Chris Brokaw

Thanks to Bradley's Almanac for reminding me that Chris Brokaw's new record Incredible Love is available tomorrow. Chris is probably most identifiable as Thalia Zedek's right hand man in Come, although he's recorded and toured with Steve Wynn, Evan Dando, Consonant and The New Year among others. Visit his MySpace page for some streaming songs and his website for some older MP3's. The new song Move has me salivating.

Hallowe'en 2005

Here are a couple of pictures of me and the brothers at a Halloween party Saturday. Left to right: Phil, Me (Matt), Adam. The only real requesite for attendance is that you either wear all black or dress up in costume. Thankfully, Phil left his kilt at home and opted for his new wizard outfit. I kept it simple with a black cape, pants and shirt with a blood red and black paisley tie. Adam opted for the dapper black and white pinstriped shirt. The pictures are dark because a)there was no backlighting outside and b) I was using a crappy digital camera. What you can't see in these is my kick ass black cape. If you look at the second picture, my right hand only shows 4 fingers. That's because I was holding up my cape with the 5th. I wish they'd have turned out better, but oh well. We had an excellent time anyway.

Metric

Today it's been all about Metric. I'll be honest, I don't know much about them and I haven't read any more about them than what is on their website. I've heard a couple of tracks on woxy.com and a few other people have talked about seeing them live, so I figured I'd give 'em a shot. I picked up Live It Out yesterday and cracked it open today. It hasn't left the player since. Check out a few songs/videos at their website.

A couple of Quickies

There's a new Out of 5 mix up, one voice, one (acoustic) guitar. This week there is a little more information on the contributors and links to their blogs.

There's a new blog called I See Sound that is featuring bands and events happening in and around the Cincinnati music scene. You'll find MP3's and links to local bands, interviews and reviews from local concerts by national touring acts as well as occaisional editorials.


In Guided by Voices news:
Suitcase II has arrived. Along with all the other music I've got in the last couple of weeks, it should keep me plenty busy.

Guided by Voices: A Brief History : Twenty-One Years of Hunting Accidents in the Forests of Rock and Roll is now available. It was written by former GbV member Jim Greer and features a foreward written by Steven Soderbergh.

Where does the time go?

Do you ever have those days where you go from Point A to Point B and you don't remember how long it took you to get there? Like when you you get up after a short night's sleep, drive to work the same route you've driven every day for 3 years and your autopilot kicks in to get you where you need to go. Before you know it, you're on your way home from work, driving the same route home, and thinking back on your day wondering where the time went. I've had several of those days lately and I think they're catching up to me. I've been so busy there hasn't been much time to sleep, let alone sit down and post anything here.

About the only time I have to listen to music anymore is in the car to and from work. I'll turn on the car, put some music on and hit the road. There's been a lot of new music come my way lately, so I've been able to catch up on recent stuff that I've not yet heard and listen to some newer stuff that's just come out. Maybe I've just been so entranced with listening to the new music that my autopilot kicks in and gets me where I need to go, allowing me to soak up the new tunage. Here's a rundown of what I've been listening to the last few weeks (and a couple I've yet to sit down and listen to start to finish).

Death From Above 1979 One of my favorites for the year. Two thumbs up.

Another brand new release that is already a favorite is the new record by Calla. Collisions follows in the same direction as their last album, Televise. Two thumbs up.

Bloc Party's The Silent Alarm - Remixed. I typically don't like remixes of songs, as they usually do nothing to enhance the original versions. However, the concept of having different artists remixing the entire album track by track piqued my interest. While there are some worthwhile versions of some of the songs, it probably won't make my top 10 for the year. One thumb up.

Neil Young - Prairie Wind. Another strong album from Neil, follows the path laid out by Harvest, Harvest Moon and Silver and Gold. Two thumbs up.

Supergrass - Road to Rouen. After not hearing the last two records, I figured I'd pay them another visit. One thumb up.

Depeche Mode - Playing the Angel. Not bad, but not their best by far. Classic DM fans will like the classic DM-sounding songs. Thumbs in the middle.

Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better. This will probably make the top 10 of many lists this year. I give it two thumbs up.

On deck:
Echo & the Bunnymen - Siberia
The Arcade Fire - Funeral
Johnny Hickman - Palmhenge
The Fall - Heads Roll


Some other music-related points of interest:

Out of 5 is a website that posts a weekly mixtape in both Flash and MP3 formats. I know little about the website or who is behind it, but they supposedly put up a new mix with a different theme each week with different contributors and corresponding cover art for the mix.

