My Musical Missive
I have the bad habit of only blogging when the mood or the passion strikes me. This happens mostly when I see a news story by which I am either inspired or outraged. My outrage and/or inspiration is almost always tempered by one of the strongest forces in my life. My inherent laziness. I have recently been inspired by Gold Medal speed skater Joey Cheek's decision to give away his bonus to charity and his call for others to do the same. This, from a man who is in a class of people who could be considered a charity in and of themselves. I have also recently been appalled and outraged by the bombing of the Shiite's holy place in Iraq. I blogged about neither of these due to the aforementioned laziness.
So the problem arises that when I am ready to blog I am oftentimes not inspired/outraged or when I am inspired/outraged I am too lazy to do anything about it. Well there is one thing that always inspires me; one thing I am always ready to blog about; one thing that will more often than not allow me to overcome my laziness, that one thing is ROCK 'n' ROLL. Actually, music of all kinds inspires me but I will start with my first love.
I have generally tended towards the heavier stuff. This was probably because my parents usually only allowed me to listen to the Oak Ridge Boys and I have something of a rebellious streak in me. In middle school I warmed up to some of the Punk bands of the day: Black Flag, Dead Milkmen, The Dead Kennedy's, the Misfts. But my first true musical crush was on a band called Dokken. Dokken was a lesser know 80's metal band but they blew me away. They were just as corny as the Poison's, Warrant's, and Motley Crue's but for some reason I defended them to the end. Dokken led me to Metallica and Metallica led me to Soundgarden. Soundgarden led me to Nirvana and Alice in Chains and these led me to the Melvins. Now if you don't know who the Melvins are dont worry not many people do. The Melvins are generally accepted as being the forefathers of the Seattle/Grunge movement and are in my estimation absolute musical genius. Along the way of this musical progression (some of you may argue that these bands neither represent music nor progress but that is besides the point) I was also led backwards to find the roots of my modern day metal. I reveled in Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, the Misfits, Danzig, the Ramone's, the Velvet Underground just to name a few.
Well about the time I was falling head over heels for the Melvins I went to college. This was, as previously mentioned at good ole HU. My first roommate had very similar musical tastes as mine but late in my Freshmen year I met a young man named Jeff. We became fast friends and decided to room together the next year. I can't remember which of us arrived first in our room on Keller 3B but both of us soon realized that we were in for some culture shock after we had seen how the other had decoreated his side of the room. Jeff had posters of DC Talk, Michael W. Smith, and Stephen Curtis Chapman among others. I had an Alice in Chains poster that showed a severed head on a corn stalk. I wont bore you with details but Jeff and I eventually rubbed off on each other. Jeff would often times find me secretly listening to his DC Talk CD's while Jeff could often be found blaring Green Day at the top of his stereo's capacity.
So today I am all over the board when it comes to my choices for Rock 'n' Roll listening pleasure. I want to share a few of them with you.
Iron and Wine with Calexico: In the Reins. This EP (just 7 nearly perfect songs) has absolutely knocked my socks off. This is beautiful music. Quiet and somewhat subdued but absolutely amazing. I am not sure what category to throw this into as it is a mix of folk, country, and pop. Buy it and then go buy all of Iron and Wine's albums. I don't know much about Calexico but Iron and Wine is actually just one guy named Samuel Beam. He is profoundly talented. I can't recommend him highly enough.
The White Stripes: Get Behind Me Satan. There is not much I can say that hasn't already been said about this band or this album. I can't put it down. Brilliant, diverse, and amazing. It is at the same time completely new territory for the Stripes and completely representative of their prior musical outings. This was the album that turned some of my friends, who didn't buy into the hype of the White Stripes, into White Stripes fans. This is a must have.
The New Pornographers: Twin Cinema. While this album is far from perfect it is another one that I cannot put down. Of my most recently acquired albums this is the one I listen to the most. This is Indie Power Pop at it's very best. The band has three lead singers and while sometimes this can be more headache than its worth on some of the best tracks on this album the harmony amongst the three is breathtaking. I think once you listen to the first track you will be hooked. I know I was. Give it a shot even if you feel slightly uncomfortable with buying something from a band called the New Pornographers.
The Drive-By Truckers: The Dirty South. You may think I am kidding about this band when you look at their title but The Drive-By Truckers are most definitely not a joke. If Lynard Skynard and Bruce Springsteen had an illegitamete child whom they sent off to be raised by a pre-June Carter Johnny Cash who grew up to be best friends with ZZ Top and then decided to record a record for Sam Phillips on Sun records then that child would be The Drive-By Truckers. While that description might have scared some of you away I hope at least some of you will be intrigued enough to give the Truckers a shot.
I think that is enough for right now. Like I said I love writing about this stuff so I will be back later with some more suggestions. Just in case you were concerned none of the artists or albums that I have recommended above fall into the heavy category and are all suitable for general consumption. The Truckers migh be considered hard rock and the White Stripes sometimes play some pretty raunchy guitar licks that might be considered punk but nothing that should turn anyone off. Next time perhaps.
