Sunday, September 25, 2011

Drive, Baby, Drive

I feel that I can unequivocally make an early choice for my year end list.

Best soundtrack of the year: DRIVE

not only is the movie killer (thanks for the recommendation) but the soundtrack is some kind of brilliant. cool, moody, pulsing 80's synths that are somewhere between blade runner and missing persons that perfectly embody the kid. of course, it doesn't appear to come out until this tuesday. ARGGGHHHHHHHH. i need it NOW.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

one more

yellow ostrich-the mistress. i'd like it a little more if i hadn't already listened to tuneyards too much (and with not enough return). i bet the kids dig it.

Lucky Thirteen (and then some)

is it the end of the drought, or is it just a temporary oasis? dunno, but next week is a big one.

Kooks
Girls
Ladytron
Nick Lowe
Laura Marling
Neon Indian
St. Vincent
Drums
Mates of State
Superchunk
Blitzen Trapper

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

PB&J Take Two

set list from Madison. pretty similar i think.

Tomorrow Has to Wait
It Don't Move Me
Eyes
Let's Call It Off
(I Just Wanna) See Through
Dig a Little Deeper
Breaker Breaker
Objects of My Affection
I Know You Don't Love Me
Young Folks
Second Chance
Down Like Me

Encore:
Nothing to Worry About
It Beats Me Every Time
Lies
Lay it Down

Sunday, September 4, 2011

CD Walkabout

picked up some interesting music during my rambles last week (ppl was $10, everything else was $8 or under):

squeeze-uk squeeze (remastered with 2 bonus disc...so nice to find this a couple weeks after i found the regular edition...sigh)
joan armatrading-to the limit (be interesting to see if this flips)
al stewart-beach full of shells
queen-first album (2 cd remaster)
have a nice day volume 23 (picked it up for $5, already sold it for $45)
paul mccartney-give my regards to broad street
andy gibb-greatest
icehouse-man of colors (shockingly this hasn't sold yet)
orleans-still the one (kind of a dud pick up, but meh)
kinks-think visual (i should have gotten the arthur remaster and the japan phobia discs as well)
rainmakers-s/t
pure prairie league-two lane highway
nick lowe-nick the knife (this was 2.95!!!)
tycoon-st
tycoon-opportunity knocks
village people-cruisin'
village people-in the street

Objects of My Affection

Peter Bjorn and John
First Avenue
August 25, 2011

ooh, this is almost rarefied air these days; this being my third PB&G show in as many albums. i must like them or something. course, what isn't to like. they write brilliant pop songs (especially when they keep the beat up and the running time to under three minutes), are very engaging performers (if not a little on the ironic rock star poses...although i think they might be a little more sincere these days), John is a dream boat (and a killer drummer) they are touring behind what i think is their best album and those swedish accents.....i'd swoon if i was able.

the one two punch of young folks and second chance was the highlight of the show for me (those drum snaps from YF into Second Chance....wowsa). but pretty much any Gimme Some song was great (and they played almost all of that) Dig a Little Deeper and Breaker, Breaker were crowd pleasers of course, and although i like their peppy songs more, May Seems Macabre and show opener Tomorrow Has to Wait were pretty awesome too. Living Thing got pretty much ignored, and even Writer's Block got short shrift this time out, but that's ok. I'd seen those tours already and it was nice to hear a few tracks off the first couple of albums. i could quibble with the pacing a bit (the solos still go on a bit too much) and the encore was a bit of a let down (although i'm all for playing the best songs first, but Bjorn's crowd wanders and the energy and enthusiasm the band displayed throughout the show sure made it a fun one.

i'll see you at show four.

1000 Miles

and then some. not that i really went anywhere (come a long way, come a long way). madison (i do wonder what it would have been like if i'd have gone to college there instead of U of M), la crosse (god's country for sure, i really love those rolling hills), sandstone (it will break your heart to see pictures of the old railroad trestle) and then the minong, trego, haugen, sarona, spooner, rice lake, cumberland trail (and yes there is pie, but almost gone) but the miles brought smiles and i listened to a lot of music in no particular order:

tubeway army-replicas (damn he was good and only 20? yikes)
foster the people-torches (i could listen to pumped up kicks a few more times)
bon iver-bon iver (i'm still not loving it)
peter, bjorn and john-gimme some (first two thirds are top five album of year)
strokes-angles (the farther away from it i get, the more i like it)
radiohead-rsd single (all they really needed to do was release these two songs, there was no need for the king of limbs)
war on drugs-slave ambient (ok, i might be coming around, and to think that they are BETTER without kurt vile?)
washed out-within and without (a memorable melody or two would be nice, but this sure goes down easy)
dale earnhart jr jr-it's a corporate world (GET OFF MY LAWN!!! damn kids)
mates of state-mountaintops (i think this is the point where cute exceeds songs)
tori y mori-causers of this (see washed out)
wye oak-civilians (if i'm not careful, this will end up in my top ten)
tame impala-innerspeaker (i'm more and more convinced that this is an all time classic album)
peter wolf crier-garden of arms (not sure if it's the vocals or what, but i just can't get my arms around these guys)
yeasayer-end blood (just two songs, and they are leftovers, but man, i want another album already)
blitzen trapper-american goldwing (pretty much a miss for me...i'd say it's too country, but that isn't really the problem. they didn't write any interesting songs this time out)
jayhawks-mockingbird time (no one song jumps out at me, but it sure is nice to have old friends move back...who says you can't go home?)
mystery disc-ok...so maybe i should get tickets already.

This Is Me

This is my future. House turned over to music.
I guess it's called the sugar shack.
Make sure you get your shots before you go in.

8 track tapes in the kitchen sink and stacked up in a mini pile wherever there are more than 5 inches of free space. (but no john lennon, cos i looked)
i didn't check the medicine cabinet, but there were cassette tapes everywhere (oh the humanity!)
Dining room is full of boxes of cds. on tables, in shelves, hanging from the ceiling (still a little light here, this is not Iowa after all, so some treats were to be found)
Living room is wall to wall vinyl. (literally and figuratively, although i didn't have the patience to look through the boxes, and my 'married to the mob' vinyl never did sell....how does he do that?)
Some old rolling stones and cream magazines plaster the walls throughout.
There were posters (will there be posters?) and videos (vhs, dvd, and dare i say it, betamax)
off to one side of the living room is a counter/desk/table with a cash register hidden amongst piles of random music artifacts (and probably dinosaur bones too for all i could see.
one the wall/shelves behind the counter/desk/table were the real goodies. the vinyl melloy would love, boxed sets i don't need (but wouldn't mind fondling), stuff i don't know that just smirks rarity.

Maybe more than a hint of mustiness pervades the space. (the windows have long since been painted shut...with what could only be lead paint) but another scent permeates as well. fulfillment? contentment? dunno. something satisfied. damn place is a dump (did i mention the soiled Hanes between the sidewalk and the house on my way in?) but the owner is living the life.