I am currently tearing through Chuck Klosterman’s KILLING YOURSELF TO LIVE, and goddamn if it isn’t the fucking most awesome book I’ve read in… well, probably ever. How do you know this is true? Look at me, I’m swearing up a storm. Usually I just restrain myself to “Mother puss bucket!” when I need to swear. Forget how the jacket flap and other online sources describe this thing. You’d think you’d want to kill yourself after ten pages, but that ain’t so. If you’ve ever read any Klosterman, you know that he’s funny and dead-on about various cultural phenomena. I thought maybe he had gone soft or was perhaps depressed from what I read in advance, but thankfully, I WAS WRONG… Get this book now. It might even CHANGE YOUR LIFE (no warranty expressed or implied as to the life-changing properties of said product. Use at own risk. Your mileage may vary.)
From the Blog
I know it seems I abandoned the BlogPod experiment.
I did get through a few more CDs that I didn’t post comments about, but then the iPod began to reveal new uses. First, I got obsessed with using Shuffle mode. I wanted to just be surprised what would come next.
Then I discovered the weird little trend called “Podcasting”…
Basically, people started recording little “shows” to MP3 that could be automatically downloaded to users who could then put them on their iPods and listen whenever or wherever they want. I will point out that listening does not require and iPod, or any portable device of any kind. If you can play MP3, you can download these shows…
In fact, I suggest the following shows for great music:
Coverville – all cover songs, all the time! Some obscure, some amusing, some fascinating, all entertaining…
Tracks Up The Tree – Indie music, all freely available online from artists themselves. I like this guy’s taste in music. Some stuff here I need to check out and possibly buy…
As we enter 2005, I wanted to take a moment to shout out to those who still put up with my crap and continue to inspire me every now and then…
There’s the ladies, Renee, Jenn, Jen and Melissa, who still manage to keep an eye out for my infrequent LJ scrawls and occasionally offer sage advice.
There’s Brian and Matt, who have great taste in music and provide me with a reason to make a Christmas CD every year.
There’s Brad, Tony and Dale, my partners in crime (so to speak), who have given me a little creative community to be a part of and learn from.
It’s been a weird year… It went by so fast, yet 2003 seems like an eternity ago. There have been a lot of ups and downs, yet I actually feel like I lived life more than I had before.
Spent the last couple hours of 2004 rocking up to the new year with Barenaked Ladies. I’ve always been bummed that I didn’t have any really cool things to do on New Year’s Eve, so this was quite a treat to see one of my favorite bands. The show was packed with most of the songs I’d want to hear, and the usual BNL antics… Too bad I couldn’t round up anyone around here who would appreciate the show like some of my friends scattered around elsewhere would.
Hope everyone who comes across this is starting off the new year safe and sound. All the best for a new year!!
The Apples In Stereo: Her Wallpaper Reverie (1999)
Going beyond the basic Kinks and Stones bluesy rock they did so well, The Apples In Stereo leap into psychedelia on this album (which is more like an EP, as several tracks are short linking devices). A toy piano announces the start of the song cycle, and it ushers us out at the end. In between, there are a few more thematic restatements with the toy piano, but the real meat of this disc is the songs proper. There is one total goof, “Y2K” (“I know you believe / the fucked up things that you read / are going to happen”), but the rest of the songs are gems. The link tracks somewhat distract, unfortunately.
blogPod analysis:
“Ruby” and “Questions and Answers” are solid 3 star gems, with “Strawberryfire” and “Benefits of Lying (With Your Friend)” are worth 2 stars.
The Apples In Stereo: The Discovery Of A World Inside The Moone (2000)
For me, this is the height of the Apples work. A solid collection of songs with a minimum of pointless noodling. This is basically a straight-up 60s rock album, with plenty of harmonies, fuzz guitar and organ riffs. The opening track, “Go” is an aggressive fun time (so much that it was co-opted as a marketing jingle for Time Warner’s high-speed cable “Road Runner” service). The disc slowly comes down to earth, until we get to the best mid-60s single that wasn’t, “Look Away.” The second half picks up again with a couple rock-outs (highlight being the Kinks-y “Allright/Not Quite”) then calms down for a couple ballads to conclude the record.
blogPod analysis:
A very solid album, where only the two closing tracks fail to earn stars. “Go” is a perfect 4 star album opener. The next two cuts, “The Rainbow” and “Stream Running Over” keep things lively and earn 3 stars. “20 Cases Suggestive of…” barely misses the same level and gets 2 stars. A few cuts later, “I Can’t Believe” gets 2 stars as well. A late rally gets a double-play of 3 star rocking with “Allright/Not Quite” and “The Bird That You Can’t See.” A highly recommended album for fans of the retro genre.
By the way, I will be doing something quite insane when I get to artists that I have a near-complete catalog of… skipping albums and going for a chronological approach.
I’ve already started sorting through my Beach Boys albums and the various bits-and-pieces on box sets and rarities discs to form a chronology.
When I get to The Beatles, it will be qutie a large list, I fear, since I have more, um, “alternative” recordings of the Fab Four than legit albums.
Let the sorting begin…
Oh, and go see Shaun Of The Dead, possibly the best time I’ve had at the movies all year.