Thursday, September 29, 2005

i love the sound of glass when it smashes

Here's one from the vault, I have enjoyed this song for a long time. It was on In-Flight Program, a compliation put out by Revelation records in the late 90's, and one of my first CDs. I was still a pretty inexperienced indie music listener when I first heard this song, I hadn't even heard the Pixies yet, (who were in fact major influences on this band). I eventually got the whole album containing this song, Liquid Glass, and still listen to it once in a while; it's interesting to go back to the days when emo hadn't fully crystallized into the caricature that it is today. That said, this isn't really a deep song or anything, but it is a fun song to listen to on beautiful days like today.

Whirlpool - Wasteland

Sunday, September 25, 2005

I am speaking of course, of the three great Alabama icons.

For a long time, I ignored when people talked about the Drive-By Truckers, even passed up several of their cds for cheap in the used bin at CD Cellar. I don't really know why, I think something about their name seemed silly to me. But then, one day I read a post on Stereogum, and ended up downloading the Drive-By Truckers songs posted for that day. I still didn't really listen to them, but they ended up on my iPod, and while on shuffle on the plane to Zimbabwe, "The Three Great Alabama Icons" came on and blew me away. When I got back from Zimbabwe, I bought their Southern Rock Opera album, and was not disappointed at all, (see - sharing mp3's does promote buying of music.) The album just grows on you, from the desolate guitar of the opening track, to the straight-up rock songs, to the beautiful and bittersweet ballads. Since then, everyone that I have played the song for has really appreciated it, and my brother asked me to play it in my truck every time he rode with me for a month. So I suggest you listen to it as well, and don't waste all the time getting around to it that I did.

The Drive-By Truckers - The Three Great Alabama Icons

*From their website:

Here's a little more traditional song of theirs, off their latest album, The Dirty South:

The Drive-By Truckers - Carl Perkin's Cadillac

And a really nice slide show of the band set to another excellent song of theirs:

Slideshow

Thursday, September 22, 2005

just sleep, girl

And now, in direct musical contrast to my last post, today's song comes from one of my all time favorite groups. Converge is an extremely talented and influential band in the metal scene, starting in the early 90's and is still putting out albums today. The song I chose for this post os from 2002's Jane Doe, a concept album based on a girl's life that I really think is their best work. This album has no song on it that doesn't fit, or takes away from the cumulative blast of cathartic musical carnage. I really like this quote from Pitchfork's review, "Naturally, you can't follow a single word but the vox bleed into the furious guitars and it's all acidic corrosion. With the emphasis lately on Fennesz and the pixilated laptop set, it's easy to forget that there's whole realms of sound to be found in the lethal decay of metal guitar's radioactive isotopes." And I remember hearing those first shredded sounds coming out of the speakers at Smash Records in DC the first time I heard the album, and loved it, never having heard something like it before. Since then, the album has been one of the most consistently played in my collection, and I am still not tired of it.

Converge - Hell To Pay

*Other cool Converge stuff:

Vocalist Jacob Banning's Art

Converge Videos (Check out Concubine/Fault And Fracture)

Monday, September 19, 2005

because you cared

They sang this song at my church the other week, and it's been in my head since then. I found this version here, and it carried some of the original feeling that I got when I heard it performed. There are some slightly cheesy chimey things going on and such, but when the chorus still kicks in, it is powerful. The lead singer sounds a little like Al Green, and that doesn't hurt either. In my previous post, I talked about how rare it is that lyrics matter to me, but this song is a definite exception. In this case, I am reminded in a beautiful way how much He does care. When you listen to this, I hope that you get some of the same impression.

The Standford Gospel Choir - Jesus, I Love You

Thursday, September 15, 2005

hey dad

I don't usually listen to the lyrics of songs, which is ironic because I have so much music and listen to it quite often. Once in a while though, I find the lyrics surprise me and I really appreciate the song even more. This is true for a song that I have loved for years, and only recently made the effort to find out what Dave Grohl was yelling about. I thought up until the other day that he was saying, "Hey Dad!" maybe some kind of "Hi Mom!" variant. But I found out that he was saying, "I hate it!", which when in context of the rest of the song was pretty cool I thought.


