Music Archive

Here are the writeups I've done on older CDs that I've purchased.


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Okkervil River
Black Sheep Boy Appendix

11/20/05: Appendix pretty much accurately describes this one. Good bits that expand on the musical and lyrical themes of the album, but nothing you can't do without.


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Okkervil River
Black Sheep Boy

10/21/05: After missing most of their opening for the Decemberists (a nice fit), but catching their great show at unlikely venue the Mucky Duck, I finally gave their album the chance it deserved, and found a sometimes-rocking, always literate album that I still haven't completely managed to unravel. Shades of the psychotic dreamworld of Neutral Milk Hotel hint at the depth of the album. I was thrilled with the chance to catch them live again in November in light of my exploration of the album. A great band that I hope is bound for even bigger and better things.


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The Magnolia Electric Co.
Hard To Love A Man

10/20/05: For Completists, really. The title track is a single from their last album. The next three range from decent to good, and then the cover of "Werewolves of London" just doesn't quite... fit. Still, four new tracks from Magnolia? Sign me up!


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Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene

10/7/05: Here's one, though, that still has a chance at topping off the year-end list.

It took me a while to get Broken Social Scene. I didn't immediately appreciate their genius. They rarely resonate on the emotional level the way that fellow Canadians Stars and the Arcade Fire do. But seeing them live, I realized that they just flat out rock. Hard. They may not have the depth of emotion that the Arcade Fire do, but they do have the intensity of emotion, bubbling over the top. Sort of like an indie rock jam band, but without the wankery... or at least without excessive wankery.

Their new self-titled release sees them be louder, more rambunctious, less restrained, more adventurous. The slower, relaxed, beautiful moments of You Forgot It In People are gone, and the loud, sparkling explosions of that album are enhanced.

It never hurts to stick the hot and sultry Amy Milan (Stars), Leslie Feist (Feist) and Emily Haines (Metric) in the same band either. It's an indie rock wet dream.

So yeah. Pure fun. Pure joy. Buy it. Love it.


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Wolf Parade
Apologies To The Queen Mary

9/28/05: Like Clap Your Hands, my initial enthusiasm for this album has waned. It was once a firm contender for album of the year, reminding me of Arcade Fire (they are Canadian, after all) and Modest Mouse. But things have slipped a bit. The album feels uneven, but also homogenous. A few songs stick out as really excellent, showing off solid indie rock sound and songwriting with partulclarly well used keyboards, but most of them aren't up to that standard and just run together.

I don't know. It could be overexposure. But the Fire didn't have that problem. We'll see if this regains some points with me by the end of the yar, but for now it seems more like a flash in the pan.


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Death Cab For Cutie
Plans

8/30/05: I got home late from a party and found out that this had leaked, so I waited up an additional hour to download it. Then I put it on while I went to bed. And I almost cried, because I was disappointed. There, in that moment, it sucked.

But damn it. It's so hard for me to evaluate Death Cab objectively. It's grown on me since then. Half of the album still feels half-formed. They never get around to completely rocking out. The best you get is the pop rock of "Crooked Teeth". Gone are the slow-buring, loud, angry, and bitter numbers that marked their early career, or the similar but overly polished arena rock numbers of Transatlanticism. But how can you hate an album with songs as beautiful as "What Sarah Said" and "I Will Follow You Into The Dark"? Songs that achieve transcendent beauty

The album closes with a new version of "Stability" entitled "Stable Song". A recent interview with Ben Gibbard mentioned that, when the older version was recorded, the band was on the verge of breaking up, and that he was glad to give it a new treatment. But yet "Stable Song" is flat. It lacks any adventurousness that was in "Stability". There's a good metaphor here, but I haven't found it yet.

Ultimately, this album will probably mark some sort of transition. It's already shed more light on what Transatlanticism meant for the band; in a couple of years, it will probably be judged, in part, on the merits of what follows.


***
Sufjan Stevens
Illinois

8/12/05: It would have been so easy for me to have missed this one. Somewhat flat and unvaried upon the first listen, hearing Chicago at the right time in the right place finally got me to give the album a thorough listen (nothing's better for serious listening time than a road trip), and I discovered an album full of beautiful music, clever lyricism, and emotional depth. Once you get past the overlong song titles, excessive instrumental interludes and the overall need for an editor, there's a beautiful, classic album. How long before Stevens' road trip through the fifty states hits Texas? (Blissfully ripped off from my top albums of 2005 writeup.)


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Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

7/14/05: The review that I write now will be substantially different from what I would have written had I approached this in a timely manner.


These guys came out of nowhere in the latter weeks of June. Pitchfork suddenly picked them up, first reviewing one of the songs available on their website and soon the album itself. A few listens to the ablum, and I thought that they were the next Arcade Fire.

They have an excellent combination of gruff vocals; Neutral Milk Hotel rowdiness and surreal lyrics; bouncy Cure basslines; and the Arcade Fire-like excitement of discovering something new.

But on closer inspection, the album really just shows potential. The songs that are the best do a brilliant job of recalling their influences, but don't manage the emotional weight that I had expected. Then there is the pure filler—short, mostly instrumental interludes that get in the way—and the songs that just don't quite click.

In the end, I'm left with the feeling that this is a demo, or that it could have been a great debut EP, but the material that's here is just stretched too thing. They have a lot of potential. Maybe I would have written a similar review had I encountered the Arcade Fire's self-titled EP before their stunning full length. Maybe the next album will make full use of their amazing potential. Maybe I'm being too harsh because I expected another Arcade Fire.

Wouldn't it be great, though, if my expectations were fulfilled?


***
The Magnetic Fields
Holiday

7/3/05: Since my further exploration of the Magnetic Fields has so far been fruitful, I decided to venture further back. Going from I to 69 Love Songs to Charm of the Highway Strip does reveal a retrospective slide backwards toward synth pop. Perhaps it's my bias toward real instruments, or maybe it's based on the point at which I got involved with the band, but I think the group works better in their chamber pop capacity than as a synth pop band. Even Highway Strip, the synthiest album I had previously investigated, seemed like chamber pop transcribed for synth.

But now here I am at one of their proper synth pop albums and... I stand by my assessment. It sounds cheap and plastic, which admittedly could be charming to some. The lyrics have a similarly disposable feel, lacking some of the later depth that Merritt's compositions expressed. It's not bad, but it hasn't grabbed me. Maybe my assessment will be different in a few months, but I think that my exploration of Merritt's work may have reached a point of diminishing returns.


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Jóhann Jóhannsson
Virðulegu Forsetar

7/3/05: Did I think I would like this minimalist neoclassical suite? Not really. You'd think that the repition of a single phrase, with minor variations, would get old... but it doesn't. I always had a soft spot for chorales in my band days, and hearing one performed by a nice brass ensemble, with some neat (presumably synthetic) low bass rumble underneath it for effect makes for a peaceful, cleansing experience. It's great for putting on and then getting lost in thought, or falling asleep too.

Just make you've got a subwoofer so you can feel that rumble.


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Fountains Of Wayne
Out-Of-State Plates

6/28/05: It's about time these songs got a proper release. I've had a hand-compiled disc with mose of these b-sides from throughout Fountains of Wayne's career for a few years, but it was missing things, and besides, the world deserves this stuff, you know?

It's not all great, but spread across these two discs, there's bound to be one power pop gem that you dont' know how you ever lived without. The cover of Nico's "These Days" is a nice surprise.

What wasn't a nice surprise was the inexplicable absence of a few things, such as the band's contribution to the Scary Movie soundtrack. It's certainly not essential, but if you're going to put together a complete b-sides compilation for your biggest fans, can't you at least make it truly complete?


***
Youth Group
Skeleton Jar

6/4/05: It's been a while since I've really had an album grab me unexpectedly. Probably Death From Above 1979 and Beulah. Maybe Arcade Fire before that. It's always a nice feeling. Anyway, I popped this in the first time, and thought it seemed pretty good. But on the second listen, man, it just hit me. Man, do I love this album.

There's something very Death Cab about it. Maybe even worryingly so. Certainly, it's nice that they got Chris Wallah's (of DCFC) endorsement. It's all very earnest, though—and this are warning signs for emo. But I don't think that's the case.

Like I said, very sincere and emotional, borderline emo. But the music... it's often more propulsive than Death Cab, especially compared to their more slow-core times. Some of it sounds very anthemic, perhaps even U2ish. Mainly, though, it'd damned catchy. I'm closing in on 30 plays for the album. There's your endorsement, right there.


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Love As Laughter
Laughter's Fifth

6/4/05: This is even more polished than Sea To Shining Sea. I played it for the first time, and was surprised how polished and poppy it was. It's very reminiscent of Pavement. Lots of good, catchy songs. I definitely recommend it.


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Love As Laughter
Sea To Shining Sea

6/5/05: Due to the inclusion of a cover of Love As Laughter's "Singing Swores Make Perfect Sores" on Buil To Spill's Live, LAL have long been peripherally associated with BTS, placing them in a category with a sizeable number of other bands (The Delusions, Kicking Giants, Caustic Resin, Modest Mouse—for a while). Someone on the Mouse list mentioned that their new album was good, so I decided to check it out (see above).

I was expecting something different from the sound of the new album—more fuzzed out, lo-fi, and distorted. It's different though. Fairly pop. I haven't listened to this one that much yet, but it seems solid. Certainly fans of northwest indie pop should check it out.


***
The Magnetic Fields
The Charm Of The Highway Strip

6/4/05: I had, for a while, intended to put together a one disc distillation of the best of 69 Love Songs. It took an actual promise to someone (Lauren) to put one together (it helped that I wanted to send it to Charlene, too) to get me to take the list of four and five star-rated songs and make it into something a little more intentional. With some excellent consulting work from Bryan, we not have the definitive, perfect mix. I'm proud.

In putting that together, my love for Stephin Merritt's dark (sometimes light) and clever pop grew deeper, and I decided it was time to revisit earlier works. I started here, as this is what I had available to me at the time. I still prefer the stripped down, somber acoustic stuff he does, but the synth pop of this album is growing on me. Certainly the songwriting here is as good as it's ever been. Interestingly, like 69 Love Songs and I, there's a theme here: travel and geography. It's another good album by an extremely talented songwriter. You'd think that 69 love songs would be enough of him for anybody, but I still want more.


***
Feist
Let It Die

5/10/05: I listened to Fest's album a couple of times and it didn't do much for me. But then I saw her live, opening for British Sea Power, and, wow. She knows how to put on a show, and she's got boatloads of charisma. It's subtle, though. She gets up there with her electric guitar, alone, and you sort of feel the embarassment of being a solo artist trying to command a room full of people. But she did it, without even letting on that she was trying (maybe she wasn't).

The album, initially, sounds like an indie Norah Jones. I'd still stick to that description if asked to be brief. But the songwriting's better, the personality is more interesting, and the music's more varied.

I'm recommending this album to everybody. Seriously. I burned copies for my mom and my aunt. I never do that. It's not perfect. But it's so good it doesn't have to be.


***
Spoon
Gimme Fiction

5/10/05: I didn't really get Spoon when I first listened to them—especially with Kill The Moonlight being such an oddly minimalist album. That sort of minimalism pretty much defines Spoon, though not always so blatantly. They're a solid band. Solid. Nothing's ever spectacular unless it's in a carefully-measured fashion.

