Friday happenings and nonhappenings

[greatbearmd]

Well, I was supposed to be up in Pennsylvania right now at the Sugarland concert, but that was canceled. Apparently the singer fell ill and the show was called off. We found information to obtain refunds for the tickets, hopefully that goes off without a hitch. It's a shame, I was looking forward to the show, we were also bringing Jeff's Mom and

Comments

[sparkygearhead]

I can imagine your disappointment that you didn't get to see Sugarland, but I have to admit that I'm a little frustrated at them regarding their last album. The thing that made the first one great for me was the authenticity - it seemed like they were out there, warts and all, for everyone to see, just makin' music and enjoying the hell out of themselves, and that's what made it fun for us, too.

The second album sounded very much like a highly paid record producer came into the recording studio at the beginning of the session and told them, "You know that "thing" you do? Well, everyone seems to like it, so do it more on this album." They have pushed it a little past the line of authenticity into self-parody. The vocals are a little more growly, and it's not believable anymore. The music is a little more rock and a little less inventive, the lyrics are simpler and more derivative.

Second albums are tough - you've got a whole lifetime to think up the music for the first album, then you've got just 24 months to put the second one in the can. I hope with the third, they tell the producers to go screw off, and return to being themselves. They're a great band.

I've had similar experiences with FedEx. That's why I have everything possible delivered to my work address. A good 30% of the time, something screws up when a package is delivered to my house.