ca⋅thar⋅sis /kəˈθɑr sɪs/ The purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, esp. through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music. What can I say that hasn't already been said about Bon Iver 's For Emma, Forever Ago ? So forgive me that the collective blogosphere has been peeing themselves over this album for a full year; I'm just late to the party. It's about that time of year where everyone's feeling down, where winter is almost winning the battle against the summer in our souls, where most of us want to [...]
So I've been spending the last few months trying to hear as much new (at least to me) music as I can get my hands on. My favorite resource right now is All Songs Considered - I have to sit through some dreck every now and then (new Morrissey album, anyone?) but when it's good it's oh so so good. I have a lot to talk about, a lot of bands to make you listen to, but for now I'll start with a song from the Portland-based Blitzen Trapper . The [...]
I just flew in from Washington, and boy, are my arms tired. Nah, I'm kidding - I just stood around on Tuesday for about eight hours, after getting up at 5:00 am, then driving back here to Richmond. So I'm just tired. The best part of my trip? That should be obvious. But a close second was this moment at the concert on Sunday (which I also attended): Listen closely to the third and fourth verses: [...]
Screamin' Jay Hawkins is, as far as I'm concerned, the greatest, well, screamer in all of rock 'n' roll. I'm not usually a fan of schtick or gimmickry, but GOD do I love this man. Legend has it that "I Put A Spell On You" was written as a slow, soulful ballad, but when frustration in the recording studio boiled over and the bourbon came out, an intoxicated Hawkins started grunting and screaming from a place down deep inside himself that, frankly, I've never been to, and don't know if I ever want to. He had wanted [...]
I'm gonna stick with the Springsteen groove here and introduce you to my new favorite musician. This is Jason Anderson . And here he is again: And here he is again: Needless to say, I've heard he puts on a hell of a show. I got into Jason Anderson randomly one day through browsing on Hype Machine. [...]
Here's a quick one for ya guys: I don't know how many of you out there listen to classical music, but for those of you who do, I have a huge find - a recording of Sergei Rachmaninoff 's piano concertos with the composer himself on the keyboard. It's pretty fuzzy-sounding, since it was recorded in 1920-whatever, but that just makes it that much more awesome. Here's the second movement "Adagio Sostenuto" from his second Piano Concerto: Sergei Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 2 Movement II - Adagio Sostenuto [...]
So... How have you guys been the last few weeks? Busy as hell rockin' out, I hope? Here's what I did: Yeah. I saw Bruce Springsteen at the Richmond Coliseum last week. It was my fifth Springsteen show, and in all honesty, the best one yet. My first memory, no shit, my FIRST memory ever was of me begging my parents to take me to a Bruce concert. This must've been 1987 or '88 on the Tunnel of Love tour, and I [...]
I must apologise for my extended absence. Seems like my old roommate up and took the modem with her when she left, and so I've been without any kind of internetty connection for the last two weeks. But now a friend of mine is splitting costs with my apartment (thanks, Jessica!) aaaaaaaaaaaand here I come again. This'll be a short post, but I'll be back in all my glory either later tonight or tomorrow morning. Here's a present for you all: what I've been grooving to the last few weeks. This is "Oh Shit," by The Pharcyde [...]
Fuck 'em. Fuck 'em up their stupid asses. I'm watching the Olympics and I saw this commercial: And I said, "Oooh, what's that song? It sounds like some old War jam from the 1970s or something awesome!" So I googled the lyrics and I found out that it's the goddamn Killers. Why do I hate them so much? The same reason I hate Coldplay - their music is a completely soulless derivation of all these really good bands. [...]
Story time, boys and girls! I'm sorry I've been away for so long, but with a new roommate moving in and the loss of internet for a few days, I'm running a bit behind. Last Monday was my mother's birthday, and I'm going to tell you a story about her. When I was in the fifth grade, my mom called me downstairs from my room, saying that there was something I needed to do. I hoped I wasn't in trouble, and I walked downstairs to the basement. She told me to sit down, and I climbed into my [...]
Which leaves me seventeen dollars in my wallet until my next payday. I'm GANGSTA AS SHIT. This is the yummiest song I've heard in a long time. Kristoffer Ragnstam hails from Gothenburg, Sweden, and his single "Swing That Tambourine" is the most ass-kickingest, rock-n-rolling little tune to come out of Sweden since, I dunno, insert your own ABBA joke here. Yuck. But I totally have a boy-crush on "Tambourine." The pulsating rhythm of the verse, the epic lead guitar licks, the breakdown drums of the pre-chorus, [...]
I talked to my sister last night. A rare occurence, but one that's becoming less so. I'm happy about that. Anyway, I was telling her what was going on in my life: work, a breakup that just happened, the subsequent movings out/in, and the fact that I found out yesterday I have viral conjunctivitis. So not only am I under quarantine, but I can't even take antibiotics to get better sooner! Yahoo! And my sister, never one for subtlety, replied, "Man, Matt, you're just a mess, aren't you?" [...]
Where the hell am I supposed to start when I'm writing about Joanna Newsom ? I suppose I can start from the beginning, from the first time I heard her music. I was living in a really awful apartment that I would love to tell you all about sometime, but it was one of those sleepy southern summer afternoons where no one's really doing anything. I was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, when I heard this faint music coming from my roommate's bedroom. It was soft, soothing... was it a guitar? Banjo? The woman's voice [...]
When it comes to art, there is a sharp division between the concepts of ability and talent. Anyone, I repeat, ANYONE can hear the most beautiful music in their head, see the most beautiful painting, envision a scene in a play or book; anything is within anyone's reach. But the difference between people who don't create art and those who do is that artists have the ability to take whatever is in their minds and transform it into something that other people can experience. Doing that is the biggest challenge I face with my own music, and I'm sure that [...]
It's August, and yet I feel like summer just started. Richmond's getting hot hot hot, and even the river is bathtub warm. But the dog days are undeniably here, and so, just as with every other August, the search for the "Song of the Summer" starts up again. Summer songs are an odd breed - they don't have to be objectively good (and are often quite bad), and though they can be from any and every genre, they all have to have that indescribable summery vibe. I remember 10 years or so ago (holy crap, I'm old) when [...]
This is Passion Pit . His real name is Michael Angelakos and (in a neat segue from my last post) in concert he plays with four other guys, but on record it's just him. Passion Pit's debut EP is coming out in September, but already Pitchfork and the rest of the online world is shitting themselves over his (their?) single "Sleepy Head." This is completely with good reason. "Sleepy Head" is three minutes of pure joy, combining the otherworldy euphoria of Sigur Rós and the electronic collages of bands like MGMT [...]
I am a musician. I've been a solo act for a few years. In the studio, I'm in a playground of overdubs and harmonies and whatever the hell else I want to add. But live, I'm restricted to only what I can play at one time; one guitar, one voice, occasionally a harmonica or a stomped tambourine, but that's it. It's always uncomfortable to go back and forth between the studio mindset and the live mindset in terms of what I can and can't do in each environment. Some musicians find a backing band to play with live, some record [...]
Master Mystifier
Beck – I Just Started Hating Some People Today
Princesse - Tell Me | MP3
iamamiwhoami: kin - Teaser
