Music / February / 2011

Keeping with my new year's resolution to listen to more (and new) music, here's what I picked up in February:

• Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: I picked this up because I respect any album that gets a perfect 10 from Pitchfork and appears on virtually any informed "Album of the Year" list. It doesn't hurt that Kanye's famous critique of George W. Bush ranks high as one of my favorite examples of highjacking kairos. The album lives up to its praise--anyone who has ever appreciated a single hip-hop track will likely appreciate MBDTF's care to detail and creativity ("Hell of a Life"'s electronica-infused Sabbath sample would epitomize these qualities).
• G. Love - Lemonade: I just grabbed this album last week and I remain a bit undecided. Initially, I was drawn to his brand new Fixin to Die, but, previewing a few tracks, I was a bit turned off by the bluegrass feel. I think I still harbor a subconscious fear that listening to anything remotely related to country music will make me want to drive a pickup and purchase firearms. A few of the iTunes comments praised Lemonade, so I figured I would grab that one instead. Its a very funky album, as opposed to Fixin's twang, but its also highly polished, and feels a bit too commercial. Admittedly, its a very fine line--between carefully constructed and commercially manufactured. But something about this album doesn't feel quite right--it misses Electric Mile's spontaneity (something that I suspect the new album might supply, being a collection of covers assembled with and produced by the Avett Brothers).
• …And you Will Know Us By the Trail of the Dead - Tao of the Dead: Given the amount of electronic music I've been listening to lately, I wanted something that rocks. A few searches later, I found this offering. As much a continuous rock opera as a collection of individual tracks, Tao of the Dead delivered what I was looking for (sans large haired guitar solos). I'm quite pleased with the purchase, and will probably dig deeper into their catalogue.

I've also picked up a few other oddities this month. First, I downloaded Ramen music's free debut issue. The project is essentially a peer-reviewed, independent music publishing collaboration; a number of the 12 free tracks are quite impressive--especially Graham O'Brien's "CFC's...". I'm still debating whether to subscribe to the magazine (I give myself a 10$ a week music budget and a yearly subscription to Ramen would cost me almost an entire month's allowance). I also came across, via Metafilter, the Nerdcore Now project. Take Weezer's "In the Garage," remix with some Run-DMC, repeat. This provided some nostalgic amusement, but there's really no reason to keep going back.

Thanks to the shared iTunes library at work, I listened to quite a bit of Cut Copy and Arcade Fire last month, too. I like the former--its seems perfect for sitting outside or on the beach in nice weather. There's nothing especially wrong with the latter, though I can't say I'm in a rush to purchase it either.

Music / January / 2011

In keeping with my New Years resolution, here's the albums I've picked up since my last post:

• Black Keys' Rubber Factory - A very solid album, rarely do I find myself skipping a track when this comes up on a shuffle. This band knows what they want to do, retro- blues rock, and they do it well. Given my recent purchases, it is refreshing sometimes to hear a low-fi rock album without a sample, loop, or synthesizer.
• Vampire Weekend's Vampire Weekend and Contra - Put simply, I love both of these albums. They're collections of short, smartly arranged up-tempo songs. Take the Pixies, replace the outsider angst with hipster urbanity and the punk guitars with layered synth, and you have Vampire Weekend. My current favorite band.
• Joe Cocker's With a Little Help From My Friends - I think listening to the Black Keys got me on a retro kick, manifesting itself in Cocker's 1969 album. I felt foolish about 2 seconds after I downloaded the album, seeing as I could probably pick it up for a dollar at any used music store. But, the album is great--there's some deep tracks here I'd never heard before and really enjoy (like "Sandpaper Cadillac"). So, go ahead Joe, enjoy the royalty and have a glass on me.
• The Brew's At Showcase Live (June 16th 2010) - This band came recommended by an ex-student; I downloaded a freebie off of Internet Archive (I pledge to buy an album at some point in the future, karma people). After 4 or 5 listens, I'm pretty sure I'd like the studio material better. The live stuff gets a bit jammy/Phishy for my tastes, although I'm going to tag any band that plays 3 minute solos with a Paul Reed Smith as Phishy. After effects of going to Clark University.
• Arctic Monkey's Humbug - I bought this album with a sinking feeling in my stomach. Their last album, Favorite Worst Nightmare, was one of my favorites from grad school. After a quick preview, I pretty much knew this one wouldn't live up. The liner notes highlight how the Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Josh Homme produced the album--and it shows. Arctic Monkey's frenetic energy is subdued with a QotSA kind of deep pump. It doesn't work quite as well for me, but I've only listened to the album once. We'll see.

