Confounded Fret Buzz

Velkommen Bienvenue Welcome

2010-02-24T18:01:00.000-05:00

Checking in to announce that the move over to Wordpress is now complete. It's safe to go over there and play; I de-leaded the joint and everything. I mean, there's some carpenter ants around but we're having an exterminator over on Friday to take care of them, so don't fret. Plus, they like eating wood, not people. So go ahead and update your feed reader/bookmarks/etc. accordingly.

What art thou waiting for?
Please to visit Confounded Fret Buzz 2.0.

Making the Jump

2010-02-21T11:19:00.000-05:00

I'm fully aware that I've gotten complacent in regards to good ol' CFB of late, so I figured that the blog would be best served by me either stopping it entirely (smells like defeat) or migrating it over the Wordpress (to shake things up, plus I've heard some good things). After some admittedly hasty deliberation I've decided that I'm going to bite the bullet and make a fresh start over on Wordpress, even though they just had an "epic" 110 minute service outage two days ago (hey, I work in IT, this stuff happens sometimes). Mostly, I'm just tired of wonky formatting things happening when I'm writing posts.

Depending on the number of inevitable snags I hit during the migration process, it'll probably take a week or two to get everything fully up and running over at confoundedfretbuzz.wordpress.com. I'm also presently digging through a backlog of new music to review so I'll be getting back to that when I have some reasonably free time.

[Resisted the urge to embed Van Halen's "Jump" music video here; it's so abhorrent that it goes far beyond ironic]

How Do We Jump This High? - Deep Stationary

2010-02-20T14:32:00.000-05:00

Straight ahead punk-tinged rock that leans toward the mid-tempo. It's occasionally plodding, with sometimes emotive guitar picking. I wasn't a huge fan of the vocals. These guys sound sort of like an unhappy Latterman. This EP didn't quite click for me; but it was awful close to doing so. It's certainly worth a listen; someone with more refined tastes then mine would probably like it a lot.

I enjoyed the tracks that bookend the EP the most: "See Ya In The Funny Papers" and "Four Day Weekend."

Also, the cover art looks pretty delicious.

Available for free download on If You Make It.

Worcester Regional Transit

2010-02-13T12:26:00.001-05:00

I recently took my first unaccompanied ride on a city bus (I'm pretty old at this point, it's not like a need a guardian, Rivers). Still, I had always been with wise compatriots who knew the routes, whether in New York or Boston or any number cities in France. I needed to do research for my honors thesis at the public library and given the hardscrabble stretch that lies between my apartment and the library, I figured I was better off not walking, especially after dark.

You may think it sad that it is only in the final semester of my four years at Clark that I am finally flying solo on the city buses. And you would, of course, be completely right. The first few years I spent at Clark I was pretty content to not go explore the wider world far beyond campus, with the exception of that hill over at Elm Park which is my favorite spot in the whole city. Living in Worcester last summer was a great experience, and the extra daylight gave me more time to get a better flavor of the city on foot. By and large, Worcester is delightfully sketchy apart from the happy shiny bubble of the university. Various attempts have been made at classing up blocks of desolation with the odd renovated structure that ends up creating a sort of combover effect--it doesn't make you look like a guy with more hair, it just makes you look like a guy with a combover. The problems of this over-the-hill city run too deep to be fixed by a few spruced-up buildings poking up from a sea of decay.

History lesson that ties in with my honors thesis (I will probably find a way to sneak this in, especially if the Worcester Regional Transit Authority was established in part with Federal dollars): The WRTA was founded in 1974, much to the benefit of those in the city who could not afford their own vehicle. Providing improved mobility for those of lesser means was a fairly egalitarian move that at least in theory allowed for wider job opportunities for these folks. Back around 1900 Worcester had a thriving trolley system, but that had long since been abandoned by mid-century.

My experience avec les buses: Half hour wait to hop on a bus downtown. Apparently by mid-afternoon the route schedule is pretty much shot to hell, which I suppose shouldn't have surprised me, but I was just a bit irked. It was a nice enough day, but it's February so that's all relative. I don't deal well with waiting for long periods for stuff (I eschew lines), so this was difficult, even if I was texting people most of the time. After three hours of feverish research at the public library, I only had a ten minute wait to hop on a bus back to campus. Total cost three dollars. Pretty reasonable, especially compared to the cost of a cab or getting jumped. Seating was surprisingly ample and the cabin was well-heated, which was really all I could have asked for.

I can tell this is the start of what will be a long and dysfunctional relationship.

On the Bus Mall - The December...

Collegiate Cuisine, Volume Two: Faux-Meaty Burrito

2010-02-06T11:21:00.001-05:00

Sometimes, I'm not so desperate for supplies that I have to break down and make the aforementioned Broke Toast. It is at these rare times of plenty that I am apt to make my standby manna, which left to my own devices I will consume on a daily basis. It's meaty and substantial, but also vegetarian friendly, for those of you who lean that way.

What You're Going to Need:

a tortilla (the bigger the better, you're going to want to stuff this until it's practically bursting; also, you can go the whole wheat route if you want to be a touch healthier and add some extra flavor)
fake meat crumbles
black bean and corn salsa (Newman's Own is pretty good. It's not the cheapest but they give their profits to charity, though I'm pretty sure you can't use the salsa as a tax deduction.)
shredded cheese (I prefer Mexican blend or Cheddar; be sure to buy the two-pound store brand bags, because that will save you a ton of money in the long run, as well as allow you to be very generous with the addition of cheese)
a piece of paper towel
a microwave
about 5 minutes of prep, 3 minutes of patiently waiting

Step One: Pour out a hamburger patty-sized amount of crumbles onto a plate with a piece of paper towel on it. Nuke 'em for about 45 seconds. If you do it for much longer than that, they'll start exploding and just generally make a mess of your microwave, and you don't want that.

Step Two: Lift up the paper towel with the crumbles on top from two ends. Slide tortilla underneath. Pour crumbles onto center of tortilla. You'll probably have some stragglers that stick to the paper towel, but since being poor AND wasteful is a dangerous combination, be sure to get as much of those crumbles off the paper towel and onto the tortilla (or alternatively, you could just pick them off the paper towel and eat them to tide you over).

Step Three: Pour a generous amount of salsa on top of the crumbles. If you want to get fancy you can use a tablespoon to dish it out in dollops, but you should just pour it out of the jar liberally. Salsa is really a miracle food. It's not all that bad for you and you can even count it as a serving of produce that helps stave off the scurvy.

Step Four: Throw at least two good handfuls of cheese on top. Really go to town with it. However, you should be mindful that you want to be able to fold this burrito up eventually, unless you're into consuming the south-of-the-border cousin of the open-faced sandwich (if you have any common sense at all, you'll fold that thing up and save your microwave from becoming a shrine to filth). [Bonus points if you throw in sauteed peppers and onions, but who are we kidding, if you're reading this recipe you're probably not going to go to that kind of trouble.]

Step Five: Fold that tortilla up. Pull two sides towards each other, with one folding over the other (make sure there's at least a solid inch of overlap, or this burrito is going to fall apart very, very quickly). Then fold each remaining end so that there's at least an inch and a half or two inches of overlap. Flip burrito over while grasping the ends so that it doesn't fall apart. If the burrito is as stuffed with fillings as it rightly should, this should be a delicate, borderline arduous process.

Step Six: Almost there, slugger! Microwave for around a minute, especially if the salsa was in the fridge. If it wasn't, you probably won't have to microwave it for nearly so long. Keep in mind that the longer you microwave the burrito, the hotter it's going to be when it comes time to eat it.

Step Seven: Give that thing a few minutes to cool off, or you're going to burn the bejeezus out of your mouth. And neither of us wants that, right?

Step Eight: Dig in. If you didn't follow my instructions well enough and the burrito falls apart mid-consumption, use a fork to salvage the remains. But you should be striving to keep the plate as clean as possible. It's a labor-saving policy, really.

Buen apetito!

Rumbleseat - California Burritos

Some Dreams

2010-01-29T02:16:00.000-05:00

I don't really get to sleep in very often anymore. Even when I would very much like to sleep in, I tend to wake up a lot earlier than I intended. But when Saturn is in retrograde and Betelgeuse finds that special spot on the galactic plane, I still manage to catch some bonus shut-eye. The thing about sleeping in is that it pretty much ensures strange dreams--it's those little windows of sleep that occur after that initial morning flirtation with consciousness that help open your mind to intriguingly implausible scenarios cobbled together in large part from life experiences. This morning, I dreamt about one of my past college history professors attempting to put out an electrical fire started by a vacuum cleaner in my hometown library, which after much excitement I eventually ended up dousing with some sort of lemon-lime soda. My professor's hair was on fire but he didn't notice until I pointed it out to him, at which point he said that the cranial flames had already been doused, which was true, as his scalp was now merely smoldering. My undersized hometown library was saved, and I was the hero. But my soda was tragically lost in the process and I was upset about it.

Things faded to black before the next inexplicable episode began. This time, I proceeded to explain John Darnielle's songwriting method in the first two tracks from All Hail West Texas to my parents in great detail. My dad apparently enjoyed the football allusions in "Fall of the Star High School Running Back," but he had a hilariously difficult time remembering the lyrics to "Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton." This dream seems fairly close to reality, but the chances of it ever actually occurring are about as slim as the library dream.

Some people read a lot into dreams and think we can learn more about ourselves. While I'm going to go ahead and posit that they're not much more then our brains trying to file away memories, a pleasant (unless you're prone to night terrors) diversion from the quiet void (unless you're prone to snoring) of normal sleep (unless you're an incurable insomniac). A third of your life is spent sleeping, so having crazy dreams is sort of a way of getting some of that essentially wasted time back, especially if you can actually remember them the next day. I would love to figure out how to do some lucid dreaming so I could reclaim more of my sleeping hours from empty idleness and dreams that just don't pan out like they could have. If anyone is knowledgeable in these matters, let me know.

Man On The Moon - R.E.M.

Fall Of The Star High School R...

Collegiate Cuisine, Volume One: Broke Toast

2010-01-21T18:39:00.001-05:00

As a college student living off the meal plan, and with dwindling food stores at the old apartment, I am sometimes driven to innovation. This recipe doesn't just work for broke college students, either. You could simply be traditionally broke.

What You're Going to Need:

2 slices white bread (from the freezer)
olive oil
pepper
shredded cheese (cheddar if possible)
a toaster
a microwave
about 5 minutes

Step One: Toast the bread. My toaster is not very good, so that means toast it once on full power, then toast the bread again at half power. Your experience will probably vary.

Step Two: Pour some of that olive oil on the toast. As much as you want. I don't recommend drowning the toast in a sea of oil, but to each his own. It's probably the healthiest part of the whole recipe, so don't skimp on it, at least.

Step Three: Throw some pepper on your olive oil-soaked toast to give that stuff some flavor. Or it's going to be bland, trust me.

Step Four: Generously distribute shredded cheese over top. Leave a little uncovered toast on each end if you want to go for the pseudo-pizza crust effect.

Step Five: Throw some more pepper on top. It's for your own good. Europeans would have killed for it 500 years ago, so consider yourself lucky. Relish the pepper. Never take it for granted.

Step Six: Microwave the concoction for around 45 seconds. I prefer 38 seconds, but I also have this OCD thing where I don't like to microwave stuff (or set my alarm) for traditional times.

Step Seven: Enjoy. It may well be the very best part of your impoverished day.

A Toast - The Lawrence Arms

For Those Who Can't Wait - S/T

2010-01-20T22:54:00.000-05:00

This is a pretty darn good first effort from Long Island's For Those Who Can't Wait. There were three tunes that stood out to me in particular.

"Play Your Note" is a little bit Latterman/Shorebirds-like, and there's nothing wrong with that. After all, given where they call home, it makes perfect sense that their sound would be informed by these groups.

"The Tiger Becomes a Zebra" is a delightfully slow-building epic that sounds like Mineral/Texas Is the Reason/etc. strove to form a more perfect union. I have great love for second-wave emo, so I thus found much endearing about this song.

"Jesus Chrisis" is a fine closer. More dashes of Long Island punx here.

Donation-based download of their debut LP

Capricious Horses

2010-01-16T16:50:00.001-05:00

Agreeing with Tom Gabel's sentiment that this band would be one well worth joining:

One can only hope that the upcoming White Crosses will include such excellent Russian influences.

"Neil Young" - Pants On the Ground

2010-01-15T17:00:00.001-05:00

Now I don't have much love for Jimmy Fallon. I tend to find him painfully unfunny more often than not. But his Neil Young impression is just about spot-on. So I will give him that much. Officially more entertaining than Jay Leno.

Enjoy.

(I'm with Conan, even if Conan is no Craig Ferguson).

(Via So This Is What The Volume Knob's For)

Take Manhattan - An Audio Coloring Book

2010-01-12T22:49:00.000-05:00

I somehow happened upon this a couple weeks ago on Punknews. There is some pretty good stuff here on this generally upbeat Indiana group's debut EP.

I particularly enjoyed "The Trials and Tribulations of Beefy E." Gang vocals and COWBELL = <3. My inner Christopher Walken was in full effect for this one. Best of the bunch.

It's available for free digitally from the band's website, complete with lyrics and PDFs to print out and color in. Awesome.

Shameless Self-Promotion

2010-01-10T16:30:00.000-05:00

So . . . I just released a preposterously no-fi three song digital EP which is available for download exclusively on my Bandcamp site (free or fee, your choice). It was originally going to be four songs, but then I realized that by not releasing the other song right now, I was already one-third of the way to completing my next potential EP. Brilliant, I know. Hope you enjoy, though if you don't I will not be feeding the trolls.

Releases I'm Psyched to Hear, Winter '10 Edition [Addendum]

2010-01-03T15:46:00.000-05:00

Today, I write from the freshly snowbound wastelands of Vermont, where cold and shoveling grow in unrivaled abundance.

Yesterday evening, some much-delayed inspection of the ol' RSS reader brought to my attention that I'd failed to include the few different things that Andrew Jackson Jihad are putting out this year in my Winter 2010 list; I await them with bated breath.

