Weekly Listening Roundup #7

This is way late. The internet, as beautiful and amazing of a thing it is, is also distracting. I've spent all week at work reading Wikipedia entries about my favorite Squaresoft and Square Enix role playing games. I am silly.

Well, here are the records I enjoyed from last week. It seems like there is a mid-late 90s rock theme going here.


Blur - Blur (Virgin, 1997)
It seems like my friends Alec, Matt and Travis have all been pushing Blur on me off and on for a couple years now. Finally, I take the plunge with their 1997 self-titled album, and am moderately impressed. A lot of it is bland and obvious brit pop. But there are some definite gems. I think I remember opener "Beetlebum" as a very minor single on 89X, and it sounded way better this time. "Country Sad Ballad Man" is epic but really nice indie pop. And, even though I have been sick of the song for several years, "Song 2," which is annoying and mediocre at best, is a hilarious critique (musically speaking) of early and mid 90s American rock. The album goes on a little too long, and I feel a sense of arrogance all around (not as much as say, their rivals, Oasis), but the production is fabulous and there are enough good songs to merit my owning of the album.
Top jams: "Beetlebum," "Country Sad Ballad Man," "M.O.R.," "Look Inside America," "Strange New From Another Star"


The Power of Failing - Mineral (Crank!, 1996)
EMO! The Power of Failing is melodramatic, whiny emo at it's purest. I picked the record up back in the summer of 2003, and boy was it a struggle to get into, because the production is SHIT. My high school emo roots really wanted to like Mineral, and thankfully the Mark Trombino-produced swan song End Serenading was not so difficult to get into. I've come to terms with it all, though. The way I look at it, The Power of Failing's production is not much worse than Sunny Day Real Estate's Diary (which, stylistically, TPoF sounds like a slower, slightly brighter version of), and it is substantially better than The Jazz June's earlier releases. Also, I think End Serenading is a more solid album, but, with the exception of kinda title track, "& Serenading", TPoF's good songs are better.
Top jams: "Gloria," "Slower," "If I Could," "July"


The Lean Years Tradition - Model Engine (Sara Bellum, 1997)
Ahhh... Here is another one of those christian bands I was into back in middle school and early high school. I don't quite know how to describe Model Engine. On The Lean Years Tradition, I guess they just play some indie rock. At the time, one might have called it "college rock" or something like that. To pick it apart a little, the songs aren't structured by the typical verse/chorus standard. There are some nice melodies sung by a passionate vocalist. Rhythmically, it is pretty nuts, too. And for a christian act, the lyrics are surprisingly dark and actually kind of interesting. It's definitely one of those rare christian albums that I consider being pretty original.
Top jams: "Scarred by Smarter," "Reeperbahn," "Weathervanes," "Walking Wounded," "Anonymous F," "Rosinante"


This is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About - Modest Mouse (Up, 1996)
Trying to love Modest Mouse is hard times for me. I waited too late and started with 2004's masterpiece Good News for People Who Love Bad News, which I absolutely love. Then I tried The Moon and Arctica (which everyone else considers a masterpiece), and I still struggle with it, even if there are quite a few amazing tracks. Next, I traveled back to The Lonesome Crowded West, which I didn't understand and completely hated. In the summer of 2006, my roommates at the time, Danny and Julian, pushed the b-sides collection, Building Nothing Out of Something, on me, and it totally worked. To this day I believe it is my favorite Modest Mouse release. I'm not even going to touch on 2007's We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, because it is tripe and it simply sucks. Finally, I came across This is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About. I'll rank it somewhere between The Lonesome Crowded West and The Moon and Antractica, which it does not even come close to touching. It is exactly what you'd expect the band's first record to be: really dark, really rough around the edges and way too long. There were only a few songs that kept my attention. I don't have the patience for everything else on it.
Top jams: "Dramamine," "Custom Concern," "Beach Side Property," "Ohio"

15 Life Changing Albums

Sorry, this will be my last post for the day.

Today I got tagged by three different friends to compose a Facebook note listing 15 albums that have changed my life. I decided to go the extra mile by not only including explanations and photos, but also posting it on my REAL blog. This one right here.

Two important notes before I get started:

(1) Determining what albums have literally affected or changed my life deeply is very difficult. In all honesty, I can only consider two albums fully life changing (OK Computer and Pet Sounds). The other 13 on this list are the next closest things.

