Category Archives: Music (Re)Views

When I find an album, song or artist that strikes my interest. Or at least gets my attention.

Prejudiced? I Can’t Tell

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Today I was listening to a pop artist because I had heard her name enough times that I had to find out why people were listening to her. For those of you keeping score: it’s not Britney Spears. YouTube had a number of her videos online so I listened to them on the y’ube and got a feel for the style of her album(s). I did not watch more than about 10 seconds of her video but I’m pretty sure I’m prejudice. The reason I say that is that with computers and software being what they are even I can sound relatively decent so I want a genuine artist writing from their heart about things that matter to them. I need something deeper than dulcimer tones.

Am I prejudiced against the pretty faced girl who sings like an ‘angel’ (pardon me while I puke in my mouth after writing that)? I think so. What if the unnamed country-pop star is really a great, talented gal who writes real songs from her heart? I’m scared if she does because she’s got to have a large chunk of bubble-gum lodged in there and its coated with banjos [this makes her songs authentic country, I believe]. Definitely enough to have a need for heart surgery. If she likes country music and enjoys singing about love, broken heartedness and incestuous relationships like traditional country musicians that’s great, but it just doesn’t show up in the lyrics and the videos are more about her hot young body than they are about her personality.  Or, as my sister, who likes country, likes to say: her qualities [a reference to the Bachelor TV show].

Help me find a really, really good country artist who writes quality songs, has depth in lyrics, music stylings, and isn’t just a celebrity for appearance sake.

Fair

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I have been a big fan of Poor Old Lu since the mid 90’s when two brothers who were in a (sphhhblunk rock) rock band with me encouraged me to give them another listen. When I had listened to the demo tape at the Christian bookstore I had heard a slower song and shut the tape player off. Yeah, I was really a good music listener back then. However, after borrowing their copy of ‘Sin’ I became hooked. Fast forward to 2005. Poor Old Lu is gone (for now), but Aaron Sprinkle, their guitarist has a lower priority solo career. Aaron’s touring band turns into his band Fair. Fair isn’t Poor Old Lu 2.0. Fair is more like Aaron Sprinkle 4.0. Its got a good solid sound, great harmonies, and a nice driving feel at places and careful respect for the delicate intricacies of dynamics in other places.

Genre: Rock
Released: 2006
Rating: 4.5 ear canals out of a total 5 ear canals
Theological Content: Could Play on Secular Radio without anyone knowing the band was Christian unless you knew they were Christian, in which case you can pick up underdones & themes.

If you’ve not heard Fair I’d check them out on iTunes or Amazon.com.

Recommended Tracks:

  • The Attic
  • Carelessness
  • Cut Down Sideways
  • Confidently Dreaming
  • The Dumbfound Game
  • Unglued

Switchfoot Video: Awakening

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I love the band switchfoot. The lyrics are pensive, and often thoughtful. The rock is amazingly good, and the compositions are always impressive to me. Attention to detail definitely is definitely a fitting description for their whole sound. They’ve created a new music video that references video games, pop-culture and paper-mation. Right on guys! See it on YouTube!

Call the RIAA!

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This is a weird sarcastic poem that probably will scare more people than amuse 🙂

Today the car next to mine

was cranking his music up to nine
I could hear the lyrics just fine

I hadn’t purchased or paid a dime

Call the R-I-A-A

there must be some fine to pay

The lines are clear, there is no grey

Call the stinking R-I-A-A

He took off when the light turned green

I turned after him to stop his scheme

I had been intending to go straight

But I had to stop this violate

I swerved and shouted at this cheater

Until the cop stopped me like a speeder

He didn’t understand the trouble

With the music outside the bubble

As if the sound wasn’t copyrighted

He arrested me and I was cited

“Call the R-I-A-A,” I rioted

Screaming loudly, angry, violent

I had the right to remain silent

Out of Tune

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I submitted a cover song to a podcast cover song competition last month.  Actually, it was recorded last year, but submitted last month.  I got routed.  Spanked.  Demolished.  But such is the way of music, subjectivity and the fact that I can’t hold pitch very well compared to better trained singers.  However, this was a learning experience and if there is a next time I’ll take what I learned from this and attempt a better submission.  What are those things I learned you ask?

