tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50815169613412732682024-02-07T02:45:13.661-08:00Jaded, MaybeOld? Yeah. Jaded? Maybe. Bitter by choice.robbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081516961341273268.post-51178085888667904322015-07-26T11:18:00.001-07:002015-07-26T15:58:58.110-07:00What I'm Listening To [Summer 2015]It's been a while, so I thought I'd make a post with a sampling of some tunes I've been jamming to lately.<br />
<br />
First some housekeeping though, I went through all the old posts and replaced playlists that I could remember from different services with Spotify playlists. I figured this probably is better since most people are using Spotify nowadays, and listens actually support the artists, even if it is a minuscule amount.<br />
<br />
Anyways here's the playlist and a little blurb about each artist/track:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify%3Auser%3A124790426%3Aplaylist%3A7nOO9ryboMyEZToJ6i4pN1" width="300"></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>Jen Wood - Fell In Love</b><br />
Found this singer/songwriter on Bandcamp sort of randomly. I liked it, so I bought it. Just some nice simple piano based pop with some electronic backing. She kind of reminds me of Vanessa Carlton little bit. Plus some of the electronic bits on her album are played by using Game Boy Chiptunes!<br />
<br />
<b>Modern Baseball - Your Graduation</b><br />
Discovered this band through some other artists I like. Very different sound, but still kind of pop-punk-ish. It's a little strange at first, but the chorus is so catchy it gets a lot better with every listen. Modern Baseball actually split vocal duties between their guitar players, but this song features their drummer in the second verse. These guys are part of the resurgent DIY scene and really starting to gain some traction.<br />
<br />
<b>Carly Rae Jepsen - Run Away With Me</b><br />
I've been known to like a pop song or two, my wife shared this song with me and I instantly fell in love love it. I actually like all of the new Carly Rae Jepsen out. Much like this song, it's very 80's inspired with the electronic bits. Oh yeah, and it's catchy. I'm interested to hear the whole album because the four tracks release so far have been awesome.<br />
<br />
<b>The Wonder Years - Cardinals</b><br />
I've probably got three or four posts in mind for this this band alone since I really dug into them earlier this year. The Wonder Years wrote some really emotionally charge pop-punk, often with very personal and sometimes brutally honest lyrics. This song is no-exception with the chorus "<i>So if you call me back or let me in, I swear I'll never let you down again</i>". It's kind of heavy in that regard. Gives me all the feels. This is from their upcoming album <i>No Closer To Heaven</i> coming out in September.<br />
<br />
<b>Queen - Scandal</b><br />
I've been reading the "Queen Chronology" which is sort of a year by year look at Queen was doing as a band. Since I just finished the 80's I went back and listened to 1989's <i>The Miracle </i>given that Queen recorded a lot of material for this album in 1987 and 1988. I think Scandal is one of the more overlooked tracks on the album and definitely a great deep cut. It's pretty representative of what was going on in the band at the time. What with the rumors about Freddie's illness and Brain and Roger's marital problems, I think this is one of the more personal songs for the entire band as a whole that they've ever written.<br />
<br />
<b>Allison Weiss - Nothing Left</b><br />
One of my new favorite artists,Allison Weiss, is coming to town in few weeks, so I went back through her discography to get myself psyched. This is one of my favorite tracks of hers. It's so catchy and it kind of gets you by surprise. By the time I get to "<i>stand closer, get nervous</i>" I'm hooked. The outro is so great too, just building and build and riding out the tune to it's full effect. great stuff.robbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081516961341273268.post-14025420495929544502015-01-02T12:11:00.002-08:002015-01-02T12:11:53.651-08:00Queen...Forever?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
In November Queen released a new
compilation <i>Forever</i> which included
three “new” songs (more on why I used quotations later). This marked the first
time since 1995’s <i>Made in Heaven</i> that Queen had released new material containing original vocals from Freddie
Mercury. It also marked the release of one the legendary tracks featuring
Michael Jackson. I will dissect the compilation in a later post, but I first
would like to express some thoughts on the three new tracks on <i>Forever</i>. You can listen to any of these tracks with the Spotify link at the bottom of this post.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<b>Let Me In Your Heart Again</b><br />
This song, featuring all
four original members (including John Deacon who no longer tours or records
with the band) apparently already existed in the archives in the form we hear
it in here. Brian calls it “a real moment between the four of us in the
studio” which makes me think it might have been a later live take. The song
definitely has a bit of a jam vibe, it’s a little less polished and the backing
track, although not sloppy by any means, sounds a lot looser overall. Freddie’s
vocal performance is pretty stellar and loose, which is what I think really makes
this the treat that it is. This song would've definitely fit on 1984’s <i>The Works</i>, for which it was originally
recorded, I’m guessing that <i>It’s A Hard
Life</i> made the cut instead.<br />
Brian
May did re-record this track with his wife Anita Dobson on vocals, which led
people to complain that this wasn't really “new” song. Personally I have not heard
that version and I do not care to. This was brand new to my ears, and I think
that it’s the strongest of the three new tracks on the <i>Forever </i>compilation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<b>Love Kills (The Ballad)<br />
</b>Here’s where the term “new”
becomes subjective for me. <i>Love Kills </i>was
originally released as a Freddie Mercury solo track for <span style="background: rgb(249, 249, 249);">Giorgio Moroder</span>’s 1984 <i>Metropolis</i> soundtrack in which Moroder
used contemporary music to score the classic silent film. Now to be fair, this
did begin life as a Queen track, once again the sessions for 1984's <i>The Works</i>. It’s pretty much understood
that this being Freddie’s first solo effort, he actually had the band help record the backing track as he fleshed out the song, even though none of their
work made it through to the final produced version. <br />
From
what I could gather from the liner notes and a few other sources, this is
essentially Freddie’s vocal, with a brand new re-worked backing track, that <i>also</i> includes “Additional Electric
Guitar” by John Deacon, presumably from the original backing track used when
Mercury was fleshing out the song with the band. Get all that? As confusing as
it sounds, I do appreciate that John Deacon is still present on this song,
therefore retaining its authenticity as an original Queen track. <br />
Anyway<b>, </b><span style="background: rgb(249, 249, 249);">this song has been remixed and reworked
several times over from its original disco/dance sound. This version does
retain some of those elements in the breakdown, but it’s mostly an acoustic re-working.