(2) I'm going to try to list these in chronological order, not by the year the album was released, but the year and hopefully month in which it entered and/or became crucial in my life. To the best of my knowledge, at least. Also, this is from the point when I first started getting really serious about music until now.

Oh, and one more thing.

(3) These aren't necessarily my 15 favorite records of all time (although that list would look pretty close), but 15 records that have had a major impact on my outlook on life and in music. Somehow, there is a difference.

Here we go!


OK Computer - Radiohead (Capitol, 1997)
NOVEMBER 1997 - This is what slowly but surely pulled me up from the depths of my ska and pop punk listening shenanigans. It helped me look at the world in a more realistic and even skeptical manner. It inspired me, creeped me out and probably made me cry. It is my favorite album of all time.


Weezer (The Blue Album) - Weezer (Geffen, 1994)
MARCH 1999 - I was way behind with this one. Back when it first came out, I tossed it aside because it wasn't Christian or grunge. But when I finally sat down with it, boy did it hit me hard. The first album to convince me to give pop music a chance.


Something to Write Home About - The Get Up Kids (Vagrant, 1999)
MARCH 2000 - The perfect high school album. I at least thought that I related to the lyrics at the time, and I sure as hell loved singing along to 'em. So catchy and interesting for me at the time, and the impressive drumming only helped.


Frame & Canvas - Braid (Polyvinyl, 1998)
NOVEMBER 2001 - I was introduced to this at the height of my obsession with emo. Braid should have been one of the first for me, but alas, they were not. Not being one who pays attention to lyrics that much, I couldn't relate to them at the time, unlike so many others (too clever, I guess). But, this is the record that completely sold me on the idea of one day going on tour. It also was fun to imagine me playing Damon Atkinson's drum parts, and how amazing that would be.


Emergency & I - The Dismemberment Plan (DeSoto, 1999)
OCTOBER 2002 - Probably the first truly out there and bizarre album I had ever gotten into. This changed the way I looked at both melodies and drumming forever.


Discovery - Daft Punk (Virgin, 2001)
NOVEMBER 2002 - I hated dancing, and then this sexy baby came along, and now I only love to dance to it (unless I'm under the influence AND with the right crowd). Discovery opened my mind to funky, sexy music, and reminded me that music is really fun to listen to.


The Royal Tenenbaums Original Soundtrack - Mark Mothersbaugh/various (Hollywood, 2001)
NOVEMBER 2002 - Mark Mothersbaugh's original score + amazing songs by The Clash, Nick Drake, Nico, The Ramones, The Velvet Underground, etc. + it being the soundtrack to my favorite movie = greatest movie soundtrack I have ever heard. BEAUTIFUL.


Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys (Capitol, 1966)
JANUARY 2003 - Here is what finally sold me on pop music, and how if it's done right, it can be the most beautiful thing you've ever heard.


Keep it Like a Secret - Built to Spill (Warner Bros., 1999)
JULY 2003 - Just when I was getting sick of hearing the guitar, this album comes along and pulls me right back in. My favorite guitar album of all time.


Transatlanticism - Death Cab for Cutie (Barsuk, 2003)
OCTOBER 2003 - Not necessarily the best Death Cab album, but the one with absolutely perfect timing. It came out during what might have been the greatest month of my entire life in the greatest year (school, not calender) of my life. Lots of great memories and emotions attached to this one.


You Forgot it in People - Broken Social Scene (Arts & Crafts, 2002)
DECEMBER 2003 - This album is stunning. I'm at a loss of words. Perhaps it's another one of those "perfect album with perfect timing" stories. I don't know. It heavily contributed to the glory that was the 2003/04 school year.


The Soft Bulletin - The Flaming Lips (Warner Bros., 1999)
APRIL 2004 - One of the weirdest yet most beautiful things I had ever heard at this time. The way this record sounds, primarily the drums, has had an eternal effect on me. It is my dream to have drums that I record sound like this.


London Calling - The Clash (Epic, 1979)
APRIL 2004 - At this stage in life, I was so sick of punk rock. Not that this is a punk album through and through. In essence and attitude, it is, but really, it seems like this punk band, The Clash, wanted to make a pop album. And they did. And it was Long Calling. And it sold me again on the idea of punk rock.


