Music of 40

One of my favorite bands/artists is Will Sheff of Okkervil River. The band (well, Sheff's) latest album is released tomorrow, and it's been pre-ordered for a while. I'm finally seeing them at the 9:30 Club on September 19. The album has been streaming on NPR Music for a week, though the nuance of the lyrics escapes me when I have it playing in the background at the office. I look forward to listening to the lyrics, the intonation of his voice, and the raw emotion as his confessional styled album is released. It reminds me somewhat of another favorite, Blind Pilot, which also is both mourning and moving on from an emotional wrecking year.

My "favorite" albums and artists change, but there are some I return to over and over again. Blind Pilot and Okkervil River are two of those artists. The artists, contemporaries really, are more than just singers with hipster bands but they're are artists that resonate more with me, beyond the shallow music that every top 40 station seems to blast. I will also gravitate toward lyrics--maybe that's why the Josh Ritter concert earlier this year really impressed me--but the album as a complete piece also is vital. Singles not so much.

So another piece of 40. The music and songs that will remain with me more than most.

RIP: Dick Clark

I just saw on Drudge Report that Dick Clark passed away.  Anyone who ever saw Dick Clark's Rocking Eve or American Band Stand, or ever watched an awards show like the Emmys or a gameshow like the $10,000 Pyramid, knows Dick Clark. And who could forget Bloopers and Practical Jokes (now, both he and Ed McMahon are gone)?  Heck, any American knew Dick Clark, the eternal teenager. He was a trailblazer in featuring all musicians from all genres, all races. Even after a stroke a few years back, he was always a welcome sight on television, mostly recently appearing last New Year's Eve. That date won't ever be the same without him.  RIP, Dick Clark.

South Detroit: Whaaat?

This "South Detroit" line has always bothered me in that infamous Journey song.  There is NO such thing as South Detroit! East side, west side. Even north (not really...). Here's an explanation, and it is simple.

Now, thanks to New York Magazine, we know what former Journey front man Steve Perry was thinking when he wrote the lyrics.

Perry tells that mag that the song’s imagery came to him one sleepless night in May 1980 while Journey was in Detroit for a five-night stand as part of the group’s Departure Tour.

“I was digging the idea of how the lights were facing down so that you couldn’t see anything,” he said as he recalled looking out a hotel room window at 2 a.m. “All of a sudden I’d see people walking out of the dark, and into the light. And the term ‘streetlight people’ came to me. So Detroit was very much in my consciousness when we started writing.” (The song includes the line: “Streetlight people/ Living just to find emotion/ Hiding somewhere in the night.”

And South Detroit? Well, that was just poetic license.

“I ran the phonetics of east, west, and north, but nothing sounded as good or emotionally true to me as South Detroit,” Perry said. “The syntax just sounded right. I fell in love with the line. It’s only been in the last few years that I’ve learned that there is no South Detroit. But it doesn’t matter.”

Three Reviews

On Friday night, we finally made it to the Big Board. Very, very tasty.  Granted, I cannot eat red meat like I used to, but occasionally a juicy burger is called for. We received ample amounts of fries, old bay seasons, and super good garlicy, parmesan coated sweet potato fries. We shared the "Le Burg-aire au Poivre Seared with cracked black pepper, topped with Great Hill blue cheese & a cognac cream sauce" and the "Memphis Blues Topped with Colby-Jack cheese, house BBQ sauce & crispy "tobacco" onions."  Both were great, and we'll be back.

Sunday, I brunched at Granville Moore's, where I haven't dined in quite a while. Also good.  I had a very garlicy mushroom omlette with home fries. And two cocktails, including a peach bellini and the house mimosa, which had all sorts of alcoholy goodness in it.

And finally, we watched Pearl Jam 20 on Saturday evening. I sort of knew some of the history of the band, including the back story of Mother Love Bone and Temple of the Dog.  It was striking at how quickly the group synthesized, how naturally Eddie Vedder just blended in and how great their early songs were (Alive in 1990, just weeks after they officially hooked up).  It was remarkable that even though they had a good time performing, they avoided that awful drug scene that ended MLB.  I don't think Cameron Crowe interjected himself too much at all, and I found the anecdote about how Pearl Jam just totally phoned it in and drank themselves to oblivion during the Singles party pretty funny.  Pearl Jam became so big so fast, and lived long on after the tragedy and rivalry of Nirvana.  Terrific flick. Oh, and favorite piece of trivia was that first album "Ten" was after Mookie Blaylock's number, the NBA player that the band was initially named after.

Oh yes, the rest of the week was spent watching football.

