9:30_club ammiel_alcalay arcade_fire barack_obama beck brand_new bright_eyes canada catherine_ivy comcast concert_review dashboard_confessional elliott_smith frank_langella geddy_lee georgetown_university global_warming google grateful_dead gwcs gwendolyn_brooks hurricane_festival jesse_lacey john_ashbery john_rutsey karen_carpenter lucille_clifton mac meatloaf metallica mindviz model_mayhem music_review my_virtual_model myspace national_mall neil_peart rolling_stone rush sci-fi smashing_pumpkins social_networking sonia_sanchez sonic_youth souleye spring_break w.h._auden washington_dc windows your_favorite_weapon
May 23, 2008 by Stephanie L. Grant
After babysitting for a week and doing nothing intellectually stimulating for hours on end, the publishing think tank that I freelance for called me up and said they had an assignment for me. Eureka! It would mean freedom from dirty diapers, whining, teething babies, and manipulative eight year olds who tell you “but my mommy I could” when their mothers definitely said quite the contrary before they left. I should have seen more than freedom from children. I should have envisioned Satan and his three mouths in Dante’s lowest circle of the Inferno. Brutus, Cassius, and Judas were lucky...
For the past three days I have been working on a website migration. This is not just a dinky 10 page website migration. This is a giant website, a huge database with thousands of pages about health and health related topics. When I got here the boss man said, “oh, it’ll just be copy and paste...” Yeah right. This has become as complicated as the web design that my boyfriend does. We have to worry about every single thing – even design elements. It’s ironic, consdering most of us doing it are proofreaders and copyeditors. Web design wasn’t a prerequisite before...
The worst part of the job is staring at this confounded computer screen all day. I’ve had a headache for two days straight and my eyes just hurt. All of the time. The second worst part of the job was the coffee... they switched to Starbucks today though! The job is tedious, boring, rote, and involves limited interaction with other employees. Did I mention that we are located in the middle of nowhere? The nearest coffee shop or place with food is a good two miles away.
I suppose I should mention positive things about this job. First, the “higher up,” whoever they may be, don’t try to micromanage. In fact, they are very hands off. One may take as many breaks as they feel like and can come and go from the office when they please. There is no “set time” to be into work by and no “set time” that one has to leave. I was floored on the first day when I didn’t see 15 employees running to the door because it was 5:00. Perhaps it is because they have a vested interest in their work... or because they mozied on into the office at 11:00 and want to stay to get their full eight hours in. Either way, I can’t say that I blame them, although I want to be gone by 5:00 and moving on with my life, even if I just go home to take a nap and stuff my face!In retrospect, I like college. A lot. I’m done with my day by 2:00 and can relax before starting my homework. I can sit around in pajamas all day and be a bum or go out shopping at 2:00 when all the “normal” people are at work. Oh... how I miss the good ole’ days.
May 14, 2008 by Stephanie L. Grant
I must admit that although the Smashing Pumpkins’ Zeitgeist has been out since July 2007, a couple of days ago was the first time I actually listened to the entire album. To be frank, I didn’t really care for it. It was spacier than their other albums and for their first album since reuniting in 2005, kind of a disappointment. Only two of the six members reunited and recorded the album – Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin. After a strong debut at #2 on the Billboard 200, it quickly slipped down the charts, although it was certified gold in February of this year.
Billy Corgan claimed in an interview entitled “Inside the Zeitgeist” that the album is “not a serious departure from other albums.” I don’t think I agree… sorry Jay!
According to Jimmy Chamberlin, the band’s goals for the album were: “The mindset of the record was to put our best foot forward and not get too artsy. We wanted to try to create a body of work that was concentrated enough to bring back a fan base and invigorate a new fan base. We kept it pretty close to the chest, and we didn't branch out too deep into art zone while we were writing the record” ("The Evolution of Jimmy Chamberlin: Still Smashing!" Modern Drummer, November 2007).
April 17, 2008 by Stephanie L. Grant
On Tuesday night, my best friend, Jess, and I went to the
9:30 Club in
We went upstairs to the balcony area and got a really good place to stand. The New Pornographers came on and played six songs before they even said hello. The show was chill, one of the most relaxed I’ve ever been to. They had minimum lights and a bare stage. All of the seven members of the band were onstage (a great feat, as they normally don’t all appear together!) creating a massive force of music right in your face! The members are all in and have been in other capacities in the industry. Neko Case (swoon!) does the lead vocals and is also a solo artist and member of Maow and Cub, Carl (A.C.) Newman (lead guitar and lead vocals) who solos as A.C. Newman and of Superconductor and Zumpano, Kathryn Calder (keyboards, backup vocals) of Immaculate Machine were the three most interesting to watch and were in the front. Behind them were, in no particular order, Dan Bejar of Destroyer and Swan Lake, John Collins of The Evaporators, Kurt Dahle of Limblifter and Age of Electric, Todd Fancey, a solo artist (as Fancey) and Limblifter, and Blaine Thurier, an independent filmmaker. The variety that each member brings to the band is refreshing and quite a creative benefit. The last four members were the guys in the back and were quite lackluster and never looked at the audience once! They might as well not have even been there! I’m not saying that their anti-social presence detracts from their technical ability, just that it’s nice to develop a rapport with the audience.
