Jimmy Gownley did a parody of Meet the Beatles as a tshirt using the characters of Amelia Rules. Talking to him he said that he was thinking about doing a new t-shirt for every show he does. I took it upon myself to make a list of album covers I would like to see as Amelia Rules T-shirts. I hope everyone likes the list
Album Covers that should not be done, but I want to see:
1. Michael Jackson - Thriller 2. MC Hammer - Hammer Time 3. Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan 4. Nirvana - Nevermind 5. The Police - Synchronicity 6. Guns n' Roses - Appetite For Destruction' 7. Bruce Springsteen - Greetings From Asbury Park 8. Moby - 18 (This might work for Earthdog) 9. Crowded House - Crowded House 10. Prince - Purple Rain 11. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
Is it too early for me to be thinking about the best albums of the 00 decade? I hope not, because I have been thinking about them for a while. I know that if I do not think about this list now, I will never get the list done in a reasonable time.
The funny thing, this is the decade that I have been the most interested in music. In the 80s I was very young when it started and could not find music for myself. In the 90s I was very connected to music while I was in college, but after that I all but forgot about music. By the end of the decade I was not listening to anything.
Because of the internet, iPods, and blogs, I really connected to music early in this decade. It has been a great decade for music. There are a lot of bands that I know of that I doubt I would have heard of in former decades. It is true that the music industry has also changed in this time. These bands might have been signed in the past.
I have started working on my list of the best albums from this decade. So far the list has over 100 albums on it. Those are just albums which I have tracks from on my laptop. I think the list will get bigger as I look at all the albums from the decade. I know there are things I must be forgetting.
Of course this means I still listen to albums. I am not sure how many other people are still listening to albums. I keep on hearing how albums are going away, but I have not see it yet. The bands I listen to are still putting out albums. It might be a little while longer before they go away. This might be the last decade for a list like this.
Let me know if you want to do this as a project. I want to know if I can get lists from enough people so I can give more than just my ranking.
Is anyone else going to make a list of the best albums from the 00's? How many albums will you put on your list? How detailed are you going to be about the ranking?
Update: I am defining the decade at 2000-2009. I know the whole zero year thing is in play, but I think it is esthetically better to start on 2000.
I want to the Maker Faire on Saturday. The coolest thing I saw at Maker Faire was Guitar Zero. I love the idea of actually making music using a Guitar Hero Guitar. It is such a cool thing to me. So many people make fun of people who play guitar hero. I think this is a great way to get back at those people.
I know this is late, but I thought this was still important for me to publish this
Best of 2007
Phenomena - Akron/Family Can You Feel It? - Apples In Stereo Shine In Exile - Beat the Devil Fiery Crash - Andrew Bird Detlef Schrempf - Band Of Horses Cherbourg - Beirut Worst Trip - Dr. Dog Sad Songs - The Frames Jesus Saves, I Spend - St. Vincent Oh No - Lavender Diamond Let's Duet - Dewey Cox Pink Light - Laura Veirs Florida - Modest Mouse Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse - Of Montreal Our Mouths Were Wet - Oh No! Oh My! The Ruby Ring Man - Page France Section 23: Get Up And Go - The Polyphonic Spree Turn On Me - The Shins The Shadow Government - They Might Be Giants All My Mistakes - The Avett Brothers These Truths - Luddite Machine
2007 SXSW
HeavyMetal - Bisc1 Robin Zander - The Breakup Society Space Mission - Brute Force & Daughter of Force Teenage Crimewave - CPC Gangbangs Patience - Damien Dempsey Love In New Wave - Electrico Eight Arms To Hold You - The Gear Shaking Like A Flame - Glossary Summer of the Evening - Goldenboy Elephant In White - Hot IQs According To Plan - I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness Ozark Empire - Listener Our Eyes Fill Up With Water - Tulsa
2007 New to me
This Is Not The End - Laura Gibson People Get Ready - The Frames Don't Let Me Explode - The Hold Steady Dance For Me - Pony Up! Growin' Old - Pigeon John Borneo - The Fiery Furnaces Postcards from Italy - Beirut Trampoline - Page France Let Me Go Let Me Go Let Me Go - Jason Molina Tangled - The Black Heart Procession Lord Stop The Bar - Our Lady of the Highway Second Option - Caitlin Cary And Thad Cockrell Vervain (Volume 9) - MF Doom Take It Off - Tender Forever funeral face - Suburban Kids With Biblical Names Icebound Stream - Laura Veirs Love And War (11/11/46) - Rilo Kiley New Partner - The Frames Song My Friends Taught Me - Laura Veirs
Note: I have been holding onto this list for too long. I am really late publishing this. Even the Village Voice has already published the Pazz & Jop results. This means I am really late. I know the I have to public this tonight. Even if I do not write about every album, I am still going to public this entry tonight.
Top Albums of 2007
I know this list goes up to 11. That is because it is one higher than ten and sometimes you need to rock that much harder.
I will admit that part of 2007 was really rough for me. Around my May and June were pretty rough for me. Some times just when you need it you find an album to help you through those times. The Avett Brothers Emotionalism was that album for me at that time. The album is incredibility personal and emotional.
The Avett Brothers straddles the country side of Alt. Country, but that is nothing to be afraid of. Any fan of well written songs will enjoy this album. The Weight of Lies and
All My Mistakes has become one of Kate and I songs. It is shows the optimism that comes out even in the darkest moments. The song makes me smile and tear up at the same time.
the Shins - Wincing the Night Away
If there ever is an album to sing to your thinking about a past love, this is it. While this is not as good as the last Shins album, they still give me the feeling that they are getting better.
It is great to hear a band mature right in front of your ears. I listen to Dr. Dog because Peter Conrad cannot shut up about them. Last year he kept on talking about their EP Takers and Leavers EP. If it were not for him, I would not given them a chance. This album is much better than last years EP. This album creates an interesting sound environment. Dr. Dog's has a strong 70's influence without getting lost in the past. Their songs have strong arrangement and simple vocals in just the right combonation. Check out the songs Worst Trip, Old News, Keep a friend, and Ain't It Strange to see what I mean.
