The Music Video That Trumps All Music Videos

I think I found my next year's Halloween outfit... Talk about inspiring...

The David Bazan House Show Was Awesome

I'm glad I have friends that have social-event awareness or I would've never heard that David Bazan was playing a really cool show tonight in Fresno--a show that I'm sure I'll remember for a long time.  It was one of those events that you wish you could replay the experience on demand time and time again.

GF and I arrived pretty much before anyone (that never happens) and found that the guys hosting the show were a few cool guys from The Aircrash (formerly Help Computer)--a band that The Nancies used to share a practice space with.  Their livingroom was certainly no bigger than the livingroom in my apartment, so fitting the limited 40 people in meant for some coziness, which actually turned out to be just fine.  Bazan showed up maybe 15 mins before the show was supposed to start and hung out with the rest of us not-so-famous peeps, which was pretty darn cool.  That totally exemplified the lack of pretentiousness that he displayed in the many dialogues with the rest of us throughout the night.

Bazan explained at one point during the show that he and his manager came up with the idea of doing these sort of "underground" shows some time ago when he realized that he just wanted to keep touring in the Fall and Spring like he'd always done; not to mention which would also help pay some bills, etc., for him and his family.  Essentially, these house shows are intended to be sans media in order to keep his label happy, but of course puts a smile on the rest of our faces.  All in all he probably played maybe 12 songs--a mixture of old Pedro the Lion stuff, old solo stuff, and stuff on his new album (due out August 25th)--but the greatest part about the whole deal was his interest in chatting with the rest of us.  He stopped every couple of songs and would ask if we had any questions or comments, which led to some really cool stories and insight in to his life.  This, coming from a guy who's songwriting is something I hold at the tip top of my list, was really pretty awesome.



At one point he said that this was one of the best times he's had in a long time playing shows--I wasn't sure if he meant this particular show or just playing these really small house venues, but either way I felt way privileged.  He said he'd definitely be coming back to Fresno after the album came out, so we'll see if that pans out, but man--what a cool guy with some really powerful things to say in his music.  I'm really hoping he does make it back here, as his music is hugely inspiring to me.  Please come back to Fresno, David Bazan!!!

I got a couple bits of songs on my iPhone--they're crap for quality, but worth listening nonetheless.  Check em (probably need to crank the volume a bit--like I said, sucky quality):

The opening 2 songs (off the new album) and "Options", off of Pedro the Lion's Control:

I'm digging this Elbow song

I dig the simple acoustic pattern, with yummy slight dissonances. His voice is great; the multi-part harmonies are tasteful. Drums are sort of Middle Eastern exotic. ...but when that bass comes in--oh man, that tone is so money! Totally one of those cases where the tone of the instrument totally makes the song for me. It really is the little things, I think...

Long Time No Show

I played my first (quasi) gig tonight (with The Rhoda Penmarks) in almost a year (since last year's Rogue Festival) and I have to say it was pretty great. No, not the music--that was probably a tad rougher on the ears than i would've liked--I mean just playing music with good friends.

I love not really ever knowing what's gonna come out of Benji's amp, and I love Chris' musicality on the drums (and other percussion!). To me, there's some of that true live-music-ness about playing with these guys--that idea that you kinda know which road you're heading down, but you're not ever really sure what anyone's going to do, yet you don't really have to worry about one of them all of a sudden punching you in the face. I think that's also something that draws me to people in general--some safe level of interesting unpredictability. Some creativity with words and thoughts and actions. It keeps life fresh.

It's taken me a long time to come to this, but I think I finally really enjoy playing with others (as opposed to tout seul in my apt). I look back at early college, when I didn't "get" why I should share MY music with anyone else, and am glad to see that I've grown out of that. I left work tonight trying to keep my head from spinning off, and left Javawava with a bit of a burden off my shoulders. I'd forgotten how cathartic playing shows can be--even if people didn't come to see my band (it was for Danielle's Art Hop show).

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

UNKLE - Rabbit In Your Headlights

I love this song. DJ Shadow and Thom Yorke. Sweet drums and piano. 9/8 time signature that doesn't really sound awkward. And the video just makes it that much better. Usually videos totally ruin songs for me. I still remember the day Ben Kloos showed this to me--I was blown away. I've watched this probably 100 times since and it's never gotten old. Thanks B.