Neko Case had broken her ankle so she spent most of the night sitting on a barstool onstage and concealing her pain – very well, better than I could have done in her situation. She is completely worth seeing. Her voice is gorgeous, strong, and beautiful, a modern Stevie Nicks, down to the tiny twang in her voice.
April 10, 2008 by Stephanie L. Grant
As stated many times in my writing before, Rush – Geddy Lee,
Neil Peart, and Alex Lifeson – is one of my all-time favorite bands. Ever. Their
1976 album, 2112, put Rush on the
music map… the big-times. Of course, before 2112,
Rush released the eponymous Rush in
1974 (although Neil Peart was not yet the drummer, it was John Rutsey) and Fly By Night and Caress of Steel in 1975. In 1976, Rush released 2112 which brought them wide commercial
success and fame and their first platinum album in
The first section of “2112” is entitled “Overture” and consists of an instrumental that ends with the words, sung, “... and the meek shall inherit the Earth…” Apparently, the Overture also consists of a guitar adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. Then it goes into “Temples of Syrinx” with the lyrics:
... the massive grey walls of the temples rise from the
Heart of every federation city. I have always been awed
By them, to think that every single facet of every life is
Regulated and directed from within! Our books, our music,
Our work and play are all looked after by the benevolent
Wisdom of the priests...
The words you hear, the songs you sing
The pictures that give pleasure to your eyes
It’s one for all and all for one
We work together common sons
Never need to wonder how or why”
Check out 2112! I’ve included a link right here for your convenience!
March 26, 2008 by Stephanie L. Grant
The life of Elliott Smith. Continued.
Following his first album, Roman Candle, Elliott Smith released his eponymous album, Elliott Smith. Similar in style to Roman CandleElliott Smith grew from Roman Candle. The most famous song from this album is probably “Needle In The Hay,” as it was used in Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums. Many of the songs have been covered by other bands, but the originals (always) are better. (Lo-Fi, raw, homemade sound),
Either/Or came two years after Elliot Smith. The thing that made this album unique from his previous releases was that he expanded the instrumentation in the album, playing all of the instruments himself (obviously recording parts at different times and then mixing them). For constructing an album in such a way, one has to say that it is damn good and done poorly, could have been awful. My absolute favorite Elliot Smith song, “Say Yes” appears on Either/Or. It begins:
“I’m in love with the world
through the eyes of a girl
Who’s still around the morning after
We broke up a month ago and I grew up I didn’t know
Id be around the morning after
It’s always been wait and see
A happy day and then you pay
And feel like shit the morning after
But now I feel changed around and instead falling down
I’m standing up the morning after
Situations get fucked up and turned around sooner or later
And I could be another fool or an exception to the rule
You tell me the morning after
Crooked spin cant come to rest
I’m damaged bad at best
She’ll decide what she wants
Ill probably be the last to know
No one says until it shows and you see how it is
They want you or they don’t
Say yes…
I’m in love with the world through the eyes of a girl
Who’s still around the morning after”
Sigh… it’s an incredible song. Definitely check it out.
Twenty-five other songs that did not make the album were recorded or partially recorded during the Either/Or sessions. These 25 songs have been either officially released, released posthumously, unofficially released, or are not released. It’s pretty amazing when someone has so many songs and tracks to lay down at one time. Was it a burst of creative energy on the part of Elliott, or was he always like that?
Two years after the release of Either/Or, Elliott Smith signed with a larger record company, DreamWorks Records, with which he would record two albums. Right after this, something I did not know happened – he became depressed and one night was extremely intoxicated in North Carolina and ran off a cliff. A tree broke his fall, although saving his life, it impaled him severely. His next album was XO which had a more poppy sound than his previous albums. He also collaborated with more artists on the album than he was used to doing.
After XO was Figure 8, an album with a power pop style and was called a, “sweeping kaleidoscope of layered instruments and sonic textures” (Steve Huey’s Figure 8 review in All Music Guide). Figure 8 also came under criticism for its songs that sounded like “the self-pitying complaints of an adolescent venting in his diary” (Ethan Smith’s review in New York Magazine). By the end of the Figure 8 tour, Elliott Smith had become addicted to heroin.
Elliott Smith attempted going into rehab several times but could never get past the first step. Smith got clean via an IV treatment and in August of 2003, shortly before his death, Elliott Smith gave up alcohol, drugs, caffeine, red meat, etc. A couple months later in October, Elliott Smith died at the age of 34 from two stab wounds to the chest. There is debate over whether it was homicide or suicide, but it has been officially ruled a suicide. Smith and his girlfriend were apparently having a fight and she locked herself in the bathroom. When she came out, she saw him standing in the kitchen with a knife in his chest. She pulled the knife out and called 911. Elliott Smith died in the hospital at 1:36 PM. My question is, why would somebody stab himself TWICE in the chest? Who could ever be that immune from pain (even mentally) that he would pull out a knife that he had already plunged into his own chest and plunge it back in?
