Thursday, January 25, 2007
Scat Singing
By now, you know of my lack of enthusiasm for cursing. Especially in music. I tolerate it, but it disappoints me. My reasoning is and always has been: There are better ways to express yourself. The English language is rich and varied, and by resorting to the lowest common denominator to get your meaning across, you bring our should-be-cherished language legacy down a coupla pegs. All I'm asking is that the world try to express themselves more clearly before resorting to cursing.
That said, the S-word is the one curse I truly do not understand. (Well, that and "F'in-A," that's about as dumb as it gets...) The main reason I don't get the use of the S-word is because it's a really disgusting accent in any use, but people actually do use it to color their language (brown, natch). People seem to strive to give the S-word new meanings and new life, and embrace it in so many ways. This topic was covered in acute accuracy by Subjunctivitis. [Though that's not the post I was looking for. Babe, if you can help me find the right one, I'll link it up right...]
I bring this up, mainly because there are two songs right now that I LOVE, and they would be AC1s, if it weren't for the appearance of the S-dashes on the lyric sheet. The bands' adherence to the scatological means that they will be discussed here instead of as an AC1, and will, instead, forever be known as simply being, um, "crappy" songs.
The first one: The Age Ring's "Everything'll Fall Apart." Stripped-down rock, both angsty and nonchalant. And as the bass moves you along, and the drums pummel you forward, and we start to understand that things in life have a tendency to go south. But midway through the song, we are then told that despite our best efforts, "Everything just turns to s---." Okay... I've had to start selectively ignoring that line when it comes around, because I have a very vivid imagination. I used to work on a Turkey Farm cleaning out the birds' stalls, and the thought of EVERYTHING turning to poo is deeeeeeeply disturbing to me.
The second: My Chemical Romance's "Teenagers." The odd pretentiousness of MCR on their first album has finally worn off, I guess, becauwe I actually find most of The Black Parade rather intriguing. This stomp-rock song, even though it really could use a lot of general lyrical assistance, is pretty cool. But the chorus includes a line about "Teenagers scare the living s--- out of me." Whoa, that's a phrase, innit? And being that it's in the chorus, it pops up a lot more often than the Age Ring curse, and is much harder to ignore. Sooo, I don't listen to "Teenagers" too much. Again, the thought (here, of undead defecation making its way out of the lead singer) is enough to turn me away. And it's enough to make sure I never go to see them in concert again. I'd hate to be their stage manager, 'sall I'm sayin'.
I know I'm not a role model here, and even if I were to become a superstar musician that didn't swear, I know it wouldn't change the way things are for bands like Age Ring and MCR. But I do want to get my opinion out there. It makes me feel better anyway...
Now, if you like the s-word, and would like to stand in defense of defecating deliberators, then all assail. Just, um, try to keep it clean, wouldja?
That said, the S-word is the one curse I truly do not understand. (Well, that and "F'in-A," that's about as dumb as it gets...) The main reason I don't get the use of the S-word is because it's a really disgusting accent in any use, but people actually do use it to color their language (brown, natch). People seem to strive to give the S-word new meanings and new life, and embrace it in so many ways. This topic was covered in acute accuracy by Subjunctivitis. [Though that's not the post I was looking for. Babe, if you can help me find the right one, I'll link it up right...]
I bring this up, mainly because there are two songs right now that I LOVE, and they would be AC1s, if it weren't for the appearance of the S-dashes on the lyric sheet. The bands' adherence to the scatological means that they will be discussed here instead of as an AC1, and will, instead, forever be known as simply being, um, "crappy" songs.
The first one: The Age Ring's "Everything'll Fall Apart." Stripped-down rock, both angsty and nonchalant. And as the bass moves you along, and the drums pummel you forward, and we start to understand that things in life have a tendency to go south. But midway through the song, we are then told that despite our best efforts, "Everything just turns to s---." Okay... I've had to start selectively ignoring that line when it comes around, because I have a very vivid imagination. I used to work on a Turkey Farm cleaning out the birds' stalls, and the thought of EVERYTHING turning to poo is deeeeeeeply disturbing to me.
The second: My Chemical Romance's "Teenagers." The odd pretentiousness of MCR on their first album has finally worn off, I guess, becauwe I actually find most of The Black Parade rather intriguing. This stomp-rock song, even though it really could use a lot of general lyrical assistance, is pretty cool. But the chorus includes a line about "Teenagers scare the living s--- out of me." Whoa, that's a phrase, innit? And being that it's in the chorus, it pops up a lot more often than the Age Ring curse, and is much harder to ignore. Sooo, I don't listen to "Teenagers" too much. Again, the thought (here, of undead defecation making its way out of the lead singer) is enough to turn me away. And it's enough to make sure I never go to see them in concert again. I'd hate to be their stage manager, 'sall I'm sayin'.