Obama Likes Vinyl Too

When I saw the link to this article on Analog Apartment, I thought: "hey, neato, the president has a bunch of old records", and was intrigued by the "Secret" part in the title. I didn't expect to hear that there's an LP collection that gets handed down to each president--not one that has Ramones and Sex Pistols in the collection at least...

Check it: Obama's Secret Record Collection

Maybe We'll Make Some Tunes

I recently got a call from a Mr. Jon Hadden (Aspen Hollow, Circles and Circles, Jonah and the Whale, Winter Wardrobe) about getting together to make some music. And I'm way excited. Before I knew Jon, I'd already grown to respect his taste in playing guitar through seeing his bands play. Then I got to know him. What an a.... Just kidding. Nicest guy ever. And I've got to say that making music with great people is the only way to do it.

Who knows what'll come of the whole thing. I'm just excited about the idea. And it's been a long time since that's happened.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Catharsis and Self-exploration

I've missed writing here. Since June of last year, this blog has been a wonderful forum for my mind and emotions, but life kicked it up a gear over the past couple of months and I haven't written since October. Which makes me again re-realize something about myself: I'm subject to business. Subject to life.

I flash back to think about convo's with the roomie about the music making process, how John wants to make music about life. About what's going on in his life. He wants to convey messages without imposing his thoughts and feelings on you. He wants his music to be an outlet, where doing the music is a cathartic exercise, not only for him, but for his listeners. I think I have something to learn from him here.

I think my musical experience has led me to some unwanted snobbery. I've told myself, "I've done that whole say what you want to say without saying it, so what's next?" And that led me back to classical composition (or at least the desire to do so), or anything that's labelled with a "post-" prefix. I want to, in the words of Mike Skinner (The Streets) "push things forward." But I've always told myself that in order to do so, I have to leave what's behind me--and I think that that might be to my detriment.

Everyone knows that art is a culmination of what was previous to now; how can I even begin to think that I can toss aside my musical experience if I hope to continue to grow musically? I have to realize that anything that I do will be built on the things that I've loved and hated in my surroundings. The love/hate relationship I have with Indie Folk-Rock can't just be tossed aside--I have to embrace that as part of my life. Part of what's made me, me. I won't be able to move on until I come to terms with those relationships (just as I've had to do with relationships with people in my life).

So what does that coming-to-terms process look like then? Well, if I compare it to people relationships, that means looking at the good and bad of my experiences with them and putting those experiences in their respective buckets. Along those lines, it probably also means looking at how those relationships effected my life, both short- and long-term. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense...

So in light of this new part of the year, I'm focusing on the positive things around me; I think this is a great opportunity make a conjunction out of the whole thing and apply this to my musical life. Time to look at the positive aspects of all the music I've experienced over the years and figure out what I can take with me in my next musical steps.

Tallyho!

In-depth Comparison of CD vs. Vinyl of New Metallica

Ok, so... I've never really been into Metallica at any point in my life, but this post has nothing to do with my opinion on their music.  I ran across a link on gizmodo.com to an interesting article blog post that compares the audio quality of Metallica's new album on CD vs. on vinyl.  It's not really a broad argument for vinyl over CD, but rather just an interesting deconstruction of the resulting sound of this one album on each type of media. I think it's pretty interesting to actually see the waveforms of each compared side by side, which can point to some reason to the extra depth and clarity you get on analog media.  The article blog post is a bit technical (read: boring, if you're not in to that sort of thing), and pretty interesting, I think. Check it, here.

New Vinyl!

I'm happy to report that my turntable and speaker purchase a few months ago was not an impulse, use-for-a-month-and-forget-it purchase.  I'm amazed every time I sit down and listen as to how much better music sounds with a decent setup.

In any case, Amanda and I (and a crew of other friends) took a trip up to Berkeley 2 weekends ago to check out one of my favorite bands that I never actually thought I'd see live, Sigur Rós.  I had every intention of blogging about that experience, but have been way too crazy busy since to do anything about it.  The day after the show, we took a trip to Rasputin and spent a couple hours pouring over all the cool albums they had, where I actually picked up a couple few new.

