Music

[propar80]

Re: Music

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs...EWS03/61220008

I hope none of you where planning on these tickets for Christmas presents!!

If you did...you should be ashamed and be required to take the class "Gift Giving 101" next semester! ;D

[jackrabit1]

Re: Music

Gee, another washed-up nineties group backs out of Sioux Falls... Imagine my surprise!

[Walrus]

Re: Music

The Kingston Trio was in town tonight.  It was a pretty good show.  None of the original 3 members left, but one of the guys has been with them for over 30 years and one who was with them in the early 70's came back after 21 years.
Thru her job, Mrs. Walrus was able to secure seats in the second row.  It was a worthwhile evening.  I do enjoy a banjo and a bull fiddle.

[Walrus]

Re: Music

Tuesday night was the final concert of the season for the FF Concert Association.
I don't know that I had ever heard of Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul before, but I'm now a fan.  She is a 9 time all Ireland fiddle champion and her credits include Riverdance.  They generally play larger venues than the FF Middle School Auditorium, but they didn't hold back. What a wonderful show.

I'd never heard anyone play a violin like that.  I left the concert thinking that must be what it was like to hear Jimi Hendrix live (minus the Purple Haze, of  course).   When I got home I checked the web site www.eileenivers.com   The home page quotes the New York Times:  ... the Jimi Hendrix of the volin.  That's probably the first and only time I've agreed with an opinion expressed by that paper. ;D

If you ever get the chance, go see them.

[KeepGoing]

Re: Music

i really recommend checking out the Weirdo Rippers - No Age, Deerhunter - Cryptograms. those are rad albums.

[RowdyRabbit]

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The cd's spinning in my player as of late are Rival Factions by Project 86, and now, in Christmas season, The lost Christmas Eve by Trans Siberian Orchestra.

[Jack4Life]

Re: Music

Huh, I still ESPN Radio on mine. I don't change very easily.

[MilwaukeeJacksAlum]

2007 Top 9 list (part 1)

For those interested, I annually type out a top 10 list of the past years' albums as determined solely by my enjoyment of the album. I'll cut and paste it here. If nothing else, it will allow you the ability to kill 10 minutes of your time. At most, you may find a new album you love.

Top 9 Albums

I didn’t feel right doing a top ten list because, frankly, I wasn’t really blown away by more than 9 albums this year (so far). I felt I’d just be putting the albums on the list because I needed to fill space. So, here are my top 9 albums, listed in ascending order, based purely on personal enjoyment by yours truly.

9. Feist – “The Reminder”: I first heard Leslie Feist’s voice when she was singing on some tracks with the group Kings of Convenience. I liked her voice then and still like it to this day. Her albums tend to lose their listenability (fake word) over time, but are also the type that if you throw it in after a couple month hiatus you ask yourself “why haven’t I been listening to this more”. If that makes sense. If you liked her first album, “Let It Die”, you’ll like this album. Not much has changed. She has a great voice and generally limits herself to the types of indie-pop sort of songs, but that’s because those are the songs at which she excels. If you have never listened to her, I’d recommend “Let it Die” first, but you’d probably be going back to buy this album soon after, so buy them both. A nice easy start to the list at number 9.

8. Radiohead – “In Rainbows”: This is the album released first by Radiohead on their website. Fans (non-fans, too, I guess) could go on the website and download the album for a price determined by said fan. If the fan felt the download deserved a $2.00 payment, they were free to leave it and no questions would be asked. If memory serves me, something like 60% of the fans whom downloaded the album left exactly zero dollars for the transaction. For what it’s worth, I liked it more than that. I think I need another month of listening before I can give it a truly fair rating, but for now it starts off the 2007 list at number 8.

