New Music Tuesday 10-27-09

Here is a sample of some new albums that are out today. Enjoy

Gov't Mule - By a Thread
R.E.M. - Live at the Olympia
The String Cheese Incident - Trick or Treat
Tegan and Sara - Sainthood
Wolfmother - Cosmic Egg
Train - Save Me San Francisco
Jack Johnson - En Concert

The D Word

Having divorced parents is awful. Mine got divorced when I was in second grade, so it has been a while. One thing I have come to realize is that the trials and tribulations of having divorced parents never fully goes away. I have long accepted that they will never be together again. Surprisingly that was pretty easy to come to terms with. The part that still completely puzzles me and frankly makes me want to pull my hair out is the holidays or any other major events.

I am married now so when we spend the holidays with my wife's family, I am secretly a little relieved that I do not have to deal with the heartache and headache of trying to coordinate everything with my family. I realize this may sound heartless but unless you have divorced parents you can never fully understand. The problem is you can never truly make everyone happy. These are the little things that need to be included in a divorce manual. Everyone focuses on, who is going to get the couch or how will we work out joint custody of our goldfish. Honestly, if it were me, why not just flush the fish. That way you can both feel miserable. I realize I am compounding the divorce process and their are bigger struggles than those I have listed. I simply wish that people realized the finality of their decision when getting a divorce. Every time I drive by the sign that says, "Divorce in a Day" I want to call the number on the sign and have them come with me to my next family function. There are no quick fixes.

Hm, this is a music blog so I will say I bought the new Sea Wolf album today. Upon first listen I give it a 5.

Who Sucked Out the Feeling?

I was listening to some Rage Against the Machine at work today. I will save you the what the hell kind of office do you work in comment, it was on very soft almost inaudible. It made me realize how much I miss these guys music. I know they are not gone but I wish they would put out another album. They seem to enjoy touring but how about some new material. I mean they are the godfathers of hip-hop infused rock, not including the whole Run DMC - Aerosmith collaboration.

Whenever I hear these nu metal bands on the radio, all I can think is make up your mind about what you want to be. A mediocre metal band or a craptackular hip hop group. Until then, save your strength. There are only a few bands that can pull it off and Rage is one of them.

Here are the songs I listened to today: Testify, Bombtrack, Bulls on Parade and Guerrilla Radio. My choices would have been a bit more diverse but that is what they had posted to their site.

Rage Website - http://www.ratm.com/

New Music Tuesday: 10-20-09

A Sampling of New Music Availible Today, Enjoy

Julian Casablancas - Phrazes for the Young
Flight of the Conchords - I Told you I was Freaky
Rammstein - Lieve Ist Fur Alle Da
Sufjan Steven - The BQE
Snow Patrol - Late Night Tales

Why?

If you have not heard of the band Why?, I would highly recommend checking them out. They have a very unique sound. Their latest album Eskimo Snow was released in late September.

Band's Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/whyanticon

Pete Yorn Back and Forth Review

Pete Yorn is back...well almost. The title back and forth is very appropriate for his latest offering. It feels as though Yorn has spent a good part of his music career trying to figure out his sound. His first two albums MusicfortheMorningAfter and Day I Forgot were very similar. Both played to Yorn's strong songwriting abilities. Yorn went a bit off course with his third album Night Crawler. Do not get me wrong, Night Crawler has its moments but it is incredibly overproduced to the point that it drowns out Yorn's vocals.

Back and Forth is a bit more back to the basics. The album goes back to strong songwriting and simplistic guitar rifts. The album is by no means stripped down. Various instrumentals are added to tracks but it is not over the top as with Night Crawler. All around Yorn does what he does best. He has created an album that is very well written with tracks that have staying power. If there is anything the album lacks it is one or two faster tracks. I cannot fault Yorn though, you write what you feel and I respect that. I am just happy to have Pete Yorn back.

New Music Tuesday 10-13-09

Here is a sampling of some of the new music out today enjoy.

The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
Five for Fighting - Slice
Bob Dylan - Christmas in the heart
People Under the Stairs - Carried Away

Getting Cased

I have a ton of CDs. It is beyond ridiculous the amount I have accumulated over the years. Recently I have been thinking about cleaning house and trying to make some extra cash by selling some of my old ones. One problem, no one will take my CDs unless they have the original case and artwork. This is the most ludicrous thing I have ever heard. CDs are one step away from being obsolete and you mean to tell me that record stores are going to be picky. I mean they were probably only going to give me a hay penny for them and then turn around and sell them for 10 bucks but it is the principle.

Honestly, if you care about album cover art anymore please comment on this. The artists do not even care about the cover art anymore. Who cares about the artistic statement they artist is trying to make. The real deal is inside the case on the CD. Until they start giving awards for cover art and CD packaging, I think it is insane that record stores will turn down perfectly well taken care of CDs because it lacks packaging.

Fresh Sound

If you are looking for a great site to check out some new music, I would like to recommend the Barsuk Records website. If you are not familiar with Barsuk, check em' out. They have a ton of great artists like Nada Surf, Mates of State, David Bazan, Ra Ra Riot, Say Hi...I could go on forever.

They are a fantastic, Seattle based label that has a free radio station on their site. Enjoy

Barsuk Records Website
http://www.barsuk.com/home