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Monday, September 28, 2009
HotMess.org
So, I've linked to these guys before. They mostly do music-related reviews and posts (although they also do interviews and a radio show), particularly focusing on concerts and distinguished by their writing style. I recommend checking the site daily for a laugh and some mind-expanding culture. All seriousness aside though, the tag line at the end of their page alone warrants a full-fledged post:
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Sunday, September 27, 2009
Beyond Unison rocked Christy's 2009
So I happened to have 24 hours free this weekend, and decided that I would be a good BU alum and drive down to support my people at Christy's Saturday night. Plus I figured it was time to meet the newbies - who I have been faithfully stalking on Facebook (as all dedicated alums do) since the day they joined the group. And I needed a party... For anyone who wasn't there, Beyond Unison rocked hard. Quick shot at the set list:
Journey - Don't Stop Believin' [Escape]
The Hush Sound - Honey [Goodbye Blues]
Jason Mraz - If It Kills Me [We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things]
Goo Goo Dolls - Black Balloon [Dizzy Up The Girl]
Paramore - That's What You Get [Riot!]
The 5-song selection showcased multiple arrangers, soloists (new and old), and the strength of the group's tight, cohesive sound. BU pumped out enough energy to overcome the limitations of the production equipment at the concert, and each song was met with riotous (no pun intended) applause from an appreciative audience. I'm stoked for the 5 Year Anniversary / Reunion Concert on October 31st - you should be too.
Journey - Don't Stop Believin' [Escape]
The Hush Sound - Honey [Goodbye Blues]
Jason Mraz - If It Kills Me [We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things]
Goo Goo Dolls - Black Balloon [Dizzy Up The Girl]
Paramore - That's What You Get [Riot!]
The 5-song selection showcased multiple arrangers, soloists (new and old), and the strength of the group's tight, cohesive sound. BU pumped out enough energy to overcome the limitations of the production equipment at the concert, and each song was met with riotous (no pun intended) applause from an appreciative audience. I'm stoked for the 5 Year Anniversary / Reunion Concert on October 31st - you should be too.
Two albums that should have been better...
I was recently asked by a friend why the new Third Eye Blind album was conspicuously absent from my recent posts. I own it: I bought it from Amazon right when it came out for something ridiculous like $3.99, and unfortunately I think I pretty much got my money's worth. Paraphrasing the words of my undergraduate music composition professor, "I listened to the album, but didn't feel the need to do so again. I got everything I needed from the album on the first pass: there was nothing that drew me in for a second listen." And that's being a bit kind.
I had similar feelings for Imogen Heap's (much anticipated) "Ellipse" - which has about three tracks that I find remotely interesting: First Train Home, Wait It Out, and Earth; and at least one that absolutely does not appeal to me (Little Bird). With hopes set high, I purchased the deluxe version of this album, which included instrumental-only versions of all the tracks. I hope that some day I use at least one of these instruments in a remix, else I fear my $13.99 was dreadfully misspent.
Interestingly, both these lack-lustre albums are fourth releases for each of the artists. Third Eye Blind: Third Eye Blind (1997), Blue (1999), Out of the Vein (2003), and Ursa Major (2009). Imogen Heap: I Megaphone (1998), Details (2002), Speak for Yourself (2005), Ellipse (2009) -- and I know that I'm cheating here slightly by including Details, but it's still her. More interesting yet, the popularity of their respective discographies took markedly different paths. TEB opened strong, with an album that continues to sell singles to this day; put out the quintessential sophomore release; got it back together for Out of the Vein (though they only got one or two singles off this album), and then fell face first with album #4. Imogen Heap had a slow start with I Megaphone, but then put out two powerhouse albums within three years! ...and then put out Ellipse, after all sorts of hype concerning her new studio and the time she took to write and produce the album.
Sad face.
I had similar feelings for Imogen Heap's (much anticipated) "Ellipse" - which has about three tracks that I find remotely interesting: First Train Home, Wait It Out, and Earth; and at least one that absolutely does not appeal to me (Little Bird). With hopes set high, I purchased the deluxe version of this album, which included instrumental-only versions of all the tracks. I hope that some day I use at least one of these instruments in a remix, else I fear my $13.99 was dreadfully misspent.
Interestingly, both these lack-lustre albums are fourth releases for each of the artists. Third Eye Blind: Third Eye Blind (1997), Blue (1999), Out of the Vein (2003), and Ursa Major (2009). Imogen Heap: I Megaphone (1998), Details (2002), Speak for Yourself (2005), Ellipse (2009) -- and I know that I'm cheating here slightly by including Details, but it's still her. More interesting yet, the popularity of their respective discographies took markedly different paths. TEB opened strong, with an album that continues to sell singles to this day; put out the quintessential sophomore release; got it back together for Out of the Vein (though they only got one or two singles off this album), and then fell face first with album #4. Imogen Heap had a slow start with I Megaphone, but then put out two powerhouse albums within three years! ...and then put out Ellipse, after all sorts of hype concerning her new studio and the time she took to write and produce the album.