That being said, it takes a few listens to get used to, and to vocal performance
isn't really suited to the ballad arrangement. I still prefer the original, but it
does make an enjoyable listen, and the song and vocal performance itself is
strong enough that the backing track doesn't detract from the original spirit of the
song. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<b>There Must Be More to Life than This (featuring Michael Jackson)
(William Orbit Mix)<br />
</b> Here we have another track that was
eventually released as a Freddie Mercury solo track on his 1985 <i>Mr. Bad Guy</i> solo album. Once again this
started life as a Queen track during the sessions for 1982’s <i>Hot Space</i> and was later revisited during
the sessions’ for <i>The Works</i>, when,
who else, but Michael Jackson dropped by the studio. There are three or four tracks that he lent
some vocals to; a quick Google can yield bootlegs recording of the others. Keeping with the theme, this track again features all four original members providing backing track.<br />
I know Brian said that he
was impressed with how modern software like ProTools was able to take bits and pieces
of the limited vocals they had from Michael Jackson and Freddie to construct a
full song over the backing track. I don’t know if I completely agree. I’m not
so disappointed that they released another version of a song I've already heard, I think I’m more
disappointed that it sounds exactly like what it is: pieced together. Freddie’s
vocal performance is much better on his solo version and Michael Jackson’s
vocals don’t sound “complete”. It’s also very, very over-produced, so much so that
it’s distracting. I feel like this might have been an intentional misdirect to
account for the lack of source material. Don’t get me wrong it’s an interesting
listen, but I think a “demo” version would've made a much more proper and
satisfying release, rather than trying to polish up a bits and pieces. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Overall I feel the release of these
three songs was a little anti-climactic. According to Brian, these were the
only tracks within the archives that were far enough along to warrant proper release.
<i>Let Me in Your Heart Again</i> was
amazing, but given what the end product was on <i>There Must Be More to Life than This</i>, that news is rather
disheartening. I’m not sure I’d like future generations to see Queen, a band
that strived for perfection so much that it’s amazing they finished anything,
like that. I’m still glad these songs saw release, unlike most people I don’t
think they were necessarily “following the money” (they have plenty of that), I
think they just wanted a vehicle to showcase something that fans could call new and keep the Queen name alive.
Maybe it’s better we just remain happy with what we do have rather than
yearning for what we can’t.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<iframe src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:user:124790426:playlist:6L7edWDEDLTBlItz2KTfRL" width="300" height="380" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true"></iframe>robbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081516961341273268.post-50878865982144227902014-10-20T22:59:00.000-07:002014-10-20T23:00:08.898-07:00Artist Snapshot: Allison Weiss<span style="font-family: inherit;">Over the summer I had the pleasure of acquainting myself with the music of Allison Weiss, thanks again to another <a href="http://www.soundsupp.ly/" target="_blank">Sound Supply</a> Drop.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was blown away. Weiss is an artist who could write hook-laden courses, catchy melodies and memorable lyrics and while pouring her emotions out through song. As I listened, I was frequently reminded of Saves The Day, The Starting Line, and The New </span>Amsterdams. Just some s<span style="font-family: inherit;">erious hooks and excellent songwriting ability.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Her music </span>and<span style="font-family: inherit;"> lyrics have infected my brain. She's about to crack my </span><a href="http://www.last.fm/user/VGB/charts?rangetype=overall&subtype=artists" style="font-family: inherit;">top 20 on Last.fm</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, to take her place among artists I've been listening to for years. I'd only heard of Weiss before, and I am so glad I finally actually listened to her music. My life is better for it, and her discography became my official soundtrack of the summer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I could go on and on about what I love about her music,</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> but I think her</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> music speaks for itself. I put together a little playlist of some of my current </span>favorites.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> These picks lean on the side of more instrumentation, but her stripped down acoustic tunes are pretty excellent as well. If you like what you hear, buy her music at<a href="https://allisonweiss.bandcamp.com/"> her Bandcamp</a></span><a href="https://allisonweiss.bandcamp.com/"> page</a> or at<a href="http://allisonw.com/"> her Official Site</a>. Now <b>LISTEN!</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playlists/49366972&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe>robbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081516961341273268.post-45658269786222011402014-09-17T22:30:00.001-07:002015-07-26T10:10:21.357-07:00Queen - Live At the Rainbow '74 [Blu-ray]<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2jOuPC2D8MLrgYEJSVYhkgouPJS10g6z1ZiOFkGMpwxWg_8D7HI2Hy8BaJnd19zDsSPaVo3Ez32DpyfeXnY88gJs-wVqV7mJ2XDGZGs4USoyH5_yqZbuwQ3CVPKhGJfN4IjyfW3pjC6hB/s1600/rainbow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2jOuPC2D8MLrgYEJSVYhkgouPJS10g6z1ZiOFkGMpwxWg_8D7HI2Hy8BaJnd19zDsSPaVo3Ez32DpyfeXnY88gJs-wVqV7mJ2XDGZGs4USoyH5_yqZbuwQ3CVPKhGJfN4IjyfW3pjC6hB/s1600/rainbow.jpg" width="250" /></a>Last Tuesday the prayers of many long-time
Queen fans were answered. Queen’s show from the Rainbow in November 1974 was
finally released on video in its entirety in high definition. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
So what’s the Big Fucking Deal? Well
until now, the earliest officially released Queen concert was from The Game
tour in 1981 – “Queen Rock Montreal.” The 1974 Rainbow show is one of the first
times Queen was filmed, and still playing deep cuts from Queen I and Queen II. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
This was one of those legendary shows
known to live in the official Archives.
Hardcore fans were convinced that it was being held from them for no
reason other than to spite them. Before I get too off track though, the Queen
Archives are a real thing. There’s actually a guy who’s full time job it is to obtain,
catalog, and safeguard every single piece of audio and video the band has ever
produced.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
So does it live up to the hype?
Well I think so, but it’s complicated. Rainbow ’74 was the final show on the
1974 Sheer Heart Attack Tour. The set list is unique in that it bridges the material
Queen was playing in 1973 and early 1974 which consisted of material from the
first two albums, with newer songs from Sheer Heart Attack which would become
staples of their live show the remainder of the decade. I think things were
moving fast for the band when this show was captured. Killer Queen had just become
a hit in the UK, and what we see is a band still doing a few familiar things
while experimenting with what they could do with this huge captive audience they
had gained. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The band takes a couple songs to
get in their groove going. The first two songs, “Now I’m Here” and “Ogre Battle,”
while certainly not bad renditions, kind of fell flat for me. However, by the
third song, things really get going with a fantastic and energetic rendition of
“Father to Son” followed by another great performance of “White Queen. “ “Flick
of The Wrist” follows, introduced by Brian as “…the side you haven’t been
hearing on the Radio,” as it was actually released as a double-A side with Killer
Queen.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Here’s where I have an issue with the
track listing, Although they are listed
as separate tracks, what comes next is a medley of “In The Lap Of The Gods,” “Killer Queen,” “The March Of The Black Queen,”
and “Bring Back That Leroy Brown”. It’s
a true medley with only small bits of each song played. Although it’s not surprising
in the least, Queen did these medleys often, I wish the release would've actually
been listed on the track listing as a Medley and not each individual song. What
strikes me as ballsy about this medley is that the band played a shortened version
of Killer Queen, their hit single that was getting so much radio play. This I
think is even more of an indication that the band saw they had a larger audience and wanted
to experiment and showcase more material.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The next section of the set
contains a solid performance of “Son and Daughter” which includes the familiar “Brighton
Rock “Guitar Solo. This choice was rather
surprising to me, as Son and Daughter would soon just be replaced in later set lists
with Brighton Rock. Here the band is
still sticking to what they were familiar with. “Keep Yourself Alive” comes
next and includes a Drum Solo. The Drum Solo was more of an interlude than a
solo. The drum solo clocks in at under a minute, <span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">so I was kind of surprised
it was listed as such.</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
For the next batch of songs, the
band then goes all out playing highly energetic versions of “Seven Seas of Rhye,”
”Stone Cold Crazy”, and “Liar”. “Liar” in particular is very well executed
here. I always thought the song sounded better live. It has some natural jam-like
sections that lend themselves more to the energy of a live show that I feel couldn't
really be captured adequately on the recording itself. This was probably my
favorite track of the show. “In Lap of the Gods (Revisited…)” closes out the main set quite brilliantly</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The Encore kicks off with a cover
of “Big Spender,” a staple of the early Queen live shows, and then right into
the blistering loud and fast “Modern Times Rock and Roll” which was always one
of my favorites, and here it shines, even louder and faster than the album version.
