Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane

Hey alls yous guys. Want to listen to something you've never heard before? Play.

Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane Promo 1


Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane Promo 2


Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane Promo 3


This guy does something that many just can't. That something is still unknown to me, but the warbling, delicate voice of Chad VanGaalen works impeccably with his quirky lyrics and peculiar instrument arrangements. Although the album can be considered peculiar as a whole, it is well worth the time to get into. Soft Airplane spans numerous genres, half of which I can't classify. Just take it for a test drive.

Listen to Soft Airplane

Good Old War for $2.99

In another sweet deal over at Amazon, Good Old War (former singer of Days Away) is only $2.99.

Soundtrack of 2008

Great
(Music that deserves a pat on the back)

Annuals - Such Fun
Cartel - Cartel (released 2007)


Colour Revolt - Plunder, Beg, and Curse


Dear and the Headlights - Drunk Like Bible Times


Firekites - The Bowery



Iron and Wine - The Shepherd's Dog (released 2007)

This Town Needs Guns - Animals


Grand
(Music that won't leave my headphones)

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago


Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane

Dr. Dog - Fate


Cloud Cult - Feel Good Ghosts

Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes


Paper Rival - Dialog


Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Pershing


Let Downs
(Music that can take a walk)

Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs


Forgive Durden - Razia's Shadow

Mario 2 on the Drums

Oh man. This is good.

Guns & Ammo for Minus the Bear

If ye haven't heard de ol' new Minus the Bear song, you'll be down over there now don'tchaknow.

Minus the Bear - Guns & Ammo

Also, they're playing a show in Providence at Lupos on Friday, October 24th 2008. Annuals will be there too. Holy crap is right.

New Annuals! and Dear and the Headlights!

This came out of no where. There's a new album by Annuals coming out called Such Fun. I am haven't even listened to any of the songs yet, but I'm sure they're stellar.

Also, Dear and the Headlights has a new album out as well named Drunk Like Bible Times. Oh happy day. Some music I can finally look forward to.

Annuals myspace

Dear and the Headlights myspace

Back to the States

So I just returned home from my year abroad in Germany and have been hanging out at home in Charlestown, RI for the past week. Funny how things just keep moving even when you're gone.

Anyway, Ireland pictures and blog post are up. Read on!

Recs of the Moment - August 19, 2008

So here are some more sah-weet sounding musics to be heard. Just click on the links to head to their last.fm or myspace pages.

edIT - Electronic sounds without the ugly drum and bass. The song "Ashtray" gets a huge recommendation from me.

Avishai Cohen Trio - Fusion jazz from some very talented guys. "Young Maestro" is a solid listen, as well as "Meditation on Two Chords".

Firekites - An indie folk quartet from Newcastle about to release an album called Bowery. "Same Suburb, Different Park" shows what they're made of.

PS. Just got back from Ireland. Pictures are here and here, blog post soon to come.

Beat it to Ireland

So I'm headed to Ireland for a week.

Until then, here's Fall Out Boy's cover of Beat It. It's actually not bad, and even Buster (from Arrested Development) makes an appearance.

Ciao ciao.

Why Last.fm Rocks

Last.fm, dubbed a social music website by some, has wriggled it's way into being a pivotal part of my daily internet routine.
The "revolution" began back in the 20th century, when a few music nerds put some relatively simple logic into fruition. Why not connect listeners to their favorite music while introducing them to new artists without the hassle of that wiley Mr. Middle Man? Brilliant! They then continued to drink their Guinesses and appreciate their animated, 2 dimensional selves.

Calling the site social however, seems a bit overkill to me. Sure, you could possibly meet your potential lifemate while posting about how Ricky Martin's brand new single expands his musical limits beyond that of a music god, but that isn't what the network is about. In short, it's about the musicians. It's about getting word out, putting them in the spotlight without strings attached.

"No strings attached!?", one might oh so vehemently dissent. "What about the program that sits conspicuously on my computer deviously tracking my every music listening move!?" I know, I know it seems like the year 1984 is here already... can you believe it? My, how time has flown.

Although I don't think that anyone can assume anything to be certified 100% BS free, I'm positive that the only thing that the client records are the songs (in name only) from which artists you've been listening to. The incriminating information (i.e. the file type and where it came from) are safe at home on your machine.

When that fact can safely be realized, there is only one thing left to do. Break open that pink highlighter and start drinkin' down that sweet nectar... uhh, I mean... start scrobbling tracks.

*Digression Warning* Could they have come up with a better name for uploading tracks? It's almost as eloquent as the words "blog" and "blogging" and maybe even introducing yourself as a "blogger". Hi my name is Mark and I'm a blogger. Barf. *End Digression*

Anyhoo, after the scrobbling has begun, Last.fm is always hard at work. The only thing that the network needs is time. All that needs to be done on your side is the listening. Your profile will soon be rife with artists that you know and love, while by their side will be listed others in similar categories. Because of these categories is Last.fm truly able to shine.

The network of musicians is intricately connected through a series of descriptors. When one (or a variation of one) is found attributed to two artists at the same time, a connection is made. The results of the connections made to other artists are usually organized by popularity and the amount of scrobbles they've recieved. I'm sure that there are many more methods to the madness, but that is the most obvious one.

These categories make Last.fm unique. They can be made up by anyone who stumbles upon the artist and feels like putting their opinion into what they sound like. This action will possibly connect the musicians to another set, further broadening the chances for someone else to hear it. Although this can also cause problems similar to those posed at Wikipedia, the amount of good that can come of it overshadows the bad.

There are countless other interesting things that stem from using Last.fm: things like a flowing river of recommended tracks that match your listening habits, music videos, a live music calendar for artists, high quality tracks to be downloaded and streamed, artist biographies and the never ending possibility of finding the next band that you'll fall in love with.