From the first note of this album I was gripped hard and not let go. This album is full of pop structures and joyful guitar licks. The opening track, Can You Feel It? is the kind of song that makes me want to put down the windows and drive very quickly. It also gives me one of my favorite lyrics of the year, "Turn Up Your Stereo, Drown out the bullshit on the FM Radio." I know that some people this this record is excessive because its 24 tracks, and some of them are just interludes and connectors. I think that songs like Same Old Drag, Joanie Don't U Worry, Sundial, and Energy totally make it work it.
This album is just full of earwigs. I most have listed to this album ten times the week I got it. Suffer For Fashion, The Past Is A Grotesque Animal, and She's A Rejecter all made me not want to put my head phones down. Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse is the kind of song that makes me want to sing at the top of my lung.
Of Montreal is past the point of being "just one of those other Elephant 6 bands" to being a great band on their own right. they are so good I just want to hear more and more of what they are doing. I doubt they will ever gt the credit they deserve.
The Frames - The Cost
I want to say that The Frames are the most underrated band in the world right now. This was before the song from Once won the Oscar. This means that they might get more attention now. You should still check out The Cost.
They Might Be Giants - The Else
It has been years since I have really liked a They Might Be Giants album. I gave up on them awhile ago thinking my tastes and their tastes no longer matched. I guess that was not true. I do not want to say that these songs sound like their debut album or Lincoln, but you can hear the musical history. I'm Impressed, Take Out the Trash, Climbing the Walls, The Shadow Government, Countrecoup, and Feign Amnesia, are all first class songs. The Mesopotamians is a strange combination of musician frustration and history lesson. Yes, They Might Be Giants is a little smarter than their fans and they are willing to let us know.
Laura Veirs - Saltbreakers Lavender Diamond - Imagine Our Love Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank St. Vincent - Marry Me
Honorable Mention: Page France - ....And the Family Telephone The Fratellis - Costello Music Jarvis Cocker - Jarvis
Special Mention Tim Kite - Over the Counter Culture
This album was not enjoyable, but it was the most challenging. Challenging in the way art that asks the listener to look at them selves should be.
Here are a few of my best of the year mixes. I am not sure what you can learn about my by looking at these links. I think that you can learn something about me by looking at my musical tastes.
I am getting ready to post my top ten of 2007 list and my best of 2007 CD mix. When I see these lists from other people, I wonder what they had listened to during the year. This is the list of everything released in 2007 that I listened to in 2007. I hope it helps when you see the other posts.
Artist - Album Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism The Earlies - The Enemy Chorus Hal Hartley - FAY GRIM Original Soundtrack Beirut - The Flying Club Cup Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter The White Stripes - Icky Thump Stars - In Our Bedroom After the War St. Vincent - Marry Me A.R.E. Weapons - Modern Mayhem The Go! Team - Proof of Youth Blonde Redhead - 23 Pela - Anytown Graffiti My Morning Jacket - At Dawn & Tennesse Fire Demos Package Band Of Horses - Cease To Begin The New Pornographers - Challengers They Might Be Giants - The Else Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Lavender Diamond - Imagine Our Love Akron/Family - Love Is Simple Bruce Springsteen - Magic Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full Electrelane - No Shouts, No Calls Tim Fite - Over The Counter Culture Panda Bear - Person Pitch Architecture In Helsinki - Places Like This Mirah and Spectratone International - Share This Place: Stories and Observations Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog Rilo Kiley - Under The Blacklight Luddite Machine - We Build The Destroyer CocoRosie - The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha Calvin Johnson - Calvin Johnson and the Sons of the Soil The Frames - The Cost Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity The Good, The Bad & The Queen - The Good, The Bad & The Queen Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? Neil Young - Live At Massey Hall 1971 Ted Leo / Pharmacists - Living With The Living Arcade Fire - Neon Bible Apples In Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder Laura Veirs - Saltbreakers Son Volt - The Search (Deluxe Version) Dr. Dog - We All Belong Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank Bloc Party - A Weekend in the City The Shins - Wincing The Night Away Kaiser Chiefs - Yours Truly, Angry Mob Explosions In The Sky - All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone Page France - ...and the Family Telephone Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond The Fratellis - Costello Music Christian Kiefer - Dogs & Donkeys Richard Swift - Dressed Up For The Letdown The Sea And Cake - Everybody The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns, Fifteen Winters The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army The Clientele - God Save the Clientele The Broken West - I Can't Go On I'll Go On Art Brut - It's A Bit Complicated Jarvis Cocker - Jarvis Wilco - Sky Blue Sky The Comas - Spells The State Champs - The State Champs The Rakes - Ten New Messages Crowded House - Time On Earth The Ponys - Turn The Lights Out
EPs
Gomez - Live at Austin City Limits Music Festival 2006: Gomez M. Ward - To Go Home EP Joanna Newsom - Joanna Newsom and the Ys Street Band EP The Decemberists - Live from SoHo (iTunes Exclusive) - EP Oh No! Oh My! - Between The Devil And The Sea
The industry's lawyer in the case, Ira Schwartz, argues in a brief filed earlier this month that the MP3 files Howell made on his computer from legally bought CDs are "unauthorized copies" of copyrighted recordings.
You got to be kidding me. This is the stupidest thing I have heard the RIAA ever do and they have done some stupid things. This crosses the line. Right now nobody is going to be buying music if they cannot listen to it. If you cut off the iPod you cut off every chance people will buy music at all. People might get away from commercial music all together. You might see the death of the album all together.
Sony BMG's chief of litigation, Jennifer Pariser, testified that "when an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song." Copying a song you bought is "a nice way of saying 'steals just one copy,' " she said.
