Self-Promotion

I'm currently preoccupied (in addition to keeping up at work) with writing lyrics for the songs I've got recorded/demoed. Recording vocals tonight, so for those of you that like my music, hopefully there will be some new, mostly-completed songs very soon.

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Red

I'm off to San Francisco in just a little bit here, visiting the Stawarzes!! And anyone who knows who they are know how fun it's going to be. I hope they don't expect me to change any diapers, as I still have never done that IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. No joke.

So this week I'm not all full of musical thoughts (or maybe I am, just not verbose). So let's go straight to recommendations!

Something Old:
Steve Taylor, Squint
I may have mentioned this album before, but it deserves another bump. While the music is starting to feel slightly dated, Taylor's lyrics still hold up as a modern masterpiece of genuine Christian critique, not slander, cynicism or disdain. Thoughtful and catchy, with an undercurrent of humor and even joy, Squint stands, sadly, quite alone.

Something New:
House of Heroes, The End Is Not The End
While I'm still withholding a complete verdict until hearing the album as a whole, after hearing 8 songs I'm pleased with most of it. While they sometimes flirt with too much studio trickery, HoH are poised to present an enjoyable follow-up to their unexpectedly fantastic self-titled album.

Something Borrowed:
Foo Fighters, "Band on the Run"
I'll be honest, I've never been a huge fan of Foo covers, this one is incredibly good. Just search around and you'll find it online, it's well worth whatever amount of effort you expend.

Something Red:
Weezer, "Pork & Beans"
From their third self-titled album (otherwise known as "The Red Album"), Weezer seem to be getting at least a little of their old spark and ingenuity back. The chunka-chunkas right before the chorus are monstrous, and the "I don't give a hoot" line is reminiscent of their early carefree attitude. Throw in the fact that Rivers Cuomo is sporting an unabashedly horrific molestache now, and you can feel the excitement building.

H.A.A.R.P.

I picked up Muse's new live DVD on Tuesday, H.A.A.R.P. It is a mind-boggling picture of a band that has reached the pinnacle of rock and roll - their performances are flawless, the stage show is captivating, and their sonic presence is incredible. The fact that they remain a three-piece for most of their songs adds to the unbelievability of it all. But what really impressed me was their resonance with the crowd.

And by resonance, I mean the singalongs.

I don't think Muse would strike many people as a "pop" band, yet their rhythms and melodies get stuck in the brain, and their songs are easy to sing along to, even if you can't reach Matthew Bellamy's high range. What is probably more influential, though, is their lyrical content. The only area where comparisons to Radiohead can be even partly justified, Bellamy's lyrics tend to focus on conspiracies and paranoia. Even uplifting songs ("Invincible," "Starlight") have sinister undertones. And while Bellamy finds inspiration in contemporary subjects like aliens, government mistrust, and the scientific program their live album is named after, paranoia in music can easily be traced back to the blues, if not further.

You may be looking for the blues/paranoia connection, but it's there. What is the draw for so many people to blues music, and for that matter, any music with sad or depressing sounds or subject matter? Paranoia. Maybe your life is going great, but everyone can relate to a bluesman singing about a broken heart. And our paranoia causes us to revel in someone else's singing (whether based on real events or not) about such hard times: we like the reminder that things aren't so bad for us, but we also want to be prepared for when things get tough again (as they surely will). And, of course, we like feeling a little bit of sympathy for a sad troubadour.

When it comes down to it, we listen to music, and experience art in general, because of an artist's ability to better or differently express feelings and emotions we ourselves experience. Listening to music that can give us the creeps - or, alternatively, suggest a way to fight such creepy feelings - is a form of release. Even (especially?) if it's hearing Bellamy scream, "Our time is running out!"

Other recommendations:
Led Zeppelin's fourth album. Is there a better opening riff in rock music than "Black Dog"? I propose to you that there is not. The middle of the album has some high points too.

I'm Tired.

O.k., I'm fried from an extra-long work week, so instead I'm just gonna give a few recommendations.