Some may find it interesting as a social utility as well; given the ability to share tracks that you love with people, join groups and find out what your friends are listening to. I just like it for the music.

I promise that I'm not from Last.fm trying to push it, I simply appreciate it.

Join here if you will.

Apreciating Home

I head back to the USA in three weeks. It has been a year like none other. I left on September 17th, 2007 and threw myself into the most frightening notion to pervade anyone's heart: the unknown.

The thought of ever taking on such a goal was as huge as it was scary. To straight up leave the sphere of comfort I've enjoyed my whole life for something I had (at the time) no real grasp of. No point of reference, nothing to call my starting point. Nothing except for my older brother's stories of his past experience. When I stepped off that plane in Hanover, Germany everything was truly foreign to me.

When I decided to embark on my adventure, I went into it thinking that it would be a much needed vacation from the norm. The endless overlapping trade off at home between classes at the local university and the part-time-during-school- and full-time-during-summer job was wearing on my nerves. I was waiting for it to end, looking forward to the point where I would reach the next level of my life.

Everything had seemed so prefabricated. It was as though I was supposed to be doing the things I was doing. My life was already planned for me, I was just following the path. Taking these classes, then those. They'll prepare you for what's out there, I told myself. This is just what you have to do, you'll be doing this stuff all the time when you're out there. Better be prepared, I said.

As I continued to loathe the idea of such monotony, I slowly began to grasp that I would be on the other side of it sooner than I actually wanted to be. My safe cycle of school and work would crumble away from me, and while it did I'd be clawing at the floor that was giving way beneath, pleading it to return to it's normal state under my feet. What better to do than to delay the inevitable by a year? I leaped at the opportunity.

What I didn't see coming was the appreciation I'd realize for my situation back home. Much to my chagrin, the existence of the cultural division between nations that everybody talks about is actually out there. In short, it has caused me to take a good look at what makes me love where I live and the way I've grown up.

My classes, though seemingly boring, are at least in my mother tongue. Although the weather's hot in the summer, we at least have a clean beach five minutes from my home in which to cool off. Putting gas in my car, though painful to watch as the prices go over four dollars a gallon, allows me the autonomy that I've missed so much since leaving.

One thing that has frequented my mind lately is my true appreciation for the last job I had while in the States. I realized one very important thing. That job, that I had held for the past three years, proved to me the reason why I'm earning a degree. Like any part time job, I had never liked it much, and had always eagerly counted down the hours, minutes and seconds until I'd be able to go home.

That, however, never stopped me from being the best at what I did. I will bet on the fact that my employers have never had a harder working part timer. The amount of effort that I put into that job taught me countless things about the many facets of work. Every year I was trusted with increasing responsibilities, taught about the basic politics involved in work, how to treat customers face-to-face, and learned a plethora about myself and my boundaries.

I was given the ability to truly test what I was capable of as a person. I was taught things that allowed me push myself to my mental and physical limits. I was allowed to experiment, listen, speak and interact.

In a microscopic, day-to-day point of view, the job was a grueling experience. Every waking hour spent there was mentally equivalent to two hours not at work. I treated each day off as if it were a lavish holiday designated just for me. But, as any hard working individual does, I kept going. It gave me the freedom to do what I wanted and provided me with that freedom well after the season had ended.

When looking back on it, the sheer wealth of knowledge that I pulled from it has sculpted my persona as it is now. It humbled me and showed me that there is way more going on in the world than I initially thought. The job wasn't my first summer or part time job, however. I had had five or six others throughout the years before those three, but I'm proud to say that it was my first "real" job.

Now here I am in Stuttgart, Germany, writing about the fact that my year away from it all has given it a brand new worth.

Paper Rival - Dialog

So the jig is up. I downloaded the new album Dialog from Paper Rival.

Springing up from the deep, dark depths of Tennessee, this band has refused to leave my rotation for reasons beyond my control. I've kindly asked them to leave time and time again, but my attempts of rousting them have proven to be futile. They have to be heard, and simply won't take no for an answer.

Dialog is the first full length from the group released by the virtually unheard of Photo Finish Records. First listens of the album won't surprise a frequent listener of indie alt-rock, as it sounds a bit like everything else out there. Even further listens don't manage to break the band too far away from the norm, but do prove that the band knows what they're doing.

Production is spot-on, molding crispy guitars and crystal clear drumming together while the singer leads the way. Gang vocals and vibraphone even stop in to make a few quick appearances.

The pace of Dialog is well constructed. It stays consistent throughout, managing to spread on a few slower songs over the entire 43 minutes and 13 seconds.

The lyrics are worthy of some words as well. In "An Easy Belief" the singer moans, "I've got the good book open too, but I'm reading different words than you." They drive the point home a bit further on when repeating , "Put your faith in something special."

I am convinced that this album is what I've been looking for. It has the ability to please a great many people, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it gain more momentum over time. For this band's sake, I hope it will.

Paper Rival on Myspace

Interview with singer Jacob Rolleston @ You Sing, I Write

"A Fox in the Garden"

Links for the Linkless - July 21, 2008

I went to a jazz fest this weekend in Villingen and have to admit that I was surprised at the amount of Germans who attended. The place was packed and everyone in the room was moving themselves to the music in some form or another. There were both old and young, each person loving every moment of the performance. Not that I thought they weren't capable of enjoying such music, but it seems to be such an un-German style. The structure seems complex but much more lackadaisical than anything that represents the German way of life. Simply put, it was great. Anyhoo, here's some cool linkage.

6 Snacks that Are Actually Good for You - I did NOT see this coming. Except the chocolate part.

For a Good Time Call... - Witty little comic strip.

Full Moon over TV Tower in Stuttgart - This is where I live. Right there at the top.

On Our Way to the Other Suns

Why have I been so out of the loop all my life?

1977: The year Voyagers 1 and 2 were launched.

2008: The year Mark realizes that despite trying hard to be well informed, he can do nothing but kick himself for not learning more about space exploration.

