Inspired by some videos featuring solid drumming by Buddy Rich posted over at Will's Air Space , I've decided to share something a friend of mine found several years ago. It's a website called My Buddy , and it shows -- through sound recordings and scripts -- just how much of a jerk Buddy Rich was, despite his talent for the drums. Good times.
In 2004: 23 albums I would call the best. In 2005: 25 albums I would call the best. In 2006: 15 albums I would call the best. Was 2006 a down year for music, or do I just need more time to find albums I love? Best Albums of 2005: Andrew Bird: And The Mysterious Production Of Eggs Antony & The Johnsons: I Am Bird Now Bright Eyes: I'm Wide Awake It's Morning Broken Social Scene Calexico/Iron & Wine: In The Reins Clap Your Hands Say Yeah The Dead Science: Frost Giant [...]
Here's the albums I've been listening to from this year. The order is quite arguable (as with any music list), but these are simply the albums I've enjoyed most this year. All mp3s below are from the album discussed. Thanks for reading! By the way, I dislike writing a list of favorite albums from 2006 in December, because there are quite a few albums that I need some more listening time with (i.e. Grizzly Bear, Brightblack Morning Light, The Grates, Birdmonster, The Mountain Goats, Oxford Collapse, Annuals). But, I wanted to clarify that there are many [...]
I'd like to start a weekly installment here, for a couple weeks at least. Welcome to the first edition of You Have Bad Taste In Music Tuesday . To start this off, here's the website that served as the inspiration for this. YouHaveBadTasteInMusic .com is a website where you can watch many videos of a man heckling folks at concerts of "ill repute". He is quite intelligent and quite humorous, and the videos are worth a watch. My personal favorites are Christina Aguilara and Train. [...]
Merry Christmas, everyone! Christmas music annoys the shit out of me. (Good transition, I know.) However, I really love Bright Eyes' Christmas album. I'm not sure why, but Conor Oberst and his bandmates singing holiday carols is just cool. LISTEN: Bright Eyes - Little Drummer Boy (from A Christmas Album ) Bright Eyes - White Christmas (from A Christmas Album )
#5-#1 5. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah & The Brunettes (4.3.2006 @ Metro) Two bands I love together! I actually bought the tickets for the Brunettes, but then got into CYHSY before the show. Both acts were awesome, but CYHSY stole the show. The Brunettes were poppy fun (I think every member of the ensemble had a glockenspiel or xylophone), although they had trouble with the crowd as an opener. CYHSY really came alive for me in a live setting. Thanks to the [...]
#15-#6 15. Mucca Pazza (8.6.2006 @ Lollapalooza ) I love these guys. They're a "marching band", and they are as silly and theatrical as you could imagine. Too much fun. 14. Stefon Harris Quartet (10.14.2006 @ Jazz Showcase) As a column in my favorite music magazine (Devil In The Woods) states, "Hey cool kid, it's okay to like jazz." Jazz greats are almost always stellar live, and vibraphonist Stefon Harris is no exception. They played some [...]
Yes, indeed, it's been a fine year. Thanks in no small part to Chicago's booming summer music festival scene, I was able to catch 29 bands live this year. It's interesting to note, however, that in my list of best shows ever, the top 4 did not change ( Deerhoof in 2005, Ben Folds in 2004, The Decemberists and The Dresden Dolls in 2005). This is not to say I didn't see some amazing shows in 2006. Because I did. Of the 29, 16 of them were outside in the sun [...]
The Colbert Report. Comedy Central. 10:30 PM Central time. It is happening.
Gogol Bordello played the Metro last Friday night. The first act to play was Dan Sartain . He played acoustic guitar based rock (with bass and drums) that had some light gypsy influences. They were alright, but not very entertaining. He didn't say much; just leapt from one song to the next. Nevertheless, I enjoyed listening to them. Following Dan Sartain was Valient Thorr . I did not enjoy listening to them. They were [...]
