Dr. Castrato

Blog Fade

2010-03-18T09:27:00.002-05:00

My interaction with this blog has faded significantly over the past year or so. But here is a quick update of some music I found recently:

1. Field Music - "Measure" This is a long 20 song album of really nicely crafted well recorded songs. So well done, in fact, that it does not feel like 72 minutes.

2. The Besnard Lakes - "Are the Roaring Night" Still a new album to me, I found this it to be very intersting and epic. I'm looking forward to getting to know it better.

thats all for now!

My Favorite Albums of 2009

2009-12-29T11:22:00.002-06:00

I certainly don't listen to enough new music each year to really warrant making these lists, and I lean very heavily on artists I'm already familiar with, but I love making the lists anyway. As usual, I felt that the current year's releases were not as strong as the previous year, and that newer albums by older bands didn't live up to my expectations. But that always happens, and after some time, I'm sure my opinion of some of these records will climb and others will fall. Here are my favorite albums from 2009.

1. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Haven't gotten sick of "1901" despite the car commercials.

2. Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
I may almost like Farm better than 2007's Beyond.

3. Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Probably my least favorite Mastodon record, but it's still an awesome powerhouse of a record and better than most metal I'm hearing these days.

4. Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs
YLT is consistently churning out great albums.

5. Adam Franklin - Spent Bullets
Less exciting than his previous solo album, but still full of cool.

6. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - (self-titled)
A recent acquisition, I can't help but like these songs, even if The Jesus And Mary Chain wrote them 20 years ago.

7. St. Vincent - Actor
Missed out on her previous album, so this one came as a complete surprise.

8. Mew - No More Stories Are Told Today...
I hoped for more from this one, but it's still a great combo of prog and pop.

9. Doves - Kingdom of Rust
Not much to say about the Doves.

10. Baroness - Blue Record
I can't listen to Baroness without wishing they were Mastodon, but in the end, this album is pretty good and more interesting than other 2009 releases that didn't make my top 10.

Runner up:
Passion Pit - Manners

Best of 2009 Mix CD

2009-12-28T10:39:00.002-06:00

Here is my year-end 2009 mix (CD edit). I left off a couple of longer songs to fit in a few more shorter ones and keep a better flow. I have a longer version in my iTunes of about 65 songs of stuff that didn't make the cut for the CD.

1. Phoenix - Lisztomania
2. Wilco - You Never Know
3. Sloan - Take It Upon Yourself
4. A.C. Newman - The Changeling (Get Guilty)
5. St. Vincent - The Strangers
6. The Hours - Big Black Hole
7. Doves - Winter Hill
8. Trashcan Sinatras - People
9. Weezer - (If You Are Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To
10. Dinosaur Jr. - Over It
11. Superchunk - Learned To Surf
12. Yo La Tengo - Nothing To Hide
13. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - This Love Is Fucking Right!
14. Adam Franklin - Bolts of Melody
15. Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks
16. Built To Spill - Aisle 13
17. Reverie Sound Revue - An Anniversary Away
18. Mew - Beach
19. Royksopp - Happy Up Here
20. Passion Pit - Little Secrets
21. Phoenix - 1901

Yes, Phoenix deserves two spots on this mix.

Lists coming

2009-12-21T15:59:00.002-06:00

Very soon, hopefully before Christmas, I'll have a list of my favorite albums of the year, plus a track list of a 2009 song mix. I may or may not finish a list of favorite albums of the decade. It seems like the thing to do, and I love lists, but it's very hard to put them in order. I may just run 'em down alphabetically.

I don't think anyone reads this blog anyway, so I don't know if this post is even necessary. But in case you are out there and wondering, lists are coming.

Heeeeere we are, in a room full of strangers

2009-10-30T11:08:00.001-05:00

2009-09-30T13:49:00.001-05:00

More drums

2009-08-14T18:48:00.000-05:00

Drum Machine

2009-06-07T22:56:00.001-05:00

Misc.

2009-04-23T16:39:00.002-05:00

Several things to mention briefly:
1. I recently saw the band Dr. Dog perform at the Double Door here in Chicago and I was VERY impressed. Really great live show - Lots of energy, great songs, vocal harmonies and dual guitar solos... They are coming back to play the Taste of Randolph festival and I will have to attend.

2. I meant to post PRIOR to April 18th to remind you all to purchase some music at your local record store to celebrate Record Store Day. I managed to drop by Laurie's Planet of Sound for a little while. They were sold out of the few items I was looking for, so I settled on a couple used metal albums (Yngwie Malmsteen, anyone?). I'll be back soon though.

3. It was also Earth Day yesterday, but I nearly forgot and didn't really do anything memorable to celebrate the Earth. In fact, I'm feeling pretty guilty that I still haven't fixed my running toilet. Doh!

4. This weekend is reunion weekend for the particular university I attended. It turns out a lot of old friends will be around. Should be pretty fun, as long as Pat doesn't come. Aw crap, I just found out Pat's coming! Ha, just kidding, Pat. As long as I don't have to pick you up from the airport or anything.... Aw, crap. Well you better get your own hotel room cuz you're not stay in my.... DAMNIT!

Haha. I kid, I kid.

5. Next Thursday I'm going to see Mastodon again. I hear they are playing their new album in it's entirety. Maybe that will make me like it more. It's good, but is taking a while to sink in.

TTFN! TTYL!

What happened to March?

2009-04-02T14:29:00.004-05:00

Somehow I let all of March slide by without posting. Sorry. The RPM Challenge ended up pretty well. Andy and I finished the CD and mixed it on the last day allowed, and mailed it off the next morning. In retrospect, we should have planned ahead and given ourselves a few days to listen to the mix and make adjustments. The mix we sent in is too bass-heavy and drum-light. I'm in the process of re-mixing each track just for our own listening enjoyment, but I'm fairly unmotivated now that the deadline has passed.

Now it's April and I've got a whole list of other things on my mind, including Baseball, Fantasy Baseball, Softball, and, uh, work, I guess. Mostly I'm just getting antsy for Spring. C'mon, nature, BRING IT.

Deadline looming

2009-02-27T16:35:00.002-06:00

The March 1 deadline for the RPM Challenge album project is racing at me like a speeding train. I've got one more guitar part to record tonight or tomorrow, and then I need to spend some time mixing and sequencing for the final CD. I haven't had much time to sit and think about "extras" that could be built in to give some songs more depth. I think the CD is pretty much going to the be uncluttered and straight up Guitar/Bass/Drums (or in some cases, Bass/Bass/Drums). No time for keyboards, horns, vocals, tambourine, etc... Bummer, but it all still sounds pretty good. We'll probably make it available to anyone who wants a copy.

Oh and I think we're spelling our name "Wyld Pytch" as an ode to Bill & Ted.

Wild Pitch album taking shape

2009-02-10T14:37:00.003-06:00

So Andy and I have been working on recording this album (see previous post) and it's coming along really well. We've essentially finished one song, and have 4 more songs that are getting pretty close to complete. The more songs we record, the better we're getting at the process of recording.

I have a lot of work to do before it's done, but I'm pretty confident this album will be enjoyable and something I'm proud of.

RPM Challenge

2009-01-30T11:24:00.002-06:00

Last year, a friend of mine ("For Privacy's sake, lets call him Pat S...Wait thats too obvious. How about P. Stura") suggested our "band" try to participate in the RPM Challenge, a non-competitive invitation to record an entire album in one month's time. Specifically, the month of February.

The rules are pretty simple - record ten songs or 35 minutes of music, burn it to CD and mail it to the RPM HQ with a postmark no later than March 1. It does not have to be professional quality, or even remotely good. There is no prize for being first, being best, or being cool. The whole project deadline is really just an excuse to get people off their butts and be creative and productive, with whatever means they have available.

At that time, we gave it a little thought but realized, due to scheduling conflicts and lack of material, it would not be feasible. But this year I've decided I want to give it a shot.

My friend Andy and I have about 20 hastily written and recorded bare-bones songs from the past 8 years or so. As a side project to our primary band, Kemman, we call ourselves "Wild Pitch," and we've decided to record full-band versions of at least 10 Wild Pitch songs over the month of February for the RPM Challenge. It will be a DIY affair, as we don't have money for professional studio time. We're not expecting it to be perfect, but we can surely improve upon what we have, and hopefully enjoy the process.

If it goes well, I may try to do an entire album by myself next year. Finally there's something in February to look forward to.

