Category: music

In lieu of actual content today, I’ve decided to post my list of top ten favorite albums, for no other reason than every time I’ve tried to go through this exercise before I always fall into brainmelt trying to pick just ten (which is why I can’t really do my top ten favorite movies). Here they are in no particular order (and only one album per band, which makes this really hard), and why:

• Morphine:Cure for Pain – This was the first Morphine album I heard and it just blew me away. From the opening sax on Dawna to the final notes of Miles Davis’ Funeral, it’s perfect. There isn’t one song this album could live without. Mark Sandman’s baritone is the fourth instrument in the band, and complements his crazy three-string bass, drums and sax perfectly. If you’ve never heard Morphine before, you’re missing out. I almost used The Night here instead, but Cure for Pain is more important to me, even though Night is a little more polished. The band’s at its best when it gets a little ragged anyway.

• Phish: Billy Breathes – Augh, this one was hard. This could have easily been Farmhouse or Hoist. Like the previous album, I chose this one for the sheer impact. This was the first I’d heard of the band, and I was immediately hooked. I went out and bought Hoist, Rift and Slip, Stitch and Pass the day after hearing this album. This album is a great introduction to the band. It’s missing those long loopy jams that can annoy the first time listener, and all the songs are relatively short, independant and rockin’. It also has one of their best ballads (they’re totally underrated when it comes to ballads, check out Not Fast Enough for You on Rift and Dirt from Farmhouse). There are no duds on this album, and nothing you’ll want to skip through (ok, except maybe Wolfman’s Brother – but even that’s an awesome song).

• Massive Attack:Mezzanine – There is no other. This is their best album, and the best trip-hop album ever. You’ve probably heard most of the songs already without knowing it from movies, TV shows and commercials who make liberal use of Angel and Teardrop (still… the album came out in ’97). It’s got a great techno-not-techno feel. There are real instruments behind everything, and a real voice. This is the easiest pick out of the whole list (I shouldn’t say that, I’m not done yet). If you don’t own this album, go out today and buy it. I don’t care what kind of music you think you like – you will like this. You will love it, and then spend the rest of your days finding anything to compare to it (OK, 100th Window is close, but Mezzanine is still better by far).

• Bela Fleck and the Flecktones:Live Art – Some might say this is unfair for two reasons. It’s a live album containing material from other albums, and there are two disks. Pshaw on you. You can’t really grasp the complete and total mastery the band has of their respective instruments by listening to their studio albums. Live Art gives you a little glimpse into the greatness of their live shows, and will get your butt in a seat when they come back to Wolf Trap (or whereever they’re going to be locally). There’s only one dud on the album, and that’s just because they let Sam Bush (who’s a hell of a mandolin player) sing a song. No singing = good Flecktones. If you’re not into the live stuff, check out Flight of the Cosmic Hippo – it’s my favorite of their studio albums, and has the amazing Howard Levy on it.

• The Crystal Method:Vegas – This album is almost as old as Mezzanine and people are still copying it. It’s the definitive techno album as far as I’m concerned and contains songs I’m sure you’ve heard before – probably in the same places you’ve heard Massive Attack or Amon Tobin. This album just plain rocks. You won’t be able to avoid tapping your feet and bobbing your head along with the amazing beats on this album. Also one of the best headphone albums ever.

• Living Colour:Cult of Personality – I was going to cheat and put Pride here, but I just couldn’t. This was one of the first albums I bought with my own money that I’ll still admit to. Corey Glover’s vocals were a cure for all the girly pop boys of the late eighties. His soulful tenor over Vernon Reid’s genius guitar work blew me away, and still do. Cult of Personality and These Memories Can’t Wait are perfect hard rock that no one’s been able to match for me since. If you want to buy one album and get the whole Glover/Reid experience, get Pride. It has the best of their studio albums – the latter ones only contain two or three songs each that match the promise of their first album. Vernon Reid and Corey Glover’s solo albums are also good… but again, they were at their best together on that first album.

• The Beatles:Sgt. Peppers – My dad still had a great record collection, and this was my favorite album in it. This was my first favorite album. Every song is perfect. I know the album by heart, but every time I hear it, it feels new and better. Another great headphone album.