Pete Townshend has a blog. He's working on a novella called The Boy Who Heard Music and the first three chapters are posted there. I haven't read them yet, but I plan on doing so this weekend. Keep up to date with everything else Pete-related at his website, eelpie.

Alright. That should do for now. Until next time...

Shawen Acres

Shawen Acres is the new project from former Guided by Voices member Nate Farley. Details of the project have not been made public so far, but information has slowly trickled out within the GbV community. A new website has been created and three new songs have been posted. Short, sweet and catchy. I'll keep you updated as more information becomes available. (photo courtesy of TerriNelles)

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Proton Proton

I found Proton Proton via Moroccan Role. "They are able to conjure up quite an enjoyable racket as a trio and the rhythm section is surprisingly tight given [Aron] Sanchez is essentially on double-duty. Sanchez designed his ax by using a bass guitar strung with 2 bass strings and 3 guitar strings, with individual pickups for both the bass and guitar strings and separate outputs going to corresponding bass and guitar amps. He then tunes this beast to EeAac."

I'm always intrigued with odd instrumentation and the minimalist, less is more approach. A lot of bands try it, but only a few pull it off (read: Morphine). Proton Proton nail it. Sanchez holds down the guitar and bass ends which allows singer Pau Fuster to sing and "bang on things", like a toy piano. They've got a 6 song EP and some tracks from it available on their website.

Check out the song Chinese Dancer.

Zykos

Here's one of the bands I've been digging lately. They are called Zykos, are out of Texas and have ties to Spoon. Visit their website and listen to the tracks they have up from their 2004 album. Epitonic also has a few others to check out.

*edited to add that I found this band by way of You Ain't No Picasso.

I'm still here

I wasn't digging any of the Blogger default templates and told myself I wouldn't post until I found one I liked. I've been searching for a couple of weeks and I finally found one, courtesy of Blogger Templates. Tell me what you think about it.

I've been doing a lot of searching blogs and websites for some good new music and to try to get caught up on a lot of things that I've missed out on by not having a high-speed connection. So far, I've come across several blogs, a couple I've added over there on the right, in the music section. If you have any that you visit regularly, tell me about it. Turn me on. I do have one question, though. I've heard most all of his stuff, but what is so amazing about Sufjan Stevens?

Numb

After several days, countless hours spent reading news and articles on-line, having on-line discussions, watching reports on T.V. ... I still can't wrap my head around the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I feel like I need to be there to help, but I know I can't. I wish I could fly a helicopter, but I can't. I wish I had more mony to donate, but I can't. I will donate what I can and I hope you will too. I have so many thoughts and emotions. Some are of complete disbelief at how people are behaving there, while I am angered that more substantial relief has not yet been organized by the Federal Government and reached those in need. I can only imagine that as the days go on, my thoughts and feelings of disbelief and anger won't change much. I hope I'm wrong.

GbV NYE DVD

The much anticipated DVD of Guided by Voices' final show is in the can and set to be released on November 15th. The trailier was released today (you'll need Quicktime).

So long Dial-Up!

Finally! I now have high speed internet access and REAL cable. I'm so excited...

New Music

The last few months has been sort of dry for music, for me anyway. I had to get my fix this week, though.

The new Black Rebel Motorcycle Club album is in the headphones right now. It's quite a departure from the first two albums, but an excellent record on it's own.

The New Pornographers Twin Cinema has got about a half-spin, so I can't give a full opinion on it. But from what I've heard, I get the feeling it's going to either really grow on me or collect some dust. We'll see.

The Greenhornes are another band to keep your ears open for. They've been consistently getting better and better over the last several years. Their latest EP, East Grand Blues, is an excellent primer for their next full length and V2 debut. EGB is streaming at their website, give it a listen.

Some other recent bargain bin purchases:
Yatsura - Slain by Yatsura
The Lemonheads - Lovey
Noise Addict - Meet The Real You
Silkworm - Firewater

The fourth quarter is shaping up to be pretty decent, with these albums up early on:
Sigur Ros - Takk (September 13)
The American Analog Set - Set Free (September 20)
Calla - Collisions (September 27)
Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better (October 4)
Rogue Wave - Descended Like Vultures (October 25)
Fiery Furnaces - Rehearsing My Choir (October 25)

Good thing I get three paychecks in December.

