yoontunes

headphones go sssshhhwiiicccctttttzzzzzzz

noreply@blogger.com (Roodavegas) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:10:00 +0000

Pure exuberance. That's what powers this song by midwestern fuzz rockers Times New Viking. Besides having a great name (a friend of mine has sworn a vendetta against the most that most default of fonts), these guys strive to make the most raucous, enthusiastic music they can, and I applaud them for it. Hell, I jump and down all over my apartment for it.

This is what fun sounds like to molecules in a gaseous state.

(Note: supposedly they run their songs through a VCR to get the track to sound like that. Eat your heart out, Jack White)

Times New Viking "Call and Repsonse"

DAFT PUNK, HALLOWEEN

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:52:00 +0000

Daft Punk - Around The World

Classical, Classic

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:56:00 +0000

Feeling slightly burnt out on the music on my mp3 player (Although kind of liking 'girl with the gun'), I've reverted back to a classical music phase. Goodbye Arctic Monkeys, hello Itzhak Perlman!

Classical music isn't just study music and Vivaldi's greatest hits, it doesn't have to be academic or snobbish, it is relevant to the music we listen to now. One of my favorite gripes from the old people is that all the musical talent that went into Mozart and Beethoven is lost in this generation. Let's pause on this statement for a sec:

Excuse 1: the industry doesn't allow modern musicians to take their time in crafting masterpieces, they want it churned out

Many composers (Tchaikovsky) were notorious for taking a long time in composing, but many were extremely prolific. Look at Mozart was able to accomplish, Bach's volumes and volumes of composition. They may not have the profit-driven studio pushing them, and it may very well inhibit some, but great music can come from tight places. Further, many composers were under intense pressure to produce and quickly. Supported by patrons/royalty/the soviet union, they were pushed in tremendous ways stronger than any market force.

Excuse 2: the modern listener doesn't have the patience to listen to a symphony or any other song longer than 5 minutes

This one has some validity, most listeners (myself included) get antsy really fast, which I think is the major reason why classical music struggles today. As music players have become more mobile, people use music as ambient/soundtrack music to their daily activities and cannot give it enough attention and concentration to appreciate complex music ideas. That's valid.

What drives me crazy is the assumption that classical music is for the refined and educated, that you need to be indoctrinated into the culture to appreciate classical music. Classical music is just like any other music, it is intuitively understood and appreciated. Classical musicians aren't particularly refined animals, why must the listeners be?

My friend from work brings up the movie 'Pretty Woman' where Richard Gere takes the hooker (Julia Roberts) to the opera, and says something like "with opera you either get it or you don't" and of course the hooker loves opera and is moved be the arias to tears. A streetwhore likes refined music! She's actually classy inside!

Really?

Music doesn't need training to appreciate. Isn't that part of why music is so great? That it can be understood by anyone, that it doesn't matter what your perspective is, it can beautiful in its own context, without any personal coloring. That people with nothing in common can hear the same thing and say, that was amazing.

.........monster mashed potato!

I did not expect this

noreply@blogger.com (Roodavegas) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:51:00 +0000

Here is a list of things I do not expect from a Dodos show:

1) wanton destruction
2) people getting punched in the face
3) calling myself “a Dodos fan” afterwards

Oh, young one, how wrong you are.

Five seconds into the set, it's pretty clear that “Visitor” whoever produced that album fucking robbed America. The record, as I now go back over it, sounds downright neutered compared to the set they played Wednesday night at the Bowery Ballroom- the energy is there, but it feels repressed, cleaned, organized, whereas the band onstage actually wants you to go mad, then deaf, then to sleep so they wake you back up to start all over. Take a catchy, high energy song like “Eyelids:” Sometimes this song gets played in my apartment before I have my coffee (as opposed to say, Lightning Bolt's “Ride the Skies.”) When I heard it live, however, I suspect the song might have actually beaten me up. The musicians pushed all of the songs that hard. To sum up: the entire set was like learning that the Peace Corps actually carries out commando missions.

Sometimes Meric Long swats at the guitar like an escapee from a blues asylum; sometimes he's frenetically finger-picking his way through a minefield. Logan Keuber's Temple-of-Doom drumming, meanwhile, summons the spirits of head bangers past. The vulnerable sweetness of their softer songs balances this wildness (at several points through the night Long starts bowing percussionist Keaton Snyder's xylophone/vibraphone/buncha metal bars, using ample sequencing to create layered, throbbing NOISE that is simultaneously beautiful and anxious*). Even in these moments there exists an underlying threat that ether you or the song you are listening to is about to explode.

It all climaxes when the Dodos wrapped up their main set with a borderline apocalyptic version of “Jody,” with Long overlaying his yelps, whoops, and banshee wails as if he were a one-man wolfpack- when he sings “you could be my end,” he's prophesizing for all of us, this is OUR COLLECTIVE end, and he sends us off under the guise of a farewell to some girl that comes off as an apology at the end of the goddamn world.
After a full hour of treatment like this, the audience simply wouldn't let the band get off the stage. Still, it's just not enough for the crowd. At the end of the second (yes, second) encore, a berserk Kreuber punches through two drum heads, if only so he can get some sleep. He's right to be exhausted- he just rocked the shit out of this place.

*American composer John Adams also accomplishes this weird state in his music- I'm gonna take a break and spend an hour listening to Shaker Loops.

Best of the Worst

noreply@blogger.com (Roodavegas) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:55:00 +0000

Imagine an alternate reality where the 80s and 90s- hip hop, grunge, punk, whatever the talking heads were- never happened. Imagine a place where arena rock never died, and bands like Boston and Yes went on making platinum albums until they, too, died glorious rock 'n roll deaths (plane/motorcycle crash, OD in fancy hotel, etc.)
Now, imagine yourself in Cleveland.