So I leave you all with this question: What are you listening to these days? Also please let me know if you have listened to any of the above and whether you hate them or love them.
So the problem arises that when I am ready to blog I am oftentimes not inspired/outraged or when I am inspired/outraged I am too lazy to do anything about it. Well there is one thing that always inspires me; one thing I am always ready to blog about; one thing that will more often than not allow me to overcome my laziness, that one thing is ROCK 'n' ROLL. Actually, music of all kinds inspires me but I will start with my first love.
I have generally tended towards the heavier stuff. This was probably because my parents usually only allowed me to listen to the Oak Ridge Boys and I have something of a rebellious streak in me. In middle school I warmed up to some of the Punk bands of the day: Black Flag, Dead Milkmen, The Dead Kennedy's, the Misfts. But my first true musical crush was on a band called Dokken. Dokken was a lesser know 80's metal band but they blew me away. They were just as corny as the Poison's, Warrant's, and Motley Crue's but for some reason I defended them to the end. Dokken led me to Metallica and Metallica led me to Soundgarden. Soundgarden led me to Nirvana and Alice in Chains and these led me to the Melvins. Now if you don't know who the Melvins are dont worry not many people do. The Melvins are generally accepted as being the forefathers of the Seattle/Grunge movement and are in my estimation absolute musical genius. Along the way of this musical progression (some of you may argue that these bands neither represent music nor progress but that is besides the point) I was also led backwards to find the roots of my modern day metal. I reveled in Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, the Misfits, Danzig, the Ramone's, the Velvet Underground just to name a few.
Well about the time I was falling head over heels for the Melvins I went to college. This was, as previously mentioned at good ole HU. My first roommate had very similar musical tastes as mine but late in my Freshmen year I met a young man named Jeff. We became fast friends and decided to room together the next year. I can't remember which of us arrived first in our room on Keller 3B but both of us soon realized that we were in for some culture shock after we had seen how the other had decoreated his side of the room. Jeff had posters of DC Talk, Michael W. Smith, and Stephen Curtis Chapman among others. I had an Alice in Chains poster that showed a severed head on a corn stalk. I wont bore you with details but Jeff and I eventually rubbed off on each other. Jeff would often times find me secretly listening to his DC Talk CD's while Jeff could often be found blaring Green Day at the top of his stereo's capacity.
So today I am all over the board when it comes to my choices for Rock 'n' Roll listening pleasure. I want to share a few of them with you.
Iron and Wine with Calexico: In the Reins. This EP (just 7 nearly perfect songs) has absolutely knocked my socks off. This is beautiful music. Quiet and somewhat subdued but absolutely amazing. I am not sure what category to throw this into as it is a mix of folk, country, and pop. Buy it and then go buy all of Iron and Wine's albums. I don't know much about Calexico but Iron and Wine is actually just one guy named Samuel Beam. He is profoundly talented. I can't recommend him highly enough.
The White Stripes: Get Behind Me Satan. There is not much I can say that hasn't already been said about this band or this album. I can't put it down. Brilliant, diverse, and amazing. It is at the same time completely new territory for the Stripes and completely representative of their prior musical outings. This was the album that turned some of my friends, who didn't buy into the hype of the White Stripes, into White Stripes fans. This is a must have.
The New Pornographers: Twin Cinema. While this album is far from perfect it is another one that I cannot put down. Of my most recently acquired albums this is the one I listen to the most. This is Indie Power Pop at it's very best. The band has three lead singers and while sometimes this can be more headache than its worth on some of the best tracks on this album the harmony amongst the three is breathtaking. I think once you listen to the first track you will be hooked. I know I was. Give it a shot even if you feel slightly uncomfortable with buying something from a band called the New Pornographers.
The Drive-By Truckers: The Dirty South. You may think I am kidding about this band when you look at their title but The Drive-By Truckers are most definitely not a joke. If Lynard Skynard and Bruce Springsteen had an illegitamete child whom they sent off to be raised by a pre-June Carter Johnny Cash who grew up to be best friends with ZZ Top and then decided to record a record for Sam Phillips on Sun records then that child would be The Drive-By Truckers. While that description might have scared some of you away I hope at least some of you will be intrigued enough to give the Truckers a shot.
I think that is enough for right now. Like I said I love writing about this stuff so I will be back later with some more suggestions. Just in case you were concerned none of the artists or albums that I have recommended above fall into the heavy category and are all suitable for general consumption. The Truckers migh be considered hard rock and the White Stripes sometimes play some pretty raunchy guitar licks that might be considered punk but nothing that should turn anyone off. Next time perhaps.
So I leave you all with this question: What are you listening to these days? Also please let me know if you have listened to any of the above and whether you hate them or love them.
posted by Kile and Em at 11:27 AM
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