Pearl Jam!

Hi!

Well, I was just reading Chad's post and I figured that I had a bit of time to kill right now and what better way to spend it than to write a quick post on our blog (on which I have written so little!).

I am not one to purchase CDs in general. It's not that I download music either, it's just that I'm usually content to either listen to what music I already have or to just have the radio on (yes, among other things I am a top 40 kind of gal). For a long time now, I have enjoyed Pearl Jam and get really into their music whenever I hear it on the radio, but have never gotten around to buying any of their albums. We were at Best Buy the other day and I happened to see one for 9 bucks, so I bought it. After listening to it, I finally understood something that I could never truly comprehend before. I just simply wanted (and still want) to own every single Pearly Jam album in existence! Maybe I'm just weird, but I don't often get too excited about new things coming out by an author or artist or actor, etc. that I really like and I figure that at some point I may get it, but if I don't, I'm not going to be upset or probably think twice about it. But this Pearl Jam CD, Vs. (their second), I really just love it so much and it's not even just that the music itself is so good, but it reminds as to how much their other earlier music kicks ass and how much I want to listen to that, too. I don't know a lot of their music that hasn't been on the radio, but I'm excited to find out about it.

Would anyone have a suggestion on what they think is their best album/the one that I should pick up next?

Playlist Week Day 5 -- Neil Young

[This weekend, I got the new issue of Rolling Stone, which included a bunch of specific playlists like Bono's David Bowie playlist or Ozzy Osbourne's Beatles playlist. So, for this week, I'll be doing five playlists of ten songs per artist/band each day with some brief comments on the song. All songs in chronological order.]

It's motherfuckin' Neil Young.

1. "The Loner" (1968) from Neil Young: The stuff about the guy being on the subway, sitting at the back, reminded me of me sitting at the back of the bus...

2. "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" (1970) from After the Gold Rush: Man, is that title wrong or what? Or is it? The "I have a friend I never see..." predicted the internet age... if you take it literally.

3. "A Man Needs a Maid" (1972) from Harvest: I love the Live as Massey Hall version of this where the lyrics talk about being 'afraid' a bit more. But, there's something sad and loneyly about this song. Some think it's sexist, but it's really just about a guy who's so lonely that he may as well get a maid, because that's the only way to have a woman around his place these days. I love the overproduction.

4. "Revolution Blues" (1974) from On the Beach: Angry and darkly funny. Sure, it's about Charles Manson, but it's also about how shitty LA is. One of those songs that I can play over and over forever.

5. "Cortez the Killer" (1975) from Zuma: Killer guitar work. "Cotez, Cortez, what a killer, man." What? He was!

6. "Campaigner" (1977) from Decade: "Even Richard Nixon has got soul." Imagine singing a song with that in it? Young went where he wanted. And this song captures something about politics and wanting to be loved. A rare one that's worth tracking down.

7. "Powderfinger" (1979) from Rust Never Sleeps: A story song that has a good driving rhythm.

8. "Crime in the City (Sixty to Zero Part I)" (1989) from Freedom: Fuck, this song is so cynical and bitter. The stuff about producing a record is just mean. This song is about as bad an indictment of the Reagan years as anything else.

9. "Harvest Moon" (1992) from Harvest Moon: "When we were strangers, I watched you from afar / When we were lovers, I loved you with all my heart." I love that line. For some reason, I obsessively listened to this song one day in my third year of university. I had this poli-sci class of maybe 30 people. A seminar class and one of the students in the class died. Class was cancelled as a result and I looked around when we were told and I couldn't see anyone missing. That feels like it should mean something, but I've never been able to figure out what... except that I'm a dick.

10. "Ordinary People" (2007) from Chrome Dreams II: A loooooooooooooong song, but one that sums up Young's caring about the average guy. As much as a man like Neil Young can. This brings in his political stuff, his Farm Aid stuff, his electric car stuff... not explicitly, but it's all there.

Later.