  1. Re-record your vocals until they’re as close to spotless as possible.  I’m certain this cost me.
  2. Work out your arrangement and refine it.  I have tried to communicate this to others but somehow didn’t apply it to myself (can you believe I’ve produced a band before?)
  3. When you play your recording for someone and their first reaction is to laugh… it might be best to figure out how to get a smile instead

I appreciate that Dan Klass, one of the judges, was the Paula Abduul of the group 🙂  He at least liked the beginning few seconds of the song 🙂

Mydo Kawa

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So I was listening to a station on Pandora.  This band comes on and starts sining, “Mydo Kawa.”  I was thinking to myself, “These guys sound white enough, but that’s surely some oriental language.”  Turns out its the Steve Miller Band and he’s singing “My Dark Hour.”  Enunciate!  Or move to Canada, learn to enunciate and then sing your silly songs.  Mydo Kawa!

The Collective Buttocks of the Music Industry Have Spoken

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In what can only be described as either insane or completely normal for insane people the Major music labels of America, AKA:” The people who would sue your grandma if they found out she had MP3’s on her computer – even if she didn’t know how they got on there,” are suing the Russian MP3 sharing site AllOfMP3.com for 1.65 trillion dollars. In case that sounds like a lot of money, you’d be wrong. Because in Russian Rubles it would be 43.378995 trillion rubles. OK, that’s the same amount of a lot of money.

Yearly music sales for the major labels is only $40 billion worldwide or roughly one fortieth of the sought reimbursement. Granted that the attorneys in this case, if their pipe dreams come true, will get a large chunk of that. So maybe a handful of attorneys join the world’s wealthiest billionaires, displacing Bill Gates as most hated human being because everyone else is jealous, or maybe this silly site is going to disappear, the Russians will not pay a ruble, and the RIAA will go about suing grandmas, teenagers, and complaining that music sales keep dropping because of the Internet. Surely no one could possibly be buying less music because they don’t want another Britney Spears album, they never wanted a Paris Hilton album, and they also did not want another new album for the asking price of $18.00 a disc. Oh, and nobody even whispered in dark rooms or in back alleys that they wanted a Kevin Federline album.

I of course keep knocking out number one hits like there’s no tomorrow. Like this.

A Product We Won’t Buy on Principle

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Kraft cheese is now selling ‘Crumbles’ which would be crumbled cheese.  And their advertisement offended my sense.  They just took the song ‘Unbelievable’ by EMF from 1990 and turned it into “Crumbelievable.”  Wow, that’s crummy advertising.  It is also really, really amazing to me that EMF would license that song.  Sure, they’re hurting for money, but you have to draw the line somewhere.  Especially with such cheesey covers.

With or Without U2

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If you like U2, and I know you do, then you may have some thoughts on this.*  I just listened to the Coverville episode that was a U2 cover story.  Some of the covers are good, but the last one really grabbed me the most [When Love Came to Town featuring Herby Hancock, Joss Stone and Johnny Lang].  Anyway, I found that almost all of the covers lacked the passion that Bono puts into the vocal parts.  When you get accustomed to certain sounds, songs or bands some covers really come up short.  But this got me to thinking – I know, I try not to think too much, but I had to this morning.

When U2 eventually stops making music (I’m referring to death, not the reunion tours, the senior home tours and the depends sponsored tours that the Rolling Stones have done) more bands will do covers and the next generation of fans will be born.  Bands will do U2 covers to new listeners, those listeners will then get turned onto the original band and it will be a new sound, even though it may be decades old.  Or, because they don’t know the original song will they later not like the U2 version?

In the end I think what will impact people most is the fact that Bono looks like he’s Robin William’s brother.

Bono & Robin Williams

*I also know you like rice cakes with butter and salt on them.  Yup, I know my readers really, really well.

Red Umbrella

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Red Umbrella is a band that I stumbled upon through the Dallas/Ft. Worth based Spin 180 podcast.  If you have ever been drawn to the fantasticly unique voice of David Byrne (of Talking Heads fame) then you must check this band out.  Their music is just brilliantly catchy, creative and did I mention creative?  There are 80’s pop sounds, infectious grooves and modern rock sensibilities.  All in one band.  It is their first album, but if they keep going like this I hope it isn’t their last!

I want to buy their album on iTunes but I have been unable to get it yet, though their site says it is available there.  I assume Sony will be getting it up soon.  There are three tracks that you can listen to on their site which should warm you up 🙂