This nightmare-come-to-life is the Rock 'n roll Hall of Fame, founded by industry magnates as a great way to squeeze baby boomers out of a few more bucks. Granted, the museum part isn't bad at all, wallowing in the idolatry that makes rock 'n roll idols great – yea, here be the leather fringe vest worn by Jimi himself, but lo, do not attempt to touch the hem of his garment, for it is alarmed. Some of that stuff should be in a museum, being as it is our national goddamn heritage. Yeah, we invented rock 'n roll, and maybe Alan Freed was fudging a little when he claimed authorship of the word itself but rock 'n roll is about freedom, about hardship, and about authen-fucking-ticity, not a bunch of millionares' names laser-etched into a glass wall.
Every year five to seven more groups or individuals, culled from a list of twelve nominees, get added to that bizarrely solemn place. The induction process seems a little akin to voting for your student council members – 500 “rock experts” complete ballots. Actually, now that I think about it, it's probably the same people responsible for the Grammys.

Anyway, here's my unsolicited bracket for this year:

ROUND 1

Darlene Love

vs. the Chantels

Maybe the Chantels paved the way for the girl groups like the Crystals (who Love once masqueraded as when the group got on Phil Spector's bad side), and a little wall-of-sound probably would have helped the Chantels had they recorded in the right decade, but Love's work lasts where the Chantels sound like a timid rough draft.
Take the Chantels' “Maybe”

against Darlene Love's “Stumble and Fall."

Both songs deal with heartbreak, but with very different approaches – Love's hurt but pissed, moving on as best she can, belting out her troubles as if exorcising them. Meanwhile, the Chantels beg and scrape, trying to think of ways to convince the boy to come back.
I hate girls like that.
My pick: Darlene Love'

The stooges

vs. the red hot chili peppers

The same year as the massive hippie love-in at Woodstock, a couple of skinny fuckers from Michigan smeared themselves with blood and screeched “NOW I wanna be your dog,” a song rattling with confusion, anger, and sexuality, rejecting flower power in favor of Altamont or the Mansons. RHCP's “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” keeps them in the game on this one; “How Long” eliminates them.
My pick: The Stooges

Jimmy Cliff

vs. LL Cool J

Maybe I'm copping out here, because I can only judge Jimmy Cliff by “The Harder they come.” Ladies love cool James and so do I.
LL COOL J

Genesis

vs. Kiss

By category:
Costumes: Genesis
Ok, ok, I know a lot of people would be surprised that I'm not automatically going with the Klingon warrior duds sported by our face-painted friends. But really, besides the face paint and fake identity thing (revealing identities after achieving superstardom? THAT is good marketing), the whole boots & spandex thing is basically the next logical step from the New York Dolls' getup. Which is fine- KISS borrowed from the Dolls in lots of ways (including musically). And while KISS stuck to those four characters pretty well, but Peter Gabriel created entirely new personas for each album. Variety and creativity win out here.
Solo projects: Genesis
KISS did release four solo albums once, a poor move by these usually savvy music mongers. Genesis spawned Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel, who are... fine.
Band most able to be marketable as pinball machine: KISS
It's amazing how these guys have plastered KISS over everything from lighters to coffins. It means that either KISS believes their work fantastic enough to turn mere fans into frenetic consumers- or twice a day Gene Simmons slaps a KISS decal on something, nudges Paul Stanley, and the two of them share a knowing smile since some jackass is actually going to buy this shit. That, and the publicity from actually have a KISS coffin probably pays for itself.
Longevity: KISS
Genesis lasted what, like seven years? KISS are still touring, still working. That counts for something.
Artsy Fartsyness: Genesis
These two groups pushed the envelope in very different ways. Genesis tried really, really hard to create art, a story around every album, and all that stuff. KISS just wanted to become to biggest goddamn rock stars they could.
Rock out/cock out-edness: KISS
If “Rock 'n roll all night” pretty much tops this one. Crack open your buds, people, because if you are listening to KISS and drinking some microbrewed crap then you need to do some serious self-reassessment.

Four and four?

Tongue Length Tiebreaker: KISS

ABBA

vs. Donna Summer

Songs I can name by ABBA: 3
Songs I can name by Donna Summer: 0
My pick: ABBA

The Hollies

vs. Laura Nyro

A) Somebody already carved GRAHAM NASH onto that wall
B) He and David Crosby peaked with CSNY before embarking on entirely uninteresting solo careers
C) Fuck Graham Nash
Laura Nyro

ROUND 2
Darlene Love vs. ABBA
In her second life as an actress, Love landed a role as Mrs. Murtagh in Lethal Weapon, an achievement which can be filed under “badass,” but ABBA reached the point of superstardom saturation where they can just go ahead and make their own movie. That said, it's easy to argue that ABBA were a bigger force commercially than Love ever was, to point out that their success means they influenced later artists far more than the Love, or even posit that their smooth production and glitz personified a subculture bent on looking good while doing drugs. You could say all these things.

But I'm writing this goddamn blog. Me. Not you.

Darlene Love

KISS vs. the stooges
Part of the way KISS adhered itself to the very being of America meant playing it safe, attempting to appeal to as many people as possible while still rocking really, really hard. The Stooges, arguably, went the other way (see: blood smearing).

We award medals for bravery in this country.
The Stooges

Laura Nyro vs. llcoolj
I don't even want to research this head to head matchup I am so uninterested in it.
DISQUALIFIED

ROUND 3
Darlene Love vs. the Stooges
I hate it when mommy and daddy fight. There's no reason why these artists should be made to compete with each other. Both created powerful, lasting contributions to rock 'n roll. Both should be appreciated, not housed in some glass case for chubby midwesterners to peek at. Great music/art/whatever like this lasts, which is why people are still listening to Muddy Waters, Hank Williams, and Johann Sebastian Bach. When artists are granted honors merely as a way to try and boost their record sales twenty years after their careers fizzled out, it cheapens the award for those people who also deserve recognition for the few moments, years, or minutes in which they created something lastingly beautiful. Arbitrarily elevating one artist over another merely expresses one's personal opinion, a perfectly reasonable, though pointless, exercise if you didn't have anything else to do tonight (also read a book!).