Andrew Jackson Jihad have announced a slew of new releases for 2010. First is a live LP recorded on a 4-track at a hotel after party during The Fest 7 in Gainesville, FL. Said LP saw a limited release with a special pressing at The Fest 8, and will receive a wider release in January through Asbestos Records.

Second, the band will release a split 7" with Chicago's The Gunshy via Silver Sprocket; this record should be available by February.

Last but not least, Andrew Jackson Jihad will do a split with O Pioneers!!! that will see a vinyl (and perhaps CD) release via No Idea Records, and a limited cassette release through Underground Communique.

(via Punknews)

Oh yeah.

Releases I'm Psyched to Hear, Winter '10 Edition

2010-01-02T00:04:00.002-05:00

Did something along these lines several months back; figured it was time for another round.

January 26th, 2010 (Apparently Romanian/Apparently clumsy)

John Vanderslice - D.I.A.L.O. 7" [Dead Oceans]
Earns a spin by virtue of last year's Moon Colony Bloodbath collab with John Darnielle.

Los Campesinos! - Romance Is Boring [Arts & Crafts]
Cheeky, almost-too-catchy Welsh band. I liked We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed a lot. Blame Dana, I suppose. The road trip to RVC ruined me.

February 16th, 2010 (Because I've been lazy for half of my life)

Jason Falkner - I'm OK, You're OK [Cobraside]
I heard "Author Unknown" on the SMF2 Mountain Dew sampler CD over a decade ago and I still can't get it out of my head. But I haven't listened to anything else of his. Probably high time to see if there's more to like here or not.

February 23rd, 2010 (So I can feel better about my guitar-playing abilities)

Lil Wayne - Rebirth [Cash Money/Young Money Entertainment/Universal]
Weezy played guitar
Jamming good with Weird and Gilly
And the Spiders From Mars
He played it left hand
But made it too far
Became the special man
Then we were Weezy's band

March 9th, 2010 (The day that all the others pale in comparison to)

Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks [Fat Cat]
2008's The Midnight Organ Fight was beyond fantastic. I'm very excited to hear the follow-up.

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks [Matador]
Not many people are still making vital music when they're pushing 40, but this elder statesman of indie rock soldiers on, new label and all. I'm also holding out hope that I bald as gracefully as he has.

March 16, 2010 (Because the robots told me so)

Drive-By Truckers - The Big To-Do [ATO]
If one of your similar artists on last.fm is Two Car Garage, you are likely to get added to my listen-to list.

March 23, 2010 (Shame on me)

She & Him - Volume Two [Merge]
There were a handful of songs on Volume One that were super catchy. It's Zooey Flippin Deschanel. Guilty pleasure central.

Meet the New Year, Same as the Old Year

2010-01-01T12:49:00.002-05:00

...except for that whole annoying thing about having to learn to write the date mm/dd/10. It usually takes me six months to stop writing the previous year down. Do other people suffer from this affliction, or is this yet another stunning indictment of my feeble-mindedness?

Steve Jobs vision. Also includes $$$$$$$ (not pictured).

So what else does the purchase of that new wall calendar/planner mean?

I'm that much closer to graduating in the spring. I'm not really ready, and also super ready, if that makes any sense.
One of the cable movie channels is doubtlessly going to put that godforsaken 2010 film on a cycle of ironic showing after ironic showing. I don't have cable so this only has a marginal negative impact on me. But consider yourselves forewarned. Edit: not more than a few hours than originally posting this I discovered much to my dismay that some birdbrain at TCM had decided to show the film. Good riddance.

Don't let the novelty of the title draw you in. Or Cletus the Fetus.

According to some whackjobs, there are two years until the apocalypse, so let's use that as an excuse to engage in the hedonistic. Therefore, put your glad rags on and join me hun, Bill Haley style.

NO, NOT YOU ATILLA.

Maybe The Weakerthans will start recording a new album? Please? (I'm assuming that it's also 2010 in Canada, which may or may not be the case)
Not that I particularly care, but Soundgarden is getting back together. All the classics, reinterpreted by Chris Cornell's rapidly deteriorating voice (to be fair, the man is old). But you'll probably still have to take out a second mortgage on your house to get a decent seat.
Billy Corgan will continue to be whiny and ungrateful. And bald.
My puppy will eventually stop being a puppy.

I don't really believe in making New Year's resolutions because life throws you too many curveballs to really make setting goals like that feasible. However, music-wise, I suppose there's some stuff to catch up on. I really want to listen to that Micah Schnabel LP that I didn't get a chance to spin this year. I got a turntable as an early birthday present so I fully intend to start hoarding vinyl now, George Carlin rant on stuff be damned.

CDs are SO 2002. Plus I've come to the realization that being overzealous about accumulating as many last.fm scrobbles as possible is REALLY not the best use of my time, and there's just something about vinyl that's awesome. Thus, I will gladly sacrifice cold, heartless scrobbles for analog awesomeness any day of the week. I'm also probably gonna try to get my hands on some stuff that was on just about everyone's year end best of lists over at punknews and assorted music blogs I frequent. I can't stop, won't stop finding new stuff to listen to.

Since I now see a light the end of the academic tunnel, that's lit the fire in my belly to make some music (it's also about as productive a way of procrastinating as I can think of). So to that end, I'm going to try to get at least an EP's worth of songs written, recorded and posted on the interwebs before the beginning of the spring semester. That doesn't seem like too tall of an order. And of course there will be the requisite open mic performances (let's heed Arlen's call) and whatever The Kid Omega can scrape up in the weeks and months ahead.

2009 was pretty good. Let's make 2010 better.

Top EPs of 2009

2009-12-26T14:24:00.003-05:00

Well, I tried to stretch this list to at least five, but being the lazy fellow that I am, I think I'll stick with the four I've got.

4. The Mountain Goats & John Vanderslice - Moon Colony Bloodbath
How could these two get together and not produce something excellent?

"Surrounded"
"Emerging"

3. Britney's Spear - Britney's Spear
In the interest of integrity and full disclosure, I am friends with these guys, and even the guy who recorded them. But I promise that I'm mentioning them here because this EP is honestly really really good.

"Burning Billboards"
"Dream Big"

2. Cory Branan & Jon Snodgrass - S/T
Cory Branan's boys can indeed break a heart. Mr. Snodgrass ain't so bad himself.

"Alone & Distanced"
"Walk Around"

1. John K. Samson - City Route 85
In lieu of there being any new Weakerthans material, I rushed to grab this when it came out. And now the vinyl's on the way (with two t-shirts). John K. Samson wins at lyrics, 'nuff said.

"Heart of the Continent"
"Cruise Night"

Top 10 Albums of 2009

2009-12-24T15:56:00.003-05:00

¡Merry Christmas!

10a. Rock Plaza Central - ...at the moment of our most needing
God these guys are weird. And pretty good too. Keebler Elves FTW.

"Oh I Can"
"(Don't You Believe the Words of) Handsome Men"

10b. Chuck Ragan - Gold Country
"Glory" sounds an awful lot like "California Burritos," but I'll allow it. Solid neo-folk from a seasoned veteran. Gruff-arse voice.

"For Goodness Sake"
"Ole Diesel"

9. The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You
It feels like a regression from the older material, but that's still good enough to make the list. Plus, in the words of NPR, they are "a world-beating colossus" live.

"I and Love and You"
"Laundry Room"

8. Andrew Jackson Jihad - Can't Maintain
Not even electrified guitar can stop the AJJ train.

"Self Esteem"
"We Didn't Come Here to Rock"

7. The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. But if you have the time, this is an treat.

"Isn't It a Lovely Night"
"The Rake's Song"

6. The Swell Season - Strict Joy
Glen Hansard's just GOT IT. The debut was better, but this is pretty darn good.

"In These Arms"
"Low Rising"

5. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
Now this is someone with real vocal range. And probably the strongest collection of songs she's put together. My friends Joe and Fardeen love this. And I have to admit that I have a soft spot for it too.

"This Tornado Loves You"
"Middle Cyclone"

4. The Thermals - Now We Can See
If The Body, The Blood, The Machine was the midst of a war, Now We Can See is the fatalities making small talk. And do they ever talk.

"Now We Can See"
"At the Bottom of the Sea"

3. William Elliot Whitmore - Animals in the Dark
He's declaring a mutiny on this ship, ya hear?

"Old Devils"
"Hell Or High Water"

2. The Mountain Goats - The Life of the World to Come
John Darnielle has to do me great injury to not make a year end list (or two) of mine. No great injury done here. An awfully reserved, and yet awfully powerful record.

"Psalms 40:2"
"Isaiah 45:23"

1. Lucero - 1372 Overton Park
Ben Nichols and company do it again. Better than everyone else? I'll bite.

"Mom"
"Hey Darlin' Do You Gamble"

William Elliott Whitmore - Animals in the Dark

2009-12-23T00:17:00.001-05:00

William Elliott Whitmore, purveyor of a fine sort of backcountry Midwestern blues-folk, is mad as hell and he's not going to take it anymore.

From the call and response of the opener "Mutiny" to the closing bars of "A Good Day to Die," there's 37 minutes of one pissed off man spouting about issues of the corruption and evil that surround us in life, of the need to stop dwelling on questions of salvation, and the virtues of hard work. Don't trust the cop ("Johnny Law"), don't trust the politician ("Old Devils," "Who Stole the Soul"), and most certainly don't trust the preacher. Life is a bitter struggle ("Hard Times"), and it's difficult to navigate the way, but it's well worth carrying on and even celebrating the journey ("Hell or High Water").

This is an album autobiographical and incendiary, rustic and timely. Favorite record of the year? Maybe. I'm gonna wrestle with that question for the next few days before I put up a year-end post. So be sure to check back.

Hell or high water - William E...

Old devils - William Elliott W...

Lucero - 1372 Overton Park

2009-12-22T22:59:00.002-05:00

A while back, I named 1372 Overton Park as one of the albums coming out this fall that I was most excited to hear. Especially given the strength of the lead single "Hey Darlin' Do You Gamble," I came into this album with high hopes for excellence. On the other hand, I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop with Ben Nichols' voice for years now, and I was afraid that one day he'd trash it and it just wouldn't come back (his backing vocals on "Constructive Summer" on The Hold Steady's 2008 excellent Stay Positive gave me pause). Those fears, thankfully, while certainly not obliterated, have been dulled for the time being, much like the senses and higher brain functions of the band members on any given night they're out on tour (see "Can't Feel a Thing").

The first song, "Smoke," is notable for the inclusion of some Hold Steady-esque piano in the first minute or so. A change of pace for sure, but not all that surprising I suppose given Nichols' work with Craig Finn and company. "Mom" is another standout, just a fantastic ballad and a fine closer for the album. And I would be remiss if I failed to mention "What Are You Willing to Lose?," a sort of call to live life on your own terms, understanding that your path probably isn't going to be easy.

As for the addition of the horns, I don't think their inclusion is a negative. Expanding the sound a 'lil bit, nothing wrong with that. As for moving to a major, this effort doesn't feel overproduced or sterile, so those concerns were allayed. It's just really, really good Southern punk-tinged rock'n'roll. After seven albums, ten years and well over a thousand shows, the boys of Lucero may just now be hitting their stride.

(Also, they're on Twitter. Gotta love that.)

(And this article on Ben Nichols is a pretty good read.)

Can't Feel A Thing - Lucero

Mom - Lucero

Serj Tankian, Eat Your Heart Out

2009-12-17T22:40:00.000-05:00

(Via Cracked)

Off-Topic: Red Sox Hot Stove Rant

2009-12-14T23:13:00.001-05:00

I can see how today's apparent Red Sox deals don't work out (Lackey's injury history, Cameron's advanced age), but I can also see how they do. If they were to sign Adrian Beltre, they'd have much improved defense at 3B, SS, and LF from the averages at those positions a year ago. The improved run prevention should cancel out the loss of offense firepower (and let's not forget Victor Martinez is the starting C now).

Maybe this is just fantasy, but from here (assuming the Lowell trade goes through), they could send Buchholz and a couple prospects (please not Casey Kelly or Jose Iglesias) to San Diego for Adrian Gonzalez and then shift Youkilis over to 3B. Such a move would have a marginally negative impact on defense in comparison to signing Beltre (Gonzalez is a Gold Glover, after all, plus Youkilis would still be an upgrade over Mike Lowell v. 2009), and would weaken the rotation and farm system a little bit, but the added offense could very well be worth it. Plus Beltre is a Boras client (aka will get grossly overpaid for his services), was hurt last year, and is probably few years older than his listed age, so as good as he is defensively, I'm not a huge fan. Gonzalez is a top-tier slugger in his prime who is still reasonably cheap for now (though his payday is coming soon).

Let me just project the pop the resulting lineup would have:

Ellsbury (5-10 HR)
Pedroia (10-15 HR)
V. Mart (20-25 HR)
Gonzalez (40-45 HR)
Youkilis (25-30 HR)
Ortiz (25-30 HR)
Drew (15-20 HR)
Cameron (20-25 HR)
Scutaro (5-10 HR)

If everyone hits the midpoints of those estimates, the starting lineup hits 188 HR in 2010. Not too shabby. That's an incomplete measure of overall offensive prowess, obviously, but it's still certainly indicative of a team that can hit the ball a little bit. Plus, in 2012 the four old guys at the bottom could be gone and replaced with younger players (Ortiz contract expires after 2010; Drew, Cameron, and Scutaro after 2011).

And this isn't a bad rotation either, even with the loss of Buchholz:

Lester
Beckett
Lackey
Dice-K
Wakefield/best of the rest (Bonser, Bowden, Tazawa)

So, even without making a move for Holliday/Bay, I think the Sox still are capable of winning around 95 games in this "bridge" year and winning the wild card, whether or not they go on to trade for Adrian Gonzalez. Or everything could blow up in their faces and they finish in 3rd place in the AL East. But that's why they play the games.

Finals Got You Down?

2009-12-14T19:23:00.000-05:00

Not after you take a gander at this slice of awesome.

Didn't do the trick? Then you may have bigger troubles. Good luck to all who've got essays and finals due, and therefore lots and lots of problems.

