worthy<-MUSIC

Come To My New Home

Hello there.  Long time no see.  This little post is to invite any of you who are still visiting this site to come see me at my new home on Vox.  I've been messing around with TypePad's new service for some time now and slowly it has won my attention.  I've not really been into any of the social networking applications thus far, but this one's combination of blogging, music, books, and photos along with multi-level privacy settings makes it attractive to me.  It doesn't allow for custom designs yet, but I spend enough time on that stuff on my primary site, Raleighing.

Over on Vox, I think I am going to be doing more of a traditional blog where I just ramble on about whatever comes to mind.  Not sure how regularly I'll be updating it, but it will certainly be more often than I've been updating worthyMUSIC.

Here's the URL:

http://raleighing.vox.com

Hope to see you there.

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Midlake: The Trials of Van Occupanther

Ok, I am coming out of semi-retirement (at least in the music-blogging world!) to write about what I think is one of the best albums of my lifetime.  Yes, I said it.  Neutral Milk Hotel, Arcade Fire, Midlake.  And I mean it.  Seriously. 

I listen to a LOT of new music.  It is like a drug to me.  I do whatever it takes to listen to new music and have spent WAY too much of my lifetime money on getting my addicted paws on it.  That's why a service like Rhapsody was like hooking up an intrevenious drug.  And, just like a crackhead, I get very frustrated and annoyed when the latest and greatest doesn't hit Rhapsody in a timely manner.  Granted, these days that doesn't happen as often as it used to. But, in this case, the Rhapsody listeners are experiencing a GREAT misservice by not being permitted to listen to this one.  I, of course, have no idea who to fault here, the record companies or Rhapsody (although, if I had my guess I'd pin it on the record comany, for sure).

But, whatever the case, I am telling you here and now to do whatever it takes to get your grubby little paws on this one.  Sure, I have no idea what your tastes are, but if you are reading this site and already consider me someone to be trusted musically, then stop what you are doing and immediately head to your nearest CD store and buy this one.  Hell, buy 10 copies of it and give it to all your friends.  I mean, crap, I'm even telling you to go out to damn iTunes and buy the sucker even though I hate everything Mr. Jobs is professing these days (although, he's a damn rich dude, so what do I know?).  Listen to this album no matter what it takes.

I bought this one as an import about a month and a half ago and I have not been able to make myself listen to anything else, which is a HUGE deal for me.  I think I must have listened to this one at LEAST 100 times so far, nearly consecutively, with my Tuesdays taking a little bit of my time listening to the new releases but Midlake winning in the end.  It has been a loooooooong time since an album has taken this much of my attention.

So, why?  Well, let me first tell you that I am not an avid fan of any of the music to which every other review of this album has referred.  Early Fleetwood Mac?  I was still in the womb!  Alan Parsons Project?  "Eye In the Sky" would come crashing to the ground compared to this. 

First and foremost, this album is 100% flawless in execution.  For a small-time band from Austin to pull off this kind of recording this early in their career is nothing short of miraculous.  Secondly, their musicality is unmatched today.  From songwriting, to harmonies, to the secondary melodies, this group truly has a gift.  From song to song, I continually find myself unable to push the stop or skip buttons.  Each one is entrancing and each one has a life of it's own.

It is difficult these days to make an album that shows any sort of influence on its sleeves.  Most of the time, you would be discounted as simply a poor replica of the original. But, for the first time as long as I can remember, here we have a group who not only pulls in some fantastic music from the past as their reference point, but they surpass it in sheer songwriting and execution.

I am not yet sure when I will finally stop listening to this one repeatedly.  But, I can tell you that I am about to head up to bed.  And every night when I go to sleep it is with my headphones on....

Tonight I just wonder which song I will finally doze off to... will be sad that I didn't hear the whole thing again.

My Favorite So Far This Year

Gulag Orkestar
Beirut
Play

Absolutely loving this new disc by Beirut.  While I don't put it on the same level as The Aeroplane Over the Sea (one of my favorites of all time), it does exhibit many of the same qualities that define my love for that album.  The vintage quality, the reckless instrumentation, the outpouring of intimate emotion.  I am especially taken on this one by their command of melody, and "Postcards from Italy" absolutely breaks my heart halfway through when the trumpets make the 1st statement of the 2nd melody in the song.  So incredibly beautiful.  Swoon...

So I am also trying out the new Rhaplink above.  I know it doesn't offer all the links to all the music services, but it sure does make things easier for me.  Plus, now that Rhapsody is making it so easy for folks to listen to music even if they don't have Rhapsody accounts.  Brilliant.  And the sound quality on Rhapsody continues to outshine all of the other services.  Sure, Napster just went to a free model, but their streaming sound quality is just unbearable.