But inducting Metallica into a musical hall of fame while rejecting the Stooges year after year? That's not only bad taste, it's rude

Someone I know needs to chill out about the mumlers

noreply@blogger.com (Roodavegas) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:42:00 +0000

Listen: judging from Thickets & stitches alone, the mumlers are a decent band. To not acknowledge the great command of the keys demonstrated on "Shake your Medication" or the bright horn solos across this record would be foolish, nay, rude even.

But they're not great, at least, not yet . No matter how much you alliterate.

Strip this album down, centrifuge it into basic sediments, and you'll be left with a rather generic "indie" folk album. They do a good job of whitewashing soul, R&B (by which i mean otis redding et al, not usher) and roots music into something that goes well with your skinny jeans. Maybe it's that very versatility, or attempt thereat (which is a word?), that prevents them from being great [a speculative statement that shouldn't be taken seriously].

Let me be clear: there is absolutely nothing wrong with this album. It's just not a standout work.

Mumlers mumble musical magic

noreply@blogger.com (yoontunes) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:15:00 +0000

For all the unique sounds they make, the Mumlers adhere to some of the most basic indie band rules.

Band name that references an obscure historical figure? Check (William H. Mumler, famous for his claim to photograph ghosts, hey GHOST magazine!)

Use of horns and tambourine? Check

Signed by a hipster label? Galaxia (who rep Black Heart Procession and Her Space Honeywell)

Too indie to have their own wikipedia page? Check

What makes the Mumlers worth listening to over all others is their confidence that listeners will like old style blues and doo wop over electronic mixing. The band uses antique horns but doesn't play period music, it's definitely part of the modern indie genre, just a little old timey.

Best fake bands on TV and Film

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:16:00 +0000

From Film:

5. 'diamonds in the rough' from saving silverman

4. electric mayhem from muppets

3. Kathleen Turner Overdrive / Sonic Death Monkey / Barry Jive and the Uptown Five, High Fidelity

2. stillwater from almost famous

1. spinal tap

Bonus: Folksmen from Mighty Wind

From TV:

5. Jazz Times Ten from snl

4. dudez a plenti from Conan

3. Dr. Fünke's 100% Natural Good Time Family Based Solution from arrested development

2. Timmy! and the Lords of the Underworld from South park

1. mystik spiral from daria

Bonus: Harmonahaulics from King of the Kill

Notes on the AnnaK mix Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:14:00 +0000

Stiva and Levin dine
The Akara (Beirut, March of the Zapotec EP)

(turn down the volume, this song's loud!)

I wanted to start the mix with some kind of percussion or horn entrance, an operatic method to starting the overture with drumroll or horns, calling the audience to attention. Beirut had a weak sophomore album to their stunning debut, and it’s evident that frontman Zach Condon is still figuring things out. His latest tracks made me nervous over all the electronica, but Beirut is still making old world songs like before, like the Akara. Tolstoy’s novel opens with Stiva’s adultery in almost comic terms, Dolly is in hysterics, the house staff are in looking for ways out, and Stiva wakes naturally in a good mood until he remembers what has happened. These bookend the story, with Stiva’s adultery beginning as comedy and Anna’s adultery ending as dramatic, violent tragedy. Where Stiva’s misconduct is a hitch that is handled like a commonplace problem, Anna’s adultery physically and emotionally implies horrible outcomes. Beirut’s Akara is basically a mourning song with a quick beat, Condon wails:

And so long, mistress sings,
So long, I can’t wait
To my love, wait one more

So long, mistress sings,
So long, my fate has changed
It’s been deranged

So long to these kite strings
So long, I’ve been saved before
I’m saved once more

I call upon my daring
I call upon, I can’t taste anymore
I can’t waste anymore

What could be more appropriate for the fates of Anna and Karenin and Vronsky? The lines, “my fate has been changed, it’s been deranged” perfectly describe the impulsive choices and weaknesses of AK’s main characters. The Akara is a good way to start and describes the main lines of the story, I think it perfectly suited this mix.

Kitty to Levin: “It can not be”
The Void (Papercuts)

The Papercuts have been around longer than you’d think, they’ve collaborated with Casiotone and Vetiver. Kitty’s rejection is one of the most memorable lines for me, the apprehension Levin feels while approaching Kitty and then the uncomfortable rejection conversation that neither wants to be in. Kitty immediately begs Levin "please forgive me," she is not trying to hurt Levin, there's no cruelty in this rejection but that makes it more confusing and painful for Levin, to the point that he compulsively avoids thinking of her. The shock of rejection, the gauzy feeling of Papercut’s organ and the quickening beat like the panic when you know that something bad is about to happen, and you’re leaving with hazy details playing over and over. How could I have not seen this coming? Both in the novel and in the song.

Count Vronsky’s entrance to the ball, Kitty is taken.
Nothing to worry about (Peter Bjorn and John)

This is the upper limit on how badass indie rock can be, entrance with a chorus of children singing “I’ve got nothing to worry about” into feedback. Isn’t that Vronsky? Tolstoy makes comments that Vronsky is not exactly a handsome man, balding and not as fit as he once was (if I remember correctly) but Vronsky has swagger and enters the ball to great effect on Kitty and Anna. Campy, charming, badass- it could describe Vronsky or this song.

2009 Best Music Begins, not with top10s

noreply@blogger.com (yoontunes) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 04:32:00 +0000

What's that you say? Lame and campy? Bastardization of the perfect novel? I don't care, I do what I want.

