A thread for random thoughts about music

The fact that Mark Eitzel is not a multimillionaire living in Vegas getting fat and old is either a crime or a good thing. I'll report back when the new American Music Club album comes out.

Song of the day: "Christmas" by Fuzzy.

 

I had this conversation with my buddies on Sat. night. Most agreed they would have been huge had Downward Is Heavenward been stronger. There were two or three amazing tracks on it, but the rest was very mediocre.

 

I HATE the new allmusic.com. the layout is terrible, it's difficult to navigate, and I think it's even slower than it was before. Ugh.

 

It could have been stronger, true. Still, You'd prefer an Astronaut? blows me away every time I listen to it.

Completely unrelated, sometimes Looper has songs that really hit me, but I gotta be in the right mood.

 

Just picked up the last two Sonic Youth tix for the show next Sun. I haven't had a chance to see them before and the new album is solid. I'm stoked. Plus Wolf Eyes is opening, whom I've heard nothing but good things about.

 

I've heard the (excellent) jazz pianist Brad Mehldau do a number of Radiohead songs on the piano, and I've quite liked them.

Now I've just heard some snippets of "True Love Waits: Christopher O'Riley Plays Radiohead" -- a whole album of Radiohead tunes on the solo piano. I realize this is a prime candidate for the "pretentious crap" shelf. But I'm liking it.

I'm seriously considering buying the O'Riley album since it's an entire album devoted to the stuff. Anybody else heard these?


--addendum

I heard the O'Riley album snippets on the admittedly much more convoluted AllMusic.com. However, they do have music samples now. That's gotta count for something. I do miss having the discography on the main artist page.
Today was the first day I used the new layout. Jury's still out.

 

sometimes i really hat the postal service.

 

They seem to have gotten rid of the album cover art, too, which sucks for people like me who try to keep their iTunes playlists as complete as possible.

I had a great package waiting for me in the mailroom last night when I got home from work: WFMU marathon swag! The t-shirt is their best since "Freedom is free-form" (which, interestingly, I saw someone wearing at the Union Square Greenmarket on Saturday). Stuff can be seen here. Mrs. obie has already called dibs on the bitchin' ski hat. And the 2-cd live disc has some choice cuts but it's worth it for the rambling Julian Cope essay in the liner notes alone.

 

I can understand. Ben Gibbard to me is one of the most undefineable people in music. There are days where i think Death Cab and the PS are both amazing, and tehres otehr days where i really just want to kick him square in the balls every time i hear "Such Great Heights"

If you ask me, though, the genius of the PS is Jimmy Tomborello. The mixing and composition of that album is pretty amazing.

This is where i hope that you were talking about the band and not the mail-delivering system.

 

No i was talking about the band. Somedays I hear a song and it hits me and I really like it. Today I heard one and wasn't in the right mood and hated it. I love all death cab stuff though.

 

I got a copy of the O'Reilly album for free. I like it but I can't call it earthshattering. I do listen to it though and given that amount of music I have that counts for something.

 

That's encouraging. Although I tried finding it at Ameoba in SF yesterday and I was getting quite the 'tude from the geek squad, plus they didn't have it. I almost said "Well, maybe you have the Michael Bolton / Broken Social Scene cover album?"

But I didn't.

Completely unrelated factoid: My lord was the checkout girl an indie-rock-cutie-pie! Why yes! I'd love a bag with that! How considerate of you to ask! I'll be going home now to my beautiful wife and daughter! Bye! Gotta Go! I'm leaving now! Have a nice life! See you never! Stay outta my head, okay! Toodles!

 

Is'nt it California State Law that all Amoeba's have at least one hot indie-chick behind the counter at all times? One more reason why I want to live on Sunset Blvd in that small area between Amoeba & The ArcLight Theatre in LA.

Have you heard Jamie Cullum's piano jazz version of Radiohead's "High & Dry"? It's pretty nice.

 

Not bad but I prefer his "Wind Cries Mary" - in fact I put it on the June mix cd I sent to Canadian_Supporter. He turns it into a New Orleans shuffle, complete with a low staccato horn beat.

Speaking of Cullum, how can someone have such great taste in covers and yet have a completely unlistenable set of originals? When he pens it he's Billy Joel with a better driving record.

 

Never heard of him. But I'll keep my ears peeled? That makes no sense, but I typed it anyway, cuz thats hows I plays it homie. No Rules. Punk Rock.

I digress.

Speaking of jazz pianists and cutie-pie-indie-rock-checkout-girls, here's one of my purchases that she handed me with a twinkle (or was it a rolling...?) of the eye:

 

Band Name of the Week:
Monkey Knife Fight.

Five bucks at the Last Day Saloon on Thursday. (I've only got four.)

 

I'm gonna boycott kexp if they keep playing the postal service. i've decided to hate this band completely irrationally.

 

Is there a funkier song than Funkadelic's "Wars of Armageddon"?

No. There is not.

 

Pitchfork v. Nick Hornby via Damon Gough (Badly Drawn Boy)

Kinda interesting, and relevant to some previous discussions here on the board. Didn't think it merited its own thread.

 

I want to dislike Bruce Springsteen's "Fourth of July in Asbury Park (Sandy)" so much, but I can't. The song mellows me out so much.

 

Scratch Acid is so good.

 

You know, reviews are supposed to give you, good or bad, whether you disagree with the critic or not, a pretty good idea of what you should expect from an album or a movie, and how you might enjoy it.

I don't read Pitchfork much (actually, I only read Pitchfork when a link's posted on BS), but I'm getting the sense that Pitchfork reviews aren't so much reviews as they are a forum for taking potshots at people who are wealthier and more talented.

 

Basically.


Pitchfork is an interesting enigma. It manages to simultaneously be the best and the worst music site on the web.

 

Strange coversation with friend last night over beer...

me - what 2004 really needs is something new from david gedge
friend - wedding present isn't getting back together, dude
me - that's fine i like cinerama better anyway.
friend - then you are an **************.

 

cinerama just ********in rules. david gedge is the ********.