Playlist Week Day 4 -- Ryan Adams

[This weekend, I got the new issue of Rolling Stone, which included a bunch of specific playlists like Bono's David Bowie playlist or Ozzy Osbourne's Beatles playlist. So, for this week, I'll be doing five playlists of ten songs per artist/band each day with some brief comments on the song. All songs in chronological order.]

The only non-Canadian during this week of playlists, Adams quickly became one of my favourite musicians after I picked up his album lloR N kcoR on a whim. He works a variety of styles, willing to just dash off songs and work at a very quick pace. It's an attitude and work ethic that would have made him fit in with the music industry of the '60s/'70s, but he's seen as an oddity now -- someone who should slow down or simply bank his best material for ecclectic albums. Me, I prefer the less polished cohesive wholes he delivers. Then again, I'll take three very good albums in a year over one possibly better album once every three or four years... But, I digress. Ryan Adams!

1. "Come Pick Me Up" (2000) from Heartbreaker: Not many can write about fucked up relationships like Adams and this one helped kick off his solo career. What's worse: stealing someone's records or fucking their friends on his bed? I demand to know!

2. "The Bar is a Beautiful Place" (2001) from Gold (bonus 'side 4' track): Not a song a lot of people have heard necessarily since it was available on a bonus disc for Gold. This was one of my favourite songs of the summer of 2007. As a non-drinker, using this as my status on MSN had people wondering what was up with me... but it's just a sad song about self-destruction and a bad break-up. It's one of those songs that is so damn emotional.

3. "English Girls Approximately" (2003) from Love is Hell: The line "English girls can be so mean" may be about girls from England, but it will always make me think of girls in my English classes. Not that they were especially mean or anything... just pining over girls in classes and such. Also, the part where he goes "Just three words, my love: you meant everything" is fantastic. A double-meaning saying that she meant everything to him, but also she meant everything they did -- it meant something to her, too. That reminds me of something once...

4. "Note to Self: Don't Die" (2003) from lloR N kcoR: "Note to self: don't die for anyone / Note to self: don't die / Note to self: don't change for anyone / Don't change, just lie." Fuck, Ryan Adams can write some good lyrics that get at the heart of matters. Not that I necessarily advocate this approach. But, I always dug that.

5. "Rock and Roll" (2003) from lloR N kcoR: This song was really from the Love is Hell sessions and stands out on lloR N kcoR as this downbeat piano-driven song on an album of loud, brash rawk music. But, it's also a song that I can recite right now. Pretty simple. Sad. It's about being hung up on a girl. It's always about girls.

6. "Magnolia Mountain" (2005) from Cold Roses: "Lie to me like I lie to you" is another fantastic line. In my year as a Gazette Arts & Entertainment editor, this was my most played song. Just a beautiful, wonderful song that makes me want to sing along.

7. "The End" (2005) from Jacksonville City Nights: I love the way he crams in the line "The waitress tries to give me change but I say nah that's cool just keep it." It doesn't fit the metre or length of the line, but he gets it in there. A more romantic/nice flipside of "29" I'd argue.

8. "29" (2005) from 29: Driving beat, semi-autobiographic lyrics that make you not want to like Adams... it's a helluva way to kick off an album, but it's great at building as the song progresses. The chorus is fun to sing along to.

9. "Halloweenhead" (2007) from Easy Tiger: One morning, I thought my roommate Adam wasn't home, so I put this on loud and sang along to it a half dozen times or so. He was home and still hates me to this day for that. A stupidly absurd title and concept, but it's got great music and some killer lines like "I just watch, I don't go inside" or the shouting of "Guitar solo!" before the guitar solo. Shows off how catchy Adams can be...

10. "Magick" (2008) from Cardinology: But not as catchy as this song. Two minutes to accomplish what 99% of the shit on the radio takes five minutes to not accomplish. I could listen to this song forever. How this wasn't a #1 hit still baffles me. Michelle isn't really a Ryan Adams fan, but she loves this song. "So turn the radio on / So turn the radio up / So turn the radio up loud and get down / Let your body move / Let your body sway / Listen to the music play / It's magick, it's magick." Fuckin' a, man.