As 2009 winds down, we will be inundated with top 10s. I like them, top10s, it's a list usually thoughtfully sorted and pared down, and you get equal parts satisfaction from agreeing with that person's taste and belittling their egregious omissions. Rather than start with my own top10s (top ten indie prog folk albums, top ten rock revival group albums, top ten albums that should be burned), I'm rolling out the mixes. My favorite mixes have some kind of theme, some kind of restriction so that it's not open to any song that sounds good. Mixes that follow a story, or mixes that have a specific purpose. Making a good mix can be about the goal or about the process or just for the hell of it. I'm burnt out on goals and not achieving them, this mix is just for the hell of it.

A mix doesn't have the self-critical baggage of a review or list, it is an opportunity to talk about interesting songs that might not be perfect songs, but songs that have their own charm and purpose. Regardless, I love a good mix and if you don't, you probably hate music too.

Anna Karenina, music from 2009

(turn down the volume, some of these tracks are a little loud, all songs in one continuous playlist at the bottom)

His house in disorder, Stiva dines with Levin
The Akara (Beirut)

Kitty to Levin: “It can not be”
The Void (Papercuts)

Count Vronsky’s entrance to the ball, Kitty is taken.
Nothing to worry about (Peter Bjorn and John)

Vronsky’s enchantment with Anna
Prison Girls (Neko Case)

Levin retreats to the country, harvests
Back home (Centenaire)

Carriages carrying Levin and Kitty pass each other in darkness
Don’t throw me away (Mumlers)

Anna resists Vronsky: "'Do this for me: never say such words to me, and let us be good friends.' These were her words, but her eyes said something different"
Compulsion (Doves)

Vronsky walks to the stables, mounts the racehorse Frou-Frou for the steeplechase
So ambitious (Jay-Z)

Karenin knows: “…she said slowly, looking despairingly into his cold face. ‘You were not mistaken. I was, and cannot help being, in despair. I listen to you but I am thinking of him. I love him, I am his mistress, I cannot endure you. I am afraid of you, and I hate you. Do what you like to me.’”
She handed me a mirror (Elvis Costello)

Levin’s proposal with letters, Kitty’s answer in chalk
Northern Lights (Bowerbirds)

Pious Kitty from the spas
First days of spring (Noah and the Whale)

Karenin to Anna: “Respect was invented to cover the empty place where love should be.”
When you finish me (Black Heart Procession)

Anna’s malaise, morphine haze, and bewitching Levin because she can
Revenge (Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse)

“What am I doing? God forgive me everything!”
I live with you (Grizzly Bear)

Coda
Dreamer (Tiny Vipers)

All together in continuous playlist:

I wrote up commentary on how I made this mix:

Notes, Part 1

source material

Ain't you a bit old to go platinum, Jay-Z?

noreply@blogger.com (Roodavegas) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:39:00 +0000

Stop it! i shouldn't be so popular

Looking back over the history of music, it's hard to find an artist that hit forty and stayed fresh.* The Rolling Stones? saggy. Aerosmith? wrinkly. Dylan did it, but most would agree that he isn't human, just concentrated music in human form. Pearl Jam's still releasing stuff, and it's on sale at TARGET! (go buy it at TARGET.) The Boss, U2, everybody's seems to just phone it in once they hit thirty-five. And the only example i can think of where artists continued releasing albums- nay, anything at all, are in rock. Look at what's felled the hip-hop icons who've lasted:

Puffy (businessman)
the Rev Run (family/reality TV)
Ice Cube (Law, Order, and black metal)

Look at the many, the fallen, the boring. It's a real accomplishment to have had such reach for a significant amount of time (and no publicity breakups/deaths!) And this album is about the best kind of survival: coming out ahead of all y'all muthafuckas.

go get it.

*outside of classical. but a lot of those baroque fuckers didn't make to middle age. genius 0, syphilis 4

no words needed

noreply@blogger.com (yoontunes) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:23:00 +0000

Pavement's back. Maybe, in 2010.

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2009/09/the_pavement_re.html

Beatles // Remastered Albums

noreply@blogger.com (yoontunes) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 02:02:00 +0000

So the Beatles albums have been remastered, into mono and stereo, and released along with a Rock Band franchised video game. All this is possible because the children of the Beatles and their producers wanted this to happen. Preservation of their parent's legacy before the masters degrade? Making it relevant to a new generation? Shameless ploy for an extra buck? Hard to say, but it does feel kind of sleazy that the Beatles would be reduced to stiff animated renderings that kids would watch and press plastic buttons on $250 toys. Not that I look down on Rock Band, pretty fun stuff, but it's unsettling to see beloved songs, with their subtleties and sung with heartfelt meaning, being reduced to button mashing and karaoke. It's the Beatles, not Third Eye Blind.

FYI:
masters- the original, recorded in analog
the beatles remaster- transferring the original recording to digital signal, this time with edits to remove pops and hiss, and control of treble and bass levels

caveat 1:
remastering anything (from film with the godfather trilogy to the 50 versions of blade runner, in music the annual miles davis re-releases) doesnt have measurements or standards, so "remastered" can be simply pressing record or it can be a meticulous and detailed rebuilding of music from ragged master tapes. The Beatles masters were in pretty excellent shape, any improvements with remastering are subtle because the existing quality was pretty good to begin with. they describe the remastering process by talking about controlling the bass output (that was heavy enough to cause the LP needle to jump off the record and skip, apparently), and getting rid of the microphone hard p's (like the garble when saying the word "whisper" too closely into the mic). That's cool, good job I guess.

The new albums have a retro/audiophile option of getting the mono remasters. The producers claim that the Beatles were much more concerned with their mono remasters, and that technicians devoted most of their time to the mono remasters. Mono, they claim, is more romantic and mysterious because you can't decipher individual instruments and it's more like a wall of sound. (which sounds pretty bogus but I'll hold judgment)

caveat 2:
The Beatles didn't do the remastering, some technician did it.