So True

90s music is not yet classic rock.  I agree. But Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins are now twenty years old, and they don't belong on DC 101, other.  Since mainstream radio is so bad, maybe some new/old modern rock station should be created. But since we're twenty years out, maybe it should be some hybrid of new/old. Just not classic rock.

Meaningful Thanksgiving Music

Detroiters are campaigning to nix the Nickelback for the Thanksgiving show. And I applaud them, and signed on to that.

For the first time in years, a decade maybe, the Thanksgiving game is meaningful. The Lions might be playoff bound, and the Packers are undefeated. And the Cowboys/Miami game is meaningless.  Detroiters are excited about being showcased, and the NFL stuck them with the most mediocre or mediocre bands, Nickelback. They are so generic I cannot think of any of their songs, despite them all being fixtures on the most mediocre of city radio stations, like all of them in DC.

Bob Seger? Motown? Kid Rock? Eminem? Especially after that Superbowl Ad.

I doubt anything will change, but maybe a Detroiter rocker could open the show. Just a thought?

Good and Bad

So until the bad football meltdowns and the unfortunately spill onto the laptop, it had been a pretty good weekend.

We started out having drinks and pulled pork sandwiches at Standard, which was this small outdoor biergartenon 14th street. The food was really, really good. Then we went to the 9:30 Club to see the Naked and the Famous. The concert was ok...the opening act of the Chain Gang of 1974 was almost better.  The N&F mostly just performed theirs songs as they were on the album without a heck of a lot of change.  No crowd banter. And it was so damn loud, my ears were ringing. We liked the show, but both came away wishing we had been able to experience more of the band's personality.  The music is fun and upbeat and dance-able, but that was it. Something was missing.

The Fanfarlo concert was much better, we thought. Double Ghost opened, and this Brooklyn band and they played this music/image computer/technological sound that was very unique. The crowd was certainly puzzled by it, but in retrospect it was a good complement to the Fanfarlo show.  Fanfarlo was almost everything that N&F was not--it was understated, with some crowd back & forth, and they performed changed-up versions of all of their older stuff. Their new material was woven into the set, and it looks very promising. The crowd certainly wanted to hear old favorites like Harold T. Wilkins, the Finish Line, and the Walls are Tumbling, and it was not disappointed. Their songs were shorter, it seemed like, too. I was glad to get a preview of the new album. The Red Palace is such a great venue. It's intimate and you get real music fans there. Going out the Saturday of Halloween weekend was fun, too.

RIP Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs died last night.

My ipod is one of my favorite possessions, and I cannot even imagine the last 5+ years of listening to music without it. And I might be getting an iphone soon.  And we all know how much my nephew loves his ipad. 

Great American innovators are fewer and farther between at these times.  The legacy he leaves will likely leave new discoveries amongst his Apple colleagues, but he is irreplaceable.  RIP.

Spotify Me

I've certainly been addicted to Spotify lately, and it's given me a chance to listen to albums I don't have (like the National's Alligator and Frightened Rabbit's The Midnight Organ Fight). True, it may be missing some tunes here or there (not sure if Adele's latest is on, for example), but it has been a great way to listen to tunes when I'm not crushing on NPR Music.

Here's a good review of various music streaming sites.

Ten Favorite Bands

U2: Achtung Baby

The National: Bloodbuzz Ohio

The Cure: Mint Car

Frightened Rabbit: Winter of Mixed Drinks

Better than Ezra: In the Blood

The Cave Singers: Beach House

10,000 Maniacs: These Are Days

Snow Patrol: Chasing Cars

Dave Matthews: Crush

REM: Belong

Honorable mentions: the Decemberists, Death Cab, Our Lady Peace, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Shout Out Louds, Band of Horses, the Killers, The Head and the Heart, the Fratellis

This Week's Soundtrack

It's courtesy of NPR Music. Concerts by Bon Iver and lots from the Newport Folk Festival: Middle Brother, the Cave Singers, the Head and the Heart, Gillian Welch, Tegan & Sara, the Decemberists, Justin Townes Earle, Amos Lee, and Delta Spirit.  All good stuff, and very good working/background music.

This week's tasks: find tickets and book trip to Jamaica! And oh yeah, get ready for Toronto.

Best of What to Listen To...

I am now a user of Spotify, and a happy one, too. I get to stream music all day long--whether it's Bon Iver or Cave Singers or Liam Finn or My Morning Jacket.  Love this. It will keep music fresh as long as I'm willing to keep it fresh and lively.

What else do I listen to/stream to? Still love All Songs Considered/NPR Music, and it's the source for discovering new tunes lately.  And it's streamed concerts cannot be beat.   XPN is good as well. Paste will stream a new CD occasionally.  Spinner's listening party is good for catching the latest releases like Release the Sunbird or even Roxette's greatest hits. Spin is becoming a good source for album previews like Feist and its free downloads.  Also, Popcandy also mentions some good new bands, too.