The final song is a cover of “Jailhouse Rock,” and it really showcases what the
band was trying to do and would eventually accomplish with audience
participation at the climax of the show.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I do have a few complaints about
the editing and direction. The cuts are initially awkward and not timed very
well. There are also a lot of fades and that last way too long. Fades must have
been a big deal at the time because they are used liberally to the point of
distraction. For example, at one point we see Freddie playing at the Piano, with
the entire shot overlaid with a close up shot of Brian’s Red Special.
This lasts so long your brain can’t really decide which one to focus on. Also the
first half of the show the cameras are mainly centered on Brian and Freddie.
This does get better, but it’s very noticeable that John is not really present and
Roger rarely featured for the first half of the show.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Overall, I think it’s awesome that
this show saw the light of day and got an official release. The video and audio
quality is probably the best you can get out of sources that are 40 years old, and
originally only meant for TV broadcast at that.
We get to see the band really just starting to come into their own, playing
with a large captive audience for a full headlining set. Although the transitional
nature of the set itself seemed odd and a little bit awkward, it’s a real treat
to see Queen start to evolve into the live powerhouse they eventually would
become.</div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Artist: Queen</b><br />
<b>Album: Live At The Rainbow '74 (Blu-ray) [Video]</b><br />
<b>Year Released: 2014</b><br />
<b>Label: Hollywood Records</b><br />
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</iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>[Audio Counterpart - Includes March & November show]</b><br />
<b>Artist: Queen</b><br />
<b>Album: Live At The Rainbow '74</b><br />
<b>Year Released: 2014</b><br />
<b>Label: Hollywood Records</b><br />
<iframe src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:album:5wTdQlDnvBtUO3ptbwqeyz" width="300" height="380" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true"></iframe><br />robbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081516961341273268.post-31411790607336283082014-06-28T23:50:00.001-07:002015-07-26T10:04:23.541-07:00Rainer Maria - Long Knives Drawn<div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/MusicAlbum">
Some of the greatest albums in my opinion are the ones that tell a story<i>.</i> I'm not talking about concept albums, but rather albums that seem to have a start and and end emotionally and take you on a journey. It sets a tone that traces through each track. It makes the individual songs enhance the others by putting their content into context. Rainer Maria's <i itemprop="name">Long Knives Drawn</i> is, to me, an album that does this perfectly.<br /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNs2z80KXeoBs6Z_3bAyt9v3reJy8S5la0lAVS7oMB6nQ-56F5JaLY6VtkaHFNcAk8bTZctCm73f8kuIlJAnMT7268VsylMsUt-rUN4U28BEsOAC1zd8L1-zNBfF03xc_WrJBzYYoC-Wk/s1600/longknivesdrawn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNs2z80KXeoBs6Z_3bAyt9v3reJy8S5la0lAVS7oMB6nQ-56F5JaLY6VtkaHFNcAk8bTZctCm73f8kuIlJAnMT7268VsylMsUt-rUN4U28BEsOAC1zd8L1-zNBfF03xc_WrJBzYYoC-Wk/s1600/longknivesdrawn.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a> <br />
<span itemprop="byArtist" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/MusicGroup"><span itemprop="name">Rainer Maria</span></span>
were a trio who began playing music together in Wisconsin in 1995. Main vocal duties were split between Bassist Caithlin De Marrais and Guitarist Kyle Fischer, with William Kuehn playing drums. In 1999 the band moved to Brooklyn, New York, which marked a turning point for their sound and perspective. That's where we find Rainer Maria on 2003's <i>Long Knives Drawn</i>, a band and people who've matured and become much more complex.<br />
<br />
De Marrais is the primary vocalist on this album. She belts out the lyrics almost in defiance of their originating emotions, but still manages to wrangle in her voice in enough to still sound vulnerable when she needs to. The vulnerability and honesty end up being the focal point of this album. De Marrais makes powerful declarations of "this is who I am" and "we're not in love anymore" while at the same time contradicting herself with admissions of "I don't know who I am," and " I miss the love we used to have." This dichotomy of emotions is a concept explored almost every single track. On the opening track De Marrias even sings "<i>Because Mystery and Misery can sometimes be a call to action, it can be source of passion.</i>"<br />
<br />
The songs are set against a romantic New York back drop, making references to the traffic on Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in summer, to waking up with a new fling on the Lower East Side. This only enhances the album's theme of personal struggle to find a definition of self and meaningful relationships in <i>the </i>big city. Each song tells a small part of something larger which whether intentionally or not, ends up adding up to a disheartening drama encapsulated in nine short songs.<br />
<br />
From the first track "<span itemprop="track" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/MusicRecording"><span itemprop="name">Mystery and Misery</span></span>", which is all about about new attraction, to the second to last track "<span itemprop="track" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/MusicRecording"><span itemprop="name">CT Catholic</span></span>", a song full of hope for someone who's found who they want to be with. You are taken through the awkward sometimes brutally honest journey of finding new love in the wake of having loved and lost. Just when you feel like things have turned around though the album ends with the bittersweet "<span itemprop="track" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/MusicRecording"><span itemprop="name">Situation: Relation</span></span>" and the line "<i>And if indeed this was like a first marriage, then you and I together can be like divorcees</i>."<br />
<br />
The end of the album is beautiful but somber, the roller coaster of emotions ends abruptly, almost unexpectedly. But, the last track, the denouement, sums it up perfectly, that moments in life are often more about the journey, not the destination.