Albums That Shaped My Youth, Part 1: The Rolling Stones - Exile On Main St. (1972)

2009-12-08T22:22:00.000-05:00

If memory serves, I happened upon this album somewhere in 2000-2001, probably by perusing Amazon.com on my dial-up connection. I was immediately drawn to it by the collage of odd photos that make up the cover art. I happened upon this album back when I was going through a phase where I pretty much would refuse to listen to something if it were recorded after 1977. At the time, I had no grasp of the independent music scene and neither did my friends. In the sticks, there was just what was force-fed to you on the radio and TV. It was a dark, dark time.

If I have a particular memory of this album, it's of listening to it on my iRiver mp3-CD player (SO AWESOME AT THE TIME) over and over again whilst mowing the lawn the summer between 9th and 10th Grade. It was during one of these mowing sessions that I was inspired to start an after-school music appreciation club at my high school. I think it achieved a maximum attendance of something like five or six people. Clearly, had I not started this group, I would not have gotten into the ~~Ivy League~~ second-tier school I attend today.

Having a better background in no other album, I proceeded to write a ten-page paper on why it could be considered a concept album ~~from the popped-collar comforts of my fraternity house~~ for my American Popular Music class a couple of years ago. My music taste has expanded and shifted drastically, and yet this album continues to stick with me. I can't say it's timeless, and I can't say it's made up of one gem after another, but "Tumbling Dice," "Rocks Off," "Happy," and "Let it Loose" are all classics in my book ("Let it Loose" is also prominently featured in The Departed, thanks to Scorsese's heavy tendency towards using songs back from his joints weren't so creaky). The album has this delightfully unpolished sound, and loads of horns, if you're into that sort of thing. It clashed with so much of what I heard in pop music when I first discovered it, and I reveled in this difference. Out of the music I had on heavy rotation when I was in junior-high/high school, this is one of the few albums that has endured. Hell, in ten years if I'm for some strange reason into post-Afro-pop/dance-hall, you had better believe that this album will still be stored in the chip behind my ear.

Tumbling Dice - The Rolling St...

Here's some Mangum to chew on...

2009-12-06T22:58:00.001-05:00

...because the chances of you listening to a new Neutral Milk Hotel album anytime soon are about as big as the dot between these brackets: [ ] Yup, that big.

Love the live footage. Ten-year-old me probably wouldn't have known what to make of this.

(Via Pitchfork)

Each Morning New, Each Day Shot Through: The Mountain Goats at The Wilbur Theatre, 11/29/09

2009-12-03T19:07:00.006-05:00

I showed up about twenty or thirty minutes into the opener Final Fantasy's (Owen Pallett's) set. From what I did see, it was a truly virtuosic, impressive performance by essentially a one-man-band. That said it was not really my jam, but I would still rate him over previous tMG openers I've seen such as The Moaners, Kaki King, or Larkin Grimm. The crowd was pretty supportive of his efforts, even if half of them were occasionally checking the time, desperately anticipating the emergence of John Darnielle and company.

[Owen Pallett: truly one of the good Canadian musicians. On the John K. Samson side of the line and not the Justin Bieber one, AMIRITE? Trust me, I'm right. Don't even try to convince me otherwise.]

So, the opening set wrapped up to polite applause and I got up from my fairly decent Mezzanine seat to have a conference with my dear friends from whom I had been so tragically separated by the truly draconian seating practices of the establishment. Taking advantage of the chaos of intermission, we stole away to the floor, working our way quickly past security and getting within a few rows of the stage, awfully close to where the ever-sharply dressed Peter Hughes would soon be damaging ears with the raw power of his thunderingly godlike bass guitar (with an assist from the poor acoustics of the venue). Though we hit a brief snag, Dana (remember Dana?) was able to convince the soft-looking, pliable, and thoroughly nice fellow who asked to see our floor wristbands that it was of the utmost importance that we three should be allowed to remain together. Our close proximity at Mountain Goats shows was a time-honored tradition that simply could not be denied, she said in so many words. Understanding the paramount importance of our continued union on the floor, he acquiesced, throwing his hands up in resignation and shooing us away. Safely on the floor, we eagerly awaited the moment that was sure to come. And then it happened.

The Goats took the stage and there was much rejoicing. Right from the get-go, there was a heavy emphasis placed on material from the new album, and given that they're touring in its support, that's hardly surprising. To echo the sentiments of another reviewer, this meant that things dragged a bit for a while as quiet new song after quiet new song was played. It was certainly different to see John at the piano, however, and it was all the more rewarding later in the set when he dug back into the archives to play some old favorites and some obscurities. I love me some "Quito," so that song's always a highlight. I got about as into it as some tired dude with a shaved head and a winter jacket draped over one arm can get, and John seemed to notice, so that was nice. If a show's going well the band gives off palpable energy and the crowd gives it right back. Everyone's psyched and in that moment nothing can be wrong. You had best believe that the room got to that point and stayed there for some time.

"Going to Bristol" with Owen Pallett plucking away on the violin was pretty darn awesome. I will admit my previous ignorance of "From TG&Y" but I'll be damned if that didn't immediately resonate with me (and before those of you in the know about this song ask, no, I don't go around huffing spray paint--shame on you for even considering that). John gave one hell of a monologue before "Song For Dennis Brown," which injected some candor into the evening that had been somewhat lacking to that point. "This Year" was fantastic as always, and that was when my throat gave out. The encore's inclusion of "No Children" was a fitting and crowd-pleasing closer if ever there was one.

The absence of a second encore was for once something I couldn't get upset about, considering that we had a train back to Worcester to catch and needed to hightail it out of there by 10:30. All in all, it was a great show as I have come to expect. Any bones I had to pick are trivial and bringing them up again is just going to make me sound whiny.

Here's the thrown-together-at-the-last-minute setlist, painstakingly culled from The Mountain Goats forums because I couldn't find it on setlist.fm yet:

1 Samuel 15:23
Old College Try
Cotton
Psalms 40:2
Isaiah 45:23
Deuteronomy 2:10
Enoch 18:14
Genesis 30:3
From TG&Y (solo)
Blueberry Frost (solo)
Mole (solo)
Dance Music (solo)
(Owen comes out)
Going to Bristol
(everyone else comes back)
Hebrews 11:14
Quito
(Owen leaves)
Song For Dennis Brown
Genesis 3:23
This Year

Encore:
Ezekiel 7 and the Permanent Efficacy of Grace
Romans 10:9
No Children (w/ Owen on piano)

I'm hopeful that someone present that evening taped the show, and I greatly look forward to hearing it so I can reminisce for years to come, a practice that I have been so lucky to follow with the two preceding Mountain Goats shows I have attended. Thanks in advance to whoever you may be.

All Hail The Mountain Goats, a band named after a creature with suicidal pride.

Addendum:
Someone shot some spectacular video of a couple songs at the show, here's the inimitable "This Year":

New Thermals Album Coming Sooner Rather Than Later -- Sign Me Up

2009-11-27T17:29:00.000-05:00

In a follow-up to my review of Now We Can See a few weeks back, The Thermals apparently are already heading back to the studio and will have a new album out in September 2010.

AWESOME. I has high hopes for this.

(via Punknews)

The War of Northern Aggression, Part 5: In Which Gen.'s John McClane and Robert E. Lee Have a Chat

2009-11-24T17:04:00.001-05:00

After an 11-month hiatus in my educational series about the War Between the States through song, I have returned with yet another installment of ole-timey goodness. Beats book larnin', right?

Get your muskets cleaned and check yo hardtack for maggots, we got some fightin' to do!

Ready? Good. Let's do this.

(Note: the following may contain a few anachronisms.)

Hey Bobby Lee, I got somethin' for you.

I would hope that it is your declaration of surrender, good sir. How quaint of you to deliver it personally and not send a messenger!

No motherf***er! It's a goddamn Emancipation Proclamation. All your slaves are free now. They're on our side. You might as well give up now, graybeard, you're f***ed.

[scribbles something on piece of parchment]

You got something to say?

[holding up the note] Ah yes, I have just received this "Emancipation Unproclamation," the contents of which may interest you.

But YOU wrote that. Just now. I saw you, dumba**.

I'm afraid that you must be mistaken sir, it was delivered on horseback a moment ago.

I was right here the whole time, a**hole. I saw you with the pen and paper. You're not fooling anyone, you old piece of s***!

Well, perhaps you would like to read it.

[snatches paper out of Lee's hand, begins to read]

***The White House, Feb. 1, 1863

My dearest Confederate Army and Gov't,
r badd, all ur slavez r belong 2u. wuz kiddn b4

With the kindest of regards,
Abraham Lincoln

P.S. McClane, guess where your mother was last night.***

It seems that we're at a bit of an impasse, General McClane...

That does it. Yippee-ki-yay motherf***er! [coldcocks Lee, grabs rapier that's resting against the side of the tent and runs Lee through. McClane then pulls a loaded machine gun out of a chest and proceeds to mow down the entire Army of Northern Virginia.]

To be continued...

Hot Water Music - The End of the Line (From The New What Next)
Neutral Milk Hotel - Marching Theme (From On Avery Island)
The National - Start a War (From Boxer)

Buy 'em up:
Epitaph
Merge
Beggar's Banquet

JFK Is the Reason

2009-11-22T14:45:00.012-05:00

Forty-six years ago today, JFK was shot to death in Dallas, Texas, presumably by Lee Harvey Oswald. Unless of course you believe Oliver Stone, or your sketchy retired neighbor who has told you in confidence on several occasions that he was in fact the gunman on the grassy knoll.

Texas Is the Reason's 1996 magnum opus Do You Know Who You Are? (yes, I'm fully aware that their discography is rather limited) dwells on the conspiracy theories surrounding Kennedy's death, if only in that there are song titles like "The Magic Bullet Theory" and "Back and to the Left." Beyond these allusions, there's a lot of fantastic second wave emo to revel in. I mean, of records from this era, I like Mineral's The Power of Failing better, and I'm gonna let it finish, but "Back and to the Left" is one of the best songs OF ALL TIME. Kicks like an angry horse that had its hay soaked in pepper sauce, drank a couple cases' worth of energy beverage out of its trough, and oh yeah, the barn's on fire.

I think that's PETA on the line. I should probably go now. But I mean, if they can go after Barack over a fly, I should be able to get away with a metaphorical statement that happens to involve a horse to describe a song, right? Right? [If you need me, I'll be in hiding]

Texas Is the Reason - Back and to the Left

Buy 'em up:
Revelation

(I figured that posting a Dead Kennedys song would have been a super cop-out. I mean, if I wanted to go down that road, I could have posted Franz Nicolay's "Jeff Penalty," a song about the band named after JFK and RFK. But that would have been a bit of a stretch.)

-----------------------------------------------------------

That's news to me, Sunday edition:

NPR did a roundtable discussion on the role of the label that's pretty interesting, you can find that HERE. (via Punknews)
Also, apparently you can scrobble plays to Last.fm from within The Hype Machine. Good to know for those of us who are overly obsessed with quantifying the degree of their obsession with music.

----------------------------------------------------------- And a random video for good measure:

"It's [Only] Hoedown Techno!", a remix of NIN's "Only"

2009-11-19T20:05:00.004-05:00

Weird things happen at 5 am on the day an assignment is due, like taking "Only" out back, shooting it, then dragging the carcass to a country get-together. I've gotten enough limited positive response (one person liking it will suffice) that I'm gonna go ahead and post this. Thanks for open sourcing this song, Trent; without your charitable donation to the electronic music community this remix would not be possible. Cheers.

Pious Rascals - It's [Only] Hoedown Techno!

The Magic of Auto-Tune

2009-11-19T18:39:00.002-05:00

The downfall of Western Civilization? You decide.

OMGZ ITZ JUSTIN BIEBER

2009-11-17T21:19:00.004-05:00

Now I don't like to hate here, but I have to make an exception in this case, because this looks an awful lot like Aaron Carter version 2009. Plus he's got the Canadian X-Factor, which means that his reign on the pop charts is likely to be especially long-lasting and damaging, like Bryan Adams or Avril Lavigne.

As for the ethics violations present in this video, our prepubescent hero is chasing a woman around practically old enough to be his mother. It's like the music video version of The Graduate, but cleaned up enough so that it's safe for tween digestion.

(I've got one word for you, Justin: Plastics.)

God help us all.

The Thermals - Now We Can See

2009-11-16T19:38:00.001-05:00

Now We Can See is the document of a band that's grown up a bit. They moved from Sub Pop to Kill Rock Stars, which I'd imagine is part of the reason why they went three years between releases. The band has gradually mellowed from the ferocious, lo-fi attack of their infancy back in the early 2000's, a development especially evidenced on this record. That said, maturity hasn't yet gotten the best of Hutch & Kathy and company. While my first impressions of this album were less stellar, it's a grower. Repeated spins have been beneficial.

2006's The Body, The Blood, The Machine took on organized religion, grabbing you early and refusing to let go for the duration. Now We Can See lacks the same kind of amped-up power chord glory that its predecessors have reveled in. Maybe the more relaxed tone of this record is meant to reflect the greater calm of death; if The Body, The Blood, The Machine was the midst of a war, Now We Can See is the fatalities making small talk.

The lead single (and title track) is nothing short of infectious. If you don't "oh ey oh oh woah oh" during that song at least once you either a) don't have a soul or b) don't have a pulse.

Not everything is here is so instantly catchy. The first couple of times I listed to "At the Bottom of the Sea," I wasn't a fan of the plodding first half of the song, but eventually grew to appreciate it for the epic build that occurs thereafter. Now it's one of my favorites here.

Overall, this album fails to match the same level of passion and immediate reward of TBTBTM, but multiple listens reveal an album that while perhaps not quite as good, is not dwelling too far below the high water mark. After a band puts out a great album, it is unrealistic to expect them to follow it up with a release that is equally as good. Given this rule of tempered expectations that I have adopted, I will gladly accept Now We Can See as a more-than-satisfactory offering of awesome.