Elliott Smith’s death was a blow to the music world, but albums of his were pieced together by friends and released posthumously – From a Basement on A Hill and New Moon.
A final note to Zach to add anything that he wishes : D
March 22, 2008 by Stephanie L. Grant
Guitar. Vocals. Piano. Clarinet. Bass. Harmonica. Drums. Elliott Smith was talented at all of these things. Alcohol. Drugs. Suicide? Homicide? These things all befell him, the last two encompassing a debate over his death.
Steven Paul Smith was born in August of 1969 in Omaha, Nebraska. He named himself “Elliott” after graduating from high school. Returning to his childhood, Elliott Smith’s parents divorced about a year after he was born and he moved with his mother to Texas. He had a less than ideal, probably abusive, stepfather, Charlie, whom he wrote about and referenced extensively in his songs, “Charlie beat you up week after week, and when you grow up you're going to be a freak.” Charlie most likely led to Elliott Smith’s hatred of Texas – he tattooed a map of the state of Texas onto his arm and said of the tattoo, “I didn't get it because I like Texas, kinda the opposite. But I won't forget about it although I'm tempted to 'cause I don't like it there” (quoted from S.R. Shutt’s The Time it Took a Cigarette to Burn: Scenes from the Life and Art of Elliott Smith).
Elliott Smith learned to play the guitar at age 10. After spending thirteen years in Texas, Elliott moved to Portland, Oregon to live with his father. There he began experimenting with recording music, drugs, and alcohol, as many teens do, and played in three bands during high school. After graduation from high school, he attended Hampshire College and graduated with a degree in philosophy and legal theory (poli sci). Elliott Smith met Neil Gust at Hampshire College and they formed the band Heatmiser, definitely worth checking out if you like Elliott Smith or even if you’ve never heard of Elliott Smith. Together, Heatmiser released four albums from 1993 to 1996. To the band’s chagrin, Elliott Smith began his solo career while still in the band which formed a rift in the band. Heatmiser broke up right before the release of Mic City Sons, its last album, and much legality resulted.
Elliott Smith released Roman Candle in 1994 after he sent a tape of his songs to a record company at the behest of his then girlfriend. Of the album, Elliott Smith said, “I thought my head would be chopped off immediately when it came out because at the time it was so opposite to the grunge thing that was popular. [...] The thing is that album was really well-received, which was a total shock, and it immediately eclipsed [Heatmiser] unfortunately” (quote taken from Marcus Kagler and Mark Redfern’s Better Off Than Dead: Elliott Smith Comes Clean). He also described his shows as “going out to play an acoustic show was like crawling out on a limb and begging for it to be sawed off” (from Matthew Fritch’s article in Magnet Magazine, “Down on the Upside”). The most famous song from Roman Candle is “No Name #3” which appeared in Good Will Hunting. Ironically, at his first performance, only three songs off of the album were played, while 10 B-sides were performed.
The tribute to Elliott Smith will be continued…
Stay tuned.
Note: The following video is from Elliott Smith’s last show on September 19, 2003, right before he died. The song is “Say Yes,” my favorite.
March 17, 2008 by Stephanie L. Grant
I realize that my last few entries have been complaints about various services like public transportation and phone/internet/cable companies, but it really was necessary. In a complete change of topic and trajectory, I am going to write about music! Music, Musik, Musak! My boyfriend and I just moved into our first apartment together! It is fully furnished and definitely a bachelor pad. My goal is to make it pink but he’s not too happy about that. : P Our landlord has a lot of his stuff here and I want to talk about his music collection in particular because it can be a very intimate look at someone’s life. I apologize in advance for invading my poor landlord like this, but something things are necessary. What can I say?
In the closet, I took down the cds closest to the front. On the top of the first pile was Sting’s Ten Summoner’s Tales. Below Sting is The Best of VAN MORRISON, Music From the Motion Picture PULP FICTION (for which he has a matching poster), originally hanging in the living room I’m pretty sure (rolls eyes), and Carreras, Domingo, Pavarotti in Concert. From the first four I’m guessing that my landlord is a pretty sensuous guy, likes to be romantic at times, but also has a raunchy side. Underneath the three tenors is Metallica’s Load, Music from The Sopranos, U2’s Achtung Baby (which is missing), and 3 Doors Down The Better Life. I hate 3 Doors Down, can barely stand U2 (but did like their older stuff) and hardly like Metallica. I have a feeling that my landlord (who I’ve never met) and I wouldn’t get along, at least musically.
Below 3 Doors Down is Bush’s Sixteen Stone and I’m happy to come upon the first album that I myself own. After Bush is another Van Morrison, Moondance, and below that Johnny Lang’s Wander this World. I have to admit that I am not familiar with Johnny Lang and am curious to listen to it. But, like U2, it’s not in its case. Jeez. The last cd in the pile is Metallica again, Reload, which I did like back in middle school…
The next pile has a bunch of software cds for his computer on top followed by more U2, The Best of 1990-2000. Then there is an unopened Fabric of Life AIDS album, followed by Sheryl Crow’s Tuesday Night Music Club, and Tigerlily by Natalie Merchant. I have a feeling that either this guy can be a real softie sometimes or that he once had a girlfriend. Either way it’s cool. Creed’s My Own Prison is next, and Creed is a band I HATE more than 3 Doors Down. The Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream is next, a fantastic album put out by a fantastic band. Then there is Barry White’s All-time Greatest Hits… Next he has Dave Matthews Band’s Crash, a band I never really got into. I have ambiguous feelings about the Dave Matthews Band. Another Dave Matthews Band, Live at Red Rocks 8.15.95.
