nodep5

just got home from seeing the Avetts in Columbia MO tonight. Low Anthem opened and they were impressive to say the least.

as for the Avetts, if you get a chance to see these guys live, do so. These guys rank up there in terms of live acts that I've seen and are definetly at the top of their game in a live setting. Super talented, big time energy and "Laundry Room" especially tore the doors off the place.

Yes - love that Dando record.

 

on through the 'D's

 

 

 

I should listen this more.

great great record , supposedly new Dolorean in 2010.

what do you think? I dig what I believe they were going for, just not sure if they pulled it off?

That Zeus cover looks like the work of Sheri Boyle. I know she, Doug Paisley, Collett and Zeus all hang out at the Dakota, and it would be cool if it is.

 

for the Colett - I'll have to listen then.

 

Kalle - Got a contact for you at Grooves for an instore.

 

http://www.groovesrecordstore.com/

 

grooves 'at' loveable.com. Alison and Melissa do most of the instore day to day stuff, I just suggest stuff, make the initial contact and then enjoy the concerts. Best to use my husband's name (Tim), he's the one that actually spends money there. I just create 'want lists'. Melissa is also a local booker for the EVAC venue. She would be good to get to know.

 

 

just ripping stuff to a hard drive and at the D part of the collection. Had to stop and listen to Hard Drive 25 or 26 times, not because of what I'm doing, but because it is such a great song.

awwh, i love that evan dando record. Like most of his work, largely underappreciated. not counting varshons which was admittedly weak.

it's not the fact that it's called a killer whale. it's the fact that it is a giant giant wild animal that lives in a pool as big as my backyard. inhumane. i can't believe this shit doesn't happen more often.

just being sarcastic. not appropriate I know.

your story is one of the reasons, in part, why indie record stores deserve to close. assholes who work there!

Oh I don't know, I know I have stated my opinion a time or two to a friend about some music they were digging. I try more and more to be conscious of what I'm saying and be more respectful for someone's kicks, but I fail consistently with this. But yeah, it was an asshole thing to say, and it shocked me as a response. Man, someone gets a little hype and little success and a little over production and they are suddently Sting? That is quite the logical jump.

I thought the Killer in Killer Whale wasn't literal. I thought it was more like saying that the whale rocked. Like "that whale is killer, dude"

I won't speak for the song "Stop" because I'm not overly trilled about that track, but I'll never forget going into the store to buy Gold on release date and the record clerk (who I got along with really well) said "why you buying that Sting sounding shit?" You know, If it rubs you wrong, so be it, I feel blessed that ryan's music exsists, it has provided me with a lot of pleasure and insight.

at the end of the day, I think the reason it feels right to me is because I percieve every note and word to be utterly sincere. there are alot of things I'm sure Ryan is, but I never got preteniousness or insincere from him. Sure a band like Grizzly Bear may be more challenging, but just as comparison I feel nothing when I hear them. I always feel something from a Ryan Adams song.

I listened to heartbreaker the other night on vinyl, and sure, it's great, but now that I have some distance from his more recent stuff, I can better appreciate how great his stuff with the Cardinals is. I really love some of those songs. I dont spend much time ranking albums, but I think he's a better songwriter now than he was on Heartbreaker.

You know, with Ryan I think he has generally been consistent from day one. From Faithless Street onward he has always had the ability with melody and song structure. He is one that makes it seem far easier than it is and in all directions he goes. I use to obsess over Heartbreaker and I struggle to hear it the same way I use to, but there a number of songs on that record that are completely timeless and "Come Pick Me Up" still stops me in my tracks everytime.

I'm getting eager for new material. I've said before on here that I'm a super fan boy of Ryan's and I usually love everything he does. Cardinology was ripped apart around here, but with the exception of three songs I love that record. All that being said, I'm hoping he comes out with something really sweet. I'm always longing for something a little rough around the edges and raw like Heartbreaker and Love Is Hell, but I'm ready for whatever he throws out there. I would also love to see Lost Highway or Ryan to start offically putting out the unreleased stuff (some of that stuff is mindblowing).

Just recieved an email from Josh that new album will be available via vinyl one month prior to release date as part of the Record Store Day April 17th.

just another reason vinyl is/was perfect. It does force the artist to make some decisions and i can say that in my record collection, the albums I hold up as the gold standard are all in the 9-12 (35-45 min) song range that would fit on one slab of vinyl.

More is not better with the majority of bands in my opinion.

For me it all comes down to how much I dig the band or musician. For example, Wilco or Ryan Adams could release a 25 song record and I would likely walk away wanting more and more, where is recently the Conor Oberst and Mystic Valley Band should have been trimmed to 10 songs and would have been a year end contender in my mind.

I commented earlier in this thread about Spoon's previous output being good mix tape quality but not holding my interest throughout an entire album.

Finnally picked up Transference, and after the first two tracks I thought "he we go again" but every song got better and I have to say this is a damn fine record. Great guitar sounds and guitar work, Brit's voice is in top notch form. Cool catchy groovy songs. I like this record a lot.

At the end of the day, the whole band lineup is important to me, but the most important thing is the quality of songwriting. That is what I feel is much weaker now. That being said, The original Son Volt lineup was a freaking machine in terms of having their tight sound down pat. Maybe this is nostalgia (and by no means was Son Volt ever riveting live) but they were a steady workhorse with great songs. The new songs just sound like they are tyring too hard. Jay for me is becoming Bruce Springsteen. Just this serious/angry dude whose music is completely lost on me and voice grates on me after a while. I can't believe I would ever be there with Jay, but it is what it is.

As a sidenote, I was listening to vinyl copy of Anodyne last week and Jay's songs during the run from March 16th - Anodyne- Trace are killer. He was on a roll.