</div>
<br/>
<b>Artist: Rainer Maria<br/>
Album: Long Knives Drawn<br/>
Year Released: 2003<br/>
Label: Polyvinyl<br/></b>
<iframe src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:album:5cUwePt4c8jvfn5JDJT75J" width="300" height="380" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true"></iframe>robbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081516961341273268.post-79020385248981506072014-01-17T17:27:00.002-08:002015-07-26T10:05:09.771-07:00Moonlit Sailor - Colors In StereoAmong of all of the holiday craziness and the busiest shopping weekend of the year, I happened upon the lovely and inspiring album by Moonlit Sailor, 2011's <i>Colors In Stereo. </i><br />
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Thanksgiving weekend I found an email from Deep Elm Records about their own "drop" on <a href="http://www.soundsupp.ly/" target="_blank">Sound Supply</a>, a site where every week they offer 15 digital albums, in high-quality FLAC or MP3 for $10. Really cool concept. Deep Elm has a good track record, and I've picked up some good stuff from them in the past, so I took a listen to clips from the 15 albums being offered on the drop to see if it was worth picking up.<br />
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There were a lot of cool artists, it was a great mix of different sounds, Deep Elm has an excellent and diverse catalog, so I was feeling pretty convinced. But there was one track that stood out to me, the one from<i> Colors In Stereo. </i> I bought the drop, and couldn't wait for it to finish downloading so I could listen to this<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBt4ajXvL7x9f2T6IBE8PPUkABAP9KOCSY6dygF4gQz5spKRKg0hg2zTt3Kbtp03yB-EO1YZm_NvOlUWQv3JkCD3KJ54-CcpfrJzL1xo6DgWzIvLlHpoVTmfTAV4TXg4nQR1q8w1XHdqEk/s1600/moonlit-sailor-colors-in-stereo-2011-post-rock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBt4ajXvL7x9f2T6IBE8PPUkABAP9KOCSY6dygF4gQz5spKRKg0hg2zTt3Kbtp03yB-EO1YZm_NvOlUWQv3JkCD3KJ54-CcpfrJzL1xo6DgWzIvLlHpoVTmfTAV4TXg4nQR1q8w1XHdqEk/s1600/moonlit-sailor-colors-in-stereo-2011-post-rock.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
record.</div>
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Moonlit Sailor play instrumental rock, but that label alone doesn't seem to do them justice. If I were to compare them to one of the more popular acts in this genre, Explosions In The Sky, which are great in their own right, I'd say the songs on Colors In Stereo sound more urgent, moving, and instrumentally more narrative, as if they traversing several emotions in one song. There's a lot of comparisons I could make, but I the closest I can describe using other bands, would probably be Explosions In The Sky meets Mineral meets The Gaslight Anthem.<br />
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A lot of instrumental rock is more "instrumental" than "rock," a lot of swoony twinkling guitars and swirling of sounds building to a crescendo and then falling back down. This is not a bad thing, but sometimes you just wanna roll the windows down and tap your foot to a good beat. Moonlit Sailor delivers on this front. The songs sound like they just want to burst out of your headphones, yes the twinkly guitars are there, but they are accompanied by a powerful in your face and driving rhythm section that fuels the engine of their music.The songs feature beautiful breakdowns, build ups and change-ups that make you pay attention to them rather than letting them fade into the background.<br />
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More than once I found myself getting choked up and on the verge of tears when listening to these songs, for no particular reason other than that they spurred that involuntarily reaction in me. Now that may sound cheesy, and don't get me wrong, I do LOVE music, like a lot, but that doesn't happen that often, let alone with instrumental music, let alone on more than one occasion with the same song. This album soars and explodes, but calms and soothes when it needs to, it hits all the right notes at the right times and builds to uplifting and spectacular vistas of the human soul, taking you along for the ride. This is the album you have that nice pair of headphones or the nice sound system in your car for, it's meant to be played loud, and <i>experienced. </i>It's the type of album that reminds us why we fell in love with music in the first place.<br />
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<div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/MusicAlbum">
<div itemprop="byArtist" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/MusicGroup">
<b>Artist: <span itemprop="name">Moonlit Sailor</span></b></div>
<b>Album: <span itemprop="name">Colors In Stereo</span></b><br />
<b>Year Released: 2011</b><br />
<b>Label: Deep Elm</b></div>
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<u>More Links:</u></div>
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<a href="http://www.moonlitsailor.com/" target="_blank">Moonlit Sailor - Official Site </a></div>
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<a href="http://www.deepelm.com/" target="_blank">Deep Elm Records</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.soundsupp.ly/" target="_blank">Sound Supply</a></div>robbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081516961341273268.post-5997873241555233592013-03-09T12:40:00.000-08:002013-11-26T20:33:13.649-08:00Book Review: Rat-a-Tat-Tat Birds: Photographs by Jeff Winterberg, 1991-2003<div itemtype="http://schema.org/Book">
<img alt="image" src="http://media.tumblr.com/2b0997487f31a148909f14c0b3034d0f/tumblr_inline_mjdtxbdqWa1qz4rgp.jpg" itemprop="image" /><br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/660134.Rat_a_Tat_Tat_Birds" itemprop="name">Rat-a-Tat-Tat Birds: Photographs by Jeff Winterberg, 1991-2003</a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/660134.Rat_a_Tat_Tat_Birds"> by </a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/354617.Jeff_Winterberg" itemprop="author">Jeff Winterberg</a><br />
<br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/416102106">5 of 5 stars</a><br />
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I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who has been part of a underground music scene. Winterberg does a very sincere and coherent job of presenting stunning freeze frames, alongside some other more personal moments from his time playing in bands and watching them live. Every page includes some text (usually with dates) about the subject and sometimes a small anecdote. Winterberg effortlessly and earnestly captures the intensity, friendliness and sometimes weirdness of a live performance experience through his imagery and recollections. Truly a real treat for any underground music fan.
