You must be a masochist.
So, I've got lots of ground to cover. First off, yesterday was concert number two of three for this eight-day period. I live a rock 'n' roll lifestyle. The Hold Steady show did have one hardcore injury-some bitch broke Craig's glasses. When I'm at shows that get a little rough, I look around for the big guys and try to stay away from them, but really it's the girls that don't know how to behave.
Aside from that, the Hold Steady delivered as per usual. Since they weren't promoting any album in particular, they busted out an eclectic setlist. Lots of old songs. I was also pretty pleased that they played "Ask Her for Adderall." That song makes me very happy. Since Irving Plaza-excuse me, I mean The Fillmore at Irving Place, which is Irving Plaza plus a lot of corporate sponsors-is super small, the feeling of being in a pit kind of intensified, but there wasn't really enough room for things to get too out of control (the girl who broke Craig's glasses notwithstanding). It was just kind of exciting. I left very sweaty. And, even though the killer party almost killed me, I still managed to get my ass to work early today and not be a zombie, either. I'm really feeling it now, though.
Speaking of music, I kind of wanted to do a rundown of the albums I've gotten recently. It's not as big a haul as Jesse's Permanent Records binges, and my thoughts are a little, uh, simple because I'm really tired, but we do what we can. In reverse chronological order (or, as I call it, "sort by date added"):
The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
I can't say that, of the previous Decemberists output, I've liked the fake-nerd-metal-prog songs the best. I've always been drawn to the poppy, more-single-ready songs like "July, July" and "O Valencia." So The Hazards of Love is not really in my strike zone. It's still very impressive, and there's some great stuff mixed in there, but I don't like it more than The Crane Wife or anything. (And one of the songs sounds almost exactly like "Wanted: Dead or Alive" to me.) I haven't really gotten a handle on the "story" of the album yet, since I listen to it while driving and can't read along with the liner notes. Maybe I'll appreciate it more when I know what's going on.
Download: "The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid"
Bishop Allen - Grrr…
They're just so adorable. Even the album title is adorable. They can hum through kazoos for 40 minutes, release it as an album, and I'd think it's cute. Unfortunately, Grr… is not as good as The Broken String. I don't know if it's because they pulled from a year's worth of EP songs for The Broken String, or if they deliberately wanted to follow up a big-sounding album with a spare one, but the songs sometimes feel a little thin. Still, I could listen to this every day and not get sick of it. And, some weeks, I have.
Download: "Oklahoma"
Franz Ferdinand - Tonight
This sounds exactly like a Franz Ferdinand album. I wasn't too disappointed because I got a burned copy from a friend, so it's not really any skin off my nose. Then my favorite song was in an Apple commercial, and I felt stupid and typical, and then I was disappointed. But that song is really good. (The rest of it, I can take or leave.)
Download: "No You Girls"
M. Ward - Hold Time
Really, really solid. I'm afraid that M. Ward's going to have a Rilo Kiley problem, where he gets more press/acclaim/attention when he's with the adorable girl. As much as I like She & Him (and Zooey, who is on the album), I think he's a great arranger and songwriter on his own. Plus, this album has a cover of Buddy Holly's "Rave On." It makes me very happy. His songs are great, but his covers are always inspired (see also: "Let's Dance").
Download: "Rave On
Finally, this isn't a 2009 album, but Jesse put a song by Frightened Rabbit on my last mix cd, and I'm totally obsessed with it now. I've heard a couple more songs from the band on the radio, and I've liked everything I've heard so far, but I keep returning to "The Modern Leper." I was stuck in traffic today and listened to it on repeat the whole time. (When I'm alone in my car, I sing with the Scottish accent.) If I knew about this song last year, it would've been on my best of 2008 list.
Rock 'n' roll.
Aside from that, the Hold Steady delivered as per usual. Since they weren't promoting any album in particular, they busted out an eclectic setlist. Lots of old songs. I was also pretty pleased that they played "Ask Her for Adderall." That song makes me very happy. Since Irving Plaza-excuse me, I mean The Fillmore at Irving Place, which is Irving Plaza plus a lot of corporate sponsors-is super small, the feeling of being in a pit kind of intensified, but there wasn't really enough room for things to get too out of control (the girl who broke Craig's glasses notwithstanding). It was just kind of exciting. I left very sweaty. And, even though the killer party almost killed me, I still managed to get my ass to work early today and not be a zombie, either. I'm really feeling it now, though.
Speaking of music, I kind of wanted to do a rundown of the albums I've gotten recently. It's not as big a haul as Jesse's Permanent Records binges, and my thoughts are a little, uh, simple because I'm really tired, but we do what we can. In reverse chronological order (or, as I call it, "sort by date added"):
The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
I can't say that, of the previous Decemberists output, I've liked the fake-nerd-metal-prog songs the best. I've always been drawn to the poppy, more-single-ready songs like "July, July" and "O Valencia." So The Hazards of Love is not really in my strike zone. It's still very impressive, and there's some great stuff mixed in there, but I don't like it more than The Crane Wife or anything. (And one of the songs sounds almost exactly like "Wanted: Dead or Alive" to me.) I haven't really gotten a handle on the "story" of the album yet, since I listen to it while driving and can't read along with the liner notes. Maybe I'll appreciate it more when I know what's going on.
Download: "The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid"
Bishop Allen - Grrr…
They're just so adorable. Even the album title is adorable. They can hum through kazoos for 40 minutes, release it as an album, and I'd think it's cute. Unfortunately, Grr… is not as good as The Broken String. I don't know if it's because they pulled from a year's worth of EP songs for The Broken String, or if they deliberately wanted to follow up a big-sounding album with a spare one, but the songs sometimes feel a little thin. Still, I could listen to this every day and not get sick of it. And, some weeks, I have.
Download: "Oklahoma"
Franz Ferdinand - Tonight
This sounds exactly like a Franz Ferdinand album. I wasn't too disappointed because I got a burned copy from a friend, so it's not really any skin off my nose. Then my favorite song was in an Apple commercial, and I felt stupid and typical, and then I was disappointed. But that song is really good. (The rest of it, I can take or leave.)
Download: "No You Girls"
M. Ward - Hold Time
Really, really solid. I'm afraid that M. Ward's going to have a Rilo Kiley problem, where he gets more press/acclaim/attention when he's with the adorable girl. As much as I like She & Him (and Zooey, who is on the album), I think he's a great arranger and songwriter on his own. Plus, this album has a cover of Buddy Holly's "Rave On." It makes me very happy. His songs are great, but his covers are always inspired (see also: "Let's Dance").
Download: "Rave On
Finally, this isn't a 2009 album, but Jesse put a song by Frightened Rabbit on my last mix cd, and I'm totally obsessed with it now. I've heard a couple more songs from the band on the radio, and I've liked everything I've heard so far, but I keep returning to "The Modern Leper." I was stuck in traffic today and listened to it on repeat the whole time. (When I'm alone in my car, I sing with the Scottish accent.) If I knew about this song last year, it would've been on my best of 2008 list.
Rock 'n' roll.