Lydia, Illuminate
I first really heard this band on Monday, ordered the CD, and it arrived yesterday. It's basically Beneath Medicine Tree part 2, for better or worse. Mindy White adds some keys and vocals which fit perfectly in this indie blend, and help give it a bit more of a distinctive sound. Things get confusing on "Hospital," though, when Copeland's Aaron Marsh shows up to add vocals to the most Copeland-sounding non-Copeland track ever. Good stuff. Current favorite track: "A Fine Evening for a Rogue" ("don't you ever get lonely?")

Once, Original Soundtrack
I just saw this movie last night. It reminded me of why I could never fall for a girl who is an accomplished musician; we'd just fight like James and I do (which is fine for James and me, but probably not for a stable opposite-sex relationship). Anyway, the songs are fun, and the part on the bus near the beginning of the film was a total Jonathan Greener moment.

Death Cab for Cutie, "I Will Possess Your Heart"
O.k., this song isn't as good as it is long. It sounds really thin compared to... well, everything else Chris Walla has ever produced. Oddly, the first 4-1/2 minutes sound like seminal Wheaton jam band I.R.A.T.E., while the last 4 minutes (did I mention it's a long song?) have some good lyrics, but overall are quickly forgotten. I'm still optimistic about Narrow Stairs, releasing in May, but not quite as much as I was.

Motion City Soundtrack, Even If It Kills Me
This album didn't make it into 2007's Top Ten, and I'm still bothered by the "She's the pizza of my eye" lyric, but it's a really solid album. And the production perfectly matches the band's sound, elevating the songs higher than they could reach on their own. Current favorites: title track, "This Is For Real," "Last Night"

That's all. The tank's dry. Have a great Easter weekend.

Oh No He DIDN'T

While meeting for coffee with a seasoned veteran of rock recording, I was confronted with the idea that the Foo Fighters could be to blame – at least in part – for the current “loudness war” occurring in modern rock music production. 1997’s The Colour and the Shape was presented to me as the first of the “loud” records – an album that jumps out of the stereo and into your head, not only melodically but also sonically. There is nothing in producer Gil Norton’s discography at that point to indicate a thirst for pushing the limits of volume, yet TCATS attacked with a vociferousness that none of its contemporaries possessed. The choruses on singles like “Monkey Wrench,” “My Hero,” and “Everlong” simply explode, and the verses are usually not far removed. So this got me thinking – could my favourite album from my favourite band be an instigator of the downward spiral we find ourselves a part of?

No.

No it cannot.

The real culprit, my friends, is all around the release of The Colour and the Shape, but not in it. Though 1997 saw the release of fellow masterpiece OK Computer, it also heralded the arrival of Deftones, Green Day’s Nimrod, and Re-Load, as well as, oh yes… the Backstreet Boys. Their self-titled album went platinum 14 times over in the US alone, and was followed by *NSYNC’s debut the following year, no slouch either, selling 11 million copies. 1998 also saw Korn’s first mainstream success, Follow the Leader, and here we start to see two different but equally-popular methods arising: the crystal-clear polish of the boy bands, and the bass-heavy, kick-drum-triggered nu metal crunch. Both approaches and styles were taking over airwaves and the first stages of the internet. After the successes of grunge, alternative, and pop-punk in the early- to mid-90s, rock music was getting pushed aside. Fighting for a place and a sound, producers took both elements – the pop sheen and the nu metal EQ – and threw them together. The result is where we find ourselves today: we have the best equipment to record, mix, and play music with the greatest dynamic range ever, yet we use less and less of it on records, to paraphrase the engineer I spoke with. And our ears are getting tired.

Whereas rock fans in the 70s and 80s related to albums on a personal and intimate level, blasting them through stereo systems or headphones, we cannot do that with the majority of albums released today. Putting aside how we connect to music currently, most records today literally fatigue our ears as we listen to them, assaulting them with so many frequencies and at such high intensities that we can only put up with it for so long. I’m sure many people have experienced situations where they find themselves physically unable to listen to music, usually after experiencing a high-volume setting for more than a short period of time. Sadly, this leads us to not value the experience of listening to and experiencing music as much as we should or could. Yet another reason why listeners no longer value music as a worthwhile piece of art, and instead treat it as a disposable commodity.