His last three cds… well, two out of three ain’t bad. <3 you Meatloaf! P.O.D. makes its appearance (I didn’t expect anything less – the Creed and the 3 Doors Down gave me the feeling that we’d descend further into that awful genre), followed by (Rotten Apples) The Smashing Pumpkins Greatest Hits, one of my favorite albums of all time that I do own, and coming in last, Billy Joel’s Greatest Hits Volume I & II. I have listened to that album more times than I wish to admit. Let’s just say I know every word… that’s not a bad thing, right?
Overall, my landlord has an eclectic collection of music. Not as eclectic as it could be, but varied enough at least to cover a spectrum of emotions – love, anger, hate, feeling good, godliness, etc. The collection continues to the back of the closet and I sign off to go pop the soundtrack to Moulin Rogue into the cd player.
March 09, 2008 by Stephanie L. Grant
I have a love/hate relationship with Dashboard Confessional. His albums are great – perfect for when I’m depressed or feeling down, but he is VERY whiny and his concert was the only one I ever walked out of. Clarification: I didn’t leave early, I WALKED OUT he was so terrible. Terrible isn’t the most accurate word – fake is.
About a year ago, my then boyfriend and I went to The Verizon Center in Pennsylvania to see Brand New open for Dashboard Confessional. I admit that the point of buying the tickets was to see Brand New (for the third time). I liked Dashboard’s music and especially his lyrics but wasn’t in love with him, I just liked his music and enjoyed it when I felt the same way. I was really thrown for a loop when it took him about 45 minutes to set up this elaborate stage with lighting that cost more than my parent’s house (I’m sure) and this huge platform so that he could be front and center.
He came out wearing an ‘Nsync style microphone set (think stylish Skype headset), tight spandex pants, and his hair greased back and started jumping around. He got up on the platform and started swaying and singing like an Evangelical preacher. Although he channeled Dr. James Dobson quite well, that’s not for me. He often took off his headset and let the crowd sing huge portions of the songs. According to Chris Carrabba, front-man for Dashboard Confessional, this “fosters a bond between concert-goers, and helps him and the audience connect on an emotional level, making all his shows intimate, personal experiences.” What lovely bull. They teach us to write that in high school and college. I don’t know about the rest of the audience, but if I’m paying $65 for a concert ticket, I expect the artist I am seeing to sing the songs. Something little, I know…
After the first three songs were mostly audience led, I grabbed my then boyfriend’s hand and ran, not walked, to the exit. We had really good seats too – we were right in front of the stage and viewed an awesome Brand New performance, but why they would open for Dashboard Confessional is beyond me…
Dashboard Confessional is the name of a band led by Chris Carrabba, although most people think he himself is Dashboard Confessional. A similar mistake is usually made with Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes. Their most famous song is probably “Screaming Infidelities,” the first single off of their 2001 album, The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most.
Their studio albums rock. The acoustic guitar playing is a notch above other artists currently recording and Chris Carrabba can sing! It would just be nice if he did so once in a while!
March 07, 2008 by Stephanie L. Grant
I was introduced to Coheed and Cambria when I was a freshman in high school by my friend Tim. They were a perfect way to get through fourth period (end of the day) honors Geometry class or to pass the time with Chrissy and Sophia in first period chorus (but only when our section wasn’t singing). Coheed is also highly addictive. I turned them on about 15 minutes ago and totally forgot I was writing this!
Claudio Sanchez, Coheed and Cambria’s front man, is lovechild of Rush’s Geddy Lee (wailing vocals) and Brand New’s Jesse Lacey (brilliant lyrics). The pounding bass (but not too hard) and crazy CRAZY hair definitely help the comparisons to Geddy Lee too.
Before Coheed and Cambria were Coheed and Cambria, they were called Shabutie and released two EPs as Shabutie, Plan to Take Over the World and The Penelope EP. They released The Second Stage Turbine Blade in 2002 (when I was a freshman in high school).
My favorite song off their first full-length album, The Second Stage Turbine Blade, is called “Neverender.” I was instantly captivated by the lyrics:
“when the hand reads 7:30
and your night begins to sink
in the short but faster fall
anxious but calm retort
to a mirror that frames your face
bearing the finest swell
when the day begins to break
like the tears that run across your cheek
stand straight and imagine you then
in the things and the way they could have been
when the thoughts they race across your chin
here in the Neverend.”
Sigh… I swoon every time. Be glad swooning isn’t popular… I would definitely swoon ALL of the time : D
The coolest lyrics of the album are on the last track, “God Send Conspirator” and go:
“Hold in your last breath and stare.