2008 Mix CD

2009-01-14T12:28:00.002-06:00

I compiled a bunch of songs from 2008 into an iTunes playlist - a lot of singles and tracks downloaded from blogs - and it totalled 71 songs. I then pared it down to the favorties and future classics that would fit on one 80-minute CD with some sort of flow. I had to cut a lot of cool tunes, including my own band, but here is what remained:

1. The Broken West - "Perfect Games"
2. Parts & Labor - "Nowhere's Nigh"
3. Secret Machines - "Last Believer, Drop Dead"
4. The Dodos - "Walking"
5. Dr. Dog - "From"
6. Blitzen Trapper - "Not Your Lover"
7. Bon Iver - "Skinny Love"
8. She & Him - "This is Not a Test"
9. Sloan - "All I Am is All You're Not"
10. Kaiser Chiefs - "Addicted to Drugs"
11. M83 - "Graveyard Girl"
12. MGMT - "Electric Feel"
13. Cut Copy - "Feel the Love"
14. David Byrne & Brian Eno - "Strange Overtones"
15. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - "Glue Girls"
16. The Night Marchers - "I Wanna Deadbeat You"
17. The Futureheads - "This is Not the World"
18. The Kooks - "Always Where I Need to Be"
19. Keane - "The Lovers are Losing"
20. The Killers - "Losing Touch"
21. The Explorer's Club - "Last Kiss"

Favorite Albums of 2008

2009-01-11T19:59:00.006-06:00

After a long wait, here are my favorite albums of 2008. I think I listened to more new albums this year than any of the last several years, yet I still found myself feeling that very few of these records really deserved to be ranked as "top ten" or whatever. A whole lot of albums were "good" but not "great." Also, of course, there are many albums I never heard in their entirety, and certainly many more I've never even heard OF. Forgive me if I don't mention your favorite album, or if my list seems to follow too many trends.

1. Kemman - "The Long Rocker"
Hell yeah, I put my own band in the #1 spot. Screw everyone else. This CD Rocks!

2. Dr. Dog - "Fate"
A surprise find, Dr. Dog has an organic, earnest feel that reminds me of The Band or Wilco, with a lot of Beatles influence. Over the last month, this album emerged as the one I enjoyed more than the rest.

3. Bon Iver - "For Emma, Forever Ago"
Quiet, solemn record of primarily one man and his acoustic guitar.

4. M83 - "Saturdays = Youth"
Synthy and 80's sounding, but still heartbroken and moody.

5. Sloan - "Parallel Play"
Another great Sloan record. A couple of dud tunes, but mostly fun rock singalongs.

6. The Futureheads - "This is Not the World"
A good British rock record that stood out amongst some others by similar bands. I still think of this band as XTC on crack.

7. Secret Machines - "Secret Machines"
Not as likable as their previous album "10 Silver Drops," but still the same loud drums!

8. Blitzen Trapper - "Furr"
Another surprise. Another more rootsy indie-rock album (see #2), but quirkier?

9. Parts & Labor - "Receivers"
Really cool indie-rock album.

10. MGMT - "Oracular Spectacular"
Apparently this was released online in 2007 so not sure if it qualifies. Electro and dancey but not too much? Got a few fun songs on it.

Runners up:
Just Added: French Kicks - "Swimming"
Kaiser Chiefs - "Off With Their Heads" (Brit-pop)
The Dodos - "Visiter" (Would have ranked higher but unique sound gets old after a while).
The Kooks - "Konk" (see #6. Liked their last album better)
Cut Copy - "In Ghost Colours" (Some good tunes. Would rank higher if I was more into dance music).
The Night Marchers - "See You In Magic" (Great rock album from former Rocket From The Crypt singer)
Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin - "Pershing"
The Broken West - "Now or Heaven"
Coldplay - "Viva La Vida"
TV on the Radio - "Dear Science"
She & Him - "Volume One"
Torche - "Meanderthal"
The Explorers Club - "Freedom Wind"
Ness - "You Can't Afford to Feel"

Almost done!

2009-01-04T16:41:00.003-06:00

Sorry for the wait, whoever reads this, but due to some computer issues (they keep breaking) I am slow in getting my Best of 2008 lists together. I think I just finished my mix of 2008 songs (might need some slight tweaking yet). My list of fave 2008 albums will be finished soon too. I got, like, 7 new albums in the last ten days, so it's hard to really evaluate them and rank them along with the rest of the year's albums in such a short time.

Anyway, sometime this week I will have things wrapped up.

Still the best release of 2008:
Kemman, "The Long Rocker"
www.kemman.com

The New Music

2008-12-15T09:51:00.002-06:00

So, a reader of this blog (probably the only one) has asked if/when I'll be delivering a list of my favorite albums from 2008, as I have done in years past. The answer is Yes. Although it might not happen until after Christmas. There are several albums from 2008 that I never got around to purchasing (or even illegally downloading - sometimes I'm too lazy even for that!) so I've put 'em on my Christmas list.

I'm trying to cram in as much listening between now and New Years so I can have as much as possible to choose from when making my selections. I can tell you right now a few albums that will appear somewhere on my list are new ones from Dr. Dog, M83, and Bon Iver.

Once again, though, I feel like this year is a little underwhelming compared to the year before. This always happens. When will a year really blow me away with great albums?

Remember

2008-11-21T18:08:00.004-06:00

The other day I was thinking about people I've known in the past but am not really close with anymore (Facebook has a way of bringing back the undead), and I got kind of weirded out. I remember things that people have told me, but this thought popped into my head: I don't remember anything I've ever said to anyone.

I'm not a very talkative person, and I generally keep my opinions to myself (except for when I complain to my wife about everything - she says I'm picky). But I'm not a complete mute, and I've certainly been able to converse well enough to amass a large number of close friends and an army of acquaintences. So why is it that I cannot really remember my half of any conversations?

What kinds of things do I talk about? What first-hand knowledge of myself have I given to people over the years? I have no idea. I think about ex-girlfriends or bosses or roommates and wonder if I really did ever speak to them? It is almost a guarantee that I did, at some point, talk to these people. But I don't remember any specific words or phrases, or even general ideas I tried to convey.

I do remember some specific conversation situations, but not so much the content. Is this common for everyone? Or is it just me? I'm not dumb. I'm not a victim of drug or alcohol abuse. I'm just kind of blank in spots? I dunno...

In other news: Gmail video chat is pretty freaking cool. The future is HERE! Go Bears.

I'm voting for Obama

2008-11-04T11:32:00.001-06:00

and I hope you do too.

NL October

2008-10-29T23:14:00.004-05:00

So, uh, congrats to the Phillies for winning the World Series. Their "long wait" is "finally" over. It's been SOOOOO long since the freaking Phillies won the Championship. 28 looong years...

As a Cubs fan, I spit on the "long wait" rhetoric. But I am glad to see the National League win. And although I liked the Rays, nobody likes a magical year where the worst team in the sport turns it around and wins it all. Nobody!

So now that baseball is done, we can focus on Halloween. And the election. And of course, football.

One of these days...

2008-10-15T14:48:00.004-05:00

One of these days I'll become a better blogger and write often enough to make it worth your time.

I bet you thought I was gonna say something about the Cubs.

2008 NL Central Champions

2008-09-22T09:49:00.002-05:00

Songs in my Head

2008-08-26T13:25:00.002-05:00

Thanks for the shout out, Betty!

The song in my head right now is, "My Kind of Soldier" by Guided by Voices. I heard a new Robert Pollard song last night on The Big Beat and my wife and briefly discussed Guided by Voices (Pollard's previous band). She doesn't care for them, but I think that, once you whittle away some of the nonsense stuff, Pollard and GBV really created some of the best pop rock tunes of the 90's and 00's. They're not even in my top 10, but some of their songs are ridiculously good.

"My Kind of Soldier" popped into my head after hearing the Pollard song last night. It's weird how sometimes a song can trigger a completely different (or in this case, somewhat similar) song to start playing in your head. Ever find a song in your head for no apparent reason, and then after a while, you realize there is one part or phrase or note from the song that resembles some other song you recently heard, and that it's not all random?

I like music

2008-08-15T16:00:00.004-05:00

Hey all.

Whatcha been listening to lately? I recently ordered a couple CDs from Not Lame, a website I would love to spend more time and money on, if I had surplus time and money. They CDs were last year's release by The Broken West (I hear they have a new one coming) and a CD by a band called Ness, which is not related to Mike Ness, but is pretty cool. I'd give more elaborate reviews but, a) I don't have time, and b) I need to give them more time to digest.

