The Fire is Burning

The Arcade Fire is no longer an underground sensation or one of those bands where people say "oh yeah, they sound familiar." I first heard of them in the fall of 2006 and they didn't immediately grab me. At the time I was more skeptical of semi-electronic sounding music and preferred being able to listen to each instrument in turn. They vocals on the songs I heard also seemed a bit obscured, which doesn't generally suit me.

It was the following spring or summer that I learned - listening to their first full length album "Funeral" on the metro to and from work and internships. Their music has something special and I still can't quite put my finger on it.

Friday night I saw them in concert for the first time. They played DAR Constitution Hall here in D.C., which is not one of the better places to see a show. Having come up on the Allman Brothers and then Phish and Widespread Panic, I am accustomed to seeing concerts where there aren't a great deal of stops between songs and the songs are generally between 6 and 8 minutes, so it was difficult to adjust to shorter songs with longer stops after each song. The 80 minute set is what I'm used to being the first set, not the whole show.

But all that said, the show was great. The energy in the room started to coalesce about half way through and the band did a nice job building momentum into the end of the show and the encore. If you have a chance to see them live, I highly recommend it.

Their records, however, absolutely must be on your shelf. No collection is complete without them. This could be the best band of the decade.

Even more taken than I was, a writer from the Washington Post characterized the band as "a sort of modern-day art-rock answer to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band" and found "an undeniable grandeur and a thrilling vastness to the songs . . . but it's no empty bombast: In the studio and especially in concert, Arcade Fire's emotional music plays as deeply meaningful, soul-stirring art."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/05/AR2007050500995.html

Here are 2 mp3s from their show in New York on February 17 of this year. The first is a bit slower and close to spoken word. The other is not:

My Body is a Cage

Keep the Car Running



* I should recognize that the brothers who lead the band are from Texas, although they moved to Canadia before forming the band.

These Gray Days

The funny thing about spring time is that you oscillate between days of gray skies and rain, wishing for the sun to come out, and then the sun comes out for a couple days and all you want is some rain to wash away the pollen.

These Gray Days
Lyrics by Jerry Joseph

It's a thin line hanging on the wall
Strike a little balance, shattering a fall
A thin line between charity and greed
What I want, what I need
Lately I ain't had much to say
Something seems to tie my tongue
On these gray days

A thin line between loneliness and crowds
Talking till you're burning, baby
A thin line between heaven and catastrophe
Who we really are, who we really want to be
Lately when things don't go my way
I'm taking comfort in these gray days

These gray days are better than others
It's a thin line between the oven and the sun
Thank God for giving me the cover
These gray days are better than none

Thin line hanging on the wall
Strike a little balance, shattering a fall
Lately I've tried to learn to pray
To see the miracle in these gray days

These gray days are better than others
It's a thin line between danger and the fun
Hold tight, my enemy and lover
These gray days are better than none

Lately I try to understand
Am I acting like a child or acting like a man
Do we take each other hostage
Or are we simply holding hands
Who's to say, on these gray days

Download an mp3 of this song from The Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh NC, April 21, 2007.
Full show from http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=506103

You say you want a what?

A while back I wrote about Nike's AC/DC add.

Why is YouTube so great? Because you can watch the commercial that changed it all:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztSYJNO4kac

This is also my first attempt at embedding a YouTube video in my blog.

Stadium Arcadium

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been up and down several times over the last several years - they are smart enough and good enough to pen at least one single per album, guaranteeing that they can keep some fans, sell concert tickets, and sell records. But in my estimation, these records have often lacked depth. Californication and Scar Tissue were both very good songs, but the record didn't do it for me as a whole.


When I saw RHCP on Saturday Night Live performing the first single from Stadium Arcadium, I was throughly disappointed and sad to see that such a great band was in continued decline. But the single eventually caught my ear, as did the next one.

I've now listened through the double disc several times. This is no return to Blood Sugar Sex Magic or Mother's Milk, but those are some of the best albums of our generation. But to put together two full discs of songs is a big challenge, and this was not a product of trying to put out bulk and refusing to distinguish one poor song from the next. There are other very good songs on there, and while the sound may not be as revolutionary as their earlier work, the RHCP continue to advance the funk and hip-hop influences in their brand of (somewhat punk) rock.

Here is their Grammy performance of Snow (Hey Oh). You'll have to excuse the squealing girls at the beginning. This is a wonderful song and while it is too bad that Anthony Kiedis has spent so long battling addiction, at least we get the benefit of his troubles.

p.s. - it should come as no surprise that Rick Rubin produced this record. He was all over everything at the Grammys

Long May You Run

As far as I know, the Houride is still in my parents driveway. I may be "grown up" but apparently I am still a slouch in some ways. Well, probably a lot of ways, but that is neither here nor there. At any rate, my mom gave me her car for my birthday and today the hand-off was completed when I ordered the permanent plates from the VA DMV.

My new plates are a lyric from the Neil Young song "Long May You Run" as a homage to the Houride, which was a loyal steed that served me well for many changes in my life. I love the car more than I should, but I couldn't love the memories any more than I do.