</div>robbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081516961341273268.post-20040575847642237942012-08-25T12:29:00.001-07:002013-11-26T21:10:22.096-08:00Jaded, Definitely<div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/MusicGroup">
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<span itemprop="name">Queen</span> fans need to stop bitching about re-issues. This in an important way to keep new UPCs on the shelves and keep the band's name out there. I want a box set too. I want every live release too, but there is a shit load of material in the Queen archive that we will never hear, get over it already!</div>
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I enjoyed the 2011 Remasters and all the bonus material included. I am also looking forward to the new Barcelona Special Edition. I will even buy the new Greatest Video Hits DVD even though it doesn't include the awesome bonus discs full of extra material the original releases did. You don't have to if you don't want to that is fine.</div>
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I always look in the Queen CD section when I go to the store and it's been devoid of anything but Platinum Collection and the dreadful Cosmos Rocks for years now. The 2011 remasters are now making their way on to shelves for people to buy again.</div>
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Yes it's good for the record companies, but it's also good for the band and letting people hear this classic music again!. Thanks to Queen Productions, the band is now more popular than I can ever remember growing up in the 90's and 2000's. </div>
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robbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081516961341273268.post-61219689984370367022012-04-15T12:14:00.000-07:002014-03-20T22:47:30.070-07:00Queen "Plus" - Part I<div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/MusicGroup">
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A Friend asked me on Facebook, “How do you feel about <span itemprop="name">Adam Lambert</span> singing with Queen?” My answer, without hesitation was “Meh.” Which is not necessarily negative, just an acknowledgement of what it was. It’s become painfully obvious that <span itemprop="name">Queen</span> will never replace <span itemprop="name">Freddie Mercury</span>, and will probably never come close, even after a world tour and album using the “Queen +” moniker, the surviving members (minus reclusive bass player John Deacon who is “retired”) are still trying to recreate the band’s identity and bring the legendary music to new generations of fans. I figured for those who were not fanatical Queen fans through the 90’s I’d give a rundown of the interesting and sometime unfortunate Queen+ iterations we’ve seen over the last decade and half, and why Adam Lambert might not be so bad as some might think.</div>
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“Queen +“ was first used on 1999’s Greatest Hits III, which offered an introduction to solo material from <span itemprop="musicGroupMember">Freddie Mercury</span> and <span itemprop="musicGroupMember">Brian May</span>, some fan favorite “deep cuts”, a new Remix of <span itemprop="track">Under Pressure</span>, and a couple of performances of the band in their post Freddie years. The concept was interesting, a way to market the Queen name and bring the music to new fans (and keep selling albums) without, per se, tarnishing the Queen name, while respecting Mercury’s memory as an irreplaceable front man. After more than 10 years, fans are still divided.</div>
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Here is part 1: the 90’s (and 1 from 2000)</div>
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<strong>1992 - Queen + George Michael</strong><br />
Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, CD single of performance<br />
Song: <span itemprop="track">Somebody to Love</span><br />
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I’ll spare going through every performance at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, because this is the one that everyone points to as the best of the evening. After some well-intended covers by a who’s who of early 90’s rock and pop stars, George Michael delivered an excellent performance of one of the most difficult Queen songs, hitting almost every single note. This one performance spawned a million internet rumors that George Michael would be “the guy, the only guy” Queen would, could, EVER perform with if they were to tour again. Of course it never came to fruition, but for a long time there was no question in fan’s minds that it was inevitable. This performance also was featured on Greatest Hits III and was released on a CD EP in 1993.</div>
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<strong>1997 - Queen + Elton John</strong><br />
Berjart Ballet for Life<br />
Song: <span itemprop="track">The Show Must Go On</span><br />
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Performed at the opening show of the Berjart Ballet for Life, a ballet featuring Queen Music, this was Queen’s first public performance (other than the Tribute Concert) as Queen since Freddie's death, as well as John Deacon’s last performance with the band before he “retired”. Elton John was pretty up front about this being a one-off performance in memory of his friend Freddie, but the internet, in its infinite wisdom, continued to spin rumors that he would be Freddie’s repalcement, keeping in mind Elton John performed this song (and others) at the Tribute Concert six years earlier as well. The performance itself is solid, but Elton John has a completely different voice and stylings than Freddie and I was always of the opinion that it fell a little flat. It was at least, once again, well intended. This performance also made the Greatest Hits III cut.<br />
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<strong>2000 – Queen + 5ive</strong><br />
Brit Awards, CD Single<br />
Song: <span itemprop="track">We Will Rock You</span><br />
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This is probably Queen’s blackest mark in my book. This performance kicked off the 2000 Brit Awards, and resulted in a single, and I think a track Brian May lent some guitar to on their album. Fortunately being in the US I was isolated from what I believe the British call “Bullocks”.</div>
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Stay tuned for Part 2, Queen + in “The New Millennium”</div>
</div>robbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081516961341273268.post-56462879756677033722012-01-29T12:00:00.000-08:002015-07-26T10:22:50.389-07:00Disarmed<div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/MusicAlbum">
So, <span itemprop="byArtist">Say Anything</span> is coming out with a new record, <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0071BXZYY/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0071BXZYY&linkCode=as2&tag=jadmay-20" itemprop="name">Anarchy My Dear</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=jadmay-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0071BXZYY" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
</em>on March 13th. I started listening to some of their previous records and pondering what makes their music not just catchy, yet intellectual at the same time.<br />
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I've included a couple songs for your consideration from 2009's self-titled <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002KREVD8/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=jadmay-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B002KREVD8" itemprop="name">Say Anything</a><img alt="image" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=jadmay-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002KREVD8" width="1" /></em>. Both of these songs melodically put you at ease, get you tapping your foot, while simultaneously barraging you with not exactly what I would describe as "happy go-lucky" lyrics. This almost forces you deeper into the song, it becomes more than a song, and the listener becomes emotionally, and intellectually invested, almost along the lines of songs that tell a story.<br />
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<iframe src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:user:124790426:playlist:29aqwsZNkd6d0V2zdUVyZW" width="300" height="380" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true"></iframe><br />
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This isn't anything new in music at all, especially in this genre, Saves The Day's "As Your Ghost Takes Flight" instantly comes to mind, and even Bohemian Rhapsody opens with "Mama, just killed a man" sung over a beautiful piano melody. These songs above though, what I guess could be considered better examples since the themes and lyrics persist through the entire song.<br />
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So where does this leave your head as a listener in the milliseconds between notes, chords and words. Naked, uncomfortable. When we feel uncomfortable we seek shelter, comfort. Where do we find it? The next verse, or the next few notes. What this results in the is intellectual almost sort of interaction with the song, even if we've heard it a million times before, it makes us think. Not in a manner of being preached to, or coerced, but just general turning of the cogs.<br />