Also been listening to the new M83 "Saturdays=Youth" which is pretty good. At least a few songs really got my attention. The single "Kim and Jesse" has this easygoing warm eletrco 80's feel to it that, despite not really wanting to like, I can't help but submit to. I heard another song recently by local Chicago band Hey Champ that has the same kind of sound, although slightly more dancey. The video is cool, too. It all seems too hipster-ish to like these retro sounding tunes, but, hey champ, I like what I like, so screw it.

Lastly, I've been sifting through the Smashing Pumpkins "Aeroplane Flies High" boxed set of b-sides from their "Mellon Collie..." days. I was a big fan of theirs at the time, but never got around to getting that stuff until now. There is definitely some crap on there (James Iha, I wanna like you, but your songs [and vocals] just kinda blow, sorry dude). But there are also some other really cool tunes. This is old news to anyone who already has heard it, but there is a track in there that is a compilation of like 25 minutes of riffs and snippets of songs that Billy and band had recorded at one time or another. Some are really cool (yes, I listened to the whole thing) and it reminded me that the riff-rocking songs are really what I loved about Smashing Pumpkins in the first place. Well, that and the drumming.

My Favorite Bands

2008-07-28T12:44:00.002-05:00

A recent post on Gaper's Blog about Superchunk got me thinking about my favorite bands, and where I would rank Superchunk. I gave it a little thought and came up with a top ten. However, as with all opinion lists, this is subject to change. Also, no laughing.

1. Rush
2. Iron Maiden
3. Led Zeppelin
4. Teenage Fanclub
5. The Police
6. The Beatles
7. Radiohead
8. Superchunk
9. Sloan
10. The Boo Radleys

Runners up: Genesis, Dinosaur Jr., Smashing Pumpkins, Pixies/Frank Black, Swervedriver, Dead Milkmen

Looking at the list now, it's funny how many of these groups peaked in the 90's while I was in high school and college. Were those really the best years in rock? Doubtful. It must have something to do with the bond you make with music that surrounds you during your "coming of age" years.

Busy and Song in my head

2008-07-17T13:20:00.007-05:00

Sorry again for the lack of postings. Been busy. Monday nights are softball, Tuesday nights are Darts (yes, I play competitive Darts. How many times do I have to say it?), Wednesday nights are band practice, Thursday nights are something, and then its the weekend. I don't really know what eats up my time, but there's always something. It's good though, right? It's healthy that I'm too busy to blog. I'm also too busy to go to the gym and too busy to not eat pizza and ice cream everyday. But that's...O-K.

Lately, I've had the following song in my head. I sang the opening lines to my wife the other day as romantically as possible. She was wooed until the call letters where she realized what it was...

Mix Tape - "Afternoon Delight"

2008-06-30T14:07:00.003-05:00

I made a 70s & 80s light rock mix for a friend last week. I had been working on compiling a list of songs for myself that all kind of fit a certain mood for me. Generally 70's light rock songs that had a certain open stillness to them. I think I've discussed before how I'm slightly embarrassed to admit I like some of that old junk. But there is this particular sound of song that I wanted to build a mix around.

At some point, however, I decided to make the mix into something I could share with a friend, and at that point I realized that my original mix would have contained WAY too many ballads and not enough fun. So I changed it and to incorporate a larger selection of more upbeat numbers. I think the mix turned out well and I am planning to create a follow up. Here's the track listing (I interspersed some Anchorman clips here and there throughout the mix, to go along with the "Afternoon Delight" theme).

1. Starland Vocal Band - Afternoon Delight
2. Pure Prarie League - Amie
3. America - Sister Golden Hair
4. Paul Simon - Kodachrome
5. Boz Scaggs - Lido Shuffle
6. Orleans - Still the One
7. Jacksone Browne - Somebody's Baby
8. Ozark Mtn Daredevils - Jackie Blue
9. Climax Blues Band - Couldn't get it Right
10. Steely Dan - Peg
11. Doobie Brothers - What a Fool Believes
12. Fleetwood Mac - Gypsy
13. Bee Gees - How Deep is Your Love?
14. Chicago - If You Leave Me Now
15. Gordon Lightfoot - Sundown
16. Seals and Crofts - Summer Breeze
17. Rupert Holmes - Escape (The Pina Colada Song)
18. Jay Ferguson - Thunder Island
19. Pilot - Magic
20. Sanford Townsend Band - Smoke from a Distant Fire
21. Steve Miller Band - Dance Dance Dance

Thanks to Jason Hare's "Adventures Through the Mines of Mellow Gold" series for some of these songs.

Summer Concert Season

2008-06-17T10:20:00.003-05:00

Dudes! Sorry for the lack of postings, but I've been busy! And broke! Too broke to blog! haha.

Back in late May, I took my wife to see Kanye West's "Glow in the Dark" tour, that also starred Rhianna, N.E.R.D., and Lupe Fiasco. It was a pretty fun show! For someone not that into hip hop and R&B, I enjoyed it a lot.

I missed out on BOTH the French Kicks and M83 the following week, and I'm a little bummed about that. Also, Anthrax played a small club gig (at Double Door) which probably would have been pretty cool. But later in the week, my band played our CD-Release show, and rocked enough to make up for missing those shows.

Then last week, things really started to heat up. I spent some dough to see Rush (my favorite band...yeah, so what?!?!) at the United Center. They were really good, as usual, although they played a TON of songs from their latest album. In fact they opened their second set with 5 new songs in a row. That was kind of brutal, not because they are bad songs, but because of the clustering...you gotta mix it up a bit. People get a little bored when they don't hear something they know.

Two days later was the long-awaited Iron Maiden "Somewhere Back in Time" concert. This one was advertised as a throwback show to their glory years of the 80's, including old stage sets and props, and most importantly, no new songs. Iron Maiden has maintained their status as an active metal band all these years, but their newer material just doesn't have the same spark. So the show with all 80's-era tunes was something very exciting for long-time fans. They busted out a lot of classics, including the 13-minute "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", which was definitely the highlight of the night.

The very next day, my band Kemman played again. I was super pumped up to play after just having seen my two favorite bands, however, the venue we played was rather disappointing, and it was difficult to relay my excitement into my performance. In short, we sucked, and split as soon as we were done. I hate to do that, since it's kind of good bandsmanship to stick around for the other bands sets, but we were just not happy campers at that point. Luckily, we're playing again this week to redeem ourselves.

Saturday I got to see the reunion show of one of my favorite 90's bands, Swervedriver. They gave off a very laid back vibe on stage, with almost zero talking between songs, but the music was pretty scorching. Great guitar work, although at times it was difficult to hear. Lots of effects pedals and stuff can sometimes cause the tones to get lost. But it was a great show, without a doubt.

This Thursday is the aforementioned Kemman show. We'll be playing at the new Bottom Lounge venue, which I've heard is bigger and better than the old location. Then on Friday I'm going to see 70's fusion group Return to Forever. I'm pretty psyched about that, since I've just recently gotten into them. Next Monday, Canadian rockers Sloan will be in town promoting their new album. Sloan puts on a great show every time, so I surely can't miss this one.

I'm gonna need an ear transplant if I plan to keep up this pace all summer. This has already been a lot of music. Plus Pitchfork fest in July, Lollapalooza in August, and in September, both My Bloody Valentine AND Helloween are playing on the SAME NIGHT. I've never seen either of them and I'm seriously torn over which one to go to.

I think this is my longest post ever. DUDE!

My Band is Playing Tomorrow

2008-05-29T14:06:00.001-05:00

We are called KEMMAN

FRIDAY MAY 30th, 9pm-ish
at the Underground Lounge
952 W Newport, in Chicago

just a few blocks from Wrigley Field, just east of Clark St.

There are two opening bands:
-Ian & the Astro Physicist
-The Psycho Kid
Kemman is playing last, so it's ok if you are a little late.

Also, we have new CD, and we'll be selling it at the show. $6. If you would like to buy a CD but can't attend the show, write me and we can arrange to get one to you. You can also purchase our CD from CD Baby, and you can download it from Amazon.com (and soon from iTunes as well).