I know I'm not a role model here, and even if I were to become a superstar musician that didn't swear, I know it wouldn't change the way things are for bands like Age Ring and MCR. But I do want to get my opinion out there. It makes me feel better anyway...
Now, if you like the s-word, and would like to stand in defense of defecating deliberators, then all assail. Just, um, try to keep it clean, wouldja?
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Shins for no Skins
Free preview of The Shin's "Phantom Limb"
If you'd like, you can also read the Spin review. It's pretty right on...
You can link to the song and some videos there too.
Assail if you must.
If you'd like, you can also read the Spin review. It's pretty right on...
You can link to the song and some videos there too.
Assail if you must.
If only we still had "Celebrity Deathmatch"
I've just been turned on to a cool song by a band called Portugal, the Man. The song "aka M80 The Wolf," has a dash of Mars Volta with a dash of Cake. Cool, foreboding, and kinda sweet.
I keep getting short-circuits in my brain, though, and everytime I see the "P----, the -----" come up on my iPod, I think Pedro, the Lion. I don't know enough about either band to declare which P-the-Something band is better, but to me, I would guess that a cage match would probably come out even. Portugal, as an entity, could probably beat any Pedro, but a Lion will most likely take down any Man. And the "the"s just cancel each other out.
So, much like the sum effect of this post, there probably wouldn't be much of an outcome to speak of.
But if you disagree, then by all means, All Assail!
I keep getting short-circuits in my brain, though, and everytime I see the "P----, the -----" come up on my iPod, I think Pedro, the Lion. I don't know enough about either band to declare which P-the-Something band is better, but to me, I would guess that a cage match would probably come out even. Portugal, as an entity, could probably beat any Pedro, but a Lion will most likely take down any Man. And the "the"s just cancel each other out.
So, much like the sum effect of this post, there probably wouldn't be much of an outcome to speak of.
But if you disagree, then by all means, All Assail!
Friday, January 12, 2007
Infinity Songs in My Pocket.
I actually said to a friend today: "I honestly wish I had a forum, somewhwere where I could tell people about how great this is." About two hours later, I remembered I have a blog. This forgetfulness might have something to do with that multi-month lapse in posts. Whew!
Anyway.
What could be so great that I need a soapbox to get the word out? I'll tell ya. But first, the setup:
I've had an iPod for about 4 years now. I say this not to elevate myself over you late adopters, I say it...okay, I say it because I've been a fan since Gen 1, and I scrapped the cash together in time for Gen 2. Yeah, I know. I'm the bomb.
But what I'm meaning to say is that I've had a portable music system for quite some time now. And I know you're going to have a hard time believing this, but earlier this year, I was BORED with my iPod. It wasn't because I don't have video (that may have helped), and it wasn't because I don't have enough music (8700 songs, give or take). It's just that I was doing the same thing every day with it. Click, scroll through the listing of artists that barely seems to change, select, yawn. After listening to the 2nu album for the eighth time in a week, I actually stopped taking the thing around. :-(
Then, a few months ago, I was rummaging through the electronics clearance endcap at Target, and I came across Griffin Tech's iFill software. I know there's so much crap out there for the iPod, but this seemed to have a different take on things. Looking at this box, I was amazed that someone had taken a device that already had a ton of thought and intention put into it, and found a completely different paradigm to wrap around it.
iFill, with minimal setup, will record Internet radio stations directly to your iPod. No fuss, no muss (okay, there's a little muss, but I'll get to that in a min...). You can set up any stream you want (as long as it has a URL), set the amount of the iPod you want to give over to the program, walk away, and you'll come back to this whole treasure trove of new music. Or, of it's music you've heard, you might hear it in a completely different way! It's great! Every time I sync my iPod, I get new surprises. I get introduced to new bands, different cuts from old bands, and minimal advertising. My iPod is getting more use now than it ever has. Viva iFill!
In fact, you can get iFill to live on your computer right now. Take a free trial run at ifill.griffintechnology.com.
That's the end of the praise. New music every day. Free, easy, fun! All assail! If you want to hear more, though, I do have one more thing to say....