This is over the line. Either the music industry is selling me an individual product which I purchase and can do whatever I want to, like play that product in front of other people without paying a license, or they are selling me an intellectually property and I get to move it from device to device. I can only play one copy at a time, let me do it wherever I am. That is all people are asking for. Until you let people play the content wherever they are, you are not going to see sales improve.
Today I find out that all this might be out of context. The problem is that with everything the RIAA does, no one would put this beyond them.
I have listened to 100 albums this year. About 80 of them have been from 2007 or 2006. I am obsessed with listening to music. There is so much music I have never heard before. I want to spend all my time listening to that. I want to hear the best new music. I want to listening to music that is great.
What should I make sure I hear before 2007 is over? What are you listening to right now? What is going to make your best of 2007 mix?
The other day I was describing Midomi to Eric. For him these website is a version of hell. It is a web site where you can listen to amateurs sings acapella versions of songs. If you want to, you can record your own versions of the songs and post them on the site.
I can best describe this web site as an old fashion time suck. The kind of time suck that have become an art in the age of the internet. I keep on searching for more and more songs. There is something about listening to these songs that is just addictive.
For the most part cover songs are about truth. There is some other truth to that song that you never heard before. Really good covers makes you think something totally different about the original version. It is not that these versions have showed me any new truth about these songs. Most of the tracks you hear either how much the people love the song or how they really want to sing it well.
People are taking about the data embedded in the new DRMless iTunes. People do not have to worry about DRM, but they do have to worry about their e-mail address going with the file. That means if you give your DRM free file to anyone, you have to trust that they will not share it with the world.
This will be interesting to see what happens. I wonder how well people have to protect their files. If I leave my network unprotected and my files get shared every where, will I be responsible? Lets say my computer gets stolen, can I get sued if those files end up on the net? What if someone is being vindictive and shares my files without me knowing? In none of these cases did I share the file. I did not take action with malice of forethought. What would the copyright cops do to me in those situations?
I know that including the email address along with the file is a good idea. I know that this is a reasonable thing for copyright holders to ask for. I just want to make sure that a signal song from one person is going to get out into the open. It is just going to happen. The people who own the copyrights should only go after people who do this all the time.
I have been going to music stories like Best Buy and Virgin music and seeing displays of the 200 essential albums that every music fan must have. I know they are doing it as just a way to sell catalog music. Seeing this displays have made me think about the idea of an essential 200. I wondered what would be on my list and what would be on my friends lists.
To be honest, I know that I could not get many of my friends to sit down and make a list of 200 albums they think everyone should have. What I would like to do is have a number of my friends make a list of their essential 20 albums. If I can get 10 people to play along, I could have a whole list. If you want to play along send me your list. Let see what us normal people think are essential albums
It is finally happened. It looks like one of the major record labels if finally breaking ranks. It appears that EMI will allow their music to be sold on iTunes without DRM. This is not really a surprise. People have been talking about this for months now. People have thought EMI would be the first company to break rank. They are the weakest of the major labels. People have thought that they would be the most likely to take the risk.
Will this be a typing point? This is hard to say. How to listeners, fans, and customers decide what music to buy. It has little to do with where they can buy it or what label the band it on. The number one people buy music is because they like it. If EMI does not release music that people like this will not help them. What it might help is with getting more people to pay for music they might get some other way.
This is a good start. I do not think that we are close to other companies joining EMI. I think that companies are going to resist a lot before they agree to also go without DRM. The number one thing customers can do is vote with our wallets. Lets all go and download songs from EMI when the DRM goes away.
I am on vacation this week, but I am not going anywhere. I am just going to stay home in San Jose. Staying home for a week means that I will be listening to a lot of music. I will either be sitting at my computer with iTunes going or I will be out somewhere with my iPod.
In the last couple of weeks I have bought the new Apples in Stereo and new Modest Mouse albums. This will be a good time to get to know those albums better. I have been buying music at a pretty good clip this year. I need to take some time to listen to it. Since my time is mine over the next week, listening to music sounds like a good way to spend that time.
Some have argued that once a consumer purchases a body of music from one of the proprietary music stores, they are forever locked into only using music players from that one company. Or, if they buy a specific player, they are locked into buying music only from that companys music store. Is this true? Lets look at the data for iPods and the iTunes store they are the industrys most popular products and we have accurate data for them. Through the end of 2006, customers purchased a total of 90 million iPods and 2 billion songs from the iTunes store. On average, thats 22 songs purchased from the iTunes store for each iPod ever sold.
Todays most popular iPod holds 1000 songs, and research tells us that the average iPod is nearly full. This means that only 22 out of 1000 songs, or under 3% of the music on the average iPod, is purchased from the iTunes store and protected with a DRM. The remaining 97% of the music is unprotected and playable on any player that can play the open formats. Its hard to believe that just 3% of the music on the average iPod is enough to lock users into buying only iPods in the future. And since 97% of the music on the average iPod was not purchased from the iTunes store, iPod users are clearly not locked into the iTunes store to acquire their music.
One of the first big problems here is that the CD has yet to die. When the iTunes Music store launched in 2004 I did not expect to be buying non protected CDs in 2007. Part of that is that all the CD protection schemes have sucked. The worst of all was the Sony BMG XCP. That was so bad that companies might have scurried away from DRM CDs in fear forever.
I think iPods have become so big that most the people I know will not buy CDs that they cannot rip to iTunes. Everyone wants MP3 so they can take their music with them. I would return any CD I could not Rip.
For my friends who do not use iTunes, they usually give me three reasons. DRM is the first reason. Everyone knows that iTunes DRM is easy to beat. All you need to do is burn it to a CD and Rip it again. This is still too much of a hassle. We want it without any DRM. They would also like it better if it was MP3
The second reason is because of the Backup policy. If you buy a song from iTunes and lose it, you have to buy it again. That really sucks. This is an electronic world. If I am really buying the music license I should be able to re-download the song.
The third and maybe more important is the quality of the music. AAC, the iTunes music format, is not a lossless format. For me the discount is not deep enough for me to buy the music in a lossy format. If it is an album I am excited about I will buy the CD. If it is something I just want to try, I will buy it from eMusic. I only buy music from iTunes when I have a gift card.