The Thermals - Now We Can See

Buy 'em up:
Kill Rock Stars

(Video) William Elliott Whitmore - That Train That Carried Away My Girl

2009-11-15T12:29:00.001-05:00

This guy has a awesomely deep, gruff voice and lives in a cabin on a farm in the woods, somewhere in Lee County, Iowa. Just a fascinating individual. Do yourself a favor and check out this Daytrotter session. (Also, watching this really, really makes me want to get a banjo/banjitar.)

¡Shorn!

2009-11-14T12:45:00.002-05:00

A couple days back I was giving myself one of my regular every 4-6 week DIY haircuts with my mulitpurpose trimmer. It was going well for the first few minutes, but then after cleaning the trimmer out to keep it from overheating and such, I neglected to reset the length guide. So, instead of shortening a strip of hair on the left side of my head, I postively annihilated it. There was now a sizable chunk of hair that had been cut just about down to the scalp. There would no rebounding from this error. Everything had to go. I had to start fresh. So, after a few more minutes of reluctantly shearing my head, I arrived at the finished, alien product. I've had a lot of bad haircuts in my life, but I've never had no hair whatsoever, so this is really uncharted territory for me. It being November in New England, the timing could have been significantly better for such an event to occur, but with the passage of time and the aid of my limited hat supply, I should be able to carry on my everyday life without catching a death o' cold. On the plus side, getting a close look down to the roots, it would seem that at least for the time being I can safely debunk the fear-mongering of some that I was destined to be superbald (that won't stop me from still knocking on wood, though).

I left some semblance of beard behind, so now (depending on who you ask) I sorta look like a cross between Common and Edward Norton's character in American History X. There are worse fates I suppose.

Do I have a relevant song/songs related to my predicament? Why yes, yes I do.

Camper Van Beethoven - Take the Skinheads Bowling (From Telephone Free Landslide Victory) [Thanks Keegan]

Piebald - Look, I Just Don't Like Your Hair (From We Are the Only Friends We Have) ["It doesn't look good to me"]

Buy 'em up:
Amazon.com (Independent Projects is rather defunct these days)
Side One Dummy

Paul Baribeau and Ginger Alford - Darkness On The Edge Of Your Town (2006)

2009-11-13T00:29:00.006-05:00

First off, credit goes to Dana for notifying me of this album's existence. Without her, this post would not have been possible.

In short, this is a fantastic album of Springsteen covers. I mean, the songs are already classics and really good anyhow, but there is something about a frantically strummed acoustic guitar and imperfect, often straining, emotional vocals that lends a new urgency and infectiousness to these tunes. It's really hard to pick out a favorite because it's all so enjoyable. Alford's sweet voice complements Baribeau's rougher-edged singing quite nicely. I remarked to my friend Adam as a first impression that it sounded like it could have been a recording of an impromptu open mic performance (save for the occasionally present xylophone). I think I'll largely stick to that assessment, though these recordings lack the same sort of epic Brian Fallon-esque vocal reverb that Freud's Open Mic performers revel in at the Clark University Bistro on Thursday nights at 10 pm...

I had been marginally aware of Baribeau's existence before I listened to this album; "Ten Things" quickly became a favorite of mine a while back but for some reason I never got around to getting much else of his recordings. Also, I saw a Pink Couch session with him earlier this year, and some slightly unhinged fellow who wandered into my dorm room back during sophomore year was also apparently a big fan. After listening to Darkness On The Edge Of Your Town, I feel as though I have been missing out and will have to remedy this immediately. Plus, the dude's beard is ridiculous, a characteristic for which I always have great respect and admiration.

Paul Baribeau and Ginger Alford - Born to Run

I couldn't really find a buy link for this album, but you can check out the tour MySpace HERE.

The legendary Plan-It-X is Baribeau's label.

the post that presumably will kill any shread of indie cred this blog possesses. just keepin' it real folks.

2009-11-11T17:59:00.014-05:00

Say what you will about "Weird Al" Yankovic, but he has endured for more than 30 years, only recently finding his greatest chart success. He has even branched out into internet videos like this one which I happened upon randomly earlier today:

A lot of entertainers have burned brighter, but many of them have burned out quickly. Yankovic has slowly built a following and taken full advantage of the internet to broaden that fanbase still further. It seems as if only now at this advanced point in his lengthy career has he reached his peak. There are a lot of uncool people in this world, and he appeals to those people as one of their own, as an average-nerd-made-good who has risen above the fray to moderate amounts of fame and fortune, all the while remaining a good guy. And that, my friends, is something to admire.

I mean, when the guy's parents died from carbon monoxide poisoning a few years ago, he could easily have canceled a run of shows, but instead he carried on and performed anyway. How much dedication to your fans and craft does that show? How many other artists would do that? (certainly not Moz)

In middle school, being an offbeat kid, you could say that I was fan. In 5th grade, my teacher, who had gotten wind of my fandom and who also happened to be a fan, taped a live special he had on VH1 so I could watch it. A nice gesture in the days before YouTube and broadband, for sure. Hell, to this day I don't know the real words to "Lump," but you better believe I have a pretty good grasp of the lyrics to "Gump." I couldn't give you much of "American Pie," but I remember the vast majority of "The Saga Begins." "Pretty Fly For a White Guy"? More like "Pretty Fly For a Rabbi." I know I'm not isolated case here. If you experience the same symptoms of childhood Weird Al fanism, fess up in the comments, s'il vous plait.

I don't listen to much of Al anymore (I just looked it up and last.fm says I have 38 plays over the last two and a half years), and a lot of the stuff I thought was brilliant in my youth hasn't aged particularly well, but what do you expect from a man whose career has been built largely on songs about food and television? That said, "All About the Pentiums" is especially hilarious given the last several years I've spent working in collegiate IT.

So kids, heed the words of Al and don't go making phony calls.

Or refuse to eat sauerkraut, for that matter.

John K. Samson - City Route 85

2009-11-10T21:18:00.002-05:00

John K. Samson is notorious for his slow output, averaging three to four years between albums since The Weakerthans formed in 1997. Of course, many would argue that such waits have been well worth it for what has ended each of them, and I would certainly be inclined to agree.

Thus, it unsurprisingly has been more than two years since the last release of a new song from him, be it solo or with The Weakerthans. Now the time has come, with last Tuesday's release of City Route 85, the first in what is to be a series of EPs exploring the roads around Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is the first solo release from Samson since the 2006 re-release of 1995's Little Pictures. Listening to the two EPs back-to-back strikingly displays the leaps and bounds of musical and lyrical maturation that have occurred over that time. City Route 85 is over almost before it starts, comprised of just three songs totaling just under ten minutes. But the brevity of this EP is made up for by the quality of the material contained therein.

Samson is man whose art is as intertwined with the city he calls home more than anyone else who I can think of. Over the years he has time and again explored the bleak city not too far north of the U.S. border, and yet clearly has not tired of mining it for material. What is impressive about all of this is that for significant percentage of his discography spent dwelling on Winnipeg in one manner or another (for example, even the "Virtute" series is in reference to the city's civic motto, "Unum cum virtute multorum," which more or less means "one with the strength of many"), he might be dealing with the same specific geographic region, but that does not mean he has been writing the same song over and over from the same point of view. On City Route 85, his ability to craft characters who exist within the confines of the city, and who define their lives in some small way by it, is in excellent form.

The production is very stripped down, consisting mostly of just Samson and his acoustic guitar. For a man whose material is so much about the lyrics, he unsurprisingly delivers under these quiet conditions where words are apt to find closer scrutiny.

"Heart of the Continent" is a fantastic little track which reminded me a bit of "One Great City!" if only for the fingerpicking. This is from the point of view of a much more limited narrator than that song, however, as opposed to some omniscient being. Further research confirmed my suspicion that both song titles referred to official slogans that Winnipeg has had.

"Grace General" explores the bleakness of winter on a dilapidated block nearby the hospital where one of the narrator's loved ones (my guess would be his wife) has recently passed on, and the helplessness and hopelessness that the narrator feels with the void left in his life.

"Cruise Night," the catchiest (and shortest) of the three songs, dwells with that common practice of young people of driving around with the music on for the sake of it, symptomatic of the lack of other things to do in town, and also a demonstration of freedom within a confined space--you may be chained to your parents and to your city by your youth and and your means, but you have enough wiggle room within your cage to buy yourself music and drive around your hometown, even if it's not even in your car. There is a great feeling of freedom and being in complete control that comes with operating a vehicle, and this song epitomizes that feeling.

So, you should most definitely pick this up. Especially on seven inch, because vinyl is awesome, ya know?

<a href="http://johnksamson.bandcamp.com/track/heart-of-the-continent">Heart Of The Continent by John K. Samson</a>

Buy 'em up:
ANTI-

Not a Review.

2009-11-09T21:59:00.013-05:00

(I apologize in advance for overtly dour nature of this post. It just happens sometimes. I feel a need to post something and I just happen to be in an off mood. To be fair, I did just finish watching Five Easy Pieces, so there's that.)

For a lot of people, Wednesday's the most difficult day to get through. Yet for me, as relatively hectic and swamped as I have found this semester, Wednesday's the eye of the storm for me. Yes, I have four hours of work, but at this point work is a respite from academics. Sometimes I question why I'm even bothering sticking around to get a master's. Will I even use the degree? I guess it's because I typically have a hard time committing to anything without first giving it tons and tons of neurotic thought which even probably won't deposit me off at some solid conclusion. I've gotten to the point where in many people's judging eyes it's entirely not OK that I haven't figured out what I'm going to do with my life. I have to deflect the questions or name some random occupation that I likely have very little interest in. I mean, it's not like I don't try to settle on something. It just doesn't happen. Even if people are just trying to make small talk (and trust me, it happens all the time, whether at work or with the person behind me in checkout at the supermarket), I probably get overly defensive about it.

So, I'm putting in the extra work so I can stick around college one more year. Buy myself some more time, hold off on leaving what's left of my academic island for good. Every year the bubble gets smaller and I feel like more and more of an outsider even though I'm still very much here. Living off campus has very much changed the dynamic of my experience at school, and in particular working on campus during the summer when there's hardly any students around, when it's just the old buildings and dust and cobwebs, out with the old and in with the new, get the repairs done so the rooms are ready for the wide-eyed freshmen when they arrive the last week of August. Watch the days shorten further and further still, the leaves drop, the air chill. All the changes of the seasons aren't going to make the illusion of scholastic grandeur quite so real to me ever again. The bloom is off the rose and it isn't growing back. And yet I still find this a feasible alternative for the time being. It's like standing on a sinking ship and refusing to get on a little lifeboat because the seas are rough and you might capsize, but who knows, that ocean liner is sinking so slow maybe help will arrive before I'm submerged, right? And if help doesn't show up, when that boat's about to sink I'll grab onto a piece of driftwood. That's just how I've always gotten by.

I guess college is just the Wednesday in my life, then. There's been a lot of work leading up to and through it, and once I leave it, there's a lot more work to do before the weekend gets around.

The Weakerthans - Wellington's Wednesdays (From Fallow)
Willy Mason - Oxygen (From Where the Humans Eat)

Buy 'em up:
Cinder Block
Team Love

I'm Back Again, It's Friday

2009-11-06T17:22:00.007-05:00

I must begin this post with an explanation of my absence. On Wednesday night my band Kid Omega (yes, that obscure Worcester indie-punk band with an all but defunct blog) was playing a show at Tammany Hall with the ever excellent Sister City and the incomparable Britney's Spear. Three acts. Three styles. Three hours. A couple of spilled beverages, one of which was especially entertaining. The house band never showed up. Epic fail. Oh and the Yankees won the World Series. Don't want to talk about it.

On Thursday it was my good friend Beckie's birthday, and so there was a lengthy dinner out at a nearby restaurant with all the trappings. And then I was writing a paper, which carried over into this afternoon.

But now it's the weekend. Life is good, we are young, and the beer is cheap. Real world, I'll catch you Sunday. Until then, I'm making good on my opportunities. In my estimation, the blog doesn't count as the real world so I'll probably post something tomorrow.

Sunny Day Real Estate - Friday (From LP2)
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - The High Party (From Hearts of Oak)

[I will refrain from inserting the entire Andrew WK discography here, although I was mighty tempted]

Buy 'em up:
Sub Pop
Lookout!

The Swell Season - Strict Joy

2009-11-02T11:42:00.004-05:00

I was one of the masses won over to this band by the film Once a couple years back, and it's really hard for me not to get behind them. They're just such likable folks, ya know? 2006's The Swell Season had some fantastic tunes with good energy. With a largely acoustic act, one expects things to tend to the more low-key side of things, but on their debut they were able to sprinkle in enough cathartic moments to keep things interesting.

This time around, things seem just a bit more even-keeled, with Glen Hansard not letting loose nearly as often. That's not exactly a harsh indictment of the album; it's as well crafted and heartfelt as its predecessor, and is a better than solid sophomore effort from the group. Perhaps with a few more spins I'll grow to love it instead of just like it. The first track "Low Rising" is a nice soulful song (and a pretty fair choice for the lead single), and "In These Arms" is another highlight, just a straight-up good song (and probably the quietest song in which I've ever heard the word "asshole" used).

If you liked their last album, and you can deal with a little less of Glen shouting and a few more strings, there's no reason why you shouldn't enjoy this.
The Swell Season - Low Rising
~~The Swell Season - In These Arms~~

Buy 'em up:
ANTI-

All Hallow's Eve

2009-10-31T14:27:00.005-04:00

John Carpenter.
Elivra.
Pumpkins.
Toilet paper and eggs.
Mickey Rourke.

Yup, it's that time of year again. Used to be about costumes and candy, now its about costumes and beer. Costumes being the constant, obviously. Candy and beer are both unhealthy, so I suppose not all that much has changed. And the UNICEF trick or treaters will always make you feel guilty.

In 8th Grade I really went to town on Cabbage Night. That's all I'm gonna say. But it was fun.

In the spirit of the day, I will leave you with some Rocket From the Crypt, who broke up four years ago today. These are some mp3s from their last show. Enjoy.