Tomorrow, we finish things up with Neil Young.

Playlist Week Day 3 -- The Barenaked Ladies

[This weekend, I got the new issue of Rolling Stone, which included a bunch of specific playlists like Bono's David Bowie playlist or Ozzy Osbourne's Beatles playlist. So, for this week, I'll be doing five playlists of ten songs per artist/band each day with some brief comments on the song. All songs in chronological order.]

For a long time, the Barenaked Ladies were my favourite band. At some point, that stopped being true, but I never lost all interest. They're the ex-girlfriend that I'm still friends with. That good friend you get together with every few months and have a fantastic time with, but then don't see again for another six months. Just the way it is. They can do jokey, they can do smart, they can do emotional... they can do funky, they can do rock, they can do pop. I still haven't heard their latest album beyond the first single (money issues -- it's on my Christmas list) and I'm curious to know how the Steven Page-less band sounds. As this list shows, my tastes tended to run towards Page's contributions.

1. "Brian Wilson" (1992) from Gordon: I didn't know who Brian Wilson was before this song. I knew the Beach Boys, sure, but not the man. This is just a great song. The band was more famous for "If I Had $1000000" but this was always their true 'anthem' song for me.

2. "What a Good Boy" (1992) from Gordon: A song about the weird gender politics and the bullshit we dump on our kids. This song touched something in me when I was in high school and sometimes struggled with the expectations of being the 'smart kid.' Odds are, those expectations were more my doing than anyone else's, but everyone struggles with the labels placed upon them (whether by others or themselves).

3. "Life, in a Nutshell" (1994) from Maybe You Should Drive: This is my favourite BNL album. They made an effort in some ways to move away from the funnier, lighter side of Gordon and there's some real struggling with the early 20s here, I think. This song is upbeat and great and just about having a really solid relationship that's going well. It's probably the most 'mature' song on the album.

4. "The Old Apartment" (1996) from Born on a Pirate Ship: A 'you can't go home again' song... strong playing on the instruments and the odd funny line, this song hit me a new way when I moved away from home. Even going back to my parents' place is a different experience. I love my life now, but there's something sad about losing that old home.

5. "One Week" (1998) from Stunt: How can you ignore the song that made the band 'overnight' superstars in the US?

6. "Conventioneers" (2000) from Maroon: This a funky, almost loungey song... a song that sounds like it should be used to seduce a woman if the lyrics didn't send the exact opposite message by the end. But, the end of the song is great as it shows how a flirty, sexually-charged relationship can exist... until sex is actually had and then what? It was all just empty flirtation with nothing underneath. Never had that experience myself, but I imagine it could be very awkward.

7. "Shopping" (2003) from Everything to Everyone: "Everything will always be all right when we go shopping." A song that's just about mocking George Bush and the Republicans for that 'shopping to fight terrorism' bullshit, this song is also incredibly catchy. It's just plain fun to sing. I once wrote a comic script where the centrepiece of the issue was a giant musical dance number in a mall with this as the song that everyone sings.

8. "Sound of Your Voice" (2006) from Barenaked Ladies are Me: Some rockin' guitars kick this one off and it's weird to know that this is a Kevin Hearn song that he passed along to Page to sing. This song has hit that personal spot with me where the chorus makes me think of the days Michelle is out of town or I'm out of town or whatever. Sure, it's a song about a guy who fucked up and screwed up his relationship... but, for me, it's just about missing that person you love. Missing them being around. You get oddly used to them. I also like the line "This little song is about second chances."

9. "I Can I Will I Do" (2007) from Barenaked Ladies are Men: A similar vibe to "Conventioneers," I love the way Page sings the title line.

10. "You Run Away" (2010) from All in Good Time: Is this the "Cannonball" of BNL? I do like how they made the first single about Page's leaving the band. It's a decent song and the underlying emotion carries it.

