so i really have not been good at posting, hopefully i will remedy that here’s something for now anyway. i finally updated the concert calendar and there are a bunch of big ones coming up that i thought i’d let you know about. first bon iver (he’s such hot shit right now) is playing two shows on the 12 and 13 of this month at the turf club though they are both already sold out so i won’t be going but congratulations if you are. later this month on the 26 cloud cult is playing their cd release show at first ave, i’ve alway wanted to see them live but i’m not sure if i’ll make this one, i’m sure it will sell out so get tickets while you can. then on may 13 laura veirs is coming to the cedar cultural center which is a great venue and i’ve really wanted to see her for quite some time. on june 6 mark kozelek and retribution gospel choir will be playing the varsity theater which is just awesome. the next week on the 11 iron & wine comes to first ave and then on the 13 billy bragg is going to be at the cedar cultural center. it’s almost too much for such a short period of time. anyway after all that on june 21 there is a big show at the sculpture garden called rock the garden with andrew bird, the new pornographers, cloud cult, and bon iver which is a pretty sweet lineup, unfortunately i’ll be in duluth recovering from a marathon.
and i just found out that flight of the conchords will be playing the orpheum theatre on may 13, which is the same time as laura veirs. i will be going to laura veirs but some of you might be interested.
i’m a little late in getting to this but i really wanted to post on it. last week was the 10th anniversary of the release of the very fine album in the aeroplane over the sea which was the last album put out by my favourite band neutral milk hotel. it is their best album and probably my favourite album of all time, it is certainly the album which is the most meaningful to me.
i first heard of this album from some review of another album which just mentioned it in passing. it was enough for me to download a few songs which i enjoyed enough, i didn’t think it was anything that special but i did purchase the album. it was a good listen, but it wasn’t until the fifth time that i listened to the album that i was really struck by how amazing it really was. i remember it quite vividly. i was listening to the album while driving around and somewhere in the middle of the song ‘oh, comely’ it just hit me, “holllllleee shit!” this is album is good. and after that every time i listened to it i got more and more into it. i have since reached the pinnacle of my enjoyment for the album, i now try to preserve the album and limit my listens to the album. on sunday i splurged and listened to it three or four times. each time he sets down his guitar and gets up and leaves, leaving me hoping that one day he will make music again.
i have been hoping for news for some time now that jeff mangnum would return to making music but there has been nothing so far. i had hoped that this anniversary would have triggered some news but so far nothing. there have however been a few nice tributes across the internet, pitchfork had some nice features, stereogum had a good post, and i found a very good piece that was written awhile back by will sheff of okkervil river.
maybe he’ll make more music maybe he won’t, it should be enough that he put out one great album. i might even argue two great albums. had he made more music it might have only served to diminish those releases because of future missteps. i still wish he would put out another effort because even if it were terrible at least it would put an end to all of these questions, and it might just touch on the magic found in the two albums he did give us.
to finish off my favourite albums of 2007 two fine albums by two fine ladies. i’m actually quite disappointed that i only had two releases by female artists on this list, i like to be as gender neutral as possible with my musical taste but the reality is that their are many more guys in rock ‘n’ roll. but here are two examples who could not be more different.
