY7Y8w&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-21649524303081273202010-02-19T22:28:00.006-05:002010-02-19T23:20:55.258-05:00Concert Review: Jonathan RichmanThis past Wednesday, my sister and I went to see Jonathan Richman at the Middle East Upstairs, his second of three consecutive shows there. I'd never been to a show Upstairs, and it was a perfect little venue for JR with a capacity of only 120 or so. Richman tends to stray away from the microphone frequently, but we had no trouble hearing his singing and strumming, even un-miked.<br /><br />How to describe Jonathan Richman? For anybody reading this who has no idea who Richman is, you probably actually do. He's the guy playing guitar with his drummer (Tommy Larkin, who continues to play with him at every show) through the Farrelly Brothers movie, <span style="font-style: italic;">There's Something About Mary</span>. Richman is now nearly 60, and he has been a quiet presence--both literally and figuratively--in the American music scene for most of his adult life. But I'm not here to write a biography; you can go to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Richman">Wikipedia</a> for that. I'm here to say what he means to me.<br /><br />I have been thinking a lot lately about my musical comfort food. I'm hoping to do a post before too long about my comfort food albums of the past decade, but Jonathan Richman is a full-on comfort food artist. He is for many an acquired taste, and some people never understand his appeal. His singing voice is uneven, his guitar playing is quirky. His songs can range form silly to political to romantic to incredibly sad. Sometimes a single song can be a little bit of all those things.<br /><br />On stage, as my sister says, he can be a bit of a man-child. My sister (who quite frankly, is much better at this type of thing than I am, though I'm the one who continues to barf my opinions onto the internets) compared him to the 8-year-old boy who's parents make him come out to play songs for their adult party. He can waiver between nervousness and showing off in the blink of an eye. At times it looks like he's really enjoying himself; other times he looks antsy to get off the stage.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi01fXWH2b_Rqg7FGHOEI-cvXuSGUE1ekyXdwz4Xp6vMQuNyBPJ5H9tQAFAlm547YVg4sLkbdhHmloazrYNGIEp4aJKo-wHHSd1kn42AKZ_eTPEFN1f8RwtUnDty_8nrmPxHzCyykVN2p8/s1600-h/richman+show.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi01fXWH2b_Rqg7FGHOEI-cvXuSGUE1ekyXdwz4Xp6vMQuNyBPJ5H9tQAFAlm547YVg4sLkbdhHmloazrYNGIEp4aJKo-wHHSd1kn42AKZ_eTPEFN1f8RwtUnDty_8nrmPxHzCyykVN2p8/s400/richman+show.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440175678449664770" border="0" /></a>That's how he's been every time I've seen him--this was my third Jonathan Richman show in the last 10 years. The audience at the Middle East was noticeably older. This was the first show I've been to in ages in which I didn't feel like the oldest person in the crowd. In fact, I felt like one of the youngest. But Richman makes everyone <span style="font-style: italic;">feel</span> young with his energy. Twice during the show he managed to sustain a sing-along. One occurred during his always entertaining rendition of "I Was Dancing at the Lesbian Bar", during which he not only did his special hip-shaking dance, but traded his guitar for a set of jingle bells, then a cowbell. I've seen him play this song at every show, and it's always one of my favorite parts. Years down the road, if someone asks me what my favorite musical memories are, watching Jonathan Richman play this song will almost certainly be in the top 10. He also whipped up a sing-along towards the end with a bizarre little anti-cell phone song. Richman is pretty clearly not a fan of technology (he has no official website), and I believe him when he says he will never own a cell phone. The song was particularly apt for my sister and I, who were just talking before the show about how we rarely use our cell phones. They are a necessary evil for me, so I'm with Mr. Richman on this one.<br /><br />The bottom line is, I will likely continue to go to his shows as long as keeps touring. Neither his albums nor his live performance are for everybody, but for those of us who "get" Jonathan Richman, they are incredibly rewarding. He may have the saddest eyes I've ever seen, but he still manages to elicit a deep sense of joy in me every time I see him play. I'm generally a pretty happy guy, but though my children can often raise my happiness to the level of joy, it's rare for a musician to do so. To experience that feeling in room full of strangers, listening to music I love...that's really something.EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-49465291224761392112010-02-09T21:18:00.007-05:002010-02-11T22:02:28.940-05:00Book Reviews: Magic, Parenting, and Fake FactsThere are several reasons I have not been blogging as much lately. There are the standard ones like family, work, and the holidays, but I've also been reading a lot. I don't think there's been a point in my life since I was about 7 that I didn't have at least one book going, but lately I've had 2-3 going at a time, and I've just felt more like reading than blogging. But now I'm gonna blog a bit about what I've been reading, so there you go.