• The Housemartins:The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death – This one’s older, but a fairly new addition to my list. This is one of Jen’s favorite bands, and now it’s one of my faves too. Never heard of them? Yeah, I’ve heard that before. This is happy 80’s pop without the bubblegum. It’s bouncey, smart, funny and perfect. You’ll smile without thinking about it, and learn the words and start singing along in no time. A perfect pick-me-up after a long day at work.

• Talking Heads:Sand in the Vaseline – I’m totally cheating on this one, I know, but I don’t own another Talking Heads album. This could have been Feelings from David Byrne, but I decided to go to the source. My wife and I danced to City of Dreams at our wedding reception. They were one of the most revolutionary bands in modern rock and set the stage for art rock and folks like Beck. Good, good classic stuff.

• Henryk Gorecky:Sympony No. 3 – Ha, threw you for a loop on the last one, didn’t I? You’ve probably heard some of this on TV or in a movie too (it showed up in one of my favorite movies, Fearless and I’ve heard it in at least a couple dozen other places too). Written about the Holocaust, it contains Polish poems and prayers, and is one of the most haunting and beautiful pieces of music I’ve ever heard. It starts out with a double bass sawing slowly and quietly, barely audible. Then builds through three movements with other strings and the gorgeous voice of Dawn Upshaw (in my recording anyway). The second movement especially is just heartbreaking. If you like bands like Sigur Ros, love sad orchestral music, or strings – go get this album.

That was hard. I know I shortchanged about a dozen of my other favorite albums here, but I won’t list them – because that would be cheating, it really would. What’s your favorite album?

New music Friday!! I should have written about this instead of my Java vs. Tcl conflicts, but hey, I’m tired, have a headache and am hungry as hell, so forgive me – please. I went a little nuts on Amazon last week and bought a bunch of new music. The first batch arrived last night, and after listening to it all day, here are my impressions of these two albums by Lemon Jelly. Where did I hear them? Why, JazzMusique, of course. Usually, I don’t check the track names of the songs as they play, but last week, three songs really caught my attention during the day, and they all happened to be by the same group. So, I bought ’em. Here’s what I think of the albums:

• Lemon Jelly.ky: This is a collection of three EPs the group (two guys) put out. What’s weird about knowing it’s a collection is that the songs all flow together really well. It feels more like a concept album than a compilation. What do they sound like? They’re a little like Groove Armada if you replace the vocals on Groove Armada‘s stuff with funny spoken word samples and add some more horns. It’s trippy, groovy lounge music that’s not at all boring. It has some pep to it, which is a nice change from some lounge music that makes you want to nap. I have no idea why, but it makes me think of late spring sun showers. It’s raining, but the sun’s out and I’m happy that it’s raining. Yeah, I know, must be the allergy pills talking.

• Lost Horizons: A complete album, and you can tell. While there may not be an overarching theme (not that I can find anyway), there are riffs that show up in the background, and some of the voice samples are probably from the same source (sounds like the same guy anyway). This is great coding music. It’s interesting enough to keep you focused, but not overpowering enough to distract. There are an insane amount of layers to the songs. You can hook into the bass line, the drums, the samples, or the other instruments hidden under the covers. It’s perfect headphone music. Spacewalk and Ramblin’ Man are breathtaking in the sheer beauty of the songs and the layers of complimentary sound they pack into them. If you’re going to buy just one, get this one.

The one downside to both albums is the packaging. While both CD’s come in fantastic looking cases, they’re completely unusable. It’s hard to get the CD’s out, hard to put them back in, etc. Thankfully, I’m burning backup copies so I can put the CD’s away in the “vault”. I should get the other CD’s from the splurge this weekend, so expect reviews of them next week.

I’m not often touched by song lyrics. But Screenwriter’s Blues is a weird mix of thumping stand-up bass and beat poetry that forces me to listen. The section above just resonates in my skull. How gorgeous are those three lines?

Everyone (well, all the Mac users anyway) at work has now discovered music sharing in iTunes, and sent their addresses to our little OS X user’s mailing list. I am in heaven, and I’m in heaven legally, which is really cool too. I’ve heard The Replacements and Wilco for the first time, and found a bunch of golden oldies from the nineties that are just making me happy.