In order for iFill to work its magic without getting in the way of your iTunes library (which IS a good thing. You do NOT want all of these low-quality songs popping up all over your music folder. Seriously, it wouldn't be cool. Artist info/Song Info/Album Info is often mixed up, and the titles are often prefixed by a number. So unless you want a thousand folders named 65899xxx, just realize that the way iFill works, works.) iFill keeps track of its own database. It's just a linked file to what it stores, combined with an extract of the xml that keeps track of your iTunes library. But iTunes cannot recognize the iFill db, and when the two are forced to work together, weird things can happen. In order to get iTunes to let iFill have its way, you have to "Manually Manage Music" and turn the iPod on to "Disk Mode." This is slightly unnatural. And when you don't have iTunes cleaning up after you and iFill, you won't always have what you expect on your iPod.
And sometimes, iFill keeps messing up the Playlists. It will add a copy of EACH and EVERY playlist every time it syncs. So at the end of the week, I can have 5-8 copies of each of my 45 playlists. It gets a little ridiculous. Especially since iFill songs are put in a playlist. It doesn't get replicated, though. So you're searching through a haystack of repeated playlists to find that one. (But yes, it's STILL worth it!)
Here's what I've done to work around this, and keep me loving iFill: Once every other day, I launch iTunes with the iPod connected, and I switch settings back off of "Manually Manage Music." In a minute, all the extra playlists are gone (along with the iFill list - so any old iFill content will be lost!) Then, I close iTunes and open iFill. I let the recording begin, and then the next day, I've got a clean, updated iPod, AND a ton of new music.
I might still not think it was worth the effort. But did I mention that I got this disc for less than two dollars and fifty cents? No lie. I can afford that! Plus, it makes it that much easier to fall in love.
All assail again!
AND PLEASE, LET ME KNOW YOUR FAVORITE INTERNET RADIO STATIONS!!! I love 3wk.com, but I could use some more variety.
Anyway.
What could be so great that I need a soapbox to get the word out? I'll tell ya. But first, the setup:
I've had an iPod for about 4 years now. I say this not to elevate myself over you late adopters, I say it...okay, I say it because I've been a fan since Gen 1, and I scrapped the cash together in time for Gen 2. Yeah, I know. I'm the bomb.
But what I'm meaning to say is that I've had a portable music system for quite some time now. And I know you're going to have a hard time believing this, but earlier this year, I was BORED with my iPod. It wasn't because I don't have video (that may have helped), and it wasn't because I don't have enough music (8700 songs, give or take). It's just that I was doing the same thing every day with it. Click, scroll through the listing of artists that barely seems to change, select, yawn. After listening to the 2nu album for the eighth time in a week, I actually stopped taking the thing around. :-(
Then, a few months ago, I was rummaging through the electronics clearance endcap at Target, and I came across Griffin Tech's iFill software. I know there's so much crap out there for the iPod, but this seemed to have a different take on things. Looking at this box, I was amazed that someone had taken a device that already had a ton of thought and intention put into it, and found a completely different paradigm to wrap around it.
iFill, with minimal setup, will record Internet radio stations directly to your iPod. No fuss, no muss (okay, there's a little muss, but I'll get to that in a min...). You can set up any stream you want (as long as it has a URL), set the amount of the iPod you want to give over to the program, walk away, and you'll come back to this whole treasure trove of new music. Or, of it's music you've heard, you might hear it in a completely different way! It's great! Every time I sync my iPod, I get new surprises. I get introduced to new bands, different cuts from old bands, and minimal advertising. My iPod is getting more use now than it ever has. Viva iFill!
In fact, you can get iFill to live on your computer right now. Take a free trial run at ifill.griffintechnology.com.
That's the end of the praise. New music every day. Free, easy, fun! All assail! If you want to hear more, though, I do have one more thing to say....
In order for iFill to work its magic without getting in the way of your iTunes library (which IS a good thing. You do NOT want all of these low-quality songs popping up all over your music folder. Seriously, it wouldn't be cool. Artist info/Song Info/Album Info is often mixed up, and the titles are often prefixed by a number. So unless you want a thousand folders named 65899xxx, just realize that the way iFill works, works.) iFill keeps track of its own database. It's just a linked file to what it stores, combined with an extract of the xml that keeps track of your iTunes library. But iTunes cannot recognize the iFill db, and when the two are forced to work together, weird things can happen. In order to get iTunes to let iFill have its way, you have to "Manually Manage Music" and turn the iPod on to "Disk Mode." This is slightly unnatural. And when you don't have iTunes cleaning up after you and iFill, you won't always have what you expect on your iPod.
And sometimes, iFill keeps messing up the Playlists. It will add a copy of EACH and EVERY playlist every time it syncs. So at the end of the week, I can have 5-8 copies of each of my 45 playlists. It gets a little ridiculous. Especially since iFill songs are put in a playlist. It doesn't get replicated, though. So you're searching through a haystack of repeated playlists to find that one. (But yes, it's STILL worth it!)