DRM still annoys the crap out of me and I have been enjoying eMusic to supplement my collection lately.  Its nice to have MP3s that will ALWAYS play in my portable player no matter what.... so I'm never left completely out in the cold.  Currently, I'm using WMP11 to sync all my music to my plater, even the Rhapsody tracks as last week I started having problems getting Rhapsody to sync correctly again.  Oh well.  Whatever it takes.

Buble Invasion

Michael Buble
Memorial Auditorium, Raleigh NC
April 12, 2006

I posted this as a comment on my other blog, but thought I'd put it here to since it is a live review of sorts.  Enjoy!

It has been a long time since I have been to a show where people are so crazed over the performer that they lose their minds completely. The poor security guards at Memorial Auditorium have never had such a workout. People were running down the aisle to the stage and then turning around so their friend could take a picture of them standing in the aisle near the stage with Michael Buble singing behind them. A surgical nurse in the area made repeated attempts to get to the stage and finally made it past the ushers running full-speed. She handed Michael a bouquet of flowers and a teddy bear, saying that they (the ushers) wouldn't let her up there. Buble said "I wonder why, it's not like I am doing anything up here," and then went on to ask what the woman does for a living. After hearing she is a nurse, he said okay, next time you're at work how about I come up all in your s***.

Very funny, yes, but embarrassing to me that so many people in Raleigh act as if they are the only one there to see the show. The woman who pushed my wife out of the way as Buble came down our aisle (we were on the end of the row) so she could nearly molest him as he passed should be committed. She was about to pass out and couldn't stop trembling as if Raleigh was experiencing its first major earthquake.

I guess this is why I prefer the small intimate shows of lesser known indie bands. Not sure I could take another one like that anytime soon.

Now, let it be said that Michael Buble is one of the best live singers I have ever heard. And his stage prescence is amazing. A true total package performer who I am sure will have a lifetime of success. He handled all the chaos with grace and style and razor-sharp wit. Definitely better at handling it than I was...

Aloha, Aloha

Some Echoes
Aloha
Play

Wow, three posts in a day!  Don't expect this kind of production on a regular basis!  Just testing a few things around here... Plus, there are a bunch of albums I've been into lately.

This one just came out today.  I've been looking forward to it for a while now as I really enjoyed their last release (which finished in the 18th spot on my Most Worthy 2004 list).  What we find on this release is more creative, hard-to-pin-down indie pop that is full of texture.  Funky rhythms and varied instrumentation give their sound a freshness that I really enjoy.  Plus, they write fantastic songs that keep me coming back for more.  Enjoy!

Groundbreaking to be Great?

Band of Horses - Everything All The Time
This one is definitely near or at the top of my list so far this year. Yeah, I know everyone has been saying that this one is not ground-breaking and sounds like Neil Young, etc, etc, etc. But, the fact of the matter is that this is great music and some fantastic songs. Sure, on my first listen I wondered if I was going to be able to handle the consistent heavy vocal reverb (a la My Morning Jacket), but that slowly faded out of my mind while the songs creeped their way in. I am especially in love with the song "The Funeral" and love having it cranked up in the headphones on a peaceful night. Enjoy!

Seats in This Genre's Theater Getting Full, But Room For This One

Tapes 'n Tapes - The Loon
There's been plenty written about this band so hopefully you've already listened to it. If not, give it a try. It fits in nicely next to Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, CYHSY, etc. I love their use of textures and the way they somehow eek out a catchiness beneath all the chaos.

Holy Redesign, Batman!

How's this for a facelift?

For whatever reason, I got a wild hair up my butt tonight to throw together a redesign for this stagnant site.  So, this is what spewed out of my head, through the tips of my fingers, and onto your screen if you are reading this.  Not sure if I'm going to love it in the morning, but I'm diggin' it right now.

While spending most of my writing and designing time over at Raleighing.com, I have learned quite a bit of CSS, etc. and I just wanted to see if I could now put it all to use in one fell swoop and viola!  It worked!

So does this mean I'm going to actually start writing over here again?  I think maybe.  Probably not as in-depth, but I've been listening to some good stuff lately that I'd like to write a little about.  We'll see.  I am still not very inspired by Rhapsody these days.  I've even started subscribing over at eMusic a little although their selection always leaves me a bit disappointed.  But, I do like the fact the songs are in VBR MP3 format.  Great quality without all the DRM annoyances.

Anyway, stay tuned for further developments.  Things are still a little rough around the edges around here and I'm too tired tonight to fix them... so don't cut yourself.