laura veirssaltbreakers
initially i enjoyed this album but i didn’t think it was as good as her previous release year of meteors. i think that was just my normal hesitation to hearing an artist that i really enjoy doing anything new. i now enjoy this album much more than year of meteors. it’s not that this release is amazing it’s just a smooth steady listen with solid songwriting the whole way through. what really sets her apart is her arrangements combining the fairly standard bass, drum, guitar and some piano with strings and synthesizers and some electronica to create a unique but comfortable sound. she still keeps the arrangements somewhat simple so they don’t get exhausting, like sufjan stevens has a tendency to do sometimes. the most obvious difference between this album and the last is that the arrangements are more filled out, though i think her songwriting has improved as well. not that this album is without it’s missteps there are a couple of songs such as ‘to the country’ which are lulls in the album which i don’t really mind because it spaces out the album a bit, there is also the one rocker on the album ‘phantom mountain’ which isn’t nearly as successful as the equivalent track from year of meteors ‘black gold blues’. i also can’t really endorse the title track i enjoy it but the full band call and response thing makes me chuckle every time. anyways the positives far outweigh the negatives so i recommend you check it out. some of the better tracks: ‘cast a hook’, ‘don’t lose yourself’ (included on my end of the year mix), ‘pink light’ (download below), i also enjoy the more low key tracks ‘drink deep’, and ‘wrecking’. laura veirs – pink light.mp3
scout niblettthis fool can die now
while laura veirs is one of the easier listens from my list this is probably the most difficult but without question this was my absolute favourite release of 2007 and the only one to truly blow me away. there are so many contradictory adjectives that could be used to describe it. she goes from soft and sweet to loud and raw, it keeps you on the edge of your seat it’s just a great dynamic album. i know this isn’t the type of music that’s particularly in fashion, but i wish this had gotten more attention.
scout has been on my radar for only a short time having heard a song from her previous album kidnapped by neptune on the radio over a year ago. the song, ‘lullaby for scout in 10 years’, peaked my interest enough for me to check out that album, but that was really the only song on that album that stood out so i never looked into her further. it wasn’t till i heard a new song of hers, on the radio again, that i even knew she had another album out. when i heard the song i knew immediately that it was her because of her very distinct voice but the song was much different from anything on her previous album. i downloaded the album right away, it was actually the last thing i downloaded from the now defunct music torrent site oink, and was immediately taken with it.
this album has a folksiness that was not present on kidnapped by neptune which balances the more raw elements really well without losing her minimalist style. the first two songs are great examples of this. they are both duets witch feature will oldham, who i really need to check out. they are much softer more pleasant songs than anything i had heard from her before and they even feature strings but what i think makes this album great is that she goes right from those songs into a really raw set which kicks off with her vocals over really basic drumming followed by a sort of minimalist metal song. the album sort of trades off that way throughout switching between the more folksy songs to her more raw side but always maintaining a balance. i love music with a lot of space and here is a woman who knows how to use it pushing it to the limits creating a amazing tension similar to low. her voice is on the weak side and can be a bit shrill at times but i think she uses it to good effect in her music and i rather enjoy it. the stand out track for me would amount to most of the album, but to get you started check out ‘do you want to be buried with my people’ (found on my end of the year mix), ‘kiss’ (video below), and ‘let thine heart be warned’.
continuing my favourite albums of 2007 list. this gets its own post because its four discs.
magnolia electric co.sojourner box set
i’m amazed that their wasn’t more noise about this release, i don’t think i heard anything at all. what i really dig about it is just how listenable it is. even though this is split into four discs i have always listened to it as one, partially because it only exists to me as a bunch of mp3s in one folder. at over thirty songs and about two hours long i would expect to get bored before reaching the end but even the first time i gave it a listen i enjoyed it in its entirety and didn’t ever get anxious waiting for it to get to ‘the good songs’. this is just a steady listen which never really gets too exciting at any point but i love it. i have only started to get into the works of jason molina over about the past year or so and i love the sort of alternate world he lays out in his songs, i think i’ll have to do a post about it sometime. the songs are bluesy and sort of classic rockish, i generally hate classic rock but there is something modern in their style and songwriting which i really enjoy. a line like, “you used to say i had what it takes, i think i did if you meant too little too late” from the song ‘north star’ while delivered sincerly is both hilarious and tragic and i just can’t get enough of it. a few of the songs that stand out in this excellent collection: ‘lonesome valley’ (download below), ‘north star’, ‘in the human world’, ‘hold on magnolia’, and ’shiloh temple bell’. magnolia electric co. – lonesome valley.mp3
and here is a video of the song ‘a little at a time’ from the dvd included in this box set:
up next, the final installment of my favourite albums of 2007: the fairer releases
here are my two favourite local releases of 2007, and yes duluth is local.