Surprisingly, I still maintain that view of them in spite of Gimme Fiction which has a tendency to be all over the place—not nearly as focused in its assembly as their other albums do, on the whole, but it's still there in the individual songs. And whatever is lost from the whole is made up in the parts, as they're decidely more adventurous here. More styles, more effects, more of everything. But still minimalistic. It's not the Spoon album I would recommend to the first time buyer, but there's a lot of great stuff here.


***
Weezer
Make Believe

5/10/05: And here's another album I picked up out of obligation. Weezer may suck these days, and Rivers psychoses may result in blandly safe albums instead of the brilliance of his insecurity-ridden early days, but those early days have earned him a lifetime free pass with me. I'll keep buying. I probably owe it to him.
Weezer (The Blue Album) is pretty much perfect. Loud, fun, beautiful, great to sing along to, catchy, and clever—can you ask anything else? Pinkerton proved that you can. Beautifully flawed, exposed, raw, sloppy, and completely, totally affecting. I've always said that this is a perfect album about being male. I love it. I always will, I think.

And then I thought it was over. But they came back. I saw them in concert first, and that helped. At the time, there was still the possiblity that they were the same people who had given me so many good times. Even when Weezer (The Green Album) came out, and it played like a flat, mediocre blue album, at first, it sounded good. They were still Weezer. The world was OK.

Thankfully, they tried something else with Maladroit. It rocked harder. The songs still weren't great, but there was some potential there, and it provided a few months worth of fun.

"Beverly Hills" was available on iTunes prior to the release of Make Believe. I hated it the first time I heard it. It grew on me, some. And then I picked up the album. It's sort of a pastiche of everything Weezer's done—but still it's mediocre. Maybe not even downright bad, just mediocre. I don't really have the proper emotional distance from Weezer to make a good assessment of the album's quality. Green and Maladroit showed that it takes a couple of years. So maybe then I'll know. If I'm still bothering to listen to it.


***
Dave Matthews Band
Stand Up

5/10/05: Matt Kinard and Paul Pardaen, this whole Dave Matthew things is all your fault. Had it not been for you two, I would have never picked up Before These Crowded Streets back in high school, and then every other Dave Matthews Band album after that—even the bloated live discs.

I'm really not even a DMB apologist. I don't try to defend it anymore. They're a guilty pleasure. I've made progress, though. I've managed to skip the last two live efforts—I've already got more DMB live material than I'll ever listen to. I couldn't, though, resist picking up the new album. I was compelled by tradition.

So what's here, then? They're slicker this time around. Back in the time of Everyday, this was a bad thing, but in retrospect I'm prepared to blame bad writing rather than glossy production. This time, though, it adds to it. After their first two studio releases just doing their DMB thing, expanding instrumentally and sonically on their third, making an effort at mainstream pop success on their fourth, and a return to basics on their fifth, it's time for them to do something different, which they do.

The new album really pops. It sounds great with my subwoofer turned up. I'm not inherently opposed to super produced albums. They're great fun in a bubble gum, disposable kind of way. Will I be listening to this a few years from now? Probably not. For now, though, I'll enjoy it until the flavor goes.


***
The Magnolia Electric Co.
What Comes After The Blues

4/26/05: The Magnolia Electric Co. was meant to be a more fleshed-out version of Jason Molina's Songs: Ohia projects. Rather than singer/songwriter and folk material, he was going to bring the rock. Their debut (or Songs: Ohia's last album, depending) bore this out with its classic rock and southern rock bombast, and their live album Trials & Errors continued this.

That debut has become a personal favorite, and so I was very much looking forward to hearing their next effort. So, when I downloaded this, I was immediately disappointed to find that things were scaled back, and though some of the new instrumental complexity of Magnolia was still there, stylistically, much of the material reminded me more of Songs: Ohia.

Pushing past that initial disappointment, however, reveals that there's some really solid material here, though. It may not rock the way I'd hoped it would, but I wouldn't pass it up, either.


***
Ben Folds
Songs For Silverman

4/21/05: My interest in music began with a long Beatles period. The first bits of modern music that I got into after that were Reel Big Fish (man, Ska was such a great fad) and U2. However, Ben Folds Five was the first thing that really hit me hard. When I found out they broke up, it felt like somebody had died.

Even though Ben's material has never felt quite as fresh or consistent as BFF's first two albums did, I still look forward to his new material more than just about anything else. I wondered what his first full album since 2001's Rocking the Suburbs would bring. I eagerly paid my $0.99 to download the debut single "Landed".

It turned out to be a pretty good indication of what was to come. Ben's chilled out a bit on this album. The music is almost all very pretty and ornate—reminiscent of the majority of BFF's The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner. I've been wanting Ben to make an album that focuses on this sounds for some time. I'm sure it won't please critics who feel that his rockers are his best material (Pitcfork's ratings have been going steadily downhill since BFF's rocker-filled self-titled album), but I think he does a great job with it.

My only real disappointment here is that some of the songwriting is rather weak. Many of the ideas seem half-formed and unpolished, particularly lyrically. Overall, though, I like it. It's Ben. It's pretty. And none of its failings have prevented me from listening to it once or twice a day since it came out.


***
Ben Folds
Songs For Goldfish

4/21/05: I'm not entirely sure why I had to pay money for what should have been a bonus disc, but yet, here we are. I was pleased to see that the live cuts are all with his new band, which is particularly nice since I think his solo piano stint was done to death. Some of the radio jingles and random jams are nice, too. Worth ten dollars? If you're a completist, yes.


***
M. Ward
Transfiguration Of Vincent

4/3/05: This is the second time that a musician named Matthew Ward has caught up with me. The crazy religious guy's album was discovered in a thrift store by high school friends of mine; and in an e-mail exchange with the band Guster, they recommended this guy to me. It took a long time for me to follow through with it, and even when I did, I didn't really do a thorough job of it, but after seeing him play at Mary Jane's a week back, I'm ready to take the plunge with this one. His carton-a-day voice complements his folky sound surprisingly well. I've barely begun exploring this one, but I like it so far.


***
Beck
Guero

3/29/05: Beck is, of course, a musical genius, but nothing he's done has been truly groundbreaking since Odelay. Mutations is a brilliant and innovative album; Midnite Vultures was a fun if derivative party album; and Sea Change is a wonderfully, beautifully morose breakup album; but none of these represents the breakthrough that Odelay did.

Guero was supposed to be his return to form, but rather than being a proper followup to Odelay in the way that Radiohead's The Bends, OK Computer, and Kid A built on each other, it's a Beck album that just sounds like Beck, the way Hail To The Thief just sounded like Radiohead. Just about every track sounds like it belongs on one of his previous major albums. On one hand, it tends to feel like it should be a solid album the same way Hail To The Thief was, but instead, I often get bored before I find my way to the end of it. Maybe I just haven't listened enough; albums I'm unfamiliar with often have a tendency to try my paitence. The jury's still out on whether this is up to Beck's standards, but it's still Beck, and that's probably enough to recommend it.


***
The Decemberists
Picaresque

3/23/05: Pitchfork has aptly described the Decemberists' music as theater, and though they claim that this has lessened in this, their latest album, the Decemberists would seem to disagree. The CD booklet shows them in costume and in front of sets depicting the subjects of most of their songs. The description is apt, and every Decemberists song is a one (or more) act play about athletes, giggolos, mariners, infant kings, barrow boys, spies, or star-crossed lovers.
So, in my mind, the Decemberists haven't really changed anything here, but with subject matter so varied, and lyrics and music so strong, they don't really need to, either. What they do is clever and brilliant even if it may not be as emotionally affecting as some pop music. Highly recommended.


***
Ben Folds Five
Whatever & Ever Amen

3/22/05: First off, I'm a consumer whoreÑespecially for Ben Folds Five. They reissued this (to me) classic album, and I bought it. It's remastered, not that it's immediately obvious, and also has some extra b-sides (but not the never-released songs recorded for the last-album-that-never-was).

So I throw this in, and wow, it's 1998 all over again. This is a very nostalgic album for me. It was a time when I was first getting into music (and this played a big part), a time when the friends I had began to coalesce into the wonderful social group that played such a big part in making me who I am today, a time when I played a hell of a lot of Goldeneye. This album will always have a special place in my heart, and I'd gladly buy it ten times over.

It's also made me reflect on the band. I was more than a bit emotionally affected when I heard that they broke up back in 2000. Ben's career has, thankfully, continued, but the lack of Darren and Robert has taken some of the magic away. Despite the consistent charges that Ben was the only group member that really mattered, the other two added a certain je ne se quois, and that never quite made the transition to Ben's solo career. I with the three of them were still together, but I'm glad that I have these products of their time together.

And the album itself? It's still great, even if it's not as fresh. The quiet songs are still emotionally affecting, the loud songs are still fun, and sometimes vice versa. The new tracks are hit and miss: "Air" is a great song I never listened to enough, one can never have enough of "Theme From Dr. Pyser", and the boys do a great "Video Killed The Radio Star". "For All The Pretty People" and "Mitchell Lane" fall a bit flat; the cover of "She Don't Use Jelly" is better on their Sessions at West 54th DVD, and the Japanese version of "Song For The Dumped" is a novelty that loses its entertainment value pretty quickly.

Disappointing b-sides aside, hopefully this reissue will make sure the boys are always appreciated for their wonderful work.


***
Mono
Walking Cloud & Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered & The Sun Shined

3/10/05: Having been lulled into a blissful trance by Mono's sprawling, atmospheric instrumental rock twice in concert, I decided it was time to pick up their latest album. It's a decent recreation of their live set. The sheer volume of their music doesn't make sense on disk as much as it does on stage, but the beauty's still there. A couple of tracks are kind of flat, and Explosions in the Sky maybe do this thing a little better, but this is still good stuff.


***
Death Cab For Cutie
The John Byrd EP

3/10/05: It seems like the limited edition, independent record store-only EP is now the trendy thing to do. Ben Folds did his trilogy; Belle & Sebastian did so with their Books EP, and now Death Cab is releasing this live EP. Except for worrying about tracking down a copy (which involved going to Cactus "we can't afford to stock good music" Records), it's fine by me, because if there's one thing I need, it's more Death Cab.

The cuts here are all well-recorded and well performed, if not as drastically different as the piano-arranged cuts on the iTunes exclusive Studio X Sessions. The disc begins with a straight-forward take of "We Laugh Indoors" (a song I've always found a bit boring), continues with a slightly expanded performance of "Why You'd Want To Live Here" (a nice touch). The EP moves on to Transatlanticism's somewhat boring "Lightness" and then "Photobooth" which incorporates live drums, unlike the studio take.

Next up is the album's best bit, a long, passionate jam on the sexual exploration reminiscence "We Looked Like Giants", which is excellent; the song benefits from the energetic live performance. A quick run through "405" combines characteristics of the electric and acoustic recordigns of the song. Finally, "Blacking Out The Friction/A Brand New Love" adds a new coda to "Blacking Out The Friction" and provides an excellent end to the album.

Ultimately, this is for fans only. For us, though, you can never have enough Death Cab.


***
Beulah
Yoko

2/8/05: I think one of Win's AC buddies mentioned Beulah to me at some point, and for a while I had them associated with the Elephant 6 collective (Apples In Stereo, Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, Of Montreal, Summer Hymns, Elf Power, and so forth). I happened to read a beautifully written Pitchfork Review of When Your Heartstrings Break, and the author describe how the album would be a perfect soundtrack to an intimate moment with the girl he'd been pining after. Hoping to find music that evoked the emotional content the author had apparently seen in the album, I picked it up, and though it was good in that typical Elephant 6 sort of way (strings, horns, psyuchadelic pop), it didn't have the emotional impact I was expecting.

