avalanche (a poem... or song lyrics?)

[NOTE: I can't stand bad poetry. Hopefully, this isn't that bad, but I can't tell. I'm more nervous posting this than anything I've posted before, not because it's a particularly special poem to me, but because I don't want to be looked at as a dude that writes bad poetry.]

avalanche

the man wants a dollar and five

and to make sure i'm alive.

candy aisle avalance; fluorescent sun.

somebody call 9-1-1.

i'm fine. i'm fine.

that voice sounds like mine.

ten would've done; had twelve just in case.

can't stop til the brain is erased.

snickers spell your name.

buzz goes up in flames.

pounding skull can't distract;

can't forget the simple fact;

never enough; never could be.

no idea where you hid that key.

i'm great now, as you can tell.

you're good too? that's swell.

dream drawing - 6/2/08

song of the day - 9.14.08: animal collective - who could win a rabbit

Animal Collective give me hope for the future of music. They're definitely not for everyone, but they are amazing nonetheless. And they're from Baltimore. No point in trying to describe them or this song. Just listen.

song of the day - 9.13.08: sigur ros - gobbledigook

[WARNING: This video is not work or child appropriate.]

Sigur Ros Gobbledigook sélectionné dans Musique et Rock

Sigur Ros consistently blows me away with their beautiful, innovative music. The title track from their latest effort is a shining example of what a band can do when it sheds the shackles of conventional musical structure. No 4/4 time here. Just a pounding percussion heartbeat, a tapestry of joyous acoustic guitar patterns, and some crazy Icelandic vocals. The video captures the essence of the song perfectly, too. And guess what, bitches... I get to see them live in NY next week.

song of the day - 9.12.08: santogold - say aha

[NOTE: This is the first in what will hopefully be a semi-regular series on songs I find interesting for one reason or another that I want to share. I may not always write about them, but they'll all appear in the "songs of the days" section on the right side of the page, under my picture. Enjoy.]

Santogold is one of my favorite new artists at the moment. Apparently she opened for Coldplay on their recent tour, so I guess some other people think she's pretty good too. "Say Aha" is a dancy little number that mixes reggae/ska, 80s new wave, and punk elements with Santi White's intoxicatingly raspy voice. It sounds new and familiar at the same time, as do a number of other songs on her ecclectic self-titled debut album.

The people have spoken

Apparently my "readers" overwhelmingly prefer that I use proper capitalization in my blog (6 to 3). One of the votes for no caps was me, too. So, fair enough. Whatever keeps you coming back. From this post forward, I will use capital letters unless I get lazy.

music recommendation: the dodos

kudos to my friend brian for pushing the dodos on me. i admit, i resisted this band of san franciscans at first, for no real good reason, but a few spins convinced me this is very much a worthwhile band.

the dodos' second album, visiter, has flashes of brilliance, mixed in with a few misses. their strength is their adventurous use of rhythm, melody, and texturing. their songs are pretty musically complex for an indie rock band, and might be challenging for some listeners, but they have a definite knack for mixing in clever, melodic hooks in a storm of changing key and time signatures. their songs blend furious percussion beats with overlapping layers of acoustic guitar, and psychedelic (read echo-y) vocals. although simplistic, i'd say they could be likened to animal collective, or better yet, described as "animal collective lite". fans of a.c. would probably like the dodos. they share similar psychedelic, experimental song structures, but are less cerebral and more accessible to an average listener. their primary tools to create this effect are tinny acoustic guitar riffs and some creative, almost tribal seeming percussion. they also layer in some fuzzy electric guitars, bells, banjo, horns, and keyboards to create a pleasantly trippy sound.

they do have one major flaw, though: they're not very good singers. bands have certainly recovered from such flaws. i've found that when charting the growth of a band over time, it's very often in the vocals that i notice the most improvement. but, then again, some people just don't have it. to steal a phrase from the randy jackson lexicon, "it was a little bit pitchy for me, dawg." it's difficult to tell if the moments where they are off-pitch in their singing are intentional or not, since their harmonies and dissonance throughout the album imply an understanding of pitch. it shouldn't be hard to tell if it's doing what it's supposed to.

the dissonance on the interlude track "it's that time again" is obviously intentional, and it has a pleasant effect. on tracks like "winter" and "park song", other interesting parts of the song distract (and make forgivable) the singers' shortcomings. but then there are tracks like "joe's waltz" and "undeclared" that don't have enough else interesting going on instrumentally to prevent the cringes, if you have an ear for that kind of thing anyway.

