silly terminology. every once in a while i'll hear a new music sub-category that makes me sit and wonder for a while. how do people come up with these terms? according to wiki, that is actually some people's claim to fame. coining a term. whose claim to fame was "post-rock"? wellll it would be a mr. simon reynolds. schooled!!! :) the thought of today is:
POST-ROCK.
what is it? basically, from my understanding, it's using "rock" instruments for "non-rock" purposes. why does it exist? to move beyond the "rock norm", perhaps? i'm wondering why it's not in the "noise rock" category as well, because the concepts are very similar. maybe post-rock is more structured? i don't know.....rogue wave is considered "post-rock", but comparing them to a band like explosions in the sky, i don't see the similarity at all. explosions is much more soundscape-ish, if you get my drift. more epic. but on the noise side of things, comparing rogue wave to, say, my bloody valentine, considered "noise", but of the brit-pop/shoegaze variety (pop and shoegaze being the operative words here), i still don't see a correlation. is rogue wave mis-categorized? in my opinion, the whole concept of using rock instruments in a non-classic rock way is something that pink floyd started a long time ago. textural rather than structural. does it have something to do with background influences?
oh, and what about adding in "progressive" to the mix? once again, i find myself going back to king crimson. sheesh. why don't we all accept that every kind of music has basically been made already and stop trying to sub-categorize everything until every group has it's own specific category. awesome.
so, let's say you have an interest. where to start?? i say move to montreal. apparently it's the mecca for post-rock and experimental bands.
a few all signed to indie label Constellation Records:
do make say think
explosions in the sky
a silver mt. zion
i haven't heard much of any of those groups besides a few tracks off of last.fm. save explosions in the sky, which i really dig. in a way, i'm really happy that the more lush instrumental bands are coming to the foreground. it's a very refreshing alternative to the cut and paste pop-punk-crap rock that's been clogging our ears for too long. explosions has pieces of sigur ros (BIG pieces), and i can even hear a little modest mouse and wilco in there too. what would those be considered? americana noise?
ok, not so savvy to the idea of moving to canada (though i couldn't possibly see why....free health care for all and unlocked doors? fuck yes)? try something a little less life changing, and start your quest out right. pick up talk talk's 1991 album "the laughing stock" and check it out. it's pretty fantastic. here's a great track from that album:
or how about fuckin....stereolab. try Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements. it's the first american album they put out on elektra. ooooh underground post-rock goodness.
here are a few more suggestions to end out this disgustingly name-dropping blog:
the album leaf
tristeza
mum (i don't know how to add the little accent over the "u" :(
think ambiance (the album leaf is a bit more vocal though), think going on a journey. these are definitely not bands you'd listen to if you're trying to get pumped up for say, a track race. just a thought.
:)
Monday, November 26, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
last.fm+iTunes= Indie Cred.
4 bands and the songs that inspired me to even log into this blogspot this evening:
Modest Mouse- Make everyone happy/Mechanical Birds
Built to Spill- You are
The Knife- Heartbeats
The Flaming Lips- Are you a hypnotist?
All very worthy additions to my Fall '07 playlist, which is actually winding it's way into winter, with tracks like Tori Amos' "A Sorta Fairytale" from Scarlet's Walk (2001), Elvis Costello's "A Good Year for the Roses" from his "Very best of.." collection, and Jeff Buckley's "New Year's Prayer" from Sketches for my sweetheart the drunk. The cool thing is iTunes picked them out and put them in order for me, so I guess it gets all the credit for being currently awesome.
I've been in a huge King Crimson phase. I blame it on Battles and a sudden penchant for proggy goodness. Do many people actually like King Crimson anymore??? And if so, where the fuck are they?! Be my friend. Just don't also be an art snob. With your silly sweaters and scarves and red wine teeth stains. Feh.
Would it make me a liar if I said I am listening to my ex-husband's music and am actually enjoying it completely detached, as an outside listener/music appreciator? I'm not lying. It's really good. I don't know what this "really means" for all you psychoanalysts out there, but it izzz what it izzzz....