We'll grant that the author sees something in the music that I missed, and that Heartstrings captured the sound of young love. Interestingly, Yoko captures something entirely different: the death of a relationship. This isn't the anger and hurt of a premature breakup; it's more the resignation and sorrow that come with the slow, natural death of two people who care about each other but realize that they're not meant to be. They may not have a future, but damn does it hurt to see things end.

Interestingly, these emotions seem to apply not only to the death of a real or fictional relationship, but also to the death of the band. Beulah released this album and disclosed that it would be their last. They went for one last tour, and then called it quits.

It shows in the album. The music, lyrics, and vocal performances perfectly capture the feelings of pain and resignation; loving something but distancing yourself from it; and emotional exhaustion. Yoko is the sound of both a relationship and a band falling apart, and it's impressive that it works on both levels. It's not a perfect album, but it's a fascinating piece of art.


***
Death From Above 1979
You're A Woman, I'm A Machine

2/8/05: It's rare that a record grabs me and gets me really, really excited on the first listen. It's even more rare when that record floors me not just by impressing me but by kicking my ass a bit, too. This is fast, agressive, and surprisingly enough, I love it. It's probably the closest thing to "metal" I've picked up since getting into Trail of Dead a few years back (I still have my standards, thoughÑthe new Mastodon record is still too much screaming).

I'm not sure exactly what it is about this ablum that caught my ear. Pitchfork gave it a positive review, and someone in Stereophile mentioned it (who also seems to have musical tastes comparable to mine; good to see they're bringing in some new blood). It helps that it rocks, a lot. I think they're something very "male" about it; Pitchfork called it something akin to a breakup record for metal fans. I haven't quite caught the breakup thing yet, but it's definitely about chicks, and that's a subject I can relate to.


***
The Postal Service
We Will Become Silhouettes

2/8/05: The Postal Service put out my most-played album, according to my iTunes usage statistics. If you need more evidence, what does it say about my love for the band when buying a single which features one old song (the title track), one new b-side, and two remixes makes me giddy as a school girl. You should have seen my face when I popped this into my car CD player after picking it up at Sound Exchange.

So as far as the new tracks go, the new song is great, the remix of "Nothing Better" is similarly excellent, but the remix of "Silhouettes" is a little lame. Still, it only set me back $4, and from the Postal Service, I'll pay $2 each for two more great tracks.

Everybody I play Give Up for loves it, unless they have some weird macho complex. If you've not heard it, do yourself a favor and check it out, or hell, just go buy it. I'll continue to obsess over every little crumb they throw me from their studio.


***
Apple iPod Shuffle

1/28/05: I've said it before, I'm saying it now, and I'm sure I'll be saying it again soon: I am a consumer whore. Appe announced a new product, I loved it, and I bought it.

To be fair, this fills a niche that I've been looking to fill for a while, and fills it better than other solutions I was looking at. Although Apple's gotten the iPods smaller with every generation, and in many situtations the size is perfect, it's just to heavy to live in my pocket all the time. Consequently, it's not always with me when I want to listen to music. I use it in the car, it stays in the car, which, after two break-ins, is a bit unnerving.

For a while, the mini seemed like it might be a solution. Two iPods felt like overkill, but I couldn't sacrifice the extra space of the full-size model, either. So when the shuffle was announced with its significantly lower price and smaller size, it seemed perfect. So, I decided to buy one, and I justified it by saying I could always sell it on eBay if it didn't turn out to be useful.

But so far, it has. It's great for the car, and great for short walks to class or to the bus. The new iTunes autofill function does a great job of filling up the 1 GB of memory with about 200 songs and skews its selections towards my favorite, which means I don't have to spend a whole lot of time swapping things out.

And the surprising thing? Its sound is better than the full-size iPod. The full size iPod and my headphones play well together, but the shuffle is powerful enough to make the headphones its bitch and really put out some quality sound. Funny, that. Makes me wonder if I need a headphone amplifier for the big iPod at work...

So, the verdict is, it's great for times when you just want music, or want to prepare carefully-sculpted playlists ahead of time. But if you want complete but spontaneous control of your music, a bigger iPod is still the way to go.


***
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
Worlds Apart

1/23/05: In case I haven't mentioned it, these guys may have the greatest band name ever. That said, what to do with these guys? Source Tags & Code was an angry, spectacular masterpiece. listening to this, there are times I think that maybe they've surpassed it, and there are times I think that maybe the've lost it entirely. The Onion AV Club thought the former; Pitchfork and Tiny Mix Tapes thought the latter. I'm not sure which way to go. The Carmina Burana-esque choral and orchestral opening sets expectations high, and when the guitars burst through on "Will You Smile Again?", all seems well. Towards the middle of the record, though, boredom soon sets in. If you're a fan, pick it up; if not, buy the previous album and wait for the verdict.


***
The Arcade Fire
The Arcade Fire

1/23/05: This is the Arcade Fire's until-recently-out-of-print-debut-EP. It had been going for quite a bit on eBay, so when I was at their spectacular show, I took the chance to pick up one of the freshly-minted copies that they had for sale. Turns out, there are some fine songs on here ("No Cars Go" and "My Heart Is An Apple") that I heard at the show and am thankful to have on disk. It's nowhere near the level of Funeral, but you can see the beginnings of greatness.


***
NHT SuperZero XU

1/14/05: I've seriously overspent on the consumer electronics latelyÑbut that's what savings are for, yes? This is the first of several new items coming. I had long been wanting to pick up, on the cheap, a nice, perhaps vintage speaker to use in the bedroom. I found these onlin for $130 for the pair, which is what they usually go for used on eBay. I would have preferred the non-XU older model, with its more attractive piano-black finish, but the price was excellent.

The sound is excellent. They've got the same precise imaging and the same accuracy as their bigger, younger brothers that are in my main system, and lack only the bass impactÑwhich I can do without for savings on the order of $450. It's nice to have high-quality music to sleep to.


***
The Walkmen
Bows + Arrows

1/9/05: It took good timing, but I finally realized that this album is every bit as excellent as Pitchfork thought it was. I love their sound: the huge, expansive drums, the raw sound of the early U2, the piano that sounds like it's on its last legs and sticks out like a sore thumb but completes the sound. This is a fun, exciting album, and I highly recommend it.


***
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground

1/9/05: This is the album that got me into the Velvet Underground. There are so many excellent songs, and the album's very aproachable. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to learn what the VU is all about.


***
The Magnolia Electric Co.
Trials & Errors

1/7/05: Since I wrote my review of Magnolia's self-titled album, I've become more enthralled with the album (except for the two sub-par tracks) and it's become one of the things I listen to most often. It's really, really excellent.

So I was very excited about the release of new material, even if it is a live album. Most of these songs are either new, or are old Songs: Ohia songs, so this is almost all new material for the band in its Magnolia incarnation. I don't think the material's quite as strong as that on the self-titled album, but the band does an excellent job, and ultimately, I was pleased to get more material


***
The Rhonda Ukulele Experience
Fun With Fingerpaints

12/11/04: The bevity of Rhonda's latest EP (below) came as a disappointment. This album, formerly sold through mp3.com is not as stylistically consistent, or as consistently strong as Odds & Ends, but it provided exactly what I wanted: more Rhonda. "Summer Dream" is an absolutely wonderful song.

I was also excited that she hand-fingerpainted the CD label. Plus, the CD-ROM content from mp3.com is still on the disc, and though it took me some finagling, I was able to extract the lyrics and written commentary on the songs, which was insightful.

Yay for more Rhonda.


***
The Magnetic Fields
69 Love Songs

12/10/04: My first encounter with the Magnetic Fields was indirect; when David and I picked out the Summer Hymns/Elf Power/Flare show to attend in New York back in 2000, there was a short writeup on Flare that mentioned the lead singer's involvement in 69 Love Songs. Consequently, I knew of the existence of the product, but little else.

Eventually, "Busby Berkeley Dreams" was Win's mp3 of the day (a feature that I miss), and I thought it was a wonderful little song. Post-breakup, it came to be a very meanigful expression of the way that, now matter how hard my conscious mind works, my subconscious managed to hang on to a certain girl, and she still shows up in my dreams unsettlingly frequently.

Jeff finally hooked me up with the entirety of the album. Because it is, in fact, 69 love songs spanning almost three hours of play time, it can be a bit inpenetrable. The sheer volume of songs is both strength and weakness. The fun of it all is finding the bits of buried treasure and picking your favorite parts, but it's a long process.

Seeing the Fields live helped. I preferred the chamber pop approach of their live show to the low-rent sonics of the album, and, consequently, I noticed some songs that I hadn't really appreciated before.

Ultimately, one of the best parts of this album is that, like the Flaming Lips' Zaireeka, the listner has a more involved role to play in the creation of the art. Whereas Zaireeka use of four simultaneous CDs demands social listening and deliberate action on the part of the listener to get the tracks to play simultaneously, 69 Love Songs, with its multi-disc format, demands that the listener assemble a meaningful artistic experience out of disparate parts. It's like building a burrito at Freebird's: you probably don't want all the ingredients they have to offer, but you pick your favorites, mix them up, and it tastes damn good.


***
The Divine Comedy
Absent Friends

11/23/04: I've been listening to this ablum since the summer, but just got around to making a purchase (although locating it took a while). I enjoyed Neil Hanon's songwriting and rich, deep vocals (like Stephin Merritt's) when I saw him open for Ben Folds, and I adored several of the songs off of 2002's Regeneration ("Timeswept", "Bad Ambassador" and "Perfect Lovesong"), but most of the album was too dense with Nigel Godrich's production and fell flat. His older material has proven difficult to find.

With this in mind, my expectations were nonexistent when I downloaded this. I was surprised to find wonderfully overwrought orchestral arrangements. Most tracks sound like Neil with his acoustic guitar, playing pop songs to what could easily be John Williams compositions. The album's still not as consistent as I would like, but bits of it are just so wonderfully good. Not everyone will like the style, but I sure do.


***
U2
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

11/23/04: After their experimental '90s period of mixed artistic success, it seems that the U2 of the '00s is content to simply be U2. There are bands that I'll put up with that water-treading from, and I suppose that I'll add U2 to the list.

All That You Can't Leave Behind seemed at the time like a triumphant return to form, and a treasured it for a whileÑuntil I got tired of it. Now, again, is more of the same. It's good to hear Bono being Bono, the Edge being the Edge, and Larry and Adam doing whatever it is that they do, but the fun of this disc isn't going to last. Try as they might, there's nothing substantial here.


***
Rhonda Roberts
Odds & Ends

11/20/04: I at first thought Rhonda was squarely in the gimick zone. A lone girl on stage with her ukulele preceding two other novelty acts, I saw her perform a Neutral Mlik Hotel cover, a song about DNA, and a cover of The Might Be Giants' "The Ballad of James K. Polk". The rest of her original material, however, showed that her songwriting abilities and sweet, sensuous and full vocals keep make the ukulele not a gimick but appropriate musical accompaniment.

I was a bit broke that night, but I contacted her later about purchasing a CD and picked one up from her after a subsequent performance. The music on this EP is stylistically consistent; featuring the kind of love songs one might usually associate with the ukulele. She consistently evokes the appropriate atmosphere, and the songs are cute and clever, but heartfelt as well.