So with these concerns, I took the albums I knew best, Abbey Rd and Revolver. I had my copies (CDs and LPs), and the new releases in stereo and mono. Right away, mono has its benefits. Not sound quality, but that a lot of old recordings put the drums in one ear and the rest in the other, which is kind of distracting. I had already solved this by setting my receiver to mix the left and right signals, but mono eliminates that problem. But I can't really get the advantages of mono over stereo otherwise. Mono is clear, not garbled as I was expecting, it sounds great. It's novel to hear mono and it sound good. But so do the stereo copies I have already. The new versions are very slightly clearer and the bass is cleaner, but it's really, really not much. The new recordings are great. But the existing ones are too.

And then the price- $300 for mono and $250 for stereo? Maybe I've been too critical about these rereleases, maybe I never gave it a chance and came to the conclusion by hearing what I wanted to hear. Maybe. But this is still a rip-off. That's a ton of money to get slightly better versions of albums you already have.

I like the Beatles a lot, but pass.

Ten good bands, or, How To Call Yourself a Jackass

noreply@blogger.com (Roodavegas) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:50:00 +0000

I love lists. I make 'em all the time: grocery lists, to-do lists, lists of grievances.* Thanks to those little check marks, I'm allowed a momentary sense of accomplishment in a half-assed lifetime. It's understandable that people find comfort in itemized bullets. Lists allow people to organize chaos, to divide and conquer what might otherwise seem intimidating. A handy trick I've used for years is slipping “figure out plans for life/future” in between “empty dryer” and “fold socks.”

That said, I spend a lot of time doing the laundry.

I'd like to think that music differs somehow from the random crap we need to get done in a day. It's always bugged me: how do you take something as subjective as music, and reduce it to the altogether different empirical animal of Top 10 lists. These masquerade as using some sort of objective rationale to inform YOU, poor ignorant reader, of art should be ranked. Yet they're so obviously personal and temporary- it's a list of ten bands or albums or songs that Author McTypy-Type loved in the particular moment that they wrote the list. Ten years from that instant, the list could be totally different. Once heralded bands are revealed to be absolute trash, and former sideshows suddenly accomplished the "greatest songwriting of our generation."

You know how Stalin used to have former political allies erased from all state records, everywhere (including photographs), so that when he decided to ship their traitorous asses off to Siberia there would be no evidence that these people ever existed?

That is every top ten list.

If we followed this logic to its conclusion, deep down into that dark place where everything is temporary and there is no truth, ben wouldn't let me post on his blog anymore. Instead, I offer an alternative to top-ten-best-of lists: a COLLECTION of 10 great albums of the past decade, ranked in the order that I remembered them. Each is great in its own way, but they defy stratification (would you ever numerically rank your ten best friends? and then tell them about it afterward?)

There's a lot missing here, and the forehead-smacking will begin right after i push "publish" on this here bloggin' contraption, so apologies in advance to those people who will write me emails** that begin with "but what about [band i probably like anyway]" Here's two explanations why your band isn't on this list- er, collection:

1) limiting myself to ten is hard, at least until I realized that if I wrote about all the bands I think actually ought to be included, I'd be up very, very late and when i walk around the house at night it wakes up dad***
2) i forgot about that band because, frankly, I drink too much.

Here we go:

Songs: Ohia
The Magnolia Electric Company
Jason Molina's music sounds like the midwest- big, open, and sad. Desperately sad. The man cannot sing without making it clear that this song is about the worst decision he ever made, as is next track, and the next one, and the next. He does not write funny songs. He does not write charming songs. He ties a cinder block to your leg and lets you drag it across Iowa, and then you thank him for it.

Lightning Bolt
Ride the Skies
Aggressive, hilarious, and completely mad, this album offers a very loud punch in the face. Brian Chippendale's guitar work jumps from Halen-esque metal chops to the slamming singularity of "Sain Jacques." These are not songs- these are bludgeonings. Even so, the music is often playful, complete deconstructions of the idea of song.

Murs
Murs for President
I think I just chose this to prove that I listen to hip-hop sometimes.

Of Montreal
Satanic Panic in the Attic
I remember going to bed one night with this in my discman (hey technology!) and staying up most of the night listening to its glam sweetness. There was dancing.

Bonnie Prince Billie & Matt Sweeney
Superwolf
It's Will Oldham pretty much tearing the heart out of everyone and becoming a household name- at least in brooklyn- in the process. The first time I listened to this album, I tried really hard not to like it. I don't know why. Maybe i thought it was music for dudes with beards (I grew one the next year). By the way, who the hell is Matt Sweeney?

Deerhoof
Milk Man [or, really, pretty much anything they've done]
A friend once described Deerhoof as sounding like a four-year-old trapped in a room made entirely of buttons. This is entirely accurate.

Constantines
Shine a Light
These guys spread tension all over their music, making this album one big apprehensive sandwich (delicious!). It's all about the utilizing the spaces between the music- knowing that sometimes there is more power in NOT playing the guitar as hard and fast as you can (ahem, Lightning Bolt). Anthems of desperation, redemption, wildness, and youth abound.

Cat Power
The Greatest
A lady, her voice, and her piano. Perfectly rendered.

The Books
The Lemon of Pink
1) Take music
2) Dice
3) Add beauty
4) Glue the whole mess back together

The White Stripes
White Blood Cells
Detroit, Detroit, you are full of garage rock and for that you are loved. "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" might be one of the most badass songs ever written.