LONG MAY YOU RUN

We've been through some things together
With trunks of memories still to come
We found things to do in stormy weather
Long may you run.

Long may you run.
Long may you run.
Although these changes have come
With your chrome heart shining in the sun
Long may you run.

Well, it was back in Blind River in 1962
When I last saw you alive
But we missed that shift on the long decline
Long may you run.

Long may you run.
Long may you run.
Although these changes have come
With your chrome heart shining in the sun
Long may you run.

Maybe The Beach Boys have got you now
With those waves singing "Caroline No"
Rollin' down that empty ocean road
Gettin' to the surf on time.
Long may you run.

Long may you run.
Long may you run.
Although these changes have come
With your chrome heart shining in the sun
Long may you run.

tougher than leather

I was way too young to fully appreciate the significance of RUN-DMC & the fact that, on top of everything else, they also made a commercially successful rap movie.


It's funny how you feel tough when you wear leather. I was on my way out last night, sporting my leather jacket & rocking the iPod on the train. Forget that I am a middle aged white male law student - the point isn't whether I am tough or even look tough. The point is that wearing a leather jacket makes you feel tough. How could it not?

But that feeling quickly fades away when you reach into your pocket and find a tube of Blistex. It's hard to feel tough when you have Blistex in your pocket.

In 6th grade I wore this in public

and thought - knew - I was cool.

MeTube

So maybe I'm a little slow on the uptake, but I haven't really "gotten" YouTube - until now. Here are two precious performances that you & I probably never would have seen otherwise.

Howlin Wolf (Note that one of the guys who posted a comment noted that he had never heard of Howlin Wolf until Taylor Hicks turned him on to him - who wudda thunk it?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF51597U7Xs

or this video of CSNY playing Neil's "Down by the River" (which I found thanks to Aquarium Drunkard)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=yYZ50PjDTi8


I'm sure there are tons more of gems out there. Now, if only I could load these videos onto my iPod.

straight to hell

It always shocks me when people don't know who Kevin Kinney is. He was the front man for Drivin & Cryin and remains one of the better contemporary song writers.

What? Oh yeah - a lot of people don't remember Drivin & Cryin either. The title track from Fly Me Courageous was all over the radio back in the mid 90s. Despite popular success, the record is one of the best from the decade.


Drivin & Cryin still gets together from time to time - with annual Thanksgiving shows in Atlanta and an appearance on Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Gimmie Three Days" cruise.

Kinney's song Straight to Hell (just like my mama said) was an anthem for teenagers across the south who probably never even stopped to listen to the actual lyrics.

So I walk on down to the parking lot,
hang around with all my friends,
and roam the streets til dawn breaks again
I come in at five a.m. and she is waiting for me
She said where have you been, I said I was out,
She said you're no good cause you're running without love

Cause I'm going straight to hell
Just like my momma said
I'm going straight to hell

Right Now

Remember Pepsi Clear? I actually liked that stuff - but then again I was 15, so I would have fallen for any gimmick.

One gimmick I did not fall for was the Van Halen commercial - the song was super pop, but the video was interesting, and the sell-out was absolute. Of course, that presupposes that Van Halen had any original fight the power real rock and roll soul left in them by the time OU812 was released and they settled into the Van Haggar years.


At any rate, I have always thought the lyric was "right now, there's no tomorrow" and then "right now, it's everything" (emphasizing that we should live in the moment) .

Today, I looked up the lyrics on a random inspiration and, at least according to lyrics freak, the real words are "right now, it's your tomorrow"

That really changes everything.

An aquarium drunkard

I don't care who you are. If you like music and you don't know about this blog, you should:

http://aquariumdrunk.blogspot.com/

This will subsume whatever remaining space you have on your iPod.

children of the grave

...children of the world,

Listen to what I say
If you want a better place to live in
Spread the words today
Show the world that love is still alive
You must be brave
Or you children of today are
Children of the grave

-Ozzy Osbourne / Black Sabbath

"If I go crazy...

I have great memory of fall 2000 after I returned to ATL from a summer long road trip with no place to stay. I was still couch surfing when football season started and on opening day set my alarm for something like 7:00 so that I could get up and secure coffee, bagels, and donuts for my hosts before we headed to Famous for an all day celebration.

The alarm went off and I woke up with a serious hangover & splitting headache - a little sore from sleeping on my buddy's floor - and on the radio was Kryptonite, by 3 Doors Down. Now, the "...then will you still call me Superman" part of that song landed it on the top 40 radio, a factor that probably turned you off...well, either that or the incredible guitar-pop sound. At any rate, the lyrics are good and I enjoy the song. You can add it to the list of cheezy songs (previously mentioned here and here) that I am glad I like, and feel sorry for you if you can't enjoy it. One of these days, I will actually write about the song that gave me that thought...

on the iPod:
Son Volt; Trace
Soul Asylum; Grave Dancer's Union

"I reached in the Miller cooler...