Rocket From the Crypt - I'm Not Invisible
Rocket From the Crypt - Ditch Digger

Buy 'em up:
Merch Lackey

If you wanna write like me...stop. Trust me, you don't wanna write like me.

2009-10-29T09:51:00.003-04:00

Procrastination is in my life blood. I'm at my best when the conditions I have to work under are at their worst, when the clock over my shoulder is rapidly ticking away the precious minutes I have left to complete the mid-term, response paper, or analytical essay with several charts and graphs imported from Excel, that bear of a program I'll probably never get a full handle on how to use effectively. Heart racing from the overcaffeination (a certain type of energy drink preferred, but in pandering to my punker, DIY readers I will abstain from naming said life-giving beverage). And the stress. Oh, the stress. My GPA hanging in the balance. Eyes occasionally losing focus. Imagining things in my peripherals that aren't there at all. Sleepless nights. Tremulous limbs. Chills. Dry, twitchy eyes. Bad for my health? Probably. Bad for my sanity? Probably. Am I capable of working any other way? When I figure it out, I'll let you know.

In these trying times which I to some [great] extent bring upon myself, the one constant that gets me through is my music collection. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, I can be anywhere with an internet connection and a headphone jack and be plugged into practically my entire heap of tuneage [thanks Lala]. Right now I'm wasting precious campus bandwidth in the library to rock out to some "Holy Diver" from my fifth-floor perch in the library whilst laboring on part one of my two-part take home Urban Politics mid-term. You can just see the devil horns, can't you? Brutal Legend be damned, I need no video game to tell me how to think and feel about music. I have my own discerning ear for that purpose, thank you.

You may be asking yourself right about now, assuming that you've stuck around this long in the post, when in God's name I'm going to get around to attaching a link to an mp3 or embed a video or something, anything musical. Hasn't this piece of web real estate been re-zoned a second time for discussion of chord changes, melodies, lyrical content, the corny, the outdated, the up-and-coming, rock, indie power-pop, punk, folk, metalcore and thrash? Well, yes. And I'll get around to it, just hold up a second.

I will finish this paper...come hell or high water.

This guy's got a fantastic voice, and a sobering back-story. Worth listening to.

William Elliott Whitmore - Hell or High Water (From Animals in the Dark)

Buy 'em up:
ANTI-

New Ted Leo Song!?

2009-10-28T00:03:00.003-04:00

I've counted myself as a solid Ted Leo fan since he came to Clark University back during the first semester of Freshman year. He had a pretty rough cold and one of his fingers was bleeding but he rocked ever so hard in spite of his varied maladies. Living With the Living was a fine record and although his label Touch and Go had to make some painful cuts earlier this year, he recently signed with Matador, and it appears he's been getting his write on and will have a new album out hopefully sometime in the Spring of 2010. Also, did I mention that he has a Twitter? Being one of Ted Leo's tweeps is a rewarding experience, I promise.

Somewhere under that hat dwells the most awesome Mohawk you'll never see. Cheers.

(Via donewaiting.com)

And Tomorrow We'll Take Aim / Just Like a Storm Waiting For a Calm.

2009-10-27T12:16:00.013-04:00

It's weird how you can associate a song with stuff that has nothing to do with the lyrical content of the song itself, say what song came after it on a mix CD your friend burned for you in high school, or what was happening in your life when you first heard this song.

I can't say I'm a particularly big fan of their current incarnation, but old-school Against Me! was a beautiful thing. For me, this song is Spring break 2007 (Dirrty Jerz edition) encapsulated. Not coincidentally, I saw them at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville that same trip (here's a decent write-up). Bruce Springsteen was at the bar, no joke. Of course I had an X on each hand at that juncture. The crowd was nuts and my tiny friend Dana got sucked into the pit of despair and yet somehow emerged a few minutes later unharmed. The rascals would not get their gnome trophy that night.

Through the magic of Google, I tracked down a short clip of the encore, "We Laugh At Danger and Break All the Rules":

After 2007's subpar New Wave (which was still good enough for Spin magazine to name it album of the year [take that as you will]), I hold little hope for White Crosses. Prove me wrong, Tom Gabel. Prove me wrong.

Against Me! - Untitled (From The Acoustic EP)

Buy 'em up:
Sabot Productions

(Part Two)

2009-10-26T22:32:00.006-04:00

Please don't get the idea that this is rapidly devolving into some glorified Mountain Goats fan blog (as near and dear to me as the band may be). This post simply serves as an addendum to yesterday's entry on The Life of the World to Come, which if I had been thinking clearly enough at the time, would surely have gotten tacked onto the end of that post. Better late than never I suppose, and thus I present to you now (in the event that you have not already viewed it) The Mountain Goats' performance on The Colbert Report from about three weeks back. There was an interview of John prior to the performance, which you can find here. After all, I wouldn't want to overwhelm the page with multimedia and so crash the machines of those brave few out of my legions of followers who are still running Windows 3.1, right?

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The Mountain Goats - Psalms 40:2

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Michael Moore

(Via Pitchfork)

The Mountain Goats - The Life of the World to Come

2009-10-25T13:55:00.010-04:00

I'll admit it. I had a few misgivings about this record before it came out. As much as John Darnielle protested on The Mountain Goats website that he had not experienced some religious revival and was still as much of a lapsed Catholic as ever, and that the new record would not be some uber-religious screed, I had my doubts ["I come from Chino where the asphalt sprouts"].

Should I have feared? No. After all, Darnielle has been seasoning his music with varying degrees of religion for his entire career, be it "Trans-Jordanian Blues" (from On Juhu Beach), "Blues in Dallas" (from All Hail West Texas), "Genesis 19 1-2" (from Devil in the Shortwave), or "I Corinthians 13 8-10" (from Nothing For Juice). Of course, the fan favorite "Golden Boy" deals heavily with themes of the afterlife, cynically portraying heaven as a place as bleakly overrun by commercialization as this mortal coil we know so well. There are other examples in the catalogue I could point to, but by now I'd like to think I've made my point that he has dealt with religious themes frequently throughout his career and always come out the other side without seeming overbearing.

So onto the album. The release of "Genesis 3:23" for download on the 4AD website during the summer worried me. I was afraid that QC had slipped, because to be honest it felt sorta like a rehash of BNL's "The Old Apartment," and given the very close proximity of Darnielle and BNL on the Ships & Dip V cruise this past February, I thought that maybe he'd been tainted by the troubled and fading Canadian band who so owned the late 90s. If this was indeed the case (and in retrospect I don't really think that it is), it's only really apparent on that one song. And yes, Darnielle is allowed to delve into subject matter that other people have tackled before in his own way; if musicians were required to come up with a completely original topic to write a song on every time, that would just be unmanageable.

On the whole, it's a very quiet, spare work, reminiscent of 2006's Get Lonely. To be honest, I much prefer the more "boisterous" Goats songs, and if you're craving that, you're not going to find much of it here. However, "Psalms 40:2" is a real barn-burner that will appease those folks who tend to shy away from much of the quieter stuff. The vast majority of the album embodies a sort of understated desperate darkness, dealing with some heavy material such as the death of his mother-in-law in "Matthew 25:21," which is absolutely devastating.

Did I like Heretic Pride better? Most definitely.

Is this a good album in its own right? Yes. Comparing the two is apples and oranges.

Just don't eat the forbidden fruit.

The Mountain Goats - Psalms 40:2
The Mountain Goats - Matthew 25:21

Buy 'em up:
4AD

Motion Portrait: A Messed Up Little Website

2009-10-24T14:21:00.009-04:00

This is both cool and creepy at the same time. So basically what happens is that you upload a picture of yourself and in less than a minute it renders your head into a 3D-model that moves around a bit and takes on different mildly-realistic expressions. It definitely weirded me out, so I thought I'd pass along the bizarreness. Sort of reminded me of the androids in that awful, awful film Artificial Intelligence: AI, except it doesn't drag on for two and a half hours and suck out your soul.

It's websites like this that make me fear for the weirdness of future generations. In olden days people did strange stuff mostly because science hadn't really been invented yet, so they had some pretty crazy beliefs and superstitions because they were ignorant and didn't know any better, so at least they had an excuse. But now there's a wealth of readily-available information and it just seems like with the staggeringly rapid improvement of technology, for every new breakthrough there's another bizarre implementation of it for people to experience (note how I didn't say enjoy). I shudder to think of what is to come. Will our children be so crippled by their own strangeness that they become sensory-overloaded creatures that fear sunlight so we have to fortify all their food with Vitamin D (or "D" if you are familiar with him) so that they don't catch the Rickets? [That was for you, Keegan]. We will still love them because they are our children, but will they even be human in the contemporary sense any longer? I mean, humanity's been devolving physically for thousands of years according to a recent book, so wouldn't the mind be next, so that we as a species end up like those blobular folk in WALL-E?

But on the other hand, did I mention that you can change your dashing, animated visage into anything ranging from a "Little Red Riding Hood" to a "Green Ogre"?

Check it out at your own risk:
Motion Portrait

Finishing the Renovations or: The Battle of the Acoustic and the Golf Sticks

2009-10-23T16:47:00.010-04:00

The blog is named what it is because two summers ago I'm playing my acoustic guitar in my room one afternoon and when I leave to go do whatever I leave the guitar on the floor.

Next to my ill-balanced golf bag.

I think you can see where this is going.

So, I come back later that night to find the bag on top of the guitar. I probably rattle off a quickfire string of expletives in disbelief as if my words can undo the damage. I lift the bag off of the guitar and find some decent scratches, dents, and a couple broken strings. Trying to get a read on the greater meaning of the whole situation, I'm not sure if this is some sign from above to quit golfing, which assuredly is robbing time from musical pursuits, or to give up playing guitar to focus on golf, the bag decidedly the victor in the brief struggle.

The guitar still plays well enough, but ever since that day it's got some pretty significant buzzing on the high strings that my own work on the truss rod over the summer didn't make a whole heap of difference with. I've been too lazy/frugal to go a luthier to get it fixed; I'll probably just buy a nicer acoustic when I have the means, and forgo having any repairs done on my current one. I'll just be sure never to leave the new instrument on the floor next to a much heavier, unsteady object (or creature, for that matter).

-------------------------------------

After several hours of poring over mind-numbing code (and creating a new banner in the clunky, but free and still useful GIMP), I think I've got this whole blog renovation over and done with for now. It's not dramatically different, but I think it's a purddy big improvement over what it looked like a couple weeks ago.

Credit where credit is due: thanks go out to photographer extraordinaire Beckie Moses in regards to the banner background photo, and to the quite helpful bloggerblogtemplates.com for supplying the 3-column framework.

Where do I go from here content-wise? I guess you'll just have to wait and see. Really tempted to revisit the whole music blog enterprise that I flirted with last year but Hype Machine spurned my advances. If at first you don't succeed...

...wallow in self-pity for a year and then consider maybe possibly potentially trying again.

Here goes something.

Redesign a-comin'

2009-10-21T23:09:00.004-04:00

Hey there everyone,

I've been bored with the layout of the ol' blog for some time now and have done some subtle tweaks over the last few days, but I'm planning a more thorough redesign that hopefully I'll have time to do this upcoming weekend, particularly if the weather's godawful (and knowing Worcester, I'm pretty much guaranteed one crummy day this weekend). A fresh look does not good content make, but it's a start I suppose. If I have a canvas to work with that doesn't look awful, I'll probably be more liable to put more effort into my posts.

In the meantime, I invite you all to watch this:

Just bought my ticket for Nov. 29 in Boston. Excited? Hell yes.

Keep truckin' folks. Now I've got a book to slay and a paper that I will write in its blood. Sorry if that was graphic.

Tonight I Burned the Lyrics, 'Cause Every Chorus Was Your Name

2009-09-28T00:36:00.004-04:00

I've been listening to The Avett Brothers ever since I heard the track "Matrimony" off of 2006's Four Thieves Gone: The Robbinsville Sessions. So when they were featured on the NPR All Songs Considered Tiny Desk series a few months back (highly recommended podcast, BTW), I was intrigued. This is video of that performance. The first song, "Laundry Room," is pretty much dynamite. One of the songs that made up the soundtrack of my summer, for sure.

Oh, and their new album I and Love and You drops tomorrow.

P.S. The Swell Season's Tiny Desk session was also quite good. You know, 'cause Glen Hansard's kind of a baller.

Anti-Software Piracy, 1992 style

2009-09-24T14:17:00.005-04:00

Props to Fardeen for showing me this. The bastardization of hip-hop culture is truly breathtaking. Also, check out the guy's hair at 3:13!

Remember kids, DON'T COPY THAT FLOPPY!

The Weakerthans at Paradise Rock Club, 9/16/09

2009-09-19T11:21:00.014-04:00

Credit: http://bradkellyfilms.posterous.com

I got four hours of sleep the night before. This show kept me awake like no quantity of caffeine could dream of doing...

With a huge assist from my friend Adam who made Escape From Worcester possible with his environmentally savvy motor carriage, and with the small but ever endearing Dana in tow, we set off from THE CLARK: HARBINGER OF DISGUST AND GENTRIFICATION as the sun set on a cool September day. Despite a temperamental iPod radio adapter, much tuneage was consumed, largely of the ALK3 variety, at which time I showed my lack of knowledge of their full catalogue, hanging my head in shame and pretending to nod off. As it turns out the venue was located just about smack dab in the middle of the BU campus. Parking was not readily apparent, but after a few minutes of search it was procured, although our fair driver would later find the sneakiness of the parking attendant somewhat off-putting. We found our way in to the club, and as I stood next to the the bar for a moment, as Adam sauntered in he was trailed by who other than John K. Samson. After the group was reassembled we picked up our tickets from will call (because what's the fun in saving a piece of printer paper with a barcode on it?). I flirted with the idea of getting one of the excellent shirts from the merch tayblay but quickly realized that I'd be far too broke to get food after the show if I did so, that however snazzily attired I might be, that would not satisfy my stomach. I was taken aback at how small the place was. Any spot on the floor was a good spot. However, being the only one of the group that could be classified as vertically gifted, we moved along to an open balcony spot that had a fantastic view and was not too far away from the stage.