To be honest I think it is too early to call download music service failures. If they are still in business they are not a failure yet. I know that everyone wants everything to move in internet time, but I think this is a sign that real world time still counts for something. We are still in the first generation of these services. I think that they 2.0 versions might surprise us.
The 2007 SXSW bittorrent is up. This is another good reason to use bittorrent. Better yet it is a totally legal way to get Bittorrent. This is a big way I find new bands. I would say this is one of the highlights of the musical years.
Some year I am going to find a way to be sent to SXSW. Until that happens I will just have to download the bittorrent of the bands that are giving away MP3s. If I like the bands I will buy the album. It is worth downloading even if you do not end up listening to every MP3.
I heard on the radio that the Police are planing a reunion tour. They are getting back together for the Grammys tonight. I have to say that this is a bit of a disappointment. I loved the Police when I was young, but I cannot see an artistic reason for them to get back together. I cannot see what they will do that will be interesting or good for music. I think they are just getting back together for the money.
For a long time they were the Police where the best band that never really got back together. They never put a new album out and they never went on tour. I know they recorded one song, but that is under the bar.
Now the Smiths are the best band to break up and never get back together, that can get back together. I cannot see the Smiths getting back together. I think that Morrissey would never do that. The Clash are already in the Hall of Fame for that. Of course the Clash could not get back together now.
If the Police put a good album out I will eat my words. I just can't see them doing it. I cannot see them making an album anywhere close to Synchronicity or Ghost in the Machine. If they just go on tour you know it is just about the money.
It is time again for my best of the year mixes. I did three mixes this year. I did Best of 2006, New to Me 2006, and the Best of the SXSW 2006 Bittorrent.
Best of 2006 I listened to about 65 albums released in 2006. I know that I listen to a lot of music. That should not surprise anyone. There was a lot of good music that came out this year. This mix only has a fraction of the music I would say it good.
Best of 2006
1. Fraud in The 80s Mates Of State 2. A Certain Romance Arctic Monkeys 3. Gravitys Gone Drive by Truckers 4. E.N.Y House Masta Killer 5. Lost In Boston The Walkmen 6. Girl In A War Josh Ritter 7. List of Baby Names Bound Stems 8. Notion Karl Blau 9. Fox Confessor Brings The Flood Neko Case 10. Montgomery Magnolia Electric Co 11. Chips Ahoy The Hold Steady 12. Woke Up New Mountain Goats 13. The Charging Sky Jenny Lewis 14. Smiley Faces Gnarls Barkley 15. The Competition Kimya Dawson 16. Attraction is Ephemeral Mecca Normal 17. Rubies - Destoryer 18. Rough Jems Islands 19. The Greatest Cat Power
New To Me 2006
No matter how much music I hear, something is always missed. That is why I make this mix. I think it is just as important as the best of the year mix.
New To Me 2006 1. If Im Waiting Jason Anderson 2. Huddle Formation The Go! Team 3. Over and Over - Heavenly 4. So Long Jason Anderson 5. Like A Monkey In A Zoo K. McCarty 6. 1 Corinthians 13: 8-10 Mountain Goats 7. I Wish I Was The Moon Neko Case 8. Section 12 (Hold Me Now) The Polyphonic Spree 9. Small Stakes - Spoon 10. The End Has No End The Strokes 11. Hearts of Oak Ted Leo / Pharmacists 12. Car Trouble All Girl Summer Fun Band 13. You Held the World In Your Arms - Idlewild 14. Madam Truffle Major Organ 15. At The Bottom of Everything Bright Eyes 16. Love Steals Us From Loneliness - Idlewild 17. Off The Record My Morning Jacket 18. The Purple Bottle Animal Collective 19. Parisian Dream Laura Veirs 20. Grounds For Divorce Wolf Parade 21. Sorry Entertainer Daniel Johnson
SXSW 2006
There are so many good bands that I have never heard of before. This is a good way to find some of them. I could spend my whole year just listening to the music from SXSW. I think that is a good thing.
SXSW 2006
1. Walkin On Nails Mac Lethal 2. Binary Girl Mathematicians 3. Memorize The City The Organ 4. Agony Awol One 5. Harvard Hand The Foxymorons 6. Ive Been Lost - +/- 7. Another Seven Year- Aberdeen City 8. na Band of Horses 9. Postcards from Italy Beirut 10. Birmingham The Deaths 11. Girls & Sunshine Dirty On Purpose 12. Hide and Seek The Eighteenth Day 13. Buckeyed Rabbit Grassy Knoll Boys 14. Try Telling That To My Baby The Heavy Blinkers 15. Old Britannia Hey Negrita 16. No Way Out Love of Diagrams 17. Broken Plates Magenta Lane 18. A Captive Audience The Velvet Teen 19. No Good Here Tim Fite 20. Red Drop - The Standard
If people want me to write about every song on this list let me know. I will get started on that entry.
I listened to about 65 new albums in 2006. That means two things, I spent a lot of time listening to music that came out last year and I listened to a fraction of all the music that came out last year. When I say these are the best albums, I mean they are my favorite.
Magnolia Electric Co - Fading Trails
This album was short and concise. With 9 songs at 29 minutes this album is slim, but powerful. With every new album Jason Molina shows his increasing skill in song writing. I think this is the best Magnolia Electric Co album to date.
I will admit that I have other reasons to love Fading Trails also. This album came out slight after a breakup. It was the ex-girlfriend who got me into Magnolia Electric company. This was a great breakup album.
Build to Spill - You In Reverse
This album is full of songs that are ear worms. I hear this album and the tunes do not get out of my head for days. The songs really rock. It is a great album to drive very fast to.
Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
With each new album I am more impressed with Belle and Sebastian. They have grown more than any other band in the last 10 years. Compare Tiger Milk to The Life Pursuit and you will find a band that is writing totally different songs. I am amazed at the way they have been able to change and stay good. This album is good because of how it is different and the same as the other albums.
