Welcome to this Glorious Mess: Like-minded individuals wandering this Great Big Green and Blue Ball called Earth together. Online. So welcome and enjoy.
Remember this is just a guide. Not a "this is the greatest CD of the Year or it belongs in the Top Ten". I just look at the releases coming out today and list a few that you should check out.
Iron and Wine - The Shepard's Dog Shocking but not in a bad way. Shocking because of the florishes that enhance the overall feel of the CD. I think if Daniel Lanois were to hear this CD he would be more than a wee bit jealous. Mr Beam has one of the great voices of this generation. He still sounds wonderful. This is a fuller sound from him and you may find yourself longing for the sparce landscapes of former Iron and Wine songs but let this CD wash over you. You will find plenty to love. File this under Must Buy.
Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace So on their last cd they doubled up and made one disc "UP" tunes and the second CD was "Mellow" tunes. On this CD they combine the two sometimes within the same song. This is the Foo Fighters just being the Foo Fighters.
Matt Pond PA - Last Light This is not my favorite CD by Matt Pond PA who now calls Brooklyn Home. Yes the PA stands for the State and yes more people should know about him. He is kinda like Ryan Adams but for some reason not as popular and not as Alt-country-ish. Matt Pond releases almost as much as Ryan too. All very high quality. Honestly don't be afraid to reach into this man's back catelogue. On this cd his touchstones come closer to the surface. He gets some Blur moments in here. He's got straight forward pop and of course his signature Indie Rock. So do yourself, your ears and anyone else within listening distance and get something by Matt Pond PA. Feel free to start here too. Oh and Matt if somehow you read this I still want you to come up North (it's just 35 minutes) and record a NEXT Concert for me. Thanks
Favorite movie: Reservoir Dogs / Boondock Saints / The Rookie
Favorite book: "The Mammy " by Brendan O'Carroll
Favorite album: the favorite album is very hard to pin down so I won't. Here are a few I have to have on that deserted island ( in no special order); Stevie Ray Vaughan "In Step" Bob Marley "Legend" Van Morrison "Moondance " Bonnie Riatt "Luck of the Draw" Pearl Jam "Ten" U2 " The Joshua Tree" Natalie Merchant "Tigerlily" Elton John "Madman Across the Water"
Two sound tracks I can't live without are: "The Commitments" and "To Live and Die in LA" (Wang Chung)
Three famous people I'd like to meet: Stevie Ray Vaughan (r.i.p.), Bono, The Dalai Lama
One famous person I actually met: I have actually met many but who cares, its boring.
Best concert experience: Midnight Oil and Eurythmics at the Pier 84 in NYC stands out, but too many great ones to list.....
Coolest pop-culture item I own: my iPod .... it's amazing how technology has changed since the "Walkman", and the disc skipping of portable cd players!!!
And what movie prop would like to own: Anything from "The Quiet Man"
Remember "In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed — they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."
Occupation: Full time Bloody Mary / Southern Comfort / Beer drinker (in that order, for a pretty good day. Hey, I should write a song about that), part time construction estimator.
Favorite movie: Miller's Crossing
Favorite book: Shatterday, by Harlan Ellison (obviously, I haven't read a book since the mid-eighties, although it is that good)
Favorite album: There's no such thing, but I can narrow it down to two: Ned's Atomic Dustbin Are You Normal?, Pink Floyd The Final Cut, Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti, They Might Be Giants Flood, REM Life's Rich Pageant, Smoking Popes Born to Quit, Radiohead The Bends, The Spent Poets, etc.
Three famous people I'd like to meet: Bill Clinton / W. (to see if he really is that charismatic / to ask WTF?, respectively), Mathew McConaughey on a good-hair-day (to party, get naked and play the bongos, and have gay sex with), and Quentin Tarrantino (for a liquor-fueled month-long film festival in his basement.)
One famous person I actually met: Chris Bro
Best concert experience: The Tragically Hip at El Rey in Albuquerque, tied with Ned's at the same venue.
Coolest pop-culture item I own: Either the promotional Fargo red-snow globe (wood-chipper scene), Jeff Bridge's book of Big Lebowski on-set photography (won at a sneak preview by answering a Miller's Crossing trivia question), or the specially-packaged limited-edition Eraserhead DVD - obviously, I don't get out much.
And what movie prop would you like to own: An animatronic face-hugger from Alien.
So today there are probably three CDs that stand above the rest.
Eddie Vedder with The OST or Official Sound Track for Into The Wild. This is just Eddie no PJ but he sounds good and you already know if you dig him or not. The movie is based on the book.
Bella - No One Will Know Some of the best Indie Pop out there today. If that sentence made you grin than this CD should put a smile upon your face. If that sentence means nothing to you it may be time to stretch your musical horizon a bit.