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-weight: bold;">Lev Grossman's </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-weight: bold;">The Magicians</span><br />There is no way to describe the plot of this book without making it sound derivative of at least two famous fantasy series: Harry Potter and the Chronicles of Narnia. Quentin Coldwater, our anti-hero, is recruited into a school of magic, and eventually ends up learning that the fantasy world he's been reading about since he was a child, Fillory (which is basically Narnia), is real. That's not much of a spoiler, trust me.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj63CHgmTcPQlxtNeRB1qDXKRZkG5NYwuYNvEjlYMWegltZmarCtfunKcZ9FhVIsKTa-T_TB0XBG63Y61UQQCuRksEn-QM9hZZNj5xlHX4SMVy1fRG8wKcFtSedX9elG3jFLr4Kef28i3M/s1600-h/magicians.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj63CHgmTcPQlxtNeRB1qDXKRZkG5NYwuYNvEjlYMWegltZmarCtfunKcZ9FhVIsKTa-T_TB0XBG63Y61UQQCuRksEn-QM9hZZNj5xlHX4SMVy1fRG8wKcFtSedX9elG3jFLr4Kef28i3M/s320/magicians.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437184391784309730" border="0" /></a>The twist here is that instead of young, relatively squeaky-clean British kids visiting these magic settings, we have older, far-from-innocent American kids doing so. The novel can in some ways be read as a long thought experiment. Yes, many of us grow up reading about kids who learn to do magic or travel to magical lands, and of course we always wanted to be those kids, right? Grossman takes a step back and asks, really? Would you? If you had magic powers and could do virtually anything you wanted, wouldn't you get bored after a while? And as far as magical lands go, how much fun do you think being in constant mortal danger actually is?<br /><br />I can't say any of the characters are particularly appealing--they're all pretty much jerks. But that's kind of the point. Nice people apparently don't make particularly good magicians. Characters that don't promote a lot of sympathy aside, the story moves along quickly. It takes Harry Potter 7 books to get through Hogwarts, but it takes Quintin Coldwater 2/3 of a book to get through Brakebills Academy. If anything, the last 1/3 of the novel moves a little <span style="font-style: italic;">too</span> quickly. Grossman could have easily stretched the time in Fillory out for another 100 pages and I wouldn't have minded a bit.<br /><br />All in all, a very fun book, and I would recommend it to any reader (over the age of 13 or so) who's ever read a fantasy novel and wanted oh-so-much to escape into that book. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Magicians</span> will definitely force you to rethink that notion.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-weight: bold;">Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman's </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-weight: bold;">NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children</span><br />Though I have been a parent for nearly 3 years now, I've never been much for parenting books. Many of them seem to work along the lines of "Hey, this worked for me, so it will obviously work for you!", which as most sane parents know is complete shite. You might call it the Jenny McCarthy class of parenting books (speaking of which, hurray for <span style="font-style: italic;">The Lancet</span> for finally retracting the vaccinations-lead-to-autism paper!). This book caught my eye, however, because it's based almost entirely on published literature and interviews with actual scientists. Indeed, the reference section alone accounts for about 10% of the books length. Though the authors share a few personal anecdotes to demonstrate their points, the book is by and large a summary of very real research.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK8gU3RvC0SvNwb7Uj9YEsxTK5_WZgt5TKyG8MCXwqpgxqB3yUpeVC-jVIxXCvyk_rk2hx67vvxUfm2nsSN6zpYNVhMKRxmy94kxB5gq9weBBV08ngLmV9fFziHq-fUYgwjfJB4bwjh30/s1600-h/nurtureshock.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK8gU3RvC0SvNwb7Uj9YEsxTK5_WZgt5TKyG8MCXwqpgxqB3yUpeVC-jVIxXCvyk_rk2hx67vvxUfm2nsSN6zpYNVhMKRxmy94kxB5gq9weBBV08ngLmV9fFziHq-fUYgwjfJB4bwjh30/s320/nurtureshock.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437184395630508146" border="0" /></a>Several topics are discussed: the importance of sleep for kids' development, the actual causes of aggression in young children, sibling rivalries, how to build a child's vocabulary quickly, and perhaps more importantly, how <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> to. Many parents have learned by now that the <span style="font-style: italic;">Baby Einstein</span> series not only fails to help kids talked sooner, it can actually impede speech development. This book explains why. There's a chapter on lying, and why it's not necessarily a bad thing when kids do it. In perhaps one of the most eye-opening chapters for me, the authors tackle the dogma that thrusting a child into a multi-ethnic environment will help make them "color blind". And in my favorite confirms-my-suspicions chapter, the authors essentially trash the idea that kindergartens for "advanced" kids are worth a damn.<br /><br />All of this is presented in easy-to-digest prose--it's a quick but informative read. <span style="font-style: italic;">NurtureShock</span> has not become my new parenting bible, but it has changed the way I interpret the behavior of my children, in what I have to believe is a good way. I would even go so far as to recommend this book for non-parents, because chances are you will have to interact with children some day, even if they aren't necessarily your own.