Assure me your metronome's left arm stick shift
is stuck on the right words in your ear.”
Damn. Damn is all I have to say.
One short year later, Coheed and Cambria released their second full-length album, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3. This album has obvious Rush references and allusions: (1) the space, post-millennium atmosphere, (2) the year 2113, the year after 2112, of the Rush album by the same name, and (3) the songs with parts one, two and three. That could ONLY be a Rush thing!
The catchiest song on In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 is “A Favor House Atlantic” with its cool lyrics:
“good eye, sniper I’ll shoot, you run.”
Two years after their second album, Coheed released Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness. Try saying that three times fast! Two years after that, Coheed released their latest album, Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow. The crazy and VERY CONFUSING thing about Coheed and Cambria and trying to make sense of their songs is that the albums have been released backwards so that The Second Stage Turbine Blade is the end of the planned tetralogy. The yet unreleased fifth album will be the untold first chapter of The Amory Wars, Claudio’s comic book series that has appeared online and in book form that detail the story of Coheed and Cambria, two fictitious characters. The two Good Apollo albums are considered as part of the same episode.
Check out Coheed and Cambria if you haven’t. Start with The Second Stage Turbine Blade. It’s the most accessible of all of the albums and the, shall we say, least violent…
March 05, 2008 by Stephanie L. Grant
Howie Day’s first album,
He was signed to Epic Records in 2002 and re-released
I turn and now
You're standing bare in my doorway
I only wish that I had been prepared
I'm gonna have to go along with your way
Just take the plastic camera out
It's the pants you borrowed in the driveway
Alive from the first
Now I'm denied by the ghost of you
Make yourself a photograph and laugh at me
Please
You make yourself a photograph and laugh at me
Please.”
“Morning After” also deserves an honorable mention for its innovative lyrics:
“Calcutta streams from porch life
Where we opened up our party gifts
And you fell down the stairs on purpose
And you drive to Europe in the rain
Your hair is done up (but no one's gonna see it)
Maybe you should take me home
What could be so wonderful about this
What could be so wonderful?
The half light wakes you up the morning after
Fall down with me
And roll around now”
Despite all of his short comings and brushes with the law, Howie Day is, really, a good musician and worth checking out.
February 22, 2008 by Stephanie L. Grant
Ca$mir has one of the biggest hearts in the world. When I joined MindViz a few months ago, he friended me almost immediately. Since then he’s commented on my photos, responded to my posts, and posted on my wall nearly every day – just to say what’s up, or to wish me Happy Valentine’s Day. He was also rated the #3 most popular on MindViz. Ca$mir, aka James, is a Hip-Hop/Rap/Indie music artist. I don’t know much about Hip-Hop and Rap, but I will try to do him the best justice that I can, despite my uneducatedness. : P
I must say that Ca$mir looks a little bit like Eminem but
without the stupid bleached hair (and definitely much better looking!) Hailing
from
The history of the name “Ca$mir” is pretty cool. It stands for “C-A-$-Me-I-Represent.” Word.
Ca$mir cites influences on his music as 2-Pac, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, and Kool Keith.
My favorite song by Ca$mir is “A Dream.” It has a beautiful guitar part tickled with piano in the background with his rap on top. It also has the coolest line – “expect respect where respect is expected.” Expect respected where respect is expected.I also really like “Can't Get Over You Ft. Determined.” It has great background music and the lyrics rock – it’s a really sweet tribute to his mom. Here’s an excerpt:
I think about the past
I think about the laughs
I think about the spats
The good times, the bad
I was raised with no dad
But had more than a mother.
And I love her and now I’m so sad
I can’t go back…
Now I understand
We got our hands dealt
Rough or tough we dealt
I wouldn’t be here without you
It’s true.”
http://www.myspace.com/casmiruknowthename
http://casmir.imeem.com/playlist/wEVqBU8u/camir_music_playlist/
February 18, 2008 by Stephanie L. Grant
One of my best friends from high school is literally in love with Beck. This boy is so in love with Beck that I honestly believe that he is going to buy his body when he dies, just so he can own it! He owns just about EVERYTHING that Beck has ever done – cds, records, Special-Never-Before-Seen-Unreleased-Tracks. Basically, you name it, he’s got it. I admit that I only aid and abet his obsession by buying him all things Beck, but I’ve often questioned his extreme obsession with Beck. Yes, Beck is an incredible artist, but to the extreme that he takes it? I’ve never been able to fully answer that question…
To begin the exploration into the obsession with all things Beck, I’ll start in the beginning. Beck Hansen, born Bek David Campell in 1970, hails from Los Angeles and is the offspring of a visual artist and a musician. No wonder, then, that he’s so talented!
Something I just learned from researching Beck that I never knew was that he dropped out of high school to travel and educate himself. The late 1980s brought him to New York where he was involved in the punk influenced and anti-folk music movement. His first album, Mellow Gold, containing Beck’s most famous song, “Loser,” sent him into the mainstream – a place he’s stayed throughout his entire career.
