There are certain songs that take you back to certain moments. This has to be one of them for me. It constantly reminds me that no matter what treks your life has forced you through, it’s going to be alright. You just have to keep your chin up and keep your feet moving. That and I really, really like this song.
Feel free to check out more Kings of Convenience. They have my seal of approval.
I miss these guys, and this just goes to show that it’s amazing what you might find on YouTube on a whim. I haven’t heard from any of the TH boys in a while, but they’re still in my library.
I’ve been in a few recording studios, but nothing to this extent. As Rebecca has mentioned, Matt‘s in the middle of recording another album. Actually, this part of the project is very near being done. At least that’s the mood right now, not that I know how he goes about this process. Every artist does their thing in their own way.
I was surprised to see the dogs when I came in. Walking in, Casey and Benji both started barking, but they calm down quick. I’m a sucker to play with Casey though. His chewed in half rubber ball keeps being set near my hand or in my lap. In previous situations, I was quick to toss it across the room. Not so easy to do here, so in a tug-of-war battle, my finger got in the way. No blood, just a good chomp.
He’s staring up at me from the floor right now. This blue piece of rubber keeps getting shoved deeper and deeper into my lap.
There’s a variety of computers and meters all around the room. I’m trying to sort out what everything does, but this is a realm that I’m less familiar with. Studio recording and live radio broadcasts are two completely different things. The array of monitors are impressive. It’s damn near a wall of sound.
They’re trying to work out a particular guitar track right now. Record, playback, rehash, try something else, record, playback, and repeat until there is a consensus of “that’s it” in the room. You also hear “nope” a lot.
Matt’s been taking refuge in the corner of the sectional couch in the studio area. They’ve been putting a lot of hours into this process, meaning late nights. That spot is generally known as his, or at least that’s what he informed me while laying there with his eyes closed, Benji nestled on his chest.
It’s a fascinating process. There are some tracks that I’ve heard demos of, but I can’t tell if anything I have heard since being here are of the same. It will be a different experience to listen to this album once it’s done. I’ve met and known a lot of bands, but never been this close to the record making element.
Steve Jobs[wiki] has posed an open letter that calls for the end of DRM by the music industry. Crazy idea? No. Crazy to be hearing from Steve Jobs? Perhaps a little, but that’s because we’ve been subjected to DRM[wiki] controlled music being sold by Apple since iTunes first came about.
It’s that stuff that prevents you from copying a purchased song file a certain amount of times. For those who download their music illegally, this isn’t a problem, and that’s why they do it. You can copy and move that MP3 where you damn well please. If you are going to be restricted by buying the copyrighted version of what you can already get for free, you’re not going back once you’ve tasted the sweet, sweet candy.
On top of that news today, I find it incredibly fascinating that Ozzfest has made the following announcement.
That’s right, OZZY and SHARON OSBOURNE and tour producer LIVE NATION broke the news today at the Concert Industry Consortium in Los Angeles that their 12th annual hard rock spectacular–a 25-date extravaganza launching July 7 in Los Angeles–is pulling the plug on ticket prices and giving the power back to the fans calling this summer’s OZZFEST “FreeFest.” The other OZZFEST cities as of now are San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Albuquerque, Phoenix, Dallas, San Antonio, Kansas City, St Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Columbus, Pittsburgh, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Hartford, Charlotte, Atlanta, West Palm Beach, Nashville. Note: a final confirmed list of cities and dates is forthcoming. [ozzfest]
That’s right, this sucker is going to be free. I’m not a huge fan of the Ozzfest, but this is pretty substantial. If you can get there, you get in for nothing. Actually, I see this being like one huge commercial all over the place with music intertwined, not to mention a ton of metal-heads. The food, water, booze, and merchandise will probably still be overpriced, but if you can survive without it, you get in for free? Great concept, but I feel like there is a catch in there somewhere. Very forward thinking though.
I like the idea of a trend starting. DRM-free music and free concert festivals. It’s not the light at the end of the tunnel just yet, but something is stirring.