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-weight: bold;">John Hodgman's </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-weight: bold;">More Information Than You Require</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhwPY15OMnJg9IJFC8hHhHsYAwR6YJxYohVcdMOGcRzwQxPMRdmFTpawb6GUxIQDuwOQUJ9dBbLRPjt4sSSZFmVFYlsfMkpWoYa9rY5XY6cYTyxYbuZEw5x6nh3RJHka7XYE5zEDLydME/s1600-h/moreinformationthanyourequire.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhwPY15OMnJg9IJFC8hHhHsYAwR6YJxYohVcdMOGcRzwQxPMRdmFTpawb6GUxIQDuwOQUJ9dBbLRPjt4sSSZFmVFYlsfMkpWoYa9rY5XY6cYTyxYbuZEw5x6nh3RJHka7XYE5zEDLydME/s320/moreinformationthanyourequire.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437184569643520098" border="0" /></a>I can direct you to <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/06/paternity-leave-reading.html">my earlier review of Hodgman's first book</a>, and that would pretty much cover my bases here. This book is basically a continuation of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Areas of My Expertise</span>--the page numbers even start where the last book's left off. Only this time we have a list of mole man names instead of hobo names, and Hodgman himself was a bit more famous when he wrote this book. Is it essential reading? Absolutely not. Is it still pretty damn funny? Yes. That is all.EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-63790093386818463142010-01-23T17:06:00.010-05:002010-01-23T23:16:44.232-05:00EJP's Favorite Albums of 2009OK, I've been on a very long hiatus. The last two months have been nuts. Normally I'd stretch my favorite music of the year out over several posts, but since this post is over a month late, I'll just pound out my top 20, with minimal explanation (there are links to everything that has appeared in earlier posts). As usual, the top 20 basically reflect the albums I played the most. I'm not saying everyone should go out and buy these albums, but this is the stuff I gravitated towards in 2009. I won't say it was a great year for music, but it was alright, and there are some definite keepers on here.<br /><br />20) <span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Phoenix--</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Wolfgang Amad</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">eus Phoenix</span><br />This album might have scored <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMp46m1n6C4HHnDYw_BM4LWDwjwpfX4sBibt-YjAeTwIZjwXR0YhN2zLRL5aB-PAKB9uTb88tt9fbUNlVIe6iMjimdGk0_iKE41CgHA5sUciaUS0lWvyoCTCfrB-8peeogwVvlMhRdwDU/s1600-h/phoenix.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMp46m1n6C4HHnDYw_BM4LWDwjwpfX4sBibt-YjAeTwIZjwXR0YhN2zLRL5aB-PAKB9uTb88tt9fbUNlVIe6iMjimdGk0_iKE41CgHA5sUciaUS0lWvyoCTCfrB-8peeogwVvlMhRdwDU/s320/phoenix.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430151702108880338" border="0" /></a>higher if didn't hear its single played 5 times a day on the radio station at work. Thanks for nearly ruining a perfectly good album for me, radio station!<br /><br /><br />19) <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/08/since-no-one-seems-to-be-aware-of-this.html">Grand Duchy--</a><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/08/since-no-one-seems-to-be-aware-of-this.html">Petits Fours</a></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>Clyde Squid<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>didn't post much this past year, but this was a great recommendation. Easily the best thing Frank Black has put out for a long time.<br /><br />18) <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/03/mini-music-reviews-march-2009-edition.html">Lilly Allen--<span style="font-style: italic;">It's Not Me, It's You</span></a><br /><br />17) <span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears--</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Tell 'Em What Your Name Is!</span><a style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIBa9BZzoAjtHTluK8hblEZym4hYnIvDDNivxS3524ae1scDrZcz22Oy-4iQsBTHMQVytbu0npdNM9qWevT51FircSV3OMrUNjvcjdJWpi245FB9dOWHFBidzKQFPKfXyBmvsbioWMBg/s1600-h/black+joe+lewis.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIBa9BZzoAjtHTluK8hblEZym4hYnIvDDNivxS3524ae1scDrZcz22Oy-4iQsBTHMQVytbu0npdNM9qWevT51FircSV3OMrUNjvcjdJWpi245FB9dOWHFBidzKQFPKfXyBmvsbioWMBg/s320/black+joe+lewis.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430151000563988274" border="0" /></a><br />It's retro to the point of being a bit gimmicky, but it's also fantastic and you can shake your ass to it. This one should probably be higher up on the list, but I just recently got it, so it's here. Just give it a listen...<br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-family:Verdana;font-size:78%;" ><br /><a style="" href="http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=100000340">Sugarfoot</a><br /><object height="360px" width="425px"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="movie" value="http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=100000340,t=1,mt=video"><embed src="http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=100000340,t=1,mt=video" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="360" width="425"></embed></object><br /><a style="" href="http://www.myspace.com/blackjoelewis">Black Joe Lewis</a> | <a style="" href="http://music.