Sad face.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
New Music - 9/26
First off, let me apologize to all the die-hard 311 fans out there: this one goes out to Joe Zanetti and Scott Cameron Shores especially. I'm sorry I didn't hear / download "Uplifter" before this week. It's ridiculously good - easily makes my short list of albums I've heard in memory that blew me away. It's a great blend of their styles throughout the years, and really highlights both the band's development over nearly 2 decades, as well as their roots. A quick peak at my favorite tracks, listed in rank order and numbered in track order, just to confuse the drawers off anyone who's unfortunate/bored/stupid/misguided/misinformed/ enough to read this blog:
6. "Daisy Cutter" - Talk about a fun track! And they say "beautiful disaster" in the chorus! Solid win. And the song has a true "B" section - something my father would be proud to have mentioned here. Very reminiscent of "All Mixed Up" and similar tracks from the era.
5. "India Ink" - I don't know what it is about this song, but I can't get it out of my head. I've been singing "I write your name on my arm in India Ink" over and over and over again... Again - sounds like an homage to earlier albums, I'm thinking "Freak Out" off Music? Anyone? Bueller?
4. "Golden Sunlight" - This track really shows how much 311 has matured since Music (1991) and 311 (1995). Full sound, "Beyond the Gray Sky"-esque chorus... I always manage to look at my iPhone right before the two minute mark, when the song finally hits the chorus thinking "Damn this is good! What is this again?" - even though I know. :-)
2. "It's Alright" - All right... so it's got a little "Amber" sound in it - but that's ok: we all liked "Amber"!
9. "Two Drops In the Ocean" - As long as we're going through the 311 song history, this reminds me of "Flowing" off Transistor - not once it gets going... but the beginning, yes. There's something about that "wah-wah" flanged, auto-panned guitar sound... I believe my brother would call it frequency-dependent phase modulation or something. Perhaps he will correct me - though I doubt it. :-)
1. "Hey You" - (Honorable Mention) - Here's the story: This was the single off the album, and I heard this a looooong time ago, so some of the magic has worn off. I'm including here for honorable mention for a couple of reasons, including but not limited to: A) That's how you do an opening on an opening track. Pow. 2) This chorus still makes we want to jump around and shout and speed and do other questionable (albeit fun) activities. D) 2:51 - 3:14: This part of the song rocks sooo hard it's ridiculous: the drum fills are completely out of control, and it's glorious.
On a totally and wholly unrelated note, I downloaded a few tracks off the new Dream Theater EP "Wither." Based on the reviews, I elected to only download the original and Piano versions of the title track. The piano track is nice - stripped down, honest, and clean: the way you would expect it to be. It's got a couple nice spots where the strings really come through, but I was looking for a bit more of this.
The full band (album/studio) version of "Wither" is unlawfully good. For Dream Theater fans, you need to search your soul and ask if you liked "VI. Solitary Shell" off Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence. If you can imagine a mix between that track and "VIII. Losing Time - Grand Finale," then you have a grasp on what you're buying, and can decide from there if it's worth your $1.29 or whatever from iTunes. Personally, I think you should own the entire Six Degrees album, as well as the new EP title track. They're awesome rock ballads, and well-worth the listen. (PS - I don't want to spoil it too much, but if you're torn about the piano version, buy the full version. You'll know before 4 minutes if you made the right decision. I hope you agree.)
Oddly enough, I have to get some things together here (like some tunes!) and hit the road in about an hour. Probably another post before the weekend is out - just to get this going.
In the words of Dream Theater: "The world's what you create."
6. "Daisy Cutter" - Talk about a fun track! And they say "beautiful disaster" in the chorus! Solid win. And the song has a true "B" section - something my father would be proud to have mentioned here. Very reminiscent of "All Mixed Up" and similar tracks from the era.
5. "India Ink" - I don't know what it is about this song, but I can't get it out of my head. I've been singing "I write your name on my arm in India Ink" over and over and over again... Again - sounds like an homage to earlier albums, I'm thinking "Freak Out" off Music? Anyone? Bueller?
4. "Golden Sunlight" - This track really shows how much 311 has matured since Music (1991) and 311 (1995). Full sound, "Beyond the Gray Sky"-esque chorus... I always manage to look at my iPhone right before the two minute mark, when the song finally hits the chorus thinking "Damn this is good! What is this again?" - even though I know. :-)
2. "It's Alright" - All right... so it's got a little "Amber" sound in it - but that's ok: we all liked "Amber"!
9. "Two Drops In the Ocean" - As long as we're going through the 311 song history, this reminds me of "Flowing" off Transistor - not once it gets going... but the beginning, yes. There's something about that "wah-wah" flanged, auto-panned guitar sound... I believe my brother would call it frequency-dependent phase modulation or something. Perhaps he will correct me - though I doubt it. :-)
1. "Hey You" - (Honorable Mention) - Here's the story: This was the single off the album, and I heard this a looooong time ago, so some of the magic has worn off. I'm including here for honorable mention for a couple of reasons, including but not limited to: A) That's how you do an opening on an opening track. Pow. 2) This chorus still makes we want to jump around and shout and speed and do other questionable (albeit fun) activities. D) 2:51 - 3:14: This part of the song rocks sooo hard it's ridiculous: the drum fills are completely out of control, and it's glorious.
