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.

Torn

This is a big week. Mostly because I want it to go by fast so I can get to the weekend where a Radiohead concert awaits my Sunday.

Their US tour started last night in Florida, and I'm sure there are a ton of YouTube videos up from the show, and I'm dying to know what they are doing with the setup, as they are probably the current kings of on-stage artistry. the last show I saw them play, out in San Diego, they had a bunch of screens setup behind them but they were all weird shapes, like a piece of glass had been dropped and broke into cool shapes. They had cameras all of the stage, on their instruments, on the ground, up in the air, in the audience. It was a very cool sensory explosion.

Work should be busy enough the make the days go by quickly, but not too stressful, plus this is my short week, so after today, I'm halfway through the week. The only thing I have to do is figure out what to get me mum to Mum's Day. I would love to give her a bunch of music, but every time I try to introduce her to something she doesn't like it. I'm just so far removed from the stuff she listens to, I wouldn't even know where to begin. Maybe the new Madonna, I think she likes Madonna.

What kind of music do your moms listen to?