Did you listen to it? I wasn't kidding. This is the hidden track at the end of his second album, "All Night Souls", which he put out in early 2005, I think. Check out his myspace page right here. I won't type his name though...for some reason.
ANYWAYS. *shifts uncomfortably for a few seconds*
I've finally figured out how to put some sort of music players on my blog, obviously. And thanks to last.fm and all it's indie goodness, I've been able to put together a little playlist of some awesome stuff I found while surfing it and also some of my mainstream/indie faves from iTunes.
Hope you like it. I'm glad I can finally have you listen to what I'm listening to, as opposed to just reading pretentious writing about it instead.
And with that.....good night. :)
Modest Mouse- Make everyone happy/Mechanical Birds
Built to Spill- You are
The Knife- Heartbeats
The Flaming Lips- Are you a hypnotist?
All very worthy additions to my Fall '07 playlist, which is actually winding it's way into winter, with tracks like Tori Amos' "A Sorta Fairytale" from Scarlet's Walk (2001), Elvis Costello's "A Good Year for the Roses" from his "Very best of.." collection, and Jeff Buckley's "New Year's Prayer" from Sketches for my sweetheart the drunk. The cool thing is iTunes picked them out and put them in order for me, so I guess it gets all the credit for being currently awesome.
I've been in a huge King Crimson phase. I blame it on Battles and a sudden penchant for proggy goodness. Do many people actually like King Crimson anymore??? And if so, where the fuck are they?! Be my friend. Just don't also be an art snob. With your silly sweaters and scarves and red wine teeth stains. Feh.
Would it make me a liar if I said I am listening to my ex-husband's music and am actually enjoying it completely detached, as an outside listener/music appreciator? I'm not lying. It's really good. I don't know what this "really means" for all you psychoanalysts out there, but it izzz what it izzzz....
Did you listen to it? I wasn't kidding. This is the hidden track at the end of his second album, "All Night Souls", which he put out in early 2005, I think. Check out his myspace page right here. I won't type his name though...for some reason.
ANYWAYS. *shifts uncomfortably for a few seconds*
I've finally figured out how to put some sort of music players on my blog, obviously. And thanks to last.fm and all it's indie goodness, I've been able to put together a little playlist of some awesome stuff I found while surfing it and also some of my mainstream/indie faves from iTunes.
Hope you like it. I'm glad I can finally have you listen to what I'm listening to, as opposed to just reading pretentious writing about it instead.
And with that.....good night. :)
Monday, November 5, 2007
depression blindsided by cuteness!!!
*warning: lots of names and top 5 lists.*
Alright, alright. Right now! Top 5 All-Time BEST female singer-songwriters, let 'em rapid-fire LETS GO:
1. Carole King
2. Joni Mitchell
3. Tori Amos
4. PJ Harvey
5. Fiona Apple
..........and, trailing in at a close 6th...no....more like 5 1/4, Regina Spektor. Not to mention Lucinda Williams. And Chan Marshall. And Imogen Heap. And Bjork. And Stevie Nicks. Dammit! Too many to list...
Been feeling pretty scummy the last week and a half. I won't go into much detail, but let's just say that I'm all tapped out. Running on fumes and whatnot. Usually, what I do is listen to some good 'ol wallow in my own misery music. Maybe gaze out the BART window on the way to work with a deep sigh, while "Sullen Girl" plays on the iPod.
How about this-
Top 5 songs to mope to:
1. "Obscured/Window Paine"-Smashing Pumpkins (depends on if I'm just depressed or slightly energetically depressed)
2. "Pretty Penny"- STP
3. "Orion"- Metallica
4. ANYTHING from Tidal by Fiona Apple
5. "Mystify Me"-Son Volt
*siiigh* ANYHOW.....this time around, in the midst of all my moping, I found this:
Actually, this isn't the video that I fell in love with, but embedding is disabled for it, so here's a link. This version is a bit mellower, and waaaaaay cuter. A field full of cute Reginas running around doing cute stuff!