7. The Shins – “Wincing the Night Away”: I really enjoy the Shins. Not as much as Cousin (in-law?) Christine, Chad’s Wife, but I am a big fan. However, this album didn’t grab me like their 2 preceding albums – “Oh, Inverted World” and “Chutes Too Narrow”. That’s not to say I didn’t really enjoy it…just not as much as the first two albums. “WTNA” does have the great writing and unique delivery of frontman James Mercer that make their albums great. That alone makes this album a “must-have” and plops it in on my list at number 7.

6. Robert Plant and Allison Krause – “Raising Sand”: If my wife was making this list, this would be the number one album…but she’s not making this list. Actually, I originally bought this album (translation: borrowed from the internet) for Macee. The first album I ever bought her was an Allison Krause album, we had an Allison Krause song sung during our wedding, and our favorite pet fish is named Allison Krause. Ok, I made the last part up, but you get the idea. Regardless of why I purchased it, this album is great. It’s a duo you wouldn’t think would necessarily mesh, but man they sound good. If you like this album, go back and buy a couple of Krause’s older albums (“Now That I’ve Found You” for example). She has a very distinctive, blue-grassy voice that is hard not to like.

[MilwaukeeJacksAlum]

2007 Top 9 List (part 2)

5. Patrick Park – “Everyone’s in Everyone”: I stumbled across a song from this album while listening to an internet radio station at work. I felt the need to get a new album into the rotation, so took at shot at this one. The more I listened, the more I liked. He is cut from the David Gray/Ryan Adams cloth and I like both of those guys, so it seems pretty natural. If you have an I-pod, give a listen to the title track, “Everyone’s in Everyone”. If you like that song, you’ll like the rest of the album. I think of John Niederauer as someone who would really like this album. For those of you who know his taste.

4. Amy Winehouse – “Back to Black”: Here’s the thing about this album - I really wanted to hate this album. I really did. It’s an entire album consisting of her personal recounts of drug abuse. Full of lines like “It’s not enough you love blow and I love poke” or “what kind of ****ery are we? Nowadays, you don’t mean dick to me.” But, the way she sings those lines. It’s jazzy, but sorta crazy, but written for dopefiends. On top of that, she’s a wreck and is all over the tabloids. But, I love the album. Take a listen to the songs, Rehab, Me and Mr. Jones, Back to Black, and You Know I’m No Good. It’s as good as everyone says it is. Think the sort of music you’d hear on the movie “Goodfellas”…only if all the songs were about shooting dope.

3. Spoon – “Ga, Ga, Ga, Ga, Ga”: Not exactly causing a lot of waves with my list by putting this album on it. It’s universally loved by almost everyone who listens to music…even my daughters. I’m not sure the intent behind recording the song, The Underdog, but in my mind the intent was clearly to give parents a sure-fire method to distract/dissuade their children when the **** starts to hit the fan. My girls can be in the middle of a full-blown meltdown and this song will snap them out of it. I cannot play the song without both girls instantly breaking into dance. And, not the “what’s wrong with that guy” type dance I have perfected, but some decent moves. Anyway, there’s a reason everyone loves this album – it’s damn good. My favorite song on the album = Don’t Make Me A Target.

2. The National – “Boxer”: This album, along with Spoon and Amy Winehouse, is an album that is hard to explain to someone who hasn’t heard any of the songs. Lead singer, Matt Berninger, has a voice that reminds me of the guy from Crash Test Dummies, only he can sing and it’s not so deep that you feel like you need to clear your throat the entire time you listen to him. Now that I’ve made you NOT want to buy it (ignore the Crash Test Dummies comparison) I’ll tell you that it has everything a great album needs – great writing, songs that give you a little something different with each new track, a lead singer with a voice that is powerful even though her barely raises his voice above conversation level, and the music ain’t too bad neither. The more I listen to it, the more I like it. That’s pretty much what you hope from any album, right?