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=videos">MySpace Music Videos</a></span><br /><br />16) <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/04/more-mini-music-reviews-april-2009.html">Madeleine Peyroux--</a><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/04/more-mini-music-reviews-april-2009.html">Bare Bones</a><br /></span><br />15) <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/06/mini-music-reviews-june-2009.html">Art Brut<span style="font-style: italic;">--Art Brut vs. Satan</span></a><br /><br />14) <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/03/mini-music-reviews-march-2009-edition.html">Neko Case--<span style="font-style: italic;">Middle Cyclone</span></a><br /><br />13) <span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Lightning Dust--</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Infinite Light</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-2H5GARu4K__Ckkug1Cf0hUkdMUKEW_UVRXNOPX8dd3F_wOAJbzpSLtgiGDO9nBlPT6ipROtu9ZJkllgk8tq4sM9J5RIQeCQGdWBVIHaWqi0anUz4Kh2jRtBSTenxeR3FuAPKSmIxtI/s1600-h/lightning+dust.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-2H5GARu4K__Ckkug1Cf0hUkdMUKEW_UVRXNOPX8dd3F_wOAJbzpSLtgiGDO9nBlPT6ipROtu9ZJkllgk8tq4sM9J5RIQeCQGdWBVIHaWqi0anUz4Kh2jRtBSTenxeR3FuAPKSmIxtI/s320/lightning+dust.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430151005848704370" border="0" /></a>Amber Webber's voice is totally wack, but I like it. Their song "I Knew" will probably go on every mix I make for a while, but the vast majority of songs on this album are excellent.<br /><br /><br /><br />12) <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/08/mini-music-reviews-august-2009-pt-ii.html">We Were Promised Jetpacks--</a><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/08/mini-music-reviews-august-2009-pt-ii.html">These Four Walls</a><br /></span><br />11) <span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Yeah Yeah Yeahs--</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">It's Blitz!</span><br /><a style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9tUHApUbfVQbgCc4VOALhfs2ijid0q2RRlmcS4QYBbz80XCA_AREkmPjaFvGvcRmKpjLPSUVkl_uuA6xXoe-qoMh9o4Cdw34Wm4AJ9rrIDmbZVblXLBPxRVBxOue0bJ9QbHqQmdYkR0/s1600-h/it's+blitz.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9tUHApUbfVQbgCc4VOALhfs2ijid0q2RRlmcS4QYBbz80XCA_AREkmPjaFvGvcRmKpjLPSUVkl_uuA6xXoe-qoMh9o4Cdw34Wm4AJ9rrIDmbZVblXLBPxRVBxOue0bJ9QbHqQmdYkR0/s320/it's+blitz.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430151009747062034" border="0" /></a>Yay! A good Yeah Yeah Yeahs album! It's incredibly different than their debut album (which is still my favorite), but fun nonetheless.<br /><br /><br /><br />10) <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/04/more-mini-music-reviews-april-2009.html">Dan Deacon--<span style="font-style: italic;">Bromst</span></a><br /><br />9) <span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">The Mumlers--</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Don't Throw Me Away</span><br /><a style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBJAqmfW5Ycvtr0L01G89-Crv5ZiuGYDuGoTIZCAlzu3mdutKeFJCPH_QeyvxC1R28hUh3H439-mqHhdrbMNlypIcfFYljjob2JCwvxf67z4V-FPeyzWCRhwXxiphcCel7ygGI9JUH_s/s1600-h/mumlers.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBJAqmfW5Ycvtr0L01G89-Crv5ZiuGYDuGoTIZCAlzu3mdutKeFJCPH_QeyvxC1R28hUh3H439-mqHhdrbMNlypIcfFYljjob2JCwvxf67z4V-FPeyzWCRhwXxiphcCel7ygGI9JUH_s/s320/mumlers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430151695677876418" border="0" /></a>This album caught me by surprise. I just kinda liked <span style="font-style: italic;">Thickets & Stitches</span>, this band's debut from 2008, and I was hesitant to even check out their sophomore effort. I'm glad I risked it. This album has received far more play time than I ever anticipated.<br /><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1oaWJN2doRk&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1oaWJN2doRk&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="560"></embed></object><br /><br />8) <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/06/mini-music-reviews-june-2009.html">the boy least likely to--<span style="font-style: italic;">the law of the playground</span></a><br /><br />7) <span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Devendra Banhart--</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">What Will We Be</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiox1ONUHwjfz739D9i1ssOZHHfM5q6teKjSHDzQ3EcqrPHJm39oHqtU4VdE8KstmRF44qlUDioQlX0ygzlgoekJdfkXvO1-9swEubyIAPnCSY8dZcgxWgsYekgSSYwPfXRq80ZwWgauk4/s1600-h/devendra.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiox1ONUHwjfz739D9i1ssOZHHfM5q6teKjSHDzQ3EcqrPHJm39oHqtU4VdE8KstmRF44qlUDioQlX0ygzlgoekJdfkXvO1-9swEubyIAPnCSY8dZcgxWgsYekgSSYwPfXRq80ZwWgauk4/s320/devendra.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430150995207894866" border="0" /></a>Pitchfork hated this album, which figures, because I think it's the best album this dirty hippy has put out in years. <span style="font-style: italic;">WWWB</span> is easily his most accessible album ever (which is probably why Pitchfork hates it), and I would consider it a good introduction to this profoundly weird artist.<br /><br />6) <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/08/mini-music-reviews-august-2009-pt-ii.html">Todd Snider--</a><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/08/mini-music-reviews-august-2009-pt-ii.html">The Excitement Plan</a><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span></span>5) <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/10/highly-anticipated-fall-albums.html">Built to Spill--<span style="font-style: italic;">There Is No Enemy</span></a><br /><br />4) <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/04/more-mini-music-reviews-april-2009.html">Telekinesis--</a><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/04/more-mini-music-reviews-april-2009.html">Telekinesis!