And don't forget to check out www.kemman.com and
www.myspace.com/kemman

Songs in my Head

2008-05-23T14:00:00.001-05:00

Song Lyrics

Songs in my Head

2008-05-13T11:54:00.003-05:00

The Cars, "Dangerous Type"

I love it when I can imagine a song in my head and distinguish all the different parts as if I'm really hearing it. Right now, I can hear the drums, the guitars, keyboards, bass and vocals all quite clearly. Yet I have not actually heard this song in probably a few months. The chorus is designed in such a way that it begs to be repeated, and on the record, the end of the song does repeat the chorus multiple times. It's catchy, but the downside is when the song is stuck in your head, it just repeats that chorus over and over and over... The brain can never find the end of the song!

Coming soon I'll have pictures of the finished, furnished basement. But until then, I leave you with these words, "She's a lot like you, the Dangerous Type. She's a lot like you. Come on, hold me tight."

Basement 2: The Other Room

2008-05-04T10:56:00.007-05:00

Previously, I posted some pictures of the "band" room, where my friends and I had painted some crazy designs. Since then, I've been working on painting the living room area. I had to scrap my original plans and improvise a little bit, but I think everything turned out pretty neat. Check out the pictures below. Carpet and furniture arrive on Thursday!

KEMMAN CD IS DONE

2008-04-24T00:19:00.002-05:00

Hey! My band recorded a CD a year ago and we finally got the finished product delivered today. We are all very excited since this is our first real release after many, many years as a band. We don't have a record label; we're just doing all of this ourselves. And I must say, it ROCKS! If you are interested, please visit the band website (www.kemman.com).

Songs in my Head

2008-04-23T15:32:00.002-05:00

I had a two hour conference call beginning at 9:00 this morning (made it to work on time for once!), and throughout the whole thing, I had the Kink's "Victoria" stuck in my head. Easily my favorite Kinks song, "Victoria" has a nice bouncy beat, a simple melody and an even simpler chorus: 1. Sing title of song 2. Repeat.

The only other noticeable song to enter my head today was the "Five Dollar Footlong" song from the Subway commercials. That song is certainly doing it's job. I got a Subway sandwich today (not a footlong) and inside the bag was a 3x5 ad promoting their $5 regular footlongs. But when I look at the ad (I hung it up in my office cube), I don't even see the words, or comprehend their meaning. When I look at it, it sings to me, "Five......five dollar......five dollar foot-long!!"

Band Room Final Pics

2008-04-16T00:58:00.003-05:00

Finished up the painting in the "band room" and I'm pretty pleased. I might do a little more detail designing on the pole in the middle of the room, but not until I've finished painting the rest of the basement. See the pics. In the 3rd pic, the dark color to the left of the box is brown, not black. The same brown is seen in the last picture as the stripe in between the thin yellow stripe and the thicker red stripe.

Basement Paints

2008-04-10T15:47:00.007-05:00

The contractors finished the band room Friday, so Sunday we started painting. Basically forever, I have wanted to paint a room with some interesting designs, instead of your average solid-color walls. Finally I had the chance to do that with this room. My friends and bandmates helped out, with everyone kind of taking ownership of a wall or section. We are almost finished and had a lot of fun doing it. Here are some pictures of the progress.

Update!/Songs in My Head

2008-04-08T17:08:00.005-05:00

Holy smokes! It's been a while since I've posted, eh? Sorry to keep you waiting. News on the basement: it's almost done. Well, almost done being constructed. Then there is the furniture, flooring and painting (not in that order). I've started painting one room already, and I'll post some pictures soon. I enlisted the guys in my band to help me out (since it will be the Band room), and we're doing lots of interesting designs and things instead of your standard solid-color walls. I was up until 2:00 a.m. last night working on a mini-masterpiece on one section of wall.

We listened to some Husker Du, Megadeth, and defunct local punk band Oblivion while painting on Sunday, and busted out some Superchunk last night. But for some reason the song in my head right now is "F.M." by Steely Dan. I take a lot of heat from my wife for guiltily digging the Dan and Fleetwood Mac and some of that smooth 70's rock. I can't help it. The polished hooks just sink right in.

Anyway, look for some more basement photos soon.

Basement Progress Photos

2008-03-24T21:41:00.007-05:00

Some people were asking about the progress on my basement remodeling. Again, I must admit that I have done NONE of the work, other than clear out all the crap that was down there before the contractors began. Below are some photos.

Songs in my Head

2008-03-18T12:05:00.002-05:00

I'm busy working on a project at work. Right now I've just e-mailed what I believe will be the final version to a co-worker for their approval. So while I wait for their reply, I'll tell you what song has been in my head this morning: "All Over the World," by the Pixies. I haven't listened to the Pixies in a few months, at least, so I don't know why that song popped up. I was just discussing with my friend about how the Pixies were once one of my most favorite bands, and at one point not long ago, I listened to them regulary. But once I finally saw them live about 2 years ago (which was great), their albums started to lose a little of the mystique and appeal. Something about the simpleness of songs was exposed, where the record had me convinced it wsa more complex. I still like them, quite a bit, but they've faded just a little in my desire to actively listen to their records.

I've had the opposite happen often, where a live show gets me interested in a band. Has a live concert actually diminished your appreciation for a bands albums?

Songs in my Head

2008-03-11T11:37:00.003-05:00

Right now the song in my head is "I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock & Roll)" by Nick Lowe. It popped into my head as I was reading the Popdose Guide to Nick Lowe at Popdose.com. LOTS of interesting (both good and bad) music information over at Popdose - check it out.

Basement Screams

2008-03-10T20:41:00.006-05:00

I'm doing work on my basement. Well, no. That's not true. I'm paying someone else to do the work. And I'm really excited about it.

p.s. I'm typing this sitting next to my dog and he stinks. Ugh.

Anyway, the contractors have been working 9-5 for the past 2 weeks and have framed out the new rooms, hung the doors, and routed the electrical work necessary for the new lights. Today I came home and peeked down there to see the first bits of drywall on the ceiling. As far as I can tell, these guys have done great work and I am so pumped to have the finished rooms!!

Fun Bar

2008-03-07T11:59:00.007-06:00

Today I brought my lunch to work. A turkey sandwich, some baby carrots, a banana and some yogurt. Pretty healthy stuff.

But in the morning I remembered that I didn't have a spoon to eat my yogurt, so I went down to the cafeteria in my building to get one. I passed through the food stations to see what was cooking (literally). Roasted chicken, some fish, nice smelling soups... the usual. Then I saw this unique dessert.

It was labelled "Fun Bar," and it did, in fact , look very fun. It was a piece of chocolate cake, covered with marshmallows, a few chopped peanuts, and colorfully topped off with some dark chocolate M&M's. (I took the photograph after my first bite - it did not have a missing bite when I bought it.)

I was so excited, I nearly forgot to get a spoon before going back to my desk to wait. I was raised to eat my dessert after my meal, but it wasn't quite lunchtime yet. Despite not being hungry, all I could think about was food. My lunch was going to be so exciting now that I had a Fun Bar! So at 11:30, a full hour before my usual lunch break, I retrieved my lunch from the office fridge and devoured it, setting my sights on the Fun Bar.

But tragedy struck. A phone call. From my boss. With the chocolate and marshmallows just inches from my face, I was forced to have a real conversation about "important business"- seemingly miles away from everything a Fun Bar represents. After several agonizing minutes, I was finally able to hang up and take my first bite -

Meh.

It was really just OK. The cake was good, the marshmallows were good, but you know, I think I just prefer them seperate. I kept thinking the cake should've had a more sugary topping (like a usual frosting), and the marshmallows' soft texture was diminished by the spongey cake. But despite my less-than-ecstatic taste buds, the Fun Bar WAS very fun. It was a child's dream food and it made me feel silly for a while.

PS. The song in my head today is "Taxman Mr Thief" off of Cheap Trick's first album.

Songs in My Head

2008-02-25T15:00:00.004-06:00

"Falling Slowly," the duet by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova from the film Once. I still have not seen the film, although I've heard only great things about it. I first heard this song performed live on the David Letterman show, and it intrigued me. Last night it won the Oscar for best original song in a film (beating out THREE song nominations from the film Enchanted). Since watching them perform it again on the Academy Awards broadcast, I haven't been able to get it out of my head.

Oh, Sports.

2008-02-20T16:55:00.004-06:00

A strange thing happened last night in my personal wide world of sports. I watched a Drake University men's basketball game for the first time since I graduated from there 10 years ago. They were on TV last night playing conference rival Bradley.