I'm toying with a newish blog, focused on music. Thoughts?

Amy Winehouse: RIP

Amy Winehouse was found dead today at 27.

Such a talent, such a voice, and such a troubled soul. I don't think anyone is surprised by the news, because there was always an inevitability to it. "Tears Dry On My Own" is still one of my favorite songs. And that husky, jazzy. bluesy voice will live on.

Tuesday Tunes

I'm anticipating the new Beirut and I like the new Eleanor Friedberger, including the opening track of Last Summer. Good stuff.

Steve bought tickets to see the Naked & the Famous at the 9:30 Club in October.  Now if I could just talk into some more local shows...one thing at a time.

Americana Music

I've been a fan of Romantica, Deer Tick, Dawes, Middle Brother, Delta Spirit, Justin Townes Earle, etc. for a while. I'm not sure I'd group them as "American music," per se, but they aren't quite country and they aren't rock. Maybe Southern rock? That's not really true, either. They are gritty tunes, great tunes with solid songwriting and music.

I'm listening to William Elliott Whitmore today, and I discovered him on Paste. He certainly fits in this category. He's playing at the Red Palace on July 24...perhaps I can convince someone to go?

What Song Are You Listening To?

This is a pretty cool video project...What Song Are You Listening To?

I came into work listening to Tooth and Claw by Jenny Reeve and Jill O'Sullivan (sp?) on the First Edition album I bought yesterday.  I mostly bought it because it was $2.99 on Amazon, though Frightened Rabbit's Scott Hutchinson is a contributor. Very cool. I should track what I'm listening to more often.

This weekend it was almost all Bon Iver, though I listened to a little of a mix that Dave Matthews' offered on itunes for free.  And I just, finally, picked up the new Starbucks Frappaccino mix.  Yeah, I'm a sucker for free tunes.

This last week

I have been away. I have been busy--Boston for work, and then we were in Texas and South Padre Island for the reunion. Had a disappointing stay at the Pearl but everything else was quite nice.

It was a respite from a time I'm barely holding on by a thread. Not a string, but a thread. My head hurts, I'm saddened and crying and I can't pretend that everything is okay. I miss my family and I miss my friends. And I'm tired of being used as a punching bag.

I need to go back to writing this all down, so I can take some comfort in this kind of catharsis. Right now it's music. After a wobbly first listen, I've been listening to the new Bon Iver and feeling its softness and comfort in that. Music is a little escape when the world is too much with you.

I've also immersed myself in the new David McCullough. He has made art and reading about art so  fascinating. The Gallery of the Louvre will be in DC and I want to see what I read about. He and Paul Johnson are simply the best writers and storytellers. Another book I will be sad to complete.

I hope things will get better and I promise to keep updating, no matter what.

New Music Lately V

Been a while, but streaming this gorgeous new song by Beirut named Goshen reminded me I should note my new favorite tunes.

I've been liking the War on Drugs, the new Death Cab for Cutie, the new Dawes, Foster the People (Pumped Up Kicks is the track of the summer), the Naked and the Famous, and Allie Moss.  Among others. Lots of good new tunes. All Songs Considered discussed their favorites tunes of the year, thus far. I agree with several choices, include Adele and Bright Eyes. I didn't care as much for the new Fleet Foxes.  I would have added Okkervil River, Cave Singers, Dawes, Middle Brother, Death Cab, Amos Lee, the Decemberists, Iron & Wine, perhaps others. Obviously lots of fantastic music this year. And we have six months to go!

The Cave Singers

I went to see the Cave Singers and Lia Ices last night at the Red Palace.  It was a great little concert venue only located a couple of blocks from home. Lia Ices was a combination of Bjork and Tori Amos. I can't say I came out a huge fan of hers, but she was interestingly modest.

I thought the Cave Singers were terrific in their short and sweet set. I have to say their lead singer reminded me of Casey Abrams from American Idol. They were so fun musically, just jamming and using all sorts of musical instruments in cuts from all of their albums. They did Beach House as part of their encore; I was super happy about that.  The crowd was definitely white hipster.  Good to see people out and about in the 'hood.

And I'm glad I finally got out, all by my lonesome. Why oh why do I not go to more shows?!?!

Album of the Day

Loving the new The Joy Formidable.  OK, I will have to buy this one too next week.

I'm also liking Admiral Fallow. I love the NPR Music All Songs SXSW preview. And the itunes one.  Oh, why can't I be in Austin right now! I think it was G Love that stood out to me. More free music stalking will commence soon.