"Double the pleasure, double the fun." --Doublemint gum commercials

Because I'm a little behind, I thought I would double-up today with two of my favorite jazz saxophonists: John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman.

The first album is the Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane live At Carnegie Hall. The two sets on the album are from a benefit concert in November 1957. Monk and Coltrane complement each other very well. Coltrane's smooth solos dance over Monk's quirky piano melodies. On the faster numbers, Monk dances across the keys of the piano, while Coltrane runs up and down the range of the saxophone, leaving the listener in awe of his sheer technical skills. But when the quartet slows the tempo, Monk's unique chords and his beautiful melodies provide a strong foundation for him and Coltrane to play absolutely heartbreaking lines, rich with emotion and vibrato.

The album closes with an incomplete recording of one of my favorite tunes on the album, "Epistrophy" (a full version closes the first set). The feeling of wanting more after hearing it fade out before Monk's solo is the same feeling that the entire album leaves the listener with; one just wishes there were more of this sweet, saxophony goodness.

The next album, live At the "Golden Circle" Stockholm, Volume Two by the Ornette Coleman trio is another one of my favorites. Coleman, a saxophone player, begins the album with a violin, followed by trumpet. As the drums and bass lay down a fast, off-kilter "beat" (if it can be called as much), Coleman displays his prowess at both free jazz improvisation and two instruments he doesn't usually play. He follows "Snowflakes and Sunshine" with the beautiful "Morning Song." Coleman's sound lilts with the melody that never seems to really begin or end. On the faster numbers, like "The Riddle," Coleman shows off his technical abilities with long solos of nonstop runs.

Throughout the album, Coleman's Trio alternates between frantic, almost frenetic lines of melody and improvisation, and long, harmony-challenging melodies. This album is among my favorites because it does just that, and it defies conventional jazz thinking.

"Sometimes paranoia's just having all the facts." --William S. Burroughs

Okay, so I'm late again. Yesterday's album was As Far as the Eye Can See by People in Planes. I really enjoyed this album. It was a pretty straight-forward alternative rock album, but the lyrics are what really got me a couple of times. Gareth Jones seems to be a little paranoid when it comes to issues involving his head and machines. The biggest single from this album is entitled "If You Talk Too Much (My Head Will Explode)." In one song, he sings the line "I'm a machine, but I'm a funny colour" several times, and in the final track of the album, he repeats "There's a plate in my head, there's a chip in my head" over and over as well.

Besides the lyrics, the guitar riffs are catchy, and they have a pretty relaxed groove on the slower songs. Despite the fairly modern sound this band has, the listener can really hear the blues and jazz influences in their work. And the lyrics are just...interesting on top of it all.

"Though he would likely hate them all, white people cannot get enough of Che Guevara." --Stuff White People Like

Arular by M.I.A. is an especially appropriate album for today, considering that the civil war in Sri Lanka ended today. The album takes its title from the rapper's father's code name as a member of the Tamil Tigers, the rebel group defeated today in Sri Lanka. This album is perfect for young, white, liberal people, like myself, because we can listen to it without actually admitting we like rap. "It's her socially-conscious, revolutionary lyrics," we can say. "She's rapping for revolution and change." White people don't have to admit that they just like the beat of her songs, or the samples she uses, but they can still roll down all the windows in their dads' Volvos, pump that shit through their oversized-for-their-dads'-Volvos subwoofers, and feel like a badass.

Okay, so I guess what I'm trying to say is that I really like this album, but I have to find any reason other than the music to like about it in order to protect my reputation as a music snob. Listen to it.

“In Vegas, I got into a long argument with the man at the roulette wheel over what I considered to be an odd number.” --Stephen Wright

Today's album, Apologies to the Queen Mary, by Wolf Parade is definitely one of my favorite albums I own. The drums are always keeping time with a different pattern; rarely will the listener hear any sort of “stock” pattern. In addition, the drums meld perfectly with each song, providing a rhythmic complement to the melody, rather than just providing time. The bass is varied, holding the bottom and the tempo at some points, but often creating a countermelody of its own. These both create a firm bottom for the guitar and keys on top. The keys in Apologies to the Queen Mary provide both harmonic and melodic support. Often, in the background, the keys will repeat a figure several times, upon which the guitars build. The most prominent of the guitar figures are the lead guitar lines, which are often inventive, while staying in the style. The lead singer’s plaintive voice lends to the overall driving motion of the band’s sound. It always seems to be moving into a more and more desperate sound.

