Merry Christmas

Art Brut...

...takes a loooong time to figure out. The review of Brilliant! Tragic! may take a while longer.

Top Ten Albums That Shaped My Music Taste

I got an idea that both Hannah and I could write about, so here it is! Hopefully her Ten will be up sometime in the next few days.


I think that more than any others, these ten albums were massively influential to my music taste. They're in the order that I heard them, as far as I can remember. Accompanying this post is a mix of ten songs, one from each of the albums, on 8tracks.com.

1. II - The Presidents of the United States of America
   I think that the first Presidents album may have been the first album I ever got that was actually intended for adults, not kids. The second one, though, is what made me a fan for life. Realizing that a band (rock stars! When you're six, everyone who can play a guitar is automatically a rock star) was singing about a mountain just south of my hometown ("Volcano")  blew my dumb little kid brain. I can guarantee that I didn't understand what half the lyrics meant - "Bath of Fire" and "Supermodel" were big examples of that - but I knew I loved them. The song on the mix is "Mach 5", which I believe is the reason that I own the full series of Speed Racer on DVD today.
   
2. Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone? - Harvey Danger
   I probably spent two full years of my life wondering what the title of the song was that had "I'm not sick, but I'm not well" in its chorus. The internet was utterly beyond my comprehension, and somehow my father had forgotten seeing this band at Bumbershoot, so he was no help. Eventually I found the song title and band in the credits to American Pie, and got the album for Christmas. I listened to it so many times that I still get thrown off when my iPod is on shuffle and the songs don't follow the order on the album. I now own ever Harvey Danger EP & LP except their rarities album, and accidentally (no, really accidentally) found out where the lead singer lives. The song on the mix is "Old Hat", which is the one song that I always get confused about, even after listening to it for ten years.
   
3. Add It Up (1983-1993) - The Violent Femmes
   At some point in middle school, my father bought me four very eclectic albums: Thank You by Stone Temple Pilots, My Private Nation by Train, More Than You Think You Are by Matchbox Twenty, and this. I'm pretty sure it was the final order from Columbia House, or a sale or something. I pretty much thought that this album was the most twisted, raunchy, forbidden thing that rock and roll could accomplish (I'm pretty sure the Frank Zappa and Alice Cooper best-of albums that my dad also got me had the same effect). It's the only album of those four that I still listen to tracks off of at least once a day, and the only one of the four that I admit to liking in mixed company. The song on the mix is "36-24-26", which pretty much speaks for itself. This was the hardest song for me to pick, by far.
   
4. Comfort Eagle - Cake
   I believe that this album planted the seed in my head that trumpets in rock music are cool. I stand by that, and my love of swing revival and the Dusty 45s proves it. The song on the mix is "Shadow Stabbing", which has a line about a typewriter that I quite enjoy.
   
5. Plastic Surgery Disasters/In God We Trust Inc. - The Dead Kennedys
   Oh, punk rock. You and I have had a tumultuous relationship, but this is the album that started it. My love of the Dead Kennedys continues, but trying to branch out to a few other hardcore bands killed my love for the genre. Going to a DOA and MDC concert buried it for good. But in high school? This album was the best. Well, about half of it was the best, the other half was mediocre. Luckily, the album was really long, so that worked out. The song on the mix is "Bleed For Me", which made me feel like I knew way more about politics than I did.
   
6. Common Market - Common Market
   Yup, this is the first hip-hop album I ever got. I checked it out from the library. I have no regrets. From here I went to Blue Scholars, also from the library, to actually going to shows and buying my albums. Unlike the first three albums in the list, this one is the first that really diverged from my dad's taste in music. I suppose that at 16, I was a little late to that party. The song on the mix is "G'Dang Diggy", which is a silly name for a song.
   
7. Nuclear Winter - The Lonely Forest
   Have you ever gone to a show with ten other people, where you didn't know any of the bands, been convinced to stay by the lead singer of one of the bands, and ended up buying their album with the weekend? Then a few years later, after attending many shows and buying many more albums of theirs, seen that same band play only a few hundred feet away at an arena to hundreds and hundreds of people? John Van Deusen once gave me a hug for being at that first show. I love the Lonely Forest! The song on the mix is "Hangman", which I didn't know I liked until I re-listened to it today.
   
8. Singles 45's And Under - Squeeze
   This is the album that made me realize that I needed to steal a lot more music from my mother's CD collection. It also was when I realized that something called "New Wave" existed, and that it was the best thing ever. All the indie rock I like now sounds a lot like New Wave, so I think I can say with some confidence that I made the right call. From there I went on to Talking Heads, Devo, the English Beat, and all that other eighties stuff that wasn't hair metal, hip-hop, or punk. The song on the mix is "Black Coffee In Bed", which I used to always put on the jukebox at the diner, before they pulled that album.
   