Odelay, the follow-up to Mellow Gold, was less flashy than the former and earned two Grammy Awards. After Mellow Gold Beck put out Mutations and Midnite Vultures, the latter once called an “orgy of sexual and culinary innuendo.” I definitely wish I had penned that line…
Simultaneously with his music, Beck was heavily involved in art – collaborations with his grandfather, Al Hansen (a visual artist), an experimental “trip hop” project with co-writer and co-producer Carl Stephenson that included spoken word, harmonica, and additional instruments. This facet to Beck’s work makes him unique from the other artists who are usually either going insane (like Britney Spears) or heavily promoting their own recordings and touring extensively.
His next album, Sea Change, was his first US Top 10 Album, appearing at #8. Probably my favorite album, Sea Change is notable for its extremely melancholy style. Sea Change was followed by Guero, which returned to his Odelay sound and style. Although extremely popular in mainstream media, Guero was met with disappointment by hardcore Beck fans.
The Information followed Guero in 2006, unique in many ways – it included a sheet of stickers, customers who purchased the album at Best Buy were given access to an exclusive download of a track entitled “This Girl That I Know,” while shoppers at Target were given “Inside Out,” both tracks on European versions of the discs but not on American ones. Other copies of the album included bonus DVDs, and the album reached #7 on the US Top 10 Albums list.
A not so nice aspect about Beck that has to be mentioned in any discussion of him is his heavy involvement in Scientology. He grew up in it, his father having been a Scientologist for 35 years. Beck is also married and is the father of two children.
But back to my friend’s obsession… This obsession is something I’m never going to comprehend. Beck is good, but is he that good? You be the judge.
February 04, 2008 by Stephanie L. Grant
According to Wilco’s website, it’s Wilco’s world and I am
absolutely stoked to see them February
26th at the 9:30 Club in
“Tall buildings shake
Voices escape singing sad sad songs
tuned to chords
Strung down your cheeks
Bitter melodies turning your orbit around”
Their new album is a throwback to their country style – mellow, soft, and anything but poppy. Uncut calls Sky Blue Sky “soft-rock therapy” while Entertainment Weekly says that “Tweedy’s vocals recall Don Henley in his prime.” “Side with the Seeds” is my favorite song off the album because of its wonderful crafting of imagery with words. I also like its piano, not to mention the wicked hardcore guitar solo that ends it, and the way Tweedy’s voice sounds like a scratchy Jon Bon Jovi. Scumpdidilyumptious. I’m going to quote the entire thing because it is beautiful:
“Tires type black
Where the blacktop cracks
Weeds spark through
Dark green enough to be blue
When the mysteries we believe in
Aren't dreamed enough to be true
Some side with the leaves
Some side with the seeds
The treetops nod
the rain applauds
The park grows dark
And the swings all slowly die
But you and I will be undefeated
by agreeing to disagree
No one wins but the thieves
so why side with anything
The streetlights glow
Comes and goes
When the sun comes back
As we all can plainly see
Embracing the situation
Is our only chance to be free
I'll side with you
If you side with me”
February 01, 2008 by Stephanie L. Grant
The Arcade Fire has been, since their Immaculate Conception,
on my top three favorite bands list with Rush and Sonic Youth who ALWAYS get shout
outs. But back to The Arcade Fire. The second best band out of
I am, here, PROSTRATING myself, begging you all to visit this website:
Here you will find the music video to “Black Mirror” – a great song and a phenomenal video in black and white, with old reels of footage, a message in a bottle, and men in boats with TVs on their heads. Pretty rad.
As a group, the Arcade Fire has eight official members but often has many more, as I can attest to from The Hurricane Festival in Germany, that play with them live. Instruments range from the traditional guitar and keyboard to horns and glockenspiels. Sometimes, when they really feel like it, they bring their organ onstage (my favorite instrument – look for an up and coming post about Cameron Carpenter the best organist of all time! And I’m really not exaggerating…) I feel like the Arcade Fire is less like a band and more like a family – a really large, extended family (think Brady Bunch!) Led by husband and wife team Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, the band really is a family affair – William Butler, Win’s younger brother, is also in the band. This camaraderie provides the audience with an intimate, personal experience that not very many bands offer.
Even though it was released independently by the band, Neon Bible has been considered by critics as among the best indie recordings of all time. Aside from the music, which is fabulous, the Arcade Fire’s lyrics are a notch above the rest, as well as a political commentary:
“Working for the Church while your family dies
You take what they give you and you keep it inside
Ever spark of friendship and love will die without a home
Hear the solider groan, "We'll go at it alone"”
“Resurrected
Living in a lighthouse
If you leave the ships are gonna wreck
Resurrected
Living in a lighthouse
The lions and the lambs ain't sleeping yet”
from The Well & The Lighthouse
Save my soul, set me free!
Set me free! What have you done to me?
I can't breathe! I can't see!
World War III, when are you coming for me?
Been kicking up sparks, we set the flames free
The windows are locked now so what'll it be?
A house on fire or a rising sea?”
Maybe I got a little carried away with the lyrics, but I think it’s important to experience something fully, especially if you’re experiencing it for the first time. That said, if you haven’t checked out the Arcade Fire, I promise you won’t be disappointed.