The first opener was Tomte, a German band on their first American tour. The lyrics were all-German (with the exception of a brief foray into The Killers' "Human" that was all in good fun), and the stage banter was of a delightful, wide-eyed, aw-shucks-we're-so-happy-to-be-in-the-land-of-the-free variety. As Dana pointed out to me, there was one guy in the audience with a sweaty shaved head who was REALLY into it, while everyone surrounding him could simply not touch his enthusiasm. Funny stuff. I didn't really get into the music too much, but there was nothing blatantly wrong with it. It just may have helped if I had taken Intro to German last year instead of Intermediate French (which thusfar has only enhanced my understanding of a couple Arcade Fire songs and of course The Weakerthans' "Our Retired Explorer...").

The second opener was the fairly strange and rather good Rock Plaza Central. Their lead singer both looked and sounded like a Keebler Elf, with a nasally voice that definitely could do battle with John Darnielle's in a whine-off. They had a banjo and mandolin which were employed several times each, and much of their lyrical content involved robotic steel horses who think they're people (or so I thought the lead singer said). There was some awkward forays into politicized stage banter that didn't really go anywhere or extract a positive reaction from the audience. These missteps aside, the band was enjoyable.

The Weakerthans rounded out the all-foreign bill. Adam was so dedicated as to figure out the setlist, which I have re-posted below:

Edit this setlist | More The Weakerthans setlists

John poked fun at himself over the solo to "Utilities" which he said was the only solo he's ever written, and he'll never have to write another because this one was so perfect, that it has changed forever how people play guitar. Soon after, he pulled a member out of the audience who had beseeched him for an opportunity to top that solo, and while perhaps not a spectacular solo ensued, the kid was undeniably good at playing the instrument. John moved to the floor to watch the performance. Definitely a highlight.

The set, as you may have gleaned from the setlist above, was a nice blend of older and newer songs, expertly performed. They might not have put on the loudest or most energetic show, but they really looked like they were having a good time up there and not just phoning it in. The songs are strong enough on their own that the delivery didn't need to be overwhelming, but I would say watching this show put to rest for me criticisms I've read of the band being too lackadaisical on stage. If they're ever in the area again, I'm totally going to another show. Plus I liked still having 80-90% hearing the next day, even without earplugs.
9.75 (that's right Pitchfork, I go to the hundredths place!)

As a side note, I just found out that John will be releasing a series of seven-inches over the next 18 months. Very exciting stuff. I do love me some offbeat hyper-literate folk-punk-rock.

Jason Anderson Comes to Clark. Good Things Happen.

2009-09-05T19:02:00.005-04:00

Yesterday the pasteurized bar in the basement of the former gymnasium which today is known as The Grind at Clark University was graced by the presence of one Jason Anderson, a native New Englander with a penchant for awesomeness. Similarly to the Andrew W.K. experience of last April, he brought a positive attitude, a sense of hope, pure joy, and the promise that Rock'n'Roll is not dead and that the feelings it conveys and creates can be used to make each listener's life better, and the whole of humanity improved if we all manage to stop and listen. He played to a much smaller crowd than Andrew W.K., but that did not stop him from putting on a memorable show. Frequently audience (and band) members would chuckle at the frankness of his lyrics, a sort of workingman's straightforward poetry often held together by giant major chords, and yet broken with moments of great quiet and intimacy, lyrics whispered, guitar strings barely plucked. To be in the crowd was not to merely watching the band play, it was to play along, to shout, to sing along, to clap your hands and stomp your feet. It was Anderson's show, but it was yours too, an easy joint custody of an evening that in his words "will never happen exactly the same ever again." Admittedly and ashamedly I was new to his music, and sometimes seeing an artist live that can be prohibitive to full enjoyment of the work, but in this case there was no such barrier to be broken. Everything sounded familiar, but not overly derivative or generic. He seemed perfect parts Glen Hansard, Josh Ritter, and Ted Leo, a seasoned professional who knew exactly what he was doing, but did it with a level of emotion and humility that made him and his music instantly enjoyable. I left hoarse and ecstatic, hoping that the endorphins would never wear off, that I could always go through life with the sense of right and purpose I felt this night, that I wouldn't need additional doses of that drug called music to stay on course. Michael Skinner (perhaps not the best person to mine for meaningful quotes, but why not?) once said that the two great narcotics are Christianity and alcohol. He prefers the latter, and I prefer live shows in the vein of the one that Jason Anderson put on last night. Sometimes the option not given is the best to take. 8.5

JASON ANDERSON'S WEBSITE

With Apologies to Picnicface

2009-08-20T12:35:00.003-04:00

Inspired by "Super Bingo"

Halifax Senior Center Song

Album releases this fall I'm stoked for

2009-08-05T15:32:00.019-04:00

Tuesdays are only good for one thing, in my book. And that, my friends, is new records. Here are some key dates coming up:

September 22
Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk
Admittedly I only just found out about this indie supergroup of Jim James, M. Ward, and the one and only Conor Oberst (via Rainn Wilson's blip.fm page no less), but the concept alone has piqued my interest. Latter-day Traveling Wilburys? We'll see.

Not wowed by this, but holding out hope for better cuts. ~~"Say Please"~~

September 29
The Swell Season - Strict Joy
Thoroughly enjoyed the film Once and the accompanying Oscar-winning tuneage provided by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. The man's got some serious pipes and the two of them are quite the team, even if they've moved on from the whole March - July romance thing.

This song isn't from the new album, but it's an awesome live Van Morrison cover they did that I listen to all the time. Enjoy. ~~"Into the Mystic"~~

October 6
The Mountain Goats - The Life of the World to Come
I'm a pretty big Mountain Goats fan, which is to say that I'm only mildly obsessive (unlike this guy). Bible verses as titles? Maybe a bit presumptuous. But I'll give JD the benefit of the doubt. On the other hand, the cover art is SICK.

Reminds me of BNL's "The Old Apartment." A solid though not outstanding track. ~~"Genesis 3:23"~~

Lucero - 1372 Overton Park
It's been far too long since Ben Nichols and company's last effort, 2006's Rebels, Rogues & Sworn Brothers. Must say that I enjoy the whiskey-soaked, Southern rock-meets-country-meets-punk Americana purveyed by 'em and can't wait for their newest installment to drop.

Judging from this track, sounds like it was worth the wait. Awesome. ~~"Hey Darling Do You Gamble?"~~

This video hits close to home in more ways than one.

2009-07-24T20:39:00.004-04:00

Credit goes to The Glorious Hum, and in turn to Ryan's Smashing Life.

This team needs to have a melee...

2009-07-24T20:17:00.004-04:00

...similar to this one.

Found this goodness over at SawxBlog.

Wake to DL, smells fishy but I'm cool with it

2009-07-21T17:35:00.004-04:00

Back to blogging with a Sox-related post...

Call me crazy, but given Wake's history the past couple of seasons of breaking down in the second half, it's no surprise to me that the Red Sox today placed him on the 15-day DL with a "lower back strain." Sounds like they wanted to give him some recovery time tacked onto the All-Star break. Meanwhile, it's nice to see Buchholz getting a few more starts to prove he belongs, and hopefully nail down a rotation spot for the second half. Smoltz has not been a significant upgrade from Dice-K to this point, Penny has slipped a bit, and Wake, sorry to say it, is due for a bit of additional regression in the 2nd half, so nice to see Clay come up and hopefully strengthen the rotation. Letting him rot at AAA was stunting his development at this point, honestly. While not stellar, last Friday's 5 2/3 inning, 1 ER performance against Toronto was more than good enough, and better than what we've seen from anyone else in the rotation thusfar in the second half. That said, the Sox could still use a bat, but that's a discussion for another day.
[UPDATE: I was super wrong about Wake. He ended up having ugly bone chips in his back and only made four starts of progressively declining quality down the stretch.]

A pseudo-intellectual analysis of the demerits of microblogging

2009-07-19T12:54:00.010-04:00

Of late, it would appear that I have filled the void left by my temporary abandonment of the blog by resorting to micro-blogging via Twitter, which is all well and good except that I frequently find myself going over the character limit, which forces me to make a statement over multiple posts or to my original statement in such a way as to distort or diminish its meaning and impact. My experience with Twitter over the last month has reinforced in my mind the fact that I thoroughly dislike saying something in the bare minimum of words needed to say it. For the better part of a decade I have been self-taught in the art of rehashing material and employing lofty word choices in order to get that all-important paper within striking distance of the minimum page requirement. These devices first employed at school have carried over to my other forms of expression, so much so that as the years have gone by I have developed an almost conversationally crippling predilection to give long rambling answers to simple questions in which I very frequently say little of any real value.

As such, the limits that Twitter (and to a lesser degree, text messaging) imposes on my communications are a drastic change from my expressive norms, and whose negotiation proves cumbersome. While I suppose that tweeting has its place, I have a certain fondness for the grandiose phrasing and wandering prose that have now become permanently cemented as trademarks of my communications with the outside world.

And so I blog.

(And that whole narcissism thing's a turn-off too. Which is not to say that I won't continue tweeting, I just don't want it to become a problem.)

importance of living quarters > importance of blogging

2009-06-09T11:49:00.005-04:00

Hello all. The blog has been sadly neglected these recent weeks, in large part due to the following pieces of excitement in my life:

a) the apartment I was going to move into burned down two days before I got the chance (here's some pictures)
b) had to find a new apartment to live in
c) had to move my belongings into new apartment

But now that I'm simply unpacking, I can re-prioritize my life and resume a pursuit with little point! Posts of greater merit are forthcoming.

Start times for postseason games

2009-05-24T21:05:00.007-04:00

In yesterday's Boston Globe, Bob Ryan captured my thoughts exactly on late start times for postseason games in professional sports:

"It's time those pampered PDT/PSTers had to live with World Series, baseball playoffs, NBA Finals, and Final Four starting times that either a) prevent normal working people from seeing the finish of games or b) preclude the youth of America from watching these games at all. That's the reality of life on the East Coast."

I remember all too well the sorry state in which I existed during one month in the fall of my junior year of high school, that being the Sox' October 2004 playoff run. The ALCS against the Yankees was especially brutal. I don't deal well with less than 8 hours of sleep now, and as you might imagine, 16-year-old me handled the chronic baseball-induced sleep deprivation even more poorly. When a Sox/Yanks game lasted until after 2 in the morning and I had to get up at 6:23 to get ready for school, it was trouble.

I'm tired (pun intended) of bending over backwards for the benefit of left-coasters and the networks. Thankfully, some start times are getting moved up for postseason baseball games this fall. It's not perfect, but it's a start. And in this world of maddeningly staggered progress, that's all one can realistically expect.

Boston Sports, the Song.

2009-05-19T12:56:00.007-04:00

Here's a little something I recorded in one take with one microphone. Consider it lo-fi therapy after a tough week for the Boston sports fan. The first fret capo makes a guest appearance.

Boston Sports, the Song.

This is not a joke.

2009-05-13T12:45:00.005-04:00

Dell now has a website specially geared towards meeting the unique computer demands of the fairer sex.

Its name: Della.

You can't make this stuff up.

Am I the only person that thinks this is ridiculous? Maybe they're just trying to deflect attention from this.

Props to ZDNet for bringing this to my attention.

Fried-day

2009-05-01T15:13:00.005-04:00

It's a dank one out there, and I'm .5/10-15 pages into this paper about how Reagan's economic policies screwed over the majority of Americans. Suffice it to say I'm gonna be bogged down working on this thing for a while. And then I've got three finals in 24 hours...At least I've got some sweet tuneage to help me push through...

Scattered thoughts from recent days:

Jonathan Van Every does it ALL. His Dave McCarty impression was most admirable. If only I were a lefty, maybe I could also be a 30-year-old career minor league outfielder transformed into major league mop-up man with a 73 mph fastball and a fantastic Mississippi drawl...I don't think that's aiming too high for a dream job...
Given the awful economic situation, I feel incredibly fortunate to have a job this summer. It pays to have a little bit of technical expertise and something vaguely resembling people skills, I guess.
Cutting my own hair was a remarkably rewarding experience. On a par with beardsculpting, if not better. (Thanks for letting me use your buzzer/trimmer/haircuttin' thang Sean!)
That last softball game was awesome. It was the best loss I've ever been a part of. Another example of why you shouldn't give up easily.
The Andrew W.K. show kicked a serious amount of ass. Yes, I got on stage with the band. Yes, I got to touch him. No, I don't have a lock of his hair. Y'all are creepy for even thinking of it.
So far in the medical-afflictions-which-are-a-giant-pain-in-my-ass category, tree pollen > "swine flu". I'm not buying the hype.
How the hell is it May already?
Shooting to scrobble 10,000 songs this summer. As long as neither my iPod nor MacBook die out of warranty, I think it's doable. Also, "doable" is a terrible-looking word whose pronunciation is utterly counter-intuitive. Yeah, I said it. [UPDATE: I ended up easily meeting this goal. Epic win.]
I'm either going to learn how to cook this summer or order an awful lot of pizza. Hoping for the former, but wouldn't be entirely surprised if the latter occurs. I think a happy medium of the two would be optimal for maintaining my sanity. [UPDATE: I ate an awful lot of pizza and various other take-out for the first month or so of the summer, then wised up and started cooking low-maintenance food.]
The whole time I was writing this I could have been working on that monstrosity of a paper. But wait, I'll rationalize this...simply honing my writing skills, gently massaging half my brain by churning out a few hundred words of sludge, warming up for the marathon of paper creation that will shortly ensue...
Yeah, I feel marginally better now.
Back to work.

Back again.