What I think I like best about this album, though, is that it doesn’t lose energy throughout the entire album. Even the slow songs have that drive to hope or desperation--take your pick. Either way, there is a feeling of progression, until the final song on the album (before the bonus track) completely disorients the listener to time by switching between 7/4 and 4/4 within the song. Overall, the album is just slightly off-kilter, which keeps me on my toes as a listener, and ultimately why I like Wolf Parade’s Apologies to the Queen Mary.

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." --British folk song

Note: I failed to update yesterday, sorry. So I've decided to double-up today. Enjoy!

Caribou’s Andorra is, in many ways, an appropriate follow-up album to Amnesiac. The band’s sometimes-nebulous sound is reminiscent of the ambient style of Radiohead’s work, but overall, Caribou keep a fairly straightforward beat, bringing the listener of both albums back-to-back into the pop realm once again. Andorra has a very light quality; there is little bass or heavy drumming to hold it down. As such, the keys, wind instruments, and other various percussive and electronic effects, along with the very airy vocalist, create more of a “soundscape.”

I like this kind of focus on the whole of the sound, with vocals as just another part of the larger piece and not necessarily always melody. This is opposed to the instrumental works of the songs providing a vehicle for the voice parts which are always the most important, unless there is an instrumental solo. Both approaches have their merits, of course--it’s just refreshing to hear the former style, because it is somewhat rare for the pop world.

I have used the word “unique” several times in my previous posts, but, if you’ll permit me, I would like to use it again to describe Caribou’s sound. Andorra is a pleasant album to listen to, and deftly avoids enough musical cliches to set it apart from other groups, but still remains within a framework that allows for complementary listening within a library.



Antics by Interpol is an album that has the ability to keep minimalism interesting. The drum lines are fairly straightforward, holding the tempo with little deviation from the established pattern. The bass line is very similar, typically straight-eighths; at time, however the bass line is more melodic, but it repeats the pattern throughout the song, once again rarely deviating from the line. There is typically a rhythm guitar part that does just that--holds the rhythm. And over that is usually some sort of melodic guitar part that is also repeated throughout the song.

All of this presents a challenge that Interpol are able to overcome. Even though, throughout the verse, chorus, bridge, etc., these same lines may be continuing, through changes in vocal melody, adding/removing instruments, and (to a lesser extent) dynamic changes, the listener’s interest is held. The band also creates a constant sense of forward motion, even though the tempo may be slower than usual for the rhythmic and melodic style.

I really like Antics, and I am looking forward to Interpol's other albums later in my library.

"Modernism is the enemy." --Henri Rabaud

Radiohead's Amnesiac is a pretty good album. In it you can hear a lot of the influence of 20th century classical and minimalist music composers. The electronic rhythms are inventive, challenging the boundaries of conventional time, like Stravinsky or Messiaen. The keys and other melodic parts are rhythmically challenging as well, in addition to employing unconventional harmonies for a popular band.

In all, I'm impressed that Radiohead have such a unique sound and are still so popular. I enjoy hearing them combine these styles so ecletically. Even though Amnesiac is not the best album they've released, it's still one I'd listen to over Lily Allen any day.

"There's no business like show business." --Annie Get Your Gun

American Idiot is Green Day’s attempt at something between a Bush-Presidency musical diatribe and a pop-punk rock opera. Let’s just say that Green Day is not The Who and American Idiot is no Tommy (though a stage adaptation of the album is slated to open at the Berkeley Repertory Theater in September 2009). Nor are the explicitly anti-Bush lyrics terribly impressive nor influential--need I remind anyone who won the 2004 election, even after the release of this album?

The music is pretty typical Green Day--bright, fast, and loud power chords, with little deviation from a straight-eighth bass line and even louder drums behind it. Billie Joe Armstrong’s voice is just as nasally as ever (so maybe he’ll fit in well in the musical theatre scene).