Cat Power - The Greatest
There are those albums where from the first time you hear it, you cannot put it down. It seems to always in your CD player. One of those albums you listen to for weeks and still do not get enough of it. This is one of those albums.
Josh Ritter - The Animal Years
This album surprised me. I had never heard of Josh Ritter before hearing him on the SXSW 2006 Bittorrent. The album is very complex. I know Peter would say that he is just a whiny guy with a guitar. I love the well written songs and the emotions that he sings them with.
But you need faith for the same reasons that its so hard to find
Gnarles Barkley - St. Elsewhere
This album is tricky and simple all at the same time. I love it becuase it makes me want to dance. It also surprises me. They take simple pop tunes and get every ounce of goodness out of them.
Islands - Return To The Sea
Everyone loves Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over The Sea. For the past two years I have been wondering where all the albums that are influenced by In the Aeroplane Over The Sea. If everyone loves this album why has it made so little impact on other music? The Islands - Return to the Sea is the album I have been waiting for. Any Neutral Milk Hotel fan should check out this album.
Mecca Normal - The Observer
The Observer is like a great movie or a good book. It is a challenging. It is not an album that you put on and rock out too. It is an album you listen to and think about. I know that people do not want to think, but that is that is their problem. This is an album that people should listen to. I think it is challenging and hard to listen to at time, but sometimes that is a really good thing. This is one of those times.
The song writing on this album just amazes me. It is insightful and interesting. The album is about relationships. It seems real in a way other albums do not. For the way the songs describe relationships it is worth listening to. I really get the idea that I understand the woman as being single about about my age.
Kimya Dawson - Remember That I Love You
I know lots of people who will not like this album. Like all K Records bands, you either dig the lo-fi, high emotion, indie ethic or you do not. This album has the feeling of someone grabbing a guitar and pooring their heart out to a microphone. Of the 12 songs on this album, about half of them make the hair on the back of neck stand up. Each time I hear this album I hear something else. Kimya Dawson is an impressive songwriter.
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
This is one of those albums once I hear it, I need to listen to it three or four times in a row. The songs get stuck in my head. I sing them for days at a time. They haunt me like an opportunity I did not act on or a woman I ruined my chance with.
Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies
This is the kind of album that sneaks up behind you, grabs a hold of you while you are not paying attention, and does not let go. I already love the New Pornographers. This album has just enough elements of the New Pornographers for it to be familiar and just few enough for it to be new.
Mates Of State - Bring It Back
This is the best Mates of States album to date. The song writing has caught up to match their unique sound. The songs work really well as an album.
Karl Blau - Beneath Waves
This album was a surprise to me. There is no song that really stands out. The whole album is just relentless and strong. It has a good combination of pop structures and low-fi production.
Special Mention Joanna Newsom - Ys
I have a hard time saying this is one of the best albums of the year. I want to say it is not really an album, at least in the sense of rock and roll. This is a collection of 5 songs. The shortest song is almost 10 minutes long. It is not like old prog rock albums either. There are no long musical sections. It is a collection of songs trying to be short stories. I am not sure I get this album, but I have been listening to it a lot. It is worth taking a listen to see if it is for you.
Over the past couple of years I have been keeping track of the size of my music collection. I do it in a way I could never measure before MP3s. I like it that I know just how many songs I have. In college I had a 3x5 card for each album I owned on it. I used that to keep track of what albums had what songs. It did not give me this kind of data.
Here are my updated music collection stats:
Number of Songs 1-Jan-04 --- 28206 1-Jan-05 --- 36026 1-Jan-06 --- 41585 1-Jan-07 --- 46470
Size in time 1-Jan-04 --- 78:04:31:04 1-Jan-05 --- 99:01:07:31 1-Jan-06 --- 144:02:05:25 1-Jan-07 --- 156:19:33:52
Day:Hour:Minute:Second
If I listed to music 24 hours a day the last day to start to get through my whole collection would be Friday, July 27, 2007. If I listed to music 18 hours a day the last day to start to get through my whole collection would be Monday, June 4, 2007. If I started tomorrow I would have to listen to my collection 10.6 hours a day listen to it all.
Right now there are people shaking their head wondering why I would care about these number. I do because I can.
It looks like labels might be seeing the advances of music on MP3. I hope that MP3 or open formats like MP3 win out. I looks like music labels might start treating customers like customers. That can only be a good thing. I think it will be good for everyone in the long run. Lets see what happens.
It is time once again for the End Of Year Mix CD Challenge. It is time for all the mix-makers to collect the songs that mean 2006 to them. I am excited to see what mixes people will make. I have a whole bunch of new friends this year. I want to know what they thought of the year in music. If you send me a copy of your mix, I will send you a copy of my mix.
For the Silicon Valley Mix Makers, we have been talking about having a meetup where we can exchange face to face in January. Let me know if you are interested.
I would like everyone to remember, Mix Tapes are Fair Use. (That would still make a good bumper sticker)
I have been thinking about the legendary let to be released Guns N' Roses album Chinese Democracy. Axl Rose has been working on this album that it will never be released. I think I heard about this idea back when I was in college. Could that be true?
Chinese Democracy has been in production for almost nine years at a cost of over thirteen million dollars, making it the most expensive album ever recorded.
Part of me wants this to be the best album ever. I want it to come out and blow people's doors off. I want it to be unlike anything people expected. I doubt that could even happen not. My guess is that the best this album can be is a small disappointment.
I wonder where Axl went off the tracks with this album. Is there an idea in his head that I cannot find in the rest of the world? Is there a sound in his head that is nowhere else? I wonder if he is just making some other mistake.
I just wanted to tell everyone again that I love mp3tunes. I have been using it to back up my digital music collection. I like it because I have access to all my music from the internet. If the file is not protected, I can play it from a browser. Not only is it a good backup, I can get it from anywhere. I often use it when posting songs to my Vox Music Blog.
