Saturday, April 30, 2011

Nice find Derek! Was also disappointed this wasn't streamable at rdio, but hadn't bothered to look any further. Just downloaded and am enjoying now.
Hey Brian, you're just not trying hard enough.
Hey Stu, incidentally I'm intrigued by the Pete la Roca disk you mention. I know his work - he was the drummer on numerous hallowed early/mid 60's jazz sessions (largely Blue Note) by Rollins, Henderson, Dorham, Hubbard, etc - but didn't know he'd ever recorded as a leader. So, very excited about your purchase, particularly given the rave reviews it gets on allmusic. Now, very frustrated to find that it's basically not available anywhere - not on itunes, not on emusic, not on Rdio (it's there, but you can't listen to it), and nobody has loaded it up on bittorrent. Bah! Love to borrow it once you've had a listen or 12.

I did track down his follow up record from 1967, the very odd-looking, and oddly titled "Turkish Women at the Bath" which is really interesting as well. Has John Gilmore and a very young Chick Corea on it. This was La Roca's final recording before quitting jazz and becoming an attorney (I kid you not), and has an interesting history - though perhaps not as interesting as the album cover would suggest. It's more widely available so would recommend adding it to your collection.

Friday, April 29, 2011

I refer you back to a link Marc (successfully) posted earlier this week.
i just have this to say

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Much as I hate this term.....LOL.
I'll simply note the delicious irony of your complaint post about other bloggers' deficient tech savvy containing a dead link (owing, once again, to sloppy copy and pasting on your part) and provide the real link so everyone can access this new site you've discovered.
Dont know if any of you have heard of this music provider (called jango). It works like pandora and it seems to have an intersting range of artists...... And best of all its free ( except for you computer chanllenged types who cant seem to get the free aspects to work...to be said with a certain degree of irony in your best Sean Connery accent)....

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

I have the 'There Will Be Blood' and find it interesting so will have to check out the 'Norweigan Wood' soundtrack. Believe Brian and possibly Derek both saw this film at TIFF last year....did the music stand out on this one guys? Wondering when they're going to release that film (translation= when will i see it at on the shelf my indep video store, prompting an 'oh yeah').

Agree with you on your Fleet Foxes assessment. Only listened once thus far (Update: Streaming Here) but it has a decidedly CSN feel to it, something I've noted others talking about as well in various online sites. Regardless, or perhaps, therefore, liking it!

Hadn't heard the Glass solo piano until last night and have to concur with Bri...very beautiful, particularly the piece he mentions, 'Mad Rush', something about that style of playing, with the keys cascading on top of another, whether slowly or frantically, that packs quite an emotional wallop.

As for the Itunes shuffle...she gives and she taketh away. Suggest you either shuffle within certain genres or create a playlist of genres you don't mind listening to together (ie. Electronic, Hip/Hop, and Alternative or Jazz/Electronic/Classical) or just using the Genius to get a 'songs like' consistency. When you start surpass 80GBs/several weeks of music, spanning various genres and styles, it can get a little crazy just simply using the 'Shuffle Songs' feature. But hey, you've introduced your son to a cool song from one of Modest Mouse's more interesting albums.

Anyone here a fan of Xray spex? Kind of a combination of before my time and not my style (same way i feel about Patty Smith, btw) but wondering if she was pivotal for others here.

Monday, April 25, 2011

....last but not least... picked up a jazz lp by pete la roca who played (drums) with joe henderson amongst others...this is from 1965ish which for me is the sweet spot....just a stunner compositionally...it really grabbed me with its relentless drive...even the slower tracks have a hypnotic power ...seems to reoinforce my belief that the tunes themselves for me can be the most important eklement of my love for jazz... Brian you likely have the 12 cd set of outtakes from this ... (I assume due to his relation to henderson...)
dont know if any of you have picked up on Jonny greenwoods soundtrack career .....he scored "there will be blood and has now just released Norweigiwn wood, which on first streaming nsounds equally interesting... This is nothing like radiohead and its all over the map... the new one much more so then "there will be blood"... I really dont know how he does this...to my ears it has a foot in challenging modern "classical" music ....(with the new album breaking that down more)...and I wonder if he is collaborating with someone more schooled..... ....usually when a rock dude tries this sort of classical crossover it is shiit, but this bears up to repeated listens....
is it just me or does the new fleet foxes sound like a CSN led bt graham nash.... not bad but crosby or stills would be a better lead point....that first single, (something blues ??) seemed better then this but maybe I have not spun it enough...any of you diggen it like?
I am a fan Brian....Saw him about 10 years back at Roy Thompson, although that particular work never resonated ( cant even recal the piece) others have over the years... I particularly like his disc "solo piano" of which there are variations on metamorphosis...and also his score for the hours ( a movie I only saw for the first time last year and it blew my small mind to pieces... i have heard rumour that the author of the story was inspired by glass ...) I also like his violin concerto and if yopu really dig crazy shit .. whuich you do.... then try 'Hydrogen Jukebox' an opera of sorts libreto by Ginsberg with his voice narrating over some parts, which I only cue up on my cd player when under a few or more glasses of wine.... not to be braved straight buit sublime if the mood catches you.....the only trouble with his music is a certain sameness but the sound is really his alone
Maybe it's just because I've been on my own, working, for four days over a long weekend (take from that what you will re my frame of mind), but in the course of scouring Rdio for some appropriate music, I came across some Philip Glass piano works that I found almost impossibly beautiful. You lads may already know all or some of it. The pieces I'm referring to are "Metamorphosis" which is from 1988 and "Mad Rush" from 1979. They're both great examples of minimalism meets serialism, but so simple, haunting, and gorgeously melodic. Completely distracting when all I wanted was some background music! Ugh. There are a few recordings on Rdio if you're interested, both Glass himself, and Bruce Brubaker, which I'm listening to now. I'd start with "Mad Rush".