The Biz - The Sea and Cake (Thrill Jockey, 1995)
AUGUST 2006 - Here began a long and extensive love affair with this band that probably will never end. Not necessarily their best, but the first that I got into. And what a beaut it is!


The Beatles (The White Album) - The Beatles (Capitol, 1968)
DECEMBER 2007 - It took me 23 years and 7 months, but in December of 2007, thanks to Matt Rickle putting "Martha My Dear" on a mix CD for me, I FINALLY felt ready to give The Beatles a go. I have not looked back once. And this is my album. Though, to be completely honest, I haven't spent nearly as much time on the second disc as I have the first. But that first disc is IT!

The Sea and Cake @ The MOCAD, 2/13/09

I had originally planned on posting this only a couple days after the concert, but then I just totally forgot about it. My best bud Travis' post this week about his recent experience seeing Ben Folds live inspired me to just go ahead and still do it.

So, last Friday I had the opportunity to see my newly positioned second favorite band, The Sea and Cake, at an art opening at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD). I had planned to recall the entire set list for the night (not necessarily in order), and I totally blew it by waiting too long to post this. However, I will try to recall their set to the best of my abilities.

First off, the band was incredibly tight. This was not very surprising as they were pretty much perfect when I saw them at the Magic Stick back in October of 2007. Sam Prekop and Archer Prewitt both just did their thang with their guitars, not being too showy, displaying just the right amount of coolness. Of course Prekop's voice was smooth as hell. John McEntire banged the shit out of his drums amazingly. That dude is just sick. And once again, bassist Eric Claridge proved to me that he might be the most crucial member of the band. He knows when to hold it down and keep everyone together and when to let loose and wail. Seasoned professionals are what they are.

The set list was great. They played most of their newest record, Car Alarm. It was exciting to see some of my top jams from the record such as "A Fuller Moon," "On a Letter" and "Window Sills." "Weekend" was especially awesome. 2007's Everybody was represented well thanks to splendid performances of "Middlenight," "Coconut" and "Exact to Me." I was pretty bummed they didn't play "Crossing Line," but I guess that's okay. The band also highlighted some old favorites, the best of which were "Parasol," "The Biz," "Sporting Life," and "Midtown." All of this plus several others from Car Alarm, some oldies and a few songs I didn't recognize (one in particular that McEntire completely dominated) in an hour-and-a-half set that included a four song encore. They must have been feeling generous.

Great set guys! You are truly fantastic both on record and live.

Know Your Onion #13

Kim Jong Il Unfolds Into Giant Robot

Here's a classic.

P.D.A.D. #1: Greg Saunier

Tonight, I begin a new series of themed blog posts, titled P.D.A.D. (Public Display of Affectionate Drumming). I guess, I could have made it P.D.E.D. (for Emotional Drumming, duh), but this is an attempt at being clever.

Pretty much, I will dedicate these posts to sharing videos of some of my favorite drummers wailing on their drums affectionately, emotionally, or awesomely.

Here is a Juan's Basement performance by Deerhoof, who's drummer, Greg Saunier, is a master at the sloppy and improvisational Keith Moon style of drumming. It is the title track from 2004's Milk Man, which I don't own, but should.



Awesome, right?

Weekly Listening Roundup #6

Dirt - Alice in Chains (Columbia, 1992)

Last Friday, I heard Alice in Chains' "Would?" via 89X on the way to work. I never listen to the radio, like, ever, and it was between switching out CDs. However, I was compelled to stop and shamefully allow the song to play its course. I had completely forgotten that "Would?" was one of my favorite songs back in fifth or sixth grade. Oddly, I noticed some things that made me appreciate the song more than ever before; things that I would have never even thought to pay attention to back then. This inspired me to go back and listen to 1992's Dirt. As of just a few weeks ago, I would have agreed to the claim that Alice in Chains are one of the worst things to ever happen to the grunge scene. I was stupid then. There are some serious jams here, far beyond the singles (which all are awesome). What blew my mind listening to it now, is how they were so heavy and sinister sounding compared to other grunge bands at the time. They truly bridged the gap between 80s metal, butt rock, and modern 90s alternative rock. And some of the chord progressions, time signatures and harmonies are truly bone-blowing. I can't believe I'm saying this, but what a record!

Top jams: "Them Bones," "Dam That River," "Down in a Hole," "Rooster," "Dirt," "Would?"