January 25, 2008 by Stephanie L. Grant
I discovered the musician Catherine Ivy when I joined the
social networking site MindViz (www.mindviz.com)
about a month ago. She describes music as “therapeutic, relaxing and soothing
for the restless soul” on her Mindviz profile and that’s exactly what her music
is. It’s some of the freshet, cleanest, and most inspirational music I’ve
discovered in a while and she’s always on my playlist.
You can find Ms. Ivy on MindViz, MySpace, www.numberonemusic.com/pureheart, www.iacmusic.com, and on Youtube. She’s currently on her own label and located in Texas, but that doesn’t make her music inaccessible.
Playing a portable grand piano, Catherine excels at creating beautiful music, saying that “music runs through my veins.” Yes, yes it does. Not only does music run through her veins, it circulates throughout her body and pumps through her heart into the keys of her piano, creating a circuit like a light switch.
Catherine describes herself better than I ever could, writing, “I have bottled up and held within me a river of sound that just flows from my fingers into the piano keys. Out comes music that I have never learned, it is a natural that isn't taught, but given freely.”
I implore all of you to check Catherine Ivy and her music out. She’s – simply – amazing.
PS to all of you: My favorite song by Catherine is called "My Soul." Listen to that one first and you'll realize what a treasure you've encountered.
January 21, 2008 by Stephanie L. Grant
So, my phone broke the other day. I was ripped, to say the least. I marched down to the Cingular, excuse me, AT&T store, and demanded to know what happened to my phone. I exaggerate. I wasn’t that mean. But seriously. Being without a phone is, I must sadly admit, akin to being a fish without any gills.
At the AT&T store’s counter they have, sneakily placed at eye-level, models of the most expensive phones in candy colors for touching. And, poor, poor customers, like me, fall helplessly in love…
Sigh.
Needless to say, I fell in love with the Blackberry Curve. It’s so – delicious looking. I had never understood the Blackberry hype – you either have a cell phone or a computer or both. Why would you need a device to both at the same time? But then, THEN, I saw this beautiful, absolutely unostentatious specimen and it was love at first sight. Oops.
Now, I will do anything to get a Blackberry. I think I will start judging jobs that are offered to me by the criterion of whether or not they will give me my own Blackberry.
This newfound obsession with the Blackberry has led me to some serious questions, such as: what is the plural of Blackberry? Is it Blackberrys or Blackberries? I started asking my friends and it was my boyfriend who sent me to the age-old debate (I jest) over whether it is “mice” or “mouses.”
There is an exceptional article found here http://www.cyberwalker.com/article/302 that addresses this very question of whether it is “mice” or “mouses” and the very educated author, Andy Walker, concludes, “Both are appropriate. I endorse Mayer's final analysis, though. "There is one way to avoid confusion," he concluded. "I do not have two mice and I do not have two mouses ... I have one mouse and come to think of it, I have another mouse."”
By this aversion of the answer, I suppose Blackberrys and Blackberries are both appropriate terms. I’ll never have enough money for one and I won’t have enough money for the other either.
January 16, 2008 by Stephanie L. Grant
Until Brand New releases another album, this will, regrettably, be the last entry in the Brand New section of the album review category. : (
The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me is Brand New’s latest album, released in late 2006. They toured extensively throughout the first half of 2007 and began touring in fall 2007 with dates continuing into 2008.
The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me is the most tormented and contemplative of Brand New’s three albums – fitting, as their fans have grown up right alongside the band. For example, a friend of mine discovered Brand New when he was 15, an angst ridden teen suffering through the fun that is high school. Now he’s 22 and actively questioning life, death, and to be vague, everything else.
For me, The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me was slightly disappointing at first because I had heard all of their Untitled tracks (demos) that had been leaked onto the internet and was madly in love with them and quite sad that many of them didn’t make the album cut. After a week, I got over myself and realized the genius of the songs and their lyrics on The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me and adopted a new attitude, one that appreciated the extra nine Brand New songs that I got to listen to that no one should have ever heard in the first place.
Personally, my favorite song on The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me is Luca. The most brilliant lines of the song are:
“So they fixed you with cement galoshes
And no one can save you now
Unless you have friends among fish
There’ll still be no air to breathe
You could drink up the entire ocean
We’ll still find someone to be everything we know that you’ll never be.”
My favorite song of the Untitled tracks is Untitled Number 4 with these evocative lyrics that capture the feeling of loss magnificently:
“I, I am feeling like a veteran
Overall, The Devil and God are Raging Inside of Me is an instrumentally accessible album that keeps the element of “what makes Brand New Brand New,” but exhibits their maturity – lyrically (if that was even possible), content-wise, and physically (Jesse Lacey has always been so gorgeous and just keeps getting hotter!)
January 13, 2008 by Stephanie L. Grant
This is the second blog entry in a group of three about Brand New, one of the best (original) emo bands around that like wine, only get better with age. Deja Entendu was Brand New’s second album and was released in 2003. With song titles like “Good to Know That if I Ever Need Attention All I Have to Do Is Die,” “Okay I Believe You, but my Tommy Gun Don’t” and “The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot,” Deja Entendu seems to be overly dramatic but ends up being some of the most comforting music I’ve ever heard – fitting, as “deja entendu” is French for “already heard.”
