Thursday, February 05, 2009

Releases, Part II

But I digress.

Great new music is being released faster than I can listen to it. I'm currently listening to the new Phosphorescent (Willie Nelson tribute) and love it. New Franz Ferdinand is pretty damn good too. It's either the best Franz Ferdinand album, or the worst Spoon album. Either way, pretty good.

Now I really have some catching up to do...


Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light

I gotta say, I have completely fallen for Antony and the Johnsons recently. This is one of those acts that I ignored for so long, even though I knew I had to get into them at some point. Glad I did too, because I am floored every time I hear this music. Antony Hegarty’s voice can shake anybody to the core. The Crying Light just continues what began on their self-titled debut. There isn’t anything groundbreaking for their music on this disc, but it’s a great reminder of how rare their music is. The content is, as always, deeply disturbing and truly beautiful at the same time. Kind of like facing up to something that frightens you. Every single song is something special and everybody should give it a listen. It may not be for everybody, but everybody should try it.


Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
The most hyped album so far this year. It may end up being the most hyped album of 2009. Now I called Strawberry Jam the best album of 2007, so obviously I'm a believer in Animal Collective. I fell into the same spell as everybody else when this album was announced in October. Good thing it wasn't all hype. This album lives up to everything written about it.
The first thing that is surprising about Merriweather Post Pavilion is just how different it is from anything else they have recorded. Nothing sounds analog, but it still sounds very organic. There is definitely a lack of guitars here, but the persistant loops remain. It has taken me a while to truly appreciate this album, and I still don't think I'm all there yet. It took me a while to figure out Strawberry Jam too. I love it right now, but I still have a ways to go.
If you still haven't listened to Animal Collective, take note that everything you ever hear about them is absolutely true. This is one of those rare bands that gets better when that seems impossible. With four amazing albums in five years, plus Panda Bear's stunning Person Pitch, Animal Collective is quickly becoming one of the best bands on the planet. At least they are the most original band right now. This isn't necessarily the music of the future, but it isn't vintage either. They are just doing something that nobody has ever done before.
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Monday, February 02, 2009

Super Mess

Man did last night not go according to plan. First of all: the obvious. The Cardinals lost. That sucked. Secondly, simply watching the game turned into a challenge.

About twenty minutes before kickoff, just as Molly and I were starting on dinner, the power flickered off and on. Everything came back on, minus the internet and cable. Yeah, the cable. Kinda need that. Especially for the freaking Super Bowl!! We finished up dinner, hoping the cable would come back. No luck. Thankfully we live pretty close to Molly’s parents. So without hesitation, we booked it over to their house. Made it just in time for the coin toss. Very good.

At the end of the first half, we went back home to try our luck and it paid off. Cable was back. Internet was working. All good.

Turns out that there was an accident just around the corner from our apartment. Somebody drove into a utility pole and took everything out. Bad timing, just before kickoff of the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl!! There were apparently injuries, so I’ll be the big man and hope that everybody is okay. Besides, at least everything seemed okay for the second half.

Except that it wasn’t. Shortly after kickoff, everything went off. As in EVERYTHING. Pitch black. Maybe the cable was still working, I don’t know. But without electricity, I could care less. Once again, we packed up and went to Molly’s parents’ place. Good thing they live so close. Awesome game. Awesome finish. We got to see everything, minus some of the boredom of the third quarter.

After the game we went back home to still find pitch black. It was actually kind of nice. Right in the middle of the city and darkness as far as the eye could see. No street lights or anything. I was actually looking forward to living the rest of the night like this. I took a shower by candle light. Oooh, romantic! I couldn’t wait to crawl into bed, read a little by the light of a flashlight, and falling to sleep without a streetlight in my face. Except that the power came back just as I was heading to bed. Nothing went according to plan last night. Nothing!!
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