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I think there's a lot of value in that. A song might not have a specific message you're supposed to think about, maybe you're just supposed to think <em>with </em>the songs for a few moments and escape your own.</div>robbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081516961341273268.post-70985288023350516392011-10-04T00:13:00.000-07:002015-07-26T10:41:24.043-07:00Summer Reflections PlaylistI was thinking today about a few songs that seem to speak to me about this summer, and a few kept coming into my head. Once I started putting together a playlist I realized it was all coming together more natural that I had thought, I was able to essentially break this summer into three songs for three separate moods and events from each month, with really little meditation at all, these just made the most sense.<br />
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Press play and read about each song below and the memories from this summer that influenced me to pick each one.<br />
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Saves The Day - A Drag in D Flat<br />
Summer kicked itself off with me listening to Saves The Day's Bug Session EP collection, which feature acoustic or stripped down versions their songs (however, the version in this playlist is the full band version). Something about the muted electric guitars in this version of A Drag in D Flat really stands out for me. I also like how well the last verse "<i>I am not afraid of what it takes to glue you to my side, if it takes a little bleeding, So be it. I will go without breathing, d</i><i>on't have to justify it. Can't just watch me, I've got time to kill"</i> comes across in this version. On our Fourth of July weekend trip to Seattle, which was literally only two days worth of a whirlwind of attractions and seafood, I think I listened to this song about 3 times on the flight back to Phoenix. The moment that comes to mind in particular, is listening to this song on the return flight, and watching the snow capped mountains outside the window gradually give way to the dry brown high plains. This was the soundtrack to my 36,000 ft roadway tracing until we climbed above cloud cover and the sun finally set, closing the chapter on our first very brief summer adventure.<br />
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Jack's Mannequin - Holiday From Real<br />
If this isn't the perfect song for summer I don't know what is. I had heard this song earlier and put it on my "On To morning Stars" iPod playlist which I constructed specifically for trips to San Diego. Right as we hit Yuma (and my co-pilot woke up :) ), this song started up, right on time. Andrew McMahon of Jack's Mannequin is a terrific pop song writer and his lyrics in this tune perfectly describe what was one of the best vacations I had in a long time. We spent a week in San Diego, putzing around the surrounding California attractions. We stayed at a friend's apartment (who was away with family on vacation themselves) with limited internet access and no TV. This helped us disconnect a lot more and just take in the full California experience of not needing to do anything or go anywhere but whatever struck our fancy at the time. We had what felt like no worries for an entire week, and it felt amazing. This song reminds me of those few relaxing days: long afternoons of doing nothing, midnight donut runs while watching Buffy episodes, and polishing off drinks in the middle of the day just because I could. Fuck yeah we can live like this.<br />
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Bon Iver - Beth/Rest<br />
This song kind of overlaps with the last one. On the first leg of our San Diego excursion, we took a trip to the beach. I used the free time to listen to the new Bon Iver record, "Bon Iver, Bon Iver" from start to finish. After zoning in and out of the soothing sounds of the album, this song was a bit of a wake up call, just because it sounded so unique and different from the rest of the tone of the album. Something about the layered melodies of the keyboard, sax and guitar just sounded so perfect, and it felt like it matched my exact mood at the time. Ever since then, when I would go back and listen to it, it became a theme for the entire summer, a conglomeration of soothing sights, sounds, feelings, people and experiences, all working together in beautiful harmony, the kind of song that just takes your breath away. In mid September my girlfriend, our roommate (and very good friend), and I, all went to see Bon Iver live in what was an excellent mind blowing performance, and this was the second to last song they played. Something about that moment seemed fitting .Here I was with two of my favorite people who I shared many of these summer memories with, and here was the song that spoke in music how my soul felt at one of it's most calmest moments.<br />
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Looking back, this was a long, if not damn good summer, full of some really great memories I will never forget. I feel very lucky to have had lived it, and shared some of these special moments with the people I love.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><i>our love is a star<br />
sure some hazardry<br />
for the light before and after most indefinitely</i></span>robbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081516961341273268.post-82054362429869675712011-09-11T10:45:00.000-07:002011-09-11T10:45:44.571-07:00'Cause love's such an old fashioned word.Well it's September 11th, the 10th anniversary of the terror attacks here in the US, and this song has probably never rang more true for me than today. I originally was not going to make a post, but after watching some TV coverage and talking with my girlfriend, lines from this song started going though my head.<br />
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One of the reason's Under Pressure is one of may favorite songs, is not just the great songwriting, but the message of loving your fellow man. The official video for this song, although made 30 years ago, seems to really help convey the lyrics and message in a literal and figurative sense. Given the world we live in today, it makes me feel like not much has changed, but somehow, we can still give love "that one more chance."<br />
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<iframe width="420" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/a01QQZyl-_I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
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Lyrics:<br />
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Pressure pushing down on me<br />
Pressing down on you no man ask for<br />
Under pressure - that burns a building down<br />
Splits a family in two<br />
Puts people on streets<br />
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It's the terror of knowing<br />
What the world is about<br />
Watching some good friends<br />
Screaming 'Let me out'<br />
Pray tomorrow - gets me higher<br />
Pressure on people - people on streets<br />
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Chippin' around - kick my brains around the floor<br />
These are the days it never rains but it pours<br />
People on streets<br />
People on streets<br />
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It's the terror of knowing<br />
What this world is about<br />
Watching some good friends<br />
Screaming 'Let me out'<br />
Pray tomorrow - gets me higher high high<br />
Pressure on people - people on streets<br />
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Turned away from it all like a blind man<br />
Sat on a fence but it don't work<br />
Keep coming up with love<br />
but it's so slashed and torn<br />
Why - why - why ?<br />
Love love love love love<br />
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Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking<br />
Can't we give ourselves one more chance<br />
Why can't we give love that one more chance<br />
Why can't we give love give love give love give love<br />
give love give love give love give love give love<br />
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'Cause love's such an old fashioned word<br />
And love dares you to care for<br />
The people on the edge of the night<br />
And loves dares you to change our way of<br />
Caring about ourselves<br />
This is our last dance<br />
This is our last dance<br />
This is ourselves<br />
Under pressure<br />
Pressurerobbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081516961341273268.post-55196836411949064932011-09-05T09:42:00.000-07:002011-09-05T09:43:03.194-07:00Happy Birthday to Freddie Mercury!<div>Because Queen played such a huge role in shaping my musical tastes, I can't let Freddie Mercury's 65th Birthday today go unnoticed. This is a nice little tribute Queen Productions put together in honor of the occasion. I highly recommend you spend the 5 minutes watching it, it will make you smile.</div><div><br />
</div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Uuqx11UOOP4?fs=1" width="480"></iframe><br />
<div><br />
</div><div>I celebrate by throwing on some Queen videos from my collection throughout the day, while reminiscing on how Mercury's (and Queen's) music influenced what I listen to today.</div><div><br />
</div><div><i>"It was all meant to be..."</i></div>robbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081516961341273268.post-86536408118151442202011-08-31T00:26:00.000-07:002015-07-26T10:34:39.317-07:00Twenty-sixSunday I turned 26. I feel like 23, 24, and 25 were pretty significant and I'm told 26 is as well, but I'm not feeling like I have much to say about 26, as 25 seemed to be over in a blink of an eye. I already posted Big Casino, but here's a miniature mix of really the only songs that seem to come to mind when I meditate on being one year older. I guess these songs are about just keeping yourself going, maybe. Give them a listen and see if you can find the theme.<br />
