Neil Young & Crazy Horse- Psychedelic Pill

      The review is a couple weeks old, but here's a link to it.

Burial

       This whole dubstep phenomenon has been a little lackluster for me. I've sampled bits of Skrillex and Bassnectar and, while it's not bad, it tends to wear on me after awhile. However, I recently discovered UK artist, Burial's self-titled debut, and have been hooked. This is a lot more minimalist than the fore-mentioned artists as far as individual song structures, but the album is more varied as well.

Patterson Hood "Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance"

         New solo joint review here.

     Ferocious !!!

No piano, but more bottom end!

Bob Dylan "Tempest"

 For a review of Dylan's "Tempest" click here.

The Avett Brothers "The Carpenter"

 Go here for a review!

Trampled By Turtles.

           For some rambling thoughts on the band, go here.

It's probably time to actually use this blog. 

     I'll admit I'm a contradiction when it comes to music. There's certain things I admire and respect in some artists that I detest in others. I love to see some bands progress while others I want to stay exactly where they're at. And when someone suggests something I might like-"Oh, you'd love 'em. They sound just like The Ramones"-I may not even give it the time of day. It just depends on what it is. The Ramones have spawned a zillion bands. Really, I'd just rather listen to them. Besides, I already like about a half dozen sound-alikes, I have no room for more. But then there's stuff like the new Beach House record Bloom. While I wouldn't say it's an absolutely brilliant record, some of it is highly listenable to me, but very Cocteau Twins-sounding. Almost anything new is derivative of something. But since the Cocteau Twins haven't made any new music in a long while, I'll enjoy the new Beach House, just because I'm such a sucker for that sound.

    It's a given that my musical taste is a vast, wide spectrum of different sounds rising and falling, colliding, fighting for space on my mp3 player. Anymore I cringe when someone asks what type of music I listen to. If I were to say I like Wu Tang Clan, then I must love hip hop, all of it, to the exclusion of everything else. I like the old sarcastic answer "I like both kinds. Country AND Western."

   I would probably say that overall my musical spirit lies within an ideal DIY/punk ethos. When I say punk I mean my definition: limited technical musicianship but a vivid musical "imagination", freedom from preconceived notions of what music has to be, and a disdain for compromise or music as commodity. 

    No, I'm not a hater of everything popular/mainstream/commercial just for the sake of it. There's lots of popular music that enjoy. But a lot of it is just soul-less drivel manufactured by the record industry to sell units. 

    So when I say my spirit lies in punk, yes, it means I love the Ramones, Dolls, Voidoids, etc.(fathers of the orginal movement). But I hear it in a lot of other things too. Once again I'm talking about the adventurous spirit, not a specific sound. I hear it in Coltrane. I hear it in Neil Young. I hear it in Massive Attack. I hear it in Spacemen 3. To me, what gets labelled "post-punk" was far more punk than the original movement. That's where some of the most adventurous and original music lies in my opinion: The Fall, PiL, Joy Division, The Birthday Party, and on and on. 

    Ok, that being said, there's a whole boatload of other music I enjoy just as much. I love the dinosaur bands that punk originally set out to destroy: Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Rush, etc. I truly love these bands, and not in an ironic way. 

    I'm sort of going out on a tangent here. Not sure where this is headed, we'll see.

    I don't understand why one would limit themselves in their listening experience. If I profess a love of the Ramones why does it have to mean I prefer them or that sound over Pink Floyd or Yes? Can I like both? If you truly don't like something, that's fine, but I've never been one to deny something I enjoy because it might go against the grain of my (sub)cultural identity. I've always been merely a rabid music fan, not a punk, hippie, indie rocker, etc.

   Another thing I don't understand is people denying something they like because it's "too popular now" or "too many hipsters like them". I'll admit when something truly great gets popular, it gets shoved down your throat by radio, tv commercials, etc. I think it's also healthy to be skeptical of hype especially in the indie world. I suppose a lot of people don't want to be a part of a club that anyone can join. They want to find that small exclusive club that makes them feel unique. But I will say this: there are douchebags in every clique. Anti-hipsterdom is still a form of hipsterdom, and way more annoying. 

  I used to wear my music tastes/knowledge on my sleeve, and would try to educate the clueless co-worker on what I thought was good music. Now I just don't care. I don't have the time or the energy. In an information age riddled with false claims of what "real" music is, an indie hype machine partially ghost-written by major record companies, and calculated pop radio hits programmed into people's psyches, it's hard to compete. A shallow VH1- informed history of rock is hard to debug.