ALTERNATE CUTER VIDEO
This video inspired me to do two things. 1) Buy Regina's latest album "Begin to Hope". Now, I do like to say that I looove Regina Spektor. I have almost all the albums she's put out, save the two she put out after Soviet Kitsch. This album has been out for over a year and a half, and the only single I'd heard off of it until recently was "Fidelity". Apparently, it was named after "High Fidelity". Further proof that she and I should TOTALLY be friends. I'd pick a flower for her to wear in her cute hair every freaking day! But I digress once again. The other thing that video inspired me to do: Feel uplifted! I haven't felt uplifted by a song in a very long time. Truly uplifted. Like when I would listen to one song on repeat in my room when I was 15. In the last few days, I'm pretty sure I've listened to/watched "Better" upwards of 30 times. Getting dressed in the morning for work, I'm freaking Molly Ringwald in "The Breakfast Club". It may sound kind of stupid, but that song has helped me begin recharging. It's helped me put more care into myself, which in turn helps me care for others around me easier.
~If I kiss you where it's sore, will you feel better, will you feel anything at all?
~If you never say your name out loud to anyone, they can never ever call you by it.
These are the kinds of simple, straight-to-the-point lyrics that really get to me. Makes you start coaching yourself. -Can anyone else really help you feel better when you're hurting? Why do we think that we can't help ourselves? -Don't be afraid of putting yourself out there, even if it isn't easy sometimes. Granted, as a huge Tori fan, I also have a deep appreciation for obscurity and ethereal vagueness. Speaking of which, I went on a Tori YouTube rager last night (I have a current obsession with cute live music videos) fueled by my excitement that in almost a month exactly, TORI AMOS WILL BE PERFORMING 6-7 BLOCKS FROM MY HOUSE FOR 3 DAYS IN A ROW!!!!! And you know what? Judging from fan videos from recent performances in the UK, she's a fucking firecracker!!! (I have yet to get her new album...but I have a lot of reservations about it, being SO disappointed with her last album "The Beekeeper".) There is something baffling to me about disgustingly famous musicians. They play the same songs for years and years and years. I'm sure I'd get tired of playing the same songs for 20+ years. Shit, I don't play songs that I wrote 4 years ago. I can barely remember them, even. And when I do, I don't get more than halfway through before I start getting a bad taste in my mouth. Anyway, I was watching a video of Tori doing "Sugar" as Santa, one of her pretentious "alternate personalities" or something. The footage is awful, totally out of focus the whole time, so I won't subject you to it. But her band was TIGHT and her vocals were spot on. After all these years, I do think that "Sugar" live is one of the hardest songs for her to perform. The outro she worked up is amazing...her vocals soar. They really do. Of all the versions I've searched for and listened to, I think that there will NEVER be a better version of that song than the one off of "To Venus and Back" (1998), which, mind you, she recorded AT SOUND CHECK!!!
.....!!!!
Yeah. Fucking sound check, man. I woke up this morning (an hour and a half earlier due to the end of Daylight Savings and the lack of knowing that by my beautiful daughter) feeling better than I have in almost 2 weeks. I have the power to make it through every day the best person I can be. Yeah, I fucked up more times in one week than I would have liked recently, but there's nothing I can do about it now but accept it, accept the consequences that came along with them, and move forward as the best person I can be. And as long as I can remind myself that, whether it be through appreciating the color of the sky at dusk, or listening to some of my musical heroes, or whatever else the musical doctor ordered, then I think for now I do belong here. Right here where I stand. And you should do the same.
Because you belong here too.
Alright, alright. Right now! Top 5 All-Time BEST female singer-songwriters, let 'em rapid-fire LETS GO:
1. Carole King
2. Joni Mitchell
3. Tori Amos
4. PJ Harvey
5. Fiona Apple
..........and, trailing in at a close 6th...no....more like 5 1/4, Regina Spektor. Not to mention Lucinda Williams. And Chan Marshall. And Imogen Heap. And Bjork. And Stevie Nicks. Dammit! Too many to list...
Been feeling pretty scummy the last week and a half. I won't go into much detail, but let's just say that I'm all tapped out. Running on fumes and whatnot. Usually, what I do is listen to some good 'ol wallow in my own misery music. Maybe gaze out the BART window on the way to work with a deep sigh, while "Sullen Girl" plays on the iPod.
