Currently Listening: Beck's "Modern Guilt"

As I anxiously await the arrive of my new best gadget, I've had to find something to occupy my mind until 8AM Friday (40 hours, 53 minutes away, as I write this). Thankfully, I've been über-busy at work. All of my clients have actually been coming in, which is very rare for this time of year. Also, rehearsals for The Music Man have really picked up, as it should less than 2 weeks from Opening Night. Also, this is one of Kari's 2 really busy times of the year at work, so I've had to pick up quite a bit of slack at home (not that I've really succeeded in that area... oops). Nevertheless, my mind still frequently wanders to the Gadget of my Dreams. How can I obsess over something else to prevent my certain descent into impatience-induced insanity?

Enter Mr. Beck Hanson. One of my favorite recording artists, Beck consistently gives me some of my favorite music, such as his songs "Devil's Haircut", "Sexx Laws", "Paper Tiger", "Rental Car", and "Strange Apparition". His new album dropped on Tuesday, and I immediately pounced on it. Produced by Danger Mouse of Gnarls Barkley and The Grey Album fame (and who coincidentally produced one of my favorite albums of 2007, The Good, the Bad, and the Queen), Modern Guilt is an album that doesn't present any shockingly revolutionary material, as Beck has become known for. Rather, it feels like a Beck album. I think that's a good thing. I like the sound of his last two albums, and I don't mind having those themes explored more. Others, however, tend to disagree. I realize that this album has received less-than-stellar reviews. One reviewer wrote that Beck is "dropping down a rabbit hole of psychedelic noisemakers." Another wrote that the album "sounds like an obligation. It sounds like Beck has disengaged from his music." I could not disagree more. If anything, he seems to be delving deeper into his own music. There is undoubtedly a darker tone to the music, but unlike the very dark Sea Change, Modern Guilt has a dark, paranoid quality that makes for very interesting and exciting music for me.

My only complain is that it is WAY too short. 10 tracks, 34 minutes. Granted, it's an awesome and trippy 34 minutes, but just as you are grooving and "dropping down the rabbit hole", it's over. Whatever. I'll just put it on repeat and keep listening. I wonder how it will sound on Friday on my new iPhone?

Favorite tracks: Gamma Rays, Chemtrails (which VERY appropriately has been compared to Caribou), Volcano

The Music Family

Well, we're getting back into theatre. After a hiatus of more than 8 years, it's finally a good time again to do a show, and Kari and the kids have agreed to do it too! So this weekend we auditioned for The Music Man with the United Players in Friendswood, TX. It should be fun, but I'm a little nervous about dedicating the kind of time necessary to be in a show. Aidan and Regan take up a lot of our time, and I'm worried about how they will adjust to this schedule. I guess there's no way to find out but to just jump in. So here we come! Shipoopi!

Update 5/21/08: I got a call from the director offering me the part of Marcellus (Harold Hill's sidekick). I accepted. It's a good part, and I'm really looking forward to this!

Currently Listening: Spoon, Arcade Fire

I honestly do not know where I have been, but apparently, there's this really cool indie band from Austin called Spoon. I remember when their last album, Gimme Fiction, came out in 2005, but I don't remember it for any of the music; I only remembered the album art that I frequently saw on the front page of the iTunes Store. Fast forward to July 2007. I was listening to the podcast for NPR's "Sound Opinion". (By the way, every self-respecting music fan MUST listen to this weekly show. It is by far the smartest and most in-depth music/rock discussion on the radio. You can get the podcast here.) They reviewed the new Spoon album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, and gave it their highest rating. The sample tracks from the album, however, did not seem particularly interesting to me, but I respect these guys enough that I kept an ear out for the album. Through the next 6 weeks or so, I began to feel a bit inundated. Every music site I went to was talking about the album. Even iTunes and Last.fm kept recommending it to me. So I broke down and got the album. On first listen, it didn't seem like anything special, but it has turned into one of those albums that really grows on you. the more I listen to it, the more I like it. It doesn't have the playful passion of Sufjan or the flash of Of Montreal, but it rocks. In many ways, it's a bit of a throwback to the pure guitar-driven rock of the early 1980s, but with a 2000s indie vibe. I never thought I would see that as a good thing, but there you go. Favorite tracks: The Ghost of You Lingers, My Little Japanese Cigarette Case