Alright, so that's what I picked up this month, along with a few old Kanye singles. The National, Arcade Fire, and Deerhunter all remain on my radar. I'm thinking of picking up Kanye's latest album next week. Pitchfork gave it a perfect 10.0, and for those that don't know Pitchfork, that's about as likely as snow in Florida.

Trying to Listen to More Music

Meg got me a new iPod for Christmas. I haven't really bought any new music in probably 5 years (I think the last new album I purchased was Arctic Monkey's Favorite Worst Nightmare in 2007). So I'm trying to reconnect with music in 2011. My plan is to buy an album a week. I started with an iTunes gift certificate, here's the albums I have purchased so far:

• Kings of Leon, Only By the Night - A great album. I was expecting something with a bit more edge to it, so it took a few listens. But its haunting sound grew on me.
• Crash Kings, Crash Kings - A complete one-hit wonder. "Mountain Man" is a great song, but the rest of the album tries to hard to emulate every other alternative band out there.
• Mumford and Sons, Sigh No More - I loved the single "Little Lion Man." The rest of the album is solid, but they certainly picked the right track to release as the first single. The band is at their best with up-tempo tracks.
• My Chemical Romance, Danger Days - I am an unapologetic My Chemical Romance fan, I love their harmonic-punk style and experimentation (their last album, Black Parade, has a punk-polka). This album is quite different than the two previous albums. I listened to it about 5 times and am not sure what I think about it--its certainly a good album, but I think I'd prefer carefully arranged and mixed punk rock to carefully arranged and mixed electronica.

I just bought the Black Keys' 2004 album Rubber Factory and a friend provided burns of two Vampire Weekend albums, so I have plenty to listen to this week. Next week, I'm thinking of grabbing The National's High Violet, but I am open to suggestions.

New Ok Go Video

Honestly, I'm not really a big fan of this band. I thought their first hit, "Here it Goes Again," was catchy but borderline annoying. The video was engaging. That said, the single extended shot chicanery in their new video is quite cool:

And I appreciate the self-referential jab at the success of "Here it Goes Again" around 2:40.

A Small Old-Fashioned American Hero

Its been awhile since I've written on the RIAA and ip, but a great story on how ISP's are resisting the RIAA's insane plan came across /. this mornin. We can also cast Jerry Scroggin as the everyman hero in America's struggle to retake culture and maintain our Constitutional creative rights. Scroggings ins't a lawyer, he's a small ISP operator, and he's mad as hell and isn't going to take it anymore. Well, not really. He's a nice capitalist who isn't going to do the RIAA's bidding for free.

Scroggin is no radical. He respects the law and said he has a long history of cooperating with authorities to protect people from harm.

"If it was life threatening, I'm the first to jump," he said. "We've been contacted by police over Denial of Service and bot attacks. We'll have Secret Service and FBI conversations. We help if police are on perv watch."

But protecting against copyright violations just doesn't have the same urgency, not enough that that ISPs should be asked to work without compensation, Scroggin said. Here are the realities of being "HBO's free police," he said. First, when a media company demands he kick a customer off the network, there is very little in the way of proof offered that the person in question has committed a crime, according to Scroggin. Yet, entertainment companies want Scroggin to simply wave goodbye to a customer who might have signed up for a three-year plan. At $40 per month, that customer is potentially worth $1,440 to Scroggin over the life of the plan. That, says the ISP owner, is unreasonable.

Next, it's expensive and time consuming to ask highly paid technicians to chase down IP logs and customer IDs, Scroggin said, noting that it's especially difficult nowadays because it's extremely easy to spoof IP addresses.

Scroggin's argument calls attention to the difficulties of denying service beyond finances--especially IP spoofing. If the RIAA wants private industry to take up their cause, that's going to cost them. Otherwise, its like banks forcing automakers to monitor drivers in case one might use the car for a robbery. Automakers provide a vital service, and there is no widespread expectation that they must defend against misuse. So long as ISPs don't advertise "hey, we've got the fastest connection for downloading all your illegal music," I'd say they are covered. Ah, sometimes capitalism works just like you want it to.