And like Nedelle, it doesn't hurt that she's cute and projects a charming personality as well.


***
The Arcade Fire
Funeral

11/7/04: This may be the album of the year. These Canadians have made an album of beautiful, sad, bleak, but hopeful music. Highly recommended. Thanks to Pitchfork for covering this one. I only regret that I didn't see them open for the Unicorns a few months back.


***
The Walkmen
Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone

11/7/04: I like the way the Walkmen are recorded. Everything sound like it's taking place in some huge space that they're trying desperately to fill up. Add to that their gimicky upright piano with its unique tone, and some nice Bono-esque posturing. This album and their current release are both a lot of fun. Very enjoyable.


***
TV On The Radio
Young Liars

11/7/04: Although a bit too electronic for my tastes when I first downloaded it about a year ago; this record's grown on me. Clever arranging, propulsive beats, and soulful singing all coalesce nicely. I hear their follow-up album isn't as consistent, which is a shame. The cover of the Pixies' "Mr. Grieves" is a nice finishing touch.


***
Stars
Set Yourself On Fire

10/18/04: After I saw them open for Broken Social Scene, and then picked up their album this spring, I wrote about my infatuation with Stars' Heart. I wasn't nearly as impressed with their debut, Nightsongs, but when I found out that their new album was only seeing Canadian release until this year, I had to jump the gun and import a copy. The actual cost of the album wasn't bad at all, but getting it here and not having to wait for weeks for it made it a bit of an expensive purchase. It was, however, worth it.

I still maintain my Belle & Sebastian/Postal Service/Broken Social Scene comparison. I love the presciousness of the music. I stole this phrase from one of the few reviews I could find, but I love the joie de vivre that permeates the music. The songs are about all beautiful; the happy ones and the sad ones.

Favorite tracks so far: "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" about an awkward reintroduction to an ex; "One More Night" about being with a girlfriend for the last time when she knows it and you don't; and "The First Five Times" about the joy and beauty and excitement of learning a new person and falling in love. This album, to me, embodies the "'Tis better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all" philosophy. It captures the beauty in the good times and even the bad, and makes you happy to have lived through getting your heart broken.

This album arrived in the morning on the day my big proposal was due. I didn't have a chance to listen to it until I was on the bus on the way home that day. I pulled out the iPod and played the first track ("Ex-Lover"). It caught me completely off guard and almost moved me to tears. That alone is indicative of how wonderful this band is.


***
William Shatner
Has Been

10/5/04: William Shatner's musical stylings would be unknown to me, were it not for Ben Folds. Apparently, Shatner's 1968 The Transformed Man was the first album Ben ever purchased after he found it at a garage sale. When Ben recorded his experimental solo album Fear of Pop, Vol. 1 in 1998, he brought Shatner in for some of his trademarked spoken word stylings. The resulting track, "In Love" was clever, and Shatner's voice lent Ben's tale, of a cynical man who feels nothing for the girl who is heartbroken over him, the appropriate amounts of sarcasm and drama.

I dug up bits of Shatner's 1968 debut, particularly his covers of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" and "Mr. Tambourine Man" for their comedic value. When I heard that Bill was putting out a new album and Ben was producing, I expected more of the same.

What's actually here, though stylistically similar, turns out to be much more interesting. This album is the reflections of a man who realizes that he's nearing the tail end of his life, taking the opportunity to get everything off his chest. Heartbreak, failures, successes, pet peevesÑthey're all here, and all kind of beautiful, in a way. It's not for everyone, and it may not be something I listen to often, but give it a shot and see if you like it.


***
Cake
Pressure Chief

10/5/04: The first time I listened all the way through Cake's Fashion Nugget, I really loved it. At the time, the use of trumpet, half-spoken vocals, funky bass lines and sarcastic humor seemed very original. I picked up their third and first albums not too long after that and enjoyed them as well. A few years later when I picked up their fourth album, though, it didn't seem as fresh. There was little to distinguish between the four albums. The sound and the songwriting seemed more monotonous than consistant. I still enjoy them, but I certainly wouldn't say all of their albums are essential. Buy your copy of Fashion Nugget and move on with your life.

But, as I've stated before, I'm a consumer whore. I'm not entirely sure why I bought this. It could have been the completionist part of me, curiousity at whether they had undergone any changes and if this album would distinguish itself from the others, or it could have just been that I didn't want to walk out of Cactus with just the William Shatner album. In the end, there are some subtle differences, but it's mostly the same. Now, for the obligatory turn of phrase: you can have your Cake and listen to it, too, but do you really want to, or is one slice enough?


***
The Microphones
Island Songs

9/29/04: I bitched about this quite a bit over at the blog, but I was frustrated to discover that I had not, in fact, bought Songs Islands but had instead bought the Japanese version with minor track differences. There's some good stuff on here, but it's not on par with the Microphones' best stuff. I'm feeling a bit disillusioned by the Microphones these days, but when they're on, they're on. I just wish it was more consistent.


***
U2
War

9/28/04: Recently, I got into the Walkmen. At times, their sound is very early-U2, which inspired me to listen to some. Considering that I own nothing before The Unforgettable Fire, I thought it was time to beef up the collection, so this is the first part of that effort. I like the rawness, and I like hearing U2 as just a band, not yet feeling the weight of their fame and success.


***
Brian Wilson
Smile

9/28/04: I believe that the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds is, in fact, the greatest album ever recorded. Smile was to be its sequel, but Brian Wilson's mental state, combined with the opposition of the other Boys, resulted in the album only being released in bits and peaces and never fully completed. But a few years back, after Wilson started recording and touring again, he decided to start performing the album in its entirety. Now, the studio version has been properly recorded and released.

So how is it? It's absolutely brilliant. It's not as personal as Pet Sounds, but it's also more grandiose and varied. In the end, I think Pet Sounds will remain the better album, but that doesn't take away from the beauty of Smile, either.


***
Interpol
Antics

9/28/04: If Pitchfork hadn't recommended Turn On The Bright Lights as their album the year, I probably woul have never gotten into it. It's many things I don't like: dark, heavy, and very eighties. But it's still good, and I enjoy throwing the album in every now and then. So, on the strength of that album, I went ahead and grabbed this one.

I've not completely absorbed this one, but I sometimes like it better. It doesn't feel so thick and heavy, but part of me thinks that the changes in their sound have killed the cohesiveness that made their first album so great. I'll give it some time.


***
Dios
Dios

9/6/04: I probably took a brief glance at Pitchfork's review of Dios's self-titled album, because it looked familiar when I pulled it up later. I first heard of this on the Modest Mouse list, and then Kristin was particularly enthusiastic about it and gave me a burn of it. I listened to it for a while and really liked their latter-day Beach Boys brand of pop. Hell, I think what sold me on it was the direct homage to "You Still Believe In Me" in "50 Cents". The music has shades of the Shins, so if you like their work, you might check this out as well.


***
The Decemberists
Castaways & Cutouts and Her Majesty The Decemberists

9/6/04: These two albums by the Decemberists have long been in the limbo of things I had downloaded but not listened to much or bought. I first heard of them when Pitchfork reviewed the first album, taking note because of comparisons to Neutral Milk Hotel, but not being particularly interested. Thomas bought that and I downloaded it from him (and later the second album). I made a couple of attempts at listening, but they never took until I was driving to Waco this spring and really started liking it. After enjoying them a lot since then, I've finally picked up legal copies.

The Decemberists make a neat little brand of literary pop music. Their songs are worlds populated by pirates and chimney sweeps, and the language has a very nineteenth century feel to it. The instrumentation is diverse but centered around the usual guitar/bass/drums. I really don't see the Neutral Milk Hotel comparison; both bands may write pop about fantasy worlds, but the Decemberists write about people from a different time and place, whereas NMH's work seems drawn from the depths of dreams and the subconscious. A more apt comparison in my mind is to the Shins. Either one of these albums is highly recommended, but I'd suggest you start with the first one.


***
Nedelle & Thom
Summerland

8/30/04: Nedelle & Thom were the second opening act for Magnolia Electric Co. They got points for excellent pop songwriting, nice lead vocals (Nedelle) and harmony (Thom), using the Carlile-esque spelling of "Thom", and for Nedelle being super cute. I tried to buy their CD, but they were out, and Nedelle directed me to the record company's website. I put in my order the next day, and the CD showed up a bit over a week later.

The live show featured only acoustic guitar, but the album has additional session musicians covering bass and drums, which helps fill out the sound a bit. They remind me of a plainer veresion of Belle & Sebastian or Fleming & John. The songs are really excellent, breezy little numbers; they kind of thing that just makes me melt. Highly recommended, if it's not too wussy for you.


***
Songs: Ohia
Magnolia Electric Co.

8/18/04: Actually, this may be a self-titled release by Magnolia Electric Co. instead. Songs: Ohia is basically Jason Molina and friends, and shortly after the release of this album (or possibly before), Jason announced that he would be performing under the twin monikers of Magnolia Electric Co. (Jason Molina and friends/Songs: Ohia) and Pyramid Electric Company (just Jason Molina).

Regardless of the semantics, this album ended up on Pitchfork's top 50 list for 2003, so I went to the trouble to download it. It's got some country touches, and some classic rock touches as wellÑthat's the best way to describe it. The songwriting's sensitive, and the music manages to be huge and bombastic but sensitive as well. It's sad bastard music that reminds me in some ways of Beck's wonderful Sea Change.

I finally picked this up for real after seeing Jason and friends perform as Magnolia, and have had some renewed interest in it since then.


***
Belle & Sebastian
Step Into My Office, Baby; I'm A Cuckoo; Books

7/30/04: At some point this summer, I decided that Belle & Sebastian had not, in fact, gone completely to crap. I started getting into their last album, so I decided I'd order the singles that had bee released off of the album. I still hate to see them release album singles rather than non-album singles, but I though I'd buy them for the b-sides. "Your Cover's Blown" form Books is particularly goodÑlong, funky, and multi-part. None of the rest of the new songs have really grabbed me, but I've not listened to them that much either.


***
Apple Airport Express

7/28/04: Once I upgraded the hard drive in my iMac, one of the things I had always thought I'd do was rip my entire CD collection. One reason to do this was in anticipation of getting an iPod, but I also wanted to try out using iTunes as a jukebox to log my stereo. I ran a cable from the iMac to the stereo and really ended up liking the results.

I kept that setup when I moved to my apartment, but there was a nasty buzz, which I later discovered was the result of a ground loop caused by having my computer and stereo plugged into different outlets. I bought a ground loop isolator which fixed the problem, but I had always wanted a pure digital connection ot the stereo, and the ability to have iTunes output to the stereo and everything else play through the iMac's internal speakers. I tried a little hack involving a Griffin iMic, but I wasn't happy with the results. Simultaneously, I knew that I should get a wireless router in anticipation of buying a laptop.

When Apple announced this little beauty, which is a wireless router, print server, and wireless audio output device, I knew it would solve both of those problems for me. The audio streaming has some kinks in it (sometimes cuts off the beginning of songs; there's a split-second delay for buffering), but it's really convenient. And it'll be even better when my PowerBook shows up.


***
The Polyphonic Spree
Together We're Heavy

7/13/04: I first saw the Polyphonic Spree, back in the day, in 2001 at Fry Street Fair. They played before Built to Spill, and I only caught the end of their cover of Captain Beefhart's "Ride Captain Ride". Seeing, for the first time, a band with a large collection of wind and string instruments, multiple drummers and keyboardists, and a full-fledged choir, all dressed up in robes, and singing in a sunshiny manner which evoked a cult-like Partridge Family, my response was something to the effect of, "What the hell is this?".