I never paid much attention to college sports when I was IN college, and really only started getting into the men's NCAA hoops tournaments a few years ago. But this year Drake is actually good. They are ranked 16th in the nation and are poised for their first tournament bid in over 20 years. So when I saw that they were on TV, I decided to watch.

They lost. Just their 3rd loss all season. But I'm still hopeful they will secure a seed in the tournament and maybe even win a few games.

Songs In My Head

2008-02-12T16:47:00.000-06:00

Today, I'm internally rocking to "Love is Like Oxygen" by Sweet. I don't have much to say about the song, except that it's kinda cheesy yet kinda irresistable, like most Sweet songs. What an insightful chorus lyric:

Love is like oxygen
You get too much, you get too high
Not enough and you're gonna die
Love gets you high

Running with the DLR

2008-02-06T12:35:00.000-06:00

You guys have probably heard this already, it seems to be all over the internets right now. But in case you haven't, check out David Lee Roth's isolated vocal track from the Van Halen tune "Runnin' with the Devil." Turn it up loud and enjoy!

Songs in my Head

2008-02-05T10:14:00.000-06:00

"Here Comes My Girl" by Tom Petty is stuck in my head today. I've never considered myself a Tom Petty fan (so whiney!), but I do find myself liking some of his older hits. I could understand really not liking Tom Petty if the only material you knew was from Full Moon Fever to the present. (When Petty performed at the Superbowl this weekend, my friend claimed he'd never heard "American Girl" before. My friend is 31 years old. How can you have never heard that song?) A partial reason why I've grown to like some of these songs is due to a Tom Petty tribute CD called "You Got Lucky" that came out in the mid-90's. It features mostly indie-rocks bands doing some interesting deconstruction of older Petty tunes. They are not all great, of course, but I like the mix, with the highlight being Fig Dish's cover of "Don't Come Around Here No More."

February

2008-02-01T09:48:00.000-06:00

Feb.1 - What's up, people? Anyone else snowed in today? I shoveled a few inches last night, falsely believeing the snow had stopped for good. This morning there was another 6 inches or so. My dog could barely force himself through it.

I think he's grumpy today - normally he would dive in and roll all around in it, but today he barely had the motivation to pee and come back inside. I think he already went back to sleep.

So, today begins February. What a crap month. At least I'm in a good mood today. Maybe it'll carry through.

What have you got going on this month? Anything fun?

The Songs in My Head

2008-01-28T17:05:00.000-06:00

"Three of a Perfect Pair" by King Crimson. I really dig some of those 80's King Crimson albums, especially songs featuring a odd-time guitar riff repeated over and over. I like "Discipline," where the guitar riff is repeated on one guitar, and a second guitar will play the same riff, but drop a beat each time so that it seems out-of-time with the first guitar. Then after several cycles of playing "off," each time getting one beat further apart from the main riff, the second guitar eventually lines up with the first one so they are in unison again.

I think I just took a whole paragraph to announce I'm a nerd who likes math rock.

2007 Mix CD

2008-01-18T11:10:00.000-06:00

After several weeks of fussing with it, I think I've finally put together a 2007 mix CD that I can live with. I want to post the list and burn a CD of it now before I change my mind AGAIN about certain song choices or sequencing.

To put this mix together, I started with a list of over 40 songs that came out over the past year and (slowly) narrowed it down to these 19 songs that will fit on an 80-minute CD. My main rule was "one song per band," but of course, rules are meant to be broken, and the band Stars appears on this mix twice.

Most of these songs are my favorite selection (or the best mix-friendly selection) from their particular album, but a few tracks are simply singles I enjoyed from albums I have not yet obtained. If you're interested in receiving a copy of this mix CD, post a comment saying so.

Artist - Song Title
1. Spoon - The Underdog
2. The New Pornographers - Mutiny, I Promise You
3. Deerhoof - The Perfect Me
4. Of Montreal - Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse
5. Stars - Take Me to the Riot
6. The Besnard Lakes - On Bedford and Grand
7. The Clientele - Carnival on 7th Street
8. The Sea and Cake - Up On Crutches
9. The Shins - Phantom Limb
10. Smashing Pumpkins - Doomsday Clock
11. Dinosaur Jr. - Back to Your Heart
12. Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby
13. Air - Once Upon a Time
14. Radiohead - All I Need
15. Arcade Fire - No Cars Go
16. Wilco - Side With the Seeds
17. Adam Franklin - Birdsong
18. Stars - My Favourite Book
19. Low - Murderer

Brit Box: On and Off

2008-01-16T14:18:00.000-06:00

You've probably skipped ahead and looked already, Ken, but here are the actual songs that made it onto the Brit Box comp. Looks like you got about half right.

Oasis - Live Forever
The Smiths - How Soon is Now?
The Cure - Just Like Heaven
Suede - Metal Mickey
Pulp - Common People
New Order - Regret

Echo and the Bunnymen - Lips Like Sugar
The Stone Roses - She Bangs The Drums
Ned's Atomic Dustbin - Grey Cell Green
Teenage Fanclub - Starsign
The Verve - Lucky Man
Elastica - Stutter

The Boo Radleys - Lazarus
Supergrass - Alright
Swervedriver - Duel
Stereolab - Wow & Flutter
James - Laid
The Charlatans - The Only One I Know

Here is a press release that lists all of the songs in the boxed set.

Some of these are kind of surprising, as some really big hits by these bands were left off. But the most interesting thing about the list are the bands that are not represented at all. Ken brought up XTC as one example, but there are many more.

The press release claims the collection to be "...78 U.K. performers spanning the last 15 years of the 20th century" and containing "U.K. INDIE, SHOEGAZE, AND BRIT-POP GEMS OF THE LAST MILLENNIUM." It's possible certain bands were not included because they were on major labels and not independents. Without doing any research (as easy as it is to research things on the Internet, I'm not going to bother for this post), I find it hard to believe that NONE of the songs on this comp were released on major labels.

Plenty of one-hit wonders and little known acts (to me, anyway) are included, so why then, are bands like XTC, Slowdive, Belle & Sebastian, Simple Minds, The The, Pet Shop Boys, Psychedelic Furs, Depeche Mode and even Radiohead NOT on this comp?

Brit Box

2008-01-11T11:54:00.000-06:00

I referenced the "Brit Box" boxed set in my previous post, and how the Blur song choice struck as me as a little odd, given some of their bigger hits were passed over. Let's take a look at some of the other artists on this comp. With some of the artists, it's easy to guess the song because it was their only big hit (see The La's "There She Goes.") But other's such as Oasis have had numerous hits. Which one would you choose?

We already know which Blur song is on there, but, without looking, what song from the following bands would you expect to be a on compilation boxed set? Post your guesses in the comments.
Oasis
The Smiths
The Cure
Suede
Pulp (I always used to get Suede and Pulp confused)
New Order

What about...
Echo and the Bunnymen
The Stone Roses
Ned's Atomic Dustbin
Teenage Fanclub
The Verve
Elastica

Or these?
The Boo Radleys
Supergrass
Swervedriver
Stereolab
James
The Charlatans

Thanks to Ken from Gapers Blog for the idea for this post. I'll do a follow-up post with the actual songs in a day or two.

Songs in My Head

2008-01-09T15:40:00.000-06:00

Right now the song in my head is "She's So High" by Blur from their album Leisure. It reminds me that there is this boxed set that was released last fall called The Brit Box which features 78 songs by 78 different British artists from the last 15 years or so. I don't have the set, but I wound up winning a one-disc 18-song sampler of it from an online radio station contest (woxy.com). As you'd expect, the sampler (and the full boxed set) contain a lot of Brit-Pop and Shoegaze tunes. Most of them are what I would consider the big hits of the era, but a few are more obscure.

The Blur song chosen for the compilation is "Tracy Jacks." Not a bad song, but I don't remember it being a single or getting much attention when it came out. Could be that it was a much bigger hit in England, or it could be that I just missed the boat on that one. Or it could be the only song the Brit Box compilers could get the rights too? But I kind of think that "There's No Other Way," "Girls and Boys," or "Chemical World" would be better selections for a British hits collection.

Sorry

2008-01-05T14:30:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the lack of posts.

Sorry for not finishing my 2007 Songs Mix like I said I would. I was having a hard time deciding on just one song from some of the bands, and now that I think I have it narrowed down, I still need to sequence them into a good flow.