2009-04-25T17:15:00.008-04:00

I have re-surfaced on this ridiculously nice day in the midst of my season of academic discontent for just long enough to make a post on this thing, which is a good a feeling as any. So here's some scattered thoughts, as that's pretty much all I have to offer these days: scattered thoughts broken by marathon paper-writing sessions, another one of which I'll begin all too soon:

The Sox are going to lose today, but winning the last eight games in a row is now small feat, especially considering their inauspicious start. Last night's comeback was easily the best game I've watched so far this year. UPDATE: Tek just hit a grand slam...hopefully I'll have to eat my words.
UPDATE: Jacoby Ellsbury of all people just hit a home run. I never said I didn't like this team...
UPDATE: J-Bay just hit a two-run double. WOW.
Youkilis and Bay continue to produce. Dusty's come around. Ortiz...well, if this keeps up a few more weeks I'll probably be ready to stick a fork in him.
Can't say enough good things about Ramon Ramirez. I know it's a small sample, but a 0.581 WHIP in 10.3 innings is simply disgusting.
Glad that the reason Lowrie was so bad at the start of the season was because he was hurt, but less happy that he was hurt. Hope he heals up OK. (Yes, I found his Twitter. Also found Tito's.)

UPDATE: As much as I hate to admit it, apparently Tito's twitter was a fake. However, I maintain the belief that Jed's is real. Also, Barry Zito's is an interesting read from time to time.

Assorted Observations From the Sox-Rays Series

2009-04-09T19:38:00.011-04:00

Matt Garza spits (and looks) like a camel.
It's very early, and I'm probably jinxing him by saying this, but the Ramon Ramirez trade isn't looking nearly as bad as I had feared. He's been generating swings-and-misses like crazy in his first two appearances.
I'll hold off on making any grandiose predictions, but Josh Beckett sure looked like he's rediscovered his '07 form on Tuesday. Unfortunately, one could say the same about Jon Lester on Wednesday.
He's not exactly hitting for average, but 'Tek sure seems to have rediscovered his power stroke.
Youk simply could not be hotter right now.
Carlos Pena strikes out a ton, but boy can he hit 'em out. Part of me wishes we had kept him after '06, put Youk at third, and gotten rid of Lowell. Hindsight is 20/20 I guess...
When's Heidi Watney going to interview Tek after the game? Talk about a conflict of interest. Heidi, you homewrecker you...
Dice-K is what he is, and he's not going to change. In related news, Scott Kazmir and Dice-K might actually be the same person. Just look at the stats.
Jason Bay has provided steady production for my fantasy team and the Sox thus far. And as if he wasn't already likable, the article in The Globe that I read about him the other day made me like him even more.
Jacoby would be better served by becoming more of a slap hitter. The weak groundouts and popups just aren't doing it for me.
Is it just me, or did the Sox and Rays pitchers have two different strike zones to work with in this series?

Curt's Pitch For the Hall

2009-04-02T00:34:00.004-04:00

Of late, Curt Schilling's chances of getting into the Hall of Fame have been a matter of great discussion, and with the newly-retired big lug in the news, the Onion put this together (thanks to Chad Finn over at Touching All The Bases for bringing this to my attention). It made me laugh a bit.

Personally, wasn't a big fan of the whole take eight mil and run bit last season, and his political views don't exactly mesh with mine, but he was one cold clutch playa in the postseason. I'm hoping that gets him in.

Side note: Who's CHB going to write about now? Maybe he should retire too...

God-Awful (Backup) Goaltending: It's Called Bruins.

2009-03-29T00:28:00.009-04:00

This just in: a clinical study has determined that there is little appreciable difference between Manny Fernandez and an open net. One need look no further than tonight's 7-5 win over The Leafs, a game that most assuredly would have gone into the books as a loss if not for the simple fact that the Bruins were fortunate enough to be facing rookie Toronto goalie Justin Pogge, who got this deer-in-the-headlights look about him every time a puck approached.

Fernandez, who by the way is making more than FOUR TIMES the amount of money that Tim Thomas is this season, has proven himself an expensive liability. Tim Thomas got a lot of flack in the national sports media for allowing that incredibly long game-deciding goal in a 4-3 loss to the Capitals last month, which was unfortunate because Thomas ended up being pigeonholed as an incompetent goaltender who had made an error so egregious that he could never possibly live it down, while Fernandez's frequent inadequacy in the crease was left out of the discussion.

When Jack Edwards exclaims "SAVE BY THOMAS!" it's said with conviction and certainty, as if that's what he was expecting, while when he yells "SAVE BY FERNANDEZ!?" there's more than a hint of surprise contained within the words, as if he was expecting a goal. He's got damn little confidence in the man, and I can't say I blame him.

the one where I protest too much, then engage in spilling caffeine-addled words onto the proverbial page

2009-03-24T18:48:00.007-04:00

Before I say anything else, I must give a tip of the cap to my cohort Keegan over at The Chesterfield King, who has been much more productive of late, so much so that his rediscovered blogging dedication is almost (ALMOST) enough to spur me on to try harder.

Second order of business: the ads that Google selects for my page are all too often laughably unrelated to the content of the page. I suppose that's indicative of my predilection to wander aimlessly from topic to topic on this thing than anything else. This realization has planted the seed of a new, ill-begotten experiment. Let's see if this works: CASH4GOLD CASH4GOLD CASH4GOLD CASH4GOLD
(note: the author is in no way associated with CASH4GOLD; however, he is flirting with the idea of starting a gold for cash business if the apocalypse ever looms large, since we all know that when it's crunch time, people are going to want gold and not flimsy pieces of paper. I defer to my friend Fardeen over at my face has a punch in it for more wisdom on the power of gold.)

Third order of business: the new Decemberists album (that "Mossy and Evil" thing that I started getting excited about last July) was at long last released today. Supposedly it's best appreciated as a song cycle in sequential order, so I'll just have to get the whole thing. Spin gave it a 5/10, but then again Spin called Against Me!'s sell-out-o-riffic 2007 effort New Wave album of the year, so suffice it to say that I take what that publication says with a grain of salt (well, maybe more like a salt-lick's worth of salt).

Unsolicited Career Counseling

2009-03-19T13:33:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I was at work helping a client with her computer, when out of the blue she remarked that I had a future in medicine. "Why is that?" I wondered. Because I'm ever-so-sharply dressed? Because of my flawless use of incomprehensible technical jargon?

"No. Because your handwriting is just awful."

It's cool, malpractice insurance is kind of steep anyways.

Epic Fail and Epic Acting

2009-03-02T12:55:00.003-05:00

So in my infinite feeble-mindedness I managed to forget to bring the power cable for my laptop home for spring break. Unfortunately I didn't realize this until I had drained about 80% of the battery. I don't know anyone else in my town that has a MacBook. Sounds like fodder for something to post on fmylife, eh?

So, I'm typing this up on the ol' Wal-Mart bought POS home computer. Due to my technological limitations, it seems likely that I won't be posting nearly as often as I had wanted to over break. Oh well, such is life. I'm trying to convince myself that doing without the laptop for a week and a half will give needed perspective to my existence. Of course, I don't actually believe that, but keeping myself half-convinced of its truthiness helps to dull the pain (well, that and the tequila).

But enough of my technologically-induced moping. I do have something good to report. Something very good indeed, courtesy of Eric Wilbur over at Boston.com. Let's just say that Dustin Pedroia appears to have been working on his acting chops when he wasn't working out at API, and that the results are hillarious...

Sorry 'bout the hiatus, enjoy the arctic tundra muskus Ovibos moschatus

2009-02-23T17:00:00.004-05:00

I'll be posting starting this weekend, when I finally have some time to burn. Until then, stay warm out there.

Opening Pandora's Box?

2009-02-10T18:24:00.006-05:00

I just found out that there's a way to scrobble plays from Pandora. I've been avoiding Pandora, despite the fact that it sounds like a cool idea, on the basis that I couldn't scrobble plays for last.fm. Then I stumbled upon this page, which has a link to a Firefox/Flock add-on which allows me to do just that. I'm probably getting too excited about this, likely because I'm ridiculously overcaffeinated at the moment thanks to the "Supreme" sized coffee I got from Jazzman's in the middle of my weekly 3-hour seminar on Reagan, but even when I come down from this unrealistically euphoric state, I have the inkling that this is still going to be cool. This could revolutionize my music listening experience. Or it may not--Dana didn't exactly give Pandora a vote of confidence when I talked to her about it. However, Beckie is a fan. I guess I'll just have to, you know, actually use it before I judge it.

UPDATE: IT WORKS--PRETTY WELL.

Bodies of Water Can Be Loud

2009-02-08T13:46:00.003-05:00

Saw The Baltic Sea at The Grind last night, opening for A Place to Bury Strangers. They're from Portland, Maine (not left coast Portland). I came away from the show exceedingly impressed by their ability to harness dynamics on a most epic level. Keegan mentioned that they reminded him of Mineral and SDRE a bit, and I would be inclined to agree.

A Place to Bury Strangers were undeniably loud, but significantly less inspired. They reminded me of Stereophonics playing at the bottom of toxin-ridden swamp.

The Baltic Sea MySpace

It's Saturday

2009-01-31T16:37:00.004-05:00

When I realize it's been 10 days since I last made a post, I go ahead and make another post, if only because it makes me feel better. Plus, with hundreds of pages of reading staring me in the face, there's simply no better time to blog, an activity which I derive no monetary or academic benefit from!

Adam completed mastering all the songs for the EP, you can listen to three of the four songs here. There will be cover art to add to the legitness eventually.

WHOOPS

2009-01-20T19:51:00.007-05:00

If this is true, then it is assuredly a most epic fail:

"According to NESN's Red Sox reporter Heidi Watney, free-agent catcher Jason Varitek said he was not aware that teams would have to surrender a No. 1 draft pick in order to sign him and he takes full responsibility for his decision to turn down salary arbitration from the Red Sox." - Boston Globe

WHAT?! If I were making a decision like this, I think I would do my homework before I turned down a guaranteed $10-11 million to test the open market after a season in which I had been hopelessly overmatched at the plate. Furthermore, I would expect my agent, who I pay good money to get me the big bucks, to fully brief me on what my options were.

So if we are to believe Varitek's story, then apparently he has some major trouble with fiscal responsibility, and Scott Boras is an even bigger douchebag than anyone has ever given him credit for (and Lord knows they've given him credit).

Rainn Wilson Redux

2009-01-18T00:55:00.006-05:00

Several months back I posted a link to an acoustic demo I did called "Rainn Wilson Stopped the Drought." Well, last night my band played at a battle of the bands at Clark, and we just so happened to play a radically reworked version of that very song. My good friend James was nice enough to get it on video:

If you want to look and listen to similar stuff, head on over to our MySpace page.

Apocalyptic!

2009-01-03T11:51:00.015-05:00

For some reason, today seemed like a good day to put together a collection of songs that dealt with (post-)apocalyptic themes. Aren't I just a ray of sunshine?

~~The Thermals - Here's Your Future~~ (From The Body, The Blood, The Machine)
~~Josh Ritter - The Temptation of Adam~~ (From The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter)
~~The Arcade Fire - Keep the Car Running~~ (From Neon Bible)
~~Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - The World is in the Turlet~~

Buy 'em up:
Sub Pop
V2
Merge
Touch and Go

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T17:14:00.005-05:00

I'm not really feeling too inspired today so this one'll be short. Enjoy tonight's excuse to get drunk and unruly, and I hope that your hangover is tolerable tomorrow.

~~The Walkmen - In the New Year~~ (From You & Me)
~~Buck-O-Nine - Irish Drinking Song~~ (From Songs in the Key of Bree)

Buy 'em up:
Gigantic
Taang!

Satanism

2008-12-29T12:31:00.014-05:00

Today's post was inspired by this excellent video, which if you know me I've probably already forced you to watch. For the optimal Satanic experience, if you haven't seen this video before, you should view it before perusing today's selections. Enjoy, and remember to be on guard for wickedness at all times.

~~The Mountain Goats - The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton~~ (From All Hail West Texas)
~~The Mountain Goats - Satanic Messiah~~ (From Satanic Messiah EP)
Funion - The Night the Devil Took Rathgar by Storm (From Wombat in the Reading Room, Badger in the Stove)
~~Colin Meloy - Devil's Elbow~~ (From Colin Meloy Sings Live!)
~~Neil Young - Devil's Sidewalk~~ (From Greendale)
~~Black Sabbath - N.I.B.~~ (From Black Sabbath)

Buy 'em up:
Emperor Jones
Satanic Messiah Website
Funion Myspace
Kill Rock Stars
Warner Bros.

The War of Northern Aggression, Part 4

2008-12-28T15:08:00.014-05:00

For want of any better concepts at this time, I am posting yet another installment...

~~Dolorean - Violence in the Snowy Fields~~ (From Violence in the Snowy Fields)
Blood shows up pretty well on snow.

~~The Fainting Fansies - Volunteer Army~~ (From The Red Shed)
At the start of the war, the Northern Army was comprised largely of volunteers--by the middle of the war the North was increasingly reliant on conscription.

~~The Go! Team - We Just Won't Be Defeated~~ (From Thunder, Lightning, Strike)
The Go! Team--kindred spirits with Panic! At the Disco, if only because of their love of the exclamation point mid-name. I guess this could be the North's fight song?

~~Willy Mason - Fear No Pain~~ (From Where the Humans Eat)
Religious conviction helped men on both sides go into battle with less apprehension of death, and this song kind of sums that up.

~~The Avett Brothers - Die Die Die~~
The title says it all, I think. Plus, the Avett Brothers are from North Carolina.

~~Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Army Bound (Demo)~~
I like this version better than the one that appeared on Living With the Living, but that might just be me. Either way, it's good.

Buy 'em up:
Yep Roc
The Fainting Fansies Myspace
Columbia
Virgin
Ramseur Records
Touch and Go

The Halls are Decked, the Boughs are Hollied

2008-12-24T20:30:00.030-05:00

I have a hard time believing that it's Christmas tomorrow, it certainly doesn't feel like it to me...and yet, I am surrounded by abundant reminders that it is indeed that time of the year once again. Thus, I will supply you a non-militaristic installment of music for the blog. I do have to say to my Jewish friends that I would have liked to put up a Hanukkah-themed post as well, but unfortunately I lack a sufficient number of relevant selections. Perhaps one day when my music collection has grown more voluminous I'll make up for this transgression.

So, here are some tunes. A merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, fun-filled Festivus, and joyous Kwanzaa to all, and to all a good night.

~~Casiotone For the Painfully Alone - Cold White Christmas~~ (From Etiquette)
It's a downer, but it's awesome.