</a><br /><br /></span>3) <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/02/andrew-birds-noble-beast.html">Andrew Bird--<span style="font-style: italic;">Noble Beast</span></a><br /><br />2) <a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/04/more-mini-music-reviews-april-2009.html">Ida Maria</a><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/04/more-mini-music-reviews-april-2009.html">--Fortress 'Round My Heart</a><br /></span><br />1)<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Forro in the Dark--</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Light a Candle</span><br />I can't even understand most<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWl15cxP-bmBC8IH48bTbRNP0zMNJ_jIm3iDGl8rEMw3l9JMEmnbzulHpBRBYKsCcsb5ngzMgoMwTpHVTG7iwFD1cABKVF8pmO-AH2VwjJaRBVYaNM8MGjOucWEDiLaRADQ58sSt-IM0A/s1600-h/forro+in+the+dark+light+a+candle.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWl15cxP-bmBC8IH48bTbRNP0zMNJ_jIm3iDGl8rEMw3l9JMEmnbzulHpBRBYKsCcsb5ngzMgoMwTpHVTG7iwFD1cABKVF8pmO-AH2VwjJaRBVYaNM8MGjOucWEDiLaRADQ58sSt-IM0A/s320/forro+in+the+dark+light+a+candle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430151005348785442" border="0" /></a> of the lyrics on this Brazilian-by-way-of-Brooklyn band's<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>album, but that hasn't stopped me from enjoying it immensely. I loved their first album a few years ago, and I love this follow-up. If you like the song in the video below, consider that it's probably one of my least favorite songs on the album. Not to say that I don't like it (and it's the only video I could find of theirs from this album), but most of the other songs are even better. Good stuff all around.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rg6oh7fdRHs&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rg6oh7fdRHs&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-59354252875408573792009-11-26T07:07:00.003-05:002009-11-26T07:12:10.730-05:00Happy Thanksgiving from Lulu Eightball<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">Just a little something to kickoff the holiday. <a href="http://www.eflakeagogo.com/">Emily Flake</a>'s Lulu Eightball is bitterly funny and it's one of the main reasons I pick up Boston's <a href="http://www.weeklydig.com/">Weekly Dig</a> every week.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://citypaper.com/comics/story.asp?id=19280"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 313px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_8PJQKzfNm8sBRKlKKUD2UzVg9uQFZUZ0se2Fsk8BuZGku6-Cy5_ynpWt70OvbjU_qDscEj8AvXyHQ9iWVVTwKkAnKb36WI1hlnZ8WrmNjMz6Nt6e0U-_Vq14KQxf962TT9L4f7jtcX0/s400/lulu+turkey.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408382937871586754" border="0" /></a>I particularly like the one on the upper right. Happy Thanksgiving!<br /></div>EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-80909705289716635302009-11-11T20:58:00.005-05:002009-12-06T21:45:53.068-05:00Nerd Rant: Clash of the Titans RemakeComplaining about the unoriginality of Hollywood is about as useful as complaining about the weather, and using phrases like "raping my childhood" is offensive, cliché, and so cliché it's offensive. But I just watched the <a href="http://www.themoviebox.net/movies/2010/Clash-Of-The-Titans/trailer.php">trailer</a> for the remake of <span style="font-style: italic;">Clash of the Titans</span>, and I am stunned once again by Hollywood's unoriginality and I feel like my childhood has been raped. Or at least molested.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Z7yv7ziUiAk0Keljml6yLyjZQeGirHHHwdoqBUz6sNOGqzGaDPPDkYyqZ0N7l_iEWij_FsZtbbwjmtkSY0_RkeZC9NFn2IsjTAiDbecFmPNlFxBqH9Ks_KckMvfUw9tEPIgppS0PKuU/s1600-h/clash+of+the+titans.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 302px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Z7yv7ziUiAk0Keljml6yLyjZQeGirHHHwdoqBUz6sNOGqzGaDPPDkYyqZ0N7l_iEWij_FsZtbbwjmtkSY0_RkeZC9NFn2IsjTAiDbecFmPNlFxBqH9Ks_KckMvfUw9tEPIgppS0PKuU/s400/clash+of+the+titans.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403038748072721378" border="0" /></a>The <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082186/">1981 <span style="font-style: italic;">Clash of the Titans</span></a> is one of the first movies I remember watching, ever. I was 5, and my parents took me to a drive-in to see <span style="font-style: italic;">The Fox and the Hound</span>. It was a double feature with <span style="font-style: italic;">CotT</span> following the forgettable Disney feature, and I guess my parents stayed assuming the kids would fall asleep.<br /><br />I didn't fall asleep. The movie should have scared the crap out of a 5-year-old, but I fell in love with it. It was and continues to be one of my favorite movies of all time. Technically, it was directed by some guy named Desmond Davis, but anyone who knows it (and I know it very, very well) thinks of it as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Harryhausen">Ray Harryhausen</a> film, the last real Harryhausen film made. Yeah, the special effects are dated, but they are still amazing for the time period. It's worth watching the movie just for the creepy Medusa scenes, but there's plenty to admire in terms of the other effects. And it's a fun story. And Laurence Olivier is Zeus! Can the remake have that?