American Idiot isn’t terrible, but it certainly doesn’t achieve the “grand aspirations” the band admits to having for the album. Its biggest problem is that it didn’t choose between rock opera or stinging reflection of popular American unrest. Songs like “Holiday” and “American Idiot”--two of the album’s singles--just don’t fit with the story that plays out through the rest of the work. The story attempting to be told doesn’t quite pan out as a story, which is a shame because I feel Green Day could have transmitted their overarching societal message through craftier work within the tale the album begins to sketch. Unfortunately, American Idiot falls short.

For more information about the stage production of American Idiot and citation of my quote see http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/30/theater/30berk.html?_r=2&8dpc

"Novelty...to delight and move the affections of the mind." --Giulio Caccini

NOTE (5/13/2009): This is one of those albums I discovered in my iTunes library that hadn't made it to my iPod by the proper listening time, which is why it is out of alphabetical order.

The Last Shadow Puppets' The Age of the Understatement is an interesting album. An English band, the group has created its own transnational/trans-genre sound. The drums and bass combine in the background to give a Spanish-style feel, while occasional horn-section lines confirm this sound. The guitar parts are less lead than providing chordal accompaniment. Because rhythmic support comes from the bass and drums, the guitars are rarely playing anything very rhythmical, and more often rounding out the chord structure for the songs and the singer. The Last Shadow Puppets also collaborated very liberally with the London Philharmonic, adding a classical feel in some songs and, in some, a sound oddly reminiscent of 1970's TV and film scores. All this amalgamation of style, however, is behind the pretty straightforward English alternative rock vocalizing by Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys and Miles Kane of The Rascals.

These different styles, sounds, and genres all combine to form a unique sound that is a pleasure to listen to. If one listens closely enough, he can pick out at least one of his favorite styles, and hear it performed well.

"Why is it that a woman always thinks that the most savage thing she can say to a man is to impugn his cocksmanship?" --Network

Please don't judge me today. I listened to Lily Allen's Alright Still. Walking down the street, listening to this album, I often got caught up in the pop "hooks," as they call them. That's the main problem with this album: it is catchy. All too often, as I mindlessly began to hum the obnoxious, cookie-cutter pop lines, I was forced to remind myself to "THINK, God damn it." And after the first four or five tracks, I realized that she was often reusing the exact same beat in the background (which would make the beat variance in her songs less than zero, I do believe).

In addition to the terrible music, her lyrics and topics of song are just as repetitive and just as obnoxious. I'm all for feminism and strong, independent women, but it seems to me that when one whines and complains for a whole album about all her troubles with men, it's time to take a more introspective look at dating and relationships.

Ugh. I need to go take a shower after listening to this album.

"'Discovering' oxygen is...closer to, say, discovering America: the meaning of the phrase depends entirely on the perspective." --The Invention of Air

Alphabet Graveyard and my discovery of the band Gentlemen Auction House have a rather interesting story behind them. It all begins on the 7 Train, heading back into Manhattan after watching the Mets beat the Milwaukee Brewers. (Incidentally, the new Citifield is absolutely beautiful, and the old Mets fans who sit in the cheap seats are still so colorful with their language.) My three friends and I wound up in conversation with another quartet of pals who had happened to stumble into the same car as ourselves. After the usual introductory smalltalk, we happened upon the subject of music, which led one of our four new friends to tell us about this band who had been staying in the living room of his apartment for the past couple of days, and who would be playing a (free) show at an apartment uptown the next night. Always up for hearing new bands and seeing live music (especially when it's free!), I exchanged numbers with these fine gentlemen, declined an outing with them to a bar that evening, and transferred trains at Times Square, parting ways.