How about this-
Top 5 songs to mope to:
1. "Obscured/Window Paine"-Smashing Pumpkins (depends on if I'm just depressed or slightly energetically depressed)
2. "Pretty Penny"- STP
3. "Orion"- Metallica
4. ANYTHING from Tidal by Fiona Apple
5. "Mystify Me"-Son Volt
*siiigh* ANYHOW.....this time around, in the midst of all my moping, I found this:
Actually, this isn't the video that I fell in love with, but embedding is disabled for it, so here's a link. This version is a bit mellower, and waaaaaay cuter. A field full of cute Reginas running around doing cute stuff!
This video inspired me to do two things. 1) Buy Regina's latest album "Begin to Hope". Now, I do like to say that I looove Regina Spektor. I have almost all the albums she's put out, save the two she put out after Soviet Kitsch. This album has been out for over a year and a half, and the only single I'd heard off of it until recently was "Fidelity". Apparently, it was named after "High Fidelity". Further proof that she and I should TOTALLY be friends. I'd pick a flower for her to wear in her cute hair every freaking day! But I digress once again. The other thing that video inspired me to do: Feel uplifted! I haven't felt uplifted by a song in a very long time. Truly uplifted. Like when I would listen to one song on repeat in my room when I was 15. In the last few days, I'm pretty sure I've listened to/watched "Better" upwards of 30 times. Getting dressed in the morning for work, I'm freaking Molly Ringwald in "The Breakfast Club". It may sound kind of stupid, but that song has helped me begin recharging. It's helped me put more care into myself, which in turn helps me care for others around me easier.
~If I kiss you where it's sore, will you feel better, will you feel anything at all?
~If you never say your name out loud to anyone, they can never ever call you by it.
These are the kinds of simple, straight-to-the-point lyrics that really get to me. Makes you start coaching yourself. -Can anyone else really help you feel better when you're hurting? Why do we think that we can't help ourselves? -Don't be afraid of putting yourself out there, even if it isn't easy sometimes. Granted, as a huge Tori fan, I also have a deep appreciation for obscurity and ethereal vagueness. Speaking of which, I went on a Tori YouTube rager last night (I have a current obsession with cute live music videos) fueled by my excitement that in almost a month exactly, TORI AMOS WILL BE PERFORMING 6-7 BLOCKS FROM MY HOUSE FOR 3 DAYS IN A ROW!!!!! And you know what? Judging from fan videos from recent performances in the UK, she's a fucking firecracker!!! (I have yet to get her new album...but I have a lot of reservations about it, being SO disappointed with her last album "The Beekeeper".) There is something baffling to me about disgustingly famous musicians. They play the same songs for years and years and years. I'm sure I'd get tired of playing the same songs for 20+ years. Shit, I don't play songs that I wrote 4 years ago. I can barely remember them, even. And when I do, I don't get more than halfway through before I start getting a bad taste in my mouth. Anyway, I was watching a video of Tori doing "Sugar" as Santa, one of her pretentious "alternate personalities" or something. The footage is awful, totally out of focus the whole time, so I won't subject you to it. But her band was TIGHT and her vocals were spot on. After all these years, I do think that "Sugar" live is one of the hardest songs for her to perform. The outro she worked up is amazing...her vocals soar. They really do. Of all the versions I've searched for and listened to, I think that there will NEVER be a better version of that song than the one off of "To Venus and Back" (1998), which, mind you, she recorded AT SOUND CHECK!!!
.....!!!!
Yeah. Fucking sound check, man. I woke up this morning (an hour and a half earlier due to the end of Daylight Savings and the lack of knowing that by my beautiful daughter) feeling better than I have in almost 2 weeks. I have the power to make it through every day the best person I can be. Yeah, I fucked up more times in one week than I would have liked recently, but there's nothing I can do about it now but accept it, accept the consequences that came along with them, and move forward as the best person I can be. And as long as I can remind myself that, whether it be through appreciating the color of the sky at dusk, or listening to some of my musical heroes, or whatever else the musical doctor ordered, then I think for now I do belong here. Right here where I stand. And you should do the same.
Because you belong here too.
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