I always assumed that for every new day that comes, we are greatly privileged to be on the brink of new technology. We are exposed to the easier, the smaller, the more efficient at every possible moment of the day. I've found myself recently reminding myself, however, that our most useful possessions are not what are waiting to be sold to us, but are gathering literal and/or proverbial dust.

While I can't stop fantasizing about what the newest features on the next iPod will be, people are busying themselves rediscovering the true value of vinyl. When I think that the best designed houses aren't even built yet, a civil engineer transforms his 1991 raised ranch into a self sustaining solar and hydrogen power...house.

These points, along with many others, make me feel as though more answers lie in our past than in our future. While there exists a balance, of course, it is far too easy to get caught up in the future of things and let the past pass you by.

So what does this have to do with the Voyager space program? Well for starters, it was 1977. Not so long ago for some, but a lifetime ago for others. I was negative eight years young when this stuff was going down, 31 years ago.

By today's technological terms, I wouldn't assume many people would put here and now on the same level of there and then. At present, personal computers and the Internet are allowing people to find and learn about almost anything they desire, making the idea of lugging around a computer from 1977 (as we do a laptop today) a bit unwieldy. Today, cell phones are wirelessly connecting us to the ones we love, while back then bulky portable phones were stumbling awkwardly onto the market.

Given the state of the consumer market at the moment, one would think that the things that NASA must have had at their disposal back then must have since trickled down to consumers in some form or another, right? Technology to build fuel efficient jet packs, or flying vehicles comes right to mind.

Although some things we use every day have come directly from NASA, the innovative ideas that were injected into the Voyager space program are far and beyond what I thought was possible then. Ideas such as saving fuel by slingshotting around the gravitational pulls of each planet and using a slowly decaying piece of radioactive material (expiration date 2020) to power the functional parts of the spacecraft seem like some of the technology we've been looking for on earth. They may not be solutions, but I'm sure they could be integrated some way into our everyday lives.

The basic understanding of our immediate surroundings has been carefully mapped with the help of the Voyager Program. Much of what we've learned about our solar system has been beamed directly from those two beautiful spacecraft. During their 31 year lifespan, Voyagers 1 and 2 have been on a one way journey toward the ends of our solar system, picking up every bit of information they were made capable of receiving along the way. They move at a modest speed of 30,000 mph, not bothering to stop for anything.

30,000 miles per hour. Let's think about that for a second. Within that second we just took to think about that, the spacecraft have moved 8.33 miles. That's 8.33 miles per second. That means that these things are barreling through space at a speed that would roll them across the United States in a measly 6 minutes. Is anyone else as floored as I am about this number?

It can make you feel pretty small when you relate that speed to their current distance away from us. According to this Wikipedia article, Voyager 1 is a bit over 9,870,000,000 miles from the Sun. That equates to a petty 396,361 continuous trips around our good ol' Earth (source: about.com).

If they've been flying at this speed uninterrupted for all those 31 years, you can safely assume that they're not coming home any time soon. In fact, when they do finally run out of their juice, they have no plans to ever make the return trip. These two brave explorers will never again see Earth, nor the solar system for that matter. They will continue to blast through the unknown reaching farther than anything man made has blasted.

The fact that these spacecraft are still in (semi) working condition after such a time proves to me that we, as a human race, have something mindblowingly cool to be proud of. I'm not just talking about the ships themselves, either. Each carry a golden record containing pictures, sounds and other such things that explain who we are and what our home is like. This is in the case that someone/thing/futurehuman stumbles upon it.

Putting thought into the Voyager Space Program is a humbling experience. To think that we're on the edge of our solar system, heading into interstellar space, is an audacious statement about who we are as a world. To put that statement lightly, we are kick-ass.

And to think that the project began more than 31 years ago...

More at HowStuffWorks

Counterintuitive Improvement

Ooooh yes, don't we all love the (insert: number) (insert: adjective/superlative) (insert: noun) lists!? Well this one is worth the time to check out, even if you are sick of them.

10 Counterintuitive Ways to Improve Your Life @ Illuminated Mind

That sounds like it could be a fun mad lib. The 63 Most Socially Enlightened Jellyfish. The 837 Least Aesthetically Appealing Ways to Jump Out of an Underwater Freight Train. Or how about this one: The 1 big List of Every List Ever Compiled into a List of Lists.

The Snake the Cross the Crown - The Great American Schteez

"May the jaws of death have cotton teeth."

The Snake the Cross the Crown are a dynamic crew of musicians who come out on top in terms of being able to transform styles while holding dearly onto their appeal.

Mander Salis, their first LP, established them as legitimate musicians looking to deliver a swift kick to indie rock music. It's an ambitious rock album with a sometimes overpowering sound, but manages to remain modest through and through. Instruments are a'plenty, diversely ranging the gambit of acoustic and electric guitars, banjo, piano, xylophone, and even some minimal electronic sounds. But the band's sound makers serve only as the foundation of the grand structure that they are able to construct in Mander Salis.

On first listen, their second and latest release, Cotton Teeth, departs intensely from it's predecessor. The upbeat, technical sound that had been so prevalent on Mander Salis had been seemingly rejected and exchanged for a rather off-putting, minimalistic approach to music making. No more massive choruses, brigades of instruments, or shiny production to be seen on Cotton Teeth. All that was left was gritty, homemade American music.

It took months upon months for me to truly appreciate what TSTCTC are capable of. Cotton Teeth took a long time to click for me. I'd play album and try to get a feel for it, but find myself abruptly taking it out of rotation in frustration. Luckily, I was persistent. While this transformation in taste was occurring, I noticed some things about the band that every musician should pay attention to.