The next night, I took a train uptown to the apartment where this show was taking place. I had arrived just after their first set had ended, but shortly after they finished their cigarettes, they began their second set, and I fell in love. Gentleman Auction House, hailing from St. Louis, blend indie rock with ska and even some poppier influences. The full-plus-half-kit drums they have support the keyboard foundation for most of the songs, while a skilled guitarist adds both melody and chordal strength to creative lyrics. The bassist, who claims to "play a little bass," and who had played minimal bass until joining Gentleman Auction House, holds a firm line, fitting the style and, at times, providing interesting harmonies to the somewhat minimalist lines of the rest of the group. Though the lone guitarist is also the lead singer, he is often joined by the (only) female keys player, and the keys/trumpet player. Especially live, these voices blend to create the perfect vocal sound to complement the somewhat rough instrumental sound.

I absolutely love this band. Especially since they are such a great band, but relatively unknown, I recommend that everyone buy this album. Normally I'm against such consumer whoremanship, but this band is worth degrading myself to help them succeed. (Plus, to be honest, I talked to most of the members after the apartment show and tried to get gigs in St. Louis, Kansas City, or New York; so helping them means helping me.)

“The South is dry and will vote dry. That is, everybody sober enough to stagger to the polls will.” --Will Rogers

Aha Shake Heartbreak by Kings of Leon is just a fun album. I had a great time listening to the unique sound of the band. The guitar licks have that "hook" to them, without being too pop-y, and though they can be a little repetitive, it's always something I want to hear again. For a modern rock band, I was pleased with bass lines. The straight-eighth beat is in the background a lot, but quite often the bass jumps out of the line for a few beats and gives flavor and drive back to the melodic repeat. The drums are even melodic in their own right. Nathan Followill provides a firm foundation for the rest of the music, while keeping his patterns light and fun, rather than heavy and overpowering. This quality gives the entire album a bounce to it--and bouncy is fun.

I have to devote a whole paragraph to Caleb Followill's voice. It is one the most original voices in the indie-pop world that I've heard. During the band's upbeat numbers, his voice just adds to the energy the instrumental parts create. And on the band's ballads, his gravelly yowl is simply heartbreaking, and reminiscent of the old blues singers.

Like I wrote earlier, this output from the Tennessean quartet is fun. Aha Shake Heartbreak is definitely an album that will be going on my list of favorites.

"I love talking about nothing. It is the only thing I know anything about." --Oscar Wilde

Surprisingly enough, today's album, Aerosmith's Greatest Hits, is not a compilation of Pavarotti's favorite live performances. It is, however, a collection of some of Aerosmith's best work. Listening to this album today reminded me a lot of my childhood, when my dad controlled the car radio. Even though they aren't my favorite band, I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for Aerosmith. The catchy, driving guitar riffs allow the listener to enjoy all the fun of Southern blues rock (hailing from Boston, interestingly enough), without any of that folksy, down-home racism. And who couldn't love the lips on Steven Tyler?

It was also just nice to hear the actual "Dream On," after American Idol on Tuesday (for the record: I do not watch American Idol, but I was told to listen to something resembling the sound my cat makes when I step on her tail). There are plenty of greatest hits albums out by Aerosmith, but this is a good, compact one. It only has ten tracks, but several of their best songs, and it even includes a cover of "Come Together," which even the most die-hard Beatles fans can enjoy. Though the album is nowhere near comprehensive, it is most definitely one for when you just need to hear a little Aerosmith--and your dad isn't in the car with you.

"Save it for a rainy day." --Proverbs

In the interest of full disclosure, today's album is technically an EP. However, considering that this EP has eleven tracks, I included it. In true NYU fashion, I'd like to begin my review by rendering a scene:

The streets are wet from the torrential downpour last night, and I'm still groggy from the lack of sleep and stress this exam week has imposed upon me. As I walk to work, attempting to avoid soaking my shoes in puddles, a chilly spring-morning breeze reminds me that I should have worn a jacket, but I had already packed it away in preparation for my flight home, quickly approaching. I heave a sigh, filled with melancholy, thinking of all the friends I won't see for almost four months, and some I may never see again. In search of an album to reflect my mood, I happened upon Activate by Wolftron. Kenny Choi, a solo artist from Washington state, has a mournful voice, that rarely strays into a whine. His guitar and keys work provide the backbone of the music, with sparse, but tasteful, use of strings and drum machine in the background. But what does his music say about larger society?