I looked them up, read some articles in the Dallas Observer, and found out that they were led by former Tripping Daisy and Good Records owner Tim DeLaughter. After realizing that yes, these people are in fact for real, and no, they are not trying to induct me into some weird religious cult, I picked up their album on my next trip to Good Records. It was basically a demo, but it had potential. About a month later, I caught them live, and it was absolutely amazing. This was feel-good music: ecstatic songs about the sun and the power of positive thinking. I was absolutely floored. Since then, I've caught them four or so more times, and though a bit of the novelty wears off, it's usually incredible.

The group blew up, first with the press attention that got at South By Southwest in 2002, then with a major label deal in Britain, followed by one in America, and then various commercials, TV appearances, and movie soundtracks. Amazingly, this was all on the strength of (mostly) their live show and (to a lesser degree)a demo tape.

Finally, this week, their first proper album came out. I had been ready for new material for quite some time (The Beginning Stages of the polyphonic Spree was released in 200, I believe), and finally they no longer have to coast on their demo. Although to fully appreciate the band, you need to see their bright, shining faces live and possibly get whipped with a microphone cord when Tim is dancing around (Thomas), this ablum goes a long way towards capturing their brilliance. If you're not too concerned about keeping up your tough-guy/girl image and can briefly escape your thick shell of cynicism, they're a wonderful change of pace. Oh, and they use a French horn, too, which always gets points with me.


***
Apollo Sunshine
Katonah

7/4/04: I'm pretty sure I caught the Pitchfork review of this album at some point, but I don't remember paying it too much attention. David happened to hear them open up for the Apples in Stereo and bought the album, and I heard it while I was up there visiting him. My first thoughts were, "Hey, this is pretty good." It's mostly sort of power pop, but with some psychadelic elements thrown in as well. It reminds me a bit of Ben Folds Five with some elements of psychadelic rock collective Elephant Six thrown in. I haven't listened to this one a ton, but it's got potential.


***
The Velvet Underground
White Light/White Heat

7/4/04: The Velvet Underground are one of those legendary bands you always hear about. In my case, I had never really taken the time to listen to them, but thanks to the matter of file sharing, I really started to enjoy their self-titled album. So, wanting to hear more, I picked this up (and for cheap, too!). I don't like it as well as the self-titled album, but it's pretty good. I'm not completely familiar with it, so I'll refrain from commenting more.


***
Nick Drake
Made To Love Magic

6/22/04: Like many, I first found out about Nick Drake when "Pink Moon" played on a commercial for the Volkswagon Cabrio. Thinking it sounded like Belle & Sebastian, I asked on the B&S mailing list and was told about Nick Drake. He was a folk singer in the 70s who recorded three perfect albums and then died of a prescription drug overdose. After reading some reviews, I took the plunge and ordered the Fruit Tree boxed set, and have certainly never regretted it. If you've never heard his music, you really should give it a try.

This is one of two collections of material unreleased on his three studio albums. There's significant overlap between the two, and there's some excellent bits on both albums, but it's really only for completeists. Of course, that would include myself.


***
Wilco
A Ghost Is Born

6/22/04: After a false start, I loved Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. It was the best album of 2002, and I thought it was absolutely brilliant from start to finish. Of course, I was excited to find out that Wilco's followup was coming soon.

Sadly, I'm disappointed. I think I would have liked this album more had it not followed YHF. It's like that album in a lot of ways, but it's missing the electronics and production (with the exception of one track), and seems a bit flat by comparison. It's also slower and, mostly, quieter. It would seem like a natural progression from their three albums previous to YHF, but instead, it feels more like a regression. Not that it's a bad album. There's a lot of beauty here, but the songs are stretched out, and it's a demanding listening. I think it's going to be a rewarding listen, but to me it still feels like a far cry from what is now one of my favorite albums.


***
Sennheiser PX100

6/21/04: There was a week when I took my Grados into lab so that I could enjoy them while I was doing my listening at work. I had never intended that to be a permanent thing, as they're a both a bit big and a bit expensive to cary around much. So, as much as I thought I had kicked my headphone-buying habit, I started looking for a new pair.

The wonderful folks at Headroom helped me pick between these Sennheisers, several Shure earplug models, and some larger Sennheisers. These, for the price ($40), are really an excellent little set of headphones. First, they're very portable; they're collapsible and they come with a nice little carrying case. The sound is pretty good; better than any other pair of headphones I've heard except for the Grados (though I'll readily admit that the Grados are the nicest thing I've listened to). They've got good frequency response, good detail, and just lack a bit of the Grados' clarity. I'd recommend them to anyone looking for headphones of this size.


***
The Shins
Oh, Inverted World

6/10/04: Win burned this for me quite some time ago (Christmas 2001, perhaps?), along with Neutral Milk Hotel. NMH took off immediately; the Shins I never really got into. Their new album came out last fall, to nearly universal acclaim, andthough it took me a while to get into it, when I did, it pulled me back into this album as well, so I picked it up when I was at their show.

I really think this is my preferred album of the two. The production is distant, mist-shrouded, and just feels more like the Shins to me. Their new album is less distinctive. Paradoxically, this album also evokes the Beach Boys much more frequently than the second album, which, to me, is a plus.


***
Guster
Guster On Ice

6/6/04: I wrote at length about my long, steady relationship with Guster (as opposed to, say, my infatuation with the Postal Service, or my puppy love with Death Cab and Modest Mouse) when Keep It Together was released (almost a year ago!), so I won't tell that story again, but sufficie it to say that Guster is still a band who bring me much happiness. This is their latest, a live DVD/CD.

The CD is enjoyable, though not spectacular. The DVD, however, is excellent. The DTS mastering sounds absolutely wonderful (particularly on my newly all-NHT system), and there's nice use of surround sound throughout. The concert was staged for the purpose of this DVD, which makes everything a little artificial, but still, nicely done overall.


***
Belle & Sebastian
Fans Only

6/6/04: When I first got into Belle & Sebastian in 1999, and even more so before that, they were a bit of a mystery. They wouldn't release clear photographs of themselves, they kept a low media profile, and I didn't have a chance to see them in concert until 2002. All I had to go on was the music, the fictitious writings and the staged two-color photographs in the liner notes.

It changed somewhat when I saw them on tour in Austin for the first time. Around the same time, they were beginning to have a higher media profile as well. I saw them again last fall, but I didn't feel that I knew them the way I knew the memembers of other bands.

The main positive thing I can say about this DVD is that it gives you a chance to get to know the band. Beyond that, it's a haphazard collection of clips and amateurish music videos. I can't recommend it terribly highly, but if all you want is to learn a little more about who these people are, it does serve that purpose quite well.


***
NHT SB1

5/14/04: About a year ago, I began the process of buying a home theater system. Thanks to graduation money, I was able to buy my competent Onkyo receiver and my beautiful NHT SB3 front speakers. After moving into my apartment, I had room to set things up properly, and thanks to my uncle, I inherited a (very) small pair of Sony rear speakers, a Sony center, and a pair of Technics towers. The Technics went in my bedroom and do a serviceable job of playing music whenever I happen to be hanging in there. The center got hooked up and promptly turned off because it muddies up the clarity and detail of my fronts. The rears went up, and, because they don't have a lot of work to do, sufficed.

I think that it was the first time that I watched X-Men 2 that weaknesses of the rears became apparent, and so I started thinking about somethingt to replace them. When I bought the 5.1 mix of Yoshimi earlier this year, that sealed things. I waited until my tax return came, and then ordered this new pair of NHT SB1s. They're matched to my fronts, and perform admirably well. They handle movies and audio quite well.

My system is coming along quite nicely. I still need a center and a subwoofer. The lack of a subwoofer has been bothering me a bit lately; despite the surprising abilities of my SB3s, they don't have quite the punch of a sub. The NHT SW12 is fairly expensive, though, so it may be a while. As for the center channel, I've often heard it recommended to just pick up anoter SB3, but it seems like there has to be some reason that NHT makes a sepparate center model (the SC2). Either way, those purchases are a ways away yet...


***
Modest Mouse
Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks

5/8/04: This was my other purchase at Soundwaves the day I picked up Franz. I had also previously downloaded this, abiding by my new don't-buy-anything-you-haven't-heard-before policy. It combines the Night On The Sun EP with some other b-sides. This is sort of a double EP, so I'll go through it song by song.

"Willful Suspension of Disbelief" and "Night On The Sun" are thoroughly solid tracks, the kind that Modest Mouse can always be counted on to write. The latter in particular, to me, evokes some Moon And Antarctica moments. "3 Inch Horses" expands on a little inter-track diddy found on that album as well, and while it's nice to see where that random bit came from, I don't find it particularly thrilling. "You're The Good Things" and "So Much Beauty In Dirt" are the type of songs I love to hear from Modest Mouse, though they're a bit rare sometimes. They're the softer side of Isaac Brock, the vulnerable side, the part of every person that loves a nice, wussy Belle & Sebastian song. "The Air" and "Here It Comes", I'll confess, haven't made any measurable impact on my brain, as I can remember nothing of them at this moment. I have no idea why they felt the need to include "I Came As A Rat" on here, but it's here.

Still, there's at least four really excellent songs on here that are worth the price of admission, two of which could easily become personal Modest Mouse favorites of mine.


***
Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand

5/8/04: On first listen, I thought this sounded like Interpol. Considering how long it took me to get into that particular record (which I enjoy, but am still not a huge fan of), I didn't really dig this much on the first listen. Subsequently, though, it unfolded quite nicely. It's got some of the early eighties Interpol vibe to it, but it's also got its disco-influenced moments, a strokes sort of swagger, and some nice homoerotic undertones.

Walking into school one day from the bus, wearing my new aviator shades (Rebecca said I needed to move past the nineties, apparently into the eighties), and pumping Franz throught he iPod, I felt thoroughly badass and pimpin'. And really, don't we all need as many albums that gives us that feeling as we can get?


***
Stars
Nightsongs

5/8/04: My addiction to Heart and my thorough enjoyment of Stars' set when opening for Broken Social Scene led me to order, then, growing impatient, download this album. I've only given it a few thorough listens, and some partial listens, but it's not quite as tight as their new album, which I thoroughly recommend. But maybe these songs need some time to work themselves into my brain.


***
Ben Kweller
On My Way

4/5/04: I've only listened a couple of times, but this is an interesting path for Ben to take. Every song was recorded live, and consequently the record has sort of an "old" sound to it. An aesthetic that is similar to the White Stripes' Elephant, but with a different sound as well. Pitchfork said in their review of Sha Sha that Ben's best song was "Lizzie" where he sounded the most like himself and the least like Ben Folds/Ben Lee/Rivers Cuomo, and perhaps that is the direction he's taken hear. I can't yet say whether this is a good album, but it's a fun listen.


***
Modest Mouse
Baron Von Bullshit Rides Again

4/3/04: I'm not sure how an album released by the band can be a "unofficial bootleg" but that's what this is billed as. Although a proper Modest Mouse live album, in my mind, would probably be a double album (or at least fill up one disc), and perhaps have a different set of songs, this has some great performances on it. There's something liberating about hearing songs in a new context that gives you a new appreciation for them, removing them from their usual surroundings in a studio album--they become independent of the album they're normally tied to and can be appreciated on their own. If you're a Mouse fan, pick this up.