There are not that many people using this service. I think that everyone who cares about music should use this service. It is cheap compared to buying hard drives for backups. I am currently the user with the 17th most songs uploaded. The one downside is that it takes a log time to upload music. I think I can get into the top 10 when I am done.
I am not sure if anyone cares or not, but I have started a mostly music blog over at Vox. I can upload MP3s and they stream from the Vox site. I like being able to share music with other people. I was telling my sister Kathy that the internet has made me more interested in Music. I like it not because I can read things like Pitchfork media. I like it because I can read what people like me think about music.
Top 10 Musical Acts who I would pay to see live After seeing Death Cab for Cutie live I figure that it is time to update my list of Bands that I would pay to see who I have not seen yet list. Bands are getting added to this list faster than they are being dropped. That means either I am not true to my word or bands are not touring enough.
Belle & Sebastian Postal Service Mountain Goats Art Brut Ben Folds New Pornographers Cat Power Modest Mouse The Shins Calvin Johnson Joanna Newsom M. Ward Devendra Banhardt
Musical acts I would pay to see again:
The Decemberists Diane Cluck Mike Doughty CocoRosie Wilco
Dream Reunions:
Replacements Pavement Neutral Milk Hotel The Smiths
E-music has just added Drag City Records. One of my favorite albums of this decade is on Drag City Records, Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender. I spend much of my life thinking that the people in the popular media do not experience the world the way I do. I can only think that Joanna Newsom feels the same way. There is a beauty in her music that is easily over looked by convention. Bridges and Balloons, Peach Plum Pear, and The Book of Right-On are all wonderful songs. I can say that her music makes me feel a way that I cannot describe. When I hear her songs I want to turn the volume all the way up and sing from the top of my lungs. You should really check it out for yourself.
"This is unlike the story it was written to be." Joanne Newsom - Peach Plum Pear
All good things must come to an end the bad ones just go on forever Destroyer - Rubies
Every once in a while a lyric really makes my ears perk up. The song writer just captures an idea perfectly. Whenever I hear this line I just stop and think about this idea. No matter what else is going on in my line, the lyrics just stop my brain. That is something I look for in song writing.
Cool of a temperate breeze from dark skies to wet grass We fell in a field it seems now a thousand summers passed When our kite lines first crossed We tied them into knots And to finally fly apart We had to cut them off.
Since then it's been a book you read in reverse So you understand less as the pages turn Or a movie so crass And awkwardly cast That even I could be the star. - The Shins Pink Bullets
I have been listening to The Shins Chutes Too Narrow a lot lately. I loved this album from the first time I heard it, but I did not realize how good of a breakup album it was. I am not sure if that is what the album is about, but it seems to fit that feeling for me. It is not angry. It is just a little sad.
I went to see Diane Cluck last Thursday in San Francisco. She played at the Rickshaw Stop. It was a great show. I am always amazed at her raw emotion when she plays songs live. I like her music because it feel so emotionally honest. That honesty really comes through when she plays life. I feel a connection with her through her music. that connection seems real when I see her live.
She did not play that long. I was hoping for more. I would like to see her do a two hour set. She could have played all five of her albums from start to finish and I should would have wanted more. She is the only person on stage, so that would have been hard.
At the end of the show she asked what we wanted to hear. I shouted out Turnaround Road. Just before she played this song she waved at me and said that she knew who called out for this song. She remembered me from the show in Portland I saw her at back in 2004. I felt a chill go down my spine as she played. It was just perfect.
After the show I tried to talk to Diane, but I was totally a fan boy. I told her she would always have fans on the West Coast if she came to play here.
Every year I make a best of the year mix. This year I have been focused on listening to music from 2006. I want to hear as much new music as I can stand. We are half way through the year. I realized that I could make a first draft of my best of 2006 mix right now.
I am not saying this is going to be the mix at the end of the year or that these songs will make the cut. I am just saying this is a pretty good place to start. Tell me what you are listening to this year.
2006 so far:
Belle & Sebastian - To Be Myself Completely - The Life Pursuit Built To Spill - The Wait - You In Reverse Drive By Truckers - Gravity's Gone -A Blessing and a Curse Gnarls Barkley - Just A Thought - St. Elsewhere Mac Lethal - Walkin' On Nails - SXSW 2006 Showcasing Artist Calexico - Deep Down - Garden Ruin Gnarls Barkley - Just A Thought - St. Elsewhere The Minus 5 - My Life as a Creep - The Gun Album Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood Cat Power - The Greatest - The Greatest Jenny Lewis - You Are What You Love - Rabbit Fur Coat Cities - Writing on the Wall - Cities Jon Langford - Gold Brick - Gold Brick The Pixies - Debaser (Norfolk, VA - 12/6/2004) -Hey - Live Pixies Love of Diagrams - No Way Out - SXSW 2006 Showcasing Artist Josh Ritter - Girl in the War - The Animal Years
I have been using MP3tunes.com to back up my MP3 collection. MP3tunes.com is a great idea, but I cannot say that it has been implemented in the best way. It takes a long time to upload anything. I have been using it for a few weeks now and I only have 8000 songs uploaded. I cannot just have it upload my whole collection because the tool will crash. I have to chunk off part of my collection and upload little by little. If is not set up to use with big collections. If I have to sync everything back down some day I have no idea what will happen.
According to LockerEnvy.com I am ranked in the low 200s in size of collection. If my whole collection was uploaded right now I would be in the top 20. There is something cool about knowing these stats.
MP3tunes.com currently falls in the category of cool web tools I wish where more useful.
The New York Times did a story about the slowing Concert Industry. Did it occur to anyone that people want too much money for concert tickets. Of course Paul McCartney can get $250 a ticket. That is because there are a whole bunch of freaks that want to relive their youth of catch something that they were too young to be involved with. I am not sure there is a band under ten years old that is worth $60 a ticket. Because these old acts never got off the stage, new acts where not developed. I think the article missed the point of what is really happening.