Tomorrow: Ryan Adams

Playlist Week Day 2 -- The Tragically Hip

[This weekend, I got the new issue of Rolling Stone, which included a bunch of specific playlists like Bono's David Bowie playlist or Ozzy Osbourne's Beatles playlist. So, for this week, I'll be doing five playlists of ten songs per artist/band each day with some brief comments on the song. All songs in chronological order.]

Today, it's the Tragically Hip, a Canadian rock band that's developed the status of the Canadian rock band. Every album of theirs since their first album has been #2 or #1 on the charts (more likely to be #1 with only three failing to hit that mark, while their first LP only reached #13). It's just some good rock music. My list is skewed towards their early albums a bit and I don't subscribe to the idea that they began to suck around the time of Phantom Power, but it's hard to deny the quality of their early material. Their later material isn't as catchy always, isn't as easy to get into... isn't as memorable at times. And listeners of the Splash Page Podcast will know the lead singer of the band, Gord Downie, for the bit of his song "We're Hardcore" that we use to kick the show off.

1. "Blow at High Dough" (1989) from Up to Here: The first song on the first Tragically Hip LP and it's about shooting a porn flick in a small town. It's a rocking song that starts off slow, but gives a great first impression of the band's sound. When you figure out/learn what the song is about, it's hard not to laugh at times. I do like the drumming.

2. "Long Time Running" (1991) from Road Apples: A quiet, moody song. When I hear this song, I picture Gord Downie or someone slowly walking down a dark street, wearing a suit with the tie undone, bottle of beer in his hand... it's that kind of song.

3. "At the Hundredth Meridian" (1992) from Fully Completely: A cool rock song. I love the line "I seem to remember every single fucking thing I know." Just a song that hits on that leve you dig. You know?

4. "Wheat Kings" (1992) from Fully Completely: A song, at least partly, about David Milgaard and his wrongful conviction for rape and murder. A slow, quiet song that has some great singing. Maybe it's the Canadian in me, but the line "Late-breaking story on the CBC..." appeals to me.

5. "Nautical Disaster" (1994) from Day for Night: Actually, I'd probably recommended the live version off Live Between Us with Downie prefacing the song with talk of a movie adaptation that's kind of funny. This is an odd song about a dream of a life as a lighthouse keeper. There's a nice build. The Hip does good slow builds that turn into big drums and lots of rawk.

6. "Ahead by a Century" (1996) from Trouble at the Henhouse: Probably my favourite Hip song. A mellow sort of song with a rock edge. "Disappointing you's getting me down" became my personal shame of a mantra for the past couple of years.

7. "Bobcaygeon" (1998) from Phantom Power: A story song. The video for this song is a completely literal interpretation of the lyrics and works really well. The way the verses repeat themselves is good.

8. "Fireworks" (1998) from Phantom Power: Another song with a line that stands out: "You said you didn't give a fuck about hockey / Well I never saw someone say that before." So Canadian and can't help but make me laugh. And I'm not a big hockey fan. I just know what a line like that means. The song is about not knowing what marriage and relationships are really about; spending too much time together and things turning into a weird cold war.

9. "It's a Good Life if You Don't Weaken" (2002) from In Violet Light: The interplay of the music and Downie's vocals is startling. There's a real orchestral vibe to the way the instruments are played, while Downie just gives it his all. Downie is underrated at times, I think, as a singer. He's very good at emotion and mood.

10. "Now the Struggle Has a Name" (2009) from We are the Same: The title of the album comes from a line in this song. It seems like a song that sums up where the Hip are. Their album after In Violet Light was called In Between Evolution, suggesting that they thought they were on the brink of change, but, here, they seem to be reconciling themselves with the fact that no matter how much they try to grow, there's a core identity to band that holds them back. But, it's also that the name of the struggle is 'We are the Same.' How does a band that's been around for 20 years and seen massive success change and grow without causing their fans to turn on them? Oddly, this is all my reading of the song since none of that is in here. But, the song brings out those ideas.

Tomorrow: the Barenaked Ladies.

