Favorites

Looking for new music to love? Of course you are, and I can help: check out the Magic Numbers! They're not actually that new, but I never hear anyone talking about them and that's just not right. I got their eponymous album for Christmas four years ago, another example of cool things my parents know about before I do, and have loved it ever since. I just spent an entire five-hour car drive listening to a few of the songs on repeat. I'll let you pick your own favorites, mostly because it'd be too hard for me to select just a few. I don't know if I've ever heard any other music that I thought was so perfect--I literally wouldn't change a thing about these songs. Check it.

My Songs

Yesterday, I had my own song stuck in my head all day. Literally I would catch myself singing it sort of absentmindedly, or slowly realize that it had been cycling in my head for the past ten minutes when I was focused more on something else. And it's a song that I WROTE! That is such an awesome feeling. Which is also cool because, hello, I just validated myself. Rock and roll.

After enough other people confirm that sense of validation, maybe I'll bring myself to post some songs I wrote here.

"DIY"

I read this article on Pitchfork the other day--actually it was an interview with the band Health--and they said something about the Los Angeles "DIY music scene." I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I like the sound of it and I'm gonna find out. It seems like a very appealing idea.

UPDATE:
I saw it again! I'm making my way through The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs From Punk to the Present (a great book, I highly recommend it), and in the blurb about Buzzcock's "Ever Fallen in Love" Marc Hogan writes that the band "played a key role in launching the British do-it-yourself movement." WHAT is this all about?

Song of the Day

"Melt" by Phil Roy. I'm listening to it on XPN's Live at the World Cafe Volume 11 collection, but the song is from his album Grouchyfriendly, which I will be checking out shortly now that I've fallen in love with "Melt." It's a relatively simple-sounding piece about unreturned feelings, and what I really like are the lyrics from the chorus:

"But last night, I had a dream
I saved your life
I proved my love
I took the bullet
I killed a shark
I kissed your hand
I thawed your heart
I thawed your heart"

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

. . . played at the TD Banknorth Garden Wednesday night! Posted here because it was such a big deal for me.

Of Montreal @ the Dise

I would never have thought to go see Of Montreal this past week, though I knew they were playing two nights in a row at the Paradise. Luckily I have a friend who wanted to go and another friend who got us tickets, so I found myself in the audience Tuesday night.

I've had Of Montreal on my iPod for quite some time, recommended by various people whose taste I respected to varying degrees, but I couldn't sing along to or probably even name a song. Considering this I kind of assumed that I must have listened to the music when I first acquired it and found that I disliked it, because I always skip right over that name in my artist list. But I'm going to have to give them another shot (next time I'm bored with all the stuff I know I like--it happens more frequently than you'd think).

The show was actually pretty fantastic. The band was solid, all the musicians were good performers (by which I mean they were dancey and seemed engaged), and the singer in particular did some pretty awesome stuff with his voice that was really cool to hear live. And though I think that that should always be enough, there was plenty of other stuff going on, presumably in case the audience got bored, or forgot to take their psychedelics before leaving the house. To begin with, (some of) the band members were wearing pretty interesting attire. But their costumes were bland compared to the weirdness the many other performers were sporting while running on and off the stage and acting out strange scenes I wasn't sure I wanted to understand. Then there was the projected video on four screens behind the band. It was sometimes changing patterns, sometimes live footage. Sometimes synced with the music, sometimes not. And this was all in addition to the pretty sick lights show they had. I felt a little dizzy at times, and once or twice had to look away, but I was NOT bored. And I think that I will NOT be trying acid ever.

The Grey Area @ Bill's Bar

The Grey Area is a local (Boston) band that's gained a bigger and bigger following in recent months. They've been playing more shows, many at Harper's Ferry, and practicing a LOT. I know this because a good friend of mind is in the band, and though they make music a little different than what I usually listen to I like to go to their shows when I can. I don't want to box them in with a label, but I think if I had to I'd probably describe them as a "jam band."

I'm writing about The Grey Area because I went to their show the other night. They played on (what was supposedly) the last night of Bill's Bar, along with Otherwise. And what was so cool for me about this show was that they had improved SO much since the last time I saw them, just a few months ago. The difference was just incredible--I noticed it before I even started trying to listen critically. They were interacting with each other much better, they sounded tighter, and there was so much more in the music to grab on to, more compelling the audience to listen up. I know they've been working really hard and it was so inspiring for me to see what a huge difference that work made. I hope everyone will check them out--I'll definitely post next time they have a show!