Already since posting my 2007 Albums list, I've obtained a few more 2007 albums (The Shins, Baroness, and um...the Eagles). So eventually we'll see some revisions in the list, but for now, it stands as-is.

Hope you all had a good holiday season. Now comes the part of winter that pretty much blows.

Favre still sucks!

2007-12-24T02:05:00.000-06:00

The 2006 Chicago Bears decided to finally make an appearance during the 2007 season this afternoon and win a football game. Actually, it was more like the 2005 Bears, with Orton at the helm. He played decently, but it was the old defense and special teams that came through today like they used to do regularly. The best part about it: they showed up against the ****ing Packers and made Brett Favre look like a chump, AGAIN. Da Bears!

My 2007 Albums List

2007-12-20T13:56:00.000-06:00

1. Radiohead – “In Rainbows”
2. Dinosaur Jr. – “Beyond”
3. Adam Franklin – “Bolts of Melody”
4. Low – “Drums and Guns”
5. Wilco – “Sky Blue Sky”
6. Spoon – “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga”
7. Arcade Fire – “Neon Bible”
8. Smashing Pumpkins – “Zeitgeist”
9. Stars – “In Our Bedroom After the War”
10. Of Montreal – “Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?”
11. The Besnard Lakes – “The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse”
12. New Pornographers – “Challengers”
13. Deerhoof – “Friend Opportunity”
14. The Sea and Cake – “Everybody”

This year I could not decide on #15. My nostalgic pick would be Rush, but I'd really just be lying to myself if I said "Snakes and Arrows" belonged here. I like the Kanye West album, but I'm just not a big hip-hop fan and don't see it making much of a lasting impact on me. Here are a few other decent albums I heard, even though none of them really strike me as great or list-worthy.

Rush – Snakes and Arrows
Kanye West - Graduation
Deerhunter - Cryptograms
The Clientele – God Save the Clientele
Battles - Mirrored
Common – Finding Forever
Fountains of Wayne – Traffic and Weather
Bloc Party – A Weekend in the City
Mika – Life in Cartoon Motion

Of course there are hundreds of 2007 albums I have NOT HEARD yet. A list like mine doesn't really carry that much weight when you consider I've only heard about 30 new records this year, and they are primarily albums I sought out because I knew I'd like them. I'd like to be able to absorb everything and judge my favorites without bias towards albums I know I will like, but that's just not realistic. And there are even a few albums I wanted to hear and never got around to, like the Shins, Apples in Stereo, The National, Menomena, Ted Leo, Andrew Bird, and Baroness!

Soon I will post a track listing of my 2007 mix CD. I'll need another day or two to whittle it down to a manageable number of songs.

Hopefully tomorrow

2007-12-19T09:47:00.000-06:00

I'm shooting for tomorrow afternoon to get my 2007 album list posted and create a Best-of-2007 Mix. I need to re-listen to the Fountains of Wayne and Deerhunter albums to see if they are any good, and check a few dates on albums that may or may not have come out LAST year, and if so, cannot be included. But I've got the day off tomorrow (and the rest of the year, actually), so I should have time to sit and ponder these things.

Yesterday I read Pitchfork's top 50 and realized I had not even heard of half their albums. Not surprised, though; hipsters have a special way of making obscure crap sound really important. Take their #1 album, for example: Panda Bear's "Person Pitch." I had read another glowing review of this album, so I tracked it down through some "underground" (read: illegal) channels and downloaded it. I don't get it. It sounds like a dude hanging out in a cave 50 yards from the microphone, making up chants and repeating melodies with no choruses. It doesn't sound like songs, yet people are calling it the most perfect album of the year. Huh?

The Songs in my Head

2007-12-17T11:38:00.000-06:00

Hall and Oates. I would have assumed it was called, "You Make My Dreams Come True," but the title is simply "You Make My Dreams." Was someone too lazy to write out the rest, or was there not enough space on the album jacket to fit it? Can you imagine them singing the chorus and skipping the "come true" part? "YOU MAKE-A MY DREAMS -- ...yeah, that's all really."

The Songs in my Head

2007-12-14T12:23:00.000-06:00

I've had "House of Pain" by Van Halen in my head a couple times recently, including right now. not sure why cuz I haven't listened to it lately, but I'm not complaining. "House of Pain" and "Girl Gone Bad" are kind of the forgotten final tracks from VH's 1984 album. It's a pretty neat tune, too - there are like 3 or 4 different sections to the song, probably written independently of each other, but fused together into a clever 3 minute job. The part in my head is the lead riff and chorus, but I like the sped-up middle and the back-to-basics ending as well. Some might say that the parts don't really go together that well, and that the song is kind of a mish-mash. But I tend to like songs that start in one place and go someplace so far off that by the end of the song, you've forgotten the beginning. My band Kemman has a lot of songs that do that. (We are playing tonight at the Underground Lounge.)

Wait for it...

2007-12-12T11:16:00.000-06:00

I'm still trying to cram a few more 2007 releases down my throat before I post my list of favorite albums from the year. I've been reading lots of other people's lists and of course they are loaded with albums I've never heard, so I thought I might sample a few of them.

I picked up the new Besnard Lakes album at Hard Boiled Records on Roscoe the other day. I was a little apprehensive at first, but it's actually pretty neat. It just might crack the top 15.

One album that I have NOT seen on ANYONE's 2007 list is "Bolts of Melody" by Adam Franklin. Franklin was the singer/guitarist in Swervedriver, and lately had been making music under the name Toshack Highway. This is his first "solo" album, and it quickly grew to be one of my favorites. It's more laid back than Swervedriver, of course, but it's not boring (at least to me).

I saw him play at the Empty Bottle back in October (in fact I went there right from the Van Halen concert at the United Center.) He and his band played several songs from the new album and they sounded great. For whatever reason, I really like his song structures and vocal delivery.

Anyway, look for my list in a couple weeks.

The Songs in My Head

2007-12-07T15:07:00.000-06:00

I almost always have SOME song in my head, and very often I don't even consciously notice it. My idea behind this series was to post whatever song was in my head at posting time. But now that I have a chance to post, I am actually listening to music, so the song in my head is the song playing right now: "Puss" by The Jesus Lizard. But it doesn't really count since it's actually playing.

So I will mention a song I had in my head recently: "For Your Life" by Led Zeppelin. The other day, that song was really stuck in there. What adjectives can you use to describe the severity of a song getting stuck in your head? It was stuck in my head real hard? It was stuck firmly? It was un-stickable? It was stuck with resounding presence? Speaking of presence, that song was stuck so thick(?), I had to listen to the entire album from which it came, Presence. A pretty underrated Zep album, it's got some great tunes on it. "Nobody's Fault But Mine" is probably the hit, I guess, but "Hots On For Nowhere" is possibly Zeppelin's most fun song, and nothing even comes close to the power of "Achilles Last Stand." What an epic tune. "For Your Life" is good, too. I dunno why it was in my head though. Just came up on my internal shuffle, I guess.

2006 Revisited

2007-12-01T21:42:00.001-06:00

OK. Hindsight being 50/50 and all... My top 15 of 2006 does need a little re-working. I mean, I have more opinions on records than the Cubs have middle infielders (if you don't know, they have a LOT), and they change all the time. But I think this list is a little more accurate. Maybe.

While I like the Frank Black album, I don't think it's one of his best, and I honestly never listen to it anymore, so it's getting bumped. Also, even though I kind of like it, the Thom Yorke album really doesnt belong in that list. Despite my early infatuation, the Flaming Lips record was not properly ranked at number 4, and Don Caballero gets better with every listen. I added an extra album too, because, it's my list and I wanted to.

1. Yo La Tengo – "I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass"
2. Secret Machines – “Ten Silver Drops”
3. Mew – “And the Glass Handed Kites” (this might be a 2005 release overseas, but I'm counting it as 2006)
4. Phoenix - "It's Never Been Like That"
5. Don Caballero – “World Class Listening Problem”
6. Mastodon – “Blood Mountain”
7. Flaming Lips – “At War With the Mystics”
8. Belle and Sebastian – “The Life Pursuit”
9. Loose Fur – “Born Again in the USA”
10. Sloan – “Never Hear the End of It”
11. Futureheads – “News and Tributes”
12. Kooks – “Inside In/Inside Out”
13. Killers – “Sam’s Town”
14. Slayer – “Christ Illusion”
15. TV On The Radio – "Return to Cookie Mountain"
15. Robert Pollard - Normal Happiness

2006 Music

2007-11-30T12:22:00.000-06:00

It's getting to be that time of year. No, I'm not talking about Christmas, or even winter (although I think it's pretty much here).