Friday, April 22, 2011

Well at least this did not pop up on your shuffle and become Ciaran's favourite track du jour ...piss myself laughing every time i listen to it (listening location advisory attached)

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Ah the dangers of the iWorld that we live in. Not only do we have to watch our backs now that iPhones are tracking every move you and I make (well you at least) but beware the dangers of the iPod shuffle play during family dinner.

Earlier this week as we segued from Maurizo Pollini to Joe Henderson we were met by the blast that is Modest Mouse's "Shit Luck" track #11 from their 1997 album "The Lonesome Crowded West". It now appears to be Ciaran's new favourite song as he has asked me to play it each night when I get home from work and it now sits atop my iPod's most played list alongside the National's "Bloodbuzz Ohio" which he doesn't give a fig about.

Scary enough that my 4 year old son digs a song this dark but it pales in comparison to what I had to go through in my house when I was a child.
Yeah, the Yellow Ostrich disk is pretty intriguing. Hard to get a handle on, which I always see as a good thing. Well worth a listen.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Feelies also available on emusic. As is Yellow Ostrich, an album I'm digging these days, which is only available in previews at rdio, unfortunately.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Wow, what an unexpected pleasure....new album from one of my very favourite bands. Twenty years between releases, and sounding, not surprisingly, a little wistful. But I'll take it.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Are you saying, "More Than A Feeling" caused all that damage, Marc? Also, anyone planning on celebrating Record Store Day tomorrow? An interesting letter of support for this um, holiday, from an emusic staffer, along with good suggestions for NYC record store visits.
the gouge factor is riding high on a Friday afternoon ...you know you are playing the tunes a little too loud when everything keeps falling off you desk!
sometimes algorithms can be dead on when it comes to suggesting music based on other music bought/liked/etc. and other times, they can be so off the mark as to prompt little more than gales and gales of laughter. here's an example of the latter, which appeared on my emusic 'new' screen today. haven't listened to any of the samples. but i will be judging that particular book by its cover. and apparently if i like that, i'll also like this. little too surreal for me on a friday morning.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

stu, i don't even mind the vocoder, which bon iver has used judiciously and can work, like garlic, in moderation. the first track could be a lost Housemartins track, and is both literate and pretty. the rest of the album too often pairs the falsetto vocals with arrangements that just seem a little too pat and cute at the end of the day. perhaps others disagree.

couple listens into the new 'low' disc (synced to my iphone courtesy rdio), and i'm quite liking it. does the female singer play such a prominent role on previous discs? while i have a few, i haven't listened to them all that extensively. with 'c'mon', she's front and centre, and her expansive style works well with the mood and tone of the album as a whole.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Something funny now to end the day positively.(warning: not suitable for work).
why so quiet, chaps? too busy adding new music to your rdio accounts? or perhaps you're still clearing the vomit from your mouths after reading this?
yeah.....I think iron and wine jumped the shark on this one too.....and thanks to rdio I know not to buy it...I also just pooped j maskis and a few dinasaur jr albums onto my Queue...thanks for the tip.....

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

have i mentioned how much i'm enjoying the new j. mascis album? the last few dino jr. albums have been decent but have never really seemed to veer much from a sound that made them really interesting in the 80s and early 90s but less so of late. stripped of the distortion and feedback, the new disc pretty much stands on the urgency of his scratchy voice and really lovely guitar work. think this is his 'sea change' or 'mutations'.

also, stu, who gets to pick the music in your office? and what did you think of the new 'iron & wine'. was listening to it on the streetcar last week and on a couple of the tracks, i thought i was listening to george michael. needless to say, not impressed, one listen in.

Friday, April 08, 2011

What can I do? Not my problem if some people just can't handle this.

Also, on the subject of band names, these seem kind of clever:

-Times New Viking
-Ringo Deathstarr
-Unbunny

Thursday, April 07, 2011

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

has anyone else noticed that beach (eg. 1, 2, 3) is the new bear (eg. 1, 2, 3) itself the new wolf (eg. 1, 2, 3)? or is it just me?

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

having signed up for my own account i did indeed let the metaBeats account slide. I figured it was not going to work out the way i thought it might since only one browser can log on at a time. Still, nice the way we can follow each others latest additions and playlists. I enjoy simply listening to other peoples collections. ...note to self: must not get lazy and neglect to build my own!

Monday, April 04, 2011

After I posted a few hours ago I signed up for my own free trial and added 20 albums to randomly play here in my hotel room. The musical mix of the likes of James Blake, Randy Weston, 1960's Neil Diamond, early Jayhawks, the new Kurt Elling, Elbow, Rival Schools etc... is very hard to beat.

Who needs satellite radio? Hey, who needs the cd club?
Could be Derek. I'm already deep into rdio with my own account and the streaming software. I'm loving it - can't beat it for 5 dinaros a month.
Am I correct in surmising that the Rdio account under metabeats has now expired. Are we going to resuscitate this baby or do I have to open up my own free trial run.

Saturday, April 02, 2011

I'm pretty sure that no one is listening as I spin my post-midnight Rdio mix but it's like being privy to the best radio station out there. All but the most obscure bands and albums seem to be available and as much of the music that I love is now confined to vinyl, which I never really have the opportunity to listen to, it lets me dig deep in to all the records I love. All we need now is for metabeats radio to go public. Let the kids know what they've been missing.