There’s some days where you find inspiration hard to come by. For that, I turn to music and try to tune out the rest of the world. Going through the library, I settled on Swearing At Motorists[wiki]. I met these guys a few times and seen a handful of their shows. Another sample of my affinity for bands with just two guys.
At every single show I’ve been to, Dave Doughman always has problems with his guitar. I’m not sure if it’s all the thrashing around that he does or the amount of self-servicing he does to that thing. My favorite time was at SXSW in 2002(which is where the clip above was filmed as well). There was a short somewhere in his guitar, and he had to hold it at a perfect angle, damn near completely still. To know S@M, you know that Dave is everywhere on stage. So there he was, in the middle of a set, right in the middle of a song, standing on stage like a mannequin, and screams, “I’m trying so hard not to flip out!”
I got the idea to check out their website to see what’s the latest on them. Dave’s going to be a husband and father, if not already. However, living in Berlin now, making it back to the states is going to be tricky for them to tour. Aside from that news, I was also excited to hear about an album they put out last October on Secretly Canadian, “Exile On Gipsstrasse”. The making of the album has a fascinating story, and knowing what I do of the guy, I can’t say that it surprises me.
I started taking my guitar to the Ubahnhof – an underground train station – at the end of my street to busk. The first night I didn’t make much money, but was floored by the huge sound created in the tube by my unamplified acoustic guitar and voice. So the next night I returned with my tape machine and 2 microphones, set them up, got good levels, and just let the tape roll as I busked. I made a little more money that night, but upon returning home and giving the tape a listen, realized that the trains and passengers were too distracting from the overall recording. [secretlycanadian]
You can read the rest for yourself, but the story goes on to tell how he kept going to the station later and later to record, eventually trading all the studio tracks for that of the underground station. If you’re curious to hear what it sounds like, the whole album is currently available for free here.
Listening to it right now, there’s not much for percussion like previous stuff, but I’ve always been a fan of Dave’s vocal styling. You can even hear the sounds of train passengers passing by in some tracks. I have to say that this is the type of recording that I really respect, more so because he broke into station at one point for the sake of getting this record done.
Matt was quicker to the draw, but I am in complete agreement. Prince‘s performance in the Super Bowl halftime was spectacular, probably one of the best in my memory. U2’s show in 2002 was pretty excellent, but this one was on a much different level.
I had a buddy I went to high school with that was a huge Prince[wiki] fan. When the clock hit midnight for the start of 1999, he put “Jam of the Year” on the stereo when all the rest of the world hellaciously over played “1999”. After years of being witness to my sister’s love affair with the guy’s music, it was at that point when I started to see the genius of the man.
The halftime show made everything I’ve thought about Prince even more evident. Wicked on the guitar, amazing vocals, and one hell of a showman. Pyrotechnics? Ok, that was cool. What I loved more was having a marching band on the field in addition to him on the stage. Other than that, it was a huge stage, a backing band, couple dancers, and Prince at the mic. He rocked it. And who knew that a Foo Fighters cover could be so damn good?
Thanks, Prince. You made it not painful to watch the halftime show of the Super Bowl.
Already available on YouTube, here is one video of the performance, and here is another.
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again. Well, maybe I’ve said it more than once. I can’t be all too sure. Anyway, a wise man once told me that any music that you listen to and love, then that’s what rock and roll is. I have lived by that mantra for the past ten years and will probably go to my grave saying it over and over.
I noticed something the other day. Living in the world of iTunes, there are certain playlists of goodness that I have setup up. “Bueno” is all things good with little care of any particular genre. “Happy Joy” is straight up electronic, usually something of a booty shaking quality. “Sleepy” is pretty self explanatory, but it’s something that you mellow out to as well as relax to while you drift off to la la land. It’s the new era of making mix tapes, and I know that there are a variety of those that I made and are still floating around somewhere.
There’s one playlist in particular that gets more adding and subtracting than others, and this means it also goes into play quite often. Going back to my post about listening to a lot of the new Muse album, the political tone of a majority of the album has captured my attention. Sure, the 2008 elections are coming up for the U.S., so this would stand to reason. Iraq, Afghanistan, terrorism, climate change, and the list can go on and on.