Thinking back to yesterday's post, it seems the RIAA wrongly thought it was in the music business. It never was. Musicians are in the music business. Radio stations are quasi-in the music business. The labels behind the RIAA were in the marketing business. And so, as they continue to develop new strategies for protecting music, the net continues to develop new ways to market artists. These new ways might not be perfect yet, but that is the next big thing. That's when Nickelback will no longer be "fresh" rock. I'm thinking a Facebook driven radio station, powered by the recommendations of Friends with a "click to buy this track" button. Something.

Let's just take a moment and enjoy another chink the the RIAA's armor. And go Blue States for putting a halt to some of the RIAA's madness.

Cover Bands

A few posts ago I talked about my love of cover bands. Today a list of the "top cover bands of all-time" cam across Coudal. I forgot how much I like Dread Zeppelin (the Rondellus was quirky, Nouvelle Vague kinda cool). Enjoy.

Victory is (sorta) Ours!

SoundExchange (representing the music industry) has agreed to re-think its fee structure for internet radio, 16 days before the killer rate increase. DiMA has a mixed review to the announcement. While many people are questioning the move, it at least suggests that SoundExchange is willing to come to the table and is a bit fearful to take the matter before Congress.

Another Top Ten: Albums

Sure its cliche, but I was thinking about this today on the drive into school--the ole "what ten albums would you take to a desert island?" question. Here's what I'm packing, in chronological order.

Miles Davis, Kind of Blue, 1959

I never claim to be a die-hard jazz fan, my jazz collection is about ten albums. I love writing to this album (along with Coltrain and Monk).

Jimi Hendrix, Radio One, 1967-8 [recorded]

Well mastered, live in studio tracks; the version of "Burning" on this disc is my probably my favorite Hendrix recording. I know they have re-released the complete BBC recordings, but this was the 3rd CD I ever bought--sentimental value runs deep

Jimi Hendrix, Electric Ladyland, 1968

This was the last album I put on the list--because there's some tracks on this album that I really dislike... but as a whole, this is the most sublime album in the history of guitar playing. From the jam of Voodoo Child to the "oh-my-fucking-God-that's-just-ridiculous" licks of the final three tracks (all competing in my top ten all-time tracks), EL is a master virtuoso performance. Though, if I brought this album to the island, I'd have to bring a guitar--I can't listen to this album and not pick up a guitar

Allman Bros, Beginnings, 1973

O.k., its a double album. And a re-release. Chill out. Eat a peach.

Guns 'n' Roses, Appetite for Destruction, 1987

I have to keep reminding myself that this is twenty years old. Many of my students weren't born when this album came out.

Pixies, Doolittle, 1989

Again, a college disc. But its hard to fathom how many other bands were influenced by the Pixies. My wife's a bigger fan of the earlier albums; I like them all but consider Doolittle a nice mix of polish and ferocity

Sublime, 40oz. to Freedom, 1992

This album reminds of college--and the sheer range of musical stylings and influences on this disc makes it still worth a listen. "Ball and Chain" ranks up high on my favorite all-time tracks, but I'll save that list for another day

Soul Coughing, Ruby Vroom, 1994

Few albums can claim to be unique. This album is one of them. I never felt any of their follow-ups captured the sophistication and energy of this CD. "True Dreams of Witcha" is the hightlight--smart, profound, and carefully crafted (without being "sound-painting")

Pearl Jam, Vs, 1995

I love Ten, too--but its too polished. There's a certain "rough-around-the-edges" violence to the mixing of this album; I'd rather be with an animal.

Ben Folds Five, Ben Folds Five, 1995

I'm a big fan of all Ben Folds's work, but this first CD remains my favorite. But that's just my philosophy.

Looking at the list, I feel a bit old. Nothing from this century (sigh). Number 11 would have been Lucky Boys Confusion--terrible name for a band, but a very tight sound with pretty incredible harmonies. Also kind of surprising that Metallica didn't make the list--despite the 25 or so CD's in my collection. I really like Metallica, but I guess there's no one CD that I couldn't live without.

Of course, I'll probably look back at this list in a day or two and realize I'm forgetting some other album "I couldn't live without."