Now, the latest album from Arcade Fire, Neon Bible, I liked almost from the beginning. Despite the critical and popular success of their last album, Funeral, I was only marginally interested in The Arcade Fire. Although Funeral is powerful and creative, it just has never struck me as very interesting. Neon Bible, on the other hand, absolutely compels me. For instance, "Intervention" uses a huge church organ that just resonates through my whole body. Its power cannot be denied. Ironically, the lyrics reflect a certain cynicism about religion, which of course I find subversively appealing. In fact, throughout the album, their unique blend of non-rock instruments (hurdy gurdy, anyone?), creative hooks, and driving force make this one of my favorite albums of the year so far. Arcade Fire also appeared on Sound Opinions, but for more than a simple review; they were live in studio. I would encourage you to check out their archives to hear the interview. (For the record, I got this album months ago, but I'm still listening to it a lot, so I thought I should post about it.) Favorite tracks: Black Mirror, Intervention, No Cars Go, My Body is a Cage

Currently Listening: Architecture in Helsinki; The Good, The Bad, and The Queen

As most of you know, I am always on the lookout for new music that is unique and creative. While I would not presume to be on the "cutting edge" of new and emerging music, I think that I am a little more ahead of the curve with regard to little-known or little-appreciated music, particularly indie music that gets little or no play on commercial radio. With that said, I only recently became aware of the Australian indie-pop group, Architecture in Helsinki. I was introduced to them by way of the fans of bands like The Shins and Of Montreal. I was told that AIH's music was similar to those bands, and a quick listen through their catelogue seems to confirm that. Their newest album, Places Like This, however, diverges a great deal from their history. Although they are still firmly embedded in the indie pop community, this album takes on a decidedly electronic feel. They also seem to add much more sugary-sweet lyrics and hooks, similar to The Polyphonic Spree, but without the sweeping orchestrations. Overall, Places Like This feels much more like a dance album than anything else. AIH obviously had fun making the album, and that fun is almost contagious to the listener. Although the nasal voice of one of the singers tends to become too much at times, it's very playful, and you almost have to appreciate the aggresive hooks filled with energetic nastiness (and I mean that in the best way possible).
Favorite tracks: "Hold Music", "Debbie".

Another band that has caught my fancy lately is The Good, The Bad, and The Queen, which is the latest vehicle for Blur and Gorillaz frontman Damon Alburn. I have really liked his work with those two bands, so it's no surprise that I really like this new self-titled album. In fact, it is probably my favorite of the three. At it's core, The Good, The Bad, and The Queen is piano-driven pop, backed by your typical guitars and drums. Sometimes, though, Alburn drops the piano in favor of the richer and more robust organ sound. This makes for very powerful chords and driving progressions, which is the perfect complement to Alburn's cloudlike vocals. His voice seems to float ominously over the music, telling a story in the way that I think a jaded, cynical angel my tell the story of humankind's excesses. Altogether, it makes for a very rich and layered musical experience, full of grit and raw power but without crumbling under it's own weight. Be sure, however, not to go into this album expecting it to be like Gorillaz. While there are some similarities ("Northern Whale" would fit right in on Demon Days), TGTB&TQ is much less play and more prone to leave musical questions unanswered. It's less tidy, but I think that gives it a more appealing quality. Very good stuff.

Favorite tracks: "Herculean", "The Bunting Song", and "The Good, the Bad, and the Queen".

A little more Sufjan

For all of you Sufjan fans out there, he's covering Joni Mitchell's "Free Man in Paris" on an upcoming tribute album (due out April 24). Although I like Joni Mitchell, this cover is phenomenal. Typical Sufjan. Best of all, it was leaked early, and you can download the full song here.

Phenomenal.

Currently Listening: Sufjan Stevens

I became a Sufjan Stevens fan while living in his homestate of Michigan for four years. His music is pretty prolific on the college radio up there, and I wasn't there long before I heard his siren song. This folk/alt-pop indie singer/songwriting amazed me with his ability to blend cheery pop-like vocals with eclectic arrangements of instruments and harmonies. His music makes you feel good, almost in a Polyphonic-Spree way, but without the sugary-sweet aftertaste and repetitive lyrics. I heard the Michigan album first, but it was Illinois that engulfed me. Arguably one of my favorite albums of all time, "Come On, Feel the Illinoise!", its full title, is a great blend of American Folk, Pop, Rock, and experimentation. The song titles are compleely absurd (i.e. "To the Workers of the Rock River Valley Region, I Have an Idea Concerning Your Predicament, and It Involves an Inner Tube, Bath Mats, and 21 Able-bodied Men"), but the orchestrations and arrangements are brilliant. When Illinois came out, I was hooked as a fan. Since then, I've slowly acquired other albums he has done, including the recent Christmas box set, Songs for Christmas, thanks to a Borders gift card for my birthday. While each album is unique with its own quirks, brilliances, and flops, they are all unmistakably Sufjan. You know his style when you hear it, and all of his albums have it.