And that's where the scene ends, with me not actually asking that last question. (By the way, my Advanced College Essay teacher scorns the use of transitional rhetorical questions, so I just had to use it in an act of rebellion which will never be seen by him.) In all seriousness, however, this indie folk/acoustic album is perfect for down days. The songs have a sorrowful energy to them, not from the lyrics or tempo, but from pure emotion. Though Mr. Choi's work would not be on the top of my playlist every day, I would certainly turn to Activate on those days where the sun just never seems to peek out from behind the clouds.

"History doesn't repeat itself--at best it sometimes rhymes." --Mark Twain

I have to admit: I am terrified of taking on John Lennon. But, I committed to this without inventorying my entire library very well, so it's my fault. Here goes nothing.

Acoustic is the 2004 release compiling sixteen acoustic demo, studio, and live recordings by John Lennon. Although I enjoyed the album, I was not terribly impressed. I realize the risk I take in saying this, but I feel that Lennon's timelessness is overrated. His music is good, he can sing, and his lyrics were prescient at the time of these recordings, but his words have lost the power and presence that only the context of an era can provide. Lennon did not provide the language of longevity, but rather that of "all the people living for today" ("Imagine").

Reflecting upon the last eight years, there have been several singles, albums, even bands, who have succeeded off the popular disgust with now former President Bush. I'm fairly certain these bands will fall by the wayside now that Bush is out of office and will be replaced quickly enough with the next wave of artists with catchy guitar riffs and angry lyrics. Even Lennon, one of the most renowned pop musicians of all time, can't escape irrelevance. Until lyricists learn the power of metaphor, and become "enlightened" enough to see past the petty problems of the present, and see the truths behind them, every one of them will become like Lennon--and I don't mean that in a complimentary manner.

"Come with uncle and hear all proper. Hear angel trumpets and devil trombones. You are invited." --A Clockwork Orange

Muse's Absolution evokes a futuristic feeling throughout the album, with a firm foundation in its classical roots. The driving, often melodic bass lines, combined with prominent arpeggi in the backgrounds, give the album a desperately nihilistic quality, acquiescing to the idea that no matter what they do, they won't change anything, so why not have fun? I certainly had fun listening to this album.

My only problem with the album (and, indeed, the group itself) is the lead singer's enunciation (or lack thereof). He has a tendency to start phrases and longer notes in a pinched manner, and then flair out in a somewhat whiny fashion. The result is something like this: in "Hysteria," instead of "I want it now...", the listener gets something resembling "I want it neeow..." This would sound great if the band were fronted by a cat, but seeing as Matthew Bellamy is a real, live, human Englishman, it would be great if he could pronounce the beginnings of his phrases like one.

Despite this one criticism, I enjoyed Absolution. I felt a quote from Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange served as an appropriate title due to the "desperately nihilistic" nature of the album I described before. I can positively say this album is not a lure to a rape, a beating, or a murder; however, it is an invitation to all the young devotchkas and chellovecks to slooshy a right horrorshow pop-disk.

(Translations for my Nadsat use borrowed from A Clockwork Orange can be found at http://soomka.com/nadsat.html)

"The sea-reach of the Thames stretched before us like the beginning of an interminable waterway." --Heart of Darkness

I've started this blog with a mission: to listen to one album per day, and record my thoughts, feelings, and impressions.

The albums to which I will listen are albums I already have in my iTunes library. I will listen to albums alphabetically, to ensure I listen to every album I currently own. I will listen only to complete LP's--random singles and EP's contained in my library will not be included in this project. New albums that I will inevitably purchase during the course of this marathon review will be placed in the alphabetical "queue," as it were. If I have passed an album's place in the alphabet, I will listen to it immediately, and continue the next day where I left off the day before. In keeping with the iTunes system of organization, albums beginning with numbers and symbols will be at the end of the listening order.

Let there be no pretense about this endeavor: this is nothing more than intellectual masturbation for me. The albums I will listen to are by no means new (though many of them will be new to me), and I will not be taking into account what the critics have already said. My "reviews" will be purely my opinion on each album.

Now that I've made my opening move, I encourage you to give me your feelings on my work and to listen to these albums for yourself. Tomorrow I'll be listening to Muse's Absolution.

Enjoy!