9. Furr - Blitzen Trapper
   This one is a little bit contentious, because their earlier album Wild Mountain Nation probably deserves this spot. I think though, that if I hadn't gotten Furr, that I wouldn't have been pushed towards Americana and bluegrass music. Now, thanks to a friend's extended stint in the South, I have a healthy appreciation for country as well. This may be the first band that I started listening to because of the KEXP Song of the Day podcast, which will continue to be important for the next album on the list. The song on the mix is "Not Your Lover", which I believe is one of their more folk-y tunes (but honestly I forget the instrumentation a lot of the time and only remember the awesome).
   
10. Hold On Now, Youngster - Los Campesinos!
    This is the second album that I ever bought because of the KEXP podcast. Maybe, it may have been the other way around. The poster that came with the album is still on my wall, and its hit single still makes it into 4/5 mixes that I make. I really like their newer stuff, but haven't gotten around to buying it yet. I think that this album, along with Passion Pit, got me into electronica. LCD Soundsystem sealed the deal. Actually, it hasn't really gone beyond that, but I am open to the idea! This album is also partially responsible for my love of Wales and Welsh people and things, so that's something as well. The song on the mix is "My Year In Lists", which is really neat and kind of weird, just like all of their other songs.

A quick note...

Wondering why every single one of our reviews recommends that you get the song or album? Look at the name of the site! If we don't like it, we don't post about it.

Album Review: Love Everybody - The Presidents of the United States of America

Yeah, it's nearly a decade old. I don't care, I just found it after two or three years of looking for it. And it's still great!


It's their first album with their new backup guitbassist (or bassitarist, they use weird instruments), and it shows. Both this and their sixth album have a very distinct sound, different from both the early sound of their first three and the very much experimental sound of the somewhat lackluster Freaked Out And Small.

In particular, I point to a few examples of the super-upbeat sound that they've embraced in their current incarnation: "Love Everybody", "Some Postman", "Highway Forever", and what is arguably my favorite: "Shreds of Boa".

All four are quick, irreverant, and will have most people singing along even before they know the words. You can practically hear the crowd singing the callback in Highway Forever, and Some Postman will be in your head for years after you first hear it. Shreds of Boa tells the story of the best and worst party ever, and Love Everybody is practically a manifesto for the Presidents' musical style.

I'm sure you can find this album used for under ten dollars, somewhere. Go buy it.

Album Review: Strange Negotiations - David Bazan

This album is Bazan's latest, from last May. It's fantastic, and like much of his other work it's a strong mix of powerful fast songs and emotional slow ones. Personally, I prefer his faster, angrier stuff, but I can appreciate the others just fine. There are four standouts that come to mind immediately, mostly in the up-tempo range: "People", "Eating Paper", "Strange Negotiations", and "Wolves at the Door".


Wolves at the Door, more than the other two, is a fast and angry political tune. I first heard it on the Grapes of Rad (who also happen to have Bazan on each year for their Christmas show), and was immediately ready to buy the album. Like Arrows, though, my wallet demanded that I wait for a sale.


Eating Paper and People are a little more back and forth, getting faster and slower throughout. The title track, Strange Negotiations, is generally pretty low-medium compared to the others and, like many of Bazan's songs, threatens to bring a tear to your eye even if you aren't listening to the words.


If you were a fan of Pedro the Lion or Headphones, or if you just like Bazan, check this album out. It was live-streaming on his Facebook page for a while, but I think you'll have to look somewhere else to preview it now. If you want some of his stuff for free, though, check out Daytrotter, where he has two older sessions up.

Album Review: Arrows - The Lonely Forest

It took me far too long to buy this album, but then it went on sale! So here we are. Many of my favorite tracks off of this album were released before, but three new ones stand out: "Coyote", "(I Am) The Love Addict", and "End It Now!"


I've heard them all in concert plenty, and Coyote was on the KEXP Song of the Day podcast many moons ago. They're all fantastic examples of the sound that the Lonely Forest has become, far away from the aesthetic of 2007's Nuclear Winter. When that album came out, they were playing to ten people at the Vera Project. After this one launched, they played to a packed house at KeyArena. So, take from that what you will.


If you like anything the Lonely Forest has released in the last two years (We Sing The Body Electric or EP, mainly), or if you've just heard one or two songs and are intrigued, this album is well worth picking up. You'll love half the songs and absolutely love the other half. Go get it.




A side note! I just remembered that I also got another new album, recently: Strange Negotiations, by David Bazan. I'm going to try and get one or two more reviews out today and the next two out within the week.

But first...

Busy, Busy, Busy

Two New Albums, One Old

I finally got new music! Well, a while ago. I finally remembered to write about it! Or at least, write about planning to write about it. I got two new albums (one is actually fairly new, the other is from a few years back, I believe), and finally found my copy of an old one. Hopefully I'll have all three pieces up real soon, depending on how the week goes.

The albums are....

1. Arrows - The Lonely Forest
2. Brilliant! Tragic! - Art Brut
3. Love Everybody - The Presidents of the United States of America

Update! Also, Strange Negotiations by David Bazan!