The singer's range while impeccable, intentionally remains on the level of the rest of the band members' abilities. No one steps out of turn, and everyone plays so well in unison. They never care to single out one individual in the group, but would rather emphasize the band as one entity. TSTCTC are confident in their sound, but aren't pretentious. They know their limits and exceed them but remain humble about it. This shines through every piece of their music, particularly on Cotton Teeth. I think that with these two releases, they've carve out a very unique niche in current music.

This is American music as I know it.

<|Americana, Folk, Rock|>

The Snake the Cross the Crown myspace

An interview with the band about Cotton Teeth

TSTCTC live - The Great American Smokeout

Cartoony Whale Picture

This rustic whale has something to say, but I'm not too sure what.

Found here: http://zee.com.br/files/u1/intro4.jpg

New Music from Drive By

Aside from having the same name as him (almost), my friend Marc P and I have quite a bit in common. We like to visit different countries in the name of naivete, our thick blond hair is sometimes more enticing than we wish it would be, and our ability to embrace our quirks rather than shunning them always makes for a good time.

Here's a somber ballad called "HastaLaMuerte" under his new moniker Drive By. A low key song, it puts his classy vocals out on display beside a ramblin' acoustic guitar. I believe it was recorded on his mac as well, so you're in for a real indie treat.

Firefox 3.0 - The Awesome Bar

So I've been testing out the new Firefox 3.0 for a week or so now, and am liking some of the new additions.

The address bar has been turned into a powerhouse of a tool, and I learned what it was made of today. I had told my roommate about an article I had stumbled upon sometime this week, but couldn't remember the full name of it, nor where the damn thing had come from. All that I could recall was "America" or "American" in the title.

Before the "Awesome Bar" (as the Mozillas refer to it), I would have had to open up my history and scan through every website from the past few days, not knowing much of what I was looking for. The mighty Awesome Bar came in handy though, and after typing only "Ameri..." into the address bar of Firefox, the article was staring me in the face.

I'm sure I'll have more things to say about this newfangled contraption as time goes on. If you don't have Firefox already, be sure to download it when you can.

Highly Recommended Music - Lovedrug

Lovedrug
A few years ago, I remember that the Militia Group was a powerhouse of a record label. Their arsenal of bands was unparalleled, and they seemed not to have been able to release anything less than stellar.

Enter Lovedrug, who upon first listen unimpressed me. The songs sounded drab, lacking emotion, and reminded me of Radiohead (not a fan). Slowly though, I grew to appreciate the band for what it was. The singer's ghostly vocals backed by powerful walls of guitars and piano proved to be sincere in delivery.

Their first album, Pretend You're Alive, is honest and unpretentious. They carved out a comfortable niche with that release. The second, Everything Starts Where It Ends, expands well on the ground they covered in the first, but doesn't do anything groundbreaking for the band or genre.

Their sound is unique, which I hope that they keep with upcoming albums. They have great potential to branch out and experiment with new styles, although they seem very comfortable in their current sound. I look forward to what's next.

<|Indie, Rock, Alternative|>

Official Site
Lovedrug Myspace

Ghost By Your Side - Video

So I Decided to Make a Change

The idea of a more open-ended blog is more attractive to me than one based solely on music. I would like to simply write what I want, rather than limit myself to one specific subject.

I'll still be focusing a lot on the music that I find interesting, but also be posting more about creative things that will not pertain to music whatsoever. I'm going to find a way to organize it as well. I love to express myself in different ways and I think I just have too much to say to limit myself.

The theme behind this blog is for me to share what I find with whomever wants to hear it. I'll write in and test out my own style for people who want to see something new. It'll be an experiment for me to see what I'm capable of. It won't be entirely open-ended; I will try to focus on creative thinking, art (in it's many forms), and current events. There will be undoubtedly be some random things scattered about in there, but I think those are important too.

I feel however that most of the time, I want others to experience the things that I find in their own way. That is why most of what I may post won't have much commentary on my part. I think that art is a mostly subjective experience, and I can only hope to share with you what I believe to be relevant to the progression of it. I sometimes feel the need to explain why and at other times I don't. If and when I do, I will, but I will try to keep it short and interesting. It is really up to you to decide what you like and don't like.

The idea of reviewing something artistic to persuade a reader to listen seems to me to be a trivial and futile gesture. Some people are very good at writing their opinion. Their opinion though, is just that. What they think. It's certainly not what everyone thinks.

Think what you will of whatever you want. That is the beauty of choice. You must not and should not adhere to any other opinion but your own. All that I ask is that you give things up here a try and if you have something to say, say it. Post a comment or email me. You could even bash me on your own blog. I don't care. I'll be able to cut down on the excess with your help.

Just check back when you can, and let me know what you think. The new address is http://whywastewords.blogspot.com/.

And thanks.

Minus the Bear on Daytrotter

I'm pumped. You should be too. There are FOUR tracks up there just looking you longingly in the eyes through the store window. They're begging you to take them home and play them over and over.

P.S. Throwin' Shapes is pretty gnarly.

Minus the Bear on Daytrotter

Recs of the Moment - June 30, 2008

I think we're headed out west.

Cam Butler <|Folk, Classical, Rock|>
Thunderstorm's a'Comin', better get your coat... and watch out for wild apostrophes.

Yasushi Yoshida <|Ambient, Experimental, Piano|>
Skies are still a bit greyed. But calm.

This Town Needs Guns <|Math, Punk, Rock|>
Time to fight where 26 is dancier than 4.

The Puzzle Farter

A game about what? You guessed it.

http://puzzlefarter.com/

Where the hell is Matt?

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Perfect Farewell to George Carlin

Here's an article that sums up what George Carlin had believed in before heading out of here. I really need to look into his stuff. I wish I were more of a fan when he were alive.

Balmorhea - San Solomon (Reprise)

Givin' me chills.

Sigur Ros!

So I'm going to try to embed an album player onto the blog, but if it doesn't work, be sure to check out the new Sigur Ros album stream, (whose name I have no idea how to pronounce) með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust.