***
Modest Mouse
Good News For People Who Love Bad News

4/3/04: Modest Mouse's new album, which I've had downloaded for a month or so, is excellent. It's a very hard feat to surpass their masterpiece The Moon and Antarctica, and perhaps this album doesn't in terms of its jaw-dropping beauty. But it is a much more intimate album, speaking of the pains of life and death instead of the lonliness of Moon. Highly recommended.

As far as the sound goes, this is still recognizable as a Modest Mouse album in the same way that Moon, for all its departure from previous Mouse style, was still recognizable. Like Moon, there's a little more variation, and maybe some lighter moments than traditional Mouse material. One complaint I have is the Tom Waits-ish moments (particularly "Devil's Workday"), which don't quite fit with the rest of the record. The effect is creepy and clever, but it just doesn't fit. Still, apparently, this record is moving quite qickly at retail, and these guys deserve it, particularly for attaining success while still making the incredible music that they've built their career around.


***
The Microphones
It Was Hot, We Stayed In The Water

5/8/04: I really want to like the Microphones, but it's been a slow process. I really loved "Wind to Blow" the first time I heard it on a burned copy of The Glow, Pt. 2, and "I Felt Your Shape" is a wonderful little pop song with special significance to me, but the rest of the album never quite caught on with me. Maybe I tried to listen to it at the wrong times in my life, or maybe I just haven't listened enough, but it hasn't happened yet.

On the other hand, I downloaded this and took a much better liking to it. Perhaps it's because it's shorter and easier to take in. I haven't gotten totally into it yet, but that's entirely normal for me. Maybe once I do some more listening I can speak more intelligently of what differentiates the song-writing and low-fi production of these two albums, but not yet.


***
Stars
Heart

3/26/04: Stars opened for Broken Social Scene (see below), and I was really impressed. I picked up their album, and though it seems decidely more electronic (possibly because of the prevalence of drum machines) than the live show, but I am completely in love with album. And maybe vocalist Amy Millan as well.

Pitchfork compared them to a Canadian Belle and Sebastian, but as much as Stars reminds me of them, they remind me equally of the Postal Service, with the electronics; male/female duets, sensitive, emotional, love-focused lyrics; and my compulsion to listen to the album. This is the most addicted I've been to an album since Give Up. I don't know if it'll last, but it's a lot of fun right now. But where Postal Service is mostly dark lyrics about failed romances and lonliness, Heart's lyrics are much more optimistic and uplifting. This is the kind of album that I'm driven to share with everyone I know, particularly some beautiful, archetypical girl making out with me on my couch.


***
Broken Social Scene
Feel Good Lost

3/21/04: I picked this up at the Broken Social Scene/Stars show at the Proletariat. The show was excellent. I had downloaded this, their first album, already. It's fairly ambient instrumental music, but it's really nice.

However, I'd first recommend their second album, You Forgot It In People. I didn't give it a great review on here, but after seeing them live, I like the album a whole lot better. Excellent work by an excellent band.


***
Modest Mouse
The Moon And Antarctica

3/17/04: I am a consumer whore. This is a rerelease of an album I've already bought. It's been remastered, and has had four live tracks added. The remastering is nice, but, for the most part, barely noticable. The live tracks are nice, but not great. The new cover art's great but not worth the priceof admission.

But, this is one kick-ass album. If you don't own it, this is an excellent time to buy.


***
My Bloody Valentine
Loveless

2/22/04: I had this album recommended to me a couple of times before it showed up as the number two album of the 90s on Best Of list, behind OK Computer and ahead of Neutral Milk Hotel's brilliant In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. This caused Thom to pick it up, and after obtaining a copy from him and thoroughly enjoying it, I looked out for a chance to pick it up, eventually seeking it out at Soundwaves, where the girl that was helping me find it seemed very excited that I was buying it.

This album is great. Incredible use of feedback and distortion to texture the songs. The sound should feel thick, but instead is warm, fuzzy and enveloping. Everything sounds a bit distant, which at first I thought was due to a bad rip, but is instead characteristic of the recording, lending the entire album an ethereal feel; it feels like it could float away on the wind. This is one of those albums that grabbed me from first listen and has been consistently enjoyable and rewarding since then.


***
The Microphones
Live In Japan

2/22/04: After only finding one album I was looking for at Cactus, the next day I decided to expand my horizons and checked out Soundwaves on Montrose (in Houston). Their selection is much better, the girls are cuter, and I suspect I'll be doing much more shopping there in the future.

I went with the specific aim of picking up Lovless (see above), but thought I would go ahead and make the trip completely worthwhile by picking up something else as well. The last of the trio of albums I was looking for was It Was Hot, We Stayed In The Water (another recent download), but they didn't have it. I briefly considered The Glow, pt. 2 but instead picked this up on impulse, as The Glow has never really caught on with me.

It's funny to hear a live album which is "better" recorded than a band's studio output. I think these recordings suffer a bit from the lack of unique textures that Phil Elvrum's studio treatments give to the songs, but this is a fresh batch of songs with a K Records all-star cast. There's some really great stuff on here, and it's well worth a listen.


***
Modest Mouse
This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About

2/21/04: I've been enjoying a renewed interest in Modest Mouse as of late. Lonesome Crowded West was never an album that I felt particularly comfortable with, but I listened to it one day and very much enjoyed it. After that, it quickly became a question of, "Why don't I own everything Modest Mouse has ever released?". I snagged mp3s of this from Thom, listened a few times, and enjoyed it. So, when CD buying time came, I went to cactus, and this was the only album that I could find that I was interested in buying (more on that above).

My memories of this album before buying it are fletting bits from the summer of 2002. I had just started listening to The Moon and Antarctica, and a lot of people seemed to be starting to listen to Modest Mouse. So, I heard this album a couple of times, but wasn't terribly impressed. It seemed atmospheric and unfocused, but I've had that experience with a lot of albums that I haven't given a proper listen. The one exception was "Talking Shit About A Pretty Sunrise" which was Courtney's favorite Modest Mouse song at the time, and which I became rather familiar with as a result. My recent experiences with it have been much better, and it now sounds to me like typical Modest Mouse. It's far from the best that Modest Mouse has put out, but it's still a good album from an incredible band. Speaking of which, the new album is due out soon, and I've been listening to a prerelease thanks to the wondersof the internet. I'll review it when it's released.


***
Miles Davis
Kind Of Blue

2/14/04: I was at Best Buy as part of my traditional Valentine's Day/half-birthday gift-buying (for myself) which consisted of picking up some blank CDs, Metroid: Zero Mission, and looking for a CD to buy. Since Best Buy sucks at music most of the time, I couldn't find what I wanted (My Bloody Valentine's Loveless which should be showing up on this page soon). I was walking past some of the end-cap displays and noticed this available as a value-priced CD.

As part of a never-completed CD exchange with Joe, I've had a burned copy of this for quite some time, and have enjoyed it a lot. Jazz, like classical, is a genre which I enjoy immensly but can't really claim to know much about. This, though, is probably as good a place to start as any. Apparently this album was an important event in the history of improvisational jazz. Most of the cuts here were recorded in one take, with minimal arrangements. This album evokes a nice mood that I like. It seems to go nicely with night time, candles, and a glass of wine. Highlighting my personal issues with getting into Jazz, I don't think I can ever quite get my head around this album; I could never completely understand it. That's probably not such a bad thing, though, having an album that can eternally grow on me. This was ten dollars well spent.


***
The Flaming Lips
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots 5.1

1/30/04: The Flaming Lips have rereleased Yoshimi. This contains the original CD, as well as a DVD which contains a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround mix, a DVD-Audio high-resolution 5.1 surround mix, and a DVD-Audio high-resotlution stereo mix. My opinions about Yoshimi have been a bit mercurial. I hated all of the elctronics upon my first listen, but later grew to really like the album. Then I got bored with it for a while, particularly the slower and darker songs. This, though, has completely rejuvenated my love for the album.

The Flaming Lips have a bit of a history of innovation where multiple sound sources are concerned. Zaireeka is four CDs designed to be playes simultaneuosly. It's a bit difficult to set up, and even trying to just use three of the discs, I've never quite been happy with the results, in part because of the varying quality of equipment that occurs when you try to get several devices that can play a CD together at once. I've always thought that project would be excellent if it were put in some sort of home theater surround sound format, and though that still hasn't happened, thid disc shows the possibilities.

Yoshimi is an excellent choice for surround sound. All of the electronics make a lot of sense in surround sound, whereas traditional instruments might sound a bit odd in this context. The mixes are all excellent and very creative. This is a really funy way to experience the album. The visuals that accompany the video portion of the disc go nicely with the music, and the bonus material is a nice touch. The surround mix also does a nice job of revealing details that are a bit buried in the stereo mix.

Sadly, I don't have DVD-Audio (or, for that matter, SA-CD) capabilities in my DVD player. I have been hesitant to buy hardware or media in these formats, as they don't lend themselves to ripping (and thus would be inaccessible to a great deal of my music-listening time). Two things make this album different: the inclusion of the original audio CD and the inclusion of the Dolby Digital mix. The audio CD means that buying this version of the album doesn't lock you into playing it only on your home system. The Dolby Digital mix means that I can enjoy the release now, without any extra hardware. I might buy more of these if more releases followed that pattern, and then might consider buying appropriate hardware in the future. It's an excellent way to drive sales on both ends.

The complaints I have about this release are mainly technical. Is there a reason that the Dolby mix couldn't be high resolution as well? I also have to question the way some of the bass parts are mixed. It doesn't seem that much use was made of the LFE .1 channel, and most of the bass seems directed to the individual speakers. If I had a surround setup which featured five full-size speakers, that would be fine, but many common setups are satellite/subwoofer combos, and the satellites can't handle all of the sound that this mix expects them to. In a similar vein, this has highlighted the divide between my excellent fronts and my crappy surrounds. I'm sure it will eventually inspire me to buy new rears and a center, but damn you Flaming Lips for making me want them all the more.


***
Summer Hymns
Value Series Volume 1: Fool's Gold

1/30/04: Though the blurb on Misra Records' web site bills this as a stylistic return to the earlier Summer Hymns sound, I'm disappointed in it so far. It's a shame, as I was hoping for something better after this summer's competent, but uncompelling "Clemency." It's got ten tracks on it, but in length and quality it's more of an EP. I haven't listened much, but I have enjoyed their cover of George Harrison's beautiful "Behind That Locked Door."


***
Death Cab For Cutie
Forbidden Love EP

1/15/04: Continuing in the Death Cab purchase is this second EP. Thanks to Epitonic, I've had an mp3 of "Photobooth" for quite some time and have enjoyed it thoroughly. It's a nice piece of Death Cab pop, and fits well with their work on The Photo Album. "Techinicolor Girls" would also be at home on that album, though it's more downbeat than "Photobooth." The acoustic version of "405", surprisingly, is more upbeat and bouncy than the dreamier album version, and it's a fun take on the song. "Company Calls Epilogue" sounds more like a demo than an alternate take, and adds little to the album versio of the song. Ultimately, "Photobooth" makes this worth owning. Or you could just download it...


***
Death Cab For Cutie
Stability EP

1/15/04: I've been planning for some time to finish off my Death Cab collection, as they've quickly become one of my favorite and most-listened to bands. One of the last couple of steps in that direction was the purchase of these two EPs. These three songs are much like earlier Death Cab (in the slow-core sense). They're solid songs (the second one is a Bjork cover), though the third one probably stretches out too long. I like it, and I don't mind jamming, but the jamming doesn't really go anywhere. Enjoyable none the less, though.