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<No more playlist because Grooveshark shutdown!>robbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081516961341273268.post-20129118990862063252011-08-23T17:37:00.000-07:002011-08-23T17:37:27.120-07:00Big Casino<div>Since my birthday is Sunday, I thought I would post a few songs that make me feel better about getting older. So here's the first one, Jimmy Eat World's "Big Casino." This song always speaks to the adult in me, and it always helps me stay positive about where I am and where I might be going. </div><div><br />
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I think it's a great song, and a perfect song to kick off a very solid and very strong album, 2007's <i>Chase This Light, </i>but that's another post I guess!<br />
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Fun Fact: This song got it's name from singer Jim Adkins' side project "Go Big Casino".</div>robbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081516961341273268.post-64743448363136214662011-08-08T23:30:00.000-07:002015-07-26T10:36:43.492-07:00Saves the Day Retrospective Part I: Can't Slow Down<div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/MusicGroup">
<i>It's still early and I haven't even said a word...<br />
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<span style="color: black;">It is hard for me to remember exactly what was going on in 1998 in popular culture; I was 13 years old, in middle school, starting my classic rock phase, and dealing with a Pokemon obsession. I was feeling out a lot of musical styles and trying to define my tastes. I do remember going out of my way to watch VH1 all day to try and find new artists I might like.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">It was not until much later, that I discovered an album that came out that same year. Saves the Day’s debut <i>Can’t Slow Down </i>was released on Equal Vision Records out of Albany, NY on August 25th 1998. The original line up for this release was Chris Conley on Vocals, Sean McGrath on Bass, Anthony Anastasio and Chris Zampella on Guitars, and Bryan Newman on drums. The band themselves were only about 17 to 18 when it was recorded; successfully bottling the raw energy and emotion you live your life at as a teenager, and putting it on a record.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">At the time, due to the association with Equal Vision and the raw and fast sound of <i itemprop="album">Can’t Slow Down</i>, <span itemprop="name">Saves The Day</span> was tagged as “Hardcore,” and even toured with bands in the same vein. This led to a backlash with later more pop or indie sounding albums, which you’ll discover as you read through this series, starts a trend that will follow the band through most of their career. <i>Can’t Slow Down is</i> definitely punk based at its core, and I can see why Saves The Day would’ve been grouped into hardcore; the sound is quick, loud and full of angst, grabbing at the raw emotion and frustration of just being a teenager who can’t find their place in the world. The two guitars create some great melodic hooks, and Chris Conley’s voice soars, yells and punches just the right notes at just at the right time to make you listen to the stories he tells. The album is rather short by conventional standards but quite average by punk standards. There are 14 songs, with a total run time of less than 32 minutes. Some songs barely break the 1:00 mark. Its name fits, as it almost never slows down, it’s the kind of album you can throw on for a drive and get lost for a bit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The youthful personnel of Can't Slow Down (1997)</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black;">When I first discovered Saves the Day, I bought this album along with their sophomore effort, <i>Through Being Cool,</i> which was pretty reminiscent of what else I was listening to at the time in terms of pop-punk. I initially liked <i>Can’t Slow Down</i>, but it was overshadowed by other things I saw as bigger and better at the time. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school in 2003-04 that I really latched onto this album. I was, for the most part, decided on going to school in Arizona, leaving my family and hometown for a big city to live on my own and go to school just like we had been told we were supposed to for the last four years. A majority of my graduating class stayed behind to go to local state schools, so I felt somewhat alone and distanced. My grandfather also passed away that March after an extended illness that left my entire family emotionally bare; this was a huge time of change for my 18 year old self. I questioned everything, especially as graduation day came and went, and my Arizona move late that summer loomed on the horizon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">I didn’t know what to do, I felt like I had missed out on the high school experience, I had never had a girlfriend, never pursued my crushes, and it wasn’t until my senior year that I started experiencing how fun hanging out with the in-crowd could be. I had spent my entire high school career fighting and pushing back at everything about it, my friends, my peers, my family, my city, only to find myself on the brink of leaving it all behind while grasping to get it all to make sense, this couldn’t really be all I had to show for my time here was it? <i>Can’t Slow Down</i> was my album for that time, more importantly, that spring and summer, as I wrestled with what the transition in front of me. I spent a lot of that late spring that eventually turned into late summer, driving.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"> There were always a lot of errands to run in my family, my grandmother lives fifteen minutes outside of town, so it was not uncommon that I would make this trip at least 1-2 times a day for various reasons. I didn’t mind as it often gave me a reason to have some cherished alone time. <i>Can’t Slow Down</i> was in my CD player for those rides to keep me company. From the opening chords of <i>Deciding</i> pumping through my lousy stereo as I drove past all the familiar landmarks I would soon be leaving behind, to the final line of <i>Jodie</i> where Conley sings “<i>Just to remember those days…that we spent in our heads</i>” the album always felt over as soon as it began. Driving with this album in my stereo provided a kind of therapy for whatever emotion I was feeling, whether it was sad to leave, or angry at an old friend, I could work through them by turning this album on, driving through the streets late at night to take in the cool mountain air, and beat my steering wheel in rhythm the best I could while still maintaining control of the car.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">The most meaningful memory I have about this record though, came when I was sitting on my back porch in the early evening that summer, listening to this record from start to finish, while reading the lyric sheet. I came to the last song and heard the last few notes and lyrics end this world I had just been engrossed in for the last half hour, so abruptly, just as I found myself lost in the middle of it. This experience for whatever reason made me see the bigger picture. This place, this short time in my life, was only temporary, I could ask myself all the what-ifs I wanted but I would be leaving in a few weeks, and my life would never be the same from that point. It was at that point I was able to accept the consequences of my decision to leave home, and realize that there was more for me outside of where I had thought I found a place to fall into.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">This August marked my seventh year in Arizona. In that time, I have made many wonderful friends, and been lucky enough to meet the girl of my dreams. There are many things that would not have been possible if I had not been pushed in the right direction by this little record during that summer seven years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b>Original Release Date: August 11, 1998</b><br />
<b>Label: Equal Vision</b><br />
<b>Length: 31:19</b><br />
<b>Standout Tracks: Jodie, The Choke, Always Teen Feet Tall</b><br />
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Stay tuned for the next entry in the series, 1999's <i>Through Being Cool.</i>
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robbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081516961341273268.post-49374909745197529772011-07-26T23:54:00.000-07:002011-07-26T23:54:25.095-07:00From the archives...So I'm hard at work on Part 1 of the Saves The Day Retrospective, I don't think I'm going to make September 13th to be honest but that's okay because it's my damn blog! I am almost done with the initial draft and should have it on my lovely editor's (aka my girlfriend) desk tomorrow night for an initial review. Writing is hard guys!<br />
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So in the meantime I'll leave you with a review I wrote for Blink 182's "Cheshire Cat" on Amazon 10 years ago.<br />
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<b>"A must for anyone not deaf. " - </b>Just where the fuck did I get this line? I think I laughed for five straight minutes when I read that again. Stay tuned and maybe I'll pull that little gem of wisdom out again in the future ;).robbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081516961341273268.post-18130181716626233792011-06-21T00:21:00.000-07:002014-06-29T18:34:51.338-07:00This is Not An Exit<div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/MusicGroup">