lowdrums and guns
when i first heard this album i couldn’t help but notice some of the interesting production choices that were made. i still don’t understand why they chose to put the vocals almost exclusively in one speaker, but the drum machine while i initially disliked it i’ve come to appreciate it as part of a sound that distinguishes this album from their previous releases, and the organ is just great i’m surprised it hasn’t found it’s way into their music sooner. i had heard a number of these songs played live originally where they were done in a more classic low style and i came to like them that way so that is what i came to hope for with this album. in some ways i don’t really care about the production choices on this album because what really impresses me with these songs and what i picked up when i heard them live is the songwriting. i feel that low’s songwriting has improved with each release that they put out and this album continues that trend. they also continue to be awesome live, each time i have seen them play i have enjoyed it more. that is partially due to the fact that i have been more familiar with their music each time i have seen them, but i saw them last april after the release of drums and guns and it was one of the best live shows i’ve ever seen. alan was in a really good mood that night which helped, but they were really on that night and the crowd was great waiting until the final note wrung out to make a sound. my many favourite tracks were ‘breaker’, ‘dragonfly’, ‘always fade’, ‘dust on the window’, ‘murderer’ and ‘violent past’. fantastic that this is a music video:
cloud cultthe meaning of 8
i am convinced that cloud cult could produce what would be considered one of the best albums of the year if they just showed a little discipline. their latest album the meaning of 8 is a bloated 18 tracks and much like their previous album advice from the happy hippopotamus and its 25 tracks it contains a handful of of excellent songs but they seem unable to cut anything. were they to lean down this album to a breezy 10 or 12 songs saving the weaker tracks for b-sides and eliminating the jammy interludes it would make for a much smoother more enjoyable listen. the songs that make this album worthwhile: ‘chemicals collide’ ‘take your medicine’ and ‘pretty voice’. cloud cult – take your medicine.mp3
two more from my favourite albums of 2007 list. these are the two albums that i was most looking forward to last year since they were from two of my favourite artists over the past couple of years. ironically these two albums leaked within hours of each other (release dates are for suckers) forcing them to compete for listening time. how did these albums fare in terms of meeting my expectations? well not so well to be honest. they actually did alright for themselves if you look at reviews that they received, i probably could have even included them in my previous post as obvious choices for year end lists since they did appear on a number. but they made my list largely out of obligation, as i said they are albums by two of my favourite bands, i couldn’t not put them on here. both had a lot working against them in terms of meeting my expectations simply because my expectations for these bands are so high. john vanderslice is maybe my favourite artist currently making music and okkervil river was coming off of their phenomenal black sheep boy project.i’m being a bit too negative here considering i’m claiming that these are two of my favourite albums of the year and i’m trying to sell you on them so i’m going to try to turn that around a bit. they are in fact very good albums.
john vanderslice emerald city emerald city starts off with what i found to be the best track on the album “kookaburra” when the bass and drums kick in going into the chorus well it’s pretty much the reason why i listen to music. the rest of the album while very good, has a high level of anxiousness in the music and lyrics which prevents me from liking the album as much as i want to. the focus of the album, as the title suggests, is iraq and the war on terror and life in a post 9/11 world so the anxiety that comes through is understandable and probably intentional but as someone who is a fairly anxious person to begin with it ends up making me feel uneasy. anyway what this album does have going for it is that it is intelligently written by an intelligent guy and has the high level of production that can be expected on a vanderslice album. this is also the first album he recorded with a band in a live setting which gives it a more cohesive sound than previous releases. stand out tracks include “kookaburra” (download below), “the parade” and “numbered lithograph”. john vanderslice – kookaburra.mp3
okkervil riverthe stage names
okkervil river go for another concept album with the stage names. the concept this time is a bit less clear but it has something to do with the ways people relate to fame. there is no real connective narrative that runs through this album, one of the best things about black sheep boy was the way the songs enhanced each other through a shared imagery. i never really connected with the concept this time but it is a solid listen and it has a few song that really make it worthwhile. it kicks off with what is probably the best song on the album “our life is not a movie or maybe” which is a pretty rockin cathartic number but my favourite song is “plus ones” which references a number of other pop songs and has a lot of good word play. i especially like the line “the 51st way to leave your lover, admittedly it doesn’t seem to be as gentle or as clean as all the others” which i feel refers back to black sheep boy. i also like the song “john allyn smith sails” which is another song about the poet john berryman who killed himself right here in this fair town, the songs goes into a cover of “sloop john b” to close out the song and the album on a powerful note. our life is not a movie or maybe:
to kick off my favourite albums of 2007 list here are two albums which were rather obvious choices having appeared on many people’s end of the year lists, the rest of my selections are a bit more obscure.