Then yesterday I got Enjoy Your Rabbit, Sufjan's second LP released in 2002, as a free download from eMusic. I was not prepared for what I got. I assumed that it would be different, as every album has some assumed uniquness, but I didn't think it would be THIS different. First of all, it's an instrumental album; no lyrics and no singing (although the human voice does seem to make an appearance on a few3 songs as an instrument, with little more than "ah" and "bum" (the one exception is "Year of the Rooster" which has a woman speaking what I believe to be a form of Chinese over the music). But that really isn't the surprising part. Secondly, it's ... are you ready for this?... an electronic album. That's right. The king of indie folk and pop acoustics actually made an electronic album. That's like saying the Pope listens to Metallica on his iPod. It just twists your image of the person in a way you weren't expecting.

But that is not to say that it is a bad album. As someone who enjoys a good electrobeat from time to time, I actually like it. Now, it's not his best album, but he certainly stretches himself with Enjoy Your Rabbit. The only problem is that it doesn't really sound like a Sufjan album. I wouldn't have known that this was his unless someone told me. Now that I know, I can hear themes and musical ideas that are present elsewhere in his discography, but it is largely a huge departure. To give you some idea, it sounds like Thom Yorke's The Eraser on happy pills. Or, it sounds like what The Eraser would have been if Sufjan's attitude had been infused into Thom Yorke's creativity and penchant for electronica. Frankly, that's a combination I like, not love, but certainly like. I only have two questions: 1) Why hasn't this electronic streak appeared in other Sufjan albums, and 2) Is it just me, or does "Year of the Boar" sound suspiciously like the game music when you fight a boss in Super Mario Brothers 2?

Favorite Tracks: Undecided. Lots of 4-star songs, but probably no 5-star songs

Side note:
I still can't get enough of Of Montreal's Hissing Fauna are You the Destroyer? It is probably in my top 3 albums of all time, right up there with Tiny Music and Kid A. The video from "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse" is pretty bizarre. Check it out:

Currently listening: The Shins and The Earlies (and still Of Montreal)

I recently bought three incredible albums from iTunes, three that have all jumped to the into the top tier of my favorites list. The first from Of Montreal, "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?", I've mentioned before. It is an incredible and striking album without a single weak song. Favorite songs are "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse", "Gronlandic Edit", "She's a Rejecter", and "We Were Born the Mutants Again With Leafling".

To that one, I have also added the new albums by The Shins and The Earlies. I think the The Shins new album, Wincing the Night Away, is their best to date. The lyrics are very moving, and the music is some of the most beautiful I've heard since Beck's Sea Change. My favorite tracks are "Phantom Limb" (the first single), "Sea Legs", and "A Comet Appears".

The Earlies new album is very good to, but in a slightly different way. I first heard of The Earlies a few years ago before they had released anything or, to my knowledge, had even recoded anything. My brother, Kyle, is married to the lead singer's sister-in-law, and the two of them had been friends in college. So Kyle had told me about the unusual beginnings of the band. They released their first album, "These were..." in 2004. I thought it was good, but not great. Although none of the songs struck me as particularly memorable, the overall feel of that first album was interesting enough that I could hear the potential for some really incredible work. Their second album, "The Enemy Chorus", came out, and boy oh boy, it fulfills much of that potential. The tracks are much more full and complete. The sweep in the way that psychedelic rock tends to do, but without drowning in itself, as that type of music can do sometimes as well. They are more complete stories through music, not just lyrically but musically as well. Their first album was simply too amorphous for my tastes, but the new album seemed more structured, but without losing the appearance of spontaneity. Favorite tracks are "Gone for the Most Part", "Foundation and Earth", and "Breaking Point"

iTunes:
Of Montreal - "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?"
The Shins - "Wincing the Night Away"
The Earlies - "The Enemy Chorus"

Currently listening: Of Montreal

I think I may occasionally post about what I'm currently listening to. I know lots of people do this, so it's nothing new, so here it goes.

I am falling in love with Of Montreal's new album Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer. It is awesome. It won't be out until the end of the month, but you can listen to the entire album streaming at their website.

Also, Kari and I are going to see them at Numbers on February 17. Anyone else interested in going are invited to go with us.