Why does the sharing in iTunes work and the other methods (peer-to-peer, Napster, etc) don’t? I can’t burn a CD from my pals’ collections. I can hear them and whet my appetite, but I can’t take their music with me. Now, I’m going to go add some stuff to my Amazon wishlist and will eventually buy it. Everyone’s happy. I get to hear new music I wouldn’t hear otherwise (damn you, commercial, sold-out, bubble gum corporate radio!!), the artists get their check, and the whiny jerks at the RIAA can shut up.

It’s the same with internet radio. I’m not going to spend the time to record a stream anymore than I would to record a radio show. That is so sixth grade. I listen to NetMusique all day long at work (thank you, network from Heaven!) and have added several things to my wishlist because of it.

The recording industry should be jumping for joy at ‘net radio. I’m surprised they’re not. It gives artists in their catalog who don’t get exposure through traditional radio the opportunity to be heard and for people to go buy their music. It’s a win-win.

I’m a little disappointed that I can’t bookmark shared music, especially folks who have static IP’s, but I can live with that. And all this on six hours of sleep and no caffeine… and remember kids, the winner will be announced tonight.

I spent this afternoon working on documents, experimenting with crazy CSS stuff and listening to music long forgotten in the bowels of my office downstairs. I went through the four hundred or so CD’s down there last night and picked out some old stuff to bring to work. So far this afternoon I’ve listened to:

• Tripping Daisy: I’m An Elastic Firecracker: This album rocks… really. It’s got great hooks and is pretty funny too. It’s a really good album if you’re in the mood for some arty hard rock.

• R.L. Burnside: Too Bad Jim: Real Delta Blues from a guy who looks like he’s really got ’em. He’s not screwin’ around. The sound is extremely raw, but the guitar work is sure, and Mr. Burnside’s voice carries the pain and anger better than most. This was his first album. I got Ass Pocket Full Of Whiskey, and it didn’t have the same raw energy of this one. A great introduction to real blues.

• The Presidents of the United States: Self-Titled: Who doesn’t remember Peaches and Lump? A great funny two-string guitar album. Throw it in with the windows down on a summer’s day and all your cares are forgotten.

• 2nu: Ponderous: It took me forever to find a copy of this to buy. Someone in high school loaned me the tape once and I just fell in love. Other than the one song where they actually sing, this is a great album of funny spoken word pieces set to music. It will make you giggle, guaranteed.

Yeah, it was that kind of day… And I still have to hang out for another meeting that will keep me here past six. Then, I’m going to go work out and try out my new MP3 CD Player with my new “workout collection”. The fun never ends around here… if I’m not dead when I get home, I’ll tell you all about the fantabulous dinner I made last night.

The other two music-related things I was going to tell you about yesterday before Mike delivered his new album were the two CD’s I got in the mail on Monday. They are:

• Massive Attack: 100th Window: Before I start this, I have a confession. I am a huge Massive Attack fan. I own all their albums. I have been waiting for this for five years. So, if I break down and start to cry, that’s why. This is a great album. Go out and buy it right now. Why? It has Sinead O’Conner sounding the best she ever has in some haunting Teardrop~~esque (my favorite song EVER) pieces on it. The rest of it is classic Massive Attack, only new. There’s growth and expansion from what they did on Mezzanine. The sound is fuller, and has more layers than anything that’s come before. Everywhen is heavenly, with the slightest bit of distortion on the keyboards adding a pleasant roundness to the sound. The layers come in one by one and wash over my ears, making me nod and close my eyes. It’s hypnotic and then it blows your ass out of the chair~~ like the best of their other work (think “Angel has a baby with Teardrop who sounds a little like Safe From Harm“).

• Groove Armada: Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub): I somehow have a copy of Edge Hill on my computer that I swear I have no idea how it got there. It’s a great song, and I was already placing my order with Amazon, so I went for it. I’m glad I did. The other songs on the album bear little resemblance to Edge Hill, but they’re still good. I even like the rap in the first song (it shows up in others two, but I’m listening to Massive Attack still, so I’m not going to go find them. The album flows really well between songs, and creates a great laid back mood throughout, even when it’s rockin’. After Edge Hill, Little by Little has me going back to it over an over. Hypnotic, densely layered and beautiful, even the vocals are great. What I love about the song is it gives you a good couple minutes to set the mood of the song before the vocals come in. Even then, the music takes precedence. Good good stuff for your headphoning pleasure.