Sha Sha - Ben Kweller (ATO, 2002)

Right around the release of Ben Kweller's debut, Sha Sha, I recall him being viewed as a child prodigy of sorts. Then he got really uncool really fast. I purchased this record the day before I moved away for my freshman year at college. It had quite a consistent role in my music listening habits during that first semester. The lyrics on Sha Sha are very young and clever, almost to an annoying degree, and I realize this now. In addition to this, there is nothing new to be found anywhere. There are some Beatles tunes Ben Folds tunes, and most frequent, some hard rockin' Weezer jams. This did not phase me back when, especially the Weezer-ish tunes, which to this day are still pretty awesome. There is a little too much drama throughout the record, and I feel a little too old to be into it now, but for this dude's age at the time, he really did a great job at paying tribute to his idols. All in all, I am able to look past these newer revelations and still take this for what it is: a solid pop album.

Top jams: "How It Should Be," "Wasted & Ready," "Family Tree," "Commerce, TX," "Harriet's Got a Song," "Falling"


IV - Led Zeppelin (Atlantic, 1971)
Is this supposed to be THE Led Zeppelin album? I feel like I've read that somewhere. Well, I've been missing out. Last week was the first time I've even listened to this sucker, in spite of my brother-in-law being a big fan. He decided to push Rush on me instead, I guess. Anyway, there definitely were some familiar tracks, of course ("Black Dog," "Stairway to Heaven," "When the Levee Breaks"), but those aren't even close to the best offered here (unlike "Misty Mountain Hop" with its tremendous groove, and the folky "Going to California," which I think are). And the production, let me tell you about the production. It is AWESOME. I can't believe how good those drums sound. I'm not sure if that's John Bonham's doing or the engineer, but MAN, they sound great. This is one of the major reasons why I was so impressed with the album. Well, that and the fact that Bonham just tears it up on the kit. It doesn't hurt that most of the songs are good. I'm not a "Stairway to Heaven" fan, though.
Top jams: "Rock and Roll," "Misty Mountain Hop," "Going to California"


Houses of the Holy - Led Zeppelin (Atlantic, 1973)
In my opinion, Houses of the Holy is easily the superior album to IV. It's not that there is any disparity in sound quality or performance between the two. Simply put, this just has better songs, and more of 'em. I've always liked "Over the Hills and Far Away," but I think it might be top tier worthy on my favorite songs of all time list (which I will probably never compile, unfortunately). Hs of the H mixes Zep's bad assery with great beauty, which isn't anything out of the ordinary for them, but they do it best here. And "D'yer Mak'er" is like, an awesome, legitimate pop song.
Top jams: "Over the Hills and Far Away," "The Crunge," "Dancing Days," "D'yer Mak'er"


Go Forth - Les Savy Fav (Frenchkiss, 2001)
The first time I ever heard Les Savy Fav was at the 2005 Intonation Music Festival, which was curated by Pitchfork. It was one of the most entertaining performances I have ever seen. I was hoping this intensity and energy would translate perfectly to record when I purchased 2001's Go Forth at that very fest, and initially I was disappointed. I saw them again in 2008 and still felt the same way, even though I liked the band's 2007 triumphant return, Let's Stay Friends, better than this (and still do). This time around, I can admit that Go Forth is a better artsy punk record than I was originally willing to give it credit for. It is solid. Not every song is awesome or anything, but there are some rare moments where that live energy is perfectly intact, and those accompany the best songs. There is some fairly innovative stuff going on, mainly in the guitar riffs, and the band is obviously talented. Just not the best punk-ish band around, on recording.
Top jams: "Tragic Monsters," "Reprobate's Resume," "The Slip," "Adopduction," "No Sleeves"


Forever Changes - Love (Elektra, 1967)
"Alone Again Or" has been one of my favorite songs for several years now, but it took me quite a while to realize the overall genius of Love's 1960s psychadelic pop classic, Forever Changes. In a book I read about Belle & Sebastian's seminal If You're Feeling Sinister, it was said that Love played a crucial role in the development of Stuart Murdoch's early musical ideas. I hadn't noticed this, and though I don't think it's as obvious as the book made it seem, I can sort of see how Love was a very early incarnation of that twee sound. Maybe Forever Changes is a little darker, and psychadelia definitely comes in to play way more here than with B&S, but this makes for a really unique and beautiful listening experience.
Top jams: "Alone Again Or," "Andmoreagain," "The Daily Planet," "Maybe the People Would be the Time or, Between Clark and Hilldale," "The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This," "You Set the Score"

Radiohead @ the 2009 Grammys

So, Radiohead played at the Grammys last night. I am surprised they would lower their standards to perform at such an offensive event in music. But, they are Radiohead, and they can do whatever the hell they want, and no one will really question them for it. I am okay with this.