I know this is about Marah (which is a band that have had their moments for sure), but the whole Jay Farrar Son Volt issue always rings my bell.

My two cents is, that I have never loved a band so much and then subsequently loathed a band as much as the old vs. new Son Volt. We all have our opinions and I know a lot has to do with how we came to know a band, but I believe it is an unbelievalbe stretch to put The Search any where close to Trace. And i completely agree with Analogman about the band Son Volt back in the day with Boquist Bros and Hiedorn compared to the new Son Volt lineup. I'm glad Jay continues to have an audience, but to my ears his stuff has been at times unlistenable in the past decade (with the exception of the recent collab with Ben Gibbard). I always feel like an ass with this whole Son Volt thing, but I use to dig this band more than anyone and the recent stuff just floors me in the wrong way.

This is exciting. There is something about his lyrics that are top notch. I'm not always a huge lyric guy, but for me his last two records have been really up there with anyone.

this whole vinyl business is tedious but its worth it for that lovely sound. just wish it wasn't so hard trying to track down a stylus compatible with my Emerson. my primary dealer stopped selling them.

I hope you can find those stylus's because Emerson good turntables

I failed to mention (but the Spencer Tweedy blog reminded me) that my old trusty Zenith I mentioned before has a dime taped to the top of the stylus/tone arm.

I haven't had any problems with my Wilco vinyl. kinda strange that the skips are occurring in the same spots on different copies of the record. I did try and take my W(TA) vinyl off of the turntable a while back before moving the stylus over and it gouged out a portion of Country Disappeared so I do feel your pain. good luck on your replacement copy.

Not to act like I'm confident either way about this, but my history with new vinyl skipping has ultimately always turned out to be the turntable and not the vinyl. I do have a ton of new vinyl that by appearance comes out of the package a little warped and wobbles as it plays, but my good old 1970 Zenith will play it through every time. However I just got a copy of Black Crowes Southern Harmony and when I tried to play it on my portable Crosley Record Player it skipped about 4 to 5 times on each song, plays through on the Zenith.

My fav is my first. Wilco AM Tour 95 T shirt. It was white with blue lettering. It had a radio tower on the front with Wilco across the center. on the back it said AM Tour 95 and listed the songs featured on AM. Poor thing got so many holes I had to retire it. I didn't throw it away, but it isn't appropriate in public anymore.

Does a great guitarist lose talent over time? I don't know. Who gives a shit what he's wearing, though? It's Pete Townshend. A guy his age trying too hard to look cool? This is a man who used to wear a white body suit on stage....

I admit a lot of this is superficial for me, but it is part of the whole package. I'll be upfront that image, album art etc play a role in how much I dig someone, with the music being first and foremost and primary. So for me it matters a little and I respect those who can look past it.

As far as the music, I do think the talent erodes over time for most musicians. No one can argue that vocally last night was short of good. I think Roger Daltry sounded decent, but Pete's voice was shot or is shot. As far as the chops on the instrument, I think Pete can replicate past glory in a technical manner, but I would assume his creativity tank is empty. If we just look at music alone, how many of these aging acts are getting close to past creative peaks. And I personally won't agree with the Bob Dylan arguement if it is posed as an example. I think Dylan gets a free pass with critics and no matter how good recent albums have been they pale by miles to Blonde on Blonde for example

Hey, I for one, said I enjoyed the Who last night (relatively speaking). No, both my wife and I did enjoy it, what was not to like compared to what Super bowl halftimes can and have been (Except for Prince). My larger point is on the age issue.

someone earlier posted they didn't understand my line of thinking. I guess it for me is no different than watching a 55 or 60 year old trying to pitch in an major league game. They may throw one or two wicked curves to remind us of past glory, but overall it is going to be sad on most levels.

Even more, with rock stars there are other superficial issues that are cause for concern. The asthetic for me is somewhat important (call me judgemental). When you look back at picture of rock stars in their 20's they tend to always look cool (outside of some era dated fashion issues). the Aging rock star always looks like they are trying way to hard to look cool and that they have no idea what cool is anymore. I mean, how many shiny silk purple shirts does Mick Jagger own? My advice would be, blue jeans and a plain white t shirt never go out of style.

Anyway, it just all starts seeming sad and redundant.

I enjoyed the Who last night (in relative terms for "enjoying" the Super Bowl Halftime. First of all, the late 90's when it became top 40 R&B, Rap, Boy Band, Pop Tarts was awful. I don't get any of that. Not in a snobby way, just in a plain and simple completely lost on me way. Did anyone see Jay Z and Rhianna right before kickoff. That is what I'm talking about. I don't get that? Are people really moved by Jay Z going "yeah" over the top of some overblown arrangement and pretty female vocal.

All that being said, watching the Who did make me sad on some level. The older I get the more I'm convinced that Rock and Roll is for the young. I can't think of many bands that I would pick the later in life work over their output in their 20's to early 30's. And for the truly aging rock stars, I don't know anyone who pulls this off. I'll admit that Neil hasn't lost the voice or the chops, but his songwriting as of the last 15 years has been inconsistent at best. I don't know, I just would rather focus on people in their prime, because the more I explore the later years output, I just get a bad taste in my mouth.

boy this sounds ageist.

There are few truly "bad" albums by bands I love. Now all the "new" Son Volt stuff is Bad in my opinion, but I don't recognize that lineup as Son Volt.

Neil Young's catalouge speaks for itself after Hawks & Doves, but that has been well documented here.

There have been some underwhelming albums by bands I love. Only one coming to mind this am would be:

Sun Kil Moon - April (just never could connect with it, long, boring, monotone)

PS: After about three full spins of the new Midlake, I'm wondering where it will fall? So far it is SLOWLY growing, but on the surface no where near as captivating as Van Occupanther (but I am drawn back enough to give it a chance)