----
*i don't really make lists of grievances. that would just be wallowing in self-pity, i think i've had a pretty nice life so far. if I were to make such a list, though, it'd definitely start with “not being dustin pedroia”
**i get so many emails
***living with your parents makes you better at blogging. this is an absolute truth

in the year 2000, in the year 2000

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:22:00 +0000

With all the commotion over the best of lists for 2000-2009 (aka the 'aughts'), a look back. From my friend Mitch's blog mitchfork, the best of the year 2000.

source: mitchfork

Republished from his blog:

#10. Designing a Nervous Breakdown, The Anniversary

Guy/Girl Singing! Soaring Power-Pop! Angst to Spare! Everything about this album feels young, how Mitchfork likes to imagine we felt at age 16 in the year 2000.

#9. Daisies of the Galaxy, Eels

The Eels's best album. E's always been a consistently solid songsmith, but it was here that he was borderline great.

#8. Building Nothing Out of Something, Modest Mouse

This is no ordinary b-sides collection. It's a Modest Mouse b-sides collection, and thus is worthy of your awe and reverence.

#7. Figure 8, Elliott Smith

This is Mitchfork's least favorite Elliott album, but goddamnit it's still Elliott Smith album and his voice could bring moisture to Dick Cheney's parched tear ducts.

#6. Fevers and Mirrors, Bright Eyes

Look Conor, Mitchfork knows you're some big folk hero now with BIG things to say, but we liked you a lot better as a bratty adolescent spitting lyrics out with a sullen emo pride.

#5. We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes, Death Cab For Cutie

The first Death Cab album Mitchfork ever listened to, and a great example of the wonderful lo-fi sound they possessed in the early years. Mitchfork would also like to use this opportunity to say "Go fuck yourself Narrow Stairs".

#4. Domestica, Cursive

They managed to sand down their rough edges and, backed by Tim Kasher's howling vocals, produced something great. Domestica slices with a surgeon's precision into the heart of a dying relationship. It isn't pretty, but it is beautiful.

#3. Relationship of Command, At The Drive-In

I mean, holy shit. This album is the embodiment of righteous rage. You don't even have to make sense of the lyrics to know they describe a fury without limit. If Mitchfork is ever going to incite a revolution this will be its pump up mix.

#2. Kid A, Radiohead

This is an ALBUM, each song weaving together into a seamless musical tapestry. The instant the opening sounds hit your ears you are transported from this planet, only to return once the final note ends. Not the best Radiohead album but, like with the Princess Bride, Mitchfork dares you to find fault.

#1. The Moon and Antarctica, Modest Mouse

Mitchfork's favorite album ever, so it makes sense that it would be the number 1 album of the opening year of the decade. It's where Isaac and company make their definitive statement, a start to finish sonic masterpiece. Hearing it irrevocably changed the way we think about music and earns Modest Mouse the right to be guest editors of Mitchfork anytime they wish. We expect to hear from them soon.

YT's Guide to Concert Etiquette!

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 06:53:00 +0000

Finally! [Unnamed Indie Band] is in town and they're playing at the dive bar on Western Ave! You got your tickets, the bouncer has just stamped you and your date's hands, you've got about 4 beers in you. Kind of unpleasant to have the night marred by a few assholes in the crowd. Maybe you know the venue well enough to find another good spot. But take these simple considerations and everyone gets what they want. A great show

1. Do whatever you want, stand still, move, but don't make a big deal about it and start bumping into other people.
I hate guys who try to start a moshpit with every song. Or the drunk girl/hippies who swing their arms wide and smack someone in the head. Unless that's a seizure I don't have a lot of tolerance for this.

Here's the common indie self-conscious twitching I've seen that lets indie kids get their moves and not bother anyone:
a. head bob - nodding
b. sway - side to side
c. shimmy - sway but shoulders are involved
d. chest clasp - hand over chest
e. angler - one hand raised
f. hipster museum pose - hands behind back, one tucked into other
g. the thinker - hand to chin

2. Hold onto your drink
I learned this recently. There's gender-stereotypical ways to hold a drink. A lot of girls hold their drink right up under their collarbone tucked in. Were you aware of this? Holding it down low might spill with all the bumping going on. Whatever it is, avoid dumping empty bottles on the ground. Being a waiter/waitress at a show is pretty rough.

3. Minimize PDA.
Maybe you want to seize the moment, but making out through the concert in close proximity to others in the pit is kind of desperate for attention.

4. They'll play the song you want eventually, no need to yell it out.
Seriously. Bands might free-wheel or they might have a set list with lighting to go with it. Yelling out "skin of my yellow country teeth" between every song only irritated the band and they ended up refusing to play it. Lose-lose.

5. If you're tall, shorties in front.
My friend who is around 5'4" has a pretty rough time at shows. Unfair, but nothing worse than trying to peek the band through a dude's armpit.

6. Your cellphone isn't a lighter. You don't need to take 30 pictures of the band with it either.
Best way to tell everyone you are under 15 or over 40. The light on your cellphone will go off, and you'll be waving a brick in the air. Nothing is more deflating to rockstar egos on stage than playing to a crowd waving cellphones. It doesn't matter how many times you try, the 0.3 megapixel camera on your phone will not be able to handle the high contrast, low light, blurry shapes on stage. All 30 of your shots will look terrible and you'll be blocking the view of someone behind you.

7. If a couple is there and it looks like a date, don't hit on either of them.
F*cking creeps.

8. No need to get ridiculously drunk.
Ridiculously drunk people like to yell, fall down, and vomit.

9. Don't sing along if you don't know the words.
If you think it's ok to do this, get a tape recorder, record yourself doing it and listen.

10. If someone spills their drink on you, no need to freak out.
What good does it do?

sources: lmb448, RS

an oldie but an indie

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:35:00 +0000

source: buzzfeed

Things future generations of music listeners will never know:

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 06:54:00 +0000

Winamp
The first mp3 that I heard was 'Honey' by Sean Puffy Combs and Maria Carey (Bad Boy Remix). It took 30 minutes to download and it was on winamp. Winamp make be unused now but it has been a robust, no-frills mp3 player since its inception. I still use it.

