Category: Music

Top 11 Tracks of 2009 (so far)

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I’ve been getting some great music over the past few months and i thought i’d share.  Here are my top 11 tracks of 2009 so far.

(1) Uylsses by Franz Ferdinand.  This band had the badass single Take Me Out a few years ago and i wouldn’t have been surprised if they ended up a one-hit wonder.  But they rebounded with a new album in 2009.  It has one good song called Lucid Dreams and another total classic here in Uylsses. The first 90 seconds get me incredibly pumped and it’s tops on my running mix. Click for the mp3.

(2) 1901 by Phoenix.  As many of you know, Phoenix is one of my favorite bands (lots of past entries). Their last album It’s Never Been Like That is a classic and one of my top 10 all-time.  They have a new album out this year called Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and it’s really really good.  It’s only 9 songs and 5 of them are top notch.  The best of the bunch is 1901 which is worth a listen (mp3).

phoenix-wolfgang-art

(3) and (4) Oh, No and Fitz & Dizzyspells by Andrew Bird.  There are 2 songs here and both are killer sing-songy tunes from his new Noble Beast album.  Plus, i love the whistling in the beginning of Oh, No and in the middle of Fitz & Dizzy.  The song Oh, No was the first song i got addicted to and just when i thought i was getting Bird out of my head, Fitz came along and sucked me in for another month. These songs will make you happy (especially Fitz). Here’s Oh, No mp3 and here is F&D’s mp3.

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Watchmen was good

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I saw the movie Watchmen last night and i have to say that i really liked it.  Here are some thought why.

The movie was….

  1. Merciless.  Some will say that the movie is too violent but i think that it actually ads to the character of the film. This is a world where superheros have grown disconnected from their human counterparts.  Showing the amazing painful battles they engage in and are subject to you can sympathize with their pespective but then to also show the other side of the coin – on how they have become cold-hearted, makes the movie quite interesting.    This applies especially to Rorschach who actually explains the exact moment he ceased being human and morphed into a full-time vigilante.
  2. Interesting.  The plot was really interesting.  Or, better yet it actually had a story that actually mattered to the characters which is unusual for a comic book movie.  I enjoyed for once watching a comic book movie where i cared whether missles were launched or not.
  3. Self-confident. The movie didn’t care about being too graphic, too violent, too campy, too strange, or too unconventional.  It put itself out there on the screen completely.  Bold choices in use of music (more below), in use of graphics (Rorschach’s face), and in use of story-telling.  All of which is completely refreshing.  I don’t see many movies like that and the unusualness makes it better.
  4. Sexually unusual. From a three-some with 2 cloned glowing super-humans to showing 40 minutes of shlong, the movie was so unusual, which again made it really interesting.  There was pretty much a comic book porn sex session in the movie which was surprising (and appreciated).
  5. Full of blue penis. i’ve never seen so much blue penis.  This is related to the last point, I like how they gradually introduced me to Dr. Manhattan’s penis.  First it was a nude shot of Dr. Manhattan but only above the waist.  Then, it was another naked shot of him, full profile but from afar and with only a glimpse of shlong.  10 minutes later it was an up-close shot of him staight-on with shlong and eveyrthing for a few seconds.  And finally, they would leave the camera on the shlong for minutes at a time.  I think the movie studio probably had a few meetings to determine how best to show it to the audience. I can just picture it now, a 11am meeting on the lot with people sitting around a conference table focusing on the unveiling of Billy Crudup‘s penis.  There are storyboards on the walls and one associate director wants to throw it right at the audience from the beginning for shock value while an older producer doesn’t want to show it at all and a fight ensues.  Ah, that’d be a fun meeting.
  6. Visually compelling.  The movie looks great.  Coming from the director of 300 (Zack Snyder), I was worried there’d be too much slow motion.  There was quite a bit but it worked. Even though it was 3 hours i’d even go back and watch it on IMAX

Some things i didn’t like:

  • The music was horrible. Songs like “The Sound of Silence,” at a funeral and “Me and Bobby McGee” were just so out of place and strange.  Why use such familiar tracks in an completely new fictional world?  Everyone i talked to after the movie noticed it and how weird it was.  I hate thinking about the music in the middle of a movie unless i’m thinking, “wow, this is great” which is a tought that definitely did not go through my head.  Each time a song began, i thought, “whoa this is strange.”  Maybe that was the point.
  • It was too long. While it was unbearable, it could have been 20 minutes shorter and my ass would have appreciated it.

All in all it was a good movie.  I give it an 8 out of 10.  What did you think?