Now Playing - Frightened Rabbit

<|Indie, Pop, Rock|>
Frightened Rabbit - myspace

Frightened Rabbit's newest release, Midnight Organ Fight, occurs in an intriguing succession. It's a studio album crafted as a written story, and although without a concrete plot line, it presents itself following an underlying theme. The members of the Scottish quartet put quite an effort into the album, commandeering (most of the time) only the guitar, bass and drums.

Midnight Organ Fight showcases itself somberly but powerfully out of the gate with "Modern Leper". From that point on, captivation completely envelops the listener. The singer's fragile but powerful voice puts forth a (gradually realized) jaw-dropping effort, serving as a guide to the colorful environments yearning to be explored. The style in which the accompanying instruments are played complement his voice well, and seldom leave a reason to complain.

The tracks normally consist of upbeat, indie-pop sections, but play out each in a unique way. Lyrics are also something that put it on a new level, often invoking the "wait, did I just hear him right?" phrase. This keeps the album consistently refreshing and pins it up there as one of my favorites in a long time. It has a feeling to it that dug it's claws in and told me that it's here to stay.

If you, for any reason, enjoy the following video of "Heads Roll Off", you will undoubtedly enjoy the whole album. Let's make some tiny changes to earth.

Essential Programs for the Music Enthusiast

Living in Germany for the past year has been tough. I was pulled away from everything normal and comfortable. Along with those comforts went the internet as well. I just recently received full time internet access in March, so I've been soaking up every sweet moment I can with it. That sounds quite nerdy, I realize. But! With that came quite a few new things I've discovered, both music related and non, and all free. Here's a list of them, in no particular order:

I began using last.fm. Last.fm is a social music community, like Facebook, but strictly for music. This nifty little tool has given me important stats about what I listen to. It will, in all certainty, let you know who your favorite artists are without much effort on your part. Your profile will also recommend artists rated by other users who are similar in genre to who you like and also find other users with similar music interests. I feel as though this program is now an essential part to my discovery of new music.

I can (almost) cut the cord from the resource mongering behemoth - iTunes. I've been a fan of iTunes since the time I purchased my first born child, my iPod. It has been a few years that I've been tethered to that program like a bum to his brown bagged alcohol, but I'm ultimately glad to see it go (almost). I came upon MusikCube, which can do almost everything that iTunes can do, with less than half of it's processing power. My resources here have been limited, so the more RAM I save, the better. Right now, MusikCube has no support for iPods, so I need to keep iTunes around for that purpose. Other than that, after being an iTunes follower for so long, I can't complain about the features of MusikCube. Plus, you need not run a separate last.fm program to gather song information because it's built into MusikCube (by downloading a plugin). Go Open Source!

FoxyTunes is the best Firefox (and Internet Explorer) extension out there. Firefox has been around for a few years, and has built up a huge library of sweet add-ons. Most can be a major drag on your resources, but there are a few essentials. FoxyTunes is one of them, which connects to the music player you're using (iTunes and MusikCube are compatible) and gives you the slew of playback options and song info that you normally have in your player's window (Play, Pause, Volume control). Some think that it's pointless to be devoting more resources to music, but the time that it saves is substantial while surfing the web.

Other unrelated-to-music essentials:

Firefox - Duh.

Gmail - Duh again.

Stumble Upon - Great source for news, general information, videos, and photos that cater to your individual interests. Acts as a channel surfing button.

Pidgin - Open source instant messaging program. Say you like Gmail's instant messaging capabilities but also have another IM client like AOL or Yahoo. Instead of having multiple programs open, further killing off resources, Pidgin can combine all these accounts so you see one buddy list with everyone you know on there. How convenient.

Picasa - Best photo manager out there. Comma. And it's from Google. Period.

GIMP and Inkscape - Both open source programs for the image manipulators out there. Perfect for home use, and they both perform the same basic tasks that big time programs like Photoshop and Illustrator can do. Oh yeah, but they're free.

Skype - Free to call another computer connected to the internet, 2 cents a minute to call from a computer to cell phones and land lines. Can't find a better deal for a call. No where.

Launchy - Keystroke application launcher for Windows. Hit a button, type in what program you want to open, file you want to find, or website you want to visit and Launchy's got you covered. Way cool.

First Impressions on Frightened Rabbit

Talk had been going around about the band Frightened Rabbit a few weeks ago about their newest release The Midnight Organ Fight. I found a few songs floating around online and found all three intensely appealing. The pull of the singer's Scottish accented voice is undeniable, and the song structures are not ordinary in the least. I just purchased the album minutes ago, and can't say a bad thing about it so far. They have a sound that the moment I heard, I knew I loved.

<|Folk, Acoustic, Indie|>
"Heads Roll Off" (highly recommended)

Frightened Rabbit on myspace and last.fm

Also, here's a link to my other blog (Deutschland!) upon which I just outlined my most recent trip to France. It's a bit long, but worth the read. The trip became interesting the moment I made it outside of the boundaries of Germany.

Now Playing - Death Cab for Cutie

How should I react to this one? I'm willing to bet that the members of Death Cab for Cutie had this question (alongside many more) in line for their listeners when they released this bad boy.

Narrow Stairs is the new album from everyone's favorite "underground" indie act. I'll admit that I was never a fan before the highly accessible Plans was released, and perhaps that is the reason I disliked this album.

The thinking behind Narrow Stairs and Plans were entirely different endeavors. I hate to compare albums by an artist because each one is an separate entity, but I believe with respect to the progress of a band such as DC for C, there come albums that take a one-eighty for the sheer reason of saying to their fans that they're still capable of making something that no one expects. I can understand this, really I can. Maybe they wanted to see who was still a die hard DC for C fan, maybe they wrote this without respect for anything anyone thought (Thursday, anyone?), and maybe they didn't think about it at all... and if that's the case, then all the power to them.