Playlist Week Day 1 -- Hawksley Workman

[This weekend, I got the new issue of Rolling Stone, which included a bunch of specific playlists like Bono's David Bowie playlist or Ozzy Osbourne's Beatles playlist. So, for this week, I'll be doing five playlists of ten songs per artist/band each day with some brief comments on the song. All songs in chronological order.]

I'm beginning with Hawksley Workman, a Canadian singer/songerwriter/rock and roller/whatever else you call a guy like that. He's eclectic, energetic, funky, sad, fantastic, and other adjectives. I've seen him twice in concert and enjoyed both times quite a bit.

1. "Tarantulove" (1999) from For Him and the Girls: I love the slow, drum-heavy pace of this song. He almost seems to be slurring his words without actual slurring them. A very offbeat, weird feeling in this song. "Well, I'm no doctor, baby, but I know what's good for me" is a great line.

2. "Safe and Sound" (1999) from For Him and the Girls: A sweet, soft song. One of the sweetest and softest I know. This is a song that I didn't really get until my current relationship with Michelle. It's about love and assuring the person you're with that they can trust you completely and just feel safe... and damned if that isn't a great feeling.

3. "Striptease" (2001) from (Last Night We Were) The Delicious Wolves: Funky and loud and rude and crude... this is my favourite song to get dressed to, ironically. If I were a stripper, this would be the song I stripped to. It's not exactly a strip club song, but whatever. Hawksley doing pure rock and roll.

4. "Anger as Beauty" (2003) from lover/fighter: This song has one of my favourite lines of all time: "Fighter soul alive in a whiskey-fueled rage." I wrote a comic script about that line once. This was the single that made me pick up lover/fighter and get into Workman's music.

5. "Autumn's Here" (2003) from lover/fighter: A song I play every year in the fall. Just Workman and a piano (a trumpet comes in later) totally describing the feeling of a windy, cloudly, chilly autumn day. He captures the feeling of the season so well. It's sad and melancholy. There's a line where he says "It's okay if you want to cry" and I remember waiting for the bus in the fall one day in my second year of university and being damn near tears for no good reason as this song played. A moment of beauty and sadness... So, this gets played every year in the fall.

6. "God Decides" (2004) from My Little Toothless Beauties: From one of his 'lost' albums, this song begins and ends My Little Toothless Beauties. This album is Workman's Tonight's the Night or 29 for me. This song is epic as Workman with a thumping death march of a beat and a piano runs down what 'god decides.' It's a nihilistic, angry song.

7. "You Are Too Beautiful" (2006) from Treeful of Starling: Another soft, sweet song. The chorus of "You are too beautiful to be in bed with me" always hit something in me. Because every guy worth a damn knows it's true about the woman he loves. Especially when he follows that line up with "If you could see the thoughts I see, if you could see my thoughts, baby, you'd agree." Sweet and lovely, but also hinting at the horribly perverted and fucked up shit guys think about. I like the subtle humour. Plus, Workman nails a wicked high note.

8. "It's a Drug" (2008) from Los Manlicious: A big heavy guitar begins this one. I'm a sucker for songs about how great music is and this song is just such a thing.

9. "Prettier Face" (2008) from Los Manlicious: Los Manlicious was the second album Workman released in 2008, paired with Between the Beautifuls and this song was on both. I prefer this version as it comes closer to capturing the stunning live performance of it that I saw at the second Workman show I attended. A depressing song of self-loathing that descends into the repetition of "And I can't hide these uncried tears no more" after some good lines like "Drinking just to empty the cup" and "Oh, baby, I've had enough." The live version was positively apocalyptic when he got to the repetition. One of the best live performances I've ever seen.

10. "You Don’t Just Want to Break Me" (2010) from Meat: Another song that descends into repetition with a similar tone, but I think he captures the empty sadness better here. This one has a little funkier of a beat and isn't as obviously self-loathing. This is more angry and accusatory than "Prettier Face." The repeating lines of "You don't just want to break me, you want to tear me apart" come after a shift in the music... it's almost like two songs smashed together after a slowing drum beat that suddenly switches. The repetition starts calmly but gains emotion as it progresses. I played this song over and over on the CBC Radio 3 website before the album was out.