My lovely wife got me Fear of Pop for my birthday, which I’ll probably review tomorrow, if I can stop listening to Mike’s new album, and these two gems.

Today has been a much better day than I expected. Lots of good news and good new music. I’ll document the other new music later, but I want to tell you about my friend Mike. See, he was my boss for a little while a couple years ago and is an all-around swell guy. I didn’t find out until recently that he’s something of a musician (something of because I didn’t know how good he was). All that changed today when, while I was meeting with someone in my office, Mike ran in, dropped something on my desk without saying a word and ran off. It was a CD, and it had his name on it!

I popped it open, threw it in the UberMac, ripped it (don’t worry, Mike, I won’t share), and began listening. Holy crap. He doesn’t suck! I’ve had one other good musician friend in my life, and the experience was a lot like this. I got this huge swelling of pride. My friend has created something beautiful, and I know him (not Biblically… I swear… although he did offer to take me hiking). All of the songs on the album are good, but there are some that are honest-to-goodness pieces of art. Waltz for Brooklyn is a gorgeous song that almost made me cry, partly because my friend created this and was kind enough to share it with me, but mostly because the song is just that good.

So, if you’re in need of some acoustic guitar happy-sweet-goodness, go pre-order Half Pint today. Tell him Kevin sent you… and no, I don’t get anything if you buy it. It’s really just that good.

Protesters destroy Dixie Chicks CDs. Yeah! Burn those cd’s!! Oh wait, it’s because the lead singer said something about the President you didn’t like? Well, that’s just plain stupid. Now, if this is just a referendum on bad music, go cats go! I’ve got a list of music you can start on when you’re done with the Dixie Chicks. You can start with almost the rest of contempory country music, which should take you a while. When you’re done with that, come back and I’ll give you a list of meaningless pop that should keep your bulldozer busy until the war is over.

Ok, this Samba version of Hit The Road, Jack in Portugese (I think) on Jazzmusique, has me dancing my fat ass off. It’s rockin’ in a way I just can’t explain. My feet are tappin’, my head is a-boppin, my butt is a-shimmyin’, and thanks to Amazon, the album has been added to my wishlist, and just in time for my birthday.

If you have a speedy connection, you should get on over to Netmusique right now and listen in. Jazzmusique is my favorite. For example, right before Hit The Road, Jack, they played a live version of Massive Attack’s Safe From Harm, which is one of my all-time favorites (now, if it had been live Teardrop I would have exploded from pure music joy). It’s great happy workin’ music without too many distractions. There are 5 second bumpers every hour or so, but no ads and no end to the ger-oovy music.

They play some rap every once in a while, and to my shock, I actually like it. It’s always downtempo jazzy stuff with interesting lyrics and sweet beats. Most of the time, it’s downtempo happy beats, frequently of an ethnic flavor (pick one, it’ll happen during the day).

I apologize for the goofiness of this post. It’s set to music you’re not hearing and a beat you can’t follow.

are now useless!! I found FlareSOUND yesterday in iTunes and am in love. They stole my whole music library and put it up on their jazzybeats channel. They threw in stuff I’ve never heard before and then proceeded to beat me silly with it. Great downtempo chillout coding music for the musically adventurous.

And yes, my iTunes library is currently 7 days, 14 hours, 15 minutes and 10 seconds and takes up 13.2gb of hard drive. And it’s 95% music I own (or someone in my immediate family owns) and 5% samples I downloaded for free. I should be the poster boy for the fight against the RIAA. I’m not a music stealer. I’m a perfectly legal fair-use consumer of music that I’ve legally purchased through retail outlets. I love being able to listen to several hundred CDs on shuffle without having to bring the CDs to work every day, or leave them here. It’s a perfectly reasonable use of the CDs I’ve overpaid for over the years, and any attempt to take it away will be met with untold amounts of hacking and debauchery to get it back.

I didn’t mean to turn this into a rant about the RIAA, it just kind of happened. Why? Because I’m in a good mood today. 2.6 pounds to go and I can say I no longer weigh 300 pounds. How cool is that? I’m down to 302.5 (that’s a pound and half gone from yesterday alone and a pound the day before). Needless to say, the diet’s working and Jen could even tell the difference this morning. She says I’m lookin’ gooooood, and that’s all the matters.