Kevin 的个人资料another indulgent distra...照片日志列表更多  |  工具 帮助 |
|
|
7月28日 Upcoming gigs in Seattle
7月4日 We are REM and this is what we do when you're not lookingThat was how Michael Stipe introduced the third of a five night run of unique rehearsal concerts in Dublin's Olympia Theatre. In their own words, this experiment in "terror and music" gave loyal fans a glimpse at the songs destined for the next R.E.M. album, yet not fully polished. For the most part, the fans cooperated and were appropriately silent, then rapturous throughout the gig.
As promised, the bulk of the evening was devoted to show-casing new songs. We were treated to 11 in all. The sound is predominantly guitar heavy (Peter's mandolin on one track notwithstanding) and certainly louder and more direct than any of their last three albums. A couple of songs would fit neatly between the sounds of Monster and New Adventures in Hi-Fi, while others are tightly-crafted, melodic indie rockers.
With Michael singing lyrics directly from his laptop - amid frustrating Macro pop-up warnings - the band sounded invigorated and despite claiming nerves, played the new songs impeccably. As proof that the songs are not the finished article, Michael scribbled notes and adjustments over his lyric sheets mid-song.
REM were clearly having fun and this was most apparent during their show-boating of 8 songs from their back catalogue. This was far from a greatest hits package, but instead treated us to rarities from the Reckoning and Fables of the Reconstruction albums. Gems such as Driver 8 and Little America gave the band an opportunity to rock-out and re-live their youth. One of the highlights of the night was the classic 'So. Central Rain', unbelievably sounding better than ever and delivered with bundles of energy and enthusiasm.
Presumably, bootlegs of these work-in-progress songs will circulate the Net imminently, but this should only bolster anticipation for the forthcoming album...indications are looking up. 4月5日 2007: A good year for musicThe Shin's latest long-player, Wincing the Night Away still remains top of my 'album of the year' list for 2007. It's an utterly brilliant, likeable, enticing collection of songs. Surprisingly, it stands up to repeated listens much more than I expected and what I thought were mediocre songs have become my favourite songs (Australia).
Ditto Arcade Fire's Neon Bible, a stunning album by any measure. Already, I think I prefer it to their debut, and my enjoyment is still growing. Current favouites are Black Mirror, Neon Bible and The Well and the Lighthouse.
The fun doesn't stop there. I'm currently salivating over the growing list of albums I must and will buy, including:
1月5日 Tape-tastic riffsTapes 'n Tapes are new to me, but I'm already a big fan (2 months too late to see them play in town:( ). Hailing from Minnesota, they're a four-piece specialising in distinctive, punchy songs, packed with melody as much as sharp, brilliant rock riffs.
There's shades of Kings of Leon and pieces of Arcade Fire in their sound, yet it remains original, unpredictable and snappy. They've got the instant likeability in their songs, that makes you want to re-listen to each song.
My current favourite songs of theirs:
Go buy some here. 11月3日 Radio Free DublinThe airwaves finally have a safe place of refuge from boyband crappery and pop-Idol idiocy. PhantomFM is back on the air broadcasting real music for the interested ear on 105.2 fm. 7月27日 Cathartic tunes and other interesting playlistsWindows Media Player is great for creating playlists based on year released, rating, composer or generic song 'genres', but they're pretty broad and therefore not of great use (The Beach Boys and Metallica are both returned in a search for 'rock'). This means you typically end up with predictable playlists based on dull, formulaic groupings. I thought it might be good to create some original playlists with more offbeat categories.
For example, how about a playlist of songs that were performed at the same music festival (e.g. every song from my library that was played at Oxegen 2006) or songs that reference "New York" in their lyrics, or songs that have featured in the same TV shows. As you can imagine, this would throw together some interesting song combinations. What would be even cooler would be an option for me to download new songs that would neatly fit inside my selected playlist - in the above example, it could be the new BellX1 single or an old The Who song that was played at the Oxegen festival.
It shouldn't be too difficult to start categorising music content in these new imaginative ways. The obvious solution is to tag everything in a big database - and let people tag songs themselves, increasing the pool of music tags. It would throw up some great combinations of songs and let you hear your music in more interesting contexts. That way I could download a new feed of tags for 'indie songs played on KCRW' - and start playing if they're in my library, or let me listen/download any that I'm missing.
How cool would it be to get such song tags as 'cover version of David Bowie song', 'produced by Rick Rubin', 'inspired by Led Zeppelin II', 'drum solo', 'late night driving music', 'heavy on the reverb' etc.? The possibilities for unique and interesting matching of songs are endless.
Here's my first list of songs that I would tag "cathartic tunes" (a.k.a. angry grunting songs). Songs in my library that are fueled by anger and the perfect antitode to a highly stressful day:
4月30日 The perfect three minute pop songClocking in at bang on three minutes, Hackensack is a slice of pop perfection from the band with a seemingly limitless bag of tunes, Fountains of Wayne. The FoW have long been peddling jangly guitar pop with infectious melodies and catchy, quirky lyrics. Although sticking to their tried and tested formula, Hackensack firmly hits the bullseye.
Hackensack is a nostalgic song about a guy dreaming about his childhood sweetheart: the FoW excel at dreamy, uncomplicated story-telling. Thankfully, Fountains of Wayne don't do tragedy or profound introspection, for this is perfect sunny-weather, car driving musical bliss. 3月31日 This song won't change your lifeBut it may enrich it a little bit! With the amibitious title of 'A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left', Andrew Bird immediately mis-directs his audience, who may be expecting wildly left-field indulgence or even Manic Street Preacher-like rhetoric. Instead, he delivers a lush, beautifully arranged pop song that wraps around its listener and offers instant satisfaction and rewards repeated listens.
Beginning with a soft, strumming Nick Drake-style melody, Bird could have stopped singing after 44 seconds and the track would be complete. What follows is a neat segue into jangling guitar, looping, plucking violin and dangerously-infectious whistling. Neat lyrical work rides a wave of strings until a shimmering crescendo. This is the soundtrack to a movie you haven't seen yet.
Dowload and enjoy here. 9月26日 doesn't remind meSometimes, there's nothing better than a musically-indexed memory. Every song, artist, album links directly to an event or time in your life; hearing the first few bars immediately stirs the feelings and images associated with when the song entered your life. However, at other time, it's nice to have music that doesn't remind you of anything (but unlike commercial radio, is still enjoyable to listen to). Simple listening pleasure, uncomplicated by flashbacks of memory. Worst/best offenders:
(Temporarily) doesn't remind me of anything:
5月19日 Tune of the dayFor the type of mellow satisfaction usually only gained through premium cigars and aged whiskey, listen to 'Poor Boy' (Nick Drake) loudly. |
|
|