***
The Bens
The Bens

1/5/04: So I was hella excited when I heard that Ben Folds, Ben Kweller, and Ben Lee were collaborating. Folds is pretty much my all time favorite musician, Kweller's not half bad, and I have a certain amount of respect for Lee as well. I'm sure their tour was incredible. I've had (low quality) mp3s of this for almost a year, and I was excited to get the chance to buy a copy, as it was only on sale on their tour dates in Australia. This EP is merely decent, but it's still really funt o hear three artists that I like making music together. Ben's contribution, "Bruised" is my favorite (yet another song that's been meaningful), Kweller's is decent, but I'm not a big fan of Lee's. What I have also really enjoyed is their contribution to the Hedwig and the Angry Inch tribute album, Wig in a Box, where they cover "Wicked Little Town."


***
Ben Lee
Breathing Tornadoes

12/30/03: A couple of years ago, when Win was distributing his mp3 of the day via AIM, he introduced me to "Cigarettes Will Kill You." I've consistently loved that song, and like others, it has taken on new meaning in recent months. A year or so ago I downloaded five or six other songs by him and enjoyed them well enough. He had been on my list of potential buys for quite some time (despite a relative lack of critical recommendations) based on the strength of "Cigarettes Will Kill You" and his membership in The Bens (Folds/Kweller/Lee, see aobve). Finally, I happened to be at Hasting's with a gift certificate and was making a couple of picks from their rather limited selection (see Ego Tripping below). So I finally picked this up, and it's fairly mediocre for the most part. It's not bad, and I'll give it some time and it may turn out to have previously un-realized merits.


***
The Flaming Lips
Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell EP

12/30/03: I couldn't recommend the purchase of the last Lips EP, but this one is a definite improvement. I still overpaid, due to shopping at Hasting's, but thankfully, that was with a gift certificate. The new tracks on this EP are good, and could have easily fit with the anime pop of Yoshimi. The remixes are, as usual, iffy, though the Postal Service remix of "Do You Realize?" is worth a listen.


***
Spoon
Girls Can Tell

12/23/03: Shortly after I bought Kill The Moonlight, Bryan downloaded this album, and I listened to it on several occasions before, nine months later, I finally bought it. Buying albums that I have already downloaded/burned is largely a matter of convenience. It's much easier to buy a new CD that I've never heard that's right in front of me than to buy a CD that I've been listening to for a long time legally when I have to order it online. This showed up on a recent trip to Hasting's, and I decided it was time for me to own this album.

Spoon's sparse but precise rock took some time to get into, but I've enjoyed both of the albums I own quite a bit. That enjoyment increased after seeing them open up for Belle & Sebastian and having the opportunity to hear their tight live performance. There are some great pop songs here, and Britt's voice is a wonderful reason to love this band as well. I recommend giving this album a listen.


***
Owsley
The Hard Way

12/13/03: It's been almost four and a half years since Owsley's last album. Owsley wasn an album of solid power pop. It didn't achieve the brilliance of Fountains of Wayne or Ben Folds Five, but it was a fun listen. Label politics pushed this album back until Owsley finally decided to self-release this album.

Owsley has changed his sound quite a bit. The songs are less power pop and more power ballads and power anthems. He seems to be singing in a lower register as well. When I first heard the album, I thought that Owsley had sold out to the standards of modern rock radio, but the more I listen to it, the more of Owsley that shows through. I wouldn't reccomend this whole-heartedly as I would many albums, but if you're an Owsley fan, you'll want to give it a chance.


***
The Wrens
The Meadowlands

11/30/03: Bryan first downloaded this after Pitchfork sung its praises. After rereading the review, I downloaded it and played it in the background while I was on the phone. At some point I was taken aback when I heard something and suddenly realized that I was listening to a really excellent album. Despite that, it took me a while to give it a thorough listen. I relegated it to background status for a month or so.

While I was in New Orleans, I stopped in at the Virgin Megastore (dirty, I know) to see if they had anything I'd been having trouble finding. The Wrens was my only success in that area, so I picked it up. I read the lyrics that evening, and was struck by the beautiful descriptions of broken relationships and dreams that they contained. Some of them spoke very closely to where I am in life these days, and this album has really meant a lot to me over the past couple of months.

Plus, it's really good. It's vaguely emo-ish in the same way as Death Cab, but the music's probably a little harder. It's a good, solid rock album that holds together beautifully thematically. It's one of my favorite releases of 2003.


***
The Beatles
Let It Be... Naked

11/20/03: The Beatles recorded material for Get Back, almost broke up, reconvened to record Abbey Road (something to be thankful for) and the called it quits, leaving Phil Spector to make something of the aborted Get Back project, and Let It Be was the result. Beatles canon goes that the group disapproved of the addtions that Spector made to the album, which was originally intended to be recorded live. There is some question about whether the group as a whole felt that way, or if it was just the more vocal Paul McCartney. Over thirty years later, the album has been remastered and rereleased, and this is, in theory, the album as it was intended to be heard.

The instrumental changes are noticeable, but whether they make much difference is still in question. "The Long And Winding Road", "Let It Be" (both McCartney songs) and "Across The Universe" have been stripped of overdubs. Let It Be benefits, but the single version (also without overdubs) is superior the version presented here. The inclusion of "Don't Let Me Down" is something that should hve occured on the original album, but once again, a superior version was available on a single. Other songs are present in alternate versions as well, and this does not seem to have improved things.

What makes this worth owning, truly, is the remastering. The album sounds much more modern, with better stereo mixing (older production techinques seem to put most instruments to once side or another, failing to create a realistic soundstage) and also much more detail and clarity overall. This makes me wish that the rest of the Beatles catalog would get an update as well, as it's a joy to be able to hear new things in albums that I have loved for years. I just hope that if this occurs, things don't get fixed that aren't broken.


***
The Shins
Chutes Too Narrow

10/28/03: The Shins do an excellent job of evoking 60s psychadelia. This album (and their previous one) haven't exactly captured my attention, though. Their pop fails to properly hook me the way I like an album to. I'll try to update this if I ever get around to listening to this in more depth.


***
The Strokes
Room On Fire

10/28/03: The Strokes return with more of the same. There isn't much new here, with the exception of a few keyboards and handclaps that slightly update the band's sound, but those are so scattered that ultimately, this album is comparable to Is This It?. That's not a bad thing, though, as what the Strokes do, they do quite well. If you liked their first album, you'll enjoy this, and if you didn't, you might want to reevaluate the band based on their fresth material. Ultimately, though, little has changed.


***
Death Cab For Cutie
Transatlanticism

10/7/03: So, for the first time since the beginning of my Death Cab addiction, they have a new album out. This album is closer to the pop of The Photo Album than the slowcore of their earlier albums, and once again Ben's clever lyrics and catchy melodies take center stage. This time, though, there is more stylistic variation than in the past. There are some good pop ("Title and Registration", "The Sound of Settling", "Death of an Interior Decorator"), some good anthems ("The New Year", "Tiny Vessels"), and some good, touching ballads ("A Lack oOf Color").

I still think that Death Cab has an absolutely perfect album to make, and this isn't it. There are some mediocre tracks ("Lightness", "Passenger Seat"), and there are some songs that have spectacular bits that fail follow through ("Transatlanticism"). Picking a favorite DCfC album is still difficult. They all have many moments of brilliance, but fail to be completely consistent. The perfect songs in the reperetoire give me hope that one day they will produce a truly great album.


***
Belle & Sebastian
Dear Catastrophe Waitress

10/7/03: Belle & Sebastian have failed to maintain the greatness of their first two albums. The Boy With The Arab Strap and Fold Your Hands, Child, You Walk Like A Peasant had some excellent bits but were inconsistent overall. Waitress expands on the orchestral pop of Peasant and recent singles, but the simple beauty of earlier B&S albums is present only in spots. Most of the songs are good in their own right, and the arrangements are stronger and have more instrumental variety than in the past. This almost seems like a new band, though. "Piazza, New York Catcher", "Wrapped Up In Books", and "Lord Anthony" display the B&S that I like best, but the newer stylings aren't without charm. Still, I preferred the older material to the newer when I saw them touring in support of this album.


***
Ben Folds
Sunny 16

9/30/03: This is the second in Ben's series of three EPs (although the third is on hold). I thought I enjoyed Speed Graphic, but by comparison to this album, it looks flat and uninspired.

It starts off with "There's Always Someone Cooler Than You" which is very much in the traditional Ben Folds vein, and reminds me a lot of older Ben Folds Five material such as "Underground". "You've Got To Learn To Live With What You Are" is a nice example of Ben Folds' balladry. "All U Can Eat", like the first track, displays typical Ben Folds pop, but represents his only stab at a political song, skewering American excess. "Rock Star" sees Ben once again writing a waltz, and that combined with the character it sketches brings to mind "Boxing". Ben closes with a Divine Comedy cover (and, once again, a waltz), "Songs Of Love" which displays Neil Hanon's typical wit and wordplay and is a competent reading by Folds.

Although most of these pieces are typical Ben, like Speed Graphic, but in this case, they transcend being simply another example of Ben Folds style and maintain strong consistency throughout the EP.


***
Dave Matthews
Some Devil

9/26/03: When I first heard that Dave Matthews was making a solo album, I was afraid. I thought may he had observed John Mayer's recent top fourty successÑand Mayer is little more than Dave Matthews with better pop skills and a marked decrease in jammingÑand would try to emulate it. I expected Everyday part two. Instead, I have been pleasantly surprised. It now seems that Everyday's medocrity can be attributed to producer/writer Glen Ballard, and that instead, the temporary removal of Dave Matthews from his band has allowed him to explore some different styles and instrumentations. The result is an album that is much more low-key than most DMB albums (though it has much in common with the recent Busted Stuff), but is consistent and a pleasant listen. It's nice to ocasionally see that my cynicism is unfounded.


***
Liz Phair
Liz Phair

9/20/03: After reading the reviews of this, and hearing the singles, I felt that the mature decision was to not purchase it. I, however, secretly wanted it anyway, particularly after the singles wrapped themselves around my brain and I got to where I enjoyed them. Rachal gave this to me after she realized that I wanted it yet ws hesitant to buy it, and I've learned a lesson about guilty pleasures being ok.

For those who haven't heard, this was Liz's concerted effort at becoming a top 40 pop star. She hired the Matrix (who were largely responsible for Avril Lavigne's career) to write and produce four songs on the album, and the results were fairly Avril-esque. Still, radio-friendly pop as sung by Liz proves to be enjoyable enough. I understand the goal of this album, but as I listen, I find myself wondering why certain things were written/recorded the way they were. A certain bridge will just break the momentum of the song, or strings added for sentimental effect come off as sounding tacky when the lyrical content of the song already makes the effect work. Still, it's a fun record, despite its inconsistencies. Just don't expect it to compare to Exile in Guyville.


***
Cat Power
You Are Free

9/11/03: Chan Marshall is Cat Power. I had heard that name for some time, but seeing this album listed in Pitchfork's "Best New Music" section inspired me to pick it up. It's prescious, low-key pop. The songs are well-written and insightful, but after only a couple of listens, the album seems a bit monotonous. More to come...