- grabbed a cool Bud"

Just saw The Cooler last night. It got bad reviews, but I think it is good. Rarely is there a casino movie that gives you glimpses of father/son strain and friendship loyalty (or idiocy) and strings in a solid love story that is touching and inspiring, but doesn't get too girly. You should see it. It will bring you good luck.

On another note, you can tell good music by its durability - and great music is that which amazes you everytime you spin it again after a couple months. Just like what I was listening to today. And if you have any doubts about Neil Diamond, give a listen to that live rock & roll version of "Dry Your Eyes."

on the iPod:
The Band; The Last Waltz

Albums (2)

A while back I mentioned that "I assume that the artist/producer has put together the record with the included tracks and in the order that the stuff is in, for a reason."

The interest that underlies this approach of focusing on the context that different songs give to the adjacent songs also led me to really enjoy concerts of so-called "jam bands" that shift their set list on a nightly basis. You often hear people say that so and so band never plays the same song the same way. Well, that may be true - but seeing slightly different versions of the same song over and over also gets old. But, when you add the context that other songs in the set create, there is another dimension to explore. Is this dark song plunging into something, or is it a step on a journey.

Part of the change in my perspective that I mentioned in that earlier post is that I realized that soundtrack albums, which I previously shunned for the same reason I shunned greatest hits records, actually have some of the same characteriztics as a live show. The movie maker gets to select these songs and put them in context with each other. The soundtrack that kicked that off for me is Garden State. (a movie which I initially dismissed as likely overrated, but when I saw it was plesantly suprised)

Other notable soundtracks - The Big Chill, which was the first CD I ever bought; Dazed & Confused; Until the End of the World, which has substantial, if not entriely, original material. You can also throw in Born on the Fourth of July, which has a great cover of "Hard Rain's Gonna Fall" by Eddie Brickell, and a lot of solid score from the movie, and Judgment Night - which I have previously written about.

on the iPod:
Rosanne Cash, Black Caddilac
Cowboy Junkies, Live 6/10/2005

The smell of revolution failed...

...Is blowing through my window
When we're writing Constitutions
They're shooting up mosquitoes
Viva Sandanista now is Hola Americanos
And there isn't decent housing
We order in from Dominos

Have you ever wanted to quit your job, rent out your place, pack up all your shit and go to central america until the money runs out? My buddie did, and he did.

Dinner in San Juan del Sol
With Commandant de Zero
Some tell me he's a killer
Some tell me he's a hero
They go to make the movie
It'll star Bobby Deniro
I'm over that machismo shit
Yo soy grande maricon

On the iPod:
Son Volt, Trace
Tom Waits, Closing Time

Albums (1)

I have always been an adamant supporter / proponent of listening to the whole album. Good music comes in sets of 10 or 12 songs, and the whole album should be good. None of this top 40 bullshit that has one good song & a bunch of crap. And with that I assume that the artist/producer has put together the record with the included tracks and in the order that the stuff is in, for a reason.

Accordingly, I have always hated it when people skip around on a disc, or put in something for one or two songs and then switch. But the iPod is starting to change all that. I rarely listen to a whole record. I think part of the reason is that I am listening to a bunch of stuff that had been on the shelf collecting dust. Part of the reason is also that I am getting sucked into the A.D.D. modern era of technology. But I am willing to admit that part of the reason is that I was just overzealous in my adherence to the album doctrine.

Now there are still records that should only be enjoyed in their entirety (OK Computer, Till The medicine Takes, and obviously Darkside of the Moon all come to mind).

So that brings us to today's "On the iPod":
Selections from Neil Young's Live Rust, Broken arrow, Zuma, Everybody Knows this is Nowhere, and his renditions from the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Concert.

Flatt City

My friends in Chucktown recently got the webpage for their bluegrass band up & running. It is linked at right - be sure check out the free downloads.

"Flatt City is a five piece bluegrass band from Charleston, SC (James Island). We take pride in producing our own special blend of bluegrass with driving instrumentals and strong vocal harmonies. We've developed our sound from both traditional and modern sources and strive to continue the bluegrass tradition of "taking something old and making it new again."

http://www.flattcity.com/default.asp

breathe in, breathe out (Bad Music 2)

On the iPod:
Kevin Kinney; 6/28/05 Live at the Visulite Theater, Charlotte NC (available for free download at www.archive.org)
-------------------------------------------------

Make fun of me, I don't care. These are good lyrics...

Deaf dumb and thirty
Starting to deserve this
Leaning on my consious wall
Blood is like wine
Unconscious all the time
If I had it all again
I’d change it all

I'm not even feeling like that, but they are still grabbing me with the over-reverbed guitar licks and whatnot.

Like I have said before, I consider myself lucky to be able to enjoy otherwise bad music - I can see/hear through the bad. Just make it genuine.

All these cats with holey jeans...

...dirty hair and titty rings,
Say "what's your scene man, we got these questions."
"Is it true that you have sold your soul?"
I say hey man, I don't know
Lend me a quarter won't you, I'll call my accountant.

get off this
get on with it