Rebecca has been singing parts of this song all day, so I figured that I would post it because it’s just that good of a song.
We’re island bound tomorrow morning. If that isn’t enough to be happy about, then the fact that we’ll be flying to Iowa in a week kinda is. Will be the first time in just over two years that I’ll set foot in my home state. I wonder if it will smell the same…
And if you are curious to find out more about Troubled Hubble[wiki], please do so. You won’t be disappointed.
Every so often, I head down the YouTube maze of fun and discover things that I never knew existed. This is actually one of two videos for this same song. The other one is cool, but I like this version better.
I’ve been a Ben Folds fan for a long time. The first album from Ben Folds Five is still around in my rotation, but all of them are good in their own right, at least to me. Ben Folds solo stuff is just as good, but I do miss the days of Robert Sledge[wiki] and the fuzz bass. Oh how I love me some fuzz bass.
Pilot To Gunner[myspace] has been on the scene since 1998, but they don’t have the numbers in terms of releases to really make that believable. Doesn’t make me like them any less. This is a really good track to run to. They make their way into my running mixes here and there.
I find the first few minutes of the following video pretty interesting. For a time now, Trent Reznor[wiki] has been calling for fans to steal his music, and here is proof that he’s taking his message to the people and not just the media.
Basically, he’s upset, just as much as you and I are, that prices for buying music, mainly CD albums, has become ridiculously expensive. The cost for buying the latest release by your favorite band is usually in the $15-$25 range, sometimes more. As prices go up, people resort to stealing, making record companies lose money because no one is buying the product from the shelves, and to compensate they drive the CD price higher to fill in the lacking profit margins. Vicious circle? You bet.
Digital downloads are a whole other story, but even the record companies would like to see a better price than $.99 a track on iTunes. In fact, that isn’t the case for all tracks anymore because you can get music at a better bit rate and quality at just over a dollar or so, but the industry doesn’t budge like that for nothing. If they had their way, you’d be paying more than that and tell you the reason being is copyright compensation to the artist.
Every time I think about this topic, I’m constantly reminded by what Steve Albini wrote in his “The Problem With Music“. It was written just ahead of the digital music revolution in the 90’s, but I hesitate to think that the industry has moved past that mode of operation. It’s worth a read if you’ve never seen it before.
I have to say that I’m with Trent Reznor on this. The industry needs to learn a whole new way of thinking. Not sure that I’d run out a grab a ton of CD’s if they were $5-10 a piece, but it would certainly make me consider the notion. If anything, you might just save the youth of the world from missing out on some great artists because a thirteen year old could buy three for the price of today’s one.
I know the picture is dark, but this whole venue was dark except for the light that shined on the performers. Actually, a few songs into Holly McNarland‘s set, the lights seem to brighten and change colors. Otherwise, Corinna‘s picture here is pretty spot on.
Rebecca has been a fan of Holly’s music for a long time, so I’m familiar with the music. Can’t say that I know a lot of words to very many songs, not to mention the few songs titles that I can name off the top of my head. The one thing I do know is that Holly can wail.
Bottom line, an amazing performance at the East Vancouver Cultural Center. Stripped down to a point, there was no percussion, aside from the occasional tambourine, and some subtle electric guitar to add a little extra where needed. Other than that, acoustic guitars and a fellow female vocalist to provide backing vocals where needed. Worked out beautifully.
On the latest episode of RadioZoom, I was mentioning the amount of “da da da’s” that were utilized in her and the opening act’s music. Adaline probably doesn’t have a song on her latest album called “Da Da Da” like Holly McNarland does, but at a certain point in the evening, I heard a lot of da-da-da-ing going on.
True that I’ve been to a lot of rock shows with a fair share of yeah’s being screamed, and the key thing is that both of these women were using their amazing voices to sing this simplest of syllables. Still, it was something that really stuck out to me.
In the end, she’s still got it. Even after having a child less than a year ago, she was able to get this album put together and out to the masses. Couldn’t have asked for a better, more intimate venue as well.
It’s true that Sparta was opening the show for Alice In Chains and Velvet Revolver last Friday, but I think my mind went in reverse for this show. We caught the first half of Alice in Chains and missed out on all of Velvet Revolver. We got in there just in time for Sparta to take the stage, though.
Actually, RadioZoom was slated to have yet another interview with the band[RZ#118, RZ#130], this time with Keeley and Tony. Sadly, and you can read Rebecca’s post about the whole night, it just didn’t work out. This was night number one of being on this tour with VR, taking them around various parts of North America.
Combine the working out the kinks and a big arena show, it wasn’t the strongest performance I’ve seen from Sparta. Don’t get me wrong, they played really well, and the last few songs all seemed uber tight and rocking. I chalk it up to first show jitters. The quarter full Pacific Colosseum received them very, very well.
As an extra mention, Alice In Chains, believe it or not, were pretty amazing. I was a total, non-believer of them going back out on the road without Layne Staley[wiki]. At the same time, we have to be honest to ourselves and understand that Layne is gone forever, so that this would happen isn’t all too surprising. You can’t expect it to be the same or as good as it ever was, so the show must go on, right?
Well holy crap, was I ever blown away. William DuVall[wiki] actually works. The guy has a voice that fits with Alice In Chains, and stage presence never hurts. Even though he has big shoes to fill, I think he is doing a hell of a job making a mark for himself. When they opened up with Again and then busted into Grind right after that, I looked at Rebecca and asked, “Remember when we were sixteen?” To me, that means something. I wanted to keep hearing them rock out and relive my glory days in the nineties, but I had a job to do.
As a side note, I can also say that I’ve seen Jerry Cantrell[wiki] play. Maybe not one of the biggest guitar gods in the world, but a prominent person, to me, in rock and roll history when it comes to the heyday of the Seattle grunge scene. He’s really skinny, too.
Been talking with a variety of people that have dropped SXSW into the conversation, and it reminded me of the one time I went. I saw these guys, Shiner[wiki], twice during my time there. Not the best version of this video in the world, but perhaps it will make you want to find more about this band from Kansas City.
They broke up a few years ago, but The Life and Times picks up where Shiner left off.
I’ve seen this talked about here and there, but it wasn’t until Robert Sanzalone made mention of it in a Twitter post that I’ve actually watched this video.
Spoon recently released their sixth album, “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga”, and this video appears to be a collaboration of technology and music in its best form. There is also a lot of Tokyo spread throughout this, and it triggers a lot of happy memories for me. Lead singer Britt Daniel[wiki] makes a brief cameo in a shot going up the escalator, just behind the scientist guy who is carrying the little, bopping robot.
Sparta is coming to Vancouver on September 7, 2007 with Alice In Chains and Velvet Revolver at Pacific Colosseum. Might try to slide ourselves into that show, fingers crossed.
