Monday, July 30, 2012

Southbound Drive - Agnes




As I type this on my new laptop, I feel like this is the beginning of a new chapter in my blogging life. I am stoked about writing about music and I feel like fate handed me a fantastic band to kick things off with.

Lucas from Southbound Drive was basically the last person to email me regarding featuring music before I got the laptop and so his band is the first I decided to tackle.

I talked a little about this on yesterday's podcast, but I originally played the album in the wrong order. When this happened on a No Use For a Name album a couple years ago, it really threw off my desire to hear the album. Not so with Agnes. Each song on this album is fantastic in its own right.

The songs are varied, but still cohesive and each time I listen to Agnes, I feel like I've discovered a lost alternative gem from 1996.

Southbound Drive - South By Way of Hell from Agnes

Finally, here's a Making Of the Album video featuring the last song on the album "The Courthouse" (aka what I thought was the opening track. It would also make a killer opening track):

So, if you listened to the mp3 and video I posted above and you listen to the first 8 or so minutes of Countdown #113, you should have a good idea of what's on this great album. So go pick it up!

You can pick Agnes up at CD Baby or on iTunes

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Countdown #113: First Countdown with the New Laptop!

It went pretty well. I got used to the new version of Audacity. I only started talking before it was recording like twice and I'm pleased with the lack of excess background noise. Overall, I'm quite happy to be using the laptop for this!

Countdown #113

***Featuring***
Alex Clare
The Black Keys
fun.
Grouplove
Imagine Dragons
Linkin Park
Of Monsters and Men
The Offspring
Silversun Pickups
Southbound Drive
Walk the Moon

Friday, July 27, 2012

Strand of Oaks/Tallest Man on Earth show: July 26 2012, 9:30 Club, Washington D.C.

Last night, my sister Kristen and I went to the 9:30 club to see the Tallest Man on Earth. I'm not very familiar with his work but thanks to Daytrotter and I Am Fuel, You Are Friends (or is it just Fuel/Friends?) Summer mixes, I had access to a number of songs. And then of course there's Last.fm which is where I listened to even more.

I also found that the opening band, Strand of Oaks, did a Daytrotter session back in 2010, so we checked that out the night before, too.

So we were ready.

We had intended to drive to a Metro station and Metro in to the show, but I found out that TMOE (as we called him (privately)) didn't go on until 9:30 (is that a thing at the 9:30 club? is that why it's called that?) and that the last Metro train left at 11:44. And we didn't want to have to leave if (we (I) reasoned) he was winding down a 2 1/2 hour set. So we utilized the OFFICIAL 9:30 CLUB PARKING LOT because we're super important (read: had $15).

We got there with about 5 minutes to spare before Strand of Oaks started, which was perfect.

The lights dimmed, a VERY bearded man and a slightly less bearded man took the stage. The bearded man was the singer and the slightly less bearded man was the drummer.

I think that the set would have been more enjoyable if there weren't so many people talking. And there were also a couple people who were WAY into the set, like mockingly so. Wooing and dancing and all that, but with an air of "isn't it funny that I'm doing this?" which really bugged me.

The songs were well-sung and very passionate. I enjoyed them a lot. I ESPECIALLY enjoyed the drummer. His additions really added something to the songs. Something almost tribal. It was lovely. My favorite song of the set was "Diamond Drill", which kicks off his latest album Dark Shores which you can pick up here.  And here's a picture of them playing it!





When they played it, the song had a very complex and uptempo drum part that isn't on this recording, but this will give you an idea.

So then they said their goodnights and it was 9:15. We all sort of shifted around. The people that were not interested in supporting the opening act but wanted to make it very clear that they love TMOE moved up front. My sister turned to me at 9:29 and said "It's 9:29" and I made a joke about how he USED to be called "The Most Punctual Man on Earth" and right as I said that, the lights dimmed and the show started.

So I guess you can still call him that.

This guy's voice. I'm telling you. He is (ironically) a small man, but his voice is that of the man on the bill. It's HUGE and malleable and beautiful and rough. And we were watching him have the audience completely on board and it was like he was just having a good time up there.

He played guitar for the most part, but sat down for 2 or 3 piano songs.

"I'm not going to give a speech, and I'm not an MC, so I'm going to play piano"

The crowd was MOSTLY subdued (in a good way. Subdued as if entranced by the power of his playing. Which, let's face it, was the case) but there was raucous applause and some singing along.

He played a lot from his new album, There's No Leaving Now. Which you can buy here! But he also played a lot of old favorites including "The Gardener", "Where Do My Bluebird Fly" and "King of Spain".

It was an incredible night. I'll leave you with a couple songs that I have. And some pictures.

If you get a chance to go see this guy, do it.



The Tallest Man on Earth - I Won't Be Found (Daytrotter Session)
The Tallest Man on Earth - King of Spain

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Spam leads to Poetry Discovery!?!

So I got some spam on hotmail that led me back to my old blog. The spam was a comment on a post that was the second of these two haikus I wrote. I'm 5.5 years removed from them so it's like they're new to me too!


A Haiku That Pretty Much Sums Up the Facts I Have to Accept (11/20/06)


The autumn wind blew.
Our recycling bin has flown
South for the winter.


A Haiku That Demonstrates What I've Learned About Extradition (11/21/06)


Today I went to
A neighbor's yard and I found
The bin and grabbed it


I may be posting more of these old blog things if I find more that are interesting.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

New Laptop means...

...a functional, and satisfying blog again!

