Great Video

I’ve become a fan of the Fleet Foxes.  Great music.  This video is awesome.  Enjoy.

 

White Winter Hymnal from Grandchildren on Vimeo.

"Santana Shreds"

I have to admit that I didn't "get" this video until about twenty seconds in.  When I got it, I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe.  Wow.

Via Its Nice That

Best Music of 2007 (so far)

Those who know my know I'm a music fan. Those who have lived with me know that I'm am either listening to music or creating my own by whistling or tapping things.

With over half of 2007 behind us, I wanted to put out a "best of (so far)" list. As you can see most of my music tends toward alternative and post-punk. This new music is biased toward those sub-genres, but 2007 has also been a year of older music. I have discovered the music of Jeff Buckly, Neko Case, Joni Mitchel (really just the album "Blue"), Arcade Fire, Silversun Pickups, and Supertramp.

As you read this list please remember that to a large degree I'm removed from American Pop Culture. In Korea, only the most vial pop songs come over, and whatever is included with American movies. Most of these songs have been recommended to me by my music friend, or through Rhapsody.

1. Neon Bible - Arcade Fire. Released back in April, the album is solid follow-up. They have kept the great, unique aspects of their sound while growing and exploring some new territory. (Album cover to the right)

2. Icky Thump - White Stripes. White Strips is one of those bands that I really like, but I've never been a "fan" of them. I own one of their albums, but that's about it. I like almost all of their music, but have never followed them, or anticipated upcoming albums etc. This summer, I'm going to explore their back catalogue and listen to their music beyond just the singles that I've heard on the radio. I recommend "Conquest" its really catchy and shows off Jack White's vocal talents.

3. On Letting Go - Circa Surive. Again, another great sophomore release. Circa Survive is sometimes lumped under "emo" music, although I was never a big fan of that genre. Others consider them post-emo. However you categorize them, the album is great. (Album cover on the left).

4. Sky Blue Sky - Wilco. This was a bit of a disappointment for me. Wilco is my favorite band. I love all of their music, and was really looking forward to this album. It didn't live up to my expectations. It is a good album, but really just good. For those interested in giving Wilco a listen to, I suggest A Ghost is Born or Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

5. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon. I've heard Spoon through a few playlists on Rhapsody. I gave their new album a listen to and was really impressed. I put it on the bottom of my list, but think it could move up as a listen to it more.

Also: Cassadaga - Bright Eyes. The music of Bright Eyes was the soundtrack of my life for the first third of 2005. They had just released Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, and I'm Wide Awake It's Morning. After thoroughly listening to the albums, I explored the back catalogue. Although the music is great, it can be easy to tire of. A friend who sort of recommended Bright Eyes now despises the music. My mind really isn't made up about "Cassadaga" although it has impressed me so far. I haven't made a final judgment on it though.

I'm also looking forward to releases this summer from:

Our Love to Admire - Interpol (July 9th, 2007)
Do You Feel - The Rocket Summer (July 17th, 2007)
Church Mouth - Portugal. The Man (July 24th, 2007)

What do you think is the best music of 2007? Anything I missed, or anything I haven't included.

Alternative Country Week

This past week is the week that Alternative Country was reborn in my mind. Alternative Country, is hard to define but is best understood as "underground country music." This is music that although it stylistically has many things in common with mainstream country music, would never get play on a country station. Instead of Keney Chesney or Carrie Underwood, think Woodie Guthrie. The "stars" of this genre are Wilco, Ryan Adams, and Neko Case. Sometimes, these artists are just put under the broader category of "indie rock."

First, this week,I discovered the music of Neko Case. Simply amazing. She has an powerful voice (think Patsy Cline with less twang), haunting lyrics, and I can't hear enough. I've been playing her latest album, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood almost constantly on my MP3 player.

Then, Wilco released their new album a week early on Rhapsody. The album is called Sky Blue Sky. I love it. Again, its a departure from their past album (each album is pretty distinct as far as style goes). If anything Sky Blue Sky goes back to Wilco's alternative country roots. Stylistically, it lies somewhere between Being There and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. In terms of skill, as always, Wilco is improving with each album.

I hope to have a full-review of Wilco's new album out this week. In the meantime, you can listen to the full album at their website at this link.

Again with the mid-90s

I have just discovered the music of Jeff Buckley, and I love it. Maybe its a mid-90s phase I'm going through (with this and My So-Called Life), or maybe its just a coincidence.

Jeff died in 1997 at 31 in a freak swimming accident in the Mississippi River.

The brilliance of his music doesn't just lie in his amazing lyrics and guitar work, but especially in his voice. It's unique, and has has a great range.

Now days, most rock singer/song-writers forced into the molds created by their music labels. So they all end up sounding alike. Or, they are forced to keep cranking out singles from the same album. Selling singles brings in money, but real fans tire of it after awhile.

In the relatively short amount of time that Jeff Buckley recording he left a lot of original music. Even so, he will probably best be known for his cover of the song Hallelujah--a song which he undeniable made his own.

I really encourage you to give Jeff Buckley a listen to. Start with the album "Grace" and go from there.

In closing, I leave you with a quote from one of my other mid-90s obsessions of the moment: "Seems like some people have to die young. Like it fits them or something."

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Links:
Listen to the album "Grace" in Rhapsody
Get Rhapsody

Image from Wikipedia

My Taiwan Playlist...

I have plenty of things talk about from my trip to Taiwan. One thing I thought I'd share is my playlist from my trip.

For Christmas, I got a Creative Zen Vision:M. I really like it. One feature I love is the fact that is supports subscription music services. So, for $15/month I can download as much music as I can fit on my player without buying the tracks. I'm essentially "renting" my music. New bands and albums I really like, I can download for less than $9.

I had used Real Rhapsody since I came to Korea. It was one of the few music services that didn't block international use. It worked pretty well. However, I've always had problems with the software. Its awkward and takes up a huge amount of memory. Then, when I upgraded to Vista, a huge number of bugs popped up. I found out that Rhapsody doesn't support Vista. What? They've had well over a year of very solid beta versions to work out these problems--and at least three months of the full version of Vista. So, I dropped them, and switched to Yahoo! Unlimited. Same price, and their software doesn't freak out on Vista.

So, the playlist (albums are listed because I almost always listen to songs as part of the whole album):

Interpol--Turn on the Bright Lights
Sufjan Stevens--Illinois, Avalanche
Rufus Wainwright--Want One
The Shins--Phantom Limb
Supertramp--American Breakfast
Arcade Fire--Funeral
Ben Kweller--Ben Kweller
Silverchair--Diaroma

If you use Yahoo! Music Unlimited click here to listen to the playlist.