Tenacious D: The Pick Of Destiny Rating: Thumbs Down What happened to you, Tenacious D? This album has none of the great songwriting that existed on your debut. Carefully crafted songs? Nope. The songs on this album sound like they were written in [...]
1. Stephen Colbert, on The Colbert Report , issues a " Greenscreen Challenge", asking fans to create videos using footage of him (with a light sabre) in front of a greenscreen . 2. The Decemberists initiate the Re-animate the Decemberists Contest , in which they ask fans to create videos using footage of them playing in front of a greenscreen . 3. Stephen Colbert declares that the Decemberists are "riding on his coattails", and issues a Second Greenscreen Challenge , asking fans [...]
Well, it turns out the high bidder of the auction was a fake. Apparently a friend used his ebay account to bid on the record. Well, if at first you don't succeed - The LP is back up on ebay . I wonder if it'll get nearly as high this time. Bidding starts at 99 cents...
An extremely rare LP of The Velvet Underground's first recordings ever sold on ebay last week for $155,401. It was discovered by a music fan from Montreal who picked it up at a street sale in New York, for 75 cents . Wow. See the ebay auction and read the complete story here .
JUST ANNOUNCED! Chicago: The M's are playing the Double Door on Monday, December 18. There are no tickets; it is a free show! Entry will be on a first come first serve basis (the show starts at 10 PM). Sorry, kids, it's 21+. I really, really love The M's. These guys are seriously one of the coolest bands ever. They've got a bluesy-classic rock feel instilled in their up-tempo catchy songs. Once you start listening to them, you won't be able to stop. I promise. I saw [...]
Chicago: Gogol Bordello are playing the Metro on Friday, December 15. Get tickets here . It took me a while to get into Gogol Bordello. The first couple times I heard them, it was just too weird for me. (Actually, I introduced them to a few friends lately, and they had the same reaction.) But, they grew on me. Their latest album ( Gypsy Punks Underdog World Strike , which came out about a year ago) is an energetic mix of gypsy and punk fueled by frontman Eugene Hutz's [...]
I have a habit of making friends mixes. I love sharing music with people, and I often will do this in the form of a nice little CD. However, it's getting to be a little time consuming. My list of people who I would like to share music with is growing, and since I make every CD personal (i.e. no two mixes are the same), the CDs are adding up. For instance, the first Sunday of Thanksgiving break I spent about three hours making mixes. Hmmm. So, here's what I'm thinking. What [...]
Chicago: Shapes and Sizes are playing the Beat Kitchen on Thursday, December 7. Get tickets here . I have to say, Shapes And Sizes debut album does not blow me away. It's alright. The opening track is excellent (Island's Gone Bad, available below), but after that it's kind of a wash. Most of the songs are pretty decent. However, there are also a few that aren't very good. Luckily, the stand-out tracks are cool enough and show enough potential to make up for the lack of a coherent and consistant [...]
Andrew Bird played Logan Square Auditorium last Friday and Saturday. I was at Friday's show. I always love it when the opening act is a pleasant surprise. This was definitely one of those cases. Occidental Brothers Dance Band International (OBDBI) came on first. When they set [...]
Chicago: Tokyo Police Club are playing Schubas on Wednsday, November 29. Get tickets here . These guys have just recently popped up out of Canada. They released their first recording in April of 2006, entitled A Lesson In Crime . It contains seven bursts of beat-dominant catchyness into a short 16 minutes. The first song starts off with the words "Operator! Get me the president of the world! This is an emergency." Another song is about robots taking over. In a word, they're fun. Hmm, for the first time, I am writing a [...]
Under The Rotunda
Sleigh Bells - Demons (Official Music Video)
The Rains of Castamere by The National
A-Trak & Dillon Francis - "Money Makin'" (Official Video)
DIIV "How Long Have You Known?" (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
Nas - Daughters
Monday Music – 28 May 2012
Bison - Quill