If you're like me and hate everything the Grammys represent, you obviously missed a mindblowing performance of In Rainbows opener "15 Step." With the USC marching band. I can only imagine, especially if any of the marching band members were actually fans, how it must have felt to be performing on stage at the biggest (unfortunately) music awards show of the year, with the greatest band in the entire world, to a song with such a bad ass beat.

In case you missed it, here is the performance. It is really good, I'm sorry the video quality is so terrible.

Weekly Listening Roundup #5

Alright, I'm going to have to expedite this week's listening roundup, for a few reasons. Work was a little busier than I expected today, I've been distracted trying to score free t-shirts from Threadless (via their Twitter contest, which I succeeded at), and it's Friday and I want to get on to the weekend.. So, I'm going to try to post this as quickly as possible. Here goes.

Veni Vidi Vicious - The Hives (Burning Heart/Epitaph, 2000)

The Hives were all the rage when Sire re-released Veni Vidi Vicious back in 2002. "Hate to Say I Told You So" was a huge song, and also a very good indication of what the entire album sounds like. They were tagged as a nu-garage rock band, but really they played raw 70s punk rock more than anything, while singer Howlin' Pelle Almqvist portrayed an incredibly arrogant Mick Jagger. Entertaining, and actually pretty good.

Top jams: "The Hives - Declare Guerre Nucleaire," "Hate to Say I Told You So," "Statecontrol," "Knock Knock," "Supply and Demand"

Tyranosaurus Hives - The Hives (Interscope, 2004)

Tyranosaurus Hives is the cleaner, long-awaited follow-up to Veni Vidi Vicious. It is just as raw in the sense of emotion and pissed off-ness, but it definitely sounds like it was released by a major label. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing, however, because their is more diversity in the way the songs sound (both technically and stylistically). I consider this a major plus. It is still really fast and bad ass, but it is not as straight ahead punk. There are some Rolling Stones and Stooges references throughout, and "Dead Quote Olympics" sounds like early Clash.

Top jams: "Walk Idiot Walk," "No Pun Intended," "A Little More for Little You," "See Through Head," "Love in Plaster," "Dead Quote Olympics"

North to the Future - Joe Christmas (Tooth & Nail, 1996)

This one is sort of embarrassing. Joe Christmas was an underground Christian indie rock band I used to listen to back in middle school and high school. They were on Tooth & Nail Records, which back in the late '90s actually put out some really great records, but in the 21st century have come to offend my taste, hearing and probably my faith a little bit. Anyway, North to the Future was Joe Christmas' second and final full length, and overall it has a really sloppy and lazy indie pop feel; sort of a cross between Pavement, Yo La Tengo and Sebadoh maybe? It has a surprising amount of highlights.

Top jams: "I'll Bet You Do," "Dreaming for the Gold," "Haunted Mystery," "A Pretty Girl Never Lights Her Own Cigarette," "East Coast Angle"

Okay Sweetheart - Kiddo (Microindie, 2007)

I'm not sure if Kiddo is still actually an entity in the Detroit music scene, but these lovebirds are most definitely still productive. Singer and guitarist Christian Doble plays in the artsy, spazzy punk act Child Bite as well as '90s indie rock odesmyths Copper Thieves. and bassist Lizzie Whitman plays in Friendly Foes with Ryan Allen (of Thunderbirds Are Now!). On Okay Sweetheart, Kiddo play good, jangly pop punk with some Neutral Milk Hotel-esque melodies thrown in at times. Sometimes they sound way too cute, but even those moments are hard not to like.
Top jams: "This Could Take Forever," "Otherguys," "Sunday," "Rocketship"

Know Your Onion #12

Polamaluesque Puppy Dominates Puppy Bowl

Know Your Onion #11

Action Figure Fights On Despite Loss of Dragon Sword

Super Bowl XLIII: VICTORY

I know this is a day late, but my boys made history!

And, my prediction was actually very close.

Looking forward to next season.