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It’s hard to know where to start when I talk about <span itemprop="name">Saves The Day</span>. Ever since I first heard them when I was a teenager, their music and the words of <span itemprop="musicGroupMember">Chris Conley</span> have been a constant in my life. Their songs transcend the mere words, notes and combination thereof; they touch at the inner truth of existing as a human being, the forming of relationships and bonds, and touching of hearts that makes us who we are. This will be the first post I plan on doing in a series of posts leading up to release of their new album, Daybreak on September 13th, in a retrospective of sorts, going through each album and its own meaning in my life. Consider this an introduction.<br /><br/></div>
Saves The Day are best known as a punk band from Princeton, New Jersey, at least that’s how they started out, but in a span of 14 years their musical sensibilities have ranged from pop-punk, emo, indie, to sounds reminiscent of The Beatles. Often it was Saves The Day’s ability to do one of these quite well that would pigeon-hole them into a specific genre only to leave fans scratching their heads as they further expanded their range on their next release. They are a well-travelled band, having toured with artists such as Snapcase, Weezer, Blink-182, Green Day, Taking Back Sunday and Circa Survive. The band went from indie labels to actually being on a major label for a brief stint, only to be dropped after the label went under shortly after the album’s release.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris Conley, the man behind Saves The Day</td></tr>
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The band has seen their share of ups and downs, with 14 different members and a different line-up for all but 2 albums; “they” manage to keep a consistency of musical ability and pop prowess with front man Chris Conley holding the reins. Conley is a true master of words and the human spirit, writing songs that not only tell stories, but speak to the harsh, uplifting and honest parts about being alive. Conley is Saves The Day, and Saves The Day is Conley, his relationships, thoughts, feelings and fears are transcribed within the lyric sheets in each album. Yet with each ounce of pain expressed in a Saves The Day song, comes gallons of hope a joy through the music that is created. Many of Conley’s lyrics and music take you back to your own moments and feelings through his own, and over the years they stop becoming about one specific moment, and about the moment you are listening to them in, whether it’s driving through the desert, or shouting along at a show.<br />
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This is my first big undertaking for this blog, but hopefully it will act as a catalyst for even bigger things. Stay tuned for the first retrospective of Saves The Day’s first album, 1997’s Can’t Slow Down.</div>
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For more info check out the Saves the Day entry on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saves_the_Day">Wikipedia</a></div>
</div>robbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081516961341273268.post-83642331595962394762011-06-08T01:13:00.000-07:002013-11-26T20:44:05.406-08:00Let me scrub that brackish line<div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/MusicGroup">
So I'm kind of falling in love with <span itemprop="name">The Weakerthans</span>. Granted I think I only have one album (maybe two) but every time they come up on shuffle I find myself engrossed in the simple hooks and lovely creative lyrics that I want to repeat to myself over and over. <br />
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stuff like:<br />
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"The airport's almost always empty this time of the year, so let's go play on a baggage carousel.."<br />
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"And I'm leaning, on this broken fence, between past and present tense"<br />
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Not to mention the build up in "Watermark" that explodes into this line:<br />
"Hold on to the corners of today, and we'll fold it up to save until it's needed"<br />
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I really am an emo kid at heart. I'm looking forward to listening to some more of their stuff.<br />
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<div><u>Links!</u><br />
<a href="http://www.last.fm/music/The+Weakerthans">The Weakerthans on Last.fm</a><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/JgMWbb3xLps">The Weakerthans - Watermark (You Tube)</a>:<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRRKXkP6lzw">The Weakerthans - Civil Twlight (You Tube)</a> (This is a really cool video)<br />
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<a href="http://www.theweakerthans.org/">Official Site</a></div>
</div>robbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081516961341273268.post-67393336561811194692011-05-29T12:13:00.000-07:002011-05-29T12:13:12.124-07:00The iPod Adventure<div>So for this post, I thought I would talk about my iPod adventure. It started at work one day when I realized I could not think of anything to listen to. I had a full 80GB iPod classic at the time and I was missing about 30GB of my library. I was waiting for a friend who worked at the Apple store to use his friends and family discount to get me a 160GB classic. So I figured, "Damn, if I have this much music, I should really try to make sure I've heard every track at least once."<br />
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Now time for a little background, or more so an explanation of why I have so much music. My favorite band is Queen. When I listened to their Greatest Hits album at the age of 11, I loved every song. When I got Classic Queen (The US Equivalent of Greatest Hits II) very soon after, it was the same story. They would end up becoming favorite band. The whole story is probably for another post, but essentially for the next few years I bought all their studio albums and became a fan of the entire catalog. This initial experience influenced and somewhat formulated my music listening habits forever. Only now am I realizing that just because I like a few songs or even one entire album from a band, it does not mean I need to listen to their entire discography. This of course became even easier to do with the advent of the Internet, where an entire band's discography is only a few clicks away.<br />
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So I have gathered a lot of music, a lot of it I have ripped form my personal collection, a lot of it I grabbed out of curiosity off the Internet. Once it gets categorized and organized into my music folders, It sometimes gets lost in the shuffle of other more important new music coming in. So the goal of the iPod adventure was to listen to all of this music just to make sure I didn't "miss" anything. Here's the other thing about my somewhat massive music collection, it takes a lot, I mean a lot for me to to delete anything. Simply because tastes change. More than once have I found something I didn't care for years ago only to rediscover it after a song comes up on shuffle.<br />
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So I am almost at the one year anniversary and I've listened to probably around 8000 songs and powered through to the letter M. I don't exclusively listen to music just to complete the adventure. If I know what I want to listen to I listen to it, but when I can't think of what to listen to I just pull up the next artist down the list and go for it. So that's the story on going adventure that I'm sure will come up more than once. </div>robbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081516961341273268.post-6808193084400241272010-11-21T10:42:00.000-08:002011-05-30T01:49:10.020-07:00What does it all mean?This is my music blog. I love music, immensely. I love the overwhelming feeling when a song can literally take your breath away when you hear it the first time. I love what it can do to your state of mind, the way it can change your mood or reinforce it, act as a backdrop, or a vehicle to take you somewhere else. <br />
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What made me want to start this blog, was the fact that I realized I gradually stopped felling the same way about music that I remembered feeling when I was a teenager. I remembered when everything that touched my ears was golden and I was discovering new artists (or new to me at least) on a weekly basis.<br />
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Lately I noticed there were very few bands I was listening to that were either the same, or extensions of the bands I liked years ago. This year I turned 25, which seems strange to me since my own personal musical renaissance started around the time I turned 15. I want to feel that way again, and this blog is dedicated to that. The title is a little misleading, because I will admit that I'm jaded about my music experiences and tastes, but hopefully this blog will highlight the good more than the bad.Oh, and the title of this blog lifted form a Pinhead Circus song, I always thought the phrase was kind of clever and it stuck with me.robbievgbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01179333516984278194noreply@blogger.com0