1. Wilco – “Sky Blue Sky”: Alright, I have a feeling I’m generally going alone on it with this pick. The album was not exactly well-received by most critics. I would agree a cursory listen to this album would make most feel like Jeff Tweedy and crew had gone “mainstream” with this album in an attempt to sell-out for money. (Considering they sold the rights to the songs of this album to Volkswagon, it’s hard to argue they didn’t.) However, when you really take a listen to the album, it’s vintage Wilco. Side With the Seeds is the perfect example of what I love about Wilco (and reminds me a lot of another song of theirs – Hummingbird). In a little over 3 minutes, the song changes speeds so often it feels like there are 3 songs in one. Also, no-one makes use of the occasional guitar riff and laid back solo better than Nels Cline. The lyrics are noticeably less “marital strife” related than albums of past, but still have plenty of depth. I admit, as a fan of Wilco and Tweedy, I’m biased, but when the list is based on albums that I like the most my biases are going to come into play.

[MilwaukeeJacksAlum]

Concert List of 2007

Finally, here's a list of the shows I saw last year listed in order of enjoyment.

Top Concerts/Shows of 2007

Since I didn’t make it to a ton of shows this year, I’ll just give you my rundown of who I saw in order of which ones I liked the best.

1) Roger Waters at the Marcus Ampitheater at Summerfest: He played all of the songs from “The Wall” and a bunch from “Animals” and “Dark Side of the Moon”. We had great seats thanks to my boss who was a sponsor of Summerfest. Macee and I got a sitter, the weather was great, and PBR was on sale for $5.00 per silo can (a steal at Summerfest). Doesn't get any better than that. Waters sounded amazing.

2) John Hiatt, Lyle Lovett, Joe Ely and Guy Clark – 4 man acoustical show at the Pabst Theatre: This was their second go around and it was just as good as last time. I will say that Milwaukee seems to draw a lot of those drunken idiots who spend most of the show hollering inane things to the artist ruining the show for the rest of us just interested in listening to the music. John Hiatt did a nice job of politely shutting up a couple drunken ladies at this show which also brought about a loud round of applause from the audience. I love that. As for the rest of the show, each guy played a solo song acoustically in turn. Each played approximately 5 songs with some guitar solos thrown in by the other singers to help now and then. They ended with a couple group songs. Awesome show.

3) Colin Hay acoustically at some local dive on the East Side: This is also the second time I’ve seen Colin Hay play. Hay is the ex-front man for Men At Work. He has a bunch of solo albums now and has also been featured on some Zach Braff movies. For what it’s worth, he sounds great in his solo act. He sounds especially good playing live. Bro-in-law Matt was in town for this years show and thought it was a good show as well.

4) Wilco at The Eagle’s Ballroom: The kick-off tour for the new album. They sounded great and the Ballroom’s an interesting place to see a show. It’s like watching a show in the Miller Armory without the bleachers. Just everyone standing around watching the stage. Since I’m tall, I like the venue. Macee – not so much. The only negative I have to say about the show is Tweedy seemed content to rarely engage the audience. I don’t need long stories or bad jokes, but it’s nice to hear the artist say something now and again. Tweedy addressed the audience a total of 2 times. Longest address was “You guys doing alright?” Musically, they sounded great.

5) Bright Eyes at the Pabst: If my list was 100 shows long this would probably be close to the bottom. I don’t get much of his music, but thought I’d give his live show a shot just to see if I was missing anything. Aside from watching all the potheads and drunks fall down the steps where we were sitting, the show lacked any discernable draw. Also, the drunk/pothead chick who kept falling down the stairs would have easily lost a contest with Bright Eyes over who was more stoned out of their ghord. Let’s just say he seemed to have trouble focusing on stage. We left early to get drinks at a bar before having to report back to the sitter. *

*editted to remove political commentary added in the Bright Eyes comments. I know how you mods love those political comments!

[collegewatcher]

Re: Music

Great stuff MJA. I would like to see your list from 5 years ago to see how you are "maturing"!

[MilwaukeeJacksAlum]

Re: Music

Great stuff MJA. I would like to see your list from 5 years ago to see how you are "maturing"!