DRM, protected music and other RIAA shenanigans
DRM was a invention by the recording industry distributors to prevent sharing. The idea is that every mp3 would be encrypted so only 1 computer could play that song. What a flop. First, the mp3 couldn't be played on mp3 players, which is the whole point of mp3s. Then it spawned tons of programs designed to remove the protection. The obvious fix is to burn the mp3s onto a CD, then rip the CD back into MP3 form, which a lot of programs did with a 'virtual' CD. Then they tried to make CDs that couldn't be copied. Until someone found out that using a sharpie marker and blacking out the edges of the CD overrode the copy protection. It's impossible to regulate music sharing. And it's pointless- the book industry didn't die with the photocopier, rental movies didn't die with VCR recorder, music didn't die with the cassette tape. The reason its declining is because the idea of selling 1 hour of music for $20 was absurd to begin with.

Deleting files
See, back in the old days, hard drives weren't 2 terabytes. They were like 200 megabytes. So if you liked a song, and wanted to save your book report on 'To Catch a Mockingbird,' you had to delete something. Because space was limited.

Cassette Mixtapes
Audio cassettes were the perfect technology for mix making. Tapes had cases, liner notes, were easy to make, everyone had a tape player. What do we got now? burning a cd or putting it on a jump drive, not the same. It also let me hear the music that my parents listened to, it was unique that two generations would have the same music format to share. Tapes had plenty of sound quality issues but listening to a tape that someone made for you- someone had taken time to cue up all these songs, press record, and hear the mixtape as it was being made. They heard what you heard. It was perfect packaging and technology for sharing music, we don't have that now.

AM radio
Static and evangelicals now dominate these radio frequencies but AM used to be a great outlet for fledgling radio stations, ambitious programming that didn't have a single top100 billboard song.

Rio MP3 players, all the early players
Rio was a big deal, someone bought one and brought it to school. It had 64k son! And the jukebox mp3 player that was about the size of two bricks. That had like... 50 megabytes. That's like 25 songs, you could listen to that forever!

CD binders, showing people your CD collection
When your parents were entertaining dinner guests and they had kids remotely close to your age, it used to be "why don't you kids play together?" Once you became edgy tweens, it became "why don't you show ___ your CD collection?" See, kids used to organize CDs in big binders. They'd take up half the space in your jansport backpack, and if you didn't have space for your French textbook because of the CDs, so be it.

Personal CD players with anti-shake protection
I've gone through 5 portable CD players from elementary school to high school. By far the best was the Panasonic MASH personal CD player with antishake protection. I'd save up and pay like $150 for the CD player, shake the hell out of it to test its 3 seconds worth of antishake protection, and then use it for about a year until the tracking motor would break. I would stuff the CD player in my pocket, which is kind of like trying to put a frisbee in your pocket, and walk around with music blasting out of my Sony DJ Plus headphones. Occasionally the CD would skip, so I'd freeze mid-stride until the CD player was back on track. That's just what people did back then. Maybe just me.

Retrospective: Puff Daddy and the Family // No Way Out

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:27:00 +0000

What an awesome album.

Seriously.

(Disclaimer, this was my favorite CD in middle school. All lyrics memorized.)

Puff Daddy produced this album following the death of Notorious B.I.G. and this album reflected heaping amounts of fear, sorrow and venom. It also gives us some of the last fresh lyrics from Chris Wallace. How great were the lyrics in 'Victory'

"In The Commission, you ask for permission to hit 'em
He don't like me, hit him while wifey was with him
You heard of us, the murderous, most shady
Been on the low lately, the feds hate me
The son of (*Satan*), they say my killing's too blatant
You hesitating, I'm in your mama crib waiting
Duct-taping, your fam' destiny
Lays in my hands, gat lays in my waist
Francis, M to the iz-H phenomenal
Gun rest under your vest by the abdominal
Rhyme a few bars so I can buy a few cars
And I kick a few flows so I can pimp a few hoes
Excellence is my presence, never tense
Never hesitant, leave a nigga bent real quick
Real sick, brawl nights, I perform like Mike
ANYONE -- Tyson, Jordan, Jackson
Action, pack guns, ridiculous
And I'm, quick to bust, if my ends you touch
Kids or girl you touch, in this world I clutch
Two auto-matoes, used to call me fatso
Now you call me Castro, my rap flows militant..."

Played now, the album is a sorrowful reminder of the way things were. Mase over Bowie sampling, Lil Kim rhymes and Faith Evans elegy. This was before Puff Daddy became Diddy, before he became known for reality TV more than his subpar sampling and nonexistent MC skills, his constant invocation of Biggie and profiteering on his friendship with the notorious one. The album stands as an artifact of 90s rap when the Lox had promise, Foxy Brown and Twista could carry tracks and Jay-Z and Biggie were rising stars. 12 years later it still has pretty great beats.

MP3:
It's all about the Benjamins baby

The Wooden Birds // Magnolia

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:02:00 +0000

It's not made-in-USA like Garth Brooks or the Jonas Brothers, but Wooden Birds are tapping a uniquely American music tradition. Wooden Birds clearly have listened to a lot of west coast singer-songwriters and the layered approach of 90s alt rock, easy going drum lines. The gentle nostalgic voice of lead Andrew Kenny (previously of defunct American Analog Set, where his voice was largely drowned out) really go well with synthed pre-shoegaze guitar lines. With so many uniquely American influences, some listeners might complain that the material seems familiar (and therefore bland). Not so, behind the guitar strumming and inoffensive percussion, WBirds are the progression of 90s American material to make something comforting and unexpectedly thoughtful. Wooden Birds may not be pioneers in genre, and maybe they aren't the most brave or original band out there... but they're making something very pretty and nostalgic. Pretty and nostalgic always wins me over, it's always worth listening to.