I’ve never been one to seek out politically minded music, nor have I ever been against it. I’ve also known people that listen to only such things. Like I said, it all comes down to that which sounds good to you and you simply have a love for what you hear.
So who is that has changed? Is it the artists or me?
It could be that my tastes have changed. It could also be the political climate of today. Regardless, more people are putting the message in their music. Thing is, it’s not all the same argument of “down with the man”. Sure, there is some of the “destroy and rebuild” message, but I think that it’s more than that.
In the interview of RadioZoom#118 with Jim Ward of Sparta, he told me straight up that the track “Taking Back Control” is all about getting into the system of government and creating change from the inside. Running for office and becoming apart of those who make decisions that control our lives. This, of course, is in relation to the dissatisfaction with the current U.S. administration. A great concept, indeed, but we’re having a hard enough time getting younger generations to vote, period. However, I like the idea a whole lot.
I wish I could speak to these issues like Matt Good can, but my mind is a messy sponge when I get going. Combine his musings and my playlists consisting of, but not limited to, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Muse, The Decemberists, and so on, I’ve noticed this shift in my personal method of thought when it comes to political issues. I used to abstain from it as much as possible, only considering the negative aspects that it would bring to relationships between me and those around me. I still don’t have a good label on what my stance is on anything and everything, but liberal is a good start.
It’s tough. I live by the rule that you can never know enough of everything that there is to know because being a know-it-all is no fun. I keep an open eye and mind on everything I read and hear. Limit yourself to one brand and side of media, and you’re bound to get blind sided. At this point, you have to put faith in yourself to figure out the truth.
I have to invoke a quote from High Fidelity[imdb], but with some minor tweaking. Do I listen to politically minded music because I am politically aware? Or am I politically aware because I listen to politically minded music?
This is cool and clever all at the same time. I also have a bit of fondness for MxPx.
In a recent promotion of “Bremerton Blend”, a coffee endorsed by MxPx, the band has randomly inserted “golden tickets” in 2 of the 200 bags of the product.
We will be putting in ONE ‘Golden Ticket’ naming the lucky recipient as the winner of the signed guitar! We’re also putting in a single “golden ticket” in a second 1 pound bag for a 50 dollar shopping spree at the MxPx Merch Arsenal.
To check out the coffee or the promotion,head over to this link. [punknews]
Pushing products in the name of your fans and the rock. I can dig that. Wonder if the coffee’s any good.
I posted this earlier, but it mysteriously vanished. My ISP has been doing some things behind the scenes to help improve things, so I’ll chalk it up to that.
Anyhoo, been listening to the new album from Muse a lot lately, “Black Holes and Revelations”. A lot of the tracks on this one have a political layer to the lyrics. This one, not so much. Still, I dig the video.
The one thing to bring you down on Christmas Day, isn’t it? The godfather of soul passing away was enough to make me gasp and let out an, “Oh no!”
NEW YORK (AP) — James Brown’s music career will come full circle when his body is brought to rest on the stage of the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem, where he made his explosive debut, and the world changed to his beat.
The public will be permitted on Thursday to visit the Apollo to have one more look at a man who helped steer modern musical tastes toward rhythm-and-blues, funk, hip-hop, disco and rap, the Rev. Al Sharpton said Tuesday. The reverend has been a close friend of Brown for decades. […]
Brown, known as the Godfather of Soul, died of congestive heart failure on Christmas morning in Atlanta at age 73. He had been scheduled to perform on New Year’s Eve in Manhattan at B.B. King’s blues club. [cnn]
Doing the live, morning shows at The Java House in downtown Iowa City, my favorite CD to throw in as a preshow warm-up was none other than James Brown[wiki] himself. It wouldn’t make the annoyed crowd sing along over their lattes as much as The Beatles would, but I know we, the setup crew, loved it. Makes me sad, but I bet those guys are still using his tunes for pregame.
You have to admire the man. Not only did he make some great music, but he was simply crazy.