5 years wouldn't be so bad. 15 would be ugly.

[mango4]

Re: Music

Good stuff MJA, I have a song by Patrick Park on my computer called "Life is a Song" and I absolutely love it. Since you gave his CD such a high review I might have to check it out.

Also, I'm interested on the full review of your experience at the Bright Eyes show, political commentary and all. If it's no problem could you message it to me?

I'm a big fan of Bright Eyes and saw them for the first time this year and I was absolutely floored by his performance. Some of his songs are really confusing and very political and he isn't afraid to show it. One very political and interesting song that he has is "When the President talks to God" which he performed on Leno when Leno thought he was doing a completely different song. Surprised the crap out of him. I really think with his music its either you love it or hate it

[MilwaukeeJacksAlum]

Re: Music

I'm a big fan of Bright Eyes and saw them for the first time this year and I was absolutely floored by his performance. Some of his songs are really confusing and very political and he isn't afraid to show it. One very political and interesting song that he has is "When the President talks to God" which he performed on Leno when Leno thought he was doing a completely different song. Surprised the crap out of him. I really think with his music its either you love it or hate it

I don't know what to think of Bright Eyes in general. I have approx 20 songs of his on my IPOD that I love. But, I also had another 20 that I specifically went in and erased because I couldn't stand them. It's not necessarily that I don't agree with his politics because that would eliminate a big share of all musicians out there. I just don't like the songs. Part of the reason I went to the show was to see how he was in person.

Now, I like weird and crazy shows, and I understand a great deal of performers may use some sort of "performance enhancers" before the shows, but his use put him in a state where he was hard to understand at times and tended to go on long rants for what seemed to be no other purpose than to point out how awesome someone was (his main target was the guy running the lights) or how the planet was turning to crap. Added to his performance was that there were two drunk/high women in front of us who wrecked any opportunity for those around them to enjoy the show. "I love you" and "you look hot in white" were the smartest things they said all night. These were yelled at full volume, only stopping when they lost their ability to sit up straight and all when everyone else was trying to enjoy the music. Considering I spent most of the time listening to the performer ramble, the audience around me either yelling dumb things at the performer or other audience members telling those yelling to "shut up", it was not the best of shows.

There's nothing much to what I edited on the political content. It was merely an observation that as someone who generally leans towards the conservative side, he made a lot of comments that raised my ire. Again, that's to be expected, but he was generally not making any sense with his rants which bothered me even more.

[mango4]

Re: Music

I don't know what to think of Bright Eyes in general. I have approx 20 songs of his on my IPOD that I love. But, I also had another 20 that I specifically went in and erased because I couldn't stand them. It's not necessarily that I don't agree with his politics because that would eliminate a big share of all musicians out there. I just don't like the songs. Part of the reason I went to the show was to see how he was in person.

Now, I like weird and crazy shows, and I understand a great deal of performers may use some sort of "performance enhancers" before the shows, but his use put him in a state where he was hard to understand at times and tended to go on long rants for what seemed to be no other purpose than to point out how awesome someone was (his main target was the guy running the lights) or how the planet was turning to crap. Added to his performance was that there were two drunk/high women in front of us who wrecked any opportunity for those around them to enjoy the show. "I love you" and "you look hot in white" were the smartest things they said all night. These were yelled at full volume, only stopping when they lost their ability to sit up straight and all when everyone else was trying to enjoy the music. Considering I spent most of the time listening to the performer ramble, the audience around me either yelling dumb things at the performer or other audience members telling those yelling to "shut up", it was not the best of shows.

There's nothing much to what I edited on the political content. It was merely an observation that as someone who generally leans towards the conservative side, he made a lot of comments that raised my ire. Again, that's to be expected, but he was generally not making any sense with his rants which bothered me even more.

When I saw him, he didn't do anything like that. He just played music for almost 2 hours and didn't really go off tangent from the music. He also didn't really go into any politics which made me happy because I had a feeling that he was going to do that.