Tribute

Okay, I hate cover/tribute albums. I don't even like covers, save for a rare few. Most of the time it's nearly impossible to do a song and improve on what made the original great. The notable exceptions to this are as follows:

Galaxie 500- Ceremony (orig. by Joy Division/New Order)
Pavement- The Killing Moon (orig. by Echo and the Bunnymen)
Dinsosaur Jr.- Just Like Heaven (orig. by The Cure)
Superchunk- 100,000 Fireflies (orig. by The Magnetic Fields)
Death Cab For Cutie- All Is Full Of Love (orig. by Bjork)
The Postal Service- Suddenly Everything Has Changed (orig. by The Flaming Lips)

Having made that statement, a friend of mine recently let me borrow a CD called "True Love Waits: Christopher O'Riley Plays Radiohead." The premise is fairly simple: a classically trained pianist takes on some songs by one of today's most challenging, artistically viable bands. The result are spotty; while O'Riley is a fantastically gifted pianist, several of his interpretations fault on the side of being too bombastic, nearly obliterating the natural gentle beauty of the songs in a rush to get to the point of the song. A notable exception to this is his inclusion of "Black Star," off of 1995's landmark (and nearly perfect as a whole) album, The Bends.

Whereas the original "Black Star" was in itself a bombastic pop/rock song detailing the touchingly bewildered narrator's (presumably Yorke) inability to get through to the woman he loves, O'Riley's interpretation brings out the gentle melancholy that, while inherent in the song, may have been buried behind the blaring guitars. What's left is at once inherently human due to both it's sadness and fragility and it's curious sense of optimism. By stripping the song of its' lyrics, a whole new emotional dynamic is revealed that, in context to the original song (or perhaps in spite of), is heartbreaking.

Not much else to report. My band played a show last night. The show was hilarious for all the wrong reasons, but was nonetheless a good time. Cool Hand Luke was good. The chick who sings in Rhema played a solo set. She's as cute as a button, and has an amazing voice. My best friend John came up last weekend, and we had some fun, and took some pictures (which will be locked in a secret vault I have reserved specifically for incriminating evidence).

Thomas got me into Friendster. It's amusing.

"Adaptation" is a brilliant film. Deal with it.

I promise to not do another post about Radiohead. At least until the next time. At least this one was short, eh?

The Not-Including-Radiohead-Or-Radiohead-Related-Items-Playlist:
Sufjan Stevens- Michigan
Sufjan Steven- Michigan (Outtakes)
The Early Day Miners- Placer Found
Brian Eno- Ambient 1/Music For Airports
Flake Music- When You Land Here, It's Time To Return
Curve- Doppelganger
Guitar- Sunkissed
Portishead- Portishead
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club- Take Them On, On Your Own
Dntel- Something Always Goes Wrong

R U Still In 2 It?

... and the answer is a resounding "Yes!"

I'm still here, folks. A little more stressed, a little more tired, but alive and kicking. Today was awesome, though. The weather is starting to cool, and it's time for young lads and lasses to start getting frisky.

My band recently completed an interview, and you can read it here. A whole lotta thanks to Brent at Somewherecold for taking the time to listen to us ramble.

Went to the Beta Bar in Tallahassee to catch Mogwai with my brother Rob and his girlfriend. Great show. They played everything I wanted to hear, including my absolute favorite, "2 Rights Make 1 Wrong." I thought my ears would never stop ringing (and I had earplugs!). Check out Mogwai here, and check out their fabulous new album.

Sufjan Stevens' new album rules. Con Dolore's "Sailor's Warning EP" was pretty good. Landing's new album is pretty. The Early Day Miners rule. Flake Music (now known as The Shins) ruled. Lenola and their album, "Treat Me To Some Life," was just okay. You rule, readers. You look great today.

Mighty Little Man

Aaaah... a relaxing Saturday night with nothing to do. Beautiful.

I kind of need a rest, actually, because my band played two shows this week, on Thursday and Friday night, respectively. It was especially great to see the boys again and to just hang out. They are some of the coolest guys ever and tremendous musicians, so I'd like to give them individual shout outs: Thomas (happy now?), John and Robbie, I love you guys. You make it worth it.

Thursday night was okay. We played with local (at least, local to where I'm from) favorites Denison Marrs, who have released a few CD's and are generally respected (although they've started to act like rock stars now, which I'm not down with. I knew you when you were Divine Child, so chill out). There were some unfortunate technical aspects that we had to deal with, namely some tuning problems and my keyboard fritzing out right before my solo and losing all my settings. The show friday night was great, despite some unfortunate placement on the bill (we were first, followed by a cover band). I tried to record it, so we may have some new material up on our site soon.

One of bands I've been listening to is The Twin Atlas, made up of former members of Lenola (a psych-pop band from Philly). The Twin Atlas plays beautiful, shimmering folk pop with some shoegaze elements and incredible vocal harmonies. These are some of the best songs I've ever heard, extremely well-written and produced. Like Stephen Merritt and the Moonbabies, these guys just seem incapable of writing a bad song. Check their site out here and listen to them here.

I've also been listening to The Swords Project lately, and really digging their take on the whole post-rock genre. Their new disc is kind of paradoxically cool, holding you at arm's length while simultaneously pulling you in. Musically, they're very hard to describe; echoed guitars and subtle electronics float through the songs while the drummer and keyboardsist drop some nearly dancey beats in among the samples and string parts (they have their own violinist!). Maybe a less bombastic Mogwai with more of an urban feel? I dunno. It sounds cool, anyway. Check out their ultra-cool website here.

Also, check out Steve Burns' (yes, the guy from "Blue's Clues") new album (on which he's backed up by The Flaming Lips, of all people!) and his website, they're both pretty good. The website is hilarious (in that random way), especially the FAQ section.

Oh, yeah, I finally saw "Identity." Creepy.

The Amazingly Large and Idiosyncratic Playlist:
The Twin Atlas- Bring Along the Weather
The Twin Atlas- The Philadelphia Parking Lot Authority Must Die
The Breeders- Divine Hammer EP
The Breeders- Cannonball EP
Echo and the Bunnymen- Reverberation
Unwed Sailor- The Marionette and the Music Box
Mercury Rev- Boces
Knapsack- Silver Sweepstakes
Bedhead- Beheaded
The Swords Project- Entertainment Is Over If You Want It
Laika- Lost In Space, Volume 1
King Of Woolworth's- Ming Star
The Long Winters- When I Pretend To Fall
Steve Burns- Songs For Dustmites
Brian Eno- Ambient 1/Music For Airports
Sister Sonny- The Bandit Lab (trying to find a review)