Tomorrow: The Tragically Hip

Question #4!... and a little bit extra!

Yay for lunchtime posts (and posts in general, I guess, hehe)!

Question #4 of Chad's series of 5 questions to me was: If you had to listen to one song (and only one song) for the rest of your life, which song would it be?

Chad and I actually talked about this question pretty soon after he sent me an e-mail listing them. For my song, I chose Mr. Jones by The Counting Crows. This song is my 'happy' song. I keep this cd in my car and whenever I'm in an angry or upset or sad mood, I play this song and belt out the lyrics and everything seems to just disapear. I have had this cd since it was released and I'm still amazed that not once have I found it annoying or boring in anyway, so I take that as a good sign as well.

I also wanted to say that Lady Gaga music is getting to annoy the heck out of me. I teach group fitness classes at Goodlife and also attend these classes quite frequently, and while Lady Gaga songs do have a good beat for that type of stuff, her music seems so bland and boring to me that I would be okay if I never heard another song by her again. So... I wouldn't pick one of her songs to listen to for the rest of my life, or the rest of the day...

I hate to end this on a sour note but I don't have anything else to say right now. Hmmmmm... I'm reading Canadian Wildlife and Cosmo magazines right now, both of which I find interesting and entertaining for obviously very different reasons. I would pick CW over Cosmo 100% any day. I just find the stories and 'advice' they have in there... it's just so ridiculous (that just made me think of Balki from Perfect Strangers)!

Okay, well that ends it for today! Have a great one!

Top Five -- Lou Reed Songs

I love lists and always enjoy doing the wrestling top five at 411mania when I can, so why not bring that here? Whenever I get in the mood, I'll do a top five list of some kind. No honourable mentions, just the top five. Since I've been in a Lou Reed mood lately, I'll do my top five favourite Lou Reed songs. This includes his stuff with the Velvet Underground, obviously. I'm including links to youtube videos featuring the songs as well so you can hear them in some form or another -- if there's the original (audio with a static picture), I'll use that.

5. "Coney Island Baby" (Coney Island Baby): I love the guitar work in this song, but also the odd shift where it goes from Lou Reed talking about wanting to play football in high school to ideas of love... I've never really figured this song out, but it's just a beautiful song. It builds well from the slow, quiet beginning. There's a lot of passion in it. The guitar playing is by Bob Kulick, I believe, and is really different from standard Lou Reed songs. Very intricate work. I can just listen to this song over and over.

4. "New Age" (Loaded): While I've heard demos or live versions of most of these other songs that have variations, "New Age" is the only one with two radically different sets of lyrics. They both share a chorus (albeit with some slightly altered lines), but the verses are very different. The studio version involves the "fat, blonde actress" and wanting her autograph. It's a song about finding a new life as you reach a certain age -- hitting that point in your life where you're not young anymore and need to change. The other version, which you can hear on 1969: The Velvet Underground Live vol. 1 (and Tori Amos covered on Strange Little Girls) is more about going out to bars and clubs in New York. Something about the lines "I'll come running to ya / Hey, baby, if you want me" strikes me. More than any other song on this list, I can't point to what about it touches me. I just dig it.

3. "Perfect Day" (Transformer): A little cliche to stick this song on the list since it's one of those songs everyone knows, but... it's really fucking good. Sad and self-aware at the same time. The lines that always stick with me are "You made me forget myself / I thought I was someone else / Someone good." A nice little hint at the meaning of love, but in a different context. This also just has one of Reed's better vocal performances. I also really like the demo for the song where he sings about a 'sumer's day' most of the time. I kind of like that version of the lyrics more, because it makes the times when he calls it a perfect day stand out more. It was just a summer's day, but it became a perfect day... something cool about that.

