DMB

A couple weeks ago Elliot had a little baby boy who he named Jonas. When I first had a chance to talk to him after the baby was born, he told all about the baby and the the delivery. Then he was quick to tell me about this new album of Dave Matthews Band that he could not get out of his head. While this does not reflect on Elliot as a father, it does show how much he loves music. While participating in the excitement and drama of child birth, Elliot was sing "Shake me like a monkey, baby / Forever I'm yours..." or maybe he was singing to his boy, "...I'll be right here, lying in the hands of God..."

Anyway, After his recommendation I immediately checked it out. And just as quickly it was stuck in my head as well. I was sing to myself, "It's why I am, it's why I am..." And it is not just the fact that it is stuck in my head, it is really all I want to listen to. While I have been forcing myself to listen to other things, many times I have found myself straying not far but to another Dave Matthews Band album.

I have thought a lot about what I want from my music and near the top of the list is, I want to be amazed. I want to feel the music. For example, when I heard the bridge in the song "Funny the Way It Is" it gave me the chills. And that is what I want from music. I want to be blown away by the genius of it.

In fact that is the best word to describe what I want, "genius." I think Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King is genius. While the whole album is good, the genius can be seen most easily to me in the following songs:

Shake Me Like a Monkey
Funny the Way It Is
Why I Am
Dive In
Seven

I write this in an attempt to free myself from the grasps of this music. And probably more effectively catch others who brave the music in the snare.

Mr. Mastadon Farms

"Birds fall from the window ledge above mine." This is a line from my favorite cake song. How could anyone not like Cake. They did a cover of "I will survive" for craps sake. In the song Mr. Mastadon Farms the dude talks about how the birds falling from the window ledge and then flapping their wings at the last second is somehow linked to his need to see them flap their wings at the last second or else it means that his life would not be able to go on. He needs to see their last second flight. It is a genius song. It is weird though. Cake is like They might be Giants for cool kids. They might be giants are cool but lets face it only weirdos listen to them or own their albums (self proclaimed weirdo here.) But Cake gives you just enough weird mixed with some awesome funky shiz (small funk ensemble with 0ne trumpet) and a unique talky voice. The song is Mr. Mastadon Farms. The band is Cake. Check it. Word. (I'm a nerd)

Finally Some New Assignments

I am going to try a little bit different format. I am just going to give you an artist this week and you can comment on the artist or choose a song by that artist. Make sense?

Isaac - Cake

Elliot - Andrew Bird

Eric - You can choose whatever you want.

Let me know what you have chosen and I will update the player above. Hopefully we can get back into it. Next week Elliot will make assignments.

Daniel Johnston- Speedy Motorcycle

"Speedy motorcycle, won't you change me."

This song sounds like some dude in his basement with some toy instruments. I seriously don't know what instruments he uses in this song. Despite the poor sound quality and that of the vocals and the strange instruments, this song gets stuck in my head and I kind of like it. Its catchy. 

I don't know exactly what the lyrics say but from what I can gather, he is using the speedy motors as a transitory metaphor. He describes many situations in his life by comparing them to a speedy motor cycle.

"Speedy motorcycle of my heart."

I just listen to the song I again and I got it all wrong. Oh, well.

Reprieve

Hey fellas, I'm gonna need to put all blog-assignments on hold until the week of May 17th. Is that ok? I have finals and there have been about a dozen extra-curricular distactions on top of preparing for finals--which I'm terribly under-prepared for. Anyway, sorry about that, but it makes me feel better letting y'all know rather than ignore my assignments.

Keep me posted on who's up for the week of May 17th and where we stand and stuff.

Elliot

Degausser

I loved the choir of, what seems like, children singing. I like what elliot said about the bipolarness of the music. That is a great way to describe this band and music in this genre. I read a little bit about this album and found out that the title of the album was inspired by Daniel Johnston. If you don't know about him you should. I myself only know a little bit about him. I am going to find out more about him. He became well known when Kurt Cobain wore a t-shirt of one of Daniel Johnstons Album Covers. (Daniel is also a respected artist) I am all about roots. I always feel like I can't understand music unless I know its roots. Nirvana is certainly a root to the Brand New tree but lets dig deeper. For my assignment I want you guys to review Daniel Johnston. I am going to do some more research and get back to you with specific songs. In the mean time google Daniel Johnston.

Sowing Season - Brand New

[Sorry I'm late. I turned in a 25 pg. paper today that I didn't start until this last mid-Saturday due to a trip to the ER, among other things...]

Okay, so it's no secret that I'm a fan of Nirvana. When I was experiencing my teenage apathy, I finally understood why similarly lame teenagers had connected so strongly with Nirvana half a decade earlier.

Where's he going with this?

Many people don't like/appreciate/connect with/recognize Nirvana, but for those who do (yes, those that do all of those slash-separated items!) they understand that Kurt was a master of the bi-polar, schizophrenic sound.

This isn't Nirvana, it's Brand New. Again, where's he going with this?

So too with this song. I don't want to sell the song short, but you don't have to understand what the lyrics mean to understand this song. You don't even have to speak English.

This guy's too liberal for me. . .

If you're an impatient person and just want my conclusion now--skip forward to 0:45. Let the mood sink in quickly, because in 18 seconds you're going to be hit in the ear-hole with a passionate "YEAH!!!"

I still don't get it.

This is a song that you blast when you are heart-broken or angry at life or just frustrated with something unsettling. You feel pensive moments when you're depressingly sensitive, followed by moments of mania--when you want to angrily lash out at anything or nothing at all.

This is too abstract and pretentious for my taste.

Then, 3:33 happens. Naked expression. Something you yell in the car as you drive away from something that didn't go right. This naked expression is followed by a rush to your head--similar to the swell you start to hear at 3:45.

It's a beautiful song.

It's a great song. But I wonder if I was listening to the same thing as you.