KT Tunstall - Drastic Fantastic How cool would it be if she did do drastic instead of safe? If you are a fan of KT's from before here is more of the same. I am not calling it bad in fact I like her quite a bit but she could have called it Part Two. She really is in a no win situation. Do you keep the Grassroots people that first discovered you happy or do you aim for the "hey I just heard this cool tune on American Idol" people happy. Someone wiser than I once said something like, "if you aren't pissing someone off you're not doing your job". On this album she tries not to piss anyone off and if you play not to lose rather than to win you usually end up losing. Lord knows the one thing she will not be losing will be the MONEY.
A Big Thank you to Martin for being the first to answer the simple Next Questions. I want a Stormtrooper suit too. That would be way super cool.
The NEXT Questionnaire Real name: Martin
Where I live: Dobbs Ferry, NY
Occupation: High School Student, radio personality, photographer, drummer, band management, recording engineer
Favorite movie: Stranger Than Fiction
Favorite book: High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
Favorite album: There's alot of them, here's the "stuck-on-a-desert-island" short list: Music from Big Pink, Exile on Main St., My Generation, Blinking Lights (And Other Revelations), This Year's Model, Night and Day
Three famous people I'd like to meet: Keith Moon, the Dalai Lama, and Keith Richards
One famous person I actually met: Allen Toussaint
Best concert experience: There's so many...Here's a good one: The New Year's Eve Midnight Ramble at Levon Helm's studio
Coolest pop-culture item I own: They're not mine, but my dad's Fillmore poster collection
And what movie prop would like to own: Stormtrooper suit from Star Wars
Inspired by the end of a relationship, "Sea Change" may be one the best break up albums ever recorded.
After 1999's "Midnight Vultures" disc, Beck had already cemented his place as alt. rocks priemier blue-eyed soul funk brother. This work marked a distinct departure from the eclectic genre blending of previous efforts. Little in Beck's catalog, outside of some tracks off 1998's "Mutations", most notibly the contemplative "Nobodys' Fault But My Own", hinted at the depth and melancholy that "Sea Change" brought to the table.
The album was produced beautifully by Nigel Goodrich and includes string arrangements by David Campbell (Beck's father). Starting with "The Golden Age", Beck sets a introspective tone full of lush instumentation and ornate arrangements. "Guess I'm Doing Fine", "Lonesome Tears", & "Round The Bend" all resonate with a somber yet deliberate sound of one individual trying to make sense of the aftermath in a failed relationship, a universal theme if there ever was one.
"Lost Cause" & "Already Dead" in particular hit an emotional resonance from the writers point of view, one can almost picture the late nights and empty liquor bottles that must have been vital in the making of these recordings.
Despite the mournful tone some of the songs suggest, the album is never depressing or bleak. "End Of The Day", "It's All In Your Mind", and "Sunday Sun" hint at acceptance and optimism lending the album a feeling of resolution.
Beck has never been as introspective before or since "Sea Change", the album belongs in the same hallowed ground as Dylan's "Blood On The Tracks" or Jeff Buckey's "Grace".
This may not be the album Beck will ultimately be remembered for, as he carries the weight of "Odelay" like Radiohead carries it for "Ok Computer", but it would be frivolous to disregard "Sea Change" as nothing other than one of Beck's best works.
according to Men's Journal Magazine these are the 25 best beers in America. They link to all the beers in the article.
It's a good list and I really want to try number one: The Firestone "Walker Pale Ale". If anyone has had it or knows of where I can get it please let me know. I have had 9 of the beers...I really need to get going.
I also think that somewhere on the list something from The Stone Brewery should have made it. Also currently I am loving Dale's Pale Ale too.
So you are in one of the most influential and bombastic bands in the 80s...that happens to break up. What is a lead singer to do? Release an acoustic CD of course. So in 1989 Bob Mould, not only does that but it's also a LOST TREASURE of a CD.
In between Husker Du (yes named after the children's game) and Sugar, Bob Mould went solo and acoustic. The CD is called Workbook. It's his first solo CD and it is a must have. It's not your typical acoustic Dave Matthews/Tim Reynolds kinda cd - no this one rocks. He assaults the guitar and if you've ever seen him live solo and acoustic you know just how bloody intense it is. Not really a "Sunday morning relax and have some coffee" acoustic cd no this is more like a "it's Thursday night and I'm thinking of starting the weekend off instead of waiting for Friday" acoustic CD. There are quiet and absolutely beautiful moments but still underneath it all is Bob fuming at something or someone.
If you'd like to read Bob Mould's Blog. It's Boblog. and he has a new DVD concert coming out called Circle of Friends. Should be a good one.
Frank Black - Bluefinger Closer to the Pixies then to his latest Nashville sessions. We may not get a new Pixies cd (which we all thought we would after the successful reunion tour) but we do get Black Francis or at least a wee bit of him on this cd.
Elvis Costello - My Aim is True (Deluxe Editon) Do you really need to upgrade for this CD for the 4th time? Short answer: Yes. Long Answer: Maybe...If for some reason this cd is not in your collection count yourself lucky and go out and get this one. If you already have mulitple versions of this you may want to spent your hard earned money anyway because there are a bunch of never before released live tracks and demos included. If Elvis wasn't so cool and this cd not a "must have" then I might be a bit more mad that there is yet another release of the cd.