I am so excited to get going on some reviewing and music blog type stuff. I may do a (possibly short) weekly series where I review something from the Song, By Toad catalog, as there have been several new releases by them since I killed the laptop in January. And I feel like you, the reader would want to know about stuff released by SBT.

I also am thinking that I should be able to be more prompt in talking about music that bands send me. If you've sent me music in the past 6 months and heard nothing back, give it another shot.

Also, keep your eyes peeled in August, because I think we'll be seeing the return of a certain Monday feature all about a lovable, mulleted Minnesotan handyman/spy.

I'm not going to say "big things are coming up for the blog" but it sure feels like it, you know?

Countdown 112: In Defense of The Offspring (kind of)

I do spend a large majority of my time in this episode reading, and then reacting to, a bad review of the new Offspring album. But it's certainly not the whole time and I think that I make some attempt to explain why the review bugged me.

This may be the last post I write on K's laptop! I have a new laptop (birthday-related present) sitting over there and when I hit "publish" on this puppy I'm going to go over and bust it out!

Countdown #112

***Featuring***
Alex Clare
The Black Keys
fun.
Grouplove
Imagine Dragons
Linkin Park
Of Monsters and Men
The Offspring
Silversun Pickups
Walk the Moon

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Countdown 111!!!!!!!!!111!!!!!! Haha.

...Because exclamation points and 1's are on the same key! Hilarious.

It's a good countdown this week. And for you "Punchy Intro" fans, the last 4 intros were recorded POST-MIDNIGHT!!!

Countdown #111

***Featuring***
The Black Keys
fun.
Gotye
Gotye featuring Kimbra
Grouplove
Imagine Dragons
Linkin Park
M83
Of Monsters and Men
The Offspring
Silversun Pickups

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Countdown #110: With Plenty of Time to Spare!

Even though I'm writing this post at 10:58pm on the night before it goes up, it's only because we were at Rehoboth Beach all day and I only just got home. Seriously, doing the intros on the iPhone is tres unstressful and they tend to get me down recording quicker. I hope it's not because I'm sacrificing content...

If I am, bear with me as I grow accustomed to this new way of doing things and then bear with me again when I get my new laptop and then everything will be great.

When you see the next Countdown, it'll be the day before my 29th birthday! I'm going to do another Birthday edition of Off the Charts and hopefully that will go up in the same month as my birthday (or at least the same year!)

Speaking of birthdays, HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY DAD!! (who will likely read this) and HAPPY BIRTHDAY LISA!!! (who is less likely to read this)!!!

Here's this week's countdown! Enjoy!

Countdown #110

***Featuring***
The Black Keys
fun.
Gotye featuring Kimbra
Grouplove
Imagine Dragons
Linkin Park
M83
Of Monsters and Men
The Offspring
Silversun Pickups

Sunday, July 1, 2012

July 2012 Media Update


Do you realize we're in the 2nd half of the year now!?!?!?!? I am astounded at how fast this year is flying by. My daughter is getting bigger every day and every day her personality shines a little brighter. I'm still enjoying my job and I'm just really loving life right now!

Last Song/MP3 I listened to: I started the Gary Gulman episode of Pete Holmes's podcast "You Made It Weird" on my way to go get dinner tonight. It's so amazing to have caught up on that show. I started listening to it when I was on my....ahem, hiatus....from work and now I'm listening to episodes almost as soon as they come out. Amazing. And this podcast is SO FUNNY. I have both painfully stifled and embarrassedly not been able to stifle the raucous laughter that Mr. Holmes and his guests bring out in me. But it IS a little bit explicit, just to warn you, if you're thinking of checking it out. 

Last TV show I watched: The surprisingly hilarious and amazing Awkward. premiered its second season on Thursday night. We had various forms of preplanned and power-outage-related guests this weekend so we just got around to watching it. I heard a critic say that John Hughes's legacy lives on in this show and I very much agree. It's also one of the first shows I've watched where I identify more with the adults than the kids. So that's weird.

Last Movie I watched: One of the reasons I had that aforementioned preplanned guest was because my friend Marc wanted to come visit, see our "new" house (it's been a while since he's visited), and baby. But he also wanted to accompany me to The Avengers, which I was hesitant to go shell out the money to see alone. But he came up and we watched it (he had seen it before) and thoroughly enjoyed it. BUT then after Awkward. (see above (and the period is part of the title, which is why I keep putting it in there)) we watched the end of The Incredibles which I always forget how much I love. Jack-Jack. Man, he's awesome.

Last Written Work I read: The New Yorker kick that I mentioned in my last couple of Media Updates is still going strong. I'm in the last issue of May 2011, which, if you know how long these New Yorkers have been backing up, should be PRETTY impressive. I haven't started the Fiction in the issue ("M&M World" by Kate Walbert), though, so that means that the last written work I read was in the "Briefly Noted" section, which has 4 one-paragraph reviews. So the last book reviewed in this issue's section was The Color of Night by Madison Smartt Bell. And it doesn't really seem like the kind of book I'd be into.

And that's it! Have a great July everyone! Some wonderful people were born in July!

Countdown #109: Road Show

I won't go into the explanation of the title on here, but suffice it to say, I have a great new way of making these things and I'm very excited about it!

It's a pretty standard countdown this week, which is to say, FANTASTIC.

Enjoy everyone!

Countdown #109

***Featuring***
The Black Keys
fun.
Gotye featuring Kimbra
Grouplove
Imagine Dragons
Linkin Park
M83
Of Monsters and Men
The Offspring
Silversun Pickups
Smashing Pumpkins