“You are calm and reposed.
Let your beauty unfold
Pale white like the skin stretched over your bones.
Spring keeps you ever close.
You are second hand smoke.
You are so fragile and thin.
Standing trial for your sins.
Holding onto yourself the best you can.
You are the smell before rain.
You are the blood in my veins.”
Like Your Favorite Weapon’s last song, “Soco Amaretto Lime,” Deja Entendu’s last song, “Play Crack the Sky” comments on the travails of love. The most ambiguous song on the album, “Play Crack the Sky” is hard to interpret. Some say it is a metaphor for love and others say it is about a breakup. This is the chorus:
(This is the calm.)
Calm me and let me taste the salt you breathed while you were underneath.
(We are the resin)
I am the one who haunts your dreams of mountains sunk below the sea.
(After the storm.)
I spoke the words but never gave a thought to what they all could mean.
(Rest here with thee,)
I know that this is what you want.
(Washed up on the beach.)
A funeral keeps both of us apart.
You know that you are not alone.
I need you like water in my lungs.
(this is the end.)”
January 10, 2008 by Stephanie L. Grant
I remember the days, fondly (blasting it in the car), of angry lyrics from Brand New’s first album Your Favorite Weapon from 2001. Much of the album’s anger was basically Jesse Lacey’s retaliation to his ex-best friend, John Nolan, a former guitarist of Taking Back Sunday (now currently in the band Straylight Run). From what I’ve heard, Nolan cheated with Lacey’s then girlfriend, stabbing him in the back – your best friend cheating on your girlfriend. Pretty crappy I would say.
The most recognized song of the album is, hands down, “Seventy Times Seven” whose title references the Biblical verse in Matthew 18:22 where Jesus says that one should forgive their enemy seventy times seven times. Memorable (angry) lyrics excerpted here:
“I hope there’s ice on all the roads
So you can think of
me when you forget your seatbelt
And again when your
head goes through the windshield.”
Other songs on the album also display anger towards an ex-girlfriend such as “Jude Law and a Semester Abroad,” excerpted here:
“Tell all the English boys you meet
About the American
boy back in the states.
The American boy you used to date.
Who would do anything you say.”
The last song on the cd is entitled “Soco Amaretto Lime.” It is a beautiful ballad grasping onto the ever-changing whims of youth, lyrics excerpted here:
“I'm gonna stay eighteen forever (cut me open)
So we can stay like this forever (sun poisoned)
And we'll never miss a party (this offer...)
cause we keep them going constantly (...stands forever)
And we'll never have to listen (new haircut)
to anyone about anything (new bracelet)
cause its all been done and its all been said (eyeliner)
we're the coolest kids and we take what we can get (wait forever)
(you're just jealous cause I'm young and in love)”
You’re just jealous cause we’re young and in love. You’re just jealous cause we’re young and in love. You’re just jealous cause we’re young and in love.
January 09, 2008 by Stephanie L. Grant
I am shamelessly in love with haute couture and fashion, specifically designers Alexander McQueen and Dolce & Gabbana. On winter break/Christmas vacation, I caught up on a year’s worth of my favorite magazines – Elle, Vogue, and Vanity Fair, none of which I subscribe to. My lovely grandmother (like most old women) trades magazines with her cronies, which happen to have very good tastes.
Ask me to name female fashion icons throughout the ages and I’m right there with my favorites – Katharine Hepburn, Greta Garbo, Irene Dunne, Lauren Bacall, Coco Chanel, Louise Brooks, Nancy Cunard, Gloria Vanderbilt, Sylvia Sydney, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Twiggy, Brigitte Bardot, Edie Sedgwick, Julie Christie, Audrey Hepburn, Jacqueline Kennedy, Diana Ross, Princess Diana, and contemporarily, Kate Moss, Sofia Coppola, and Madonna.
Yes, yes, these women are all gorgeous, but not only were they gorgeous, they were trendsetters and took risks that most other women did not – at least until the above mentioned women did and then it was trendy to do so.
Many of these women were actresses, but that wasn’t necessarily a pre-requisite for fashion icon status. All left their mark on American fashion and, consequently, will be remembered for their fearless contributions to fashion.
But – is fashion necessarily a feminine indulgence? It seems as though the majority of fashion designers are men (Alexander McQueen, Ralph Lauren, Valentino Garavani, Tom Ford, Domenico Dolce, Stefano Gabbana, Marc Jacobs, John Galliano, etc.) – they dictate what is fashionable for the upcoming season and dress their models accordingly.
One can argue that many of these contemporary male fashion designers were and are in fact influenced by the styles of female fashion icons. For example, Katherine Hepburn started the pants for women craze and now what do all women wear? Pants!
Feminine only or not, fashion and haute couture are here to stay. Magazines are devoted to it, social networks for modeling abound (like One Model Place), and it continues to be plugged into our eyes, given from above and left for the masses to mindlessly follow.