2. "Caroline Says II" (Berlin): The saddest, most heartbreaking song I've ever heard. This song is the culmination of Reed's various "(girl's name) Says" songs, building on "Stephanie Says." This song shares some lyrics with "Stephanie Says," but takes things even further by detailing the abuse Caroline suffers from her boyfriend/husband. It's slow and sad, this song. To make things worse (sort of), on Berlin, this song is followed by "The Kids," which is probably the second saddest song I've ever heard. The opening lyrics to this song are the worst -- just a kick to the gut. My heart sinks every time I hear them.

1. "Rock & Roll" (Loaded): A song about how fantastic music is. How it can change your life, save your life. Life can awful, but if you put on the right music, suddenly, it's all right. I'm always amused at how aware the five-year old girl is in this song, though. What a depressed little kid. If she's already rolling her eyes at her parents' commercialism, I can't imagine she'd make it past the age of twelve without killing herself, rock music or no rock music. Also, this song contains a very important message that everyone of my generation seems to have forgotten: YOU CAN DANCE TO ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC! Still, the core message here isn't about rock music, it's just about the glory of music. How powerful it is and what it can do. The song also has a great little imperfection where after the first line of the lyrics, the sound of the recording gets louder. I love little things like that.

If you haven't before, check out the songs. They're all fantastic.

Eminem Feat. Pink - Won't back down

I am a fan of pop music in general, mainly because these songs are catchy and fun to listen to when driving. Yesterday, two new Eminem singles were released; one featuring Pink and one featuring Rhianna. Now, I really like Eminem and I think he is a genius when it comes to writing and producing music and when I heard that his latest record was filled with new styles that he doesn't often explore and that 'we've never heard before', I was pretty excited. This morning while driving during work, my friend and I heard the last minute or so of the featuring Pink song called Won't Back Down. In short, I have never been so disappointed by an Eminem song in my entire life! Yes, he is definitely not for everyone, but when there is so much hype about a song, and this particular song has two of your favourite artists singing you tend to get your hopes up. I just got back from work and I immediately went to youtube to find this song to listen to it in its entirety, hoping that it would be better than my first impression. It was, just a little, though. I think it's not as much the lyrics or vocals as it is the accompaniment. I don't think I like the rock/rap type hybrid music so much and I think it is really distracting. I'm guessing that if this is the case, I'll get use to it after they over play the song for a couple of weeks and I'll end up really liking it.

I also just finished listening to the featuring Rhianna song called Love The Way You Lie while writing the above. I actually really really like this one and it feels more like the Eminem that I like. It's also pretty close to Airplanes which is a B.O.B. single that just took off like crazy featuring Eminem and Hayley Williams. It's not the softer feel that makes it more enjoyable to the ear, and writing of course is always top notch, but I really think it again has to do with the music and the fact that a softer R&B/rock feel contrasts a lot better with the heavier rap beat vs. a harder rock mix in Won't Back Down which just doesn't really seem to work too well for me.

Anyway, those are just my first impressions and we'll see what happens over the coming weeks when Eminem floods the airwaves.

Sunday Morning Listening: Orion by Ryan Adams

Recorded in 2006, Orion is the latest release by Ryan Adams, done through his own label and only in a vinyl/download package. I wonder about that choice of release since I would have preferred a CD. But whatever.

The album was described ahead of time as metal-influenced, but my first listening made me think of punk more than anything. With mostly one- and two-minute tracks, I was reminded of Adams's side project of one point, the Finger. Anyone own the Finger CD? Horrible shit. I've tried a few times to get into it and it isn't great. So, my hopes for Orion were immediately low as I expected more of that.

I was wrong.

There is an element of noise pollution in the music, but the more you listen to it, the more the melodies come through. It's a concept album about a space war. I haven't been able to follow the story much since the lyrics are screamed and drowned out a lot by the guitars. But, there is a big sense of cohesion throughout as songs blend together and flow from one to the next.

In a few places, Adam shows off his vocal chops with high-pitched singing including one end to a song that seems taken from dozens of metal songs.