Has it really been a week since the last post?

Wow. Let's see, what can I yap about...

I've either naturally passed or had forcibly removed no fewer than 8 kidney stones over the last 8 years. Somehow, my kidneys have managed to turn into stone quarries. Last Wednesday I was at work and felt a pain in the lower right side of my back. So I called the doctor to let them know. They always say to take pain killers if I have them and drink lots of water until they can get me in for an x-ray. I was at work, didn't have any meds and the earliest they could get me in was the following Monday. Yeah. So, I decided to sweat it out the rest of the day (only 3 hours or so) to see if the pain would progress or die down. Luckily it didn't get any worse. I got home, popped a pill and retreated to Vico-bliss on the couch for the rest of the night.

I had my x-ray Monday and haven't heard anything back yet. That experience in itself was excrutiating, not painful but torturous. See, I'm allergic to the IVP dye they put in your blood for the x-ray and I had to drink a half-gallon of apple-flavored barium that was the consistency of skim milk. It was afwul, one sip at a time. I finally got most of it down. So far though, no news is good news. I'll call tomorrow to follow up. I don't have any scans to post (yet), but I have this to share (KC!). Poor turtle! Ouchie!!

Enough about me. I want to talk about Shannon for a minute. All summer long she has been in an excellerated CDA class. She's had class once a week, but they have been cramming a 9-12 month course into less than 6. With 50+ hour work weeks, kids and our daily routines it's buisy enough. Throw the CDA class into the mix and we, especially her, don't have a lot of extra time in the day to do anything but work eat and sleep. She came home from her class this past Monday with her completion certificate/diploma in hand. She still has her final test to take to become officially certified, but now that she has her classwork out of the way, the majority of that stress is out of the way along with it. I could not be more proud of her.

I came across this t-shirt today. You can order it and other's from
Demockratees. I will be ordering one tomorrow.

A Kid's Eye View

Have I mentioned how creative Emma is? She's bossy when she plays with Aaron, but not in a mean way. It's more like she's giving instructions and directions on how to act, what to say, what facial expressions to make - all from a 4 year old mind. Of course, Aaron, being younger, goes right along with it and plays to her instructions. It's amazing to watch them interact. I keep saying that Emma's going to be a movie director one day.

Tonight, I stood outside their bedroom listening to them play. I heard them talking and acting like they were camping in the woods. Emma was telling Aaron to stay in his tent while she goes out to the lake to get some water. She told him that she's going to leave the room and come back acting like she saw a bear at the lake. Next thing I know, she comes around the corner and I was busted. I asked her where she was going and she said - "to the river to get some water". So, I said "go on, pretend I'm not here". She walked by me, went into the bathroom, then comes running out acting like she's seen a bear. Curious, I looked into the bathroom and this is what I see...



Emma says "It's a bear at the lake with a fish in his mouth"

A few new things to be excited about

The new Burn to Shine DVD should be available on August 23rd. Billboard has an article on it. This time around, it'll feature a house in Chicago with Wilco, Tortoise, Shellac and others turning in performances. The last one was pretty cool, with Bob Mould, The Evens and other D.C artists playing in the living room before the house was burned down.

The Lemonheads played a set at Benicassim. It's been almost 10 years since Car Button Cloth. evandando.com is under construction. Could the new Evan/Lemonheads record be on the horizon?

Looks like the Catherine Wheel won't be returning anytime soon. However, Rob Dickinson's first solo album comes out on on Sept 13th.

I don't care what anybody says, the girls in Heart (yes, Barracuda) still have it. Their more recent stuff has been rather bland, but Nancy Wilson can still rock out. I was watching them on PBS Soundstage the other night. I fell asleep on the couch right at the end, during one of the Led Zeppelin encores. I awoke a few hours later, right in the middle of a dream where Nancy Wilson, Neil Young, and John Paul Jones were playing a live show for an album they'd recorded. As usual, I didn't remember details of the dream and performance, but I do remember being excited about it.

Time for a change

I've got a lot of things I'm thinking about changing in my life. This is one of them. I was getting sick of looking at all of the black, green, blue and purple on the old format. I was looking at it today and it reminded me of a bruise. I messed around with some of the colors and stuff, but I realized it was the black background that needeed to be changed. It was just too dark. I tried the all white default background and it was too much in the other direction. This one looks like a happy medium. It may only be temporary, though, until I can find another one out in the ether that I like.

More fun in the sun planned for tomorrow.