Here's what I've done to work around this, and keep me loving iFill: Once every other day, I launch iTunes with the iPod connected, and I switch settings back off of "Manually Manage Music." In a minute, all the extra playlists are gone (along with the iFill list - so any old iFill content will be lost!) Then, I close iTunes and open iFill. I let the recording begin, and then the next day, I've got a clean, updated iPod, AND a ton of new music.
I might still not think it was worth the effort. But did I mention that I got this disc for less than two dollars and fifty cents? No lie. I can afford that! Plus, it makes it that much easier to fall in love.
All assail again!
AND PLEASE, LET ME KNOW YOUR FAVORITE INTERNET RADIO STATIONS!!! I love 3wk.com, but I could use some more variety.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Knowing Shins from Shinola!
Since this all started with the Shins, I figure I best big up the Portlanders for their newest single "Phantom Limb," from their upcoming CD Wincing the Night Away.
The Shins have a quite a rep to live up to. They became the ultimate indie darlings after their many mentions in Garden State, and after they got an AC1 for "New Slang." This new single manages to cover those expectations in their prototypical nonchalant way, and is very apt at reminding you why they earned all that praise so long ago.
It is a rather unassuming song at first. It almost sounds like an out-take, since it's so breathless and seemingly tossed-off. But when the song stumbles into the chorus, it begins this deft climb. It rises gently and brilliantly (and still without stress or strain), and then builds to this amazing, minor chord crescendo. And then, you get to take the journey through two more verses and a bridge! Yay!
Seriously, check this out. It's not an AC1 yet, but if you listen to it now, when the AC1 does get posted, you can be all like "Yeah, whatever. I've been listening to that for days...."
All assail!
The Shins have a quite a rep to live up to. They became the ultimate indie darlings after their many mentions in Garden State, and after they got an AC1 for "New Slang." This new single manages to cover those expectations in their prototypical nonchalant way, and is very apt at reminding you why they earned all that praise so long ago.
It is a rather unassuming song at first. It almost sounds like an out-take, since it's so breathless and seemingly tossed-off. But when the song stumbles into the chorus, it begins this deft climb. It rises gently and brilliantly (and still without stress or strain), and then builds to this amazing, minor chord crescendo. And then, you get to take the journey through two more verses and a bridge! Yay!
Seriously, check this out. It's not an AC1 yet, but if you listen to it now, when the AC1 does get posted, you can be all like "Yeah, whatever. I've been listening to that for days...."
All assail!
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Attention: 5th Grade Bulldogs
I don't think Mrs. Sanders wants you here.
If you stay here too long, I'm telling.
:-P
If you stay here too long, I'm telling.
:-P
January Deckies:
TV on DVD:
Wonderfalls
Firefly
Extras
Mr. Show
Music:
Under The Influence of Giants: UTIoG
[Confession: I would love it if these guys got together with the Twin Quasars of Rock and came out with a special album: Under the Influence of They Might Be Giants. It would be the soundtrack of my life...]
Guster: Ganging Up on The Sun [Back by Popular Demand!]
Podcasts:
TWiT
Subjunctivitis
Games:
Warcraft III [Further defining "Old School"]
Wonderfalls
Firefly
Extras
Mr. Show
Music:
Under The Influence of Giants: UTIoG
[Confession: I would love it if these guys got together with the Twin Quasars of Rock and came out with a special album: Under the Influence of They Might Be Giants. It would be the soundtrack of my life...]
Guster: Ganging Up on The Sun [Back by Popular Demand!]
Podcasts:
TWiT
Subjunctivitis
Games:
Warcraft III [Further defining "Old School"]
AC1: January 9, 2007 - Citizen Cope - "Brother Lee"
I received quite a few great Christmas Presents, but one of the most unexpected joys came wrapped in an iTunes download from D.C. artist Clarence Greenwood (a.k.a. Citizen Cope). This crazy song has me baffled in many, many ways.
First of all, the lyrics, they don't make much sense. I'm not entirely sure why we "gotta know" about Brother Lee, and what the "Young meet the Old" has to do with Brooklyn, USA and both sides of the Mississippi. Probably something very Mark Twain-y... But even more befuddling to me? I find that all this confusion really doesn't matter.
Somehow, there's an urgency that rises in the song. As it drives forward, you slip right along. By the time Cope gets around to his extended super shout out to the Mississippi river banks, man, you really want to support him and his brother, no matter who they are and what they're up to.
It's like nothing else I heard in 2006, and it really was a wonderful surprise to start out the new year.
Cope has a music player on his site. Go see if you can catch this one.
