Much Music.
So yesterday was another anniversary for the residents of this apartment. To celebrate, Jesse and I took each other to see Spring Awakening. Obviously, it deserved its Tony. I like how the musical headed off Rent's dated-in-ten-years problem at the pass by, you know, being set in 1890s Germany. It can't really get more dated than that.
It wasn't a perfect musical. The plot and characters seemed oversimplified at times, especially in the second half. But the music-which sometimes seemed to have only a tangential relationship to what was going on in the play anyway-was pretty amazing. It was definitely worth going just to see the live performances of the songs. I came home and was sad to find that no one has leaked any of it onto the Hype Machine. I did find a YouTube video of one of the best songs. If you feel like clicking on it, I suggest opening up another tab and doing something else instead of watching the actual video part. It's a "music video" of the song, not a recording of a live performance, so there's some pretty terrible cinematography and montages. Also, the performance is a little less exuberant than the one I saw because it wasn't in front of a live audience. But you get the idea.
Speaking of music, I've been inundated with it recently. In addition to working through the CD game mixes, Jesse and I both went a little Best Buy crazy. It's nice living with someone who lets me steal his new albums. (That's probably why we've lasted as long as we have.) Here's a rundown of the (non-mix) cds I've been listening to, along with download links to the best tracks (as if you weren't up to your necks in new iTunes fodder already).
What I Got:
Rilo Kiley, Under the Blacklight
It's a testament to how much I like Rilo Kiley that this album has some terrific songs, and it's also probably their weakest. I like that RK tries to change up its sound every album, but this time they picked something they weren't particularly good at. I think by adding more beats to their album they're trying to come across as more modern, but they don't really realize how '80s it winds up sounding. ("Dejalo," the worst song on the album, has a little "La Isla Bonita" thing going on.) The ones that go back to being retro are the songs that work best. "15" is terrific-yeah Rilo Kiley, rock out that Theremin-"Smoke Detector" is an underappreciated gem, and I'd listen to "Breaking Up" all day.
Download: "Smoke Detector," "Breakin' Up," "Silver Lining," "15" (find it yourself, you won't be disappointed)
Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Hooray! My first Spoon album. I feel among the initiated now. I think the album suffers because "The Underdog" is so fantastic, it overshadows the rest of the tracks. I usually think of Spoon as sounding really stripped-down and bare-bones, but I love the big sound of "The Underdog." Or maybe I'm just a sucker for any rock song with horns. (Hey, did I ever tell you about how I went to a wedding and totally hung out with Spoon's former bassist? And how he was really nice and awesome? Yeah, I'm cool.)
Download: "The Underdog," "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb"
What He Got:
Okkervil River, The Stage Names
This is an appropriate time of year to be listening to this album. It brings things full circle, since I only started listening to Okkervil River because someone put "Black" on their CD game last year. (Thanks, Red Menace, whoever you are!) One year later, this entire album is really impressive. I really like listening to it as a whole-each song really builds off the previous one. I don't really like the song "Sloop John B," but when OR busts that out in the middle of its last track in a bizarre half-cover, it's pretty much perfect.
Download: "John Allyn Smith Sails"
Bishop Allen, The Broken String
This album is full of perfectly crafted pop songs. It's impossible to listen to them and not feel really good. I have no idea why they're not more popular than they are. Plus, they sing about Greenpoint (and how the Monitor, the ship, was built here), which is obviously great. Don't check them out if you don't want to be a happy, well adjusted person.
Download: "The Monitor" (from March EP, I couldn't find the album version), "Click Click Click Click"
Coming soon to my listening queue: new albums from the New Pornographers and Travis Morrison, 1,000 songs from the CD game. Wish me luck!
It wasn't a perfect musical. The plot and characters seemed oversimplified at times, especially in the second half. But the music-which sometimes seemed to have only a tangential relationship to what was going on in the play anyway-was pretty amazing. It was definitely worth going just to see the live performances of the songs. I came home and was sad to find that no one has leaked any of it onto the Hype Machine. I did find a YouTube video of one of the best songs. If you feel like clicking on it, I suggest opening up another tab and doing something else instead of watching the actual video part. It's a "music video" of the song, not a recording of a live performance, so there's some pretty terrible cinematography and montages. Also, the performance is a little less exuberant than the one I saw because it wasn't in front of a live audience. But you get the idea.
Speaking of music, I've been inundated with it recently. In addition to working through the CD game mixes, Jesse and I both went a little Best Buy crazy. It's nice living with someone who lets me steal his new albums. (That's probably why we've lasted as long as we have.) Here's a rundown of the (non-mix) cds I've been listening to, along with download links to the best tracks (as if you weren't up to your necks in new iTunes fodder already).
What I Got:
Rilo Kiley, Under the Blacklight
It's a testament to how much I like Rilo Kiley that this album has some terrific songs, and it's also probably their weakest. I like that RK tries to change up its sound every album, but this time they picked something they weren't particularly good at. I think by adding more beats to their album they're trying to come across as more modern, but they don't really realize how '80s it winds up sounding. ("Dejalo," the worst song on the album, has a little "La Isla Bonita" thing going on.) The ones that go back to being retro are the songs that work best. "15" is terrific-yeah Rilo Kiley, rock out that Theremin-"Smoke Detector" is an underappreciated gem, and I'd listen to "Breaking Up" all day.
Download: "Smoke Detector," "Breakin' Up," "Silver Lining," "15" (find it yourself, you won't be disappointed)
Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Hooray! My first Spoon album. I feel among the initiated now. I think the album suffers because "The Underdog" is so fantastic, it overshadows the rest of the tracks. I usually think of Spoon as sounding really stripped-down and bare-bones, but I love the big sound of "The Underdog." Or maybe I'm just a sucker for any rock song with horns. (Hey, did I ever tell you about how I went to a wedding and totally hung out with Spoon's former bassist? And how he was really nice and awesome? Yeah, I'm cool.)
Download: "The Underdog," "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb"
What He Got:
Okkervil River, The Stage Names
This is an appropriate time of year to be listening to this album. It brings things full circle, since I only started listening to Okkervil River because someone put "Black" on their CD game last year. (Thanks, Red Menace, whoever you are!) One year later, this entire album is really impressive. I really like listening to it as a whole-each song really builds off the previous one. I don't really like the song "Sloop John B," but when OR busts that out in the middle of its last track in a bizarre half-cover, it's pretty much perfect.
Download: "John Allyn Smith Sails"
Bishop Allen, The Broken String
This album is full of perfectly crafted pop songs. It's impossible to listen to them and not feel really good. I have no idea why they're not more popular than they are. Plus, they sing about Greenpoint (and how the Monitor, the ship, was built here), which is obviously great. Don't check them out if you don't want to be a happy, well adjusted person.
Download: "The Monitor" (from March EP, I couldn't find the album version), "Click Click Click Click"
Coming soon to my listening queue: new albums from the New Pornographers and Travis Morrison, 1,000 songs from the CD game. Wish me luck!