The thing about buying vinyl, at least for me, is that, while I'd like to go out and re-buy all of my CD/mp3 collection on vinyl, that'd be kinda pricey and take up a bunch of space that I don't have.  So I had to come up with a couple rules:

Rule 1: I can buy any of my top 10 albums
This one might be a bit ambiguous since I don't really have a list; and if I did, I'm sure it'd change from year to year.  In general, I think I have a fair idea of what's not on the list though.  This is probably going to be a blog topic in the future...

Rule 2: I should only get new-music albums if they come with digital downloads
Many vinyl distributors are--most thankfully--including a piece of paper with the record(s) with info on how to go download free mp3s.  This is awesome.  After I started buying vinyl, it dawned on me that you can't just borrow an album from a friend, rip it, and give it back.  (shut up)  That was actually kind of weird.  And a little sobering.  But it doesn't matter.  With the downloads accompanying the vinyl purchase, I'm way more apt to buy it since I can listen to the tracks at work, in the car, whatever.  If I want to listen "on the go", I'm not forced to buy the CD, in which case I might not ever buy the vinyl, depending on the album.  Great marketing--please keep it up, music distributor people!

Rule 3: The music (style, production, etc) should be a "good vinyl" album
I regret my vinyl purchases, like the new "On My Way Here" from Clay Aiken... uh... jk.  :-)  Really though, there are some albums--whether due to the style/genre, production style, or both--that just sound so great on vinyl.  Others will sound better than their digital counterparts, but I can wait on getting them if they don't fit in to any of the other rules above.

The Goods
So, here's what I've picked up recently, both in Berkeley and eBay:

In Field & Town, Hayden
Thanks for sharing this with me, Biz--this has been one of my favorite albums over the past few months.  I haven't been super interested in listening to much folk rock in the past year or two, but I can't get this one off my mind.  And it didn't include digital downloads--it included a CD!  ...and on 180 gram vinyl, no less!

The Hawk Is Howling, Mogwai
This is becoming my favorite Mogwai album.  Check that--it has become.  It definitely passes rules 2 and 3--super high quality mp3 downloads, and the instrumentation and production on this album makes me want to listen to it over and over again.  So warm, but clear and concise; mellow, then powerful.  No silly lyrics to get in the way.  Also on 180 gram vinyl.  Mogwai, you guys did an amazing job on this--11/10.  Oh, and the album artwork is soooo awesome:







Ballads, John Coltrane
Personal #1 Jazz album.  Also on 180 gram vinyl.  Never thought it could sound so good.


Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim
This album is one of my recent County Library discoveries, and is a stellar album for those that dig the Stan Getz/Jobim albums with all those great Brazilian tunes.  Another on 180 gram vinyl.  This way, it really sounds like the band is in the room...
Mr. Beast, Mogwai
Another great Mogwai album.  The production sounds like their old production when compared to The Hawk is Howling, but is still a great listen for vinyl.  Yet another 180 gram vinyl pressing.


Rachmaninoff Concerto No. 3, Rachmaninoff, Van Cliburn, Kiril Kondrashin & Symphony Of The Air
I didn't realize it when I bought it, but this album is super rare.  I can barely find any info on it on the net.  Van Cliburn is a legendary pianist, the Rach 3 is a legendary classical work, and while this album was recorded in in 1958 at Carnegie Hall, it was remastered in 1983 using a new high-fidelity technique to compete with the onset of CDs at the time.  They recopied the original tape to vinyl at 1/2 the speed of the recording, which is supposed to provide more granularity and depth of tone--similar to the uber expensive and rare MFSL albums that were done in the 80s.  Not bad for a $3 purchase.

(because of the rarity, as well as my laziness in not wanting to take pics of this, I can't find any album cover pics)

1992-2002, Underworld
Yes, I like some house music every now and then.  I scored this 4 LP set off eBay for $20 and am quite happy to couch rave/dance to this now.  $5 a record for some of the original house music masters.  Yeehaw.


Ok, that's all for now!