Modern Guilt

One of my favorite artists, music or otherwise, is Beck. I get a feeling of true expression with his music, someone who is always experimenting yet is staying true to his self. During high school, I always licked what I heard, but never got into more than his radio songs, so I split his career into pre- and post-college. Looking at his post-college albums, you start with the near perfect Sea Change, which was followed by Guerro, which had some great songs, but I wasn't impressed. Several years later, Beck went back to producer Nigel Goodrich (of Radiohead production fame) and put out The Information, which was a solid fun album, and another departure yet truly Beck album.

When I heard the new album was produced by Danger Mouse (of Gnarls Barkley fame) I was very excited, and I was rewarded! Modern Guilt is concise, crisp, forward thinking, and classically Beck. Clocking in at just over 30 minutes, Beck and Danger Mouse put together 10 tracks that are fresh and exciting. One of my only problems with some Beck albums has been that they go on too long, and towards the end the songs start sounding the same (see Guerro not above) but this one is not that at all.

The first track Orphans is a sparse self exploration that slowly fills out into a toe tapping, shoulder shaking diddy. Gamma Ray is a Odelay esque track that has cool effects used throughout. The title track Modern Guilt is first of the heavy Mouse influence, and while you can hear a little Gnarls Barkley, it's not overwhelming. Youthless is a little jump into the hip-hop world, which Beck has always done in his own way with a underlying bass beat driving the song. Some of my favorite lyrics on the whole album come from Walls; "You got warheads stacked in the kitchen/you treat distraction like instant religion/the battlesticks snap at the rhythm/you give the best with the souls you've been given."

Replica and Soul of a Man both give this weird feeling of being throw backs, but with a modern twist. Profanity Prayers is a danceable track that I think will be a great one for the live shows. The last track Volcano is another sparse song with a drum line that is drawn out for a melodic and smooth piece.

Overall I give the CD a 8. If you like Beck, you will very entertained by this latest incarnation.

A Birdie!

So I mentioned that I sold my house, and am living in a apartment until I find a new place to buy, which has been cooler than I expected. But one of the benefits has been that I didn't have to dump all the proceeds into a new place. Not that I have been going on a spending binge, but I did buy myself one thing, new golf clubs.

I used to go to driving ranges every so often growing up, my grandfather used to live next to a golf course, and we used to have to watch golf during holidays when we went to his house. But it wasn't until 2 summers ago that I really started trying to play. Last summer my brother gave me his old clubs, and I started playing with a friend of mine a couple of times a month and going to the driving range at least once a week. This year I got to the point where I wasn't embarrassing, (my best round was a 109.)

But with my new clubs...now I'm not half bad. My score wasn't any better, I shot a 110, but I was playing the best I ever have. But the most exciting thing was I got my first birdie of my young golf career! And it almost was my first hole-in-one.



It was a 162 yard par 3, and I hit the ball pure, it bounced just short of the green, and rolled up just short of falling into the hole. It was awesome!

Sub Pop Invasion

My musical life has been overtaken by artists on the Sub Pop label. Originally know for bringing us the world the gunge scene of Seattle with Nirvana and Soundgarden, Sub Pop has grown, and morphed, over the past 20 years to be one of my favorite labels. The band currently on the label most of us know about are The Shins. They also have a great musician in Iron and Wine, yes this is actually single performer, Sam Beam. Folky acoustic rock, similar to Nick Drake, good for a lot of situations.

Well I've discovered several other Sub Pop bands that are worth mentioning. The first, I mentioned in my last post, Wolf Parade, very fun. From there, I stumbled on Handsome Furs which is actually one of the lead singers from Wolf Parade and his wife. Very minimalist with guitar, drums and samples. More experimental than The Shins or Wolf Parade, but in a fun way. Not an everyday listen, but a nice tangent while driving.

Then I fell into a band from South Carolina called Band of Horses. They have a more traditional setup and sound, kind of similar to Guster, but more plugged in. This is no groundbreaking amazing music, it's pretty good rock, good for background while working.

The last band is called The Helio Sequence. When I first picked up their CD, it took me a couple of attempts to get through the first song, not that it was band, but the first song didn't grab me, and I wasn't in the mood. But when I finally did get into it, I was very impressed. I've gotten through this CD a couple of times, and I'm more impressed every time. Then I went onto their MySpace page and learned that it is a 2-piece, Brandon Summers on guitar and vocals, and Benjamin Weikel on drums and keyboards, and that makes it even more impressive. They have a crisp and full sound that is fun to listen to, and it grows on you.

So I hope you check these bands out, and enjoy. And in case you were wondering, I learned about all of these bands through pandora.com, I love that website

Evil Urges + At Mount Zoomer

There were two albums I was really anticipating in the Spring were Evil Urges by My Morning Jacket and At Mount Zoomer by Wolf Parade, and neither one disappointed.

I stumbeled on My Morning Jacket a couple of years ago right after they released their breakout hit Z, and it's been great going through their old stuff. If you haven't listened to them and you are a fan of kick-ass rock, I highly reccommend checking them out. I heard two tracks from Evil Urges on NPR, (Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Part 2, and Evil Urges,) and I was blown away. They were risk-taking, forward thinking, well written and produced, and it got me excited for the full album. But when I got the full album, I was a little let down. Not that is was bad, but it just didn't live up to the level of those two songs. As I listened a couple of times, I warmed up to it more and more, and it turned into a really nice album. There were a couple of songs that I thought were a little off, but with a few listens I started hearing the little things, and understanding the construction of the songs, and it has grown on me. Overall I give the album a solid 8, it is definitely something you should check out.



The other album I was really looking forward to was At Mount Zoomer by Wolf Parade. I liked this one from the very start. Start to finish this is a fun album that I love to listening to whenever I can. They are from Montreal, a music hotbed right now, and feature 2 featured singers who take turns between lead and support, but they complement each other very well. Like their first album, Apologies to the Queen Mary, At Mount Zoomer has nice meoldies and solid song writing, but their sophomore effort shows a new maturity and confidence playing together. This is a great album, and I give it a 9. I reccemend everyone check it out, and I can't wait until they come to town.

A Return

Hello everyone. It's been a long time, but I'm glad to be back. I needed to take an extended hiatus while I got the house situation all squared away, (I never expected selling a house would be THAT involved. I know it would be kinda crazy, but wow.)

I am happy to report that my brother and I sold our house, have gone to closing, and have received our big fat checks. I have not found a new place to buy though. But fear not, I am not homeless, I am living happily in an apartment just a few miles from my work, and it will do for the short term. And the added bonus is that I'm living by myself for the first time, and that's been really cool.

Other than moving (my least favorite thing to do) I've been keeping things low key. I've been playing alot more golf this year, and I'm starting to get to the point where I really enjoy playing and there is not nearly as much cursing involved in my game. About a month ago I got a new putter, and it didn't take me long to learn that I'm pretty good at putting (not "draining 60 foot putts with a Tiger fist pump" good, but maybe someday)

The other thing I've been doing is checking out alot of new music. And that is actually what I would like to be one of the primary focuses of this blog. I will still interject with some social commentary or random thoughts from time to time, but I really like sharing and talking about music, so I would like to use this space for just that.