First of all I’ve been slacking on the music. I haven’t listened to Van Leer Rose yet and I am going to put off listening to a new album this week. However in lieu of my thoughts on the Loretta Lynn album I’ve created a short playlist of what I’ve been listening to.
Between the Bars – Elliott Smith
Thats the Punchline – the Walkmen
Split Needle – the Shins
Carry Me in Ohio – Sun Kil Moon
Razorblade – the Strokes
PDA – Interpol
Geometry Etcetera – Chris Walla
Loss – John Frusciante
I Feel it All – Feist
Ready for the Floor – Hot Chip
The interest rates are rising, the stock market is falling and the dollar is becoming weaker by the day. Will we see the second coming of Regonomics? If so don’t forget to put whatever pieces of your soul you have left at the end of the day in a jar every night before you go to bed.
“We had crazy f*cking times until the Visa card expired”
I’d like to thank McLusky for that beautiful line. I’ve been on a crazy spending spree lately. I got a beautiful black Epiphone Les Paul w/ 3 pickups & gold hardware and a classic Crate Palomino 30w tube amp. What has prompted this you ask? I’m not sure. How do I justify it? I haven’t purchased anything big in a long time (other than car insurance but that doesn’t count… oh wait, I did buy a Ampeg bass amp last summer… but that was last summer and I traded my old amp in for that). Plus I should be satisfied with my musical hardware for a while now…. say for the next five, six days. Well, it should be fun until I find out I owe the government for taxes or I total my car or find out I really need the money for something else. I gotta go, I just saw something shiny.
Has Kosovo evolved into an independent state? Does it deserve to be it’s own independent nation? So far I haven’t been given any reason to believe that it shouldn’t. The majority region is made up of ethinic Albanians and in it’s declaration of independence it states they will not join another nation and that all ethnic groups will be protected. The only response from the people against an independent Kosovo is that it is an illegal act and that this could prompt other automous regions to break away. Perhaps thats true, perhaps there will be an attempt by other regions to declare independence but the province of Kosovo and its recent history has been well documented not to mention it has the support of the majority of the EU and the United States. Am I missing something here?
Chris Walla’s new solo album Field Manual is quickly becoming one of my favourite albums of the year the more I listen to it. Here is the (Jacques Cousteau-esque / Life Aquatic-esque) video for his first single Sing Again.
Another album I’m looking forward to is the new album from Death Cab for Cutie (Narrow Stairs) set to come out in May of this year. If they play Minneapolis I’ll be there.
DCFC also has one of the best band sites out there, check it out if you get a chance at www.deathcabforcutie.com
This Week Loretta Lynn – Van Lear Rose (2004)
Produced and arranged by Jack White.
Last Week PJ Harvey – White Chalk (2007) Thoughts: I can see this album best fitting the laid back, easy going atmosphere (aka when you are reading or sipping tea with Thom Yorke). So chances are you won’t find this album at your local coffee shop but perhaps on a shelf next to an Emily Haines (solo) album or (just maybe) a Sigur Ros album. This isn’t foot tapping music but rather music for the soul that is eirily soothing in some way (imagine sailing through an edgy thick fog on calm waters). I’d go into more musical detail but my ipod just died on me. But what I can say is that Polly Jean Harvey appears to manifest some deep emotions through this album. I give this a B+ for the genre it falls into.
Next Week PJ Harvey – White Chalk (2007) Thoughts: I’ve already started listening to this album and so far its got potential.
This Week Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Yanqui U.X.O. (2002) Thoughts: I believe this is Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s last album before they all started to focus more intensely on their countless side projects (listed on their official website http://brainwashed.com/godspeed/). Although this Yanqui U.X.O. contains another master piece like Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls this album doesn’t match up to their previous work. This album seems less focused and involved and as a result less impactful and didn’t reach its true potential. Grade: C+
Here is my follow up to the new Chris Walla album (Field Manual) I briefly mentioned last week. Thoughts: I think I’ve listened to this album 8 to 10 times since the Tuesday before last. At first I thought this album was instrumentally bare and not enough time was spent on producing this album. I still think the songs on Field Manual could grow into rich, fuller songs but perhaps the one man Walla operations will grow into that role like a child grows into hand me downs (not that I’m saying his songs are hand me downs) but they naturally have an element of DCFC integrated into the sound, perhaps earlier an earlier DCFC sound. But perhaps I’m not giving CW enough credit. This album does take on a life of its own separate from DCFC.
The pulsating guitar rhythms combined w/ the light guitar tones Walla are heard through out the album and are more noticeable on his solo work. However in the end the classic rock niche Walla plays is only second to his producing ability, most notibly the track listing of Field Manual w/ lighter tracks such as Two-Fifty (track 1) followed by The Score (track 2) a quicker rock song that hits you harder because it is complimented by the tracks that sandwich it.
Overall this album is not too shabby for a one man side project (w/ the help of other – in this case the drummers from Death Cab and also the New Pornographers) and I’ve got to say its growing on me faster than any other album I’ve listened to in the past 3 months. Its also well documented in pitchfork articles that there are political meanings behind some of the lyrics (well come to think of it this is true for probably all the songs). But because I feel some of the songs could have been instumentally fuller (for the indie rock lite genre) I give this album a B. Even though 89.3 the Current is pushing Sing Again my favourite songs on this album so far are The Score and Geometry &C.
On a side note Chris Walla and Sean Nelson (of Harvey Danger) kinda sorta started a side project called the Vernacular (www.myspace.com/thevernacular) a few years ago. I guess it was just something they worked on in their spare time between the busy schedules of Harvey Danger and Death Cab for Cutie. They’ve only a few songs posted but if they ever put out a full album they could be on to something. My favourite song on their myspace page is Make Good Choices. Check it out if you get a chance, its good.
Thats just what I think. Thats what I’ve seen. Hillary Clinton says that she has the ability to get things rolling in the White House from day one. And I believe thats true, if she becomes president we will have a person in the White House with the most experience of being a yes man. I can’t wait for her to roll out her ambiguous and vague political agenda. I can’t wait.