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Nokia’s “Comes with Music” is slick

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A few weeks ago, I went to the Nokia booth at MWC last month and checked out their “comes with music” program. For those who are unfamiliar, here’s the deal:

When you buy a Nokia handset you get access to the Nokia Music Store which has deals with all 4 labels. For the 12 months after you purchase the phone you get unlimited downloads from the store. This isn’t a subscription, for one year the plan is for unlimited downloads for you to keep. They can live on both your PC and phone.  Once a year is up, you keep all your downloads and you then have to purchase any additional tracks

Their new phones are all pretty slick and have smooth iPod functionality built in. One thing I especially liked was their Bluetooth headset which is also a sweet pair of headphones (see below)

This won’t be available in the states until layer this year and then only in the PC so it’ll be a while before we can fully check it out

One thing that always gets overlooked when peope talk about iPod’s dominance us the fact that it only dominated because it had BOTH the software on the computer and the hardware. Without iTunes, the iPod is nowhere.  I was impressed to see the the Nokia software player I’d pretty nice. Not quite as simple as iTunes but still very slick. I haven’t seen any other handset makers making player software which will really hurt them if they try to compete.

25 Random Things About Me

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I got tagged in Facebook to do one of these lists.  I really enjoyed reading some of my colleagues and some of my old friends from high school so i thought i’d put one together.

The rules are that once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged or however many you want. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you.

Here are my items:

1. I don’t like fruit (with the exception of apples) and i’m happy that my sister’s the same way. It makes me feel less strange.

2. I tend to get around. I’ve been to 49 states and hope to get to the final one, Mississippi, sometime soon.  Since college, I’ve lived in Virginia, New York, Washington DC, Boston (sort of), and now Los Angeles.

3. I have no toenails on my 2 little toes.

4. I was born in NY, then moved to CA, then moved to Texas before i finished my youth in Minnesota.

5. I grew up in Minnesota.  When i moved east in 1996, i felt like a Midwesterner.  I then lived on the east coast for 11 years.  When i moved to California last year, i felt like an Easterner.  After a few years here, who knows who i’ll be.

6. i’ve never broken a bone. I attribute this to my love of milk.

7. I love the extended Lewis Family clan and feel so fortunate that i have such great cousins, aunts and uncles.

8. When i was younger I used to dress up like a ninja and wonder around in the woods with my brother.

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Top Albums of 2008

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Cover of
Cover of Evil Urges

Here are my top albums of 2008.  It was a toss up between MMJ and Dylan but when i looked back at my total plays for 2008 in my iTunes, it was no contest – i’ve played MMJ a bunch mor

  1. Evil Urges – My Morning Jacket – totally unexpected departure from the Southern rock band but that made it all the more awesome.  There songs are all great.  From start to stop, this album totally delivers.   “Librarian” and “Smokin’ From Shootin'” are my favorites.
  2. The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 – Bob Dylan – previously unreleased tracks from 1987 to today.  And they are amazing.  I love both versions of “Mississippi” and “High Water”
  3. Consoler of the Lonely – Raconteurs – These guys totally rock.  The title track is one of the best rock songs i’ve heard in the past 10 years and the rest of the songs are good too
  4. For Emma Forever Ago – Bon Iver – incredibly catchy and chill record.  This got stuck in my head for about 2 months in the middle of the year.  Plus you’ve got to love a guy from the woods of Wisconsin. Love the songs “Flume” and “Skinny Love”
  5. Only By The Night – Kings Of Leon – this album isn’t as good as 2007’s Because of the Times which had 2 amazing (5 star) songs but it still rocks. The songs are all pretty good and continues KOL’s rise to be one of the biggest bands in the US
  6. The Way I See It – Raphael Saadiq – a pretty smooth and groovy album that brought some soul back into my life in ’08.  The songs “Take a Walk” and “Never Give You Up” with Stevie Wonder are the best of the bunch
  7. The Stand-Ins – Okkervil River – a good followup to the awesome The Stage Names.  It’s songs are just as punchy and fun to listen to.  I didn’t get to this until later in the year, otherwise it could have been higher in my list

Honor Roll – these albums have one or two good songs but not enough to be a “top” album of 2008 but i did like them:

  • Ra Ra Riot – The song “Dying is Fine” is one of the best songs of the year
  • Born Ruffians – very addictive album but also kind of annoying.  Can’t tell if i really like it or not
  • Ryan Adams – all the songs are just okay
  • Girl Talk – not my favorite mashup artist but still catchy and good for working out to
  • Mudcrutch – two great songs in “The Wrong Thing To Do” and “Six Days on the Road”
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A GREAT Christmas Mix

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Jack Johnson performing at the Austin City Lim...
Image via Wikipedia

[note: took down download links and working on getting the tracks up to be streamed only]

The good people at Brushfire Records (Jack Johnson’s label) have put together a Christmas mix of originals Christmas tunes.  Let me tell you, it is FANTASTIC.  There are great tunes by Jack Johnson, Mason Jennings, Matt Costa, Money Mark, G. Love, Neil Halstead and others.  It’s not available for purchase or download right now – but when it is,  you need to get it.  I would post it but i’m trying not to piss off my Brushfire friends.