I'm talking about the time of year-end "Best of" lists. Specifically, music and movies. More specifically, just music. A couple of blogs have already started posting their Best 2007 Albums lists, and it is not even December. For the past two years, I have put together my own favorites lists, and I'm getting excited about this year's as well. But I've still got a lot of listening to do before my list is ready.

Here is my original list of favorite albums from 2006. I did a top 15 in order, plus a list of other notable albums that I really didn't feel differentiated themselves enough for me to order them.

1. Yo La Tengo – "I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass"
2. Secret Machines – “Ten Silver Drops”
3. Mew – “And the Glass Handed Kites” (this might be a 2005 release overseas, but I'm counting it as 2006)
4. Flaming Lips – “At War With the Mystics”
5. Belle and Sebastian – “The Life Pursuit”
6. Mastodon – “Blood Mountain”
7. Loose Fur – “Born Again in the USA”
8. Futureheads – “News and Tributes”
9. Sloan – “Never Hear the End of It”
10. Don Caballero – “World Class Listening Problem”
11. Kooks – “Inside In/Inside Out”
12. Frank Black – “Fast Man Raider Man”
13. Killers – “Sam’s Town”
14. Slayer – “Christ Illusion”
15. Thom Yorke – “Eraser”

Since making the list, however, I've caught up on some 2006 releases that I did not know well enough to include. One of these, Phoenix's "It's Never Been Like That" would clearly have made the top 15 if I had heard it in 2006. It probably would have knocked off Thom Yorke, although now that I'm looking at the list 11 months later, there might be some re-arranging to be done...

Anywho, here are some other notable 2006 albums that I liked:

Strokes – “First Impressions of Earth”
TV On The Radio – "Return to Cookie Mountain"
Keane – “Under the Iron Sea”
Built to Spill – “You In Reverse”
Robert Pollard – From a Compound Eye
Robert Pollard - Normal Happiness (better than Compound Eye, IMO)
Asobi Seksu - "Citrus"
Dragonforce – “Inhuman Rampage”
Portastatic – “Be Still Please”
Early Day Miners – “Offshore”
Silversun Pickups - "Carnavas"

Aww crap.

2007-11-29T10:14:00.000-06:00

Ugh. I forgot my friggin' iPod and headphones at home today. I'm stuck here at work without any tunes and it's killing me. I actually do have a few CDs in my bag, which would get me through the day, listening through my laptop. But without the headphones, I'm pretty stuck. My office is very quiet, so listening to the laptop speakers is not really an option. Damnit!

I really am going to have trouble concentrating today. Do you have this problem? I've kind of theorized that the only way I can get my left-brain to do any work is if I occupy my right-brain with music. The opposite occurs when I'm on a work conference call - the informational audio is perceived by the left-brain, but I'm forced to doodle to keep my right-brain happy. If I don't have the right balance, I just shut down and do nothing.

Geez, it's only 10:30. Ugh.

Picture

2007-11-23T13:13:00.000-06:00

The Songs in My Head

2007-11-21T13:59:00.000-06:00

I get songs stuck in my head all the time. I'm sure you do too. I decided to start a running feature here called "The Songs in My Head" and just list whatever song is in there at the time.

Unfortunately, I've got a pretty awful song stuck in my head right now, and it's kind of embarassing that it will be the first one I post. But, this is not a blog of lies. I'm not going to say I have some particularly cool, obscure indie-rock song in my head if it's not true (indie-rock, your time will come).

No, the song right now, for no discernable reason, is Sheena Easton's "Morning Train (9 to 5)." Not the Dolly Parton song - you know, it's the super cheesy one that goes, "My baby takes the morning train / He works from 9 to 5 and then / He takes another home again / To find me waiting for him." I can't get that chorus out of my head right now. Ugh.

Mouse Arrest

2007-11-19T11:19:00.000-06:00

Last week, I found some new mouse droppings on the back porch. Set a trap. Within two hours I had a nice dead mouse in it.

It was actually pretty artistic. The trap was on a beam slightly off the floor. The mouse had gotten caught in such a way that the trap was turned perpendicular to the beam, and the mouse was kind of standing (hanging from it), looking up. There was no blood visible on the mouse, but there was a perfect little pool of bright red blood right next to him. I almost took a photo, it was so serene. But that's kind of morbid, I guess.

I keep having dreams

2007-11-05T10:02:00.000-06:00

For some reason, I can't think of anything better to write about than my dreams, and I keep having some interesting ones. Ever since we first had a mouse in our old apartment (like 6 years ago), I occasionally have mouse dreams. I dream of them running around, getting in my furniture, my food... And about a week ago, I found a dead mouse on my kitchen floor. Since then I've had THREE mouse dreams. Last night's dream involved other animals too.

In the dream, I was inspecting a house (not mine) for mouse droppings, and found plenty. I was sucking them up with a vacuum cleaner (because in a dream, that's just as good as washing and disinfecting). But I found some larger turds and at first I thought they were from different kinds of mice (and rats!) that had gotten in the house, but I later realized that they were from cats and rabbits and other furry friends. It actually made me feel much better knowing that I didn't have any rats.

I'm kind of freaked about rats too because over the summer I found a dead rat in my back yard. I scooped him up with a shovel and tossed him in the garbage bin in the alley. A few days later I made the mistake of checking to see if it was still there. It was. I gagged at the sight. It haunted me for a while.

Anyway, the dream didn't have much of a plot or anything. Nothing really happened. I just wish I would dream about hot chicks or something instead of mice and rats.

Birthday

2007-10-21T10:39:00.000-05:00

I turned 21 ten years ago today. I remember I was home from college for the weekend, and spent the majority of the day driving from Chicago back to Des Moines. I think that night, once back on campus, some friends and I hung out at a coffee shop or something. Not a real wild night, but you wouldn't really expect one from me, would you?

Today will spent watching football and relaxing, then heading to my mom's for some birthday cake. OH YEAH!

Later,
Dr. C

New Stuff

2007-10-12T00:37:00.000-05:00

I see my last post was on October 4th, which was my wedding anniversary. A pretty important date, yet the only thing I was concerned with at the time was the Cubs and my hope for a long and frutiful playoff run.

Instead, I got kicked in the nuts (by the Cubs, not my wife). Not kicked really hard, just hard enough to get to that slow drawn out ache. Ugh. Thankfully the Bears beat the Packers or I would been really depressed...

My anniversary was great, though. We went out for dinner and had a great time.

radiohead radiohead radiohead radiohead radiohead

Oops, did I just get sidetracked by the next grasp from my one-track mind? Yes, I downloaded the new Radiohead album tonight, but I'm going to avoid giving any kind of review until I give it a few listens and it settles in.

Instead, I would like to mention how I saw the new film "Lars and the Real Girl" tonight and thought it was really good. The short description would be - it's a movie about a guy who starts "dating" a life-size sex doll, and starts bringing her around town. It's very funny. But there is way more depth and emotion built into the characters and their reactions. I thought the characters were perfectly cast, and the film was well thought out and assembled. Highly recommended.

Cubs Cubs Cubs

2007-10-04T22:02:00.000-05:00

Cubs Cubs Cubs Cubs Cubs Cubs Cubs Cubs Cubs

I like the old stuff better, don't I?

2007-09-19T12:24:00.001-05:00

I don't know if there's any scientific evidence on this, but I'm sure you've noticed the phenomenon music when a band or artist you like releases a new album that doesn't quite live up to your opinion of the artist. For me, this happens ALL THE TIME. Every new release by a band I love is subconsciously judged against their previous work, and never quite measures up. Rarely do I ever find myself really appreciating the newest work by an old favorite.

An example of a summer 2007 album to meet this fate is the latest by Spoon, titled Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. There are some really great songs on this album ("The Underdog" "Finer Feelings"), but as a whole, I find myself kind of bored by nearly HALF of the album. Really, only 4 of the 10 tracks stand out as great tunes, while another 4 seem to drag on after promising starts, leaving 2 songs on the bubble. In my mind, this record doesn't compare with Kill the Moonlight, or my favorite, Girls Can Tell. My perception of those prior Spoon albums is that of a truly unique sound, with catchy but odd and somewhat soulful tunes. The songs Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga seem too normal to fit into the my perception.