~~Neutral Milk Hotel - Two-Headed Boy~~ (From In the Aeroplane Over the Sea)
It's a downer, and not really relevant until the very end, but still awesome.

~~"Weird Al" Yankovic - The Night Santa Went Crazy~~ (From Greatest Hits, Vol. 2)
It's no "Amish Paradise," but when I was ten, the images of bloodshed, destruction, and venison this song evoked seemed pretty cool.

~~Sufjan Stevens - Sister Winter~~ (From Peace: Vol. 5)
A song that slowly builds to an apex of holiday epicness, as only Sufjan can do it.

~~Zooey Deschanel & Leon Redbone - Baby, It's Cold Outside~~ (From Elf: Music From The Major Motion Picture)
Elf is a mehhh film, but Zooey Deschanel has a very nice voice.

~~Modest Mouse - Jesus Christ Was an Only Child~~ (From The Lonesome Crowded West)
Isaac Brock, putting the Christ back in Christmas!

~~Everclear - Santa Monica~~ (From Sparkle and Fade)
Ok, this is a stretch. But a clever pun, no?

Buy 'em up:
Tomlab
Merge
Amazon.com (Because Scotti Bros. went belly-up years ago)
Asthmatic Kitty
Up Records
Capitol

The War of Northern Aggression, Part 3

2008-12-22T14:50:00.016-05:00

My classes on the South and on the Civil War may be over, but the inventory of songs that I have amassed which are vaguely related to them is not. So, I have returned with yet another installment of the epic series on the Civil War, where I make far-fetched connections between songs and the great conflict which pitted brother against brother.

I decided that considering the month in which we presently find ourselves, today was as good as any for a Decemberists double-shot.

~~The Decemberists - The Soldiering Life~~ (From Her Majesty)

Being a soldier in the Civil War was not exactly a fun time. Rations were often meager, disease ran rampant, and if you were seriously injured, there was no anesthesia for when they lopped off your limbs. However, the spirit of camaraderie exhibited in this song often rang true.

And you
My brother in arms
I'd rather I'd lose my legs
Than let you come to harm

Personally, if I were a soldier in the Civil War I'd much prefer to keep my legs, but I'm a selfish bastard so take that with a grain of salt. Or a bite of saltpork.

~~The Decemberists - 16 Military Wives~~ (From Picaresque)

I already went on a rant about military wives in my last post in this series, so I suppose I stole this post's thunder in that regard. It doesn't matter though, because this is an excellent song. Plus, Colin Meloy's math skills never cease to amaze.

Buy 'em up:
Kill Rock Stars

Done?

2008-12-18T08:21:00.009-05:00

It's 8:30 in the morning and I just recently completed an epic all-nighter writing a final paper on The Boondock Saints which directly followed a rigorous final exam yesterday afternoon. But considering I pounded a NOS and a Rock Star overnight, I'm not going to sleep right away. I'd just assume stay up all day as if I slept last night, excepting the fact that it's pretty difficult to keep my eyes focused.

So...all this pertains to the blog in that now I'll actually have ample opportunities to update it over the next couple of weeks. Should be a good time.

There's more music coming, I swear

2008-12-10T22:04:00.004-05:00

I'm presently tied up with end-of-the-semester academic stuff. But in about a week the semester will be over and I'll be posting much more regularly over holiday break, in large part because I will probably not have anything better to do. I'm leaning towards making this more of a straightforward mp3 blog, but we shall see. In the meantime, check out these links:

Kid Omega (blog of my main musical focus)

Funion (Myspace page of my side project)

The War of Northern Aggression, Part 2

2008-12-02T20:39:00.012-05:00

The pangs of guilt I feel for having not updated my blog have led me away from my studies (which ironically enough at the moment consists of reading a book called The Confederate War) to bring you, loyal reader, a second installment of the ongoing series of songs with a fratricidal flourish...so with no further gilding the lily and absolutely no adieu whatsoever I give you some additional selections.

~~The Band - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down~~ (From The Band)

There is no stretch to be made while explaining this song's relevance to the topic put forth--it's just a straight-up tale of the Civil War from a Confederate perspective.

~~Josh Ritter - Girl in the War~~ (From The Animal Years)

It is worth noting that women disguised as men saw combat for both the Union and Confederacy during the war. Women's contributions on the home front also should not be overlooked. Even if they were simply whining in letters to their husbands, whilst their husbands were dodging bullets and living on hardtack and saltpork, they served to persuade their men to reenlist so as not to have to deal with their incessant jabbering on about nothing. How's that for an impact?

Buy 'em up:
Capitol
V2

The War of Northern Aggression, Part 1

2008-11-12T00:23:00.005-05:00

This semester (being an American History major) I'm taking a class on the Civil War, referred to by many of our Southern brethren as "The War of Northern Aggression." My roommate has repeatedly asked that I one day in class refer to the war in said Southern manner, as of yet I have failed to follow through on this request, tempting as it may be.

So on a somewhat related note, last week I woke up in the middle of the night with an idea to compile all the songs I have that can be connected to The War of Northern Aggression and compile them into a playlist. More recently, I thought "why not post some selections from this amalgam of songs on my blog and thus flirt with making this something like a proper mp3 blog?"

Since I went down to New York last weekend to see The Mountain Goats play (which, by the way, was friggin sweet), I thought it would be fitting to start with some relevant selections from John Darnielle's vast catalogue. Doubtless there will be further installments in this series of songs. Hope you enjoy this fusion of awesome tunes and American History.

~~The Mountain Goats - Jeff Davis County Blues~~ (From All Hail West Texas)

Jefferson Davis was, of course, the President of The Confederate States of America. Apparently, they also named a county in Texas after him.

~~The Mountain Goats - Going to Georgia~~ (From Zopilote Machine)

Who could forget Union general William Tecumseh Sherman's (who by the way, was one mean, angry, ragged dude) March Through Georgia in 1864, burning Atlanta, not to mention laying waste to whatever is 40 miles from Atlanta.

Buy 'em up:
Emperor Jones
3 Beads of Sweat

So I'm not moving to Canada...

2008-11-05T21:37:00.001-05:00

Part of me still isn't sure whether last night really happened or if I'm the victim of some massive cosmic joke, but thank God Obama won. After the past eight years of lies and incompetence, Obama could pull a Jimmy Carter over the next four and still be a marked improvement.

Because I will do almost anything to avoid attending to my studies...

2008-10-29T01:03:00.002-04:00

So it's already been a couple weeks since my last post, which doesn't seem at all possible, and yet it is. This evening it started snowing, which drove home the point for me that before I know it the semester will be over. Being busy does tend to make the weeks pass pretty regularly I guess. A lot of note has happened in the gap between entries, and although perhaps it would be wiser for me to spread the content of this post out over multiple ones for the sake of updating more frequently, the temptation to say everything at once is simply too great. So:

- Kid Omega (my band) played a show at the VFW in Walpole, MA last Friday. There were some pretty awesome people there and it was a fun time for sure to get out of Worcester for a little bit. It was a great experience and hopefully we can get some more shows soon...which leads me to my next entry...

- When attempting to book shows, it is advantageous for one to have several songs put to tape of halfway-decent quality. So, for this and other reasons, this upcoming weekend we intend to do some recording that takes place outside of the confines of our room. You know, with electrically powered instruments and stuff. Pretty exciting, I know. And once we have some new recordings, we can post them on Myspace, last.fm, etc. too for y'all who care to listen. Looking forward to it.

- I can't wait for the election to be over and done with, so long as it turns out the way I'm hoping it to. If not, I'm liable to pack up my things and move to Canada. I hear that Ottawa's the London to Montreal's Paris...

The Greatest Game of All of Time

2008-09-10T00:19:00.001-04:00

Though you wouldn't know it by my previous post, I'm not one for shameless plugs. However, once again I cannot help myself--for you see, in recent weeks I have been all-consumed by a computer game that I have come to recognize (and I most assuredly will end up taking some flak for this) as the greatest that I have ever had the pleasure of playing.

The game is Pinch Hitter 2. I have not played the original, but I'm sure it was also ballin'.

It can be found here. I have been a Tetris lover ever since my Windows 3.1 machine came preloaded with it way back in '93, but other than the likelihood that I will probably develop carpel tunnel playing Pinch Hitter, it is very much in the same league as Tetris.

Not that this game is without fault (some hits are inexplicably turned into outs), but it sure is a great way to waste your precious days.

Odds and Ends

2008-08-26T20:18:00.002-04:00

I know I've been terrible at updating this blog regularly but I find myself generally busy of late and typically devoid of much inspiration. I just moved into my new accommodations for the year and they are a definite upgrade. At long last my band has found housing under one roof. Let the creative juices flow 24/7! "What band?" you may ask. This band:

Kid Omega: The Myspace
Kid Omega: The Last.fm Page
Kid Omega: The Blog

That was some shameless self promotion, no? Hey, I've got to put something here. Plus, I'm really psyched about this year music-wise. Check out our pages if you want.

Moving Pictures

2008-08-10T20:57:00.001-04:00

Due to the nature of my summer work, as well as the terrible weather of late in these parts, I've been watching an awful lot of movies recently. So, for anyone who happens upon this blog, here are quick reviews of some of these films (and no, I haven't yet seen The Dark Knight, though I should at long last be seeing it tomorrow).

The Onion Movie

This film lacks any real plot, but that's okay. For anyone who has been on The Onion website and checked out their fake news programs, essentially this film is an hour and twenty minutes of these fake news reports served back-to-back-to-back. There are some good laughs here, but also a fair share of misses. The inclusion of Broken Lizard's Erik Stolhanske (most easily recognizable as Rabbit from Super Troopers) doesn't really do anything to buoy the film. I came into this film with high expectations, but wound up feeling a bit let down in the end. 6/10

The Darjeeling Limited

This is a delightfully weird film. Watching three brothers dealing with many issues--both individual and collective--trying to coexist on a trip halfway around the world is highly entertaining. This film isn't exactly an upper, yet I came out of it in an inordinately good mood, probably because it helped reaffirm the fact that my life could definitely be more of a mess. It's basically the Royal Tenenbaums with less depressing scenery. 8/10

License to Wed

I knew that this was going to be bad, but I watched it against my better judgment anyway, more out of morbid curiosity than anything else, with the irrational hopes that it would not sour my taste for the medium of moving pictures forever. I made it through twenty minutes of this dribble before I could take no more and had to stop. All I have to say is: the inclusion of demonic robotic faux-infants are a recipe for disaster (and casting Wanda Sykes is an automatic strike against a film in my book). Why John Krasinski, why? 1/10

At long last, a song

2008-07-30T22:20:00.003-04:00

When I started this blog a month ago, I promised I would be posting some original songs/recordings. The day has finally come for me to follow through on that promise.

The song isn't really about Rainn Wilson or his character Dwight Schrute for that matter. I just liked how the phrase sounded (anyone who has known me for a reasonable length of time has quickly come to the realization that 99.9 percent of my thought processes consist of random word association and punnery, and this title is certainly no exception).

Hope you enjoy.

Rainn Wilson Stopped the Drought

July, July!

2008-07-30T12:36:00.001-04:00

Apparently the Decemberists are in the midst of recording their next LP. I can't wait.

Hunter Thompson and '72 versus '08

2008-07-22T15:35:00.002-04:00

I returned from my trip to Canada a few days ago. While I was up there, I had a chance to read Hunter Thompson's Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72. Most people associate Thompson with his magnum opus Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and not so surprisingly his epic drug habits.

On the Campaign Trail is not simply a quasi-factual run down of drug-crazed exploits (although that is certainly an entertaining element of the book). In fact, the book provides some very insightful political analysis, made all the more impressive by the fact that Thompson had not covered politics at length prior to the '72 presidential campaign.

One thing that I found interesting about the book was the parallels that can be drawn between the '72 campaign and this year's contest. George McGovern is Barack Obama: the anti-war Democrat from the far left of the party who begins the primary season as an underdog but who is vaulted to forefront by an impressive grassroots movement, and ultimately secures the nomination. Richard Nixon is John McCain: the Republican who stubbornly does not see the quick withdrawal of U.S. troops from a failed and wasteful conflict (Vietnam is Iraq) as a priority. The two contests are not completely identical--Nixon was an incumbent, and a bit more conservative than McCain--but the parallels between the campaigns are important to note.

Democrats should hope that this year's election is not a carbon copy of 1972, because McGovern was beaten by Nixon, and beaten badly. He ran into trouble by alienating many of his original supporters in the mad dash to the middle, backsliding on previous statements while pandering to conservative Democrats and Republicans, and making a disastrous choice of running mate (who turned out to have some severe mental illnesses). Obama should be very careful, then, in his own move to the center as he attempts to gain the support of independents and Republicans. Friends of mine have already expressed displeasure with his recent pledged support of faith-based organizations. I would argue that government investment in preexisting organizations, be they faith-based or not, will help fight poverty (thank you John Edwards) more effectively and cheaply than creating all-new, separate institutions. This of course then unravels into a whole separation of church and state question, which I'm not going to go into detail about here.

If poverty in this country can be fought more effectively through government support of faith-based organizations, then shouldn't we focus on the ends and not get caught up on the means?

Hiatus

2008-07-11T20:40:00.001-04:00

Since I will be in the great northern wilderness for the next week, where there is no such thing as the interweb, I will not be updating the blog during this time. I'll try to be more diligent at doing so upon my return--and hopefully I'll be able to get some audio up in the next few weeks.

What's the song?

2008-07-01T14:04:00.002-04:00

My summer job affords me a lot of free time, which should explain the following offering. The poorly-drawn sketches below offer some lyrical clues. Can you name the song?

Pilot

2008-06-30T18:51:00.001-04:00

Welcome to my foray into the world of blogging. Expect a hodgepodge of photos, drawings, music (recordings and reviews), and random anecdotes to appear here sporadically in the weeks and months ahead.

PS: The page layout may be subject to dramatic shifts in appearance for a while--at least until I find a format I like.

PPS: The banner at the top was created using Acorn, a simple (and most importantly, free) image editing program for Mac. You can get it here.