<br /><br />I implore anyone who's never seen this film to watch the original and not the remake. And if they decide to remake <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057197/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Jason and the Argonauts</span></a>, I may be forced to rant again.EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-82879325580091472092009-10-30T23:24:00.002-04:002009-10-31T00:11:25.699-04:00Halloween 2009: The Graveyard BookProbably the best possible book to have finished reading on the night before Halloween.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj28viplpDot5UH_ayEXNzMhPvOjZ4j_OvsIzrsUJ2Qp52dW964FUBTXAPBhsn-kIn7exhYiWVgPfDGTqhxhuqRckvRrpn1V7Q74-6UAEGVvUaTl2-QGuVjD9PYe0NqunOBEmgsYaaUIZQ/s1600-h/graveyard+book.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj28viplpDot5UH_ayEXNzMhPvOjZ4j_OvsIzrsUJ2Qp52dW964FUBTXAPBhsn-kIn7exhYiWVgPfDGTqhxhuqRckvRrpn1V7Q74-6UAEGVvUaTl2-QGuVjD9PYe0NqunOBEmgsYaaUIZQ/s400/graveyard+book.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398611679260250898" border="0" /></a>I finished <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Graveyard-Thorndike-Press-Literacy-Bridge/dp/1410414418/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256960524&sr=8-1">The Graveyard Book</a> about 4 minutes ago, so my brain is still whirling a bit. Neil Gaiman is quite a story teller. When I initially read the synopsis of this book--something along the lines of "Nobody Owens is a boy raised in a graveyard by ghosts"--I had my doubts. I also knew it was a children's book, though I must emphasize that it's for older children. The first few pages describe a family being stabbed to death, so please don't read this to your 6-year-old.<br /><br />But I should have trusted Gaiman to weave an engaging, exciting, and touching tale. Bod (as Nobody is known) and his supernatural guardians represent a fascinating cast of characters. Those first few pages are brutal, but they immediately engage the reader. And honestly, though I enjoyed the Harry Potter series as much as anyone, I think if I were to encourage young readers to read about a young person in a magical setting, I'd go to this book first. It's a bit darker, but also better written and leaves a bit more to the reader's imagination (which is a good thing).<br /><br />I'm a bit too tried to blather much more, but I will say that as with Gaiman's other children's novel, <span style="font-style: italic;">Coraline</span>, I highly reccomend this book. It's a quick but satisfying read for an adult, and it's a story I'm sure some kids will want to read over and over.EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-6381930957309243532009-10-29T21:13:00.004-04:002009-10-29T22:40:53.847-04:00Halloween 2009: Roman Dirge's LenoreOK, this one has to be quick, but it's pretty Halloweeny....<br /><br />I randomly picked up Roman Dirge's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lenore-Noogies-Edtion-Hardcover-Little/dp/1848565208/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256869457&sr=8-3"><span style="font-style: italic;">Lenore: Noogies</span></a> the other day basically because it looked pretty Halloweenesque. It's a comic based around a "cute little dead girl" named Lenore. I figured if this guy Dirge names his main character after a Poe poem, it can't be all that bad.<br /><br />And it isn't. The strip, which is comprised of multiple short <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKnjws2-PcCzo_5uKjU4jxiVIiJuS6vlINJ5T_bj004nnhm_iU02LRPUmOdgJpiNdLAIA0iNWCFIHJQLtV0cdLG5BHARl1W4hNrdjcHcD5o6DMe6sLGGvJIJPIb1_yXreU2YP2R3Tcr0Q/s1600-h/Lenore.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKnjws2-PcCzo_5uKjU4jxiVIiJuS6vlINJ5T_bj004nnhm_iU02LRPUmOdgJpiNdLAIA0iNWCFIHJQLtV0cdLG5BHARl1W4hNrdjcHcD5o6DMe6sLGGvJIJPIb1_yXreU2YP2R3Tcr0Q/s400/Lenore.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398217163559418098" border="0" /></a>stories and a few longer stories (some that don't feature the title character at all) is often quite amusing, though darkly so. Lenore regularly mangles pets, stabs people to death--even babies!--and generally wreaks havoc wherever she goes. But, you know, in a cute and funny way!<br /><br />Though ultra-violent, the strip is very cartoony, so it can't be taken seriously. The characters are very reminscent of Tim Burton's designs (think <span style="font-style: italic;">Frankenweenie </span>or <span style="font-style: italic;">The Nightmare Before Christmas</span>), which is not a bad thing. This particular collection represents the early days of the character and the strip. New characters are constantly being introduced, some of whom stick around for further adventures, some of whom are one-shot deals.<br /><br />You can see a little more of Lenore at Dirge's <a href="http://www.spookyland.com/">website</a>. I'll eventually pick up the next volume, <span style="font-style: italic;">Wedgies</span>, collecting the next four "chapters" of Lenore's story. Maybe I'll save it for next Halloween...EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-46333124220833597292009-10-28T22:28:00.003-04:002009-10-28T22:57:48.550-04:00Halloween 2009: Ghost MixAnyone can make a Halloween Mix. Throw in some "Monster Mash" and "Spooky" and you're off to the races. But how about a mix that's <span style="font-style: italic;">only</span> about ghosts? Here's a list of ghosty songs, arranged according to their relevance to Halloween. Note that I don't really dislike any of these songs, but the ones marked with a "*" are actually pretty good and I would really put them on a mix, Halloween or otherwise:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Songs about literal ghosts (pretty Halloweeny):</span><br /><ul><li>"Friendly Ghost"--Eels (from <span style="font-style: italic;">Souljacker</span>)*</li><li>"(Ghost) Riders in the Sky"--Johnny Cash (<span style="font-style: italic;">16 Biggest Hits</span>...sorry, don't know original album)*</li><li>"(Ghost) Riders in the Sky"--Me First and The Gimme Gimmes (from <span style="font-style: italic;">Love Their Country</span>)*</li><li>"Little Ghost"--I'm From Barcelona (from <span style="font-style: italic;">Who Killed Harry Houdini?