Since I’m putting down all of the true things around, but I like it
I handed down the crown, given the jewels and the answers of may
The thought of being ousted comes and goes
When I think about it the wind blows
I hate it

Run me out of town, somewhere a move might intended a gown at
Pissed at all the bowels, always the blues and a delicate smile
Missed all of the sideways, gull and noun
Chills and petty band-aids, wrapped around
I hate it

Good grief

I really don't know what Dave was thinking about when he wrote this song, but to me it is a perfect catharsis for the days when nothing goes easy. You wake up too late, smack your head on something, drop your breakfast, and fail an exam.

Foo Fighters - Good Grief

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

last dose

Some days ago, when my roommate looked up at me and said, "Man! New Orleans is getting pounded!" I thought he was simply referring to a sports game on the TV. Later that day when I saw images of the devestation caused by Katrina, I was suddenly aware of what the word "pounded" could mean. People, myself included, use hyperbole when describing things that they think are heavy, metal music for instance. It's always shocking when those words are actually used to describe something truly massive.

Crowbar, and their friends and family in New Orleans have now experienced the some of the full extension of what "heaviness" can be, along with the rest of the the nation being reminded by the images in the media. Fortunately, it sounds like they have fared well, considering, according to posts on this forum.

This song is off of Crowbar's 2001 Sonic Excess In Its Purest Form, and opens the album stretching and effortlessly flexing musical muscle.

Crowbar - The Lasting Dose

Friday, September 09, 2005

when morning comes twice a day or not at all

Hello everyone...sorry about the delay in posting, I am still pathetically adjusting to the few responsibilites required by school. It's always harder than I remember to shift gears into class schedules, assignments, blah blah blah. I am also under the employ of two different jobs, which, because of lucrative summer employment, is something that I in previous years didn't have to deal with. Instead this summer, I was on a mission trip to Zimbabwe, of which I have posted a few more pictures.

Preacher Man

My Baby

The Family


Yep, so that's them pictures...onto the music. I read an interesting article a while ago that studied the correlation between country music play time on the radio, and the white suicide rate in said area. Seems plausible to me, considering the crap that is considered contemporary country music. Seriously though, Ithink it's an interesting concept to explore. (There is a country, alt-country, whatever, song at the end of this post, so if you are worried about the effects of this music on your psychological well-being, just look at the pretty pictures again and head over to some of the links on the left.) For the rest of you, secure in your love of life, the song is one from Uncle Tupelo's 1991 album, Still Feel Gone, and, yes it's moderately depressing. I thought of them again when Pitchfork mentioned Jay Farrar had done an interview about his band's dissolution, giving more understanding as to why the relationships within the band could have produced some sourly tinged music, if not still beautiful.

Uncle Tupelo - Still Be Around

Monday, September 05, 2005

The sound...of a brand-new world.

Just watched True Stories this weekend, which I have been meaning to do since I found the soundtrack on vinyl at the thrift store freshman year of high school. I have always liked the Talking Heads to some degree, I remember my aunt playing the Stop Making Sensevideo for me when I was young, but listening to this album was when I first realized how set apart this band was from the denizens of other 80's bands I grew up hearing on the radio. Just as with the True Stories movie, David Byrne had such a clear vision of what he wanted to convey with his art. Under his direction, the Talking Heads maintained a playful but stern critique of modern life all the while producing visionary and influential, (one very successful, and likewise influential British band took their name from this song), music that was still very tangible. And hey, the movies are great too! Ok, enough talk...

Talking Heads - Radio Head

Thursday, September 01, 2005

basic instructions before leaving earth

I am not going to pretend to know a whole lot about Wu-Tang, other than that their output especially during the 1990's was impressive and influential. RZA set the standard for hip-hip production, took part in many side projects including the Gravediggaz, who I have posted on previously. His razor-sharp production along with GZA's lyrics that are intelligent, "The white image of Christ is really Cesare Borgia/N' uh, the second son of Pope Alexander," and funny, " Lyrics are weak, like clock radio speakers." This all adds up to an incredibly well-put together album replete with crazy kung-fu movie quotes. If someone didn't know hip-hop, I wouldn't think twice about suggesting this classic album. The mp3 posted is the last track on the album, and for record consisting of a mostly dark atmosphere, it makes for a sweet ending

GZA - B.I.B.L.E (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)