the hits on this album, however, are some pretty special pieces of work. "red and purple" starts off repeating the last guitar chord of the previous song before speeding up and welcoming a frantic drumbeat that continues through the otherwise mellow, catchy tune. the juxtaposition of the percussion and psychedelic, semi-poppy vocals makes a pretty rad sound. this layering is their strongest skill, and this track, along with "jodi", "the season", and "fools", exemplifies it best.

the dodos are a pretty interesting band, and a worthwhile listen for those of you with more adventurous music taste.

rating: 7/10 - pretty good. there's plenty to like about them, and good reason to expect better things from future albums.

fyi: they play at sonar (baltimore) on 9/28. i plan to go.

[note: i didn't give dr. dog's album a rating, and i feel strange changing it for some reason, so i'm gonna state here... dr. dog got 9/10]

dr. dog show

i know i've already written about dr. dog and not much else, but i felt i'd be remiss if i didn't review their show at the iota club in arlington last friday. the fact that it was in arlington and i still went should indicate how enthusiastic i was about seeing them. i despise arlington and its many douchy young inhabitants. the venue itself was kind of crappy as well. apparently, it was originally 3 adjacent lots that they lumped into one space, but there's a random load-bearing wall right in the middle of the audience area.

the show, however, was excellent. the fivesome from philly did not disappoint. they were spot on with their singing and instruments - no small feat for a band that uses a lot of vocal harmony and complex instrumental segments. i got a better feel for the band than after just listening to the album, particularly for the two front-men: scott (aka "taxi") and toby (aka "tables"). (by the way, i love the fact that their nicknames could double as names for sarah palin's kids.) there seems to be a functional balance between the two despite obviously having two very different styles. "tables" is the cool, comfortable, suave one; "taxi" reminds you of that kid that played magic in the cafeteria. "tables" is straight-up bluesy; "taxi" is indie-folk.

the band stayed faithful to the brilliance of the recorded versions of the songs without being rigid. they played most of their latest album, fate, but mixed in several old favorites. unlike at some shows, not knowing their entire catalog in advance didn't take away from the experience at all, because their songs are so effortlessly accessible. it's like you already knew the songs before you heard them. to get the crowd immediately pumped up, they started their set with "the old days", which, in the humble opinion of this "reviewer", is their best accomplishment as a band. i've described it in detail in my review of the album. the alternating groovy, frantic, and anthemic sections of the song had the crowd dancing, singing, and jumping around immediately.

during the several long pauses for technical difficulties throughout the set, they kept the crowd entertained with their wit and humor. they seem like a very non-rock-star-ish group of guys that i'd happily hang out with just for fun. i hate going to a show of a band i like and realizing they're a bunch of assholes. the crowd, however, had its share of assholes, but what else could one expect from arlington, va? all i have to say is, it's a good thing i was able to keep my cool when the biggest douchebag i'd ever seen stepped right up to the front row right before the set, because otherwise, i might have missed the show while sitting on a curb with my hands cuffed. (actually, i didn't even really keep my cool. i was totally provoking him. luckily, a girl near us in the crowd used her feminine wiles to get him to leave. as i waved goodbye, he gave me the finger and called me a faggot. arlington baby!) so, dr. dog, please come back to d.c. again, but please make sure you're booked at the black cat or dc9!

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it amuses me that my generation will be one of the last that remembers a time before we could have 13181 songs at our fingertips at all times.

thoughts from the beach

i spent labor day weekend in ocean city, and i have a few thoughts to share with my 2 or 3 loyal blog readers:

1. i'm forever done with drinking contests. my fellow beach-goers and i tried to see who could drink the most over the weekend. we had a scoreboard with stickers and everything. having gone at least 2 years without getting ill from alcohol, and having won the same contest on last year's trip, i got a little cocky this weekend and paid the price.

all but one of the stickers in my row came on friday night.

2. i often underestimate the power the ocean has over me. the moment i got to our condo, i dropped my stuff and went to the water, even though it must've been 1 a.m., and we'd been driving for at least 3-hours without a break. the sound of waves, the texture of sand, and the size and power of the ocean are things that will always amaze me.

3. musical artists on heavy rotation under my beach umbrella: dr. dog, santogold, the dodos, leonard cohen.

4. i have some amazing friends.

5. jell-o pudding pops are delicious.

6. kite-flying, boogie-boarding, and physical challenges - all awesome.