</span>)</li><li>"Ghost King Pt. 2"--State Bird (from <span style="font-style: italic;">Mostly Ghostly</span>)</li><li>"I Think I'll be a Good Ghost"--Say Hi To Your Mom (from <span style="font-style: italic;">Ferocious Mopes</span>)*</li><li>"Ghost of Mae West"--Trailer Bride (from <span style="font-style: italic;">High Seas</span>)</li><li>"Skinny White Girl"--Trailer Bride (from <span style="font-style: italic;">Hope Is a Thing With Feathers</span>)*</li><li>"Leslie Anne Levine"--The Decemberists (from <span style="font-style: italic;">Castaways and Cutouts</span>)*</li><li>"Eli, the Barrow Boy"--The Decemberists (from <span style="font-style: italic;">Picaresque</span>)</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Songs about figurative ghosts (only slightly Halloweeny):<br /></span><ul><li>"Ghosts"--Laura Marling (from <span style="font-style: italic;">Alas, I Cannot Swim</span>)*</li><li>"Walking With a Ghost"--Tegan and Sara (from <span style="font-style: italic;">So Jealous</span>)*</li><li>"The Ghost of You Lingers"--Spoon (from <span style="font-style: italic;">Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga</span>)</li><li>"My Summer With Ghosts"--Doleful Lions (from <span style="font-style: italic;">Song Cyclops Volume One</span>)</li><li>"Ghost-Town of My Brain"--Jim White (from <span style="font-style: italic;">No Such Place</span>)</li><li>"Searching for the Ghost"--Heartless Bastards (from <span style="font-style: italic;">All This Time</span>)*</li><li>"All My Ghosts"--Frank Black (from <span style="font-style: italic;">Frank Black & The Catholics</span>)*</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Honestly, I have no idea what these songs are about, but they have the word "Ghost" in the title (probably not that Halloweeny, but who knows?):</span><br /><ul><li>"Paddling Ghost"--Dan Deacon (from <span style="font-style: italic;">Bromst</span>)</li><li>"Ghost of a Plastic Bag"--Pee Wee Fist (from <span style="font-style: italic;">Flying</span>)</li><li>"Ghostship"--Menomena (from <span style="font-style: italic;">Friend and Foe</span>)</li><li>"Ghost"--Neutral Milk Hotel (from <span style="font-style: italic;">In the Aeroplane Over the Sea</span>)*</li><li>"Boy Ghost"--Eef Barzelay (from <span style="font-style: italic;">Rocket Science</span> soundtrack)</li><li>"Not A Robot, But A Ghost"--Andrew Bird (from <span style="font-style: italic;">Noble Beast</span>)*</li><li>"Ghosts of Perdition"--Pepi Ginsberg (from <span style="font-style: italic;">Red</span>)</li><li>"Ghost King Pt. 1"--State Bird (from <span style="font-style: italic;">Mostly Ghostly</span>)<br /></li></ul>Know any other ghosty songs? I probably missed some obvious ones.EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-90332628642217901062009-10-27T21:21:00.006-04:002009-10-28T22:58:42.038-04:00Halloween 2009: Sleepy Hollow<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicZ65bndeQ25A3d1DtyPwEVfey2uUKG-vqHwN3_yCAlUMxy1BVPEWmGCSemdfghXOzmbtlHTF3usiR7kakuQK7zxkm19OZQKKqsUWUgjJcd0_sBCXEetNIDGukdoQapmiSyok6KGpcBDk/s1600-h/sleepy+hollow+I.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicZ65bndeQ25A3d1DtyPwEVfey2uUKG-vqHwN3_yCAlUMxy1BVPEWmGCSemdfghXOzmbtlHTF3usiR7kakuQK7zxkm19OZQKKqsUWUgjJcd0_sBCXEetNIDGukdoQapmiSyok6KGpcBDk/s320/sleepy+hollow+I.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397464314497889250" border="0" /></a>File this one under very, very, very Halloweeny.<br /><br />Tim Burton's <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162661/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Sleepy Hollow</span></a> is one of my favorite movies to watch on Halloween. It also happens to be the only "scary" movie my wife will watch with me, but that's besides the point. The film, which came out almost exactly 10 years ago, fell between Burton's two fairly unsuccessful forays into sci-fi territory, <span style="font-style: italic;">Mars Attacks!</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Planet of the Apes</span>. <span style="font-style: italic;">Sleepy Hollow</span> is the quintessential Tim Burton film, and I dare say it's my favorite of his movies.<br /><br />I'll just make life easier for myself and make a list of just a few of reasons why this movie is awesome:<br /><br /><ul><li>Johnny Depp as a brilliant but scaredy-cat Ichabod Crane.</li></ul><ul><li>An actual flaming pumpkin head. </li></ul><ul><li>Purposely cheesy dialogue delivered perfectly, including this exchange between Depp and Christina Ricci (in her best role since <span style="font-style: italic;">The Addams Family):</span><b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000207/"> Katrina Anne Van Tassel</a></b>: I have shed my tears for Brom... and yet my heart is not broken. Do you think me wicked?<br /><b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000136/">Ichabod Crane</a></b>: No... but perhaps there is a little bit of witch in you, Katrina.<br /><b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000207/">Katrina Anne Van Tassel</a></b>: Why do you say that?<br /><b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000136/">Ichabod Crane</a></b>: Because you have bewitched me. </li></ul><ul><li>It has plenty of humor, but also features multiple graphic beheadings, as well as the off-screen slaughter of a cute child (not my wife's favorite part of the movie).