Coming off an album like Plans they had thrown themselves into the category of clear, upfront, easy-to-listen-to indie pop. Many, including myself, found this studio album extremely likable. I liked the way they were headed with it, and got my hopes pretty high for their next release. Flash forward a few years and quite a few listens to Narrow Stairs later, and I'm trying to scrape up a reason why I keep pushing play. Yes, I realize that they went through some "different" recording methods. They tried something new. And that is important. HUGELY important for the progress of any band. With all that in mind, I think that they struck out.

It's a rather dull album, and many will be turned off by the lack of indie pop elements that made Plans so endearing. Besides the novelty of their "new" sound, I don't see what the fuss is all about. Some could argue that they took a step back toward what made them popular with their previous albums. That may be the case, and I'm glad to see high profile bands like Death Cab putting their neck out there for the sake of innovation. As an album, however, it's boring. Straight up redundant. I can't tell you, however, not to check them out. "I Will Possess Your Heart" is surely the most interesting song on the album, and should be heard.

<|Indie, Rock, Alternative|>
Death Cab for Cutie myspace

Video for "I Will Possess Your Heart"



RIYL: The Decemberists, Brandtson, sitting on your hands

Wanna be impressed?

We all are aware that we have an immune system. Have you ever taken the time to really appreciate it?

The mother of all websites, HowStuffWorks, has written a great article pertaining to why the immune system is to thank for your body being able to continue it's daily actions. It gets really in depth toward the middle, but most of the article will put you in a state of awe; and if you know all about it, then you already are.

I'm going to petition for a national holiday dedicated to it.

HowStuffWorks - The Immune System

Back from VACAvacationTION

And what a week and a half. I'll be writing about it soon enough, linkin' it up to my Deutschland! blog. But for now, a soothingly upbeat piece by a guy with a name that makes me hungry and want to play video games:

<|Electronic, Piano, Instrumental|>
Yasushi Yoshida - "Greyed"

Recs of the Moment - Just One

I've made a playlist by the amazingly unique name of "Just One" which keeps my attention pretty well.

It's a list made of one song (and no more than one) from each artist. I find myself becoming bored with a playlist because it's lack of variation. This seems like a pretty surefire way to keep the pace changing without losing its appeal over time.
Here are some tracks:

<|Indie, Rock, Alternative|>
Years Around the Sun - "Failing at Art" (found at Obscure Sound)


<|Experimental, Ambient, Instrumental|>
Kiln - "The Colorfreak" (found at Foeweel!!!???)


<|Indie, Acoustic, Lo-Fi|>
Right Away, Great Captain! (Andy Hull) - "I'm Not Ready to Forgive You" (found at Come Pick Me Up)

So here I am, a man, without a plan.

Oh I'm going to France for about a week to visit some good friends, won't be back for a week and a half or so! Bam!

Hard to Find a Friend presents: SSLYBY and Via Audio

The guys at Hard to Find a Friend just made my jaw drop.

I remember seeing the site a week or so ago saying that they were filming a session with Via Audio and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. This stuff came out great. It shows the two bands covering each other's songs, playing others, and really showing what it means to make music. They're some fun loving people playing music (as Hard to Find a Friend says) "together as a super group of sorts, banging on pots and pans, cheese graters, basketballs, guitars, and singing into fans."

I absolutely love this kind of stuff. Mad props to the site for putting this session together. I want a DVD.

The Backstage Sessions featuring Via Audio and SSLYBY

Stumblin' Sunday

Okay, well it's not really Sunday. But the Germans have taken today off in honor of the Great Sir Pentecost... whoever that is. Not! Everyone knows she was a woman.

Haha, but anyway. Here are some saWEET things stumbled upon and read throughout the week:

(1) Ron (from The Wisdom Journal) wrote an intriguing article about the important things every new manager should know. I'm not close to being a manager of any sort in the near future, but I realize that this information can be useful down the road. He makes some great points, and it's a good thing to think about in any work situation.

(2) Lifehacker has dug up an amazing little game called Phun, a physics game that puts you in total control. I've been playing it all morning, with nothing outside of wetting my pants being able to stop me.



(3) My friend/fellow student/coworker/roommate Fil has hooked me up with this crazy video called "An Eye for an Eye":



Now as the Germans like to say: "upon another seeing!" (auf wiedersehen!)

now playing - cloud cult

where did these guys come from?

cloud cult has been around since 1995 and not a single ounce of news about them has ever made it to my ears. not one word. my friend adam just happened to force his headphones upon me one day in munich, all the while professing his undying love for their new album feel good ghosts. adam has always had a great taste in music, so i let him wow me. good thing, because i'm about to buy their entire back catalog as a result.

feel good ghosts sucked me in immediately with quirky lyrics and sporadic sounds. from the first track until the thirteenth, i'm confident in saying that EVERY one is ambitious and carefully thought out. even that 20 second sound clip from the apollo 8 lunar voyage gives me chills.

cloud cult has crafted an album that is timeless. the album's theme seems ultimately existential, the lyrics being some that i have a hard time not following. the songs are littered with an immense arsenal of instruments, ranging from horns to electronic beats to even a whistling section. the quirkiness of the singer's voice alongside this array of sounds puts the band on a new level of unique.

feel good ghosts is in no rush to try and impress you. about half of the tracks start of with a long intro before breaking into a very original song structure (read: "hurricane and fire survival guide"). nothing on the album sounds recycled or out of place. every little nuance is there, happily waiting for you to find it. they have a great sense of humor about themselves as well, evident in the track "story of the grandson of jesus".

i can't wait to dig into cloud cult's back catalog. they have a pretty significant amount of albums including a full length called the meaning of 8 out in 2007. the fact that a band such as this has stayed under the radar from me for so long truly floors me. wow.