I am both happy and sad that music videos are no longer really important for musicans. It was cool when videos were little movies. Some had nothing at all to do with the songs. Now you have to see the band play in ever video. They are no longer interesting at all.
If you want to go back to the old days of MTV, check out these 80's Videos.
Tonight we had the South Bay Blogger Best of 2005 CD swap tonight. Buzz, Courtney, Elkit, Fling93, and Andrew are all here. We talked more about Chuck Norris than music. It was still a good night.
Here are my best of 2005 mixes. I would like to know what people think.
You never know what can happen - Best of 2005
1. Since U Been Gone Ted Leo & The Pharmacists 2. I Predict A Riot Kaiser Chiefs 3. Requiem for O.M.M.2 Of Montreal 4. The Infanta The Decemberist 5. The Dark Dont Hide It Magnolia Electric Co 6. Truckers Atlas Sun Kil Moon 7. Dance Music The Mountain Goats 8. Evil and A Heathen Franz Ferdinand 9. Deliverance Calvin Johnson 10. Hardcore Days & Softcore Nights - Aqueduct 11. A Phoenix and Doves Diane Cluck 12. Marching Bands of Manhattan Death Cab For Cutie 13. Merchants of Soul - Spoon 14. 6 String Belief Son Volt 15. Cream and Basterd Rise Harvey Danger 16. Sing Me Spanish Techno The New Pornographers 17. Noahs Ark - CocoRosie 18. Smells Like Content The Books 19. Dont Let Me Explode The Hold Steady 20. On Automatic Michael Penn 21. Pencil Rot Stephen Makmus 22. Madeline and Nine Mike Doughty
The Second Best of 2005
1. (What is) Pop Music No Luck Club 2. High Fidelity Bob Mould 3. Let It Blow Richard Thompson 4. Moon River Petra Haden & Bill Frisell 5. Blue Orchid The White Stripes 6. The Late Greats (Live) - Wilco 7. Sunday Bloody Sunday Richard Cheese 8. Heard Somebody Say Devendra Banhart 9. Little Bird Little Wings 10. Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll The Killers 11. Holland, 1945 Christian Kiefer 12. Very Moby 13. I Can See for Miles Petra Haden 14. Come On! Feel The Illinoise! Sufjan Stephens 15. Radio Campaign M. Ward 16. TV Riot The Adored 17. Landed Ben Folds 18. The World If Full of Crashing Bores Morrissey 19. Modern Music Black Mountain
What is this World - New To Me 2005
1. 27 Jennifers Mike Doughty 2. Jesus Chrst Was An Only Child Modest Mouse 3. Young Pilgrams The Shins 4. 3rd Planet Modest Mouse 5. Source Decay The Mountain Goats 6. Short Cut Built To Spill 7. Sister Im A Poet Colin Meloy 8. 1952 Vincent Black Lightning Mary Lou Lord 9. Gene Autry - Beylah 10. Courtyard The Olivia Tremor Control 11. Almost Was Good Enough - Songs Ohia 12. Wreck On The Highway Roy Acuff 13. Tangled Up In Blue Robyn Hitchcock 14. Human Behavior - Decemberist 15. Hand of Kindness Richard Thompson 16. Oh! September Mirah/Ginger Takahashi 17. Division St. Girl Jason Molina 18. Rules Broken All Time Quarterback 19. Fire truck Mike Doughty 20. Tidal Wave Apples In Stereo 21. Inside Patty Rothberg
That is right, this is my best of 2004 listing. I noticed that I never put my best of 2004 mixes up on the web last year. I just wanted to do this while I worked on my best of 2005 mix. I hope you enjoy these year old best of mix. Thanks
Chemical No 4 (and other Ingredients of life) Best of 2004
1. Somebody Told Me The Killers 2. The Good Times Are Killing Me Modest Mouse 3. The Rat The Walkmen 4. Cmere Interpol 5. Company In My Back Wilco 6. Miracle Drug A.C. Newman 7. Wonderful Beta Band 8. Autumns Child Devendra Banhart 9. German Test Drive - Spymob 10. Blinded By The Lights The Streets 11. Barfly Blues The Hold Steady 12. Cassiopia Joanna Newsome 13. Yr Million Sweetnesses Diane Cluck 14. Dear Landlord Mirah with the Black Cat Orchestra 15. Terrible Angels - CocoRosie 16. Against All Odds The Postal Service 17. Mad World Gary Jules 18. Where Is The Line - Bjork 19. High Speed Train R.E.M. 20. Another Day - AIR 21. Range Life (L.A.s Desert Origins) Pavement
I did not expect to hear that - New To Me 2004
1. Ink & Needles Diane Cluck 2. So Much Water M. Ward 3. Let A Good Thing Go Gemma Hayes 4. Mass Romantic The New Pornographers 5. Please Apples In Stereo 6. Venus Stop The Train - Wilco 7. 405 Death Cab For Cutie 8. Central Reservation Beth Orton 9. Denver The Beauty Shop 10. Already Dead Beck 11. Symbolistic White Walls Matthew Good Band 12. Slob - Weezer 13. I Wouldnt Go Out With Me Either - Viewfinder 14. Love Athena Olivia Tremor Control 15. Just Like Henry Dressy Bessy 16. Brainwashed George Harrison 17. Happiness Whistler 18. The Aristocratic Swells Beulah 19. Battlefield Nurse Diane Cluck
Speaking of the best music of 2005, Jeremy has posted his list of the the top ten albums of 2005. Jeremy's taste are not like most of the people I know. Jeremy has always sent me his best of 2005 mixes. I should post the track lists of the mixes if he does not.
One of the main places I found music in 2005 was eMusic. I love eMusic because it has a lot of odd stuff. They are carving out a place as the best place for indie rock and indie pop on the internet. Lots of the songs from my best of 2005 mix will be from eMusic. I would have never listened to Spoon - Gimme Fiction if it was not for eMusic.