But at least it’s not the Foo Fighters’ fault.

"We're Getting the Band Back Together"

2008 is already the year of the reunion. Nobody cares that 2007 brought a new Smashing Pumpkins album and a Spice Girls reunion tour. 2008 is already brimming with possibilities, not even counting the New Kids on the Block rumors that are swirling.

Living Sacrifice - Demon Hunter's recent track, "Sixteen," illustrates why 90% of the metal/metalcore bands should just quit. Guest vocalist Bruce Fitzhugh shreds harder than most of the guitars out there right now, and it wasn't even a particularly stunning performance for him. It doesn't even matter that the line he growls is a word-for-word ripoff of Skillet's first single, "Gasoline." This guy could read cooking directions or road signs and it would still make my skin tingle (in a good way).

Stavesacre - Nothing's certain, especially with this band, but the current plan involves writing one last record with original guitarist Jeff Bellew (How to Live with a Curse was intended to be their last, but you get the impression that they weren't exactly satisfied with it). Judging by the gusto with which they're approaching their upcoming show in Germany, I'm getting optimistic.

Sixpence None the Richer - According to a recent blog post from Leigh Nash, she and Matt Slocum are at least making music together again. At first this made me happy, then I got uneasy flashbacks to Billy Corgan's Chicago Times ad and the resulting album. Fingers crossed.

Colored by Numbers - They're approaching it Postal Service-style (since the six members now live in Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Long Beach, Costa Rica, and Syria), but it's far too early to speculate.

dignan - No, not the band from Texas. The other one.

Artists I'm Still Hoping To Hear About: Steve Taylor, Fleming and John, Further Seems Forever w/Chris Carrabba (yeah I went there), Hey Mercedes, twothirtyeight.

The Backlash

There is a backlash coming, and I can't wait.

Less than a decade ago, mp3.com arrived as a source for music of all kinds - mainstream, indie, obscure, global, local, you name it. It gave way to PureVolume and eventually MySpace (and the popularity of P2P networks), but the surge had started. People - mainly youth - were able to download anything they wanted, as long as they searched hard enough for it. Record and digital music collections exploded, giving rise to the changing perspectives on music that I have written about previously.

Before this point, music (and music opinion) was received largely via close friends and family, large media outlets (radio and MTV), and perhaps the odd group activity like a school dance or Christian skate night. The focus in many of these contexts was a collective experience of an individual performance. You listened to the radio while doing errands with your family or on long road trips. You watched MTV with friends (especially if you didn't get MTV and were forced to go to a friend's house to watch it). Dances and skate nights were obviously not about the music. Music was a soundtrack, but an incomplete one.

The digital age made music a constant, almost unbearable soundtrack. If you aren't listening to your iPod on the bus every morning, you can look up and note the many who are. Many people have large enough music libraries to play - without pause - for weeks or even months. The digital age also allowed for a rise in the number of recording and music-producing bands, who began to go on tours to support their passion.

But we're kinda getting sick of it.

Talking with friends and colleagues, there is a growing weariness with the state of music. There are so many bands, so many songs, so many mash-ups, not to mention so many websites, blogs, magazines, and TV channels. So many shows, and as a generation, we're sick of going to them all the time. Especially since we find ourselves disappointed by the performances more often than not. We'd rather listen to an album that we like, and not risk having it ruined for us by seeing an ill-prepared musical unit try to create a faithful rendition of it or an interesting digression from it.

We're also spending our own money now. And we're becoming more picky. Thus a backlash is on the horizon. Bands are starting to feel it, as are record companies. Both complain of music sharing harming their careers and investments. Sure, there may be a correlation there, but I'd be more inclined to believe that as the first generation to experience such music overload has moved from high school to college and now post-college life, it realizes that there are plenty of other ways to spend time than to sit at a computer and hunt down the latest and "greatest" musical acts.

But take heart, dear bands and musicians with true talent, passion, and commitment: the backlash that is coming will not destroy you, but it will thin out the herds quite a bit. At least, we can all hope it does. You can be sure that there will always be an audience for a truly kick-ass concert that's coming through town.