NSFW - Hamell on Trial
I thought I was listening to Lucinda Williams
But it’s not! It’s Carrie Rodriguez singing “50′s French Movie”! I’m in love:
No more Lala results floating at the top of my Google searches? Apple and Google seem to be locked in mortal combat. Who is going to lose this one? Probably not Microsoft or Amazon.
Seems Lala has made a reappearance.
…and still managed to find a good new band — Hot Panda. I think I have to thank Orchid Mei for her frequent use of the colloquialisms “Hot and Awesome” and “Panda”. The combination meant there was no way I could pass Hot Panda up. Favorites so far are “Chinatown Bus”, “Whale Headed Girl”, and “It’s Worth Eight Dollars”.
I’m in the new house and able to relax without any pressing issues for the first time. It is a very nice feeling.
This really sucks, I tuned in earlier this week and got some right wing blowhard dumping in my ear. All is not lost, however, the crew moved online.
I’m hoping they will do the drop-by-indie-band recording a la Daytrotter as well as stream. There is simply way too much good stuff going unheard. They will have me all day during the week, while I’m in the car, however, it’s back to the pod. I’m still waiting for some Heartless Bastards to show in the playlist…
Michael Jackson is gone. One thing I think everyone can agree on is that he was a truly tragic figure. Where I differ from most is that I wasn’t a fan.
Get past Motown and I didn’t like his music. He was talented, but I thought it was over produced, over-hyped, and over the years, has served as the model for the likes of Madonna, the Jonas Brothers, Jessica Simpson, and Britney Spears. It’s the cynical hype machine music model. The model that says it is not about the music, it’s about the brand and the bottom line. I have trouble believing The King of Pop got any kind of release from his art.
Goodbye Michael Jackson, I hope you get a chance to express yourself where ever you are.
Another Sunday Morning
I am really liking early Sunday mornings. This time sans CBS.
Daytrotter.com has really been stepping up to the plate lately, I may have said that before. I’ve actually gone out and bought four or five albums from Amazon in the last couple of months, all have been bands I hadn’t seen before I heard them on the site. My favorite ones so far:
Mostly Bears - “The Man” (aka “Your smile decorates the afternoon”) drew me in. I stayed for “Leda Atomica” and “The Pharmacist” and “Passeig de Gracia”.
Colour Revolt – “Naked and Red” caught my ear, but the album version of “The Siren” is even better.
Blitzen Trapper – (I was a little slow on the uptake, but thank god for their archives). “Miss Spiritual Tramp”, Bananafish indeed! The album version of it is worth the price, but the Daytrotter version is a better listen. “Black River Killer” is a bit disturbing but a very good anyway.
Little Joy – Only two songs? Disappointing but “Keep me in mind” hooked me.
There are a couple more, but I haven’t had time to jack the headphones in for a good listen. That is what Sundays are for!
Payola in reverse? One bit I read compares the radio market in the U.S. to North Korea. Man, they are laying it on thick trying to get HR 848 passed. Making radio stations pay to play music. Pretty soon singing in the car will require a license, now that would be like living in North Korea.
How is it that the live version of David Gray’s Wisdom is soooo much better than the canned version?
I’ve been relaxing and clearing the cobwebs from my head over the past several weeks. One of the things I’ve been doing is re-reading books. I’m not going to dive in deep, but here they are:
Dog of the South – Charles Portis
My god, I’ve forgotten how much I love his writing style. He gives you every thought that occurs to Midge. We all know people like Midge (and have a bit of him in each of us), and the insight into his brain is both funny and scary at the same time.
Invisible Man – Ralph Ellison
The adventures of unnamed. This is a stunning read. It’s the story of the different flavors of racism and how they are rationalized from different angles.
A Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
A world where perfume runs from spigots. A world where people are bred for menial tasks. A world where people take “soma” to forget the pains of the day. The forms of control are almost completely inverse to George Orwell’s 1984. The one thing that really troubles me about this book isn’t the book itself, but its author. Huxley became a subscriber to his own form of “soma”. After showing us a world where altering your perception of reality was necessary for survival and sanity, he went ahead and did the same thing.
U.S.! – Chris Bachelder
Upton Sinclair keeps rising from the dead to try and revive the left wing, and keeps getting assassinated for his troubles. It not only raises the question of how the left keeps derailing itself (hopefully a thing of the past), but also the casual cruelty the right displays.
The Book of Lies – Brad Meltzer
How could I get by without reading a bestseller? It’s pretty predictable, but still a fun (albeit fast) read. The finale makes a good point.
A Farewell to Arms – Ernest Hemingway
I don’t even know where to start. Terse, frank, tragic, and ultimately one my favorites. There is no white-washing in Hemingway. I think that’s why I really enjoy his writing.
Music find of the week
Breaking a bit from books, Daytrotter has done it again. This time, it’s Colour Revolt. I’ve jumped out and bought albums from listening in at the site, and I went and did it again. Moses of the South and Naked and Red — awesome. I downloaded all four songs four days ago. The only thing that could have been better is if I had checked their myspace page a bit earlier… They played Red Rocks yesterday and I completely missed it.