***
Death Cab For Cutie
The Photo Album

9/11/03: I've been listening to this album for about six months. I picked up a copy for Thom to begin with, but burned a copy for myself. This is probably the most accessible and tightest Death Cab album, and it was a good introduction for me. There are a couple of low points ("We Laugh Indoors", "Information Travels Faster" and "Coney Island") which, in my mind, fall short of the perfection that the rest of the songs on this album achieve. They're not bad, though, and I recommend this without reservation. The rest of the tracks are wonderful pop songs, written with insightful, original and very clever lyrics. I felt bad for not buying a copy, so I took care of this as part of a larger order from Amazon.


***
Ugly Casanova
Sharpen Your Teeth

8/9/03: This is a Modest Mouse side project. I've not listened much, so expect a more thorough writeup later.


***
Broken Social Scene
You Forgot It In People

8/3/03: This might be the most obscure thing I've bought in recent memory (excluding releases by Waco bands), but the Pitchfork crowd has been raving about this for some time. They're from Toronto, Canadia (I asked a Canadian friend if she had heard of them; she hadn't) and are some sort of Canadian pop consortium super group. This album has a lot of variety and some good moments, but would seem to lack some cohesion. Expect more to come on this one.


***
The Postal Service
Such Great Heights and The Disctric Sleeps Alone Tonight

7/27/03: So, what haven't I said about the wonderful Postal Service? They aren't terribly critically acclaimed. Maybe it's because, as I remarked before, they're bordering on precious. Perhaps it's because the electronics aren't anything terribly new or different. I still think that the outright combination of indie rock (particularly Ben Gibbard's songwriting) and IDM production is brilliant. Then there's the fact that it's smooth, smooth, beautiful, soothing music. I love it. I found these two singles cheap, and had been eyeing them because Such Great Heights contains two covers of Postal Service songs by other artists on the Sub Pop label, and an unreleased Postal Service cut. The District single contains remixes (I'm not a fan) and a Flaming Lips cover (sweet). The material's decent enough, though I'd certainly recommend this only if you're a hard core fan. Otherwise, just make sure you own the album! For me, I just wanted more Postal Service.


***
Ben Folds
Speed Graphic

7/24/03: Ben Folds is, perhaps, my favorite musician of all time. Thanks to the influence of David Lane, I became a big Ben Folds Five fan, and have continued to closely follow Ben's solo career. Ben recently decided that he wanted to record and release music quickly through downloads and direct sales of three five-song EPs. This is the first to be released. It had the honor of topping Beyonce Knowles on the Billboard digital music charts.

Thanks to the brevity of the EP format, I can tackle each of the songs individually. "In Between Days" is a Cure cover, and Ben has done a nice job of translating the song into his own style, but it's a fairly straightforward translation. "Give Judy My Notice" is a typical (perhaps even mediocre) Ben Folds ballad. "Protection" and "Dog" are old (early Ben Folds Five, perhaps?) songs, and are great examples of Ben's older work. It's refreshing to hear his older style of songwriting, and the result evokes his work on Ben Folds Five's self-titled first album. On "Dog" however, Ben has chosen to include a tape of a phone call from his wife which occured during the taping of the vocal track. It's clever the first time you hear it, but becomes less so with each additional listen. "Wandering" is a lost collaboration between Folds and former Ben Folds Five drummer Darren Jessee collaboration from the film 100 Girls. It almost falls into the same predictable niche as "Judy" but the lyrics are more creative, and the confessional tone makes the song a little more memorable in my eyes.

The best thing about this EP was the novel method of release and the prospect of new Folds material. Most of his work with Ben Folds Five is superior to the material here, but this EP is still fun and highly recommended for Folds fans.

***
Liz Phair
Exile in Guyville

7/9/03: I had heard (from Win?) that this was considered a classic album, but in my mind I had always classified Liz with the Lillith Fair set (maybe it's a Phair/Fair thing?). I did, however, get to see her open up for the Flamin Lips on their recent tour. I really enjoyed her songwriting style, and the hot skirt she was wearing didn't hurt. Anyway, I sampled a few mp3s (once again, filesharing leads to record sales) and enjoyed them. I was tempted to pick up her new album, but I've headed the warning so far and steared clear of its Avril-ness. Win had Whip Smart which I burned, but I found a copy of this hiding amongst the stack of Liz Phair discs at Best Buy, and picked it up to enjoy on my trip to France. I haven't listened to it a whole lot, but I've enjoyed it, and it seems a much more solid album thanWhip Smart or her other material (particularly the new album).


***
Guster
Keep It Together

6/24/03: I suppose I should begin by giving a history of my sordid love affair with Guster. I first heard them mentioned on the Ben Folds Five mailing list in the context of "acoustic jam bands" such as Dave Matthews Band and Vertical Horizon (though VH is not in any way a jam band after their monstrous sell out, but I digress). I didn't pay them much attention, though the name was then stored in my subconscious. One night in spring, 2000, while on the internet and putting off Latin homework, I happened to notice they were performing on Kilborn, right before my customary switch to Conan. I watched Conan, but switched back to see Guster (choosing them over, perhaps, the Foo Fighters). They played "Fa Fa Fa" and it was incredible. I read some reviews, and forgetting the name of the song I had just heard, downloaded "Barrel of a Gun" from the then-active Napster. I couldn't stop listening to it. I finally picked up their latest album, Lost and Gone Forever from Best Buy within the week, and although I wasn't impressed on my first listen, the other songs quickly seeped into my brain to join "Barrel". It was all I listened to for a week. It was incredible. I started referring to it as "audio heroin." I got my friends hooked. We noticed that a typewriter was used as a percussion instrument on one song. It made me happy on those mornings when I had to get up early and didn't want to do so. I picked up their two earlier albums, and though there were moments of brilliance, there was just nothing that quite indicated the greatness that was to come.

Just over three years later, after waiting and waiting for more of this brilliance, I finally got to pick up the new album. I had snapped up the two mp3s they had released last fall and listened to them obsessively. They offered "Amsterdam" as an mp3 single, but only through Paypal, and seeing as I didn't want to have somebody steal a grand from my credit card again, I resisted. More sogs were available for streaming from their web site, and I listened to them. The new album even showed up two weeks early in the iTunes music store, and I resisted the temptation to download it early and pay for it twice. The release date finally came, I picked up the album, put it in, and wasn't even a bit disappointed. It lived up to the standard set by the last album. Wonderful sonic textures, great, catchy songwriting, great instrumentation, and inventive use of their traditional instruments. This was great Beatles/Simon & Garfunkel/Beach Boys pop. I still love it. The new album breaks with tradition by using a drum kit in many spots, instead of the traditional hand drums, but I'm willing to overlook that, because the music is still just as good. I have another album that bestows an instant sense of hapiness, contentment, and well-being, and that is something to for which to be thankful.


***
Fountains of Wayne
Welcome Interstate Managers

6/10/03: Win got me started on Fountains of Wayne with their first album, and then their second album came out when I was a senior in high school. I thoroughly enjoyed both albums. This one is more solid, fun power pop. I'm not sure if it is as good as the first two albums (yet), but it's a lot of fun. Win's first words on hearing it were "Damn it, this is just pop. It shouldn't be this much fun."


***
Radiohead
Hail To The Thief

6/10/03: This seems pretty good. It's certainly a much more even album than Amnesiac, which, for all of the talk about it being a sepparate album, really just felt like a b-sides compilation to complement Kid A. It isn't as groundbreaking as Kid A or OK Computer, and it doesn't rock as hard as OK Computer or The Bends. It's still a great Radiohead album though, and maybe with more listens, it will grow into something more.


***
Summer Hymns
Clemency

6/9/03: I adore Summer Hymns. I first saw them open up for Elf Power in New York when we went to that show on a whim. I could find almost nothing on them when I looked afterwards, but a year later, looking at the Good Records site, I saw them on one of the GR staff member's year-end best-of list, so I picked it up the next time I was at GR. They play a really great southern folk/indie rock sound. This is their new album, which I have a few weeks early because I ordered from the record label's site. It's a little cleaner and more commercial sounding. Having given it a few listens, it seems to be missing some of the style and diverse instrumentation of the first two albums, and sounds like sort of a slow alt-country album. I probably owe it a few more listsens before a judge it.


***
Death Cab For Cutie
Something About Airplanes

6/1/03: Still feeding the Death Cab addiction. More excellent pop, but not as refined as the later albums. Still good, but I think We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes is more consistent, and The Photo Album has the very best songs. Still, I can't get enough Death Cab, and any of their albums is better than none of them.


***
NHT SuperAudio SB3

5/15/03: These are the centerpiece of my new system. I originally had picked out a pair of Polk RTi38s, but then I heard them. They sounded like crap, but then again, that could be blamed on Fry's setup. It's hard to know. What I do know is that I was not impressed with them, and I wasn't going to pay that much money for them if I didn't like them. Nick recommended NHTs to me, so we tracked down a home theater store in Austin that sells them. It was so wonderful to go to a place with knowledgable salespeople. They guy there took about half an hour to play different models for me from a CD I had burned for the occasion (never pick speakers based on unfamiliar music). I was ready to pick, and I thought it was the SB2 model that I had been listening to ($400), which was already more than I had planned on spending, but then I realized that I had been listening to the SB3s ($600). I left to think about what to do. I found a pair of "scratch and dent" SB3s on Crutchfield for $450, and I decided that for $100 over what I had planned on spending, that was well worth it. I feel the least bit bad about not buying from the theater store in Austin, but I just couldn't spend that much on speakers. Anyway, these are absolutely goregeous. My goal was to find something as good as my Grado SR60s, and I did. Great detail, imaging, crisp highs, big bass. Honestly, if I get a sub to go with these, I doubt I could distinguish them from pricier speakers. This may be the upper limit of my ability to discern. Anyway, I'm a happy man. Now for the other seven speakers I "need" (3 surround, center channel, a bedroom set, and a sub) to complete my system.


***
Onkyo TX-SR 501

5/15/03: I finally took the dive into a serious home audio setup. I spent way too much money, but I'm happy, and now that I've made this first step, I can add on bits and pieces until I have a nice surround setup in addition to a nice stereo setup. This is my receiver. 65 strong watts per 6 channels, 6.1 support, Dolby and DTS, component video switching. It's not particularly glamorous, but it gets the job done quite well. I was particularly pleased that they added the component video and 6.1 a week before I bought it. Excellent timing. It also supports a set of alternate main speakers, which will be an excellent way to put some music in the bedroom of my apartment.


***
Wilco
Being There

5/10/03: Continuing to feed my longings for more Wilco, I picked this up. I haven't found it to be nearly as beautiful or interesting as their latter two albums, but I should spend some more time with it. It has its moments, I suppose.


***
Apple iPod 10 GB

5/7/03: Well, time for another audio equipment blurb. I recently had the opportunity to sell my 5 GB model to someone who was looking for a used one and decided to take the opportunity to grab one of the new models. The old iPods were impressively small, but still a bit bulky for certain activities. The new ones are significantly slimmer, moving below the pack-of-cards thickness, on down to more of a PDA thickness. It fits wonderfully in my pocket and isn't too big for a shirt pocket, either. Also, all the buttons are electro-sensitive now, rather than being physical buttons. Particularly with the scroll wheel, this means more durability. Durability is better all the way around, with the headphone jack better protected, and the surface less susceptible to scratches. Getting to double my storage was a nice benefit, as well. I'm very pleased.


***
The Postal Service
Give Up

5/4/03: As a general rule, I hate techno and dance music.