Category — Music

I just finished listening to some great tracks from Joseph Arthur. I’ve heard his work before, and probably during my singer/songwriter kick (pick one) he got lost in the shuffle. However, the sonic interest he creates in Honey and the Moon from an older album, Redemption’s Son made me stop and take another listen. I remember Nuclear Daydream underwhelming me ( I had to actually go back and look up the album by it’s cover to remember.) It was…ok, at best. But whatever influence was consuming him at the time of 2000’s Come to Where I’m From and 2002’s Redemption’s Son are well worth the revisit.

Maybe I’ll just take time to catch up to where he is now musically, or maybe his older stuff seems more inspired. Either way, dig into the archives or hit iTunes for Joseph Arthur and listen.

Well, that does it. It’s official. The Band of the week - The Format - may have already lost their street cred. My curiosity got the better of me and I did a wiki search on The Format. This revealed that their songs have been featured on the worst bastards of modern culture, the scourge of the Earth and proof positive that MTV has ZERO self respect - Laguna Beach and My Super Sweet 16. I won’t turn this into a full rant about these television shows ( if you can call them that ) or how I am sure with enough research we will be able to one day link this movement in television to the downfall of modern western society. For now, I will just say that while The OC for the first couple seasons was every music fan’s guilty pleasure, the shows feel like musical herpes - you know at some point it will infect someone you know and love, you just hope it isn’t x-insert favorite band here-x. Pray with me that no one at MTV gets wind of TV on the Radio or a part of me will die.

I’m on a music kick this week - I’ll post more designs this week. I’m working on a couple t-shirts to post on the site. For now, you will be told the future. You will all be listening to a band called The Format very soon. There two albums you need to hear, and I’m sure I’ll change my mind from day to day on which is the best one. Dog Problems, and Interventions + Lullibies. I + L is their first studio album, released in 2003 and is great. The opening 3 songs of the album are one of my all time favorite opening 3 songs. Dog Problems, also brilliant is one of those complete albums where to listen to songs out of context does them an injustice - although they are perfectly fine standing on their own.

I am an album purist, so it’s tough for me to recommend a single download. I would say, spend the 3 bucks on iTunes and download the first three songs from either album and make your choice. I doubt you’ll be sorry. My only hope is that they don’t lose their street cred. They are totally pop, so it’s possible. Even still, check them out. I guarantee you’ll be listening soon.

The Hold Steady and Jack’s Mannequin are hogging my iPod lately. Jack’s Mannequin is better than average indie-rock, pop-punk fare. Dark Blue is a great song. Most of the songs will round out a playlist nicely without being that one crappy song that stands out. However, I catch myself singing Into the Airwaves long after I stop listening.

The Hold Steady, (Boys and Girls in America) is just freaking great. It’s a total sleeper too, because on my first listen I was willing to pass it over as odd and a little too Bruce Springsteen influenced. It’s defintely deeper than that. For those of us who grew up at the tail end of the 80’s and were more heavily influenced by the rock of the 90’s, The Hold Steady feels like the band we should have been listening too in High School/College. The songs tell stories, but still come across as party anthems. Occasionally melancholy, the mood quickly changes when The Hold Steady decides to rock our faces off. Listen to the whole album at least twice before you make a judgement. Party Pit is great. For guys in their thirties, it’s what we thought our late teens early twenties should have sounded like.

If you haven’t already checked this out, you have to. Last.fm is what radio should be - intelligent, diverse, and based on the users tastes - not the RIAA. Check it out: http://www.last.fm/user/originalanalog/