<|experimental, indie, rock|>

mp3s (from feel good ghosts):
cloud cult - "hurricane and fire survival guide"
cloud cult - "story of the grandson of jesus"

riyl: efterklang (instruments), modest mouse (quirky vocals), having the rug pulled out from under you

video game love

i miss video games. i've been thinking about playing them ever since i left. luckily, i have the internet, so it can give me at least a taste of what's going on in the states. apparently a new mario kart came out for the wii. that got me really wanting a fix. you guys don't know how lucky you have it back there.

here's a video of a few guys playing out a hilarious fake mario kart bit. it is priceless.

super mega giga guitar

hokay so. here are some killer solo acoustic guitar videos thrown my way by some friends:

as marc p likes to call it: "john butler tearing apart a 12 string." here's ocean:



here's a find from my brother mike d: "while my guitar gently weeps"



and here's an impeccable song called "airtap!" by erik mongrain:

band break-ups

band break-ups are hard. for an act that has been together for years it's often sad to see it go, for both fans and members. the break-up will inevitably bring many fans to tears, as they know the band has given so much but will never again. they will never tour, never record, never play together again.

music a memorable band plays together is much greater than the sum of it's parts. the singular parts are all present and accounted for: the drummer drums, the singer sings, the tamborinist... tamborines; but if a band or artist is any good, the combination of those sections form a separate entity that stands on it’s own. that sound is precisely what makes your skin chill, your heart beat hard and your senses intensify. it is exactly what makes me fall in love with the music i listen to.

the selling point in a band is usually their singer, or often times a guitarist. i believe that this can cause somewhat of a rift between them the other members of a band. that member becomes the “leader” of the group, which can bring ultimately disjointed music. music that sounds as though one part is in the forefront, while the rest are an afterthought. it’s one of many problems with popular music today. such a selfish attitude must surely bring bands to split.

luckily there are many acts out there that concentrate wholeheartedly upon the idea of cohesion. they are aware of the fact that if only they work together, they can create the most memorable music. their idea of music is something entirely different than the one that permeates popular music culture. they are focused on getting things done at their own pace, working together and making sure it’s right.

sure enough though, there will always be disagreements between members. although they’ve given what they could, it just can’t work anymore. the implosion of a band, however, doesn’t come without perks.

what i find great in a band’s break-up is the overwhelming potential for new projects to bloom. unless the members vow to never again make music, which is not normally the case, the chances that fresh endeavors will follow are pretty high. they can sometimes prove to be even greater than the original line-up.

take, for example, the dear hunter. the front man of that band, casey crescenzo, used to be in a band called the receiving end of sirens. it had three singers at the time i had heard of them, which seemed not to fit casey’s artistic desires. it was evident in the first album from the receiving end of sirens that he was looking to branch out and undertake something huge.

he soon left the band to focus his attention solely upon the dear hunter, which clearly better caters to his big ideas. the receiving end of sirens released a new album sometime last year, and although they sound a bit different, they’re still the same band. i thought it would have surely been all over for the band after losing one of their more important members, but they were able to both prosper after the split. the dear hunter is one of my favorite bands at the moment, and if this split hadn’t occurred between the members, it wouldn’t exist.

it just seems to me that much of the good about a band comes after the break up. we'll just have to see where members of a band like the format will be headed after their quick and unexpected split.

here's a live video (thanks to my friend marc p for throwing this my way) from the format:

video - bon iver playing "flume"

here's a reason to listen to bon iver. this is a video of him live playing the song "flume".



thanks to captain obvious for digging this up.

was played - four tet

the one-man outfit four tet (kieran hebden) has been cranking out tunes since the late 90's. many have haphazardly thrown his glitchy, often off-the-wall musical pieces into the "stay away from me crack head" electronica/dance corner, but thankfully, i gave him a chance beyond those labels.

granted, some of his albums may give first time listeners aural epilepsy (everything ecstatic, i'm look... hey, don't try to... no. i'm looking at you, don't... i said put down that gallon of red bull this instant.)

the real thing that counts here however is his devotion to sticking his head out there. although it may not always pan out, he is willing to experiment get his ears dirty. that, in itself, deserves some respek.

rounds is the album that got me hooked. released in 2003, the music is intelligent, thoughtful, and most of all, accessible.

who would have thought that the repetitive nature of these incessant guitar loops, ambient noise and redundant electronic beats could keep me interested? it's some of the only electronic music i can concentrate on. good work hebden, you successfully got me into electronic based music.

put some into your headphones and enjoy.

<|electronic, instrumental, experimental|>

mp3s: (from rounds)
four tet - "she moves she"
four tet - "as serious as your life"

riyl: album leaf, do make say think, giving a five year old a lighter and a map leading to a secret stash of fireworks

stumblin' sunday

so i'm in the middle of a stumbling session and found some great links.

(1) some funny, thought provoking photos

(2) my dog rocky needs one of these




(3) "an engineers guide to cats"

now playing - bon iver

a few weeks ago, bon iver was able to meander his way into my headphones. he's a singer/songwriter who's originality could resonate within this branch of indie folk for a long time. his virb.com profile explains the sound of his songs perfectly:

"Justin Vernon moved to a remote cabin in the woods of Northwestern Wisconsin at the onset of winter. Tailing from the swirling breakup of his long time band, he escaped to the property and surrounded himself with simple work, quiet, and space. He lived there alone for three months, filling his days with wood splitting and other chores around the land. This special time slowly began feeding a bold, uninhibited new musical focus." (read the rest here)

keeping this in mind while hearing the songs puts things into new perspective. the atmosphere that surrounded him must have put him at complete ease, making him capable of crafting these elegantly simple acoustic masterpieces. his voice is very original, but doesn't remind me much of iron and wine, to whom i've seen him compared.

the indie world has heard this before, but it is a refreshing face to see on a genre that i believe has been dumbed down significantly. this is one of the few recent indie projects that seems legit. it will set the bar a bit higher for anyone else looking to be the next in my headphones, that's for sure.