</li></ul><ul><li>An amazing supporting case, including Miranda Richardson, Jeffrey Jones, Michael Gambon, and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Christopher Lee.</span></li></ul><ul><li>The obligatory cameo by Burton's girlfriend-at-the-time, Lisa Marie (it's like looking for Hitchcock in one of his films).</li></ul><ul><li>And of course, perhaps most importantly, Christopher friggin' Walken, as the Hessian Horseman himself:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Df1aAWVjfqel6w_aOsC9LtCUKBW0aaJYQKfn5dw16gvzTcs-NoOQL0pL4dTxM7K-8n_wtPwaT-dtSt3DYoDwTCkVwEkILTuNA-fwtC0Prfxyup-Qe6b25PRcpsYpy2uiNnOeYyucolU/s1600-h/horseman.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Df1aAWVjfqel6w_aOsC9LtCUKBW0aaJYQKfn5dw16gvzTcs-NoOQL0pL4dTxM7K-8n_wtPwaT-dtSt3DYoDwTCkVwEkILTuNA-fwtC0Prfxyup-Qe6b25PRcpsYpy2uiNnOeYyucolU/s400/horseman.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397462204769688130" border="0" /></a></li></ul>See? Awesome.<br /><br />If for some reason you've never seen this movie, this is the time of year to do it. It will bewitch you.EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324084268544984018.post-12545774855811232262009-10-26T22:03:00.003-04:002009-10-26T22:34:37.849-04:00Halloween 2009: The Walking DeadThis one falls into the category of very Halloweeny...<br /><br />Zombie stories pretty much fall into two camps: satirical (think the recent <span style="font-style: italic;">Zombieland</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">Sean of the Dead</span> for movies, or my most recent favorite computer game, <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://love-camel.blogspot.com/2009/05/game-review-plants-vs-zombies.html">Plants vs. Zombies</a>) or scary. Robert Kirkman's long-running <span style="font-style: italic;">The Walking Dead</span> comics series falls very squarely in the latter category.<br /><br />I picked up the first compendium of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Walking-Dead-Compendium-1/dp/1607060760/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256608755&sr=8-11"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Walking Dead</span></a> earlier this year--it's comprised of the first 8 trade paper backs, or the first 48 issues, of the series. It starts off almost identically to one of my favorite recent zombie flicks, Danny Boyle's <span style="font-style: italic;">28 Days Later</span>. A dude, our "hero", a townie cop, wakes up from a coma to find the hospital empty. He eventually makes it outside to find that the town is a wasteland and the walking dead (only much later are they actually referred to as zombies) are everywhere.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-bTOmpEaQry-3Cz2qnPOSaWjCwFOfRX7H6ONWrkJFyOlQySXvQ13GTU9OiiretNpild55mhoAF1K4ZARxhvyrbcZE-kFzY860oeP_t1FWyuU5LIQLUwsetW7aHcyPJ9rGovCb1sID70/s1600-h/walkind+dead.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-bTOmpEaQry-3Cz2qnPOSaWjCwFOfRX7H6ONWrkJFyOlQySXvQ13GTU9OiiretNpild55mhoAF1K4ZARxhvyrbcZE-kFzY860oeP_t1FWyuU5LIQLUwsetW7aHcyPJ9rGovCb1sID70/s400/walkind+dead.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397101711038334754" border="0" /></a><br />Eventually he finds living people, including his family, which is probably the least likely plot development the story offers up. From there, the tried and true zombie tropes are trotted out. The zombies can only be killed by a head shot (or ax, or hammer, or ninja sword...whatever). People think the government will eventually come to the rescue. And most importantly, the survivors should be more afraid of each other than the actual zombies.<br /><br />There's not a whole lot of new territory here in terms of the zombie mythology, but since it is an exceptionally long series, we're allowed to observe and get to know the well-written characters far better than one can in a 90 minute movie. As long as you don't actually get <span style="font-style: italic;">attached</span> to any characters. This is very much an anyone-can-die-at-any-moment kind of series. Like the superb <span style="font-style: italic;">Y the Last Man</span>, there's also a lot more thought put into the plot and the circumstances. Besides just murder and mayhem, the series is very much a thought experiment. Kirkman has clearly put some effort into imagining what the world would actually be like if the dead came back to life.<br /><br />The black and white illustrations, primarily by Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn, are well paired with this level of story telling. The violence is graphically depicted, but they're not really going for the gross-out factor. Yes, a person's neck is bitten, but we're not seeing veins and gore squirting everywhere. It's gross, but not <span style="font-style: italic;">too</span> gross.<br /><br />I can really only read this book one chapter at a time, with good breaks in between. It's a compelling story, but relentlessly grim. There's not a word of comic relief, nor should there be here. Kirkman chose his tone early on and he's remained consistent. But really, when nothing every good happens to anyone, ever, it gets more than a little depressing if you read too much at once. Still, zombies are pretty cool, and this whip-smart series is worth the occassional visit to get that zombie fix we all desire.EJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10602523778349668403noreply@blogger.com0