But, who is responsible for my opinion on this album? Am I really blaming Spoon for writing a normal album? What kind of expectations can we realistically put on an artist? As a music fan, do I have a right to complain when I feel a band is straying too far from what I loved about them, and simultaneously criticize them when they simply repeat themselves? Ironically, in the case of Spoon, further examination of the new album reveals that the songs I like the most are actually the ones that are the most adventurous. In particular, I love the loose-swinging Paul Simon feel on "The Underdog" and the reverbed 60's soul sound on "You've Got Yr. Cherry Bomb."

And the rest of the album still sounds like no one else but Spoon, maintaining the uniqueness I admire in their music. So where does that leave me? Is it all in my mind? Or does it boil down to the possibility that a few of the songs are just not that good?

Sports

2007-09-10T20:56:00.000-05:00

In sports on Sunday, the Cubs lost their fragile grip on first place, while the Bears lost their fragile grip on the football. I think the Sox lost, too, if anyone cares. When do the Bulls start?

The Stranger

2007-08-31T11:30:00.000-05:00

I don't want this blog to become too dream oriented, but I had another strange one last night. In it, I was attending a Billy Joel concert with my wife. The concert was at some small venue that seemed more like a cafeteria room than a music hall. It held a few hundred people but there was no stage. Mr. Joel was performing on piano at ground level. I think we were seated at long tables too.

Anyway, he played some old songs, including Scene From an Italian Restaurant, and everyone was singing along and having fun. But then he played "We Didn't Start The Fire," and nobody in the audience really wanted to hear that song and everyone kind of got restless. So BJ started making up new lyrics as he went. The song is already just a rant of people, places and things (nouns, if you will), so ad libbing new lyrics was pretty easy: "Piz-za, beer bong, Jackie Chan and Tommy Chong, South Korea, Diarrhea, Who shot Mr. Burns." Then he would occasionally stop singing and hold the mic out for an audience member to sing the next line. But the audience, myself included, was not interested in singing that crappy song. Anyone faced with Bill's mic would either stare back at him in silence, or mumble some more nonsense. "Drunk drive, high five, Princess Di is still alive, Husker Du, Zen Arcade, What else do I have to say?"

After that song, Billy Joel decided he had to go pick someone up at the airport. But he was determined to continue the concert from his car (a Cadillac-ac-ac-ac), wearing one of those Madonna-style headset microphones. He urged everyone to stay in their seats, and they would still be able to hear his car performance. But many people decided it would be more fun to follow Billy in their own cars to the airport. I laughed at this idea, but wouldn't you know it, my wife wanted to drive after him, so we went. We could hear him singing through the car radio, but there were so many other concertgoers on the road, we only caught a fleeting glimpse of Billy Joel, with his own mother in the passenger seat ("don't ask me why"), sweaty and singing "Piano Man" as he sped away and merged onto the highway. After nearly 20 minutes of trying to catch up to Billy Joel, we decided it wasn't worth it and we went home. We found out later that once BJ got to the airport, he decided he didn't want to finish the concert anyway, and he went home too, leaving a few hundred people back in the cafeteria pretty pissed off.

Bacon Hater

2007-08-30T00:06:00.000-05:00

Well, this is certainly a disappointment. I found an unmarked cassette tape lying on the ground this evening in a park near my house. I was hoping to play it and maybe hear some local garage band, or some kids freestyle rapping, or... something! I threw on Side A without rewinding, and the first thing I hear is a radio ad for the Wendy's "Baconater" burger, followed by some dance music. Not bad, but not what I was hoping for. I rewound the tape and started Side A from the beginning - and immediately my stupid free tape deck ate the tape. Ugh.

But, back to the Baconater... This sandwich has six strips of bacon, which, to me, is not enough. I mean, sure, it's a tasty amount of bacon. And yes, coupled with the double cheeseburgers, it's enough to deem the sandwich "unhealthy." But if you're going to make a sandwich like this, I say you put eight strips of bacon on it, and here's why:

1. With two burger patties and two slices of cheese, I believe that the bacon should also be applied in two layers, not just on top. Such a sandwich construction would be, from bottom to top: Bottom bun, beef, cheese, BACON, beef, cheese, MORE BACON, condiments (apparently it comes with mayo and ketchup), and finally the top bun. And if this construction were carried out, I believe that each LAYER of bacon should be four strips, because three strips of bacon just wouldn't cover enough area to make it worthwhile. Hence, eight strips.

2. Some genius already named it The Baconater. Have some fun with that name and call it The Bacon Eighter! With EIGHT mutherfunkin' strips of bacon! Just DO IT. For your ads, you can create some dweeby character called the Bacon Hater who is always getting CRUSHED by the massive power of the Bacon (sort of like the Noid from the old Domino's commercials).

Come on, Wendy's. You've made a sandwich with some balls, now make those balls a little greasier.

Renewal Dietarians

2007-08-28T10:38:00.000-05:00

I had a dream where I was some kind of scientist or behavioralist and I defined a new eating disorder. People with the disorder were called "Renewal Dietarians" and the disorder was that they would binge and purge, and then, um, binge on the purged. Meaning, they ate their own vomit.

Who's hungry?!

In my dream, I thought I was so smart for naming this disorder. I wanted to be sure I didn't forget it, so I kept saying "Renewal Dietarians" over and over. It worked, because when I woke up, I remembered. But the name really doesn't make much sense, does it?

Flamingo

2007-08-13T15:14:00.000-05:00

This is a busy week for me. Various friends and relatives from out of town are converging on the greater Chicagoland area, although, luckily, none of them are staying at my house. But I do have to see them all, and it is tough to get the timing just right. I'll let you know how it goes.

Now's the Time

2007-08-03T00:25:00.000-05:00

The other night, while driving back from a darts match with my wife (yes, I play competitive darts), I realized that my car's odometer was at 99,996 miles. Nearly 100 G's. The peak of a car's lifespan. The moment of truth. The Arc de Triomphe. A "milestone," if you will. Sure, my '99 Camry, like most modern autos, has a digital odometer, designed to show a full 6 digit mileage. But back in the day it was especially neat so watch a car "rollover," where the odometer resets itself to zero. When I first got the car, it was brand new, and had only 3 miles on it. I was with that car when it hit 100, 1000, 10,000, 12,345, and all the palindromes, too. It's fun to take note of the various stages your car reaches. Well, not "fun" really, but you know...Fun-ish. Lately, however, I had kind of stopped noticing some of the fun milemarkers. I totally spaced on 88,888, and I'll always kick myself for missing 90,210. So, 100,000 was a big deal for me.

We were too close to my house to hit 100 G's just going home, but I quickly remembered my wife was taking the car in the morning for a work function. She would hit 100,000 miles on the way there, and knowing her morning state of mind, she'd probably be too tired to even notice the event, much less enjoy it properly. So I declared we were going for a 4 mile drive so I could watch my car rollover.

Unfortunately, it was not as simple as just "continuing to drive." We had to actually stop at home to pick up the dog, who had not been let out for several hours. Then we had to stop and get gas, because even 4 miles would have proved too far for the drops remaining in the tank. Finally, we set out west on Belmont Ave, looking for a suitable stretch of road to strip my car of it's 6 digit virginity. (Is this post getting too long, or what? God, I'm bored just writing it.)

We drove a couple miles and turned around. A few moments later we were greeted with 99,999. Staring at all those 9's was almost satisfying enough on it's own. I was thankful for the minimal late night traffic, because for the last mile, I barely glanced at the road, my eyes glued to the odometer. We came to a stoplight. I looked up to see a TV facing out the window of a closed martial arts building showing what looked to me like "The Little Mermaid." Interesting... Anyway, the light turned green and I re-affixed my eyes to the dashboard. Mere seconds after accelerating from the stop, all the 9's vanished, replaced by zeros, with a slender, almost sexy "1" preceeding them. It was glorious; a dream come true. My wife and I both cheered, startling the dog.

I know it's dumb. Not much of a story, really. Nothing happened on the way home. My lust for 100,000 did not lead us to any great adventure or tragedy. We just went home and went to bed. But I had a subtle smile on my face, knowing I had taken my Camry to the promised land. I can't wait for 200,000.

Welcome to Dr. Castrato's first post.

2007-06-07T11:36:00.000-05:00

Get ready to be sick.