iron & winethe shepherd’s dog
while i’ve always thought iron & wine had an interesting style on their previous releases, and sam beam is certainly a songwriter of some weight, they never grabbed me completely until this one. each album previous to this had a few songs that i really liked, but as a whole they kinda dragged on. they continue with the more elaborate production found on woman king going even further this time and exploring different musical styles but plenty has been written about all that. his lyrics are as dense as ever i wish i could figure out what the hell the songs were about, though they are enjoyable even if i have no idea what he’s singing about. i would love to know, for example, what the hell the song “white tooth man” is about, i haven’t really analyzed the lyrics but every time i hear him sing about “the plain clothes cop” my ears perk up with questions. other stand out tracks for me were “resurrection fern” and “flightless bird, american mouth” (included on my end of the year mix) both of them are gorgeous tracks. here’s another good one for you to check out: iron and wine – boy with a coin.mp3
andrew birdarmchair apocrypha
i don’t know what it is about andrew bird but he fails to impress me as much as i think he should. i think a lot of it has to do with his songwriting which to me has always seemed a little weak, his music could also stand to be a little more exciting. i did see him live early last year and some of that excitement was added seeing him build up each song by looping the various instruments that he plays although that suffered as well from my high expectations. that being said i listened to armchair apocrypha recently after sorta forgetting about it for awhile and i enjoyed it quite thoroughly even if it didn’t blow me away. i’ve never thought that this album reached the highs achieved on his previous album, the mysterious production of eggs, with songs like “fake palindromes” but this was a more consistent release which doesn’t taper off like i felt the last one did. the better tracks from this album include “heretics” “plasticities” “scythian empire” and my favourite song from the album “simple x” which is actually a song of martin dosh’s (his drummer) which andrew bird wrote lyrics to, here is a video of them playing it live:
to kick this blog off i’m going to post about my favourite albums from last year which i will be doing over the next week or so. there are many albums from the past year which many people would find better, probably myself included if i wanted to be objective about it, but i’m limiting my list to the albums that i spent my time listening to.
there are a number of albums which i have not had the chance to listen to enough to have formed an honest opinion about yet. some of these albums i will likely post about in the future if they tickle my fancy.
i’m not going to be numbering my list, which ended up being a top nine list, instead i have put the albums into categories which i will be posting about one at a time. i will also try to include either an mp3 or a video of a song from each album, though my end of the year mix from the last post contains songs from most of the albums.
i’ve gotten a little tired of spreading my musical recommendations to different friends individually. many of my friends rely on me for my recommendations because i am always actively looking for new and interesting music. and because i put so much time into this quest i feel it would be a waste to keep it oly to myself. besides music is best enjoyed in community: going to shows with friends, discussing an exciting new find, or listening to a shared favourite together.
anyway i thought this blog would be a more efficient way to share my music finds to anyone who might be interested. and i’m hoping to be able to post some sample tracks so you can judge the music for yourself instead of just reading about it which really isn’t sufficient. since i am largely relied on to inform others of shows that are happening in this scene of ours as well i also put up a little concert calendar. i’m only listing shows which i personally have interest in. if anyone ever has interest attending any of the shows listed they should get in touch with me, i’m always looking for someone to attend shows with, especially the smaller ones.
Now as far as my specific music taste i plan to go into that sometime on the about me page but for now either check out my last. fm page or you could check out my end of the year mix for 2007 which compiles some of music which most impressed me during the past year. more to come.