Songs on the album are:

  1. Someday At Christmas – Jack Johnson
  2. Santa Claus is Coming To Town – Mason Jennings
  3. All I Want For Christmas – Matt Costa
  4. No Christmas For Me – Zee Avi
  5. Stuck At The Airport – Money Mark
  6. Christmas Baby – G. Love
  7. Christmas Time – ALO
  8. The Man In The Santa Suit – Neil Halstead
  9. Christmas – Rogue Wave
  10. Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer – Jack Johnson
  11. Silent Night – Zach Gill
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Chinese Democracy exists and i'm happy about it

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Guns n Roses album Chinese Democracy is released
Guns n' Roses album Chinese Democracy is finally released

I had this conversation in the office today with a colleague (let call him M-Bone) that went like this:

  • M-Bone: The new Chinese Democracy album totally sucks
  • Me: Really?!
  • M-Bone: Yeah – it’s totally horrible
  • Me: hmm
  • Me: Hey – did you like Use Your Illusion?
  • M-Bone: No – i hated that album too

And there you have it.  I keep hearing from lots of people who didn’t like Guns ‘N Roses to begin with that the new album Chinese Democracy is garbage.  Of course it is – you don’t like the Guns N’ Roses‘ music.   Me, on the other hand, happen to really like GnR and think that the new ablum is really interesting.  Of course the music isn’t as good as Appetite for Destruction – nothing will ever be.  But it is good.  And even more than that – it is nice just to have it exist. It’s a moment, an event, something worth listening to.

The Phantom Menace

I would argue the same for Star Wars Episode I or Rocky II.  Are they good as the originals? No, definitely not.  Am i happy they exist? Absolutely.  Whether you love them or hate them – it just makes the world a better place.

I don’t think i’ll know how good the music is until all the hoopla dies down.  Probably sometime in mid 2009 i’ll have a sense for how good the songs are.  Right now i really like them and really enjoy just experience more GnR.

There is also a good review by Chuck Kloseterman about the new album.  As a fellow fan and probably the most qualified man in America to review the album, he also appreciates the album but brings up some good questions that it raises.  I’ll leave you to the article. It’s here in the AV Section of the Onion: Chuck Klosterman’s review of Guns N’ Roses album Chinese Democracy

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Going from Movies to Music

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Joaquin Phoenix, the star of the Johhny Cash film Walk The Line just announced that he’s leaving the movie business and going into music full-time.  Sounds like a bad idea to me. Russell Crowe, Keifer Sutherland, Keanu Reeves, Billy Bob Thorton, and others have tried this and failed spectucularly.

However, i also know that Jason Schwartzman (Max in Rushmore) has been in 2 successful bands (Phantom Planet and now Coconut Records).  Are there any others that have gone from movies to music that i’m missing?

Play this Coconut Records song – it’s one of my favorites (West Coast).

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Last Week's Top Artists

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As compiled by Qloud, here were my top artists of last week:

  1. Bob Dylan – i got the new Bootleg Vol. 8 album and it is fantastic.  Dylan has had 8 multi-disc albums of previously unreleased tracks.  These are new songs or alternate versions that were recorded at the same time (or live).  Eight albums, all multi-discs.  Some people call that a career – a good one too.
  2. Blind Melon – sometimes you forget how good they are.  I think they would fit in really well with the current music scene.  Kind of punkish
  3. Guns N’ Roses – oldies but goodies.  Had the live album on alot this weekend
  4. Led Zeppelin – Found the album Houses of The Holy in my apartment on Monday and was happy to revisit the classics
  5. Okkervil River – they have a new album out that i’m trying to get used to.  I have no opinion yet

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWOxUc01HPM]

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Initial Reactions to MySpace Music

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I only played around with it a little bit, but here are my initial thoughts:

The good:

  • they got all the music in there to have a big ad-supported music service.  This is not easy to do and only MySpace, Imeem, and (sort of) last.fm have done this.
The bad:
  • The interface/usability could be better. To make a playlist, you have to do a TON of clicks.  They should google “javascript” and learn more about.  It could help them out. Overall, I the interface a 4 out of 10
  • The service is not at all social. You can’t see any friends activity – no suggestions, no nothing.
  • It’s not integrated into the rest of the site.  If you go to Band of Horses page it only has 2 songs from their latest album (Cease to Begin) but if you go to music.myspace.com you search and can listen to all of the tracks from that album.  Why?
I’m sure it’ll get better but for now it’s just a repository of music to listen to.   I’ve only played around with it a bit but that’s my initial reaction.
What do you think?
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