<|indie, acoustic, low-fi|>

mp3s:
bon iver - "re: Stacks" (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
bon iver - "skinny love"
bon iver - "flume"

riyl: andrew bird, deertick, not worrying about a dang thing because it's the weekend

just wait for the end, it's worth it.

here's a little something to brighten your day, courtesy of www.decoymusic.com:

she has a boyfriend

recs of the moment - pickin' the netz

so after an hour or so of digging through my daily lineup of blogs, here's some worth while stuff i was able to pick out:


captain obvious wrote a short blurb about an interesting band called frightened rabbit. this got me clicking over to amazon to place my order... but i'm going to wait to see if i can dig any more up about them. reminds me of dear and the headlights.

<|indie pop, acoustic, rock|>
frightened rabbit - "heads roll off"


obscure sound put up quite the article about the explorers club, an indie pop group bent on making you feel goooooooood.

<|indie pop, surf, great hamonies|>
the explorers club - "i lost my head"


can you see the sunset put up a mix that i noticed included a song from the one and only alkaline trio. big fan of the band's music, as with this song.

<|punk, rock, pop|>
alkaline trio - "fire down below"

now playing - someone still loves you boris yeltsin

all of my wishes have been fulfilled. i'm a pretty lucky guy.

i'm not quite done putting in my "required" listening time that i normally give to albums, but this one just couldn't wait. i became somewhat of a someone still loves you boris yeltsin fanboy rather quickly, appreciating the raw sound and easy going vocals of their previous effort broom.

i was pretty unsure of the band with the first few listens of broom. it grew on me, however, as a result of their lighthearted, relaxed persona.

i didn't expect much of a departure from their type of surf tinged pop rock with their latest album pershing. and although they haven't fundamentally changed their style, which they perform oh so perfectly, they sure have tamed and polished that beast. what keeps me interested in these guys is their ability to craft carefree indie-pop songs of overwhelming simplicity, knowing their boundaries, staying concise, and delivering. their official site offers a perfect example of what can be expected from pershing. no over-the-top web design, minimal links, and to the point.

pershing seems a perfect length as well. making the album run it's course in a bit less than 40 minutes pushes the listener to replay it without requiring an entire day's worth of devotion. the album is never allowed to drone and each of the songs can be enjoyed as individual efforts as effectively as the entire album can. it is a shiny collection of soothing vocals (both fore- and background), occasional hand claps, a horn section, acoustic and electric guitars, bass and drums.

this is the kind of timeless music that can be enjoyed by even your parents. first listens made me think of old weezer, but later on the beatles and even the beach boys as well. everyone knows how accessible they are, and although i've never been an avid listener of any of those bands, the influences are there. other influences are many, but everything boils down to one thing: accessible indie-pop rock. anyone can really get into this stuff. i'd suggest picking this one up if you're looking for a solid summer album.

<|indie pop, surf rock, acoustic|>

riyl: the beatles, the beach boys, wishing there was more well done feel-good music out there

mp3s from pershing:

think i wanna die (from polyvinyl records)
glue girls (from instrumental analysis)
modern mystery (from my old kentucky blog)

and here's the good, laugh inducing video for "think i wanna die":

i wish.

this video just blew my mind.



thanks to drew for lending me his inspirationz.

recs of the moment - the relaxer

here's a few songs that i've been diggin'. rec'nize.

a great and epic song, nothing looking to start a fight:
the american dollar - "war on christmas"
<|piano, instrumental, post rock|>

reminds me of finding an army of fireflies in kait's backyard at dusk:
do make say think - "a tender history in rust"
<|indie, acoustic, instrumental|>

i actually just found this song, but you all know how much i like this band:
balmorhea - "baleen morning"
<|piano, instrumental, indie|>

riyl: wanting to exit your surroundings if only mentally

now playing - efterklang

so what makes a band unique?

i think that the answer lies within the listener. it depends upon the background of music that he has invested time into. it relies upon the listener's ability to recollect certain properties of the music they've heard in the past to make an educated assessment at the present.

if the brand of music offers huge and obvious influences of punk rock, for example, the music may be considered by many general listeners to be over and done with. they may figure that all punk rock sounds the same. someone with an extensive background in listening to punk rock, however, will be able to pick out nuances that make it stand out in a certain respect. they will be able to appreciate it more than one who doesn't have the ability to.

one's library of music really can dictate what new music the person is capable of breaking into. i don't mean it to sound elitist by saying that some music is an acquired taste, but i believe that it can be. i don't think that it applies directly to a genre of music, although it can also be the case, but particularly to an album. i can't recall how often it's taken me ten or more listens to an album to really appreciate it. it all has to do with what the artists were intending.

this, i believe, were the intentions behind parades by efterklang. released in october of 2007, it is a prime example of why an album should never be written off without being given multiple listens. the album made it into rotation sometime in january for me, and hasn't left. for every listen, it gains more value. i gradually notice more and more meticulous instances that make the album stellar. the band has thought this one out thoroughly, surprising me on every track.

i truly appreciate this type of music, which is very much in the vein of anathallo, being airy and atmospheric without traveling too far into space. they stay grounded and keep the listener interested while retaining their overwhelming uniqueness. there have apparently been an estimated 30 guest musicians making an appearance on the album, including a string and a brass quartet, as well as full choirs.

i have a hard time coming up with comparisons to other bands for this immense danish undertaking because i simply have not heard an album such as this. if the mp3's don't convince you to go buy this album, maybe the quirky music videos will.

<|indie, experimental, atmospheric|>

riyl: anathallo, eluvium, making believe you're the star of a lifelong movie about someone else

mp3s:

efterklang - "cutting ice to snow" (from their official site)

efterklang - "caravan"

myspace, official site

videos:


"caravan"


"mirador"