The content of the lyrics seems unimportant almost. Certain snippets get through, certain lines like the final song ending with the reptition of "end of days." Orion seems more like a piece of music you stick in the background and and listen to as such. The vocals are just another instrument, working with and against the rest of the song as needed. None of the songs really stand out except for "Fire and Ice," because it changes things up by slowing down and using a lot of pianos. It's a little interlude and it's the longest song at 3:48... the next longest song is 2:49.

What I'm finding difficult is placing this within the rest of Adams's work. It doesn't sit well next to his official releases. This is more like the throwaway Finger stuff or his various online personas where he'd release dozens of tracks online for streaming, but it's mostly stuff you wouldn't pay money for. Adams flexing his creative muscles and having some fun. This is more polished and cohesive than that other stuff, but it's also somewhat disappointing since it lacks the depth of his regular output.

It almost seems right that I won't have it on a real CD, just a copy I burn myself. But, I am enjoying it and that's what matters.

Sunday Morning Listening: "No Cities Left" by the Dears

On Sunday mornings, Michelle usually goes to the gym, while I edit this week's Splash Page Podcast and write my 4Rs review of TNA Impact. It's a nice little routine of busy work and writing usually with some music playing since I almost always have music playing. Today, it's No Cities Left by the Dears. The Dears are a Montreal band that I got into back in 2004, I believe. In 2004, I joined the Columbia House CD Club since I just couldn't resist their "15 CDs for two bucks" (or whatever it was) offer. Turns out that finding so many CDs was hard. I had read a positive review of two of No Cities Left and made it one of my selections. I got into a few artists this way -- like Ryan Adams, who continues to be one of my favourites. With so many albums, I didn't get to the Dears immediately. But, eventually, it was No Cities Left that got put in my discman as I headed to do my workstudy job on campus. I did that on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the summer. I don't remember much of listening to it on the way to campus or even during workstudy (if I had it on then at all). I do remember listening to it on the way home. The bus I took to campus, the 31 Orchard Park, shared a route with the 32 Windermere, switching over when it hit campus. A combination of construction changing where buses had to go, the bus being late, and drivers having a habit of not immediately changing the sign on the bus had me mistakenly get on the 32 that day instead of the 31. So, I spent an extra hour or so on the bus with nothing but No Cities Left to listen to.

This is a story I sometimes tell when people ask why I prefer CDs and listen to them instead of getting an iPod or mp3 player. I like the limits of CDs. I like being confined to that single album/disc. I like having a lack of options. After all, sometimes you're in a position where you have to listen to an album you don't know that well more than you thought you would and you discover something amazing. Maybe I would have loved the album eventually, but who knows. I have plenty of albums that I listened to a few times and never again. Riding the bus that day for an extra hour or so, watching the strange route with the Dears as my soundtrack -- it was great. I fell in love with the album then.

No Cities Left is epic. It's big. On the first page of the booklet, it reads:

No Cities Left performed by The Dears
Produced, Written and Directed by Murray A. Lightburn

It's a movie in music form. Telling a big story, not through a lyrical story, but through the feeling of the music, through the different songs. You can almost see scenes at times. Right now, "Warm and Sunny Days" is playing, a song that's complex and a little sad. It oddly reminds me of walking in the snow, but suggests a romantic discussion before seguing into "22: The Death of All the Romance," which is the best song ever written about staying with someone because you don't want to hurt them. It's also one of those rare rock duets.

The album sounds like an indie rock album (whatever that means) -- very melodic, lots of guitars and synths and keys... Lightburn writes some amazing songs. Broad, well-constructed with interesting lyrics. He's very good at producing feelings and moods with the songs he writes. I tend to react to the Dears on an emotional level first. The album they did after No Cities Left, Gang of Losers is like that, too -- though, if this album is an epic, large movie, that one is an indie flick.

Sorry, I haven't written about music in a long time. Hopefully, I'll get better at it as I go. Back to writing about wrestling.