The writers at eMusic are posting the list of Best Albums of 2005: 10-1. It is a pretty interesting list. I think by looking at this list the other lists you can get a good idea of what you can get from eMusic.
I know I am a real computer music geek. I know that must people would not care about this at all. I am so happy with the 5.0 iTunes update. They have finally added a folders system to iTunes. This means I can organize my play lists.
I must have 60 playlists on iTunes now. With smart play list you can do lots of interesting things. I organize the same music over and over again on different themes. Now I can take the play list that I do not use very often and move them off to the side. I think this is a great add to iTunes.
Courtney sent me the link about The Passion of the Morrissey. I told her not too long ago that I used to be a Morrissey fan. Along with my friend Andrew Nock, I was the guy who in college did a radio show during spring finals playing four hours of just Morrissey and the Smiths. I was the guy that would drive two hours to find an our of print single. My guess is that I am not going to surprise anyone by writing this.
It is funny. That was a long time ago. I had one of those moments where I could stop being a fan. A had been such a big fan for a long time, but it seemed to all wash away in a single moment. I still have some old Smiths and Morrissey albums. I still tell people that How Soon Is Now is my favorite song of all time. I just do not conceder myself to be a fan anymore.
Sometime I will write about the time I met Morrissey and why I am no longer a fan. I will save that for some other time. What I do know is that Morrissey is all Aura. It was a little heartbreaking when I found out he was not the person on his albums.
An experiment like The People's Choice Music can't help but fail, at least partially. The story is that Komar and Melamid surveyed web visitors about their musical likes and dislikes. They used the results to create one song that should theoretically be the most popular on the planet. Fortunately, they also let us hear the other shoe drop-- a song that they claim only 200 people on Earth should be able to tolerate. The CD contains only these two tracks, but oddly enough don't leave the buyer unsatisfied-- the concentration of the material is so great as to overcome its slight ratio of minutes to dollars.
The first song, "The Most Wanted Song," pokes gentle fun at the listener and at itself. At first listen, it sounds like a bland 21st-century rhythm and blues number. But the stringent requirement to include all the most popular subject matter of modern music compresses the lyrics into a tongue-in-cheek gibberish that darts madly among themes and characters. The music, too, is inclusive to the point of overload-- still, it's quite easy to listen to. I regret to say that it's growing on me.
"The Most Unwanted Song" is a monster, to be sure-- at almost 22 minutes long, it consists mainly of an operatic rap about cowboys and politics, interrupted by harp and accordion music and children singing about holidays and Wal-Mart. It took me several tries to listen to it all the way through, largely because it seemed to frighten people nearby. "The Most Unwanted Song" battles audibly to control an unruly mob of instruments and styles that clash so thrillingly that the only reaction to a first listen is a painful yelp of laughter, such as one might emit on finding oneself the sole survivor of a massacre. The soft harp that begins the piece is a cruel lure into a murky forest where tubas, banjos, bagpipes, harmonicas and accordions lurk behind every tree, jumping out and hiphopping relentlessly without warning. The tempo, melody, and style change at inopportune times, musically unbalancing the listener as much as the random shots of the man watching from a bedroom chair disturb viewers of certain movies.
In a way, "The Most Unwanted Song" fails twice. For one thing, it asks the listener to suspend the strictest definitions of the word "song." But its true failure is that it's not that bad. After losing one's cherry to a first listen, one finds it easier and easier-- some sections are downright catchy. The second and third times around, themes begin to reveal themselves-- commercialism, Americana, pluralism and diversity-- oddly enough, some of the same themes that appear in "The Most Wanted Song." During what could be called the bridge, political epithets shouted through a megaphone provide an odd climax, setting up an ending that could have come from a Broadway musical. Or perhaps an off-off-Broadway musical. Or an off-Canal-Street musical. Whatever.
The atonal sections of the piece work-- if you like atonal music, you might not find any broken ground here, but you will certainly appreciate Dave Soldier's able composition. The rap parts work comedically, but also fail to fail in one particular way-- by omitting the line "I'm so-amd-so and I'm here to say," the earmark of truly bad rap, the song accidentally takes on morsels of quality that threaten to make it popular in the rap/opera crossover markets. In fact, the rap is remarkably fly, for all its shrill Frontierland gaudiness. A few of the melodies that appear in between are downright pretty. As the saying goes, if you like accordions and tubas, you'll survive this song.
Dave Soldier fights valiantly to make the composition harsh and unpleasant, but he's just too compentent. And despite a few moments reminiscent of Jonathan and Darlene, the performers are all remarkable. The whole experience is most impressive. The fact that Komar and Melamid were actually able to get all these instruments into the same studio, with a skilled operator for each one, is so unbelievable, so marvelous, as to be nearly unforgivable.
I have to crack this one again. They album came about because of a technological change. It is going away because of a technological change. If you want to make a concept album, make it all one track. That way you do not have to worry about people pulling it apart.
If you are so worried about the album as an art form, why do you let radio stations play single songs?
I am traveling back to Philadelphia. My goal is to surprise my Mother for her birthday. I talked to her on the phone last Wednesday. She sounded sad that I was not going to be there for her birthday. Everyone else is going to be there, even my brother who lives in Germany. I know that my mom really wanted to see all of her children and grandchildren together.
Now I am going to catch a flight that will arrive in New York at 5:30 in the morning. I will hang with the family for a few days. I will spend all the time with them. I will be back to San Jose before the weekend. Thank goodness for low dollar fares and red-eye flights. I just hope that nothing will screw this up.
Airport
Airport is a very American word. Airport has that ring of a word that was on a list and the marketing department chose the best one. It just seems like the kind of word an American would come up with. It is the kind of word that people in other languages just adopt.
I wonder what other worlds competed with Airport when that world started. It is the same idea as jeans and dungarees. What other terms did people come up with? The British called it an aerodrome until after World War II. I wonder if there is any way to figure this out. I wonder if there are any words better then airport out there.