On a totally and wholly unrelated note, I downloaded a few tracks off the new Dream Theater EP "Wither." Based on the reviews, I elected to only download the original and Piano versions of the title track. The piano track is nice - stripped down, honest, and clean: the way you would expect it to be. It's got a couple nice spots where the strings really come through, but I was looking for a bit more of this.
The full band (album/studio) version of "Wither" is unlawfully good. For Dream Theater fans, you need to search your soul and ask if you liked "VI. Solitary Shell" off Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence. If you can imagine a mix between that track and "VIII. Losing Time - Grand Finale," then you have a grasp on what you're buying, and can decide from there if it's worth your $1.29 or whatever from iTunes. Personally, I think you should own the entire Six Degrees album, as well as the new EP title track. They're awesome rock ballads, and well-worth the listen. (PS - I don't want to spoil it too much, but if you're torn about the piano version, buy the full version. You'll know before 4 minutes if you made the right decision. I hope you agree.)
Oddly enough, I have to get some things together here (like some tunes!) and hit the road in about an hour. Probably another post before the weekend is out - just to get this going.
In the words of Dream Theater: "The world's what you create."
Top 10 (really 12... but who's counting?)
Let's start this thing off right... Top picks from the last couple of weeks that you should have already heard!
- All Time Low - "Lullabies" [Put Up or Shut Up]: The best ATL song since "Down and Out."
- Audioslave - "Doesn't Remind Me" [Out of Exile]: (Ironically) reminds me of my brother and Peter James... no idea why... but it's still a remarkably dope song... and I'm thinking that it may carry over into fall, even though it's such a "summer driving with the windows down" kind of song.
- Audioslave - "Heavens Dead" [Out of Exile]: Beautiful, and completely different from #2 - much more in the style of "Shadow on the Sun." If you're unsure, wait until the song opens up at 2:34. :-)
- The Bravery - "Time Won't Let Me Go" [The Sun and the Moon]: Infectious chorus... there's something about high-power harmony during the refrain that just *kills* me. Sweet drum leads don't hurt either.
- Chris Cornell - "When I'm Down" [Euphoria Morning]: Ok - so I was obviously on a Chris Cornell/Audioslave kick. That aside, this man knows how to write blues/rock! Easily my favorite track off the album. I am still seriously considering arranging this as an a cappella track. :-P
- Coldplay - "Violet Hill" [Viva la Vida...]: To be honest, this song doesn't particularly inspire me... until the last 41 seconds: "I took my love down to violet hill/There we sat in snow/All that time she was silent still./So if you love me/Won't you let me know?/So if you love me/Won't you let me know?" It just sounds honest... and that's powerful.
- Cupid - "Cupid Shuffle" [Time for a Change]: Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to invade a bar with a group of out-going friends, play this song on the jukebox, start dancing, and then start pulling people off the bar to dance with you. Ridiculous...
- Dashboard Confessional - "Stolen" [Dusk and Summer]: The epitome of an end of summer song. "We watch the season pull up its own stakes/and catch the last weekend of the last week/before the gold and the glimmer have been replaced/another sun-soaked season, fades away." And when the chorus finally hits at 1:37, you probably have a smile on your face. Oddly enough, this is also one of the worst produced tracks I've heard in a while! Treble-heavy (to the point of distortion on lesser systems), lots of digital fuzz... Not impressed.
- The Hush Sound - "Sweet Tangerine" [Like Vines]: Easily one of my favorite HS songs ever; and much like #2, this song rocks so hard (though now with piano and outrageous synth). If only "Honey" sounded like this, it too would make this list. Thankfully, Beyond Unison has arranged and performed a much harder-rocking version of this song, which brings joy to my heart.
- Jason DeRulo - "Whatcha Say" [Whatcha Say - Single]: So I heard this song on the radio and said, "Now that's a good sample!" And it still is. (And to dispel any sort of conjecture to the contrary, it really is Imogen Heap - I promise. She sounds a little different because she's likely been tempo / pitch matched to DeRulo's song.) And the last 38 seconds of this song were obviously written by a pop-producer - which is why I love them.
- Joshua Radin - "Everything'll Be Alright (Will's Lullaby)" [We Were Here]: It's simple, quiet, sweet, and sincere. And short - under three minutes!
- Mayday Parade - "Just Say You're Into It" [Tales Told By Dead Friends]: So, I almost went to a MP concert last month or so, and decided after reading a post on Hot Mess concerning their feelings on The Fray concert, I was suitably deterred from purchasing tickets. In retrospect, I think I should have braved the bare foot Candy Ravers and 12 year olds for a sweet live show.
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