  Anymore people's lives are so fast-paced they don't have the attention span to sit down and listen to a song by someone they've never heard before, let alone a whole album. I enjoy reading about music almost as much as listening to it. There used to be somewhat of an art to a record review. You describe the music without trying to label it. Nowadays, it's one paragraph of text, then the genre type (nu-gaze, ambient dubstep, etc) or If you like so-and-so you'll like this. It's all quick, dismissive, and marginalized. 

   Music is so special. It's something I believe we were blessed with to elevate us. It comes in so many different forms. Treat it with respect. And explore.

     

    

Wild Flag

The album has it's moments, but live, they're a different beast entirely.

thoughts........

    Really trying to find a bit of solace for the last couple days. What the hell is this? Am I paying for the one fun night I had this summer? Or just post-concert/back-to-the-grind blues? It's been really hard to shake off work the past couple nights. Fortunately or unfortunately I don't have the luxury of "escaping" after the work day is over. Is that how most people deal with arrogant, condescending fake-ass bosses? Does yoga really work? Questions, questions....Why am I exiled to this shit town where I have no one to talk to while the few friends I have are up north. Well, I know the answer to that, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.......Suck it up, Eric!

GBV

           Guided By Voices is one of those bands that I never really explored until about five years ago or so. I bought Alien Lanes when it came out (95?) but didn't really follow them. Been listening to a lot of their stuff lately. Too me, Pollard is too prolific, a lot of throwaways amidst some real gems. And the lo-fi thing was probably a budget issue, but it also feels like a gimmick. Their music begs for production. I think their albums got better later on. I prefer Isolation Drills and Do the Collapse over Bee Thousand. But a good concise overview is Human Amusement at Hourly Rates: The Best of Guided by Voices. It might just be all I need.

Less than a month away. Ordering tickets next week. Hopefully it all works out. Will be the one exciting thing I do this summer and a nice reward for working hard. Circuital has been my summer album. Oh and Neko Case is opening. Can't wait!

If someone say it's hot outside one more time I'll smolder their ass with my giant magnifying glass!

     What a summer! Exhausting. Seems like I'm always on the run- walking to and from work, or the laundromat or the grocery store while coping with the elements (rain or heat or both). And it's been hard to relax during my downtime. I can't get interested in anything. I'm constantly thinking of things I can do now to make my day easier tomorrow or ways to improve my job performance.
     The new job is beating me up. I ache all the time. Resurfacing pain in my right arm changes to tingly numbness. It's almost a relief to work. I don't notice the pain when I'm busy. I'm being programmed into a machine. Oh, the melodrama!
      But I'm not complaining. I vowed to kiss this summer goodbye as far as trying to do anything fun or exciting, buckle down, get ahead, and save for next year. Hopefully I'll be ready for you-summer of 2012.
      I don't know what I'd do without my mp3 player. Most music listening these days seems to be whilst in motion. Here's my current top 10: Guided by Voices  Do the Collapse, AMM sampler, Smegma Pigs for Lepers, REM Life's Rich Pageant, OHM: The Early Gurus of Electronic Music, My Morning Jacket Circuital, Drunks with Guns Second Verses, Ween Rotten Cheese, Stevie Wonder playlist, Jimi Hendrix Valleys of Neptune.

            Last week I was flipping through a book and found an old receipt from my ex- "pain management" physician. It was dated 7/7/06, exactly five years to the day. Spooky, dawg!

Flushing out the pineal gland...

Fucked Up "David Comes to Life"

      I'm about halfway through this record, and I don't know what to think. I knew very little about this band to begin with. I know they're some kind of progressive hardcore band and this is their big ambitious concept record. All I know is it's really long. I had somewhat of a liking for hardcore when I was a teenager, but always preferred the bands who broke that mold and took risks: Black Flag, Husker Du, etc. I have no idea what the concept is about. There are some interesting moments, music-wise, and the occasional female vocals are a welcome relief. But that same lead vocalist hoarse scream/singing just wears me out. When I get a hankering I'd rather just listen to Poison Idea's "Darby Crash Rides Again" 7 inch. 10 songs in 10 minutes or something like that. The hype is unreal over this record-"The greatest punk record since "Zen Arcade", or maybe, ever!" I'll try and finish listening later. I was looking for something new and aggressive to listen to on the way to work today, but after awhile ended up retreating to good ol' Big Black instead.

7/8/11 3am

sitting here tonight

and also walking the streets

22 yrs ago-

aloof, untarnished.

the fuzzy residue of downtown buildings-


hip record stores & vintage clothing shops


while way over there


out yonder


it's a night sky smeared with stars and magic


22 yrs ago.


a sluggish fever dream


that i never want to end


when we could see ghosts


before we folded over

 and explained them all away.