Mos Def // The Ecstatic

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:43:00 +0000

Mos Def's album, 'The Ecstatic,' is awfully good. Mos Def reminds us that he is first and foremost an extremely talented MC, and this album teeters on downright visionary at times. Only recognizing 'The Ecstatic' as a multi-genre hip-hop album with hit rap anthem 'Life in Marvelous Times' is a disservice. Rap/hip-hop might be a genre that lends itself most to the art of album-making. They often have skits and interludes, almost all feature an intro/outro sequence and producers obsessively work the order and transitions. Mos Def does nothing if not experiment with pulling different sources into dub and rap but he really got it right with this album. Mos Def mines the likes of Banda Black Rio, Selda Bagcan, Fela Kuti, Mary Wells and does not shy from electrosynth and Bollywood beats to show how exciting and uniquely accessible hip-hop can be. Thank god we've left the 50cent gangsta-with-a-mic-who-rhyme-"candy shop"-with-"lollipop" era because 'The Ecstatic' is clever, soulful, lyrical, original, and stunningly good.

'best of' lists, I will participate

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 21:48:00 +0000

Is it time to make another ‘best of’ list? GVB is probably correct in saying that “you will see more 'Best of the Decade' gimmick lists than have ever been generated at the twilight of any decade.” Self-loathing my hipster tendencies is central to writing a music blog, I can accept that.

This time, rather than tease I will give it up all upfront. I'll follow with analysis in later posts.

So... top 30 of 2000-2009:

Kid A (Radiohead)
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Wilco)
Greetings from Michigan (Sufjan)
Funeral (Arcade Fire)
Ys (Joanna Newsom)
Stankonia (Outkast)
Veckatimest (Grizzly Bear)
American IV: The Man Comes Around (Johnny Cash)
Argument (Fugazi)
Blueprint (Jay-Z)
Everything All the Time (Band of Horses)
You Forgot It in People (Broken Social Scene)
In Rainbows (Radiohead)
Lemon of Pink (Books)
Microcastle (Deerhunter)
Life Pursuit (Belle and Sebastian)
Figure 8 (Elliott Smith)
Moon and Antarctica (Modest Mouse)
Chutes Too Narrow (Shins)
College Dropout (Kanye West)
Icky Thump (White Stripes)
In the Reins (Iron and Wine, Calexico)
Rise Above (Dirty Projectors)
Let’s Get Out of this Country (Camera Obscura)
Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts (M83)
Z (My Morning Jacket)
Devotion (Beach House)
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (Flaming Lips)
For Emma, Forever Ago (Bon Iver)
Crane Wife (Decemberists)

playlisting

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:12:00 +0000

2009 is bursting at the seams with new bands and new albums.

I will have something to say about these in a few days:

Alcoholic Faith Mission
The Big Pink
Hot Chip's 'Bugged Out Mix'
St. Vincent
Bibio
Ancient Sky
Iron and Wine's 'Around the well'
Busta Rhymes 'Back on my BS'
Tortoise
Ramblin Jack Elliot
Junior Boy's 'Begone Dull Care' (*It is criminal that this album is not played more)

Not interested (yet):
most serene republic
Black Lips
Florence and the Machine
Balmhorea
Nurses
Danks
MuteMath
Art Brut
Delorean
Monolake
Bell Orchestre
Green Day

Maybe the ipod isn’t enough?

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:46:00 +0000

Apple has an enormous share of the market in mp3 players but openly describes their intent to move away from specific mp3 players (aka ipod) to multifunctional devices with wifi/Bluetooth/touchscreens (aka ipod touch and iphone). They may have designs to control more of the user experience, produce more sophisticated devices, and higher profit margins. But if they really do leave the dedicated mp3 player market, it isn't because they made the best device and had nothing left to prove. Although the ipod is easy to use and well designed, its sound quality is pretty terrible.

I was a non-believer and happily used my ipod nano until I started turning the volume down. There is an unforgivable amount of static and hiss if you set the volume low. Audiophiles have noticed this problem and tried work-arounds by modding their ipods (imod). Alternatively, you can search out other players, where outdated players like the Cowon X5 and Kenwood Keg are legend. What if you don't want to spend $625 on a modified ipod or search the Japanese ebay market for an out of production Kenwood player?

The current offerings aren't entirely terrible, if you're willing to go outside the Apple brand. Sony, iRiver, and Cowon all produce very capable devices. The one to take note of is Sony. Learning their lesson from the minidisc debacle, Sony has been actively pushing products in the mp3 player category. The recent X-1000 is a touchscreen device that features better response than any other (including the ipod touch) and superior sound quality. Complaints that the X-1000 has a half-assed web browser and patchy internet access are valid, but reflects Sony's lack of interest in making an internet-centric device like the ipod touch. The thing is first and foremost a music player, and in that it has excellent organization and playback. The combination of physical buttons to control playback and volume as well as a semi-serious noise-cancellation feature put this player over the Samsung, Cowon, and Apple players. The stumbling block, naturally with Sony products, is the price. It's $400 for 32GB. That's two exceptional bottles of scotch, a round of drinks, the lobster dinner, cab fare, and the dry cleaners charge. A good media player or one hell of a night.

new radiohead single?

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 04:08:00 +0000

A lot of unusual activity out of the band Radiohead recently. By 'unusual activity,' I mean good singles. People are pre-mourning the end of Radiohead releasing albums (which I believe is due to a misleading Guardian article). **Radiohead has said in earlier interviews that they're just too drained out to make a full album in the near future. Not forever as the Guardian implies.

This is not the point. Radiohead released the pastoral and wonderful single Harry Patch without notice, and it appears that they've done it again. Now another single that is completely new and (appears to be) completely Radiohead was leaked without notice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2ztWvuyXeU