Recently in music Category
Everyone ponder what Metallica would sound like as a swing band? Wonder no more! Let The Swinger demonstrate. This is pretty darn cool.
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I've watched this one a couple of times, and enjoy it more each time.
ETA: In case you don't know all of the paintings.
ETA II: And yes, the blackface in the rendition of "Olympia" is rather troubling. I didn't notice it the first couple of times I watched the video, sad to say.
Robbie Fulks' "Fountains of Wayne Hotline" is my new favorite song. I'm just sad that I didn't hear this years ago.
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Well, a friend loaned me three new CD's to listen to this evening. I've given my reviews for the first two, and now it's time for the third.
Peter Gabriel's Up album was alright. It neither grabbed me nor turned me off. I played it twice, just to be sure, and came to the same conclusion both times. I honestly wish I had more to say about it, but not being a professional album reviewer, I'm not going to bother reviewing an album that didn't impact me very much.
Aimee Mann also has a very solid album in Lost in Space. More longing and loneliness, this time very much accentuated by the cover art; a mini-comic book by Seth
For me, Mann's voice has always evoked a feeling of late-night confession in a dive bar. On this album,I can almost see her at the corner of the bar, whisky in one hand, cigarette in the other, telling the bartender about Guys Like Me.
I also think I have found my new road trip song in Humpty Dumpty.
Aimee Mann is among the throng of amazing artists that are coming to town in a too short period of time. I'd love to see her, but when it comes time to decision making and ticket buying, I may have to pass. (Doesn't mean I won't try to win tickets.)
I will now join hoards of other reviewers and state that Beck's new album, Sea Change is a friggin masterpiece. It also sounds so unlike all of the Beck that I had previously known (and liked) that the first time I heard a track, I had to check to see if it was the same guy. (I mean, it isn't as if there isn't already one other Beck-named recording artist out there. There could be room for one more.)
Musically, it has a great deal of subtlety. I think it would make excellent chill-out listening. It certainly has strains of melancholy running through it...actually, it seems to be running through strains of melancholy. However, that sadness isn't the variety that automatically brings the listener down. The music has too much energy for that. It makes me think of the sad songs of Patsy Cline or Hank Williams Sr. The loneliness, longing, and regret are bundled with catharsis, bringing it above the level of the standard "I'm so sad" pop song.
All in all, I think that those who got in to Where It's At back in 1996 will find the same artist, despite the changes. Those who found his earlier work silly or pretenious might wish to consider giving him a second listen. They might be pleasantly surprised.
As an added bonus, the cover art is pretty sweet. All four different versions.
It has my recommendation.
